Tampa Bay Lightning centre Brayden Point is expected to play in Game 4 on Monday night, according to head coach Jon Cooper.
Point collided with the boards after a hit from Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly in Game 3 on Saturday night that sparked a melee involving some of the NHL’s top players.
Point looked to be in discomfort after the collision and left for the dressing room. The 27-year-old did return to the game and finished with 24:52 of playing time in a 4-3 overtime loss. Only Brandon Hagel played more (25:16) amongst Tampa forwards.
Forward Matthew Tkachuk has been fined $5,000 by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for a cross-check he delivered on Boston’s Garnet Hathaway on Sunday.
Tkachuk arrived late to a scrum behind the Florida net, just as the first period was ending, and cross-checked Hathaway across the lower back and was assessed a two-minute penalty.
Speaking of the Panthers, it turns out forward Anthony Duclair suffered an injury during pre-game warmups on Sunday, which is why he did not play Game 4 against the Bruins, according to George Richards of FloridaHockeyNow.com.
There had been speculation that Duclair had been a healthy scratch.
Defenceman Aaron Ekblad also did not play in that game, but was seen skating Monday morning by Colby Guy of FloridaHockeyNow.com, albeit in a non-contact jersey. Duclair did eventually join Monday’s skate.
Ekblad had to leave Game 3 on Friday at about the midway point with an undisclosed injury. As a guy who averaged 23:24 minutes this season on the blue line for Florida, the club will be crossing its fingers he can play in Game 5.
Bruins forward Brad Marchand would like some privacy, if that’s not too much to ask.
The Bruins veteran took issue with the microphones near the benches that captured an altercation and some less-than-family-friendly language at the end of Game 3 with the Panthers, according to Jimmy Murphy of BostonHockeyNow.com.
The play in question saw Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk repeatedly yell misogynistic insults at Boston centre Tomas Nosek about his wife. Marchand defended the language, taking issue instead with the fact the hot mics captured them.
“I think the NHL and the media outlets cross the line by allowing those mics,” Marchand told the media after Game 4. “There’s a reason guys don’t want mics on the bench, and that’s because they’re going to take advantage of it at some point, and they did. Regardless of what’s said by Tkachuk or other guys, there should never be an instance where a mic picks up any of that stuff.”
Marchand went on to add that the language that was heard is “part of the game.”
Bergeron likely to return in Game 5
Patrice Bergeron did not travel with the Bruins for Games 3 and 4 of their first-round playoff series against the Panthers but it sounds like he is close to returning to the lineup.
General manager Don Sweeney told reporters Monday that Bergeron is expected to skate with the team for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury in the regular-season finale against the Montreal Canadiens.
The team will then determine if Bergeron will be able to suit up for Game 5 against the Panthers which takes place Wednesday at 7 p.m. at TD Garden.
The Bruins hold a 3-1 series lead over the Panthers with the series going back to Boston.
The Jets will be without forward Nikolaj Ehlers, yet again, in Game 4 on Monday night, according to Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe. The Dane has not yet been medically cleared to play and has yet to skate in these playoffs.
In goal, the team will have Arvid Holm backing up Connor Hellebuyck, as David Rittich is dealing with a suspected lower-body issue.
The Kraken will go into Game 4 with pretty much the lineup, aside from the likely return of Morgan Geekie, according to Thomas Drance of The Athletic.
Geekie missed Saturday’s Game 3 loss to Colorado in order to attend the birth of his child. The 24-year-old had 28 points in 69 games this season, plus a goal in the first two playoff games of Seattle’s first ever post-season series.
The Kraken are down 2-1 to the defending champ Avalanche, after winning Game 1.
NHL
The Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto has launched a new marketing campaign. If you have a chance to visit, don’t forget to keep your head up.