MARCH 20•SACBEE.COM
In wild-card hunt, Blues out to avoid letdown vs. SenatorsThe St.Louis Blues can’t afford another significant downturn if they want to stay in the Western Conference playoff hunt through the final w...
Theo Lindstein - Agrees to entry-level contractLindstein signed a three-year, entry-level contract with St. Louis on Wednesday.
ImpactLindstein provided four goals and 15 points in 49 games with Brynas IF of HockeyAllsvenskan, which is Sweden's second-tier league. The 19-year-old was taken by St. Louis with the No. 29 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. Lindstein will probably need to spend time developing with AHL Springfield before eventually getting a shot with the Blues.
MARCH 20•ROTOWIRE
Nathan Walker - Two points in lossWalker tallied a goal and an assist in Tuesday's 4-3 loss to the Avalanche.
ImpactWalker tied the game 1-1 midway through the first period, beating Justus Annunen with a wrister through traffic for his first goal since Feb. 17. The 30-year-old forward added a second point with an assist on Alexei Toropchenko's marker in the second. Walker came into Tuesday with just two points in his previous 13 contests. He's up to six goals and 11 points, one shy of a career high, through 32 games in a fourth-line role this season.
MARCH 20•ROTOWIRE
Cale Makar - Logs assist in winMakar had an assist, three shots on net and two blocked shots in Tuesday's 4-3 win over the Blues.
ImpactMakar extended a point streak to four games with his first-period helper. He has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) during Colorado's seven-game winning streak and 15 over the last 11 contests. The highly regarded defenseman has moved on from an uncharacteristic seven-game pointless in mid-February.
MARCH 20•ROTOWIRE
Nathan MacKinnon - Extends streak with assistMacKinnon had an assist, three shots on net, four blocks and one hit in Tuesday's 4-3 win over St. Louis.
ImpactMacKinnon won a race to a loose puck, absorbed a hit along the boards, then made the zone entry that resulted in the first of Mikko Rantanen's three tallies. That's vintage MacKinnon. The assist extended his point streak to 16 games, which is his second longest this season. MacKinnon earlier had a 19-game scoring run and also a 14-gamer. He emerged as the leading candidate for the Hart Trophy two months ago and has reinforced that position since. MacKinnon has a career-high 117 points through 69 games.
MARCH 20•ROTOWIRE
Valeri Nichushkin - Rolling since returnNichushkin logged a power-play and even-strength assist, one shot on net, two blocks and two penalty minutes in Tuesday's 4-3 win over the Blues.
ImpactNichushkin continued his roll since returning from a personal leave of absence. The winger has points in four of five games following his reinstatement, including three goals and four assists, helping extend Colorado's winning streak to seven games. He's skating on the top line and a staple of the top power-play unit, which puts Nichushkin in position to establish a new career high in points. The 29-year-old, who has 49 points, needs four more over the final 13 contests to set a new benchmark.
MARCH 20•ROTOWIRE
Jonathan Drouin - Logs two assists in winDrouin had two assists, including one on the power play, and three shots on net in Tuesday's 4-3 win over St. Louis.
ImpactDrouin helped gain control following an offensive-zone faceoff that led to Casey Mittelstadt's goal then was the primary assistant on a Mikko Rantanen power-play tally. He has three assists in the last two contests and nine points over the last nine, leaving him with 41 points over 66 games, the first time he's crossed the 40-point mark since 2018-19. After the dust from the trade deadline settled, Drouin is skating on the second line with Mittelstadt and Artturi Lehkonen, which is good company to keep his resurgent season going.
MARCH 20•ROTOWIRE
