Vegas placed Fleury on the NHL's COVID-19 protocol list Thursday, one day after he started versus the Minnesota Wild.
The 36-year-old is a strong Vezina Trophy candidate at the midway point of the season, posting a .938 save percentage and 1.73 goals-against average in 17 appearances.
Kucherov underwent hip surgery in December and was ruled out for the regular season.
BriseBois is treating Kucherov's postseason return like a major trade-deadline acquisition. It's unlikely the club will add anyone else due to financial restraints.
"We literally have zero cap space," BriseBois said.
Kucherov's injury allowed Tampa Bay to stash his $9.5-million cap hit on the long-term injured reserve, freeing up room to make some crucial offseason signings. The Bolts would be roughly $10 million over the $81.5 million cap if the 2018-19 MVP was healthy right now. There's no salary cap in the playoffs.
The Lightning aren't struggling without their star winger while posting an 18-5-2 record. Kucherov registered 85 points over 68 games last season, and then he led the playoffs in scoring with seven goals and 27 assists in 25 contests as Tampa captured the Stanley Cup.
Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella provided some insight into his decision to bench Patrik Laine for the majority of the third period and all of overtime in Thursday's 5-4 loss against the Florida Panthers.
"You guys think I don't want to play Patty? I mean, I want to play him," Tortorella said Friday, according to team reporter Jeff Svoboda. "But I still have to make calls as far as how the players are playing at that particular time.
"I thought Patty probably played one of his best periods in the first period," he continued. "He played really well. But I also have to make calls as the rest of his game is going on where he is at that particular time, especially late in the third period and us reeling a little bit.
"There's no free passes because you're notably the top gun."
Laine snapped a seven-game pointless streak after tallying a goal and an assist. Despite the offensive production, the 22-year-old only saw the ice for 2:20 in the third period and didn't play during the final seven minutes of regulation or in overtime after his line was on the ice for two goals against in the final frame.
The sniper was puzzled by his lack of ice time after the game, and said he thought he was "playing good." Tortorella doesn't necessarily see his decision to limit Laine's ice time as a benching.
"I didn't bench anybody last night," he said, according to Svoboda. "I just decided to play some other people in situations late in the third period that I felt more comfortable with at that time."
After owning a 4-1 lead against the Panthers, the Blue Jackets allowed three straight goals in the third period before falling in overtime. Columbus currently sits in fifth place in the Central Division with a 10-12-6 record.
Lee was in visible pain on the ice after getting tangled up with the New Jersey Devils' Pavel Zacha during Thursday's 5-3 victory.
#Isles Anders Lee crawling on the ice in intense pain as he gets tripped up with a #NJDevils player. Not a good sight for Islanders fans 👀 pic.twitter.com/2qBGnatL0k
The 30-year-old leads the Islanders with 12 goals this season and has also racked up seven assists in 27 games. After Thursday's win, the Islanders find themselves in first place in the East Division.
Welcome to the eighth edition of "Looking North," our weekly Friday dive into the all-Canadian division. This installment dates back to March 5.
The rundown
Andy Devlin / National Hockey League / Getty
The Oilers rebounded nicely from last week's disaster, collecting two tight wins over the Flames and Senators before blowing Ottawa out 7-1 on Wednesday. How Edmonton would respond to the first-place Maple Leafs smothering them was a big talking point, and Dave Tippett's club delivered.
Conversely, Toronto hit the skids following its sweep of the Oilers. The Leafs lost three games in regulation for the first time during the Sheldon Keefe era, giving up considerable ground as the division leaders. However, they did earn a crucial extra point with an overtime win over Winnipeg on Thursday. The Jets have won seven of their last 10 contests, and they're six points back of the Leafs with two games in hand. The two clubs meet again Saturday.
The Canadiens appear to have adjusted to Dominique Ducharme's systems, earning a pair of convincing wins to inject life into a season that seemingly reached its breaking point long ago. The Habs weren't perfect, but they were also dealing with a terrible schedule that sent them from Vancouver to Calgary on back-to-back nights.
The Flames lost their first two games after firing Geoff Ward, but they bounced back with a victory in Darryl Sutter's return behind the bench. It's too early to project how Calgary will finish after its surprise head coach hire, but the club will surely be intriguing to watch.
