Longtime linseman Steve Barton left Sunday's game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals after an awkward fall left him with an apparent knee injury:
A stretcher was brought out to help Barton off the ice, but he was able to get to the locker room with the assistance of players.
Injuries have become far too frequent of an occurrence for Barton, who was hospitalized last month following a collision with Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid.
A return to home ice seemingly helped Minnesota find their offensive spark this postseason, as the Wild fired six pucks past Winnipeg Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck through the first 40 minutes of Game 3.
That was the night for Hellebuyck, as he turned aside just 16 of 22 shots through two periods. Jets coach Paul Maurice then turned to second-stringer Steve Mason to start the third period.
The Wild entered Game 3 down two games in the series after dropping both contests in Winnipeg.
Winnipeg Jets defenseman Tyler Myers left Sunday's game in the second period and did not return for the third after sustaining an undisclosed injury, the team announced.
Myers appeared to be hurt late in the second period after Wild forward Marcus Foligno slid into him, causing him to awkwardly fall into the boards.
— #BelieveInTheJets Nation (@NHLJetsNation) April 16, 2018
Any significant injury to Myers would be a huge blow to the Jets. The 28-year-old has been the club's best defenseman through the first three games, having scored two goals - including one Sunday night - and three points.
Following the team's 6-2 victory, head coach Paul Maurice said the club would know more about Myers' injury on Monday, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
The Pittsburgh Penguins captain picked up a goal and three assists in Game 3 against the Flyers on Sunday, tying a career high for points in a playoff game.
Crosby previously set the mark in both 2008 and 2010, when he had separate four-point outings in a pair of playoff series against the Ottawa Senators.
Sunday's four points bring the Penguins superstar to seven points across three playoff games this year.
Game 4 of the series comes Wednesday in Philadelphia.
The Penguins tied the NHL playoff record for the fastest two goals with two tallies just five seconds apart. After Evgeni Malkin wired a one-timer past Brian Elliott on a 4-on-3 power play at the 13:12 mark of the second period, Brian Dumoulin scored just five seconds later after taking a Sidney Crosby pass in the slot and wristing a shot glove side on Elliott.
The Penguins tied the record previously set by the Detroit Red Wings back during the 1965 semifinals. It also marks the third straight game between the Penguins and Flyers that has seen at least one club tally four goals.
Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock was forced to shuffle his lines heading into Game 2 with the absence of Nazem Kadri. He put the slow-footed Leo Komarov on the top line, but that was destined to fail. After going down 4-0 by the end of the first, Babcock again brought out the line blender, but nothing he came up with could contain the best threesome in the NHL.
Yet, perhaps the solution to shutting down Boston's three best players is right in front of Babcock's face - put his three best players on a line together: Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Mitch Marner.
According to Corsica, Matthews, Marner, and Nylander have only played together for just over 12 minutes at 5-on-5 over the past two seasons. Babcock is a large proponent of spreading the wealth of talent through the lineup, which isn't necessarily wrong over the course of a full season.
However, going up against a team that has loaded their top line, Babcock should counter by doing the same. Though it's an awfully small sample size, a Matthews-Marner-Nylander trio has yielded some impeccable results together, accounting for over 70 percent of the expected goals for while on the ice.
These three youngsters don't have the defensive savvy that Boston's top line does, but they certainly have the skill to keep up. They would undoubtedly be able to possess the puck more than any other Leafs trio, which would mitigate the scoring chances the Bruins' top unit creates, and the penalties they've been able to draw. Furthermore, a Matthews-Marner-Nylander line could create some dazzling offense of their own.
Now, the Leafs would need more than a simple lineup shuffle to stop Boston's top line. Their defense would also need to step up in a big way. But the defensemen matched up with Bergeron's line would be playing in their own end far less if Matthews, Marner, and Nylander were together controlling the puck in the offensive zone together.
Here's a possible lineup Babcock could send out for Game 3:
Would Toronto's bottom-9 then be good enough to contend with Boston's? That remains to be seen, but if the Leafs were to lose again, Babcock would sleep a lot easier knowing he did everything in his power to shutdown Bergeron-Marchand-Pastrnak in a good old-fashioned battle of best-on-best. At this point, he's really got nothing to lose.
Happy Birthday, Ilya Kovalchuk. You're now an NHL unrestricted free agent.
The Russian sniper turns 35 today, meaning he's officially off the NHL's voluntary retired list and can negotiate and agree to terms with any NHL team, but can't sign a deal until July 1, per TSN's Bob McKenzie.
Kovalchuk told The Associated Press in March he plans to return to the NHL and wants to play for "several more years" after suiting up for SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL the last five seasons.
In July 2013, Kovalchuk chose to leave the NHL in the midst of a 15-year, $100-million contract with the New Jersey Devils. By doing so, he left $77 million on the table with 12 years left on the pact.
After racking 816 points in 816 games in his NHL career, Kovalchuk remained highly productive in Russia with 287 points in 264 contests. He also won two Gagarin Cups while overseas, and claimed a gold medal at PyeongChang 2018.
Matthews dropped an expletive when asked about the line of Brad Marchand, Bergeron, and David Pastrnak having 20 combined points through Games 1 and 2, while the line of Leo Komarov, Matthews, and William Nylander is stuck at zero.
"I don't know. Shit happens, I guess," the Leafs superstar told reporters, including TSN's Mark Masters, after a 7-3 loss that gave the Bruins a 2-0 series lead Saturday night. "That's hockey. Got to rebound for Game 3."
Matthews fired a team-high six shots on goal and nine shot attempts in Saturday's loss, and afterward, he lamented the number of opportunities the Maple Leafs had as a team in Game 2.
"We had plenty of chances tonight, but that first period, everything they threw at the net seemed to go in and they put up four goals," he said. "It's tough to climb back ... Throughout the game, we had our chances and they didn't go in, and it was the exact opposite for them."
Pastrnak made a bit of history with a six-point night Saturday, while Komarov left with an injury in the second period and didn't return, compounding matters for Matthews' line and a Leafs squad that's already missing the suspended Nazem Kadri.
The series shifts to Toronto for Game 3 on Monday night.
