SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 5/19/2021 Boston Bruins Red Wings 1188265 Bruins coach marvels at Charlie McAvoy’s 1188293 Why GM is keeping game management as coach: 'We play hard' 1188266 Did Tuukka Rask give up a soft in Game 2? A closer 1188294 It's official: Jeff Blashill will return as Detroit Red Wings look says no coach, Steve Yzerman says 1188267 The Capitals like to play rough, and in Game 2 the Bruins 1188295 Detroit Red Wings fans don't seem happy about Jeff were more than willing to tangle Blashill's extension — but they get it 1188268 Bruins Notebook: Charlie McAvoy elevates when the lights 1188296 Why Steve Yzerman's silence is golden for Detroit Red are bright Wings coach Jeff Blashill 1188269 Game 2 observations: Taylor Hall makes huge impact in 1188297 Niyo: Yzerman practices patience in keeping Blashill as B's win Wings coach 1188270 Brad Marchand overcomes poor performance to play 1188298 Wings' , Tyler Bertuzzi progressing, should be Game 2 hero ready for training camp 1188271 INJURY UPDATE: Good News & Bad News For Boston 1188299 'The job isn't nearly complete': Red Wings bring back head Bruins D-Men coach Jeff Blashill 1188272 Bruins Marchand Shows His Hart: ‘He Wanted To Drag Us 1188300 Red Wings’ top prospect Moritz Seider named SHL Into The Fight’ defenseman of year 1188273 Talking Points: Big Guns Lead Boston Bruins to 4-3 OT 1188301 Red Wings, Jeff Blashill agree to contract extension Win In Game 2 1188302 Red Wings’ silence bodes well for Jeff Blashill’s return 1188274 Bruins’ thrilling comeback vs. Capitals allows us to 1188303 Riley Barber ‘not ready to give up NHL dreams’ after daydream about a packed TD Garden in near future leading Griffins to season-finale win 1188304 NHL Playoffs: Rivalries figure to heat up in first round Buffalo Sabres 1188305 Jeff Blashill’s extension with Red Wings, assistant coach 1188275 Jack Eichel is Sabres' nominee for NHL's leadership, search, offseason needs: Steve Yzerman’s year-end humanitarian award 1188306 Red Wings mock draft 1.0: Five scenarios, five picks for Detroit Flames 1188276 Domingue relishes rare start Edmonton Oilers 1188277 SNAPSHOTS: Why aren’t Flames giving Matthew Phillips 1188307 OILERS NOTES: McDavid ready for puck to drop on a late-season look? playoffs 1188278 Who stays, who goes?: Predicting the Flames’ potential 1188308 Katz looking for Oilers to 'bring the glory days back' departures this summer 1188309 Years of hard lessons prepared Edmonton Oilers for this moment Carolina Hurricanes 1188310 Scouting the Edmonton Oilers’ enemy: Breaking down the 1188279 Start to finish, Hurricanes’ fourth line helped key Game 1 Winnipeg Jets with Murat Ates victory over the Predators 1188311 Lowetide: Oilers final 2020-21 report card: A regular 1188280 What is Hurricanes “Warrior” Jaccob Slavin’s status for season to remember Game 2 against the Predators? 1188312 ‘It’s kind of freaky how he’s getting better’: At 39, Mike 1188281 How Canes captain Jordan Staal led the way to Game 1 Smith bounced back in a big way for the Oilers victory over the Predators Chicago Blackhawks 1188313 Panthers fall to Lightning in Game 2, squander home-ice 1188282 What a perfect offseason could look like for the advantage in series Blackhawks 1188314 Florida Panthers, and hopes of fans, in peril with 3-1 Game 2 playoff loss to Tampa Bay Colorado Avalanche 1188315 Sellout crowd, including a fired-up Brian Flores, pack 1188283 Challenge for Avalanche in Game 2: Maintain upper hand BB&T Center in pandemic record on St. Louis’ best 1188316 Another Panthers loss — but another night of what can be 1188284 Expect another chippy contest in Game 2 between in South Florida Avalanche, Blues 1188317 Two early goals for Lightning put Panthers down 2-0 in 1188285 Refusing to be bullied, Avalanche clowns lame Blues in first-round series 4-1 playoff victory 1188318 Panthers to start Driedger in net for Game 2 vs. Lightning, 1188286 Philipp Grubauer and the Avalanche playoff goaltending adjust lines with Bennett suspended legacy 1188319 Game 2: Panthers in deep, head to Tampa down 0-2 after 1188287 Scott Takes: Tyson Jost deserves more credit for Game 1 Lightning loss performance…and for his efforts all year 1188320 RATS! Florida Panthers could get if rubber rats 1188288 Avs Playoff Notebook: Bo Byram cleared to play are thrown 1188289 The Virtual Reality Tool That Helped Philipp Grubauer 1188321 The Morning Skate: Driedger gets Game 2 start for Have a Vezina-Worthy Season Panthers vs. Lightning 1188322 Game 2: Florida Panthers need to move past opening loss Columbus Blue Jackets to Lightning 1188290 Elvis Merzlikins or Joonas Korpisalo? Experts say the Blue 1188323 LeBrun: What the Lightning, League and rival GMs are Jackets face a tough call saying about Nikita Kucherov’s return 1188324 ‘I didn’t know anything that was happening, but I was so, so into it’: How Lightning-Panthers made new hockey 1188291 Esa Lindell named Stars’ nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy 1188292 ‘Hard not to notice Roope Hintz’: Division rival writers dish on Stars players who most stood out Los Angeles Kings New York Islanders 1188325 Kings know they must seize the opportunity to improve 1188364 Islanders lose to Penguins in Game 2 of opening round 1188326 How can the Kings build off this season? GM Rob Blake playoff series and Todd McLellan speak 1188365 Semyon Varlamov’s rust proves costly for Islanders 1188327 Game Thread – Reign vs. Eagles, AHL Play-In Series, 1188366 Islanders fall to Penguins with series knotted at one 5/18 1188367 Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s playoff impact a welcome 1188328 Exit Interviews – General Manager Rob Blake Islanders sight 1188329 Trevor Moore nominated for King Clancy Memorial Trophy 1188368 Islanders’ power play execution crucial against Penguins 1188369 's next call in goal will be crucial for Islanders Minnesota Wild 1188370 Islanders can't overcome early two-goal deficit in Game 2 1188330 Greed would have served Wild well, but it heads home loss to Penguins tied 1188371 Brock Nelson's line has been quietly effective for the 1188331 Wild-Vegas Game 2 recap Islanders 1188332 Ex-Wild winger Alex Tuch scores twice to kick-start Vegas 1188372 Islanders' strategy to contain Sid: Bang Crosby offense 1188373 Ugly Start Sinks Islanders in Game 2 Loss to 1188333 Alex Tuch, Marc-Andre Fleury spark Vegas to 3-1 victory 1188374 Playoff Gameday: Islanders Game 2 Lines, Matchups and over Wild to even series Game Notes vs. Pens 1188335 Which is the bigger surprise: The Wild's rise or the Twins' 1188375 Ilya Sorokin Likely to Start Game 2 for Islanders collapse? 1188376 Islanders Need to Capitalize on Tristan Jarry’s 1188336 Ian Cole's blocked pass was vital to Wild's Game 1 playoff Weaknesses Again in Game 2 victory in Vegas 1188337 Wild eyeing better start in Game 2 vs. Golden Knights New York Rangers 1188338 Wild's Nick Bonino: On 100th playoff game and 'annoying' 1188377 Rangers arrange Rick Tocchet meeting in fluid coaching Marc-Andre Fleury search 1188339 Three keys to victory in Game 2 for Wild vs. Vegas 1188341 Wild didn't panic in playoff opener, but knows tough times Ottawa Senators are ahead vs. Vegas 1188378 GARRIOCH: Former Senators' Craig Anderson 1188342 Wild need a hero. How about Kevin Fiala? making an impact for Washington Capitals 1188343 Wild fall to Golden Knights in Game 2, series returns to St. Paul tied 1-1 1188344 Kirill Kaprizov’s physicality on display in Wild’s playoff 1188379 Scott Gordon, Kerry Huffman are out with Phantoms, the series vs. Golden Knights Flyers’ top farm team 1188345 Wild still haven’t solved Marc-Andre Fleury as series 1188380 Is Nolan Patrick seeking a trade to leave the Flyers? heads to Minnesota Promising center won’t say 1188381 Before parting, Phantoms coach Scott Gordon developed Canadiens quality Flyers prospects | On the Fly 1188346 Canadiens' Alexander Romanov will be a spectator for 1188382 Phantoms coaches Gordon, Huffman 'mutually' agree to Game 1 vs. Leafs depart 1188347 Canadiens Notebook: Shea Weber and Carey Price ready 1188383 Laughton named Flyers' 2020-21 King Clancy Memorial to go for Game 1 Trophy nominee 1188348 Pressure on both teams in Canadiens-Leafs series, 1188384 Is Vigneault's track record a sign of big things to come for says Flyers? 1188349 Former Canadiens defenceman Gilles Lupien dies from 1188385 Flyers depth chart analysis: Breaking down Philadelphia’s cancer at age 67 strengths and weaknesses 1188350 Canadiens could have 2,500 fans at Bell Centre for Game 6 vs. Leafs 1188351 Stu Cowan: Canadiens' lineup for Game 1 vs. Leafs 1188386 Tim Benz: Tristan Jarry's bounce-back win wasn't the only doesn't make sense important Penguins rebound in Game 2 1188352 Rocket coach Joël Bouchard takes stock after successful 1188387 For Penguins' Tristan Jarry, it was ‘easy’ to be better in AHL season Game 2 1188353 2021 NHL playoff preview: Maple Leafs vs. Canadiens 1188388 Penguins defeat Islanders in Game 2, even series 1188389 Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin misses Game 2 against Nashville Predators Islanders 1188354 Nashville Predators' struggles vs. Carolina Hurricanes 1188390 Penguins recall 4 from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton highlights a 2-year-old problem 1188391 Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith remains sidelined for 1188355 Nashville Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm: 'We Game 2 have another level' 1188392 Penguins prospect WATCH: Kasper Bjorkqvist scores 1st 1188356 Nashville Predators earn double TV ratings for Stanley goal for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Cup playoff game against Carolina 1188393 Tim Benz: Penguins too dismissive of 3rd-period struggles 1188357 Nashville is only U.S. city on SportsPro’s 'Seven sports in Game 1 loss to Islanders event destinations to watch' 1188394 Stick taps, chirps and observations from 1188358 If this wasn't enough for Nashville Predators, what will be Penguins-Islanders Game 2 against Carolina Hurricanes? 1188395 Penguins push back in Game 2, hold on late to defeat 1188359 Nashville Predators need more than 'grit' to get it done Islanders, 2-1 against Carolina Hurricanes 1188396 Evgeni Malkin out, Brian Dumoulin good to go for Game 2 1188360 Why did the Predators scratch Eeli Tolvanen and Dante against the Islanders Fabbro in Game 1 against the Hurricanes? 1188397 Ron Cook: ’s efforts will ensure this series 1188361 Preds reach deal to build ice center in Sumner County is different than 2019 1188362 After Game 1 loss, the Preds' problems run deeper than 1188398 Yohe’s 10 observations: On the Penguins’ perfect third tweaking the lineup period in a Game 2 win 1188399 Penguins report cards: Tristan Jarry bounces back big in New Jersey Devils Game 2 victory 1188363 Devils offseason primer: Key decisions, dates and debates 1188400 Report Card: Aggressive Penguins Don’t Back Down, Win for the offseason ahead Game 2 1188401 3 Stars & Recap: All EVEN! Penguins Cook Islanders for 2-1 Win in Game 2 Penguins Continued Vegas Golden Knights 1188402 Penguins Crowd Goes Crazy Before Game 2, Sounds like 1188433 In an almost must-win game, Knights earn huge victory Sellout 1188434 Failure to capitalize on fast start dooms Wild in Game 2 1188403 Black Aces: Penguins Recall Joseph, O’Connor, Angello, 1188435 Golden Knights finally break through, tie series against Bjorkqvist Wild 1188404 Islanders vs. Penguins Game 2 Prediction, Odds, Picks 1188436 Max Pacioretty to miss Golden Knights’ second playoff (May 18, 2021) game 1188405 ‘We Have Another Level,’ Game 2: Penguins Lines, Notes 1188437 Fans can print out Golden Knights playoff posters at home & Matchups vs. NYI 1188438 Marc-Andre Fleury nominated for King Clancy Trophy 1188406 Malkin Appears OUT For Game 2 (Exclusive Video), 1188439 Golden Knights offering free swag with vaccines before Dumoulin GTD Game 2 1188407 Dan’s Daily: Bruins Survive, Avs Brawl, Penguins Health 1188440 Marc-Andre Fleury has kept Golden Knights afloat through Iffy two playoff games 1188441 Golden Knights even series with Game 2 victory over Wild San Jose Sharks 1188442 Golden Knights stick with Marc-Andre Fleury, might have 1188408 Where Sharks' pick landed heading into NHL draft lottery solved goalie rotation in critical win 1188409 Agent, on Pacific Division Playoffs: “Why are you basically 1188443 Original VGK Misfits Fleury, Tuch, Marchessault Lead playing for free?” Vegas To 3-1 Win Over Minnesota Tuesday; Series Tied At O St Louis Blues 1188444 Tuch Tallies Twice, Fleury is Fantastic As Golden Knights 1188410 Blues notebook: Dunn skating, but still not playing Tie Series 1188411 Hochman: Physical education — the Blues learned 1188445 Five Vegas Golden Knights Who Must Step Up In Game lessons about aggressiveness in the Game 1 loss Two 1188412 Blues must find answer for Avs' speed and special teams 1188446 No Goals in Game One. Are the Vegas Golden Knights in 1188413 Colorado takes on St. Louis, seeks 10th straight home win Trouble? 1188414 MacKinnon, Grubauer lift Avs to 4-1 win over Blues in Game 1 Washington Capitals 1188447 The Capitals head to Boston with a tied series and a battered roster 1188415 Intensity high, Lightning penalties low this time out vs. 1188448 Oshie dutifully answers Capitals' call as fill-in center in Panthers playoffs 1188416 Lightning in command after another road victory 1188449 Faceoff percentage doesn't guarantee success, but the 1188417 First round: Lightning-Panthers Game 2 live updates Capitals seek improvement at the dot 1188418 Lightning pregame: Panthers switch goalies for Game 2 1188450 Connor McMichael among 4 players recalled from 1188419 Lightning’s Sonya Bryson-Kirksey unveils children’s Hershey by Caps reading project 1188451 Caps have already fixed a postseason weakness: Depth 1188420 Lightning’s anthem singer hits all the right notes on and off scoring the ice 1188421 This could be a new kind of test for the Lightning in the Websites postseason 1188465 The Athletic / Preakness Stakes, Stanley Cup playoffs 1188422 Game 2 was ‘vintage Lightning Cup-winning hockey’ for team up for another strong weekend for live sports TV vi Tampa Bay 1188466 Sportsnet.ca / Stanley Cup Playoffs takeaways: 1188423 LeBrun: What the Lightning, League and rival GMs are Lightning's Brayden Point has clutch gene saying about Nikita Kucherov’s return 1188467 Sportsnet.ca / Canadiens approved to host 2,500 fans for 1188424 ‘I didn’t know anything that was happening, but I was so, games starting May 28 so into it’: How Lightning-Panthers made new hockey 1188468 Sportsnet.ca / THE MISSING INGREDIENT 1188469 TSN.CA / Former player taught ‘craft’ of fighting at 16 Maple Leafs wants WHL held accountable, affidavit says 1188425 Turning over every Leaf: Here are the building blocks for 1188470 USA TODAY / NHL playoffs: Gabriel Landeskog's Gordie what Toronto hopes is a long playoff run Howe hat trick inspires Avalanche; Hurricanes' crowd 'cra 1188426 The Canadiens will let kids Caufield, Kotkaniemi and Romanov watch before testing them against the Leafs Winnipeg Jets 1188427 Watch these potential sleepers rise to the occasion in 1188452 Jets confident in chances if team plays its best Leafs-Habs series 1188453 Containing 'Super Freak' key to Jets' success 1188428 Maple Leafs - Habs anxious to join playoff wars 1188454 History likely to repeat 1188429 SIMMONS: Leafs don't need Jack Campbell to be Dryden 1188455 Expect Jets and Oilers to go out of character, at least early or Roy. They just need him to be himself. 1188456 Jets: You gotta believe 1188430 'ANTICIPATION JUST GROWS': Maple Leafs getting 1188457 WYMAN: A lot on the line for Jets organization as playoff antsy as playoff spectators series with Oilers looms 1188431 How Hayley Wickenheiser and Danielle Goyette plan to 1188458 GAMEBREAKERS: A look at the players most likely to revamp the Maple Leafs’ player development make the difference in Jets series against Oilers 1188432 2021 NHL playoff preview: Maple Leafs vs. Canadiens 1188459 Scouting the Winnipeg Jets’ enemy: Breaking down the Edmonton Oilers with Daniel Nugent-Bowman Vancouver Canucks SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 1188460 Canucks 4, Flames 2: Home-ice finale overshadowed by ’s status, Sedin rumours 1188461 Nils Höglander wins most Canucks’ exciting player award 1188462 Another nomination: Tyler Motte up for King Clancy trophy 1188463 The Armies: Alex Edler’s chase continues and the Sedin smoke screen 1188464 What we’re hearing about the Canucks, the Sedins and fallout from this season 1188265 Boston Bruins Capitals coach said Chara, who logged 1:48 in the third period of Game 2 (12:53 overall), would be available for Game 3. He will be needed, as the Capitals try to steal a win on the road.

Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy marvels at Charlie McAvoy’s game “You talk about coming off a tough one and moving on, here’s a guy management who’s experienced everything,” Laviolette said. “Like a lot of guys in our room. You look for him to lead the way on a day like today, and certainly on a game day tomorrow. We’re excited to get going to Boston and play By Matt Porter Globe Staff the next one.”

Updated May 18, 2021, 5:44 p.m. It’s unclear whether center Lars Eller, who left in the second period, will play. Laviolette said both Eller and goaltender Vitek Vanecek were “day

to day.” When USA Hockey selects its roster for the 2022 Beijing Olympics, Lauzon is day to day Charlie McAvoy’s name won’t be debated for long. At the rate he’s going, other sports bodies might want to take a look. Maybe even those Bruins defenseman Jeremy Lauzon, who blocked a shot with his right choosing the Summer Olympians. hand in Game 1 and missed Game 2, remains out for Game 3. Cassidy called him “day to day” … Miller’s absence in the first period was not The versatile McAvoy is showing he can do it all on the ice. In Game 2 related to his previous knee injury. He sustained a “nasty cut,” Cassidy against the Capitals Monday, he was everywhere and everything for the said, in the first period, was stitched up, and returned. He is “good to go” Bruins. for Game 3 … Cassidy praised Connor Clifton (14:37, two shots) for His stat line — plus-4, 26:49 time on ice, five shots, five hits — included a “staying clean.” Alex Ovechkin went scoreless in Game 2, while seeing team-high 3:53 shorthanded, and first-unit duties on the power play. He Clifton more than any other Bruins defenseman. With Clifton against essentially ran a hockey decathlon. Ovechkin, the Bruins were positive in shot attempts (10-8) and even in scoring chances (4-4). “That summarizes his year: Everything we give him, he seems to excel at,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Obviously he’s still a young guy in this Clancy nominee league that’s only going to get better. Has a tremendous ceiling. Seems Charlie Coyle, who had a strong game in his return to No. 3 center, is to get highly motivated for the bright lights. Boston’s nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, for leadership “The thing that goes unnoticed with Charlie is he plays a lot of hard and humanitarian contributions to the community. Coyle struck up a minutes and recovers well. He’s got a real good ability to sort of reset friendship with 5-year-old cancer survivor Quinn Waters, who is from his and get back out there. I don’t know if he’s got extra-large lungs or what.” hometown of Weymouth … Cassidy and Laviolette are both parents of the diamond. Laviolette’s daughter, Elisabeth, hit .283 as a freshman on The Bruins felt they could part with Zdeno Chara this season because the Boston College softball team this year. One of Cassidy’s activities they knew McAvoy could stabilize a No. 1 defense pair, if not the whole Tuesday: watching his son, Cole, pitch a game (without wearing unit. They felt McAvoy wouldn’t have to burn as much fuel on the PK with a mask, for the first time in months). “Throw strikes, that’s what I tell him,” Brandon Carlo and Kevan Miller taking right-side duty. They believed Cassidy said. “Trust your defense.” Matt Grzelcyk could play the top power-play minutes, allowing McAvoy more rest. He just hasn’t needed much of it.

“This is the time of year, if you’re going to lean on someone, it’s now,” Boston Globe LOADED: 05.19.2021 Cassidy said. “We have to manage it. But he’s young and recovers quickly, as I said. And getting a better understanding of playoff hockey. If you’re going to play a lot, to understand that you can’t empty the tank every shift.

“You’ve got to play hard, obviously play the game in front of you, but manage your game as well while still being a driver of it.

“There’s guys out there, trust me, that go, ‘Hey, geez, I’d love to be able to make a difference,’ ” said Cassidy, a former Blackhawks defenseman. “That’s why these guys are elite, because they can. They can recover. They have the ability to separate. They’re strong to win pucks. They see the ice.

“All those things that separate the great ones from good, solid players. I think that’s just Charlie enjoying the moment.”

A time to vent

Brad Marchand, who took two penalties and was involved in post-whistle activity before scoring the OT winner in Game 2, said captain Patrice Bergeron “reeled me back in” when he was getting out of control.

Bergeron did the same for his coach.

“I know last night I got fired up early,” Cassidy said. “I thought [the Capitals] were physical and we were under siege a little bit, and could have dealt with it better. Bergy said, ‘Hey, settle down, we got this.’ And that’s good. We have that relationship.

“Other days, there’s stuff going on, and we have to be the ones to say, ‘Hey, just play through it, we’re fine.’

“But I think passion is good to have on the bench at times, that intensity. We play that type of game. We’ve seen it out of Marchy, we’ve seen it out of guys.

“We don’t mind if guys speak up. It’s our job to go over and say, ‘OK, that’s it, you’ve got it out of your system, settle down, let’s play, we’re OK.’ That’s how we try to handle it.”

They’re on to Boston 1188266 Boston Bruins but the pucks that have beaten him have been well-placed shots off turnovers, or pinballing ones that left him without recourse.

Focus, if you will, on T.J. Oshie’s perfect tip in Game 2, or the two-on- Did Tuukka Rask give up a soft goal in Game 2? A closer look says no one goal that Hathaway ripped far side. But don’t ignore the first-period, right-pad stop on Nic Dowd (who slipped free of a backchecking Charlie Coyle), the casual denial of a first-period Alex Ovechkin one-timer, or the By Matt Porter Globe Staff total erasure of Anthony Mantha.

Updated May 18, 2021, 4:53 p.m. Mantha, according to Natural Stat Trick, had eight scoring chances, including six high-danger attempts and two rebound tries. But there was

Rask, booting away a snapper off the wing in the second period, gloving Since parsing playoff goals against Tuukka Rask is a favorite parlor another from the opposite wing in the third, and denying the big man’s game of some, let’s discuss the one from Game 2 against the Capitals net-front presence on the power play. Monday that looked the worst. “I assume he’s watching and how they react to goals they First period, 3:18 remaining. A Dmitry Orlov shot hit Garnet Hathaway at feel they should have had,” said Cassidy, “or great saves — does that the top of the circle, slid through two Bruins and a Capital, and slipped fuel them even more — or getting bumped and no call. There’s different underneath Rask’s pads. It tied the score at 2, in a game the Bruins scenarios that come up. eventually won in . “I think the goalie union is tight, typically, and they do talk, because Should Rask have found the puck? That would have been nice. It also they’re the only ones that do truly understand that position.” would have been nearly impossible, since Matt Grzelcyk and Lars Eller No doubt the Bruins would have battled just as hard if Swayman, Jaro were tangling a foot in front of him. A shielded Rask remained on his feet Halak, or Dan Vladar had been in net. As several veterans have until he saw Eller react to the incoming puck, then dropped to his knees previously commented, it feels different when Rask, age 34 and 95 and flared out his pads with hope he would stop it. playoff games in, isn’t sweating the small stuff. NESN analyst and former Bruins goalie Andrew Raycroft saw it as Rask “We don’t panic throughout games,” Brad Marchand said. “There’s a playing the odds. Staying on his feet allowed him to react quicker to a sense of calm when things aren’t going our way. That’s why we have sharp deflection. On his knees, he is less mobile. Tuuks back there, to kind of bail us out in situations like that and give us “If you’re going to make 99 saves playing it one way, and give up one, a minute to find our game.” you can’t go back and forth trying to make that one save out of 100,”

Raycroft said. Boston Globe LOADED: 05.19.2021 It speaks to a larger issue surrounding Rask, in his 12th year of providing high-level goaltending for the Bruins. Based on social media comments and talk radio bloviating, the expectation is that he should make 100 saves out of 100.

“As soon as you leave Boston, no one knows you play in the league anymore,” said Raycroft, who started his five-team, 11-year career with the Bruins and, coincidentally, was the other half of the 2005 trade with Toronto that brought Rask here. “That’s the passion of the fans. They love this team.

“But look at other teams play. There’s lots of goals that go in that you never see in Boston.”

For example: Sunday’s Penguins-Islanders game, in which Pittsburgh’s Tristian Jarry allowed “four really bad goals,” Raycroft said, “or, they would be for Tuukka Rask. It happens around the league. It doesn’t happen here. Because of the success Tuukka’s had, there’s the idea that this is what it always looks like. If you had bad goaltending in this league, things go south quickly. That gets lost on people.”

If Rask had stopped that Game 2 trickler, the sequence wouldn’t have made the highlight reel, or the talk shows, or the tweets. Those are some of the toughest plays for goalies: having to sort through the chaos, find the pucks you can’t see, and play the percentages. If it hits him, it’s a forgettable play, a hard-fought bit of nothing.

In Raycroft’s view, the Rask discourse stems from the run of Tim Thomas, full of fire and fury that captured the hearts of Bruins fans a decade-plus ago. Fair enough. But fans shouldn’t be calling for Jeremy Swayman every time the red light comes on. Rask stopped 36 of 39 shots in Game 2, after saving 32 of 35 in Game 1.

“The leash — like, enough,” Raycroft said on his podcast, Morning Bru. “He is playing the rest of the series now. That’s it. This is what he is. He is really good. And he makes a lot of saves.

“He makes really good plays with the puck right now. His hockey sense is off the charts. And he does win a lot of these big games. He wins overtime games. He finds ways to keep his team in it. What he does on a consistent basis is so much better than a lot of other goalies.”

Raycroft has a point. Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy wouldn’t trade situations with Washington’s Peter Laviolette, who is a Craig Anderson injury away from calling on career minor leaguer Pheonix Copley.

Rask’s career accomplishments likely will send his No. 40 to the TD Garden rafters. This postseason, he has yet to have a dominant game, 1188267 Boston Bruins delivered the game-winning goal 39 seconds into overtime to even the series as it heads back to Boston Wednesday.

“I don’t worry about Marchy,” Cassidy said. “He’s going to periodically The Capitals like to play rough, and in Game 2 the Bruins were more push back. He’s in the middle of everything, so he’s got to defend than willing to tangle himself. He’s doing a lot better now and how he’s taking penalties. So you know, I’ve got a lot of faith and trust and loyalty to Brad. There’s way way more good than bad, and I think he wanted to drag us into the fight.” By Julian Benbow Globe Staff Now the Bruins are in the thick of it with both teams making it clear that Updated May 18, 2021, 7:11 a.m. they aren’t willing to give any ground.

“Obviously, they’re hard games,” Marchand said. “They’re playing tough, they’re playing physical, and they’re not giving up a ton. So it’s a big one Washington Capitals center Nic Dowd was still in a scrum along the to win but doesn’t matter how good it feels, game’s over and we got to boards holding Bruins forward David Krejci in half of a headlock when he get prepared for the next one.” looked up with semi-confusion trying to figure out what all the whistles were about.

He shook his head, baffled when he realized he was being sent to the Boston Globe LOADED: 05.19.2021 penalty box for roughing.

With neither team wanting to give an inch in their first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series, the intensity, the choppiness, the shoves, and the elbows all heightened.

“It’s playoff hockey,” said Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron. “That’s what we’re expecting.”

In order to pull out a 4-3 overtime victory in Game 2, the Bruins had to get their hands dirty.

The Capitals have built a brand on being a rugged team. The Bruins came into the series bracing for it. And, apparently, so did the officials. The two teams combined for 14 penalties. The Capitals were whistled six times and racked up 12 penalty minutes. The Bruins piled up eight penalties and spent 16 minutes in the box as a team.

After two bruising games to start the series, the Bruins expect nothing less the rest of the way.

“I think they’re a great team with lots of offense and also they’re a big team,” Bergeron said. “They’re physical and that’s what we got in both games and I think we can do the same thing and play some playoff hockey and [be] ready for whatever.”

Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy preached prior to the series that his team had to walk the line.

They couldn’t just brace for the hits that the Caps would inevitably bring, they would have to dish out their own. At the same time, they couldn’t get so wrapped up in the blow-for-blow battle that they stopped playing the brand of skilled hockey that got them to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the fifth straight season.

The Caps set the tone in their Game 1 win, delivering 51 hits. For all the dust-ups, Washington was only whistled for four penalties.

Game 2 was a different story.

The Caps dished out 36 hits. The Bruins responded with 30.

The fire starter for the Bruins was Brad Marchand. Barely a minute after Dowd went to the box for roughing, Marchand caught a roughing penalty of his own for punching Brenden Dillon in the midsection as he tried to pick himself up out of a scrum by the Capitals goal.

It was the first of two trips to the penalty box for Marchand, who also picked up a slashing penalty in the second period when he put his stick in the face of Anthony Mantha. Mantha was given a slashing penalty as well, despite not appearing to do anything to deserve it.

“That second one is a little soft,” Marchand said. “They probably just could’ve let that go on both sides.”

The two teams kept official Jean Hebert busy, but Marchand said he understood the reason behind the active whistles.

“It’s about just being able to kind of get back into the game,” Marchand said. “I think, after that one, I think the refs kind of sent a little bit of a message and it was received.”

Marchand’s track record for stirring the pot in the postseason precedes him. Cassidy understands that Marchand will test the limits, but trusts that won’t go so far that it will keep him off the ice in crucial moments. He 1188268 Boston Bruins just Charlie enjoying the moment. We try to tell our guys, ‘Stay in the moment and own your moment.’ When there’s an opportunity and it’s your turn, go make a play if that’s what’s on the table. He puts himself in Bruins Notebook: Charlie McAvoy elevates when the lights are bright those positions more than most and that’s why he is who he is.”

Captain Calm

By STEVE CONROY | [email protected] | Boston Herald After Monday’s game, Marchand said that Bergeron “reeled me in” after he had taken a couple of penalties. In discussing the professional vibe PUBLISHED: May 18, 2021 at 4:45 p.m. | UPDATED: May 18, 2021 at around the team, Cassidy revealed that the captain also had a calming 5:01 p.m. influence on him in the hectic early minutes of Game 2.

“I know I got fired up early when they were physical and we were under siege a little bit and could have dealt with it better. That’s one where From the very beginning, the special quality that Charlie McAvoy Bergie said, ‘Hey, settle down, we’ve got this.’ And it’s good. We have possesses was apparent. that relationship,” said Cassidy. “Other days, there’s stuff going on and Thrown into the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Ottawa Senators in (the coaches) have to be the ones who say, ‘Hey, just play through it. 2017 with nothing but four games in Providence separating his days at We’re fine.’ But I think passion is good, to have that intensity on the Boston University from the , McAvoy has been bench. We’ve seen it out of Marchie, we’ve seen it of other guys. We on a trajectory that would one day lead him to be the Bruins’ next No. 1 don’t mind if guys speak up. And then it’s our job to go over and say, defenseman. ‘That’s it, you got it out of your system. Settle down, let’s play.’ That’s how we handle it.” That day, clearly, has arrived. Odds and ends In the B’s 4-3 overtime victory over the Washington Capitals in Game 2 on Monday, McAvoy was an absolute horse. In a game-high 26:49 of ice Cassidy said that Lauzon (hand) will miss Wednesday’s Game 3, terming time, McAvoy was a plus-4 with five shots on net, five hits and the B’s him “day-to-day,” the playoff catch-all. The news was better on Miller. He had a shot attempts advantage of 33-18 while he was on the ice. While had left the game early in the first period when he delivered a big hit on he didn’t pick up a point in the game, his crashing of the net — without . He missed the rest of the first before returning. The interfering with goalie Craig Anderson (at least not obviously enough to natural concern was that he re-aggravated his chronic knee injury, but challenge) — was instrumental in allowing Taylor Hall to score the Cassidy said that wasn’t the case. equalizer late in regulation. “He got a nasty cut from one of the hits, so it wasn’t his previous injury This season has been a big step forward for the 23-year-old McAvoy. which is good news,” said Cassidy. “He got stitched up and went back out there. It’s a little sensitive today but he should be good to go Early in his career, he benefited greatly from the presence of former (Wednesday) assuming there’s no issue with that.” … captain Zdeno Chara next to him as a guiding big-brother type. Now it seems he’s also gotten a boost because of Chara’s absence, at least in Washington coach Peter Laviolette, who doesn’t divulge much, did not part. have an update on Lars Eller, who left Game 2 with a lower body injury. He’s termed, you guessed it, day-to-day. Same goes for Vitek Vanecek, McAvoy started the season with Jeremy Lauzon as his partner and is the goalie injured early in Game 1. now settling in on a tandem with his Terrier teammate Matt Grzelcyk. Regardless of whom he’s been paired with, McAvoy, with his level of Meanwhile, top-six forward Evgeny Kuznetsov and goalie Ilya Samsonov, responsibility growing this year, should be in the conversation for the both of whom came off the COVID list over the weekend, were traveling Norris Trophy. with the team to Boston. No word yet if they’ll be available for Game 3.

