Winnipeg, Manitoba — Former Red Wings forward Vladislav Namestnikov and defenseman Brenden Dillon are recovering from injuries and will miss Tuesday night's Game 5 against Colorado as the Jets try to avoid playoff elimination.
Namestnikov suffered a fractured cheekbone in Game 4 on Sunday when he was hit by a deflected puck. Dillon suffered a deep laceration to his hand, as if cut by a skate blade, in a scrum after the final horn of Game 3. The Jets are at a 3-1 deficit in the first round of seven games.
Jets coach Rick Bowness said Tuesday that he checked in with Namestnikov the night before after a morning skate in Winnipeg. Namestnikov remained in Denver for an additional day to recover.
“He's feeling nauseous. He's not eating. So he's not feeling well,” Bowness said. “Dilly, of course you know him. Even with both of his hands broken he would still want to play, but we will give him a few days.”
Forward Cole Perfetti, a first-round pick in 2020, is expected to make his NHL playoff debut. It was a difficult moment for the 22-year-old following Namestnikov's injury.
“He's one of our brothers and he's such a great guy. He plays his hardest every game,” Perfetti said. “To see that happen, I mean there was silence for the people who were in the rink. You could hear a pin drop. I couldn't believe that a really good friend, teammate, brother was going down that low. And watching him go down without any idea what was going on was tough to watch.”
Namestnikov, 31, was trying to dodge a shot from teammate Nate Schmidt when the puck hit him off his stick. Namestnikov remained motionless on the ice as trainers rushed out. He went to the hospital for further tests.
“I was really happy to see him after all the doctor's visits and stuff. He was relatively well,” Perfetti said. “That was a huge relief for us.”
Capitals' Oshie hopes to play next season
TJ Oshie remained on the ice long after many of his Washington Capitals teammates left for the locker room following the loss that eliminated them from the playoffs.
His family attended all four games, including New York, just in case.
They may be the last games he plays in the NHL.
Oshie has yet to call it a career, but the 37-year-old winger confirmed with doctors on Tuesday that he needs to resolve a chronic back problem before committing to return for a 17th season. Admitted.
“We want to play again next year, but we need to come back with some guarantee that that won't be the case. It's hard to get everyone to endure this situation,” Oshie said. “I just want to find the answer and the solution to the problem before I tackle the problem again.”
Oshie only appeared in 52 of 82 games during the regular season due to hip and other injuries, and entered the series finale against the Rangers with a broken left hand.
“Compared to a hip injury, a broken hand is like a hangnail,” Oshie said, adding that he often ends up sitting on the floor and unable to move. “We had a lot of work to do to get us ready to play in an NHL game.”
With center Nicklas Backstrom already expected to remain injured for the final year of his contract after leaving in November with lower back pain, general manager Brian McClellan has expressed concerns about how Oshie will play. He said the team will support him no matter what decision he makes. Date you would like your response.
“If at some point he decides he feels good and wants to get back to playing, let's do that,” McClellan said. “If he doesn't, we'll settle it that way.”
Oshie's presence or absence will certainly impact how the Capitals go about their offseason, whether they can utilize the space of his $5.75 million salary or whether they have a big hole to fill.
“He's an important part of our team,” McClellan said. “You have him. Otherwise he'll go out and find a guy.”
Maple Leafs' Matthews absent from Game 5
Maple Leafs star and NHL leading scorer Auston Matthews will not play in Toronto's crucial Game 5 against the Boston Bruins.
Matthews was suffering from an unknown illness and made just four shots in Games 3 and 4. That was after Matthews scored the winner in Game 2. They are trailing 3-1 in the first round series and are trying to stop them. Off Elimination.
Matthews scored 69 goals in the regular season.
Oilers can knock out Kings again
The Edmonton Oilers won some big-scoring games in these NHL playoffs.
They got their most recent win after being limited to 13 shots on net, with only one of them going on goal.
The versatile Oilers, who scored a total of 13 goals in the first two wins of the series against the Los Angeles Kings, returned home Wednesday night with a chance to advance to the second round. Edmonton will pick up its fourth win in seven games, no matter what.
