3 years agoSt. Louis Blues defenseman Nick Leddy (upper body) will be back in the lineup for Game 5 against Minnesota on Tuesday. The veteran rearguard has missed the last three games. He'll skate with Colton Parayko on the first defensive pairing. Leddy joined St. Louis from Detroit in March and had a fairly decent run with the team at the end of the regular season, registering eight points with 18 blocks in 20 outings. The Blues defense also gets Robert Bortuzzo (upper body) back on Tuesday, while Marco Scandella (lower body) won't be available.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Jim Thomas

3 years agoColorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar helped the team to complete a first-round sweep with a 5-3 win against Nashville on Monday and made history with a three-point performance. He picked up a goal and two assists to finish the series with 10 points, which marks the most points in NHL history a defenseman has recorded through the first four games in the playoffs. Makar had three three-point efforts in total in the series and finished with three goals and seven assists. He's now on 41 points in 39 games for his whole playoff career, and his points per game average (1.05) puts him behind only the legendary Bobby Orr (1.24) among blue-liners who have played that many playoff games.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoPittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby led his troops to a 7-2 victory against the Rangers on Monday and became the sixth player in history to reach 200 points in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. No. 87 had a three-point performance and started his night at the office with a power-play goal in the first period before tallying two assists in 28 seconds early in the second period. Crosby has been incredible in the series so far, going for multiple points in each game. He needs three more such efforts to match Darryl Sittler's league record of a seven-game multi-point streak in the playoffs. Pittsburgh's captain has tallied nine points in total in the series and will look to help the team grab a ticket to the second round in Game 5 on Wednesday.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoWashington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie notched his third goal of this year's playoffs and had an assist in Monday's 3-2 overtime loss against Florida. He opened the scoring on the power play 7:15 into the game and combined with Alex Ovechkin to set up Evgeny Kuznetsov for Washington's second goal 9:31 into the third period. Oshie is playing with Ovechkin and Kuznetsov on the first line due to Tom Wilson's (lower body) absence and he's had a great time by averaging a point per game. The line has combined for 11 points overall ahead of Wednesday's Game 5.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoFlorida Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe scored two goals to help the team to a 3-2 overtime victory in Game 4 against Washington. He tied the game at one 14:08 into the opening period and became the fourth Panther ever to score an overtime goal in the playoffs when 4:57 was played of the extra frame. Verhaeghe produced a total of five shots on goal and handed out three hits in 17:31 of ice time. This marks the second multi-point effort of the series for Verhaeghe, and he now leads the team in both goals (3) and points (5) in the matchup.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoWashington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin has been in a giving mood at the start of the playoffs against the Panthers and has tallied an assist in all three games so far. He's the fourth Capitals player to produce a postseason-opening assist streak of at least three games. Scott Stevens owns the franchise record from 1984 with a five-game assist streak. Ovi has tallied four points in total in the series against Florida ahead of Monday's Game 4, with three of them coming on the power play.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoDallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger will go for a third straight victory against Calgary on Monday. The first-round series started with a loss for Oettinger and the Stars, but the 23-year-old netminder has been in superb form, and the team now has a chance to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the matchup. Oettinger has produced a 1.10 goals-against average in the playoffs with an outstanding .969 save percentage. He's frustrated the Flames by saving 93 of 96 shots and will try to keep doing it in Monday's Game 4.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Bruce LeVine

3 years agoColorado Avalanche goaltender Darcy Kuemper (eye) won't play in Monday's Game 4 against Nashville. He took a stick to his right eye in Game 3, and whilst there were hopes of him being able to play on Monday, it won't happen because the eye is too swollen. Pavel Francouz will make his first postseason start of the year. The 31-year-old had a solid 15-5-1 record during the regular season and also did well in Game 3 after Kuemper left the contest, saving 18 of 20 shots. Colorado is 3-0 up in the series and Francouz will try to help the team complete the sweep on Monday. Justus Annunen will be the backup.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Peter Baugh

3 years agoDallas Stars winger Alexander Radulov will be back in the lineup on Monday against Calgary after the veteran forward sat out Saturday's Game 3 win as a healthy scratch. He will replace Marian Studenic Monday night and skate with Tyler Seguin and Joel Kiviranta. Radulov managed just 22 points in 71 regular-season appearances and has gone scoreless in two playoff outings, so he's been way off his best in 2021-22 and it appears unlikely that he can turn it around.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Saad Yousuf

3 years agoNew York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin is expected to be in the crease for Game 4 of the first-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night. Shesterkin was replaced after the first period of Game 3 as a result of four goals allowed on 15 shots. Rangers backup goaltender Alexander Georgiev stepped in and made 19 saves on 20 shots as the Penguins took a 2-1 series lead in the Eastern Conference first-round matchup. The Rangers will try to even up the series on the road with their Vezina-caliber goaltender in the net for Monday's game.--Denis Vondrus - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com

3 years agoNashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi has been named one of the finalists for the Norris Trophy award on Monday as the NHL's best all-around defenseman for the 2021-22 season. Josi led all defenseman in scoring with 96 points this season, as he totaled 23 goals and 73 assists through 80 games. The Predators captain became the first defenseman to finish with 90-plus points in a season since Ray Bourque with the Bruins in 1993-94. Josi won the Norris Trophy following the 2019-20 regular season and his incredible performance means that he could very well win the award for a second time.--Denis Vondrus - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com

3 years agoTampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman has been named one of the finalists for the Norris Trophy award on Monday as the NHL's best all-around defenseman for the 2021-22 season. Hedman finished third among NHL defenseman in scoring with 85 points this season, as he totaled 20 goals and 65 assists through 82 games. Hedman won the Norris Trophy in 2018 and he will go into the upcoming season as one of the best defensemen across all fantasy hockey leagues.--Denis Vondrus - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com

3 years agoColorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar has been named one of the finalists for the Norris Trophy award on Monday as the NHL's best all-around defenseman for the 2021-22 season. Makar led all NHL defensemen with 28 goals on the season, while finishing second at the position with 86 points through 77 games. Makar was the runner-up for the Norris Trophy last season to Rangers defenseman Adam Fox, and the Avalanche defenseman will look to win the award for the first time in his career after a dominant season in year three.--Denis Vondrus - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com

3 years agoLos Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick produced a great bounce-back performance in Sunday's 4-0 win over Edmonton and made history with his 10th career postseason shutout. He broke a tie with Mike Richter for most shutouts in the playoffs by a United States-born netminder. Quick stopped 31 shots and there was even a sequence in the second period where he made a couple of saves without his glove on. This was a perfect response to getting pulled in Game 3 where Quick allowed four goals on 17 shots. He hadn't registered a shutout in the playoffs since the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoTampa Bay Lightning forward Ross Colton had a very busy night against Toronto on Sunday, finishing a 7-3 victory with two goals, a game-high five shots and five hits. He ended up with the game-winning goal after Tampa had shocked the Maple Leafs with three goals inside the opening eight minutes and Colton completed his two-goal outing with an empty-netter. The 25-year-old had a solid 22-goal campaign during the regular season and has now started to heat up in the playoffs as well, having gotten three goals in the last two games.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN