Ice Chips: Sens’ Reimer expected to start in regular season finale against Maple Leafs

Keep updated on all the injury news and roster updates from around the NHL with daily Ice Chips.

Ottawa Senators

James Reimer is expected to be in net with the Senators wrap up the regular season against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday.

Reimer, 38, has 6-4-2 record this season with an .881 save percentage and 2.53 goals-against average this season.

The Senators are cemented in the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot with at 43-27-11 record and will be taking on the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the playoffs.

Additionally, forwards Tim Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk, and defencemen Thomas Chabot, and Jake Sanderson will all be out of the lineup against the Maple Leafs, according to Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch.

The Senators have signed prospect Blake Montgomery to a three-year, entry-level contract on Wednesday.

Montgomery, 20, was drafted 117th overall by the Senators in the 2024 draft and will join the AHL’s Belleville Senators.

The 6-foot-4 forward played last season with the University of Wisconsin, leading them to the Frozen Four final.

Montgomery recorded nine goal and 17 points in 38 NCAA games last season.

Prior to joining Wisconsin, Montgomery played the 2024-25 campaign with the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights, recording 23 goals and 50 points in 51 games.

He helped lead the Knights to a J. Ross Robertson Cup championship and then recorded a goal and two points in five games to help London win the 2025 Memorial Cup.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Dennis Hildeby will be in net for the Maple Leafs’ season finale against the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday, confirmed head coach Craig Berube.

Hildeby, 24, appeared in 19 games with the Maple Leafs this season, going 5-6-4 with a .912 save percentage and 2.90 goals-against average.

He also has a 9-8-5 record with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies this season with an .896 save percentage and a 2.70 GAA.

Additionally, forward Michael Pezzetta draws into the lineup on Wednesday with Calle Jarnkrok coming out with an injury.

The 6-foot-1 winger appeared in eight games with the Maple Leafs this season without recording a point. He also has four goals and 10 points in 38 AHL games.

Toronto had a disappointing campaign, finishing last in the Atlantic Division with a 32-35-14 record and missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2015-16 season.

Montreal Canadiens

The Canadiens assigned forward Vinzenz Rohrer to the AHL’s Laval Rocket after wrapping up the regular season on Tuesday.

Rohrer, 21, was drafted 75th overall by the Canadiens in the 2022 draft and is coming over from Switzerland’s National League after registering four goals and 12 points in 41 games with the ZSC Lions.

Montreal finished the regular season with a 48-24-10 record and will be taking on the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round.

Edmonton Oilers

The Oilers are using these lines during Wednesday’s practice ahead of their regular season finale against the Vancouver Canucks, according to Oilers radio commentator Bob Stauffer,

Carolina Hurricanes

The Hurricanes assigned forwards Skylar Brind’Amour, Bradley Nadeau, Felix Unger Sorum, and defencemen Ronan Seeley, Charles-Alexis Legault, and Joel Nystrom to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves after finishing their regular season on Tuesday.

Carolina wrapped up their finale with a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders on Tuesday as they finished with the Eastern Conference’s best record at 53-22-7.

They will take on the Ottawa Senators in the first round, who will finish the regular season in the final wild-card spot in the East.

The Wolves are also preparing for a playoff run in the AHL, sitting second in the North Division with a 40-23-7 record with two games remaining.

Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche assigned defenceman Jack Ahcan to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles on Wednesday.

Ahcan, 28, appeared in 11 games with the Avalanche this season, recording two assists.

The 5-foot-8 blueliner also has 11 goals and 50 points in 60 AHL games this season.

Colorado clinched the Presidents’ Trophy last week and hold a 54-16-11 record with one game remaining in the regular season.

They still await who they will face in the playoffs, which could be the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, Utah Mammoth, or Anaheim Ducks.

The Eagles still have two games remaining in their regular season as they sit second in the AHL’s Pacific Division with a 41-18-11 record.

Dallas Stars

The Stars are hoping that forward Roope Hintz and defenceman Miro Heiskanen will be ready to play at some point during the first round of the playoffs, said head coach Glen Gulutzan.

Hintz, 29, missed the team’s last 19 games and is scheduled to sit out their season finale on Wednesday against the Buffalo Sabres due to a lower-body injury.

Gulutzan confirmed that Hintz suffered a setback in his recovery and the team was originally hoping he would return before the end of the regular season.

The 6-foot-3 centre is expected to miss the first two games of their first round series against the Minnesota Wild, Gulutzan told Lisa Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning News on Tuesday.

Dallas is more hopeful to have Heiskanen back for Game 1 of the playoffs but still consider him day-to-day.

Heiskanen, 26, sustained a lower-body injury during the team’s 5-4 win over the Wild and was ruled out for the remainder of the regular season.

The 6-foot-2, left-shot blueliner has nine goals and 63 points in 77 games this season while averaging 25:28 of ice time.

Dallas ends their regular season on Wednesday against the Buffalo Sabres.

Florida Panthers

The Panthers recalled defenceman Mikulas Hovorka from the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers on Wednesday ahead of their season finale against the Detroit Red Wings.

Hovorka, 24, appeared in three games in Florida this season without recording a point. He also has five goals and 18 points in 55 AHL games this season.

The Panthers sit seventh in the Atlantic Division with a 39-38-4 record and will miss the playoffs for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign after making the last three Stanley Cup Finals.

Additionally Daniil Tarasov will get the start in their season finale on Wednesday.

Tarasov, 27, has a 12-15-3 record this season with an .893 save percentage and a 3.12 goals-against average.

Minnesota Wild

The Wild have assigned forwards Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Hunter Haight, and Ben Jones to the AHL’s Iowa Wild after they concluded their regular season on Tuesday.

Minnesota finished the regular season with a 46-24-12 record to sit third in the Central Division.

They will play the Dallas Stars in the first round of the playoffs.

Iowa still has three games remaining in their AHL season and sit last in the Central Division with a 26-34-9 record.

New Jersey Devils

Forward Stefan Noesen revealed that he had a cist removed from the back of his knee that caused him to miss the last 37 games of the season.

Noesen, 33, last appeared on Jan. 8 in a 4-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins and says that he’ll be ready to return for training camp in September.

The 6-foot-1 winger registered three goals and seven points in 38 games.

The Devils also assigned forward Marc McLaughlin, defenceman Topias Vilen, and goaltender Nico Daws to the AHL’s Utica Comets as the Devils’ season came to an end on Tuesday.

New Jersey finished the season with a 42-37-3 record to wind up in seventh place in the Metropolitan Division.

Utica still have three games remaining in their AHL season and are sixth in the North Division with a 27-31-11 record.

New York Islanders

The Islanders assigned forward Cal Ritchie to the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders on Wednesday after the NHL team concluded their regular season.

New York finished with a 43-34-5 record to sit sixth in the Metropolitan Division and six points out of a playoff spot.

Ritchie, 21, recorded 13 goals and 30 points in 65 games during his rookie season in the NHL.

The Islanders also assigned forward Victor Eklund and defencemen Isaiah George and Liam Foudy to Bridgeport.

Bridgeport has three games remaining in their regular seasons and sit in fourth place in the AHL’s Atlantic Division with a 32-29-8 record.

Additionally, the Islanders signed prospect Quinn Finley to a two-year, entry-level contract on Wednesday.

Finley, 21, played last season with the University of Wisconsin, recording 17 goals and 33 points in 37 games en route to a Frozen Four title appearance.

The 6-foot winger was drafted 78th overall by the Islanders in 2022.

Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers assigned forwards Jacob Gaucher, and Anthony Richard, defencemen Olivier Bonk, David Jiricek, and Hunter McDonald, and goalie Aleksei Kolosov to the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Wednesday.

Philadelphia finished their regular season on Tuesday with a 4-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens.

The Flyers finished third in the Metropolitan Division with a 43-27-12 record and will take on the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the playoffs.

Lehigh Valley is wrapping up their season with three games remaining and sit seventh in the Atlantic Division with a 30-33-6 record.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins assigned forwards Rafael Harvey-Pinard, Avery Hayes, Ville Koivunen, Joona Koppanen, and Rutger McGroarty to the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins after the team wrapped up their regular season on Tuesday.

Pittsburgh finished the season second in the Metropolitan Division with a 41-25-16 record and will take on the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton still has three games remaining in their regular season as they sit second in the AHL’s Atlantic Division with a 44-16-9 record.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Lightning recalled goaltender Brandon Halverson from the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch on Wednesday ahead of their regular season finale against the New York Rangers.

Halverson, 30, appeared in one game this season during a 3-2 shootout loss to the New York Islanders on Dec. 13, only appearing for six seconds in relief of Jonas Johansson.

The 6-foot-5 netminder has a 24-11-6 record in the AHL this season.

Tampa Bay is set to take on the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the playoffs as both teams sit tied with 106 points. The Lightning hold the tie breaker between the two clubs with six more regulation wins.

Washington Capitals

The Capitals assigned forwards Ivan Miroschniechenko and Ilya Protas, and goaltender Clay Stevenson to the AHL’s Hershey Bears after they finished the regular season on Tuesday.

Washington finished their season with a 43-30-9 record and were two points back of the Ottawa Senators for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Bears are still fighting for their playoff lives in the AHL, sitting fifth in the Atlantic Division with a 30-30-9 record.