“Having a variety of games in our portfolio will mean a lot going forward. We're not afraid of these games,” Oilers defenseman Matthias Ekholm said.
Taking an extra day off after taking a 3-1 series lead with a 1-0 win Sunday night, the Oilers will eliminate their Pacific Division rival Kings in the first round for the third consecutive year in Game 5. Aim for that. Los Angeles has lost the last four playoff series since winning the Stanley Cup 10 years ago.
The only remaining NHL game on Wednesday night was Game 5 in Dallas, where the Stars and reigning Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights tied 2-2. The road team has won every game in this series, and after the Western Conference's No. 1 seed lost two at home last week, the Stars won 4-2 on Monday night and will move on to both games in Las Vegas. I won all the games.
“Looking at the last four games, I don't think we've had a bad game yet,” Stars manager Pete DeBoer said. “I thought the first two games in Dallas (Knights) were opportunistic for a lot of different situations. I loved Game 3 and I think we’re going to see the best of them in Game 4 and considering the circumstances. So we thought it was good. So we're looking forward to seeing our group go home.”
Team USA 9, Finland 4
James Hagens had three goals and three assists as Team USA defeated Finland 9-4 at the U18 World Championship in Espoo, Finland, on Tuesday.
The U.S. finished in first place in the Group A standings and will play Switzerland in the quarterfinals Thursday at 5 a.m. (Hockey Network).
Saginaw's Parekh named OHL's top defenseman
Saginaw Spirit defenseman Zane Parekh is the 2023-24 winner of the Max Kaminski Trophy, given to the Ontario Hockey League's Defenseman of the Year, as voted on by OHL general managers.
Parekh led the OHL Blueliners with 33 goals and 96 points, both of which were Spirit single-season franchise records for the position. He became the second defenseman in OHL history to score 30 or more goals in his first season of NHL Draft eligibility, joining John Slaney (Cornwall, 1989-90).
Parekh is the first Spirit player to win the OHL Defenseman of the Year award. Parekh, an 18-year-old from Nobleton, Ontario, joined the Spirit as a first-round pick (19th overall) in the 2022 OHL Priority Selection from the Markham Majors U16 program.
After setting an OHL record with 21 goals for a 16-year-old defenseman in the 2022-23 season, he finished the 2023-24 season with career totals that included 54 goals, 79 assists, and 133 points in 116 regular season games. Plus or minus 42.
He entered the 2024 NHL Draft this summer as the highest-ranked OHL skater in Central Scouting's final rankings, finishing fifth in North America.
Eastern Conference Playoffs bracket
Rangers vs. Capitals
(Rangers won 4-0)
▶ Game 1: Rangers 4-1
▶ Game 2: Rangers 4-3
▶ Game 3: Rangers 3-1
▶ Game 4: Rangers 4-2
Bruins vs. Maple Leafs
(Bruins lead 3-1)
▶ Game 1: Bruins 5-1
▶ Game 2: Leaf 3-2
▶ Game 3: Bruins 4-2
▶ Game 4: Bruins 3-1
▶ Game 5: Tuesday @ Boston, 7
▶ Game 6: Thursday @ Toronto, TBA*
▶ Game 7: Saturday @ Boston, TBA*
Panthers vs. Lightning
(Panthers won 4-1)
▶ Game 1: Panthers 3-2
▶ Game 2: Panthers 3-2 (OT)
▶ Game 3: Panthers 5-3
▶ Game 4: Lightning 6-3
▶ Game 5: Lightning 6-1
Hurricanes vs Islanders
(Hurricanes lead 3-1)
▶ Game 1: Hurricanes 3-1
▶ Game 2: Hurricanes 5-3
▶ Game 3: Hurricanes 3-2
▶ Game 4: Islanders 3-2 (2OT)
▶ Game 5: Tuesday, Carolina, 7:30
▶ Game 6: Thursday @ Islanders, TBA
▶ Game 7: Saturday in Carolina, Virginia.
