SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 6/7/2021 Arizona Coyotes Montreal Canadiens 1215250 Six members of Arizona Coyotes organization earn 1215281 Montreal Canadiens take 3-0 stranglehold on series with awards at hockey World Championship Winnipeg Jets 1215282 Goalie Murray Dowey achieved Olympic glory after Boston Bruins chance call up 1215251 Bruins, Islanders recognize need to manage increased 1215283 In the Habs' Room: We can't give the Jets any life, physical play, intensity Gallagher says 1215252 The Bruins had better watch out for the Islanders’ Mathew 1215284 Canadiens put Jets on the brink with sixth straight win Barzal after the way he stepped up in Game 4 1215285 Jack Todd: Habs' giddy playoff run sobered by vicious hit 1215253 Bruins Notebook: B’s need improvement for Game 5 on Jake Evans 1215254 Is Cassidy Pulling A Berube For The Boston Bruins? 1215286 Canadiens' Cole Caufield proving he's ready to play in 1215255 Patrice Bergeron Receives Record 10th Straight Selke NHL playoffs Nomination 1215287 Ottawa approves travel exemption for NHL teams during 1215256 Boston Bruins Krejci Fined $5K For Spearing Groin playoffs 1215257 Boston Bruins Cassidy: ‘We Haven’t Gotten Very Many 1215288 Canadiens Game Day: 'Playoffs are the best time of year' Calls’ 1215289 Carey Price’s understated brilliance is giving the 1215258 If David Pastrnak is missing shots on an open net, you Canadiens a psychological edge that can’t be ignored know it’s a rough night for Bruins 1215290 Canadiens in control as we see the best from Joel Armia, Phillip Danault and Carey Price: Playoffs plus/minus Calgary Flames 1215259 ‘He showcased himself’: Mangiapane’s parents beaming New York Islanders with pride after son wins MVP at worlds 1215291 Critical Islanders decisions led to striking team unity 1215292 Barry Trotz’s approach to critical Islanders-Bruins line Carolina Hurricanes matchups 1215260 Raleigh’s Stephen Franken hears cheers from hometown 1215293 Islanders relish taking the fight to Bruins fans at Rex Hospital Open 1215294 David Pastrnak's open-net miss a bad sign for Bruins 1215261 The Canes’ aggressive pressure on the penalty kill isn’t coach Cassidy fazing Tampa Bay’s power play 1215295 Islanders-Bruins line matchups will be crucial to Monday's 1215262 Hurricanes finally crack Vasilevskiy in wild second period Game 5 ... then give it all back 1215296 Bruins' David Krejci fined $5,000 for slash to Mat Barzal's groin Colorado Avalanche 1215297 For Islanders, no better option than Mathew Barzal to 1215263 Avalanche reeling against Vegas. If Jared Bednar can’t score winner in Game 4 find answer, maybe he’s the wrong coach. 1215298 Islanders Never Say Die Attitude Born Out of Playoff 1215264 Vegas rides giant wave to defeat Avalanche in Game 4 Experiences and Strong Leadership and tie series 2-2 1215299 BARZILLA: Islanders Mathew Barzal Becoming a Force to 1215265 Avalanche-Knights Game 4 Quick Hits: Top line struggles be Reckoned with in Playoffs for third consecutive game 1215266 How Philipp Grubauer used blood, sweat and technology Ottawa Senators to launch the Avalanche’s Stanley Cup run: “I’ve never s 1215300 Team Canada comes all the way back from a rough start 1215267 Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche stars continue sluggish to capture gold in world final stretch as Vegas ties series in Game 4 1215268 Deen’s List: Avalanche return to Ball Arena tied 2-2 after Philadelphia Flyers another underwhelming showing in Vegas 1215301 Flyers assistant Ian Laperriere named Lehigh Valley 1215269 Game 4 Grades: Avs just can’t hang with Vegas Phantoms’ head coach 1215270 Dater column: After big team meeting, Avs give all-talk, no 1215302 Flyers name Laperriere as Phantoms head coach action performance 1215303 5 draft targets for Flyers at 13th overall pick 1215271 Desert Beatdown: Marchessault Hat Trick, Avalanche Wilt 5-1 in Game 4 Pittsburgh Penguins 1215272 Under Siege: Game 4 Avalanche Preview & Notes vs. 1215304 ‘We won a division for God's sake’: Brian Burke defends Vegas Golden Knights Tristan Jarry, Mike Sullivan, core 3 and 'Penguins DNA 1215305 Marcus Pettersson seeks ‘next step’ — will it be for Columbus Blue Jackets Penguins? 1215273 Davidson intent on proving that playing in Columbus is one of NHL's best-kept secrets Tampa Bay Lightning 1215274 Blue Jackets Sunday Gathering: Is a total rebuild coming? 1215306 When another gear is needed, Lightning turn to Nikita Plus, a wild idea for those late first-round picks Kucherov Detroit Red Wings Toronto Maple Leafs 1215275 Steve Yzerman won't give a timeline on Detroit Red Wings 1215307 This is Zach Hyman’s big chance to cash in rebuild. Here's why 1215276 Wings prospect Moritz Seider named best D-man at hockey worlds; Canada wins gold 1215277 U.S. falls to Canada in World Championship semifinal 1215278 Red Wings’ Troy Stecher, Moritz Seider reach World Championship semis Florida Panthers 1215279 Sasha Barkov is a Florida Guy. The Panthers want to keep it that way Los Angeles Kings 1215280 Kings Seasons In Review – Midseason Acquisitions Vegas Golden Knights 1215308 Avalanche ready to leave Las Vegas after another loss 1215309 Graney: Golden Knights’ constant pressure buries Avalanche 1215310 Golden Knights-Colorado Avalanche Game 4 recap 1215311 Marchessault’s hat trick powers Knights to series-tying victory 1215312 Golden Knights forward named finalist for Selke Trophy 1215313 Jonathan Marchessault’s hat trick, ‘Misfit Line’ carry Golden Knights past Avalanche 1215314 Golden Knights overpower Avalanche, even series in Game 4 1215315 Marc-Andre Fleury enjoys rock star status with Golden Knights fans back at T-Mobile Arena 1215316 Golden Knights have subdued Colorado’s high-octane offense with intense, unrelenting pressure 1215317 Marchessault Makes It Rain Hats In Vegas With Golden Trick As Knights Melt Avalanche, 5-1, With VGK Heat Befor 1215318 Golden Knights Getting Help To Sell Playoff Tickets 1215319 Mark Stone Announced As 2021 Selke Trophy Finalist 1215320 Jonathan Marchessault Hat Trick Propels Vegas Golden Knights 1215321 Vegas Golden Knights Look To Even Series with Colorado Avalanche 1215322 Vegas Golden Knights Bet On Themselves When the Chips Are Down Websites 1215328 Sportsnet.ca / Canadiens take commanding series lead by continuing to frustrate Jets 1215329 Sportsnet.ca / Avalanche need to ‘get back on track’ as series turns to best-of-three 1215330 Sportsnet.ca / Jets need offence, desperation in order to extend series vs. Canadiens 1215331 Sportsnet.ca / Flames’ Mangiapane caps best season yet with world championship MVP 1215332 USA TODAY / Islanders' Mathew Barzal, cheap-shotted by David Krejci earlier, scores winning goal to beat Bruin Winnipeg Jets 1215323 Jets fall to Canadiens 5-1, trail series 3-0 1215324 The team that couldn't score 1215325 Jets look lost, beaten, as they reach the brink 1215326 Canadiens crush Jets in Game 3 to take 3-0 stranglehold on North Division final 1215327 Charting Winnipeg’s self-inflicted path to the brink of elimination: ‘You’ve got to keep believing’ SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 1215250 Arizona Coyotes

Six members of Arizona Coyotes organization earn awards at hockey World Championship

JOSÉ M. ROMERO

The Arizona Coyotes' disappointing finish to the regular season ensured no playoffs or hopes for a Stanley Cup run.

But Sunday saw six members of the Coyotes earn medals and honors at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship in Riga, Latvia, with three players hoisting a first-place trophy on the ice in a joyous celebration.

Coyotes goaltenders Darcy Kuemper and Adin Hill, forward Michael Bunting and Team Canada Assistant General Manager Shane Doan, who is Arizona's chief hockey development officer, received gold medals after Canada's 3-2 overtime win over Finland in the championship game of the tournament.

Canada won six of its last seven games in Latvia after losing its first three. Kuemper saved 29 of 31 shots on goal a day after stopping 36 of 38, as Canada avenged preliminary round losses to the United States Saturday and Finland to capture the nation's 27th men's world championship.

Kuemper appeared in his second World Championship tournament. Bunting, coming off the most games he's played in an NHL season, took part in all 10 games, and Hill, one of three Coyotes goalies this past season to see significant game action, took part in three games with the two starts that Kuemper didn't make in the group stage.

"Everybody believed in his game and leading us back there," Canada team captain Adam Henrique said of Kuemper. "We believed in him all the way."

Two other Coyotes, forward Conor Garland and organization prospect Liam Kirk, who was drafted in 2018, were named to the tournament's All- Star team as selected by media members.

Garland capped off a successful tournament for the United States with a goal and two assists earlier Sunday in the bronze medal game. The U.S. defeated Germany 5-0, and Garland finished his tournament with 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in 10 games.

Garland battled injuries and overcame physical play against him from opponents to score 39 points (12 points, 27 assists) in 49 games for the Coyotes this season. He jumped at the chance to put on the USA uniform, and after his performance in Latvia, further strengthened his case for a pay raise from a qualifying offer or new contract this offseason.

Garland, 25, can become a restricted free agent and the Coyotes can match any offer from other teams for him. He celebrated Sunday's goal with a sword-and-scabbard move.

Kirk, 21, shared the top spot in goals scored at the World Championship with seven. The 21-year-old from England had two goals against Belarus in Great Britain’s first regulation time victory at the World Championship since 1962, according to the IIHF.

Arizona Republic LOADED: 06.07.2021 1215251 Boston Bruins Nick Ritchie was a minus-1 in 11;50 in Game 4, Charlie Coyle was a minus-2 in 14:28, and Jake DeBrusk was a minus-1 in 11:22.

“Third line didn’t generate much last night,” Cassidy said. “Didn’t Bruins, Islanders recognize need to manage increased physical play, generate anything, to be honest with you. They’ve had better games.” intensity Asked if he had considered playing Trent Frederic or Karson Kuhlman in the place of DeBrusk, Cassidy said he would wait until Monday to discuss his plans for any lineup changes. By Julian Benbow Globe Staff,Updated June 6, 2021, 6:35 p.m. “I don’t want to do that through you guys,” Cassidy said. “When we talked to the players, make sure we drill down and see what’s the best fit for us. So you guys will know tomorrow who’s in the lineup.” The testiness of the Islanders’ backs-to-the-wall win over the Bruins in Saturday’s Game 4 had all the signs of a series reaching its boiling point. Krejci fined for slash

When Scott Mayfield slammed Taylor Hall to the ice, Hall didn’t hesitate David Krejci was fined $5,000 for his slashing penalty against Barzal. to drop his gloves. After being checked in the back repeatedly by Barzal, Krejci jammed his After Mathew Barzal shoved his stick in Curtis Lazar’s face, Barzal ended stick into Barzal’s groin. up in a scrap with Jarred Tinordi. Krejci was initially issued a spearing penalty but it was reduced to a After walking away with a win, Islanders coach Barry Trotz tried chalking slashing penalty after an official review. up the skirmishes to the Bruins angling to get some momentum but failing. Boston Globe LOADED: 06.07.2021

But both teams acknowledged that as the series goes deeper, the intensity will only ramp up.

“I think both teams are physical,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. “It showed in the first period. There was a lot of stuff going on out there. We’re drawing penalties trying to be physical, they’re drawing penalties trying to be physical. I think that’s in both teams’ DNA.”

After combining for 32 penalty minutes through the first three games, the teams racked up 30 in Game 4 alone. The Bruins have gripes about penalties not going their way, but Cassidy warned his team that even though altercations may come as players get edgier, they can’t get wrapped up in balancing out calls.

“Some of that stuff you’ve just got to live with and play through and not let it get to you mentally — knowing that, hey, the same thing just happened, why aren’t we on the power play?” Cassidy said. “You’ve just got to suck it up, kill the penalty, and get back to work.”

Trotz is aware of the toll a physical series can take.

“It’s a physical grind, it’s a mental grind,” Trotz said. “The thing of a long series is that if a guy gets nicked up early in the series, the nicks don’t go away. They just compound. So I think the later a series goes, the more exhausted you are, the more beat up you are, the more mentally drained you are. That’s just that’s part of the business in our field.”

The series will go at least six games, so Cassidy said both teams will have to manage.

“I think physicality wears on everybody, it’s just how you handle it,” Cassidy said. “I think both teams are used to it. There’s a reason why we’re still playing, a reason why they’re still playing. Both teams [were] playing at this time last year, so they have it in their DNA, we have it in our DNA to keep playing through it, the physical part. Someone’s going to be the last team standing. And we’ve just got to keep doing what we need to do to make sure we’re that team.”

Bergeron a Selke finalist again

For the 10th straight season, Patrice Bergeron is a finalist for the Selke Trophy awarded to the league’s best defensive forward.

He’s in the running for the honor along with Florida Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov and Vegas Golden Knights forward Mark Stone.

Bergeron, who finished the regular season with 23 goals, 25 assists, and a plus-27 rating, could become the first-ever five-time Selke winner.

“It’s good people are continuing to pay attention because he deserves it,” Cassidy said. “Certainly you know he emulates what that award’s all about. He did it again this year. There’s a couple of good candidates, as well, he’s up against, so that’s always a tough call for the people deciding. But I’m glad to see him get as his just due.”

Second look at third line

Cassidy didn’t mince words when it came to the lack of production from the Bruins’ third line. 1215252 Boston Bruins “It’s obviously nice any time you get on the board and help your team,” Barzal said. “I think you guys sometimes want to make it out to be like the player’s feeling it or if they’re not scoring [they’re not], but throughout the whole playoffs I’ve been pretty happy with my compete level. We’ve The Bruins had better watch out for the Islanders’ Mathew Barzal after been winning games, so if points aren’t there and we’re winning games, the way he stepped up in Game 4 I’m OK with that.

“This is the playoffs. It’s not going to be the same guy every night. The last two games, I knew I had to step up. This has been a heavy series By Julian Benbow Globe Staff,Updated June 6, 2021, 12:16 p.m. and I knew I had to step up. So I’ve been trying to just raise my compete and just trying to do what I can to help this team win.”

Before Mathew Barzal punched in the third-period goal that opened the Boston Globe LOADED: 06.07.2021 floodgates for the New York Islanders on the way to a 4-1 win in Saturday’s Game 4, he had made up his mind to make every second on the ice matter, whether he scored or not.

With just four assists and no goals through the Islanders’ first eight games of the playoffs, Barzal’s postseason numbers didn’t jump off the stat sheet. But he didn’t care one bit. He knows winning a playoff series takes scoring, but also so much more.

“Honestly, it’s the playoffs,” Barzal said. “As much as I’d love to produce every night, just it’s so tight out there and sometimes it just doesn’t come that easy. So it’s more so just, when it’s not coming offensively that night, it’s just making sure I’m not on the ice for any goals against or making that block or just trying to get the puck out and just playing sound hockey.”

Barzal knows what he brings to every game, and so does Islanders coach Barry Trotz, who saw a player who had been aggressive with his shot throughout the postseason (27 shots on goal) along with being a physical presence with seven blocks and seven hits.

“I thought he was competing,” Trotz said. “A term I like to use, he was fighting for his inches . . . I liked Mat’s game. He was dangerous all night. He kept putting pucks to the net, creating. That’s how you’re going to score in the playoffs and he’s doing it right now.”

Barzal, who led the Islanders with 45 points in the regular season (17 goals, 28 assists), knew as well as anyone that he has had problems finding the net this postseason. But over the past two games, when the Islanders desperately needed goals, Barzal delivered. He came through with a third-period score Thursday that sent Game 3 to overtime, then delivered the deciding goal in Game 4. He said he put some pressure on himself to produce, but reminded himself that he could help his team win in ways beyond scoring.

“I feel like that’s more of a regular-season thing,” Barzal said. “Obviously if we lose three in the playoffs and I haven’t produced or my game has been off, then obviously I’m hard on myself. But we’ve never been out of a series. We won that first series against [Pittsburgh] and I wasn’t really, offensively, putting up crazy numbers.

“This is the playoffs. This is just about winning hockey games, whether you’re the guy that night that gets the winning goal or you’re the guy that’s just playing sound all night and helps your team in different ways. So I’m obviously hard on myself, but this time of year, it’s just about both getting wins — whether you’re scoring or not just trying to help the team and just getting wins.”

Barzal got the worst of a chippy moment in the second period. After shoving David Krejci in the back, Krejci turned around and appeared to jab him in the groin with his stick. Barzal dropped to the ice, Krejci was initially called for a spearing major, but after review, he was issued a slashing minor.

Barzal said he was fine after the game.

“I was a little surprised,” Barzal said. “I haven’t seen that seen the clip yet. I felt it was a little vicious but it’s the refs’ call, judgment call from them. But yeah, I thought it was a tad vicious but again it’s up to the refs and it doesn’t matter now.”

Tying the series a two games apiece, Barzal said the Islanders believed they were fighting for their playoff lives.

“Obviously the biggest game for us so far,” Barzal said. “If we go down 3- 1 to these guys heading back to TD Garden, that’s a death sentence.”

Delivering the game-winner was crucial, but it didn’t change the mind-set Barzal’s had all postseason. 1215253 Boston Bruins we had a wide open net and didn’t convert. But that’s a hell of a play,” said Cassidy.

“You’ve got to give players freedom to make the play in front of them. I Bruins Notebook: B’s need improvement for Game 5 just think there was too much of that. With a guy that’s rebound-friendly in there, you’ve got to make him work to control the rebounds. I don’t think we did enough of that. And I don’t think we were clean through the neutral zone.” By STEVE CONROY | PUBLISHED: June 6, 2021 at 1:55 p.m. | UPDATED: June 6, 2021 at 4:14 p.m. No, it may not be a must-win game. But the B’s must make improvements or they’ll find themselves in one for Wednesday’s Game 6

at the combustible Nassau Coliseum. True must-win games are elimination games, and Monday’s Game 5 at They do not want that. the Garden between the Bruins and Islanders is not that. Another Selke nomination for Bergeron But for the Bruins, it’s pretty darn close. For the 10th consecutive season, Bergeron has been named a finalist for After dropping Game 4 on Long Island on Saturday to deadlock the the Selke Award, which is given to the forward who best excels at the series at 2-2, the B’s certainly don’t want to go back to that place down 3- defensive aspects of the game. The other finalists are Florida’s 2. The Penguins could tell them it’s not a good situation to be in. Aleksander Barkov and Vegas’ Mark Stone. Bergeron is tied with To avoid that unpalatable predicament, the B’s need improvement in a Montreal great Bob Gainey with a record four wins. number of areas from their trigger-shy performance on Saturday. “People are continuing to pay attention because he deserves it,” said First off, they need more from their bottom six. On Sunday, coach Bruce Cassidy. “He emulates what that award is all about. He did it again this Cassidy said he liked what he saw from his fourth line of Sean Kuraly, year. He’s got a couple of good candidates he’s up against so that’s Curtis Lazar and Chris Wagner — a line he threw over the boards in the always a tough call for the people that are deciding, but I’m glad to see final minutes of the 4-1 loss with the B’s down a goal on Saturday — and him get his just due.” planned on keeping that unit intact. Krejci fined The third line of Nick Ritchie, Charlie Coyle and Jake DeBrusk is another David Krejci was fined $5,000 for his his “slash” to Barzal’s private parts story. Cassidy didn’t say if or what changes would be made — but he’s on Saturday night. After getting hit with a succession of cross-checks contemplating it. from Barzal, Krejci turned and stuck Barzal with his stick blade. It was “I thought (Saturday) night was our best game from our fourth line in originally called a five-minute major for spearing but was reduced to a terms of playing below the goal line, getting pucks deep, being physical. two-minute minor upon review. … Lazar draws a penalty on being physical, getting cross-checked to the Kevan Miller, out since taking a high hit from Washington’s Dmitry Orlov head (from Mat Barzal). Good for him for trying to finish his checks. I on May 25, continued skating on Sunday and his availability will be thought Sean was trying to do a little more of that. Wags had a good determined on Monday morning, said Cassidy, as will that of Brandon chance in the first period on a wraparound, Kuraly in the slot later, it was Carlo. Cassidy did not believe Carlo skated on Sunday, however. just off net. So I thought they did a better job than they have been in terms of creating offense and how they can best do it,” said Cassidy. Boston Herald LOADED: 06.07.2021 “Third line didn’t generate much. Well, they didn’t generate anything, to be honest with you. They’ve had better games. Obviously there was a breakdown on the (game-winning) goal. … We allowed them to get to the middle of the ice and it kind of snowballed from there where guys were a little late because we didn’t do our job first. So that part of it hurt us. But at the end of the day, we’ll look at it for (Monday).”

The third line is the only unbalanced one of the four, with the left-handed DeBrusk having to play on the right side. To his credit, he’s upped his battle level in this series, so much so that he even got hit with the first fine of his career with a cross-check to the back on Scott Mayfield‘s head in Game 2. But his effectiveness clearly diminishes when he’s on the right side. Karson Kuhlman does not have the same goal-scoring pedigree as DeBrusk, but as a right shot he fits better and he played well with Coyle and Ritchie in Game 2 when Craig Smith was out. There could be a switch-out there.

The left-shooting Trent Frederic is a possibility, but a less likely one. He became a fan favorite early in the season with his brash physicality, but he hit a rookie wall mid-season and hasn’t played since the regular season finale nearly a month ago on May 11. He’s never played in a Stanley Cup playoff game.

The B’s do need more from Ritchie, however. In a series that is starting to resemble one long Oklahoma Drill, the 6-foot-2, 230-pound registered zero hits on Saturday. Ritchie’s size can be useful in various ways — his pivotal screen on Charlie McAvoy‘s game-winner in Game 1 is one example — but when he lands hits, the opponent feels it. He’s got to be more active.

Cassidy also reiterated his postgame complaint of his players not shooting enough. He conceded that his high-skill players at times need to be left to their creativity, but Semyon Varlamov has to see more pucks. He simply did not have to be that good to win Game 4.

“Our shot mentality wasn’t there, for whatever reason. And sometimes it works. That’s where you’ve got to give the players some rope. The (Patrice Bergeron) play to (David Pastrnak), you’re sitting on the bench saying, ‘Shoot it, shoot it’ and he held it and held it. Then all of a sudden 1215254 Boston Bruins

Is Cassidy Pulling A Berube For The Boston Bruins?

Published 11 hours ago on June 6, 2021By Jimmy Murphy

Is Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy trying to pull a Craig Berube with the officiating in this tight and physical East Division Final with the New York Islanders?

If so, he better hope calling out the officiating following a 4-1 Game 4 loss and a game in which the physicality from the previous three games boiled over, goes the way it went for Berube in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final and not the way it did for his St. Louis Blues in the first round sweep they suffered to the Colorado Avalanche.

“It’s terrible. It’s so one-sided, it’s not even funny,” Berube said after his team went down 3-0 in the series.

The chippiness was at an all-time high in Game 4 and Cassidy has grown tired of his team’s chippiness seemingly leading to the sin-bin more than the Islanders and of a rather large dose of embellishment coming from the Islanders through the first four games. After the game, the Boston Bruins bench boss sounded a lot like Berube.

“I think the whole playoffs we haven’t gotten very many calls to put us on the power play,” Cassidy said after Game 4 Saturday night. “I certainly think the infractions, we haven’t gotten a lot of calls to go our way with the borderline ones. You look at even some non-borderline. I mean, Chris Wagner almost got his head taken off the other night in front of the net on a high stick. You look at it and you see the referee looking at it, and they don’t call it.

So they see what they see. And you can’t do anything about it. You hope that comes around, you keep playing hard [and] earn your calls. We’re not gonna bitch about it. It is what it is. And, you know, hopefully, we’ll start getting the ones that we deserve and take advantage of it.”

Just about 14 hours later, the NHL announced that Boston Bruins center David Krejci had been fined the maximum $5000 allowed for slashing Islanders forward Mathew Barzal who had just cross-checked Krejci three straight times before Krejci lost his cool and speared Barzal between the legs. While Krejci is lucky he got away with just a two- minute minor in the game and this fine, these are the types of encounters Cassidy believes the Isles are getting away with.

If you recall, Berube’s 2019 Stanley Cup Final rant worked and the Blues basically got away with almost anything for the rest of the series. They used that edge and their overpowering forecheck to punish the Bruins into submission and took the series in seven games.

The series arrives back at TD Garden on Monday (6:30 PM ET, NBCSN, Sportsnet, TVAS) and we should know early if Cassidy has caused the series officiating crew to reevaluate what they’re letting go on both sides or whether Cassidy’s rendition of a Berube rant fell on deaf ears.

Boston Hockey Now LOADED: 06.07.2021 1215255 Boston Bruins

Patrice Bergeron Receives Record 10th Straight Selke Nomination

Published 13 hours ago on June 6, 2021By Jimmy Murphy

The NHL announced Sunday that Boston Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron has been nominated for the Frank J. Selke Trophy for a record tenth-straight time.

The award is given “to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game”. Bergeron’s four Selke Trophy wins are tied for the most ever with former Montreal Canadiens forward and hall of famer Bob Gainey who won the award in each of the first four seasons the Selke Trophy was awarded. Aleksander Barkov and Vegas Golden Knights forward Mark Stone were the other nominees.

“People are continuing to pay attention because he deserves it,” Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said after being informed that Bergeron was nominated again. “Certainly, he emulates what that award is all about it, did it again this year. A couple of good candidates as well he’s up against, so that’s always a tough call for the people deciding.

But I’m glad to see him get his just due and good luck to him. I obviously am biased, but I feel he should be the winner. I’m sure the coaches of their players probably feel the same way, but good for Patrice. And I’m proud of him again for bringing it every year. He’s another year under his belt [and] to be able to keep playing that way on both sides of the puck is kind of a testament to not only his physical ability but his mental toughness to do it every night.”

Patrice Bergeron has four goals and four assists in nine Stanley Cup Playoff games after a 12th 20-goal regular season. Bergeron scored 23 goals and had 25 assists in 54 games. Once again though, not only was he a steady offensive presence skating on the Bruins’ top line with David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand but also matching up against opponents’ top players every game as a dominant defensive force. Patrice Bergeron is viewed as one of, if not the best faceoff men in the NHL, and in the 2021 regular season, Bergeron showed why. He led the league in faceoff wins with 714 and in faceoff win percentage with a career-best 62.3 percent. Patrice Bergeron also led the B’s with a +27 rating and ranked third in the NHL in the puck possession metric SAT% (62.5).

Boston Hockey Now LOADED: 06.07.2021 1215256 Boston Bruins

Boston Bruins Krejci Fined $5K For Spearing Groin

Published 14 hours ago on June 6, 2021By Joe Haggerty

The fallout from a nasty, physical Game 4 continues as Boston Bruins center David Krejci was fined $5000 by the NHL Department of Player Safety for spearing Mat Barzal in the groin during a second period scrum that escalated quickly. Krejci was cross-checked four times in the back by Barzal as a group of Bruins and Islanders scrapped for the loose puck, and normally calm playmaking Bruins center turned and quickly pitchforked Barzal between the legs after giving him a warning cross- check prior to that.

There was no consequence during the game as an initial major penalty was downgraded to a minor slashing penalty, and the Islanders weren’t able to score on the ensuing power play. The play led to the typical outrage mob on hockey twitter that wanted Krejci banned for life on a play that is normally called slashing with a resultant fine such as the one the Boston Bruins center received.

But it did lead to a pretty entertaining he said/she said following the game as both players opined on what had transpired leading to the Krejci poke.

“Obviously wasn’t happy about it,” Krejci said of Barzal’s barrage of cross-checks to his back prior to him returning fire. “He went down pretty easily. But it is what it is. Yeah.”

Barzal got the last laugh with the game-winning goal in the 4-1 Game 4 victory for the New York Islanders after recovering from the spearing play and couldn’t help himself postgame.

“I was a little surprised. I haven’t seen the clip yet. I felt it was a little vicious,” Barzal said. “But it’s the ref’s call there. It’s a judgment call from them. Yeah, I thought it was a tad vicious.”

As always, these little battles within the battle should lead to an entertaining Game 5 on Monday night at TD Garden, and a raucous final three games to a playoff series that is turning nastier with each passing game.

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Boston Bruins Cassidy: ‘We Haven’t Gotten Very Many Calls’

Published 19 hours ago on June 6, 2021By Joe Haggerty

While the boiling point may have been this weekend’s Game 4 when the Boston Bruins actually enjoyed a 3-2 advantage in power plays in the game, the truth is that the B’s have issues with the way playoff games have been officiated over the last month.

The Bruins have been awarded 28 power plays in their nine playoff games for an average of slightly more than three PP’s per game, but they had to kill off 32 power play in the two playoff series thus far as well. To wit, the Islanders have had to kill off just 21 power plays in two playoff series despite pretty clearly playing a tough, physical brand of hockey that definitely flirts on the edge as it did in Saturday’s 4-1 Game 4 loss or the Bruins to the Isles at Nassau Coliseum.

Cal Clutterbuck has knocked a pair of Bruins players out the series at points with hard hits, including a leg-on-leg check on Craig Smith that took him out for a playoff game.

Earlier in the season, the refs somehow overlooked Charlie McAvoy getting punched in the head by, you guessed it, Brock Nelson at the end of a hard check by the Islanders.

On Saturday night, McAvoy was blasted from behind into the boards by Nelson seeing numbers all the way and NBC commentators trumpeted it as the Islanders “playing for keeps” in a must-win game.

Even a very questionable decision by David Krejci to spear Mat Barzal in the family jewels during Game 4 was immediately preceded by Barzal cross-checking Krejci four times in the back without a single arm raised from Chris Lee or Jean Hebert.

Following a close loss to the Islanders that evened up the best-of-seven series at 2-2 apiece, Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy had enough without going over the line critiquing the officiating.

“I think the whole playoffs we haven’t gotten very many calls to put us on the power play,” said Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy. “I certainly think the infractions, we haven’t gotten a lot of calls go our way with the borderline ones. You look at even some non-borderline. I mean, Chris Wagner almost got his head taken off the other night in front of the net on a high stick. You look at it and you see the referee looking at it, and they don’t call it.

“So they see what they see. And you can’t do anything about it. You hope that comes around, you keep playing hard [and] earn your calls. We’re not gonna bitch about it. It is what it is. And, you know, hopefully we’ll start getting the ones that we deserve and take advantage of it.”

The Bruins took advantage of the calls they did get on Saturday night with a power play goal in three chances, but they’re also facing an Islanders penalty kill that’s struggled throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs. An extra call or two that Cassidy is lobbying for could end up making a difference in a tight playoff series and it certainly seems warranted based on the number of things happening on the ice as the Isles try to slow the Black and Gold down a little bit by any means necessary.

Boston Hockey Now LOADED: 06.07.2021 1215258 Boston Bruins “I thought David was fine,” he said. “He’s trying to shoot the puck after that. He shot it hard, the guy made some saves on him. I don’t know if that (missed shot) makes a difference in the game or not. I really don’t. It’s hindsight. Would have liked to see it go in. It didn’t happen. But I If David Pastrnak is missing shots on an open net, you know it’s a rough thought Pasta was fine.” night for Bruins Game 5 is Monday night at TD Garden. If the Bruins go on to win the series, Pastrnak’s miss will be reduced to an entertaining banquet story.

By Steve Buckley Jun 6, 2021 If the Bruins lose, it might come up now and then.

The Athletic LOADED: 06.07.2021 So there was Brad Marchand on Thursday night, scoring a game-winning goal in overtime from such an impossible angle that there’s no perfectamundo replay that shows the entire track of the puck as it flutters past New York Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov.

But the television cameras didn’t miss David Pastrnak Saturday night when he had an open net — as in entirely open — and clanged a shot off the far post, a few inches off the ice.

Let us count the ways . . .

In real time, we saw it from behind Pastrnak, some 12 to 15 feet from the net at the left face-off when he missed the open net. So horrified was Pastrnak that he collapsed and sprawled on the ice, face down.

The first replay is from the same angle, but tighter and in slow-motion.

On the second replay, the camera directly behind the net shows Patrice Bergeron drawing out Varlamov as he slides the puck to Pastrnak … who missed the open net.

Third replay: We see that Varlamov is so far out of the net, poor guy, that the only part of him that’s even in the crease is his right skate, and only barely. And then we see Pastrnak miss the open net.

Would you like a fourth replay? This one shows the entire sequence, Pastrnak to Marchand to Bergeron back to Pastrnak … who misses the open net.

Then again, Boston Bruins fans probably don’t need any replays at all. They were able to see it in their sleep. While it’s impossible to pin the Bruins’ 4-1 loss to the Islanders in Game 4 of this now-deadlocked best- of-seven series on Pastrnak, it easily stands out as the biggest missed opportunity of the postseason.

Look at it this way: Nobody’s going to remember the two empty-net goals the Islanders potted late in the third period after Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask had been pulled for the extra skater. But a whole lot of people are going to remember Pastrnak not getting an empty-net goal late in the first period.

The entire situation was compounded by the fact it was David Pastrnak who swung and missed. He’s netted exactly 200 regular-season goals in his seven seasons with the Bruins, including a league-best 48 in 70 games during the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season. As we get ever closer to the day when there will be some form of wagering on every aspect of professional sports, it’s doubtful anyone’s going to be laying down cash on Pastrnak at the “First Player to Miss an Open Net” window.

Fans tuning in for Game 4 had already watched something they’d probably never seen before, which was Taylor Hall getting into a flight with the Islanders’ Scott Mayfield. It was apparently Hall’s first scrape since May 3, 2011, when the then-Edmonton Oilers rookie went at it with the Columbus Blue Jackets’ Derek Dorsett. He hurt his ankle while falling to the ice in that one. (The next day’s headline in the Red Deer Advocate screamed “Costly Victory: Taylor Hall hurt in fight as Oilers beat Blue Jackets.”)

Though Hall was an unlikely combatant, it was all in keeping with the feisty nature of the first period at frenzied Nassau Arena. But then came Pastrnak’s big swing and a miss, which occurred with 3:02 remaining in the opening period.

“That’s when you know it might have been a tough night for us tonight in terms of getting things to go our way, when your best player hits the post on an open net,” said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy.

“Or it’s going to be one of those nights where you’re probably not getting breaks, and you’re going to have to go earn them yourself.”

But Cassidy, barely pausing for air, quickly pivoted from that way of thinking. 1215259 Calgary Flames concussion suffered in the regular-season finale or when Team Canada was stumbling to that slow start while he was still stuck in isolation.

“He was sitting in the hotel room going, ‘Oh, I haven’t even played a ‘He showcased himself’: Mangiapane’s parents beaming with pride after game and we’re going to be out. I can’t believe this.’ He was frustrated son wins MVP at worlds then,” Patricia said. “He really did embrace the opportunity, though. He was like, ‘I’m not going home. I’m having fun.’

“And I think he really was having fun. Because they were the underdogs, Wes Gilbertson and he likes the underdog role. It works for him. So this doesn’t faze him. He’s always the underdog, so it’s just like, ‘We’ll keep chugging away.’ Publishing date:Jun 06, 2021 • 6 hours ago And this time, they were rewarded.”

Thanks to that underdog mentality and his relentless work ethic, This is a good problem to have. Mangiapane has emerged as both a fan favourite and core piece in Calgary. After leading Team Canada to gold Sunday at the 2021 IIHF World Hockey Championship in Latvia, Calgary Flames forward Andrew After putting up a career-high 18 goals and 32 points for the Flames Mangiapane was struggling with his suitcase. during the 56-game sprint, he continued to make a name for himself with his superb performance at worlds. He tied for the tournament lead with The 25-year-old left-winger could wear that shiny medal around his neck seven tallies, and that’s despite missing three outings. on the return flight, but he hadn’t — not in his wildest dreams — imagined that he’d enough need space in his luggage for the crystal “He showcased himself,” Peter beamed. “It was like, ‘We have to start keepsake that is awarded to the most valuable player at the tournament. winning some games here, because I really don’t want to go home this early.’ ” “He was back at the hotel room packing and he goes, ‘I have no room for this MVP trophy.’ He was asking us, ‘Where do I put it?’ ” said He’s headed home now, good as gold. Mangiapane’s proud mother, Patricia, from the family home in Bolton, And with a tournament MVP award, too … as long as he managed to Ont. “We were telling him, ‘You better carry that, because you don’t want squeeze it in his suitcase. it to break.’ It was pretty cool.” Calgary Sun: LOADED: 06.07.2021 Pretty cool, indeed.

Mangiapane was thrilled to receive this first call to represent his country on international ice, and he couldn’t possibly have done much more to capitalize on the opportunity.

By the time he had completed his mandatory quarantine, Team Canada had sputtered to an 0-3 start. With another regulation loss, they wouldn’t have even qualified for the playoff round.

Mangiapane, it seems, was in no hurry to get back home. The opposite, actually.

He racked up four goals and eight points in four appearances as the Canadians finished the round-robin on an 3-0-1 tear.

He sniped the overtime winner in a quarterfinal victory over the top- seeded Russians.

He scored two more — including another game-winner — as Canada squeaked past Team USA in the semis.

While he was held off the scoresheet in Sunday’s 3-2 overtime triumph against Finland in the gold-medal matchup, his impact was acknowledged with an MVP nod.

Back home in Ontario, it must have been an emotional scene.

“It was nice to see him have that moment,” Patricia said. “That was such an honour.”

“You could tell, even his teammates, they knew it was going to him,” added Mangiapane’s father, Peter. “There was a teammate, I think it was (Max) Comtois that was around him and he was already pushing him towards the trophy like, ‘It’s you, man. It’s you.’ That was a nice gesture, before he was even announced. They knew.”

During his post-game comments, Team Canada head coach Gerard Gallant agreed that they picked the right guy.

“He was the difference-maker, there’s no doubt about that,” Gallant said of No. 88. “We played a good team game. Everybody chipped in and everybody did their jobs. But when Mangiapane came over, it gave us a different level of confidence. He was outstanding — a great kid and a great spark for us.”

Not long after Ottawa Senators forward Nick Paul notched the golden goal during three-on-three overtime Sunday, Mangiapane connected with his parents via FaceTime so they could experience the on-ice celebrations.

It was much more upbeat than the conversations from a couple weeks earlier, when he’d just learned that fellow Flames speedster Dillon Dube — one of his good buddies — would have to stay home due to a 1215260 Carolina Hurricanes with golf instructor Chase Duncan of Raleigh, and spent some time with him this week before the Rex at Lonnie Poole Golf Course.

No swing tweaks, though. “Just making sure I’m in sync,” Franken said. Raleigh’s Stephen Franken hears cheers from hometown fans at Rex Franken left the Rex 65th in Korn Ferry points, having won $136,185 for Hospital Open the season. His best finish this season has been a tie for fourth in the Huntsville Championship in early May.

BY CHIP ALEXANDER The 2019 Rex Hospital Open was Franken’s first pro event and and he shot 77-74 to miss the cut. But he tied for seventh in the Korn Ferry JUNE 06, 2021 06:21 PM, Qualifying Tournament in December 2019. He’s now trying to establish himself, prove he can take the next step and win.

“I’m just staying in the present moment, taking it one shot at a time,” he Stephen Franken didn’t win the Rex Hospital Open on Sunday. said. Mito Pereira did that with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff. The Chile Staying patient, staying on course with his career, eyes straight ahead. native and former Texas Tech golfer topped Stephan Jaeger at the Country Club of Wakefield Plantation. With his second win of the season News Observer LOADED: 06.07.2021 on the Korn Ferry Tour, he will be on the PGA Tour next season.

“I’m really happy with where my game is and really happy obviously with where I’m headed to,” said Pereira, 26, who had a final-round 67. “Since I was 3 years old I’ve wanted to play on the PGA Tour.”

Franken, a Raleigh native who played college golf at N.C. State, had the kind of finish he’d like to replicate more often on the Korn Ferry Tour. With a final-round 67 and 17-under-par 267 total, he tied for sixth place, his fourth top-10 finish of the season, and kept his name on the leader boards most of the sunny day.

Franken, 24, got a big hometown hand at the 18th from a gallery that was bigger than expected at Wakefield. He tossed his golf ball to a young fan after the round and bounded up a hill to the clubhouse like a young man on a mission, eyes straight ahead.

“It was pretty fun,” Franken said after the round. “I’m a little disappointed right now because I would have liked to finish better at 17 and 18 but, yeah, it was awesome. I’ve come to this event since I was 12, when my Dad and parents would bring me out. So it was really fun.”

Franken bogeyed the par-4 17th hole, then narrowly missed a 25-foot birdie putt at the par-4 18th.

Former N.C. State golfer Stephen Franken of Raleigh had a final-round 67 and finished tied for sixth in the REX Hospital Open on the Korn Ferry Tour. Chip Alexander

For players like Franken, it’s all about trying to finish in the top 25 in Korn Ferry points. Do that and he, too, will earn his playing card for the PGA Tour next season.

Franken, a former ACC player of the year with the Pack, spent much of the past year traveling during the pandemic, which meant his life has pretty much been spent at the golf course or holed up in a hotel room.

“It has definitely been a grind, for sure,” he said. “Last year was really weird with COVID. It took a bit of time for me to kind of figure out the transition from college to pro, because you’re on the road so much more. You’re never home.”

GROWING UP A CANES FAN

Growing up in Raleigh, Franken was a diehard Carolina Hurricanes fan and played in the Junior Hurricanes program for a couple of years. He said he was at some of the Canes’ playoff games in 2006 as the Canes won the Stanley Cup.

In his tour bio, he lists Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour, the team’s 2006 captain, as one of his favorite athletes. Another favorite from the 2006 team: Mike Commodore.

Like Commodore, Franken was a defenseman in junior hockey. Like Commodore, he has red hair. Commodore was famous for his red, bushy ‘Fro. And Franken?

“I did have a ‘Fro,” he said, smiling.