“He’s had more on his plate, kind of the leader on his pair whereas in the Laviolette did not explain why Chara played so little in the third period past, he’s been gravitating toward that but obviously, with Z’s experience, (1:48) but said he’ll be ready to play in Game 3. Chara took part in the it was a different animal,” said coach Bruce Cassidy on Tuesday. “Now team’s optional skate on Tuesday. … it’s a little more of ‘Hey, take the initiative’ in terms of play on the ice, in Charlie Coyle was selected as the Bruins nominee for the King Clancy terms of communicating with your partner. Certainly Grizz has played Memorial Trophy, awarded to the NHL player who best exemplifies enough games in the league, but still I just think whoever he’s with, he’s leadership on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian that guy. contribution in the community. “And we’re trying to build more and more into his game without overloading. You do that much defending against good players and you’re being asked to drive your offense, now he’s doing more penalty- Boston Herald LOADED: 05.19.2021 killing at times when Kevan Miller and (Brandon) Carlo were hurt. That’s something where we went into the year where we thought we’d be OK if Kevan and Carlo stay healthy. They’re real good on the right side. Power play, we tried to give him some (time), but not all. So more and more is getting put on his plate and he’s able to handle it. We’ll keep an eye on it, but that summarizes his year. Everything we give him, he seems to excel at. Obviously, he’s still a young guy in this league that’s only going to get better. He has a tremendous ceiling. He seems to get highly motivated for the bright lights. And the thing that goes unnoticed about Charlie is he plays a lot of hard minutes but he recovers well. He just has a real ability to reset and get back out there. I don’t know if he’s got extra-large lungs or what but he’s a guy that can recover well and get back to a top level very quickly.”

As was the case with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron, McAvoy was one of the players who was able to lift his performance after a disappointing Game 1. The simple fact that he can puts him in a different category, said Cassidy.

“I think Charlie, of all the guys, has the ability to elevate. That’s the difference,” said Cassidy. “There are guys out there, trust me, who say, ‘Geez, I’d love to be able to make a difference.’ That’s why these guys are elite because they can, because they can recover, they have the ability to separate, they’re strong to win pucks, they see the ice. All the things that separate the great ones from good, solid players. So that’s 1188269 Boston Bruins Bottom-six offense will be crucial to the Bruins' hopes of beating a Capitals team that ranked fifth in goals scored and third in power-play percentage during the regular season.

Game 2 observations: Taylor Hall makes huge impact in B's win So far, DeBrusk has helped provide that scoring depth. It's not a huge surprise, either. DeBrusk has typically played well in the first round of the playoffs, scoring five goals in 2018, one in 2019, two in 2020 and now BY NICK GOSS twice in two games this year.

DeBrusk also is playing the game with excellent speed, physicality and is battling hard for 50-50 pucks in the corners and along the boards. He's BRUINS giving the B's a little bit of everything, and they need all of it. The Boston Bruins' mission was clear in Game 2 of their first-round 3) B's did far better job defending Ovechkin Stanley Cup Playoff series against the Washington Capitals. Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin was everywhere in Game 1. He set Be more aggressive offensively. a physical tone for his team with a couple huge hits, and also helped The B's made Capitals goalie Craig Anderson's job much easier than it drive puck possession and create scoring chances for himself and his should have been in Saturday night's overtime loss in Game 1. Boston linemates. also missed 21 (!) shots in the series opener. Ovechkin's impact was minimal in Game 2, and it was a huge factor in Game 2 was a far different story. The Bruins had an 89-63 edge in shot the outcome. attempts and a 48-39 advantage in shots on net. They peppered The Bruins had a plus-5 shot attempt differential, a plus-3 edge in shots Anderson time and time again, and their effort was rewarded in a 4-3 on net and were even in scoring chances (5-5) against the Capitals' top overtime win that evened the series heading back to Boston. line of Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Anthony Mantha during 5-on-5 Here are three observations from Game 2. play. Compare those numbers to Game 1 when the Ovechkin line was plus-10 in shot attempts, plus-5 in shots on net and plus-10 in scoring 1) Taylor Hall comes up clutch chances.

The Bruins acquired Taylor Hall at the NHL trade deadline for these kinds Connor Clifton played the most 5-on-5 ice time against Ovechkin among of games, and he helped save the Bruins from an 0-2 series hole Bruins defensemen and he did a tremendous job. He was physical and Monday. used his speed to skate out of trouble in his own zone. It was a tough assignment for Clifton, who didn't play in Game 1 but drew into the lineup The second-line left winger executed a great zone entry late in the third as a result of Jeremy Lauzon's injury. period, avoided a hit by a Capitals defenseman and threw the puck on net. The Bruins descended on Craig Anderson's net, whacking at the "I love Cliffy. He competes so hard everyday in practice," Marchand said. puck several times before Hall skated around the back and batted the "Every shift in the game, he's so hard to play against. And he's always loose puck over the goal line. The tally evened the score at three goals ready. He's such a true professional. He's always ready regardless of apiece with 2:49 remaining in regulation. how long he's been sitting.

Hall led the Bruins with 11 shot attempts and seven shots on net. He also "When he's in the lineup he brings the same intensity every night. He tallied six scoring chances and five high-danger shot attempts. The competes hard, and that's what you love to see. He can skate like the Capitals have had trouble defending his speed through the neutral zone, wind and he's so physical. I think he catches guys off guard a little bit, but too, as Hall drew another penalty in the second period. He drew two he's a great player for us and he has been for a couple years now. We're penalties in Game 1. lucky to have him."

"I think what happens is you have a great start to your Bruins career, and With the Bruins getting the benefit of the last line change as the home then the other night it didn't really happen for (the Hall line). And you team in Games 3 and 4, playing the matchups and getting the Bergeron want to make a difference. I love guys like (Hall) who want to make a line, plus the McAvoy/Matt Grzelcyk pairing on the ice versus Ovechkin difference, as long as they're not going out there and being reckless and will be a lot easier for B's head coach Bruce Cassidy. not playing for the team," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said.

"Yeah, he had a turnover that he had to take a penalty on, but he did try to chip and chase and not toe drag the guy. It was unfortunate, but he Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 05.19.2021 bounced back. The puck wasn't finding him sometimes in the right spot, because he's a guy with time and space -- that's when he's at his best. He drew a penalty that he would've had a breakaway on. Stuff like that frustrates goal scorers but he stuck with it, made a huge play on the third goal to beat (John) Carlson 1-on-1. Great poise and got to the front of the net, and then hung around there, didn't go for a fly-by.

"Credit to Taylor. He's been really invested since he's been here. I think he just wanted to do really well right away. Obviously, that's a good mindset to have. There's a lot of hockey to play, and I think a lot of his teammates reminded him. Just keep playing. When it's your turn you'll make the right play, and sure enough, he did."

2) Jake DeBrusk providing valuable scoring depth

DeBrusk's scoring has been one of the most encouraging outcomes for the Bruins over the first two games. The 24-year-old winger struggled for long stretches of the regular season and was even made a healthy scratch a few times due to a lack of offensive production. DeBrusk tallied just 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 41 games.

But he's had some impressive playoff moments in his young career, and this series is the latest example. DeBrusk scored Boston's first goal in Game 1 and he did it again in Game 2 by going hard to the net. This tally came on one of DeBrusk's five shots on net Monday night -- only Taylor Hall and Patrice Bergeron had more. 1188270 Boston Bruins “I think that’s something that our group is so good about. We don’t panic throughout games,” Marchand said. “We have so much character in our room, and you can sense it all the way through the bench and during the Brad Marchand overcomes poor performance to play Game 2 hero timeouts and in the room.

"There’s a sense of calm when things aren’t going our way. That’s why we have (Tuukka Rask) back there to kind of bail us out in situations like BY NICK GOSS that, and give us a minute to find our game. That’s what happened. At this time of the year, it's about competing. That's what we did tonight. We

found our game.” BRUINS

Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand was giving a lackluster Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 05.19.2021 performance in Monday night's Game 2 against the Washington Capitals through the end of regulation, but it only took 39 seconds in overtime for him to flip the script.

B's defenseman Matt Grzelcyk fed a tremendous cross-ice pass to Marchand, who rocketed a shot past Capitals goalie Craig Anderson to give the Bruins a 4-3 win and even the first-round Stanley Cup Playoff matchup at a game apiece with the series shifting to Boston for Wednesday night's Game 3.

The first 125 minutes of the series were mostly a struggle for Marchand. He failed to get on the scoresheet and tallied only one shot on net in Game 1. Game 2 was more of the same, with Marchand having just one shot during 5-on-5 action entering overtime.

Marchand also took two penalties in regulation, including a very avoidable slashing minor in the second period. Putting the Capitals on the power play -- with the league's third-best unit in the regular season at 24.8 percent -- is a dangerous game for the Bruins to be playing, and they need better discipline from their most experienced players like Marchand.

Game 2 observations: Taylor Hall makes huge impact in B's win

As Bruins fans know well, you have to take the good with the bad in regards to Marchand. He sometimes plays on the edge, but he's gotten a lot better at weathering the rough patches and breaking through.

Game 2 was a great example of him staying the course and eventually being a difference-maker.

"I don't worry about Marchand," Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said after the win. "He's going to periodically push back. He's in the middle of everything. He's got to defend himself. He's doing a lot better now with how he's taking penalties. I've got a lot of faith, trust and loyalty to Brad. There's way more good than bad.

"I think he wanted to drag us into the fight, and we needed it tonight because we didn't start on time. Him and (Bergeron) certainly are guys who will do that. That's Brad, I think he's matured enough now not to take himself out of the game. Maybe that would've been a game in the past where he lets it get to him and wouldn't have been an effective player, but he found his game, and it was a big part of the win with the overtime goal."

Luckily for the Bruins, they have a great leader in captain Patrice Bergeron who can identify when his linemate needs to be reminded of the way the team needs to play to be successful.

“Bergy, in situations like that, will grab me and kind of reel me back in like he did,” Marchand said “That’s just part of it. We’re on the biggest stage right now and we've got to stay out of the box in these games. I've got to do a little bit better job there than I did tonight.”

Marchand is an enormously important player for the Bruins. He's arguably the best left winger in the world and scored at a point-per-game rate or better for the fifth consecutive year with a team-leading 69 points (29 goals, 40 assists) in 53 regular season games.

It's hard to envision the Bruins making a deep playoff run without Marchand and the rest of his line (Bergeron and David Pastrnak) generating offense at a consistent level. This group passed its first test of the 2021 playoffs by bouncing back from an awful Game 1 and scoring two goals Monday night -- one each from Marchand and Bergeron.

It wasn't surprising, either, and not just because these are elite players. This Bruins team has responded really well to challenges all season. They never lost more than two consecutive games in the regular season and won 15 of their 22 games following a defeat. 1188271 Boston Bruins

INJURY UPDATE: Good News & Bad News For Boston Bruins D-Men

Published 7 hours ago on

May 18, 2021By Joe Haggerty

It was a bit of good news and bad news for the Boston Bruins in the health department after their overtime Game 2 win against the Washington Capitals.

The bad news is that big, heavy D-man Jeremy Lauzon (right hand) has already been ruled out of Wednesday night’s Game 3 against the Washington Capitals at TD Garden. The fact he’s already out before tomorrow’s morning skate, and that he will have missed two games after getting hit with a Justin Schultz slapper, points toward an injury that might keep him out for a period of time.

“He won’t be available [for Game 3],” said Bruce Cassidy. “He’s day-to- day with an injury.”

The 24-year-old Lauzon missed a month during the regular season with a fractured left hand, and the young defenseman struggled for a couple of weeks upon returning to the lineup following his lengthy absence due to injury. Lauzon’s absence means Connor Clifton will get some more playoff time in the Boston Bruins lineup after playing a feisty, confident game against the Capitals in Game 2 with four shot attempts, a hit and a blocked shot in 14:37 of ice time in the first period.

“[He did] a really good job. He got caught once on the wall in the second period on a rimmed puck where he got on the wrong of a battle with [TJ] Oshie, but his partner made a nice play on it to get him out of it,” said Cassidy. “That was the only time he really got out of position. I thought he did a really good job of staying clean and that was the ask.

“I framed [the assignment to Clifton] as, ‘You’ve got to be physical, Cliffy. That’s part of your game and it’s got to happen tonight. Don’t be reckless and when you have the puck understand what they’re trying to do in the neutral zone’. He stayed within himself very well.”

The good news for the Boston Bruins? Kevan Miller’s significant amount of missed time during the first period of Game 2 wasn’t related to any knee issues, but was instead because the hardnosed, rugged veteran D- man suffered a “nasty cut” after throwing a hit in the game’s opening minutes. Miller returned for the final two periods and finished with 10:30 of ice time while playing important minutes on the penalty kill in the big win.

“He’s good to go. He got a nasty cut from one of the hits [he made]. It wasn’t his previous injury, which was good news,” said Cassidy. “He got stitched up and went back out there. It’s a little sensitive today. But he should be good to go tomorrow assuming there’s no issues with that.”

The B’s bench boss said he didn’t determine any changes to the Boston Bruins lineup for Game 3 based on any health concerns following Monday night’s win in Washington.

Boston Hockey Now LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188272 Boston Bruins Bruins each and every time they hop over the boards, and he backs it up with everything he does in all situations for the Black and Gold.

“It’s who he is. He competes at all times,” said Bergeron of his longtime Bruins Marchand Shows His Hart: ‘He Wanted To Drag Us Into The linemate. “His will and his want to be the difference is there every time. Fight’ It’s no surprise. You [in the media] have been around long enough and I’ve been around long enough to know that’s just who he is.”

Published 16 hours ago on May 18, 2021 “Who he is” is the very definition of an MVP candidate and it’s something new teammates like Taylor Hall have noticed early and often when it By Joe Haggerty comes to Marchand.

“Confidence is such a special thing in sports,” Hall told reporters, per the Bruins. “When you have it, you don’t even really know you have it. When Brad Marchand has deservedly earned heaps of praise for Hart Trophy you don’t have confidence, it’s certainly apparent. I can’t really say what consideration this season while leading the way for the Bruins each and the turning point was or anything, but when I watch a guy like Marchand every night, and now he’s brought this season’s MVP act to the Stanley play and the things he does out there, I think that was a really great thing Cup playoffs. for me, to watch him play. After all of Boston’s best players didn’t quite have it in Saturday night’s “To see how hard he is on pucks, to see how many times he gives a Game 1 loss, Marchand and his Perfection Line partner Patrice Bergeron second effort to get a puck back or make a play on D or on offense. He’s stepped up and blazed a trail in a 4-3 overtime Game 2 win over the been a guy our whole roster feeds off of. For me personally, to see how Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Monday night. It was he plays, I know I can play a similar style. It’s almost like you watch Marchand that played the hockey hero role in overtime smashing a one- someone do it, and then you’re like, ‘OK, I can do that.’ That was a little time pass from across the ice courtesy of Matt Grzelcyk, and then thing.” sprinting and leaping into a celebratory Boston Bruins bench with Taylor Hall waiting to catch him. Marchand not only improves himself each and every season with the Boston Bruins, but he finds ways on and off to make all of his teammates But it wasn’t just the OT game-winner that once again put Marchand’s full better like he’s doing in helping to lift Hall to a higher level. That’s what value on display for the hockey world to see. The Bruins left winger was being a Hart Trophy candidate is all about and Marchand had it all going playing with a combative attitude and dogged emotion throughout a on during an epic Game 2 performance for the Black and Gold. game where the B’s didn’t get off to the most inspired start, and it became contagious to the rest of the club.

Sure, it led to a couple of Marchand penalties along the way, including Boston Hockey Now LOADED: 05.19.2021 iffy matching calls during a scrum between Marchand and Anthony Mantha that signaled the refs seizing control of the game. And it necessitated the occasional “heat check” conversation between longtime linemates during the game after Marchand’s second penalty.

“That second [penalty] was a little soft. They probably could have just let that go on both sides, but it’s about being able to get back into the game. After that one I think the refs were sending a little bit of a message and it was received,” said Marchand. “Obviously Bergie in situations like that will grab me and reel me back in like he did.

“It’s just part of it. We’re on the biggest stage right now and I’ve got to stay out of the box in these games. It’s a good feeling to go back 1-1. We just seemed to have it a little more than last game. They’re playing tough and physical and not giving up much, so it was a good game to win.”

But Marchand’s brand of fire and brimstone also dragged the sluggish Bruins kicking and screaming into the battle against a rugged Capitals hockey club that’s not backing down in their first-round playoff series.

“I think he really wanted to drag us into the fight. We didn’t start on time and Brad really dragged us into the fight tonight,” Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said in the postgame Zoom call with the media. “He and Bergeron were guys that were going to do that. That’s just Brad. He’s matured enough to do that. In the past he might have let it get to him and he wouldn’t have been an effective player, but he found his game and was certainly a big part of the win. I don’t worry about Marchand. He’s going to periodically push back because he’s in the middle of everything, so he’s got to defend himself. He’s doing a lot better now in how he takes penalties. I’ve got a lot of faith, trust and loyalty in Brad and there is way, way more good than bad.

“Those guys really led: Bergy, Marchand Charlie [McAvoy] really got going too. They really came through for us. Everyone came to play. It was a little bit of a tough start as they came after us and we need to address that, but we really came through.”

There was little doubt, though, that once the game was on the line in overtime that Marchand was going to bring his best, and that was going to be good enough. It’s little surprise for a guy that finished with 29 goals and 63 points in 53 games along with a plus-26 and should be in the top- 5 in everybody’s Hart ballot after the season he just produced.

Nobody could have guessed it was going to be the fastest overtime game-winner in Boston Bruins playoff history, beating Bobby Orr’s legendary leaping score to clinch the Stanley Cup way back in 1970.

But that’s the kind of clutch, warrior-like player that Marchand has become. He’s an emotional leader on the ice setting the tone for the 1188273 Boston Bruins BY THE NUMBERS: 41. The number of faceoffs won by the Boston Bruins as they beat the Capitals 41-24 at the dot. Patrice Bergeron went 18-11 and David Krejci was 10-4. That was huge in generating scoring Talking Points: Big Guns Lead Boston Bruins to 4-3 OT Win In Game 2 chances and also making the Capitals constantly adjust on the fly.

Published 21 hours ago on May 18, 2021 Boston Hockey Now LOADED: 05.19.2021

By Jimmy Murphy

The big guns showed up for the Boston Bruins in Game 2 and helped them tie their first round series with the Washington Capitals at a game apiece with a 4-3 overtime win in Game 2.

Boston Bruins winger Taylor Hall tied the game at three with 2:49 left in regulation and Brad Marchand scored 39 seconds into the extra frame to send the series headed back to Boston knotted at one. Center David Krejci picked up the secondary assist. Earlier in the game, Boston Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron put the B’s up 2-1 9:21 into the first period and winger David Pastrnak picked up the lone assist.

While the Top 6 forward group played a major role after a quiet Game 1, the bottom 6 and specifically, forward Jake DeBrusk showed up again as DeBrusk netted the Bruins’ first goal 5:05 into the first period. Linemates Charlie Coyle and Nick Ritchie picked up the helpers. Defenseman Matt Grzelcyk assisted on Hall’s tying goal and Marchand’s overtime winner. .

Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask was solid in a 3-2 OT loss in Game 1 with 29 saves but he was brilliant in Game 2 with 36 stops.

Garnet Hathaway scored twice for the Capitals and T.J. Oshie lit the lamp as well. Goalie Craig Anderson once again did everything he could to put the Caps up 2-0 in the series with 45 saves.

The series now switches to TD Garden for Game 3 on Wednesday and Game 4 Friday. Both games begin at 6:30 PM ET.

GOLD STAR: Brad Marchand. First off, let’s get it out of the way right now. This puck scribe was all over Marchand throughout regulation as the Hart and Selke Trophy candidate took undisciplined penalties in both the first and second period. However, while a sucker-punch to Capitals defenseman Brenden Dillon’s family jewels and a stick to the head of Caps winger Anthony Mantha as Mantha was being held back by the referees was reminiscent of the Hyde rather than the Jekyll Marchand, it appears that the Bruins alternate captain had a plan. He walked the line and when all was said and done he was on the right side of that line of being disciplined and yet a pain in the ass to his opponent.

“We didn’t start on time and Brad really dragged us into the fight tonight,” Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassisy said in the postgame Zoom call with the media. “He and Bergeron both. In the past a night like tonight might have taken him out of his game, but that obviously didn’t happen in this one.”

BLACK EYE: Parade to the penalty box. As mentioned above regarding Marchand, the Boston Bruins as a whole, once again lacked discipline in this game. They gave the Capitals’ lethal powerplay four chances and while at least one call was questionable, the Bruins seemed to be chancing fate a little too much in Game 2.

TURNING POINT: Hall’s game-tying goal with 2:49 left in regulation. To say Taylor Hall is making Don Sweeney look like a genious for acquiring him and Curtis lazar for Anders Bjork and a 2022 second round draft pick, is an understatement right now. Hall continued his comeback story with a complete game and was rewarded for his hard work with the game-tying goal.

Following the game Hall once again credited the culture in around the Boston Bruins for his resurgence.

“There’s an aura about the team. Nobody is tight,” Hall said. “When the bullets start flying it’s easier to be composed when you’ve been like that all day, and all week.”

HONORABLE MENTION: Charlie McAvoy. McAvoy is a dark horse candidate for the Norris Trophy, likely finishing in the Top 5 in voting. In Game 2, he showed why as he led all Boston Bruins players in TOI with 26:49. He was a plus 4 with five shots and five hits. He was everywhere each time he stepped on the ice and with his mentor, Zdeno Chara, on the opposing team, once again showed that the Bruins blue line is now his. 1188274 Boston Bruins passed it over to Marchand, who, from the face-off circle to Anderson’s left, fired a shot into the net. The two teams’ fans then played their expected roles: Caps fans groused about sloppy play in their own end, Bruins’ thrilling comeback vs. Capitals allows us to daydream about a B’s fans applauded the Bruins for seizing the moment. packed TD Garden in near future “The guys who have been here understood the urgency of this game,” said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy. “Listen, we had to play better. We did. Obviously getting the win is very important, but for our own selves we By Steve Buckley needed to play a better hockey game.

May 18, 2021 “I thought we were the better hockey team tonight.”

This was an exciting, emotionally-draining, back-and-forth game, as sudden-death affairs tend to be. But if the Bruins are to play in front of a Let’s break down some of the numbers from the Boston Bruins’ 4-3 full Garden house during this year’s Stanley Cup tourney, they need to sudden-death victory over the Washington Capitals Monday night in win this series. Check back to the numbers we broke down up above: Game 2 of what so far has been a riveting best-of-seven playoff series: May 29. Not until that date can a good, old-fashioned crowd of 19,580 fill 11: That’s the number of consecutive games the Bruins and Capitals the Garden, and then, when it’s over, fill Causeway Street. have played that have been decided by one goal. It’s not Cassidy’s job to think in those terms. Nor should it be. His focus is 4.1 million: That’s the number of Massachusetts residents who are Game 3. Duh. expected to have received COVID-19 vaccinations by the first week of But if you don’t happen to be the coach of the Bruins, it’s OK to June. daydream about a second round, OK to dream about another couple of 29: That’s the day — as in May 29 — that the commonwealth says weeks of this crazy Stanley Cup hockey. Fenway Park and TD Garden may open their doors and allow fans to “It’s a good feeling to go back 1-1,” said Marchand. “We obviously went step inside and fill every last seat. through it last game. It’s tough to lose in overtime. It hurts. You battle While those last two sets of numbers aren’t what you’d call hockey- back, especially the way we did tonight. We just seemed to have it a little specific, they are every bit as important as anything Jack Edwards and bit more tonight than we did last game.” Andy Brickley were rolling out during Monday night’s NESN telecast. For Try to imagine a second round, with Marchand talking for another couple as the news was making the rounds that Massachusetts will soon be re- of weeks — or longer — about tough losses followed by games in which opening for business — an announcement that included the whopping “you battle back.” oh-by-the-way that “open for business” includes Fenway and the Garden — it had to have sports fans hopping around the way Brad Marchand did Best of all, try to imagine it all happening — the good, the bad — in front after potting the game-winner just 39 seconds into overtime Monday of packed Garden houses. night.

Perhaps we should pause for a moment to acknowledge that in the grand scheme it’s more important for the kids to be going back to school, more The Athletic LOADED: 05.19.2021 important for the jobless to be invited back to the workplace, and, of course, more important for citizens everywhere to feel safe as they step back into the marketplace. But sports matter. Sports have always mattered. It’s why David Ortiz and his Fenway Park speech in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing will one day be taught to school kids, cuss word included. It’s why Celtics fans genuinely stop and pay attention when the team does its “Heroes Among Us” presentation. It’s why reasonable people, even those who goof on Robert Kraft for his post-9/11 proclamation that “today we’re all patriots,” realize the man had a point.

And, yes, it’s OK for people to use sports as a vehicle by which they can lose themselves in the moment and have fun. Which — and I do apologize for that brief meandering to community spirit and the accompanying patriotic fife music you may have heard in the background — brings us back to the Bruins.

Has this series been awesome or what? Some of the locals could argue that Game 1 wasn’t so hot, not with the Bruins falling to solve the riddle of Craig Anderson, the turns-40-on-Friday back-up goalie to the backup goalie who stopped plenty of shots even if he couldn’t stop himself from falling ass-backwards into the net.

But it was a good game, that Game 1, with plenty of hard hitting, great plays and even greater story lines: Come on, is having Zdeno Chara play against the Bruins in the first round of the playoffs scripted or what?

And there was Game 2, which the Bruins trailed 3-2 until, with 2:29 remaining in regulation, with seemingly 20 players in front of Anderson taking whacks at the puck, it was the Bruins’ Taylor Hall who took the whack that tied it.

Was it a pretty goal?

No.

“It was a greasy goal, for sure,” said Hall. “But we were able to come up the ice with it as a five-man unit, make a play at the line, and get it there. I thought as the game wore on, the score might not have reflected it, but we really found our game.”

Then there was the game-winner. Let’s put it this way: had Boston allowed this kind of goal, B’s fans would have been furious. But it was the Caps who turned the puck over in their own zone, and Matt Grzelcyk 1188275 Buffalo Sabres

Jack Eichel is Sabres' nominee for NHL's leadership, humanitarian award

Lance Lysowski

Aperceived disconnect between Jack Eichel and the Buffalo Sabres did not prevent the 24-year-old captain from being the franchise's choice for the National Hockey League's top leadership award.

Eichel was announced Tuesday as the Sabres' nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, which, according to an NHL news release, is presented annually to "to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.”

Each NHL team nominated a player for the award. The winner will be chosen by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly.

The first-place finisher will receive a $25,000 donation to benefit a charity or charities of his choice. The two runners-up each will receive a $5,000 donation to benefit a charity or charities of their choice. Former Sabres center Ryan O'Reilly was the St. Louis Blues' nominee.

On the ice, Eichel's third season as team captain went awry. He endured multiple injuries, beginning with an abdominal issue that he suffered in 2019-20. Eichel then broke a rib in a preseason on-ice drill at LECOM Harborcenter and missed two games in February with a sprained ankle.

Finally, Eichel's season was cut short at 21 games because of a herniated disk in his neck. Drafted second overall in 2015, Eichel finished with two goals and 16 assists for eight points. He scored 20-plus goals in each of his first five seasons, capped by a career-high 36 in 2019-20.

Eichel has continued his work in the Buffalo community, most recently gifting flowers to nurses at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center for Nurses Day. Last April, Eichel donated 5,000 personal protective equipment masks for Western New York health care workers on the front lines of the Covid-19 pandemic.

This is Eichel's third consecutive year as the Sabres' nominee. In the past, Eichel has donated a KeyBank Center suite at every Sabres home game to local charitable organizations, and has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Roswell Park through his involvement in the Bald for Bucks campaign.

Following another season outside the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Eichel expressed his frustration with the Sabres by saying there is a "disconnect" over the treatment for his neck injury.

"I would be lying to say that things have moved smoothly since my injury,” said Eichel.

General Manager Kevyn Adams later clarified that Eichel prefers to have a surgery that's never been performed on an NHL player, while the Sabres' doctors prescribed a 12-week period of conservative treatment.

Buffalo News LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188276 fun with what we had. At that point, you’re just trying to get the best out of every practice with what you’ve got.

“It would be a mistake to let your emotions, your frustration and be Domingue relishes rare start impatient with the situation. If you do that, you’re guaranteed not to have success at the end if you do get a chance.”

Daniel Austin Hopefully, there’s more to come. Domingue has 139 games on his NHL resume, with 58 wins, 58 losses and 10 overtime losses to show for his Publishing date:May 18, 2021 efforts. He’s proven he can play when given them opportunity.

As he knows all too well, though, those opportunities can be hard to come by. This was not an easy season for Louis Domingue.

The Calgary Flames goaltender isn’t asking for anyone’s sympathy. He knows it’s been a hard year for a lot of people. Calgary Sun: LOADED: 05.19.2021 But as an athlete and a competitor, being relegated to taxi-squad duties and reporting for practice day-after-day with little hope of seeing any real game action was difficult. Of course it was.

On Tuesday afternoon, Domingue finally got some ice-time when he started his first game since March 1, 2020. He stopped 20-of-23 shots that were fired his way by his former Vancouver Canucks teammates and looked generally comfortable in a game the Flames ultimately lost 4-2.

“Whether you like it or not, it was in the back of my mind that this might be my last game, this might not be,” Domingue said. “I don’t know what the next (year) is going to look like for me, but definitely glad I got to play and as the game went on I definitely felt more comfortable and felt more like I belonged.

“It felt pretty good, pretty special. Sometimes you go through things in your career and in my case I probably (thought) I might not play another NHL game, so pretty privileged to be (playing).”

Domingue was always grateful to have a job this season. The 29-year- old didn’t spend his time speaking with the media on Tuesday afternoon complaining about his lot-in-life, he merely acknowledged that it wasn’t always an easy season.

When he signed with the Flames last October, the team had already acquired the services of Jacob Markstrom in free-agency and still had David Rittich as their top backup option. Domingue knew he’d be the third-stringer and would likely spend some time with the Stockton Heat.

What nobody knew at the time was that the NHL would put taxi squad in- place to help manage any COVID-19-related difficulties this season, meaning every team could carry four-to-six players in addition to their 23- man active rosters.

“I certainly thought when I signed that I would be playing more,” Domingue said. “Nobody saw the taxi squad coming. I don’t think management did, either, so we kind of got surprised by that. To be honest, I don’t think the taxi squad was very good for any players around the league.

“I don’t think that was a good solution for anyone, it was pretty unfortunate because you saw a lot of guys who didn’t get a lot of playing time (who could have played) in the minors. Pretty disappointed in the taxi-squad situation all year, but it is what it is. You’ve got to battle through.”

Domingue did get time as the Flames’ backup for a number of games, both when Markstrom was hurt in February and after the NHL’s trade deadline when the team had dealt Rittich to the .

There was still a mathematical chance that the Flames could leapfrog the and qualify for the playoffs as they came down the stretch, though, so head coach relied entirely on Markstrom until Tuesday.

“He stopped a lot of pucks this year (in practice) and deserved to get in,” Sutter said.

Ultimately, Domingue was rewarded for the hard work he’s put in all season. In low moments, that work was its own reward, too. Domingue said that despite not getting much game-time, he still believes his game progressed and grew throughout this season.

“I kept my head down and kept working,” Domingue said. “The season we had, with the taxi squad and all that, we didn’t really have much time off and we found a routine as a group as the taxi squad, we tried to have 1188277 Calgary Flames affair to spoil Thatcher Demko’s shutout bid. Matthew Tkachuk then buried a rebound to add a little late intrigue.

Mangiapane has now matched his career-high with 17 lamp-lightings SNAPSHOTS: Why aren’t Flames giving Matthew Phillips a late-season during this shortened season. Not bad for a guy who was picked at No. look? 166 overall in 2015.

And who was the No. 166 selection in 2016?

Wes Gilbertson Matthew Phillips.

Publishing date: May 18, 2021 He’s not as strong or stocky as Mangiapane, and he’s three inches shorter, too. The other difference is that Phillips is right-handed, and the Flames always seem to be searching for options on that side of the depth An undersized forward, once selected as a long-shot in the sixth round of chart. the NHL Draft, scored in the late stages of Tuesday’s matinee as the Calgary Flames avoided a shutout in this clash of playoff outsiders. Maybe this homegrown hopeful is too small. But since the Flames have little left to play for, and after he’s established himself as a go-to guy in Interesting. the minors, doesn’t he deserve a chance to prove otherwise?

