The son of longtime NHLer Michael Nylander and the younger brother of Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander, Alex hasn't appeared in an NHL game since March 2020. He missed all of 2020-21 with a torn meniscus and has played exclusively with the AHL's Rockford IceHogs this season, recording eight goals and four assists in 23 contests.
Selected eighth overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 2016, the 23-year-old has tallied 13 goals and 19 assists in 84 career NHL games split between the Sabres and Blackhawks.
Lafferty, 26, has 21 points in 94 career NHL games across three seasons with the Penguins, primarily in fourth-line minutes.
Edmonton Oilers goaltender Mikko Koskinen doesn't appreciate the public scrutiny he's received from his head coach Dave Tippett and the media.
"It’s not nice being thrown under the bus," Koskinen told Tommi Seppala of Finnish outlet Yle Urheilu. "I have to be better, but at the same time, we scored seven goals in my last six losses. I can’t score goals."
Tippett called Koskinen out during his postgame press conference on Monday for a puck-playing gaffe that led to the New York Rangers' opening goal in Edmonton's 4-1 loss.
"It's a brutal mistake, what are you gonna do? Call it what it is. We're playing well, it's a brutal mistake," Tippett said.
"I thought we did a lot of things well tonight. Our goaltender wasn't very good, and we didn't find enough pucks at the net to get us back in the game."
The Oilers are 2-8-2 in their last 12 games, with both wins during that stretch coming while Tippett was in COVID-19 protocol and not behind the bench.
Koskinen hasn't won himself since Dec. 1. He's struggled over that span - posting a .866 save percentage in six losses - but as he pointed out, he's only received seven goals of support in that time.
Edmonton is now outside of the Western Conference playoff picture in terms of points percentage despite a 9-1-0 start to the campaign. Goaltending has been among the main issues:
Goalie
Rec.
GAA
SV%
Koskinen
12-7-1
3.19
.900
Skinner
4-5-0
2.70
.916
Smith
2-1-1
3.91
.897
The team expected veteran Mike Smith to be the primary starter, but he's battled injuries for most of the season. The 39-year-old returned on Dec. 29 for a brief two-game stint before getting hurt again, likely forcing rookie Stuart Skinner and Koskinen to carry the load until Smith returns.
Koskinen, 33, is in the final campaign of a three-year contract that carries a $4.5-million cap hit, per CapFriendly.
In our third edition of theScore's 2021-22 Vezina Trophy Power Rankings, we add one new netminder who's been playing at the top of his game.
Due to COVID-19 outbreaks and postponements across the league over the past month, it was difficult to evaluate performances due to sporadic schedules. With that being said, here's a look at the top five candidates for the award:
5. Thatcher Demko, Vancouver Canucks
Jeff Vinnick / National Hockey League / Getty
RECORD
GAA
XGA/60
SV%
HDSV%
GSAA
15-11-1
2.55
2.71
.920
.844
8.80
The Canucks have looked like a brand new team since Bruce Boudreau took over as head coach, and Demko's been one of the biggest beneficiaries. The young netminder has rattled off seven straight victories since Dec. 6 and has officially entered his name into the Vezina race. He showed flashes of brilliance at times prior to Boudreau's arrival but lacked the consistency he now seems to have found. Only John Gibson has played more minutes this season than Demko, and the team will continue to ride him as long as he stays hot.
4. Frederik Andersen, Carolina Hurricanes
Gregg Forwerck / National Hockey League / Getty
RECORD
GAA
XGA/60
SV%
HDSV%
GSAA
17-5-0
1.92
2.63
.929
.829
11.31
Andersen continues to show that his hot start to the season wasn't just a fluke. The Hurricanes play a strong two-way, defensive game, and are in first place in the NHL when you look at points percentage. Although the club also ranks first in the league with a 55.97 Corsi For rating, Andersen is still among the league's elite this year.
3. Tristan Jarry, Pittsburgh Penguins
Emilee Chinn / Getty Images Sport / Getty
RECORD
GAA
XGA/60
SV%
HDSV%
GSAA
15-5-4
1.93
2.34
.932
.845
15.48
The Penguins are basically back at full strength after battling injuries throughout the season, and Jarry has done everything in his power to keep the team afloat. He's won five straight games and has allowed two goals or less in 19 of his 24 contests this year. With the Penguins playing with a fully healthy lineup now, Jarry's strong play should continue and keep him in the Vezina conversation for the remainder of the season.
2. Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers
Bruce Bennett / Getty Images Sport / Getty
RECORD
GAA
XGA/60
SV%
HDSV%
GSAA
15-4-2
2.09
2.98
.936
.859
16.97
The Rangers just keep on winning and Shesterkin just keeps on doing his thing. The team currently sits right near the top of the NHL's standings, and Shesterkin is playing a large part in his team's success. The club allows the eighth-most high-danger scoring chances against (407), but Shesterkin is tied for the second-highest high-danger save percentage (.859) in the NHL. If he keeps playing at this level, it'll be hard to deny him the trophy at season's end.
