Calgary Flames coach Darryl Sutter said rugged defenceman Chris Tanev is a game-time decision for Tuesday’s tilt against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Sutter added the decision would be up to Tanev. During practice, Tanev was paired with Noah Hanifin.
Tanev, who has missed six games with an upper-body injury, has one goal and 12 assists in 61 games with the Flames this season.
Jacob Markstrom will start against the Blackhawks and could start against the Winnipeg Jets Wednesday too, in a matchup that could decide their fate this season.
“Marky’s been really, really good for us for quite a while now so he’s earned that right for sure,” Sutter said. “It’s Game 7, you want your ace.”
Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens will be without three players when they host the Detroit Red Wings Tuesday.
Jake Allen, Rafael Harvey-Pinard and Jordan Harris will all not play but are considered day-to-day. Cayden Primeau will start in net for Montreal.
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators are creeping up on a rather inauspicious NHL record: the one for most goalies used in a season.
Leevi Merilainen is scheduled to make his NHL debut Tuesday night when the Senators take on the Carolina Hurricanes.
If Merilainen, the Senators’ third-round pick in 2020 (71st overall), does start, he would become the seventh goalie used by Ottawa this season. The NHL record is eight goalies, set by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2018-19. Ironically, Cam Talbot played for both teams.
The Senators will be tied with four other teams to start seven goalies, the most recent being the 2021-22 New Jersey Devils.
Merilainen, 20, appears to be on a fast track, as he made his pro debut with a 41-save shutout effort for AHL Belleville last weekend after spending the season with Karpat of the Finnish Elite League.
The Senators goalies have struggled this season with injuries, top starters Talbot and Anton Forsberg notably both sitting out with prolonged absences. Also seeing action this season for the club were Mats Sosgaard, Kevin Mandolese, Dylan Ferguson and Magnus Hellberg.
Elsewhere, the Senators also called up forward Egor Sokolov.
Sokolov, 22, was Ottawa’s second-round pick, 61st overall, in 2020. In 67 games with Belleville this season, he has 19 goals and 36 assists for 55 points to go along with 58 PIMs and a minus-19. He appeared in eight NHL games last season.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Matt Murray is day-to-day with a head injury, head coach Sheldon Keefe announced.
Joseph Woll was recalled from the Toronto Marlies and will get the start in goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Keefe added that they will get some reinforcements back in the lineup with Noel Acciari returning against the Blue Jackets.
Murray was injured in Sunday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings after Lucas Raymond lost his footing as he skated through the crease and accidentally clipped the Leafs netminder, who fell and hit the ice hard. Murray was slow to get up and left for the locker room and did not return.
The 28-year-old holds a 14-8-3 record with a 2.97 goals-against average and .905 save percentage this season.
Ryan O’Reilly is still not ready to make his return since he fractured the index finger on his left hand when it was struck with a shot by Auston Matthews in Vancouver on March 4 and he had surgery on March 7 in New Jersey. Acquired from the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 17, O’Reilly has played eight games with Toronto scoring three goals and five points.
Acciari has missed the last three games with a neck injury. Acciari has appeared in 17 games with the Leafs since being acquired from the Blues and has three goals in that time.
With the Leafs going with the traditional 12-6 lineup, defenceman Luke Schenn will get the night off and draw back in for Thursdays against the Boston Bruins. Erik Gustafsson will rejoin the team after dealing with a personal matter and skate in warmup but will not play as he gets back up to speed.
New York Rangers
Patrick Kane did not skate Tuesday in what the New York Rangers are calling a maintenance day.
Kane, obtained by the Rangers from the Chicago Blackhawks ahead of the trade deadline, hasn’t exactly lit it up for the Broadway Blueshirts. In 16 games with the Rangers, he has five goals and five assists for 10 points.
Kane, 34, is averaging 17:35 in ice time for the Rangers, well below his career 20:18 ATOI with the Blackhawks, for whom he played 16 seasons and won three Stanley Cups.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Head coach Brad Larsen confirms that goalie Jet Greaves will make his NHL debut tonight as he gets the start in Toronto against the Maple Leafs.
The Cambridge, Ont., was recalled from the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters where he has a 16-14-5 with a 3.23 GAA, .895 SV% and one shutout in 38 appearances.
Defenceman Adam Boqvist was back on the ice at morning skate after missing three games with an illness.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Goaltender Tristan Jarry will get the nod for the Penguins in a pivotal Tuesday matchup against the New Jersey Devils.
Jarry made 31 saves in a 4-3 victory over the Boston Bruins in his last start. He has a 22-11-6 record this season with a 2.93 GAA and a .909 save percentage but has gone 0-1-1 against New Jersey this season.
Pittsburgh sits one point ahead of the Florida Panthers for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. They are also a point behind the New York Islanders who have played one more game than the Penguins.
St. Louis Blues
Blues head coach Craig Berube said Robert Thomas is a game-time decision against the Philadelphia Flyers while Pavel Buchnevich will not play.
Thomas has missed the last three games with an upper-body injury. The 23-year-old has 17 goals and 63 points in 60 games for the Blues this season.
This will be Buchnevich’s fourth game missed with an upper-body injury. In 59 games this season, Buchnevich has 25 goals and 66 points.
Marco Scandella will be out for the rest of the season with a lower-body injury and goaltender Thomas Greiss had a surgical procedure on Monday.
New Jersey Devils
Forward Nathan Bastian took line rushes at Devils practice Tuesday, indicating he could return for Tuesday night’s matchup with the Penguins.
Bastian, 25, has been out since March 12 with an upper-body injury.
Bastian has six goals and six assists in 39 games with New Jersey.
Curtis Lazar remains day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Detroit Red Wings
Rookie Marco Kasper will not play Tuesday with a lower-body injury, but could return later this week. Kasper, the Red Wings’ first-round pick in 2022, made his NHL debut Sunday against the Maple Leafs.
Ville Husso will start in net for Detroit after missing the last seven games with a lower-body injury.