Because another undersized forward, another sixth-round swing from AROUND THE BOARDS several years back, is currently being shut out. The baking backstop, Louis Domingue, was between the pipes Tuesday Matthew Phillips, who was an all-star last for the visitors at Rogers Arena, his first NHL appearance since March 1, winter and tied for the Stockton Heat team scoring lead during this 2020. Domingue, who has been on taxi-squad duties most of this condensed campaign, can’t even get into the lineup for an audition. season, finished with 20 saves. Travis Hamonic and Nils Hoglander capitalized for the Canucks in the opening stanza, while Tyler Myers — Since his squad was eliminated from playoff contention, Flames coach after having a man-advantage marker scrubbed by an offside challenge Darryl Sutter has repeated several times that he believes it’s only fair, in — jumped into the attack for a third-period tally and Brock Boeser added the case of any prospect promoted for a late-season look-see, that the an empty-netter … Flames defence prospect Connor Mackey, a kid who call-up be dressed for consecutive games so they have ample is getting an end-of-season audition, has now scrapped in two straight opportunity to show off their skills. games. Canucks captain Bo Horvat didn’t give him much choice Well … after Tuesday’s 4-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Tuesday, demanding a dance after the 24-year-old just missed with what Arena, the Flames have just one date remaining. would have been a thunderous check on Tanner Pearson. Mackey’s father, Dave, did his share of knuckle-chucking, racking up 305 penalty And Phillips, 23, is still waiting to log his NHL debut. minutes in his 126 career appearances at the NHL level. When Dave was a rookie with the Chicago Blackhawks, one of the assistant coaches in The Calgary-raised right-winger, listed at 5-foot-7 and 155 lb., isn’t being the Windy City was none other than Sutter. “Getting called up, I had a billed by anybody as a can’t-miss kid. conversation with Darryl, just talking about a few things, and he But to not even give him a shot, especially in these meaningless mentioned that,” Connor said earlier this week. “It’s pretty cool, matchups? That feels like a big miss. something special. I don’t how many father and sons can say that” … The younger Mackey, by the way, recorded a game-high five hits “We’ve given everybody opportunity that we could, to be quite honest” Tuesday … The Flames will conclude this disappointing season with Sutter said after Tuesday’s loss in Vancouver. “We said we were giving Wednesday’s home-ice rematch against the Canucks. Puck-drop is set guys back-to-backs. We’ve done that. With the defencemen, we’ve rolled for 1:30 p.m. MT (Sportsnet West/Sportsnet 960 The Fan) and it’ll double through with those four guys that are competing against each other for as Fan Appreciation Day for the hosts, even though there won’t be any one or two spots. So, you know, we’ve given them every opportunity that rumps in the seats at the Saddledome. we can, and same thing up front. OFF THE GLASS “There are guys that have been here all year that are still trying to figure out what they have to do, in terms of helping the team win games. So With an assist on Mangiapane’s goal, centre Adam Ruzicka recorded his you’re still looking at that, for sure.” first point at the highest level. Ruzicka, 22, put up 21 points with the Baby Flames this season, sharing top spot on the team charts with Phillips … Phillips must be trying to figure out what he has to do to get a glimpse. Mikael Backlund was honoured as Calgary’s nominee for the King Clancy The skilled and shifty prospect has certainly made his case in the minors. Memorial Trophy, a nod to the NHLer “who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian When Sutter was asked specifically Tuesday about the wee winger, he contribution in his community.” The 32-year-old centre is an alternate mentioned that he’d need to be added to the active roster. captain and every time he notches a goal or assist, he and his wife Frida Is there anything stopping them? donate $500 to the ALS Society of Alberta. Backlund also supports several other charities and causes, including Kids Cancer Care, Special “I think you’d have to ask Brad (Treliving) or Mike Burke or who takes Olympics Calgary and Parachutes for Pets … If you’ve been purchasing care of the roster, in terms of activating and/or if he deserves to play 50-50 tickets this season, you’re helping the Flames Foundation make a again,” Sutter replied, referring to Calgary’s general manager and major difference. Thanks to the proceeds from the game-day raffles, they director of hockey administration. (It was later confirmed there is no injected another $1 million this week into their COVID-19 Support reason — salary-cap space, recall limits, etc. — that Phillips could not be Program. elevated from the taxi squad, so the explanation isn’t that simple.)

But does the coach, who reminded not long ago that “big and fast is still the M.O. that wins championships,” want to see what Phillips can do on Calgary Sun: LOADED: 05.19.2021 this stage?

“Sure, I’d like to see all them guys get a game that have been here for a while,” Sutter said. “There were guys that we left home that got hurt that I would have played, for sure, too.” (The Flames announced over the weekend that forward up-and-comer Luke Philp would be unavailable for the remaining games after suffering an upper-body injury in practice.)

Phillips, a third-year pro who has so far collected 36 goals and 93 points in 134 minor-league outings, was with the team in Vancouver.

He would have been watching from somewhere inside the rink when Andrew Mangiapane scored with 3:22 remaining in Tuesday’s afternoon 1188278 Calgary Flames Leivo didn’t play his first game post-injury until over a year later (Jan 14), and it was a slow start for him. He was a healthy scratch and played up and down the lineup, and went until March before he scored a goal for Who stays, who goes?: Predicting the Flames’ potential departures this the Flames. Then, in April, Leivo was added to the NHL’s COVID-19 list summer and was confirmed to have contracted the virus. He returned to the lineup just last week. This timeline makes it difficult to evaluate Leivo and his fit with this team.

By Hailey Salvian Leivo is somewhat similar to Ryan in that he had a down year offensively but was often placed in a bottom-six defensive role. His best position is May 18, 2021 probably as a third-line two-way winger, and there is certainly value there. For what it’s worth, five of Leivo’s six goals this season have come under Darryl Sutter. He’s someone who could be brought back on Where do the Calgary Flames stand entering the offseason? It’s a pretty another cheap one-year deal. But it’s also fair to assume Leivo may look loaded question, one that we’ll break down as the playoffs progress. somewhere where he can get more consistent opportunities.

At the top of the list of considerations this summer is the fact that the Prediction: 60 percent chance he goes. Flames disappointed this season. Again. The Stanley Cup won’t be awarded for eight more weeks, giving general manager Brad Treliving Dillon Dube (RFA) extra time to plot and make difficult decisions. Dube, who is in the final year of his entry-level contract, will be one of the Will he find trade suitors? Which free agents will return? most important free agents to sign this summer.

One thing we can probably agree on is that the Flames will look different Dube is a great skater who can push the pace with his speed and can next season — to what degree remains up in the air. make a lot of smart plays at that speed. He’s done that in flashes this season while being moved up and down the lineup. Dube has a high Between restricted and unrestricted free agents, 16 players on Calgary’s ceiling, even higher than a fan (and personal) favourite in Andrew NHL roster and taxi squad have contracts set to expire this summer. And Mangiapane. He has a ton of skill and projects to be a legitimate top-six there are several more RFA decisions to be made on prospects with NHLer and should certainly be part of the Flames’ future moving forward. Stockton — including Colton Poolman, Luke Philip and Matthew Phillips — who should, for the most part, get qualifying offers. Connor Mackey Prediction: 99 percent chance he stays and Glenn Gawdin are among the players on the Flames roster/taxi Juuso Valimaki (RFA) squad who should get a QO. Expectations were sky-high for Valimaki heading into this season, when Of course, when it comes to the NHL roster, there are some bigger he was finally healthy after a year missed due to injury. Whether or not it decisions to be made. So, let’s take a closer look at who’s most likely to was fair to put expectations at the feet of a young player like that, stay and go when it comes time to shape the Flames for the 2021-22 Valimaki hasn’t quite met them. season. He has mostly been deployed in a third-pair role with limited special- In this iteration of “Who stays, who goes” we are not including players we teams minutes, likely in an attempt to shelter a young player who is trying believe to be locks to stay. Jacob Markstrom, Chris Tanev, Elias to find his way. Despite what some may perceive as a down year, Lindholm (as laid out at the trade deadline) and others are all more than Valimaki still has a high ceiling and I don’t expect him to go anywhere likely to stay unless there is a big deal on the table. I’ve also omitted the this summer. potential loss to Seattle as we’ve written about both here and here. Prediction: 99 percent chance he stays Instead, we are going to skip ahead to the possible departures from the free-agent pool and a few big-name trade possibilities. Brett Ritchie (UFA)

Free agents The Flames will need to sign one of their pending free-agent forwards before expansion so that they meet the draft exposure requirements of Derek Ryan (UFA) two experienced forwards (Milan Lucic being the other). And I could see Like most players on the Flames, Ryan has had a down year offensively Ritchie being that player. with only two goals and 10 points in 41 games, which is well less than He came into this season without a contract and was a late addition to half of his career-worst 10 goals and 29 points, set in more games (68). Flames training camp on a pro tryout contract. As we know, he made However, Ryan has been a reliable role player for the Flames, and his signed a one-year deal and cracked the Flames’ lineup. role hasn’t been to go out and score, although secondary scoring is When he’s not playing on the top line, Ritchie is actually a fine player. He never a bad thing. Ryan has mostly been deployed in a bottom-six role fills a role and brings some physicality. I’m not sure how many of the and has shown he is an effective, defensively responsible centre who Flames’ UFAs would want to sign a league-minimum deal just for the can handle matchups at five-on-five and on the penalty kill. purpose of exposure. And there is probably a sense of loyalty in that it No player on the Flames this year has been scored on less at five-on-five was Calgary that gave him a shot this year. Call it a weird hunch, but I than Ryan — and yes, that includes Tanev — who has been on the ice predict he stays. Unless, of course, someone like Leivo or Ryan stays. for only 1.27 goals per 60 minutes. Ryan also has the highest expected Prediction: 70 percent chance he stays. goals rate on the team at 61.1 percent. It should be noted that his 386 minutes at five-on-five is less than half of Tanev’s ice time (955 minutes), Brett Ritchie. (Sergei Belski / USA Today) but it still highlights his defensive impact and the fact that he generates more offence than he allows. Joakim Nordstrom (UFA)

Ryan will turn 35 in December, and while he’s impactful, does he have a Nordstrom is another option to satisfy the exposure requirement. long-term future in Calgary? I think he could be brought back, but it would Nordstrom has never been tapped for an offensive role, which is reflected need to be at a lower cap hit than his current $3.125 million. He could in his career-highs of 10 goals and 24 points in 2015-16. Sutter has been also be an option for Seattle, despite his UFA status. It wouldn’t be the complimentary of the role Nordstrom plays for the team as a reliable first time an expansion team grabbed a UFA from Calgary. defensive forward who can forecheck and kill penalties.

Prediction: 60 percent chance he goes. And he actually has a higher average game score (0.23) than Ritchie Josh Leivo (UFA) (0.04). Both are on the cusp of being replacement-level forwards, but again, the Flames need one more forward. That said, plenty of teams This has been a strange two-year run for Leivo. look for defensive and PK specialists, so maybe he will find that role elsewhere. Last December, he fractured his kneecap in a game versus Vegas and missed the rest of the Canucks’ season, including the return-to-play Prediction: 60 percent chance he goes period eight months after the initial injury. Michael Stone (UFA) just so you can say you’ve overhauled your core makes little sense to me. Of course, a return that would actually improve this team would need I don’t think anyone should bet against Stone being back in Calgary next to be considered, but I’m not sure if his current value pulls that kind of year. return.

He was bought out of his contract in August 2019, then re-signed for the It’s been well-documented that if you’re going to move Gaudreau, it league minimum a month later following the news of Valimaki’s season- should be this summer, but both Darren Haynes and I have argued that ending injury. He played 33 games for the Flames and entered the the Flames should keep him, especially if moving him means you’re left market as a UFA. After going unsigned through last summer, Stone with more holes to fill and even less offence. Then again, you don’t want signed a tryout contract, which turned into a one-year (two-way) deal. to lose him for nothing a year from now.

After skating on the taxi squad for months, Stone re-entered the lineup Prediction: 60 percent chance he stays. and has been a steady presence. And Sutter said last month that Stone has been one of the more stabilizing forces for his young defenders down Matthew Tkachuk, $7 million cap hit, RFA in 2022 the stretch. He has probably played his way into yet another contract. And I wouldn’t be surprised to see him back on another deal as a sixth or This has been a down year for Tkachuk, as we all know. And with that, seventh defenceman. there have been calls from some fans and media to move on from the star winger. Prediction: 70 percent chance he stays I’ll preface this by saying that I do not agree. Just last year, Tkachuk’s 61 Nikita Nesterov (UFA) points led the Flames, and his 23 goals ranked second. The year before, he tallied a career-high 77 points in 80 games in only his third year in the Nesterov signed with the Flames this summer looking for an opportunity league. He was the team’s spark plug and had been tapped as the next to get back into the NHL. He’s been serviceable on the third pair but I captain. One down year isn’t enough to convince me to move on. Neither don’t think we’ve seen enough that warrants a contract extension, are the concerns some have raised over a $9 million qualifying offer. especially if we assume that Valimaki isn’t going anywhere and that Mackey will take steps toward being in the NHL full time next year. Add I do not think anybody on this roster is truly untouchable, as the Flames Stone as a seventh defenceman and there isn’t really much room for need to make changes this summer. With everything mentioned above, Nesterov. Tkachuk is probably Calgary’s most valuable trade piece.

Prediction: 80 percent chance he goes However, it should go without saying that you only trade Tkachuk if it’s in a package to get an even better player back, and that would mean Oliver Kylington (RFA) somebody in the upper echelon of the league — somebody like Jack Sticking with the assumption made regarding Nesterov’s place … where Eichel. Even then, as an NHL scout told me last week, it’s a “long does Kylington fit moving forward? He hasn’t exactly found a spot in his conversation” between the two sides, indicating it would not be a simple six seasons in the organization. yes by the Flames to part with Tkachuk.

We can debate about if it’s his fault for not grabbing of a roster spot or if I don’t think he’s going anywhere, but I’ll leave it a little open for the it’s on the organization for not developing him properly, but we are likely possibility of a blockbuster deal. looking at a player who may just need a fresh start. And as our Kraken Prediction: 98 percent chance he stays writer Ryan Clark and I laid out last month, Kylington could be a low-cost, high-ceiling option for Seattle. Sean Monahan, $6.375 million cap hit, UFA in 2023

Prediction: 80 percent chance he goes Last week, Monahan was shut down for the remaining four games of the season for hip surgery, which could explain, in part, what has been a Dominik Simon (RFA) down year.

At the start of training camp, some hoped that Simon could crack a top- In 50 games, Monahan scored 10 goals and 28 points, lower than his six spot and play on the right wing with Sean Monahan and Johnny disappointing numbers from last season, and the first time in his eight- Gaudreau. year career he failed to hit 20 goals. Even his 82-game pace would only He was often asked about his time with Sidney Crosby and if he could be 16 goals. play a similar complementary forechecking role in Calgary. It didn’t quite Was it injuries? Deployment? Is he simply regressing? Or can he bounce work that way. back? That’s what the Flames and any potential suitors will be asking this Simon played nine games at the start of the year, scored zero points and summer about Monahan. was moved to the taxi squad. He played his first game under Sutter on On a more positive note, he did make strides under Sutter and was being Sunday, but the experiment just hasn’t worked out. used as a two-way centre, which isn’t something we have previously said Simon is under team control as an RFA, but I’m not sure what we’ve about Monahan, who was typically just a shooter. There’s also a body of seen gets him a qualifying offer. work that shows Monahan is a perennial 20-goal scorer who has passed the 30-goal mark three times. Prediction: 70 percent chance he goes There is still value there, even if his last two seasons have diminished it. Louis Domingue (UFA) And I could see the Flames selling low (but not too low) on that this summer as part of the changes that could happen within the team’s core, Domingue made his season debut in goal in Game No. 55. Not much or betting on a strong (healthy) start in 2021-22 to boost his value and else to say here… then potentially making a move at the deadline. Prediction: 100 percent chance he goes We also need to consider Monahan has a modified no-trade clause, Big-name trade possibilities which is a 10-team no-trade list.

Johnny Gaudreau, $6.75 million cap hit, UFA in 2022 Prediction: I’m stuck 50/50

Gaudreau trade proposals are nothing new around here, and certainly not after another disappointing Flames season. The Athletic LOADED: 05.19.2021 Individually, Gaudreau has had a fine year. His 19 goals are tied for the team lead, and his 46 points rank second behind Lindholm. It’s not his 99-point season, but he is still clearly one of the Flames’ best offensive contributors. This team has struggled to score this season, which makes Gaudreau all the more valuable.

There have been renewed (or rather continued) calls to change up the Flames’ core, but flipping one of the game’s steadiest point-producers 1188279 Carolina Hurricanes The line that started the game for the Canes also ended it. The fourth line was on the ice in the final minute of regulation, taking in the last roars.

But as Brind’Amour said, everyone did his part. All four lines, all six Start to finish, Hurricanes’ fourth line helped key Game 1 victory over the defenseman, and another rookie, goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, in net. Predators And Canes fans. The listed attendance Monday was 12,000, but every seat seemed filled. The noise level was the same as a full house, a BY CHIP ALEXANDER sense of togetherness and appreciation palpable.

MAY 18, 2021 03:00 PM “That’s how it should feel,” Brind’Amour said, summing up the scene and his team’s play in five words.

Steven Lorentz wasn’t sure a few months ago how this hockey season might unfold for him, but he probably didn’t dream of this: taking the News Observer LOADED: 05.19.2021 opening draw for the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1 of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs.

But there he was Monday, facing off at center ice against Colton Sissons of the Nashville Predators, with 12,000 Canes fans on their feet and roaring, and PNC Arena rumbling.

When Nashville coach elected to send out his fourth line to start Game 1, the Canes’ Rod Brind’Amour, with the last change at home, did the same. It was Lorentz at center, with Jordan Martinook and Brock McGinn on his wings.

“This time of the year you need all hands on deck,” Brind’Amour said Tuesday. “The reason is, the other team has four lines that can play. You get to this point and everyone is good. There’s no weaknesses. They’re playing all their guys if they can and they’re effective, and you need to have the same, otherwise it’s way too taxing on everybody if you’re running guys’ minutes way up.”

Lorentz won the opening draw. Barely 20 seconds into the first shift, McGinn got in a hit on Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis. A few moments later, Martinook hit Luke Kunin. Game on.

Fourth lines don’t always win hockey games but they can lose them. In the Canes’ 5-2 victory in Game 1, Lorentz, Martinook and McGinn were credited with 15 of the Canes’ 56 hits — seven by Martinook. Lorentz earned his first career Stanley Cup playoff point with an assist on Teuvo Teravainen’s first-period goal.

“They were effective.” Brind’Amour said. “That’s what we’re going to have to have if we want to be successful.”

Lorentz made his NHL debut for the Canes and played 45 games in his rookie season. While still youthful in appearance, he’s 25. He’s a solid 6- foot-4, 206-pounder who has some thump in his game and a willingness to use it. So, too, McGinn and Martinook, and with the experience to go with it.

Lorentz also is player who understands his role as a fourth-line guy and what Brind’Amour wants and the Canes need.

“We’re not expected to go out and put up two or three points a night,” Lorentz recently said. “Our job basically is to keep it simple and just create energy and give our top-six or top-nine guys a rest. When we go out there, we know we have to play responsibly and really make sure that we’re taking care of our own end and being on the D-side of pucks.”

McGinn missed the last 19 games of the regular season with an upper- body injury and Martinook was kept out of nine of the last 10 by a lower- body issue. But both were in the lineup for the start of the biggest games of the season, McGinn playing almost 14 minutes in his first game since April 4 against Dallas.

“I thought Brock had a really good game, very noticeable considering he’s been out for quite a while,” Brind’Amour said. “But I think that was the key, everybody contributed.”

Brind’Amour switched up his top three lines during Game 1, moving Andrei Svechnikov to Sebastian Aho’s line with Teravainen. But the fourth line remained intact for the most part, and saw the ice a lot in the third period — Lorentz and McGinn each in for nine shifts, Martinook for eight in the period.

Lorentz had a roughing penalty in the second period after putting Nashville’s Erik Haula into the wall. But the Canes’ penalty killers did not allow a shot and McGinn drew a holding penalty on the Preds’ Roman Josi soon after the penalty expired. 1188280 Carolina Hurricanes down when they were getting some zone time. He was solid all the way through.”

UNHAPPY HOMECOMING What is Hurricanes “Warrior” Jaccob Slavin’s status for Game 2 against the Predators? Haula, who had 22 points in 41 games with the Hurricanes last season before they traded him away in the Vincent Trocheck deal, carried on a running argument with Martin Necas and was booed by the home fans BY LUKE DECOCK every time he touched the puck in the latter half of the game, including during an intermission TV interview. MAY 18, 2021 12:22 PM “I don’t know, I must be doing something right,” Haula said Monday night. “Honestly, it’s just awesome to have fans back in the building. That booing and yelling all these things, honestly, I love it.” RALEIGH Brind’Amour, on Tuesday, said he was all for it. If the Carolina Hurricanes and their fans thought the will-he-or-won’t-he worries about whether Jaccob Slavin would play were behind them once “I think it’s great,” Brind’Amour said. “(Haula) can handle that. I think he they saw him on the ice Monday, they’ll have to think again. Hurricanes likes that. It adds a little emotion when the fans get into it. It’s fine. It adds coach Rod Brind’Amour said Tuesday it may be that way for as long as a little fun.” the Hurricanes are alive in the playoffs, including Wednesday’s Game 2. STAAL NOMINATED FOR KING CLANCY “Slavin’s going to be dealing with something until probably we get finished,” Brind’Amour said. “It’s just the way it is. Hopefully he’s good to The Hurricanes nominated Staal for the NHL’s King Clancy Trophy, go, but he might be a game-time decision for a while yet.” which goes to the player “who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in Brind’Amour admitted after Monday’s 5-2 win over the Nashville his community.” won the King Clancy with the Hurricanes in Predators that he still wasn’t sure that morning whether Slavin would play 2002. Staal was also the Hurricanes’ nominee in 2017 and 2020 and Eric because of an undisclosed lower-body issue, but Slavin ended up playing Staal was a multiple King Clancy nominee during his time with the more than 21 minutes and taking — and dealing — his share of hits. Hurricanes.

“He was a warrior tonight,” Brind’Amour said afterward. Jordan Staal was earlier this season nominated for the Masterton Trophy, which honors perseverance and dedication to hockey, by the While Cedric Paquette remained out, Brock McGinn also returned from Carolina chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. He was injury and played a very effective 13:57 for a very effective fourth line. an NHL finalist for that award in 2018. “Brock’s more just rust,” Brind’Amour said. “He was fine. He’s pretty TAILWINDS much over his injury. You would hope that wouldn’t come up at all moving forward.” Game 4 has been set for 2:30 p.m. in Nashville on NBCSN and Bally Sports South. ... Steven Lorentz became the ninth player in Hurricanes ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT history (since relocation) to record a point in his playoff debut. … With the The Hurricanes managed to score five goals despite going 0-for-4 on the Chicago Wolves’ AHL season over, the Hurricanes on Monday recalled power play, no small achievement in a playoff opener. They had their goalie , defenseman Maxime Lajoie and forward Ryan chances, and Predators goalie Juuse Saros played very well, but it’s one Suzuki to practice with the team during the playoffs, the traditional “black area where there’s room for improvement in Game 2. aces.” Suzuki was the Hurricanes’ first-round pick in 2019.

The Hurricanes had six scoring chances on 15 shot attempts — seven on goal — on their four power plays, but only one high-danger chance per News Observer LOADED: 05.19.2021 Natural Stat Trick.

“We did have some good looks,” Brind’Amour said. “We’ve got to keep building on that. There’s areas where we’ve got to get better for sure. I liked some of it.”

Unlike some postseasons past, when the power play was a known liability or at least not a known strength, the Hurricanes had the second- ranked man-advantage in the NHL this season, converting at an 25.6 percent clip, the best rate in franchise history.

GOALIE CHOICE ‘NOT THAT DIFFICULT’

Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said the decision to start rookie Alex Nedeljkovic in goal over veteran Petr Mrazek was a relatively easy one. Nedeljkovic fought the puck at times early, but settled in to stop the last 11 shots he faced over the final 31 minutes and change.

“It really was not that difficult,” Brind’Amour said. “He’s earned the right to start. Yeah, Petr is our guy but he’s had a lot of time off. Not that I was questioning whether or not he could do it, but it gave Ned an opportunity. It felt like he earned the start.”

Mrazek did make one glove save: Of a deflected puck that flew into the Hurricanes’ bench.

Nedeljkovic became the first rookie goalie in franchise history to win his postseason debut — Cam Ward, in 2006, lost in relief in his debut before winning his first start — stopping 22 of the 24 shots he faced. Filip Forsberg had an open look from the slot on Nashville’s first goal and the second, by former Hurricanes forward Erik Haula, took a deflection off Hurricanes defenseman Jani Hakanpaa in front.

“He’s been doing that all year and tonight was no different,” Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal said. “I thought he did a great job of handling the puck when he needed to, making some big saves and slowing the game 1188281 Carolina Hurricanes The Canes, at least in Game 1, had won the test of wills.

“The guys were grinding,” Staal said. “We were comfortable being in an uncomfortable situation. We kept at our game. We kept doing what we How Canes captain Jordan Staal led the way to Game 1 victory over the want to do. It ended up paying off for us.” Predators

News Observer LOADED: 05.19.2021 BY CHIP ALEXANDER

MAY 18, 2021 07:26 AM

In the Stanley Cup playoffs, games can be won with scintillating shots and sparking saves, with the game’s stars playing like stars.

But more often that not, it’s more basic than that: Games become a test of wills.

So it seemed Monday, as the Carolina Hurricanes and Nashville Predators faced off in Game 1 of their first-round series at PNC Arena. It was a gritty game, a tough game. The Canes were the home team and cheered on by 12,000 fans that goalie Alex Nedeljkovic said sounded like 24,000, but the Predators were playing a strong road game, a solid playoff game, keeping it tight.

It was 2-2 after two periods and something had to give. One team was going to force the other to a breaking point and gain a valuable first victory. One team would leave the ice dejected, feeling the weight of a playoff victory that could have been theirs but wasn’t.

This night, the game belonged to Jordan Staal and the Hurricanes. In a season in which the Canes captain has often been at his best, played his 1,000th career game, been voted by his teammates the Steve Chiasson Award as the Cane’ most inspirational player, there he was leading the way again Monday.

“He’s our captain for a reason and sets the example on and off the ice,” Canes forward Nino Niederreiter said. “He won a Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He knows what to expect. He knows what to do. We definitely want to follow his lead.”

Staal, named the game’s first star, scored twice in the 5-2 victory and both were a blend of power and determination.

On the first, Staal first won a draw in the neutral zone. Taking a pass from Brett Pesce, he split the Predators’ Mattias Ekholm and Roman Josi and took the puck almost to the goal line before lifting a heavy rising shot that sailed by goalie Juuse Saros’ head for a 2-1 lead in the second period.

“Just finding a way to get to the net,” he said.

Staal’s second goal was deflating for the Preds. Niederreiter had given the Canes a 3-2 lead in the third and the Canes were coming at the Preds in waves, shift after shift.

Staal first won a puck battle with Ryan Ellis behind the Preds net with first-man pressure on the forecheck. Canes forward Warren Foegele grabbed the puck for a quick shot on net that Saros stopped, but Staal corraled the rebound in the low slot, turned and zipped a low shot through Saros’ pads.

“He was great,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “You saw it again. It’s just what he does. He plays hard every shift. Whatever the situation is, you count on him.”

In the first period, with both team trying to set a physical tone — the Preds the aggressors, the Canes answering hit for hit — Staal made the kind of play on the penalty kill the Canes count on. He rammed into the Preds’ Ryan Johansen along the boards in the Canes zone, separating Johansen from the puck.

Johansen was irked, skating behind Staal as both went to their benches, yapping away. Staal ignored him, his job done. And the Canes got the job done, collectively.

“There’s going to be tight matches,” Staal said. “It’s playoff hockey. You’ve got to be comfortable in those situations and trust in your game and not deviate from that.

“I thought for the most part throughout the whole game we did a good job of that. You could tell towards the end that we were starting to take over the game.” 1188282 Chicago Blackhawks defenseman group this offseason. While they aren’t writing off any of their young players as being potential No. 1 defenseman, it’s clear no one in their group is at that level right now. Murphy is currently the team’s What a perfect offseason could look like for the Blackhawks best defenseman and he’s probably a solid No. 2 with the right No. 1 partner, or a high-end No. 3.

Of course, adding a No. 1 defenseman is a lot easier said than done. The By Scott Powers and Mark Lazerus free agent market isn’t likely to be plentiful this offseason. Hamilton is the best of the upcoming unrestricted free agents. Alec Martinez, Alex May 18, 2021 Goligoski, Tyson Barrie, Brandon Montour and Ryan Murray are the other UFA defensemen expected to draw suitors. The veteran route might be the safest and smartest. While Hamilton is probably looking for The Blackhawks pretty much managed the dream offseason in 2009. a long-term deal, a veteran such as Martinez might be willing to take a shorter deal, which would allow the Blackhawks time to develop their They signed premier free agent Marian Hossa to a 12-year deal. Dave young defensemen further without blocking their upward mobility in the Bolland was locked up on a five-year contract. Troy Brouwer, Ben Eager, long run. Colin Fraser and Antti Niemi all re-signed at affordable numbers. Tomas Kopecky signed as a free agent. The draft wasn’t great top to bottom, but There likely also will be some teams looking to make trades prior to the Marcus Kruger was a find in the fifth round. That offseason set up the expansion draft to better position themselves to protect specific players. Blackhawks’ 2010 Stanley Cup run and two future ones. The Blackhawks could explore that market. Another option is to find a team in cap hell that could be willing to trade a quality defenseman to The Blackhawks’ most recent offseasons haven’t been as picturesque. free up space. The Blackhawks could utilize offseason LTIR with When the Blackhawks missed the playoffs in the 2018-19 season, no one Seabrook and Andrew Shaw’s contracts to tap into additional funds if was exactly surprised, considering their previous offseason was needed. headlined by the free agent signings of Chris Kunitz, Brandon Manning and Cam Ward. 4. Re-sign Pius Suter and Nikita Zadorov at manageable cap hits

This brings us to this offseason. The Blackhawks aren’t likely out to make The Blackhawks intend to re-sign Suter and Zadorov. Zadorov’s situation a Hossa-type splash — unless Carolina defenseman Dougie Hamilton could change depending on the Blackhawks’ plans for their defense and becomes their target — but there is still plenty of intrigue about what this who they protect in the expansion draft, but they’d like to bring him back offseason could bring, with the expansion draft finally arriving, at least as of today. another top-15 draft pick and cap possibilities if they opt for offseason long-term injured reserve (LTIR). The challenge in re-signing Suter and Zadorov is both are restricted free agents with arbitration rights. Both players could have interesting What could the perfect offseason look like in the coming months? Let’s arbitration cases that could go in the Blackhawks’ way or against them. It map that out. really depends on how the case is seen. Suter’s rookie production projects out well over an 82-game season, but he also has a small 1. Jonathan Toews announces his return sooner than later sample size. Zadorov’s ice time and role does too, but he doesn’t have From everything we can piece together, the Blackhawks are tentatively much production to show. With that uncertainty, the Blackhawks probably planning for Toews to return to the team next season. If that is true, it won’t allow negotiations to get to arbitration. would be helpful in an assortment of ways if Toews announced that The Blackhawks realize both players need enough money and term to intention in the near future. Fans can stop worrying about him and cease feel good and comfortable about signing extensions without testing their wild speculations about his health. Stan Bowman can plan his arbitration. In a perfect world for the Blackhawks, they’d probably like to offseason activity knowing Toews will be back in the fold. sign Suter for around $2 million and Zadorov for close to his qualifying can start mapping out his lineup next season knowing he’ll have his offer of $3.2 million. If those contract figures stray far from that, the captain and veteran center again. Blackhawks’ cap outlook in the short- and long-term becomes less 2. Trade Brent Seabrook’s contract without giving up the farm positive.