Commodore got a lot of attention during the 2006 Cup run for wearing a white bathrobe. Franken had one, too.

Franken, who played golf at Millbrook High, earned a spot on the Wolfpack golf team under former coach Richard Sykes and earned a degree in finance while earning All-ACC honors. He continues to work 1215261 Carolina Hurricanes “We’re always making tiny adjustments, but at the end of the day, that’s five pretty talented players they’re throwing out there and no one’s really been able to stop them,” Brind’Amour said.

The Canes’ aggressive pressure on the penalty kill isn’t fazing Tampa Brind’Amour’s message: the Canes had to limit their penalties. Bay’s power play “And then when we do get one, we’ve got to do our best to kill it,” he said.

The Canes tried their best. Three times, it worked. The last three times it BY CHIP ALEXANDER didn’t.

JUNE 06, 2021 02:58 PM The Canes will need to get it right in Game 5, Tuesday at PNC Arena. If they don’t, they might not have another chance this season.

CAROLINA HURRICANES VS TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper respects the Carolina Hurricanes’ penalty killing, calling it among the most aggressive and effective in the league. When: Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.

At the same time ... Where: PNC Arena, Raleigh

“They’re taking the gamble you can’t make plays under pressure, and TV: NBCSN we’re saying we can,” Cooper said after Game 1 of the playoff series with News Observer LOADED: 06.07.2021 the Canes.

On Tampa Bay’s first three power plays Saturday in Game 4, the Canes’ penalty killers pressured and won that “gamble.” Then, the Lightning scored on three straight power plays, taking a 5-4 lead that Tampa Bay turned into a 6-4 victory and a 3-1 series lead.

It’s an interesting standoff. The Canes have such tough, crafty penalty killers as Jordan Staal, Brock McGinn, Brett Pesce, Jaccob Slavin and Brady Skjei. They also throw forwards Sebastian Aho, Martin Necas and Teuvo Teravainen into the mix for added speed and it has produced some shorthanded chances.

The Canes were third in penalty killing in the regular season (85.2 percent) and were third among playoff teams (88.2 percent) after their first-round victory over the Nashville Predators.

“There’s a reason they had one of the top penalty kills in the league,” Cooper said. “They’ve got a plan. It’s not all run and gun and hope the other team screws up. They pressure you and they know where they’re going and when they’re going. You have to work.”

What works well for Tampa Bay is being able to send out forwards Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, Anthony Cirelli and defenseman Victor Hedman, who is almost like a fifth forward with his offensive ability. That’s a powerhouse power-play lineup and Alex Killorn is a part of it.

On their first power-play score Saturday, Aho pressured down ice but Kucherov swiftly carried the puck up the middle and into the Carolina zone. The puck was knocked into the left corner, but Kucherov chased after it and pushed it up the wall to Stamkos.

As Necas and Aho closed in on Stamkos, he got the puck to the middle of the ice to Killorn, who tipped the puck to Point for a shot. Canes goalie Petr Mrazek shouldered it down, but Killorn backhanded the puck toward the net, raising his stick, believing he had scored.

The puck hit off the crossbar, but directly to Stamkos closing in on the back side. Stamkos had an open net and didn’t miss as Skjei tried to get his stick on the puck.

“They don’t give you a lot of space,” Point said of the Canes. “They force you to make quick plays.”

The Lightning did and scored.

Kucherov scored his power-play goal in the second period with a shot from the top of the right circle as Cirelli screened Mrazek. Tampa Bay’s third power-play goal ended with two Canes killers flat on the ice.

It began with a loose puck high in the zone that had Staal diving and trying to clear, only to have Hedman slap at it and knock it toward the right corner to Cirelli. He waited until Skjei began to pressure, then passed to Kucherov, who quickly got it to Stamkos for a shot from the left circle and the score.

The Canes’ McGinn was caught out near the blue line when Staal tried to clear and had to quickly reverse and recover, but it was too late. McGinn and Pesce both dived trying to get a piece of the Stamkos shot but were left frustrated on the ice.

Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour discussed the Tampa Bay power play in his media briefing Saturday morning, hours before Game 4. 1215262 Carolina Hurricanes capable of playing playoff-level defense. At forward, Max McCormick remains the next available player.

News Observer LOADED: 06.07.2021 Hurricanes finally crack Vasilevskiy in wild second period ... then give it all back

BY LUKE DECOCK

JUNE 06, 2021 09:58 AM,

The Carolina Hurricanes finally cracked Andrei Vasilevskiy. Finally had him rattled. Got four goals past him in the first 33 minutes Saturday, including Jaccob Slavin’s bad-angle goal that got over Vasilevskiy’s right shoulder on the short side.

Then they gave the lead away, and Vasilevskiy was back to his old self, stopping the final nine shots he faced after giving up four goals on the first 16.

With Saturday’s 6-4 win to take a 3-1 lead in the series, the Tampa Bay Lightning goalie has now won 10 straight in the playoffs after a loss, dating back to the Lightning’s sweep at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2019.

“You score four in a period and you’re feeling good,” Slavin said. “Then the momentum kind of swings. You can’t let that happen.”

It was the first time since 2010 that two teams combined for eight or more goals in a playoff period and the 12th time in NHL history.

PHANTOM PENALTY

There were some odd penalty calls in Saturday’s first period, and even before the first period. The matching unsportsmanlike minors to Warren Foegele and Blake Coleman before puck drop meant the opening faceoff was taken four-on-four, perhaps a first in NHL playoff history. But the strangest one was the rescinded high-sticking call on Brady Skjei.

Skjei clipped Nikita Kucherov in the visor and was escorted into the penalty box, only to be released seconds later. The NHL never provided an official explanation, but apparently one of the linesman made the high- sticking call, not one of the referees, and linesmen are only allowed to call four-minute high-sticking penalties.

Per the NHL rulebook, one of the very few occasions linesmen are allowed to call a penalty is “when it is apparent that an injury has resulted from a high-stick that has gone undetected by the Referees and requires the assessment of a double-minor penalty.”

So: no blood, no call. And a break for the Hurricanes, who ended up killing two actual penalties later in the period before the Lightning broke through with three power-play goals in the second period.

CLUTCH

Only three players have scored more overtime goals in a single postseason than Jordan Staal’s two so far: Maurice “Rocket” Richard (1951), Mel Hill (1939), Corey Perry (2017), all with three.

Former Hurricanes defenseman Niclas Wallin, who scored four in his career, is one of 56 others with two in a postseason, in 2002.

CH-CH-CH-CHANGES?

Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour has generally resisted tinkering with his lineup, with the exception of inserting Maxime Lajoie for Jake Gardiner in the first round while Slavin was out and the switch to Petr Mrazek in net in Game 3, but there may be changes ahead with the two- day gap between Game 4 and Game 5.

Nino Niederreiter and Vincent Trocheck have two more days to recover from their injuries (Trocheck made the trip to Tampa, while Niederreiter did not) as does Foegele, who played in Game 4 after suffering a shoulder injury in Game 3. Alex Nedeljkovic will likely be back in net after Mrazek struggled in Game 4. And after yet another game where Jake Bean looked overwhelmed — and was victimized on the Lightning’s sixth goal — it would not be a surprise to see Lajoie or Gardiner draw in on defense.

That’s most likely Gardiner, since the Hurricanes can protect his matchups at home, but Lajoie showed in the Nashville series he’s 1215263 Colorado Avalanche “That turnover hurt … We’ve got to be cleaner than that with the puck,” Bednar said.

Game 4 was all Viva Las Vegas after Nemeth set the shaky tone for an Avalanche reeling against Vegas. If Jared Bednar can’t find answer, Avalanche team that’s lost its swagger. maybe he’s the wrong coach. Byram is only 19 years old. He hasn’t played a game since suffering a concussion from a hit by Golden Knights winger Keegan Kolesar way back during the last week of March. By MARK KISZLA | PUBLISHED: June 6, 2021 at 9:59 p.m. | UPDATED: June 6, 2021 at 11:25 p.m. Kiz vs. Singer: Is Damian Lillard or Nikola Jokic better in the clutch?

Byram, however, knows how to keep the puck glued to his stick in a way Nemeth does not. It might be noted that solid puck-handling could be a LAS VEGAS — So how’s trashing the Avalanche working out for you, nice skill to have under the pressure of the Vegas forecheck. Jared Bednar? Over the din of 18,081 fans going Vegas wild in the arena, Bednar Not to suggest he doesn’t have a clue, but Bednar might want to buy a screamed line changes until his vocal chords frayed into big chunks of vowel. Instead of throwing his team under the bus, maybe he should get gravel. But shouting won’t beat the Golden Knights. What the Avs need his brain in gear, because Colorado could certainly use something that now from their coach is leadership born of lucid thought rather than a resembles a coach who knows how to respond to adversity under the loud mouth. pressure of the NHL playoffs. Denver Post: LOADED: 06.07.2021 Faced with the grim reality of being thoroughly embarrassed Sunday night in front of 18,081 screaming fans in the T-Mobile Center during a 5- 1 loss to Vegas, the Avs coach might want to consider making a meaningful lineup change, replacing defenseman Patrik Nemeth with Bo Byram.

Hey, I’m nothing more than a knucklehead who has been along for every mile of those long, glorious rides the Avalanche took to championships in 1996 and 2001. But you don’t have to be Scotty Bowman to see Colorado cannot survive and advance against Vegas this way.

It’s now on Bednar to come up with a more novel approach than pointing a finger of blame at Nathan MacKinnon and the top line for getting flustered by the Golden Knights. During the last three games, the shots favor Vegas 119-63.

During this dismal road trip to the Nevada desert, MacKinnon and linemates Mikko Rantanen and Gabe Landeskog produced one, solitary, power-play goal. “I think they’re frustrated, for sure,” Bednar said.

Maybe brow-beating your players worked as a motivational tactic in the locker room of an old hockey barn about 50 years ago. But this is real life in 2021, not “Miracle” the movie. You’re not being portrayed by Kurt Russell as a grizzly bear on the bench, Mr. Bednar.

So quit your growling. Stop complaining about “compete” level. And start coaching.

Success in playoff hockey is a tenuous thing. Momentum rises, falls and dips. At this point, Bednar needs to do more than scream like a kid in the lead car of the roller coaster.

“Coaches can say what they want … but we’ve got to stop the bleeding and get back on track,” Avalanche forward Brandon Saad said.

This best-of-seven series is tied two victories apiece. But, at this point, it feels as if the only thing Colorado has going for it is home ice in two of the three remaining games.

After being called out by Bednar for failure to fight for every inch of ice after Game 3, the Avs took a 1-0 lead one minute and 50 seconds into Game 4, on a sweet goal by Saad.

And then things quickly turned more painfully cheesy than a Wayne Newton ballad for Colorado. I don’t speak German, but the Avs are in deep danke shoen.

When it’s 102 degrees out on the Vegas strip, it’s hard to suffer from brain freeze. But somehow Nemeth committed a knucklehead turnover that destroyed any confidence the Avalanche brought to the rink. I’ve seen more prudent life decisions made in Sin City at 2 a.m. by a tourist who has chugged a foot-long frozen daiquiri.

The Golden Knights bring the forecheck like Thor wields a hammer. That can be an intimidating thing, as the mere threat of a big hit can weigh heavily on a player’s mind.

With the puck on his stick as he sashayed behind Philipp Grubauer and the Colorado goal, the focus of Nemeth faded to black. He unnecessarily panicked under the pressure of no physical contact and fired an unforced turnover into the lap of the hard-charging Knights. The ensuing chaos resulted in a score by Jonathan Marchessault at 7:07 of the first period. 1215264 Colorado Avalanche Then the Knights took over, winning puck battles all over the ice and getting goals from Max Pacioretty and Marchessault (power play) to take a commanding 3-1 lead.

Vegas rides giant wave to defeat Avalanche in Game 4 and tie series 2-2 Marchessault completed his hat trick 6:01 into the third period and Patrick Brown made it 5-1 late in the frame.

Colorado goalie Philipp Grubauer had his first poor game of the series. By MIKE CHAMBERS | PUBLISHED: June 6, 2021 at 9:25 p.m. | UPDATED: June 6, 2021 at 10:09 p.m. He allowed Pacioretty’s wrist shot from the left wing to beat him as well as Marchessault’s one-time slap shot from the same area on the power play. On Brown’s goal, Grubauer and the puck slid back into the net and across the goal line. LAS VEGAS — The band Surfaris had a hit single in 1963 called Wipe Out. It was played during the second intermission here Sunday night at As in Game 3, the Avs’ offense was virtually nonexistent. The MacKinnon T-Mobile Arena, a fitting choice under the circumstances. line had just three shots through 40 minutes — none from Landeskog for the second straight game. The Avalanche was getting wiped out by the Vegas Golden Knights. The Avs nearly found themselves down 1-0 on the first shift of the game. The Knights held just a two-goal lead at the time in Game 4, but based Colorado has possession in the neutral zone off the opening faceoff but on how the Avs were playing — and had played for much of Games 2 Landeskog whiffed on a dump in and the Knights took it the other way and 3 — Vegas was riding a wave that Colorado could not stop. and created a 2-on-1 rush with forwards Pacioretty and Chandler When it was over Vegas had a 5-1 victory, and a hat trick from winger Stephenson. Grubauer was up for the challenge, stopping Stephenson’s Jonathan Marchessault to even the second-round playoff series, 2-2. shot from the doorstep.

The Knights outshot the Avs 35-18 for the game and now 119-63 over Colorado got the game’s first goal shortly thereafter when winger the last three. Brandon Saad tapped home a loose puck in the crease for his sixth goal in his last seven games. Linemate J.T. Compher put a shot on goalie Colorado vs. Vegas Marc-Andre Fleury, who couldn’t control the puck and it came right to Saad just 1:50 into the game. Preview: Who has the edge, five things to watch and predictions “They got a good team. That’s the way a series goes. It’s why they call it Game 1: Avs 7, Golden Knights 1 a series,” Saad said. “We didn’t think we were going to come in here and Game 2: Avs 3, Golden Knights 2, OT take both games. We didn’t play as good as we should of but there are some things we did do well. We can kind of regroup and have a short- Game 3: Golden Knights 3, Avs 2 term memory. We’re going back to a building where we have success Game 4: Golden Knights 5, Avs 1 and play well at.”

Game 5: Golden Knights at Avalanche, 7 p.m. Tuesday, NBCSN The Avs failed to generate momentum after Saad’s goal. Vegas produced a relentless attack until it finally scored at 7:07 off a costly Game 6: Avalanche at Golden Knights, TBD, Thursday turnover by defenseman Patrik Nemeth, who previously took the game’s first penalty at 2:43. Game 7: Golden Knights at Avalanche, TBD Saturday, if nec. From beside Grubauer’s net, Nemeth inadvertently fed the puck to Game 5 is Tuesday night at Ball Arena. Knights forward Reilly Smith, who clanged a backhand off the crossbar. “I didn’t have a problem with our intent and the purpose to our game and Moments later, with the Avs scrambling, Marchessault tapped in a blind the way we competed,” said Avalanche coach Jared Bednar, who pass from William Karlsson. complained of his club’s compete level after Game 3. “For the most part, Footnotes. Rantanen saw his 17-game points streak dating to last year it was pretty good. We gave up some chances off the rush when they come to an end. … Avs center Nazem Kadri served the sixth game of his were beating us up the ice. eight-game suspension for a check to the head of St. Louis Blues “They made some plays and got some chances but I think our work ethic defenseman Justin Faulk. … Vegas fourth-line winger Ryan Reaves was fine. The compete on the puck was much better. We still lost our fair returned after serving a two-game suspension for roughing and share of the battles, that’s for sure.” unsportsmanlike conduct against Avs defenseman Ryan Graves in Game 1. Reaves replaced Dylan Sikura. … Avalanche depth forward Jayson He added: “At least we entered the fight tonight and got in it. I didn’t like Megna and Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb were both removed the results. They scored some timely goals. We missed on opportunities.” from the NHL’s COVID protocol absence list. McNabb returned to the lineup, replacing Nick Holden. The Avs, who were swept in Las Vegas after sweeping the first two games at home, again got little from their top players — particularly the Denver Post: LOADED: 06.07.2021 top line of center Nathan MacKinnon, Gabe Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen. Landeskog failed to produce a shot for the second straight game. Rantanen and MacKinnon combined for five.

“I think they’re frustrated, for sure,” Bednar said. “It’s tight-checking, especially for those guys because they’re not just dealing with one line. They’re dealing with multiple lines. They have four lines playing real well. ”

From the beginning of Game 2 through the second period in Game 4, it’s been a Mile High nightmare since the Avs won Game 1 with a 7-1 rout during which the MacKinnon line had five goals.

“This is going to be a battle. I fully expect our guys to take another step in this series in (Tuesday’s) home game and our big line will have to be a big part of that,” Bednar said.

The Avalanche had a relatively decent first period — better than its previous six when it was outshot a combined 84-45. Vegas still controlled the tempo but the Avs had more jump and tenacity than in the previous two games. The teams traded goals and it was 1-1 after 20 minutes. 1215265 Colorado Avalanche

Avalanche-Knights Game 4 Quick Hits: Top line struggles for third consecutive game

By RYAN O’HALLORAN | June 6, 2021 at 9:14 p.m.

1. Big line, big dud

The struggles continue in even-strength situations for the Avalanche top line of Nathan MacKinnon, Gabe Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen. How can a trio this talented be so invisible and play so much in their zone? Credit Vegas’ top line, centered by Chandler Stephenson, for bottling up the Avs’ top unit and not giving them any open ice or extra time in 5-on-5. Avs coach Jared Bednar said in the St. Louis series he doesn’t think his top line needs to hide from any matchup. Time to scratch that theory. It won’t matter in Game 5 on home ice (Avs have final change), but through double-shifting MacKinnon-Landeskog-Rantanen, Bednar needs to keep them away from the Stephenson line when the series moves back to Vegas for Game 6.

2. Vegas’ depth shining

Do the Avalanche really miss second-line center Nazem Kadri this much? Not offensively — he wasn’t scoring at all when he was suspended for eight games (he won’t be eligible until there is a possible Game 7). But possibly defensively. The Knights’ second line had another strong game. Winger Jonathan Marchessault had a hat trick and center William Karlsson assisted on all three goals. Karlsson and Marchessault both had goals in Game 3. Outside of winger Brandon Saad, the Avs have received very little buzz plays offensively from lines 2-4. The Avs are getting nothing from wingers Andre Burakovsky (no goals in playoffs) and Joonas Donskoi (two goals).

3. Now what for Bednar?

After the Avalanche nearly stole Game 3, but lost 3-2, Bednar unloaded a verbal howitzer on his team about their lack of want-to and probably sent the same message behind closed doors. How did his players respond? Meekly. A few strong first-period shifts. An early lead. But as soon as Vegas took a 2-1 lead early in the second, Game 4 began to look like Games 2-3. No grit. No puck possession to create power plays. No second-period scoring chances. A squandered third-period power play. Bednar doesn’t have many lineup options up front so re-juggling the lines is his best course. In the past three games, Vegas looks like it has the answers to the test. Game 5 is critical for the Avs’ players, but also for Bednar and his staff. Can they make the proper changes?

Denver Post: LOADED: 06.07.2021 1215266 Colorado Avalanche Sense Arena posted a clip of Grubi in action, wearing a black VR headset that looked like a piece of oversized scuba gear, to YouTube last October. In it, the Avs’ net-minder fends off a series of virtual shots wearing only a black T-shirt and shorts. How Philipp Grubauer used blood, sweat and technology to launch the Avalanche’s Stanley Cup run: “I’ve never seen a goalie do that” “He was one of the first pro goalies who immediately wanted to try Sense Arena,” Tetiva said, “and that is what I love about the pros — they are always looking for ways to improve and find an edge to their performance. By SEAN KEELER | June 6, 2021 at 5:45 a.m. “He is (darn) professional with fantastic goalie foundations. Seeing him

making the saves in Sense Arena was like looking at a goaltending guide Like all honeymoons, it was over too soon. Paradise in a blink. book. He was not playing around with it. He was really working.”

Darren Hersh has been coaching goaltenders, good ones, for 26 years. As with flight simulators, the VR tech allowed Grubi to practice real-world The five months with Philipp Grubauer were among the fastest of his timing in real-world situations at real-world speeds at his leisure, without career. Also, the sweetest. leaving the comforts of his home or hotel.

“They were just doing regular warm-up drills and Grubi grabs a puck and He’s one of a handful of NHL goalies who’ve embraced the platform, starts passing back and forth with me between shots,” Hersh said of the which is now utilized teamwide by the Knights, the Los Angeles Kings, Avalanche’s No. 1 net-minder, the last line of defense against the Vegas the Arizona Coyotes and the New Jersey Devils. Golden Knights on Sunday in Game 4 of their second-round Stanley Cup “It’s perhaps more about the load management, and how to keep Playoff series. Philipp’s body in shape the whole season,” Tetiva said. “And that can be “I’ve never seen a goalie do that. That’s the kind of work ethic he had. the role of our platform for the pros, too — you can make a workout at You combine the technical stuff he has with the intangibles, it doesn’t home or while traveling, not exposing your body to another number of really surprise me that he is where he is. What surprises me is, why in butterflies.” the world would Washington get rid of him?” “He’s been rolling for quite some time” With that, Hersh laughed. He’s worked with faster guys. He’s worked with Butterflies? Grubi? The ninja in white? Come on. bigger ones. But the man says few goalies, before or since, looked to grind the way Grubauer did. “He’s battled some of those injuries,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “But after, he’s put in the work and got himself healthy and strong. And you And still does. can see the confidence in him growing. “In drills, when he would do his movement, he would be getting six “It really started from Day 1 of training camp this year, and he’s continued inches farther than anybody else,” recalled Hersh, who was Grubauer’s it through this season. So now he’s been rolling for quite some time. He’s goaltending coach with the ECHL’s Reading Royals at the start of the getting recognized with the Vezina nomination, and I think he’s earned it. 2012-13 season. And our team is extremely comfortable in front of him and we’re confident “At this level, six inches makes all the difference. I always tell all the kids, that he’s going to make the saves if we have breakdowns. ‘Grubi’s movement would put him there before the shot,’ even though “We just don’t want to make as many as we did (last Wednesday) in the he’s a normal-sized human being.” final two periods.” Their paths first crossed nine winters ago, when Grubi was a 21-year-old The guys who make it this far don’t flinch. At anything. German wunderkind in the Washington Capitals’ system, stuck with the Royals because of the NHL’s lockout. As Grubi reminds fans, night after night, round after round, those extra six inches can go an awfully long way. He was too good for that level, even then, and everybody knew it: 26 games, a 19-5-1 record, a 2.30 goals against average and a Pentium “Nothing fazes that guy,” Hersh said, laughing again. “He’s just as steady chip between his ears — a kid seemingly two chess moves ahead at of a human as I’ve ever seen. Just stoic. Business. Just no fooling every turn. around. The pressure’s not going to get to him.

“His movement, which was him just getting his positioning, was just that “All he’s doing now just seems to be a little bit more refined. I don’t see much better than everybody else. That’s the technical part,” Hersh said. his game being that much different from what it was. He just plays his own game better now.” “But the intangible part is, the guy, every time he’s out on the ice … he was (always) doing something. The guys that I’ve coached that have Denver Post: LOADED: 06.07.2021 made it that far, they’ve always taken their development upon themselves.”

“He was really working”

When you’re always trying to stay six inches ahead of anybody else, the race never stops.

It’s hard to tell how many of those 39 saves against Vegas during the Avs’ overtime win this past Wednesday — a 2021 season-high — we should credit to nature and how many to nurture. But maybe Bob Tetiva should be credited with an assist somewhere in the box score.

“I don’t think I can attribute his performance this year to just using Sense Arena,” said Tetiva, the founder and CEO of Sense Arena, a company whose virtual reality off-ice training platform is the cutting-edge tool of NHL cool. “He had a fantastic season last year, too.”

Grubauer started working with Tetiva’s program — which uses Facebook’s Oculus Quest VR software to give users an experience that lands somewhere between “The Matrix” and Electronic Arts’ iconic NHL video game series — last summer.

Ever since, the Vezina Trophy finalist has used the platform once a week, give or take, for roughly an hour per day. 1215267 Colorado Avalanche A goal from Vegas’ fourth line put the Avalanche down 5-1, where they stayed.

Bednar will now have lineup considerations before Game 5. The Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche stars continue sluggish stretch as Vegas Avalanche could bring in Jacob MacDonald or rookie defenseman Bowen ties series in Game 4 Byram in place of Nemeth, who is one of the team’s top penalty killers but has also committed penalties each of the past three games. In terms of forwards, Logan O’Connor is nearing a return from his lower-body injury and could bring a spark to the fourth line when healthy. Rookies By Peter Baugh Jun 7, 2021 Alex Newhook and Sampo Ranta could re-enter the lineup after sitting for the two games in Vegas.

LAS VEGAS — Colorado’s stars came out flat for the second But Nemeth was hardly the Avalanche’s only problem, or even their consecutive game Sunday, and the Avalanche lost the special-teams biggest. Colorado can benefit from secondary scoring like Saad’s goal in battle to a physical Vegas club. That recipe doesn’t win hockey games, the first, but the Avalanche won’t win without their best players playing especially against a team with top-level players of its own. like their best players. Landeskog, the team captain, did not register a shot in Game 4, and MacKinnon and Rantanen combined for only five. “They’ve got a good team,” forward Brandon Saad said of the Golden Knights after Game 4. “That’s the way a series goes: That’s why they call “Everyone’s got to be on their game,” middle-six center J.T. Compher it a series.” said. “Every guy that’s in the lineup, all the way down the lineup, (have got to bring) their game. We need more from everyone.” And it could be a lengthy one. After a 5-1 loss, the Avalanche head back to Denver with the second-round, best-of-seven set tied 2-2. Colorado Though it didn’t score, the top line out-chanced Vegas (19-12, per has lost two in a row and, concerningly, its star-studded line of Gabriel Natural Stat Trick) and had a solid 61.29 Corsi For percentage, showing Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen has not scored a that the line controlled shot attempts while on the ice. But Colorado five-on-five goal in the past 10 periods. counts on the trio for points, and they didn’t come through Sunday.

“They’re frustrated, for sure,” said coach Jared Bednar, whose team was “They did some good things tonight,” Bednar said. “Our last bit of less than six minutes away from seizing a 3-0 series lead two days ago. execution, I thought, was poor. We rumbled around in the offensive zone “This is going to be a battle. I fully expect our guys to take another step in a little bit. We pass it low to high, (and) our D bobbles it, it comes out of this series in the home game, and our big line will have to be a big part of the zone. We couldn’t get all five guys on the ice at one time executing at that.” a high level.”

A disastrous second period sunk Colorado in Game 4, as Vegas once Meanwhile, Vegas’ second line of Marchessault, Karlsson and Smith again controlled possession during the 20-minute stretch and got goals continued to pose problems for Colorado. They created seven high- from Max Pacioretty and Jonathan Marchessault. While MacKinnon, danger chances, per Natural Stat Trick, and out-chanced the Avalanche Landeskog and Rantanen remained quiet, the Golden Knights’ best 14-3 while on the ice. And in the special-teams battle, Colorado failed to forwards came through. notch a power-play goal and allowed one to Vegas.

After Game 3, Bednar angrily stressed that the Avalanche’s level of Through four contests, each team has had one clunker of a game — the competitiveness wasn’t good enough, that they needed to fight harder for Avalanche dominated Game 1 and won 7-1 — and won a one-goal pucks and win races. The message seemed to resonate, at least a little contest. The series is now a best-of-three with Colorado having home-ice bit, in the first period, which saw Colorado take a brief 1-0 lead when advantage. The Avalanche have had success at home, going 22-4-1 in Saad poked in a rebound allowed by Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. Denver during the regular season and 4-0 in the playoffs. And though the Avalanche stopped getting results as the game went on “We’ve got to stick with it,” Bednar said. “It’s a best-of-seven series, not a — Vegas outshot them 35-18 — Bednar didn’t see his players’ best-of-four.” competitiveness as the issue. “We’re here for a reason: We have a great hockey team,” Saad said. “I didn’t have a problem with our intent or the purpose to our game and “There’s no reason why, if we lose a game or two, we’ll have our heads the way we competed,” Bednar said. “I thought, for the most part, it was down and hang them. As a group, we can rebound and go home and get pretty good. We gave up some chances off the rush where they were a win.” beating us up the ice, they made some plays and got some chances, but I think our work ethic was fine. The Athletic LOADED: 06.07.2021 “I think the compete on the puck was much better. We still lost our fair share of the battles. That’s for sure. I’m a little more concerned with some of the races that we’re losing, that they’re coming up with some pucks, sending their guys out of their zone and beating us up the ice. We’ve looked at that quite a bit already over the course of the four games.”

After Colorado’s early strike, Vegas tied the score with help from a turnover by Avalanche defenseman Patrik Nemeth. The veteran, whom the Avalanche acquired at the trade deadline, flicked the puck right to Vegas’ Reilly Smith in front of the Avalanche net, and the Knights forward nearly deked goaltender Philipp Grubauer for an equalizer. But the puck hit iron instead of net, and with Smith, Nemeth and Grubauer all seeming to think it went in, a confused frenzy emerged in the crease. Jonathan Marchessault camped in front of the net and proceeded to poke in a William Karlsson pass.

“Once they get one chance, they swarm with two or three other chances, so you’ve got to quickly get into your zone and sort things out to try and prevent that,” Bednar said. “That turnover hurt. It’s not the only one we made; it’s the one we capitalized on.”

The play was just the start of a tough game for Nemeth. He was on the ice for Marchessault’s power-play goal in the second period, and then, in the third, couldn’t grab control of a puck behind the Avalanche net. Smith seized it instead and fed Marchessault, who scored his third goal of the night. Play halted as hats rained onto the ice. Frustrated Avalanche players stood by the bench and looked on, occasionally flicking caps away with their sticks. 1215268 Colorado Avalanche With young defenseman Bo Byram licking his chops to get into this intense series, is it time for Bednar to make a change? Perhaps Nemeth should sit Tuesday.

Deen’s List: Avalanche return to Ball Arena tied 2-2 after another Kadri’s appeal underwhelming showing in Vegas Nazem Kadri’s suspension appeal with neutral arbitrator Shyam Das was heard Friday. The ruling has yet to be announced but there is a possibility an update could come Monday. If the ruling lowers his By Aarif Deen - June 6, 2021 suspension to six games, Kadri would suddenly be eligible to return Tuesday for Game 5.

If it remains eight games, Kadri wouldn’t be able to return until Game 7, if We didn’t really expect this to be easy, did we? it gets that far. The Avalanche were feeling good Friday morning. They had a 2-0 series milehighsports.com LOADED: 06.07.2021 lead (6-0 in the playoffs) against a team that has suddenly developed a reputation for being unable to score when it matters. But that’s all been washed away, after suffering consecutive defeats to the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena.

The latest: A 4-1 thrashing on Sunday.

The issue isn’t the loss. It’s how it happened. Avs coach Jared Bednar wasn’t his usual mild-mannered self after Game 3. He used his post- game availability as an opportunity to call out his top players, his teams compete level and pretty much everyone but goalie Philipp Grubauer.

It was an opportunity for the Presidents’ Trophy winners to respond after five consecutive underwhelming periods. Instead, they were outshot 35- 18 and laid an even bigger egg than the previous game.

Now, coming back home, where Colorado is 20-0-1 in its last 21 games, the Golden Knights are suddenly the team with the momentum and belief.

A series is never lost until you lose at home. That proves even more true for the higher-seeded team. It’s why the Avs wanted the No. 1 seed. It’s why they wanted home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. And it’s why Game 5 back at Ball Arena on Tuesday is crucial.

Let’s see how this team responds.

The Deen’s List:

Checking? What checking?

Bednar loves to credit his team for their strong checking. Not the kind of checking that was more prevalent in the 90s. It’s not big hits and lighting up the opposition. It’s the stick battles — the hustle — and the 50/50 battles.

But for the second consecutive game, the Avs have ultimately lost every one of those. The Golden Knights have won nearly every neutral zone battle and have had a stronger forecheck and backcheck than the Avs the past two-plus games.

Special teams struggle

The Avalanche’s power play was finally shut down. Even in Game 3’s snoozer, the Avs managed to score a power-play goal. Colorado was 0- for-2 and in just 2:22 on the man advantage.

And the penalty kill, which had to try and stop four opportunities, surrendered a late goal that sealed the game for the Golden Knights.

Cale struggles

It’s hard to nitpick just one player. But stud defenseman Cale Makar had one of his more forgettable games in the NHL on Sunday. Makar took an interference penalty that negated an Avs power play and was hardly noticeable on Colorado’s other man-advantage opportunity.

Makar had nine shot attempts but only managed to get one on goal. He was also a minus-2.

Defensive change

Makar was by no means the only defenseman that had a poor showing. Sam Girard was a minus-3 and Patrik Nemeth struggled mightily.

Nemeth turned the puck over on the first Vegas goal, which came just six minutes after the Avs opened the scoring. Nemeth’s game didn’t get much better afterward. 1215269 Colorado Avalanche Sam Girard (D) – Pretty rough night for Girard. A minus-three doesn’t reflect well, and he had a real hard time forcing the Golden Knights away from the front of the net.

Game 4 Grades: Avs just can’t hang with Vegas Patrik Nemeth (F) – Disaster of a game for Patrik Nemeth. It may be time to take him out of the D rotation for now. Bo Byram is healthy and waiting on the wings. I get the feeling we may see him slot in soon. The Nemeth turnovers continue to baffle me. Every. Single. Game. Tonight’s turnover Published 4 hours ago on June 7, 2021By Scott MacDonald in the first period—a perfect pass to a Vegas Golden Knight—right in front of his own net was incredibly bad. Costly, costly mistakes like this can’t be tolerated. Gabe Landeskog (C-) – Gabe Landeskog said after Game 3 that adjustments needed to be made, and it starts with the leadership, Conor Timmins (C-) – Wasn’t bad. Wasn’t great. He was the only meaning him and his line. That did not start this game. For the better part defenseman to not be on the ice for at least one of the Golden Knights of three games now, the Avs top line has been MIA. For Landeskog, goals. some effort is there. The results are not. Zero shots tonight. Philipp Grubauer (C) – He’ll want a couple of those back, no doubt. But Nathan MacKinnon (C-) – In the series against St. Louis, Nathan he’s only one man. He’s done everything he can without much support in MacKinnon was the early favorite for the Conn Smythe. He’s been the last three games. There’s only so much he can do. The guys in front completely shut down since Game 1 of this series with Vegas. I think it of him need to show up too. goes without saying, but the Avs need MacKinnon to get going. He’s THE Colorado hockey now LOADED: 06.07.2021 difference-maker for the Avalanche. Shut him down and the Avs are toast. That’s exactly what Vegas has done so far.

Mikko Rantanen (C) – Rantanen was inches away from scoring, like multiple times. He’s the only guy that really had any legitimate chances tonight on that top line. He led his group with three of the five shots they produced.

Joonas Donskoi (D) – There wasn’t much going on with the Jost line in this one, or really any line. Donskoi was caught sleeping a bit on Vegas’ fourth goal.

Tyson Jost (C-) – I thought Jost was rag-dolled a bit in this one. He was getting picked on quite a bit, but I thought he was at least trying to be one of the more physical players on the team tonight.

Val Nichushkin (C+) – I didn’t think he was as strong on the forecheck as he normally is on a nightly basis. He had five hits, two blocks and a takeaway tonight though.

Brandon Saad (B) – With six goals in his last seven playoff games, Brandon Saad is playing some his best hockey of the season during the most important part of the year. This is what he was brought to Colorado for: veteran presence, with Cup experience, who performs in the postseason. So far he’s checked all the boxes.

J.T. Compher (C+) – I though his effort was OK tonight. He made two diving saves to break up passes in concession that would’ve surely been goals.

Andre Burakovsky (D+) – A bad penalty in the second period may cloud what was otherwise a decent game from Burakovsky. But his decent isn’t good enough right now. Decent, in general, just isn’t good enough this time of year.

Carl Soderberg (D) – Carl Soderberg played just seven minutes tonight, the fewest of any Avs skater. He’s been invisible all series, save for the easy rebound goal he had in Game 3.

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (C-) – He earned his keep on the PK tonight, logging over four minutes of short-handed time.

Kiefer Sherwood (C+) – He led the club with eight hits, which is exactly what he was inserted into the lineup for. If he keeps that up, he’ll stay in the lineup. And when Logan O’Connor comes back (hopefully) soon, my guess would be Soderberg gets the boot and Sherwood stays in.

Defense

Devon Toews (B+) – Toews was his usual, reliable self and was generating some shots and throwing the body around. He was one of the few bright spots on the blueline in Game 4.

Cale Makar (B) – Like Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar is THE difference- maker for the Avs on the backend. They need him to get going. He’s trying, for sure. He only had one shot on goal tonight, which doesn’t account for the post he hit.

Ryan Graves (B) – I didn’t mind Ryan Graves’ game at all. He’s one of the few guys on the team that can seem to actually match Vegas’ physicality. 1215270 Colorado Avalanche

Dater column: After big team meeting, Avs give all-talk, no action performance

Published 4 hours ago on June 6, 2021By Adrian Dater

Jesus, it’s all happening again, isn’t it? Another time period in which we all started to believe the hype about the Colorado Avalanche, but now feel like we’re rooting for the Titanic, post-iceberg.

After a sweep of the St. Louis Blues and two straight wins over the Vegas Golden Knights, which made 11 wins in a row, it’s now two Ls in a row going the wrong way, and suddenly it feels like the Avs aren’t even in the same galaxy as Vegas moving forward. We all saw the Stanley Cup odds, which just a few days ago were +150 on the Avs winning the Cup (that’s good, for those who don’t know gambling terms) and thought, “Yeah, yeaaaahhh. Maybe we are this good?”).

The Avs talked about how focused they were and how much they’ve learned from the past and how they “know” this and that about how Vegas plays and how they’re focused on that and….another deer-in-the- headlights showing when the going started to get tougher.

The Avs are coming home, tied 2-2 in the series and, hey, that’s certainly not the worst position to be in, in life. It’s a two-out-of-three series, and two of the three potential games would be at home. But, it feels like, even if the playing surface were Mars, the Avs wouldn’t have any chance against Vegas right now.

Colorado’s top offensive players have gotten no time and space with the puck since the first period of Game 2. Nathan MacKinnon looks like he’s just guessing out there right now, how to get the puck and what to do with it when he gets it. Vegas, with a weak Avs second line doing nothing to alleviate things on the top line, is stifling the Avs’ top trio with fresher lines coming at them. Until midway through the third, the Avs’ top line had three shots on net and no points. That is coming off a Game 3 in which they did not much more than the square root of Sweet Fanny Adam.

The Avs had a big team meeting last night at 5 o’clock, in what was billed as a kind of Come To Jesus meeting. The Avs then went out and played to the evangelical equivalent of lambs being led to slaughter. An early Brandon Saad goal – and newfound optimism that the last game was just a fluke – were dancing like Fred and Ginger in the minds of Avs’ fans’ heads.

And then it was all Vegas, all the time. An absolute demolition from there. Five straight goals to close out the game, and it felt like there could have been 20.

It’s just not close right now, and normally I would say “hey, the home team only held serve, we’ll get ’em back at our barn!” But this is the same group that lost a Game 7 they probably should have won in San Jose two years ago, then faltered against a Dallas team with a one-goal lead with 3:40 left in Game 7 last year. Both season-ending losses happened in the second round, and right now the odds are tilting heavily again that the Avs will bow out again.

If I’m Jared Bednar, and I think I might be fired if this team loses again for the third year in a row in the second round on my watch, then I go radical for Game 5. I bench J.T. Compher and Patrik Nemeth and put Alex Newhook and Bo Byram, respectively, in there. Why the Avs ever got Nemeth back in the first place will remain a mystery to most fans, and so let’s get the kid with some top-5-pick talent, Byram, in there. Hell, I’ll take Jacob MacDonald over Broadway Nemeth right now too.

This was supposed to be a statement game from the Avs, a notice to the rest of the hockey world that “Yeah, we lost one, but we’re going to come out and show we’re killers now, that this team doesn’t lose two in row right now.” Instead, the statement they gave was:

“We’re still not ready for prime time yet.”

Colorado hockey now LOADED: 06.07.2021 1215271 Colorado Avalanche Yep, that good start was gone, just like the Avalanche series lead. And if something doesn’t change soon, the series will be gone, too. Vegas limited the Avs to just five shots in the second period.

Desert Beatdown: Marchessault Hat Trick, Avalanche Wilt 5-1 in Game 4 Six minutes into the third period, Marchessault put the knight’s sword through the Avalanche’s heart. Yet another misplay by Nemeth allowed Marchessault to both get the puck in front and be uncovered. Marchessault (5) easily chipped the puck into an open net for the Published 5 hours ago on June 6, 2021By Dan Kingerski backbreaker.

Just to rub it in a little more, Vegas fourth-liner Patrick Brown (2) scored LAS VEGAS – After being outshot 83-45 over the last two games, a at 13:13 (Mockingbird Lane) of the third period. Ryan Reaves, who strong start was ever-more paramount for the Colorado Avalanche, and served a two-game suspension for an attempt to injury Ryan Graves, they delivered. The team had a team meeting on Saturday evening in assisted. 5-1. Las Vegas. Instead of frozen drinks and anything else that might happen The goal was only more proof that the Colorado Avalanche did not on the Vegas Strip, the Avalanche huddled to study film and work out deserve a better fate other than a blowout. The Avs registered just three their issues which allowed Vegas Golden Knights to dominate the last shots on goal in the first 17:44 of the third period. two games. Late in the third period, the stat line was one goal, 18 shots, and nine That lasted about one period. turnovers. Jonathan Marchessault popped a hat trick, and Vegas again swallowed Over the last three games, the Avs have been outshot 118-63. up the Avalanche 5-1 at T-Mobile Arena. This is the kind of game that can break a series, a team, and have a rippling impact. Colorado hockey now LOADED: 06.07.2021 Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, and Mikko Rantanen combined for just five shots. Rantanen had three, Landeskog had none. Vegas pressured the Avs low in the zone, at the top of the zone, and everywhere else. Mistakes by Avalanche defensemen Patrick Nemeth and Sam Girard gave away the lead. Then the outcome was assured. The series is now tied, 2-2, but Vegas has dominated the last three games.

