3 years agoPittsburgh Penguins winger Rickard Rakell (lower body) won't be available for Thursday's meeting with the Rangers. His postseason got off to a miserable start after he managed to skate just a handful of minutes in Game 1 before getting hurt on a hit by Ryan Lindgren. Rakell collected 13 points in 19 regular-season appearances for the Penguins and he had solidified his spot in the top six ahead of the playoffs. Jason Zucker (lower body) could replace Rakell in the lineup on Thursday, with the team considering him a game-time decision for the contest.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Josh Yohe

3 years agoPittsburgh Penguins goaltender Louis Domingue will be between the pipes in Thursday's Game 2 against the Rangers. The Penguins are forced to turn to Domingue because of injuries to Tristan Jarry (lower body) and Casey DeSmith. The latter started Game 1 and played well in an eventual 4-3 win, but he was forced off with an injury. Early reports are suggesting that it will take quite a while until DeSmith is healthy again. Domingue stopped all 17 shots he faced in his second-ever Stanley Cup Playoffs appearance on Tuesday, and the 30-year-old will now get his first career start in the playoffs.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Josh Getzoff

3 years agoMinnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov made history once more Wednesday night, becoming the first player in franchise history to score a hat trick in the playoffs. He helped the team to a 6-2 victory over St. Louis with a power-play goal in the opening period and a pair of third-period markers to close out the game. The 25-year-old managed just two goals and three points a year ago in the playoffs, so he's already outdone himself in two games. Joel Eriksson Ek also had a three-point night with two goals and an assist. The fascinating series continues on Friday in St. Louis.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoTampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman had an outstanding game on Wednesday against Toronto, helping the team to a 5-3 win with a goal and three assists. He became the first defenseman in franchise history to post a four-point game in the playoffs and only the sixth different player overall. The Swedish rearguard opened the scoring in the final seconds of the first period with a power-play goal and two of his helpers came with the man advantage as well. The series now heads to Tampa, where Hedman collected 44 points in 41 regular-season outings.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoBoston Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm left Wednesday's 5-2 loss to Carolina in the second period with an upper-body injury. He took a big hit from Andrei Svechnikov in the final seconds of the period and had to be helped off the ice by goaltender Linus Ullmark and team trainers. Lindholm has been a major piece for Boston since his arrival from Anaheim and the team will now be sweating on his status ahead of Friday's Game 3. Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said after the game that Lindholm "is not doing well", so the chances of him making a quick recovery seem slim.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Boston Bruins

3 years agoCarolina Hurricanes goaltender Antti Raanta suffered an upper-body injury in Wednesday's Game 2 against Boston. He left in the first period after David Pastrnak ran into him. Raanta, who was blooded by the collision, saved all six shots he faced before exiting the game. Pyotr Kochetkov came in and guided the Hurricanes to a 5-2 victory with 30 saves. The Hurricanes became the second team in league history to have two different goalies each record his first playoff win in the first two games of a postseason. Carolina head coach Rod Brind'Amour has said that Raanta hasn't entered concussion protocols, which is great news, but is status for Friday's Game 3 is unclear. The team is already without starter Frederik Andersen (lower body), although he is expected to return at some point in the series.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Shannon Hogan

3 years agoLos Angeles Kings winger Viktor Arvidsson will not play in Wednesday's Game 2 against Edmonton, missing his third consecutive game. The situation regarding Arvidsson is quite bizarre, as there haven't been any reports of an injury and he missed Monday's Game 1 after head coach Todd McLellan had suggested that the Swedish winger had a good chance to feature in the game following his absence from Sunday's practice for personal reasons. Luckily for McLellan and the Kings, the second line still did the business Monday night by combining for seven points in a 4-3 win. Alex Iafallo is filling in for Arvidsson on the line.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Tom Gazzola

3 years agoMinnesota Wild defenseman Alex Goligoski will replace Dmitry Kulikov in the lineup on Wednesday against St. Louis after sitting out the team's playoff opener as a healthy scratch. Kulikov logged 15:50 in the game and had a poor night in a 4-0 loss with a minus-two rating. Goligoski enjoyed a solid regular season with 30 points and an outstanding plus-41 rating in 72 games, but Wild head coach Dave Evason has scratched him quite regularly in recent weeks, which suggests that he hasn't been happy about Goligoski's play. The veteran blue-liner will try to prove his worth again on the third defensive pairing alongside Jon Merrill.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Dan Myers

