Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Muzzin will enter the Stanley Cup playoffs as one of the hottest blueliners in the league, with him sitting on a five-game point streak after Friday's 4-2 loss to the Jets. The veteran notched an assist on Pierre Engvall's fourth goal in five games. Ilya Mikheyev scored the other one for the Leafs. Morgan Rielly, who also posted an assist on Friday, finished as the team's top scorer among defensemen with 34 points, but Muzzin made a late surge to reach 27 points for the regular season. 10 of the points came in his last nine outings, so the 32-year-old should definitely be a DFS target during the postseason.
Winnipeg Jets left wing Kyle Connor led the charge against Toronto on Friday, scoring twice in a 4-2 victory. Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler each notched two assists. Mason Appleton and Jensen Harkins also found the back of the net. Having lit the lamp 26 times, Connor finished the regular season as Winnipeg's top goal-scorer. He also reached 50 points for the year on Friday, which put him second behind Scheifele (63). The 24-year-old will head into the postseason in red-hot form, having averaged two points per game in his last three regular-season outings.
Winnipeg Jets forward Andrew Copp will not be in the lineup Friday for an undisclosed reason. The Jets are expecting Copp to be playing in their first-round playoff matchup against Edmonton. Copp has been a critical component of his team's success in 2021. The Ann Arbor, Michigan native, is responsible for 15 tallies and 24 helpers through 55 regular-season games. Versus Friday's opponent, the Maple Leafs, he produced four points in three contests.
Winnipeg Jets defenseman Tucker Poolman will not skate Friday against Toronto for undisclosed reasons. He is also questionable for Winnipeg's first playoff game against Edmonton on Wednesday, May 19th. Poolman has recorded just one assist in 39 games for the Jets. The Dubuque, Iowa native logs a decent amount of ice time, averaging 18:18 minutes of ice per game. Poolman is a third-year player that has 19 points in 120 regular-season games.
Colorado Avalanche forward Tyson Jost scored two goals on Thursday as his team beat the lifeless Los Angeles Kings 5-1. With the win, Jost and the Avalanche clinched first place in the Honda West Division and will play St Louis in the first round of the divisional playoffs. Jost centered Colorado's first line on Saturday, playing alongside Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog. He will most likely center the third or fourth line once playoffs commence.
Vancouver Canucks right wing Brock Boeser ended a three-game point drought with an assist in Thursday's 4-1 loss to Calgary. With just over a minute played, he combined with Travis Hamonic to set up Matthew Highmore for his first marker of the campaign. Boeser reached 22 helpers for the season, and he's added 20 goals for a 42-point campaign. The Canucks have four more games to play, starting with Saturday's road outing against Edmonton. Boeser has notched five goals and six points in nine meetings with the Oilers this term.
Calgary Flames winger Johnny Gaudreau handed out two assists in Thursday's 4-1 victory over Vancouver. Elias Lindholm and Matthew Tkachuk each also enjoyed multi-point outings with a goal and an assist. Gaudreau has produced some hot stuff during the final stretch of the regular season, picking up 13 points in 10 games. He gets to face the Canucks three more times before it's all said and done. The 27-year-old has notched eight points in seven games in the matchup this season. He's on 19 goals and 44 points for the whole campaign.
Minnesota Wild forward Nico Sturm opened the scoring with his 11th goal of the season in Thursday's 7-3 loss to St. Louis. Marcus Foligno posted one goal and one assist as the team blew a 3-0 lead in spectacular style. Ryan Suter also found the net for the Wild. Sturm finished his first full season in the league with 17 points in 51 games. He was pointless just once in his final four regular-season outings, so the 26-year-old German will head into the playoff in good form. Depth scoring will become hugely important during the postseason, and Strum will hope to provide it.
St. Louis Blues winger David Perron produced a second consecutive three-point performance in Thursday's 7-3 victory over Minnesota, finishing the year with 58 points in 56 games. He had two goals and one assist, becoming the first Blues player since Pavol Demitra in 2002-03 to average a point per game in a season. Mike Hoffman enjoyed a three-point night with a hat trick of assists, while Jordan Kyrou and Brayden Schenn also closed out the regular season with two goals. Perron will now hope to lead the Blues to playoff glory. He averaged a point per game during the postseason a year ago.
Los Angeles Kings goaltender Troy Grosenick will be the team's starter in Thursday's season finale against Colorado. The 31-year-old will make only his second appearance of the season. His lone outing was a good one on March 10 in a 5-1 win over Anaheim, in which Grosenick saved 33 of 34 shots to produce a .971 save percentage. His career record in the NHL stands at 2-1-0 with a 1.35 goals-against average, a .957 save percentage and one shutout. The veteran has been outstanding when he's had a chance to play, but there's a reason why he's earned only a handful of appearances while bouncing around multiple organizations, so don't expect any miracles from him here against a team that can finish the regular season with the best record in the league if they win.