Finally, the Senators pulled off a promising shootout win in Calgary, but they followed it up with a pair of defeats in Edmonton. The Sens sit 30th in the NHL with a .328 points percentage.
Team
Points over last week
Edmonton Oilers
6 (3-1-0)
Montreal Canadiens
5 (2-1-1)
Vancouver Canucks
4 (2-1-0)
Winnipeg Jets
3 (1-1-1)
Calgary Flames
3 (1-1-1)
Toronto Maple Leafs
2 (1-2-0)
Ottawa Senators
2 (1-2-0)
The stars
Jonathan Kozub / National Hockey League / Getty
Forward: Connor McDavid was held off the scoresheet during an important three-game set against the Maple Leafs last week, but he rebounded significantly. The NHL's leading scorer padded his cushion in the Art Ross race with two goals and six assists to help the Oilers get back on track.
Defenseman: Jeff Petry continued his excellent campaign this past week, sniping three goals to move into second among defensemen with 24 points. His underlying numbers this season are also phenomenal. Montreal is outscoring opponents 25-12 and owns 57% of the expected goals with Petry on the ice at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Goalie: Carey Price put an eventful week in Montreal on the back burner while playing brilliantly after the dismissal of Claude Julien and longtime goalie coach Stephane Waite. The netminder won two of his three starts, and he posted a .963 save percentage and 0.98 goals-against average.
Canadian of the week
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty
McDavid gets the nod here, too. Not only did his eight points lead the league, but no other Canadian playing on home soil registered more than four points over the same span.
The Oilers captain remains on a separate planet from his peers.
The moments
Draisaitl dazzles vs. Senators 🤩
Draisaitl had already produced a six-point game versus the Senators this season. But he didn't feel like resting on his laurels in their latest clash, burying a hat trick and adding two assists. The dynamic superstar also appeared on the highlight reel, flying coast to coast for one tally, and then converting after an otherworldly no-look pass from McDavid to complete the hatty.
Matthews' overtime showstopper 🤩
Connor Hellebuyck was moments away from stonewalling the Leafs for a second consecutive game. But Matthews - bad wrist be damned - sealed the victory in overtime for Toronto with this silky smooth top-shelf backhand.
Gaudette drops the hammer 🔨
Is there a hockey highlight more satisfying than a player unleashing an on-the-fly slapshot off the post and in? Adam Gaudette delivered this glorious blast during the final minute of the third period versus Montreal, sparking the Canucks to a comeback shootout victory.
The question
Derek Leung / Getty Images Sport / Getty
There's no denying Calgary's core has underachieved over the last few seasons. But can Sutter be the voice the Flames need?
The two-time Cup winner's straightforward style and fixation on team discipline could be the right jolt for this group to wake up and meet expectations. But if his approach doesn't click and Calgary misses the playoffs, hiring a coach who retired to become a full-time rancher in 2018 could result in serious repercussions.
Right away, one thing is abundantly clear: Sutter's work is cut out for him. It was anticipated the Flames would compete for the top spot in the North Division, yet they sit 22nd in goals for per game and 18th in goals against.
Quote of the week
Canadiens forward Phillip Danault was mired in a goal drought that extended more than a calendar year. He finally got off the schneid late in Wednesday's blowout win over the Canucks, and Danault wasn't shy about expressing his relief afterward.
"Yeah, I think there was more than one monkey. I threw a bunch of monkeys off my back," Danault said, according to The Athletic's Arpon Basu.
Games to watch
The Leafs and Jets will play the rubber match of their high-octane three-game set Saturday night. Looking ahead to next week, the always-entertaining Battle of Alberta is featured on Monday and Wednesday.
From the sky-box suite where he sleeps at the Westerner Park Centrium arena, Josh Tarzwell can look upon the expanse of his life as a 21-year-old junior hockey player.
Below him are the Red Deer Rebels' primary net and home bench. At the far end of the rink is the Rebels' meal room, where heaps of eggs and toast are devoured daily at 8:30 a.m. One recent morning, Tarzwell answered a phone call, peered down to the concourse level, and saw most of his team clustered around two ping-pong tables - one donated by his family, the other freshly purchased to satisfy demand.
