After getting eliminated from the postseason by the Calgary Flames, Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice offered some encouraging news about some of his injured stars.
"No, we don't think there's any long-term concerns. Mark (Scheifele) finished with a second opinion today. We don't think there is any Achilles damage so he'll heal," Maurice said postgame. "Patrik (Laine) sprained his hand and it's the top hand on his stick, so he couldn't hold his stick, and Mason Appleton suffered a shoulder injury. None of those are long term, but they're all two-to-three weeks minimum."
Maurice offered some caution with his description of Scheifele's injury, saying the forward needs to "get more imaging done."
Scheifele and Laine were both injured in Game 1 and never returned to the ice during the series. Winnipeg managed to win Game 2 without them, but their absence proved to be too much to overcome in Game 3 and 4.
With the 2020-21 season not expected to begin for several months, the Jets will have plenty of time get healthy.
The NHL's bubbled postseason continued Thursday in Toronto and Edmonton with a slate of five games. Below are three takeaways from the Blue Jackets' 4-3 overtime victory over the Maple Leafs, the Flyers' 3-1 round-robin win against the Capitals, and the Canucks' 3-0 shutout of the Wild.
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No off switch for Blue Jackets
Chase Agnello-Dean / Getty Images
Among the countless punchlines from Thursday night's outcome - most notably that Toronto was up 3-0 late in a playoff game, again, and lost, ha! - is a central truth about the tremendous theater unfolding between the Maple Leafs and the Blue Jackets.
The Leafs, as talented as they are and as well as they've played for the majority of three games, can't afford to let their foot off the gas at any point in any series, let alone a best-of-five. Because the Blue Jackets, as offensively deprived and beatable as they might look at times, don't have an off switch. Even in dire times, like in the regular season when basically half their roster was sidelined, or in their Game 2 defeat, they simply refuse to go away.
Under coach John Tortorella, Columbus is wired to stay in the fight until the bitter end. On Thursday, the decision to switch goalies down 3-0 midway through regulation proved to be a rallying cry. Led by an incredible performance from Pierre-Luc Dubois, the Blue Jackets picked away at the Leafs one goal at a time. Dubois is one of the only serious offensive threats Columbus has at its disposal, and after going pointless in the first two games of the series he exploded for a hat trick, including the game-winning goal with roughly a minute left in the first overtime period.
"With Luc, if he wants to be a difference maker, a game changer, one of the best players in the league, he has all the capabilities, all the tools. Tonight he showed it," Columbus forward Cam Atkinson said of the 21-year-old Dubois, whose very public shouting match with Tortorella during Game 2 suddenly takes on a different tone.
"It's not always going to go your way," Atkinson added, "but it's those moments where you capitalize on those opportunities. Big-time players step up in big-time, crucial situations. Sure enough, a hat trick, put us all on his back, and it was good to see him coming out like that tonight."
Tortorella, with the benefit of last change, matched Dubois against John Tavares, the lesser of two evils most nights when facing a Leafs team starring Auston Matthews. The bet paid off.
"We didn't have any real purpose or plan to our game today," Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said during his postgame media availability. "We were making things up as we went along. We got what we deserved."
On its face, Keefe's criticism seems a little harsh. "Got what we deserved"? For large portions of Game 3, his team was dictating play, buzzing around the Columbus crease with regularity. Against this Blue Jackets group, though, you don't deserve anything until you're done for the night. Luckily for Toronto, the schedule calls for Game 4 Friday night. No time to dwell on another colossal collapse.
Flyers look scary good
Chase Agnello-Dean / Getty Images
If it was a heated debate before, it isn't now: The Flyers are damn dangerous, and a legitimate Stanley Cup contender in this wacky playoff format.
Following a decisive 4-1 win over Boston on Sunday, the Flyers schooled Washington on Thursday in a 3-1 victory. Next is Tampa on Saturday, with the game's winner earning the East's No. 1 seed.
The Flyers' success so far is rooted in their second line of Kevin Hayes between Travis Konecny and Scott Laughton. In 19 minutes and 44 seconds of five-on-five action together through two contests, the trio has bagged three goals while allowing one.
Being plus-2 is nice, but the surface-level stats don't do this highly effective line justice. The unit is flat-out dominating.
Scott Laughton with 2 goals
Kevin Hayes making everything happen with 3 assists
Hayes, Philly's big splash signing during free agency last summer, has been especially sharp, protecting the puck with supreme confidence and exiting the defensive zone with ease. Konecny, who's as feisty as he is skilled, is skating really well, attacking off the rush and hitting his teammates with crisp, sometimes fancy passes. And Laughton, the less heralded of the three but still a key contributor, has capitalized on three of his five shots.
"They're certainly - without a doubt - our best line at this moment. I think, offensively and defensively, this was their best night. Good on the forecheck, which created some real good looks," Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault said Thursday, clearly cognizant of the fact that Jakub Voracek, Claude Giroux, and Sean Couturier usually form the club's go-to line.
The Flyers - whose .645 points percentage barely beat Pittsburgh for a top-four spot in the restart - are playing structurally sound, hard-working hockey. Philadelphia and the Hurricanes are the toast of the East through six days at Scotiabank Arena.
Vigneault is certainly pleased with his team's play, but for what it's worth, the longtime NHL head coach is stopping short of universal praise.
"I feel like we're coming along," the bench boss said.
"This is only our third game in the restart (including exhibition), so I believe we're on the right track but we're not quite there yet," he added.
Tale of two stars
Jeff Vinnick / Getty Images
On paper, the Canucks-Wild series - a battle of two imperfect squads - shouldn't hinge on each team's deadliest offensive weapon. Yet, heading into Friday's Game 4, that's exactly what's happening.
