Video: Tarasenko scores twice giving the Blues an early lead

By Dhiren MahibanApr 18, 2015, 4:23 PM EDT

St. Louis Blues’ sniper Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice in the first period to give the Blues a 2-0 lead.

The 23-year-old opened the scoring tipping home an Alex Steen feed at 13:18 for his first of the playoffs.

Less than five minutes later, Tarasenko caught Devan Dubnyk off the post just enough to sneak a shot short side on the Wild starter.

Steen and defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk have the assists on both goals.

Kevin Shattenkirk has an assist on every goal the Blues have scored so far in this series.

— Tom Timmermann (@tomtimm) April 18, 2015

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ProHockeyTalk’s 2020 NHL Trade Deadline Tracker

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By Sean LeahyFeb 17, 2020, 7:00 AM EST

Canadiens say Shea Weber could return Tuesday

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By Adam GretzFeb 17, 2020, 12:35 PM EST

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Maybe his injury isn’t as severe as initially feared. Or maybe it’s the last act of a desperate team trying to do anything it can to salvage its season before it continues to spiral down the drain. Whatever the reason, there appears to be a very real chance that defenseman Shea Weber could return to the Montreal Canadiens’ lineup on Tuesday night against the Detroit Red Wings.

Coach Claude Julien announced on Monday that Weber — along with injured forward Paul Byron — could be in the lineup on Tuesday.

Keep in mind we are just five days removed from the Canadiens announcing that Weber would be sidelined 4-6 weeks due to a sprained ankle.

Weber added (via Sportsnet’s Eric Engels) on Monday that doctors have told him he can not do any more damage to his injured ankle, and that while he is obviously not 100 percent he still feels good to go.

He has been sidelined since Feb. 4, a stretch that has seen the Canadiens win just two of their past six games to continue to fall out of playoff contention.

They enter the week nine points out of a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. They are eight points back of the Toronto Maple Leafs for the third playoff spot in the Atlantic Division. Adding to their current deficit is they have also played more games than every team ahead of them in the standings. In other words: The playoffs are more than a long shot.

When you combine that with Weber’s age, as well as the way injuries have piled up for him over the years it’s a little bit of a surprise to see his timeline accelerated that way it has been. Weber is having an outstanding season and is still an excellent player when healthy, but injuries have already sidelined him for 90 games during his Canadiens’ tenure over the past four years. That’s more than 30 percent of the possible games.

Hockey’s culture loves to glorify the warrior mentality of a player playing through pain for the good of the team. And it is hard to tell a player that they shouldn’t — or can’t — play. But at some point you have to wonder when it is no longer worth the risk. Even if doctors are pretty sure he can’t do anymore damage to this particular injury by playing, you’re still talking about a 34-year-old player (who you still owe a TON of money to over the next several years), with a lengthy injury history, playing on a bad ankle for a team that probably has less than a 5 percent chance of making the playoffs at this point. Aside from legitimate questions as to how impactful he might be given the circumstances, who is to say that playing on a bad ankle couldn’t lead to a different injury? At some point you have to wonder when it’s no longer worth the risk and just let the guy rest and get healthy and realize there is still a bigger picture at play here than a futile attempt to salvage a lost season.

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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.

NHL on NBCSN: Ovechkin’s chase for 700 continues against Vegas

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By Joey AlfieriFeb 17, 2020, 11:18 AM EST

PHT Face-Off: Weber can’t catch a break; Don’t sleep on Coleman

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By Joey AlfieriFeb 17, 2020, 9:54 AM EST

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It’s Monday, which means it’s time for the PHT Face-Off. We’ll look at some of the big topics and storylines around the NHL for the upcoming week.

• Don’t sleep on Blake Coleman:

Since the trade went down between New Jersey and Tampa last night, most of the focus has been on the return the Devils were able to get for Coleman. Obviously, they did very well in this deal. Getting prospect Nolan Foote (former first-rounder) and Vancouver’s conditional first-round pick is a nice haul.

But not enough focus was placed on what the Lightning were able to get their hands on. If you’re a casual hockey fan, you might not realize just how good Coleman’s been this year. He’s definitely a late bloomer, but he had 22 goals last season and he’s already up to 21 in just 57 games this year.

The biggest reason Tampa had to give up what they gave up for him was because of his cap hit. Yes, Coleman’s productive, but he has one year remaining on his contract at $1.8 million. The Lightning are strapped for cap space going forward, so getting someone as versatile as Coleman at that price is a bug deal for them.