After taking his team to the woodshed verbally the last couple of days, Avs coach Jared Bednar tried to be the good cop after the loss. But he sounded like a guy searching a bit too hard for things to sound happy about.

“I didn’t have a problem with our intent and the purpose to our game and the way we competed,” he said. “For the most part, it was pretty good. We gave up some chances off the rush when they were beating us up the ice. They made some plays and got some chances but I think our work ethic was fine. The compete on the puck was much better. We still lost our fair share of the battles, that’s for sure. At least we entered the fight tonight and got in it. I didn’t like the results. They scored some timely goals. We missed on opportunities.”

Faint praise, indeed.

At least Game 4 started well.

Just under two minutes into the game, the Avalanche scored the important first goal of the game. Brandon Saad, whose five-game goal streak was snapped in Game 3, won his position battle in the Vegas crease, and VGK goalie Marc-Andre Fleury’s gift-wrapped a rebound. Saad banged it in and cracked the fortress.

There was some confusion later in the first period. Avs defenseman Patrik Nemeth committed a ghastly turnover with a few feet of his own net. William Karlsson’s shot rang off the crossbar, but the Vegas crowd kept cheering and screaming like it was a goal. It appeared Philipp Grubauer was fooled and did not lunge back into position.

After a puck scramble, Jonathan Marchessault won that battle and snapped it into the yawning cage. 1-1.

The Avalanche largely held their ground in the first period. A far cry from getting pummeled in Games 2 and 3.

The Avalanche’s solid start was erased 71 seconds into the second period. Defenseman Sam Girard activated but was caught deep in the zone. Instead of recovering, he tried for a second bite at the apple. On the resulting three-on-two rush, Max Pacioretty (3) ripped a writer over Grubauer’s shoulder. 2-1.

Later in the second period, the Vegas Golden Knights scored their second power-play goal of the series. Avalanche forward Andre Burakovsky touched off yet another face-washing scrum when he tried to dance around Alex Tuch but didn’t get enough clearance. Burakovsky earned the holding call, then J.T. Compher and Tuch earned roughing calls with some punches, pushes, and unpleasant comments.

On the ensuing Vegas power-play, Marchessault (4) pounded a one- timer from the LW circle. 3-1. 1215272 Colorado Avalanche Special Teams (Round Two): Avalanche PP: 5-13, 38.5%.

Vegas PP: 1-7, 14.3%. Under Siege: Game 4 Avalanche Preview & Notes vs. Vegas Golden Knights Colorado hockey now LOADED: 06.07.2021

Published 13 hours ago on June 6, 2021By Dan Kingerski

LAS VEGAS — The Colorado Avalanche held a team meeting, as reported by Colorado Hockey Now, on Saturday night in Las Vegas. The Avalanche have been under siege by the Vegas Golden Knights in Games 2 and 3 yet still hold a 2-1 series lead in Round Two. Colorado had a commanding 3-0 series lead within their grasp but allowed two goals 45 seconds apart in the final minutes of Game 3 and lost 3-2.

The Game 4 puck drop is 5:30 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. MDT. The Avalanche needs a significant regroup, or Vegas will tie the series.

After Game 3, both our Adrian Dater and head coach Jared Bednar ripped the Avalanche.

The Avs have been outshot 83-45 in the last two games. Over the last five periods, Vegas has a 2-1 shot margin, and you don’t need to be a Vegas oddsmaker to understand a 2-1 ratio means greater odds of scoring more goals.

“There is no easy ice out there, that you’re going to have to earn every inch out there,” Bednar told media Saturday morning from T-Mobile Arena, where the Avs held an optional practice in which about 15 players skated under the tutelage of skills coach Shawn Allard.

Avalanche Lines Mashed, What to WATCH:

Bednar shuffled the lines in the third period of Game 3, including removing Gabriel Landeskog from the Avs top line. Andre Burakovsky took the top-line duty. The Avalanche did not hold a morning skate on Sunday due to the early game.

So, we’ll find out during warmups if the line shuffles continue or Bednar goes back to the lineup that won six straight playoff games and 11 games overall.

We will also find out if the Colorado Avalanche have anything for Vegas. The Avs speed rushes which tortured Vegas in Game 1 have been absent. So, too, have victories in puck battles, consistent forecheck, and sustained offensive pressure.

Vegas made a point to play tight to MacKinnon and Rantanen. The Avalanche top line has not generated speed or pressure in Games 2 and 3, with Vegas shadows Chandler Stephenson and Mark Stone hounding them.

The Avalanche will need secondary scoring and pressure because Vegas isn’t going to let up on MacKinnon.

Colorado Avalanche Game Notes:

*Mikko Rantanen a 17-game playoff scoring streak, which dates back to last year. Rantanen is the first NHL player with points in 17 straight playoff games since Al MacInnis (19 games) with Calgary from 1989 to 1990.

*Philipp Grubauer won his first six playoff starts this season. That tied for the longest win streak in franchise playoff history and longest since the Avalanche moved to Colorado (Mario Gosselin, 1987). Grubauer won 10 straight playoff games dating back to last season, before the Game 3 loss.

*Nathan MacKinnon was the first NHL player to record at least eight goals AND 13 points through the first seven games of a playoff year since Brett Hull in 1991.

*Cale Makar has averaged .94 points per game in the playoffs. He trails only legends Paul Coffey (1.01), Brian Leetch (1.02), and Bobby Orr (1.24).

*This Day in History: June 6, 1996 – Peter Forsberg had a hat trick in the first period to propel the Avalanche to an 8-1 victory over the Panthers in Game 2 of the 1996 Stanley Cup Final at McNichols Arena.

*How to WATCH: NBCsn. 1215273 Columbus Blue Jackets "I get there and I’m like: ‘Siberia? What’s this guy talking about? This is a great place to play,' " Carter said. "They love their hockey. Guys who had young families thought it was great. Yeah, we traveled long distances, but I thought playing in Edmonton was awesome. You’ll never hear me Davidson intent on proving that playing in Columbus is one of NHL's say a bad thing about Edmonton, so it really comes down to the best-kept secrets organization.”

Some now feel Columbus is Siberia, pointing to its recent defections.

BRIAN HEDGER Carter disagrees, even though he didn't get even a full season with the Blue Jackets before they dealt him to the Carolina Hurricanes in 2007.

Carter was getting to the end of his playing days when he signed with the It’s a decision John Davidson has made twice. Blue Jackets on Sept. 13, 2006, and it matched well with his family life, which included his wife and two young daughters. The Blue Jackets’ new and former president of hockey operations has pulled out a legal pad two times to jot down positives and negatives The hockey side was also a match, so he became a Blue Jacket. about Columbus, and both times the answer was the same. That’s why To his delight, there was plenty to like about Columbus outside of Davidson and his wife, Diana, are taking a second spin in Ohio's capital hockey. His commute was a breeze, especially to the airport and city after the New York Rangers made him a free agent with a stunning Nationwide Arena — which has a practice rink attached at the Ice Haus decision to fire him May 5. — and Ohio State was right down the road for high-level basketball or “I looked at everything,” Davidson said. “I looked at where I wanted to football games. live. I looked at what would be the best situation for our family. I looked at “I’ve always said, if you’re a single guy, a young guy, you have Ohio a lot of different things.” State right there,” said Carter, who played at Michigan State in college. He could have gotten back into television, where he'd been an analyst “You’ve got young people you can hang out with, interact with, and before becoming a team executive. He could’ve latched on with another there’s always something to do. So, it’s what you make of it.” team, joining a fourth NHL front office in what might've been a prime Assessing the market market or more storied franchise. Rick Valette is a hockey agent with Octagon, which means he has Davidson and his family picked Columbus instead, returning to the Blue traveled all over the NHL circuit and experienced a lot of city vibes. He Jackets because his list of negatives was essentially nonexistent. Now feels like Columbus is undersold, especially on a national scale. that he’s back, Davidson intends to use his legal pad full of positives about Columbus as a recruiting tool Prior to their plummet to the basement of a realigned Central Division this season, the Jackets qualified for the postseason the past four years, A parade of talent has headed out the exits of Nationwide Arena since he which gave Valette and other agents multiple opportunities to soak in the last sat in the president’s chair for the Blue Jackets — including Artemi atmosphere around Columbus before playoff games. He was impressed Panarin following him to New York in 2019 — and “JD” is back atop a by what he saw. team dealing with a publicity problem. “First of all, there’s more of a passionate hockey base there than one Seth Jones became the latest big name to inform the Blue Jackets he’d might think,” said Valette, who represents former Blue Jackets rather continue his career elsewhere, a decision that is likely to prompt a defenseman Ryan Murray. “Columbus has the stigma of being a trade, and the ripple effects are now tumbling ashore in the form of ‘nonhockey’ market, and I don’t buy into that. I saw the energy in that city stinging questions. firsthand in the playoffs, and it was really impressive. I thought that if “What’s wrong with Columbus?” many have wondered on social media. people could see that, maybe that stigma would go away a little bit, and “Is Columbus really that terrible? Why can’t the Blue Jackets keep any of maybe it has. I’ve been everywhere else, I’ve seen it all and Columbus their young stars?” was absolutely fantastic.”

A big part of Davidson’s job now is addressing those inquiries and The stigma remains, though. concerns. Not every Blue Jacket wants out, but there's a growing Critics point to evidence of it in the Jackets' mass exodus of “name” challenge to sell the benefits of staying put to elite talents, who seem players, plus a recent piece in The Athletic that anonymously provided attracted to brighter lights, bigger stages and more dollar signs. former players a chance to sound off about the market, negotiating with “What surprised me when I first moved here was the amount of people GM Jarmo Kekalainen and other topics. Should Jones also bolt, which is who had moved away and then moved back,” said Davidson, who joined now the expectation, it will be another body blow for Columbus and the the Blue Jackets in 2012 after his first job as a team president with the Blue Jackets' brand. St. Louis Blues. “They went to San Francisco or they went to Chicago, Is that more of a marketing problem or the market itself? and then they came back. There’s a lot of people who come back.” The number of former Blue Jackets players who still call Columbus He speaks through experience now. home, including executive Rick Nash and television analyst Jody Shelley, “It’s the quality of life that people look for,” Davidson said. “It’s going to be suggests it's the former. my job to get the word out, that this is a heck of a place to live and to “Whoever is in charge there just hasn’t done a good enough job selling play.” the market," Carter said. "That’s a problem.” Welcome to 'Siberia' It’s Davidson’s problem now. Anson Carter had no idea what former Boston Bruins general manager Along with approving Kekalainen’s retooling moves, his job Harry Sinden meant when he’d threaten to send a player to “Siberia” if responsibilities now include recruiting to Columbus. they didn’t play better. “I don’t ever hear (NFL) guys complaining about Green Bay being a Carter, now a studio analyst for NBCSN, was among those facing that terrible place to play,” Carter said. “Green Bay is a small market, but threat. So, he finally asked what "Siberia" meant. people love it there, guys love it there and the fans love it there — and “Some of the older guys were like, ‘He’s talking about Edmonton,’ ” said there has to be that connection to the team. They haven’t done a good Carter, who played for eight teams in a 10-year NHL career. “I was like, enough job selling Columbus, and having JD back … I mean, no one can ‘Oh! OK.’ And then the first time I played in Edmonton, I was like, ‘I see sell like JD. He’s got credibility.” why you call it Siberia.’ You get up there and it’s freezing, it’s dark and it He also has a plan. took us, like, 30 minutes to get downtown from the airport.” “Our organization is going to work very hard at making everything very His perspective changed after Sinden followed through Nov. 15, 2000, much first class here with the Columbus Blue Jackets, A to Z, all the way shipping Carter and two high draft picks to Edmonton for Bill Guerin. through,” Davidson said. “Any problems we’ll have, we’re going to take care of them.” Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 06.07.2021 1215274 Columbus Blue Jackets Jackets. Still, he did just that. No indecision, no stringing along. Now they can trade him for a major return, especially if he’s willing to negotiate a contract extension with the club he’s traded to.

Blue Jackets Sunday Gathering: Is a total rebuild coming? Plus, a wild Davidson has a five-year contract. General manager Jarmo Kekalainen idea for those late first-round picks now has four years on his contract after a two-year extension when Davidson was hired. That’s uncommon leeway in today’s NHL, giving both Davidson and Kekalainen confidence that a patient approach would be approved by majority owner John P. McConnell. Davidson has By Aaron Portzline Jun 6, 2021 enormous credibility with McConnell and business-side president Mike Priest. If he believes a rebuild is the only path to glory, they’d sign off.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A collection of notes, insights, ruminations, and Every NHL draft is unpredictable, but scouts are far more excited for the did-you-knows gathered throughout the week that was for the Blue 2022 and 2023 draft classes than they are for this year’s group. Forwards Jackets: Shane Wright (’22) and Connor Bedard (’23) are highly anticipated players, much more than any prospect available in 2021. Rebuilds don’t Item #1: Should the Blue Jackets finally rebuild? always work. See, Buffalo. But if you look at some of the modern franchise revivals — Sidney Crosby in Pittsburgh, Alex Ovechkin in The news landed like a gut-punch in the Blue Jackets’ front office, even Washington, MacKinnon in Colorado, etc. — they always start with No. 1 though it couldn’t have been thoroughly unexpected. Seth Jones made it picks. known last month that he wouldn’t re-sign with Columbus, opting instead to test free agency in 2022. If the Blue Jackets act now, they have tradeable assets, beyond Jones, that could throw a rebuild into hyperdrive, suggesting it wouldn’t take The Blue Jackets were hoping that a long-term contract extension with them as long as, say, Detroit’s undertaking. Does Zach Werenski want to Jones would allow them to reload quickly and be competitive next stay if Jones is leaving? What’s the market for left winger Patrik Laine? season. They also were looking for an argument against the “nobody Does veteran Cam Atkinson wish to stick around for a rebuild? Yeah, wants to be a Blue Jacket” narrative that has bloomed again in the past these trades would hurt like hell, but the worst thing an organization can two seasons. do is wait too long to get started. And trading Jones for two or three Alas, what matters now is how the Blue Jackets respond, and it appears veteran players who can help next season — to what end? — would do there are two different approaches being considered in the front office. just that.

One thought is to trade Jones for a package of players and picks that can Pittsburgh and Washington have aging superstars and haven’t made it help the Blue Jackets both today and in the future. Recall the trade return out of the first round of the playoffs in three straight seasons. The Blue for Rick Nash in 2012: centers Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov, Jackets, who move back into the Metropolitan Division with the Penguins defenseman prospect Tim Erixon and a first-round pick from the New and Capitals next season, would be wise to beat those two organizations York Rangers. to the punch.

But the other approach being considered is more bold. It’s something Item #2: About those No. 1 picks … that’s been done around the NHL to varying degrees of success, but The Blue Jackets learned this week through the NHL lottery that they’ll never really tried in Columbus: an old-fashioned, bring-it-down-to-the- have the fifth pick at next month’s draft, the highest they’ve picked since studs rebuild. 2016. Rebuild or not, it’s a great opportunity to add a top prospect. In that scenario, Jones would be traded not for a couple/few solid players But what the Jackets will do with their late first-round picks might be more who could help in 2021-22, but for top prospects and future high draft of an indication of where this organization is heading. The Jackets picks that would punt the Blue Jackets’ return to glory (a relative term) in acquired first-round picks from Toronto (Nick Foligno) and Tampa Bay 2024 or beyond. (David Savard) in their trade deadline sell-off. Blue Jackets fans may be thinking that they’ve heard this plan before, Kekalainen has mentioned trading those picks for immediate roster help, especially through the first 15 years of the organization, which were given the salary cap and expansion draft issues some NHL clubs maybe defined by chronic losing and, at times, utter hopelessness. be facing later this summer. (This, though, presents the same conundrum But this organization never bottomed out by design. They’ve never spent as the Jones situation. Do you want immediate help if you’re rebuilding?) multiple seasons accumulating high-end prospects and stockpiling We here at the Gathering had a peculiar thought this week. We passed it multiple first-round picks to load up for brighter days a few years later. by a few front-office types, too, and they didn’t think we were crazy, so … Even in the earliest days of the franchise, when the Blue Jackets should If you’re the Blue Jackets, why not trade one or both of those late first- have embraced losing — and losing big — as the only way to land top- round picks for … wait for it … future first-round picks? end talent at the top of the draft, they tried to win in the short term. Say the first-round pick from Toronto is No. 25. The Blue Jackets would The closest the Blue Jackets came to that was in 2012, under previous trade that pick for a first-round pick in 2022 or 2023, plus a little general manager Scott Howson, who left the organization with goaltender something extra this year, a prospect or a mid-round pick. You could do Sergei Bobrovsky, captain Nick Foligno, the best center depth the the same with the Tampa Bay pick, which could end up No. 30 or 31. franchise has ever had (Ryan Johansen, Dubinsky, Anisimov), and three first-round picks. It works on many levels:

Ironically, that’s when John Davidson was hired by the Blue Jackets as This year’s NHL draft is more of a crapshoot than ever, given all of the president of hockey operations the first time, and he came aboard cancelations and limitations from COVID-19. So why invest heavily in this believing that the long rebuild — remember “brick by brick” — was in year’s draft? By 2022 and 2023, scouts will have a much better read on order. The target then was Nathan MacKinnon, who ended up going to the draft, and, as noted, they’re already considered to be better drafts. Colorado. So much changes from one season to the next in the NHL, so much of it But the players in the dressing room wouldn’t allow it. The Blue Jackets unexpected. No matter where the Blue Jackets would trade those late missed out on the playoffs by a tiebreaker in 2012-13 and made the picks, they can’t likely be worse picks next season, right? And there’s a playoffs in 2013-14. The much-anticipated rebuild never happened. chance, if a club collapses, that those picks could be lottery picks. Put another way: San Jose never expected the first-round pick they traded to One could look at the current situation in Columbus and believe that the Ottawa for Erik Karlsson in 2018 to be the No. 3 pick in 2020. hockey gods are imploring Davidson to execute a rebuild for real this time. Let us count the ways: NHL teams love first-round picks, and the idea of acquiring one and not having to pay for it until a year later could be enticing for some. Acquiring Jones has done the Blue Jackets a big favor by making his plans clear to a first-round pick today for a pick in 2023 is like a two-year, same-as- them at such an early date. It’s not the answer management wanted — cash promotion. Too tempting! some fans will be miffed, of course — but free agency is his right, and he’s under no obligation to make this as easy as possible for the Blue Having multiple picks — and perhaps multiple lottery chances — in 2022 Dame and four years in the minors for the Blue Jackets before dressing and 2023 could greatly enhance the Blue Jackets’ chance to land either in three NHL games at the end of the 2016-17 season. The 29-year-old Shane Wright or Connor Bedard. signed free-agent deals with Vegas (2017) and Colorado (2019).

Just a thought. The Athletic LOADED: 06.07.2021

Item #3: Grigorenko headed back to KHL

The Blue Jackets tried to sign pending UFA Mikhail Grigorenko to a contract extension, but the 27-year-old forward is returning to Russia’s KHL under a multi-year deal, according to his agent, Dan Milstein.

It’s unclear what the Blue Jackets offered Grigorenko or which KHL club was signing him.

Grigorenko had hoped to rekindle his NHL career with the Blue Jackets, moving his family to Columbus well ahead of last season to enroll his young kids in local hockey programs and join his new teammates in offseason player-organized skates.

But he never really found a role in the lineup under coach John Tortorella, bouncing from position to position and playing, at some point, on each of the four lines.

Grigorenko played in just 32 of the 56 games, totaling 4-8-12. From Feb. 25 to April 3, he was out of the lineup in 19 consecutive games — 12 as a healthy scratch, one due to injury and six after being placed on the taxi squad.

It’s mildly surprising the Blue Jackets even tried to bring him back unless they believed a new coach or a new system could awaken Grigorenko’s game. But now the 2012 first-round pick (No. 12 to Buffalo) may have played his last game in the NHL.

Snacks

Rick Tocchet had his second interview with the Blue Jackets on Friday, according to Craig Morgan of azcoyotesinsider.com. Current Blue Jackets assistant Brad Larsen has had a second interview, too. It’s believed that Gerard Gallant will sit with the Blue Jackets a second time in the coming days after he’s finished coaching Canada in the IIHF World Championships in Riga, Latvia. The Canadians were set to play Finland in the gold medal game on Sunday.

Pierre-Luc Dubois, traded by the Blue Jackets to Winnipeg in early January, is starting to feel a little heat in Manitoba. After an underwhelming regular season with the Jets — he had just 8-12-20 in 41 games — Dubois has yet to score a goal in the playoffs. Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice moved him out of the center position during the regular season, but the five-game suspension given to Mark Scheifele earlier this week puts Dubois back in the middle and gives him nowhere to hide. From afar, Dubois looks as though he’s forgotten who he is as a player. He has often fancied himself a puck-handler, a dangler, but he’s most effective when he plays like a bull moose. There was a coach in Columbus who used to constantly push Dubois in that direction, demanding he go hard to the net and play a combative game. Dubois didn’t like that much, of course, but maybe he needed it more than he realized.

Justin Danforth, who the Blue Jackets have signed to a one-way contract for next season, finally got on the board in the World Championships, scoring an empty net goal in Canada’s semifinal win over the United States. Danforth is an interesting player on many levels. The 5-foot-9, 180-pound forward played more games in the ECHL (47) than the AHL (21) before leaving for Europe in 2018. After three strong seasons in Europe, he’s going to make his NHL debut next season at 28. We asked around for an NHL comparison. The most frequent response? Colin Blackwell, who had 12-10-22 in 47 games for the New York Rangers this season, his first as an NHL regular.

New Albany’s Kiefer Sherwood made his NHL postseason debut on Friday for Colorado, earning the primary assist on Carl Soderberg’s second-period goal in a 3-2 loss to Vegas. None of the locals have a postseason resume quite like Dublin’s Sean Kuraly — he has nine goals, four game-winners, in 55 playoff games with Boston — but Sherwood is the fourth central Ohioan to hit the Stanley Cup playoffs stat column. Jack Roslovic played in 20 postseason games with Winnipeg (0-5-5) and Connor Murphy has played in nine playoff games (0-4-4) with Chicago.

Former Blue Jackets prospect T.J. Tynan was named the AHL’s Les Cunningham Award winner as the league’s most valuable player. He had 8-27-35 in 27 games for AHL Colorado, the top affiliate of the Avalanche. Tynan, a third-round pick (No. 66) in 2011, played four years at Notre 1215275 Detroit Red Wings does Joe Veleno, who joined the team late in the season after spending the year in Sweden.

While the Wings look like they are going in the right direction, Yzerman is Steve Yzerman won't give a timeline on Detroit Red Wings rebuild. right to eschew drawing up a timeline. For even with the talent added in Here's why that epic 1989 draft, it took eight more years for the Wings to be the last men standing.

NEED A GRADUATION/FATHER'S DAY GIFT? HELENE ST. JAMES What: “The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings.”

Author: Helene St. James, who has covered the Red Wings at the Detroit When Steve Yzerman hoisted the Stanley Cup and skated a lap at Joe Free Press since 1996. Foreword by Chris Osgood, winner of three Louis Arena on June 7, 1997, the Detroit Red Wings ended a drought Stanley Cups as a Wings goaltender. that had lasted 42 years. Publisher: Triumph Books. The lap with Lord Stanley was repeated in '98 and 2002. Yzerman retired in 2006, and celebrated his fourth Cup, in 2008, as a member of Pages: 336 pages (paperback). the front office. "The Captain" returned as "The General Manager" (which Price: $16.95. doesn’t quite have the same ring) in 2019, charged with guiding the Wings back to the playoffs and adding to the franchise’s 11 titles. Availability: Available in leading bookstores and online from booksellers, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The Wings are at 13 years and counting since their last Cup. About the book: “The Big 50” brings to life the men and moments that When put in perspective, that’s not much of a drought. Of the other made the Red Wings such a dynamic and iconic franchise for nearly a Original Six franchises, the Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t won the Cup century. The book features never-before-told stories about the greats since 1967, the Montreal Canadiens since 1993 and 1994 for the New such as Howe, Yzerman, Lidstrom and Lindsay, the near-greats beloved York Rangers. When the Boston Bruins won the Cup in 2011, it was their by fans and the great memories of Fight Night, the Fabulous Fifties, the first since 1972. The Chicago Blackhawks have fared better recently, Team for the Ages, the Grind Line, The Joe and much more. winning three times from 2010-2017. Detroit Free Press LOADED: 06.07.2021 There are multiple clubs that are still waiting for their first Cup: The Arizona Coyotes (dating back to the franchise's origin as the Winnipeg Jets), Buffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, Ottawa Senators, San Jose Sharks, Vancouver Canucks, Vegas Golden Knights and the Winnipeg Jets ( dating back to the franchise's origin as the Atlanta Thrashers).

When the Wings celebrated in 1997, there were 26 teams in the NHL. When the expansion Seattle Kraken begin play this fall, there’ll be 32.

Amid this, Yzerman is trying to break what’s already a five-year streak of the Wings being done when the bell tolls for the regular season.

“Someone will ask, when are you going to make the playoffs, what’s your timeline,” Yzerman said last week. “I simply can’t give one, because it’s a guess.”

Yzerman spent nine years as GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning, which already had elite center Steven Stamkos and elite defenseman Victor Hedman on the roster when he arrived in 2010. Though he was gone by the time the Bolts won the Cup in 2020, that roster very much bore Yzerman’s stamp — but the Bolts also missed the playoffs three times during his tenure.

Yzerman experienced how hard it is to build a champion as a player. He was drafted in 1983. The Wings were ousted in the first round his first two years and missed the playoffs his third year. They advanced to the conference finals in 1987 and 1988, but lost both series to the Edmonton Oilers in five games.

The following year it was back to being ousted in the first round — but 1989 was also the year the Wings hit the motherlode in the draft, coming away with future Hall of Famers in defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom and forward Sergei Fedorov plus defenseman Vladimiar Konstantinov. That draft was pivotal to the Wings ending their drought — not that anyone knew that at the time.

“I’m dying to have a 1989 draft,” Yzerman said. “At the time, I was on the team. You’re curious about the draft as a player on any team. You see who you got. I had played against Sergei at the World Championships. Vladdie, I think, was on that team as well. So I knew them. I played against Nick the year after he was drafted. But going into the draft the player I knew the most was Sergei. He was one of the best players on their men’s team, which was a tremendous team at that time.

“Somewhere along the line if we can get a draft that’s even half of that, I’d be thrilled.”

Yzerman’s first hand-picked rebuilding block, Moritz Seider, looks like he’ll emerge as a No. 1 defenseman. Maybe this draft will be the one that nets a No. 1 center. Players such as Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi, Filip Zadina and Filip Hronek have established how they can be factors. Trade-deadline acquisition Jakub Vrana looks like he will play a role, as 1215276 Detroit Red Wings

Wings prospect Moritz Seider named best D-man at hockey worlds; Canada wins gold

The Detroit News

Nick Paul scored in overtime on a 2-and-1 break with Ottawa Senators teammate Connor Brown and Canada won its 27th world hockey title, beating Finland 3-2 on Sunday night.

Brown slid the puck over to Paul and he beat goaltender Jussi Olkinuora 6:26 into the extra frame.

Andrew Mangiapane, whose arrival midway through the preliminary round provided a spark for Canada, was named player of the tournament. The Calgary Flames forward had seven goals — including the winners in Canada’s quarterfinal and semifinal victories — and four assists in seven games.

Red Wings German defense prospect Moritz Seider, drafted sixth-overall by Detroit in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, was named as the tournament's top defenseman by the tournament directorate. He was also named to the tournament's All-Star team.

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Seider finished with five assists in 10 games and his efforts on the blue line helped carry Germany to Sunday's bronze-medal game against the United States.

It's the second major award given to Seider in recent weeks; at just 20 years old, he was named in May as the Swedish Hockey League's defenseman of the year for the 2020-21 season.

Maxime Comtois and Adam Henrique also scored for Canada on Sunday, which looked down-and-out after losing its first three games in Riga before going on an improbable run to the top of the podium.

Brown assisted on all three of Canada’s goals in the final to end the championship with a tournament-high 16 points (two goals, 14 assists).

Mikael Ruohomaa and Petteri Lindbohm scored for Finland.

Darcy Kuemper made 29 saves.

Earlier, the United States beat Germany 6-1 in the claimed bronze with a 6-1 win over Germany. Cal Petersen made 33 saves for the Americans.

Detroit News LOADED: 06.07.2021 1215277 Detroit Red Wings

U.S. falls to Canada in World Championship semifinal

Updated Jun 05, 10:38 PM; Posted Jun 05, 11:45 AM

By Ansar Khan

Team USA’s run at the World Championship ended Saturday with a 4-2 loss to Canada in the semifinals in Riga, Latvia.

The U.S., which had won seven in row, will play in Sunday’s bronze medal game (8:15 a.m. ET, NHL Network) against Germany, which lost to Finland 2-1 in the other semifinal.

The gold medal game between Canada and Finland will start at 1:15 p.m. ET, NHL Network).

Andrew Mangiapane (Calgary) scored two goals for Canada. Detroit Red Wings defenseman Troy Stecher logged a game-high 28:32 in ice time for Canada.

Brandon Pirri (Chicago) opened the scoring for Canada at 2:02 of the first period. Justin Danforth’ empty-net goal sealed the outcome with 24 seconds remaining.

Darcy Kuemper (Arizona) made 36 saves for Canada, coached by former Red Wing Gerard Gallant.

Colin Blackwell (Rangers) and Sasha Chmelevski (San Jose) scored for the U.S. Cal Petersen (Los Angeles) made 29 saves.

Meanwhile, Red Wings’ top prospect Moritz Seider assisted on Germany’s lone goal, by Matthias Plachta. Seider logged a team-high 21:56 in ice time and led his team with five shots on goal.

Michigan Live LOADED: 06.07.2021 1215278 Detroit Red Wings

Red Wings’ Troy Stecher, Moritz Seider reach World Championship semis

Updated Jun 03, 2021; Posted Jun 03, 2021

By Ansar Khan

At least one Detroit Red Wing will return from the World Championship with a medal.

Defensemen Troy Stecher and Moritz Seider helped their teams to quarterfinal victories Thursday in Latvia and a spot in Saturday’s semifinals.

Canada, with Stecher, defeated Russia 2-1 in overtime and will face the United States on Saturday (7:15 a.m. ET, NHL Network). Germany, with Seider, edged Switzerland 3-2 in a shootout to advance against Finland on Saturday (11:15 a.m. ET, NHL Network).

Andrew Mangiapane (Calgary) scored the winning goal for Canada. Stecher made it possible by taking a drop pass just inside the blue line, making two nifty moves to elude defenders and sending a backhand pass across the front of the net for a one-timer.

Stecher led his team in ice time (25:51).

Seider logged 23:07, second on his team, in ice time. Leon Gawanke scored the tying goal with 44 seconds remaining in the third period.

“I think we were the better team from the beginning,” Seider said in a story posted on iihf.com. “There was no doubt that we were going to win that game. We can be very proud of ourselves.

“We handled ourselves well. Every team wants to win in overtime, but you have to be very cautious about your choices because if you don’t use them right, the puck will end up in the back of your net.”

Seider, Detroit’s first pick in the 2019 draft (sixth overall), is expected to earn an NHL roster spot at the start of next season.

Finland defeated the Czech Republic 1-0 in a quarterfinal matchup, ending the tournament for a trio of Red Wings – Jakub Vrana, Filip Zadina and Filip Hronek, each of whom finished with four points in eight games.

The U.S. topped Slovakia 6-1 for its seventh consecutive win. Conor Garland (Arizona) and Colin Blackwell (Rangers) scored two goals each.

Michigan Live LOADED: 06.07.2021 1215279 Florida Panthers WORKING A DEAL Florida general manager Bill Zito has a number of things on his offseason

to-do list after a very successful first season. Sasha Barkov is a Florida Guy. The Panthers want to keep it that way At the top of that list is getting a deal done with his captain.

Zito has said he and agent Todd Diamond will get to work on an Published 20 hours ago on June 6, 2021By George Richards extension once the playoffs were over and, well, here we are.

“It is something that’s paramount for me,” Zito said. “We will address it in short order.” One of Sasha Barkov’s first introductions to South Florida was not the most pleasant. Not long after being drafted second overall by the The Panthers cannot sign Barkov to anything until the NHL’s new year Panthers in 2013, Barkov had to go and get his new Florida drivers begins — which is expected in late July. license. Barkov told FHN before the playoffs started and again when asked in his It took him two tries to get it. Fun. season-ending media availability that he has not thought much about a new contract. “I don’t have a car but I have the license,” Barkov said just as his first training camp was starting. He did make it clear to FHN that he loves being part of the Panthers and wants to remain here. “I failed the first time because I didn’t understand the questions.” Barkov also says he takes pride in helping the Panthers grow the game Barkov did not let that little hiccup jade his thoughts on his new home. here in South Florida. The better the team does, he knows, helps that along as well. From his first introduction to Florida, Barkov said it felt like home. “When I first got here, I really felt this was the best place on Earth to be,” “I like it here in Florida,” Barkov said. “It’s nice. It’s a place I’m going to Barkov said. “Growing the game here is awesome. I know the Panthers enjoy living in. Everyone is nice, I have a lot of friends already. They’ve organization does a great job. helped me very much.” “You notice it every year, how much hockey grows here. Winning helps. His affection for the place has only grown over the years. We’re trying to do our part on the ice and I will do anything off the ice as And, Florida digs him as well. well.”

Since he first arrived on the scene, Barkov has evolved into one of the ROOTS IN THE COMMUNITY top centers in the entire National Hockey League. Barkov, who resides in Boca Raton, has made a conscious effort to On Sunday, Barkov was named one of three finalists (Patrice Bergeron, become part of his community. Mark Stone) for the Frank J. Selke Trophy which goes to the NHL He loves the Miami Heat and pays attention to the other teams in the forward who “demonstrates the most skill in the defensive component of area. the game.’’ Barkov has also made a financial commitment to the Joe DiMaggio Barkov, who ended his season with 26 goals and 58 points in 50 games, Children’s Hospital Foundation in Hollywood. is the favorite to win it. Not only does Barkov contribute $1,600 for each goal he scores and If he does, it would be the first major player award won by a Florida $800 for each assist, he also provides a suite at the BB&T Center for player since Aaron Ekblad won the Calder Trophy for the NHL’s top each home game to support those connected to hospital. rookie in 2015. Barkov seems to get great joy each game when the Panthers show his Jonathan Huberdeau also won the Calder the year Florida drafted suite filled with families each game. Barkov. Per the hospital, Barkov’s donations this season — simply based on his Winning the Selke would not be the only eventful moment for Barkov and stats and not including what he pays for the suite — was close to the Panthers this summer. $75,000. Barkov, the team’s captain since 2018, can lock up his long-term future in “I’m really happy and honored that I can do that for the Joe DiMaggio Florida with a new contract. Hospital,’’ Barkov said. “They really do an incredible job with the kids and Although he has one year left on the six-year, $35.4 million deal he all their families, helping and taking care of them. I decided I wanted to signed with the team in 2016, Barkov and the Panthers are believed to help in some way too. I score and donate money to help them. be working on a contract which should keep him in the Sunshine State “I love that the kids get to come to our games, every game is full of kids, for a long, long time. families and healthcare workers from the hospital. That makes me happy. If he wasn’t only 25-years-old, one could say this would be the last I am looking forward to continuing to do that.” contract of his NHL career. But Barkov is just now hitting his stride. Florida Hockey Now LOADED: 06.07.2021 As former Panthers captain Olli Jokinen said earlier this year, Barkov is just scratching the surface at how good he can be.

And, as a likely Selke finalist as well as a probable All-NHL center selection as well as a potential finalist for the league MVP award, Barkov is already pretty darned good.

“He’s a good guy, a great player. I am proud of him,’’ Jokinen said right after Barkov passed him to become the Panthers’ No. 2 scorer in franchise history behind Huberdeau.

“He is a guy who was highly drafted, is the face of the team and hopefully the team continues to do well. … There isn’t one bad thing you can say about the guy. He is an unbelievable player who puts the work in.

“Hopefully he can be on a winning team because then we’re talking about a Hall of Fame career. That’s the level he is playing at, that’s the level his career is headed. He is still a baby. Watch him in the next two or three years.” 1215280 Los Angeles Kings With the big club, Wolanin saw action in three games in mid-April, where he was +1 with two shots on goal. Though a small sample size, Wolanin’s Corsi fell right in line with his time in Ottawa in the first half of the season, at just over 50 percent, while his scoring chances and high- Kings Seasons In Review – Midseason Acquisitions danger chances metrics were also high.

Three games, however, isn’t really enough of a sample size to draw a firm conclusion of a season. Wolanin’s arrival, unfortunately for him, By Zach Dooley15 hours ago coincided with the return of Olli Maatta and Matt Roy to the lineup, limiting his opportunities. Beginning on 4/30 in Anaheim, the Kings used the same configuration on the backend for the remainder of the season, Insiders, welcome to the third edition of our Kings Seasons In Review with Wolanin on the outside looking in. series, taking a look back at the season that was. 2021-22 Status – Wolanin meets the criteria of a Group 6 UFA, as he did Today, we take a look at the pair of players acquired by the Kings during not play the required number of NHL games to remain a restricted free the 2020-21 season in Brendan Lemieux and Christian Wolanin. Lemieux agent, and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. joined the Kings from the New York Rangers, while Wolanin was acquired from the Ottawa Senators. LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 06.07.2021

Brendan Lemieux

NHL Statline (w/ LAK) – 18 games played, 2 goals, 2 assists, -2 rating, 14 penalty minutes

NHL Statline (w/ NYR) – 31 games played, 2 goals, 5 assists, even rating, 59 penalty minutes

Lemieux was an intriguing acquisition for the Kings, because he brought an option to the organization that was not present, for the low-cost of a fourth-round draft pick, which the Kings had two of in 2021.

Lemieux was touted as an energy player, who brought sandpaper to his game and had an innate ability to get under the skin of opposition. With the Rangers last season, no player drew more penalties than Lemieux, who was one of the league leaders in penalty minutes himself. Lemieux had the reputation of a player who would drop the gloves and stand up for teammates, going hand in hand with his edge.

We saw glimpses of that player with the Kings – see the Josh Manson fight at STAPLES Center in April – but it didn’t feel like we saw all of that player with the Kings either. It can be difficult to change teams midseason and immediately make your full impact, and we saw that at times from Lemieux.

The Colorado native was never brought to Southern California to be a possession juggernaut, but his numbers did fade from the mid-to-low 40’s range to below the 40-percent line in terms of shot attempts, scoring chances and high-danger chances for, ranking him amongst the team’s lowest in those categories during his 18-game sample size.

As with any midseason acquisition, Lemieux deserves a full offseason and training camp within the Kings system to settle in, especially considering this season. The 25-year-old winger has time and an opportunity to carve out a role in the bottom six with the Kings, with those qualities he had in New York still ones that the Kings do not have a ton of amongst their current group of forwards.

2021-22 Status – Lemieux is under contract for one more season, after he signed a two-year extension with the Rangers in November. Lemieux will be a restricted free agent in 2022, with the Kings still controlling his rights as a free agent.

Christian Wolanin

NHL Statline (w/ LAK)– 3 games played, 0 goals, 0 assists, 1 rating, 2 penalty minutes

NHL Statline (w/ OTT) – 15 games played, 0 goals, 3 assists, -7 rating, 6 penalty minutes

AHL Statline (w/ ONT & BEL) – 3 games played, 0 goals, 3 assists, even rating, 2 penalty minutes

Wolanin was acquired in a “change of scenery” type deal with the Ottawa Senators this season, in exchange for forward Michael Amadio. Wolanin split his time in the Ottawa organization between the NHL and AHL, with an impressive 2018-19 season at both levels. Wolanin was one of the AHL’s top offensive defensemen with Belleville, and tallied a respectable 12 points from 30 games played in Ottawa.

Joining the Kings organization, Wolanin, who had cleared waivers prior to the trade, was initially assigned to the AHL’s Ontario Reign, where he collected three assists from two games played. Skating as one of five defensemen in those games, Wolanin was an instant leader on the Ontario blueline, resulting in a quick recall to the Kings. 1215281 Montreal Canadiens “He means everything to us,” Armia said. “He is unbelievable every single game. It is a different kind of confidence that you get when he is back there.”

Montreal Canadiens take 3-0 stranglehold on series with Winnipeg Jets The Jets played their second in a row without centre Mark Scheifele. Their leading scorer is suspended for four games for a hit on Montreal’s Jake Evans at the end of Game 1. Evans is out indefinitely with a concussion. Veteran Paul Stastny, who missed the first two games of the Marty Klinkenberg 6/7/2021 series with an undisclosed injury, returned to the lineup but did not have a point and was called twice for penalties.

The upstart Canadiens are just one win shy of advancing to the third Montreal, which made the playoffs as the fourth and final team from the round of the Stanley Cup playoffs after hammering the Winnipeg Jets 5-1 all-Canadian North Division, is on the verge of winning its third post- at the Bell Centre on Sunday. season series in two years. The Habs beat the Penguins in the 2020 Stanley Cup qualifying tournament, embarrassed the Maple Leafs, and Montreal got two short-handed from Joel Armia, one goal each from have a stranglehold on the Jets. Corey Perry, Artturi Lehkonen and Nick Suzuki and stellar goaltending yet again from Carey Price. It now leads the best-of-seven series 3-0, In comparison, Toronto has not won a playoff series since 2004, and with Game 4 on Monday night, also on the Canadiens’ home ice. Edmonton has won only one playoff series since 2007.