Absorbing Seabrook’s contract wasn’t a major issue this season. The 5. Have another lottery ball bounce their way Blackhawks didn’t need that additional cap space. In the future, The Blackhawks have no control over this, obviously, but they would Seabrook’s $6.875 million cap hit will become harder and harder to greatly benefit if they landed another top-five draft pick. In 2019, they swallow. For example, after the 2021-22 season, Connor Murphy, moved up from No. 12 to No. 3 in the draft lottery despite having just an Dominik Kubalik, Adam Boqvist, Wyatt Kalynuk and Kevin Lankinen will 8.2 percent chance to do so. need new contracts. The Blackhawks will be in a similar spot this year. They currently have The Blackhawks could use offseason LTIR, which limits roster movement the best odds to pick 12th in the 2021 draft. If the Calgary Flames pick up during the season, or in-season LTIR, which limits offseason signings, two points against the Vancouver Canucks this week, the Flames would but neither option is better than simply freeing that cap space completely. move ahead of the Blackhawks in the overall league standings and the Just think what the Blackhawks could do with an additional $6.875 Blackhawks’ draft spot would improve one place. Even with that, the million. That would certainly help address their need for a top Blackhawks’ odds of a top-three pick won’t be great. They will need luck defenseman. Instead, the Blackhawks are going to have to juggle on their side. Seabrook’s contract for the next three years. The reality is it’s difficult to put together a winning roster when you’re carrying that much dead cap 6. Have Seattle do them a favor space. It’s hard to know quite what the Kraken are thinking as we approach the What Bowman has to ask himself is what is he willing to lose to gain all expansion draft in July. Do they want to stockpile young players with high that space. It’ll probably cost a high draft pick and a plus-prospect for ceilings? Do they want veterans who can provide stability and potentially someone like the to take on Seabrook’s contract. So, win right away? Are they looking to swing a whole bunch of side deals to what would be the best-case scenario for Bowman? It’d likely be get a ton of draft picks and prospects in exchange for making preferential packaging multiple second- and third-round picks along with a few quality picks? Probably all of the above. prospects (there’s an abundance of young signed and unsigned defenseman prospects that might be attractive). Or maybe roll the dice The Blackhawks will lose a player to Seattle. That much we know. It’d be and trade their 2022 first-round pick in hopes of it being outside the top ideal if Seattle took someone like Brett Connolly — a veteran with term 15? who doesn’t fit in the big-picture plan — but that’s highly unlikely. As mentioned earlier, throwing in some significant sweeteners for Seattle to Alec Martinez is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. take Seabrook is probably the best-case scenario, but Blackhawks fans (John Locher / USA Today) are still smarting over Bowman throwing in a young Teuvo Teravainen to get out from under one year of Bryan Bickell’s contract. The Blackhawks 3. Sign or acquire a No. 1 defenseman would hate to see a promising young player such as Adam Gaudette or Accomplishing the second item on the agenda would make this one Riley Stillman get plucked away by Seattle. But how about Calvin de easier. Either way, the Blackhawks know they have to address their Haan? The Blackhawks wouldn’t get better by losing de Haan, a steady, well-liked and reliable defenseman. But that would mean $4.55 million off free-agent market and bring in a veteran on a one-year deal to push the the books, which would allow them to more aggressively chase that No. 1 trio. The market isn’t quite as robust as it was last year, but there are defenseman in free agency or the trade market, Seabrook’s contract be some intriguing options out there. Assuming Boston’s not going to let damned. It also would free up a spot down the lineup for one of the Tuukka Rask walk, the Blackhawks could go after Frederik Andersen, younger defensemen. Losing de Haan would hurt in the short term, but Petr Mrazek, Jonathan Bernier or even old friend Antti Raanta (whose could be a boon in the long run. numbers are always good but who has been frustratingly injury-prone throughout his post-Blackhawks career). There might not be room now 7. Kane, Dach, Nylander arrive 100 percent healthy that the Blackhawks have signed Swedish goalie Arvid Soderblöm, but a Patrick Kane finished tied for fifth in the league in points, but he had just low-risk veteran signing could allow Lankinen to play a more reasonable four goals in his last 32 games as he dealt with what he termed “one little proportion of the games next season, while Soderblöm, Subban and issue” physically. Kirby Dach had to be shut down a few games early Delia battle it out in Rockford. because of lingering issues with his wrist, which he broke in December in a World Juniors exhibition. And Alex Nylander missed the entire season after having knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus suffered in the playoff The Athletic LOADED: 05.19.2021 series against Vegas last summer.

When healthy, the three of them could comprise one half of the Blackhawks’ top six. The three of them were even on a line together entering the Edmonton bubble last year. Kane’s a superstar, and Dach has all the potential in the world. Nylander is more of a sticking point with fans, but he has an offensive ability that few of the Blackhawks’ youngsters do. During the 2019-20 season, he was sixth on the team in points-per-60 at five-on-five, ahead of Alex DeBrincat, Dach, Adam Boqvist and Erik Gustafsson, among others. He can produce. And if Nylander is healthy and starts strong, it allows players such as Brandon Hagel, Philipp Kurashev and Gaudette to take on more fitting roles in the bottom six, where they can have more favorable matchups. Nylander at his best makes the Blackhawks better. Nylander not at his best just kind of gets in the way. He’s an important player to watch in training camp and the early part of the season.

On top of this, the Blackhawks could use everyone else to remain healthy. They lost their top two centers in Toews and Dach, and one of their top-nine wingers in Nylander, before training camp even started in January. If they’re going to take a positive step toward playoff contention next season, they need all of their best players healthy and in top form. Somebody wrap DeBrincat in bubble wrap, quick.

8. Adam Boqvist increases stamina and continues development

Boqvist had the best stretch of his young career when he came back from his bout with COVID-19 in mid-February. He was producing at five- on-five and quarterbacking the power play, finally showing some of that offensive flair that made him such a high draft pick in the first place. No longer just “surviving,” as Bowman termed his first season, he looked more composed in his own end and more confident in the offensive zone. But he faded down the stretch as Colliton leaned on him harder as the injuries piled up on the blue line. Boqvist’s best games came when he was playing 16-18 minutes a night, and he often struggled when asked to play 20-22 minutes a night.

To become the top-pairing defenseman the Blackhawks need him to be — and still believe he can be; he’s only 20 — he needs to take another step physically. Fortunately for him, his mentor is Duncan Keith, one of the NHL’s most fitness-obsessed players.

9. Lukas Reichel signs and arrives ready for the NHL

The last thing the Blackhawks need is another young, unproven forward in the mix, right? Well, yeah, but not when it’s a potential star. Reichel, the Blackhawks’ first-round pick in last year’s draft, has progressed quicker than expected and had 10 goals and 17 assists in just 38 games for Eisbaren Berlin, competing against men as an 18-year-old. He also played more center than expected, giving Colliton potentially another versatile weapon to employ. The Blackhawks hope to bring him to North America next season, and they’ll give him every opportunity to make the team out of camp, just as they did with Dach in 2019.

Reichel isn’t just a goal-scorer, either. He impressed with his two-way game and his puck-retrieval skills could make him an ideal linemate for Kane. Breaking up Kane and DeBrincat would be a risky move given all the chemistry they built up, but Reichel could allow the Blackhawks to spread the wealth. How does DeBrincat-Toews-Kubalik and Reichel- Dach-Kane sound as a top six?

10. Sign a veteran goalie to push Kevin Lankinen

Kevin Lankinen seized the Blackhawks’ No. 1 goalie job with a terrific start to the season, but he regressed hard to the mean as he was worn down by the schedule. It remains to be seen whether he’s truly a No. 1 goalie or more of a 1B. Malcolm Subban and Collin Delia did well in much smaller sample sizes, but the Blackhawks would be wise to test the 1188283 Colorado Avalanche “Your top guys have to be your top guys,” Avs center Pierre-Edouard Bellemare said. “(On Monday), all three of them were definitely awesome.”

Challenge for Avalanche in Game 2: Maintain upper hand on St. Louis’ Top line vs. top line best Comparison of the Avalanche’s No. 1 line against St. Louis’ top unit in Monday’s Game 1:

By RYAN O’HALLORAN | [email protected] | The Denver Post Denver Post: LOADED: 05.19.2021 PUBLISHED: May 18, 2021 at 4:42 p.m. | UPDATED: May 18, 2021 at 4:49 p.m.

In his first 48 playoff games, St. Louis center Ryan O’Reilly was never worse than minus-2 — a nod to his almost-always-reliable two-way game. His line scores goals and prevents them.

Then Monday night happened.

Matched against the Avalanche’s top trio of center Nathan MacKinnon and wingers Gabe Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen, O’Reilly was a minus-3 in the Avs’ 4-1 victory over the Blues in Game 1 of the teams’ first-round series.

MacKinnon, Landeskog and Rantanen combined for three goals, five assists, 16 shots and a plus-8 rating.

Playing without top scoring winger David Perron, who is on the COVID- 19 protocol list, O’Reilly was flanked by Jaden Schwartz and Brayden Schenn, and they combined for six shots and a minus-8 rating.

“It’s a matchup we said we wanted — that’s their top guys against our top guys and that’s (our) responsibility (to produce),” Avs coach said after Tuesday’s optional practice.

The result undoubtedly sent the Blues back to the figurative drawing board ahead of Wednesday’s Game 2 (8:30 p.m.).

“For myself, I have to be better defensively and find a way to slow them down and make it more difficult on that top line,” O’Reilly said Monday night. “It was very tough. They played very well and came at us with a lot of speed. They were by far the better team. If it wasn’t for (goalie Jordan Binnington), it could have been messy early.”

If the Blues can’t slow down the Avalanche’s top line, it will get late early and really messy in this best-of-seven series.

O’Reilly’s minus rating was his worst this year (including the regular season) and his lowest since he was minus-3 at Buffalo on Dec. 10, 2019. Schenn’s minus-3 rating was the second-worst of his 60-game postseason career.

Aside from a second-period push by the Blues, the entire Avalanche lineup had the puck-possession advantage, peppering Binnington (50 total shots).

“We have to do a better job,” Blues coach said. “We lost numbers a lot of times in the game (and) let them come down on the rush with odd-man numbers against us. We’ll be better. We have to manage the puck better than we did and then just on the defensive side of things, we let them come out of their zone way too easy.”

MacKinnon broke a 1-1 tie 30 seconds into the third period and added an empty-netter with 40 seconds remaining. Playing his second game since May 6, he logged 21 minutes, 14 seconds.

“An elevated level of competitiveness comes out of him in the playoffs and we’ve seen it for years now, and (Monday) night was no different,” Bednar said.

Landeskog set the tone with his first-period fight with Schenn and scored the critical third goal with 11:30 remaining.

“Emotional leader for our team (Monday) night, gets involved right away, drags everyone else into the fight, made a lot of nice plays to create scoring chances for himself and his teammates, was physical, had some good pushback in his game and then goes to the net and gets us a huge goal in the third period,” Bednar said of Landeskog.

The Blues didn’t win the Stanley Cup two years ago by not pushing back after a loss. O’Reilly will be better. Defenseman will be better. Winger Vladimir Tarasenko will be better. It’s up to the Avs in general and the top line in particular to maintain or even elevate their game. 1188284 Colorado Avalanche

Expect another chippy contest in Game 2 between Avalanche, Blues

By MIKE CHAMBERS | [email protected] | The Denver Post

May 18, 2021 at 3:47 p.m.

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare knew it was coming. The Avalanche fourth-line center knew he was going to take a shot or two at the final buzzer late Monday night in the Avs’ 4-1 victory in Game 1 of their first-round series against the St. Louis Blues.

It was a chippy game in all three periods, and it was going to end that way. The puck squirted to Bellemare’s general vicinity near the left wall in the defensive zone, and Bellemare absorbed a cross-check from Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo and check against the boards from Blues forward Sammy Blais.

Then all heck broke loose with nearly every player on the ice taking shots. The game was over but St. Louis needed to go down fighting.

Surprisingly, no one in the game-ending scrum was given a penalty.

“We’re about to win the game, there’s 40 seconds left, the puck is on the wall. I know it’s coming,” Bellemare said after Tuesday’s optional practice. “I’m OK with it. It’s not like something that I’m thinking was a dirty play. I know this is coming and this is the way it is. We’re playing a contact sport. So if you don’t like contact you can’t be on the team. Pretty simple.”

Bellemare expects the same kind of chippy play to surface early and often in Wednesday’s Game 2 — which will be the 10th meeting between the clubs this season.

“(Chippiness is) just part of the game and it’s enjoyable, really,” Bellemare said. “It’s the playoffs. You don’t expect to go to a playoff game and expect it to be an easy game. You don’t want that. You work your whole (season). It’s a privilege to come to the playoffs and it’s a privilege to have this kind of pressure and be able to play those games. This is why we play hockey.”

Landeskog. Avs captain and first-line left wing Gabe Landeskog was Game 1’s No. 1 star for a lot of reasons. He had a Gordie Howe hat trick for a fight, an assist, and a goal.

Landeskog, who easily won an early fight against Blues top-line winger Brayden Schenn, also had a second assist, and that play might have made his night.

In the final minute of a 3-1 game with St. Louis goalie Jordan Binnington pulled for an extra attacker, Landeskog stole the puck from Schenn against the wall where the game-ending scrum later emerged and dived to chip it past a defender and toward Nathan MacKinnon on a breakaway for the empty-net goal.

Landeskog, once again, got the better of Schenn. Landeskog and MacKinnon each finished with three points and a plus-3 rating. Schenn was pointless and minus-2.

Footnotes. MacKinnon now has 57 points in 41 career playoff games, and his 1.39 points-per-game average is the fourth highest in NHL history behind Wayne Gretzky (1.81), Mario Lemieux (1.61) and Barry Pederson (1.53). … The NHL on Tuesday announced that Bellemare is the Avalanche’s nominee for the King Clancy Trophy, awarded “to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.” Bellemare, 36, is just the second French-born player to reach 500 NHL games. “I’m pretty honored, obviously, what it means and where I come from,” Bellemare said of being the nominee.

Denver Post: LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188285 Colorado Avalanche Hey, we all know the drill. This team from the banks of the Mississippi will try to muddy the waters and pull down the Avs with it in the muck.

So be it. Before this series even began, Colorado coach Jared Bednar Refusing to be bullied, Avalanche clowns lame Blues in 4-1 playoff warned his players that St. Louis would be looking to “scrum it up after victory every whistle.”

The Avs sure can skate pretty. But they aren’t meek. Although Colorado By MARK KISZLA | [email protected] | The Denver Post outshot St. Louis 50-23, the most gorgeous goal of the night, scored by MacKinnon a mere 30 seconds into the final period, was the direct result PUBLISHED: May 18, 2021 at 5:45 a.m. | UPDATED: May 18, 2021 at of gritty resolve required by Landeskog to dig the puck from the corner 4:24 p.m. boards.

At the final horn, skirmishes broke out across the ice, with the Blues again trying to bully the Avs. Colorado veteran Pierre-Edouard Bellemare With every punch Avs captain Gabe Landeskog landed to the mug of a was having none of it, scolding the interlopers from St. Louis to get back bozo wearing a Blues sweater, the message was pounded home: Do not in their locker room. mistake pretty for weak. “We all know that we have a skillful team, a fast team,” said Bellemare, The NHL playoffs are not for the meek of heart. Turn the other cheek? who realizes foes will poke and probe in hopes of exposing the This ain’t church, pal. Avalanche’s soft underbelly. “But at the end of the day, we know what This best-of-seven series got chippy early late Monday. So be it. Are you type of team we are. We’ve never shied away from a team that comes sure this is a battle you want, St. Louis? Colorado is built to make good and tries to hit a lot. It has never bothered us before. And it’s not going to trouble. In a 4-1 victory, Landeskog bombed the Blues with a Gordie bother us now.” Howe hat trick: a goal, not one, but two assists, and a fight. When last we saw the Blues before they crawled back under their rock at Not long after he first stepped on the ice in North America as a 16-year- the conclusion of Game 1, goalie Jordan Binnington skated the length old from Sweden, “I started fighting,” Landeskog said. To prove he’s no of the ice, acting as if he wanted a piece of Avalanche counterpart Philipp soft European import, he has never been reluctant to drop the gloves and Grubauer. exchange punches. Binnington “can do whatever he wants,” Landeskog said. “He’s not going Although some people might take his fondness for fisticuffs the wrong to get to us. He’s not going to get to Grubi.” way, Landeskog admits: “I kind of enjoy it.” The schoolboy, nanny-nanny-poo-poo stunt pulled by Binnington was an A little over 10 minutes into the opening period of this opening-round insult to any goalie actually brave enough to send a message with his playoff series, St. Louis forward “Bozo” Brayden Schenn took a cheap fists. Back in the day, when Patrick Roy wanted to rumble, he threw shot at the knee of Avalanche star Mikko Rantanen as he wheeled on the down instead of embarrassing himself with false hold-me-back bravado. attack. Try to bait the boys in burgundy and blue into fisticuffs, but not be man The Blues, knowing full well they cannot skate with Colorado, went low enough to drop the gloves and actually fight? What’s wrong with you, Mr. on Mikko. The Avs better get used to it, because the NHL playoffs might Binnington? be the last true vestige of old-time hockey, where elevated testosterone That’s a clown move, bro. levels can turn an otherwise fine gentleman into a goon wielding a stick, and the refs often sit back, swallow their whistles and let it all be decided on the ice. Denver Post: LOADED: 05.19.2021 The road to the Stanley Cup is paved with bruises, and it certainly appeared Schenn was trying to put a major dent in the Avalanche’s top line by taking down Rantanen.

But Mr. Schenn has been around this game long enough to know:

That was a clown move, bro.

Landeskog wasted no time informing Schenn his bullying won’t be tolerated around here.

OK, we all know Landy is the dreamiest thing to come out of Sweden since the harmonies of an ABBA song. The Avs captain is so handsome teammate Nathan MacKinnon volunteers that both he and his girlfriend agree Landeskog is a yummy cupcake.

But do not confuse pretty with weak. Landeskog went after Schenn, dropped the gloves and fired four fistfuls of angry retribution before No. 10 could beg for mercy.

Landeskog doesn’t lace up the skates in anger. But given a reason to fight, his Viking blood begins to boil. From the first punch, however, Landy fights with a purpose.

“I think it’s a part of the game. It is what it is. It’s the way the game polices itself,” Landeskog said. “I don’t go out there looking to fight. But I’ll stand up for myself and my teammates.”

On Monday night, St. Louis’ arms were too short to box with the Avalanche, which turned the Blues every which way but loose. And the crowd at Ball Arena loved every contentious minute of it. With health restrictions from the pandemic finally easing, this was the first game since COVID that felt and sounded like real, big fun.

As the Avs broke open a tie game in the third period, Colorado fans serenaded the Blues with a chant featuring the same four-letter word of derision once employed to describe the Red Wings back in our local NHL team’s glory days. 1188286 Colorado Avalanche And he will remain the gold standard here.

Craig Anderson, who turns 40 on Friday and still is playing 11 years later with the Capitals, was spectacular in the 2010 playoffs for the Avs — in a Philipp Grubauer and the Avalanche playoff goaltending legacy way, better than Roy ever needed to be.

Anderson’s stinginess kept the Avs in a memorable first-round series By Terry Frei against the Sharks in which they were outplayed, outworked and overmatched. Roy didn’t have to deal with that much, if at all. May 18, 2021 It may seem trivial, but I consider that the best single-series goaltending performance in a losing cause I’ve ever seen, at least in the same realm as Jean-Sebastien Giguere’s work for the Ducks against the Devils in the The last time the Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup and Patrick 2003 Finals. Roy added to his reputation as the best “money’ goalie of all time, Philipp Grubauer was 9 years old. If challenged to pick his favorite Colorado When Grubauer was injured in Game 2 of the conference quarterfinals player, he might have been torn between Roy or Ray Bourque. against Dallas in the Edmonton bubble a year ago, and then Pavel Francouz also was hurt, absences made hearts grow fonder. This Grubauer was trying to decide whether to be a goalie or a defenseman in season, Grubauer was 30-9-1 with a 1.92 goals against and a .922 save his Bavarian hometown of Rosenheim, Germany, about 40 miles percentage. When he was on the COVID-19 list and out for nearly three southeast of Munich. weeks starting in mid-April, especially because he had mild symptoms “Until I was 14, I always switched back and forth between defenseman himself as the team also was going through vaccinations, that was and goalie,” Grubauer told me earlier in his Avalanche stay. “Not to toot troubling for Avs’ faithful. With Francouz out long-term, the Avs also my own horn, but I could skate well and shoot a little bit.” traded for veteran Devan Dubnyk on April 10.

It’s safe to assume the Avalanche like the way it turned out. So how did Grubauer get here?

Grubauer told me he knew if he wanted to be taken in Canadian major He came to major junior and the at 16, and junior’s “import” draft, he needed to settle on one position. played four seasons in the league with the Belleville Bulls, Windsor Spitfires and Kingston Frontenacs. Living with billet families, he improved “I liked goalie a little more because you can be a difference-maker,” he his schoolboy English – picked up in classes from 5th to 10th grade — by said. “I’m not saying goalie is more important than other roles on the watching television and listening, including in the locker room (which can team, but I just felt when I was younger I wanted to be a goalie.” be risky).

It’s hard to imagine him having a chance to crack this roster on defense, It also helped that his Belleville teammate was defenseman Bjorn Krupp, and now he’s the entrenched Avalanche No. 1 as he seeks to help — or Buffalo-born but the son of German-born former Avalanche defenseman even lead — Colorado to its third championship. Uwe Krupp, who scored the Stanley Cup-clinching goal in overtime of Game 4 against the Florida Panthers in 1996 — making a three-time Yes, being a part of another Mile High Cup celebration would validate champion of the Colorado goalie of the time. Uwe Krupp would be him as deserving to be mentioned in the same sentence or paragraph around every once in a while to provide advice and tips to the young with Roy in anything about the Avalanche championship goaltending German goaltender. legacy. A fourth-round pick of the Capitals in 2010, Grubauer spent most of his The prideful and peerless Roy can’t, and certainly wouldn’t want to, walk first four pro seasons in the ECHL and AHL before cracking the NHL for away from that distinction. good with the Capitals in 2014. What sometimes gets lost is that Grubauer isn’t seeking to hoist the And after serving four years mostly as a backup, he came to the Stanley Cup overhead in triumph for the first time in his career. Avalanche in a June 2018 trade and signed a new contract with Colorado This time, though, there would be no implicit “backup” asterisk, as there a few days later. He was brought in to challenge or take over from the was when he opened the 2018 postseason as the Capitals’ No. 1 before injury-plagued Semyon Varlamov. Neither was very good for much of Braden Holtby stepped in and helped lead Washington and Alex 2018-19, but Grubauer stepped up late in the season and began to raise Ovechkin to their long-awaited first NHL championship. hopes that he could be the answer.

Here, Grubauer — “Gruuuu!” to the fans, “Gruby” to his teammates — is There’s so much more to assembling a Cup winner than finding the right the man. goalie.

He has had his inevitable ups and downs in his three seasons with But it’s almost the most influential position in sports. Yes, more influential Colorado, and injuries have been nagging, yet there is a mutual affection than — with all due respect, Mr. Brady — the quarterback. Or the pitcher. involved now. That’s the case whether the arena is full pre-pandemic, Or the dominant shooting guard or big man. empty during the worst of it, or now roughly at 40 percent of capacity — So one of the tests of this postseason will be to determine where — or as will be the case again for Game 2 of the Blues-Avs first-round series even whether — Grubauer will deserve to fit in that Colorado goaltending Wednesday night. legacy after the Avs’ final handshake line this season. Grubauer, with a little help from defenseman , who made an eye-popping poke save as the sliding puck was about to make it across the goal line, had 22 saves in the Avalanche’s 4-1 win over the Blues in milehighsports.com LOADED: 05.19.2021 Game 1 Monday.

It was not spectacular work. At the other end, the Blues’ Jordan Binnington kept it close, making 46 saves. Ultimately, Grubauer wasn’t one of the Avs made available in the post-game Zoom proceedings.

So we don’t know what he said post-game, other than perhaps, “Way to go boys!”

Nothing Grubauer can do in the next couple of months could overshadow the durable and relentless Roy’s accomplishments, most notably when he twice all but carried mediocre and surprising Canadiens teams to titles in 1986 and ’93.

Roy took goals personally — even if he didn’t always take responsibility for them — and considered team success the ultimate personal validation. Goaltending is one of the positions in sports where an attitude that borders on the selfish fuels a team. 1188287 Colorado Avalanche And, like I’ve said numerous times, it’s been that way all season long. This isn’t just about Game 1.

I was wrong about Tyson Jost. The Avalanche need him after all. And if Scott Takes: Tyson Jost deserves more credit for Game 1 he keeps playing the way he did on Monday night—the way he has all performance…and for his efforts all year year—Colorado will continue to be the team to beat in this annual Stanley Cup tournament. He’ll likely also earn a nice contract extension out of it, too. Published 5 hours ago on May 18, 2021 Hopefully it’s with the Avs. By Scott MacDonald

Colorado hockey now LOADED: 05.19.2021 The story of Game 1 might be about captain Gabe Landeskog, and how his Gordie Howe hat trick provided the emotional spark that the Avalanche needed to push past St. Louis in Game 1. Most game recaps will also, inevitably, make reference to Nathan MacKinnon’s two-goal, three-point night, or yet another stout performance in net by Philipp Grubauer. And rightfully so.

But let’s not ignore the effort of Tyson Jost on Monday night.

“He was skating well, he had good energy, put some pressure on them up ice, created some turnovers,” head coach Jared Bednar said Tuesday afternoon. “His details in the penalty kill have been real good for quite some time now, starting last year late in the year when he really elevated his game and stepped into that role.”

Throughout the year, Jost has been playing some above-average, bordering-exceptional hockey, and he’s been one of the league’s best defensive forwards all year, and one of the team’s best penalty-killers. And like coach Bednar said, it’s been that way for quite some time now. Jost continues earn high-praise from his head coach, who just a few weeks back went on record stating that the 23-year-old is playing the best hockey of his career. He’s not wrong.

And, look, I’ll be the first to admit I’ve never really seen the value in Tyson Jost. I know a lot of you reading this right now were—or perhaps still are—of that same opinion. I thought he’d be the one to go to Seattle this summer, and I was OK with that. I thought maybe the Avs rushed him out of college and into the big-times too fast. I thought his development took a bit of a nosedive because of it. I thought the former 10th-overall pick was a bust.

The operative word here is thought. Past tense.

And I’m starting to think I thought wrong about him.

Perhaps, Tyson Jost will never be the elite offensive threat he was in the NCAA or junior ranks, where once upon a time he recorded 42 goal and 104 points in 48 games, earning him the BCHL and CJHL league MVP titles. That has so far not translated at all at the NHL level. That is also not necessarily a problem when you look at the team Jost plays on, a team that finished the season as the best goal-scoring club in the league, and has been top-five over the last four seasons combined.

Would more goals be nice? The answer is, of course, yes—obviously. Is that a role that they need Jost fill? No, not really. He’s filling in the gaps in other, equally-important ways.

What Jost lacks on the stat sheet, he’s making up for in spades in the intangibles—or, the things that aren’t necessarily measured, per se, but serve of equal importance. It’s something not nearly as valued or viewed as exciting by the fans, but something that will earn you the praise of the coaching staff. Those intangibles are what coach Bednar refers to as details, and Tyson Jost is among the most detailed players on the Avs roster.

Take last night for example. Coach Bednar lauded Jost’s line for their tenacity on pucks, their toughness to get through in the neutral zone and “doing the right things even through the bitter end of the third period.” It’s also something Jost, and his line, has done efficiently and consistently all season long.

Jost played just 14 minutes in Game 1 and was held off the scoresheet. However, his two hits were second among forwards and his four shots on goal were tied for second-best. Take a deeper dive into the analytics and you’d see Jost was among the team’s best players in Game 1. He finished tied for second in shot attempts behind Nathan MacKinnon; he was third behind MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen in Expected Goals; his 65% Corsi was fifth-best among forwards. He was noticeable in his efforts all night long, which is perhaps the biggest intangible of them all. 1188288 Colorado Avalanche

Avs Playoff Notebook: Bo Byram cleared to play

Published 8 hours ago on May 18, 2021

By Adrian Dater

Not many regular players participated in the Colorado Avalanche optional practice today, but Bo Byram was one of them. Byram, in fact, has been cleared to play again for the Avs.

Will he play in Game 2 of the Avs’ first-round playoff series against St. Louis tonight? I doubt it. Jared Bednar usually doesn’t make any lineup changes after his team wins, and throwing Byram in for a Game 2, when the last game he played was March 25 against Vegas, might be asking a little too much.

Yet, it’s got to be nice for Bednar to know he has the fourth overall pick from the 2019 draft at his disposal if the need arises. Conor Timmins only played eight minutes, 44 seconds in Game 1 and he’d probably be the guy I’d say would come out of the lineup in favor of Byram, 19.

But, again, I doubt Bo Byram plays in Game 2. Timmins is a right-hand shot, and I know Bednar likes to have a couple of them in his lineup. Timmins has played pretty well of late, too, though there were a couple of hiccups in his game last night. Timmins threw a blind, backhand pass up the middle from behind his net in the first period, which was picked off by the Blues and led to a good scoring chance. That might explain why Timmins’ playing time seemed to lessen after that.

Here’s Jared Bednar on Bo Byram: “He’s cleared to play I guess, and he’s an option to play whenever we want to use him.”

Byram’s absence was always listed as because of an “upper-body” injury, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to deduce he probably had concussion symptoms after a leaping hit from Vegas’ Keegan Kolesar in that March 25 game. Just like Matt Calvert was doing, Byram is wearing a pink-tinted visor, designed to act as a bit of a sunglasses type of protection against the glare from arena lights, which can aggravate concussion symptoms.

NOTEBOOK: Bednar said he wants to see his team get out to a better start than in Game 1. “Bit of a slow start, gave up a couple of good scoring chances.” That goes for overall too. “Last half of the second period, I didn’t like our game at all. We didn’t manage the puck well enough. There’s some adjustments and corrections that we have to make. Hustling back for pucks, we kind of wandered back and invited pressure and then didn’t get out of it. I think you have to have a little more urgency going back for pucks and making sure that our puck play is cleaner. … Blues coach Craig “Chief” Berube said David Perron remains in Covid-19 protocol. He’s not expected to play in Game 2. Many believe, in fact, he is in St. Louis, in quarantine or close to it. … Bednar said while Patrik Nemeth had a couple of turnovers last night, he remains solidly in the lineup because of his work on the penalty kill. “He does things on the PK that none of our other D do.” … Said Alex Newhook of his first NHL playoff game: “The intensity level definitely rises. … I’m pretty focused on what the task is right now. It’s really, only hockey. Just want to do what I can to help the team in the playoffs.” … Timmins on the crowd last night: “It was definitely noticeable for us as players. I think it gave us an edge against them.” … Cale Makar said it felt like it was “packed” in the building last night.

Colorado hockey now LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188289 Colorado Avalanche

The Virtual Reality Tool That Helped Philipp Grubauer Have a Vezina- Worthy Season

Published 10 hours ago on May 18, 2021

By Adrian Dater

Philipp Grubauer does not need to be on a sheet of ice anymore to stop pucks. He can be in a hotel room. He can be in his living room. He can be on his patio, or maybe a corner of a Starbucks store on a slow day or, really, any place in the world where there’s a few feet of open space.

Grubauer does not need to be at the whim of a real-life person shooting pucks at him anymore. He can dictate how pucks come at him now, at what speeds, from what angles, with as many obstacles in front of him as he chooses. He can do this at any time of day, any day he wants, for as long as he wants. He also can get a real-time, digital readout of his movements, his success rate at stopping pucks and he can click a link to replay it all, to watch for himself.

Welcome to the new world order for hockey goalies. Welcome to the world of Sense Arena, the Oculus Quest 2 virtual reality cloud-based system that Grubauer and a growing number of goalies at all levels are using to better their skills. Think of it as being the participant in your own real-life hockey video game, where you’re actually grabbing virtual pucks out of midair with your real hands, and taking real-life-looking shots from shooters that, well, aren’t actually real but sure seem like it.

As part of his travel bag on road trips now, and anywhere else he wants to go, Grubauer packs his Oculus Quest 2 helmet and simulates any number of situations to work on his technique. He started using the Sense Arena system late last year, and went on to have the best season of his NHL career for the Avalanche, finishing the regular season with a 1.95 goals-against average. He could be a leading candidate for the Vezina Trophy as the best goalie of the NHL season.

“You just put the glasses on and it simulates you being in the rink, being in the net,” Grubauer said. “You can pick the drills. You can pick screens, you can pick deflections. You can see your gloves and your blocker and you can track the puck. It’s great training for at home, when you don’t have access to ice. It’s a really good device to stay sharp, and on game day too, to warm up your eyes. You can warm up your legs and your upper body too, but I think guys always forget about hand-eye coordination too.”

Sense Arena, founded in 2017 by Bob Tetiva, was recently named by the New Jersey Devils and Arizona Coyotes as their official cognitive training tool. The company has many NHL goalies who use the system, including Grubauer, Keith Kincaid, MacKenzie Blackwood, David Rittich, Elvis Merzlikins and fellow Avs goalie Pavel Francouz, among others. The system ranges in cost up to about $1100, plus a monthly licensing fee of a little under $100 on average. There is a system for regular skaters as well, but it has been with goalies where the platform has really taken off.

“We are regularly working on updates for the current versions, adding training plans from different professionals and pretty much perfecting what we have now,” said Vojta Rousar, a marketing manager with Sense Arena. “Then we have another huge feature coming up hopefully this fall which is not official yet so I wouldn’t like to include any details on this just yet.”

Colorado hockey now LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188290 Columbus Blue Jackets It would be foolish to think finances won’t play a role in this, too.

Korpisalo’s contract carries a $2.8 million salary-cap hit. But he’s due to make $3.4 million in real dollars in 2021-22 after earning $2.2 million last Elvis Merzlikins or Joonas Korpisalo? Experts say the Blue Jackets face season. a tough call Merzlikins’s deal carries a $4 million salary-cap hit, and it, too, was back- loaded. He’s due to make $5 million in 2021-22 after earning $3 million By Aaron Portzline last season.

May 18, 2021 “If I’m playing the role of director of hockey operations here, I’d love a result where they both could continue to be part of the situation in Columbus,” said former Blue Jackets goaltender Marc Denis, now an analyst for RDS, a French television network in Canada. COLUMBUS, Ohio — In any other offseason, the Blue Jackets’ plans to trade a goaltender would be the most anticipated move of their summer. “I definitely understand why this trade would happen, and I understand Remarkably, it’s no higher than third on GM Jarmo Kekalainen’s to-do list what the (players) are thinking, too, that they want the situation resolved. and yet still a major decision. They want to be No. 1 goaltenders and they’ve probably earned that chance, both of them.” Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins are both viewed by most as No. 1 goaltenders in the NHL, but they’re both headed into the final years of The Athletic contacted Denis and other former goaltenders to discuss the their contracts in 2021-22, with unrestricted free agency looming next Blue Jackets’ dilemma — which goaltender they would keep, what do summer. they like (or not like) about each player’s game, and more.

