3 years agoDallas Stars defenseman John Klingberg (lower body) will play in Tuesday's playoff opener against Calgary. His status was a bit uncertain after he missed the team's regular-season finale and didn't practice on Sunday, but head coach Rick Bowness has confirmed that the Swedish blue-liner is game ready on Tuesday. Klingberg, who managed 47 points in 74 games during the regular season, was huge for the team a couple of years back in the playoffs with 21 points in 26 games, and he certainly needs to step up again if Dallas wants to take down a top-class side like Calgary.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Matthew DeFranks

3 years agoPittsburgh Penguins winger Jason Zucker (lower body) hasn't managed to recover for Tuesday's Game 1 against the Rangers. The veteran winger returned to practice on Monday but skated on his own and some reports suggest that Zucker won't be back until Game 3 at the earliest. The 30-year-old has struggled to stay healthy all season and ended up skating in just 41 regular-season games. He notched only 17 points this season, but his experience could be a major asset in the playoffs. Zucker's absence gives Danton Heinen a top-six role for the start of the postseason.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Josh Getzoff

3 years agoFlorida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad (lower body) will be back in the lineup Tuesday in the team's playoff opener against Washington. He has missed nearly seven weeks of action with a right-leg injury. The regular season finished early for Ekblad, but he still managed to have a huge year with a career-high 57 points in 61 games. Four of his points came in three appearances against the Capitals. Ekblad should see a lot more success in the playoffs, with him set to play huge minutes in a matchup that is bound to produce goals. These teams combined for 26 goals across three games during the regular season.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: George Richards

3 years agoSt. Louis Blues goaltender Ville Husso was a rock for the team in Monday's playoff opener against Minnesota, registering a 37-save shutout in a 4-0 win. He became the first goalie in Blues history to earn a shutout in his playoff debut. Husso had to make 14 saves in the opening frame alone and he had already kicked away 29 Wild efforts after two periods of play. These two teams are evenly-matched and many gave a slight edge to Minnesota because of their goalie department, but Husso showed that he's more than capable of carrying his team. The Finnish netminder is now 3-0-0 against the Wild this season.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoSt. Louis Blues winger David Perron was a man on a mission against Minnesota on Monday, opening the first-round series with a hat trick and four points in a 4-0 win. Two of his goals came with the man advantage and he finished his night at the office with a game-high six shots in total. The veteran winger is the first player in franchise history to score a hat trick in the first game of the playoffs. Torey Krug compiled three assists during the Perron show. Perron is a very prolific player when he's healthy and the 33-year-old started the postseason in style. Hopefully, he won't have any injury issues and we can enjoy a tight seven-game battle between these two excellent teams.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoToronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews eased his way to three points in Game 1 against Tampa Bay on Monday, scoring twice and recording an assist in a 5-0 win. He became the first reigning winner of the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy in 15 years to score multiple times in his team's playoff opener. Matthews notched his first one on the power play to make it 2-0 and finished off the demolition job 8:16 into the third period. Having scored just once in seven playoff outings a year ago, Matthews badly needed to make a good start to the 2022 postseason and he managed to do it in impressive fashion. Mitchell Marner, who also struggled last year, started off with a three-point effort as well, ending an 18-game postseason goal drought and delivering two assists.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoCarolina Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis carried his strong end-of-the-season form into the playoffs and produced a two-point performance in his postseason debut on Monday. He opened the scoring in a 5-1 win over Boston and also tallied an assist. At 20 years and 90 days old, he equaled Geoff Sanderson as the third-youngest player in franchise history to score in the playoffs. Jarvis ended the regular season with a seven-game point streak and he's now tallied 14 points across his last 13 games. The Winnipeg-born forward made a significant impact during the regular season and it looks like he'll have a big role to play in the playoffs as well.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoNashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros (lower body) will miss the team's first two playoff games against Colorado. Game 1 of the series is scheduled for Tuesday and Game 2 will be played Thursday night. Saros was injured last Tuesday against Calgary and he hasn't been able to practice. The 27-year-old was in solid form during the regular season with a 38-25-3 record and registered a 2.64 goals-against average with a .918 save percentage and four shutouts. David Rittich, who went 6-3-4 in 17 appearances, is set to start the first two games against the Avalanche.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Brooks Bratten