Montreal has now won six in a row – the final three games of the first One more victory will move the Canadiens into the third round against round against the Toronto Maple Leafs and the first three against the one of the U.S. teams. Declaring that hockey was an essential service, Jets. Winnipeg, which swept Edmonton in Round 1, is in danger of the Canadian government said yesterday that the winner of their series experiencing the same humiliation as the Oilers. would be able to travel back and forth across the border. Players will be restricted to their hotel and will not be allowed to have any interaction The Canadiens have not trailed since the puck dropped on Game 5 in the with fans. first round. They advanced with the rare feat of coming back from a 1-3 hole against Toronto and have kept rolling since. “We’ve been in this long enough to know that the hardest game to win is the last one,” Gallagher said. “We’ll enjoy this win tonight, but as soon as The game ended with the 2,500 spectators on hand serenading the we wake up in the morning, we’ll have to put in the same effort to get the home team with cheers and waving white towels. The crowd included a same results.” handful of Canadien greats led by 69-year-old Guy Lafleur. Globe And Mail LOADED: 06.07.2021 “The fans helped us big time,” said Brendan Gallagher, the Montreal forward. “I know there were only 2,500, but they were a loud 2,500.”

The Canadiens got all five goals and had 11 points spread among their four lines of forwards. The fourth line – Perry, Eric Staal and Armia – scored three and had three assists.

“On the board they are listed as the fourth, but they definitely are not a fourth line,” said Gallagher, who had one assist. “They know their strengths and have played to that. Playoff hockey has brought out the best in them.”

Montreal entered the night 6-1 in the post-season when it scores first and jumped ahead on Winnipeg again.

Perry slid a wrist shot around Connor Hellebuyck less than five minutes into the first period for a 1-0 lead. It was the third goal of the playoffs for the 36-year-old, who was signed as a free agent in December. Staal and Armia were credited with assists.

Price, meanwhile, remained difficult for the Jets to solve. He stopped all eight shots in the first period, including a one-timer from Logan Stanley and an attempt from Andrew Copp that he blocked after he slid across the crease. Blake Wheeler also got off a dangerous wrist shot seconds before the first intermission but could not beat Price.

The Canadiens extended the lead with goals by Lehkonen in a net-front scramble a little more than midway through the second period and on a short-handed rush by Armia about four minutes later. Adam Lowry finally scored for Winnipeg late in the second period to cut the disadvantage to 3-1.

The teams went to their dressing rooms with Montreal having run up a 26-12 advantage in shots.

Suzuki scored nine seconds into a power play with 11:08 remaining in the third to salt away the victory. By then, Olé Olé Olés reverberated around the arena and the Jets’ frustration boiled over. At one point they were called for three penalties in a five-minute span.

Armia had a short-handed empty-netter with 3:18 left to close out the scoring.

Hellebuyck won the Vézina Trophy as the NHL’s top goalie last year but has more than met his match in Price during this year’s playoffs. Price turned away 26 of 27 shots on Sunday and has stopped 83 of 87 thus far in the series.

Hellebuyck allowed four on 32 shots in Game 3; Price has allowed four over the first three games. 1215282 Montreal Canadiens But not before Mr. Dowey got a harsh lesson in European hockey rules. Late in the game, he caught and forwarded the puck, a two-minute penalty, which he had to serve in the penalty box. Defenceman André Laperrière borrowed the goalie’s blocker and trapper glove to complete Goalie Murray Dowey achieved Olympic glory after chance call up the game’s final eight seconds without incident.

The Flyers then blanked Britain (3-0) and Poland (15-0). The goalie’s shutout streak extended to 225 minutes and 30 seconds before Tom Hawthorn 6/6/2021 bespectacled Italian left-winger Enrico (Dino) Menardi banked the puck off Mr. Dowey’s left skate for a marker from behind the Canadian net. That fluke goal narrowed the score to 19-1. Canada added a pair of late Goaltender Murray Dowey, a last-minute replacement, dodged snowballs goals for a convincing 21-1 victory. from spectators as he backstopped Canada to the 1948 Olympic gold medal in hockey. The Flyers next overwhelmed the Americans by 12-3, followed by a 0-0 draw with the favoured Czechoslovakians. A 12-0 victory over Austria Wearing a cap to keep the sun out of his eyes on the outdoor rink, he and the 3-0 whitewashing of the Swiss gave Canada the gold medal on recorded a shutout in the final game of the Olympic tournament as goal differential. Canada rolled to a 3-0 victory over the host Swiss team. Mr. Dowey concluded the tournament with a shutout streak of 195 Mr. Dowey, who has died at 95, allowed just five goals over eight games. minutes and 30 seconds. He recorded five shutouts, which remains an Olympic record. The final game was played on slushy ice before a hostile, snowball- He was the last surviving member of the gold medal-winning team, the tossing crowd and referees who seemed only to have eyes for Canadian Royal Canadian Air Force Flyers. infractions.

“Dowey doesn’t look like an athlete, being pale-faced and slim, but he “Near the end of the game there was a scramble in front of my net, and a has fine coordination and is not easily flustered,” Jack Sullivan of the Swiss player, Heinrich Boller, punched me in the face when I was down,” Canadian Press wrote after the final match. Mr. Dowey later recalled. “He was only given a two-minute penalty. I decided to keep my mouth shut or I’d probably end up in the penalty box The gawky, 155-pound goalie was known for a quick catching hand. with him for talking.” Parachuting him onto the team had been a desperate decision. Murray Albert Dowey was born in Toronto on Jan. 3, 1926, to the former In exhibition games in Canada, the Flyers struggled against senior and Winifred (Winnie) Curtis and Albert Dowey. The father, a Belfast-born collegiate competition. The team of active and former military personnel letter carrier who took a machine-gun bullet through the left calf in the was drubbed 7-0 by Montreal’s McGill University in a game in Ottawa Battle of Amiens, was a decade older than his English-born bride, an 18- attended by the governor-general and other dignitaries. With the Flyers year-old who gave her occupation on her marriage certificate as scheduled to sail to Europe in just three weeks, panicked management chocolate dipper. shuffled the roster. In 1942, Murray Dowey began work at the TTC as an $11.37-per-week Two goalies had been cut from the squad, while a third admitted to being office boy. ineligible for the Olympics after having been paid to play senior hockey. He was one of the city’s top baseball pitchers and a well-regarded goalie General manager Sandy Watson – an RCAF squadron leader and in the Toronto Hockey League, an amateur circuit with teams sponsored medical officer – and coach George Boucher finally settled on goalies by local businesses. He played for Tip Top Tailors for one season before Ross King and Dick Ball. enlisting in the war effort after turning 18. The team posed for an official photograph, the goalies in their padded He was rejected by the navy for asthma, hay fever and other respiratory leather equipment bookending the front row. ailments. He wound up in the army, playing hockey for the Army They were preparing to travel to St. Moritz, Switzerland, when Mr. Ball, a Daggers. He was transferred to the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps 21-year-old University of Toronto student, failed a routine physical. An X- in London before being demobilized. ray indicated a spot on his lung. After the Olympics, Mr. Dowey played two more seasons of amateur George Mara and Wally Halder, both centres with the Flyers, hockey before retiring as a player. recommended Mr. Dowey, the goalie for their amateur hockey team in “I thought I’d play a little longer,” he later told sports columnist Jack Toronto, sponsored by Barker’s Biscuits. Mr. Dowey, who had given up Kinsella. “Then I caught one in the mouth, and another over the eye. My seven goals in his only game as a junior with the Toronto Marlboros, was wife said, ‘That’s all, Dad.’ I decided to retire while I was ahead.” said to be the best goalie in the city other than Turk Broda of the professional Toronto Maple Leafs. He retired from the TTC as an administration supervisor in 1986.

Mr. Dowey was asleep at home in Toronto one January morning in 1948 Mr. Dowey died in Toronto on May 26. He leaves two sons, four when he got a call from Dr. Watson at 1:30 in the morning, according to grandsons and five great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by the Pat MacAdam’s book Gold Medal Misfits. The goalie agreed to play at former Gertrude Patterson, his wife of 58 years, whom he married in the Olympics as long as he did not lose his job with the Toronto 1945. Transportation (later Transit) Commission. Dr. Watson then called Allan Lamport, a future mayor of Toronto, to arrange a two-month paid leave of The Flyers’ unlikely victory was promptly forgotten. Honours came absence. At 3 a.m., Mr. Dowey was told to be at Downsview Airport three belatedly. The team has since been inducted into the CAF Sports Hall of hours later for a flight to Ottawa. Fame (1971), the Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame (1998) and the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame (2008). Mr. Dowey was enshrined by the Etobicoke He reported on time, only to learn fog had grounded all aircraft. He Sports Hall of Fame in 2001. caught a train to Ottawa, where he was sworn into the RCAF, given the entry rank of aircraftman second class and issued an ill-fitting formal blue As it turned out, the goalie Mr. Dowey replaced had been misdiagnosed. uniform. He then took an overnight sleeper train to New York City, where Mr. Ball was in perfect health. He can be seen in the original official team he met his Olympic teammates for the first time shortly before boarding portrait on the left side of the front row. He suffered a further indignity the RMS Queen Elizabeth. when later versions of the photograph featured Mr. Dowey’s head pasted atop Mr. Ball’s body. Even after all the drama and roster shuffling, the Flyers were not expected to do well. Some experts predicted they would be lucky to finish Globe And Mail LOADED: 06.07.2021 fourth in the nine-team, round-robin Olympic tournament.

Those fears seemed well placed after Mr. Dowey surrendered a goal to Sweden just 155 seconds into the first game on the outdoor rink in St. Moritz. Canada responded with three goals to win the game. 1215283 Montreal Canadiens

In the Habs' Room: We can't give the Jets any life, Gallagher says

Pat Hickey • Publishing date:Jun 06, 2021 • 5 hours ago

The Canadiens are in the driver’s seat with a 3-0 lead over the Winnipeg Jets in their best-of-seven North Division final, but Brendan Gallagher says they can’t take anything for granted heading into Game 4 on Monday at the Bell Centre (8 p.m., CBC, SN, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).

“We know from the last series how quickly things can change,” Gallagher said, recalling the Canadiens rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games.

“We have the advantage, but you have to make sure you don’t give the other team any life. Tomorrow night’s another game and we hope to win it in front of our fans.”

There were 2,500 fans in attendance Sunday, and Gallagher said they provided the Canadiens with a boost as they coasted to a 5-1 victory.

“There are only 2,500, but they are a loud 2,500 and they gave us energy,” Gallagher said. “We knew (the Jets) were going to push, but we did a good job of having sustained shifts and scoring the first goal.”

The Canadiens haven’t trailed since Game 4 of the Leafs series and they are playing the way coach Dominique Ducharme wants with units of five players supporting each other at both ends of the ice.

“It’s really hard to bring in a new system with the practice time we had,” Gallagher said. “There was a lot to change, it wasn’t little tinkers. Dom had an idea of how he wanted us to play and, as players, we had to take quite a bit in and it was tough to do on the fly. We had injuries, lines were being juggled. There was a lot going on. But before the playoffs we had some time to work on it and really lock everything down.”

If you’re looking for omens, the Canadiens have won six consecutive playoff games and the last time they accomplished that was in 1993 — the last time they won the Stanley Cup.

And Joel Armia’s two shorthanded goals gave Montreal four for the playoffs. The last time they reached that number was in 1986, when they won their 23rd Cup.

Carey Price continued his inspired play. His goals-against average has dropped to 1.97 and he has a .938 save percentage. Those are his best playoff numbers since 2015 when he won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player.

Armia, Corey Perry and Eric Staal are playing what Gallagher described as “big-boy hockey.” Perry opened the scoring and Armia chipped in with the two shorthanded goals.

Perry and Staal were acquired as insurance policies and the 36-year-olds are paying big dividends. They have combined with Armia to produce eight goals and a team-best 20 points.

Rookie Cole Caufield, who assisted on Nick Suzuki’s power-play goal, is still looking for his first NHL playoff goal, but his play indicates you don’t have to tell him to do something twice.

Ducharme urged him to shoot more and he has taken that advice to heart. He had five shots on goal in Game 2 on Friday and added six more Sunday.

He had two good opportunities in the first three minutes of the second period, but Connor Hellebuyck came up with the saves.

Artturi Lehkonen, who scored in his second game back as Jake Evans’ replacement, scored a goal and led Montreal with seven shots.

Montreal lost one of its top four defencemen when Jeff Petry caught a finger in a hole in the glass designed to accommodate photographers. Ducharme said his condition will be evaluated Monday morning.

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 06.07.2021 1215284 Montreal Canadiens

Canadiens put Jets on the brink with sixth straight win

Pat Hickey • Publishing date:Jun 06, 2021 • 6 hours ago

The Canadiens are one victory away from advancing to the Stanley Cup semifinals after defeating the Winnipeg Jets 5-1 on Sunday at the Bell Centre.

The win gave Montreal a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven North Division final and the Canadiens have a chance to wrap up the series at home Monday (8 p.m., CBC, SN, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).

Carey Price made 25 saves as he and the Canadiens extended their current winning streak to six games.

Coach Dominique Ducharme, who has relied heavily on his top four defencemen, had to make some adjustments in the third period. Jeff Petry caught a finger on his right hand in a hole in the glass designed for photographers in the second period. He returned to the ice after going to the dressing room for treatment, but he didn’t play in the the third period.

The Canadiens have made a habit of scoring the first goal in these playoffs and they did it for a sixth consecutive game when veteran Corey Perry delivered at 4:45 of the first period. The Canadiens put pressure on Connor Hellebuyck and Perry scored his third goal of the playoffs when he came from behind the net and scored on a wraparound, which caromed off Jordie Benn’s skate and found the far post.

Perry’s linemates Eric Staal and Joel Armia each earned an assist on the goal, but Phillip Danault made the key play leading up to the goal when he forced a turnover in the neutral zone.

The Canadiens outshot the Jets 10-7 in the opening period, but also had 11 shots blocked.

Montreal took control of the game in the second period when they outshot the Jets 16-5 and scored twice to take a 3-1 lead.

Price had luck on his side early in the period when Nikolaj Ehlers and Blake Wheeler each hit a crossbar.

The Canadiens’ shutdown line made life miserable for Hellebuyck as Artturi Lehkonen scored on a scramble in front to give the Canadiens a 2- 0 lead. Hellebuyck made two stops on Danault, but was unable to control the rebound.

A too-many-men penalty against Montreal gave Winnipeg a ray of hope, but Armia scored a shorthanded goal for a 3-0 lead. Armia had a 2-on-1 break with Paul Byron and he elected to keep the puck. Defenceman Josh Morrissey sprawled on the ice looking for a block, but Armia showed patience as he waited until Morrissey slid out the frame and then went top shelf on Hellebuyck.

Price lost his bid for a second consecutive shutout when Adam Lowry scored wth 2:03 remaining in the period. Price was unable to move across the crease in time to stop Lowry, who took a back-door pass from Mathieu Perreault.

Nick Suzuki made it 4-1 when he scored a power-play goal midway though the third period. Suzuki was the beneficiary of a pass through the crease from rookie Cole Caufield.

Armia added another shorthanded goal when he scored into an empty net.

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 06.07.2021 1215285 Montreal Canadiens A 10-game suspension is barely the beginning. Make it 20 games, 50 games, a season. Make a statement. Put a stop to this the way any other sport would do.

Jack Todd: Habs' giddy playoff run sobered by vicious hit on Jake Evans Ultimately, the aim should not be to satisfy public opinion. If the league wants to prevent serious and unnecessary head injuries, it needs to come down so hard there’s no wiggle room for players to think: “Maybe I’ll get away with this.” Jack Todd • Publishing date:Jun 06, 2021 • 6 hours ago • Scheifele’s self-serving statement afterward made it clear: the players

still don’t get it. His team is going to miss its top scorer for perhaps the The air Sunday morning, following an evening of thunderstorms, was balance of the series and Scheifele is still unwilling to accept he didn’t do already so thick at five o’clock in the morning you could use it to butter something very wrong and deserved twice the punishment he got. your toast. The suspension was a lot. But it wasn’t enough. It was the 77th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Normandy, it was Heroes: Carey Price, Jake Evans, Phillip Danault, Brendan Gallagher, expected to feel like 40 C by afternoon with the humidity — and for the Eric Staal, Corey Perry, Tyler Toffoli, Nick Suzuki, Paul Byron, Cole first time since 1993, the Canadiens were playing hockey in June. Caufield, Shea Weber, Ben Chiarot, Jeff Petry, Joel Edmundson, There is nothing like Montreal during a playoff run or emerging from the Dominique Ducharme, &&&& last but not least, Nikolaj Ehlers. chrysalis of the pandemic to spread our wings and boogie until the cop Zeros: Mark Scheifele, Paul Maurice, Nazem Kadri, Tom Wilson, Ryan chopper chases us home. Reaves, George Parros, Hockey Night in Canada, Ron MacLean, Claude Going into Game 4 of this North Division series against the Winnipeg Brochu, David Samson &&&& last but not least, Jeffrey Loria. Jets with a 3-0 series lead and the momentum of six straight playoff wins, Now and forever. the Canadiens are riding a wave like we haven’t seen since the Chris Kreider crash took out Carey Price in 2014. Montreal Gazette LOADED: 06.07.2021 The turnaround was so abrupt the whole city is a bit giddy with it all.

As late as May 25, after a 4-0 home loss that left the Canadiens a done deal, fans considered GM Marc Bergevin and interim head coach Dominique Ducharme as good as gone. Then the Habs took Game 5 in overtime and also Game 6 in OT, and won a clear-cut victory in Game 7 that completely altered the postseason narrative.

Going into Winnipeg, everyone felt happy and relaxed. Then it happened. In the last minute of play in Game 1, with the Canadiens about to put the exclamation point on a pivotal win with Jake Evans about to score a wraparound empty-net goal, Jets star Mark Scheifele launched himself and Evans’s head — and that bubble of good feeling — shattered like cheap glass.

The entire hockey world jumped into the debate. Scheifele was head- hunting, he leapt into the hit. No, he didn’t, it was a hockey play, the fault was all on Evans because the first thing you’re taught is to keep your head up.

While fans argued bitterly on social media, everyone waited for the so- called Department of Player Safety to make its ruling. What would George Parros decide? Would it be something laughable, like the $5,000 fine Tom Wilson received for going berserk on the Rangers? Or would it be a meaningful suspension — 10 games or more?

It took forever for Player Safety to hand down its ruling and when it came, it appeared Parros & Co. had spent all that time trying to determine the exact point at which popular opinion on the ruling would be split precisely down the middle.

And they found it. Four games.

No one was satisfied — and everyone. By the standards of Player Safety, it wasn’t one of their worst rulings. It’s important to them Scheifele came in with a clean sheet. But Evans was concussed on the play, left lying unconscious next to the Winnipeg net after scoring the goal and is out indefinitely now.

Worse, no matter what he claims, Scheifele had skated 190 feet with mayhem on his mind. In the aftermath, only Winnipeg forward Nikolaj Ehlers covered himself with honour, crouching over Evans to protect him as he gestured for the training staff to come over.

Player Safety produced a solid video explaining the decision and they did a far better job than with Wilson’s laughable fine. Given their history of protecting the offender rather than the victim, I expected a one- or two- game suspension for Scheifele — so four games, especially during the playoffs, is at least a meaningful penalty.

On the other hand, what is the purpose here? Is it solely to levy punishment, or is it to put a stop to this kind of thing once and for all? Because if Player Safety really wants to be effective and to prevent rather than punish, it needs to bring the shock and awe. 1215286 Montreal Canadiens “Part of me wanted to make the jump, but it was what’s best for my career to go back and get more experience,” Caufield said Sunday. “That’s the biggest thing. Being mature and ready for the next step, it’s a big step. I had to make adjustments early on and kind of day-to-day, too. Canadiens' Cole Caufield proving he's ready to play in NHL playoffs So you learn from each game and you kind of grow and make adjustments along the way. But the guys made me feel pretty

comfortable and the coaching staff has done a great job welcoming me in Stu Cowan • Publishing date:Jun 06, 2021 • 6 hours ago and teaching me real fast how to play here.

“Tony actually helped me a lot this year,” Caufield added. “Kind of being a leader and kind of following things that he said in playing the right way When you watch Cole Caufield in action now, it’s hard to believe the and keeping it simple.” Canadiens made him a healthy scratch for the first two games of the playoffs against the Toronto Maple Leafs. It’s hard now to imagine Caufield being a healthy scratch again.

Caufield has yet to score a goal in the eight playoff games he has played Montreal Gazette LOADED: 06.07.2021 since being a healthy scratch. But the 20-year-old right-winger certainly hasn’t looked out of place while picking up three assists, getting 20 shots on goal — including six in Sunday’s Game 4 against the Winnipeg Jets — and averaging more than 15:30 of ice time per game while playing well in all three zones.

“We’re happy with the way things are going with him,” Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme said about Caufield after Sunday’s morning skate in Brossard. “I said it before, he’s a kid that wants to play and play the right way. He’s paying attention to details, he’s asking questions. And when you have little things that you bring up to him, he’s really receptive and you can see he’s adapting well because if you see the same game situation he shows that he’s adapting and learning quick.”

He certainly is.

Tony Granato, who coached Caufield the last two seasons at the University of Wisconsin, predicted Caufield was ready to perform in the NHL playoffs when the Canadiens called him up from the AHL’s Laval Rocket near the end of the regular season.

“He’s a gamer, man,” Granato told former Canadien Chris Nilan during an interview on TSN 690 Radio after Caufield had played his first regular- season game on April 26 against the Flames in Calgary. “He wants that. He wants the big game, he wants the playoffs. That’s his mentality. There’s some challenges coming for him. One year ago, I would have been nervous about him being ready for it. Today, with what he did this year … he won the gold medal in Canada (at the world junior championship), facing the Canadians when the Canadiens were supposed to win with all their superstars that they had on their team. He was an assistant captain with the Americans. He adjusted his game to make sure they won.”

Caufield also won the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in U.S. college this season after posting 30-22-52 totals in 31 games with Wisconsin. The 5-foot-7, 162-pounder then scored three goals in two games with the Rocket and four goals in 10 regular-season games with the Canadiens, including two in overtime.

“A year ago, all he wanted to do was score goals and that was the most important thing because that’s what he’s always done,” Caufield told Nilan back in April. “This year was a year of learning to get ready for when I get to Montreal, when I get to the world junior championship, how do I have to be to help my team win was all he thought about. And that’s why, for me, it’s really exciting. Because I’m not nervous about it if he’s going to have success. I know he’s going to have success because I know he did things right this year to get himself ready for that.”

Caufield has impressed veteran forward Eric Staal with his play since joining the Canadiens.

“The kid has got some great instincts, puts himself in position to create offence and thinks the game real well and at a high level,” Staal said after Sunday’s morning skate. “Not worried about him. I think along with the rest of our group he’s been a good addition to our lineup and a player that’s helped us with these wins over the last stretch.”

While Ducharme is pleased with Caufield’s overall play, he’d like the kid to shoot more.

“Every time you have a chance to shoot at that time of the year here, chances are rare,” the coach said. “So you need to take it, and the way he shoots the puck, that’s a weapon he’s got. So I told him to use it.”

While Caufield thought he was ready to make the jump to pro hockey last year, he now admits Granato was right. 1215287 Montreal Canadiens

Ottawa approves travel exemption for NHL teams during playoffs

Montreal Gazette

Publishing date:Jun 06, 2021 • 13 hours ago

If the Montreal Canadiens make it to the final two rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs, they will be allowed to cross the Canada-U.S. border without needing to isolate for 14 days.

This is thanks to a “national interest” travel exemption for NHL teams approved by federal Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino, the CBC reported Sunday. According to the modified quarantine regulations, players and team personnel will have to travel on private planes and stick to a quarantine bubble that includes their hotel and the arena during the Stanley Cup semifinals and finals.

Additionally, players and personnel travelling from the United States to Canada will be subject to daily COVID-19 tests, including before and after their arrival in the country, according to the CBC.

“In addition to NHL’s COVID Protocol, NHL players and personnel will have to abide by all local public health rules,” Mendicino said in a statement.

“We continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation on both sides of the border. We will not hesitate to take further public health measures where necessary.”

The Montreal Canadiens will play either the Vegas Golden Knights or the Colorado Avalanche in the third round if they beat the Winnipeg Jets.

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 06.07.2021 1215288 Montreal Canadiens “I love to play with those two guys,” Armia said. “I think they’re really easy to play with. They’re really good with the puck in the corners and hanging on to the puck down low. It’s a lot of fun playing with those guys.

Canadiens Game Day: 'Playoffs are the best time of year' “I feel like somehow we’re kind of three similar type of players,” Armia added. “We’re all big boys and everybody can hang on to the puck and do the same kind of things. It’s a lot of fun playing with those guys. They’re such great players. … They’ve played a lot of games so they Stu Cowan Publishing date:Jun 06, 2021 • 5 hours ago • always have something to say. All the little tricks or plays we should try using. I feel like I just have to listen and learn (from) what they say.”

“Playoffs are fun … playoffs are the best time of year as a hockey Lehkonen fits right in player,” Eric Staal said after the Canadiens held their morning skate Lehkonen had a team-leading seven shots while replacing the injured Sunday in Brossard. “Everybody says it every single year. It’s just Jake Evans for the second straight game on a line with Danault and different, it’s just amped up. All the details matter. No one cares who Gallagher. scores, who does what. Everybody cares about wins and that’s the best feeling after games. So I’m having a blast, it’s been fun. We want to “The change in linemates, it wasn’t really much because both Jake and continue this. We’re still a long ways to go, but this is the type of hockey Lehky I think play very similar styles,” Gallagher said. “They have an you love to play and love to be a part of.” aggressive nature on the forecheck I think that fits into what me and Phil are trying to do. It’s kind of been nice to work them in. Lehky, specifically, The Canadiens won again Sunday night, beating Winnipeg 5-1 to take a is a guy that has such a good stick on the forecheck, create a lot of 3-0 lead in the North Division final with a chance to sweep the Jets turnovers, create a lot of chances. You saw tonight. I think he had quite a Monday at the Bell Centre (8 p.m., CBC, SN, TVA Sports, TSN 690 few looks himself, was able to get around the net and score a big goal for Radio). The Canadiens have now won six straight playoff games after us.” never winning more than three in a row during the regular season. Evans suffered a concussion when he was violently checked by the Jets’ Joel Armia scored twice for the Canadiens Sunday night (both short- Mark Scheifele after scoring an empty-net goal in Game 1. handed and the second into an empty net), while Corey Perry, Artturi Lehkonen and Nick Suzuki (power play) added singles. Carey Price “Jake is a little bit better, but there’s no timeline there (for a return),” made 32 saves, improving his playoff record to 7-3-0 with a 1.97 goals- Ducharme said after Sunday’s morning skate when asked about the against average and a .938 save percentage. status of Evans. “It’s hard with that type of injury to predict when he’s going to be back. But good to see he’s a little bit better.” The new system that interim head coach Dominique Ducharme tried to put in on the fly during the regular season after taking over from Claude Scheifele was suspended four games by the NHL Department of Player Julien now seems to have kicked into full gear. Safety for the hit. The only way Scheifele will play again this season if if the Jets can extend the series to a Game 6. “There was a lot to change,” Brendan Gallagher said after Sunday’s win. “It wasn’t just like it was little tinkers. I think Dom had an idea with the Things started to get chippy again Sunday night as the Canadiens way he wanted us playing and as players we had to take quite a bit in. It continued to frustrate the Jets with Pierre-Luc Dubois and Andrew Copp was kind of tough to do on the fly and then you mix in injuries and many taking cross-checking penalties in the third period. lines are juggling, defensive pairings juggling. There’s a lot going on. And then right before the playoffs we just had some time. We had some time “We talk about controlling our emotions and funnelling that in the right to work on it and to really lock everything down. It’s been nice for us. way,” Ducharme said when asked about his team’s response. “We can We’re in a nice little rhythm right now.” play with emotion but express it on the ice in a way that will help the team and that’s where our focus is. We want to be winning and that’s the only But Gallagher realizes this series isn’t over yet, especially after the thing we’re thinking about or we care about is winning and we’ll prepare Canadiens came back from being down 3-1 to the Toronto Maple Leafs for tomorrow and we’re going to have the same mindset.” in their first-round playoff series. Petry injured “I’ve been in this league long enough, played in enough playoff series to know the hardest game to win is the last one,” Gallagher said. “When you Canadiens defenceman Jeff Petry suffered what the team called an get a team up against the ropes they’re usually able to find a little bit of upper-body injury during the second period and didn’t return to the game. desperation. Obviously, no one wants to go home at this point. You start While being checked by the Jets’ Paul Stastny, Petry got his right hand to get pretty hungry and it’s playoff hockey. They’re not going to go down stuck in the hole in the glass that is cut out for the camera of without a fight. So we know how difficult this is going to be. photographers shooting the game. That’s how Petry’s injury appeared to “It’s always difficult to put that team away,” Gallagher added. “We were happen. on the other side last series. As soon as you get a sliver of hope, “We’ll have more news tomorrow morning,” Ducharme said when asked momentum starts to build and they can see it coming, coming. So we about Petry. “He’s going to get checked out again. We’ll see tomorrow don’t want to allow them to get into that situation where we let them feel what we’re going to do depending on his situation and take decisions comfortable and give them hope. We have the advantage right now, but from there.” that can change pretty quickly if our effort changes. So for us to enjoy this win, but when you wake up tomorrow we got to put in another solid Staal providing points effort and find a way to do the same things that led to success tonight.” Staal picked up an assist on Perry’s goal and now has 1-6-7 totals in nine If the Canadiens eliminate the Jets, they will face the winner of the West playoff games, trailing only Armia (4-3-7) and Tyler Toffoli (3-5-8) in team Division final between the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado scoring. Avalanche. The winner of that series would advance to the Stanley Cup final. In 21 regular-season games with the Canadiens after being acquired from the Buffalo Sabres, Staal only had 2-1-3 totals. Rolling the lines “Whatever role I’m playing I’m going to do the best I can to help us win One of the things that has Ducharme’s system working so well in the games,” Staal said after Sunday’s morning skate. “Don’t really care what playoffs is the ability to roll four lines. happens otherwise as far as numbers and points go. It’s about getting the wins and putting ourselves in a position to be there at the end. It’s Phillip Danault had the most ice time among the forwards in Sunday’s been fun, I’m playing with some good players. This is a good group of game with 17:23, while Cole Caufield had the least with 13:01. guys, great team. I’m just focused on what I can do to help us in the win The fourth line of Staal between Armia and Perry has been a force, column every single game.” combining for three goals and five points Sunday night with Perry Staal is one of six players with Stanley Cup rings that GM Marc Bergevin opening the scoring at 4:45 of the first period. added to the Canadiens this season for their experience. The others are Perry, Toffoli, Joel Edmundson, Jake Allen and Michael Frolik. Armia has impressed Staal as a linemate.

“I think the part you appreciate when you play with a guy like that is the finer points,” Staal said. “A lot of stuff that he does on the ice gets, I would say, overlooked at times. But his skill level is real high, he’s got a great stick, good speed, great shot. A lot of tools that are top-notch. Smart player, too. So it’s been fun to play alongside him. Great kid, good person and someone that you like to be out there with because he does a lot of the detail work that sometimes goes unnoticed, but in playoffs that stuff gets noticed. He’s been key for us and hopefully he keeps it going.”

Some stats

Shea Weber led the Canadiens in ice time with 25:54, followed by Ben Chiarot with 25:14 and Edmundson with 22:44.

Lehkonen had a team-leading seven shots, followed by Cole Caufield with six, Gallagher with three and Nick Suzuki with three.

Josh Anderson had six hits, while Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Lehkonen had four each.

Suzuki went 9-6 on faceoffs (60 per cent), Danault went 17-14 (55 per cent), Kotkaniemi went 3-3 (50 per cent) and Staal went 1-7 (13 per cent).

The schedule

Here’s the rest of the schedule for the North Division final between the Canadiens and Jets:

Game 4: Monday, June 7: at Montreal, 8 p.m. x-Game 5: Wednesday, June 9: at Winnipeg, TBD x-Game 6: Friday, June 11: at Montreal, TBD x-Game 7: Sunday, June 13: at Winnipeg, TBD x-if necessary

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 06.07.2021 1215289 Montreal Canadiens It’s hard to know for sure if Price’s mere presence was the difference between that Wheeler shot hitting the bar and going up as opposed to going down, the 1 or 2 inches’ difference that was required for it to be a goal instead of a celebration of a struck crossbar. But at this point, you Carey Price’s understated brilliance is giving the Canadiens a can’t rule that out, that Price’s dominance is forcing the Jets to be too psychological edge that can’t be ignored fine, to want to pick their spot so perfectly when given that kind of room and simply missing as a result.

We have seen Price do this to shooters before. He appears to be doing it By Arpon Basu Jun 7, 2021 right now.

Remember what Gallagher said after Game 7? How that one goal gave This must seem strange to people who have been in Montreal long the Canadiens confidence that it would be enough? It is not nothing. enough to know how weird it is. The Jets feel it, too. People like Brendan Gallagher. “I think we started the game tonight right,” Wheeler said. “When you play The Canadiens are up 3-0 in their second-round series against the against a team with the goalie, the way he’s playing, and once they get a Winnipeg Jets with a chance to close it out at home in front of 2,500 fans lead, it completely changes the way they play the game. Monday. In years past, it would be unthinkable that the Canadiens would “It makes it tough, and certainly we’re pressing right now, too.” reach this point with their best player being somewhat of an afterthought. For Price’s teammates to feel that one goal might be enough for him is Sure, everyone has acknowledged what Carey Price has done, but it is one thing. If the opposing team starts thinking it, the psychological edge not the overwhelmingly predominant story of what the Canadiens are that provides the Canadiens is basically immeasurable. And that is what doing. It’s been their top four on defence playing massive minutes and Price provides the Canadiens when he is playing like this. not allowing anyone, whether they were wearing Toronto Maple Leafs jerseys or Jets jerseys, to get anywhere near Price. It’s been the penalty The Canadiens, no matter how poorly Price has played over the past few kill, which has allowed three goals and scored four after Joel Armia gave years, have always had his back. He has their everlasting respect, and the Canadiens a 3-0 lead in the second period of Game 3 on Sunday we got a glimpse of why at the Canadiens morning skate Sunday. with a one-man effort of a short-handed goal. And lately, it’s been the line formed by Armia with Eric Staal and Corey Perry which opened the Price is notorious for losing his patience in practice when he feels he is scoring in Game 3, the sixth straight time the Canadiens have scored the not performing up to his own lofty standards. And it is those standards game’s first goal and, not uncoincidentally, their sixth straight win as well. that make the Canadiens celebrate whenever they manage to score on him in practice. Which is what made Gallagher’s words after the Canadiens eliminated the Maple Leafs in Game 7 of the first round so poignant, the fact they The morning skate was brief Sunday, but it provided enough time to have not only scored first in six straight and won each of those games, capture this moment. The Canadiens were doing their line rushes, and but that they have not so much as trailed in any of those games. There on one of them, Artturi Lehkonen beat Price high to the blocker side. The are many reasons for that; the Canadiens are playing about as well as a Canadiens players roared. The next time Lehkonen’s line came down on team as they have all season, respecting and executing the system Price, Phillip Danault beat him high to the glove side. Same roar from the Dominique Ducharme has put in place. crowd.

Ducharme wanted to make sure that was acknowledged. But he also Price took the puck as it bounced out of his net and whipped it at the knows that the principle reason his team has not relinquished a lead in boards, almost nailing Corey Perry, who made a face like, “What did I six consecutive games is not his system, but rather the man playing do?” behind that system. Price leaves the net as the drill finishes and Cayden Primeau comes on “For sure he brings confidence to our team; he’s playing inspired the ice. Price’s morning is done, and Primeau is there to allow the hockey,” Ducharme said after the Canadiens’ 5-1 win in Game 3 on skaters to finish their game preparation. Price leaves his net and heads Sunday. “On the other hand, I find that defensively as much as to the bench and grabs a drink, which is when he decided his day is not offensively, we were solid tonight. He’s an important part of our team, but done. Primeau stays put where he is as Price heads back to his net to I like the way the players are playing in front of him.” take shots from players from the blue line. He presumably needed to get that sour taste out of his mouth. He didn’t like it. Fine. Price does the entire shooting drill and stops every shot. The Canadiens It is not incorrect to want to make sure the entire team gets credit for how players must have known what was going on; scoring on Price in practice it is playing, because that credit is deserved. But there is an element that is like a gift, and is celebrated, as the Canadiens did after Lehkonen and Price is providing that is being underplayed, somehow. His brilliance Danault scored. But they don’t seem to be really trying to score here. since Game 4 against the Maple Leafs, or over the course of this six- They know what Price is doing. game winning streak — the Canadiens’ first since Feb. 25-March 7, 2017 — is something that should be glorified. Price has a .949 save At the end, all the skaters rush the net for the traditional end-of-practice percentage and 1.59 goals-against average over those six games. game of “last puck” where everyone tries to get one last puck past the goalie. Price is almost never in net for last puck, as it is normally He is carrying the Canadiens in the most understated way possible. reserved for the backup or, in this case, the third-string goalie. But Price stands in there, hugs the post expecting a shot from his short side, it “I can’t tell you what it’s like playing in front of him,” Gallagher said after goes across his crease instead for an easy one-timer for a goal, except Game 7 against the Leafs. “As soon as I saw that puck go in and we Price gets across and stones the shooter. gave him one goal, it was almost like we knew it was going to be enough.” He then gets up, gathers the puck into his glove and flings it into the net behind him as he begins skating away, thereby ending the game and his That last part rings particularly true. practice. It was like the ultimate mic drop. Just before the nine-minute mark of the second period, with the That sour taste was gone. Canadiens still leading 1-0, Blake Wheeler was left alone to Price’s left after a bad Canadiens giveaway in their own end. He had time and space With the Canadiens ahead 1-0 in the first period, they made two glaring and made the shot he wanted to make. It rang off the crossbar, but errors. Wheeler raised his arm in celebration as if he had finally scored on Price after — at that point — the Jets had gone roughly 90 minutes of game The first came when rookie Cole Caufield was forced to cover for Jeff time without doing that. Petry, playing defence with Joel Edmundson as the Jets rushed up ice. Caufield left his position and followed the puck to one side of the ice, “You know what? It was pretty strange. I was dead certain that it went in,” leaving his side and his man, Andrew Copp, wide-open. The puck Wheeler said. “I thought it hit the back bar or the goalie camera, the invariably found its way to Copp, who one-timed it and watched as Price camera in the net. It felt like I scored, it’s a 1-1 hockey game, and it kind absorbed the puck like a sponge. of changes the complexion of things.” With a few seconds left in the period, Shea Weber gave the puck away in the Canadiens zone to Kyle Connor, who found Wheeler alone in the slot for yet another one-timer. The result was the same, Price getting over and absorbing the puck with no rebound.

Watch Wheeler’s reaction to the opportunity.

“We have all the confidence in the world in (Price), but as a team I think we’re playing the right way when we have a lead, not forcing anything, playing pucks in good positions,” Nick Suzuki said. “Dom’s big on puck management, and I think we’ve done a great job on that with the lead, so that’s been a big key for us.”

Suzuki is not wrong. The Canadiens were disruptive and efficient. They didn’t give the Jets a whole lot until the game was essentially out of reach. But the Canadiens entered the first intermission ahead 1-0 because Price made these saves. And Wheeler had to sit through the first intermission wondering if that was his chance to finally beat Price and he had squandered it.

Adam Lowry stopped the Jets drought against Price at 99:33 when he scored off an excellent feed from Mathieu Perreault at 17:51 of the second period.

The Jets were down 3-1 at that point, and if this is what it feels like to score one goal on Price, you start to get the picture of how daunting the Canadiens scoring the first goal can become for their opposition.

“It’s nice to get one behind him,” Lowry said. “Earlier in the year, I think everybody was ready to run Carey out of town, and he couldn’t find his game. Now he’s back to the form that they all expect. It’s in our best interest to chip away at that confidence and just continue to get bodies to the net.

“He’s a world-class goalie for a reason. He’s always voted the goalie you’d like to have in the net in NHL player polls for a winner-take-all kind of game. He’s that goalie for a reason, but it really is important that we get bodies in front of him or we get traffic and we convert on some of those chances that we had tonight. Just take it like that. He’s human, he’s going to let in some goals. We just have to create as many chances as we can to get some by him.”

He’s human, he’s going to let in some goals.

Price is paid like a superstar because he is the Canadiens’ superstar, he is the guy that makes them believe they have a chance against anyone, whether that’s the Maple Leafs or the Jets or even the Colorado Avalanche or the Vegas Golden Knights. Price infuses his teammates with confidence and severely cripples that of his opponents.

Late in the second period of Game 3, not long after the Canadiens killed off a penalty, the crowd at the Bell Centre began chanting Price’s name. He hadn’t made a big save, hadn’t really done much of anything to warrant it.

It was almost as if the crowd collectively realized what Price was doing and how easily he was doing it, how he was making difficult saves look simple, how he wasn’t giving up rebounds or giving any life to the Jets.

Price has been one of the best goaltenders in these playoffs after being one of the best goaltenders in the last playoffs. He has not singlehandedly put the Canadiens in the position they are in, one win away from the Stanley Cup semifinal, but he is by far the biggest reason why his team finds itself in that position.

And it is when Price is at his best that it becomes most difficult to notice.

The Athletic LOADED: 06.07.2021 1215290 Montreal Canadiens “You always feel good when you’re winning,” centre Nick Suzuki said. “It’s been a lot of fun coming to the rink and getting to play here. We have a lot of confidence, and we just have to keep that going. One more against these guys.” Canadiens in control as we see the best from Joel Armia, Phillip Danault and Carey Price: Playoffs plus/minus And with that, it’s that time again. We point out the good. We point out the bad.

The pluses By Julian McKenzie Jun 7, 2021 Phillip Danault: So many people praised the Armia-Staal-Perry line for their presence on the game’s opening goal. The pressure they applied on the Jets kept the puck hemmed in the offensive zone. But that play only For the first time since March 2020, I got to watch the Montreal happens because Danault caused a turnover in the neutral zone, leading Canadiens play in the flesh. the Canadiens into the Jets zone in the first place. Later, Danault also It was great to be in the building — and “meet” (I actually have met them, played a part in the goalmouth scramble, hacking and whacking away but just go with it) my new Montreal-based coworkers Arpon Basu and with Arturri Lehkonen, who scored to make it 2-0. Marc-Antoine Godin for the first time since joining The Athletic in March. Danault didn’t take many minutes off, as evidenced by his shot block off But I didn’t want to be in Bell Centre just to talk shop with other media a Neal Pionk shot in the third period. He’s been indispensable to the members. Canadiens through this postseason.