1. Jack Campbell, Toronto Maple Leafs
Codie McLachlan / Getty Images Sport / Getty
RECORD
GAA
XGA/60
SV%
HDSV%
GSAA
16-5-2
1.86
2.52
.939
.854
20.38
Campbell has only appeared in six games since the beginning of December, but his high-quality stats still put him ahead of pretty much every netminder in the NHL. Campbell's workload was a cause for concern among many after starting the majority of the Maple Leafs' games to begin the season, but perhaps the time off over the last month could work in his favor.
Honorable mentions: Jacob Markstrom, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Juuse Saros
Power is the first player to be named to the team after the NHL pulled out of the Games last month.
The 19-year-old has racked up 23 points in 18 games with Michigan this season. He had five points in two world junior appearances - including the first hat trick ever by a Canadian defenseman - before the event was canceled due to the pandemic.
The Arizona Coyotes are receiving inquiries from other clubs about defenseman Jakob Chychrun, but they're looking for a hefty collection of talent in return.
"There's been much speculation on Chychrun's availability for the last several weeks, I would say, but it's real," TSN's Darren Dreger reported on Tuesday's edition of "Insider Trading."
"Who's to say when a deal involving Jakob Chychrun may be made," Dreger added. "Perhaps it doesn't happen. He's got a wonderful contract ... but calls are coming in from interested teams. Offers are being made."
The biggest obstacle to a trade appears to be what Arizona is seeking in a potential deal.
"The asking price expectedly is enormous, and it has scared some of these GMs away," Dreger said. "You're talking about (an) Eichel-like return here. That's Alex Tuch, that's Peyton Krebs, that's a conditional first(-round pick and) a conditional second. That's too much for a lot of teams to stomach right now, but it's a story we're going to continue to follow. The Coyotes are in no rush to move Jakob Chychrun."
The 23-year-old is in his sixth season with the Coyotes, who drafted him 16th overall in 2016. Chychrun has blossomed into a legitimate No. 1 blue-liner, leading the club in average ice time by nearly three minutes, though he last played Dec. 10 due to an injury.
Chychrun hasn't produced offensively in 2021-22 like the career-high 41 points he posted over 56 games last season. He entered Tuesday's action with two goals and five assists across 26 contests this campaign, but the Coyotes have been the NHL's worst team with only six wins in 30 games heading into Tuesday evening's slate.
The talented rearguard is signed through 2024-25 at a cap hit of $4.6 million, according to CapFriendly. Arizona traded defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson to the Vancouver Canucks in July.
The Islanders will now host the Leafs on Jan. 22 and travel to Toronto on April 17. Due to provincial regulations in Ontario, the Leafs wouldn't have been able to host fans against the Islanders at Scotiabank Arena if their Jan. 22 matchup went on as originally scheduled.
Additionally, the league postponed two Jan. 18 matchups between the Islanders and the Columbus Blue Jackets as well as the Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings. As a result, the Flyers-Islanders contest, which was originally set for Nov. 30, will now be played Jan. 18.
Both players are being retested. Their status for Wednesday's contest against the Toronto Maple Leafs won't be known until game day.
They were held out of practice for precautionary reasons, according to Oilers play-by-play announcer Jack Michaels.
McDavid also missed morning skate Monday, but Tippett said the 24-year-old was just resting prior to the Oilers' game against the New York Rangers and that it wasn't a COVID-19 scare. McDavid played almost 19 minutes during Edmonton's 4-1 loss at Madison Square Garden.
He leads the league with 53 points in 33 games while averaging over 22 minutes of ice time a night. McDavid's absence would be a massive blow to the struggling Oilers, who are currently riding a four-game winless streak.
Ryan has registered two goals in 30 contests so far this season.
McDavid previously tested positive for COVID-19 and experienced mild symptoms back in October 2020.
The Maple Leafs find themselves in a similar situation prior to Wednesday's matchup.
Star center Auston Matthews tested positive on a rapid test Monday. He also took a PCR test Monday and the results came back negative Tuesday. He is awaiting further test results and hasn't been ruled out of the game against Edmonton.
The 28-year-old sustained the injury in the first period of Sunday's contest against the Washington Capitals. He exited after getting hit up high by a deflected puck.
Hamilton was taken to hospital for evaluation after the incident, and assistant coach Alain Nasreddine initially said he was doing OK.
The Devils announced earlier Tuesday that the blue-liner was still in New Jersey and would miss Tuesday's contest against the Boston Bruins.
Hamilton, the crown jewel of the franchise's offseason additions, leads all New Jersey defensemen with 20 points in 30 games while averaging over 21 minutes of ice time a night.
He was placed on the IR retroactively to Jan. 2 and will be out until at least Jan. 9. The team will likely have a clearer idea of Hamilton's timetable after his his surgery is complete, according to beat reporter Amanda Stein.
The team also announced Tuesday that goaltender Jonathan Bernier will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing successful hip surgery. The issue has impacted Bernier since training camp, and head coach Lindy Ruff said earlier in January that he was "worried" about the 33-year-old's long-term health.
Bernier put up a .902 save percentage and 3.06 goals against average across 10 appearances this season.
There was one piece of good news in New Jersey, as forward Tomas Tatar is set to return to the lineup Tuesday after a three-game absence while in the COVID-19 protocol.
