Ice Chips: Hellebuyck appears set to go for win No. 47
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Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets appear set to roll out their full strength lineup in Wednesday's meaningless game against the Anaheim Ducks.
It appears star netminder Connor Hellebuyck will start in goal, eyeing his 47th win of the season. The NHL record for wins in a season is 48, shared by Braden Holtby in 2015-16 with the Washington Capitals and Martin Brodeur with the New Jersey Devils in 2006-07. Hellebuyck could join Roberto Luongo (2006-07) and Bernie Parent (1973-74) as goalies to post 47 wins in a campaign.
Last week, Hellebuyck became just the seventh goaltender to ever record 45 wins in a season and owns a league-best 46-12-3 record on the campaign. He leads the NHL with a .924 save percentage and his 2.02 goals-against average is tied with Darcy Kuemper of the Los Angeles Kings atop the league.
Hellebuyck is the favourite to win the Hart Trophy this season, per FanDuel, and a virtual lock to win his third Vezina Trophy.
The Jets, who previously clinched the Presidents' Trophy, were locked into a first-round matchup with the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, the team announced that they had signed forward Alex Iafallo to a three-year, $10.99 million contract extension. The deal carries an annual average value of $3,666,666.
Iafallo has totaled 15 goals and 16 assists in his second season with the Jets.
The Eden, NY native spent the first six seasons of his career with the Kings, before being traded to Winnipeg as part of the deal that sent Pierre-Luc Dubois to Los Angeles.
In eight career NHL seasons, Iafallo has registered 111 goals and 151 assists for 262 points across 583 games.
Montreal Canadiens
Samuel Montembeault was in will get the start in net for the Montreal Canadiens against the Carolina Hurricanes,
Montreal needs just one point to clinch the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Montembeault, 28, holds a record of 30-24-7 to go along with a 2.83 goals-against average and a a.901 save percentage in 59 games started for the Habs this season.
The Becancour, Que. native has started eight of Montreal's past 10 games, and will look to help the team back to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2021.
Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers have loaned Rasmus Asplund, Jesse Puljujarvi, and Matt Kiersted to the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL, it was announced Wednesday.
Florida, 47-31-4, finished off their regular season on Tuesday night with a 5-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, and now send three players down to the AHL as Matthew Tkachuk and Aaron Ekblad close in on a playoff return for the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Asplund was called up last week and appeared in four games for the Panthers, going pointless while recording one shot on net in 8:08 of ice time per night.
Puljujarvi signed an AHL contract with the Panthers in March, and appeared in five NHL contests for Florida this season since being recalled in early April.
The former fourth overall pick in the 2016 draft, the Swedish forward scored one goal on 12 shots, while also picking up a match penalty for a hit to the head against Lightning winder Mitchell Chaffee on Tuesday.
Kiersted, a 27-year-old blue liner, played in two NHL games this season, recording an assist.
The Panthers take on their in-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in a battle between the Atlantic Division's No. 2 and 3 seeds.
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled forward Cam Atkinson from the American Hockey League's Syracuse Crunch, the team announced Wednesday.
Atkinson, 35, has appeared in 38 games for Tampa Bay this season, recording four goals and five assists for nine points in his first season with the team.
The Riverside, Conn. native is a 13-year NHL veteran that has skated in 808 games. In the 2018-19 season, he scored a career-high 41 goals while playing with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
A former sixth-round pick of Columbus in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, Atkinson has registered 253 goals and 236 assists over the course of his career split between the Blue Jackets, Philadelphia Flyers, and Lightning.
He joined Tampa Bay on a one-year, $900K deal last summer, and is scheduled for unrestricted free agency at season's end.
The Lightning have locked up the second seed in the Atlantic Division with a record of 47-26-8, and close out their 2024-25 regular season with a matchup against the New York Rangers on Thursday before kicking off a seven-game series with the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils have recalled goaltender Nico Daws and forward Mike Hardman from the AHL's Utica Comets, the team announced Wednesday.
Daws, 24, has made three starts and five appearances at the NHL level this season, posting a 3-0-0 record with a miniscule 0.88 goals-against average, a .966 save percentage and one shutout.
Drafted in the third round by the Devils in 2020, the Munich, Germany native has played in 34 games for Utica, holding a record of 11-20-2 with a 3.16 goals-against average and a .893 save percentage.
Hardman has played in one game for the Devils this season, and has scored one goal and four assists in 38 career NHL contests dating back to the 2020-21 season.
The 26-year-old has scored 18 goals and 35 points in 57 games for Utica this season.
New Jersey takes on the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night for a final tune-up before their seven-game series against the Carolina Hurricanes.