- The Golden Knights were without winger Pavel Dorofeyev for tonight’s game against Minnesota and he is listed as day-to-day, relays Jesse Granger of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 24-year-old had a breakout year, tallying 35 goals in the regular season but left Tuesday’s game late due to an undisclosed injury. Victor Olofsson returned to the lineup to take Dorofeyev’s spot on the wing.
Golden Knights Rumors
Dorofeyev A Game Time Decision For Game Six
- Vegas Golden Knights Forward Pavel Dorofeyev (undisclosed) will be a game-time decision for tomorrow’s Game Six matchup against the Minnesota Wild, per an NHL release. Coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters today that the team will monitor how Dorofeyev feels in the morning, as the team did not skate today. If Dorofeyev can’t go, Cassidy discussed the team having a few options to replace him in the lineup, including Victor Olofsson, who played the first three games of the series. Dorofeyev made a significant impact this season, emerging as one of the league’s breakout stars. He burst onto the scene with an impressive offensive performance, finding the back of the net 35 times and surpassing all of his previous career highs by a wide margin. His return to the lineup will be a key factor to the team’s success in this series and beyond.
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.
Alec Martinez Announces Retirement
Today will be Blackhawks defenseman Alec Martinez’s final NHL game, he told Chicago Sports Network’s Darren Pang during warmups (via Tab Bamford of Bleacher Nation). He joins teammate Pat Maroon in retiring following the season, but neither will travel for the team’s season-ending road trip through Montreal and Ottawa.
Martinez’s NHL dream began in 2007 when the Kings selected him in the fourth round out of Miami University. He had been passed over in the 2005 and 2006 drafts but was selected following a strong sophomore showing with the RedHawks. His post-draft season saw him record a career-high in points and CCHA Best Defensive Defenseman honors, earning him an entry-level contract with Los Angeles the following summer. He spent most of the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons with their AHL affiliate, then the Manchester Monarchs, but made his NHL debut with a four-game trial in the latter campaign.
After a strong start to 2010-11 in Manchester, the Kings recalled him in November, and he never looked back. He scored his first NHL goal in his first game of the season and stuck around as a bottom-pairing fixture, posting 5-11–16 in 60 games with a +11 rating as the Kings made the playoffs but lost to the Sharks in the Western Conference Quarterfinals.
In 2011-12, Martinez spent the first half of the year as a frequent healthy scratch but got regular reps after L.A. traded rearguard Jack Johnson to the Blue Jackets for Jeff Carter. Of course, that trade was one of the most consequential of the decade – Carter flourished in a top-six role as the eighth-seeded Kings dominated the 2012 postseason en route to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup. Martinez played in all 20 playoff games, now a third-pairing regular with Johnson out of the picture, and posted three points with a plus-five rating while averaging 14:28 per game.
That’s not the Cup run Kings fans will remember Martinez for, though. Now established as a consistent championship contender, Martinez posted a career-high 22 points in the 2013-14 regular season before scoring two overtime series-clinching goals – one to send the Kings to the 2014 Stanley Cup Final and the other to win it over the Rangers a couple of weeks later. Those were two of the five goals Martinez scored during that playoff run, the same number as star blue-liner Drew Doughty, as he forever established himself as a legend in Los Angeles sporting lore.
In his late 20s, Martinez began taking on consistent top-four minutes as the Kings’ championship window drew to a close. His most divisive season came on a 2016-17 Kings club that missed the playoffs, posting a career-high 39 points in 82 games while finishing with a career-worst -17 rating.
While Martinez’s point totals began to dwindle in the late 2010s, he remained a shot-blocking extraordinaire with a well-rounded defensive game. Amid his fifth consecutive season averaging over 20 minutes per game, his time in Los Angeles came to an end when they traded him to the Golden Knights ahead of the 2020 deadline.
The trade to Vegas breathed new life into Martinez’s two-way game. He made multiple deep playoff runs with the club, including his third Stanley Cup ring in 2023, while continuing to serve as a top-four presence, commonly alongside Alex Pietrangelo. He also had the best offensive campaign of his career in 2020-21 with 0.60 points per game – 0.12 above his previous career high – but the COVID-shortened season prevented him from setting a career-high in points outright. In Vegas’ first Stanley Cup championship in 2023, Martinez’s +13 rating ranked fifth on the team, and he naturally led the club with 57 blocks in the postseason.
Injuries also began to stunt Martinez’s availability, though. After making just 26 appearances in the 2021-22 season, multiple injuries cost him a significant chunk of the 2023-24 campaign. With his ice time and normally staunch possession impacts dwindling, Vegas opted not to re-sign him with his three-year, $15.75MM contract coming to a close.
The Blackhawks stepped up to offer the respected veteran a one-year, $4MM commitment on the open market, and the 37-year-old Martinez arrived in Chicago to help anchor one of the league’s most inexperienced blue lines. Groin and neck injuries limited him to 43 appearances, but he served as an alternate captain and contributed 12 points with a -15 rating while averaging 18:45 per game. Of course, his 5.95 blocks per 60 minutes finished second on the team behind Connor Murphy.
