The playoffs are so close you can taste it.

For the Edmonton Oilers, that means it's decision time. With so many players injured, it's been hard to get a handle on their playoff lineup. They got some clarity on that front on Monday morning, as Kris Knoblauch issued a slew of injury updates after the morning skate. Buckle up, this one's a doozy.

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The big one concerns defenseman Mattias Ekholm, who reaggravated his nagging injury on April 11th against Dallas. Knoblauch confirmed that Ekholm is ruled out for the first round of the playoffs and could be out for quite a while longer. 

"Mattias will be out for a while, and he won't be returning any time soon," Knoblauch told the media. By all appearances, it seems Ekholm may not return at all during the playoffs.

The other news wasn't quite so grim. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will return to the lineup on Monday against the Los Angeles Kings after missing the past three games with an illness, while Troy Stecher will be out after leaving Sunday's game with an injury.

Connor McDavid, after picking up nine assists in three games since returning from injury, will also sit out on Monday for precautionary reasons. 

"With us playing three games in four days and a back to back, we feel there's too much to lose there, so we're playing that extremely safely," Knoblauch said on Monday.

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Everyone else--Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Jake Walman, and Trent Frederic--is officially day-to-day. Draisaitl and Walman are questionable for the final game of the regular season on Wednesday and ready for game one of the playoffs, while Hyman is likely in the same boat as a precautionary measure. Frederic, meanwhile, is questionable for the start of the playoffs as his timetable continues to get pushed back.

Finally came the big event: Evander Kane's first media availability since the beginning of training camp. Kane, who's been skating with the team for weeks now, seems ready to go for sometime in the first round, which will be his first game action since game two of the Stanley Cup Final. 

"I'm really excited to get going here," Kane said. "As soon as we get to 100%, which should be pretty soon."

Kane also opened up about his recovery journey, describing the January knee surgery that kept him out for longer than expected. Kane's absence was originally due to a double hip adductor surgery he underwent in September.

"It was very weird. Probably ten days after surgery, I just felt [my knee] was stuck, it was sticking every day," Kane said on Monday. "So we got an MRI, and there was a benign mass kind of wrapped around my ACL and PCL, and we were able to get that removed."

The Oilers play against the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night and close out their regular season on Wednesday in San Jose. The Stanley Cup Playoffs start on Saturday, April 19th.

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Now that the home portion of the Chicago Blackhawks' schedule is complete, they have two more road games before they call it a year. That starts with a visit to the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night. There is some excitement surrounding this game for both sides. 

For the Blackhawks, this will mark the NHL debut for Ryan Greene. After losing the National Championship with Boston University, they got him signed up to his entry level deal and now he’s ready to start his pro career. 

"The fact that it's here, it's pretty nerve-wracking," Greene said of making his NHL debut. "But it's also just really exciting. Even being in the locker room with a lot of these guys is so cool. I'm honored to be here."

Greene is going to start on a line with captain Nick Foligno and Oliver Moore. Like Greene, Moore signed his ELC after being eliminated from college, so they have that in common. Playing together with an elder statesman like Foligno may be a great experience for them.

Ahead of the game, interim head coach Anders Sorensen said that Greene is a "really good skater" and "really reliable defensively". Those two attributes are what an NHL coach looks for the most. With the step that Greene took offensively at BU this year, he's set up to be a solid pro right away. 

The rest of the lineup will look like this:

Donato - Bedard - Mikheyev 

Teravainen -Nazar - Bertuzzi

Foligno - Greene - Moore

Slaggert - Veleno - Reichel

Vlasic - Rinzel

Murphy - Crevier

Kaiser - Levshunov

Once again, the Blackhawks have an incredibly young defensive core. Murphy is the only true veteran among them. Sam Rinzel continues to play with Alex Vlasic on the top pair, which is a duo who will be hard to play against for a long time coming. 

All of the forwards listed here are guys who will be competing for a job next year. Some of them are more locked in than others, but everyone wants to finish strong so they can feel good about their game going into 2025-26. 

Arvid Soderblom will make his final start of the 2024-25 season. It was a breakout year for him. Coming into camp, he thought that he'd be splitting time in Rockford. Instead, injuries led to opportunity, and he ran with it. Being Spencer Knight's backup in 2025-26 is a real possibility for him, thanks to how he played. 