"I can count probably 15 guys on two tables waiting to play," Tarzwell said.
Josh Tarzwell (right). Rob Wallator
Tarzwell was born and raised in Red Deer, the Alberta oil hub that's equidistant from Edmonton and Calgary. Normally, he resides 15 minutes from the Centrium, where the Rebels have hosted Western Hockey League games for close to three decades. COVID-19 has no regard for norms. Since mid-February, Tarzwell - an alternate captain and one of three overage players on the roster - and his Rebels teammates have bunked in suites with ice views, choosing to go to unique lengths to be able to participate in a 2021 season.
For exactly a year now, the pandemic has roiled Canada's major junior hockey scene. The Ontario Hockey League has yet to get government permission to drop the puck this season. The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League opened play last October, pressed pause from Nov. 29 to Jan. 22, then resumed by sending clubs into a series of protected hubs; teams have played as few as 14 games and as many as 34.
Out west, the WHL imitated the NHL's regional format to split into U.S., British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan-Manitoba divisions. Starting soon in B.C. and Saskatchewan, games will be played out of hubs for a couple of months. In Alberta, some teams are staying in hotels and postsecondary dorms as they shuttle between their home rink and those of their opponents. Red Deer alone is holed up in a hockey facility.
The Rebels' setup at the Centrium isn't, strictly speaking, a bubble. Team staff members move in and out, though solely between the rink and their homes. Cognizant that mental health matters, the club has made a point of getting the players outside each day - to walk, play catch, or toboggan at the ranch of Brent Sutter, the retired NHL center who is Red Deer's head coach, general manager, president, and owner.
Brent Sutter coaches Red Deer in 2020. Marissa Baecker / Getty Images
Mostly, though, the players are confined to the 7,000-seat barn where Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Matt Dumba, and Darcy Kuemper once starred, separated from outside society but united in the experience. The Centrium has enough suites to house the 26-man squad. Parents, suite holders, arena management, Red Deer bureaucrats, and fire officials all approved the plan to hunker there for several months. Billet families loaned beds, sharing the consensus that this living arrangement was the Rebels' best option this season.
"It's not a normal situation. But the normalcy is (the players) playing," Sutter said. "Them putting themselves out there for scouts to watch, for teams to see, for their development."
Sutter's Rebels have a record of nurturing junior talent. Jake DeBrusk, Haydn Fleury, and Sutter's son, Brandon, are among the team's active NHL alumni. Martin Hanzal, Dion Phaneuf, Kris Versteeg, and Cam Ward all springboarded from Red Deer into solid pro careers. Brent Sutter, whose tenures with the New York Islanders and Chicago Blackhawks netted him two Stanley Cups and 829 points in 1,111 games, has owned the Rebels since 1999 and coached them to WHL and Memorial Cup titles in 2001.
Jake DeBrusk skates for Red Deer in 2016. Marissa Baecker / Getty Images
Recent seasons haven't gone so well. The Rebels haven't won a playoff series since 2016 when they hosted the Memorial Cup and reached the tournament semis. They were on pace to finish 2019-20 well below .500 when COVID-19 nixed their final five games. But last year's team skewed young, and when most of the players finally returned to Red Deer in February, they did so invigorated. On top of canceling hockey for a year, hometown quarantines kept teammates from hanging out in the summer and catching up at training camp on time in the fall.
"These guys are all my best friends. We spend eight months of the year together normally," Tarzwell said. "Being able to (live at the rink) together, it's been a huge weight off my shoulders."
Protocols and routine govern life inside the Centrium. Apart from the Rebels, only Westerner Park complex staff can access the rink, plus select scouts, off-ice officials, and media members on game days. Masks are ubiquitous even in this protected environment, and the Rebels, like all WHL teams, are tested for the coronavirus each Wednesday. Cooks from a local senior-care home prepare three hearty meals daily, but the players - four or five at a time on four-day rotations - serve the food and clean up after the group.
The players' schedule is consistent, Tarzwell said: breakfast first, workouts and study sessions at 10 a.m., lunch at noon, and a 2 p.m. practice that runs for up to two hours. Since this season's 24 games are limited to Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, college-style, free time abounds in the interim. A basketball hoop was installed in the Centrium concourse. Meeting rooms have been equipped with couches, TVs, and gaming consoles. Tarzwell brought his ping-pong table from home, and that pastime regularly gets heated.
