2 years agoFlorida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad (lower body) was a full participant at Sunday's practice and could be back in the lineup in Tuesday's Game 1 against the Capitals. The talented rearguard has been on the shelf since Mar. 18 when he appeared to have injured his right leg. The team ended up winning 16 of 20 games without him, so it's safe to say that Ekblad wasn't missed much, but he will still be a big addition to the squad. The 26-year-old had a very productive year before getting hurt, notching a career-high 57 points in 61 games. Ekblad was paired with MacKenzie Weegar at practice and also worked with the first power-play unit.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: David Dwork
2 years agoWashington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (upper body) practiced with the team on Sunday and seems ready to return to action in Game 1 against Florida on Tuesday. He worked with Evgeny Kuznetsov and Conor Sheary on the top line and even admitted that he could've played in the final three regular-season games if they would've been playoff games. Ovechkin had a wonderful regular-season campaign with 50 goals and 90 points in 77 games. Six of the points came in three games against the Panthers. The Great Eight starts the 2022 postseason with 135 points in 141 career playoff outings.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Samantha Pell
2 years agoMinnesota Wild winger Marcus Foligno was injured in a knee-on-knee collision in the team's regular-season finale on Friday. The team wrapped up home advantage for the playoffs with a 4-1 win over Colorado but lost Foligno early in the game in an incident involving Kurtis MacDermid. "It's serious enough that one of the toughest guys I've ever seen can't come back and play," said Minnesota head coach Dave Evason of the injury postgame. Foligno is set to get evaluated on Saturday. The team starts its first-round series against St. Louis Monday night. Foligno has had a career year and completed the regular season with 23 goals and 42 points in 74 games.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Sarah McLellan
2 years agoSeattle Kraken goaltender Chris Driedger make the San Jose Sharks look toothless on Friday, pushing away 24 shots to register his fourth career shutout in a 3-0 win. Yanni Gourde, Adam Larsson and Victor Rask delivered the goals. The Kraken's first year in the league hasn't gone well and the same applies to Driedger, who has managed a 9-13-1 record with a 2.92 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage. Philipp Grubauer also struggled, and there's clearly some thinking to do for the team in the goalie department. Seattle will finish its inaugural season against Winnipeg on Sunday.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
2 years agoVegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel capped off the season with a three-point performance in Friday's 7-4 win over St. Louis. He notched a pair of goals and also recorded an assist. The talented centerman will once again miss the playoffs despite joining a strong Vegas team. He ended up posting 14 goals and 11 assists in 34 appearances. Eichel will hope to finally taste playoff action next year, and fantasy managers should expect a big season from him after he's gotten a strong offseason under his belt.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
2 years agoTampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos finished off the regular season in style, recording his 10th career hat trick in a 6-4 victory over the Islanders on Friday. He scored the team's first goal 11:57 into the game and helped to turn around a 3-1 deficit in the third period with a pair of strikes. With the first marker, Stamkos reached his sixth 40-goal campaign and he finished the season with a career-high 106 points. The Lightning captain was red-hot over the final couple of weeks of the regular season and ended up posting a new franchise record with a nine-game multi-point streak. He went for 26 points across his last nine regular-season outings, and that must have the Maple Leafs worried, against whom Tampa starts the playoff action on Monday.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
2 years agoMontreal Canadiens winger Cole Caufield produced his first career hat trick as the team completed its season with a huge 10-2 victory over Florida on Friday. The 21-year-old had a goal in each period and also led all skaters with nine shots. Caufield finished his rookie campaign with 23 goals and 43 points in 67 games. He struggled to kick into gear at the start of the season but came to life after Martin St. Louis take over the coaching job. The talented winger notched 35 points in 37 games under the new regime. He will definitely be one of the players to watch in 2022-23 and could make a massive impact.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
2 years agoPittsburgh Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin wasn't able to complete Friday's 5-3 win over Columbus. He didn't feature in the final nine minutes of regulation after taking a skate to the face and the hardworking blue-liner was also hurt earlier in the game when he blocked a shot. Pittsburgh hasn't yet provided an update on his status, but Dumoulin will have some good recovery time as the team won't start the playoffs until Tuesday. The 30-year-old finished the regular season with 18 points in 76 games and produced 88 hits with 139 blocks and a plus-24 rating.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Mike DeFabo
