Getzlaf, Silfverberg, Fleury named our 'Three Stars of the Night'

NEW YORK -- UNB! Network NHL/hockey blog "The Neutral Zone" has named Ryan Getzlaf, Jakob Silfverberg, and Marc-Andre Fleury as their 'Three Stars of the Night' for all NHL Playoff games that took place on May 3, 2017.

FIRST STAR - RYAN GETZLAF, F, ANAHEIM DUCKS

Getzlaf (2-1—3) scored his 36th playoff goal to surpass Teemu Selanne for most in franchise history, and also tied Corey Perry with most three-point playoff games in Ducks history (6).

SECOND STAR - JAKOB SILFVERBERG, F, ANAHEIM DUCKS

Silfverberg scored 0:45 into overtime as Ducks evened their series 2-2 with Edmonton.

THIRD STAR - MARC ANDRE FLEURY, G, PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

Fleury (36 saves) became 16th goalie NHL history, and second in as many nights, to win 60 career playoff games.

Fleury, Dubnyk, Kessel named our 'Three Stars of the Night'

NEW YORK – UNB! Network NHL/hockey blog 'The Neutral Zone' has named Marc-Andre Fleury, Devan Dubnyk, and Phil Kessel as their 'Theee Stars of the Night' for the National Hockey League games taking place on March 10, 2017.

FIRST STAR - MARC-ANDRE FLEURY, G, PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

Fleury of the Penguins earned the 374th win of his NHL career to tie John Vanbiesbrouck for 15th on the all-time list.

SECOND STAR - DEVAN DUBNYK, G, MINNESOTA WILD

Dubnyk earned his 36th win of 2016-17 to match his single-season career high from 2014-15.

THIRD STAR - PHIL KESSEL, F, PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

Kessel scored the decisive goal in the shootout to guide the Penguins (42-16-8, 92 points) to their fourth consecutive win.

NHL Trade Rumors: Penguins want Flames' first-round pick

"The Neutral Zone" Staff Report

Do the Flames want Marc-Andre Fleury, and do the
Penguins want the Flames 2016 first-rounder in
return?

Eric Francis of The Calgary Sun says that the news source has learned that Pittsburgh Penguins GM Jim Rutherford is asking for the Calgary Flames’ first round draft pick for Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

That first-round pick the Penguins reportedly want is the sixth pick overall at Friday’s NHL Entry Draft in Buffalo.

"It’s not going to happen, nor should it," says Francis.

Francis believes that Fleury’s value started declining heavily the minute the Andersen trade was made and will continue to drop as the Flames explore several other options such as Blues goalie Brian Elliott or unrestricted free agent James Reimer.


Francis believes that the Flames are still interested in acquiring Fleury.

Injury Notebook: 2016 Playoffs Round 1 Edition

"The Neutral Zone" Staff Report

Dan Girardi participates in the Rangers morning
practice on Monday, April 11, 2016. (@NYRangers)

McDonagh not ready to face Penguins, Girardi may be: The New York Rangers are down two defenseman, Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh,

Both defenseman practiced on Monday, and it seemed as if Girardi was recovering from his injury rather quickly.

Athough both players practiced, both left the ice before the formal practice begun.

"[McDonagh] is definitely not going to start (the series)," Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault said after practice Monday. "He is day-to-day."

McDonagh did skating drills, but never took shots before practice while wearing a no-contact jersey.


"We obviously want him back as soon as we can," defenseman Marc Staal said about McDonagh. "Anytime you are going into a game without your captain, you need other guys to step up and play well. That is what we will try to do."

Girardi skated before practice and was scheduled to skate after practice, according to Vigneault.

Forwards Eric Staal, Mats Zuccarello (lower body) and Viktor Stalberg (lower body) were full participants in practice Monday. Staal had a scary incident after colliding with his teammate Jesper Fast in the Rangers' regular season finale against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, while Zuccarelo and Stalerg missed the games with their respetive injuries.

"Everybody was there, everybody is good to go," Vigneault said.

Seguin's status for Game One still uncertain: Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin practiced Monday with his team, but his status for Game 1 in Round 1 against the MInnesota Wild is still uncertain.

Seguin practiced on Monday in a red no-contact jersey.

"It's not fully up to me, so I'm doing everything I can to be prepared and obviously I want to play," Seguin said.

Stars head coah Lindy Ruff is confident that Seguin can reach 100 percent good health.

