On the Chicago Blackhawks …
- Chris Hine of the Chicago Tribune: Corey Crawford is getting “close” to returning, but he still hasn’t started skating yet. He’s been out since March 14th with an upper-body injury.
“We think he’s going to be ready (for the playoffs),” Quenneville said. “He’s close but we still don’t see him on the ice. Can’t answer that certainly, but we expect him to be ready.”
On the Tampa Bay Lightning …
- Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times: Winger Nikita Kucherov is day-to-day after he blocked a shot with his left foot on Friday. He took part in the warmup last night, but was not able to go.
“We’ll have to see on this one,” coach Jon Cooper said. “It was tough he wasn’t able to go. Now we’ve got to wait this one out.”
Valtterri Filppula and Ryan Callahan were also not able to go, and their status for Monday is not known yet.
On the Anaheim Ducks …
- Eric Stephens of the OC Register: Chris Stewart returned to the Ducks lineup from a fractured jaw he suffered on February 11th. Sami Vatanen has missed eight games with a head injury, could be ready to return soon. Kevin Bieksa suffered an upper-body injury against the Maple Leafs could also be close to returning.
“When they’re ready to play, they’ll play,” Boudreau said. “Whether it’s Edmonton or Calgary at home or not. But we’re not going to rush them at this point.”
Coach Bruce Boudreau said that Ryan Kesler will be back with the team “sooner than later.”
On the Washington Capitals …
- Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Capitals forward T.J. Oshie was forced to miss his first game against his former team, the Blues, due to the flu. Oshie begged coach Barry Trotz to play, but they wouldn’t allow him.
On the Winnipeg Jets …
- Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun: Defenseman Tyler Myers is already out after having knee surgery last week, traveled to New York to visit the hip surgeon who will be doing the surgery once he’s covered from his knee surgery.
“During games it wasn’t that bad,” Myers said. “It was more after games it was very noticeable. Different things would tweak it. Just wanted to be sure we take care of it before any damage was done. It’s a pretty common injury in hockey players, so I don’t expect any complications.
“I’ve spoken to a lot of guys who have had this before, and every single one has said they’re really happy when they did it.”