Greene isn't the only player making his NHL debut in this match. You may remember when the Blackhawks had the number two overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. There was a solid debate as to whether they should draft Artyom Levshunov or Ivan Demidov.

They went with the defenseman over the forward. Demidov ended up falling to the Montreal Canadiens at five, mostly because of his KHL situation. Well, Montreal's risk has paid off. Now he's with them in the NHL. 

It is fitting that Demidov will make his debut against the Hawks, the first team to pass on him. He will skate as a trio with Alex Newhook and Joel Armia, which is a perfect line for him to start on. 

Demidov is a wildly talented forward who can make big plays using his shiftiness, speed, and skill. It will be entertaining to see him go at the NHL level. 

Montreal can clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a win over Chicago in any fashion. They would be locking up the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference by doing so. For being game 81 for both sides, there is a lot of intrigue. 

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Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck has been named the NHL's third star of the week.

The 31-year-old posted a 3-0-0 record, as well as a .931 SV% and a 1.62 GAA. He recorded his eighth shutout of the season against the Dallas Stars and was stellar when the Jets defeated the red-hot St. Louis Blues. 

He currently leads the NHL in wins (46), save percentage (.924), goals against average (2.02) and shutouts (8). 

Hellebuyck will likely win back-to-back Vezina Trophies but may also find himself very high on the Hart Trophy ranking, expected to receive a fair share of first-place votes.

Here's what NHL.com had to say about Hellebuyck's extraordinary week.

"Hellebuyck went 3-0-0 with a 1.62 goals-against average, .931 save percentage and one shutout the help the Jets (55-22-4, 114 points) clinch their first Presidents’ Trophy in franchise history. He denied 14 shots as Winnipeg halted the St. Louis Blues’ franchise-record 12-game winning streak with a 3-1 victory April 7. Hellebuyck then earned his League-leading eighth shutout of the campaign with 25 saves in a 4-0 win over the Dallas Stars April 10. He finished the week by stopping 28 shots, and turning aside two of three shootout attempts, in a 5-4 triumph versus the Chicago Blackhawks April 12. The 31-year-old Hellebuyck, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, paces the NHL (minimum: 25 GP) in wins (46), goals-against average (2.02), save percentage (.924) and shutouts (8) through 62 total appearances this season. Only four goaltenders in League history have recorded more wins in a single campaign: Martin Brodeur (48 in 2006-07 w/ NJD), Braden Holtby (48 in 2015-16 w/ WSH), Bernie Parent (47 in 1973-74 w/ PHI) and Roberto Luongo (47 in 2006-07 w/ VAN)."

Finishing ahead of Hellebuyck as the NHL's first star of the week was Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Jet Greaves, posting three wins, a shutout and a .962 SV%, and Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid, recording nine assists in three games. 

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Jet Greaves is on fire!

The 24-year-old goalie from Cambridge, Ontario, was just named as one of the NHL's three stars of the week. Greaves was given the honor of being the league's first star.

Greaves was called up last week on an emergency recall and was immediately named the starter against the Buffalo Sabres. He beat the Sabres by allowing just two goals and had a .951 SV%.

Then came this past weekend. He was called upon to be the starter against the Washington Capitals on Saturday, and all he did was stop 22 shots and earn his first career NHL shutout in route to a 7-0 Columbus win. 

The following night, against those same Washington Capitals, he was again put in the net in a must-win situation for the CBJ. He gave up a goal to Alex Ovechkin on the first shot of the game but then shut down the Caps after that. He made 29 saves to pick up his third win in 4 nights. 

Greaves went 3-0 with a .968 SV% and gave up just a single goal. That one goal came against the NHL's new all-time goal scorer, Alex Ovechkin. You can't really complain about that one. 

It remains to be seen if Greaves will start the season's final two remaining games, but I would put money on it that Greaves does. 

Up Next: The Blue Jackets travel to Philadelphia to play the Flyers on Tuesday in the final road game of the season and the penultimate game of the season. 

Let us know what you think below.

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Blue Jackets Sweep Weekend Series Against Washington; Stay Alive In Playoff RaceZach Werenski(22), Adam Fantilli(28, 29), and Dmitri Voronkov(22) scored the goals for Columbus, while Jet Greaves was fabulous, stopping 29 Washington shots. 