I had to see this for myself. Because, let’s be honest, I’m as stunned by “We rely on Phil quite a bit,” Brendan Gallagher said. “He plays some this Canadiens team — now one win away from a third-round playoff hard minutes, and it’s part of his job and he’s doing great right now.” berth — as you might be. The Joel Armia-Eric Staal-Corey Perry line: I think, because of the work Since having their backs against the wall facing a 3-1 series deficit they’ve done against the Jets in this series, we should call them the against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Canadiens have turned a corner Pressure Line. Because that’s what they’re good at. No “washing into their best stretch of play this season. They haven’t trailed in a machine” or “Golden Age.” I’m willing to accept “Golden Age” if, as was contest since Game 4 against the Leafs. suggested on Twitter, a montage of their playoff highlights were set to the “Golden Girls” theme. Until then, I’m calling them the Pressure Line. The team has gone out to great starts in opening periods, managed to sustain their play in the second and to withstand the pressure from an “I feel like, somehow, we’re three similar types of players,” Armia said. opposing team trying to come back in the third. The Jets tried to be that “We’re all big boys. Everybody can hang on to the puck and do the same team Sunday, but the Canadiens’ offence was too much. And they things. It’s a lot of fun playing with those guys.” pushed back when the Jets showed frustration, too. Armia’s short-handed goal in the second period, on which he toe- Understandably, there’s some skepticism to come with the Canadiens’ dragged the oncoming defenceman before firing a shot top corner and success. They beat a Leafs team that didn’t have John Tavares for much pile driving into the net, is the goal many fans have been waiting on from of the series (although that didn’t stop the Leafs from building a 3-1 him. He possesses soft hands and a big frame, and some wonder why series lead). Now, they are beating a Jets team that doesn’t have a he doesn’t use them more. healthy Dylan DeMelo or Paul Stastny, and Mark Scheifele remains The Pressure Line’s work has shown that the Canadiens’ bottom six suspended (of course, these same Canadiens were beating the Jets prior vastly outranks the Jets’. Well, we may view it as a bottom-six line, but to Scheifele’s hit on Jake Evans, as well). others have varying opinions. There doesn’t seem to be much optimism in hockey circles that the “Probably on the board they’re listed fourth, but they’re definitely not a Canadiens could stand up to the Colorado Avalanche or the Vegas fourth line,” Gallagher said. “We just roll everyone and they’re just playing Golden Knights in the semifinals either. big-boy hockey. They’ve been able to put together such long cycle shifts The skeptics might be right, but the games still have to be played. The for us. They work the puck down low. They all use their size to their Canadiens are proving that. advantage. They know what they are as a line. They play to their strengths. The playoff hockey has certainly brought the best out of the In another parallel universe, the Canadiens might have folded. In that three of them. They’ve been awesome for us.” universe, the Maple Leafs are relieved that their core won a round and sports radio, TV and the Steve Dangle Podcast aren’t racking their brains Josh Anderson: Even if he didn’t get a goal in Sunday night’s game, he about how their team could blow a 3-1 series lead. But the Canadiens made his presence felt. He was the high forward who swarmed the Jets haven’t folded like some — and that includes me — thought they might when they tried to handle the puck in their own zone. He threw his body have. around, created turnovers, and came in like a …

What’s been fascinating is seeing players who were lightning rods for Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki: These two are basically the Canadiens’ criticism for their regular-season play, or players you might not have answer to two “Dragon Ball Z” characters, Goten and Trunks. Two young, thought of as quality playoff performers, do so well within this stretch. promising and dynamic talents who just work well with each other.

Joel Armia has a pair of two-goal performances in the playoffs, matching Special teams: The Canadiens scored both a short-handed goal and a the number he had in 41 regular-season games. He’s shown his worth as power-play goal on Sunday night. They also have more short-handed a penalty killer and in sustaining pressure on opposing teams alongside goals than power-play goals allowed this postseason. linemates Corey Perry and Eric Staal. The minuses Phillip Danault’s scoring contributions, or lack thereof, were under the Brett Kulak: The least-used defenceman on the Canadiens at 15:15. Not microscope during the regular season. Nobody seems to care about that only was he on the ice for the goal allowed, but he also failed to break up now after he shut down the Rocket Richard Trophy winner in Round 1 what was otherwise a wonder pass by Mathieu Perreault to Adam Lowry. and has continued his great defensive work in Round 2. Camera holes: Of course, it’s a freak accident. But still, it’s a tough blow Jesperi Kotkaniemi almost has as many goals in the playoffs as he did for Jeff Petry to have his finger caught in such a place. Yikes. Couldn’t this season. He’s scored key goals, done well in the faceoff dot and finish the game with an “upper-body” injury. In the immediate aftermath of hasn’t been afraid of being physical. the game, there was no update on his status. And, of course, Carey Price. He carried the biggest target on his back The Athletic LOADED: 06.07.2021 because of his inconsistent regular-season play. But it’s been “fun” for him since, stifling both the Leafs and Jets over the last six games — all of them victories in the Canadiens’ longest winning streak of the season.

Winning changes everything, including narratives, of course. And it has certainly seemed to change the Canadiens’ confidence. 1215291 New York Islanders

Critical Islanders decisions led to striking team unity

By Mollie WalkerJune 6, 2021 | 8:30pm | Updated

What’s striking about the Islanders is that they play as one collective unit, one mind with one goal. There’s a unified belief that radiates from the players that they can compete for every puck, on every shift and in every game.

That sort of mentality doesn’t happen overnight. It’s an attitude that’s fostered by team camaraderie, which is something head coach Barry Trotz made a point to instill from the moment he arrived on Long Island three years ago.

“It’s identifying the people that will buy in and it starts with your leaders,” Trotz said Sunday before the Islanders traveled to Boston for Game 5. “Probably one of the most important decisions we had to make is when John Tavares left to go to Toronto. Who was going to be the next captain? You had to get that right. I think we did, we did with Anders Lee and guys like Josh Bailey.

“Everything from the voice in the room, to respect in the room, to how they play, it didn’t matter the role. We have some leaders, a guy like, for example, Matt Martin. He doesn’t need an ‘A,’ but he’s one of our leaders in our room. It was identifying who’s going to carry the message forward.

“You had to pick the right leaders so that they can get everybody to follow. To me, good leaders are an extension of the coaching staff and I think we’ve got some good leaders, that’s where it starts.”

While captain Anders Lee hasn’t been able to compete in the playoffs after suffering a season-ending knee injury in March, the other aforementioned players have certainly played a major role in the team getting to this point — tied 2-2 in their second-round playoff series.

On the score sheet, Bailey has four goals and three assists in 10 playoff games — including the pivotal game-winner in double overtime in Game 5 of the first-round series against the Penguins. Martin, on the other hand, has been at the forefront of wearing down opponents and bringing a hard-to-ignore physical element to every game. He has 13 penalty minutes in 10 games.

According to Trotz, amplifying the right voices in the locker room will not only serve the team well now, but also in the future. Mathew Barzal, who has scored two game-changing goals in the last two contests, will be expected to carry the leadership torch at some point.

“I wouldn’t totally put him in the, what I would call the veteran leadership group yet, but he’s learning slowly,” Trotz said of the 24-year-old Barzal. “At some point, he will be that guy.”

When you have a team that has completely bought in, it can produce outrageous stretches of play like during the final minutes of the third period in Saturday’s 4-1 victory. The Bruins weren’t able to register a single shot on goal in the final 6:18 of the game, as the Islanders maintained pressure and made it extremely difficult for Boston goalie Tuukka Rask to get to the bench to give his team an extra skater.

“They’ve done it to us, we’ve done it to them,” Trotz said. “What I liked about the last part of the third period, we were on our toes. Sometimes, you get a little bit on your heels and you back off out of respect or you want to be cautious. We just trusted our game.”

New York Post LOADED: 06.07.2021 1215292 New York Islanders

Barry Trotz’s approach to critical Islanders-Bruins line matchups

By Mollie WalkerJune 6, 2021 | 7:14pm | Updated

Islanders head coach Barry Trotz has alluded that the home-ice advantage of getting to dictate line matchups is something that has an immense impact on the game. This is especially true against a team like the Bruins, who possess a loaded top six that includes one of the most effective top lines in the NHL.

The Isles’ third line of Kyle Palmieri, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Travis Zajac has drawn a bulk of the matchups against Boston’s Perfection Line, composed of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak. Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock, the team’s top defensive pairing, also have had a steady diet of the Bruins’ top line.

Trotz was asked Sunday, an off-day for the Islanders before they travel to Boston for Game 5, whether he fights to deploy the matchups he wants.

Barry Trotz stands behind the Islanders bench.

“I try to, but what happens if you try to change too much on the fly?” the coach said in response. “You never get anything going offensively, you’re always changing. So I trust [that] whoever they put out there, I’ll just make it hard for them. When there’s a whistle and I put Pageau’s line on the ice, they don’t maybe put Bergeron’s line on the ice, they put another line on, maybe they do. We try different things and just like [Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy], I have a certain matchup at home, he has a certain matchup in Boston, we each lost a game. Even though we had our matchups.

“You just trust the people that you have and see if you can get it done in different ways. And we do try to get cadence and we change what I call changing cadence, in terms of lines sometimes, and there’s different tricks. So we’ll try a couple in Boston here and see if we can pull them off.”

A critical part of the matchups comes down to faceoffs. The Islanders have relatively contained Bergeron, who is regarded as one of the top players at the dots in the league, since he won 72.2 percent of draws in Game 1.

“I think Pager and guys like Zajac and Brock [Nelson], they all study what he does,” Trotz said. “The biggest thing with Bergy and really the linesmen can control this, he doesn’t like to get a stick down. He’s a veteran guy who knows how to cheat on the faceoffs and I’m relying on our very capable officiating crew and linesmen to make sure that the cheating doesn’t go on.”

Trotz said he’s “pretty sure” rookie winger Oliver Wahlstrom, who missed his fifth straight game Saturday with a lower-body injury, will travel to Boston with the team. However, Trotz expects to stick with the same lineup in Game 5.

Bruins No. 2 center David Krejci was fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the collective bargaining agreement, for “slashing” Mathew Barzal in a sensitive area in the second period Saturday. The penalty was originally ruled a major before it was changed to a two- minute minor.

New York Post LOADED: 06.07.2021 1215293 New York Islanders

Islanders relish taking the fight to Bruins

By Mollie WalkerJune 6, 2021 | 4:25am

The Islanders have often said they prefer to compete in physical games, the nastier, the better.

Between two fights in the first period, both teams combining for 30 penalty minutes and several tussles after the whistle, the Islanders were right in their element Saturday night in Game 4 of their second-round playoff series. It ultimately powered them to a 4-1 win over the Bruins at Nassau Coliseum.

“That’s the way we’re built,” head coach Barry Trotz said regarding his team’s physicality after the win, which evened the series 2-2 heading back to Boston for Game 5 on Monday night. “That’s the way our roster has been created. We know who we are. We don’t try to be someone else or someone who you want us to be.”

Tensions boiled over in a scoreless first period, with scrums breaking out left and right. In just the second fight of his NHL career, according to hockeyfights.com, Bruins deadline acquisition Taylor Hall took on Scott Mayfield.

“I think I’ve seen that line quite a bit, as far as matchups go, so we’re playing a lot against each other,” Mayfield said of his bout with Hall. “He likes to get to the net, and he’s got speed, so I need to make sure I’m physical on him. Playoffs can get emotional, and I think that’s what was.

Shortly after that, Mathew Barzal cross-checked Curtis Lazar, to which several Bruins took exception. It led to Matt Martin and Jarred Tinordi exchanging blows, with Martin landing most of them.

The chippy play dropped off a bit after the first period, but still popped up occasionally. Barzal was speared where the sun don’t shine by Bruins No. 2 center David Krejci in the second period during a cross check-filled battle in the corner. Originally ruled a major penalty, it was changed to a two-minute minor.

“I’m alright now. I was a little surprised,” Barzal said of the changed penalty. “I haven’t seen the clip, I felt it was a little vicious.”

Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov, in his third straight start, stopped 28 of the 29 shots he faced.

When Krejci capitalized on the Bruins’ power play at 2:46 of the second period, Islanders coach Barry Trotz challenged for goaltender interference. The goal was ultimately upheld, and the Islanders had to go right back on the penalty kill.

“Varly couldn’t move his leg, and that was what we told the referee,” Trotz said. “We got it wrong, so I thanked all the guys for the next penalty kill. They did a great job and gave us momentum after that. Those are the challenges that you try to make at the appropriate time, and we were wrong tonight, unfortunately.”

Trotz said there is a possibility Oliver Wahlstrom, who missed a fifth straight game with a lower-body injury, could play at some point this series.

Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo was ruled out ahead of Game 4 after taking a hard hit from Cal Clutterbuck in the third period of Game 3.

New York Post LOADED: 06.07.2021 1215294 New York Islanders Bergeron led the NHL with 714 faceoff wins and a career-best 62.3% win rate. But he has struggled this series against the Islanders, winning just 16 of 42 faceoffs in Games 3 and 4 in New York.

David Pastrnak's open-net miss a bad sign for Bruins coach Cassidy Trotz commended the 35-year-old Canadian before dropping a little hint for the officials as the series continues.

“Bergy's been a really good faceoff guy. One of the best,” Trotz said, By The Associated Press adding that his players use video for tips on how to oppose him. “He's a veteran guy who knows how to cheat on the faceoffs. I'm relying on our By JIMMY GOLEN very capable linesman crew to make sure the cheating doesn't go on.” June 6, 2021 4:26 PM LIGHT WALLET

The NHL fined Bruins forward David Krejci the maximum $5,000 for BOSTON - Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy, like just about everyone rooting slashing Mathew Barzal during the second period of Game 4. Krejci for Boston, watched Patrice Bergeron coasting toward the net and received a penalty and the Bruins successfully killed it off. pictured the potential go-ahead goal. Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 06.07.2021 “You're thinking, ‘Shoot it! Shoot it!'” Cassidy said on Sunday, a day after the Islanders beat Boston 4-1 in Game 4 to tie their second-round playoff series at two games. “He held it, held it, and he had a wide open net. We just didn't make the play.”

Bergeron set up one of the best scoring chances of the game -- if not one of the best chances possible -- drawing three defenders to him in the right circle before sliding the puck over to David Pastrnak in the left one with a wide open net to shoot at.

The Bruins winger banged it off the far post.

Island Ice Ep. 95: Isles tie series with Bruins at 2-2

The guys discuss Game 4 of the Isles-Bruins playoff series where Mathew Barzal assisted on the tying goal and scored the winning goal.

“That's one where you know: ‘Boy, it might be a tough night for us tonight, in terms of getting things to go our way,'” Cassidy said after the game. “When your best player hits the post on an open net, and it just kind of sits there. It's going to be one of those nights where you're probably not getting breaks, so you're gonna have to go earn them yourself.”

Pastrnak, who led the league in goal scoring last year and is tied with Brad Marchand for the team lead with five this postseason, collapsed forward, unable to believe what he had done.

The game remained scoreless through the first period. The teams traded goals in the second before New York broke out with three in the third -- Mathew Barzal's tiebreaker plus a pair of empty-netters.

“At the end of the day, I don't know if (the miss) makes a difference in the game or not,” Cassidy said. “It's hindsight. I would have liked to see it go in. It didn't happen.”

Game 5 is Monday night in Boston, with Game 6 back at Nassau Coliseum on Wednesday night. Game 7 would be back in Boston on Friday, if necessary.

“We'll be determined to make sure we come at them and keep their crowd a little bit quiet,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said.

SELKE STREAK

Bergeron was a finalist for the Selke Trophy for the 10th consecutive year. He has been named the NHL's top defensive forward four times, a record he shares with Hall of Famer Bob Gainey.

“It's good people are paying attention, because he deserves it,” Cassidy said. “I'm glad to see him get his just due, and good luck to him.”

Only Wayne Gretzky, who was a finalist for the league MVP from 1980- 89, has been a finalist for an NHL award 10 seasons in a row.

Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov and Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone were the other finalists. Barkov is a first-time Selke finalist and Stone is in the final three for the second time.

Cassidy knows who he would vote for.

“I obviously have bias, but I feel he should be the winner,” the Bruins coach said. “I'm sure the coaches of the other players feel the same way.” 1215295 New York Islanders crew and linesmen to make sure that the cheating doesn’t go on, because he’s good at it.’’

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 06.07.2021 Islanders-Bruins line matchups will be crucial to Monday's Game 5

By Colin Stephenson

Updated June 7, 2021 1:46 AM

As the Islanders and Bruins shift their battlefield to Boston for Game 5 on Monday night, the Bruins own home-ice advantage in the teams’ best-of- seven second-round playoff series.

With the series tied 2-2 and two of the remaining three games — if it goes the full seven — slated to be at TD Garden, for the Islanders to advance to the NHL final four for the second straight year, they’ll have to win at least one game in Boston.

But they already have done that once, having taken Game 2 of the series there, 4-3, in overtime. Likewise, the Bruins won Game 3 at Nassau Coliseum in overtime, 2-1, to regain their home-ice advantage.

So is there any real home-ice advantage for either team in the series?

There is one.

After the Islanders’ 4-1 win in Game 4 on Saturday night, Islanders coach Barry Trotz was asked why he had matched the Jean-Gabriel Pageau line against Boston’s top line in the two games at the Coliseum whereas Brock Nelson’s line went against the Bruins’ No. 1 line most often in Boston.

Trotz said that was because at the Coliseum, he got the last line change and was able to get the matchup he wanted. In Boston, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy had the last change, and he dictated the matchups.

So presuming Cassidy will want to keep his top line of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Mar-chand and David Pastrnak away from Pageau’s line, Trotz either will have to live with having Nelson’s line working against Bergeron and Co. or will have to try to find ways — such as changing on the fly — to get Pageau’s line on against Bergeron.

That is easier said than done.

Island Ice Ep. 95: Isles tie series with Bruins at 2-2

The guys discuss Game 4 of the Isles-Bruins playoff series where Mathew Barzal assisted on the tying goal and scored the winning goal.

"What happens if you try to change too much on the fly, you never get anything going offensively,’’ Trotz said Sunday after the Islanders held an optional skate before traveling to Boston. "You’re always changing.’’

Trotz said he will try to get Pageau on against Bergeron when he can, but for the most part, he’ll just have to trust all his forward lines to be able to do the job against the Bergeron group if and when they are on against them.

"We each lost a [home] game even though we had our matchups,’’ Trotz said. "So you just trust the people that you have and see if we can get it done in different ways.

"And there’s different tricks, so we’ll try a couple in Boston here and see if we can pull them off.’’

One of the things that worked to the Islanders’ advantage in Game 4 in terms of matchups was the faceoff game.

Bergeron had the best faceoff percentage in the league in the regular season, winning 62.2% of his draws, but Pageau, the No. 9 faceoff man in the regular season (56.7%), was able to get the better of him Saturday. Pageau went 11-for-19 (58%), most of those coming against Bergeron, who was 10-for-24 (42%).

If he can’t get Pageau matched up against Bergeron, Trotz said he will count on the linesmen to make sure Bergeron doesn’t get away with cheating on faceoffs, something he accused him of doing often.

"He doesn’t like to get his stick down,’’ Trotz said. "He’s got to come to a stop, and then you have a fair fight. He’s a veteran guy who knows how to cheat on the faceoffs, and I’m relying on our very capable officiating 1215296 New York Islanders

Bruins' David Krejci fined $5,000 for slash to Mat Barzal's groin

By Colin Stephenson

Updated June 6, 2021 7:23 PM

Bruins center David Krejci was fined the maximum $5,000 Sunday for his slashing penalty on Islanders center Mathew Barzal in Game 4.

Krejci was initially assessed a five-minute major for spearing after he jabbed Barzal in the groin with his stick, following a nasty exchange between the players at 11:13 of the second period. But the officials reviewed the play to determine if it did warrant a major penalty, and ultimately decided to downgrade it to a two-minute minor for slashing.

Barzal, who was doubled over in pain for several moments, said after the game he was "a little surprised’’ the penalty got downgraded.

"I felt it was a little vicious,’’ he said.

Barzal, who had the game-winning goal Saturday, as well as an assist, was feisty all night. He had cross-checked Krejci multiple times on the play, which prompted Krejci to jab him in retaliation. Barzal also started a first-period dustup when he high-sticked Boston’s Curtis Lazar as Lazar attempted to run him into the boards. That led to teammate Matt Martin fighting Boston’s Jarred Tinordi, and gave Boston an early power play.

Krejci is the second Bruin to be fined in the series. Forward Jake DeBrusk was fined $5,000 for a cross-check to the back of Scott Mayfield’s helmet in Game 2.

Wahlstrom unlikely for Game 5

Islanders coach Barry Trotz said he anticipated that injured forward Oliver Wahlstrom would make the trip to Boston, but the coach said he would "probably go with the same skaters’’ for Game 5 as he used in Game 4. "We don't have, really, any (other) injuries that I know of,’’ Trotz said. Wahlstrom was injured in Game 5 of the Islanders’ first-round series against Pittsburgh and has not played since, missing the last five games.

The guys discuss Game 4 of the Isles-Bruins playoff series where Mathew Barzal assisted on the tying goal and scored the winning goal.

Boston’s Patrice Bergeron was named one of three finalists for the Selke Trophy, as the NHL’s top defensive forward, for the 10th straight season. He has won the award four times. The other two finalists are Aleksander Barkov, of the Florida Panthers, and Mark Stone, of the Vegas Golden Knights.

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 06.07.2021 1215297 New York Islanders He said when it is "not coming offensively" he focuses on making himself useful in other ways. "That’s what it comes down to – just battling for the boys," he said.

For Islanders, no better option than Mathew Barzal to score winner in Still, Barzal realized he had to "step up" as the long, hard Bruins series Game 4 wore on, so he turned up his intensity a notch. It lasted until he was named the game’s first star and yelled at the home crowd in celebration.

Is he hard on himself when he is not producing? "Absolutely," he said, Updated June 6, 2021 7:26 PM "but I feel like that’s more of a regular-season thing."

By Neil Best So what if he did not score in the first round? The only score that mattered was Islanders over Pittsburgh in six. Now it’s 2-2 against the

Bruins. The Islanders would have been happy to have anyone score the winning "I’m obviously hard on myself," Barzal said, "but this time of year it’s just goal. about getting wins, whether you’re scoring or not." Uncle Leo. Sparky the mascot. The Zamboni driver. Maybe Clark Gillies, For the Islanders, a scoring Barzal is much better than not. after he was through chugging his adult beverage and smashing the can against his noggin. Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 06.07.2021 But if the Islanders could choose who did the honors in Game 4 against the Bruins on Saturday night, there was no better option than Mathew Barzal, whose contribution chart now is pointed up, as it must be.

With a roster full of scrappy role-fillers, he is the team’s star, with a game that can be spectacular, self-destructive and everywhere in between.

In between is where he found himself seven games into the playoffs, at which point after a Game 1 loss to the Bruins in the teams’ second-round series he had no goals, three assists and many doubters.

It was said and written – including here – that Brock Nelson’s line had surpassed Barzal’s as the team’s true top trio, and that coach Barry Trotz should replace "Uncle Leo" Komarov on Barzal’s left wing to give him more help.

Trotz stuck by his guy, insisting Barzal was playing well, and that at 24 he had matured to the point that a scoring slump would not derail him.

"Would I like him to produce a little bit more? Absolutely,’’ Trotz said after Game 2, in which Barzal assisted on a goal but missed a breakaway chance.

"But he will. He will, and he’s a proud player, he’s a good player, and I have a lot of trust in him that he’s going to be able to do that."

Island Ice Ep. 95: Isles tie series with Bruins at 2-2

The guys discuss Game 4 of the Isles-Bruins playoff series where Mathew Barzal assisted on the tying goal and scored the winning goal.

On cue, Barzal scored the Islanders’ only goal in a 2-1 loss in Game 3. Then came Saturday, when the fourth-year center was the center of attention all night.

He twice was in the middle of scraps, first when he got his stick up on Curtis Lazar, prompting a scrum that ended with Matt Martin fighting Jarred Tinordi.

Later, Barzal’s cross-checking duel with David Krejci prompted Krejci to slash him in the groin. (Krejci was fined $5,000 by the league on Sunday.)

"He’s our top guy; you know guys are going to try and take runs at him," Casey Cizikas said. "They’re going to try and finish him, and he keeps pushing forward. There’s no give in that kid."

Barzal assisted on the first Islanders goal, when he maintained possession behind the net as Lazar harassed him and found Kyle Palmieri in front.

Then, with 6:57 left in the third period and the score tied at 1, he batted a loose puck past Rask for the winner.

Barzal later addressed several questions about his mindset during his playoff struggles, but he said he puts regular-season slumps and playoff slumps in different categories.

"I think you (reporters) at times want to make it out to be like the player’s feeling it if they’re not scoring," he said, "but during the whole playoffs I’ve been pretty happy with my compete level. So if the points aren’t there and we’re winning games, I’m OK with that. It’s the playoffs." 1215298 New York Islanders

Islanders Never Say Die Attitude Born Out of Playoff Experiences and Strong Leadership

Published 15 hours ago on June 6, 2021By Christian Arnold

You would have never known that the New York Islanders were down 2-1 in their best-of-seven series with the Boston Bruins going into Game 4 on Saturday night. Win or lose, their demeanor hadn’t changed.

That has been the Islanders modus operandi for some time now, but it has become even more noticeable in the playoff spotlight they’ve found themselves in for the third year in a row. The Islanders do not panic and they do not get too high when things are going well.

They just go out there and focus on the task at hand, and that has allowed the Islanders to be where they are now.

“I think it’s something that we’ve built here over the past few years,” Adam Pelech said ahead of the Islanders 4-1 Game 4 win over Boston. “Confidence is something that comes from repetition and we’ve been in these spots before. It’s nothing new to us and I think there is a belief in the room and a belief in each other that helps us get through the tough moments however they come.”

While it’s still a tough realization for some that have followed the team, the Islanders core has become a battle-tested group that has plenty of postseason experience. The Islanders have 11 players with more than 45 games of playoff experience under their belt currently on the roster and they’ve certainly been through the highs and lows of a long run in the postseason.

For New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz, what has made the Islanders so steadfast in their resolve no matter the circumstances have been the guys that have stepped into leadership roles. When Trotz first joined the Islanders organization and then-captain John Tavares had left, Trotz found himself having to make what would become one of the biggest decisions for the franchise going forward

“You had to get that right. I think we did,” Trotz said Sunday during the Islanders’ off day. “We did with Anders Lee and guys like Josh Bailey. I didn’t really know any of these guys, but we had to get that right. First talking with those guys, talking to every player, asking them a number of different questions and then making a decision. Everything from the voice in the room to respect in the room to how they play.”

And Trotz added that finding that never say die, calm under pressure attitude comes from making the playoffs to start.

“You have to get some success in the playoffs and we’ve been able to do a little bit of that, so it’s a gradual thing,” Trotz said.

The New York Islanders have seen the good and the bad that the postseason has to offer. They’ve won games where they’ve outplayed their opponent, they lost some tough games and they’ve stolen a few wins as well.

From all of that, what has been the biggest lesson the Islanders have learned? Cal Clutterbuck was hardpressed to come up with just one.

“There’s a lot of lessons you can’t point to one thing. It all amounts to experience, which is a cliche,” Clutterbuck said. “I can talk a half an hour about the lessons we’ve learned and I’ve learned and guys have learned, but it’s just living through it with the players that you’ve lived through it with. The core has been the same for a while and when you live through these experiences together you see what each other is made of.

“People can relate to intense experiences they’ve had with a group of people. You build a special bond with those people and whatever it is you’ve got a connection to those people for a long time.”

NYI Hockey Now LOADED: 06.07.2021 1215299 New York Islanders games. It’s like if the points aren’t there and we’re winning games, I’m OK with that. This is the playoffs. It’s not going to be the same guy every night.

BARZILLA: Islanders Mathew Barzal Becoming a Force to be Reckoned “The last two games I know I had to step up and this has been a heavy with in Playoffs series. … Just trying to do what I can to help this team win.”

NYI Hockey Now LOADED: 06.07.2021

Published 17 hours ago on June 6, 2021By Christian Arnold

UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Mathew Barzal walked out of the runway to the New York Islanders dressing and onto the ice with a smile from ear to ear. The 24-year-old emphatically shouted “Let’s Go” and “Our House” as he skated around the ice after being named the game’s first star on Saturday.

Barzal had plenty to be ecstatic about at that point. Moments earlier he had scored the go-ahead goal to help lead the Islanders to a 4-1 win over the Boston Bruins and even the series at 2-2, in a game that he was a constant presence in.

Game 3 and now Game 4 have been the best that Barzal has played in the postseason, as the Islanders’ most skilled offensive weapon has played with an increasing sense of confidence. That was exemplified on Saturday night when Barzal finished the game with two points and a hand in New York’s two most important goals.

“I thought he was competing, fighting for his inches, he made some plays,” Islanders head coach Barry Trotz said. “We had a huge penalty kill on that challenge and then his line came out and they were pretty determined. That penalty kill gave us a boost and then when we scored right away, that really got us going in the right direction. I liked Mat’s game, he was dangerous all night.”

The buildup to the Islanders stars big breakouts the last two games had been a long time coming. Barzal hadn’t been as explosive during the postseason, but he has also been taking the brunt of the attention when he has been on the ice.

Boston has especially set their sights on the 24-year-old, who was even speared in the groin By David Krejci in the second period.

“It’s the playoffs. As much as I love to produce every night, it’s so tight out there and it just doesn’t come easy,” Barzal said. “Just more so when it’s not coming offensively, just making sure I’m not on the ice for any goals against… just playing sound hockey. A lot of shifts are just 50-50 and you have to grind it out… That’s what it comes down to, battling for the boys.”

And Mathew Barzal has done that during the postseason.

If it hadn’t been for the effort by Barzal with the puck, the Islanders wouldn’t have drawn a delayed penalty and Kyle Palmieri would not have tied the game up in the second period. Barzal’s next level allowed him to shake his man along the wall, draw a call and then feed Palmieri right in front for the goal.

Then of course there was the hand-eye coordination on his game- winning goal to bat the puck out of the air and past Tuukka Rask.

“He’s battling through everything. He’s our top guy and you know guys are going to take runs at him,” Casey Cizikas said. “They’re going to try to finish him and he keeps pushing forward. There’s no give in that kid and you can see that tonight. He keeps attacking, keeps creating offense and making plays. I thought not just offensively, I thought he was good in our own zone as well.

“He battled hard, he was in the right spots and you get rewarded when you play like that.”

Since the Islanders First-Round series with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Trotz has talked about the maturity that Barzal has had in the playoffs. That he wasn’t getting down on himself or frustrated by his lack of goals as he would have in the past.

For Mathew Barzal, that was not something that had been weighing on his mind.

“It’s obviously nice anytime you get on the board and help your team. I think you guys want to make it out to be like the player is feeling it if they’re not scoring,” Barzal said. “Throughout the whole playoffs I’ve been pretty happy with my compete level and we’ve been winning 1215300 Ottawa Senators Brown lured Finnish goalie Jussi Olkinuora out of position on a 2-on-1, then slid a perfect pass through the crease to Paul who tucked it into the empty cage to touch off the celebration.

Team Canada comes all the way back from a rough start to capture gold Paul and Brown were involved in eight of the nine goals in the playoff in world final round for Canada.

The next time you see Team Canada coach Gerard Gallant, it will be behind an NHL bench. He is a top candidate for openings with the New Bruce Garrioch York Rangers and expansion Seattle Kraken.

Publishing date:Jun 06, 2021 • 9 hours ago • “To see them battle back the way they did with so many one-goal games and overtime games, I’m proud of our group because they worked hard

and they competed hard,” said Gallant. The glass slipper couldn’t have been a better fit for this version of Team “We had a tough start because the team wasn’t together. After the 0-3 Canada. start, we put the lines together, and Mangiapane came over, and once Nick Paul helped Canada write a fairytale ending to the IIHF world that happened things started to click.” championship Sunday when he took a pass from Ottawa Senators’ Mikael Ruohomma gave the Finns a 1-0 lead after the first period , but teammate Connor Brown to score the golden goal in a 3-2 overtime just as a short 5-on-3 for Canada expired, Comtois tied it. victory against Team Finland in Riga, Latvia. Team Canada will charter back home Monday from Riga with members It was Canada’s first gold medal at the annual tournament since going of Team USA. The Americans scored a 6-1 win over Germany on back-to-back in 2015-16. Sunday to capture the bronze medal. This trip to the final was unlikely for this edition of Team Canada. The Ottawa Sun LOADED: 06.07.2021 club lost its first three round-robin games to Latvia, the United States and Germany, and scored only two goals before it rebounded. Still, the Canadians needed help to even get into the medal round but everything fell into place. They defeated Russia 2-1 in the quarterfinal, then scored a 4-2 upset of Team USA in Saturday’s semifinal to get a crack at the gold medal.

Paul scored at 6:26 of the three-on-three overtime session and Brown, the leading scorer of the tourney with two goals and 14 points, assisted on all three of Canada’s goals as the country scored one of its most unlikely gold-medal wins.

After a poor start by this young group of Canadian players, they couldn’t have had a better finish against the Finns.

“It’s awesome. We start off 0-3, and it’s not the start we want, and then we came together as a group and people counted us out,” Paul told TSN’s Lindsay Hamilton. “We knew we were going to work hard right until the end, and it may have been a little closer than we wanted it to be, but it was unbelievable and hard-fought game. I’m just super proud.

“We got better as the games went on and we knew we had the right guys in the room.”

With the score tied 1-1 in the second period, it looked like Canada had taken a 2-1 lead when team captain Adam Henrique scored. Unfortunately, it was called back because teenaged defenceman Owen Power, the top-ranked player in this year’s NHL entry draft, dragged his foot in the air and was offside when setting up Brown to enter the zone.

The Finns challenged right away and there wasn’t much doubt it wouldn’t be allowed. Yes, it would have counted in the NHL, but the IIHF won’t adopt the league’s rules until next season.

Finland’s Petteri Lindbohm broke the deadlock at 5:27 of the third period, firing a shot by Darcy Kuemper. The Arizona Coyotes goalkeeper, who finished with 29 saves, had no chance on the shot from the top of the circle because of a screen in front.

But Henrique scored on the power play with 7:23 left in the third to tie it up. He was down low and able to put it home on a setup from Ducks teammate Maxime Comtois.

This Canadian group got its act together once Andrew Mangiapane wrapped up his season with the Flames and then arrived here for the fourth game. The line of Mangiapane, Henrique and Brown combined for 16 goals and 37 points.

“It feels special to lead this group to gold,” Henrique said. “I know a lot of people counted us out in Canada after our start, but we kept believing in ourselves in that locker room. We stuck with it right to the end and we made it interesting all the way. This was a heck of a tournament and there won’t be a lot of sleep tonight.

“The goal in overtime I was happy that (Paul and Brown) are teammates because I thought they’d have some chemistry there.” 1215301 Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers assistant Ian Laperriere named Lehigh Valley Phantoms’ head coach

Sam Carchidi

As expected, Ian Laperriere, a long-time Flyers assistant, was named the head coach of the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Sunday.

The Phantoms are the Flyers’ top minor-league affiliate, and Laperriere becomes the 11th head coach in their history.

“I’m very excited for this next challenge in my career,” Laperriere said in a statement.

Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher said Laperriere has been “an extremely dedicated individual to the Flyers organization.” He added that the man known as “Lappy” showed a “strong work ethic” as a Flyers player, development coach, and an assistant over the last 12 years.

Eight of those seasons were as a Flyers assistant.

“We are excited to have him at the forefront of developing our prospects,” Fletcher added.

Laperriere thanked the Flyers’ brass and Phantoms owners Jim and Rob Brooks for their confidence in him.

“The Phantoms are a first-class organization in the AHL, and the fan base in Lehigh Valley is the very best at showing their support at every game,” he said.

In an interview with The Inquirer a few years ago, Laperriere said he hoped to be a head coach some day and said Flyers coach Alain Vigneault was the perfect mentor.

“I’m learning a lot from AV and his demeanor, his swagger,” Laperriere said. “Call it what you want, the way he is around us and the way he is around the players. It’s something I really appreciate seeing from him. His preparation is unbelievable.

“If I ever run my own team, I’m going to take a lot of what he’s teaching right now.”

Laperriere, 47, replaces Scott Gordon, who had a 186-121-40-1 during his six years with the Phantoms. Gordon said he and Fletcher mutually agreed that it was time to move to another opportunity.

Gordon’s contract expires after next season, and Fletcher said last month he was not prepared to give him an extension at the moment, and neither side wanted a lame-duck situation next season.

Gordon, 58, said he was thankful for his time with the Phantoms and for the opportunity to coach the Flyers on an interim basis during part of the 2018-19 season.

Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 06.07.2021 1215302 Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers name Laperriere as Phantoms head coach

By Rob Parent, 5 hrs ago

Having dispatched longtime head coach Scott Gordon in what was termed "a mutual decision," the Flyers have moved popular former player and longtime assistant coach Ian Laperriere to the head coachin position for the Phantoms, their AHL affiliate team.

Laperriere, 47, was a Flyers assistant for the past eight seasons, moving into that role from a position of player development director. The past two seasons he served not only under head coach Alain Vigneault, and fellow longtime NHL head coaches (and Vigneault assistants) Michel Therrien and Mike Yeo.

Despite all that knowledge behind the bench, the Flyers missed the playoffs for the fifth time in nine years at the conclusion of the 2020-21 season.

"We're very happy to have Ian serve as the next head coach of the Phantoms," Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher said via a statement. "He has been an extremely dedicated individual to the Flyers organization and has shown a strong work ethic as a player, development coach and an assistant over the last 12 years for us. We are excited to have him at the forefront of developing our prospects, preparing them to reach the NHL and bringing success to Lehigh Valley."

Phantoms co-owner Jim Brooks said of Laperriere, "Lappy is the ultimate team player."

He had been just that during his career, which included five separate NHL stops, spending many years with both the Los Angeles Kings and the Colorado Avalanche. But his last stop was with the Flyers, signing on as a 35-year-old free agent.

A checking line grinder, Laperriere played every regular season game and in the playoffs took a puck to the face that left him concussed and in need of a serious stitch-up job. Yet he continued to push to play, winning a place in Flyers fans' hearts and the coveted Bill Masterton Trophy after that 2009-10 season.

During a long recovery after that 2010 Flyers playoff run to the Stanley Cup finals, Laperriere worked with players in the organization, and officially retired in 2012 to take a position in player development.

Delaware County Times LOADED: 06.07.2021 1215303 Philadelphia Flyers The Swedish native is considered one of the speediest and skilled players in the draft.

The 5-foot-10, 172-pound winger is the draft's ninth-ranked European 5 draft targets for Flyers at 13th overall pick skater by NHL Central Scouting.

The 18-year-old played against men in the SHL, Sweden's top pro league, so his two goals and one assist through 26 games this season BY JORDAN HALL look underwhelming. But many draft outlets think highly of his game and upside.

The Flyers watch and evaluate Sweden heavily, led by European The Flyers have seven selections in the 2021 NHL draft. amateur scout Joakim Grundberg. While the draft is still over a month and a half away, we now know Carson Lambos, D, Winnipeg exactly where the Flyers are slotted to pick in the first round. The Flyers finished with the 13th overall position in Wednesday night's lottery. Some of the draft's best defensemen are expected to go early, so it's uncertain if the Flyers will be thinking blueliner at the 13th overall pick. "Picking 13, it's a high pick, it's a deep draft and I think our scouts are confident that there will be a wide range of good hockey players available The 6-foot-1, 197-pound Lambos should be available and is the draft's to us at that pick," Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher said. 11th-ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting. He played in Finland on loan this season and had a strong WHL rookie year in Let's look at five potential targets for the Flyers at No. 13 overall in the 2019-20 with the Winnipeg Ice (eight goals, 24 assists, plus-20 over 57 July 23-24 draft. games). Cole Sillinger, C, Sioux Falls Lambos is known as a quality skater with a sharp shot from the point. As The name might sound familiar because Sillinger's dad had a 17-year somewhat of an under-the-radar defenseman in this class, he could NHL career. Mike Sillinger played 1,049 games between 12 teams, blossom next season with the Ice. including the Flyers. Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 06.07.2021 His son is an impressive 6-foot, 197-pound center and the draft's 10th- ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting. In 31 games this season with the USHL's Sioux Falls Stampede, Sillinger put up 24 goals and 22 assists (1.48 points per game).

Sillinger, who turned 18 years old in May and can play some left winger, is regarded for his prolific shot and deceptive scoring ability. During 2019, the Flyers really liked playmaking winger Bobby Brink out of the USHL and moved up in the second round to snag him.

Sillinger's strengths translated well to the USHL. The Flyers could look to replenish down the middle after going heavier on wingers and defensemen over the past two drafts. Sillinger would be a nice option to start.

Jasen Robbennolt/Sioux Falls Stampede

Zachary L'Heureux, LW, Halifax

The Flyers know L'Heureux pretty well. He played alongside Flyers prospect Elliot Desnoyers and the two were dynamic together.

With the QMJHL's Halifax Mooseheads this season, the 2020 fifth-round pick Desnoyers broke out for 49 points (21 goals, 28 assists) in 37 games. His linemate L'Heureux had a productive season, as well, with 39 points (19 goals, 20 assists) in 33 games.

The 5-foot-11, 196-pounder can score and play in a variety of ways. He utilizes a power forward style and embraces physicality. Relating to his rather polarizing draft stock, L'Heureux plays with an edge that borders undisciplined, having been suspended four times in 2020-21.

TSN's Craig Button gave L'Heureux an NHL comparable of Brad Marchand.

Halifax Mooseheads

Chaz Lucius, C, USNTDP

The Flyers have a great pulse on prospects from Minnesota and Lucius is one of them in this draft.

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound center hails from the hockey hotbed and is set to play at the University of Minnesota in 2021-22.

