In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is talk coming out of Montreal that Max Domi is of the understanding that this will be his last run with the team, the Vancouver Canucks have lost Micheal Ferland for the series, the Oilers are down two key players, and the NHL has announced the date of Phase 2 of the NHL Draft Lottery.
Domi To Want Out of Montreal?
There’s been a lot of talk over the past 24 hours that Max Domi can’t be happy with the Montreal Canadiens. He’s been delegated to the fourth line and his minutes in each game are dropping, despite being the team’s leading scorer last season and returning to the playoffs even though it’s more dangerous for him health-wise to be there.
Eric Engels noted yesterday:
Five shifts for Max Domi in the first period. Only Evans (3:08) and Weise (3:03) with less than his 3:33. No one on either side played less than his 2:39 at even strength.
Former NHL coach and TVA Sports analyst Michel Bergeron (translation required) went off on the decision to play Domi so little. He said it is unacceptable for one of the Canadiens’ best players to be paired with the worst and thinks the relationship between Julien and Domi is beyond repair. Bergeron said:
“The time is now. You put Domi in Jonathan Drouin’s spot on the first line and you hope for the best! What makes it even worse is that general manager Marc Bergevin supports Julien’s lineup decisions. There is something going on with this team!”
Domi said of his spot on the roster:
“whenever you are on the ice, you’re expected to go 100% and do what it takes to help the team win. It doesn’t matter where you’re playing or who you’re playing with, just make the most of the time you’re on the ice…”
NHL Announces Day Two of Draft Lottery
The official date of the second NHL Draft Lottery has been announced by the NHL. On August 10, 2020, the league will hold Phase 2 of their draft lottery since a play-in team won the right to draft the first overall pick.
More than likely, that team will pick superstar prospect Alexis Lafreniere. Thedraft lottery will take place on Monday at 5pm CT, giving each of the eight teams that are eliminated in the qualification round a 12.5% chance at the first-overall pick. The seven teams that are not awarded the top pick will receive draft positions between 9-15 based on inverse order of their regular season points percentage.
Micheal Ferland Done For Series, Has Left NHL Bubble
The Vancouver Canucks have announced that Micheal Ferland has sustained an injury that will force him to leave his team and the Edmonton bubble. He will not be available for the remainder of the series with the Minnesota Wild.
The severity of his injury is not known. All that is known is that it appears not to be short-term. Early reports were that maybe a blocked shot led to a lower-body injury, but TSN has reported that’s likely not the case.
More and More Players Ruled “Unfit to Play”
As these playoffs roll along, there are more and more names being added to the “unfit to play” list. Some of them are on the list and there’s no information as to why.
Ryan Rishaug tweeted that Edmonton Oilers defenseman Adam Larsson was labeled unfit to play, but right after head coach Dave Tippett said the entire team would be available. There is no word on what happened to Larsson between the coach’s media avail and Game 3. Caleb Jones came in for the missing Larsson.
The Oilers also lost Tyler Ennis during last night’s game as he took a nasty fall while trying to avoid a hit. He was helped off the ice and didn’t return. Tippett said he would be evaluated on Thursday .
Craig Morgan of The Athletic notes that Arizona Coyotes forward Nick Schmaltz missed his third consecutive game yesterday. Goaltender Antti Raanta is also unfit to play.
The Dallas Stars were without defenseman John Klingberg and goaltender Ben Bishop were unfit to play last night against the Avalanche.
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