Tom Gulitti: Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson will not play again on Sunday. Game 1 projects to be either Tuesday or Wednesday and Carlson is still receiving treatment. Therefore, his status is currently uncertain.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Defenseman Victor Hedman appeared to injure his foot or ankle after falling awkwardly in Saturday night’s round robin finale. He tried to test it out and did not return. His obvious show of frustration as he headed down the tunnel was ominous.
Vegas Golden Knights: Forward Alex Tuch scored the game-winning goal in the round robin finale against Colorado. That helped secure the top seed for the Golden Knights heading into the playoffs which start the middle of this week. Tuch tallied three goals in three games.
Philadelphia Flyers: Goalie Carter Hart stopped all but one shot on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Though he only faced 24 shots, Hart looked poised as he made several key saves in the 4-1 victory. Philadelphia locked up the top seed and will face the Montreal Canadiens in Round 1.
Philadelphia Flyers : Forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel scored twice in the 4-1 win over Tampa Bay on Saturday. Joel Farabee and Tyler Pitlick also had goals for the Flyers in the win. However, it was Aube-Kubel who stole the show.
Montreal Canadiens: Goalie Carey Price did not have to steal Game 4 as he made 22 saves in the 2-0 series clinching win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday afternoon. Price arguably stole games 1 and 3 while the final game was a defensive clinic by Price and Montreal. Price will now try to stonewall the Philadelphia Flyers in the next round.
Jesse Granger: Vegas Golden Knights forward Max Pacioretty is closer than “on the horizon” to returning to the Vegas lineup. The race is on. After all Round 1 starts the middle of this week and it is still unknown if Pacioretty will be available for Game 1. He has been out for more than two weeks now with this undisclosed injury.