On one side there's Elias Pettersson, the heartbeat of Vancouver's attack. On the other is Kevin Fiala, Minnesota's breakout star. Through three games, the assassin-like Pettersson has accumulated a goal and two assists, while the highly skilled Fiala has potted three goals. Combined, they've contributed to 60% of the series' goals (total score: 7-3 Canucks).
Both teams have game-planned against the opposing stud, creating an interesting back-and-forth from a physical perspective.
Pettersson has been on the receiving end of seven hits while dishing out two in 56:34 of action, according to Natural Stat Trick. He's also drawn four minors and taken one. Meanwhile, Fiala has absorbed seven hits and distributed six over 52:10 of ice time. He's also drawn three minors but taken four, including three in Game 3.
The Wild need Fiala on the ice more than the Canucks need Pettersson, since there's simply more firepower among Vancouver's forward group. So for the Wild, the dynamic that's playing out is a recipe for disaster.
"We’re such a good five-on-five team and when we can roll four lines, we’re really good," Wild forward Marcus Foligno told reporters in Edmonton following Thursday's 3-0 loss. "We’re just kind of getting a little bit stung by that, and we definitely just have to calm it down a little bit with the penalties."
With their backs against the wall, Foligno and friends need to reverse that trend ASAP.
Sheldon Keefe believes his club got what was coming to it Thursday night.
The Toronto Maple Leafs head coach wasn't happy with the team's play in a stunning Game 3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Keefe was disappointed with what he saw, even when the Leafs led the contest before blowing a three-goal lead and losing 4-3 in overtime, falling behind 2-1 in the best-of-five series.
“I didn’t like our game at 1-0, 2-0, 3-0," the bench boss told reporters postgame, according to TSN's Kristen Shilton. "We got what we deserved. We didn’t have any purpose or plan to our game.”
The Maple Leafs went up by three midway through the second period on rookie Nick Robertson's first NHL goal, following tallies from Cody Ceci and William Nylander. However, the Blue Jackets responded with Pierre-Luc Dubois' pair of goals and one from Seth Jones. Dubois later capped off a hat trick with the winner in overtime.
Toronto dominated possession in the opening period. But Columbus improved in the second stanza and controlled play in the third, before the Maple Leafs earned a bigger share in the extra frame.
5-on-5 xGF%
Blue Jackets
Maple Leafs
1st period
16.52
83.48
2nd
45.37
54.63
3rd
62.19
37.81
OT
46.28
53.72
Neither club will be able to rest much after the extended contest Thursday night. The Maple Leafs will try to stave off elimination in Game 4 on Friday, with puck drop scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.
The defenseman's new pact carries an average annual value of $1.2 million, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
Larsson was a pending restricted free agent. The 23-year-old collected 11 points in 60 NHL games during the regular season, logging 16:09 of average ice time. He added a goal and an assist in five contests with the AHL's San Diego Gulls in 2019-20.
The Swedish blue-liner spent the majority of the last two campaigns with Anaheim. He came to North America to play in the Ducks organization in 2016-17 after the team drafted him 27th overall in 2015.
The New York Islanders head coach thinks the NHL should implement this year's 24-team playoff format permanently.
"I think the league is so tight and the league has grown over my time in the league with the number of teams, it should be a heavy consideration," Trotz said Thursday, per Newsday's Andrew Gross.
"There’s too much parity in the NHL," Trotz added. "I think it’s something the league will consider for sure and I’d be in favor of it."
The NHL has used a 16-team playoff format since the 1979-80 campaign when there were only 21 franchises. After this past season was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league opted to stage a 24-team tournament featuring a best-of-five qualifying round for seeds five through 12 in each conference.
Trotz's Islanders entered the expanded playoff field as the seventh seed in the East, and they hold a 2-1 series lead over the Florida Panthers.
The qualifying round has been a dream for hockey fans, with six different playoff games on the schedule nearly every day. It's also provided plenty of early drama, as both No. 12 seeds - the Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Blackhawks - hold 2-1 advantages in their respective series.
Edmonton Oilers forward Tyler Ennis is out indefinitely after suffering an injury Wednesday night in Game 3 against the Chicago Blackhawks, head coach Dave Tippett announced.
Ennis collided with Kirby Dach in the second period and was helped off the ice. He didn't return to the game - a 4-3 loss for the Oilers.
Here's the hit by Dach on Tyler Ennis.
Hoping it's nothing that lingers, Ennis has been a great fit for the #Oilers. #LetsGoOilers
Ennis was acquired by the Oilers from the Ottawa Senators prior to the 2020 trade deadline in exchange for a fifth-round pick next year. The pending unrestricted free agent posted 37 points this season, including four in nine games after arriving in Edmonton.
The Oilers trail their best-of-five series 2-1 with Game 4 scheduled for Friday.
The Vegas Golden Knights gave back to their host city Wednesday by having pizza delivered to homeless and poverty-stricken Edmontonians near the NHL bubble.
Boyle Street Community Services, an organization that provides support for Edmonton's vulnerable people, thanked the Golden Knights in a Facebook post.
Elliott Tanti, the communications and development manager for Boyle Street, told Global News' Phil Heidenreich that the people who paid for the meals wanted to remain anonymous, but disclosed it was "a couple of guys from the Vegas team."
"I got a call yesterday from an individual with the team who had mentioned that he'd noticed the people in front of our building and he asked if it would be appropriate ... if the team could send down some pizza to the group," Tanti said. "The call was later in the day and our building was shutting and we just didn’t have the staff to do that. So he asked if he could do it today instead.
"I said, 'Of course.'"
The Golden Knights will face the St. Louis Blues on Thursday in their second round-robin contest.
