The Pittsburgh Penguins winger had to be helped off the ice Thursday against the Minnesota Wild after crashing awkwardly into the boards. He didn't return.
Hoping Jason Zucker is ok after a nudge from Fiala put him off balance at the boards pic.twitter.com/baocsuRFF1
β CJ Fogler AKA Perc70 #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) April 1, 2022
The contest was Zucker's return to the lineup after missing 30 games due to a nagging core muscle injury that required surgery. His last appearance - on Jan. 17 - was also his first contest back after a lower-body injury forced him out of seven games.
Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan couldn't provide a postgame update on Zucker's status.
"I don't have anything for you as far as where we are at," Sullivan said. "He is being evaluated as we speak. I feel for him. He's worked so hard to this point and I knew this game was an important one for him."
The matchup was also Zucker's return to Minnesota after spending parts of nine seasons with the Wild to begin his career. The club honored him with a video tribute:
The Florida Panthers star set the NHL single-season record for assists by a left-winger with his 71st helper on Aleksander Barkov's goal Thursday night.
Jonathan Huberdeau (@JonnyHuby11) notched his 71st assist on this play, the most EVER by a left winger in a season. π₯
New York Rangers left-winger Artemi Panarin, who's tallied 62 helpers this season, will likely join the top five before the end of 2021-22.
Huberdeau has garnered Hart Trophy consideration for his superb campaign. He leads all NHL skaters in assists and ranks third in points with a career-high 94 in 67 games thus far.
A philosophical question to ponder before your hockey betting this weekend: If every game goes to overtime, should anyone be a favorite or an underdog?
We may hyperbolize about every contest needing complimentary hockey to find a winner, but three more valuable underdogs sat drawn with their opponent at the end of regulation Wednesday. Unfortunately, all of them lost in overtime or the shootout.
The short-term variance of 3-on-3 and the breakaway competition is supposed to benefit a bettor getting a plus-money price. However, as it occasionally can, the sample size has bit our guide's valuable side nine straight times - a fact that sounds like a cruel April Fools' Day prank.
The Sabres themselves have lost three games in extra time in the last week alone, only broken up by their amazing comeback win over the Blackhawks. Does that mean Buffalo shouldn't be a bet at an average price of better than +180? Of course not. The fact that the Sabres continuously play in games that could go either way proves they are a valuable bet at such a good payout - even if the result is sub-optimal for a young team that has refused to lay down late in the season.
It's never easy to chalk things up to variance - a fancier term for luck. However, studies have shown that there's very little correlation between a team's record in regulation and its record in 3-on-3 overtime and the shootout. The best bettors can do is continue to put themselves in position to win over the long-term, and getting plus-money bets into overtime is one way to do that.
The recipe
Before the 2021-22 campaign, we devised a three-part series on how to use the regular-season point-total market to create team ratings, how to interpret home-ice advantage, and then how to use those to create your own moneylines.
This season's on-ice predictive metrics make up 80% of our total rating. Basing 20% of the ratings on preseason "priors" allows us to emphasize team metrics without going all-in on what's happened during this campaign, which is still a relatively small sample size that includes some tainted results from when COVID-19 ravaged lineups.
I also have a 5% win probability consideration for a side playing in the second game of a back-to-back with travel and 3% without travel.
How to use the guide
What follows is my fair price on the matchups (true moneyline) and the moneyline price I would need to bet each side. I just need a 1% edge for a favorite if we're getting better than a fair price on the team more likely to win. For the underdog, I'll need 4% or better to make it a bet. You can establish your own threshold - you may decide on a higher cutoff for bigger underdogs, like 6%-7%. On games I've projected could be a near coin flip, a 2.5% edge is enough to make a wager worthwhile.