Martinez finishes his career with an 88-201–289 scoring line in 861 games. Among 2007 draftees, he ranks 17th in games played – of course, tremendous value for a fourth-round pick. His career +73 rating also ranks sixth in the class. Only five players – Pietrangelo, John Carlson, Mark Giordano, Ryan McDonagh, and Kris Russell – have blocked more shots than Martinez since he debuted.
All of us at PHR wish Martinez all the best as he ends the playing phase of his hockey career and congratulate him on his spectacular career.
Image courtesy of Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images.
Injury Notes: Golden Knights, Avalanche, Middleton
The Vegas Golden Knights were one of many teams to get a wave of positive injury updates on Friday. Neither star forward Jack Eichel nor top defenseman Alex Pietrangelo are expected to play on Saturday, but both are nearing a return, head coach Bruce Cassidy told Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Both players have missed Vegas’ last two games – Eichel with a day-to-day upper-body injury and Pietrangelo with illness. That same illness has also held winger Victor Olofsson and defender Nicolas Hague out of Vegas’ last two games. Cassidy shared that he had no updates on the latter two absentees, as they’re away from the rink with their sickness.
Getting Eichel back from injury will be a major addition as Vegas prepares for the postseason. He leads the squad in scoring this year with 27 goals and 93 points in 76 games – nearly 30 more points than Mark Stone’s 67 points ranked second. This is Eichel’s first season playing more than 70 games since the 2018-19 season, when he recorded his previous career-high 82 points with the Buffalo Sabres. The year has been more a return to routine health than a true breakout, but either way, Eichel has smashed his career-mark and is set to rival 100 points for the first time in his career. He’ll likely fall just short, as Vegas has just two games left after Saturday’s matchup against Nashville.
Meanwhile, Pietrangelo leads a strong – but sick – supporting cast. He has 33 points in 70 games this season, third-most on the Vegas blue-line. Pietrangelo leads the Golden Knights lineup in average ice time per game with 22:24 – surprisingly the lowest ice time average he’s recorded since his rookie season in 2010-11. He’ll jump right back to a top-pair role when he returns, while Olofsson and Hague will find their way in Vegas’ middle lines. Olofsson has managed 14 goals and 27 points in 54 games this season – stout scoring for his first year with the club. Hague, meanwhile, once again ranks near the bottom of scoring among Golden Knights defenders, with just 11 points in 66 games so far.
Other injury notes from around the league:
- A pair of veteran members of the Avalanche took a step toward returning as Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette relays that winger Jonathan Drouin joined the team for practice yesterday in a non-contact jersey as he works his way back from a lower-body injury. Meanwhile, defenseman Josh Manson (upper body) skated on his own. Drouin has been banged up all season but has been productive when healthy, collecting 37 points in 43 games, good for sixth on the team in scoring despite missing 37 contests. Manson, meanwhile, has been out for nearly a month now but has done well when playing, collecting 15 points in 48 games while averaging a little over 18 minutes per night of playing time.
- Wild defenseman Jacob Middleton missed his third straight game last night due to an upper-body injury. However, Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune notes that the blueliner is a possibility to return for tonight’s contest in Vancouver. Middleton has been a critical part of Minnesota’s back end this year, logging nearly 22 minutes per game of ice time while also chipping in with 20 points in 66 outings. The Wild are still trying to lock down a playoff spot and getting Middleton back would be a big boost to help them try to do just that.
PHR’s Brian La Rose also contributed to this post.
Golden Knights Recall Alexander Holtz
After spending the last two months in the minors, Alexander Holtz is getting another NHL shot. The Golden Knights have recalled the winger according to the NHL’s Media Portal while Danny Webster relays (Twitter link) that Holtz was on the third line in the morning skate.
The 23-year-old was acquired at the draft last year from New Jersey with Vegas hoping that a change of scenery could help unlock things for the 2020 seventh overall selection. However, that didn’t exactly happen. Holtz had a limited role with the Golden Knights in the first half of the season, notching just three goals and eight assists in 49 games while averaging 11:31 per night. That playing time was similar to last season with the Devils when Holtz put up 16 goals and 12 helpers while playing all 82 games. Instead of taking a step forward, he took a step back offensively.
That resulted in the Golden Knights taking a step back with Holtz when they assigned him to AHL Henderson in early February. He certainly had more success with the Silver Knights, tallying seven goals and six assists in 16 appearances to earn this promotion.
It’s one that could be short-lived, however. Webster notes (Twitter link) that winger Victor Olofsson was held out of the game day skate due to illness but could still play tonight against Seattle. In that case, emergency conditions would no longer apply, meaning Holtz would either have to be returned to Henderson or be converted to one of their four post-deadline regular recalls.
