Malkin was on the ice for the morning skate taking line rushes with Jussi Jokinen and James Neal. His participation in the morning skate suggests that he will be good to go tonight in game 1 vs. the Blue Jackets.
Prust missed the final 12 games of the regular season. He was in practice on Tuesday skating on the second line with Tomas Plekanec and Brandon Gallagher. The 30-year-old is the type of player you need on your roster in the playoffs, but he has just four points in 28 career playoff games.
Tarasenko has not played since suffering an injury to his right hand in the final moments of a game at Nashville on March 15. Tarasenko, who had 21 goals this season, had a cast removed on Monday and skated without that protection for the first time on Tuesday. He looked good while shooting and handling pucks. “We'll see,” Tarasenko said, when asked how soon he could play. “I don't know yet. We'll see tomorrow.
Oshie skated again on Tuesday and said he is feeling better. Blues' head coach Ken Hitchcock said that all of his injured players will be back at some point in round 1, but Oshie might not be ready for game 1. "You've got to see how I am tonight, how I am tomorrow morning," said Oshie. "It really is a day to day thing. If I can, if medically it's OK and I'm not going to hurt myself worse, or hurt my team, I'll be in."
With Ben Bishop still out with an arm injury, Lindback will get the call in game 1 vs. the Habs. He struggled all season long, but after Bishop got hurt he won all three outings while stopping 77 of 79 shots (.975 SV%). He has played well, but this definitely favours the Habs as they have Olympic Gold medalist Carey Price between the pipes.
Bishop missed the final three games of the regular season after suffering an arm injury last Tuesday vs. the Maple Leafs. This is a huge blow for the Lightning, and Bishop must be extremely disappointed after he won 37 games with a 2.23 GAA and .924 SV% this season. This leaves Anders Lindback to get the nod vs. Montreal.
MacDonald was acquired by the Flyers around this year's trade deadline on March 4 from the NY Islanders, and since joining the team, has four assists in 19 games and recorded over 20 minutes of ice-time in 14 of those games, including a Flyers-high of 28:49 at Pittsburgh on April 12. The 6-1, 190-pound defenseman led all NHL players in blocked shots this season with 242 and was one of three players in the NHL with over 200 blocks. He finished the season with four goals and 24 assists for 28 points in 82 games between the Islanders and Flyers.
Mitchell missed the final two games of the regular season and likely will not play in the first round vs. Minnesota. Mitchell had scored two goals with four assists in seven games since returning from a back injury.
Barrie suffered an upper-body injury on Friday vs. the Sharks was held out on Sunday vs. the Ducks mainly as a precaution and should be good to go on Thursday.
Kane missed the final 12 games of the regular season after suffering a sprained knee. Kane said he felt ‘’pretty good’’ after Monday’s workout. But he acknowledged ‘’we’ll know a little bit more’’ after practicing with the team Tuesday and Wednesday. Even then, until Game 1, the status of Kane’s recovery will be up in the air.
The Blackhawks decided to sit Toews the rest of the regular season and make sure he was fit for the playoffs. ‘’I don’t feel like I lost anything,’’ Toews said. Toews generally is one of the last players to worry about making that adjustment. In 2012 he missed the final 22 games of the regular season with a concussion, then scored a goal 4:04 into the Hawks’ playoff opener against the Phoenix Coyotes. Toews was a plus-4 in the first two games of that series. If anything, it’ll be up to Toews’ teammates to follow his lead.
Zetterberg will not play when the first-round series against the Presidents' Trophy-winning Boston Bruins begins Friday, nor will he be available for Game 2 on Easter Sunday. That much already has been determined, general manager Ken Holland said. Zetterberg, even provided that he has no setbacks, isn't likely to be available until the second round.
Foligno missed the last six games of the regular season and will miss Game 1. He is expected to be back in the lineup at some point in the first round, but will not be there on Wednesday.
Umberger missed the last four games of the regular season and will miss game 1. He is expected to return at some point during the first round, but is not ready for game 1.
Semin played three of the Hurricanes' seven games in April and sat out the final two. In his second season with the team he had 22 goals and 42 points in 65 games. He was held without a goal or a point in his final six games.
Vokoun went 1-1 with a 2.41 GAA and .891 SV% in his two game conditioning stint.. He was playing his first games since having emergency surgery to dissolve a blood clot in late September.
Sedin crumpled to the ice after getting hit in the numbers by Calgary’s Paul Byron in the Vancouver zone with 2:44 left in the period. The Canucks’ trainer rushed to Sedin’s side and immediately signalled for a stretcher. The Canucks said Sedin was taken in stable condition to Vancouver General Hospital to undergo further evaluation. He exhibited signs of movement to his extremities and showed improvement from initially being hit.
The injury also cost Bernier five games in March. He said he would be healthy for training camp in September. "I felt pretty good," he said. "It was sore but my range, my stretching was fine. I think a lot of players play through that." Bernier had a 26-19-7 record this season with a 2.68 GAA and .923 SV%. In a very frustrating season for the Maple Leafs, Bernier was a bright spot and proved that he can be a number-1 goalie in the NHL.