3 years agoMinnesota Wild wingers Mats Zuccarello (lower body) and Marcus Foligno (lower body) are expected to play Monday against St. Louis. The former missed the last four regular-season games, while Foligno was hurt in a knee-on-knee collision in the team's last outing on Friday. Both players have been a big part of Minnesota's success in 2021-22. Zuccarello went for a career-high 79 points in 70 games during the regular season and Foligno set his new record with 42 points across 74 outings. The latter is also a major force on the defensive side of things, and his line with Jordan Greenway and Joel Eriksson Ek will have a massive role to play in trying to keep St. Louis' attack quiet.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Michael Russo

3 years agoSt. Louis Blues forward Brayden Schenn (upper body) is set to return to the lineup in Monday's Game 1 against Minnesota. The versatile forward sat out the final four games of the regular season, but he was always expected to make it back for the start of the playoffs. He will team up with Pavel Buchnevich and Jordan Kyrou, who both crushed it during regular-season play. Schenn didn't do bad either, finishing the campaign with 58 points in 62 outings. Additionally, the team has announced that defenseman Marco Scandella (lower body) will also be available again Monday night after missing St. Louis' regular-season finale.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: St. Louis Blues

3 years agoToronto Maple Leafs right wing Ondrej Kase (concussion) will be back in the lineup for Monday's playoff opener against Tampa Bay. He's expected to line up on the second line with John Tavares and Ilya Mikheyev. Kase skated in only 50 games during the regular season and has been out since Mar. 19. He had a fine campaign in limited minutes with 14 goals and 27 points. Kase produced a two-goal performance in his last appearance against the Lightning and skating with Tavares certainly puts him in a very good spot to keep making an impact offensively. Toronto needs some extra oomph in attack with Michael Bunting (undisclosed) out for Game 1.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Kristen Shilton

3 years agoCarolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen (lower body) will miss Monday's playoff opener against Boston. He was sidelined by a lower-body injury on Apr. 16 and hasn't practiced since then. It was a very unfortunate end to the regular season for Andersen after he had impressed throughout the campaign. The Danish netminder put together a 35-14-3 record in 51 starts and registered a 2.17 goals-against average with a .922 save percentage and four shutouts. Andersen went 3-0-0 against Boston in the regular season and posted a superb 0.33 goals-against average with two shutouts in the matchup, so he'll be a huge miss for the team. Antti Raanta, who was 15-5-4 during the regular season, is set to hold down the fort in Game 1.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Walt Ruff

3 years agoEdmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse (lower body) practiced with the team on Sunday and could be available for Game 1 against the Kings on Monday. He missed the final four games of the regular season after hurting his right leg against Colorado on Apr. 22. Nurse finished the regular season with 35 points, 196 hits and 132 blocks in 71 games, while also leading all Oilers defensemen with a plus-18 rating. Nurse will skate with Cody Ceci on the first defensive pairing if he returns on Monday, which looks very likely.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Reid Wilkins

3 years agoPittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry (lower body) won't be game ready for the start of the playoffs. Pittsburgh's No. 1 reportedly broke a bone in his foot in the middle of last month. He's considered day-to-day and the Penguins haven't ruled out the 27-year-old for the whole first-round series against the Rangers. Jarry produced a 34-18-6 record during the regular season, allowing 2.42 goals per game with a .919 save percentage and picking up four shutouts. Backup Casey DeSmith has largely struggled this season, but he had a decent finish to the campaign with a 4-2-0 record in April and managed to improve to 11-6-5 for the whole year.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoToronto Maple Leafs left wing Michael Bunting (undisclosed) practiced on Sunday but is doubtful for Monday's Game 1 against Tampa Bay. He missed the final three regular-season games and has been nursing an unspecified injury for a week already, so Bunting should be close to returning to action. Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe has said that the 26-year-old rookie will definitely be back during the Round 1 action, but it's unclear if he features on Monday after only being an extra at practice and leaving the session early. Bunting had a major breakthrough campaign this season and ended up being Toronto's sixth-best scorer with 63 points in 79 games. Alexander Kerfoot is set to skate in his spot on the top line if Bunting isn't healthy enough to play on Monday.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Chris Johnston