After MacDonald hit Marchand into the boards late in the second period of the Flyers' 4-3 overtime win, the Philadelphia blue-liner fell to the ice before Marchand struck him in the face with his stick.
Marchand was assessed a minor penalty for cross-checking following the incident.
The injury occurred in Saturday's contest against the Arizona Coyotes. He left midway through the second period and didn't return.
Upshall is the latest St. Louis skater to enter the injury ward, joining Robby Fabbri, Jay Bouwmeester, and Carl Gunnarsson. Despite the injuries, the Blues remain in the thick of the playoff race, sitting one point back of the Colorado Avalanche for the final wild-card seed in the Western Conference.
In 63 appearances this season, Upshall has notched seven goals and 12 assists.
The veteran forward has spent the past three campaigns with the Blues.
As NHL teams are officially eliminated from Stanley Cup contention, theScore NHL freelance writer Katie Brown looks back at the highs and lows of their seasons, along with the biggest questions ahead of 2018-19. The ninth edition focuses on the Calgary Flames.
The Good
A handful of 20-goal scorers. Though the Flames rank near the bottom of the league in goals for, they have four players who have scored 20 or more goals this season. Sean Monahan will likely be the only one to reach the 30-goal mark, while Johnny Gaudreau has added 23 and leads the team in scoring with 82 points. If not for injury, Matthew Tkachuk would have built on his 24-goal output; Micheal Ferland is at a career-best 21 and counting.
Matt Stajan's milestone. On March 22 - a few days before the Flames were officially eliminated from playoff contention - they found a little something to smile about when they celebrated Matt Stajan’s 1,000th career NHL game. Stajan, who has 412 career points entering the week, was also nominated for the Masterton Trophy, which recognizes the player “who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey."
Strength on the blue line. Trading for Travis Hamonic boosted an already strong group that includes Mark Giordano, Dougie Hamilton, and T.J. Brodie. Giordano and Hamilton are regarded as one of the top defensive pairings in the league. Brodie, Hamilton, and Giordano have all surpassed 30 points this season; Hamilton is the highest-scoring Flames defenseman with 44 points as of Monday, and his 17 goals are a career high.
The Bad
The Jaromir Jagr Experience.Jagr signed a one-year, $1-million contract with the Flames in October, hoping to extend his NHL career. But he was placed on waivers in January after recording seven points in 22 games and struggling with injuries, and returned to the Czech Republic to play for Kladno, the team he co-owns. His NHL career is now all but done and it’s hard not to think about what could have been had things worked out for him in Calgary.
Bad backup goaltending. Starter Mike Smith has had good and bad stretches this season, but outside of him, the goalie situation hasn’t been good, with backups Jon Gillies and David Rittich combining for a save percentage of .898 in 29 games. Smith has started 55 games and it would be unrealistic to expect the 36-year old to continue at that pace.
Poor bottom-six production. Getting offense from the bottom-six forward group has been an issue for the Flames, who have a lot of salary tied up in players who haven’t produced. Michael Frolik and Troy Brouwer, who will make a combined $8.8 million for the next two seasons, have just 45 points between them. The Flames hoped Curtis Lazar would rediscover his form in Calgary, but he has just 10 points in 61 games. Injuries limited Kris Versteeg to 24 games, in which he produced just three goals and five assists.
The Questions
Should the Flames trade for a first-round pick? The Flames sent their 2018 first-round pick to the New York Islanders in the trade for Hamonic. Now that they’ve missed the playoffs and need to make some changes, general manager Brad Treliving will want to replace that pick. That would likely mean a big move involving major pieces.
Will head coach Glen Gulutzan be back? There was nothing that indicated this season would be such a failure before it began. By all accounts, the Flames were expected to be a playoff team. This was a team that, aside from a few injuries, had a core group still in their prime years. How much of the team’s failures will Gulutzan be held accountable for? That’s what Flames ownership will have to decide this summer.
Through the remainder of the regular season, we'll take a look at how the night's action impacts the playoff races, highlighting which teams' postseason odds went up or down significantly.
Eastern Conference
It's all but over for the Panthers. While Florida had the night off Sunday, it received little help from outside forces as the New Jersey Devils picked up two more points to widen their lead for the second wild-card spot. The Devils now stand seven points up on Florida.
While Florida has five games remaining - compared to New Jersey's three - the Panthers would likely need to win at least four of those contests to keep their playoff dream alive.
The two squads are battling it out for the final few playoff spots in the West, while Anaheim's overtime win over the Avalanche on Sunday further chipped away at Colorado's postseason hopes.
As it stands, the Avalanche now rank just one point ahead of St. Louis - despite playing one additional game - gripping the final playoff position as the end of the regular season closes in.
Ryan Miller entered the contest in relief for Gibson, who appeared shaken up after a collision with Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog.
There's no word on the specifics of the injury. Gibson has been banged up over the course of the season, and losing him for the final stretch would be a major blow to the Ducks, who entered Sunday's game one point clear of the Avalanche in the Western Conference wild-card race.
Gibson has been the Ducks' most valuable player this season, posting a .926 save percentage and 2.43 goals-against average across 59 starts.
On the strength of a 3-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday evening, the Washington Capitals clinched top spot in the Metropolitan Division for the third consecutive season.
The victory also pushed the Caps over the 100-point barrier, marking the seventh time they've reached the feat since 2008-09.
After back-to-back Presidents' Trophy campaigns - and back-to-back second-round playoff exits at the hands of the Penguins - many expected the Caps to take a step back this season, especially after losing several key contributors in free agency.
There's no indication on what forced Stamkos from the contest, but he was sidelined for Monday's game versus the Arizona Coyotes with a lower-body ailment that head coach John Cooper said was nothing to be concerned about.
After missing the majority of the 2016-17 season with a knee injury, Stamkos has rebounded this year to record 86 points in 77 games.
Suter was injured in Saturday's 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars, and joins top-pairing partner Jared Spurgeon on the sideline, as the latter is still recovering from a torn hamstring.
As a result of the injuries, the club announced it has recalled 23-year-old blue-liner Carson Soucy from the AHL.
In 78 games this season, the 33-year-old Suter has averaged 26:47 of ice time per contest, while matching a career high with 51 points.
The Wild currently sit third in the Central Division with 96 points and four games remaining on the schedule.