The question isn’t whether Kekalainen will try to trade one of them, but On Merzlikins … which goaltender will be on the move. “Elvis is fun to watch. I thought as the season went along he got better Korpisalo and Merzlikins — or is it Merzlikins and Korpisalo? — have and better. Down the stretch, he looked more like himself. He got banged shared the net for two seasons in Columbus, long enough to split the up with some injuries, which are gonna happen in a compressed year. Blue Jackets’ fan base into camps, like Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi or iPhone He’s more electric when he’s going. He’s more electric as a personality vs. Android. and more electric in the net when he’s really going. He’s more active, more dynamic. Maybe at times, he’s more fun to watch, a little more Kekalainen will lean hard on goaltending coach Manny Legace and pizzazz.” goaltending development coach Niklas Backstrom in deciding which goaltender to keep but said the trade market this summer could also help On Korpisalo … make the Blue Jackets’ decision for them. “People forget he was an All-Star last year. But I don’t think he was the “It’s hard to say what the market will look like,” Kekalainen said. “If there’s same goalie this year. You can say ‘Well, the team around him, the play a huge difference (in the trade return), and we don’t think the difference around him,’ whatever. If you’re an All-Star, you’re good enough to steal between the goaltenders is as big as the difference in the market, then the odd game on your own. He wasn’t up to form this year. There were that could steer us one way or the other way. pucks that were going through him that typically don’t. Now, with no preseason this year, it’s harder to get your game, you’re not sure when “We think both of them are good. I have to listen to the goalie experts. I the league’s starting … all of these players are creatures of habit, and all have to listen to my gut feeling about the upside of the guys and their this different stuff is happening. I’m not indicting him in any way. I can character and drive and battle level. They’re two completely different understand why his game wasn’t where it was last year. For goalies who personalities.” are very rep-sensitive — they need their repetitions — it was a very The Blue Jackets would have made the trade last summer, but it was a different year.” buyer’s marketplace to the extreme. A flood of veteran free agents hit the On Merzlikins’ personality … market, giving GMs in need of a goaltender a chance to add one for only the cost of their salaries. “Hockey people are content to be very hypocritical. Pizzazz doesn’t seem to bother them when it’s people they like, or they’re white and they’re Kekalainen’s asking price of a first-round pick (and possibly more) didn’t Canadian. They didn’t want to give Auston Matthews his shine because move the needle, and he wasn’t going to trade Korpisalo or Merzlikins he’s an Arizona kid, his mom is Mexican. You’d hear this, ‘Well, he’s not just to trade them. a defensive player, not a 200-foot guy, … ‘ C’mon. I’d rather have to rein Will this summer be any different? in a thoroughbred than use jumper cables on a guy, and I’m not saying Korpi needs jumper cables, at all. I just feel like Elvis has that electricity.” Buffalo’s Linus Ullmark, Carolina’s Petr Mrázek, Colorado’s Philipp Grubauer, and Florida’s Chris Driedger — all seen as potential No. 1 Who would you trade? goaltenders in their primes — are pending UFAs this summer. “They’re both excellent goaltenders. They both have big futures, big And there will numerous older UFAs on the market, too: Boston’s Tuukka upsides. What do you want to be next year? Are you a team that’s back Rask, Toronto’s Frederik Andersen, Colorado’s Devan Dubnyk, Detroit’s in the playoff hunt next year? Or is next year a reset? If cap dollars aren’t Jonathan Bernier, Edmonton’s Mike Smith, etc. a problem, I would keep Elvis. If you think cap dollars are going to be a problem and you want more flexibility, then I’d keep Korpi. Either way, I The Blue Jackets can only hope that at least one GM sees Korpisalo or don’t think you can go wrong.” Merzlikins, both 27 years old, as better options than the players listed in the first group. Jamie McLennan, TSN, NBC Sports, NHL Network

Merzlikins’ record this season (8-12-5) was underwhelming, but his other On Korpisalo … numbers were strong: a .917 save percentage and 2.77 goals-against. “Korpisalo is more stable, and what I mean by that is, I kinda know what If you back-date Merzlikins’ stats to his momentous New Year’s Eve I’m going to get out of him, and I think he’s … if he hasn’t hit his ceiling, coming out party against Florida in 2019 — 21-17-9, .925 save he’s close to it. We’ve seen him progress. I like the skill set, I like the percentage, 2.39 goals-against and seven shutouts — he’s been one of mindset, he seems to have a lot of tools that can give you a 50- to 55- the NHL’s best. game starter. I don’t see him as a super-elite goaltender, but I see him as a really quality, starting goaltender. His skill set is good. Everything about Korpisalo (9-13-7) did not have a very good season by any measure. His him … there’s some trust there. If this guy’s on his game, he’s going to .894 save percentage and 3.30 goals-against average are among the give us a chance to win. He knows himself and what it takes to play well worst of his career. every night. As for his trajectory, I don’t know that there’s much more there, other than just mental and physical strength, the fine-tuning.” But any NHL GM who watched him play last summer in the Toronto bubble — he was impressive in a qualifying win over Toronto and a first- On Merzlikins … round loss to Tampa Bay — might be able to look beyond 2020-21. “Elvis is different for me because I think he has a chance to be a better ability. It goes without saying that their personality and style are quite goalie from a skill set standpoint. It doesn’t mean it will happen for him, different. One’s a little more quiet and relies more on the technical but his skill set and projection and ceiling are higher if he can put it all aspects (Korpisalo) and one will shine because he’s very dynamic and together. You would know this better than I, but he seems like a unique outspoken. It will get him in trouble sometimes, maybe (laughs). What I personality, has kind of a flair, not shy to speak his mind. I think people really like about these guys is their personalities come through in their love it, mostly. But I’m not sure people love it when he’s going poorly and play, and you can really see that. It’s impossible for me, really, to pick he’s still speaking his mind. He’s kind of an open book; very emotional. one guy over the other with such a small sample size and not being there That sometimes scares people, if you’re a goalie. (Winnipeg’s) Connor to see how they really work and process things. But you’ve got two good Hellebyuck can allow five goals and after the game he’d be like, ‘Nah, I goaltenders there. If you’re trading one … whew, that’s a difficult decision felt great.’ He just has this way about him, this confidence, where he’s for somebody to make.” not letting anybody know that inside he’s wavering. Elvis is a really emotional guy, so the highs are high and the lows are low. Sometimes that scares people from a trust standpoint. This guy can fire three The Athletic LOADED: 05.19.2021 shutouts in five games and then he could go south for five games. I love Elvis, I really do. If he has a season where the light goes completely on … I understand my body, my mental preparation, I don’t get distracted by everything else … I think there’s something special there.”

Martin Biron, MSG Network

On Korpisalo …

“To me, he’s a really, really good athlete, and he’s shown he can play at a high level. By now he’s 27. He’s been around the NHL for some time. It’s hard to say, but I’ve not seen him take that next step. These are his best years, 27, 28, 29, 30. You get about three more years of his best years, but he’s never taken that next step yet, for me. He’s always been on the verge, and shown that he could do it, but has never materialized into that. I love how quick he is laterally. I love his athleticism. He can steal you a game once in a while, but I’ve not seen that consistent next- step in his game that I think you’d need to say ‘We’re going with Korpisalo.'”

On Merzlikins …

“Elvis is the same age as Korpisalo, but he doesn’t have as much of the NHL experience, so you think there’s still a chance for him to elevate his level to the top tier. I love his quickness. I love his athleticism. He’s very similar to Korpisalo, so maybe it’s unfair to look at one as ‘his time has passed’ and then look at Merzlikins and say ‘his time is arriving’ because they’re the same age, but that’s really the situation you’re in right now because Merzlikins came in so late. I want to say that I would have more faith in Merzlikins taking that step to the next level. The ceiling is higher for Merzlikins, in my opinion.”

On Merzlikins’ personality …

“When he came into the league, I thought he was a big, loud personality, the strumming of the guitar (in Vegas), the jumping and hugging after the games … doing all that stuff. He’s embracing it. I do believe at some point, when things are going well, people love it. As soon as you hit a rough patch, people are going to use that against you. ‘He’s too outgoing, too flamboyant, he has too much of a personality.’ Now, I’ve played with goalies with huge personalities, and when they want to take the next step, they tone it down a little. It becomes more about their game. Their play speaks louder than the rest of the antics that are going on. I love that he has personality, and I wouldn’t want him to tone it down. But you have to let your play speak louder than saying (late this season), ‘I wanted to score a goal so much that I went to my coach and said, Hey, I may mess up, but I’m going to score a goal.’ That’s great. That’s a great story. But if you want to take the next step that stuff usually needs to be toned down just a little bit.”

Are they both bona fide starters?

“No, I don’t think so. I’ve been in that position where they are, too. I believed in myself as a goalie to say ‘I should be a No. 1 goaltender,’ but I can take a look back and say, ‘Was I really?’ I did it for a few years. Maybe I was more of a second-tier goalie in the NHL, a 1B type of situation, maybe an elevated back-up who could fill in as a No. 1 at times. That’s probably the market for Korpisalo moving forward, the trade value. Merzlikins is a No. 1, but the question is, is he a top-tier No. 1 or is he a lower-tier No. 1. Top 16 or bottom 16? That’s still a question mark. I think he has the ability to be top tier, No. 1 goalie, but that could be said about a lot of goaltenders in the NHL.”

Marc Denis, RDS Network

On Korpisalo and Merzlikins …

“I had a chance to sit down with both of them with (Blue Jackets TV play- by-play man) Jeff Rimer last season, and really enjoyed it. They both have a very good read for the game. They both have really good athletic 1188291 Dallas Stars

Esa Lindell named Stars’ nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy

By SportsDay Staff

11:54 AM on May 18, 2021 CDT

Defenseman Esa Lindell has been named the Dallas Stars’ nominee for the NHL’s King Clancy Memorial Trophy, the team announced on Tuesday.

The award is given every year to a player “who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.”

“Since joining the Dallas Stars, Esa has consistently given his time and resources to help our community,” Dallas Stars Foundation president Marty Turco said in a statement.

“He regularly volunteers his time during the season for our local hospital visits and postgame meet and greets. Our Foundation is very lucky to have a player like Esa who is always looking for more ways to help those around him.”

Lindell helped create the Friends of the Finns Youth Scholarship, which has provided monetary assistance and support for youth hockey players in the Dallas/Fort Worth area over the last two seasons. Along with the financial assistance of fellow Finnish-born players defenseman Miro Heiskanen and forward Roope Hintz, the scholarship has helped over 30 young hockey players.

Additionally, Lindell stepped up at the beginning of the pandemic and made a significant financial contribution to the club’s emergency assistance program.

Lindell appeared in all 56 games this season, his third consecutive season playing in every contest. He finished the season ranked second on the club averaging 23:11 of ice time, and led the Stars with 104 blocked shots.

Former Stars forward Mats Zuccarello is also up for the award as the Minnesota Wild’s nominated player.

The winner will be chosen by a committee of senior NHL executives led by Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly. The selection committee will apply the following criteria in determining the finalists and winner:

The first-place finisher will receive a $25,000 donation to benefit a charity or charities of his choice. The two runners-up each will receive a $5,000 donation to benefit a charity or charities of their choice.

Dallas Morning News LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188292 Dallas Stars of Robertson’s struggles against a bad Predators team are a distant memory.

There’s also the matter of how those points were scored. Hintz and ‘Hard not to notice Roope Hintz’: Division rival writers dish on Stars Pavelski seemingly have a firm advantage on the stat sheet over players who most stood out Robertson but it’s not quite that simple. The Stars’ power play had its way with the Predators’ penalty kill. Six of Hintz’s nine points against Nashville came on the power play, as did seven of Pavelski’s 11 points. By Saad Yousuf Robertson’s role on the power play was not as big as that of his linemates so he did not score a point on the power play against May 18, 2021 Nashville. While individuals can stand out on special teams, sometimes that sort of lopsided production gets lumped together as a unit thing as opposed to an individual player. So, excluding those first two games, One of the unique elements of this NHL season was the division which were outliers for the Predators and Robertson, Robertson had five realignment. It essentially divided the league into four mini-leagues. Each points in six games at even strength while Hintz had three points in six team in the three United States-based divisions played the same seven games and Pavelski had four points in eight games. Robertson also had opponents eight times apiece for a total of 56 games, so the writers some “style points,” scoring a thrilling equalizer goal in the final minute of covering the teams in the Central Division this year got plenty of looks at regulation in one game against the Predators to send it to overtime and a the Stars. game-winning goal in another game.

It made me curious about what some of my peers at The Athletic thought Portzline: “The old man himself, Joe Pavelski. My memory says Pavelski about the Stars this season, so I posed a few questions to them. We’ll had 36 goals and 74 points against the Blue Jackets this season, but I get to a few other answers in the coming days but today, we start out checked the numbers and it was really only 6-5-11 in eight games. Oh, with: “Which Stars player consistently caught your eyes the most and he was plus-10. Same as it ever was, Joe.” throughout the season matchups against your team?” Take that same logic of power-play production vs. even-strength Lazerus: “Roope Hintz is the guy who stands out to me the most. The production and flip it here for Pavelski. The veteran forward was a power- Blackhawks don’t have a ton of burners, so when an opponent has the play machine for the Stars, finishing in a tie for second in the NHL in kind of speed Hintz has, you notice it. The four goals and four assists in power-play goals with 13. But against the Blue Jackets, Pavelski didn’t six games didn’t hurt, either.” need the luxury of the extra man to dominate. He scored 11 points and nine of them came at even strength, his most even-strength points Bultman: “It’s hard not to notice Roope Hintz when he’s on the ice, and it against any team this season. probably didn’t hurt that he had five points in five games against the Red Wings. But I will say, it’s pretty huge for the Stars to be able to play him It was also a wire-to-wire, complete body of work. In his first game and Jason Robertson with Joe Pavelski at this stage in their careers.” against the Blue Jackets, Pavelski had two goals and two assists for a four-point night, and in the eighth and final game of the series, Pavelski Smith: “Roope Hintz. He was dangerous in every game I saw him against and had a goal and an assist, both multi-goal victories for the Stars. He the Lightning. It was even more impressive to learn that he was playing only went scoreless in one game against the Blue Jackets this season, a through an injury all year. I obviously knew of Tyler Seguin and Jamie 4-3 overtime loss on March 13. Pavelski was Dallas’ leading scorer this Benn, but I felt that Hintz is one of the more underrated players in the season. The eight games against Columbus certainly helped make that league. I know Tampa Bay was well aware of him when they played each happen. other this season. He’s creative, he’s got speed and is tough. A great combination.” Overall, the results are exactly what you’d expect. There’s representation from each part of the SuperLine, which, as a line, tallied the second-most There’s not much more to add. It’s always worth remembering, though, five-on-five minutes for the Stars this season and was clearly the most that Hintz, Dallas’ 2021 Masterton nominee, played through a painful productive unit on the team. Each member of that line had a remarkable groin injury that will require surgery on Wednesday. That makes it all the season in his own right. That was clear to not just those who followed the more impressive that Mark and Joe particularly pointed to his speed team all season but to those who watched at least eight games. standing out. It makes you wonder how much more than speed will pop out when Hintz isn’t physically limited.

Hintz was a point-per-game producer all season, so it’s no surprise that The Athletic LOADED: 05.19.2021 he was at least a point-per-game player against Chicago, Detroit and Tampa Bay. Hintz scored eight points in six games against the Blackhawks, five points in five games against the Red Wings and eight points in seven games against the Lightning. One of the Stars’ best wins of the season was the 4-3 victory over the Lightning on March 25.

That victory doesn’t happen without Hintz, who had two assists and the game-winning goal that night with under 90 seconds left in regulation.

Vingan: “Jason Robertson chose the wrong season to be a rookie. Kirill Kaprizov will probably win the Calder Trophy, but Robertson is the real deal. He is going to be a pain in the ass for the Predators.”

At first, I was a little surprised at Adam’s choice of Robertson. You may recall that Dallas’ first two games of the season were against Nashville and that Robertson was a complete non-factor. He registered the lowest time on ice of healthy players for the Stars and was ultimately demoted to the taxi squad. He finished with only five points in eight games against the Preds. Hintz had nine points in six games against the Predators and Joe Pavelski dominated Nashville to the tune of 11 points in eight games. So, why did Robertson catch Adam’s eyes the most?

If you look deeper, it actually makes a lot of sense. Nashville’s season has been a tale of two halves. They were laughingstock bottom-feeders, bound to be sellers at the trade deadline through the first half of the season, then a playoff team since mid-March. Robertson has also had a similar trajectory, going from taxi-squad player early on to earning Calder consideration. After the way Robertson finished the season, and as Nashville battles Carolina in the playoffs right now, those first two games 1188293 Detroit Red Wings

Why Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman is keeping Jeff Blashill as coach: 'We play hard'

HELENE ST. JAMES

Steve Yzerman chose to stick with what he knew when an opportunity arose to make a change behind the Detroit Red Wings bench.

Yzerman extended Jeff Blashill’s tenure as head coach into a seventh season, 10 days after the end of the Wings' 2020-21 season.

“I feel our team is collectively very competitive,” Yzerman said. “Whether we play well or not every night is different, but we play hard. Our players play hard and I think that’s a reflection of the coaching staff, that they have the respect of the players.”

The Wings have gone 172-221-62 during Blashill’s time, making the playoffs once, in his first year.

"I’ve been a Red Wing for a long time and in this seat for a long time," Blashill said. "I love being a Red Wing. I love being part of this organization, and I want to continue to see this team get to a better tomorrow. We’ve been through tough times and to get a chance to continue to lead this team, I’ve very grateful for it and I’m very excited."

With the team in a rebuild, the focus has been on player development more so than winning percentage.

“Jeff has really worked with me with transitioning our young players into the lineup, being patient with them,” Yzerman said. “Not handing them positions or ice time, really forcing them to earn it and guiding them along.”

There will be at least one change to the Wings bench, however, as assistant coach Dan Bylsma (forwards and power play) was not offered an extension.

Blashill also appeals for fiscal reasons, as his salary — roughly $1.6 million a year — is below that of more experienced coaches such as , Yzerman’s old linemate and longtime friend who has been available since January 2020.

Blashill has been with the organization since former head coach hired him as an assistant in 2011. After one year, Blashill took over as coach of the , returning in 2015 when Babcock left.

Blashill, 47, had just received a two-year extension in early April 2019, a couple weeks before Yzerman was named GM. Yzerman endorsed Blashill at the time, and has done so on multiple occasions. Yzerman in particular has expressed approval of how players such as Filip Zadina and Michael Rasmussen, former first-round picks, have developed. The Wings are not yet at a point where Yzerman is looking to hire someone who will guide the team towards a Stanley Cup.

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188294 Detroit Red Wings

It's official: Jeff Blashill will return as Detroit Red Wings coach, Steve Yzerman says

HELENE ST. JAMES

Jeff Blashill's tenure as coach of the Detroit Red Wings is headed for a seventh season.

In a much anticipated — and, frankly, expected — announcement Tuesday afternoon, the organization tweeted that "executive vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman today announced that Jeff Blashill has agreed to a contract extension to remain head coach."

Blashill has coached the Wings to a 172-221-62 record over six seasons.

"I’ve been a Red Wing for a long time now," Blashill said after May 8's season finale. "I’ve enjoyed every second I’ve been a part of this organization."

Blashill, 47, has been in organization for a decade. He was head coach at Western when then-Wings coach Mike Babcock called in the summer of 2011 and left a message for Blashill. That led to being hired as an assistant, though that lasted only one season. In June 2012, Blashill was named head coach of the Wings’ AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. Blashill coached the Griffins to the 2013 and gained coaching at the professional level in GR until 2015, when he was promoted to the Wings job upon Babcock’s departure.

The Wings advanced to the playoffs in Blashill’s first year, but it was a short run, ending after five games in a first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. In 2017, the Wings missed the playoffs, ending a 25-season streak.

Blashill was awarded a two-year extension a few weeks before Yzerman was named GM on April 19, 2019. Yzerman endorsed Blashill at his introductory press conference, and consistently defended the job Blashill was doing even as the team sank in the standings. Rather than blame Blashill, Yzerman pointed to a roster that lacked star power and, that, especially in 2019-20, was devastated by injuries.

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188295 Detroit Red Wings

Detroit Red Wings fans don't seem happy about Jeff Blashill's extension — but they get it

TYLER J. DAVIS

In a move that should really surprise no one, the rebuilding Detroit Red Wings are keeping their coach Jeff Blashill at least another season.

General manager Steve Yzerman on Tuesday said Blashill, who had just finished the final season of his contract, and the Wings organization had agreed to contract extension. Blashill is 172-221-62 in six seasons as head coach.

Yzerman said after the final game of the Wings' 19-27-10 season that a decision on Blashill's future would come quickly. Nearly two weeks later, the Wings — still expected to be a year or two from playoff contention — announced they'd keep their coach.

Detroit parted ways with assistant coach Dan Bylsma, who was in charge of forwards and the power play. Though it's not official yet, it's expected that assistant coach Doug Houda (defensemen and penalty kill) is staying.

Blashill, born in Detroit and raised in Sault Ste. Marie, was awarded a two-year extension a few weeks before Yzerman was named GM on April 19, 2019. The terms of the current agreement were not disclosed.

After one season as head coach at Western Michigan University in 2010- 11, Blashill joined the Wings organization where he has been for the past 10 seasons.

Here are some of the thoughts from Wings world on Twitter:

I trust Steve Yzerman and think he will eventually get the Wings a Stanley Cup. But I think he knows that it won't be Jeff Blashill that gets him there. This extension is just a stop gap.

— Isaac (@WorldofIsaac) May 18, 2021

Here's my take on Blashill: Not the worst coach for the Wings right now. The team improved over the 19-20 season and Yzerman seems to have confidence in him.

Bylsma being gone is the real winner here. The team desperately needs a new power play scheme.

All of these Red Wings ‘fans’ coming out of the woodwork to bash Steve Yzerman’s decision to extend Jeff Blashill really don’t get what is going on here.

Is it just me or is this secrecy about coach/front office contract details becoming more common?

Some fans who wanted Blashill fired are now left saying “I guess Blashill is fine if Stevie Y wants him back.”

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188296 Detroit Red Wings

Why Steve Yzerman's silence is golden for Detroit Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill

HELENE ST. JAMES

The Detroit Pistons held their exit interviews with the media on Monday, less than 24 hours after the end of their season. The Detroit Red Wings have been silent since their season ended 10 days ago.

The lack of any availability since the Wings finished 19-27-10 on May 8 seemingly indicates general manager Steve Yzerman is keeping Jeff Blashill as coach. An announcement on Blashill is expected this week.

Blashill has been behind the bench since 2015, guiding the team to a 172-221-62 record and one playoff appearance, in 2016. But the Wings are in a rebuild and higher-ups in the organization have not been expecting the team to advance to the playoffs during most of Blashill’s tenure.

Blashill and his assistants are all on expiring contracts. Dan Bylsma is unlikely to return; he’s been in charge of forwards and the power play since he was hired in June 2018. The power play has operated at 15.2% in that span, and was especially egregious this season, at 11.4%. Doug Houda, who has been in charge of defensemen and the penalty kill, is expected to return because the Wings played better defensively and their penalty kill (78.8%) on the whole has been pretty respectable. The fact Jonathan Bernier and Thomas Greiss finished with .914 and .912 save percentages, respectively, playing behind a team that averaged 2.23 goals per game reflects well on goaltending coach Jeff Salajko.

SHAWN WINDSOR: Yzerman treating Blashill decision like his quest for Stanley Cup: Slow, steady

In addition to clearing up the coaching situation, there are also lingering questions regarding captain Dylan Larkin’s health. He left the April 20 game against the Dallas Stars in considerable pain after being crosschecked in the neck by Jamie Benn. When asked about the topic roughly two weeks later, Blashill said Larkin was still being evaluated.

Robby Fabbri also didn’t finish the season, leaving April 3 with an undisclosed upper-body injury.

The usual locker clean-out and team picture day that would have been either the Monday or Tuesday following the last game didn’t happen this year. Instead the Wings took advantage of having four days between games the last week of the season to take the team picture then, which meant players could disperse as soon as May 9. Bobby Ryan, for one, said he’d been at his offseason home in Idaho on May 10.

FINAL GRADES: Red Wings get a couple A's, but mostly C's and D's'

News on Larkin and which of the unrestricted free agents — a group that includes Bernier and Ryan — Yzerman intends to keep should come as soon as the Blashill situation is clarified.

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188297 Detroit Red Wings arrive in 2022, though even he'll get a look in training camp in September.

“We’re starting to see some of those future assets turn into players,” Niyo: Yzerman practices patience in keeping Blashill as Wings coach Yzerman said, “and that is gonna make our coaching staff’s job a little bit easier.”

Or harder, depending on how you look at it. Because while Blashill’s JOHN NIYO | The Detroit News performance review was based more on the intangibles than the record this spring, that won’t necessarily be the case a year or two from now, or

whenever the time comes. Yzerman declined to divulge the details of You can view Jeff Blashill’s contract extension as an endorsement or a Blashill’s new deal Tuesday, but I'm not sure that really matters. Neither stay of execution, an indictment or an admission of guilt. That choice is does the coach, for that matter. yours as a fan, obviously. Yzerman said he didn't feel the need to gauge — or engage — the But the choice that matters here belongs to Steve Yzerman. And to hear coaching candidates on the market this spring, including ex-teammates the Red Wings’ general manager talk Tuesday, after he’d made it official Gerard Gallant and Lane Lambert. But who's to say he won't be ready to that Blashill would be back behind Detroit’s bench next season, it wasn’t do that at a later date? one he wrestled with all that much. “In this business, contract or no contract, you never know when your last “Was it a difficult decision, a hard decision? Not really,” Yzerman said. day is gonna be with a particular team,” Blashill said. “That’s the reality of “I’m comfortable with it and I feel good about it. We’ll continue to work.” this business. I’ve learned not to spend really any time worrying about that.” And by all accounts, the working relationship here is a good one between the GM and a head coach he inherited two years ago but now can — and Yzerman spent much of his time Tuesday talking at length about the must — claim as his own. There’s an open and honest dialogue, both process, not the results, as he was asked in various ways to explain why with each other and about the task at hand, one that hasn’t been easy he’s sticking with Blashill, whose teams won just 36 of 127 games the and only gets harder from here as the Red Wings try to dig themselves last two seasons. out of the NHL’s cellar. “I feel our team is collectively very competitive,” Yzerman said. “Whether “But having said that, we all have expectations,” Yzerman added. “And we play well or not every night is different, but we play hard. I think our we gotta continue to go in the right direction.” players play hard, and I think that’s a reflection of the coaching staff. The coaching staff has the respect of the players. And that was important.” So keep that in mind, too, if you’re sitting there bemoaning this decision as a step backward, or even Yzerman’s first real stumble in his two years So, too, was the progress the team made defensively this season, and as GM in Detroit, the city where he became an icon as a Hall of Fame the way the Wings played over the final two months (29 points in the last player. 27 games), in spite of injuries to key players.

Just because Blashill’s staying doesn’t mean he’s here for the long haul. It's also worth noting that one of the fans’ biggest gripes with Blashill — And just because they’re running it back doesn’t mean the runway here is the way he has handled some of the younger players — is one they endless, even though it might seem like it after six seasons of mostly should probably take up with Yzerman. He'll point to the growth in the diminishing returns. overall games of Michael Rasmussen and Filip Zadina we saw this winter, for example. You don’t have to study Yzerman’s track record long to see he’s comfortable pulling the trigger quickly, when he feels it’s necessary. He “Jeff has really worked with me with transitioning our young players into fired his first head coach in Tampa, Guy Boucher, less than two years the lineup, being patient with them,” the GM said. “Not handing them after Boucher led the Lightning to within a game of the Stanley Cup Final. positions or ice time, really forcing them to earn it and guiding them along He traded away one captain (Martin St. Louis) and bought out another and being firm yet patient with our young guys.” () with the Lightning. More recently, Yzerman sent the But how long does the patience last here? That’s the question the fans Wings’ leading goal-scorer, Anthony Mantha, packing less than six will be asking again soon, if not immediately, if the record doesn’t months after signing him to a four-year contract extension. improve next season and the growth isn’t a bit more obvious, particularly After 20 years as a player, and another decade as a GM, Yzerman in the opponents’ net. certainly understands the value of patience. And remember, Yzerman The Wings still ranked last in the league in goals, 28th in scoring-chance has seen this work before, hiring an unproven minor-league coach in Jon percentage and 27th in goal differential. And their anemic power play Cooper and then sticking with him even when Tampa Bay fell short of converted on just 11.4% of opportunities, which ranks as one of the 10 expectations at various times along the way. Yzerman had left by the worst outputs in league history. time Cooper and the Lightning reaped the ultimate reward, winning the Stanley Cup last season, but the point stands: Sometimes it’s worth the That partly explains why Dan Bylsma won’t return as an assistant, and wait, even if others disagree. Blashill said he’ll work with Yzerman to find an offensive-minded “tactician” to replace him on his staff. And it may explain some of the Of course, he also knows when it’s time to get rid of the puck. But now moves we’ll see from the GM this summer as he decides what to do with apparently isn’t that time in Detroit, where Yzerman understands better Detroit’s long list of pending free agents and the most salary-cap space than anyone just how woefully short on high-end talent this roster has of any team in the league. been the past few years. But as they work toward “a better tomorrow,” as Blashill puts it, there's “As an organization, we’ve been rebuilding,” Yzerman said. “It’s hard to undoubtedly a point where today's standards will no longer apply. coach a rebuilding team. ... "I think there's progress," Yzerman said. "But ... there’s so much work to "Ultimately, we need to have a better team. We need our current players be done." to play better and it’s up to management to bring in players that make us a better team. You need good players to win in the league. I can change coaches year after year after year. But we need good players, and if we don’t have good players it’s not going to change." Detroit News LOADED: 05.19.2021

The hope is that’ll change for Blashill in another year or two, aided by a steady influx of young talent. Yzerman’s first draft pick, Moritz Seider, was named the top defenseman in the on Tuesday, and he’s a lock to make the Red Wings roster in the fall. Joe Veleno, a 2018 first-rounder, should be as well after a brief cameo this season. Another member of that draft class, Jonatan Berggren, might not be far behind. And last year's first-round pick, Lucas Raymond, should 1188298 Detroit Red Wings "But he probably exceeded expectations last year in the and I'm not surprised he did very well in the Swedish League.

"He has a real head on his shoulders, has good hockey sense, and he's Wings' Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi progressing, should be ready for real competitive. He has size and his skills are good. He has a lot of work training camp to do, but there's a lot of potential for him."

Forward Lucas Raymond, who was drafted in the first-round (fourth overall) last year, has also signed with the Wings and will be competing TED KULFAN | The Detroit News for an NHL roster spot as well.

"We'll let the situation play itself out," Yzerman said. "If they're ready to go, they'll be on the team. But again, we just have to wait and we're not Detroit — The Red Wings' season concluded two weeks ago. But even if going to force it. they were still playing, Dylan Larkin wasn't going to be in the lineup. "But if they're on the team and playing, we'll be very happy. We have General manager Steve Yzerman said Tuesday on a Zoom call high expectations for them, and is it next season, or the season after? I'm announcing the retention of coach Jeff Blashill, that Larkin is progressing not sure. We've love for them to play, but they'll have to earn it." and is expected to be on the ice when training camp begins in September. What's next?

Larkin took a crosscheck to the neck area from Dallas forward Jamie Now that the coaching situation has been resolved, what's the next item Benn on April 20 after a faceoff and missed the remainder of the regular on Yzerman's priority list? season. Basically getting everything in order for the expansion draft stocking "He's recovering and we expect him to make a full recovery from his Seattle's new roster July 21 (the Wings and every other team will lose injury," Yzerman said. "He's being monitored. and they're very cautious in one player). Then the NHL Entry Draft (July 23-24) and the start of the approach. But right now, he's in kind of a rest period in healing before unrestricted free agency July 28. he gets into training again fully. The amateur draft, where the Wings have 12 picks including seven in the "If we were playing today, he wouldn't be cleared to play. But we expect first three rounds, is where plenty of emphasis will be directed. him to be ready to go once the season starts." "The priorities now are really to get with the amateur scouting department Yzerman wouldn't get into the specifics of the injury. to get organized for the draft, and make sure we know our draft list is in order," Yzerman said. "Things will happen real quick once you get to "To be consistent, he suffered an upper-body injury and is day to day," closer to the expansion draft." Yzerman said, adding surgery is not necessary.

Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi is also rehabilitating. Detroit News LOADED: 05.19.2021 Recovering from late season back surgery, Bertuzzi played nine games and didn't play after Feb. 1.

Yzerman was optimistic about Bertuzzi, although the rehab process will be deliberate.

"He's doing real well," Yzerman said. "I can't say I see him every day but we're down here at Little Caesars (Arena) and he's coming down (for treatment), he's limited in what he's doing but he comes in and he seems to be doing well.

"Tyler is pretty quiet. He doesn't say a lot, but he's very upbeat and positive and we expect him to be full steam ahead in September. It's just a slow process initially after the surgery, and gradually ramping things up.

We're offering a great deal on all-access subscriptions. Check it out here.

