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Blues Sign Will Cranley To Two-Way Extension

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The Blues re-signed goaltender Will Cranley to a two-way contract for 2025-26, per a team announcement. He’ll make the league minimum of $775K if he’s on the NHL roster with an $85K salary in the minors.

Cranley, 23, was recently up with the Blues as their emergency goaltender for the playoffs. However, he was returned to ECHL Florida on Monday with AHL Springfield starter Colten Ellis recalled in his place following the latter’s elimination from the Calder Cup Playoffs.

A sixth-round pick by the Blues in 2020, Cranley was set to be a restricted free agent this summer following the expiry of his entry-level contract. He’s now in his second professional season, spending nearly all of his time in the ECHL. The 6’4″, 185-lb netminder posted a 2.71 GAA, .896 SV%, two shutouts, and an 11-9-3 record in 23 games for the Everblades this season as the backup to the AHL-contracted Cam Johnson.

Cranley enters the offseason with stability for next season, but he’s still fifth out of five signed netminders on the Blues’ depth chart. He’s still young, but he didn’t inspire much confidence in his short recall with Springfield this year, posting a .867 SV% across two appearances. He’s almost certainly destined for ECHL minutes again next season, and without a demonstrable step forward in his performance, a qualifying offer in the summer of 2026 seems unlikely.

Phil Roberto Passes Away

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In a sad announcement, the St. Louis Blues revealed that former player Phil Roberto has passed away at the age of 76.

Roberto began his professional playing career with the Montreal Canadiens on December 17, 1969. Despite tallying only one assist in eight games during the 1969-70 season, Roberto increased his offense the following season, scoring 14 goals and 21 points in 39 games. He added another assist in 15 postseason contests as the Canadiens captured the Stanley Cup against the Chicago Black Hawks.

Without much information on the type of transaction, Roberto was moved from Montreal to the Blues organization partway through the 1971-72 season. St. Louis is where he’d have the most individual success of his career, scoring 33 goals and 71 points in 148 games in parts of four seasons.

The Niagara Falls, Ontario native joined the Detroit Red Wings partway through the 1974-75 season, and scored 14 goals and 48 points in 83 games with the second Original Six organization of his career. Roberto left the Red Wings in the 1975-76 season and began playing for three different teams that were briefly part of the NHL.

From halfway through the 1975-76 season to 1977, Roberto played for the Kansas City Scouts, Colorado Rockies, and Cleveland Barons. He joined the WHA’s Birmingham Bulls in 1977-78, ending his NHL career with 75 goals and 106 assists in 385 regular-season games.

PHR sends our condolences to Roberto’s family, friends, colleagues, and former teammates.

Blues Recall Nikita Alexandrov, Colten Ellis, Corey Schueneman

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The Blues’ AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, had their season end last night when they were bounced in the first round by the Providence Bruins. St. Louis is thus adding a few Springfield fixtures to their roster as healthy extras for the playoffs, announcing they’ve recalled center Nikita Alexandrov, goaltender Colten Ellis, and defenseman Corey Schueneman. Netminder Will Cranley, who was previously rostered as the Blues’ third goalie to begin the postseason, was returned to ECHL Florida in a corresponding move.

It’s Alexandrov’s first stint on the roster since the 2023-24 campaign. After playing 51 games over the prior two seasons and signing a two-way deal late in training camp after spending much of the summer on the restricted free agent market, St. Louis waived Alexandrov and subsequently reassigned him to Springfield to begin 2024-25. While the 24-year-old Russian didn’t get a call-up opportunity, he made the most of his time in Springfield and exploded for a 21-28–49 scoring line in just 48 appearances. He didn’t record a point in three playoff outings, but Alexandrov’s 1.02 points per game led Springfield and ranked 12th among AHLers with at least 25 games played.

A 2019 second-round pick, Alexandrov is headed for restricted free agency again this summer. The Blues likely intend to qualify him after a strong minor-league showing, but he may hold out in hopes of landing a clearer path to NHL minutes elsewhere. He could be a cheap in-house replacement for pending UFA Radek Faksa if St. Louis wants to use that cap space elsewhere, though.

Ellis will now serve as the No. 3 in net behind Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer after a spotless 2024-25 campaign. The 24-year-old erupted for a 2.63 GAA, .922 SV%, three shutouts, and a 22-14-5 record in 42 regular-season showings for Springfield and was rewarded with a two-year extension in March. He also posted a .933 SV% in the T-Birds’ three-game loss to Providence. While he may not have an NHL appearance on his resume, there are far worse EBUG options on postseason rosters.

Schueneman will end his campaign with the NHL club after making four appearances for the Blues in the regular season, his first since the 2022-23 campaign. The 29-year-old lefty got a run of games in November and was called up as a healthy extra a few more times throughout the year. The former Canadiens rearguard signed a two-way extension in January to keep him in St. Louis/Springfield through 2025-26. He posted 4-16–20 with a plus-eight rating in 63 AHL contests.

Cranley will re-join the Florida Everblades, who swept their first-round series against the Jacksonville Icemen in their quest for a Kelly Cup four-peat. He put up a .896 SV% in 23 regular-season appearances there. The 2020 sixth-rounder likely won’t see playoff action, though. AHL-contracted veteran Cam Johnson has been in the crease for the Everblades’ last three championship runs and had a .935 SV% in the first round.

Jets’ Gabriel Vilardi Likely To Play Game 5

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Jets top-line forward Gabriel Vilardi is expected to make his 2025 playoffs debut in Game 5 of their first-round series against the Blues, head coach Scott Arniel said today (via John Lu of TSN).

Vilardi won’t have his minutes limited in his return to the lineup, Arniel said. The 25-year-old hasn’t played since sustaining an upper-body injury against the Sabres on March 23, missing over a month.

Riding shotgun with Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele to form the most-deployed line at 5-on-5 in the league this season, Vilardi enjoyed a career-high 27 goals, 34 assists, and 61 points in 71 games before injury ended his season. The 6’3″, 216-lb forward averaged 18:08 per game, third-most among Winnipeg forwards behind his linemates, and led the team with 12 power-play goals. That’ll make him a huge boost to a Jets power play that’s clicking at just 16.7% against St. Louis thus far, 13th among 16 playoff teams and 12.2 percentage points worse than their league-leading 28.9% conversion rate in the regular season.

Vilardi’s return comes at a crucial point in the series. After scoring seven goals at home to take a 2-0 series lead, Winnipeg managed to put the puck past Jordan Binnington just three times in Games 3 and 4 as St. Louis stormed back to tie the series. It’s now a best-of-three between the Presidents’ Trophy winners and the second wild-card team in the West.

Alex Iafallo, fresh off an extension, has taken Vilardi’s place on the top line to begin the series. He scored in Game 1 but hasn’t registered a point since and was a minus-five across Games 3 and 4. Inexplicably, his line with Connor and Scheifele has been the Jets’ worst at driving play in the postseason. The trio’s 36.7% expected goals share is the only Jets line with at least 10 minutes of ice time to register an xG share under 50, per MoneyPuck. In the regular season, Connor and Scheifele controlled 52.6% of expected goals when paired with Vilardi.

Photo courtesy of Terrence Lee-Imagn Images.

Robert Thomas Cleared For Game 3

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  • 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.

Minor Transactions: 4/18/25

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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

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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

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  • 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?

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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

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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.

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