Lucius can flat out put the puck in the net. This season, with the U.S. national team development program, he scored 13 goals in 13 games for the under-18 squad. With Team USA in the USHL, he scored 13 goals over 12 games.

Eye-opening size and scoring down the middle of the ice.

Rena Laverty/USA Hockey

Fabian Lysell, RW, Lulea HF 1215304 Pittsburgh Penguins roster. Yet, he doesn’t have an agenda to overhaul the organizational makeup.

“We are all in alignment. We want to keep our Penguins DNA. High ‘We won a division for God's sake’: Brian Burke defends Tristan Jarry, speed, highly skilled hockey,” Burke said. “But I do think we need to get Mike Sullivan, core 3 and 'Penguins DNA' bigger and tougher. And guys that can play Penguins hockey that are big and ugly are hard to find. But there is no question in my mind that we need to get bigger.”

TIM BENZ | Friday, June 4, 2021 6:35 a.m. • Lastly, on the topic of how the NHL playoffs are officiated, Burke felt the need to speak delicately.

“I don’t want to get fined,” Burke said. “So let’s just say the first line of Pittsburgh Penguins president Brian Burke says he understands the fans’ defense for a team that is smaller and not as physical is that you expect negative reaction to the team’s latest playoff loss, but he’s not planning the rule book to be applied. And you can question whether it was with any major changes to the team. equity in the playoffs.” Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey operations Brian Burke hears Yeah. That was delicate enough. That should avoid a fine. the fans and media members who are voicing frustration and calling for change. Now let’s see if Burke and general manager Ron Hextall can put together a roster that can avoid getting bounced in the first round next season. Speaking on 105.9 The X on Thursday afternoon, Burke offered a straightforward reminder about the 2021 East Division champions. Tribune Review LOADED: 06.07.2021 “We won a division for God’s sake,” Burke exclaimed to host Mark Madden.

Burke did acknowledge that the first-round playoff loss to the Islanders was disappointing. And he’s aware that this is the third such playoff departure in a row for the franchise. Furthermore, he agrees with concerns about a lack of draft picks and a Wilkes-Barre AHL team that isn’t exactly bountiful with prospects.

But Burke doesn’t think now is the time to blow up the roster.

“The team did well. It deserves to be rewarded with being kept intact,” Burke insisted.

Burke was especially defensive of head coach Mike Sullivan. He soundly rejected any idea that Penguins upper management was considering a coaching change.

“We think he should be Coach of the Year. We think he did a phenomenal job,” Burke said. “Not only is he going to be back, no other outcome was discussed. So that makes me mad. When a guy has to read that his job was considered for termination and it never was, that’s not right.”

Burke pointed to Sullivan’s preparation in meetings and practices as a big reason why he thinks the Penguins have an elite coach.

Burke was similarly defensive of his teams’ starting goaltender. Tristan Jarry had a solid regular season. And Casey DeSmith was usually quite good in a backup role. But Jarry was a disaster in the Islanders series. And DeSmith was injured.

“Tristan Jarry was the reason we won the division,” Burke said. “He was the reason we had that run (in March) that we had and got in the playoffs at all. I’m not happy with his playoffs. He’s not happy with his playoffs. … But he’s the reason we got there.”

Madden asked if the franchise is preparing to come back next year with Jarry and DeSmith as the goaltending tandem in 2021-22.

“That’s certainly the plan today,” Burke replied. “That can change with a phone call if someone throws something at you that makes sense. But that is the plan today. Absolutely. If that’s how we open camp, that’s fine with us.”

On some other topics:

• Upon accepting the job on Feb. 9, Burke admitted being “skeptical” about the idea that the franchise could keep the core three of Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin together beyond this season. But he says that since he arrived in Pittsburgh, he has become a believer and doesn’t see a pressing need to break them up.

• Madden asked Burke if a desire to keep ticket sales high after two pandemic-plagued seasons may influence any decision the franchise makes in terms of holding on to their aging, but still popular, superstars.

“Since I got here, no one has said anything to me about anything besides winning as many hockey games as I can,” Burke replied.

• As far as the team’s apparent lack of size and physicality, Burke agrees with the theory of trying to find some players of that ilk for next year’s 1215305 Pittsburgh Penguins P.O Joseph is knocking on the door to crack the regular lineup as a left- handed defenseman, and the upcoming expansion draft means the Penguins will lose at least one player of some repute.

Marcus Pettersson seeks ‘next step’ — will it be for Penguins? The combination of Pettersson’s relative youth and pedigree figure to make him worthy of consideration by the Seattle Kraken. His not- insignificant salary-cap hit could help contribute to the Penguins leaving him unprotected for the July 21 expansion draft. CHRIS ADAMSKI | Sunday, June 6, 2021 6:30 a.m. “It’s something you’ve got to deal with, right?” Pettersson said.

“You go into it, you can’t really speculate and have anything in your mind Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson celebrates a goal about that. You’ve got to just take things one day (at a time) and try to during a March game in Buffalo. In his third full NHL season and first get better every day.” under a four-year contract extension, Pettersson started it on the Penguins’ No. 2 pairing but ended on the No. 3. Tribune Review LOADED: 06.07.2021 An objective and educated observer could present a viable case that Marcus Pettersson acquitted himself quite well for a 24-year-old playing in his third full NHL season.

One authority who could evaluate Pettersson’s game better than almost anyone disagrees.

Pettersson himself.

“I didn’t really take that step that I wanted to this year from last year to this year,” the defenseman said last week in the aftermath of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ season ending. “So I think that’s something for sure that I have to do a better job of.”

Pettersson began the abbreviated season on the left side of the Penguins’ No. 2 pairing.

He ended it on the No. 3 pairing.

That’s not supposed to happen for a player who was in the first season of a four-year contract that pays $4.025 million annually.

But Pettersson’s midseason “demotion” probably was more about how much the Mike Matheson/Cody Ceci defensive pair exceeded expectations than an indictment of the play of Pettersson and partner John Marino.

And the advanced possession metrics suggest that, at best, a choice between Matheson/Ceci and Pettersson/Marino was statistically a toss- up.

Still, factoring in the youth of Pettersson (who turned 25 last month) and Marino (who just turned 24) and that each recently had signed lucrative longer-term contract extensions, the duo fell short of expectations in their first full season together.

“We’ll have a good offseason here — a full offseason — and come back really ready for next season,” Pettersson said. “And I’ll (advance) myself into that development I want and that I feel like I have the ability to do. So I am looking forward to taking the next step with (Marino).”

Playing 47 games (he missed nine early in the season because of an upper-body injury), Pettersson had two goals and seven assists. He added an assist during the first round of the playoffs.

“We lean on each other a lot,” Pettersson said of Marino. “We talk a lot, how our game is, and try to pick each other’s brains about details in the game. We are kind of in the same phase in how we’re developing, too, so I think we are both trying to look to take another step, for sure.”

But among the Penguins’ six regular defensemen, Pettersson arguably is looked to for offense the least. At a lanky 6-foot-3, 177 pounds, Pettersson isn’t a classic stay-at-home defenseman, either.

Pettersson had the best possession metrics (as measured by percentage of shot attempts taken by the Penguins at 5-on-5 when he is on the ice, 51.35%) among the top six. He also leads in shots-on-goal percentage (51.43%), scoring-chances percentage (53.36%) and expected goals for percentage (51.54%), according to naturalstattrick.com.

The numbers bear out that Pettersson was far from a liability in the playoffs, too.

Still, the general feeling — echoed by Pettersson himself — is he is leaving some potential untapped. That means it’s no guarantee Pettersson will be on the team next season. 1215306 Tampa Bay Lightning With the three-point game, Kucherov (41 goals, 71 assists) also joined an exclusive club of players to log at least 40 goals and 70 assists through their first 100 playoff games — a list that includes Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Denis Savard, Mario Lemieux and Peter Forsberg as When another gear is needed, Lightning turn to Nikita Kucherov well as future Hall of Famer Sidney Crosby.

This postseason, Kucherov leads all skaters with 17 points (five goals, 12 assists). By Eduardo A. Encina “When Kuch is doing some of the stuff he did (Saturday), he’s borderline Published Yesterday unstoppable,” Cooper said. “It was great to see him do what he did Updated Yesterday because we definitely needed him.”

Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 06.07.2021

TAMPA — Teams have tried to neutralize Nikita Kucherov this postseason, with limited success.

The Hurricanes have sought to take away space from the Lightning right wing and keep the puck off his stick. It’s not coincidental that Carolina’s only win of this second-round series came with Kucherov in the penalty box. In the previous series, the Panthers aimed to rough Kucherov up, even knocking him out of Game 4 (a 6-2 Tampa Bay victory).

We’ve seen enough of these Stanley Cup playoffs to know that the Lightning are a much better team with Kucherov. Still, when the Game 4 momentum was starting to tilt in favor of Carolina in the second period of Saturday’s 6-4 comeback win at Amalie Arena, Kucherov found another gear.

“To be honest, he might have taken the game over,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “There was a point ... (where) clearly we had lost control of the second period a little bit. And he’d been kind of hit in a tough manner by one of their guys and he just channeled all his energy the right way.

“He was just a beast out there. I thought he might have been the best player on the ice.”

Defenseman Jaccob Slavin’s seeing-eye goal from the end line along the far boards — a shot that went just over Andrei Vasilevskiy’s right shoulder, hit off the crossbar and into the net — had just given Carolina a 4-2 lead with 7:19 left in the second.

On the next 5-on-5 shift, Slavin knocked Kucherov against the far boards and down to the ice. But Kucherov got back to his feet quickly, raced to the slot and pounded a shot into goaltender Petr Mrazek’s chest.

Soon enough, the Lightning had a power-play opportunity. After captain Steven Stamkos missed his shot on net, Kucherov took the carom off the end boards against the far wall, took two strides to the top of the right circle and unloaded a rocket into the back of the net.

After Tyler Johnson’s first goal of the postseason tied the score at 4, the Lightning were on the power play again. Kucherov charged in toward the net from the right circle, but passed across the crease to Stamkos past two diving Carolina players. Stamkos scored the go-ahead goal. After starting 0-for-3, the Lightning power play scored on their next three man- advantages.

“I don’t think they do anything special out there and no adjustments were needed to be done,” Kucherov said of the Lightning power play. “We had to go there and be ready to execute right away and make those plays, and that wasn’t good enough in the first couple.”

Ondrej Palat’s steal in the neutral zone in the third period set up Kucherov’s second goal, which he snapped from well above the circles, intending to go high but was still able to beat Mrazek through the five hole.

“Just trying to catch him off guard and I don’t think any goalie is expecting that shot coming from that far,” Kucherov said.

The Lightning first line of Kucherov, Brayden Point and Palat played a good chunk of their 5-on-5 time in the third period against the Hurricanes’ top scoring line, and Kucherov set the tone on the forecheck down the stretch.

“(Kucherov) is a special player,” Lightning forward Alex Killorn said. “It’s amazing to see what he was doing with the time that he had off all season (recovering from hip surgery) and it seems like he hasn’t lost a step. I love the plays he was making in the third period. He does a lot to get us back in the game. He played a lot of minutes (Saturday) against a good line. And at the end, he’s doing everything defensively the right way and guys are following him for sure, with the way he’s playing.” 1215307 Toronto Maple Leafs up with too many goalie contracts. One team in desperate need of a starter: Buffalo Sabres. But I’m hearing they like one of the Columbus netminders … Barring a side deal, the Leafs will protect the $40-Million Four in the expansion draft plus their top four defencemen and goalie This is Zach Hyman’s big chance to cash in Jack Campbell, leaving Alex Kerfoot or Travis Dermott available to Seattle. Teams can only lose one player in the draft … Selected one spot

after Dermott in the 2015 NHL draft: Sebastian Aho …. Nikita Kucherov Steve Simmons has 10 power-play points in the playoffs. Eight players on the Leafs combined for nine power-play points against Montreal …. When was the Publishing date:Jun 06, 2021 • 20 hours ago • last time an entire line made the Hockey Hall of Fame? Was it Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy and Clark Gillies? It’s looking like it will happen for

the Perfection Line. Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand are already Zach Hyman was a late bloomer who has beaten all the odds. obvious Hall choices and David Pastrnak is on his way … After a hockey season of COVID-19 restrictions, I can’t imagine why anyone would want He didn’t start showing himself as a player of significance until his third to travel to Latvia for the World Hockey Championship. But give Team season at the University of Michigan. He played his first NHL game six Canada GM Roberto Luongo credit and his coach Gerard Gallant. They years after he was drafted. After his first full season, he was so gangly barely pieced a team together, lost their first three games, and will that Auston Matthews asked to have him removed from his line. somehow play for gold on Sunday. If ever there was a reason for a team And now, just days away from his 29th birthday, he’s a husband and a to bail early, this was it. father and for the first time, an NHL free agent of value, and the interest SCENE AND HEARD in him comes from all across the National Hockey League. The teams that should have traded for Kyle Lowry — the Los Angeles He has a choice to make, really: Does he want to stay in Toronto, the city Lakers and the Miami Heat — both went out meekly in the NBA playoffs he grew up in, with family this close, with his childhood friends still part of … Was Kawhi Leonard ever better than Friday night, when he scored 45 his life, and with the comfort he has earned on a Maple Leafs hockey points on the road in an elimination game in Dallas, shooting 72% from team he has grown up with? the field and 56% from three-point land and was basically unstoppable? Or does he want to cash in on this one-time opportunity? As great as he was some playoffs nights with the Raptors, this was the best Kawhi I’ve ever seen … For some reason, we don’t talk nearly The Maple Leafs can’t afford to pay Hyman what others will pay. They enough about Dillon Brooks, the kid from Mississauga, who is worth probably won’t offer the same kind of term he could get on the open bragging about. He averaged 25.8 points a game in the Memphis playoff market, either. And while I never discount what kind of salary cap magic series against the Utah Jazz, never scoring fewer than 21 in any game … Leafs money man Brandon Pridham might come up with, this seems to All my life I’ve dreamed of playing for the Edmonton Elks … Why did it be a rather basic decision for the winger. take Major League Baseball 80 years to finally honour Lou Gehrig and bring notice to ALS? And shouldn’t other sports, especially contact You may get one chance in your career, at the right time, to make big sports, follow suit? By the way, the uniform patch players were wearing money. He has scored 28 goals in his past 82 regular-season games and on Lou Gehrig Day was so tiny you needed binoculars or X-Ray vision to scoring isn’t really what he does. He’s maddening to play against. He’s see them … Just asking: Anything new on Masai Ujiri? … Another non-stop. He hits everything and everybody. And then he does it again Canadian we tend to be far too quiet about is Tyler O’Neill, the Cardinals the next night or the next shift. He is the 11th highest-paid player on the left fielder who has a .900 OPS and looks like he was born to play the Leafs as he heads to free agency. outfield … Of the teams remaining in the NBA playoffs, only one, Dallas, This is Zach Hyman’s time and deservedly so. has won an NBA championship in the past 37 years. And the Mavs, if Kawhi has another crazy game, could be out by Sunday afternoon. He’ll get more than $5 million a season, probably in a five-year package. And the Leafs will miss him terribly when he’s gone. AND ANOTHER THING

THIS AND THAT At no time in the history of Major League Baseball have the three leading home runs hitters in the sport — right now Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Ronald So this makes little sense: Matthews scored 24 goals in 26 games at Acuna Jr., and Fernando Tatis Jr. — been 23 years of age or younger. Scotiabank Arena this year and 32 goals in 34 games the season before. What’s remarkable about all three, the junior coincidences aside, is they That’s a ridiculous 56 goals in 60 home games. Then he scored just one are putting up crazy-great numbers in a year in which pitchers are being goal in four home playoff games. Please explain? … Are Vegas and investigated for using too much junk on the ball. Nobody is hitting Colorado playing in the same league as Montreal and Winnipeg? Sure anything these days but these three are mashing it … The Leafs didn’t doesn’t look that way … Matthews won the Rocket Richard Trophy, is a give up a power-play goal in the playoffs until Jake Muzzin got hurt. Then finalist for the Lady Byng and Ted Lindsay awards, and will be a Hart they gave up three in a game and a half. Not a coincidence … If I had a Trophy finalist. And he’d trade it all of in for a place in the second round team, I’d want Alex Tuch playing for it. And I wouldn’t put him on the third of the playoffs … William Nylander has set a new standard for himself. line. He’s too powerful for that … The best thing about the Blue Jays He has scored 35 goals in his past 82 regular-season games and five in record: They haven’t played Baltimore yet … Yep, it happened. Ryan seven playoff games. He should be a 70-point player now, regularly … Yarbrough threw a complete game for the Tampa Bay Rays. It had been The great part of Kyle Dubas’ season: Signing TJ Brodie as a free agent. 731 games between complete games for the Rays and manager Kevin He was a terrific addition for the Leafs. The not-so-great part: Parting Cash. And it was the first win for Yarbrough in 24 starts … How overdue with a first-round draft pick, a third-round pick, two fourths, a fifth and is this? We’re getting close to single-game sports gambling in Canada … sixth for Nick Foligno, Riley Nash, Ben Hutton and David Rittich. Might The anonymous gang-like hatred on social media — where there is a have been better had Foligno been healthy. He didn’t score in 11 games correlation between the lack of followers and the amount of vitriol — for Toronto, playing hurt most of the time … What nobody’s saying: never seems to quiet and continues to disgust. The latest victims: Foligno would like to stay a Leaf. The team just can’t afford him … And to Scheifele’s family after the hit on Jake Evans, and broadcaster Tara think, John Ferguson Jr. was blasted for giving up a first-round pick for Slone. Will this mean-spirited nonsense ever end? … If coaches are Brian Leetch in 2004. Leetch played rather well in 15 regular-season completely vaccinated, why are they still have wearing masks during games and 13 playoff games. Then came the lockout. He didn’t play games? … Happy birthday to Bjorn Borg (65), Rueben Mayes (58), Ed another game for Toronto … My favourite white sporting lie: The pending Giacomin (82), Les Binkley (85), Cam Neely (56), Anson Carter (47), free agent who says they haven’t thought about their pending free Mike Fisher (41), Ahmed Johnson (58), John Carlos (76), DeAndre agency. Hopkins (29) and Anthony Rendon (31) … And hey, whatever became of Pierre-Luc Dubois? HEAR AND THERE HIGH-PAID NHL STARS NOT BRINGING PLAYOFF SUCCESS I’ll admit it now before you yell at me later: Mark Scheifele was on my ballot for the Lady Byng Trophy as the NHL’s most gentlemanly player. Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane each signed eight-year, $84-million He had just 12 penalty minutes while finishing ninth in league scoring. He contracts in the summer of 2014 that would begin one year later and wasn’t one of the three finalists announced Saturday … What Frederik would coincide with the decline of the championship Chicago Blackhawks Andersen will find in free agency: There aren’t a lot of NHL teams looking teams. for starting goaltenders and those that should be looking are already tied Six years have since passed and Toews mysteriously took a step back The Marner numbers are unacceptable for an apparent superstar, the from his season, but one thing has been certain: The Blackhawks have fourth-leading scorer in the NHL. His comparables remain Rantanen and been an also-ran in the NHL since altering their payroll significantly to Kane. take care of their two biggest stars. Toronto Sun LOADED: 06.07.2021 In the six seasons with Kane and Toews being paid $21 million in salary cap money, this is what has happened to Chicago: They lost in the opening round of the playoffs in 2016 and 2017. They didn’t make the playoffs in 2018 and 2019. The only reason they had any momentary success last August was because they won the preliminary round in a year in which they normally wouldn’t have qualified for the playoffs. And this season, they missed again.

There is a message in this for all of hockey, especially now, well into the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Chicago hasn’t won a real playoff round since Toews and Kane started getting the big money.

The NHL’s highest-paid players currently — Erik Karlsson, Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, Artemi Panarin, John Tavares — either missed the playoffs or were eliminated in the first round. Only three of the 20 top-paid skaters are still active in the post-season, and one of them, Nikita Kucherov, didn’t count on the cap this year.

With the $40-Million Four, the Maple Leafs are trying to succeed now and in the future. They’re trying to find a way that has to yet work in hockey.

DOUBTS OVER BIANCA’S FUTURE

Next week, Bianca Andreescu turns 21 years old and the uncertainty that surrounds her tennis career is mounting.

It is now more than 20 months since Andreescu shocked the tennis world, became a Canadian figure for life, with her consecutive victories over Serena Williams at the Rogers Cup in Toronto and then the big one, the U.S. Open victory in New York.

Since then, it seems, she has had almost as many setbacks health-wise and tennis-wise as she has had victories of significance.

She just lost in the opening round of the French Open, that coming after she pulled out of tournaments in Strasbourg and Miami due to health concerns. In the Australian Open, the first major of the year, she lost second round to a 35-year-old doubles specialist.

So in two majors, after spending a year and a half rehabbing a series of injuries, Andreescu has been just another name in the draw. The former US Open champion. And now we’re not quite certain who she is or what she’s going to be.

She can live the rest of her life as U.S. Open champion and that’s something worth carrying around forever. Mike Weir will always be a Masters champion. You don’t lose that.

But she’s still so young and seemingly, when healthy, so naturally competitive. There is time to build and rebuild her career now. But certainly, there is doubt, which seemed so improbable in September of 2019 when she seemed so tough and indestructible.

MARNER WELL BEHIND IS COMPARABLES IN PLAYOFFS

When I was voting for NHL all-stars last month, just as the regular season came to the end, I had three names listed among the right wingers: Mitch Marner, Patrick Kane and Mikko Rantanen.

All of them terrific players. All of them coming off terrific seasons, where they finished within a point, scoring-wise, of each other. Rantanen scored the most goals, Kane had the most assists, Marner had the most points.

You could make an argument for any of the three as the first-team all-star at right wing and you wouldn’t necessarily be wrong. There was no wrong answer here. And voting takes place before the playoffs begin, so there is no bias in making a decision.

These are Marner’s equals, the players he should be compared with. And that’s what makes what happened in the first round against Montreal all the more astounding. He didn’t score a goal in the series, he hasn’t scored in his past 18 Stanley Cup playoff games. He has 10 assists in those 18 games, which is somewhat ordinary.

In Rantanen’s past 18 playoff games with Colorado, he has 10 goals and 17 assists for 27 points in all. Exceptional numbers.

In Kane’s past 18 playoff games in Chicago, scattered over three seasons, he has four goals and 13 assists. Seventeen points in 18 games. Very good numbers. 1215308 Vegas Golden Knights “We didn’t think we’d just come in here and take both games,” he said. “We’re going back to a building where we play well and have success. Best-of-three now.”

Avalanche ready to leave Las Vegas after another loss LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 06.07.2021

By Adam Hill

June 6, 2021 - 10:23 PM

Updated June 6, 2021 - 10:24 PM

Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar challenged his team — in particular his explosive top line — to show more than they had the previous two games against the Golden Knights.

He didn’t get the desired result.

The Avalanche lost 5-1 to the Knights on Sunday night at T-Mobile Arena in Game 4 of the West Division final, and the best-of-seven series is tied 2-2.

Star center Nathan MacKinnon was limited to three shots on goal. Mikko Rantanen was limited to two and had his 17-game postseason scoring streak snapped. Gabriel Landeskog didn’t get a shot on net.

None of them recorded a point as Colorado’s vaunted top line was again held in check. The three have combined for four points in the past three games after totaling eight in the first.

“I think they’re frustrated for sure,” Bednar said.

Center J.T. Compher, who had an assist on Colorado’s goal in the first period, said the Avs can’t rely on their three stars.

“It’s playoffs,” he said. “Everyone has to produce. Everyone has to be on their game. Up and down the lineup, we need more from everyone, obviously. We have a really good group in there going back to a building we’ve played well in all year. We have to keep the confidence in our game and trust ourselves. There’s plenty of series left.”

The Avalanche remain confident despite being outplayed for the better part of the past three games, mostly because of their success at home, where two of the final three games will be played.

They are 4-0 at Ball Arena in the postseason after going 16-0-1 in the final 17 home games, though the one overtime loss was to the Knights on March 27.

Much of that success was because of a dominant top line that has all of a sudden gone dormant.

Bednar knows he must get them going, but it’s not as easy as keeping them away from the Knights’ top line of Chandler Stephenson, Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone.

“There’s people saying you have to get them away from that line, but they also have the (William Karlsson) line that’s doing just as well and still producing at the other end,” Bednar said. “So there’s some heavy lifting there, and we haven’t found a way.”

Bednar was far less critical than he was after Friday’s loss when he took several shots at his team’s effort, most notably the top line.

“I didn’t have a problem with our intent and the purpose to our game and the way we competed tonight,” he said. “I thought for the most part it was pretty good. At least we entered the fight and got back in it. I didn’t like the results, but it was better tonight.”

Forward Brandon Saad, one of just three Avalanche players to win a Stanley Cup, thinks the team got the message even if the results didn’t come immediately.

“It’s something we have to take upon ourselves as a group,” he said. “Coaches can say as much as they want, but we have to be a mature group and realize when you’re giving up momentum swings, you have to stop the bleeding and get back on track. And when you have it, you’ve got to keep it as long as you can. That’s how the playoffs go.”

Saad insists the Knights aren’t in the Avalanche’s heads despite the way the series dramatically shifted in Las Vegas. 1215309 Vegas Golden Knights The waves that DeBoer talked about were of the pipeline variety. It also took supreme focus.

No shifts off. No cheating for offense. No swaying from the structure. Graney: Golden Knights’ constant pressure buries Avalanche Must win on road

The Knights won’t win this series and advance to a semifinal round By Ed Graney without getting a victory in Denver, be it Tuesday in Game 5 or possibly Saturday in Game 7. This is the truth that home-ice advantage affords June 6, 2021 - 10:08 PM the Avalanche.

Updated June 6, 2021 - 10:13 PM But while the biggest question might be where Colorado’s mindset is — from being six minutes from a 3-0 series lead to being tied 2-2 — the

Knights have discovered their greatest edge. Relentless: Oppressively constant; incessant. Simply, outworking the other guys. It’s almost too soft a definition for what the Golden Knights are doing to For two games at T-Mobile, it wasn’t close. Colorado. Colorado was buried under a mountain of relentless pressure. It has become a best-of-three now, this West Division final series that the Knights tied at two games apiece with a 5-1 victory Sunday night before By a different kind of Avalanche. 18,081 at T-Mobile Arena. LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 06.07.2021 The only Avalanche being seen right now is a mass of Knights rapidly forechecking Colorado in its own end.

We’re talking endless pressure.

Attack in waves

Look. It’s one thing for a team trailing 2-0 in a series to fly around and push the action and be overly aggressive for small stretches. Desperation is an enticing motivational tool.

But the Knights are squarely back in this thing because they have brought the weight of stress to Colorado for the past eight periods. They locked up the neutral zone in Games 3 and 4 like Deion Sanders did wideouts (way) back in the day.

“We want to attack in waves, and I think the strength in our group is the depth of four lines,” Knights coach Pete DeBoer said. “You can’t play that game unless you have four lines of guys that hop over the boards and are willing to do the work.”

So, yeah. This is staggeringly good: Colorado over the regular season and playoffs averaged nearly 35 shots per game.

What it has managed lately …

Game 2: 25

Game 3: 20

Game 4: 18

Put it this way: If the Raiders pressured opponents as the Knights have Colorado in the past three games, Jon Gruden’s team would win a lot more games.

I’d also like to see Jonathan Marchessault at cornerback, but that’s for another column.

Everything begins for Colorado with its top line. There is arguably none better across the NHL than Nathan MacKinnon teaming with Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen. But the Knights didn’t just limit them the past two games. They vanished the three.

To what degree?

In two games at T-Mobile, the MacKinnon line combined to play at a minus-9 with one goal and one assist (each on the same power play).

“That’s what it takes to win,” Knights captain Mark Stone said. “We have to continue to put pressure. We’re trying to make them come 200 feet to get a scoring chance. We didn’t do a great job of that in Game 1 (a 7-1 loss). We were a little sloppy and let them free-wheel.

“You make them come 200 feet to score, and you kind of tip your hat. But when you’re forechecking the way we’re forechecking and forcing them to make plays to beat us, that’s when you’re playing the best.”

Alex Pietrangelo was near that Sunday, at least to a point the defenseman offered one of his better games for the Knights since signing that seven-year, $61.6 million contract in October.

A huge reason for such constant pressure came via a steady transition game led by Pietrangelo and others breaking things out time and again. 1215310 Vegas Golden Knights

Golden Knights-Colorado Avalanche Game 4 recap

By Ben Gotz

June 6, 2021 - 9:34 PM

Series schedule

Game 1 — Avalanche 7, Knights 1

Game 2 — Avalanche 3, Knights 2 (OT)

Game 3 — Knights 3, Avalanche 2

Game 4 —Knights 5, Avalanche 1

Game 5 — 6 p.m. Tuesday, Denver, NBCSN

Game 6 — TBD Thursday, T-Mobile Arena

Game 7 — TBD Saturday, Denver*

* – If necessary

RJ’s three stars

3. Knights left wing Max Pacioretty — He scored the winning goal in the second period to give him a five-game point streak since returning from injury. Only three Knights players have longer playoff point streaks.

2. Knights center William Karlsson — He recorded three assists for the second three-point game of his playoff career. His first was in Game 1 of the second round in the Knights’ inaugural season against the San Jose Sharks.

1. Knights left wing Jonathan Marchessault — He had the third playoff hat trick in Knights history and his first in the postseason. He also has three regular-season hat tricks. Two of them are with the Knights.

Key play

Marchessault’s first goal.

The Knights were applying pressure early, but trailed 1-0 after a goal from Avalanche left wing Brandon Saad. Marchessault then tied the score on a zany play, and the Knights never looked back.

Colorado defenseman Patrik Nemeth gave the puck away to Reilly Smith in front of his net, and Smith hit the post. Avalanche goaltender Philipp Grubauer and Nemeth reacted as if the puck went in, giving Karlsson time to recover it and fire it toward Marchessault for a crazy goal.

Key stat

13 — That’s how many games the Avalanche had gone without facing a multigoal deficit before Sunday — their final six regular-season games and first seven playoff games.

Knights quotable

“They’ve stuck with it, and they’ve gotten hot at the right time. They look unstoppable right now.” — Knights coach Pete DeBoer, on Karlsson’s line with Marchessault and Smith.

Avs quotable

“It’s a 2-2 series. Best of three now. We know we have a long road ahead of us, and we’re looking forward to the challenge.” — Saad.

LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 06.07.2021 1215311 Vegas Golden Knights Despite falling behind, the Knights continued to push the pace and took advantage of a dreadful turnover by Avalanche defenseman Patrik Nemeth to tie the score at 7:07.

Marchessault’s hat trick powers Knights to series-tying victory Smith was the recipient of Nemeth’s miscue, and his backhand went off the crossbar. Colorado cleared the puck, but goalie Philipp Grubauer appeared to believe it was a goal and casually returned to his crease.

By David Schoen Karlsson tracked down the puck and centered for Marchessault, who deflected in his second goal in two games and third of the postseason. June 6, 2021 - 8:14 PM “Honestly, I was kind of (celebrating), too, and then I realized it was not a Updated June 6, 2021 - 10:10 PM goal,” Karlsson said. “I went to the puck and just tried to shovel it back into the net. Marchessault was there. It was kind of bizarre situation, but you just have to play until the whistle is blown, I guess.” The hats started to fly, and Jonathan Marchessault waved his arms asking for more. Pacioretty scored the go-ahead goal early in the second period when he snapped a shot over the shoulder of Grubauer during a three-on-two The crowd at T-Mobile Arena obliged, littering the ice in celebration of the rush. It was Pacioretty’s third game-winning goal of the postseason and Golden Knights forward’s third goal Sunday. extended his point streak to five games.

“We proved we can play with the best team in the league,” Marchessault “We’re sticking to our structure. As you can see, it’s frustrating for teams said. “We’re on a mission right now.” to play against,” Pacioretty said. “The key now is to be focused each and every game here the entire stretch to make sure we keep that system Boosted by Marchessault’s hat trick, the Knights evened the West going in the right direction.” Division final with a convincing 5-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 4. LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 06.07.2021 The best-of-seven series shifts to Denver for Game 5 on Tuesday after the Knights held serve at home.

Max Pacioretty and Patrick Brown also had goals for the Knights, who scored five unanswered after falling behind early in the first period.

“I think there was a lot of belief after that second game regardless of what the series said,” Pacioretty said. “We knew that when we came home that we were going to be able to continue how we played after that second game and hopefully use some momentum from our fans.”

Avalanche coach Jared Bednar ripped his team after a lackluster effort in Game 3, and Colorado couldn’t counter the Knights’ game plan to clog the neutral zone and slow the top line of Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog.

The Knights nearly doubled the Avalanche in shots on goal (35-18) on Sunday and have outshot Colorado 119-63 since being blown out in Game 1.

Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury earned his 87th career postseason victory, one shy of tying Billy Smith and Ed Belfour for fourth place on the all-time list.

“We know there’s still a lot of hill to climb, but really proud of how we responded to how this series started,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “That Game 1 was a tough turnaround. We didn’t roll over at that point in time. We knew we could play better and have played really well since then.”

Marchessault put the Knights ahead 3-1 with a one-timer from the left circle on a second-period power play, marking the first time Colorado trailed by more than one goal since May 3.

He finished the hat trick at 6:01 of the third period, depositing a pass from Reilly Smith to set the announced crowd of 18,081 into a frenzy.

Marchessault joined Mattias Janmark and Mark Stone as the only players with postseason hat tricks in franchise history.

William Karlsson finished with three assists. The Misfit Line of Marchessault, Smith and Karlsson has produced seven of the team’s 11 goals in the series.

“I remember during the season them having some moments where they always play well, they always play hard, they’re always defensively responsible, but the puck wasn’t going in at different points for them,” DeBoer said. “They’ve stuck with it, and they’ve gotten hot at the right time. They look unstoppable right now.”

The Knights welcomed back defenseman Brayden McNabb from COVID protocol and forward Ryan Reaves after his two-game suspension and came out energized in the first period.

Colorado took the lead 1:50 in after Fleury left a rebound in the crease and Brandon Saad knocked in the loose puck for his sixth goal in the past seven games. 1215312 Vegas Golden Knights Canada previously required a 14-day quarantine for anyone going over its border. The clubs still will have to follow enhanced health and safety measures.

Golden Knights forward named finalist for Selke Trophy The news is relevant to the Knights because the winner of their series against the Avalanche plays the winner of Winnipeg-Montreal.

Gallant wins gold By Ben Gotz Former Knights coach Gerard Gallant led Team Canada to a gold medal June 6, 2021 - 8:19 am at the International Ice Hockey Federation’s World Championship on Sunday. Updated June 6, 2021 - 10:27 PM Canada defeated Finland 3-2 in overtime.

LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 06.07.2021 The NHL’s Selke Trophy long has been a center-dominated award.

More U.S. presidents have been elected (three) since 2007 than noncenters have finished as finalists (two). Golden Knights coach Pete DeBoer said it takes an exceptional winger to be in the mix.

His captain just happens to be that guy.

Knights right wing Mark Stone was named a Selke Trophy finalist, an award given to the NHL’s best defensive forward, for the second time in three seasons Sunday. If he wins, he will be the first winger to do so since Jere Lehtinen in 2003.

The other finalists are Florida center Aleksander Barkov and Boston center Patrice Bergeron. The winner will be announced during the Stanley Cup semifinals or Final.

Stone finished runner-up to St. Louis center Ryan O’Reilly in 2019.

“He’s one of those guys that just makes those decisions properly every single time to maximize both offense and defense,” DeBoer said. “They’re a rare breed, and he belongs in that group. He should win it, in my mind.”

Stone has a strong case after providing a huge impact at both ends of the ice. He led the NHL in takeaways (58) and had a team-leading 61 points in 55 games. Opponents scored 2.12 goals per 60 minutes with him on the ice at five-on-five. For context, the Knights won the Jennings Trophy for fewest goals allowed by giving up 2.18 per game.

The team allowed only two goals in the 70:16 Stone played short-handed and scored once.

That’s why the Knights have trusted his line to play heavy minutes against Colorado’s top line of left wing Gabriel Landeskog, center Nathan MacKinnon and right wing Mikko Rantanen in their second-round series.

“Our line has tried to take a little bit of a responsibility in trying to play them even or even trying to win that matchup, because if you can win the matchup against those top guys, it gives your team a good chance at success,” Stone said. “It’s not easy. I’m the first to admit that.”

Barkov is a first-time Selke finalist. Bergeron is a finalist for the 10th straight season and has won the award four times, tied for the most in NHL history.

Lineup changes

The Knights got three players back for Game 4 against the Avalanche at T-Mobile Arena.

Defenseman Brayden McNabb was removed from the COVID-19 protocol list and played his first game since May 24. He first appeared on the list May 26 after testing positive for COVID-19. Defenseman Nick Holden came out of the lineup for McNabb.

Right wing Ryan Reaves took his normal spot on the fourth line after missing two games because of a suspension. Right wing Keegan Kolesar moved up to the third line, and left wing Dylan Sikura was a healthy scratch.

Goaltender Robin Lehner returned as Marc-Andre Fleury’s backup after missing the two previous games for undisclosed reasons.

Canada lifts restrictions

NHL teams will be allowed to cross the Canada border with a modified quarantine starting with the Stanley Cup semifinals, the league announced Sunday. 1215313 Vegas Golden Knights defensive blue line, the puck coming off the attackers’ sticks, and Vegas countered with a rush of its own.

The Golden Knights had no qualms about sending the puck in deep and Jonathan Marchessault’s hat trick, ‘Misfit Line’ carry Golden Knights past getting it back. They didn’t come directly off chips from the blue line, but Avalanche Marchessault’s first and third goals came as a result of a forecheck creating pressure the Avalanche couldn’t answer.

“I think we’re kind of smart with the puck,” Karlsson said. “When there’s By Justin Emerson plays in the neutral zone we take it. You chip it in and go to work, and it’s working.” Sunday, June 6, 2021 | 10:29 p.m. So much worked for the Golden Knights on Sunday.

Their forecheck kept the puck in the Avalanche zone, allowing only 18 It takes about six minutes for the crew at T-Mobile Arena to clear off shots on goal, a season-low for Colorado. The Golden Knights had no hundreds of hats from the ice. issue exiting the zone, as two of their goals — Pacioretty’s in the second They gladly sprung into action Sunday night after Jonathan period and Patrick Brown’s in the third — came off rush chances that Marchessault’s third goal found twine for the Golden Knights against the started near the Vegas nets. Colorado Avalanche, sending most of the 18,081 fans into a frenzied Brown’s initial shot went off Philipp Grubauer’s chest, but the Colorado celebration. goalie couldn’t stuff it, and the puck trickled down and into the goal as That included many — in following a hockey tradition when a hat trick is Grubauer slid into the cage. recorded — tossing their Golden Knights’ hats onto the ice. Even backup There was no call on the ice despite the puck being in the net and the goalie Robin Lehner joyfully threw his hat onto the ice. crowd going wild, then officials huddled and ruled it a goal, firing up the Marchessault scored his first playoff hat trick, the Golden Knights shut crowd again. Colorado challenged for goalie interference, but the call on down the Avalanche and the biggest crowd of the season got its money the ice stood, raising the decibel level in the arena one more time. worth, as the Golden Knights defeated the Avalanche 5-1 on Sunday to Brown’s goal didn’t play much of a role in the game, extending the lead even the series 2-2. Game 5 is 6 p.m. Tuesday in Colorado. 5-1 with 6:47 to go, but it allowed a crowd in attendance for a party to “Night in, night out it doesn’t matter who scores or everything. If we win celebrate the same goal three times. as a group that’s most important,” Marchessault said. “We proved we can “I was just pumped,” Brown said. “(William Carrier) and (Ryan Reaves) play with the best team in the league and we’re on a mission right now.” made a great play up the ice and I was able to finish with them. They The success of Marchessault, William Karlsson and Reilly Smith — the were able to celebrate three times too, so that was fun.” Misfit Line as they’re affectionately known, stemming from the Golden The fans got to celebrate Marchessault goals three times. He was a Misfits team of 2017-18 — is no accident. It’s a by-product of game- point-per-game player in the playoffs his first two years with the Golden planning. Knights, then mustered just three goals and 10 points in 20 postseason At 5-on-5, that line was hilariously dominant. In 8:31 of ice time with them games last year. on the ice, the Golden Knights led 14-3 in shot attempts, 12-1 in scoring Coach Pete DeBoer said that bothered him. He didn’t score and had one chances and 7-0 in high-danger scoring chances, according to Natural assist in the Western Conference Final loss to Dallas last season, and Stat Trick. DeBoer said he was determined to come into this year with a vengeance. And that doesn’t even factor in Marchessault’s second goal, a power-play So far, so good. His five goals this postseason lead the Golden Knights tally in the second period. They feasted on Colorado’s second line of and his seven points are behind online his linemate Karlsson and captain Joonas Donskoi, Tyson Jost and Valeri Nichushkin. Stone. That’s because Colorado’s top line was occupied elsewhere. After a The Golden Knights turned a 2-0 series deficit into a best-of-three series Game 1 in which Karlsson’s line struggled to contain Gabriel Landeskog, with two victories at home. They can thank a lot of the little things for that Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, the Golden Knights shook to be sure, but it doesn’t hurt when the three players DeBoer called the things up and did what they could to get their own top line of Max “identity of this franchise” produce, and a motivated player records the Pacioretty, Chandler Stephenson and Mark Stone out against the third postseason hat trick in team history. Avalanche stars. “I think that line, I remember during the season them having some It’s worked in two ways. moments where — they also play well, they always play hard, they’re The first is that the Stephenson line has outplayed MacKinnon’s by a always defensively responsible — but the puck wasn’t always going in at good margin, including on Pacioretty’s second-period goal Sunday. different points for them,” DeBoer said. “They’ve gotten hot at the right MacKinnon, Landeskog and Rantanen have been bottled up, and have time, and they look unstoppable right now.” come nowhere near matching the eight combined points they had in LAS VEGAS SUN LOADED: 06.07.2021 Game 1.

The second way it’s worked is even more impactful — if MacKinnon’s line is out against Stephenson’s, who is going to defend the Misfits?

That’s been the key to the series turnaround, as Marchessault, Karlsson and Smith have combined for five 5-on-5 goals in the last three games. In Game 4, Marchessault had the three goals, but Karlsson had three assists and Smith had one.

