- Blues star Robert Thomas, who missed practice yesterday for rest/maintenance, was at today’s morning skate and is good to go for tonight’s Game 3, per Tracey Myers of NHL.com. The 25-year-old center is dealing with a minor lower-body injury he sustained in the final game of the regular season. He scored the series’ opening goal but has otherwise gone without a point and has a minus-four rating as St. Louis trails Winnipeg 2-0.
Blues Rumors
Minor Transactions: 4/18/25
There will be several small roster moves today as playoff teams recall their required third goalie for practice and emergency backup purposes, and non-playoff teams conduct some end-of-season roster trimming. We’ll cover all those moves here:
- The Blues announced they’ve recalled goaltender Will Cranley from ECHL Florida to serve as their emergency backup. St. Louis selected the 23-year-old in the sixth round of the 2020 draft. He was previously added to the Blues’ practice roster for a day during the 4 Nations break while Jordan Binnington was traveling back from the tournament. He finished his second professional season with a 2.71 GAA, .896 SV%, two shutouts, and an 11-9-3 record in 23 ECHL games. He also logged a .867 SV% in a pair of appearances for AHL Springfield, the first of his career.
- The Stars added defensemen Lian Bichsel and Alexander Petrovic back to the active roster after reassigning them to AHL Texas yesterday for cap purposes. They needed the space to activate Tyler Seguin from long-term injured reserve for the final game of the regular season. They’re expected to serve as the third pairing in Game 1 of the first round against the Avalanche tomorrow, per Sam Nestler of DLLS Sports. It’ll be the postseason debut for Bichsel, Dallas’ first-round draft choice in 2022. They also recalled goaltender Ben Kraws from ECHL Idaho as their EBUG. An undrafted free agent signing out of St. Lawrence last year, the 24-year-old impressed with a 2.88 GAA, .910 SV%, five shutouts, and a 23-12-5 record in 40 games for Idaho. He also posted a 3.01 GAA and .889 SV% in three appearances for AHL Texas, logging a 2-1-0 record.
- Serving as the Avalanche’s EBUG will be Kevin Mandolese, the team announced. The 24-year-old has spent the year as Trent Miner’s backup with AHL Colorado after being acquired from the Senators over the offseason. He has a 2.87 GAA, .903 SV%, 11-6-0 record, and one shutout in 19 games.
- Since the Wild’s AHL affiliate is one of the few to miss the cut for the Calder Cup Playoffs, they’re going with a higher-profile option for their EBUG. Top prospect Jesper Wallstedt will fill the role for them, according to a club announcement. The 2021 first-rounder is expected to succeed the retiring Marc-André Fleury as Filip Gustavsson’s backup next season, but is coming off a disastrous injury-plagued campaign with Iowa. He finished the year with a 3.59 GAA, .879 SV%, one shutout, and a 9-14-4 record in 27 showings.
- The Panthers summoned Evan Cormier from ECHL Savannah to be their EBUG, per George Richards of Florida Hockey Now. The 27-year-old struggled with a 3.38 GAA, .887 SV%, one shutout, and a 17-13-4 record in 36 showings in 2024-25. He filled the same duties for the Cats in the first half of last year’s playoff run, signing a two-way deal at the trade deadline for the second season in a row.
- The Penguins returned forwards Ville Koivunen, Joona Koppanen, Vasiliy Ponomarev, Samuel Poulin, Valtteri Puustinen, and defenseman Filip Král to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after their late-season call-ups. They’ll aid the Baby Pens as they aim to capture a Calder Cup. Not joining them is top prospect Rutger McGroarty, who sustained a lower-body injury last week and isn’t yet ready to return.
- The Flames assigned forward Sam Morton and defenseman Hunter Brzustewicz to AHL Calgary after they made their NHL debuts in last night’s regular-season finale. Morton scored his first NHL goal in the outing, while Brzustewicz impressed with a plus-two rating. They’ll join the Wranglers for the postseason.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled enforcer Ryan Reaves from the minor leagues. Reaves recently played in his first AHL games since the 2010-11 season. He recorded one goal and, surprisingly, no penalty minutes in three games of play. The 38-year-old also recorded two assists and 28 penalty minutes in 35 NHL games this season. He’ll provide a boost of muscle to the Leafs lineup as they head towards a First Round matchup against the Ottawa Senators.
