The Edmonton Oilers are believed to have traded goaltender Anders Nilsson to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for a mid-round draft pick, according to TSN's Bob McKenzie.
Nilsson, whose rights the Oilers acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks last summer, has posted a 10-12-2 record for Edmonton, while boasting a goals against average of 3.14 and a save percentage of .901.
The departure of Nilsson won't come as much of a shock for Oilers fans, as the 25-year-old netminder had been the subject of trade rumors leading up to next week's deadline, and was made a backup for Friday's loss in Anaheim after originally being announced as the starter.
With Brian Elliott nursing a lower body injury for at least the next four weeks, Nilsson could provide some insurance behind Jake Allen in St. Louis.
The Blues, third-place in the Central Division, enter the weekend in a comfortable playoff position at 35-19-9, three points behind the division-leading Dallas Stars.
Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.
Wow, this guy is SO nasty.https://t.co/EasoBPjUUP
— NHL (@NHL) February 27, 2016
Now that's how you end a hockey game.
Anaheim Ducks center Rickard Rakell wove his way through the Edmonton Oilers' zone in overtime Friday, ending the game with some truly dazzling moves.
Rakell's 16th goal was his fifth game-winner of the season. The Ducks have won seven in a row to move within two points of division-leading Los Angeles.
Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.
Sergei Plotnikov just wants to play NHL hockey.
So says his agent, Mike Liut, who told Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that his client - who's been a healthy scratch for 19 straight games - is hoping the Penguins can trade him prior to Monday's deadline.
"Sergei wants to play in the NHL, as evidenced by the amount of money he paid to be excused from the last year of his KHL contact," Liut stated Friday. "He understands that this will not happen in Pittsburgh and the Penguins have been attempting to trade Sergei, albeit a difficult task when a player is a healthy scratch for two months.
"If a trade is not available, he will have no choice but to return to Russia."
This comes on the same day Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said Plotnikov had fallen out of favor for suggesting he did indeed want to return to Russia.
The 25-year-old signed a one-year, $925,000 deal with the Penguins last summer that includes $2.85 million in potential performance bonuses.
He recorded two assists in 32 games before being benched.
Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.
The Stadium Series alumni game came at a rather inconvenient time for Steve Yzerman.
"I didn't realize it was going to be on the (trade) deadline weekend," Yzerman said, according to Dan Rosen of NHL.com.
And while the Tampa Bay Lightning general manager, who scored for the Detroit Red Wings in the outdoor affair against the Colorado Avalanche, enjoyed the experience, he now faces a busy couple of days.
"All of the player scouting is pretty much done," Yzerman said. "We're going to meet as a group with all of our staff and reorganize for the weekend. Got work to do."
At or near the top of his to-do list is dealing with Jonathan Drouin, who has publicly asked to be traded. Yzerman said earlier in the week he'd like to do something "sooner than later," but reiterated he won't make a trade unless it helps his club's chances this year and in the future.
"My focus is the Tampa Bay Lightning, and obviously that's what we may be able to do with (Drouin)," he said. "We'll see."
The trade deadline is set for 3 p.m. ET on Monday.
Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.
What a GOAL! @ponyhockey wins Section 4AA 1-0 in OT over Hill-Murray! #MSHSL #TheTourney16 @FollowThePuck pic.twitter.com/voI6HUMzXt
— Steve Pesek (@StevePesek) February 27, 2016
Be warned, for what you're about to see is hockey stimulus overload.
This Minnesota high school athlete scored with one of the best individual efforts that you'll ever see, and then proceeded to celebrate inside the team's fan section.
The goal-scorer's name is Noah Cates, and the highly excitable, downright disorderly fanbase belongs to Stillwater - Minnesota 4AA section champs.
- With h/t to Deadspin
Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.