CarterHud

The Ottawa Senators are having an amazing 2016-17 season. They are second in the Atlantic division with a record of  31-19-6 (68 points), and have 3 games in hand on the Montreal Canadiens, who are in first place with 70 points (just 2 higher than the Sens\’ 68). Guys like Mark Stone, Mike Hoffman, Ryan Dzingel and Zack Smith are having great seasons. But something that occurred today could bring them down a step. Forward Bobby Ryan was injured in Saturday\’s win against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and is marked out indefinitely. The injury is on his right index finger, after taking a shot off of it Saturday. Ryan missed 5 games earlier this season with an injury to the same finger. It seems to be broken. \”He got a shot on the hand,\” Senators\’ head coach Guy Boucher said via the Ottawa Citizen. \”He finished the game but he\’s out indefinitely. It could be [broken]. They\’re checking today again but it could be [broken]. He\’ll be out for awhile. If it\’s broken, we\’re talking three-to-six weeks.\” Ryan has 12 goals and 12 assists (24 points) in 50 games this season. He\’s been hot lately, with 3 points in the last 2 games. It looks like winger Curtis Lazar will play in Ryan\’s place Sunday against the Winnipeg Jets. Ryan isn\’t having an amazing year this year, but he once put up 71 points in a season (2010-11). He has 63 goals and 158 points over 3 seasons with the Sens, not including this year (that 71 point season was when he was a member of the Anaheim Ducks).

  
The St. Louis Blues have claimed RW Ty Rattie off waivers from the Carolina Hurricanes. Let\’s get into details.
   The Blues had Rattie from 2011 (when they drafted him 32nd overall) to this January, when the Canes claimed him off waivers from them. Back then, the Blues didn\’t need him. But after that, forward Robby Fabbri went down with a season ending injury, and the Blues wished they still had Rattie. Forwards like Kenny Agostino and Wade Megan were called up (they\’re both playing for Chicago (AHL) now). When the Hurricanes placed Rattie on waivers, GM Doug Armstrong knew he had to make a move. Rattie, 24, has 10 points in just 35 career NHL games. He has no points in 4 NHL games this year with the Blues, and 2 assists in 5 games for the Canes. He was sent to Chicago (AHL) right after he was claimed.
     I\’m a little surprised that Rattie was placed on waivers by the Canes. Rattie is a RW, and now their only RW on the roster is Lee Stempniak. The guy who they called up to replace Rattie, Phillip Di Giuseppe, is a LW, one of 7 on their roster. Di Giuseppe, 23, is a year younger than Rattie so the Canes might have liked him more for that reason (probably not). Di Giuseppe has 2 points (a goal and an assist) in 18 NHL games this season.
   

  

The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired C Sergey Kalinin from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for D Victor Loov. Here\’s why it happened.
    The Devils placed Kalinin on waivers earlier this week, and now have 13 forwards on their roster. Coach John Hynes might want all 13 to split games, and LW Michael Cammalleri will be a healthy scratch Saturday vs the New York Islanders. They cleared out more roster space earlier this season, when they traded away RW Vernon Fiddler. There was no point to have Kalinin, 25, who has 2 goals and 4 points in 43 NHL games this season. They got Loov, 24, who\’s a defenseman, which is a positional need for New Jersey. Loov will report to Albany (AHL). Loov has 6 points (2 goals) in 41 games with the Toronto Marlies (AHL) this season. He has just 4 games of NHL experience, all last season.
      The Leafs have many rookie forwards like Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander,
Connor Brown, Zach Hyman and Nikita Soshnikov, so it\’s a little questionable why they acquired Kalinin. Loov, who is currently hurt, was about their 10th or 12th defenseman on their depth chart, so they didn\’t need him. Toronto scouts must have seen things about Kalinin that they liked, so they traded for him. Kalinin will report to Toronto (AHL).

   The New Jersey Devils have had a very up and down season. They traded D Adam Larsson for LW Taylor Hall this offseason, and despite injuries, Hall has 37 points (13 goals, 24 assists) in 47 games this season. Right before the season started, the Devils claimed RW P.A. Parenteau off waivers from the New York Islanders. Parenteau has taken off, with 13 goals and 25 points in 55 games. But the Devils are in 7th place in the Metropolitan division with 58 points in 57 games. Some negative news came out of the locker room Saturday when it was announced that LW Mike Cammalleri will be a healthy scratch for Saturday\’s game against the Islanders. Cammalleri, 34, can be considered a star by some. He has 10 goals and 30 points in 51 games this year, but hasn\’t scored in 18 games. \”I\’ve been, in my opinion, committed to we\’re trying to do all over the ice,\” Cammalleri said. \”The puck just hasn\’t gone in, and I\’ll try to continue to search for solutions. It\’s something I\’m confident changes.\” The Devils might need Cammalleri to play better, as they have him signed for the next 2 years, owing him $5 million per season, and drastic drop-offs could come. If the Devils want to compete for a playoff spot, they\’ll need to make trades. That kind of contract can affect a team\’s salary cap, especially if that player is not preforming well. I don\’t think the Devils will make the playoffs, but will be sellers at the trade deadline instead. It\’s not certain if Cammalleri will play Sunday against the Isles, but I expect Hynes will play him. In case your wondering, RW Beau Bennett will start in Cammalleri\’s place Saturday.  

   Ever since December 12, 2015, the Pittsburgh Penguins have been the best hockey team in the NHL. That day marks when the Penguins fired head coach Mike Johnston, replacing him with Mike Sullivan. The Penguins went on to win the Stanley Cup that season, and are doing really nice in 2016-17, with a record of 36-13-7 (79 points), good enough for 2nd place in the Metropolitan division. They have that record even though stars Evgeni Malkin, Matt Murray and Kris Letang have missed significant time due to injury. Another injury has come across their roster, as it was announced that defenseman Olli Maatta will miss the next 6 weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a hand injury. The 22 year old is in his 4th season in the NHL (all with Pittsburgh), and has 1 goal and 6 assists (7 points) in 54 games this season. He\’s also a +17. The injury occurred when Winnipeg Jets center Adam Lowry hit him in Thursday\’s 4-3 OT winner. Penguins center Sidney Crosby scored point #1,000 in the game. Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz sat out the 3rd period Thursday, but no word on him has been announced yet. To replace Maatta (and maybe even Schultz), the Penguins recalled defensemen Cameron Gaunce and Steve Oleksy from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL). The 26 year old Gaunce has 2 assists and is a +3 in 3 games earlier this season for the Penguins. In 47 games in the AHL, Gaunce has 13 points and is a +15. Oleksy, 31, has an assist, a +2 rating in 9 NHL games this season.