2 years agoEdmonton Oilers forward Dylan Holloway will make his NHL debut in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final against the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night. The Oilers will be without Evander Kane (suspension) and Kailer Yamamoto (upper-body) in the must-win contest to extend their season, resulting in the 20-year-old forward to make his debut. Holloway was drafted 14th overall in the 2020 NHL draft, and he spent the 2021-22 season with the Bakersfield Condors in the American Hockey League with a total of eight goals and 22 points through 33 games.
--Denis Vondrus - RotoBallerSource: The Athletic
2 years agoEdmonton Oilers winger Evander Kane will be unavailable for Monday's Game 4 against Colorado as he has been suspended for one game. The 30-year-old picked up the punishment for boarding Colorado center Nazem Kadri in Game 3. Kane was assessed a five-minute major penalty in the game, while Kadri suffered a broken thumb and wasn't able to continue. The Oilers are down 3-0 in the Western Conference Finals and are now forced to head into Monday's elimination game without the best goal-scorer of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Kane has tallied 13 goals in 15 outings this postseason, adding four assists.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
2 years agoNew York Rangers forward Ryan Strome suffered a lower-body injury in Sunday's Game 3 against Tampa Bay, logging just 7:22 of action. He was hurt in the second period on a cross-check by Ondrej Palat. The 29-year-old tried to continue on but was able to get only one more shift in. With nine points to his name in 17 games, Strome hasn't had a lot of reason to celebrate in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but he's a big piece for the top six and for the power play, which has been on fire throughout the postseason. The Rangers are set to provide an update on Strome's status Monday.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Vince Z. Mercogliano
2 years agoNew York Rangers left wing Artemi Panarin tallied two assists in Sunday's Game 3 loss to the Lightning. He helped to set up a pair of power-play goals that put the Rangers 2-0 up, but they couldn't take proper care of the lead and lost 3-2 in the end. Panarin has points in five of the last six games, sitting on 15 points in total for the postseason. He hasn't been very prolific in the playoffs, but the Russian winger has heated up over the last 10 days and should have a few more big performances up his sleeve.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
2 years agoTampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman had two assists in Sunday's 3-2 win over the Rangers, surpassing the 100-point mark in his playoff career. He became the 14th blue-liner in league history to hit 100 playoff points when he picked up a power-play helper on a Nikita Kucherov goal in the second period and Hedman then grabbed his 101st point on a very late Ondrej Palat game-winning goal. The Swedish rearguard has recorded 21 goals and 80 assists in 146 career playoff outings. He's on 13 points with 14 games played this postseason after crushing it during the regular season with 85 points. It's been a huge year for Hedman, and he will look to continue it in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Tuesday.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
2 years agoNew York Rangers winger Chris Kreider finds himself just one goal short of matching Rod Gilbert's franchise record for most goals scored in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He's moved to 33 goals with a nine-goal effort this postseason. The 31-year-old has greatly benefited from Mika Zibanejad's red-hot form. His linemate has notched 18 points across the last 11 games. Kreider is personally on a run of six points in four games ahead of Sunday's Game 3 against Tampa Bay. He's been limited to only three shots in the Eastern Conference Finals and should be looking to do a lot better in Sunday's contest.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
2 years agoTampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has been strong on home ice throughout the season and will need to keep up his form if the team is going to battle back from a 2-0 deficit in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Rangers. The former Vezina Trophy winner has gone 24-9-4 this season at the Amalie Arena, allowing only 2.19 goals per game with a .924 save percentage and three shutouts. He produced a 49-save shutout against Florida in his most recent home outing and sits on a 4-1 home record for the playoffs. Vasilevskiy has won four home starts in a row ahead of Sunday's Game 3 against the Rangers, who have a poor 2-5 road record in the playoffs.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: statmuse.com
2 years agoTampa Bay Lightning forward Brayden Point (lower body) remains unavailable for Sunday's Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals. He's been back skating for a while and was also on the ice Sunday morning but Tampa still has to continue the battle without him. The 26-year-old hasn't played since Game 7 of the first-round matchup against Toronto on May 15. He's had multiple weeks to recover, which suggests that his comeback isn't far away anymore, although head coach Jon Cooper recently noted that he isn't sure if Point can make it back to the lineup this season.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Mari Faiello