"I think today was the next step," Ruff said. "I think when he can go 100 percent, go full out, we'll know where he's at. It might be tomorrow, it might be Wednesday, but today was a good step in the right direction for him."

Fleury practices with Penguins: Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury practiced Monday after recieving his second concussion of the season earlier in his 2015-16 campaign.

After the practice, Fleury said he felt good but was unable to say if he would be ready for Round One against the New York Rangers.

"I skated by myself the past few days, so it was good to get out there with the guys," Fleury said. "It's never easy to watch them … Just [taking it] one day at a time. It was my first practice." 

Parise and Haula miss second consecutive practice: Minnesota Wild forwards Zach Parise and Erik Haula missed practice for the second consecutive day on Monday.

It is in doubt if both players will play in Round One against the Dallas Stars. 

Penguins lose three players for next two games; Fleury making progress

"The Neutral Zone" Staff Report

The Pittsburgh Penguins announced on Thursday that players Olli Maatta, Bryan Rust, and Evgeni Malkin will miss the next two games with injuries.

As a corresponding move, the Penguins have recalled forward Tom Destino from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League.

Fleury making progress: Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan on Thursday said that the team's starting goaltender Marc Andre Fleury is making progress from his injury.

"He is making significant progress," Sullivan said. "He is an important part of this team."

Penguins activate Fleury, send down Murray

"The Neutral Zone" Roster Report

The Pittsburgh Penguins activated goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury from injured reserve, the team announced Saturday.

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said Fleury will be in goal Saturday when the Penguins host the New York Islanders.

Fleury has been sidelined since reporting concussion-liked symptoms following a loss to the Washington Capitals on Dec. 14. The 31-year-old returned to practice on Dec. 29.

The Penguins have reassigned goalie Matt Murray to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League in a corresponding move. Murray, 21, went 2-1-1 with a 1.72 GAA and .938 SV% in four games with the Penguins.

Penguins goalie Fleury, defenseman Letang, practice on Tuesday

"The 100 Yards" Roster Report

Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and defenseman Kris Letang practiced with the team on Tuesday.

Fleury has not played since December 14th due to a concussion.

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said that there is no timetable for Fleury's return  to game action.

"I felt pretty good out there today," Fleury said in comments tweeted by the team. "I'm not sure when I'm going to be back. It's going to be gradual."

Letang sustained an upper body injury on Devcember 9th against the Colorado Avalanche. He returned to game action on Saturday against the Minnesota Wild but sustained a hit from Wild forward Jarrett Stoll that caused Letang to leave the game and sit out on Sunday against the Winnipeg Jets. Letang has only played three games since the beginning of December.

It is unclear at this time if Letang will play on Wednesday when the Penguins will host the Tornoro Maple Leafs.

"Letang had a pretty good practice today," Sullivan said. "We'll see how he is tomorrow morning. We will make decisions from there."

Marc-Andre Fleury at the Penguins practice on Tuesday,
December 29th, 2015

Injury Notebook: Goaltenders Fleury and Smith, and Forward Bennett face injuries

"The Neutral Zone" Injury Report

Marc-Andre Fleury

Fleury And Bennett Injured For Pittsburgh Penguins:
Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury will miss at least 1-2 weeks with a concussion, general manager Jim Rutherford told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Tuesday.

Fleury told the Penguins he wasn't feeling right Monday night after he made 30 saves in a 4-1 loss to the Washington Capitals. Coach Mike Sullivan told the Post-Gazette that Fleury didn't indicate when anything that might have led to the concussion took place.

Forward Beau Bennett was injured against the Capitals and is out 4-6 weeks with an upper-body injury, Sullivan said.


Bennett left the game late in the first period after being hit into the boards by Capitals forward T.J. Oshie. It's the latest setback for the 20th pick in the 2010 NHL Draft, who has battled knee and wrist injuries and has never played more than 49 NHL games in a season. He already has a career-high five goals in 24 games this season.

Mike Smith Injured For Coyotes:
Arizona Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith had surgery Tuesday to repair a core muscle injury and is expected to miss 8-10 weeks, the Coyotes announced.

Goalie Anders Lindback will get the majority of work with Smith out but the Coyotes will also explore trade options to add a goaltender.

Smith is 10-9-1 with a 3.06 goals-against average and .901 save percentage in 22 games this season for Arizona, which is in second place in the Pacific Division.


Smith was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy in 2011-12. He won 38 games with a 2.21 GAA and .930 save percentage and led the Coyotes to the Western Conference Final, the last time they qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.