Stanley Cup notes: Wild lose Zach Parise for 6-8 weeks with broken sternum
Flyers' Couturier helped off ice after collision in practice
Minnesota Wild left wing Zach Parise has a broken sternum that will keep him out for multiple weeks, an injury that occurred late in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series against Winnipeg.
The Wild revealed the injury Tuesday, about three hours before Game 4 against the Jets. General manager Chuck Fletcher announced Parise's status as "week to week."
Parise scored in each of the first three games of the series. He is the Wild's all-time playoffs leader with 14 goals and 31 points. After recovering from microdiskectomy surgery on his back and missing the first 39 games, Parise scored 12 goals in the last 19 games of the regular season.
The Wild are already missing standout defenceman Ryan Suter because of a broken ankle.
Hellebuyck named Vezina finalist
Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets, Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators and Andrei Vasilevskiy were named finalists for the 2017-18 Vezina Trophy, the NHL announced Tuesday.
The award goes "to the goalkeeper adjudged to be the best at his position." The winner will be announced on June 20 during the 2018 NHL Awards show in Las Vegas.
Hellebuyck, 24, is a Vezina finalist for the first time and tied for the league lead with 44 victories. He was third with six shutouts, tied for eighth with a 2.36 goals-against average and was ninth with a .924 save percentage.
Penguins' Hornqvist to miss Game 4
Pittsburgh will attempt to take a 3-1 stranglehold in its Eastern Conference quarter-final on Wednesday night, but head coach Mike Sullivan won't have scoring forward Patric Hornqvist at his disposal.
The 31-year-old Swede, coming off a 29-goal regular season, will miss Game 4 with an upper-body injury. Sullivan said the right-winger is day to day after suffering the injury in the Penguins' 5-1 win over the Flyers at Philadelphia.
The Penguins' power play in the 70 games Patric Hornqvist played this regular season: 64-229 (27.9 percent).<br><br>The Penguins' power play in the 12 games Patric Hornqvist missed this regular season: 4-31 (12.9 percent).
—@SethRorabaugh"Horny's not an easy guy to replace," Sullivan said. "He's a unique player for us, and he brings a lot. I think we're just going to have to, by committee, pick up the pieces and make sure that the opportunities that are given to others that Horny normally fills, they're going to get a great opportunity to help this team win a game."
Flyers' Couturier helped off ice at practice
The Philadelphia Flyers could be down a key forward as they try to even their first-round playoff series with Pittsburgh.
Top-line centre Sean Couturier, who had a career-high 76 points in the regular season but has scored just twice in 21 NHL playoff games, had to be helped off the ice at Tuesday's practice in Voorhees, N.J., and limped the dressing room after colliding with tough guy Radko Gudas.
Nobody from the Flyers wants to talk about the what if scenario with Sean Couturier yet, but if he can’t play tomorrow the potential options are to move Nolan Patrick up to the top line or put Claude Giroux in the middle. Either way, Couturier would be a HUGE loss if he can’t go.
—@drosennhlHead coach Dave Hakstol made several lineup changes Tuesday, including the insertion of Jake Voracek on the top unit with Flyers regular-season scoring leader Claude Giroux and Couturier.
Sharks look to close it out
Only four NHL teams have taken a 3-0 series lead like San Jose has over Anaheim and lost a best-of-seven series. The Sharks just happen to be one of them, having collapsed against the Los Angeles Kings four years ago in the first round. That's one reason why the Sharks head into Game 4 at home against the Ducks (10:30 p.m. ET Wednesday) with a sense of urgency to close out this series.
"Enough has happened in this room where I think we understand the challenges that still lie ahead of us," captain Joe Pavelski said. "We want a good start, we want to come out and put it on the line. We're going to have to earn this next game for sure."
Spirited practice for Preds
Nashville turned up the intensity in practice Tuesday, complete with some light hitting and vigorous battles for the puck in front of goaltender Pekka Rinne.
This is a reason for the stepped-up pace: Being outscored by a 5-0 margin by Colorado in the first period of the series.
"Today was a perfect practice for that. It wasn't about easing into practice," said Predators defenceman Ryan Ellis, whose team leads the Avalanche 2-1 heading into Game 4 (10 p.m. ET Wednesday). "It was about going full speed into practice right away. We need that to translate into the game."
Colorado went through an optional practice and had defenceman Samuel Girard on the ice wearing a non-contact sweater. He has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury.
Coyotes' Panik arrested in Arizona
Authorities say Arizona Coyotes forward Richard Panik has been arrested for trespassing for refusing to leave the entrance of a bar.
Scottsdale police say the 27-year-old Panik was arrested at the Bevvy the night of April 8, the day after the Coyotes' season ended.
Police say Panik appeared to be intoxicated during his contact with officers.
He was booked into the Scottsdale City Jail and later released on a criminal citation.
In a statement Tuesday, Coyotes officials said they're aware of the incident and still gathering information on it.
With files from Doug Harrison