Friday, April 1
GAME
WIN PROB.(%)
TRUE ML
PRICE TO BET
CHI@TB
33/67
+203/-203
CHI +244/TB -194
NSH@BUF
52.7/47.3
-111/+111
NSH -107/BUF +131
NYI@NYR
44.1/55.9
+127/-127
NYI +149/NYR -122
OTT@DET
44.5/55.5
+125/-125
OTT +147/DET -120
STL@EDM
42.6/57.4
+135/-135
STL +159/EDM -130
VGK@SEA
53/47
-113/+113
VGK -108/SEA +132
ANA@ARI
42.8/57.2
+133/-133
ANA +158/ARI -128
Compare the "Price to Bet" column with the prices the market offered. From there, compile a list of bets. The only reason not to make a bet is if something is unaccounted for in our team ratings - like a star player being a surprise scratch - or if you've put a team on the "Do Not Bet" list.
After you make your bets, come back before puck drop on game night to see if line moves have created a valuable bet that wasn't there before. At that point, compare the price of your opening bet to its late price to see how much closing-line value you may be getting.
Matt Russell is a betting writer for theScore. If there's a bad beat to be had, Matt will find it. Find him on Twitter @mrussauthentic.
The Hobey Baker is awarded annually to the top college men's ice hockey player.
Brink, who the Philadelphia Flyers selected with the 34th pick of the 2019 NHL Draft, recorded 14 goals and 42 assists in 39 games with Denver this season. He led the nation in points, assists, and points per game (1.44).
McKay appeared in 41 contests with Minnesota State, achieving a .934 save percentage and a sparkling 1.28 goals against average while earning an NCAA-record 37 wins. He was a finalist for the award last year as well.
Meyers scored 14 goals and added 24 assists in 33 games with Minnesota. He co-captained the Golden Gophers to the Big Ten regular-season title this season.
The winner will be announced on April 8. Montreal Canadiens rookie Cole Caufield won the award last year.
Brind'Amour said postgame that Kotkaniemi was "not doing great" and that he would definitely miss some time. Hurricanes forward Martin Necas called out Eller for the useless play, for which he received a two-minute charging minor.
"For me, that's just so stupid. ... It's a 6-1 game, one second left, and he tries to be a hero or whatever," Necas said, according to Stephen Whyno of The Associated Press. "I don't know. I have no words for that. It's just ridiculous."
Kotkaniemi has 11 goals and 15 assists in 63 games this season.
Nathan MacKinnon's injury isn't as serious as it initially appeared to be.
The Colorado Avalanche star will return to the lineup Thursday night against the San Jose Sharks, head coach Jared Bednar announced.
MacKinnon suffered an upper-body injury against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday. The exact injury is unknown, but he appeared to hurt his hand in a fight with Wild defenseman Matt Dumba.
The 26-year-old flew back to Colorado to be evaluated earlier this week, and Bednar said his concern for the injury was "high." MacKinnon missed Tuesday's 2-1 win against the Calgary Flames.
MacKinnon has been in and out of the lineup all season due to injuries and a bout with COVID-19 but has managed an impressive 22 goals and 48 assists in 51 contests.
β TEAL TOWN USA - A San Jose Sharks Podcast (@TEALTOWNUSA) March 31, 2022
Keller gave a thumbs up to the crowd as he was being taken off the ice.
INJURY UPDATE: Coyotes forward Clayton Keller suffered a leg injury in the third period of tonightβs game vs. San Jose. Keller has been transported to a local hospital for further evaluation. The Coyotes will provide an update on his status tomorrow.
The pair entered the NHL's COVID-19 protocol in Buffalo after receiving their positive tests ahead of Wednesday's game. Connor and Schmidt will need to remain in the U.S. for the next five days, meaning they will miss Winnipeg's three upcoming contests, McIntyre adds.
Winnipeg is still clinging to playoff hopes as the season winds down. With 15 games remaining on their schedule, the Jets have a 32-25-10 record and are in sixth place in the Central Division.
Connor ranks fifth in the league with 41 goals and is tied for seventh with 82 points. Schmidt has four goals and 31 points in 66 games this season.