"He appears to be doing well and we don't expect any complications along the way. It's just a deliberate and methodical rebab process for him."

Top defensemen

Prospect Moritz Seider was honored Tuesday by the Swedish Hockey League as the best defenseman.

The 2019 first-round draft pick had seven goals and 21 assists in 41 games with Rogle in the SHL, with one goal and four assists in 13 playoff games.

Seider, 20, who had a strong rookie pro season in Grand Rapids two years ago, is penciled in to be on the Wings' opening night roster.

"Moritz had a great year in Sweden," Yzerman said. "He made the decision to want to go play and we supported that decision and as it turned out, he played a lot, played in all situations on a very good team, and the Swedish League is a very good league."

Yzerman was cautious about Seider jumping into the NHL next season.

"I want to temper the enthusiasm, or the excitement, he's a great young player and his next move is to the NHL, (but) we'll see how training camp and the preseason goes," Yzerman said. "It's a huge step up from the American League or the Swedish League to the NHL. 1188299 Detroit Red Wings organization and probably more importantly, I want to continue to see this organization, see this team, get to a better tomorrow."

In Blashill's estimation, there's a job that hasn't been completed yet, and 'The job isn't nearly complete': Red Wings bring back head coach Jeff he wants to be part of the job's completion. Blashill "The job isn't nearly complete," Blashill said. "I'm aware of where we've been the last number of years and I want to get us back to a much better spot. Any coach will tell you you'd love to have the opportunity to grind TED KULFAN | The Detroit News and push and find ways to continue to make strides as a team and organization, and I'm very aware of what I've been part of, a part of a

rebuild. Detroit — Jeff Blashill is returning to coach the Red Wings. "My eyes were wide open that there would be struggles. But my job is try The team announced Tuesday it will bring back Blashill, 47, for a seventh and push us and help our young players become the very best they can season. be."

General manager Steve Yzerman announced Blashill has agreed to a We're offering a great deal on all-access subscriptions. Check it out here. contract extension — the length was not disclosed — and that assistant Both Yzerman and Blashill were pleased with the improvement the team coach Dan Bylsma will not return next season. showed defensively, and on the penalty kill. Blashill has coached the Wings for the last six seasons, missing the But, both pinpointed the Wings' struggles offensively, as an area that playoffs the last five years. Blashill has a lifetime record of 172-221-62, needs to improve going forward. and is the third-longest tenured current NHL head coach, while presiding over a difficult Wings’ rebuild. "We need to score more goals, to improve offensively, and that's easier said than done," Yzerman said. Yzerman liked the direction the team took this season, and the way it competed on the ice. After finishing last in the NHL a season ago, the Wings made noticeable improvement this shortened 56-game season. "I feel our team is collectively very competitive," Yzerman said in a Zoom call with media. "We played hard and our players play hard, and that's a “We’ve been through tough times and to get a chance to continue to lead reflection of the coaching staff, that they (the staff) have the respect of this team is something I’m grateful for," Blashill said. the players and that was important. Yzerman wouldn't disclose the length of Blashill's contract. "The other part is, Jeff has shown a willingness to work with transitioning our young players into the lineup and being patient with them, and not "I've kind of made it my own policy to not discuss or announce the term handing them a position or ice time, but really forcing them to earning it of any of my staff's contracts," Yzerman said. "I don't think it's something and guiding them along and being firm, yet patient with our young guys. I want to share with anyone, or intend (to). I haven't in the past and I We're rebuilding and trying to move more young players into the lineup. won't moving forward."

“It’s important to have a coach that has a calmness and a willingness and There will be at least one change in Blashill's staff, with Bylsma leaving. patience to have these younger players go through the growing paints of Bylsma will go in search of other NHL opportunities — he'd like another playing in the NHL." opportunity to be a head coach, after leading Pittsburgh to a Stanley Cup The Wings finished seventh in the eight-team Central Division with a 19- in 2009 (over the Wings) — while assistant coach Doug Houda 27-10 record. After a ragged 4-12-3 start, as COVID-19 decimated a (defense/penalty kill) and goaltending coach Jeff Salajko are expected to lineup missing five regulars, the Wings finished 15-15-7 in their last 37 return, though Yzerman wouldn't cement that possibility. games, despite injuries to forwards Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi, Bobby Bylsma oversaw the forwards and power play — a unit that ranked 30th Ryan and Robby Fabbri, which deprived much of the team's offense the in the NHL and has struggled under Bylsma in his two seasons with the latter weeks. team. But the Wings remained competitive, and the way the lineup worked and “In his heart, he’s a head coach and he wants to be a head coach," persevered was impressive — and Yzerman recognized noticeable Yzerman said. “That’s the biggest reason for him leaving." progress. Yzerman and Blashill with both have a hand in choosing Bylsma's "We got a long way to go, and we recognize that we have a lot of work to replacement. do in all areas," Yzerman said. "But I watch our team play and I like the competitive fire that our team shows. They work and compete real hard and throughout the course of the season, I saw progress being made, specifically watching some of our young players take on bigger roles Detroit News LOADED: 05.19.2021 within a game."

Yzerman has learned more about Blashill in the two seasons the two have been together, and come away impressed with the way the head coach goes about his work.

"He's very passionate about his job, very serious about his job, has great attention to detail and is has a great work ethic," Yzerman said. "He's very well prepared every day, every practice is very well thought out. I've enjoyed working with him.

"He's comfortable speaking his mind, sharing his thoughts, and for a manger and coach relationship to debate and discuss (is vital)."

Yzerman and Blashill met several times last week and discussed expectations, Blashill's assistants, and the future.

"That communication is critical between a coach and general manager and being on the same page is critical, and I've enjoyed that part of it," Blashill said. "You gain a better understanding of each other's direction and thoughts and that's a positive.

"I've been a Red Wing for a long time now and in this seat for a good period of time and I love being a Red Wing. I love being part of this 1188300 Detroit Red Wings

Red Wings’ top prospect Moritz Seider named SHL defenseman of year

Updated May 18, 2021; Posted May 18, 2021

By Ansar Khan | [email protected]

Moritz Seider made quite an impression during his lone season in the Swedish Hockey League, further fueling anticipation for his NHL debut next season with the Detroit Red Wings.

Seider on Tuesday was named the SHL defenseman of the year.

The Red Wings loaned Seider, their top pick in the 2019 draft (No. 6 overall), to Rogle BK near the start of the season, after the German League canceled its season due to the pandemic.

The 6-4, 207-pound Seider, displayed his wide array of skills, from his skating to his puck-moving to his physicality. He collected seven goals and 21 assists in 41 regular season games and added a goal and four assists in 13 playoff games.

“It was a special year, and I am grateful for the chance in Rogle,” Seider said in a statement. “I was not ready for the NHL yet so the year in the SHL made me a better player.”

Seider, 20, is a lock to make the Red Wings roster out of training camp in the fall.

He was one of the final cuts in camp as an 18-year-old in 2019. He spent the season with the Grand Rapids Griffins, picking up two goals and 20 assists in 49 AHL games in his first season in North America.

Michigan Live LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188301 Detroit Red Wings

Red Wings, Jeff Blashill agree to contract extension

Updated May 18, 2021; Posted May 18, 2021

By Ansar Khan | [email protected]

The Detroit Red Wings showed enough progress this season to convince general manager Steve Yzerman that Jeff Blashill should continue coaching the team.

It just took a while to make it official.

The Red Wings announced Tuesday that they have agreed to an extension with Blashill, 10 days after their season concluded. They did not reveal the length of the contract.

The Red Wings went 19-27-10, posting a .429 points percentage, following a dreadful 2019-20 (17-49-5, .275 points percentage). They were more competitive on a nightly basis despite experiencing a rash of injuries to key players such as forwards Tyler Bertuzzi, Bobby Ryan, Robby Fabbri and Dylan Larkin and goaltender Jonathan Bernier, as well as losing many regulars for a couple of weeks early in the season due to COVID protocol.

The Red Wings are 172-221-62 under Blashill the past six seasons. They have missed the playoffs five years in a row, but that was not unexpected for a rebuilding team short on talent.

Blashill, 47, ultimately was going to be evaluated on the team’s progress and the development of young players.

Yzerman apparently feels young players have taken strides, a group that includes Filip Zadina, Michael Rasmussen and Filip Hronek.

The club also announced that assistant coach Dan Bylsma will not return. Bylsma was in charge of the power play that has struggled for several seasons. Assistant coach Doug Houda, who works with the defense, and goaltending coach Jeff Salajko apparently will return.

Blashill is the third-longest tenured coach with his current club, behind of Tampa Bay and of Winnipeg.

Blashill joined the Red Wings in 2011 as an assistant coach under Mike Babcock.

After one season, he was named head coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins. He led the team to the AHL Calder Cup championship his first season in 2012-13 and posted a record of 134-71-23 in three seasons.

After Babcock left to join the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2015, Blashill was the clear-cut choice to replace him.

The Red Wings extended their playoff streak to 25 seasons in Blashill’s first year, losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the playoffs.

But the team was in decline. One star, Pavel Datsyuk, returned to Russia the following season, and another, Henrik Zetterberg, would soon be forced to retire due to back issues.

That launched a multiyear rebuild.

Michigan Live LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188302 Detroit Red Wings

Red Wings’ silence bodes well for Jeff Blashill’s return

Updated May 18, 2021; Posted May 18, 2021

By Ansar Khan | [email protected]

The season ended 10 days ago for the Detroit Red Wings and still there is no official word on the status of coach Jeff Blashill.

While three teams have parted ways with coaches and most, it not all, non-playoff clubs have held some type of postseason media availability, there has been no public comments from the Red Wings about anything.

This bodes well for Blashill’s future with the organization.

Teams that replace coaches generally do it quickly after their final game. Columbus (John Tortorella) and Arizona (Rick Tocchet) made their decisions the day after the season. The New York Rangers let go David Quinn a few days later.

General manager Steve Yzerman was scheduled to speak with Blashill last week, after he and the coach finished exit interviews with players.

Two issues that might be delaying the announcement are details of a new contact and the status of assistant coaches.

The Red Wings would be hesitant to sign Blashill, 47, for only one year, sending a message that they lack confidence in him. So, it likely would be a two-year contact, with perhaps the second year a club option.

Former general manager Ken Holland signed Blashill to a two-year contract worth $1.65 million a season in 2019, a few weeks before Yzerman was hired.

The Red Wings must also decide on Blashill’s staff.

Dan Bylsma, in charge of a power play that has struggled the past few years, isn’t likely to return. The Red Wings would be more inclined to retain Doug Houda, who coached an improved defense, and goaltending coach Jeff Salajko.

It is clear that Yzerman and the organization don’t blame Blashill for the team’s struggles. They acknowledge the lack of talent.

The Red Wings went 19-27-10, posting a .429 points percentage, following a dreadful 2019-20 season (17-49-5, .275 points percentage). They were more competitive on a nightly basis despite experiencing a rash of injuries to key players such as forwards Tyler Bertuzzi, Bobby Ryan, Robby Fabbri and Dylan Larkin and goaltender Jonathan Bernier, as well as losing many regulars for a couple of weeks early in the season due to COVID protocol.

The Red Wings are 172-221-62 under Blashill the past six seasons. They have missed the playoffs five years in a row, but that was not unexpected for a rebuilding team short on talent.

Michigan Live LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188303 Detroit Red Wings

Riley Barber ‘not ready to give up NHL dreams’ after leading Griffins to season-finale win

Updated May 16, 2021; Posted May 16, 2021

By Steve Kaminski | [email protected]

Riley Barber’s 20th goal of the season sent the Grand Rapids Griffins to a 4-1 win over Cleveland in Saturday’s season finale at .

Barber scored with 5:37 remaining in regulation to break a 1-1 tie and send the Griffins out on top in a shortened 32-game season. Barber’s decisive goal came on Grand Rapids’ fifth power play chance of the game. Barber found time and space in the right circle to rip a shot into the far corner of the net.

Barber’s 20 goals and 34 points led the Griffins, and projected over a traditional 76-game season, it is estimated that Barber would have recorded 47 goals and 80 points. In franchise history, only Donald MacLean (56 during his MVP 2005-06 season) has scored that many goals while only nine players have registered as many points. The most recent player to have 80 in a season was Darren Haydar in 2008-09.

“I’m just pretty confident in myself and my abilities,” the 27-year old Pittsburgh native said. “I’m definitely not giving up on my dream of playing in the NHL. I think I can play at that level. But at the same time, I’m enjoying it down here in GR. I can’t thank the staff enough. I’m just really excited to be here.

“You get into your late 20s and it’s easy to look down. But at the same time, I have a chance to play in the American League with the Grand Rapids Griffins, and I love to win and I love to score goals. I’m going to do that until the wheels fall off.”

The Griffins needed 46 seconds to score the game’s first goal. Kyle Criscuolo grabbed the puck off a Chase Pearson faceoff win in the left circle, firing it past Daniil Tarasov’s glove for his 11th goal of the campaign.

The score remained 1-0 into the third period despite the Griffins outshooting Cleveland 20-5 in the second and 33-16 through 40 minutes, as Tarasov endured the workload and absorbed shot after Grand Rapids shot.

Tarasov’s impenetrability paid dividends 4:01 into the third when Cleveland capitalized on its third power play opportunity to knot the score, with Gavin Bayreuther blasting a one-timer from the point that eluded Calvin Pickard. Dominic Turgeon and Givani Smith tacked on empty-net goals in the game’s final two minutes after Barber gave the Griffins a 2-1 lead.

Michigan Live LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188304 Detroit Red Wings Records: Hurricanes 36-12-8, 80 points; Predators 31-23-2, 64 points Season series: Hurricanes won 6-2-0

The Hurricanes are deep at forward, defense and in goal and don’t have NHL Playoffs: Rivalries figure to heat up in first round to worry about facing the Bruins, who eliminated them in each of the past two seasons, for at least the first two rounds. Sebastian Aho (24 goals, 57 points) leads five players with 41 or more points. Carolina was second Posted May 15, 2021 in the league on the power play and third on the penalty kill. An impressive midseason turnaround (20-7-1 final 28 games) enabled By Ansar Khan | [email protected] Nashville to beat out Dallas and Chicago for the final playoff spot. The Predators don’t have the offense to compete with Carolina, forcing goalie Juuse Saros to steal a few games. The Stanley Cup playoffs begin today, while the regular season concludes on Thursday. Prediction: Hurricanes in 5

It has been a bizarre season, but the league made it work through 2. Florida vs. 3. Tampa Bay numerous obstacles and postponements caused by COVID-19 – and Records: Panthers 37-14-5, 79 points; Lightning 36-17-3, 75 points without a bubble. Season series: Panthers won 5-2-1 Unlike last year, when the playoffs took place exclusively in the hub cities of Edmonton and Toronto, the 2021 postseason returns to some This is why it was important for Florida to finish first: The Panthers now semblance of normalcy – no qualifying round and games at home arenas have to face the defending Stanley Cup champion with Nikita Kucherov with fans, though not at full capacity. and Steven Stamkos, both expected back from injuries. Andrei Vasilevskiy is by far the best goalie in the game and the Lightning are in But, unlike previous seasons, the first two rounds will feature divisional a good position to repeat. The Panthers, incredibly, haven’t won a playoff matchups. This, after teams played only divisional rivals during the entire series since 1996, when they lost to Colorado in the Cup Final. That isn’t 56-game season. likely to change this year, despite a talented roster led by Jonathan So, after playing each other eight-to-10 times during the regular season, Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov and a fourth place finish overall. clubs potentially will meet seven more times in the postseason. Prediction: Lightning in 7 Familiarity figures to breed much contempt. North Division We won’t see fresh matchups until the semifinals when division winners 1. Toronto vs. 4. Montreal square off. The last possible date for the Stanley Cup to be awarded is July 14, but that could be adjusted. Records: Maple Leafs 35-14-7, 77 points; Canadiens 24-21-11, 59 points

Meanwhile, non-playoff teams Vancouver and Calgary have three Season series: Maple Leafs won 7-2-1 makeup games next week, contests that serve no purpose other than to finalize draft lottery odds and drafting position. The Leafs, with their best team in ages, are seeking their first playoff series win in 17 years in the first postseason matchup between these Here is a look at the first-round playoff matchups: longtime rivals since 1979. Toronto again is stacked up front with Auston Matthews (league-leading 41 goals), Mitch Marner (67 points) and John East Division Tavares (50 points). Journeyman goalie Jack Campbell, from Port Huron, 1. Pittsburgh vs. 4. N.Y. Islanders went 17-2-2 with a 2.11 GAA. Montreal might be the worst of the 16 playoff teams, but Carey Price, due back from a concussion, is capable Records: Penguins 37-16-3, 77 points; Islanders 32-17-7, 71 points of stealing a couple of games. The Canadiens have a formidable defense led by Shea Weber and Jeff Petry (42 points). Season series: Penguins won 6-2-0 Prediction: Maple Leafs in 5 The window of opportunity is closing for a Pittsburgh team led for 15 seasons by superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The Penguins 2. Edmonton vs. 3. Winnipeg have won only one playoff series since capturing back-to-back Cups in 2016 and 2017. They were swept in the first round by the Islanders two Records: Oilers 35-18-2, 72 points; Jets 30-23-3, 63 points years ago. The Islanders will miss injured Anders Lee, out for the Season series: Oilers won 7-2-0 season. They have a strong goalie tandem in Semyon Varlamov and young Ilya Sorokin, who combined for 10 shutouts. Under coach Barry Connor McDavid collected a staggering 104 points in 55 games, making Trotz, the Islanders have won three playoff series in two years, after him the runaway favorite for the Hart Trophy. Teammate Leon Draisaitl, winning just one series in the previous 24 seasons. last year’s league MVP, was next with 83 points. Mike Smith had a strong season at age 38 (21-6-2, 2.31 GAA, .923 save percentage); can he Prediction: Penguins in 6 maintain that pace? The Jets have three players with 21 or more goals in 2. Washington vs. 3. Boston Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Nikolaj Ehlers. Winnipeg has been a major disappointment the past two years, losing in the first round in 2019 Records: Capitals 36-15-5, 77 points; Bruins 33-16-7, 73 points and the qualifying round last year.

Season series: Bruins won 4-2-2 Prediction: Oilers in 7

Any playoff series pitting Tom Wilson and Brad Marchand is sure to be West Division interesting. Capitals defenseman Zdeno Chara, 43, goes up against his former team. Alex Ovechkin moved into sixth place on the NHL’s all-time 1. Colorado vs. 4. St. Louis goals list this season (730). Former Red Wing Anthony Mantha, who will Records: Avalanche 39-13-4, 82 points; Blues 27-20-9, 63 points make his playoff debut, had a goal in each of his first four games with Washington but none in the past 10. Washington goalies Vitek Vanecek Season series: Avalanche won 5-3-0 and Ilya Samsonov have no playoff experience. Bruins led by same cast of characters up front (Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak, David Krejci, The Avalanche haven’t advanced past the second round since 2002 but Marchand), though Chara and Torey Krug are two big holes on defense. feel good about their chances after winning the Presidents’ Trophy for the Tuukka Rask is back after leaving team during last season’s playoffs due first time since 2001, their most recent Cup-winning campaign. Thought to personal reasons. not as potent as McDavid/Draisaitl, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen form a formidable combination. Cale Makar is a young star on Prediction: Bruins in 6 defense and Philipp Grubauer had an exceptional season in goal. Jordan Binnington hasn’t been as dominant as he was as a rookie leading the Central Division Blues to the Cup championship in 2019. Injuries have limited Vladimir 1. Carolina vs. 4. Nashville Tarasenko to 24 points in 34 games the past two seasons combined. Prediction: Avalanche in 6

2. Vegas vs. 3. Minnesota

Records: Golden Knights 40-14-2, 82 points; Wild 35-16-5, 75 points

Season series: Wild won 5-1-2

Coach Peter DeBoer has led New Jersey and San Jose to the Cup Final (losing both times); can he do it with a third team (Vegas)? The Golden Knights have won five playoff series in their first three years of existence and are deep and talented enough to make another run. Vegas is glad it didn’t get rid of Marc-Andre Fleury, who posted career-bests in GAA (1.98) and save percentage (.928) at age 36. The Wild signed Ryan Suter and Zach Parise to matching 13-year, $98 million contracts in 2012 and have two playoff series wins since then to show for it.

Prediction: Golden Knights in 6

Michigan Live LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188305 Detroit Red Wings The Red Wings did, however, make one coaching change Tuesday, announcing assistant coach Dan Bylsma would pursue other NHL opportunities next season.

Jeff Blashill’s extension with Red Wings, assistant coach search, Bylsma worked with the Red Wings’ power play, which ended the season offseason needs: Steve Yzerman’s year-end ranked 30th in the league at 11.4 percent. Yzerman said Bylsma is “a head coach at heart and wants to do that. So that’s the biggest reason for him leaving.” But there is no doubt the Red Wings need major change on their power play, and regardless of the reason for Bylsma’s exit, his By Max Bultman departure opens the door for that change to arrive. May 19, 2021 “One, we need to add to our personnel to get the right fit so our power play has a chance to be more successful,” Yzerman said. “And then also, we need to do things a little bit differently than we’ve done and change Steve Yzerman’s year-end news conference might have been a bit things up in the way we play, the spots players are put in, the way we delayed this year, but when it finally arrived Tuesday afternoon, it came bring the puck up the ice. It needs to be addressed. Who will be in with the first big news of the Red Wings’ offseason: head coach Jeff charge of that, who we can bring in to help it, we gotta go to work and Blashill will be back behind the bench next season, signed to a contract find that person now.” extension. Yzerman and Blashill will work together in that search for Bylsma’s Yzerman explained the decision, then fielded questions on several other replacement, which Blashill said was “not going to be anything quick.” He topics, wrapping up the season and shedding light on his mindset and and Yzerman plan to use their contacts to identify candidates who could intentions this offseason. The Athletic breaks down the most interesting be the right fit, then narrow it down from there. insights, with analysis of the general manager’s comments. I asked Blashill for some boxes a candidate would need to check in order Blashill’s return to be a fit, and, unsurprisingly, the power play was at the forefront of his answer. Yzerman explained the decision to extend Blashill: “The power play is an area that needs to be better, and that’s not, “I would say two things. Maybe most important to me, and one: I feel our certainly, on any one particular coach or any one particular person,” team was collectively very competitive. Whether we played well or not Blashill said. “The guys that are on the ice have to do a better job, and every night was different, but we played hard, and I think our players play we’ve gotta do as good a job as possible at preparing them and giving hard, and I think that’s a reflection of the coaching staff, that the coaching them a plan that works. So, different offensive ideas. I (would) use staff has the respect of the players. That was important. The other part is, probably the word ‘tactician.’ Especially a guy with an offensive kind of Jeff has really shown to work with me with transitioning our young mindset, somebody that brings some different, potentially unique, ideas. players into the lineup, being patient with them, not handing them It’s hard to come up with things that are real different or unique in the positions or ice time, really forcing them to earn it, and guiding them game, and that’s not necessarily how you win. But ultimately is there along and being firm, yet patient, with our young guys.” some fresh ideas or unique ideas or different thought processes?” His reasoning was not surprising. The Red Wings, while finishing 27th in That answer should be music to the ears of those looking for the Red the NHL standings, appeared to be a more resilient group than last Wings’ power play — which had gotten bland — to try something new. season. And while improving on the disastrous 2019-20 is not a high bar The word “tactician” certainly jumps out. to clear, the progress was nonetheless evident on most nights. An improved power play could go a long way toward remedying the Red Yzerman’s second point, about Blashill working with him in transitioning Wings’ offensive woes, and particularly if the Red Wings continue to players into the lineup, stands out as an indication the general manager emphasize defense first at even strength, then a power play that makes was pleased with the way Blashill handled the team’s young players, the most of its chances has to be a bottom line. which did not always mean slotting them into the lineup. 2015 first-round pick Evgeny Svechnikov played only 21 games for the Red Wings, and It does not sound like the Red Wings have a candidate in mind just young defensemen Dennis Cholowski and Gustav Lindstrom did not waiting to be announced, but Blashill’s description should be cause for become nightly regulars until the season’s final month. Meanwhile, center cautious optimism about what Detroit is looking for. Michael Rasmussen, the ninth pick in 2017, was a player who went from missing the cut for the opening-night lineup to playing 40 out of 56 games The Red Wings’ offseason priorities and taking on a significant role by season’s end. That fits with Yzerman’s At one point, Yzerman was asked about the team’s biggest area of need comment about “really forcing them to earn it.” on the roster. He acknowledged the team could stand to upgrade Still, while the Red Wings were more competitive in 2021, many of everywhere, but highlighted two key areas: the need to score more goals Detroit’s top scorers saw their production dip in 2021, and the team and a hole on the left side of the defense. finished 30th in the NHL with 2.23 goals per game. That’s concerning, Of the former, he said: “We’ve gotta figure out a way to generate more and offense stands out as an area to which the Red Wings will need to goals. How we do that, I’m hopeful our younger players can generate a dedicate significant attention this offseason (more on that shortly). little bit more offense. I think with the players that have been here for a Blashill is the NHL’s third-longest tenured coach, and considering the while, I expect them to score more than they did this year.” Red Wings have missed the playoffs in five straight seasons (finishing in Could that need for scoring be instructive in free agency (or trades) this the NHL’s bottom six all five times), there was curiosity whether Yzerman offseason? Particularly after Yzerman’s comments about management might opt for a new voice behind the bench. needing to bring in players to make the team better, that doesn’t seem Tuesday, even after signing Blashill to the extension, the general like something that can be ruled out even if Detroit would prefer to make manager made clear he had no intentions of switching coaches just for its offensive improvements internally. the sake of change. On defense, however, things look much more straightforward: It’s hard to “We need to have a better team,” he said. “We need our current players think the Red Wings won’t add at least one left-shot defenseman whether to play better, and it’s up to the management to bring in players that it’s via free agency or trade. Danny DeKeyser is Detroit’s only left-shot ‘D’ make us a better team. You need good players to win in the league, and I under contract for next season, and Yzerman singled out Cholowski as a can change coaches year after year after year. We need good players. restricted free-agent defenseman he “anticipate(s) getting signed.” And if we don’t have good players, it’s not going to change.” That’s certainly a good sign for Cholowski, who played in 16 games for Notably, Yzerman did not reveal the length of the contract extension, the Red Wings in 2021 and profiles as a more offensive defenseman saying it was a personal policy to not discuss the term of his staff’s despite just three points this season. contracts. Even more interesting? When Yzerman was asked directly about The search for a new assistant coach Cholowski, Rasmussen, Lindstrom and Givani Smith (all RFAs this summer), Yzerman said he thought they looked ready to play in the NHL and said he’s hopeful they’re on the NHL team next season. He said the message to those players was they’d have to earn places in the lineup, but notably added, “all those players you mentioned all need waivers if they’re going to the American Hockey League next year. So our decision at the end of training camp is, are they on the roster? Are we willing to risk putting any of them on waivers? They’re going to have to be pretty bad to be put on waivers at this point, and I don’t anticipate that. But I can’t guarantee that they’re going to be in the lineup, and that’s up to them.”

Indicating his reluctance to potentially waive any of the above players is noteworthy for two reasons. First, with the expansion draft coming up, could it be a hint Yzerman would consider protecting both his young defensemen, and Smith, over more established NHL players such as Troy Stecher and Vladislav Namestnikov from Seattle? Rasmussen is already a lock to be shielded from the Kraken, but the other three have all seemed to be vying for the final spots on Detroit’s protected list with at least one or two previously expected to be left on the outside looking in.

In fairness, the number crunch of the expansion draft is much different than simply the fringe of a roster. The two situations are certainly not interchangeable. But if Yzerman is hesitant to expose those players to waivers, maybe he’d prefer not to expose them to Seattle either?

In addition, it was hard to hear that quote and not wonder about the future of Svechnikov, whom Detroit waived twice this season. The 2015 first-rounder had eight points in 21 games this season in Detroit, but will be an RFA this offseason and might find himself squeezed for a roster spot next season. Given that, will the Red Wings extend him a qualifying offer?

Yzerman wasn’t asked directly about Svechnikov, but did note on the team’s restricted free-agent class as a whole, “there’s a couple of our RFAs that we’ve gotta decide, for different reasons, do we want to qualify them? Do we have a roster spot for them? What does their qualifying offer look like, or what does their arbitration case look like?”

Again, it was tough not to think of Svechnikov when hearing that.

Finally, I asked Yzerman what his appetite would be to address the team’s scoring need in free agency or via a trade, even if it meant parting with draft picks or prospects.

“In general, I don’t think it makes a lot of sense for us to be trading draft picks and prospects for players that might not be here in three, four, five years,” he said. “So if we are able to do something with some of our future assets, I’d certainly be willing to do that, but I would look to add younger players that are going to fit with the core group of those guys — which are basically, you look at Dylan Larkin, (Jakub) Vrana, Tyler Bertuzzi. They’re roughly in that 26-or-under range. (To) get players that fit with that group, I’d certainly be interested in that.

“You’re limited to what other teams are willing to do as well. So having said that, if something out there is too good to pass up, that doesn’t necessarily fit that exact description, I’d be open to it. But ultimately you can look at free agency, and the players that might be there today based on their contract status today, I don’t know that they’re going to be there once free agency opens up and 1) what they’re going to cost and 2) are we a fit for them? So we’ll certainly explore it. Free agency’s a little bit different than trades. In trades, I’d really like to add younger players. Free agency, we’re more open to anything.”

Yzerman is basically just saying he’s open to moves that make sense for the team long term, which is certainly nothing earth-shattering. It doesn’t tip his hand in any direction. But the acknowledgment of the age group he would ideally target in trades as 26-and-under is relevant as the offseason begins.

The Athletic LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188306 Detroit Red Wings 1. Anaheim: Power 2. New Jersey: Hughes

3. Buffalo: Guenther Red Wings mock draft 1.0: Five scenarios, five picks for Detroit 4. Seattle: Edvinsson

5. Columbus: Beniers By Max Bultman 6. Detroit: Eklund May 18, 2021 Certainly, the best-case scenario for the Red Wings is winning the lottery

and picking first or second. But after years of dropping down on lottery The Red Wings won’t know their draft spot until the NHL formally holds day, it’d be a minor victory for Detroit just to hold serve and pick in the its draft lottery June 2. Plus the league has yet to release official odds for slot they finished at for once (they’ve already lost ground from their fifth- this year’s lottery. But with the Vancouver Canucks’ miraculous four-goal from-bottom standings position, due to Seattle joining the draft). In this comeback against the Flames Sunday night, the Red Wings at least now scenario, the Devils move up and still get their defenseman in Hughes, know where they stand heading into hockey’s annual ping pong party. leaving Buffalo with a fascinating decision between Edvinsson, Beniers and Guenther at No. 3. Detroit sits sixth in the pre-lottery order, behind Buffalo, Anaheim, Seattle, New Jersey and Columbus. That means there are five different Considering the current drama with the Sabres, it’d be easy to see them spots the Red Wings could ultimately land in two weeks: first, second, taking the draft’s best center in Beniers, with an eye toward potentially sixth, seventh or eighth. needing to replace Jack Eichel. But if Eichel and/or Sam Reinhart are traded this summer, and the Sabres miss out on the top pick, Buffalo That should keep the Red Wings roughly in the draft’s top tier. But in a may be best served just taking the top offensive threat on the board, strange year for scouting, which specific players Detroit could have the regardless of position. And while Guenther didn’t light up the world U18s, opportunity to pick could depend as much on which teams land at the top he tore through WHL play this spring, averaging two points per game. as where the Red Wings themselves pick. That’s because while That leaves the Kraken to take Edvinsson as they start their franchise, University of Michigan defenseman Owen Power seems like a strong and grants Jarmo Kekäläinen’s genie wish by somehow dropping Beniers candidate at the very top, there’s lots of room for variance behind him. into his lap.