Don’t be surprised if better plays fetch less of a return simply because they make more money. Most of the good teams don’t have money to blow.

Blake Coleman. That’s a hell of a player who if he gets to play regularly with Stamkos or Point, should score 30+ in a season. Enjoyed my chats with him immensely. He’s on NHL’s most cap friendly contract now. Hope he strikes it rich soon (No personal income tax state too)!

— Steve Cangialosi (@CangyManMSG) February 17, 2020

• Shea Weber can’t catch a break:

The last three years have been rough for the Canadiens captain. He’s missed a significant amount of time with foot and knee injuries during that time and he got some more bad news last week. Weber suffered a sprained ankle that will keep him out for anywhere between four and six weeks.

Last week, there was some speculation that the injury was much more serious than the Canadiens were leading on. Nick Kypreos suggested that it might be career-ending. Whether or not that’s true remains to be seen, but it’s tough to ignore Weber’s injury history now.

He played just 26 games in 2017-18, 58 games last season and if he doesn’t play again this year, he will have played in 55 contests.

The big problem is that he’s one of the two cornerstones of Montreal’s roster. He and Carey Price are the most important leaders in the locker room. And the Canadiens don’t have anyone on the roster or in the system that can come close to matching what Weber brings.

What if Kypreos is right? Does that change the way general manager Marc Bergevin has to look at all of this? Bergevin seems to believe that this team can be competitive next year, but that won’t be possible without Weber.

This situation could force him to go with a full rebuild.

• Jordan Binnington hitting a rut

Binnington was one of the main reasons the St. Louis Blues hoisted the Stanley Cup in 2019, but things have been a little rockier for him lately. That’s not totally unexpected. Once the sample size got bigger, it was only normal that he was going to struggle at some point.

He’s won just one of his last six games and he had given up three goals or more in eight consecutive games before holding the Predators to two goals on Sunday.

If you’re a Blues fan, there’s nothing to worry about yet. He’s proven to be an effective goaltender this season, too. Will the Blues lean on Jake Allen a little bit more in the immediate future? Maybe. But they’ll clearly sink or swim with Binnington at this point. When the games matter, he’ll be the one between the pipes.

They need to make sure he finds his game as quickly as possible because they are far from locked in to that top spot in the Central Division. The Blues are first with 74 points, but Dallas (72 points) and Colorado (72 points with two games in hand).

We’ll find out if the Blues can win the division soon enough.

• Bill Guerin tearing it down

The Wild general manager made it clear that his team is open for business. They’ve traded Jason Zucker away to Pittsburgh and fired head coach Bruce Boudreau already. It seems likely that there’s more to come in the next few days/weeks.

Beat writer Michael Russo reported last week that there were multiple teams interested in defensemen Matt Dumba and Jonas Brodin. Both have term left on their deal (Dumba has three years while Brodin has one year remaining). Those guys both make more than Coleman, but they’re both quality players. The return for each guy won’t be cheap.

The big question is whether or not Guerin can pull off more major moves before the Feb. 24 trade deadline. Making hockey deals isn’t easy. A lot of times these things get done at the draft or over the course of the summer.

It seems clear that no matter what happens, the Wild are beginning a painful rebuild. This is a roster filled with older players and they need to go younger. Guerin knows that.

It’ll be interesting to see just how much he can get accomplished over the course of the week.

Meanwhile, the decision to fire Boudreau wasn’t unanimous:

If you’re looking for any overarching flaw…well, this is a song that has been sung before.

The only theory that seems to hold water is that Bill Guerin wanted to have “his guy” behind the bench and the GM is serious about making changes he wants to make. Also… #MNWild pic.twitter.com/YxYPtM85EY

— HockeyViz (@HockeyViz) February 17, 2020

What’s coming up this week

• Bolts will try to match franchise record 11-game win streak: Mon. Feb. 17, 9 p.m. ET
• Sens will retire Chris Phillips’ no. 4: Tue. Feb. 18, 7:30 p.m. ET
• Semyon Varlamov going back to Colorado: Wed. Feb. 19, 10 p.m. ET

NHL on NBCSN
• Capitals vs. Golden Knights, Mon. Feb. 17, 6 p.m. ET
• Maple Leafs vs. Penguins, Tue. Feb. 18, 7 p.m. ET
• Blues vs. Wild, Sun. Feb. 23, 7:30 p.m. ET

Wednesday Night Hockey
• Rangers vs. Blackhawks, Wed. Feb. 19, 8 p.m. ET

NHL on NBC
• Penguins vs. Capitals, Sun. Feb. 23, 12:30 p.m. ET

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Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.