“Look at the way (Stephenson, Pacioretty and Stone), they played against the best line in the NHL and they’ve done an amazing job and they keep producing while they’re doing a great job against the top three guys there,” Marchessault said. “It’s a big advantage, but next game it might be different matchups. As a group we’ve got to answer the bell and just get the job done.”

It’s a hockey cliché about getting pucks deep, but the Golden Knights didn’t allow the Avalanche to do that almost at all.

Colorado is a fast, skilled team that seemed loathe to dump-and-chase Sunday in favor of carrying the puck into the Vegas zone with control. It resulted in forwards running into a wall the Golden Knights created at the 1215314 Vegas Golden Knights Vegas led 23-14 in shots on goal through two periods. The anthem barely finished in Game 4 on Sunday before the action

started. Golden Knights overpower Avalanche, even series in Game 4 There was a scoring chance right after the puck drop, a goal in the first two minutes and two penalties at the end. And after 20 minutes, the Golden Knights and Avalanche were tied 1-1 at T-Mobile Arena. By Justin Emerson The Golden Knights came out flying, with a dangerous shot on goal 12 Published Sunday, June 6, 2021 | 2:02 p.m. seconds in and another chance broken up seconds later.

Updated Sunday, June 6, 2021 | 8:16 p.m. But it was the Avalanche who came out with the first goal on their first chance of the game. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped J.T. Compher's shot

with his chest, but couldn't hold onto it and as it trickled back onto the ice, And just like that, the Golden Knights have tied the series. Brandon Saad was there to put it home at the 1:50 mark and give the Avalanche a 1-0 lead. It was Saad's third goal of the series. Jonathan Marchessault recorded his first playoff hat trick, the third in Golden Knights history and second this postseason, as Vegas The Golden Knights' pace only ramped up from there. At the first TV overwhelmed the Avalanche on Sunday en route to a 5-1 victory at T- timeout at the 7:23 mark of the first, the Golden Knights had an eye- Mobile Arena in Game 4. popping 12 shots on goal, including their first goal of the night.

Things looked bleak for Vegas after the Game 1 drubbing and the Game That was courtesy of Jonathan Marchessault, who stood in the right 2 overtime heartbreaker. But the Golden Knights stormed back with two place and served as a backboard for William Karlsson's shot. Reilly victories at T-Mobile Arena to even things up 2-2. Game 5 is scheduled Smith thought he scored after a takeaway in front of the net, but it the for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Ball Arena in Denver. crossbar to set up a mad dash for the puck. Karlsson won it and deflected it off Marchessault to even the game at 7:07. Marchessault got things going for Vegas, answering an early Colorado goal with a bit of a weird one. There was a scramble in front of the net The Avalanche went to a power play after Jonathan Marchessault was after Reilly Smith hit the crossbar and Marchessault positioned himself in called for tripping with 1:58 left in the first, but it was a short one. Twenty- the crease and redirected a William Karlsson feed into the net at 7:07 of two seconds later Cale Makar took an interference minor and the period the first to tie the game 1-1. ended with 4-on-4 action. There will be two more seconds of it to start the second, then Vegas will have a 22-second power play. Max Pacioretty was next, sniping it by Philipp Grubauer off the rush at the 1:11 mark of the second. After that, Marchessault put the game to The Golden Knights ended the period with a 15-10 edge in shots on goal. bed. Selke finalist Mark Stone, Golden Knights looking to even series with He scored on the power play, a power-play one-timer on an Alex Avalanche in Game 4 Pietrangelo feed at 11:28 of the second, then finished the trick at 6:01 of The Golden Knights will have two players on the ice tonight against the third on a Reilly Smith feed. He joined Mark Stone in 2019 and Colorado Avalanche who are finalists for major NHL awards. Mattias Janmark in Game 7 of the last round as Golden Knights with three goals in a game. Forward Mark Stone was named a finalist for the Selke Trophy as the league's top defensive forward this morning along with Boston's Patrice Marchessault and Pacioretty provided the first four Vegas goals, and Bergeron and Florida's Aleksander Barkov. Along with Marc-Andre dating back to Game 3 combined to score the last six for the Golden Fleury, who is a finalist for the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goalie, Knights. Vegas has the potential for some serious postseason hardware. Patrick Brown added one more with 6:47 left in the game, his second of Vegas will need their best players to be at their best in Game 4. The the postseason. Golden Knights trail 2-1 in the second-round series against the Vegas finished with a 35-18 lead in shots on goal. Avalanche. Puck drop is 5:30 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena in what could be a pivotal swing game in the series. Golden Knights score twice in second period, lead Avalanche in Game 4 "It's cool to be put in a category with those guys but I've got other things Including the second period of Game 4 on Sunday, the Golden Knights on my mind today," Stone said. "We understand that they're probably have controlled the series for the last seven periods. It took until the going to bring their best game of the series. I don't think they were too second period of Game 4 to get rewarded with the goals that the play happy with the way they played (in Game 3) and they stated that publicly dictated. so we've got to bring our best as well.

The Golden Knights scored a pair of goals in the second period to take a "Obviously the next game is always the biggest game of the series, but multiple-goal lead for the first time in the series, and led the Avalanche 3- this one is by far the biggest game so far." 1 heading to the third period. The Golden Knights have outplayed the Avalanche for the better part of The Golden Knights came out in the second they had for much of the two games, including domination at 5-on-5. They've shown they weren't first. An early 22 seconds of power-play time helped set the tone, but it going to be intimidated by the 2-0 series hole they found themselves in, was after the penalty expired that Vegas struck. and battled back in a must-win Game 3.

For the second game in a row Max Pacioretty scored to put the Golden But even though they've been the better team for two games, they only Knights on top. In Game 3 it was a tip in front of the net and on Sunday it won one of them. The Colorado power play continues to be lethal, was off the rush, taking a pass from Mark Stone down the left wing and connecting on five of the 13 opportunities (38.5%) so even if it's tempting sniping it past Philipp Grubauer 71 seconds into the second period to put to keep doing what they've been doing, the Golden Knights know they Vegas up 2-1. can't just sit back and hope a victory comes.

And for the second time in the game, Jonathan Marchessault came up "There's still a lot of hill to climb here," coach Pete DeBoer said. "I think with a big goal. He posted up in the left circle on the power play and one- what it's done is give us confidence in what will work for us, and timed an Alex Pietrangelo feed by Grubauer at the 11:28 mark for Vegas' obviously they'll have a say in that and make adjustments. We're second power-play goal of the series. confident in our game and if we get to it and get to it for longer periods of time that we're going to be hard to beat." Marchessault and Pacioretty combined for the last five Golden Knights goals going back to Game 3 on Friday. The Golden Knights are expecting the return of forward Ryan Reaves, who was suspended two games after a roughing and unsportsmanlike The Golden Knights' forechecking pressure has been relentless, never conduct match penalty in Game 1. DeBoer did not confirm he would play, allowing Colorado to leave the zone with any control. Combine that with a but he has never been healthy-scratched under DeBoer, so expect him to wall at the defensive blue line, and it adds up to a tough offensive night return to his usual spot on the fourth line. for the Avalanche. Defenseman Brayden McNabb is also nearing a return for Vegas. He has been on the league's "Players Unavailable Due to COVID Protocol" list and has not played since Game 4 of the last round. He was on the ice for morning skate, meaning he has been cleared to leave league protocols, but his availability for tonight is not clear.

Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 2

Series: Avalanche lead 2-0

TV: NBC Sports Network (DirecTV 220, Cox 38, CenturyLink 640)

Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM

Betting line: Golden Knights minus-120, Avalanche EVEN; over/under: 5.5 (EVEN, minus-120)

Golden Knights (5-5, West Division No. 2 seed)

Coach: Pete DeBoer (second season)

Points leader: Mattias Janmark, William Karlsson, Mark Stone (6)

Goals leader: Mark Stone (4)

Assists leader: Nick Holden, Chandler Stephenson (5)

Expected goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury (1.88 GAA, .922 save percentage)

Avalanche (6-1, West Division No. 1 seed)

Coach: Jared Bednar (fifth season)

Points leader: Nathan MacKinnon (13)

Goals leader: Nathan MacKinnon (8)

Assists leaders: Gabriel Landeskog (8)

Expected goalie: Philipp Grubauer (1.86 GAA, .941 save percentage)

Golden Knights projected lineup

Forwards

Max Pacioretty—Chandler Stephenson—Mark Stone

Jonathan Marchessault—William Karlsson—Reilly Smith

Keegan Kolesar—Nicolas Roy—Alex Tuch

William Carrier—Patrick Brown—Ryan Reaves

Defensemen

Alec Martinez—Alex Pietrangelo

Nick Holden—Shea Theodore

Zach Whitecloud—Zach Whitecloud

Goalies

Marc-Andre Fleury, Robin Lehner

LAS VEGAS SUN LOADED: 06.07.2021 1215315 Vegas Golden Knights The Golden Knights will need Fleury to continue his strong play if they’re going to climb back into the series with the Avalanche. Vegas has outplayed Colorado for the last two games, but the Avalanche are too good to get outworked the way they have for the last five or so periods. Marc-Andre Fleury enjoys rock star status with Golden Knights fans back The push is coming. at T-Mobile Arena And when it does, Vegas is going to need its rock star goalie. He was spectacular in the regular season, terrific in the first round of the playoff, and if the Golden Knights are going to beat the Avalanche, he’s also By Justin Emerson going to need to be great in this round. Sunday, June 6, 2021 | 2 a.m. LAS VEGAS SUN LOADED: 06.07.2021

Marc-Andre Fleury has been a fan favorite in Vegas since the moment he walked through the curtain at the expansion draft nearly four years ago.

He added to his legend Friday in Game 3 of the second round playoff series against Colorado, making a point-blank save on Mikko Rantanen with 46 seconds left to preserve the comeback victory in a must-win spot.

Colorado took a time out, and the packed house of fans at T-Mobile Arena serenaded their favorite son with the loudest chants of the season.

“Fleu-ry. Fleu-ry. Fleu-ry.”

Game 4 of the series is at 5:30 p.m. today and T-Mobile will again be loud from start to finish with a sellout crowd.

“We’ve been lucky to have some fans since the beginning of the playoffs here. It was nice, it was good, but tonight. Tonight was something else,” Fleury said. “To make a save and people cheering your name like that gives you goosebumps. I still get them now. It’s a lot of fun, it gives you a great feeling and it’s the reason why playing this game is so much.”

The crowd is loudest during the pregame player introductions when he’s announced as the starter. Public address Bruce Cusick has his introduction down to an art. As flowers project on the ice and spin in circles, Cusick belts: “He’s No. 29. He’s Marc. Andre. Fleury!”

“He’s a beloved member of the team and the community, there’s no doubt,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “He’s earned every accolade he gets from the people here.”

Mark Stone is the captain, Max Pacioretty is the leading scorer, and the “Misfit Line” of Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and Reilly Smith will always have a special place in the hearts of Golden Knights fans. Robin Lehner was the starter for much of last year’s postseason run, and as DeBoer pointed out, the home fans support anyone wearing the golden helmet on their chest.

But there’s no one they love like Fleury.

He’s was that marquee name who arrived in the maiden season four years ago, leading the franchise to the Stanley Cup Final and helping the franchise quickly become the city’s unquestioned favorite team.

And this year may have been the best year not only of his Golden Knights tenure, but of his 17-year career.

He was Vezina Trophy finalist as the league’s top goaltender for the first time in his career and teamed with Robin Lehner to allow the fewest goals in the league this season — an accomplishment rewarded with his first Jennings Trophy and Lehner’s second. Fleury’s .928 save percentage and 1.98 goals-against average marked the bests of his career.

He hasn’t slowed down in the postseason, starting in net for all five of the Golden Knights’ wins and wearing every goal he allows like a scarlet letter. He was visibly upset after Game 2 when Rantanen’s overtime shot clipped him in the shoulder but still landed in the net.

He allowed himself a smile following Game 3 though. Even after Rantanen scored to give Colorado the lead earlier in the third period, Fleury had the last laugh with the game-saving stop in the final minute.

“Obviously it was frustrating losing that Game 2 in overtime there, so I had a chance to redeem myself a bit there,” Fleury said. “That was close. He looked up like he was coming higher than sneaked it five-hole. I was lucky enough to get down quickly enough to land on it. It was a good feeling.” 1215316 Vegas Golden Knights When those same defenders have to turn their back to the play, chase a puck into the corner, then avoid several waves of forechecking pressure, they’re not nearly as dangerous. The simple play would be for them to fire the puck around the glass, but that’s not how Colorado plays. The Golden Knights have subdued Colorado’s high-octane offense with Avalanche are so talented that they are always looking for the big play, intense, unrelenting pressure and it’s easy to see why. It’s gotten them this far. But for now, the Golden Knights’ structured approach is giving them fits.

“We’re working as a unit of five on the ice, all over the place,” said Max By Jesse Granger Jun 7, 2021 Pacioretty, who has a point in each of his five games since returning from injury. “We’re not cheating for offense. We’re sticking to our structure, and as you can see, that’s frustrating for teams to play against. It sounds Golden Knights players hopped over the boards at T-Mobile Arena with cliche, but the team that strays away from their structure runs into the same intentions each and every time during Game 4 on Sunday night problems. That’s what we did there in the first game, and since then, against the Colorado Avalanche. we’ve really stuck to it.”

Apply as much pressure as possible, for as long as possible. They sent The biggest difference between Game 1 and the following three games is wave after wave of players onto the ice, skating north and south, directly the Golden Knights are making the Avalanche earn every inch of ice. into the faces of the opposition. There haven’t been free giveaways in the neutral zone to generate easy chances. Every possession for Colorado starts 200 feet from the Golden That pressure cracked the Avalanche on Sunday, as Vegas broke the Knights net. That defenseman has to win a board battle with the game open for a commanding 5-1 win to even the best-of-seven series at forechecker and get it to a forward, who must then beat Vegas’ tight 2-2. It was the Golden Knights’ most controlling victory of the series, and neutral zone checking, and that’s just to get the puck past the blue line. it was all predicated on their relentless forecheck. “If you make them come 200 feet and they make a great chance and Colorado took a lead early, but Vegas quickly evened the score thanks to score or if (Marc-Andre) Fleury makes a great save, then you kind of a fantastic effort on the forecheck by Jonathan Marchessault. Vegas have to tip your cap,” Stone said. “But when you’re forechecking the way flipped the puck high into the air, caught by Avalanche defenseman we’re forechecking and forcing them to make plays to beat us, that’s Patrik Nemeth at his own blue line. Before Nemeth could look up to view when you’re playing your best.” his options, Marchessault was engaging in a stick check that forced Nemeth to turn his back and retreat. And while it’s the forwards applying the forechecking pressure, it all starts with the Golden Knights defensemen. Alex Pietrangelo played one of his Nemeth tried using his own goal as a shield from Marchessault’s best games of the season Sunday, escaping any pressure the Avalanche pressure, but Marchessault quickly zipped around the far side and met forwards applied with ease and moving the puck to his forwards. The Nemeth, forcing a turnover right to Reilly Smith in front of the net. Smith’s quicker he and Shea Theodore move the puck, the easier it is to get the shot hit the crossbar, and after a wild scramble, Marchessault scored forecheck going on the other end. with his first goal of the game. He was rewarded for his effort on the forecheck with two more goals, the first playoff hat trick of his career. “He’s hard to forecheck,” Stone said of Pietrangelo. “Between him and Theodore, those are two hard guys to forecheck. They’re making really The Golden Knights have employed this strategy over the past three good plays transporting the puck for forwards. That’s been important for games, and it’s led to their outshooting Colorado 119-63 and winning us to get our forecheck established, is the transition game from our Games 3 and 4 to even the series as it heads back to Denver. The thing defense. And not just Pietrangelo and Theodore — everybody is doing a about playing that style of hockey is that it’s physically exhausting. Which great job of making quick and simple plays. That can get frustrating for isn’t a problem for Vegas, according to captain Mark Stone. the other team.” “Yeah, that’s what it takes to win,” he said. “You have to continue to put Pietrangelo was equally effective in the offensive zone, especially on the pressure on their defense. We’re trying to make them come 200 feet to power play. He made a fantastic shot fake that froze Philipp Grubauer get a scoring chance. I think in Game 1 we didn’t do a great job of that. just enough before feeding a pass to Marchessault for a one-timer to We were a little sloppy and kind of let them freewheel.” extend Vegas’ lead to 3-1. The Avalanche are an incredibly skilled hockey team, likely the most Pietrangelo made almost an identical pass to Marchessault for a one- skilled in the entire NHL. The way to combat that skill is to pressure timer just seconds before, but Grubauer slid across to make the save. players enough to force them into making the simple play. And as the The second time Pietrangelo faked the shot and stared Grubauer in the Golden Knights have forced Colorado into the simple plays, the eyes while dishing to Marchessault. That millisecond of hesitation for Avalanche have refused to take them. When you simplify things, that’s Grubauer was the difference, as he wasn’t as set in his position when really what it comes down to. Vegas has made the simple plays and Marchessault fired, and the shot slipped through him for a goal. This outworked the Avalanche in the corners, while Colorado insists on angle really shows Pietrangelo’s vision, not even peeking over to see making the tough play, which has led to turnovers and easy chances the Marchessault before releasing the pass. other way for Vegas. It was a full team effort for Vegas, and that’s what it will take to win two “I think we’ve been smart with the puck,” William Karlsson said. “When more against the dangerous Avalanche. there are plays (available) through the neutral zone, we take it, but if not, we chip it in and go to work, and it’s working.” “We want to attack in waves, and I think the strength of our group is in the depth and the four lines,” coach Peter DeBoer said. “You can’t play The Golden Knights aren’t a dump-and-chase team, but they’ve quickly that game unless you’ve got four lines of guys that hop over the boards realized that time and space in the neutral zone are incredibly limited in and are willing to do that work. They’re a highly skilled team, and like I’ve this series. Instead of forcing the pass to spring a player for a dangerous said before, if we’re not detailed and don’t execute, they have the ability chance, they’ve chipped the puck into the corner and used their size to swamp us like they did in Game 1.” advantage to win possession. Sunday’s 5-1 win might have looked easy, like the Golden Knights “We are a pretty good forecheck team normally, so if we put pucks in cruised to victory. But that’s far from the case. Every shift took every good areas, we stay close to each other in the forecheck and we recover ounce of energy they had to pressure Colorado into submission. most of them,” Marchessault said. “So, we just have to keep doing what we’ve been doing.” “It’s never easy,” Stone said. “We’re playing the Presidents’ Trophy winners. But at the same time, I think we gave them a little bit too much In Game 1, the Golden Knights had several neutral-zone turnovers that respect in Game 1. We sat back and dipped our toes. I think after the first led directly to Colorado goals. When the Avalanche’s talented puck- period in Game 2 we realized we can play with these guys. But to say moving defensemen such as Cale Makar, Samuel Girard and Devon that it’s easy is a very false statement.” Toews get the puck in open ice, they will make you pay, transitioning to offense almost instantly and moving the puck up to their talented The Athletic LOADED: 06.07.2021 forwards. 1215317 Vegas Golden Knights

Marchessault Makes It Rain Hats In Vegas With Golden Trick As Knights Melt Avalanche, 5-1, With VGK Heat Before 18,081 Sunday; Playoff Series Tied 2-2

June 6, 2021 Alan Snel

The hats came flying down forever in period three.

VGK’s feisty forward, Jonathan Marchessault, scored three goals in Game 4 between the Golden Knights and the Colorado Avalanche at T- Mobile Arena Sunday and Vegas played one of its best games of the season to dominate the Avs, 5-1, and tie this monster Best-of-7 second round series at two games apiece. Game 5 is in Denver Tuesday and Game 6 is set for Vegas Thursday.

It was another electric 60 minutes of hockey as the Golden Knights announced attendance at 18,081, topping Friday’s 17,504.

Patrick Brown’s goal in the third period topped off the 5-1 win after Marchessault triggered the thunderstorm of hats with his third goal in the game earlier in the final period.

In period two, the Golden Knights took a stranglehold of this critical game 4 with goals by sharpshooters Max Pacioretty and Marchessault, who blasted pucks past Colorado netminder Philipp Grubauer.

It was one of the Golden Knights’ best overall efforts so far this season as VGK outshot Colorado, 35-18.

Source: ESPN

*The pivotal playoff game started at an insane, high-energy pace as the VGK peppered Grubauer early in period one, while Colorado looked crisper after being called out by Avalanche coach Jared Bednar.

Brandon Saad of Colorado put in an easy goal to give the Avs a 1-0 lead, but Marchessault tied it at one a little more than five minutes later at 7:07 of period one.

At the end of one period: Vegas 1 Colorado 1

*They came early, getting beers at Park MGM, eating pizza at the Eataly and packing Beerhaus in the 108-degree heat that cooked the Strip and the plaza outside T-Mobile Arena Sunday.

LVSportsBiz.com cruised The Park, which leads to T-Mobile Arena, a venue that is expected to be packed again with more than 17,500 insane fans that went crazy two days ago when the Vegas Golden Knights climbed back in this Best-of-7 showdown with a 3-2 rally win over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 3.

There were Colorado fans sprinkled among the hundreds of fans in bars and hotels near the arena. It was intensely hot for the team sponsors on the plaza, but the folks from Lexus and William Hill had their tents up and were talking to anyone willing to stop by their tables.

In warmups, VGK defenseman Brayden McNabb, forward Ryan Reaves and goaltender Robin Lehner are all back.

LVSportsBiz.com LOADED: 06.07.2021 1215318 Vegas Golden Knights

Golden Knights Getting Help To Sell Playoff Tickets

June 6, 2021 Alan Snel

If you’re getting text alerts about available Vegas Golden Knights tickets for Sunday’s VGK vs Colorado Game 4, you’re not alone.

With 17,367 fixed seats to fill at T-Mobile Arena, the Golden Knights business folks are getting help from a company called Pogoseat to sell last-minute seats.

Pogoseat has come in handy as the NHL franchise has received permission during the past three months to increase its fan attendance capacity at T-Mobile Arena.

The Golden Knights and Pogoseat have had a partnership since 2018.

Professional teams sometimes need help to try and sell as many tickets as possible for games.

They’re not too keen on ticket brokers buying up tickets and re-selling them, so they’d rather retain control over the ticket-selling process.

That’s why many teams and college sports programs enter partnerships with operations like Pogoseat.

The minor league baseball Las Vegas Aviators have a partnership with a company called, LuvSeats, which has an app that allows fans to buy and sell unsold seats, unwanted seats, no-show seats, and abandoned seats.

LVSportsBiz.com will be at the VGK-Colorado Game 4 today, so please look for our game day coverage.

If you appreciate our journalism, please consider buying an ad on the LVSportsBiz.com web site, make a donation through the site’s popup window or buy Alan Snel’s new book, called Bicycle Man: Life of Journeys.

LVSportsBiz.com LOADED: 06.07.2021 1215319 Vegas Golden Knights

Mark Stone Announced As 2021 Selke Trophy Finalist

Published 5 hours ago on June 6, 2021By Tom Callahan

Vegas Golden Knights forward Mark Stone has been named a finalist for the Frank J. Selke Trophy for this season. It’s his second career nomination for the award, given to the NHL’s Best Defensive Forward.

Stone is nominated along with Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins and Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers. The 29-year-old Stone led the league with 58 takeaways, and put up 61 points (21-40-61) in 55 games.

The award is voted on following the close of the regular season by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. The 2021 NHL Awards will take place at some point in the next month or so, although the exact dates and times have yet to be announced. Mark Stone joins Marc-Andre Fleury (Vezina Trophy) as Vegas Golden Knights players voted a finalist for individual NHL hardware.

Vegas Hockey Now LOADED: 06.07.2021 1215320 Vegas Golden Knights

Jonathan Marchessault Hat Trick Propels Vegas Golden Knights

Published 3 hours ago on June 6, 2021By Tom Callahan

Jonathan Marchessault scored three goals to lead the Vegas Golden Knights to a 5-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche Sunday night, evening the best-of-seven Honda West Division Final at two games apiece.

Brandon Saad opened up the scoring for Colorado just 1:50 into the first period, but after that, it was all Vegas in another dominating performance.

Marchessault scored his first goal at 7:07 to tie the game. Just over a minute into the second period Max Pacioretty netted the eventual game- winner, followed by two more from Marchessault to complete the hat trick.

Patrick Brown wrapped up the scoring for the 5-1 final.

The Takeaways:

Man, the Colorado Avalanche looks like they don’t know what hit them. Vegas has really changed the tenor of the series by taking the pace to the next level and absolutely closing off the neutral zone where they were completely roasted in Game One.

Vegas has really improved on the forecheck and zone entry portions of the game too. They struggled against Minnesota in this area and are finally getting it going to tremendous effect.

Marc-Andre Fleury has continued to make the big saves when they need the most. Fleury has been a rock all season long and that doesn’t look like it’s going to change any time soon. If he keeps this up, the Golden Knights are in a prime position to come all the way back in this series.

The line of Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and Reilly Smith has really come alive the last two games. I’ll be honest, I was not enamored with them so far in the playoffs, but in the last two games, they’ve made a massive impact. Consider that the Golden Knights have struggled at times to really mount offensive pressure in this playoffs and it’s an even bigger relief to see the scoring among the top-six forward group really coming to the fore.

Alex Pietrangelo has been getting better and better since his return from injury. It’s a combination of physically getting back into shape, getting the system down pat, and really finding his game within the context of where he fits on this Vegas Golden Knights roster. It’s not just scoring, although he’s offensively talented. It’s the hockey sense. His ability to avoid the pressure of a forecheck, to sense where the open space will be, to find players on passes that stretch the attack with speed through the neutral zone. Still don’t think Pietrangelo has made a big difference? Look at the St. Louis Blues. They were a completely different team without him and are now making tee times.

Vegas Hockey Now LOADED: 06.07.2021 1215321 Vegas Golden Knights against Marc-Andre Fleury is going to be critical to success tonight. Don’t let Nathan MacKinnon and his line off the mat. They’re not doing much now. Don’t let them wake up.

Vegas Golden Knights Look To Even Series with Colorado Avalanche Win the battles on the wall. If you keep the game on the perimeter, you have to win the board battles. Vegas must out-work the Avs in every single puck battle.

Published 4 hours ago on June 6, 2021By Tom Callahan Vegas Hockey Now LOADED: 06.07.2021

You could cut the tension with a hockey stick. Despite being the better team for 50-plus minutes in Game Three, the Vegas Golden Knights found themselves trailing the Colorado Avalanche and in danger of falling behind 3-0 in the Honda West Division final series.

It was then Lady Luck favored the home team with a bounce off the backside of Avs goaltender Philipp Grubauer that found its way over the goal line to tie the game at 2-2. Just 45 seconds later, Max Pacioretty tipped home a Nick Holden shot from the point.

That’s when the roof blew off T-Mobile Arena.

Game Three Highlights

The Golden Knights have said they felt they were the better team in Game Two but lost. They won Game Three. Now, despite trailing the series 2-1, the VGK has the momentum firmly on its side.

Game Four is tonight, once again to be played in front of a packed house on The Strip.

THE BREAKDOWN:

For some reason, the fact that Game Three was Colorado’s first loss of the playoffs didn’t really resonate with me. But there it is, 6-1 in the 2021 post-season after a sweep of the St. Louis Blues and winning the first two games of the series. The Avalanche has been a juggernaut offensively, out-scoring opponents 32-13 and allowing one first-period goal so far.

Combine this with the Vegas Golden Knights penchant for starting slowly in games and you have a potential recipe for disaster. However, the Golden Knights have bounced back from an abysmal Game One with two great efforts, finally finding victory in Game Three to climb back in the series.

Here’s where it gets interesting. Vegas has been the better team in two of the three games. Grubauer has been the saving grace for Colorado, earning them a split when they weren’t at their best. The Avs top line hasn’t been as consistent as they would like. Each team has had its ups and downs, but with a pivotal game to be played at a sold out T-Mobile Arena, the impetus really ends up on the Avalanche to staunch the bleeding.

If Colorado can win Game Four tonight, it almost becomes game over in the series because they’ve broken the mojo of the road arena and have two chances to wrap up the series at home. Plus the Avalanche simply have not generated enough scoring chances thus far to overcome the Golden Knights onslaught.

It boils down to more than just goaltending. Both teams employ a version of the same breakout play with a touch pass through the netural zone to hit a streaking forward in stride. In Game One Colorado ripped the neutral zone to shreds with this high-speed manouver. Since then Vegas has adjusted its play to calm the waters substantially. Both teams know they need to attack with speed and use it to overwhelm the opposing defense.

Colorado needs to start fast and keep it in gear the entire game, which they haven’t done in the last six periods. Vegas needs to also wake up earlier and get going, which they have not done much of the entire playoffs.

VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS KEYS TO THE GAME

Get out of the gate! For goodness sake the Golden Knights have to at some point play 60 minutes of hockey. They’re a scary team. Talented and deep, they have confidence and swagger too. But is it too much to ask to jump out on top and then stay there? They’ve scored first a few times, but it seems they just have the worst time playing that entire first period.

Keep the Avs to the outside. Perimeter chances aren’t generally good ones. Keeping the danger to the ouside and not letting traffic to the front 1215322 Vegas Golden Knights

Vegas Golden Knights Bet On Themselves When the Chips Are Down

Published 8 hours ago on June 6, 2021By Tom Callahan

There’s a commercial that’s been playing the last two years, produced by the NHL about how hockey players never say “I”, they say “we” instead. The Vegas Golden Knights are the epitome of that commercial writ large.

After a dominating performance in Game Three that put the VGK right back in the series, the players spoke in no uncertain terms about their unwavering confidence in themselves.

“Even when we’re down we still have that faith that we believe in ourselves, that we can turn this around,” said William Karlsson. “Today (Game Three) for example is one of those games. What I like about this team (is that) we never give up.”

Mark Stone is quick to credit his teammates for building that culture from Day One of the Vegas Golden Knights franchise, talking up Jonathan Marchessault after his game-changing goal.

“He’s one of the guys who helped build the culture of this team. That’s why you see us able to come back in these games. We could have easily folded the tents, packed up and gone down 0-3.”

But they didn’t. All season long we’ve heard the Golden Knights using the “royal we” when talking about themselves and the belief that exists within the dressing room. So many times this team has come from behind to steal games. Opposing defenses struggle to lock them down because up and down the bench the confidence – the swagger – is always there.

“You can’t be a great player if you’re not on a great team,” Stone said in praising the VGK at every position. “(It) creates a great team environment. That allows everybody to perform throughout the system. The thing I love most about this team is guys play their roles. We’ve got 20 guys going out there every night and doing their job which creates a great team.”

“We just stuck with it,” said head coach Pete DeBoer. “We just kept our belief in our game, which I think has been in a good place if you throw out Game One.”

Of course, the crowd could have been the first star easily for Game Three as a sold-out T-Mobile Arena was deafening.

Golden Knights fans have been taught to expect resiliency, and they respond accordingly. Even they have the belief that the VGK are never out of a game. The expectation exists that every game could and should be a win.

Marchessault himself exuded that confidence after the game.

“Last game (Game Two) I think we played a great game and should have had a better outcome. Tonight we stuck with it. Obviously we were down 2-1 but we were the better team out there tonight.”

Another trait of this Vegas Golden Knights team is that they don’t dwell on the past, win or lose. Marchessault jumped right to that point.

“Now it’s all about next game. We can’t get too high or too low. You gotta focus on the next game and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Vegas Hockey Now LOADED: 06.07.2021 1215323 Winnipeg Jets On Sunday, Price finished with 26 saves for a sixth straight victory. Following an up-and-down regular season, the future Hall-of-Famer has returned to form in the playoffs. Over the two series, Price has an eye- popping .937 save percentage. Jets fall to Canadiens 5-1, trail series 3-0 "Earlier in the year I think everybody was ready to run Carey out of town and he couldn’t find his game," said centre Adam Lowry, who scored late in the second period off a slick backhanded pass from Mathieu Perreault Jeff Hamilton 6/7/2021 to cut Montreal's lead to 3-1 through 40 minutes.

"He’s human, he’s going to let in some goals. We just have to create as If Friday's loss was viewed as a step in the right direction, then Sunday many chances as we can to get some by him." should count as two massive lunges back to reality for the Winnipeg Jets. CP With their backs against the wall after dropping the first two games at Besides Lowry's goal, the Jets were able to beat Price on two separate home, including an uninspired 1-0 decision in Game 2 that somehow occasions, only for the puck to ring off the crossbar. First it was Nikolaj drew all kinds of positives from the Jets room, Winnipeg laid another egg Ehlers, who saw his shot ricochet off an errant skate and then hit iron. in their most important game of the season. On a night Jets defenceman Not even a minute later, Wheeler made a nice move in tight, enough to Derek Forbort called a "must-win" prior to puck drop, the Jets once again freeze Price, but he, too, rung one off the top bar. had their lunch money stolen and were pushed around all over the ice by the Montreal Canadiens en route to a 5-1 loss at the Bell Centre. In fact, Wheeler thought he scored on the play, so convinced that he even raised his arms in celebration only to see the ref signal no goal. The Jets now find themselves in a deep 3-0 hole in the second-round, best-of-seven series and are facing elimination when the two teams meet "I was dead certain that it went in," Wheeler said. "I thought it hit the again for Game 4 Monday night in Montreal. And after a night where the back-bar or the goalie camera, the camera in the net. It felt like I scored, Jets were as bad as they've been all playoffs – and perhaps all season, t's a 1-1 hockey game, and it kind of changes the complexion of things." considering the stakes – how refreshing it would have been for someone to take the opportunity to challenge themselves. Alas, the puck did not go in, and the Canadiens took control of play from there. But not before giving the Jets, down 2-0 at that point, a lifeline in CP the form of a too-many men penalty.

Instead, the focus was on what they didn't get, mixed in with the little that CP they did. But rather than gaining momentum, and maybe even a goal to cut the "5-1 didn't feel like 5-1, you know what I mean? I feel like they forgot to lead to one, a Paul Stastny turnover led to a 2-on-1 the other way. Joel count some shots on our side, too, and obviously their goalie is playing at Armia, a former Jet, opted to hold onto the puck, dragging it past a sliding a high level," Jets captain Blake Wheeler said. "There's some things in Josh Morrissey before firing it top shelf to make it a 3-0 game. The goal our game that we really like, some things we can clean up certainly, and looked eerily close to Tyler Toffoli's shorthanded goal in Friday's 1-0 hopefully we get a bounce to go our way. Hopefully one goes off of one Montreal win – and just as costly. of their sticks and ricochets into the net and we'll take a lead and see how it looks from there." Armia added another shorthanded goal, depositing the second into an empty net that sealed the game. That set a new Canadiens franchise Wheeler was faintly describing what happened on the game's opening record for most shorthanded goals in a playoff series, with three. goal, when Corey Perry put the home side up 1-0 just 4:45 in. His shot from in close deflected off the stick of Jets defenceman Jordie Benn and The Jets were outshot 26-12 through two periods, with six of those past Connor Hellebuyck. What was lost in translation, though, were the coming from their defence. Winnipeg seemed all kinds of frustrated and two other quality chances the Canadiens had before scoring, and the fact that would continue into the third period. Wheeler and the Jets top line were being pinned in their own zone by The Canadiens continue to employ a game plan that is physical and tight Montreal's fourth trio. checking. As Lowry mentioned, there is little real estate in front of their One has to wonder if this team didn't like what they saw from a nine-day net and it was easy to see that constantly losing puck battles was break between series. The Jets looked engaged against the Oilers, weighing on the Jets. showing the kind of character required by a team to go on a deep run. After the Canadiens went up 4-1, with Nick Suzuki scoring on the power They clawed back in games, scored by committee and got solid play following a questionable high-sticking penalty on Stastny, the Jets goaltending from Hellebuyck, who despite allowing four goals on 32 seemed to come unhinged. shots Sunday, still gave the Jets a chance to win. Pierre-Luc Dubois, who continues to struggle in the absence of Mark CP Scheifele, took aN eyebrow-raising cross-checking penalty on Brett In the Edmonton series, the Jets looked like a team that was starting to Kulak. And after he had already given Kulak a good shot in front of the finally gel after coming unglued at the end of the regular season. But net. Ditto for Andrew Copp, who, minutes later, laid the lumber to Paul none of that energy or excitement has crossed over in what's been Byron three times in front of the ref before he, too, was given two minutes mostly hard-to-watch hockey through three games. for cross-checking

"We’re on the wrong side of it now," Jets coach Paul Maurice said. "In The good news is the Jets won't have to sit with this one for long. The terms of quality of offense, Edmonton generated quite a bit more on us two teams meet again in fewer than 24 hours. Another night like Sunday, but in doing so, we were able to generate enough to win those games." though, and they'll have the entire summer to think about what could have been. The Canadiens didn't have the luxury of a lengthy layoff after erasing a 3- 1 deficit in the first round against the Toronto Maple Leafs. They played Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 06.07.2021 seven games in 12 days, finding their groove when they were desperate, eventually fighting back to eliminate the North Division's top-ranked team.

Because of the physical and mental wear-and-tear for the Canadiens, many predicted a quick series in favour of the Jets. Instead, Montreal has remained in the driver's seat, yet to trail once in the last six games.

CP

Montreal has dominated all areas of the ice, with few playing as well as goalie Carey Price. While Price has the benefit of playing in front of a sturdy group of defencemen, he's come up big when needed, allowing just one goal over a stretch of 121 minutes and 42 seconds. 1215324 Winnipeg Jets The list could go on, quite frankly. Other than Adam Lowry, who has Winnipeg’s only goal since Scheifele was given a four-game suspension, and Nikolaj Ehlers, who was creating chaos all night, there just wasn’t a whole lot happening besides the expected excellence from Connor The team that couldn't score Hellebuyck. Add time is quickly running out.

CP

Mike McIntyre9-11 minutes 6/7/2021 Just look across the ice to see numerous examples of players stepping up on the big stage. There was Artturi Lehkonen scoring the game-

winning goal on Sunday, 48 hours after he set up Toffoli’s game-winner It would be easy to blame this all on Mark Scheifele. at Bell MTS Place. The 25-year-old was a healthy scratch in Game 1, only getting into the lineup to replace the injured Evans, who is out His split-second decision to blow up Jake Evans in the dying seconds of indefinitely, Talk about making an instant impact. Game 1 is looming large over the North Division final, with the offensively-starved Winnipeg Jets clearly missing the services of their Or how about the fourth-line of Perry, Armia and Eric Staal, who have suspended star centre. They suddenly can’t generate anything five-on- given Winnipeg fits this series and now have a combined 20 points (eight five. Their power play is putrid. And their shuffled forward lines are goals, 12 assists) this post-season. That was the veteran trio hemming lacking cohesion. A self-inflicted wound, to be sure. the Jets in their own end for an extended period early in Game 3, eventually taking advantage of Connor’s giveaway to open the scoring But to pin a stunning 3-0 series deficit to the Montreal Canadiens entirely just 4:45 into the game. on one absent player would be giving everyone else in this lineup a pass — which, ironically, the Jets are having trouble completing one of these Just like that, a Montreal team filled with confidence that hasn’t trailed at days. Make no mistake: There should be plenty of soul-searching and any point in the series, or for their last six playoff games dating back to mirror-gazing going on right now among those who haven’t been going down 3-1 in the best-of-seven first round series against Toronto, banished to the sidelines. was off to the races. And a one-goal advantage felt like so much more.

Somewhere, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl must be muttering to The buck shouldn’t stop with the forwards, even though scoring is clearly themselves: "We got swept by THESE guys?" an issue right now. Winnipeg is still giving up far too much in their own end and having trouble with basic break-outs. Losing Dylan DeMelo to an Sure, not having Scheifele hurts. But the Jets are supposed to be one of injury on his first shift of Game 1 certainly stings. Some of that is on the the deepest forward groups in the NHL, one built to survive a loss or two players themselves — mobile puck-moving defenceman Ville Heinola for along the way. And yet, here we are, Winnipeg now needing to win four Game 4, anyone? — and some of it has to be on the coaching staff. straight elimination games, something that’s only been done by four teams in NHL history. Based on their current play, I don’t like their odds As much as Paul Maurice and company outsmarted Dave Tippett and his of making history. crew in the first round, rookie NHL bench boss Dominique Ducharme is pushing all the right buttons right now while Winnipeg struggles to make So instead of pointing the finger purely at the guy who took himself out of the proper in-game and between-game adjustments. the series — there’s been enough of that already in the last few days, much of it completely over-the-top and crossing the line with regards to The Jets spoke of how they quickly got to using "one brain" against the his family — the rest of the roster shouldn’t be let off the hook for what is Oilers in the first round. Now, against the Canadiens, I’m just seeing a lot shaping up as a big blown opportunity against what was supposed to be of brain cramps, quite frankly. a tired Montreal team that finished below them in the standings. No, the series isn’t over, even if it might feel that way. The fourth one is CP the hardest to win, as the old saying goes. But if the Jets are waiting for someone to swoop in and save the day, it’s not happening. I’m looking at you, Pierre-Luc Dubois, who’s been given added responsibility in Scheifele’s absence and was invisible once again in Scheifele can’t return until Game 6. If the rest of his teammates can’t find Sunday’s 5-1 loss that puts Winnipeg on the brink of elimination. a way to raise their collective game, they’re not going to see him until next season. And they’ll have no one to blame but themselves. Dubois has now gone 23 straight games dating all the way back to Apr. 5 since he last scored a goal. The only contribution to the scoresheet in Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 06.07.2021 Game 3 was a retaliation penalty he was whistled for midway through the third period, his team trailing by three at the time. That simply can’t happen. There seems to be little energy or urgency to his game at a time his team could desperately use a dose of both.

I’m looking at you, Kyle Connor, the best pure scorer on the club who has been blanked in two straight. More concerning, he’s also been involved in two key defensive blunders that led to goals. One in Game 2, on Tyler Toffoli’s shorthanded snipe that was the difference. And a costly early turnover on Sunday night that contributed to Corey Perry’s opening tally.

