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NHL notebook: Blashill returning as Red Wings' coach

[April 11, 2018] Detroit Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill will return for a fourth season on the team's bench, general manager Ken Holland confirmed on Tuesday.

"I'm certainly glad to still be the coach of the Detroit Red Wings," Blashill said. "It's a job I love. I'm excited about moving this franchise ... where everybody wants it."

Holland noted that he is "big on experience" when asked about the decision. The announcement comes three days after Holland received a two-year extension amid speculation that his job might also be in danger.

Detroit missed the playoffs for the second year in a row after reaching the postseason in each of the previous 25 seasons. The Red Wings' 73 points and 30 wins in 2017-18 represented their lowest marks in a non-shortened season since 1989-90.

--The Washington Capitals will start goaltender Philipp Grubauer instead of former Vezina Trophy winner Braden Holtby in Game 1 against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.

Grubauer, 26, started 10 of the team's final 16 regular-season games and won seven of them, allowing 2.32 goals per game with a save percentage of .925. For the season, he went 15-10-3 with a 2.35 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage.

Holtby, who was named the league's top goaltender two years ago, has struggled down the stretch, going 8-7-2 with a 3.35 goals-against average and a .886 save percentage over his final 17 games. The 28-year-old was pulled three times in a six-game span bridging February and March and also battled a minor lower-body injury in March.

--St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko will have surgery Wednesday to repair a dislocated left shoulder sustained in the team's season finale against the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.

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Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said Tarasenko could be ready by training camp in September after needing four to six months to recover.

With a spot in the playoffs on the line for the Blues, Tarasenko got hurt midway through the first period Saturday when he was hit along the boards by Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog. Tarasenko didn't return and was seen wearing a sling as he left the arena. The Blues lost the game 5-2 and were thus left out of the Western Conference playoff picture by one point.

--New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist spent the majority of the 2017-18 campaign battling a left knee injury, the 13-year veteran said as the team cleared out its lockers for the offseason.

Lundqvist, 36, told reporters he hurt his left knee when he "got bumped into" in late October or November and the issue has bugged him since.

Lundqvist played more minutes (3,503) than he did in each of the last three seasons but posted a career-worst 2.98 goals-against average -- half a goal more than his previous high in a season -- and a .915 save percentage, his third-worst single-season mark. He finished 26-26-7 as a starter, easily his worst as a pro.

--Field Level Media

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