Tuukka Rask Out Tonight With LBI
The Boston Bruins are facing a near must-win situation against the New York Islanders this evening, but they’ll be missing a key part of their team.
Goaltender Tuukka Rask is out with a lower-body injury, according to the team’s Twitter account. Anton Khudobin will get the start instead. We reported earlier today that the Bruins have recalled Zane McIntyre on an emergency basis to back up Khudobin.
It’s a very important game for the Bruins; they’re currently sitting outside the playoffs with 82 points. The Islanders also have 82 points, but have a game in hand on Boston. The Bruins were in the third divisional playoff spot last weekend, but have lost four in a row while the Maple Leafs have won three straight to pass them. Toronto is now three points ahead of Boston and comfortably in the third spot in the Atlantic Division.
This isn’t the first time Rask has missed an important game for his team. Last season, he caught a 24-hour flu bug and was out for the Bruins’ final game of the season, a must-win game against the Senators. Backup Jonas Gustavsson started instead; the Bruins lost 6-1 and missed the playoffs. Back in the Sochi Olympics, Rask missed Finland’s semi-final game versus Sweden with another stomach flu. The Swedes beat them, and Rask returned for the Bronze Medal Game, which he won.
Boston Recalls Goalie Zane McIntyre On Emergency Basis
The Boston Bruins announced this morning that they have recalled goaltender Zane McIntyre from Providence of the AHL on an emergency basis. McIntyre has appeared in eight games for the Bruins this season but like his colleague, Anton Khudobin, he has struggled to provide the club with quality play between the pipes, registering a record of 0 – 4 – 1 while posting a GAA of nearly 4 and a S% of just 0.858.
It’s been a different story in Providence for the 24-year-old goalie, as he leads the AHL in both GAA (2.03) and S% (0.931). His strong play in net for the Baby Bruins led to his selection to appear in the 2017 AHL All Star game.
Joe Haggerty of CSN New England suggests the recall is linked to Tuukka Rask not skating yesterday and may mean he will be unavailable for tonight’s game in Brooklyn against the Islanders. Rask’s absence, even for just one game, would be bad news for a Bruins team that has lost four straight and now sits three points behind Toronto for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Minor Transactions: 2/8/2017
Tracking the minor transactions from around the NHL for February 8, 2017.
- The Boston Bruins, fresh off firing their head coach, have once again swapped goaltenders with their AHL squad. Anton Khudobin has been recalled and Zane McIntyre demoted to Providence. Khudobin is in the first year of a two-year contract worth $1.2MM annually. His second stint in Boston has not gone well; he’s 1-5-1 with an 0.885 and a 3.06 GAA. While he has a 7-3-1 record in the AHL, that comes with a poor 0.896 SV% and 2.69 GAA. McIntyre is 0-3-1 in seven NHL games with a 0.860 SV5 and a 3.95 GAA, but has a sterling record in the AHL, going 11-0-0 with a 0.950 SV % and 1.44 GAA. Unfortunately for the Bruins, backups Khudobin, McIntyre, and Malcolm Subban have combined for one win in 11 starts.
- The Bruins Atlantic Division rivals in Montreal have also made a few roster moves, calling up Michael McCarron and Daniel Carr while sending Jacob de la Rose to the AHL. McCarron has four points in 15 NHL games and 19 points in 30 AHL games; Carr has eight points in 31 NHL games and the same total in just six AHL games. de la Rose has no points in nine NHL games, but has 15 in 34 games in the AHL.
- The NHL-leading Washington Capitals have recalled Zachary Sanford from the AHL. Sanford has one point in 20 NHL games and 14 points in 24 AHL games.
- Over in Minnesota, the Wild swapped defensemen with their AHL club. Mike Reilly will be heading to Iowa while Gustav Olofsson is coming back to Minnesota. Reilly has one point in 17 NHL games while Olofsson has only appeared in one NHL game this season.
Minor Transactions: 2/1/2017
Here’s where we will track the day’s less significant roster transactions:
- The Columbus Blue Jackets reassigned defenseman Dean Kukan to the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL, according to The Columbus Dispatch’s Aaron Portzline (via Twitter). The 23-year-old blue liner was recalled Sunday but did not appear in the Jackets wild 6 – 4 win over the New York Rangers last night. He appeared in eight games last season, his first in the NHL, but failed to register a point. The Swiss-born Kukan signed a deal with Columbus prior to the 2015-16 season after a lengthy pro career playing in his home country. In 37 games this year with Cleveland, Kukan has 13 points.
- Joe Haggerty of CSNNE has relayed that Zane McIntyre has been recalled by the Boston Bruins to replace Anton Khudobin as the team’s backup netminder. The Bruins are desperate for quality play in goal behind starter Tuukka Rask. McIntyre and Khudobin have combined to post a woeful record of 1 – 8 – 2 in 15 appearances with a GAA of 3.42 and a S% of 0.875. Boston has just two back-to-backs scheduled this month, suggesting they won’t have to rely on their backup much, provided Rask remains healthy.