- Defenseman Emil Andrae has been reassigned to the minor leagues after holding down a routine role on the Philadelphia Flyers lineup since early March. Andrae split his time between the major and minor rosters this season, with seven points in 42 NHL games and 16 points in 25 AHL games. He was primarily a minor-leaguer last season and managed a stout 32 points, 66 penalty minutes, and minus-10 in 61 games. With the Flyers season over, Andrae will look to again support the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in a late-season push.
- The Edmonton Oilers have recalled depth forward Derek Ryan from the minor leagues. Ryan split time between the NHL and AHL this year, with one goal and six points in 36 games in the Oilers lineup. He also managed eight points in 13 AHL games. Ryan has played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs on five different occasions, racking up 10 points in 60 games. That includes appearing in 19 games of Edmonton’s run to the Stanley Cup Finals last season. Ryan contributed one assist to the effort. He’ll now be returned to the NHL roster to support another long run.
- The Rochester Americans are getting a wave of strong recruits, as the Buffalo Sabres have reassigned each of Jiri Kulich, Tyson Kozak, Noah Ostlund, and Isak Rosen back to the minor leagues. Rosen leads Rochester in scoring this season with 28 goals and 55 points in 60 games. Ostlund has 36 points in 44 games, while Kozak has 14 points in 31 games. Kulich has been the only of the bunch to spend the bulk of the season in the NHL. He carved out a top-six role through points of the season. Kulich finished what was his rookie NHL season with 15 goals and 24 points in 62 games.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
11 Teams To Carry Bonus Overage Cap Penalties In 2025-26
The end of the regular season also means the end of daily salary cap calculations across the NHL. With no more cap-related transactions left in the year, 11 teams have officially finished over the salary cap because players on entry-level or 35+ contracts earned performance bonuses that put them above the upper limit. They’ll carry bonus overage penalties in 2025-26 as a result. Those teams break down as follows, per PuckPedia:
Carolina Hurricanes: $33K – $1.076MM
Carolina’s numbers vary wildly here because of the $1.0375MM bonus rookie defenseman Alexander Nikishin will incur if he wins the Conn Smythe. Their guaranteed $33K penalty comes from Logan Stankoven’s post-acquisition games-played bonuses. There’s the potential for an additional $5K penalty if rookie Juha Jaaska plays at least two playoff games. Carolina ends the year in LTIR, so they can’t afford any bonuses. They don’t have any other cap charges next year.
Dallas Stars: $368K
The Stars ended the year in LTIR, so all of Wyatt Johnston’s $319K in Schedule A bonuses and Logan Stankoven’s $49.5K games-played bonus, which they paid out before he was traded to the Hurricanes, count as penalties next year. Their total dead cap charges will total $1.801MM with another year of Ryan Suter’s buyout on the books.
Detroit Red Wings: $871K
Detroit ended the year with a comfortable $2.02MM in cap space but had $2.888MM in performance bonuses to dole out, so they’ll get hit with a six-figure penalty next year. Patrick Kane hit $1.75MM in games played bonuses this year as part of his 35+ contract, while Simon Edvinsson and Marco Kasper each hit multiple Schedule A bonus categories for $638K and $500K in respective bonuses. They also have a $1.056MM cap charge next season for the final year of Justin Abdelkader’s buyout, bringing their total dead cap next season to $1.927MM.
Edmonton Oilers: $150K – $250K
All of the Oilers’ penalties stem from Corey Perry’s 35+ contract after ending the season in LTIR. He’s already earned $150K in games played bonuses and could earn up to $100K in playoff bonuses – $50K if the Oilers win two rounds and Perry plays in either half of the second-round games or half of the total first and second-round games, and another $50K if they win three rounds and Perry plays in either half of the Western Conference Final games or half the total games through the WCF. That’s on top of the $2.3MM cap charge Edmonton faces from buying out Jack Campbell.
Los Angeles Kings: $213K
It’s simple here – the Kings couldn’t fit the performance bonus earned by Brandt Clarke for hitting 25 assists. That gives them $813K in dead cap next year, combined with the Mike Richards buyout.
Minnesota Wild: $1.1MM – $1.15MM
The Wild ended the year with just $36K in cap space, so virtually all of the performance bonuses earned by Marco Rossi and Brock Faber hitting their full complement of Schedule A targets ($850K and $250K, respectively) will count as a penalty. The number could increase slightly if rookie defenseman Zeev Buium plays five playoff games or wins the Conn Smythe, each landing him a $25K bonus. Minnesota’s total dead cap charges will be at least $2.767MM with Zach Parise’s and Ryan Suter’s buyouts still on the books, albeit at a drastically reduced cost from the last few years.