NHL Fantasy Hockey: Zucker, van Riemsdyk among this week’s best adds

By Ryan DadounFeb 17, 2020, 8:42 AM EST

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Welcome to our weekly Adds/Drops column, where I focus on highlighting players you should consider grabbing or be concerned about in fantasy leagues. As always, the goal here isn’t to recommend 10 players you must add and five players that need to be dropped. Context is everything and the context of each league is different. What this is instead is a guideline so that if you’re looking to make a change, you have potential players to target and if you see players I’ve suggested to drop, you can evaluate your potential alternates.

Players Worth Adding

Kailer Yamamoto, Oilers – RW: Edmonton summoned Yamamoto on Dec. 31st and they’ve never had any reason to look back. He has seven goals and 14 points in 16 games while playing primarily with Leon Draisaitl. He had some false starts earlier in his career, but he’s a talented young forward who should be a significant part of the Oilers’ offense from here onward.

Jason Zucker, Penguins – LW/RW: Zucker is owned in 58% of Yahoo leagues at this point and normally I wouldn’t highlight a player whose already been scooped up in that many leagues, but I wanted to make an exception in this case because he’s a great addition if he’s still around for you. Being acquired by the Penguins significantly boosted his fantasy value. He’s averaging 17:14 minutes since joining and, more importantly, is playing alongside Sidney Crosby. He’s an already established, skilled winger who is now playing with one of the best players in the league. This should go well and there’s already evidence that it will with him recording three points in three games with Pittsburgh.

Alex Galchenyuk, Wild – C/LW: While I see Zucker as a must-add, Galchenyuk, who was part of the same trade, is a big gamble. Like Zucker, the trade has boosted Galchenyuk’s value, but in Galchenyuk’s case, he was hovering around zero prior to this trade. While Galchenyuk was a capable top-six forward with Montreal and to a lesser extent with Arizona, he didn’t work out at all with Pittsburgh. Galchenyuk’s role steadily dropped throughout his tenure with the Penguins to the point where he was averaging just 7:21 minutes per game. In Galchenyuk’s first two games with Minnesota he logged 12:26 minutes and then 13:44 minutes – so better, but not great. Still, what makes me tempted to keep an eye on Galchenyuk is the Wild’s decision to pair him with Mats Zuccarello when he has been on the ice. This is an opportunity for Galchenyuk to re-establish himself as a top-six forward and he has all the motivation in the world given that his contract is up at the end of the season. Maybe it’s a stretch to pick him up this minute, but I would keep him in mind this next week and if it appears that he is working out in Minnesota, scoop him up.

Miles Wood, Devils – LW: Like Galchenyuk, Wood is someone to keep a close eye on for now rather than pick up right away. Wood has 10 goals and 20 points in 57 games, so he hasn’t been worth owning in standard leagues, but he’s also only been averaging 12:42 minutes. He has three goals and four points in his last six contests though while logging an average of 14:34 minutes over that span. That increase is encouraging and with Blake Coleman now in Tampa Bay, Wood’s role could increase further. On Sunday, with Coleman no longer in the lineup, Wood took his former spot on a line with Nikita Gusev and Travis Zajac. Wood also has 89 hits, so he can contribute in that regard and if your league values PIM instead, he’s noteworthy there too with 51 minutes.

James van Riemsdyk, Flyers – LW: van Riemsdyk is a hot-and-cold player who is producing right now. He has five goals and 14 points in his last 13 contests and is currently on a four-game point streak. Overall this season he’s a somewhat borderline fantasy asset in standard leagues, but at the least he’s worth considering in the short-term.

Patric Hornqvist, Penguins – RW: Hornqvist isn’t someone that makes sense to have on every fantasy team, but for those in need of a reliable right winger due to injury, he’s a good stopgap measure. He has 14 goals and 26 points in 40 games while posting a solid plus-eight rating and contributing 87 hits, so he’ll help you across the board. He’s also been performing particularly well lately with three goals and seven points in his last seven games.

Jonas Brodin, Wild – D: With two goals and 24 points in 58 games this season, Brodin is just a point shy of his career-high. That’s not enough to warrant his inclusion on the vast majority of standard league fantasy teams, but he’s not too far behind the curve. He’s at least worthy of consideration during hot streaks like the one he’s currently on. He has a goal and four points in his last five games.