2 years agoNew York Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock (illness) will be back in action on Friday against Tampa Bay. He missed Thursday's game against Washington with a non-COVID illness but it looks like he's feeling well enough to play in the season finale. Pulock hasn't had a great year and sits on just 20 points with 55 games played, but he's seen some offensive success in his most recent outings, scoring in back-to-back games and putting together a three-game point streak. Pulock re-enters the lineup at the expense of Sebastian Aho, who suffered an upper-body injury on Thursday.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Andrew Gross
2 years agoSt. Louis Blues winger David Perron (lower body) is probable for Friday's matchup against Vegas. He makes a quick return after missing Tuesday's 5-3 loss to Colorado. Perron continues to catch the injury bug regularly, which is a shame because he's played some great hockey over the course of the season and has shown off his productivity by getting 55 points in 66 games. He's skating with Ryan O'Reilly and Brandon Saad on the top line. The veteran winger used to play for the Golden Knights and he's had plenty of success against them since leaving the club, recording 12 points in 16 games.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Lou Korac
2 years agoMinnesota Wild defensemen Jared Spurgeon (upper body) and Matt Dumba (upper body) will be back in the lineup on Friday against Colorado. Unlike many teams, Minnesota still has something to play for and aims to lock up home-ice advantage for the postseason, so Spurgeon and Dumba return for the regular-season finale. The Wild captain has missed two games, while we last saw Dumba at the start of the month. Both players had a number of injury issues throughout the regular season and the team will hope that they can now stay healthy for a long playoff run. Spurgeon has skated in 64 games this season, picking up 39 points, and Dumba has managed 56 outings prior to Friday, recording 26 points with 113 hits and 83 blocks.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Michael Russo
2 years agoAnaheim Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler (personal) won't suit up in the team's final game of the season against Dallas on Friday. He sits out a second consecutive game after becoming a father earlier in the week. It's a great way to end a very productive season. Fowler went off for a career-high 42 points in 76 games, while also tallying 116 blocks. The veteran blue-liner plays in every situation and logged 24:24 per game across the season, so it's pretty tough for Anaheim to play without him. Urho Vaakanainen and Kevin Shattenkirk logged the most ice time among defensemen on Tuesday against San Jose and will get a busy night again, while Jamie Drysdale is rolling with the first power-play unit.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Elliott Teaford
2 years agoDallas Stars defenseman John Klingberg will miss the team's final regular-season game on Friday against Anaheim with a lower-body injury. Luckily for the Stars, they managed to wrap up a postseason berth before the final game, so they can relax, and the absence of Klingberg also won't affect them. The Swedish rearguard should be game ready again for the start of the playoffs. Klingberg had a mixed year during his eighth campaign in the league. He picked up a solid 47 points across 74 outings but also finished the regular season with a minus-28 rating and that simply isn't good enough, especially on a playoff team. Klingberg definitely needs to be better in even-strength situations during the postseason.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Bruce LeVine
2 years agoEdmonton Oilers forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl will be rested for the team's regular-season finale on Friday against Vancouver. The Oilers have nothing to play for and are already looking forward to the playoffs, so there's no reason whatsoever to have McDavid and Draisaitl in the lineup and risk a potential injury to the star duo. McDavid finishes the campaign as the league's top scorer, having racked up a career-high 123 points in 80 games. Draisaitl also had a huge year with a career-high 55 goals and 110 points in 80 appearances. He's set to finish as the league's second-best goal-scorer behind Auston Matthews..
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Bob Stauffer
2 years agoNew York Islanders center Brock Nelson (illness) will return to the lineup on Thursday against Washington after missing this week's first meeting between the teams on Tuesday. Nelson has made a quick recovery from a non-COVID illness and will try to add to his 36 goals and 58 points that he has notched in 70 games this season. The 30-year-old had a very slow start to the campaign, but he's managed to turn things around during the latter half of the season and Nelson was particularly impressive last month with 13 goals and 21 points in 17 games.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: New York Islanders
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