Montreal Canadiens: $1.728MM – $2.308MM
All of the Canadiens’ performance bonuses awarded this season will count toward their overage because they ended the year with Carey Price on long-term injured reserve to remain cap-compliant. Star rookie Lane Hutson maxed out his Schedule A bonuses for $750K, Juraj Slafkovsky earned $500K in A bonuses for finishing top-six among Montreal forwards in average time on ice and top-three in plus-minus rating, defenseman Kaiden Guhle maxed out his $420K in A bonuses, and rearguard Jayden Struble earned his $57.5K games played bonus. Their penalty will increase based on the performance bonuses rookie Ivan Demidov incurs in the postseason. He’ll earn $25K for five playoff appearances, $30K for 10, and a whopping $525K bonus if he wins the Conn Smythe Trophy. The Habs don’t have any other dead cap charges next year, but still have to contend with the final year of Price’s deal.
New Jersey Devils: $1MM
The Devils ended the season in long-term injured reserve and thus can’t afford reigning Calder Trophy finalist Luke Hughes’ $1MM in Schedule A bonuses. At present, it’s the only dead cap charge New Jersey will have next year.
New York Islanders: $600K – $850K
Mathew Barzal’s and Semyon Varlamov’s LTIR placements kept the Isles cap-compliant at season’s end, so the entirety of Matt Martin’s $100K in games played bonuses and Maxim Tsyplakov’s $500K in Schedule A bonuses (plus-minus and ice time). If Tsyplakov makes the NHL’s All-Rookie Team, he’ll incur an additional $250K bonus. New York doesn’t have any other dead cap charges next year.
St. Louis Blues: $2.153MM
The Blues are currently set to incur the most significant bonus overage penalty of any team next year. Most of that comes from the $2.225MM in performance bonuses awarded to veteran Ryan Suter in his 35+ contract last summer. He earned all of them, while sophomore Zachary Bolduc earned a $212.5K bonus for finishing in the top three in plus-minus rating among St. Louis forwards. Those, less the Blues’ $284K in season-ending cap space, give them a bonus overage carryover penalty of $2.153MM. Barring any buyouts this summer, that will comprise their entire dead cap hit for 2025-26.
Toronto Maple Leafs: $626K
Since they ended the season in LTIR, the performance bonuses Max Pacioretty earned for playing 37 games on his 35+ contract will count against the Leafs’ cap next year. As things stand, they could begin the year with an additional $300K in dead cap if Ryan Reaves and Matt Benning are buried in the minors as they were to end 2024-25.
The Capitals could find themselves added to this list if rookie Ryan Leonard wins the Conn Smythe. He’s owed $275K if he does, which the Caps can’t accommodate after ending the year in LTIR.
Photo courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images.
Blues Assign Dalibor Dvorsky To AHL
- In a rare move with playoff implications, the St. Louis Blues have assigned top forward prospect Dalibor Dvorsky to the minor leagues. Dvorsky hasn’t played since April 9th, when he made his second career appearance in the NHL. He has no points and an average of nine minutes in ice time over his first two games. This move will return him to a star role in the minor leagues, where his 20 goals and 44 points in 59 games rank third and fourth on the Springfield Thunderbirds respectively. Springfield have squeaked into the Calder Cup playoffs with 74 points in 70 games this season. Dvorsky will be a major boost to their postseason roster, unless the Blues opt to include him in their inevitable wave of Black Ace recalls.
Poll: Who Will Be The Western Conference Champions?
The Western Conference playoff field is set after the Wild and Blues took home wins last night in their final regular-season games. They both secure wild-card spots and lock in the following bracket:
C1 Winnipeg Jets vs. WC2 St. Louis Blues
C2 Dallas Stars vs. C3 Colorado Avalanche
P1 Vegas Golden Knights vs. WC1 Minnesota Wild
P2 Los Angeles Kings vs. P3 Edmonton Oilers
That means it’s time to take out our crystal balls and look at who will represent the West in the Stanley Cup Final in a few months. For the wild-card clubs, it’s hard to imagine a more considerable disparity in upset difficulty than this year’s Western Conference. The Blues briefly jumped into the first wild-card spot following a 12-game win streak to get them into postseason position, but a 1-2-1 stretch to end the year had them fall back behind the Wild. That puts them in a Central Division bracket that includes the Presidents’ Trophy winners in Winnipeg and arguably the league’s two deepest offenses in Dallas and Colorado. All three teams finished in the top eight league-wide. There’s still upset potential there, given Jordan Binnington’s playoff history in the net and star center Robert Thomas playing the best hockey of his career (he’s fine after leaving last night’s game with a lower-body injury). Still, it’s a more challenging road on that side of the bracket. The last time Winnipeg and St. Louis met in the first round, though, the latter won the Stanley Cup.