Brandon Sutter, Canucks – C/RW: Sutter has never been a major offensive threat and injuries during his tenure with Vancouver have further obscured him. This season he’s appeared in just 34 games, though he has a respectable eight goals and 16 points over that span. He’s hot right now with two goals and five points in his last three games, but what makes this a little more interesting is the fact that Vancouver has given him a bigger role over that stretch. He’s averaged 14:55 minutes this season, but he’s logged between 16:05 and 19:02 minutes in each of those three games. Even if Vancouver continues to lean on him like that, he might not be a great addition in the long run, but if nothing else, he’s an okay gamble for the moment.

Craig Smith, Predators – RW: Smith has been clicking lately, scoring an incredible six goals over his last five games. With 17 goals and 28 points in 58 contests, he’s not a great player to hold onto at all times, but as long as he’s hot, he has some value. Just don’t hesitate to swap him out for someone else after he stops scoring.

Nick Bonino, Predators – C: If a center is a better fit for you right now than a right winger, than you might want to consider Smith’s linemate, Bonino. He’s been hot right alongside Smith, scoring three goals and eight points in his last 11 games. Bonino is up to 17 goal and 34 points in 58 contests this season, so he’s been a better offensive contributor than Smith, but because of how deep the center position is, Smith is owned in 12% of leagues to Bonino’s 10%.

Players You May Want To Drop

Erik Karlsson, Sharks – D: Karlsson is still owned in 75% of Yahoo leagues at the time of writing and no active owner in a single season league should have him on their team. It’s painful, but he’s already been ruled out for the rest of the season due to a broken thumb sustained on Friday, so there’s no benefit to him occupying a spot on your team. If you are in a keeper league though, there’s certainly reason to still hold onto him. Although injuries have limited Karlsson in each of the last two seasons, when he’s healthy, he’s still one of the league’s top offensive defensemen.

Ilya Kovalchuk, Canadiens – LW/RW: When Kovalchuk first joined Montreal, he seemed revitalized with four goals and eight points in eight games. He’s slowed down dramatically since then though with two goals and four points in his last 11 contests. He’s still getting big minutes in Montreal, which makes him an interesting forward to keep an eye on and there’s also the potential that the Canadiens might opt to trade him given that they’re eight points behind Toronto in the playoff race despite having played in one extra game. A trade involving Kovalchuk is more likely to hurt than help his fantasy value because it will likely result in him getting fewer minutes, but you never know. Even if you do drop him now, he’s still worth keeping a close eye on.

Anthony Beauvillier, Islanders – C/LW: Beauvillier has a solid 17 goals and 36 points in 57 games this season, but a big chunk of that production came from a recent hot streak. He had seven goals and 13 points in 10 games from Jan. 14-Feb. 10. If you had him during that time, you reaped the benefits, but he’s also had some long cold stretches and we might be witnessing the start of another after he was held off the scoresheet in his last three games.

Jake DeBrusk, Bruins – LW/RW: DeBrusk scored seven goals and 14 points in 13 games from Jan. 7-Feb. 8, but that hot streak is behind him. He’s been held off the scoresheet in each of the Bruins’ last four contests. Overall this season, he has 18 goals and 34 points in 55 games, which is decent, but not quite enough for most fantasy owners to justify holding onto him all-year-round.

Jonathan Drouin, Canadiens – C/LW: Drouin has an ankle injury, but it’s not clear yet if that’s a big issue. So far it doesn’t sound like it is. He sustained the injury on Wednesday, tried to play through it Friday, and then sat out Saturday’s game after participating in the pregame warmups. For Drouin though, this recommendation has very little to do with the injury and far more to do with his recent play. He has been limited to three assists in his last 10 games and hasn’t recorded a point in four contests since he returned from a wrist injury that cost him most of the campaign. It might be a matter of rust and if given enough time he might be able to move past it, but there’s not a ton of time even left in the campaign for him to regain his rhythm.

If you’re looking for fantasy hockey information, Rotoworld is a great resource. You can check the player news for the latest information on any player and insight into their fantasy outlook.

Every week Michael Finewax looks ahead at the schedule and offers team-by-team notes in The Week Ahead. I have a weekly Fantasy Nuggets column where I basically talk about whatever’s captured my attention that week. Gus Katsaros does an Analytics columns if you want to get into detailed statistical analysis. If you’re interested in rookies and prospects, there’s a weekly column on that written by McKeen’s Hockey.