Western Conference Playoffs bracket
dallas vs vegas
(Series tied 2-2)
▶ Game 1: Vegas 4-3
▶ game 2: Vegas 3-1
▶ Game 3: Dallas 3-2 (OT)
▶ Game 4: Dallas 4-2
▶ Game 5: Wednesday, Dallas, TBA
▶ Game 6: Friday in Las Vegas, TBA
▶ Game 7: Sunday @ Dallas, TBA
Winnipeg vs. Colorado
(Avalanche lead 3-1)
▶ Game 1: Jets 7-6
▶ Game 2: Avalanche 5-2
▶ Game 3: Avalanche 6-2
▶ Game 4: Avalanche 5-1
▶ Game 5: Tuesday @ Winnipeg, 9:30
▶ Game 6: Thursday @ Colorado TBA
▶ Game 7: Saturday @ Winnipeg, TBA
vancouver vs nashville
(Canucks 3-1 lead)
▶ Game 1: Canucks 4-2
▶ Game 2: Predators 4-1
▶ Game 3:Canucks 2-1
▶ Game 4:Canucks 4-3 (OT)
▶ Game 5: Tuesday @ Vancouver, 10
▶ Game 6: Friday @ Nashville, TBA
▶ Game 7: Sunday @ Vancouver, TBA
Edmonton vs. Los Angeles
(Oilers lead 3-1)
▶ Game 1: Oilers 7-4
▶ Game 2: Kings 5-4 (OT)
▶ Game 3: Oilers 6-1
▶ Game 4: Oilers 1-0
▶ Game 5: Wednesday @ Edmonton, TBA
▶ Game 6: Friday @ Los Angeles, TBA
▶ Game 7: Sunday @ Edmonton, TBA
michigan area hockey
Monday
▶ Saginaw 6, London 2
Tuesday
▶ NTDP U18s 9, Finland 4
Wednesday
▶ Rockford at Grand Rapids, 7 (AHL/96.1)
▶ London Saginaw, 7
Friday
▶ Rockford at Grand Rapids, 7 (AHL/96.1)
▶ Saginaw, London, 7
Sunday
▶ Grand Rapids, Rockford, 5 (AHL/96.1)
▶ Saginaw's London, 2
american hockey league playoffs
Middle district semifinals
(Grand Rapids leads 1-0)
▶ Game 1: Grand Rapids 3-2 (OT)
▶ Game 2: Wednesday @ Grand Rapids, 7
▶ Game 3: Friday @ Grand Rapids, 7
▶ Game 4: Sunday, May 5 @ Rockford, 4
▶ Game 5: Friday, May 10 @ Grand Rapids, 7
ECHL
Middle district semifinals
(Best of Seven Series)
▶ Game 1: Toledo 3-2 (OT)
▶ Game 2: Toledo 5-2
▶ Game 3: Toledo 6-2
▶ Game 4: Toledo 4-2
Road to the Memorial Cup in Saginaw
(Saginaw will be held from May 24th to June 2nd)
▶ Friday, May 24th: WHL vs. Saginaw, 7:30
▶ Saturday, May 25th: OHL vs. QMJHL, 4
▶ Sunday, May 26th: Saginaw vs. QMJHL, 7:30
▶ Monday, May 27th: OHL vs. WHL, 7:30
▶ Tuesday, May 28th: QMJHL vs. WHL, 7:30
▶ Wednesday, May 29th: Saginaw vs. OHL, 7:30
▶ Thursday, May 30th: Tiebreaker (if required)
▶ Friday, May 31st: Semi-finals, 7:30
▶ Sunday June 2nd: Last, 7:30
CHL Playoffs in WHL, OHL, QMJHL
western hockey league
▶Saskatoon Blades vs. Moose Jaw Warriors
▶ Prince George Cougars vs. Portland Winterhawks
ontario hockey league
▶ Oshawa Generals vs. North Bay Battalion
▶ London Knights vs. Saginaw
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
▶ Bay-Comeau Drucker vs. Cape Breton Eagles
▶ Drummondville Voltigers vs. Victoriaville Tigres