The Jets enter postseason play as a wagon with a bandaged wheel. They got tough news yesterday with winger Nikolaj Ehlers aggravating a foot injury with a week-to-week designation, which almost certainly puts him out for the beginning of their series. While that’s a big blow to the league’s third-ranked offense, they’ll look to their top-ranked defense to hold up. While the skater core has done an exceptional job of limiting high-danger chances at even strength, most of the credit there remains with Vezina frontrunner and Hart candidate Connor Hellebuyck. After posting a .924 SV% and a 2.02 GAA in 62 appearances, can he replicate those numbers in postseason play? In the Hellebuyck era, the Jets have only won a playoff series when he records a save percentage above .920.
The Stars and Avs would likely end up being a second- or third-round matchup in a conference-based playoff format compared to the current divisional one. Perhaps no series has a more compelling storyline to open up the playoffs. Forget the Mikko Rantanen bowl – Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog is trending toward a Game 1 return after missing nearly three years with right knee issues. Dallas, of course, will have to stop the Avs’ retooled offense, now featuring Charlie Coyle, Martin Nečas, and Brock Nelson, without star defenseman Miro Heiskanen to start the series and potentially for the entire first round. That’s in contrast to a Colorado skater core trending toward being fully healthy to begin the postseason. There is a risk for both of these clubs meeting so early on in the playoffs, though – can they get through this series and have enough energy left to spend on three more in their pursuit of the Cup?
On the Pacific side, the Knights are coming off their fifth division title in eight years as they begin their chase for their second Stanley Cup. Unlike past years, there was no deadline spending spree. Reacquiring 2023 Stanley Cup champion and Original Misfit Reilly Smith was their only move, along with signing free agent Brandon Saad mid-season. Amid injuries to core players Mark Stone and Shea Theodore, and even after losing multiple key names on the UFA market last summer, Vegas has chugged along with the league’s sixth-ranked offense and fourth-ranked defense. They continue to control play at 5-on-5, have one of the league’s best power plays, and have gotten strong play out of starter Adin Hill. Will breakout goal-scoring efforts from players like Pavel Dorofeyev and Brett Howden hold up to give Vegas enough secondary scoring to make their third Stanley Cup Final appearance?
They’ll first have to unseat the Wild in the first round. Minnesota has been a shell of itself in the second half of the season and only went 9-8-3 after the trade deadline. Their key to playing spoiler is the return of forward cornerstones Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov from injury. The former has been spectacular since returning last week, closing the year with five goals in four games, including the game-tying goal that secured a point for the Wild last night and clinched their playoff berth. Filip Gustavsson is having a spectacular season between the pipes. While the Wild have bled low-danger chances at 5-on-5 this year, they’re still one of the better teams in the league at limiting quality looks against. They’ll need to keep games low-scoring for a chance at a Cinderella run.
For the fourth year in a row, the Kings and Oilers meet in the first round. This time, the former holds home ice advantage over the defending conference champions. Los Angeles is hot at the right time as they kick off the postseason and attempt to finally unseat Edmonton after a trio of series losses. They’re 17-4-0 since the trade deadline while outscoring opponents 80-39 – yes, that’s a 3.81 goals per game clip for a team that struggled to score for most of the season. Led by dueling 35-goal campaigns from Kevin Fiala and Adrian Kempe while trade deadline pickup Andrei Kuzmenko has fit like a glove with 17 points in 21 games, they may not have the franchise offensive talent Edmonton boasts, but they enter the series with a more mobile defense core and the clear edge in goaltending with 2022 Stanley Cup champion Darcy Kuemper having a renaissance season.
