Despite leaving Thursday’s game against the Rangers with his nagging foot injury, Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson is expected to suit up this afternoon in a pivotal Game Five matchup, reports Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun. The scribe adds that Ottawa’s captain is having his foot frozen before every game in an effort to try to dull some of the pain but that he appears to be walking okay.
Karlsson revealed after the opening round of the playoffs that he has been playing with two hairline fractures in his foot and while he was optimistic that it would be fully healed in time for their series against New York, that hardly seems to be the case now. As Ottawa’s top defender and one that has been logging a ton of ice time so far (28:45 per game, the highest among any player still active in the postseason), they will be leaning on him heavily even if he is still not quite 100%.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- Despite coming off a strong season, MLive’s Ansar Khan suggests that the Red Wings will likely still have a hard time trying to move goaltender Jimmy Howard this offseason. With two years left on his deal with a cap charge of $5.3MM, he may be deemed a bit too pricey for teams looking for new starters, especially with it being a deep class in free agency. As for Petr Mrazek, Khan expects that the asking price will remain high and given the season he had (a 3.04 GAA and a .901 SV% in 50 games), it’s unlikely that another team will be willing to make the type of offer that GM Ken Holland would need to be willing to part with him.
- Sabres blueliner Casey Nelson dealt with a lingering neck issue that had him in and out of the lineup on several occasions this year, notes John Vogl of the Buffalo News. Despite making the opening roster, the 24 year old spent the bulk of the season at the minor league level, getting into 58 games with AHL Rochester. Nelson will be returning to school this summer as he looks to finish his degree at Minnesota State Mankato after signing with the Sabres following his junior year back in 2016.