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"It's very disappointing seeing where we were and now where we're at," said Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin Sunday afternoon following practice.  The evening prior, the Red Wings were officially eliminated from playoff contention, though the "e" next to their name in the standings felt like a formality after limping through the month of March to the end of season with playoff hopes that existed as a mathematical possibility more than as any offshoot of their performances on the ice.  For the ninth season in a row, Detroit will not have representation in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Now, Monday night against the Dallas Stars, the Red Wings will play their final game at Little Caesars Arena of the 2024-25 season, a jewel of a venue opened in 2017 that's yet to host a Stanley Cup Playoff game.

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"There's always something to play for in this league," said Larkin.  "There's always someone watching.  There's always opportunity."  But on this particular Monday, it's difficult to identify just what that something might be.

"We're out.  What else can I say?  We're out," said coach Todd McLellan Sunday.  "We're not happy.  There are different moments throughout the season that you can point to, different aspects of our play that point to being out.  And that's where we are right now.  All that does is tell us we've got a lot more work to do, and we've got to get after it."

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"You could tell the spirit wasn't the same in practice," the coach admitted.  "I get it.  But they gotta come and work tomorrow.  I'm counting on them, and they should count on each other to do that."  McLellan used the word "reputation" to describe what was on the line for his team individually in three remaining games that lack collective stakes.

When asked what needs to improve for 2025-26, McLellan named the penalty kill, defending in all situations, five-on-five offense and defense, and becoming heavier as growth areas "off the top of my head real quick."  In short, there's a lot of work left to do in Detroit.

Where to Watch

Monday night's game (a 7pm puck drop) will air on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit in the Detroit market and the NHL Network elsewhere.  97.1 The Ticket will handle the radio broadcast, per usual.

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Report: Sharks captain Couture to announce end of NHL career Tuesday originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

It appears to be the end of an era for the Sharks.

Veteran San Jose center Logan Couture will announce the end of his NHL career in a press conference on Tuesday at SAP Center, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported Monday.

#sjsharks and captain Logan Couture are scheduled to hold a press conference Tuesday to announce that Couture is unable to continue his playing career as a result of injury.

Tough way to end an incredible career. Couture led playoffs (in separate years) in goals, assists and…

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) April 14, 2025

Couture was selected by the Sharks with the No. 9 pick in the 2007 NHL Draft, debuting in the 2009-10 season, and played 14-plus seasons with San Jose before suffering a deep groin issue, specifically osteitis pubis, in January 2024. Couture has not played since, and missed the entire 2024-25 NHL season as he attempted to work his way back to the ice.

In 933 career games with San Jose, Couture, a two-time NHL All-Star, recorded 701 points (323 goals, 378 assists) while being named to the 2010-11 All-Rookie Team in his first full season with the Sharks.

Couture played a pivotal role in helping lead San Jose on numerous playoff runs from 2011-2019, including three Western Conference Finals appearances (2011, 2016, 2019) and one Stanley Cup (2016) appearance during his tenure.

The 36-year-old is beloved by Sharks fans, and now appears to be hanging up his skates after a stellar career in San Jose.

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Drew O'Connor is set to make franchise history on Monday when the Vancouver Canucks take on the San Jose Sharks. Barring any last-minute lineup changes, the 26-year-old will become the first player in Canucks history to play over 82 games in an 82-game season. O'Connor is on pace to finish 2024-25 with 84 games played and is one of less than ten players who have a chance to play over 82 games this season.

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The reason O'Connor has this opportunity is because of the timing of his trade to Vancouver. When he was dealt from the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Canucks, O'Connor had already played 53 games this season. Flash forward to today, and he has suited up for 29 games with Vancouver, which equals out to 82 games, despite the Canucks having only completed 80.

It is important to note that there are players in franchise history that have played either 83 or 84 games in a season. The difference is that the seven previous times it has happened were during 84 games seasons. Yes, the NHL had 84-game seasons at one point, with the 1992-93 and 1993-94 seasons being the only two to eclipse the 82-games played mark.

While playing over 82 games in a season is not uncommon in the NHL, it has never happened in Vancouver. According to the NHL's stat page, no Canucks player has finished the season with over 82 games in an 82-game season. In the end, it is a unique first in Vancouver's history as O'Connor will now become the answer to a Canucks-related trivia question.

Vancouver wraps up their season series with the Sharks on Monday night. The Canucks are 3-0 against their Pacific Division rivals, and will have their eyes on the season sweep. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm PT from Rogers Arena.

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