from Ryan Dixon of Sportsnet,

- Could the burgeoning Carolina Hurricanes — who watched Petr Mrazek pitch a 1-0 shutout on Sunday versus the Dallas Stars in his first game since January 30 — strengthen their contender status with a juicy pickup? Unlike Florida and Minnesota, the Canes have actually had post-season success in the recent past, making the final four in 2019 after a decade of missing the cut altogether. Carolina’s last two seasons ended at the hands of the Boston Bruins, though, and you’d love to see the hipster-turned-mainstream-darling squad go out and show how bad they want to not just hang with, but beat the big boys.

- The St. Louis Blues can dine out on their 2019 championship for a couple more years, but yikes, are things ever looking bleak right now. The Blues lost two squeakers to Colorado on Friday (3-2) and Saturday (2-1), and while there’s no shame in getting beat by what might be the NHL’s best team right now, St. Louis is 3-7-4 in its past 11 and have just one regulation-time win since March 3. The Blues are in a snarling dog fight with the streaking San Jose Sharks (more on them in a minute) and Arizona Coyotes for the final playoff spot in the West. St. Louis is dead last in the NHL in goal differential during that stretch and ranks 27th in expected goals percentage, so the Blues are full value for their stinky showing.

- The book on Jakob Chychrun when he was drafted five years ago was as follows: strong kid, great defender, but would likely never light it up offensively. Well, after some miserable injury luck, Chychrun is busting through his perceived ceiling. The blue-liner, who turned 23 last week, netted his first career hat trick on Sunday night, which included the extra-time winner during a Chychrun 3 Ducks 2 victory in Anaheim. Chychrun’s next point will tie his previous career-best of 26 and he’s playing at a 54-point pace this season.

more