The Oilers will attempt to begin their journey toward a repeat Final appearance without their top two-way defenseman, Mattias Ekholm. He’s ruled out for the first round with an undisclosed injury and could even be done for the season. That forces Brett Kulak to step back into a top-four role on the blue line alongside Evan Bouchard, Darnell Nurse, and crucial deadline pickup Jake Walman to begin the postseason. Will a continued MVP performance from Leon Draisaitl be enough for them to crack the Kings?
PHR readers, tell us who you think will sit atop the Western Conference when all is said and done and vote in the poll below:
If the poll doesn’t show up for you, click here to vote.
Photos courtesy of Matt Marton-Imagn Images and Sergei Belski-Imagn Images.
Blues Can Clinch Playoff Berth Monday
The Blues are one of two teams eligible to clinch a playoff spot tonight. They and the Oilers can book their ticket to the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs if the Flames lose to the Sharks in regulation. St. Louis will need to hold up their end of the bargain by defeating the Jets in regulation to wake up tomorrow morning with an “X” next to their name in the standings. Doing so would mark their 13th straight win, the longest winning streak since Edmonton won 16 straight last year between Dec. 21 and Jan. 27. The Blues haven’t lost since a 5-3 defeat at the hands of the Penguins on March 13. They’re now 34-16-6 since replacing Drew Bannister with Jim Montgomery behind the bench in November and are two points ahead of the Wild for the first wild card in the Western Conference. Both St. Louis and Minnesota have four games remaining. The Blues have a 64% chance of holding onto the WC1 spot, a 33% chance of falling back behind the Wild and finishing in the WC2 slot, and a 1% chance of lapping the Avalanche for third place in the Central, per MoneyPuck. Their streak has been fueled by top-line center Robert Thomas, who leads the league in scoring since March 15 with 4-19–23 in 12 games.
Blues Recall Dalibor Dvorsky
The St. Louis Blues have recalled top center prospect Dalibor Dvorsky from the minor leagues. Dvorsky was reassigned to the AHL on Wednesday, but will now return to the Blues roster after news that top-line winger Dylan Holloway is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
Dvorsky made his NHL debut on his last recall. He didn’t manage any scoring in what was a productive 4-1 over the Nashville Predators, but Dvorsky looked effective enough in a bottom-line role. He returned to the minors for two games and one point this weekend, bringing his year long totals in the AHL up to 20 goals and 44 points in 59 games. That scoring ranks Dvorsky fourth on the Springfield Thunderbirds and eighth among all AHL rookies in total points. He’s carried his strong scoring into international play this season as well – netting five goals and nine points in nine games of the 2025 World Junior Championship, while captaining Team Slovakia. Everywhere he’s gone, Dvorsky has earned top scoring totals on the back of his confidence on the puck and poise on the forecheck. His strengths look like they’ll clearly translate to the top flight once he gets comfortable, and this recall could be a golden chance to find that footing before the season ends.
It seems clear that Dvorsky is headed right back into St. Louis’ lineup with this move. The Blues managed a closely-fought 5-4 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday, extending their win streak to a franchise-record 12 straight games. But nobody in St. Louis’ bottom-six managed any scoring through the record-setting win, and names like Mathieu Joseph and Radek Faksa seemed near invisible. St. Louis is now confidently in hold of a Western Conference Wild Card, and adding Dvorsky to the lineup over a quiet fourth-line veteran could go far in giving them another spark plug. With the season dwindling down, the Blues will have to find some way to make up for Holloway’s electric 63 points in 77 games this season, and 14 points in his last 10 games. High-offense rookies like Dvorsky and Jimmy Snuggerud, who recorded his first NHL point on Saturday, may be the key to keeping the offense afloat.
Parayko Skating But Not Ready To Return Yet
- While Blues defenseman Colton Parayko has resumed skating, head coach Jim Montgomery indicated to reporters, including Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic (Twitter link), that he’s not comfortable about putting him into the lineup just yet. The 31-year-old is trying to return earlier than expected from a knee injury but Montgomery acknowledged that there were a couple of instances in practice that showed he’s not ready to return yet. Still, it would appear that Parayko is getting close to coming back which would be a big boost to their back end with him being their number one blueliner.
Blues’ Dylan Holloway Out Week-To-Week With Lower-Body Injury
The Blues confirmed today that winger Dylan Holloway is considered week-to-week after suffering a lower-body injury during the first period of their 5-4 overtime win against the Penguins last night. With just five games left on their regular-season schedule, a return before the postseason begins is questionable at best. It’s unclear when Holloway sustained the injury, but he didn’t come out following the first intermission and didn’t return to the game.