I’m looking at you, Blake Wheeler, who, along with Connor, was an ugly minus-four in what was basically a must-win. No doubt they’re missing their usual centre in Scheifele, but the Jets need them to be better — much, much better — to have a chance.

I’m looking at you, Andrew Copp, with 15 regular-season goals but still searching for the first of the playoffs. He did have a great early opportunity in Game 3, but the Jets need some key guys to start finishing those this time of year. Close won’t cut it. Copp, too, took a foolish penalty with just over six minutes left in this latest loss, his frustration boiling over as he cross-checked Paul Byron.

And I’m looking at you, Paul Stastny, who clearly isn’t 100 per cent after missing the first two games against Montreal with an undisclosed injury. He made an impact in the wrong way Sunday. He was partially burned by Joel Armia on a shorthanded rush that led to the Canadiens making it 3- 0, then sent him flying into the net and was penalized for the play. He also clipped Shea Weber with a careless high-stick early in the third period. Montreal scored on the ensuing power play nine seconds later to make it 4-1. 1215325 Winnipeg Jets Losing Scheifele and Paul Stastny — Stastny finally played his first game on Sunday, but was a non-factor other than his penalties — has knocked the Jets onto their knees.

Jets look lost, beaten, as they reach the brink We get it. That’s a big one-two punch.

On the back end, it’s no surprise the loss of Dylan DeMelo on his first shift of the series has made a huge impact on the blue line. The Paul Friesen Winnipeg defence isn’t built for any significant loss.

Publishing date:Jun 06, 2021 • 4 hours ago • Yet, being short on manpower shouldn’t leave you short on want-to. We expected what was left of the roster to throw everything it had at the

Canadiens. They got beat when they had an extra man on the ice and they got beat After all, the Jets were the desperate team. while shorthanded. Yet, despite Wheeler’s claim to have liked the start, it was the Habs who They got beat by a line of kids and they got beat by a line of old-timers. dominated the first several shifts. How do you explain that? They got beat at the start of the game, they got beat at the end. While you’re at it, explain how a fourth line with Corey Perry and Eric They had less discipline and less desire. Staal, combined age 72, can dominate not just Winnipeg’s fourth line, but its first? Their goalie got outplayed, their defence got outplayed and their forwards were outplayed, from the top line to the fourth. Perry scored the critical first goal. Wheeler and Kyle Connor were both a critical minus-4. They weren’t as fast or as smart. This was supposed to be the game where the Jets began making life And they lost their cool in a third-period mini-parade to the penalty box. miserable for Price. Storm the net, was the plan. Get in his face.

Sunday night’s win-or-else tilt in Montreal was as complete a failure as Their chances were one-and-done. we’ve seen from the Winnipeg Jets in a long time. A game that demanded their best brought out their worst. When Joel Armia scored shorthanded to make it 3-0 in the second, the Jets were lifeless. Completely lost. Outshot 15-3 at one point of the And now they’re as good as gone from the Stanley Cup playoffs. Again. second. As if they were the ones exhausted and coming off a seven- game series. With Mark Scheifele having taken himself out of the series via suspension, the Jets look like a team ready to go down meekly, in a four- A mere 13 shots on goal through 40 minutes? game sweep. Adam Lowry prevented a second straight goose-egg, scoring late in the We don’t have to wait long to find out. Monday could do it. second to make it 3-1.

After watching the Jets drop three straight to the Canadiens, the common So what happens in the third? question on the lips of most Jets fans has to be this: What happened to the team that beat Edmonton in Round 1? With Stastny in the box, Nick Suzuki, 21, is set up by Cole Caufield, 20, and it’s game over. I posed it to captain Blake Wheeler after Sunday’s 5-1 loss put his team on the brink. “I don’t think it’s a lack of effort or a lack of care,” Lowry said.

“It feels a lot different, too,” Wheeler said. “We had a lot of things go our You wouldn’t think so. way in the first round. We played a team with high expectations and we Winnipeg Sun LOADED 06.07.2021 were able to use the pressure against them. We were able to use some of that pressure and kind of force it upon them. From there, we had some things go our way and we were able to play the series on our terms.”

It has been a complete 180 this series. It’s on the Habs’ terms.

The Jet can only blame one game on the long layoff.

“Game 1 we don’t like, Game 2 is a little bit better but still not quite ourselves,” Wheeler said. “And we started the game tonight right. When you play against a team with the goalie the way he’s playing, and once they get a lead, it completely changes the way they play the game. It makes it tough. And certainly we’re pressing right now, too.”

So if they were playing, say, a best-of-15, the Jets would have the Habs right where they want them.

Yes, Carey Price has been good. But since when are the Jets uncomfortable giving up the first goal?

This was supposed to be Team Resilient. Instead, Montreal scores and it’s as if there’s a mountain to climb.

The way most of the Jets’ best players are producing, they may as well be facing Everest. Without climbing equipment.

Wheeler has yet to score in the series. He has company, starting with Nik Ehlers.

Both hit crossbars on Sunday.

Andrew Copp has come up empty.

But the most glaring case is that of Pierre-Luc Dubois, who has gone 23 games without a goal.

That’s not a slump, it’s a disappearing act.

Vanishing along with Dubois’ touch is the Jets’ belief. 1215326 Winnipeg Jets Nick Suzuki scored in the third period to make it 4-1 and Armia scored into an empty net — again short-handed — with three minutes left in the game.

Canadiens crush Jets in Game 3 to take 3-0 stranglehold on North Montreal’s domination in the series has been embarrassing for a Jets Division final team that had eight days off to prepare while the Canadiens were playing a tough seven-game series against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Jets were supposed to be the rested team, the Canadiens tired and Ted Wyman likely to wear down as the series went along. But there’s been no indication that the Canadiens are weary and the Jets seem to have no Publishing date:Jun 06, 2021 • 6 hours ago solutions for Montreal’s quick sticks, aggressive checking and great goaltending.

Every NHL team goes through peaks and valleys over the course of a “We’re going to have to get to another level on a lot of those stick fights,” season but the stomach-churning ups and downs have been a bit Jets coach Paul Maurice said. “We’re not coming up with the pucks that extreme for the Winnipeg Jets in 2021. we need to come up with at times, and that’s got to be better.”

The Jets lost seven straight games — and nine out of 10 — during the Wheeler and Nikolaj Ehlers both beat Price in the second period, but last couple weeks of the regular season, but then opened the playoffs both shots the crossbar. with an exhilarating four-game sweep of the Edmonton Oilers, a series “We hit a couple of crossbars,” Maurice said. “So there’s shots that are that included three overtime wins. being taken that are the right ones to take. And we’ve got to get the But after a long layoff between series, the Jets have been as flat as inside of the bar, not the out.” they’ve been all season in the North Division final against the Montreal So the Jets will try to stave off elimination Monday against a team that Canadiens, and now they are on a three-game losing streak again, hasn’t trailed in the last six games, going back to its comeback win over having never had so much as a lead at any point. the Toronto Maple Leafs in Round 1. The Canadiens have a 3-0 cushion in the second-round best-of-seven It’s going to be an incredibly difficult task, but not impossible. after they won 5-1 at home Sunday night, and can complete a sweep of their own, Monday night, at the Bell Centre in Montreal. The Jets hope coming back to play Game 4 right away will work to their advantage. “I think you’ve got to keep believing,” Jets captain Blake Wheeler said. “You can’t re-invent the wheel now. You can’t start over and try to do “I think it’s great for us right now, to be honest with you,” Wheeler said. something completely different. Hopefully we get a bounce to go our way. “Having to sit in a hotel room all day tomorrow and stew on that one, you Hopefully a shot goes off one of their sticks and ricochets into the net and would have a lot of guys burning inside. So it’s nice to get right back at it. we’ll take a lead and see how it looks from there. Outside of that, you Hopefully we get a good feeling in our room and start to rebuild can’t doubt the process.” ourselves. We’ve got to win a hockey game. No different than it was today. We’ve got to win one game and then we’ll see what happens.” For the third straight game, the Jets were simply the second-best team on the ice. Even the Jets star goalie, Connor Hellebuyck, has been outplayed by his counter-part in this series. Price made 26 saves Sunday and has a .938 As much as they knew it was a key to get the first goal and try to play save percentage in the playoffs. Hellebuyck stopped 28 shots and has a with a lead, they couldn’t make it happen. Less than five minutes in, it .931 save percentage. was already 1-0 Montreal. Forgive Jets fans if they are starting to lose hope of their team even The Jets have been chasing for most of the series as the Canadiens recording a win in this series. continue to impose their will shift after shift. The Canadiens looked even better in Game 3 than they did during the games in Winnipeg — where Three games of trailing, being shut down at every turn, and getting they won 5-3 and 1-0. The Habs played with 2,500 fans in their stands, scored upon even while on the power play, will do that. and large groups gathered on patios outside the Bell Centre, giving the area some real playoff atmosphere. After the high of sweeping the Oilers out of the playoffs, this has been a hard crash back down to Earth. Montreal’s stifling defence and all-world goaltender, Carey Price, held the Jets off the board for 99 minutes and 33 seconds over the course of And after a post-season that started with so much promise, it could all be Games 2 and 3, until Adam Lowry finally got Winnipeg on the board with over on Monday. a late second-period goal Sunday night. Winnipeg Sun LOADED 06.07.2021 “It’s nice to get one behind him,” said Lowry, who took an excellent cross- ice backhand feed from Mathieu Perreault and beat Price. “He’s a world- class goalie for a reason. But he’s human, he’s gonna let in some goals. We just have to create as many chances as we can to get some by him.”

Even that goal wasn’t much. It still left the Jets trailing 3-1 late in the second period and they were generating very little offence. They had only 12 shots on goal through two periods in a game they absolutely needed to win to get back in the series.

Before Lowry scored, the game was mostly one-sided, with the Canadiens getting goals from Corey Perry, in the first period, and Artturi Lehkonen and former Jets winger Joel Armia, in the second.

Armia’s goal came while the Canadiens were short-handed, marking the second straight game Montreal has scored while down a man.

“I mean, you are chasing the game and now, some of the things were doing and having success with, we get a little bit too aggressive and it’s a two-on-one the other way.” Wheeler said.

“They come down the ice and score a goal and it’s like … It’s hard to keep building yourself up and keep building yourself up when the things that you’re doing that were giving you success, you’re not rewarded for, and then it seems like any little mistakes, you’re paying for.” 1215327 Winnipeg Jets Montreal’s blue line. A Canadiens hand pass created a faceoff at the offside dot to Price’s left. Montreal won that draw, chipped to Pionk’s corner, picked off Pionk’s breakout pass at the Jets blue line, tried and failed to shoot, lost the puck to Kyle Connor, stopped Connor when he Charting Winnipeg’s self-inflicted path to the brink of elimination: ‘You’ve tried to skate it over the line, chipped it to Hellebuyck, let Connor skate it got to keep believing’ over the line on his second try, and then stole the puck from Connor at the red line, skated it in and scored.

To hear Wheeler tell it, the first period was an improvement in Winnipeg’s By Murat Ates Jun 7, 2021 play.

“This series, we take 10 days off, Game 1 we don’t like, Game 2 is a little Eight minutes and thirty-seven seconds into Sunday’s second period, bit better but still not quite ourselves,” Wheeler said. “And I think we Blake Wheeler threw his arms in the air, triumphant. started the game tonight right. When you play against a team with the goalie, the way he’s playing, and once they get a lead, it completely He’d just arrived in Montreal’s zone, fresh off the bench and completely changes the way they play the game.” unmarked, and made a fake to freeze Joel Edmundson in his shooting lane. Exits and entries don’t show up on highlight reels, but if there’s one team’s first-period process I’d bet on to win the ensuing game, it’s not the He’d used his fake to get a better angle. He’d then wired a wrist shot over one that fails to transition the puck six straight times and goes down 1-0 Carey Price’s left shoulder. early.

So Wheeler celebrated, arms outstretched, curling into the corner, Winnipeg’s best scoring chance of the first period was created by Nik blissfully unaware of the truth. Ehlers, drawing three defenders to him by flying up the left side and finding Copp wide open for a one-timer across the ice. It wasn’t the kind His shot had ricocheted off the crossbar and flown into the stands. of play a team draws up — just the Jets most dangerous forward creating Instead of tying Winnipeg’s critical Game 3 midway through the contest, a scoring chance out of thin air — but Price was forced to make a difficult all Wheeler had accomplished was a whistle and an offensive zone draw. save.

In a series that Montreal seems to be able to shut down at will, how Ehlers has scored more points per minute than any Jets skater, including blissful Wheeler’s conviction must have felt — if only for a moment. the suspended Mark Scheifele, for two straight seasons. His speed and shiftiness give defenders a threat they can’t quite game plan for, while his “You know what? It was pretty strange,” Wheeler said. “I was dead mastery of zone entries helps Winnipeg play more hockey in the right certain that it went in. I thought it hit the back bar or the goalie camera, end of the ice. the camera in the net. It felt like I scored, it’s a 1-1 hockey game, and it kind of changes the complexion of things.” Winnipeg outshot Montreal 9-2 when Ehlers was on the ice in Game 3 — a flow of play that no other Jets player could match — but Ehlers played The complexion of Winnipeg’s impending 5-1 loss had not, in fact, the ninth-most minutes among Jets skaters in Game 3. changed. Less than a minute later after Wheeler’s miss, Artturi Lehkonen scored what would become the game-winning goal. Former Jets forward If that total seems low, consider this decision. Joel Armia — part of Winnipeg’s cap clearance in the summer of 2018 — A few minutes after Wheeler thought he had scored, with the Canadiens scored two short-handed goals. Nick Suzuki, who Vegas took with leading the game 2-0 and the shot counter 21-10, Montreal gifted Winnipeg’s 2017 first-round pick as the Jets swapped first-rounders with Winnipeg the game’s first power play. The Jets trotted out out Wheeler, the Golden Knights so as to keep Toby Enstrom, scored a tap-in on the Connor, Morrissey, Paul Stastny and Mason Appleton, omitting Ehlers — power play. one of only three players with a power-play goal these playoffs. The Jets head into Game 4 on Monday on the precipice of getting swept. Stastny lost the draw. Winnipeg tried and failed to enter Montreal’s zone This is hardly the outcome Jets fans, Wheeler, his teammates or his once but succeeded the second time. Then, with possession established, coach would have anticipated only one week ago. Winnipeg was fresh Stastny gave the puck away to Armia for a long two-on-one rush. Armia’s from sweeping the Edmonton Oilers; Montreal was “exhausted” from its shot went off Morrissey’s stick, beating Hellebuyck for a short-handed Game 7 win against Toronto. goal — Stastny was whistled for roughing on the play — to give the Canadiens a 3-0 lead. And yet it is Montreal, not Winnipeg, who is poised to advance to the final four. Armia gave Montreal its third short-handed goal of the series later in the game, this time with Hellebuyck pulled. Winnipeg’s power play has yet to “I think you’ve got to keep believing,” Wheeler said. “I think there’s some score in Round 2. things in our game that we really like, some things we can clean up certainly and hopefully we get a bounce to go our way. Hopefully one I’m not sure the Jets’ process is the one we should be celebrating. goes off of one of their sticks and ricochets into the net and we’ll take a Of course, one of the reasons Ehlers was ninth in ice-time Sunday was lead and see how it looks from there. But, outside of that, you can’t doubt that Winnipeg rode its top four defenceman — Morrissey, Poolman, the process.” Forbort and Pionk so hard that Logan Stanley and Jordie Benn hardly Wheeler is right, of course — in the immediate, pragmatic, Game-4-is- touched the ice. literally-tomorrow sort of way. Poolman was the Jets’ ice-time leader, both overall and at five-on-five, But what if “the process” is exactly what brings the Jets to the brink of and Morrissey’s numbers suffered. elimination? Shot metrics-wise, Morrissey carried 45 percent of shots and 41 percent In the first period of Game 3, for example, before Corey Perry had scored of expected goals at five-on-five against Connor McDavid and Leon the all-important first goal, Winnipeg failed to exit its zone with Draisaitl. Poor numbers to be sure, but understandable in the context of possession six consecutive times. his opposition. Morrissey and Poolman have enjoyed just 39 percent of shots and 28 percent of expected goals at five-on-five against Montreal. First, it was Tucker Poolman who chipped the puck over Adam Lowry and Mason Appleton’s heads — as well as past two Canadiens, to be fair The pairing that had not had success during the 2020-21 regular season — to give the puck to Montreal in the neutral zone. Then, when the or the one that came before it has not had success against Montreal. Canadiens regrouped and re-entered, it was Neal Pionk whose chip Of course, it’s not quite fair to pin Winnipeg’s struggles on a pairing the clearance gave the puck away and led directly to a scoring chance. Cole Jets moved away from once playoffs hit; no one could have predicted Caufield skated past a pinching Derek Forbort to lead a two-on-one for Dylan DeMelo’s Game 1 injury. Montreal but was stopped by Connor Hellebuyck, leading to a faceoff in Winnipeg’s zone. The problem is that Winnipeg’s roster doesn’t limit defencemen who are brilliant on the third pair to third-pairing minutes. Andrew Copp won that faceoff to Josh Morrissey and the Jets attempted an exit, this time with a series of passes, which ended with a turnover at Whatever 11th-hour deal that Kevin Cheveldayoff believed he had struck prior to acquiring Benn at the trade deadline may have been meant to address that.

I’ll go far as to say I highly believe Winnipeg’s defensive depth was exactly what Cheveldayoff was trying to improve.

Yet Game 3’s defencemen — Morrissey, Pionk, Poolman, Forbort, Stanley and Benn — were an imperceptible improvement over the group Winnipeg iced last season.

Ville Heinola, the puck-moving wizard with a tremendous AHL season, a great Liiga season before that and poor defensive numbers in the NHL, may have been the solution. Cheveldayoff singled him out as a potential post-trade deadline improvement from within the organization.

Yet Heinola played just five games for the Jets this season, at one point going more than a month between games at any professional level. If there is a world in which Heinola’s crisp exit passes were to be the answer against Montreal, it would probably be one in which he’s played more than 24 professional games since December.

Is this the developmental process that prepares players to step in when injuries strike in the postseason?

I think that Winnipeg will look back at its handling of the taxi squad with some level of regret when all is said and done. I don’t think Heinola is the sea change that wins this series but I do think he is a symbol of opportunities unexplored back when Winnipeg had a playoff spot locked up well in advance of the postseason.

Let’s go back to Montreal’s five goals.

The first was Perry, mercifully interrupting Winnipeg’s long sequence of failed zone exits.

The second was Lehkonen, on Montreal’s fourth shot attempt from a net- front scramble with all of Forbort, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Pionk, Wheeler and Connor looking on.

The third was Armia’s short-handed goal, converting a giveaway.

The fourth was Suzuki’s power-play tap-in.

The fifth was into an empty net, giving the Canadiens’ penalty kill a 3-0 lead on Winnipeg’s power play this series.

Nothing has worked for the Jets and whether it’s breakouts, neutral zone play, special teams, personnel decisions, a slowly rebuilding defence or an inability to adapt to Montreal’s defensive tactics, they’re one loss away from the end of their season.

And yet, with its season on the line, Winnipeg’s process too often looks like dependence on Hellebuyck.

The Athletic LOADED: 06.07.2021 1215328 Websites Playoff hockey has certainly brought the best out of the three of them. They’ve been awesome for us.”

Yes, Perry (one goal), Eric Staal (one assist) and Joel Armia (two goals, Sportsnet.ca / Canadiens take commanding series lead by continuing to including one magnificent one shorthanded to make it 3-0) have been frustrate Jets otherworldly.

Two of the three looked like they were in another world for long stretches of the regular season, and so did most of the Canadiens — losing 14 of Eric Engels June 6, 2021, 11:04 PM their last 21 games and appearing as though they had nothing left in the tank over the final 44 days of it. They started the playoffs looking like they

were going to bow out meekly, but now they’re on the verge of MONTREAL — If George Foreman were watching this Montreal establishing themselves as one of the final four teams standing. Canadiens season unfold, he’d have been flashing back to the Rumble in And it’s not as if belief will be hard to conjure the Canadiens could do it in the Jungle in Zaire. Game 4 on Monday. The Canadiens, rope-a-dopers, a team that backed into the playoffs on a “The team’s engagement is at 100 per cent,” said Canadiens coach five-game losing streak, are now a team on a six-game burner, one win Dominique Ducharme. “It’s something we felt we had at times over the away from the Stanley Cup semifinals. They were supposed to get first four games against Toronto, but we had to take it to another level trampled by the Toronto Maple Leafs in Round 1, and they nearly were and everyone needed to bring it consistently. That’s what we’ve done of before bouncing off the mat and punching their way to a devastating late.” knockout in Game 7. It’s put them in a great position to attack the opportunity in front of them. They haven’t just won six straight games; they’ve led from wire to wire. And for three straight wins against the Winnipeg Jets in Round 2, the “We know what it’s like to have our backs against the wall,” said Canadiens have looked like Muhammad Ali in his prime — untouchable. Ducharme. “We learned from the first round, and that has to show again tomorrow. We have to keep playing the way we’re playing, but also If Game 3 was a harbinger, the Canadiens will be cooling their heels for a manage that mental challenge as well.” bit while the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche duke it out for who gets to play them next. They came out with eight of the first 10 How will the Jets manage the mental challenge? shots of this must-win for the Jets, got to Connor Hellebuyck in the fifth minute of the first period and never looked back. They beat the Edmonton Oilers in a four-game sweep in Round 1, but their season is suddenly hanging by a thread. The goal, scored by Corey Perry, came after two straight minutes of total dominance in the offensive zone. The Canadiens followed it up with four They weren’t nearly good enough in Game 1, and they haven’t been able more and won the game 5-1. to generate much of anything — outside of Lowry’s goal and a couple of crossbars hit — without Mark Scheifele, who was suspended four games The Jets, for large portions of it, looked like Foreman — swinging wildly for charging and concussing Jake Evans. They’re in tough to change and missing, tiring themselves out before falling on their faces. They that. were frustrated, and they had no answer to what the Canadiens were doing to them. “You go into an NHL room after it loses a game, 10 minutes after, there’s not going to be a lot of fun in there right now,” said Jets coach Paul They haven’t had an answer since this series started. Maurice. “So, we deal with it that way. We don’t want to turn the music on, throw a party here. We just lost another hockey game and we got our “Right now they are an extremely confident team in what they’re doing, backs against the wall. and they’re getting results from that,” said Jets captain Blake Wheeler. “We are on the other side of the pendulum right now. We don’t have a “But we start working on tomorrow right after this game. So, we do our ton of confidence and we are kind of scratching and clawing to find it.” media, and then we start to recover and get better.”

They’re completely failing — especially in front of both nets, the areas The Canadiens are doing the same, though, and they appear prepared to Montreal’s Brendan Gallagher referred to as “where the fun is had.” deliver a win few would’ve expected before this all got started.

His team has been there in front of Hellebuyck, having the time of its life. Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 06.07.2021 Artturi Lehkonen was right there to bang home Montreal’s second goal, and you couldn’t even tell he was the last Canadien to put his stick on the puck until the replay ran, because Gallagher and Phillip Danault were right there with him whacking away.

At the other end, what the Canadiens have in front of Carey Price’s net is a no-fun zone, patrolled by hulking defencemen Shea Weber, Ben Chiarot, Jeff Petry and Joel Edmundson, who have boxed Winnipeg’s best players out completely. Even when Petry went down late in the second period with an injury to his right hand, nothing changed.

Brett Kulak and Erik Gustafsson filled his spot, and the Canadiens kept everything to the outside. As a whole, they may have allowed 27 shots to get to Price in Game 3, and one of the few that came from inside snuck in — a tip from Adam Lowry right by the goalmouth — but they didn’t allow more than one rebound opportunity all game.

That chance came off Kyle Connor’s stick, with just over 11 minutes remaining in the third period and with the Jets already trailing 4-1. Yikes.

The Canadiens have stifled the Jets in the scoring areas, but in every other area as well. They’re getting contributions from every part of their lineup, with top offensive centre Nick Suzuki saying it was their fourth line setting the tone at both ends in Game 3.

“On the board they’re listed fourth, but they’re definitely not a fourth line,” said Gallagher. “We just roll everyone, and they’re playing big boy hockey. They’ve been able to put together such long cycle shifts for us, they work the puck down low, they all use their size to their advantage. They know what they are as a line and they just play to their strengths. 1215329 Websites Certainly Bednar has gone from publicly challenging his top guys to publicly supporting them. Kicking didn’t work, so in his post-game remarks on Sunday he tried stroking his players instead.

Sportsnet.ca / Avalanche need to ‘get back on track’ as series turns to “I didn’t have a problem with our intent, the purpose to our game and how best-of-three we competed,” a much calmer Bednar said. “For the most part it was pretty good. Our work ethic was fine, the compete on the puck was much better. We still lost our fair share of the battles, that’s for sure.

Mark Spector June 7, 2021, 12:42 AM “At least we entered the fight tonight and got in it. I didn’t like the result,” he added. “I’m confident that they had more scoring chances and good

looks. But it wasn’t due to a lack of effort.” It’s been, to our eye, eight periods now that the Vegas Golden Knights Trying hard won’t be enough. Not for an Avalanche team facing a third have dominated the Colorado Avalanche. consecutive Round 2 playoff ouster. As the old story goes, if Colorado could stem this tide they would. But With this much talent, relatively good health, and now a Vezina candidate apparently they can’t, at least not yet, as they were beaten soundly for in goalie Philipp Grubauer, Colorado can not ask for a better opportunity the second straight game and Vegas evened this Round 2 series with a to move closer to a Stanley Cup than they’ve been in years. decisive 5-1 win Sunday night at home in Nevada. It’s best two out of three now. Asked about the ineffectiveness of Colorado’s top line, Avalanche winger J.T. Compher responded: “We need more from everyone.” Said Saad: “We have to get back on track.”

Since puck drop in the second period of Game 2, Vegas has been the Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 06.07.2021 better team. Colorado squeezed out an overtime win that night, but Vegas outshot Colorado 31-12 in Periods 2 and 3 of Game 2. In winning Games 3 and 4 to even the series, Vegas owned the shot clock to the tune of 78-38.

That’s right folks: 78-38.

“We’re a unit of five all over the ice,” said Max Pacioretty, who sniped again in Game 4 for his second in two games. “We’re not cheating for offence. And as you can see, it’s frustrating for teams to play against.”

“Once they get one chance, they swarm with two or three other chances,” said Colorado head coach Jared Bednar. “You have to quickly … try to prevent that.

“They forced us into some mistakes. We need to find a way to force them into a few more.”

Bednar challenged his top players after Game 3, asking the media to, “Go ahead and check the numbers of our top guys tonight and see what they did compared to their top players. It’s not close.”

In Game 4 the chasm was even wider, with Jonathan Marchessault notching a hat trick for Vegas while Colorado’s top line went pointless with five shots on goal and a collective minus-6.

Landeskog didn’t have a shot on goal in Vegas — in either game.

“They’re frustrated for sure,” Bednar admitted of his top line. “It’s tough checking, especially for those guys. They’re not just dealing with one line. They’re dealing with multiple lines that are playing real well.”

Meanwhile, Nazem Kadri watches as Rome burns. The oft-suspended centreman has two more games to serve on his eight-game suspension – barring appeal — and could be back for a Game 7, if the Avs can get there.

As Kevin Bieksa joked on the Sportsnet broadcast, it’s a good thing we just didn’t award the series to Colorado after their series-opening 7-1 win. Turns out, these Golden Knights have the chops to play with a Colorado team that once looked every bit their superior.

Suddenly, the magnificent Norris Trophy candidate Cale Makar doesn’t look quite as magnificent.

Suddenly, the dominance of Nathan MacKinnon isn’t as present, with no points in the past two losses. That top line of the Avalanche aren’t doing whatever they please anymore; Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen have been in on one goal in two games, after that line had a hand in five snipes in the series opener.

The tide, she’s turning. Or turned — it depends how you want to look at it.

Is Vegas in Colorado’s heads?

“I don’t think so,” Brandon Saad said. “They’ve got a good team, and that’s the way a series goes. That’s why they call it a series. We didn’t think we’d come in here and win both games. We’re going back to a building where we play well. It’s a best-of-three now, and we’re looking forward to the challenge.” 1215330 Websites Instead it’s been the Canadiens consistently showing more jump and the Jets have been unable to wear down their opponent, though Montreal’s big four blue line crew suffered a blow as Jeff Petry left the contest with a suspected right hand injury. Sportsnet.ca / Jets need offence, desperation in order to extend series vs. Canadiens One of the few silver linings for the Jets is that they don’t have to wait a few days or sit and think long about this lopsided loss.

When they play on consecutive days for the second time in as many Ken Wiebe June 6, 2021, 11:27 PM rounds on Monday night, this time they face a true must-win scenario.

“It’s great for us right now, to be honest with you. Having to sit in a hotel room all day tomorrow and stew on that one, you would have a lot of WINNIPEG — The in-case-of-emergency-break-glass moment has guys burning inside,” Wheeler said. “So it’s nice to get right back at it. arrived for the Winnipeg Jets. Hopefully, we get a good feeling in our room and start to rebuild In a series where there have been too many passengers and not nearly ourselves. We’ve got to win a hockey game. No different than it was enough drivers, the Jets have officially been pushed to the brink of today. We’ve got to win one game and then we’ll see what happens.” elimination after a 5-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday night. Can the Jets show some desperation and find a way to extend the The Jets said all the right things going into the contest, identifying the series? critical areas that required incremental improvement. “We know the situation, we know what’s at stake here,” said Jets centre But after preaching the importance of getting to the blue paint and Adam Lowry. “We have to win the game tomorrow and then hopefully making life a bit more difficult for Canadiens goalie Carey Price, that take the series back to Winnipeg. As cliché as that is, it’s about winning simply didn’t materialize. the next one. We expect to come out strong. That’s all we can do.

In fact, the opposite occurred and the Canadiens’ ability to get to that “You can’t look too far ahead, or at the hole that we’ve dug ourselves. It’s distinct area in front of Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck was a key factor in about showing up tomorrow and putting our best foot forward, our best Montreal building a lead in the game and taking a commanding hold of effort of the series and continuing that on. There have been teams that the series for North Division supremacy. have been down 3-0 and come back to win the Cup. That’s what we’re going to have to do if we want a chance.” While it’s true the Jets did rattle a pair of shots off the crossbar (one from Nikolaj Ehlers and another from captain Blake Wheeler) after falling Jets right-winger Trevor Lewis was part of the 2014 Los Angeles Kings behind 1-0, the goals continue to be incredibly difficult to come by. team that rallied from 3-0 down to the San Jose Sharks in the opening round before eventually raising Lord Stanley’s cup after defeating the That offensive well that ran dry late in the season is once again in need New York Rangers in the final. of replenishing — and with two more games to serve on his suspension for charging, it won’t be top-line centre Mark Scheifele supplying the Historical importance notwithstanding, there are more pressing questions boost to the reservoir. for the Jets to answer, including just where does this team go from here as they attempt to win one single game to avoid elimination? “You’ve got to keep believing,” Wheeler said. “You can’t reinvent the wheel now, you can’t start over and try to do something completely Clean exits have been difficult to come by for the Jets in this series and different. Obviously, if you lose one more game, we all know the with that in mind, perhaps it’s time to insert rookie Ville Heinola on the consequences of that. back end.

“But I think the thought process is very much the same — we’ve got to Veteran Jordie Benn was able to block several shots, but the Jets can’t just stay together. Certainly when you lose Mark, we’ve got to rely on the rely on Tucker Poolman to remain on the top pairing with Josh Morrissey. depth of our team. That has been the strength of our team all year. We The pairing is not in sync and the Jets need to be in a place where they have four lines that can be effective and produce and get the job done.” can use Morrissey with Neal Pionk right out of the gate, instead of Wheeler has been on the losing end of a series where a team had a 3-0 making the change in the third period after falling behind. series edge — back in 2010 when the Boston Bruins fell in seven games Poolman has been far more effective when he’s been used lower in the to the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round of the Stanley Cup lineup, where he can be in a better position to succeed. Playoffs. By inserting Heinola, there would be another mobile puck-mover He’d love to flip that script in 2021, though he knows full well that available — and that’s exactly what the Jets could use right now. achieving that goal is no easy task — with only four teams having done it. Nobody is asking Heinola to come in and be a saviour for a group that’s “Right now (the Canadiens) are an extremely confident team in what desperately missing Dylan DeMelo, it’s about utilizing his strengths at a they’re doing, and they’re getting results from that. We are on the other time when the Jets need a spark. side of the pendulum right now,” Wheeler said. “We don’t have a ton of confidence and we are kind of scratching and clawing to find it. Game 4 As for the forward group, the line blender was on full display as Jets head can flip everything on its head. You can just build tension. coach Paul Maurice searched for some chemistry.

“That’s what we’ve got to do. We just need to find a way to win a hockey Ehlers was flying on Sunday, but he simply doesn’t have enough help game and then we can breathe a little bit while they have to think about it right now. for a couple days, and then it slowly builds. That’s what happens.” Nor is there an easy answer to whom he would best be suited to play The Jets are nowhere near thinking about pushing this series to seven with, even after Paul Stastny made his series debut in Game 3. games, they must come up with their best effort of the post-season if they want to play again this season. 31 Thoughts: The Podcast

Two goals at even strength — and just four overall — in three games Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman talk to a lot of people around the hockey during the North Division final is not a recipe for success, especially world, and then they tell listeners all about what they’ve heard and what when the Jets power play has been missing in action. they think about it.

Not only that, the Jets power play has now been outscored 3-0 by the Kyle Connor has one goal through three games and it came with an Canadiens penalty killers after Joel Armia scored an impressive extra-attacker, while Lowry leads the Jets in goals with two and has been shorthanded marker on a toe drag and then dumped another into the a consistent performer. empty net to go along with the Tyler Toffoli marker in Game 2 that proved Defenceman Derek Forbort is the only other member of the Jets to find to be the game-winner. the back of the net so far in this series. The Jets were supposed to be the team that would benefit from the If the Jets don’t regain their scoring touch quickly, they’ll basically be additional rest between series, but they came out flat after a nine-day relying on Hellebuyck to steal Game 4. break. Hellebuyck is more than capable of putting this team on his back, but eventually he’ll need some run support.

With Pierre-Luc Dubois now having gone 23 games between goals, perhaps it’s time Lowry and Dubois trade places.

Putting Dubois into more of a complementary role could take some pressure off him, while rewarding Lowry for his strong play at the same time.

That search for solutions is already underway and ultimately, the Jets will need to execute more efficiently on Monday.

Otherwise, a long off-season of questions will arrive much sooner than most people anticipated after that first-round sweep of the Edmonton Oilers.

“Both teams have their strengths, and they have their weaknesses,” Maurice said. “We don’t want to turn the music on, throw a party here. We just lost another hockey game and we’ve got our backs against the wall.

“The idea is, the requirement is to win a game for both teams. They have to close out a series and we have to extend it, so from the time that buzzer ended the game to the start, we’re preparing for that.”

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 06.07.2021 1215331 Websites No worries, as everyone else was happy to talk on his behalf. “I just think we had a tough start because the team wasn’t together, but

then we put the lines together and Mangiapane came over and it all Sportsnet.ca / Flames’ Mangiapane caps best season yet with world came together,” said coach Gerard Gallant, whose club had to wait three championship MVP games for No. 88 to complete his quarantine due to Calgary’s extended schedule.

“When Mangiapane came over it gave us a different level of confidence. Eric Francis June 6, 2021, 7:46 PM He’s a great kid and he gave us a great spark.”

Flames fans witnessed Mangiapane’s growing confidence this year as the five-foot-10, 184-pound mucker finished with 18 goals, just one off The first question Adam Henrique was asked in all his post-gold glory the team lead. revolved around The Turnaround. Fifteen of those came at even-strength, tying him with the likes of Alex When, exactly, did the captain of Canada’s most unlikely world Ovechkin, Leon Draisaitl, Josh Anderson and Jonathan Huberdeau. championship-winning team feel like the winds of change started blowing for a group that started 0-3? In an off-season that promises significant change in Calgary, he’s as close to untouchable as the team has as he was unquestionably the “When Mang came in,” he said of Flames winger Andrew Mangiapane. biggest success story of the season. “I think Mang came in and added an element we needed at the right time. I asked Gallant what he knew about Mangiapane going into the tourney, Him coming over was huge for our team and our team chemistry, and it and what he learned about him during it, and the pride of PEI beamed seemed to click on the ice, which was big for us moving forward.” when talking about his team’s saviour. As Henrique demonstrated, it’s impossible to talk about Canada’s storied “As an unemployed coach last year I watched a lot of hockey games and journey in Latvia over the last few weeks without talking about the man I’d seen him play quite a bit,” smiled Gallant. “I knew he was a good credited for making it all possible. hockey player, good spark plug. I really didn’t think he was that type of The kid they call Mang. goal scorer. He finished very well for us, he was a big spark plug for us and he’s a character, character kid. The kid who was overlooked in the OHL Priority Draft, prompting him to prove himself as a 50-goal scorer with the Barrie Colts as a walk-on. “When you coach a kid for two weeks you get to know him really well and I thought that kid was outstanding, Every day he came to practice he The kid who was passed over the first year he was eligible for the NHL worked hard. Every day when he played in the games he worked hard draft before finally being selected in the sixth round the following year. and competed. When you work hard and compete, and you’ve got some skill and scoring touch, that’s what happens. And that’s why he had such The kid who spent parts of three seasons in the AHL, followed by one in a great tournament.” the NHL before he was finally given power play time with the Flames this season. Any coach who has ever coached him, including Dale Hawerchuk in Barrie, has always raved about his practice habits and dogged Yes, that’s the same undersized product of Bolton, Ont., who just took to determination. the world stage for the first time in his life to demonstrate just how far work ethic can take you. No one used the term spark plug to describe him as much as Gallant, but it’s fitting. Despite his Italian heritage, the quiet, humble lad whose name translates into “Eat Bread” had never even been to Europe before, let alone the top Perhaps the best word that can be used moving forward is world of the world. champion — something Mangiapane helped 22 of his newest pals to become against significant odds. The closest he’d ever come to representing his country before this was when his parents bought him a Team Canada jersey for the Vancouver Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 06.07.2021 Olympics with the name “Crosby” on the back.

He was 14.

Yet there he was, 11 years later, lifting a crystal trophy as MVP of the world championship tourney he turned on a dime with his arrival three games in.

Scoring in his first international game to add instant chemistry to a line with Connor Brown and Henrique, Mangiapane went on to lead the tourney with seven goals, adding four assists as part of a series of must- win games he helped steer them through to Sunday’s final.

He was the overtime hero in a quarterfinal upset over Russia and he scored two more, including the game-winner, in the semifinal over the U.S.

It’s not unusual for a late arrival to the worlds to become a difference- maker for a country, as several NHL superstars have done before.

What was different here was that Managiapane arrived as a little-known commodity who finished fourth in points on a bad Flames team.

Somehow, he became larger than life.

When Nick Paul completed a come-from-behind, 3-2 overtime victory over Finland Sunday in the empty Rigas Dome, teammate Maxime Comtois stood with his arm around Mangiapane as the PA announcer anointed the winger the obvious tourney MVP.

He was also the only Canadian player to be named a tournament all-star.

Yet, symbolic of just how under the radar Mangiapane has flown throughout his career, he wasn’t even asked by Team Canada officials to take to the podium for his thoughts on Zoom afterward. 1215332 Websites

USA TODAY / Islanders' Mathew Barzal, cheap-shotted by David Krejci earlier, scores winning goal to beat Bruins

Chris Bumbaca

UNIONDALE, N.Y. – This barn hasn’t seen its last hockey. That much is a guarantee for the Nassau Coliseum, where the New York Islanders defeated the Boston Bruins 4-1 on Saturday in Game 4 of their second- round series.

By evening the series 2-2, the Islanders ensured that Game 6 will be played here Wednesday, regardless of the outcome of Game 5 Monday night in Boston. Had the Islanders fallen Saturday, there was a chance that this building would have seen its last professional hockey. The Islanders will move to a brand-new arena in Elmont, New York, starting next season.

Islanders star Mathew Barzal played hero in the victory, scoring the game-winner off a deflection with less than seven minutes remaining.

After being named first star of the game, Barzal skated the customary salute and shouted to the Islanders faithful: “Let’s go. Our house.”

“We go down 3-1 to these guys heading back to TD Garden,” Barzal said, “that’s a death sentence,”

A period earlier, he had been on the receiving end of a cheap shot from Bruins forward David Krejci during a chippy game that featured several skirmishes and fisticuffs.

“As much as you want to put that on us, I think they were looking for some momentum, too," Islanders coach Barry Trotz said.

Barzal had cross-checked Krejci several times before the Bruins player reacted at 11:16 of the second period by using his stick to, seemingly on purpose, hit Barzal in the groin.

The referees originally whistled Krejci for a major but switched it to a two- minute slashing minor after a review. Barzal was all right after the game, but expressed some surprise that a major wasn't upheld.

“I haven't seen the clip, but I felt it was a little vicious," he said. "It’s the refs' call, a judgment call for them, yeah, I thought it was a tad vicious.”

On Sunday, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced Krejci had been fined $5,000, the maximum financial penalty allowed under the collective bargaining agreement. Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin also received a fine of $5,000 for a similar play as Krejci's earlier this season.

Krejci had started the game’s scoring with a second-period, power-play goal. The Islanders answered quickly, with Barzal finding Kyle Palmieri in front of the net for the equalizer.

Empty-net goals from Casey Cizikas and Jean-Gabriel Pageau cemented the victory for the Islanders, who got 28 saves from goalie Semyon Varlamov. Boston's Tuukka Rask finished with 30 saves.

This year's NHL playoffs have not been without physicality. On Thursday, the NHL suspended Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele four games for a hit on the Montreal Canadiens' Jake Evans that resulted in Evans needing to be stretchered off the ice.

In the Vegas-Colorado series, Golden Knights forward Ryan Reeves was suspended for two games for his actions against Avalanche defenseman Ryan Graves during a scrum.

And despite being on the receiving end of a different borderline play Saturday, Barzal found a way to make his star shine in the brightest moment.

"This is about winning hockey games," he said, "whether you’re the guy who gets the winning goal or you’re the guy who plays sound and helps in other ways."

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