So, with the help of Tankathon to provide lottery simulations, we went Clarke could certainly be a strong contender for Detroit in this spot as through different five scenarios, and projected how the board could well. But for the sake of exploring multiple options, how about Eklund, a shake out for Detroit in each one. high-compete winger who showed he could produce against men in the SHL this season. Eklund’s on the small side at 5-foot-10 (NHL Central Scenario 1: The Annual Drop Scouting lists him at a shade under that), but the fact he’s already found 1. Buffalo: Owen Power, LHD, Michigan (NCAA) success against much older players should give Detroit some confidence, and his sense and playmaking draw positive reviews. It 2. Los Angeles: Simon Edvinsson, LHD, Frölunda (SHL) would be worth it for the Red Wings to at least try Eklund at center to start out, because of the positional value, though I have heard he’s more 3. Anaheim: Matthew Beniers, C, Michigan (NCAA) likely to be a wing as a pro in North America. Regardless, adding him to 4. Seattle: Dylan Guenther, LW, Edmonton (WHL) the stable with Lucas Raymond would be a strong get, and check a lot of boxes Yzerman’s Red Wings have gravitated toward. 5. New Jersey: Luke Hughes, LHD, USNTDP (USHL) Scenario 3: The lottery win 6. Columbus: William Eklund, LW, (SHL) 1. Detroit: Power 7. Detroit: Brandt Clarke, RHD, Barrie (OHL) Resigned as the Red Wings fanbase may be to dropping a spot or two, Analysis: Without knowing the specific odds allocation just yet, dropping this scenario can still very much happen for Detroit. Last year’s odds for one spot and picking seventh will likely be the most probable outcome for the sixth-position team picking first were about 7.5 percent. That’s not the Red Wings this year. And while dropping in a draft is never ideal, this much, but it’s not nothing. scenario would turn out just fine for the Red Wings. After Buffalo lands Power, Los Angeles jumps up in the draft order with an obvious need for And if it does play out this way, to me, the Red Wings’ decision would a defenseman after picking centers in each of the last four drafts. A good likely come down to Power and Beniers: the big, mobile do-it-all debate could be had there between Edvinsson, Hughes and Clarke, but defenseman, or the high-motor, all-situations centerman? Both seem to with Bob McKenzie’s midseason scout poll favoring Edvinsson as a top-3 fit the Red Wings’ profile under Yzerman, but for now, I’ll still lean toward player, we’ll send the Frölunda product to Los Angeles for now. That Power, with an eye toward a truly imposing future blue line. Imagine a drops Beniers, the draft’s top center, to the Ducks, who can then either future Red Wings defense corps with Power and Filip Hronek on one flex Trevor Zegras to the wing, or have a promising 1-2 punch down the pair, and Moritz Seider with an offensive-minded partner on another to middle. Good times ahead in Southern California. make up the top four. Those two pairings could devour 45 minutes a night (or more), and Detroit’s existing prospect depth on defense would The Kraken would then get their first top prospect in WHL winger Dylan give the Red Wings a clear roster strength going forward. Guenther. And New Jersey, in need of a blue-chip blueliner, manages to fill that need with a highly mobile defenseman who also happens to Scenario 4: Still a lottery win constitute a marketing dream for them: reuniting Luke Hughes with his 1. Buffalo: Power brother Jack. Center-starved Columbus doesn’t have the sure-thing pivot it would likely crave on the board here, but in Eklund, they’d at least be 2. Detroit: Beniers getting someone with a chance at playing the position. Again, jumping up isn’t likely, but it certainly is on the table: in fact, teams That leaves Detroit with a few different ways it could go, but one of the entering the lottery in the sixth position have jumped up to second twice biggest swings the Red Wings could take would be on Clarke, a player in the last five years. highly regarded for his hockey sense. It’s worth noting that Clarke does not necessarily fit Detroit’s pattern for highly-drafted defensemen under Buffalo can’t be ruled out of taking Beniers at No. 1 either, for all the Steve Yzerman, as the Red Wings have gravitated toward big, rangy reasons mentioned above. But anchoring their blue line with Power and types such as Moritz Seider and William Wallinder with their early picks. Dahlin on the left-side would be awfully tempting. And if they go that Clarke certainly isn’t small at 6-foot-1, but his skating is the key question. route, I think Detroit would have to be thrilled to get Beniers, who could At this point of the board, though, Clarke’s creativity might be too enticing project to center one of their top two lines in the near future, and do so to pass up. The Red Wings lack a true offensive weapon on the blue line, with the same tough minutes, 200-foot profile Dylan Larkin brings. especially on the power play, and Clarke would be a great solution there. Beniers would be as pure an “identity” pick as you could find in this year’s draft for the Red Wings, the embodiment of the high-effort hockey they Scenario 2: The “Can’t Complain” want to play. And his production for a draft-eligible freshman was really impressive, tying for the Wolverines’ lead in goals with 10 in 24 games (and leading outright in plus-minus at plus-21) on a team that made the NCAA tournament as a two-seed. It’d be much easier to feel good about the center position in Detroit with him in the fold.

Scenario 5: The “How Does This Keep Happening?”

1. Los Angeles: Power

2. Philadelphia: Beniers

3. Buffalo: Hughes

4. Anaheim: Edvinsson

5. Seattle: Guenther

6. New Jersey: Clarke

7. Columbus: Eklund

8. Detroit: Kent Johnson, LW, Michigan (NCAA)

At least by last season’s odds, the Red Wings picking eighth would be less likely than Detroit moving up to the top two, but still more likely as an individual spot than picking either first or second. And it would certainly be a gut punch on lottery night for Detroit to drop the maximum yet again.

With that said, even while dropping the maximum, the Red Wings would still be in solid position here to land a forward. I went with Johnson, who would merit consideration for the Red Wings in any scenario where they don’t move into the top two. Johnson actually narrowly outscored Beniers at Michigan, and he has the smarts and highlight-reel skill to tempt the Red Wings. He’s a candidate to really pop as a sophomore because of those offensive tools, and if you’re looking for pure upside in this range, Johnson’s probably your man at forward, even if he does end up on the wing instead of at center.

The other name to consider at this spot would be OHL center Mason McTavish, who played this season in Switzerland and then led Canada’s 2021 draft eligibles in scoring at the world U18s. (Johnson wasn’t at that tournament because he was an October 2002 birthdate.) It’s also not inconceivable Detroit could consider either of the draft’s top two goaltenders, Sebastian Cossa or Jesper Wallstedt, in this range, though a trade back might be a better route if they do prefer a netminder.

The Athletic LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188307 Edmonton Oilers Heading into this year’s playoffs, the Oilers are an older team, but not necessarily any more playoff experienced.

“I remember (2017) a lot, it was a really fun time and I think that’s OILERS NOTES: McDavid ready for puck to drop on playoffs something that can really fire you up,” said defenceman Adam Larsson, who had been acquired for Taylor Hall prior to the start of the year. “I remember how much excitement it brought to the team and the city of Edmonton, so that’s something we’ll for sure embrace. Derek Van Diest The Canadian teams will start the playoffs without fans in the stands. Publishing date: May 18, 2021 However, with vaccine rollouts in full force across the country, there is

some hope fans will be allowed in before the Stanley Cup is presented. Connor McDavid sat on a video media availability on the eve of the The Montreal Canadiens announced they will allow 2,500 fans in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the Edmonton Oilers and building for Game 6 of their series against the Maple Leafs after graciously answered every question in an 18-minute session. Premier Francois Legault announced Tuesday they would be easing All the while, you could tell McDavid just wanted to get the availability restrictions starting May 28. over with and start playing in his second proper NHL playoff tournament. The Oilers are rumoured to be working on a plan to get vaccinated first Particularly considering all the playoff teams in the United States have responders into Rogers Place at some point once restrictions are lifted in already started their series and will be two games in before the Oilers get Alberta. on the ice. Teams in the United States are already allowing fans in their buildings. “I think it’s just added to the excitement,” McDavid said Tuesday. “The The Carolina Hurricanes had 12,000 fans in its arena in a 5-2 win against (playoff) games have been great, they’ve been so exciting to watch and I the Nashville Predators on Monday. definitely can’t wait to get out there.” “There is lots of juice in those buildings with fans,” Oilers coach Dave Due to the Vancouver Canucks’ COVID-19 situation earlier this season, Tippett said. “You don’t realize how much you miss it until you see fans the Scotia North Division had to wait for its playoffs to begin. The going crazy in a game. It just adds to an extra atmosphere there.” Canucks and Calgary Flames had to play three meaningless games before the Oilers, Jets, Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens could begin the first round. Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 05.19.2021 The Oilers are favoured against the Jets based on winning seven of the nine regular-season encounters. But considering how the Oilers crashed and burned against the Chicago Blackhawks in the play-in series last year, they are not taking anything for granted and are looking to make amends.

“It’s definitely been a motivating factor for our group all season long,” McDavid said. “A lot was made about the bubble last year and we obviously didn’t put our best foot forward and didn’t get the result that we wanted. We’ve learned a lot of lessons with this group over the time I’ve been here, and it’s time to put those to work. You have to do something with those lessons at some point.”

McDavid lit up the Jets to the tune of seven goals and 22 points in the nine games this season. Along the way, he had to contend with the clutching, grabbing and obstruction, which at times, referees ignored.

He still managed to finish the regular season with 33 goals and 105 points. He won the scoring race by 21 points over teammate Leon Draisaitl and was 36 points ahead of third-place Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins.

“I think the hooking and the holding and the holdups are things that I’ve dealt with my whole life,” McDavid said. “It’s nothing new. It’s not going to be any different in the playoffs; it’s something that I’ve dealt with everywhere I’ve played and something that isn’t an issue.”

The Jets have nine games of film to go over to try and figure out a way to slow down McDavid in the playoffs.

There is a theory circulating around hockey circles, early round playoff games will be closer this season due to the familiarity between the teams. Through the first three days of playoff hockey around the league, four games have already gone into overtime.

“If you don’t know the other team’s game at this point, I don’t know if you’re ever going to figure it out,” McDavid said. “We’ve played them nine times and we have a pretty good idea of what they like and what they’re trying to do. You’ve definitely seen close games at the start of the playoffs and I would think you’re going to see the same thing in the Canadian division as it gets going here this week.”

BEST LAID PLANS …

When the Oilers made it to the second round of the 2017 NHL Playoffs, it was supposed to be the start of consecutive post-season runs, which would eventually lead to the Stanley Cup title.

Things did not exactly work out that way.

The Oilers failed to make the playoffs the next two seasons and then made a quick exit in the pandemic play-in tournament last year. 1188308 Edmonton Oilers Katz said he believes the hockey world is going to spend a lot of time in Edmonton in the second coming of the Roaring Twenties, mostly for playoff series but also for an NHL draft and an NHL All-Star Game. And he said that was a reason why he was so gung-ho to get the NHL Hub Katz looking for Oilers to 'bring the glory days back' City hosting of the 81 games in the Stanley Cup playoffs last year and the International Federation world juniors in another bubble to

follow. Terry Jones “I thought it was great for the profile of Edmonton. I watched the Publishing date: May 18, 2021 Canadian and U.S. TV feeds and I don’t think Edmonton ever got so much attention.

“I think Edmonton went up immeasurably in the minds of the NHL, other When Daryl Katz was a young man, he used to kick around with all those ownership and certainly the players. I think it was good for everybody. guys whose names are up there on banners in the rafters at Rogers Place. “Am I proud? Yes. Had we not built Rogers Place and the Ice District, it wouldn’t have happened.” He spent every spring around the Stanley Cup playoffs. And he saw the Cup a lot. Daryl Katz can’t wait for his image as the owner of the hockey team itself to go up immeasurably in the minds of the NHL and the other ownership. In 2008, Katz bought the Oilers, two years after the team went to Game 7 And he believes that’s going to start happening now. of the Stanley Cup Final. He hasn’t been around the playoffs or the Stanley Cup much since.

“Yes, you point that out all the time,” said the owner in a rare exclusive Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 05.19.2021 interview on the eve of Game 1 of the first-round series Wednesday against the Winnipeg Jets.

Katz says he can feel it. An era is about to unfold.

“Am I excited? Yes.

“Do I think they’ll do well? Yes.

“Do I think this is the start of something special? Yes.”

Katz is allowed to be a fan.

Indeed, he’s allowed to be the ultimate fan.

But he believes what we are about to witness is the beginning of a decade-long run.

“I’m not the only one,” said the owner of the team he believes has left the Decade of Darkness behind.

“I get texts. Bob Nicholson gets texts. Wayne Gretzky gets texts. This is not just something you are hearing from me. This is something that is shared around the world of sports.

“I think everyone has done an outstanding job and today we have great depth. There are still players coming. And how young are we?

“I’m very proud and very happy with the performance of the team this year. I think everybody in management and in coaching has done an outstanding job.

“I’m very proud of Connor McDavid. Make no mistake. This is Connor’s team. He’s the captain. I’m very proud of the leadership group.”

Katz figures this team has a lot in common with that team of the ’80s.

“We have to be one of the most exciting teams to watch in the National Hockey League.

“So, yes. I’m very excited. And I’m very proud of everybody.”

Katz said he bought the franchise to build a team that would replicate the one he spent so much time around in the 1980s.

“If you were around then, that team defined Edmonton. And that team, in my view, defined the sport of hockey at the time in global sports.

“Do I feel the same kind of potential and excitement relative to the team we have now? Yes I do.

“And to be frank, this is exactly why I bought the team in 2008. It wasn’t only to build the new arena and revitalize downtown Edmonton, but it was to bring the glory days back. That’s the most exciting thing.

“You can’t be a hockey fan and watch this team and not see and feel the enormous potential this group has.”

Katz said his excitement is for right now, not next year, although he says he can’t wait to see what general manager Ken Holland can do when the salary cap opens up.

“That’s been a burden of ours.” 1188309 Edmonton Oilers “Guys are starting to figure out this game and what it takes to win, how hard it is and the sacrifices you have to do to make that happen,” said McDavid, adding they are well aware of what will be required of them.

Years of hard lessons prepared Edmonton Oilers for this moment “It’s pretty easy to figure that out just from watching some of the games this week. You see guys playing hard, finishing checks, blocking shots. All the little things that make you successful this time of year.”

Robert Tychkowski That these games will be played in empty buildings without the powder- keg atmospheres created by fans, especially on the road, could be a Publishing date: May 18, 2021 blessing for a team with limited post-season experience. It probably hurt the Oilers last year because they were used to feeding off the emotion at Rogers Place and there was none in the Edmonton bubble. Thirteen games four years ago. And last year’s ignominious exit from an empty Rogers Place bubble. But creating energy shouldn’t be a problem this time around.

That’s it. “I definitely feel like we’re going to be able to do it,” said McDavid. “We’ve played 56 games now in front of no fans and we’ve had moments where That’s all the post-season experience the Edmonton Oilers core players our team has played some of the best hockey I’ve been a part of here. have to draw from heading into their North Division series with the We feel (the fans’) support and need to rise to the occasion whether Winnipeg Jets. they’re in the building or not.”

And they’re fine with that. There’s going to be immense pressure placed on their shoulders, being expected to eliminate a team they were 7-2 against in the regular Head coach says he’s seen enough from the likes of season. How they deal with it will ultimately decide who wins. Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Darnell Nurse and Ryan Nugent- Hopkins on the ice and in the room to believe they are more than ready “There’s an old saying, pressure is a privilege,” said Tippett. “You earn for what they hope is a long, hard challenge ahead. that privilege by putting the work in to get yourself in those pressure situations. “Their experiences throughout the league bodes well for them, they’re maturing as players,” said Tippett, adding while they haven’t been in an “Embrace the pressure. Understand what it is. You’re put in pressure actual playoff series since 2017, they’ve logged a lot of miles in the NHL. situations because you’ve accomplished something. Enjoy the privilege.”

“Their game is elite, but the maturity factor, the leadership and what you have to be ready for going into a playoffs series, all of those things have grown on them. I’m excited to see what they can do this time around.” Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 05.19.2021

Who isn’t? This is the Edmonton Oilers coming-out party, a chance to take a next step that’s been six years in the making. The whole league is watching.

“We finished second in the division, and with that comes expectations,” said defenceman Adam Larsson, adding the expectations are also coming from within.

“I just look at what we have now and I feel like we’re ready. The mindset is in the right place. The team is in good spirit. I feel like our group has matured. We want to do really well and we feel like we have the pieces to do so. “

They remember the 2017 run very well. They were all just 22 or 23 years old at the time, shadows of the players they’ve grown into, but that 13- game taste still lingers. Draisaitl was just 21, but looked right at home in the high-stakes, high-intensity atmosphere, leading the team in scoring with 16 points in 13 games.

“The thing you remember about 2017 is how amazing the fans were, how fun it was to play in this building,” said McDavid, who wishes, like everyone else, we could have that again.

“Also, just how intense the hockey is, how important each and every play is, how each and every little mistake matters. The team that can stay even keel the best is usually the most successful team. We don’t have ton of playoff experience, obviously, but we can certainly draw on that.”

The Bubble last year, as painful and humbling as it was, will also serve them well. The sting from being punted out of their own arena before the official playoffs even started is still very real.

“It’s definitely been a motivating factor for our group all season long,” said McDavid. “We obviously didn’t put our best foot forward and get the result we wanted.

“We know how quickly a series can turn on you. We’ve learned lots of lessons with this group in the time I’ve been here. It’s time to put those to work. You have to do something with those lessons, at some point.”

The lessons, most of them from the School of Hard Knocks, have been steady, and very public, since this core was first drafted (Nugent-Hopkins in 2011, Nurse in 2013, Draisaitl in 2014 and McDavid in 2015), and the new leadership group has taken all of it to heart. They’re all older, wiser and more complete players waiting for a chance to show what they’ve become. 1188310 Edmonton Oilers Do they double-down on their own style of play, trying to stay aggressive up ice — sometimes to their own detriment — against Edmonton’s elite? Do they double-clutch and start playing so conservatively they’re not able to generate any offence of their own? Scouting the Edmonton Oilers’ enemy: Breaking down the Winnipeg Jets with Murat Ates Playing against the McDavids and Draisaitls of the world changes a team’s risk/reward profile all over the ice. It will change the Jets’ breakout, demanding star players like Scheifele stay on the safe side of the puck until the zone is cleared. It will change the Jets at the offensive By Daniel Nugent-Bowman and Murat Ates blue line as the “hope” plays the Jets have been talking about for the last May 18, 2021 month need to be fully eradicated.

But, as Wheeler said this week, the Jets will get nothing useful done whatsoever if they sit back in a defensive shell all night. Six straight wins. A 7-2-0 record. Connor McDavid racking up point after point after point. “You have to be cognizant when two of the best, if not the best players in the league are on the ice at the same time but at the end of the day, we Things sure went smoothly for the Oilers against the Jets in their season can’t play five guys in front of the net and not try to play hockey, know series. Now the real games begin. what I mean?”

With the stakes much higher, everything needs to be hashed out much Nugent-Bowman: I get what he’s saying. Now, that last line of defence is more thoroughly, So, I’ve enlisted the help of my friend and colleague Connor Hellebuyck, who had his difficulties down the stretch — Murat Ates, whose keen eye for detail and thoughtful prose is a especially against the Oilers. How does the reigning Vezina Trophy wonderful resource. winner’s confidence look ahead of the series?

Murat provides exceptional Jets coverage at The Athletic and is quite the Ates: Unflappable. Connor Hellebuyck is unflappable. entertaining Twitter follow. You’ll want to read his work, especially during this postseason matchup. Yes, he struggled to contain Edmonton in the season series, turning a save percentage that looked dazzling against the rest of Canada into Nugent-Bowman: Murat, how I wish we were travelling for this series with what looks like a subpar year (at least: until you look at goals saved the arenas full of fans. Can you imagine the atmospheres in the team above expectation, where he was second in the NHL.) buildings? Should we pour one out for the Whiteout? There were also a couple of really brutal goals this season — a centre- Ates: I can’t put into words just how much I agree with you, DNB. I just ice floater from Calgary’s Christopher Tanev comes to mind, plus some need for people in my city to have this again: too-characteristic puck-handling gaffes — but Hellebuyck bounced back to excellence all season long. Nugent-Bowman: Damn. (Single tear.) OK; on to the more serious stuff. Here he was this week, in his typical bravado: The Jets’ struggles down the stretch were well documented and analyzed from every corner. (Hello, star columnist Ms. Ates.) Do those struggles “If you want to call us an underdog, go ahead. We’ll use that as energy. feel like they’re safely in the rearview mirror, in the blindspot possibly Any little advantage that we can get right now, we’re going to take. That’s able to sneak up at a moment’s notice, or ready to hit them head-on what it takes in the playoffs. Anything. The last puck, the last tip, the last again? block, every little play is going to matter.”

Ates: I’m going to tell my mom you included her and it is going to make He’s a character and I love it. Can he steal the series? her day. It’s definitely possible and I know he thinks he can. The first thing I should make clear is that Winnipeg is a better team than its seven-game losing streak or its 3-9-0 finish to the season. Nugent-Bowman: Speaking of confident players, that brings us to Mark Scheifele. I’m intrigued by Winnipeg’s No. 1 centre, so I’ve got a couple The fancy stats are absolutely not everything — especially for a team of questions for you about him. whose biggest strengths are finishing talent and goaltending — but the Jets ran slightly better shot metrics through their frigid end to the season His bubble playoffs were shortchanged by a questionable Matthew than they did through the year as a whole. Winnipeg’s 6-1 loss to Tkachuk hit last summer. He was so good during the conference final run Edmonton instigated a push by its stars to play a more complete team in 2018. He seems tailor-made for postseason play. What should we game. (Paul Stastny called the Jets’ style of play “embarrassing,” expect from him in this series? referred to the team “cheating” the game defensively, and more — it was Ates: It sometimes gets lost in critiques of his defensive game (recall quite the flashpoint.) McDavid’s 10-2 edge on Scheifele at 5-on-5 in the season series), but The problem with pointing to solid process is twofold: first, even when the Scheifele scored at the best points per game clip of his career this Jets were playing a more committed, five-man defensive game without season. His 63 points in 56 games pro-rates to 92 points — not a forwards cheating towards the top of the zone or making hopeful rush McDavid-esque total, to be sure, but elite offensive production to be sure. plays at the offensive blue line, Winnipeg struggled to score goals as a Actually, DNB, see what I just did there? Complimented Scheifele but break-even, 50 percent team at 5-on-5. There were signs of life — most rooted it in a McDavid comparison? notably, a four-point night by Blake Wheeler against Vancouver — but they never boiled over into a genuine offensive outpour. This kind of stuff drives him bananas. He wants to be thought of in that best-of-the-best sort of way. Spend enough time quizzing him about The second is that all of that losing takes a psychological toll. Teams other teams’ top players and he’ll redirect the conversation to how “hey, need real results to be able to point to when times get tough and, if we have a lot of good players, too.” Edmonton rushes out to an early series lead, I wouldn’t be shocked at all to see a “here we go again” feeling suck the life out of Winnipeg’s That’s why I’m just as intrigued as you are. When Scheifele is on, he can comeback bid. make plays and find passing seams against any and all opposition. He’s notoriously patient in his reads, slowing the game down and breaking Nugent-Bowman: Speaking of the potential for “here we go again,” what down defences before finding just the right seam to exploit. He tore apart do you make of their 2-7-0 record against the Oilers during the season? Nashville in 2018 with Kyle Connor and, if the Jets have success against That has to be playing with their heads a bit, right? Edmonton, it will be because Scheifele found that level yet again. Ates: It has to be. It has to be. Last-second comebacks, dominant Nugent-Bowman: Since you started a McDavid comparison, let’s go. As performances from Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, great games you mentioned, Scheifele was dominated by McDavid during the season. from Mike Smith… Edmonton found all of the most painful ways to hit Why was that matchup so one-sided? that 7-2-0 mark. Ates: Oh, dear. Winnipeg’s response will be fascinating. Let’s start with a bit of context for my own sake, too. I’m looking it up now If the Jets achieve full health, I’m expecting: and here is McDavid’s record against his most frequent opposing centre on every Canadian team this season. Maurice has shown us a few different combinations, including lines where Dubois played centre, but that job will be Stastny’s when it counts. He’s up 10-2 in 84 minutes against Scheifele, up 7-4 in 80 minutes against Bo Horvat, trailing Calgary’s Mikael Backlund 4-3 in 61 minutes, If healthy, Dubois could be a Winnipeg Jets X-factor. He’s struggled to trailing Toronto’s John Tavares 2-1 in 60 minutes, beating Ottawa’s Chris find his way towards the playoff dominance he showed against Tampa Tierney 6-3 in 54 minutes, and tied 4-4 with Montreal’s Phillip Danault. Bay and Toronto last summer but Dubois’ size and speed make him a threat to break out when the games get tough. So it’s true that he beat up on Scheifele more than anybody else. Nugent-Bowman: Speaking of struggling, or so it appears, what’s the I want to say it’s as simple as Scheifele didn’t play defence well enough deal with Draisaitl’s old junior buddy Josh Morrissey? It seems from afar against McDavid. When I think of “hope” plays offensively from as though fellow 2013 first-round draftee Darnell Nurse has blown past Winnipeg’s stars, Scheifele is definitely included. He takes long shifts, him now. hoping they’ll lead to more scoring opportunities, and sometimes he’ll end up chasing transition offence by playing above his man in the Ates: It sucks to write this about perhaps the nicest person in hockey, but defensive zone before the puck is moving in the right direction. Morrissey hasn’t looked like a surefire top-pairing defenceman since Jacob Trouba was his partner. Neither player has looked anywhere near This kind of stuff is what led to Scheifele’s benching after a 90-plus- as good without his former partner since Trouba was moved to New York second shift and an awfully slow line change against Toronto on Hockey for Neal Pionk and the first-round pick which would become Ville Heinola. Night in Canada. That said, he’s also been asked to play with a revolving carousel of I also think Scheifele will be better than that against Edmonton in the partners who don’t have anything approaching a top-four pedigree. playoffs. The stakes are simply too high for that kind of effort. Morrissey has mostly played with Tucker Poolman, a 27-year-old Nugent-Bowman: He’d better be for the Jets’ sake. So, you may have journeyman whose career includes third-pairing excellence and AHL heard, but McDavid did OK against the Jets this season with 22 points in dominance. He’s been asked to spot prospects Ville Heinola and Sami nine games. Who gets the thankless task of checking him: Scheifele, Niku to varying levels of success. Adam Lowry, a combination of the two, or someone else? There was also an odd portion of the season when Morrissey played on Ates: Well, McDavid outscored Lowry’s line 4-1 at 5-on-5 this year, too, his off-hand side with Nathan Beaulieu, a depth defenceman who we so it seems playing Winnipeg’s best defensive centre isn’t a guarantee now know was playing through a torn labrum in his shoulder. that Winnipeg will get the best defensive results. The results have been poor. If we’re basing this on Winnipeg’s regular season usage, you’re exactly right to suggest a combination of Scheifele and Lowry, though — those The deployment has been mystifying. are the only two Jets centres to spend substantial time toe-to-toe with 97. Fortunately for Jets fans, the only partner with whom Morrissey has But defending a player that good isn’t just about the centre matchup. If shown real success is the one he seems to be paired with heading into the Jets have any hope of surviving those minutes, they need to play Game 1: Dylan DeMelo. excellent five-man defence. Wingers will need to come back hard and cut I know that name won’t strike fear in the hearts of Oilers fans but down odd-man rush opportunities. More than that? Some combination of Morrissey/DeMelo is the only version of Winnipeg’s top pairing which has Josh Morrissey, Dylan DeMelo, Derek Forbort, and Neal Pionk need to posted a positive shot-share this season. DeMelo is Winnipeg’s best play the best hockey of their life. player and literally the only defenceman Morrissey has achieved these Nugent-Bowman: The Oilers might have McDavid and Draisaitl, but results with. Winnipeg’s top nine is way deeper than Edmonton’s. That should be a I’m not sure if they’ll be enough to shut down Edmonton’s big guns but huge advantage for the Jets. If there are a few players tasked with the partnership is a night-and-day difference for Morrissey’s results. slowing down McDavid and Draisaitl, who are some forwards that’ll need to pick up the slack offensively? Nugent-Bowman: Who will Maurice use in the top four on defence aside from Morrissey, DeMelo, and Pionk? Do the Jets have enough defensive Ates: I’ll put this one to Oilers fans: Winnipeg’s top line is Scheifele, Kyle prowess among the blueliners to handle two scoring lines? Connor, and Blake Wheeler. But do you know who the Jets’ best forward has been for the past two seasons? Ates: We’ll see Morrissey and Pionk get used together, mostly when the Jets are chasing late in games. That said, Maurice (and former To me, that honour goes to Nik Ehlers whose upper-body injury might yet Oiler/current Jets defence coach Charlie Huddy) typically like to spread keep him out of Game 1. He’s skated in a non-contact jersey this week out the talent on Winnipeg’s defence. as he has done since taking a rough check from Toronto’s Jake Muzzin on April 24. This means Morrissey/DeMelo will be followed by a partnership of Pionk and Derek Forbort. I know Ehlers isn’t the most famous Jets forward but trust me: no one scores more points per minute, no one gets through the neutral zone with Forbort started the season tremendously and the Forbort/Pionk numbers more speed, and no one creates more chaos for defencemen than Ehlers look solid overall. The worry for Winnipeg is that defending against speed does. Think of Ales Hemsky in full flight, dazzling through the neutral is an issue for Forbort and Edmonton’s best players have much too much zone and alternating between those long sweeps behind the net before of it. making a play and driving the net outright. Both of them play bigger than The Jets are in tough. they are and both take a lot of abuse for it, Ehlers’ injury as proof. Nugent-Bowman: Lastly, spell it out for Oilers fans: How can the Jets win By the way, if I can force another Oilers reference, I like to think of this series? What do the Oilers need to be wary of? Connor as Jordan Eberle if Eberle had high-end speed. Both players finish plays with ice in their veins, thinking faster than the defenders or Ates: The Jets can win this series with a superlative performance from goalies who try to stop them. Connor is at just under a point per game Hellebuyck, a great deal of discipline against Edmonton’s top-ranked over the past two seasons because he has those hands and the wheels power play, an extreme commitment to five-man defence when McDavid to match. and Draisaitl are on the ice, and a series-to-remember from Scheifele, Wheeler, and Connor. Nugent-Bowman: You’ve mentioned some darn good wingers, but I haven’t even asked you about the centres yet. The Jets have some nice And it would sure as heck help if Ehlers came back in good health. options up the middle in Scheifele, Lowry, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and Paul Stastny. How will Paul Maurice manage that? Who’s sliding over to the wing? The Athletic LOADED: 05.19.2021 Ates: Assuming he’s ready to go — he hasn’t practised since getting hurt in Winnipeg’s Game 56 win against Toronto — it will be Pierre-Luc Dubois who moves to the wing, at least to start. 1188311 Edmonton Oilers Jesse Puljujarvi, A: After April 1, Puljujarvi played in 19 games, scoring 7- 5-12. That kind of production in about one quarter of the season suggests the Oilers young giant winger can score enough to play on an NHL skill line. Puljujarvi’s five on five goals-per-60 (0.89) ranks second Lowetide: Oilers final 2020-21 report card: A regular season to remember on the Oilers and inside the league’s top-100 forwards. Puljujarvi can forecheck and turn over pucks on McDavid’s line with great frequency.

General manager Ken Holland was patient (or stubborn) with the young By Allan Mitchell Finn, and Puljujarvi has paid him back many times while setting up his NHL future beautifully. May 18, 2021 Jujhar Khaira, B: Khaira’s offence fell off in the second half (just 1-3-4 in his final 25 games) but he was a strong penalty killer and settled the bottom-six down after a shaky start. For the season, his 5.35 goals- As May dawned, with the NHL regular season just a couple of weeks against per 60 on the penalty kill ranked him No. 40 league-wide. He also from completion, the Edmonton Oilers were in a great spot. The April 30 centred a fourth line that went 13-15 at five-on-five goal differential, a standings saw the team in a solid second, three points up on the massive improvement from 2019-20 (Khaira was 15-34). His 1.68 pts-60 Winnipeg Jets and 13 points ahead of fifth-place Calgary Flames with at five on five, compiled early in the season, represents a career-best eight games to play. and could get him another contract. Edmonton was headed to the playoffs, an incredibly rare occurrence over Tyler Ennis, B: Based on his offensive game, Ennis should have been in the past 20 years. the lineup often. His 1.64 pts-60 at five on five ranked No. 4 among The final eight games of the year would bring clarity in the standings and Oilers forwards, but he played in just 30 games and averaged less than offer Connor McDavid and other Oilers to continue career seasons. The 12 minutes a game five on five. His on-ice goal differential in the anticipation of final point totals for the captain, for Leon Draisaitl and discipline (12-11) was solid, but he was 1-3 in just over 30 minutes with even Tyson Barrie gave fans good reason to tune in every night. Goalie McDavid and Tippett wanted penalty killers on his third and fourth lines. It Mike Smith’s exceptional performance was another reason the Oilers was a bizarre season for Ennis, who delivered in the areas a team should were must-see television as the season wore down in May. expect, but the Oilers preferred the two-way play of Kahun and Shore for almost the entire second half of the season. The Oilers winning percentage in 2020-21 (.643) is the highest since 1986-87. There are many reasons to regard this season as an outlier Alex Chiasson, C+: He is a bit of a Swiss-army knife for coach Dave (Edmonton faced only Canadian teams) but the team can only play the Tippett, scoring 5-2-7 (3.12 pts-60) on the power play and 4-5-9 (1.29 schedule in front of them. This team had an amazing season, a regular pts-60) at five on five. He was more productive five on five playing season to remember. bottom-six minutes than top-six wingers Yamamoto and Nugent-Hopkins. Chiasson is a free agent in the summer, and his power-play minutes may Even more impressive, the team finished 32-13-2 after beginning the move to Puljujarvi in 2021-22. It’s possible he does not return. Like many year 3-6-0. Despite losing the final game of the year to the Vancouver unrestricted free agents on the roster, his return may depend on his Canucks, Edmonton ended the season winning consistently and with all willingness to take a lesser contract in both term and cap hit. pistons firing. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, C: Nuge enters his free-agent summer coming off Edmonton’s even-strength goal share and save percentage across the a disappointing campaign. After averaging 16 even-strength goals a year board had been a strength since Mike Smith returned from injury. There over the previous four seasons, he scored just seven in 2020-21. He did was some wobble in May, although two games started by Mikko it while spending 53 percent of his five-on-five time with Connor Koskinen skewed the overall numbers. Still, there’s room for concern in McDavid—he was just 4-3-7 (1.07 pts-60) with the captain. That is the this area. most shocking stat in this article. RNH remains effective on the power A late run of excellence improved the penalty kill and the Oilers end the play (9-11-20, 5.48 pts-60) and that bumps his final mark up to season with the best special teams in the division. The goals-against respectable. His penalty-killing effectiveness slipped as well this season numbers faded a little but remain quality, especially when Mike Smith is (7.86 GA/60) before a strong May finish. It might be a one-season in net. As difficult as it might be for Oilers fans to accept, the club anomaly, but the Oilers can’t afford to make a mistake on a long-term delivered a quality season that is in the range of balance. The numbers deal. Nuge is 28 and showing signs of erosion offensively. He may not don’t lie. return.

