The Ottawa Senators announced Monday they have assigned the goaltender to their AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Senators, after he cleared waivers Sunday.
Hammond, limited to just two games this season due to a groin injury, was previously offered a two-week conditioning stint in the AHL, which he refused. The 28-year-old was placed on waivers shortly thereafter.
Hammond is signed through 2017-18 and carries a $1.35-million cap hit.
Aleksander Barkov managed to get the puck over the line, but barely.
The super-skilled Florida Panthers center got the better of Henrik Lundqvist with a nifty shootout move Sunday night, but the New York Rangers goalie was almost able to pull the puck off the line and avoid the loss.
No such luck, however, as after the play was officially reviewed, and the Panthers emerged with the extra point.
The 22-year-old forward has been known to score in bunches, especially at the junior level.
Not yet given a chance to shine at the NHL level, the recent call-up demonstrated why the Red Wings used the 20th pick in 2013 on him, putting the puck all the way up in the only available corner Sunday against the Calgary Flames.
The goal was Mantha's third in 13 games with the Wings, and there's likely many more to come.
The defenseman, who was appearing in his 19th game with his new club Sunday in New York, happened to record his first goal as a Panther against the Rangers, for whom he played for part of the past two seasons.
The power-play goal was scored with an absolute bomb of a slap shot past Henrik Lundqvist.
The Rangers traded Yandle's rights to the Panthers for a pair of draft picks this past offseason.
The forecast is starting to look a little better for the Carolina Hurricanes.
Following a 3-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday, head coach Bill Peters - who's guided the team to an early 7-6-4 record - sees reason for optimism about Carolina's chances moving forward.
Peters noted #Canes are in a large group of teams around .500: "Somebody is making the playoffs out of that group. Why not us?" #Redvolution
Recent history would suggest that sentiment is not without merit.
Take, for instance, the Hurricanes' current and modest four-game win streak, which came against teams with serious playoff aspirations.
Opponent
Result
Capitals
W 5-1
Sharks
W 1-0
Canadiens
W 3-2
Jets
W 3-1
A big part of the recent success has been the play of goaltender Cam Ward, who's posted a record of 5-1-2 with a .944 save percentage in November.
His solid performance has helped boost what's sneakily been a tremendous team effort to date, resulting in a fourth-ranked Corsi For rating in five-on-five play, meaning the Hurricanes are regularly attempting more shots than the opposition.
This metric only goes so far in terms of whether the puck goes in or is kept out of the net, but generally it's a solid indicator of how well a team is playing beyond goals for and against.
In short, Peters has reason to believe his team can remain competitive and make up the three-point difference in the race for a wild card rather than dropping closer to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.
The Columbus Blue Jackets are one of the hottest teams in the NHL right now, riding a four-game win streak with an 8-1-1 record in their last 10 contests.
No one expected much of John Tortorella's troops this season, but Columbus has beaten the Capitals twice during the impressive stretch of play, along with defeating the Rangers, Blues, Stars, Canadiens, and Ducks
Currently holding onto the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference - just two points behind Washington in the Metropolitan - one can't help but wonder, are the Blue Jackets for real?
Let's take a look:
Under-the-radar offense
Production across the board has paid major dividends for Columbus 16 games into its season.
Captain Nick Foligno rediscovered his nose for the net and has a team-leading 18 points, while the quietly ultra-productive Alexander Wennberg has notched 14 assists along with three goals.
Before you invest in playoff tickets, though, a 10 percent shooting clip - the second-highest mark in the NHL - might not be sustainable, because Columbus is generating a league-worst 26.5 shots per game.
Bob is back
If the Blue Jackets' offense does flatten out for a while, at least they can rely on Sergei Bobrovsky again.
Building off a strong showing for Russia at the World Cup, Bobrovsky seems to have found his Vezina-winning form after losing it a season ago.
The 28-year-old is 10-4-1. Among goalies with at least 10 starts, Bobrovsky ranks eighth in goals-against average (2.19) and is tied for fourth in save percentage (.931).
Bobrovsky has given the Blue Jackets a chance with each start - which is important, since they've allowed a concerning 31.5 shots per game.
The X-Factor
While Jarmo Kekalainen has received his fair share of criticism during his tenure as general manager, he struck gold when he drafted Zach Werenski eighth overall in 2015.
The Michigan product is averaging 22 minutes per game, an impressive feat for a rookie. Looking ahead, Weresnki and the injured Seth Jones give the Blue Jackets the ingredients for a potentially dominant top pairing on their blue line.
Verdict
Maintaining their current pace will be difficult, as the numbers beyond wins and losses aren't in the Blue Jackets' favor.
Columbus owns the league's third-highest PDO (the total of a team's shooting and save percentage) at 103.62, a number that typically trends closer to 100 for every team as the season progresses.
Additionally, the Blue Jackets' even-strength Corsi For rating of 46.89 ranks 27th in the NHL.
An explosive offense, strong goaltending, and an encouraging glimpse of the future offer plenty of promise in Columbus, but it's likely premature to buy into the Blue Jackets' early success.