St. Louis is almost certainly headed to the playoffs, boasting odds of 95.8% entering tonight’s games, per MoneyPuck. That’s on the back of an 11-game win streak, during which the 23-year-old Holloway ranks third on the team in scoring with 5-10–15 and a +13 rating.
That’s just a snapshot of the strong campaign Holloway has enjoyed after the Blues signed him and defenseman Philip Broberg to offer sheets, parting ways with a second and third-round pick as compensation to the Oilers after they failed to come to terms with the restricted free agents. After failing to record more than nine points in his first two seasons in Edmonton, the 2020 No. 14 overall pick has now firmly established himself as a top-six fixture in St. Louis. Skating most of the year on a line with Jordan Kyrou and captain Brayden Schenn, he ranks third on the team in scoring with 26-37–63 in 77 games. He boasts a +21 rating and 165 hits while averaging 16:49 per game, all the while only registering 10 PIMs on the year.
In addition to his scoring breakout, Holloway grades out as St. Louis’ best two-way forward this season. He leads the team with a +18.1 expected rating, and his 52.2 CF% at even strength trails only Kyrou. With Holloway on the ice at even strength, the Blues score 3.5 goals per 60 minutes and allow just 2.3.
That makes him a gargantuan loss, even with a playoff spot firmly within grasp. If his absence stretches into the postseason, that’s a huge dent into their chances of pulling off an upset over a divisional champion – likely either the Golden Knights or Jets – in the first round.
Holloway’s absence creates a major opportunity for 2022 first-rounder Jimmy Snuggerud, who moves into a top-six role after signing out of the University of Minnesota last week. He’ll skate alongside Pavel Buchnevich and Robert Thomas while Jake Neighbours slides down to take Holloway’s spot on the second line. The 20-year-old averaged 13:33 over his first two NHL appearances with the Blues and has one assist under his belt so far.
Image courtesy of Jeff Curry-Imagn Images.
Evening Notes: Mrazek, Soderblom, Holloway, Stastney
The Detroit Red Wings received split injury updates early on Thursday. Head coach Todd McLellan shared that goaltender Petr Mrazek will continue to sit out with a head injury, but that winger Elmer Soderblom could return from his undisclosed injury on Friday, per Max Bultman of The Athletic. Both players have missed Detroit’s last four games.
The Red Wings have maintained a duo of Cam Talbot and Alex Lyon while Mrazek’s been absent – the same tandem they ran before acquiring Mrazek at the Trade Deadline. Talbot has returned to the starting role after briefly missing time in March – and quickly found a hot streak. He’s posted a .922 save percentage and 2.48 goals-against average in four games since returning – though the low numbers have only led to a 1-2-1 record. His performances have lifted up Alex Lyon’s struggles as of late, with a 1-4-0 record and .843 save percentage in his last five games. Detroit will hope that pair continues to balance each other out as they continue to chase the Eastern Conference Wild Card.
Meanwhile, Soderblom will return looking to find his spark again after netting two goals in his last three games before injury. The pair doubled Soderblom’s year-long totals up to that point, pushing him to four goals and 10 points in 23 games this season. The six-foot-eight winger is playing through his rookie season in the NHL, though he did appear in 21 games and score eight points last season. He’ll step back into a role in Detroit’s bottom-six when he’s good to go.
Other notes from around the league:
- St. Louis Blues winger Dylan Holloway exited their Thursday night game against the Pittsburgh Penguins before the second period with a lower-body injury. He appeared to sustain the injury on a check from Penguins rookie Rutger McGroarty early in the first period. Holloway has been a major proponent of St. Louis’ 10-game winning streak. He’s scored 15 points across the streak, and was riding an 11-game scoring streak of his own before the early exit. That scoring brought Holloway up to 26 goals and 63 points in 77 games this season. Any missed games as a result of this injury would be his first as a Blue.
- Across the Central Division, the Nashville Predators were without defenseman Spencer Stastney for Thursday’s game against the Dallas Stars due to an upper-body injury. He was slated to serve as the team’s seventh dressed defenseman in the matchup, but in his absence, the Predators decided to instead promote rookie forward Ozzy Wiesblatt to the rotation. Stastney has tallied three points, all assists, in 22 games this season and filled a minimal role in Nashville’s lineup as of late.