Columbus Blue Jackets News

With Olli Maatta out long-term and both Kris Letang and Brian Dumoulin getting banged up on Saturday, the Penguins were in the market for a defenseman. The game may be a little fast for Gudbranson in 2019 but he brings a big, rugged style of play to a Penguins blueline that is really thin right now.

Coyle, 26, was born 45 minutes outside of Boston and attended Boston University for two seasons before playing one season in the QMJHL. Coyle was a first-round pick (No.28 overall) in 2010 and has registered 242 points (91G / 151A) in 479 career NHL games since then. Coyle has excellent hands for a player who is 6-foot-3, 221 lbs. but has settled in as more of a playmaker in the NHL, posting a career-high of just 21 goals back in 2016. This season, Coyle has 10 goals and 18 assists (28 points) in 60 games and should be a nice addition to the Wild’s middle-6. Coyle is capable of playing both centre and wing.

The Oilers needed to shed some cap-space so that they could activate defenseman Andrej Sekera and Talbot is in the final year of a three-year deal that carries a $4.166M AAV cap-hit and Stolarz’s $761K AAV provides them with over $3.4M in savings. Since his breakout year in 2017, Talbot has struggled—tying for 39th in the NHL in SV% (.903) and 43rd in GAA (3.13). Talbot has ties to rookie netminder Carter Hart, as they train together in the summer, so bringing in a quality veteran to help Hart along the way is the reason the Flyers made this deal. If Talbot plays well, Philly may re-sign him and make Hart-Talbot their 1-2 punch in net for the next couple of seasons.

Nichushkin was back in the Stars lineup on Tuesday but played just 7:42 TOI and will come back out of the lineup on Thursday.

Copley allowed three goals on 37 shots in the Capitals win over the Avalanche last Thursday. It was the first win for Copley in nearly one month and moved him to 4-1-2 with a 2.65 GAA and .917 SV% on home-ice this season. Tonight he faces a Kings team that has played very well on their current road-trip, going 3-1-1 while averaging 3.40 goals for per game.

Nichushkin has been a healthy scratch for the last three games but will replace Dennis Gurianov on Tuesday. Nichushkin has been disappointing since returning from the KHL, failing to score a goal with seven assists in 39 games.

Copley allowed three goals on 37 shots in the Capitals win over the Avalanche last Thursday. It was the first win for Copley in nearly one month and moved him to 4-1-2 with a 2.65 GAA and .917 SV% on home-ice this season. Tonight he faces a Kings team that has played very well on their current road-trip, going 3-1-1 while averaging 3.40 goals for per game.

Copley allowed three goals on 17 shots after replacing Braden Holtby in the Capitals loss in Chicago on January 20th. Copley has struggled over the course of the last month, allowing a combined 15 goals on the last 94 shots (.840 SV%) that he has faced. In his first start against Colorado this season, Copley stopped 24 of 26 shots in a 3-2 overtime win (Nov.16).

Talbot was pulled after allowing four goals on 27 shots in the Oilers loss to the Blackhawks on Tuesday. In his last four outings, Talbot has gone 0-2-1 with a 5.07 GAA and .864 SV%. Even facing a Wild team that is 13-13-1 on the road this season, Talbot should likely be left on you bench or on the waiver-wire.

Heinen was a healthy scratch for the last two games but will replace David Backes on the Bruins third line on Wednesday. It has been a tough season for Heinen, who has six goals and seven assists (13 points) in 49 games this season.

Talbot allowed five goals on 39 shots in the Oilers loss in Philadelphia on Saturday. Talbot has allowed at least three goals in five straight games, going 1-2-1 with a 4.83 GAA and .862 SV%. Tonight he plays a Blackhawks team that has won four in a row. Chicago’s power-play is also clicking at a 37.8% clip since January 1st—Edmonton’s PK is at 71.4% (worst in the NHL) over that same span.

Talbot allowed five goals on 39 shots in the Oilers loss in Philadelphia on Saturday. Talbot has allowed at least three goals in five straight games, going 1-2-1 with a 4.83 GAA and .862 SV%. Tonight he plays a Blackhawks team that has won four in a row. Chicago’s power-play is also clicking at a 37.8% clip since January 1st—Edmonton’s PK is at 71.4% (worst in the NHL) over that same span.

Jaros missed Monday’s practice and is expected to miss all three games this week. The Senators left a slight chance that he could play this week but will likely have to recall a defenseman before heading to Toronto for Wednesday’s game.

Nichushkin has been in the lineup for the last two games but will be replaced by Jason Dickinson, who returns from a lower-body injury.