2 years agoEdmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid became the sixth player in franchise history to hit 30 points in a single postseason when he scored the opening goal in Saturday's 4-2 loss to Colorado. The Oilers captain needed just 38 seconds at the start of the game to light the lamp for the ninth time this postseason. Having averaged exactly a point per game, McDavid has been incredible in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but it looks like the team's luck has run out as the Oilers find themselves down 3-0 in the series ahead of Monday's Game 4. McDavid had five points across two elimination games against the Kings in the first round and he will need to reach the same performance levels again Monday night for the team to survive.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
2 years agoColorado Avalanche winger Valeri Nichushkin played a key role in Saturday's Game 3 victory over the Oilers, scoring half of the team's goals in a 4-2 win. He delivered both of the team's first two goals after Edmonton had opened the scoring just 38 seconds into the game. The Russian winger ended a four-game pointless streak in the process. Nichushkin hasn't done a lot in recent games, but he played a very active role in Colorado's offense earlier in the postseason and has managed to collect nine points in 13 playoff games. He's tied for the fourth-most goals on the team with five markers.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
2 years agoColorado Avalanche center Nazem Kadri will miss the rest of the series against Edmonton after getting hurt in Game 3 on Saturday. He reportedly left the arena with a cast on his right arm after Evander Kane sent him awkwardly into the boards with a hit from behind only a minute into the game. It's bad news for the Avalanche, although they likely won't need him in the Western Finals anyway after grabbing a 3-0 series lead. Kadri had started the series with four points in two games. He's totaled 14 points in total across 13 outings during the team's playoff run.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
2 years agoEdmonton Oilers right wing Zack Kassian was paired with Connor McDavid and Evander Kane on the top line at Saturday's morning skate. He took over the right-wing role from Kailer Yamamoto (upper body), who was hurt in Game 2 and is questionable for the contest. Kassian has so far logged just a little over 16 minutes of action in the series, so this is a big promotion for him if he indeed stays on the line. The 31-year-old is best known for his physicality and he sits on just 22 points for the year if you combine the regular season and the playoffs, but McDavid's presence lifts everybody's game and Kane is the leading goal-scorer of the 2022 playoffs, meaning Kassian finds himself in a great position to make a big impact in Game 3.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Ryan Rishaug
2 years agoColorado Avalanche winger Andre Burakovsky (undisclosed) missed the team's morning skate and likely won't feature in Saturday's Game 3 against the Oilers. The 27-year-old dropped out of the lineup after appearing to hurt his right leg while blocking a shot in Game 1. Nicolas Aube-Kubel replaced him for Game 2 and appears set to continue on the third line with Alex Newhook and J.T. Compher, who has found his scoring stick as of late with four goals in three games. Burakovsky has been a disappointment in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, registering only five points in nine games after racking up a career-high 61 points during the regular season.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Peter Baugh
2 years agoColorado Avalanche goaltender Pavel Francouz will likely make another start against Edmonton in the Western Conference Finals on Saturday. He had a wonderful game on Thursday while filling in for Darcy Kuemper (upper body), picking up a 24-save shutout and improving to 4-0 for this postseason. Kuemper has traveled with the team but missed the morning skate and it looks like he still needs more time to recover after getting injured in Game 1. The 32-year-old remains Colorado's undisputed No. 1, but Francouz has performed superbly in his absence and the Avalanche actually haven't missed Kuemper at all.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Peter Baugh
2 years agoTampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov was involved in both of the team's goals in Friday's 3-2 loss to the Rangers, opening the scoring with a power-play goal and recording an assist late in the game on a Nick Paul tally. The Lightning took a second consecutive loss in the playoffs for the first time since 2019, but head coach Jon Cooper can at least be happy that Kucherov started scoring again. The former MVP had gone pointless in back-to-back games. The Russian winger hasn't done too well in recent games, but he has had a pretty good postseason overall with 17 points in 13 games. Eight of his points have come on the power play.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
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