- Defenseman Dylan McIlrath and forward Paul Thompson, each of whom was placed on waivers by Florida yesterday, went unclaimed and will remain in the Florida Panthers organization, according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. George Richards, who covers the Panthers for the Miami Herald, later added that McIlrath was reassigned to Springfield, along with forward Jared McCann. McIlrath, acquired earlier this season from the New York Rangers, has seen action in just five games for Florida this season. The former first-round draft pick has had trouble earning regular playing time. Thompson, 28, has played in 21 games for the Panthers, registering three assists while averaging less than eight minutes per game.
- The Washington Capitals returned blue liner Christian Djoos to Hershey of the AHL, reports Tarik El-Bashir of CSN Mid-Atlantic. Djoos was Washington’s seventh-round selection in the 2012 entry draft and has yet to debut in the NHL. He’s in the midst of a solid season for Hershey, tallying 26 points in 35 AHL contests.
Minor Transactions: 29/01/17
Good All-Star morning folks, even on this short mid-season break teams aren’t holding back from their roster shuffling. Here are all the minor transactions of the day.
- According to Joe Haggerty of CSNNE, late yesterday the Bruins did a flip-flop, sending Anton Khudobin back to the AHL and bringing up Zane McIntyre. That came less than 24 hours after the two made the opposite trips. After McIntyre played for the Providence Bruins on Friday night, Khudobin started last night and allowed four goals on 33 shots.
- Staying with flip-flopping goalies, the Columbus Blue Jackets have again swapped Joonas Korpisalo and Anton Forsberg, this time with Korpisalo heading to the NHL. Korpisalo also played last night, winning in a shootout when Oliver Bjorkstrand scored in the ninth-round.
- Cory Conacher (Lightning), Chris Terry (Canadiens) and Justin Bailey (Sabres) have been added to the AHL All-Star Rosters for your viewing pleasure tomorrow night. All three are having outstanding years in the lower level and will be replacing Joe Blandisi, Vojtech Mozik and John Quenneville, all from the Albany Devils.
- It didn’t take long for former NHL defenseman James Wisniewski to impress his new team. Just days after signing a 25-game tryout with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL, Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune is reporting he has now signed an AHL deal. That means Wisniewski would be eligible to come up to the NHL if needed at some point, but it’s unclear if he’s rediscovered his game enough for that level.
Minor Transactions: 1/6/17
Here are the minor transactions from around the hockey world for January 6, 2017.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins have called up goaltender Tristian Jarry and defenseman Chad Ruhwedel from the Wilkes-Barrie/ Scranton Penguins. Jarry has 14 wins this season, which puts him in a four-way tie to lead the AHL. Jarry returns to the NHL club to cover for Matt Murray’s recent injury. The Penguins had their CBA-mandated bye-week, so Jarry was sent down to play games instead of getting a week off. He has yet to make his NHL debut. Ruhwedel has 15 points in 27 games with the AHL club this year, and two points in five NHL games.
- The Washington Capitals have recalled forward Liam O’Brien from the Hershey Bears of the AHL. O’Brien has 18 points in 28 games with the Bears, and could play his first NHL game since 2014-15. He had two points in 13 games with the Capitals in his first year of professional hockey. O’Brien has 42 points in 132 AHL games in his career, and is in the final year of his entry-level contract.
- A day after clearing waivers, Anton Khudobin is on his way to the AHL as the Bruins call up Zane McIntyre in a swap of backup goaltenders. McIntyre is unbeaten in the AHL this season with a spectacular 10-0-0 record and an AHL-leading 0.951 SV% and a 1.41 GAA. He hasn’t had the same success at the NHL level, though. He’s 0-2-0 in three appearances with a 0.859 SV% and a 4.04 GAA. Meanwhile, Khudobin has struggled in his second stint in Boston, with just one win in seven games and a GAA of 3.06. He’s in the first season of a two-year contract which pays him $1.2MM per season. Khudobin will still account for $250K against the Bruins cap while he plies his trade in the AHL.
- The Bruins have also returned energy forward Noel Acciari to the Providence Bruins. Acciari has struggled to earn regular play time in Boston since returning from injury two weeks ago.
- The Chicago Blackhawks have assigned defenseman Gustav Forsling to the Rockford Ice Hogs of the AHL. Forsling was a pleasant surprise who made the Blackhawks out of training camp, but has seen his ice-time decrease throughout the season. He has four points in 32 games in the NHL this season. The Blackhawks likely wanted to stop carrying eight defensemen, as veterans Brian Campbell and Michal Rozsival were healthy scratches for last night’s game. Forsling did not need to clear waivers to be sent down, so he was the odd-man out.
- Staying with the Blackhawks organization, Spencer Abbott was recalled by Chicago on January 3. Three days and one game later, he’s heading back to the Rockford. Abbott was held pointless in just over eight minutes of ice on Thursday night. He has 21 points in 30 AHL games in his first full year in the Blackhawks organization since being acquired at the 2015 NHL trade deadline. Abbott played last season in Sweden before returning to North America. It’s likely that Jordin Tootoo will draw back into the lineup in his place.
- The Dallas Stars have sent Patrik Nemeth to the AHL on a conditioning stint. The 6’3, 215 lbs defenseman has played in just 16 games with the Stars this season, with no points.
- Oilers prospect Jordan Oesterle is heading back to Bakersfield. He has yet to appear in any NHL games this season, having been recalled to serve as the seventh defenseman twice. The speedy defenseman has eight points in 14 AHL games this year after scoring five points in 17 games with the Oilers last season.