"In the afternoons, it gets pretty serious," defenseman Kyle Masters said. "If you're losing, you're not a very happy camper during dinner."
Pingpong at the Centrium. Red Deer Rebels
By night, before the Centrium lights go dark at 10:30, the players have staged friendly casino competitions and streamed Creed II, Happy Gilmore, and North Division NHL action on the arena jumbotron. These are necessary diversions from their own intense season. The Rebels are 1-2-1 entering this weekend's three-game slate against the Lethbridge Hurricanes, but one line of thinking holds that those first matchups were glorified exhibitions, results being less important than process as skaters tried to shed rust.
That said, only 20 games remain in the sprint to the playoffs, generating the urge to play up to potential ASAP. This impetus is inescapable when you sleep at the workplace. On Feb. 26, at home against the Medicine Hat Tigers in Red Deer's season opener, the Rebels blew a 4-1 lead late in the third period and lost in overtime.
"Definitely not ideal," Tarzwell said. "You come back to your room and you're looking out at the ice. There's really a switch that I've been trying to (flick) where I'm not constantly thinking about hockey. But it can be difficult, I know, for some guys, because you're constantly looking at the ice, thinking about what could have happened."
Rebels captain Jayden Grubbe takes a faceoff. Rob Wallator
Obsessing over what-ifs does beat the alternative that might await OHL teams: having to sit out a season that could make, break, or otherwise shape a player's future. Tarzwell, like every twentysomething player in the Canadian Hockey League, will be too old for junior at season's end and in need of a contract to further his pro and NHL ambitions. Masters, who's 17 and eligible for the 2021 NHL draft, is aiming to maximize his stock after a broken ankle sidelined him for all but 24 games as a WHL rookie. Every shift is an audition for the next level.
"Personally, I'm very grateful for this opportunity," Masters said. "But with the shortened season, it just means you've got to come out that much faster. You don't have the time that (prospective draft picks) had in previous years to get it going in the first few games."
The team has sought to preserve or mimic normalcy on other fronts. Staff converted the Centrium's media and scout lounge into a remote classroom for the Rebels' high-school students. Sutter's friends lent him a barbecue, on which the squad has cooked steaks. The Rebels have maintained their standard, pro-casual dress code for home games, the difference being the players don't leave the building afterward to drive into the Prairie night.
Like scores of Canadian communities, Red Deer has suffered from COVID-19. About 500 cases and four deaths have been linked to an outbreak at a local pork processing plant. Proprietor company Olymel closed the plant for a little while in mid-February, months after the outbreak was declared and, incidentally, around the time Rebels camp started. Inside the Centrium, the players stay healthy by respecting the protocols - and by sticking together.
Kyle Masters. Rob Wallator
"When you're locked away in a room, which might have been the case if we (weren't at the rink), it could have been a long 90 days. Having this opportunity, we're around the guys lots and we're able to communicate on and off the ice," Masters said.
"For the new guys coming in, this might be the first time they've lived away from home. Us older guys, we made sure they knew that we're always here if they need to talk about more serious stuff. This is a different experience for everyone. We're all just trying to take care of each other."
Beyond the Lethbridge series and three dates with the Edmonton Oil Kings next weekend, the Rebels' schedule has yet to be finalized. Their home games will go down in a building that's seen some hockey history. In 2016, Matthew Tkachuk potted the OT goal there that won the London Knights their latest Memorial Cup. Assuming no bubble is required again, Red Deer and Edmonton will co-host the next world juniors, the tournament where Sutter led Team Canada to gold medals in 2005 and 2006.
Sutter's NHL career spanned 18 seasons, plus five more manning the bench for the New Jersey Devils and Calgary Flames. Famously, five of his brothers, including newly returned Flames coach Darryl, played at the highest level, too. Yet in 2020 and 2021, even this hockey lifer was bound to witness something new. His team's current digs certainly qualify.
"These kids, 30 years from now, they're going to be looking back saying, 'During COVID, to get back playing, we had to stay in the rink,'" Sutter said. "I told them: There's 26 players in the world who are doing this right now."