3 years agoToronto Maple Leafs left wing Michael Bunting (undisclosed) will be in the lineup for Wednesday's Game 2 against Tampa Bay. He'll be back in action after sitting out four games. Bunting has had a fairytale of a season in 2021-22 and he will look to continue it in the playoffs. The 26-year-old finished as this year's top-scoring rookie with 63 points and he's well placed to make a big impact during the postseason as well, as Bunting is reunited with Auston Matthews and Mitchell Marner, who combined for six points in Toronto's 5-0 victory in Game 1.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Michael Augello

3 years agoWashington Capitals right wing Tom Wilson (lower body) will be a game-time decision for Thursday's Game 2 against Florida. He needed just 3:47 of action to open the scoring with a power-play goal in Game 1 but was forced to exit the contest after taking only three shifts. Wilson appeared to have gotten hurt on a hit by Panthers defenseman MacKenzie Weegar. The 28-year-old was among the team's top scorers during the regular season with 52 points and always provides a big physical presence when he's on the ice, so Washington will be desperate to get him back in the lineup for Game 2. If it doesn't happen, then we should see T.J. Oshie ride with the second line, as it was in Game 1.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Samantha Pell

3 years agoCalgary Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom made a perfect start to the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, recording a shutout in a 1-0 victory over Dallas. The Stars offense was very disappointing in the game as they tested Markstrom just 16 times. Calgary had 26 efforts on goal in front of their fans and Elias Lindholm produced the only goal of the game on the power play 5:01 into the opening period. Markstrom became the second goalie in franchise history to register a shutout in their first playoff game for the team, joining Mike Smith. The Swedish netminder had a very strong regular-season campaign, which included a league-high nine shutouts, and it looks like he plans to dominate in the playoffs as well.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoPittsburgh Penguins winger Rickard Rakell suffered an upper-body injury and logged just 4:28 of ice time in Tuesday's 4-3 triple-overtime victory against the Rangers. He took a nasty-looking hit from Ryan Lindgren early in the game and had to be helped off the ice by his teammates. Kasperi Kapanen ended up covering for Rakell on the second line for most of the night, and the line eventually produced the game-winning goal, with Kapanen and John Marino setting up Evgeni Malkin 5:58 into the third overtime. Rakell's status for Thursday's Game 2 is currently unknown.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Pittsburgh Penguins

3 years agoPittsburgh Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith suffered a lower-body injury and was forced to exit Tuesday's 4-3 win over the Rangers in the second overtime. He gave up three goals on 51 shots and produced a .941 save percentage before being forced off. Louis Domingue came in and stayed perfect for the rest of the game, stopping 17 shots in 16:40 of action. With Tristan Jarry (lower body) already on the shelf, the Penguins now find themselves in a worrying situation. Pittsburgh head coach Mike Sullivan is expected to provide more info on DeSmith's injury on Wednesday. The series continues with Game 2 Thursday night.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Dan Rosen

3 years agoNew York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin produced an incredible 79 saves in a triple-overtime thriller against Pittsburgh on Tuesday. The teams went into overtime tied at 3-3 and it eventually took 105:58 of action to separate the two. Evgeni Malkin gave his fellow Russian a defeat despite Shesterkin's superhuman efforts. He produced the second-most saves in a Stanley Cup Playoff game since 1955-56 when the NHL started tracking shots. Columbus' Joonas Korpisalo holds the record with 85 saves from 2020. Shesterkin has been in superb form throughout the season and he didn't disappoint in the playoff opener either, recording a .952 save percentage despite allowing four goals.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoColorado Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog (knee) will return to action on Tuesday in the team's playoff opener against Nashville. Colorado's captain has missed 22 games after undergoing knee surgery on Mar. 14. Landeskog was killing it with 59 points in 51 games before going under the knife. He's lived through a lot of playoff disappointment in his career and will try to finally make a deep run. The Avalanche also hope to get Nazem Kadri (illness) into the lineup for Game 1. He's officially considered a game-time decision but is expected to play.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com