In other Vegas news, Webster adds that center Jack Eichel remains listed as day-to-day and won’t suit up against the Kraken. However, center Tomas Hertl was a full participant in the morning skate and appears to be set to play on the second line so they will at least get one impact center back for this one as they look to get one spot closer to clinching the Pacific Division title. Hertl missed a little more than two weeks with a shoulder injury but still sits second on the Golden Knights in goals with 33 and third on the team in points with 59 in 70 games.
Hertl Resumes Skating, Should Be Back By Playoffs
Golden Knights center Tomas Hertl rejoined the team for practice today, the team announced (Twitter link). It’s worth noting that he wasn’t cleared for contact so he’s not particularly close to returning. The 31-year-old suffered a shoulder injury a little more than a week ago, stalling what had been one of his better offensive seasons as he has 31 goals and 28 assists in 70 games. However, Pierre LeBrun reports in his latest piece for The Athletic (subscription link) that Hertl is expected to be ready for the start of the playoffs so while Hertl won’t be back in the immediate future, he won’t be out for much longer either.
Golden Knights Sign Jackson Hallum To Two-Year Deal
The Vegas Golden Knights have finally put pen to paper with 2020 third-round draft pick Jackson Hallum, signing the forward to a two-year, entry-level contract. Vegas was set to lose Hallum’s rights this summer if they left him unsigned. There has so far been no indication on if Hallum’s deal will begin immediately, and see him join Vegas’ active roster, or if it will begin next season while he finishes this year in the minor leagues.
Hallum joins the Vegas organization after spending the last three seasons at the University of Michigan. He scored eight goals and 17 points in 36 games of his junior season, matching his point totals in 39 games of his freshman season. Hallum split the two seasons with a sophomore year season that was ended by a knee-to-knee hit after he scored eight points in his first nine games of the season. He had a slow return from the lower-body injury this season, but found his stride at the turn of the year with nine points in eight games in January. Unfortunately Hallum couldn’t hang onto his hot scoring, with just two points in Michigan’s final nine games of the season.
Hallum is a well-rounded playmaker who performed well as the second or third forward in on Michigan’s forecheck. He’s a smart passer who gets into open space, though his low scoring speaks to the need for a bit more creativity. Hallum often fills a role on the wing, and has posted a negative faceoff win percentage over his collegiate career. Fans can likely expect Hallum to soon head to the minor leagues, where he’ll look to make better use of his playmaking tools now a full season removed from injury.
Golden Knights Sign Trevor Connelly To Entry-Level Contract
The Golden Knights announced they’ve signed top prospect Trevor Connelly to a three-year, entry-level contract. While Vegas didn’t announce it as such, PuckPedia confirms his deal doesn’t begin until the 2025-26 season, so he won’t be making his NHL debut down the stretch. The deal carries a cap hit of $975K and will pay him an annual salary of $877.5K if he’s in the NHL, along with a $97.5K signing bonus each season. He’s eligible for up to $750K in Schedule ’A’ performance bonuses in 2027-28, the final year of the contract.
Connelly, 19, was selected with the 19th overall pick in last year’s draft from the Tri-City Storm of the United States Hockey League. During his two years in the league, Connelly was among the best left-wingers in junior hockey, earning All-Rookie honors in 2022-23 and a Second All-Star Team nod in 2023-24. The 6’1″, 165-lb lefty led the USHL with 1.50 points per game last season (31-47–78 in 52 games).
Connelly committed to Providence College in 2023 and jumped to NCAA play after being drafted by Vegas. He dealt with a few injuries during his lone collegiate season, capping his availability for the Friars at 23 games. He was promising but far from dominant when he was in the lineup. He put up a scoring line of 4-9–13 with a -13 rating as Denver eliminated Providence in the regional semifinals of the national tournament last week. He was able to suit up for the United States at the midseason World Junior Championship, scoring 1-3–4 in seven games en route to a gold medal.
He’s still the clear-cut top prospect in a weak Vegas pool, especially after they traded 2020 first-rounder Brendan Brisson to the Rangers in the Reilly Smith deal last month. Scott Wheeler of The Athletic ranked him as the No. 37 prospect in the league in his midseason rankings, fifth-highest among left-wingers.
A playmaker first and foremost, Connelly has top-six potential and will likely factor in on a team’s top power-play unit someday. Whether that’s in Vegas remains to be seen. The franchise has traded all of its first-round picks since its inception in 2017, aside from Connelly. He’ll need to add some muscle before getting an NHL look, but he could get a trial with AHL Henderson to finish the season before reporting to Vegas’ training camp in the fall.
Schmid Recalled From Henderson; Samsonov Day-To-Day With Injury
- The Golden Knights have recalled goaltender Akira Schmid from AHL Henderson, relays Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal (Twitter link). He’ll be covering for Ilya Samsonov for the time being who is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Schmid is in his first season with Vegas after being acquired at the draft but has played almost exclusively with the Silver Knights, posting a 3.58 GAA and a .886 SV% in 30 outings.