Now to the final individual marks. Kailer Yamamoto, C: In his first 26 games this season, Yamamoto scored 6-7-13. That’s half-a-point per game and acceptable numbers for an up- Forwards and-coming winger who forechecks well, turns over pucks and has a motor that won’t quit. In the final 26 games, the offensive totals (2-6-8) Connor McDavid, A+: A generational player having a career year makes faded badly and the club rested him for the final two regular season for some fantastic numbers. McDavid’s five on five pts-60 (3.58) led the games. Yamamoto represented a major change in draft direction for league by a wide margin and is the highest total in a decade. He won the Edmonton who would never have drafted such a small player in the first scoring championship (and the Art Ross trophy that goes with it) by 21 round even a few years previous to his selection. He’s been mostly points. In McDavid’s final 41 games, exactly half of a normal NHL durable since January 2020 but the current season was disappointing season, he posted 24-54-78 totals and produced what is close to the and injury may have contributed. greatest era-adjusted season in league history. Puck IQ tells us he crushed elite competition, outscoring the best available competition 21- Dominik Kahun, C-: The German winger had a slow start but showed 13 over the season. In 2016-17, McDavid won the Hart, Ted Lindsay and glimpses of promise and came on later in the year. His three goals in Art Ross trophies and this summer could see a repeat. The most eight May games, and move to the McDavid line the same month cherished trophy in sports, the Stanley Cup, is closer to an Edmonton represent the biggest impact by Kahun in his first Oilers season. His two- summer today than at any point since 2006. McDavid is the biggest way acumen showed up when he was with Draisaitl at five on five, with reason for it and is playing hockey at breathtaking levels. his on-ice goal differential (14-10) reflecting success. His 1.22 pts-60 at five on five ranked No. 9 among Oilers regular forwards, another Leon Draisaitl, A+: Draisaitl won the Art Ross trophy in 2019-20 as the indicator he may be best deployed on the third line. league’s top scorer and the only reason he won’t win it this year is his linemate for much of the year (McDavid). Despite playing somewhat in Josh Archibald, C-: His May results (8 games, 1-3-4, 2.47 pts-60 at even the captain’s shadow, Draisaitl has a strong story to tell this season. His strength) were the most encouraging of the season and his overall totals five-on-five goal differential this season (55-33, 62.5 percent), a massive (7-6-13 in 51 games) made him one of the more successful Oilers improvement from previous seasons. His boxcar numbers (56 games, bottom-six forwards this year. His major strength is on the penalty kill, as 31-53-84) allowed him to finish second overall. His faceoff percentage he averaged over 2 minutes per game shorthanded and his goals-against (55.7) landed him inside the league’s top 20 for the season among per 60 (6.36) ranked No. 3 among Oilers forwards. He is signed for one regulars, and his 2.64 points-60 at five on five has him among the more year at $1.5 million and is a good bet to return to the same role in league’s top-20 offensive players in the discipline. If the Oilers are to win 2021-22. Stanley in the coming seasons, Draisaitl figures to be a central player. James Neal, D: He is one of the toughest players to grade because Neal Defensively, he posted a positive possession (Corsi) number relative to was placed on the Covid-19 list right at the beginning of the season and his teammates and played well after early struggles. His five on five on- struggled to stay in the lineup. He scored 5-5-10 in 29 games and ice goal differential with the captain (38-31, +7) was miles ahead of his finished 2-2-4 in the final 8 games of the season. He improved at five on totals without (16-18) McDavid, but within the range of other Oilers five, his 1.44 pts-60 ranked No. 6 on the team among forwards who defencemen. On the power play, where Barrie had tremendous success, played 250+ minutes. He went just 1-2-3 on the power play in just over Edmonton scored 34 goals in 190 minutes (10.8 pts-60). It’s unknown if 50 minutes, with Edmonton flourishing when he was on the ice with the Barrie will return but his one season in Edmonton was a big success. man advantage (13.6 points-60). His grade partly reflects his lack of availability at a position (left wing) he was badly needed this season. It’s Adam Larsson, A: Larsson equaled his career-high in goals (4) by possible Edmonton buys him out. scoring the final Oilers goal of the season, but he makes his NHL money by defending well. Puck IQ tracked him at 53.7 Dangerous Fenwick Gaetan Haas, D: If he could score at all, Haas would get a B. He’s an (smart Corsi) against elite competition (over 300 minutes). Elites scored outstanding penalty killer, with his GA-60 number (3.9) ranking him top- 2.00 goals-per-60 against Larsson during the year, the leading total 15 in the NHL among forwards with over 50 minutes in the discipline. He among the top-4 defencemen in 2020-21. He is rumoured to be signing a can skate very well, forechecks like his life depends on it and drew four four-year extension over the offseason, a logical move for a team that penalties as a fringe player (10 drawn when playing more than one year has no one on the team or in the system capable of taking over his heavy ago). He’s righthanded and can play centre, so why doesn’t Tippett play minutes. him more often? Haas is challenged offensively, scoring just 0.58 pts-60 (2-1-3) in just over 300 minutes five on five. He owns a unique skill set, Ethan Bear, A: Bear had an unusual start to the year by getting benched but in the NHL some offence is expected from forwards. and then suffering an injury that kept him out of the lineup for a time. His main role over the season came as a third-pairing option, but Puck IQ Devin Shore, D-: He arrived when coach Tippett was looking for a has him playing 214 minutes against elites and helping to deliver 59 penalty killer who could suppress goals against, and Shore delivered. He percent of the shot share five on five. That’s an exceptional number and went 5.31 goals-against per 60 on the penalty kill, just slightly better than implies Bear is a strong partner for Nurse on the top pair. In 258 minutes Khaira and just behind Haas, easily earning a regular shift and sending with Nurse, the Oilers won the goal share (14-13) and shot share (52.8 Ennis to the press box. The downside was Shore’s poor results at five on percent). Looking forward to next season, he could slide on to the top five, which included 9-17 on-ice goals (34.6 percent) and 2-4-6 scoring in pairing if Barrie exits via free agency. over 350 minutes (0.99 pts-60). Shore’s five-on-five performance warrants an F, but his penalty killing gets him some relief. Dmitry Kulikov, B: In just 10 games with Edmonton, Kulikov both calmed the waters on the second pairing and showed some unwelcome chaos in Kyle Turris, F: He played just four games after March 30, and for the doing routine chores. Overall, his shot differential at five on five (53.9) season delivered none of the offence hoped for while being as unreliable and goal differential (7-5) were quality, and he played 11 scoreless as feared in five on five outscoring. He finished 8-18 at five-on-five on ice minutes on the penalty kill. He picked up two assists and played well goal differential, while scoring 2-3-5 (1.05 pts-60). Things got a little enough to project onto the second pair for the postseason. He also better when Tippett moved him to wing, this looks like a substantial miss recovers from those routine errors quickly. But in the playoffs, unforced for the pro scouts. Edmonton could bring him back for the final year of his errors can be treacherous. contract but a buyout is possible. Evan Bouchard, B: He played in just 14 games, finishing 2-3-5 and Zack Kassian, F: He played in just 27 games, scored only 2-3-5 at five on teasing fans with his substantial talent. He finished 1.27 pts-60 at five on five (0.97 pts-60) and his on-ice goal differential was 8-12 in 2020-21. five, a number that not only put him near the top of the defencemen list Those numbers are a far cry from his 2019-20 numbers (15-17-32, 2.21 but also beat several forwards playing on skill lines. He succeeded on the pts-60 at five on five), a performance that saw him rewarded with a four- power play in extremely limited minutes and is clearly NHL-ready. year, $12.8 million contract. He got hurt in a February fight and hurt again Bouchard has also shown great maturity in a tough situation. When he in an April collision. There’s not a man on the roster more in need of was drafted, the management of the day hurried his NHL arrival. playoff redemption than Kassian, who has performed well for long Holland’s way is to slow play young players and that has to be a difficult stretches as a member of the Oilers. situation for Bouchard. Oilers fans will recall more than a few outbursts from youngsters in similar situations over the years, but Bouchard hasn’t There were several forwards who got into 10 or less games and who spoken a negative word. In a year when he was quality whenever given a received an incomplete grade: chance, that is perhaps his most impressive feat.

Ryan McLeod was a late-season recall from the Bakersfield Condors Kris Russell, C+: Russell is an unusual player because offence barely who ignited the third line. He played in 10 games, posting just one assist, exists when he’s on the ice (although he did get nine assists this but his line was over 50 percent in five on five shot share, he impressed season). Russell’s skill is in goal suppression, at five on five this season as a penalty killer and won 50.6 percent of 81 faceoffs. He’ll get a full opponents scored just 1.83 goals per 60. That was the best number on shot in the playoffs and in training camp in the fall. the team by a wide margin. Tippett uses Russell much like he uses Patrick Russell has served as No. 14 forward in both seasons Tippett has Larsson, in situations where it’s vital to prevent a goal, or with a partner been Edmonton’s coach. He played very little this year, just 8 games with who can balance the deficiencies. Russell is a fine penalty killer, his 6.2 two assists. Edmonton broke even five on five (3-3) when he was on the goals-against per 60 leading Oilers regulars and landing inside the ice. league’s top 50. Underappreciated by the fan base, and a different player than he was in his 20’s, Russell had a solid year. Joakim Nygard is a speed demon but hasn’t accomplished enough to stay in the lineup (has also been hurt). He had no crooked scoring Caleb Jones, C: Defencemen don’t develop in a straight line, and Jones numbers in nine games this season. bell curve did some meandering this season. Overall, it’s easy to see the quality. Jones at five on five helped the Oilers to a 50.4 shot share and Defencemen an expected goal percentage of 50 percent. The actual on-ice goal share was 11-18 (37.9 percent) and that number was second-worst on the Darnell Nurse, A+: Nurse enjoyed a career season in 2020-21, emerging team. Jones made the usual mistakes of youth and seemed for a time to as a complete talent. He impacted the game at both ends of the ice, fall into a defensive slump. He recovered in April (4-4 goals) before posting career highs in goals and goal differential while playing huge slipping in May (2-6) and these are the things that teams must endure minutes in all game states. Among NHL defencemen this season, his 29 from young blue. Jones has an NHL future, but it may not be in even-strength points tied him for second, while his 25:38 overall time on Edmonton. The expansion draft looms and the Seattle Kraken aren’t ice per game ranked No. 4 overall. His on-ice goal differential at five on going to hesitate in grabbing Jones if he’s available. It’s a real dilemma five (71-56, +15) was the best of his career. Natural Stat Trick had his for Holland. shot differential five on five at 50 percent, goal differential 55.9 percent. Part of his success came via a decision by Tippett to run Nurse-Barrie as William Lagesson, D: He played well for a time but Lagesson’s season a five-man unit at even strength. It should be noted that in 491 five on (19 games, 0-2-2) came in two very different chapters. Through his first five minutes away from McDavid, his goal differential was 21-21 (50 10 games, Lagesson’s five-on-five goal differential was 8-2 (+6), despite percent), a strong number compared to his fellow defenders. a shot share of just 42.7 percent. When a player is enjoying good luck, regression is a bad word. When it arrived for Lagesson in his final nine Tyson Barrie, A: He had an enormous offensive season, leading NHL games, the goal share (1-7) and shot share (31 percent) got him to the defencemen in points (48) and tying for second in power-play points (23). bench and then pressbox in record time. He did not play after April 8. It’s unlikely Lagesson will be protected in the expansion draft, but if he’s back next season look for him to compete for playing time on Edmonton’s third pairing. After this season, nothing is assured. The Athletic LOADED: 05.19.2021

Slater Koekkoek, D-: There’s good news and bad news. The bad news is that Koekkoek had a poor season, in fact his five-on-five numbers (4-12, -8) in just 18 games were an epic failure. The good news: He’s a far better player than the numbers suggest. His on-ice shooting percentage at five on five (4.44) was the lowest on the team and the save percentage (.896) was also ghastly. Most of his games were played before Mike Smith’s first game of the season (February 8) and he was injured shortly after. Among players regarded as fringe contributors on the Edmonton roster, Koekkoek has the best chance for redemption in the playoffs.

Goalies

Mike Smith, A+: Recently, a former NHL goalie asked me if the Oilers would have made the playoffs without Smith’s impact. My answer was no, although the Oilers would have made a move eventually if Smith hadn’t delivered when he returned from injury. The numbers are mind- boggling. Among goalies with 500 or more minutes played, Smith’s .927 five-on-five save percentage ranked No. 11, his overall (.923) was No. 8 in a field of 66 goaltenders. His 21 wins on the season ranked sixth among starters. All of this from an old goalie who just turned 39 and last posted a save percentage above .920 a decade ago. A season to remember from Smith and likely a new contract with the Oilers.

Mikko Koskinen, D: His .899 save percentage ranks him No. 50 among the 66 goalies who played 500 or more minutes in 2020-21, and .903 five on five is also well below league average. Koskinen had long stretches of good play (a 10-game run that began early February saw him post a .929 save percentage) but struggled at the end of the season. Edmonton management has shown faith in him and it’s likely Koskinen sees some playing time in the postseason. His performance in those games may dictate his NHL future.

Stuart Skinner, Incomplete: In one NHL game, he battled and won. Otherwise, Skinner posted a strong season with the Bakersfield Condors. The future in Edmonton’s net is as uncertain as it has been in years, that is fertile ground for all young netminders in the system.

Coaching and management

Dave Tippett, A+: Tippett has delivered the Oilers to the postseason for the second year in a row. He rode his veterans, bet on goal suppression at every turn, and drove some fans to distraction by not playing Bouchard and refusing to reprise the 2019-20 magic of the Nuge-Draisaitl- Yamamoto line. His job is to make the playoffs and be decisive in personnel decisions, and in those areas he delivered. He did promote youth (Jesse Puljujarvi, William Lagesson, Ryan McLeod) when there was a roster opening and faded the rest. He let the offensive horses run and put the McDavid and Draisaitl lines in a position to succeed. His relentless attention to the penalty kill once again resulted in the team’s bottom two lines being a drag on goal differential at even strength. He also managed to make both special teams the best in the North Division. He earned the mark.

Ken Holland, A+: I contemplated giving Holland a lower grade for two reasons: The start of the year when he risked (and lost) third goalie Anton Forsberg, and now when the organization didn’t employ third goalie Alex Stalock for even a minute of NHL hockey. Two months from now, it could be a big damn deal and the GM did leave his team without a proven and tested No. 3 option. However, Smith and Koskinen both delivered quality for most of the season and a couple of bad outings by Koskinen at the end of the season didn’t change management’s opinion. I can respect that decision.

Beyond those things, Holland had a terrific year in the general manager’s chair. After being unable to sign Jacob Markstrom in free agency, Holland checked down and used the money on Barrie, Smith and Kahun. Music! Plenty of luck involved, but general managers get blamed for bad luck so should get credit when things work out.

The farm, A+: If you look at the number of contributing players on the current roster (including Leon Draisaitl, as Daniel Nugent-Bowman wrote about brilliantly for The Athletic), it’s impossible to ignore the growing quality and quantity the Bakersfield Condors are providing to the parent team. Holland slow-plays youngsters, we’re seeing that now with Bouchard, and the result is more success on arrival and instantly using the AHL players as plug-and-plays. This system frustrates fans, but works. That’s the key. 1188312 Edmonton Oilers goaltending stats are among the best in the NHL and he should be in the discussion for a Vezina Trophy.

“I’m just so proud of him,” Brigitte said. “He’s kind of blown me away just ‘It’s kind of freaky how he’s getting better’: At 39, Mike Smith bounced with certain situations he’s had to deal with. His body, that’s his tool, and back in a big way for the Oilers he takes care of it. In some ways, it’s kind of freaky how he’s getting better.”

When Smith was a kid playing hockey at the Piccadilly Arena in By Scott Burnside Frontenac County near Kingston, Ont., every week the coach would ask who wanted to play goal the next week. Every week Smith would have May 18, 2021 his hand up. Eventually, through attrition, he became the team’s goaltender.

Three times this season Brigitte Smith has packed up the four kids — He played junior hockey in Kingston and Sudbury and was selected by aged 9, 8, 6 and 4 — and made the trek through the mountains of British the Dallas Stars with the 161st overall pick in 2001. He spent four years Columbia and Alberta to Edmonton. in the minors, including half a season with the Lexington Men O’War of the ECHL. The first trip included a new rescue hunting dog. Two minutes into the drive the overexcited dog pooped. “I felt I’d never get a chance to play in the NHL,” Smith recalled. “Looking back on it now it was probably the best thing that ever happened to me.” “The kids were all just like, ‘Aaaaaahhhhhh,’” Brigitte recalled. He learned his craft and wherever he went Smith made an immediate One trip included not one rescue dog but two. impression.

“That was Mike’s idea,” Brigitte laughs. Maybe it was the long hair. Or the enthusiasm. Or the straight out athleticism. Maybe it was the hugs. But each of the trips has had about it a kind of feel of the epic. Because it’s not just a trip, it’s a quest and what lies at the end of all great quests? “He gives you a bear hug,” said longtime NHL netminder Dan Ellis. “And A prize. not just a little bro hug. But a deep, hearty hug that says ‘I love you.’”

“It has been really difficult for us to be apart,” Brigitte said. “It’s been Ellis was also a Dallas draft pick and the two crossed paths at various really hard but at the same time there’s a payoff, in the end, no matter points of their respective careers. Utah, Iowa, Tampa. what.” “All around he’s just an incredible person before you even get to the And the payoff is time for the Smith family to be together again, as goaltending aspect,” Ellis said. “He treats everyone likes they’re family.” Brigitte and the kids join father and husband Mike Smith, starting netminder for the Edmonton Oilers. For star Dallas netminder Marty Turco, seeing a young Smith in Dallas was to see an earlier version of himself. Would it be easier to stay home and video chat with dad? Sure. “I was always raw but this guy was just a clay pot waiting to be formed,” But easy isn’t exactly in the Smith family vocabulary. And what prize isn’t Turco said. “And he had all the attributes.” worth a little sacrifice along the way. Like, say, the Stanley Cup. Smith moved in with Turco and his family. It would be a fortuitous Yes, Connor McDavid is going to win the Hart Trophy to go with his moment on a number of levels. runaway scoring title. But if the Oilers are going to beat the Jets in the opening round of the NHL playoffs, and perhaps take the team’s first A native of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Turco had taken over a charity golf deep playoff run since 2006, they will do so because Smith, 39, will be tournament run by Hall of Fame Sault native Ron Francis. He invited instrumental in carrying them there. Smith to come up for the weekend.

“He’s having such an amazing year and it just goes to show that he has a The day was long. But as it turned out, Brigitte Acton, an Olympic skier, lot of perseverance,” Brigitte said. was also from the Soo and was tabbed to be a celebrity in Turco’s charity event. This past offseason, Smith was a free agent. Turco placed Brigitte in the group in front of his young teammate. The He’d spent the pandemic-shorted 2019-20 season with Edmonton but the first time the two interacted, Brigitte asked Smith if he knew where the Oilers were looking around at lots of different options. They wanted very washroom was. much to sign Jacob Markstrom, who ended up down the road in Calgary. They called on other goaltenders. From such modest beginnings a family, a life.

Smith waited and waited. There were no calls. First time that had “Now it seems like yesterday,” he said. “I hadn’t played one game in the happened. NHL yet and she was an Olympian. She was more famous than I was at the time.” “And he said, ‘Maybe I’m done,’” Brigitte recalled. You don’t play close to 650 NHL regular-season games as a goaltender But it didn’t feel like he was done. Not to him or his family. without having some ups and downs and some moments of self-doubt or indecision. “It’s the first time I think where he hadn’t had a call,” she said. “But he said, ‘I don’t feel like I’m done.’” At the 2008 trade deadline, Smith was dealt to Tampa. The rebuilding Bolts were looking to find a new franchise netminder and felt Smith had He also did something that was very much Mike Smith-like. the chops to be that guy. Instead, the trade to Tampa would ultimately He did not mope. He found an outlet and that outlet turned out to be foil lead to one of the lowest points in Smith’s career. sailing. “You’re traded for Brad Richards so you know the expectation is you’re That’s the solo sailing where the boat rises up out of the water like a going to be a number one goalie and it didn’t go as planned,” Smith said. hydrofoil and tears across the water. It’s not easy. But Smith taught Things were so unsettled in the Tampa goal that during the 2010-11 himself from scratch, scouring the internet for videos and instructions. season, Tampa GM Steve Yzerman acquired veteran netminder Dwayne And then, there he was, out on the lake, foiling along much to the delight Roloson from the Islanders. of Brigitte and the kids. Smith ended up being put on waivers. Finally, the phone rang. The Oilers wondered if Smith would like to come back on a one-year deal. “I think that was the lowest of the lows,” Smith said. “No one picked me up. And kind of for the first time, I’m like, ‘Man, I’m done.’ I think I was 25, As it turns out, Smith’s $1.5 million salary might be the best bargain 26 and I’m done.” Oilers GM Ken Holland has ever found. Smith finished the regular season with 21-6-2 record and .923 save percentage. His advanced Brigitte was pregnant at the time and a few days after Smith landed in “Smitty’s understanding of the game is what makes him so good. His Norfolk she loaded up the couple’s dog and made the day-long drive to competitiveness, those are the things that stood out,” Doan said. “He and join her husband. I got to be really, really close.”

The two talked about what was next. But that closeness did not come at the expense of the competitive side of things. “Mike’s always been told from when he was younger, ‘Oh, you’re not going to make it to the NHL,’” Brigitte said. “But it’s his perseverance that “We were both so competitive it could make the room a little awkward,” has just gotten him to where he is today.” Doan admitted. “We could get in each other’s faces. People were not sure if this was going to be okay. But at the same time, he was literally The couple were there only in Norfolk a short time before Tampa needed like a brother and we could be so open and honest with each other. I’m a Smith as a backup. And from the ashes of that 2010-11 season came a huge fan of his heart.” brief spark, one that would again change the course of Smith’s career. Sometimes when players reach a certain age everything is shot through That summer, netminder Ilya Bryzgalov left the Coyotes for big money in that prism. It defines who they are. So successes and failures are all Philadelphia. Arizona GM Don Maloney didn’t have a lot of money to relative to age. The same thing happens to the very young. So the spend but the Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett spoke highly of Smith teenage rookie in the NHL and the 40-year goaltender are sometimes and the Coyotes signed him. treated the same way, as though their actions on the ice are a reflection Working with longtime NHL netminder and one of the most successful only of their age, both good and bad. goalie coaches in the game, Sean Burke, Smith refined how he played Some players can accept that will be the case. Some, especially older the position in Arizona and it catapulted him to the upper echelon of NHL players, bristle at the notion that their accomplishments are only seen as netminders. The experience created a foundation for what has sustained relative to their age. As in, wow, he’s playing pretty good for an old guy. Smith through the past decade. “I could care less what people are saying or talking about,” Smith said. “From a movement perspective, to be more efficient with his athleticism “I’ve said all along age is just a number whether you’re in pro sports or and his size along with his puck-playing ability,” Turco said of Smiths not.” evolution in Arizona. “I’m just so proud of him. No, I’m not surprised. And it shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody else if you spent more than two The dynamic that brought Smith to Edmonton isn’t all that different from minutes with this man.” the one that saw Smith land in Phoenix.

Smith adopted a style that sees him play deeper in his crease that allows Tippett, now the Edmonton bench boss, of course, knew what Smith was him to maximize his body’s strengths, Ellis added. going to bring to the table and it’s one of the reasons he was more than comfortable having him return this season. But what he has delivered on “Technically, he’s sound in all aspects,” Ellis said. “Laterally his the ice has beyond anyone’s reasonable expectations. positioning is fantastic. He’s got a good glove. He’s always putting himself in a position to make a save, he’s not chasing it.” “Everybody wants to play a long time but sometimes guys get tired of putting the work in that allows you to play,” Tippett said. “That’s where he When you have a burning desire to continue to learn, not necessarily just sets himself apart. He puts the work in. play, but learn, “sometimes the game gets easier,” Ellis explained. “He’s just a machine. He’s so strong. So well-built. He puts so much work in “Mentally he’s still as strong as ever. He just kind of galvanizes his the summertime.” position with the team. And he’s easy to follow.”

Longtime netminder Jason LaBarbera met Smith when Smith arrived in It’s easy to imagine a story like this as a kind of retrospective. Does Phoenix before the start of the 2011-12 season. No one was quite sure Smith view it through the same lens? how the tandem would work out but Smith ended up commanding the net and he and LaBarbera became close friends. “I don’t think so,” he said. “Obviously over the course of my career, I’ve had time to reflect on what I have and haven’t accomplished.” “He took that tough situation in Tampa and turned it into a positive,” LaBarbera said. “Once he got the ball he never let it go.” While there have been lots of highs, including an Olympic gold medal in 2014 as the third goalie for Team Canada, there is a place on the Smith Smith played 67 games, won 38 and had a .930 save percentage while mantel for a Stanley Cup replica. finishing fourth in Vezina Trophy voting. So all the talk of legacy and future and what next or anything like that is “We hit it off right away. I was more of an inner intense guy, Mike wears fodder for another day. his emotions on his sleeve,” LaBarbera said. “It’s just so hard to imagine that when you’re in the moment, when you’re LaBarbera has made Calgary his home since retiring. He spent four playing you are just in the zone,” Smith said. “I still enjoy it. I just enjoy years as the goalie coach with the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen and this year the camaraderie, going to the rink, putting in the work it takes, that you joined the Flames’ staff as goaltending coach, a vantage point that need to put in physically, mentally. I love that part of it. And when that allowed him a fresh look at his old pal. goes away that’s probably when I’ve had enough.”

“His game hasn’t really changed a whole lot,” LaBarbera said. “Anybody Maybe someday Smith will be happy just to have a job. To simply be on who knows Mike knows that if he’s confident there’s not many guys an NHL roster. better in the league. Like this year.” Maybe. But not now. Stylistically Smith has learned to stay centered, to play in the middle of the ice. “It’s just the drive that I have,” he added. “That’s the one thing this year I proved that I could still play at a high level, and that I still have it in me to That 2011-12 season remains a high water mark for Smith and the entire play well.” Coyotes organization.

The Coyotes knocked off Chicago in the first round before beating Nashville and then losing to eventual Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles The Athletic LOADED: 05.19.2021 in the Western Conference final.

The series victory of the Blackhawks was particularly memorable.

“That was as close to one person single-handedly winning a series as I’ve ever seen,” longtime Arizona captain Shane Doan said. “I’m still so beyond grateful for that opportunity. That was amazing. Smitty, I mean he beat Chicago. It was amazing to watch. His ‘A’ game is as good as anyone that I’ve ever seen.”

Even now, almost a decade later, Doan is hardly surprised that Smith continues to be an elite NHL netminder. 1188313 Florida Panthers

Panthers fall to Lightning in Game 2, squander home-ice advantage in series

BY WALTER VILLA MIAMI HERALD WRITER

MAY 18, 2021 11:00 PM

The gamble didn’t work.

The birthday boy couldn’t celebrate.

Home ice was squandered.

All of that and more was true Tuesday night as the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Florida Panthers 3-1 at the BB&T Center.

The Lightning, which got goals from Steven Stamkos, Ondrej Palat and Yanni Gourde and 32 saves from Andrei Vasilevskiy, grabbed a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 first-round playoff series. Game 3 is on Thursday night at Tampa Bay.

One of the biggest moments of the game happened before the puck was dropped as Panthers coach benched starting goalie Sergei Bobrovsky in favor of Chris Driedger, who turned 27 on Tuesday and got his first playoff start.

Driedger made 25 saves, but the Panthers — who lost 5-4 on Sunday — managed just one goal this time, by Mason Marchment. It was Marchment’s first career playoff goal.

Tampa Bay opened the scoring just 4:52 into the first period. Stamkos, given way too much time and space by the Panthers, waited and waited before he slipped a short cross-ice pass. Panthers defenseman Anton Stralman tried to break up the play, but the puck went in off his skates.

Florida’s offense went dry early, going eight minutes between shots on goal in the first period.

The Lightning then made it 2-0 with 14:57 gone in the first. Brayden Point’s speed made the play as he skated past Panthers defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, who was beaten badly. Point’s shot caromed off the far post, but Palat cleaned up the long rebound that skipped past Florida’s Gustav Forsling.

Florida, which got outshot 16-9 in the first period, came alive in the second. With 5:39 left in the period, Carter Verhaeghe’s pass from behind Tampa Bay’s net found Marchment, who redirected the puck over Vasilevskiy’s blocker.

The Panthers outshot Tampa Bay 11-4 in the second, but they couldn’t get the equalizer.

Quenneville pulled Driedger for an extra attacker with 2:17 left in the third period, and Gourde made the Panthers pay, scoring an empty-net goal with 85 seconds left, icing the game.

THIS AND THAT

▪ Panthers forward Sam Bennett, who had two assists in the series opener, served his one-game league suspension on Tuesday. Bennett was suspended for boarding Blake Coleman. Lightning coach Jon Cooper called it a “predatory” hit and said it was “tough to watch.”

▪ The Panthers replaced Bennett with an extra defenseman, using Stralman, who was a healthy scratch on Sunday.

▪ Panthers winger Owen Tippett on Sunday became the first Panthers rookie to score a playoff goal since David Nemirovsky in 1997.

Miami Herald LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188314 Florida Panthers It wasn’t goaltending that has Florida in a 2-0 hole. Florida drew within 2-1 14:21 into the second period when Mason

Marchment converted service from Aleksander Barkov and Carter Florida Panthers, and hopes of fans, in peril with 3-1 Game 2 playoff loss Verhaeghe. to Tampa Bay But the desperately sought tying goal did not happen.

“Couldn’t buy the goal we were looking for,” Quenneville said. BY GREG COTE Florida desperately pulled its goalie with 2:17 to play. MAY 18, 2021 10:45 PM Tampa’s empty-net third goal came 52 seconds later.

These teams are so close, so even. Both games have been. How much do you still believe now, Florida Panthers fans? Better But all that isn’t close is all that matters today: question: Is that faith fortified with actual confidence, or wobbling on the balsa wood legs of wishful thinking? Tampa Bay, 2-0.

Down 2-0 in a best-of-7 series after Tuesday night’s 3-1 Panthers home The story line after Florida’s 5-4 Game 1 loss was that the Panthers had loss, with Games 3 and 4 in Tampa Bay, against the reigning NHL won the 5-on-5 battle but lost on account of penalties. Well, no duh. The champions — that will challenge and shake the faith of any mere mortal. Cats’ defensive penalty killing was awful as Tampa went 3-for-4 on the power play. Florida coach Joel Quenneville, pedigreed NHL champion, spoke postgame in a way that suggests a pointed team meeting on “I know it sucks, but it happened,” as Barkov put it, quite eloquently. Wednesday. Tuesday there was no such excuse. The referees blessedly swallowed “We need more guys who are at their best,” he said. “There’s more there their whistles. There were zero penalties in the first period, unheard of for from certain guys.” a playoff series of this rivalry and vitriol.

These teams are so close, so even. If excitement were quantifiable, Florida beat Tampa five of eight games in the regular season but this is a playoff hockey would win. The run for the Stanley Cup should be different Lightning squad. Stamkos healthy after a month out is a big sponsored by cardiologists. difference. Nikita Kucherov back after missing the entire regular season injured is the big difference. So here is what will happen now: The Lightning’s winning pedigree factors in somewhere, too, at least for The Panthers will do what few in hockey expect them to right now: Win believers in intangible stuff like that. four of the next five games against their bitter state rivals. Some rough luck has hit the Panthers, sure. Or the Panthers will do what they do: Continue the historic ignominy of having not won a single Stanley Cup playoff series since 1996. Kucherov coming back for Tampa. The disallowed goal in Game 1. Forward Sam Bennett suspended from Game 2 for a less-than-felonious If that seems harsh, sorry. But after the Cats’ best regular season in boarding call. Heck, the very fact that the NHL’s pandemic-altered playoff franchise history sent hopes to the moon, there are no points here for format this year had the Cats facing the league champs in the first round. heart, effort and no-quit. No participation ribbons. Win a playoff series. Period. All of it must be overcome.

“We are a confident group,” said Aleksander Barkov after the loss. “Just It’s what you do if you are a long off-radar franchise meaning to matter at stick together as a team. Every game, every shift, we are going to battle last. to the end.” One of the Panthers’ playoff marketing mottos is, “The Moment Is Now.” There is no in-between at this point. Oh, but it is. It will be an epic comeback for the biggest signature triumph in Cats postseason history — a ride that will enthrall South Florida with hockey for truly the first time in 25 years. Miami Herald LOADED: 05.19.2021 Or it will be just the latest disappointment in a parade of them.

This is the beauty of sports, and also the brutality of it.

Unscripted, your team is about to give you a memory you’ll remember for decades, or deeply hurt your heart and soul.

Tampa Bay did what it needed to do to help deflate the home-ice edge the sonic-loud Panthers crowd meant to bring. It was 50 percent capacity again due to COVID protocols and another 9,000-plus fans, but it sounded like a full arena.

A fast 2-0 deficit will do something about that ambiance.

“We fell asleep a couple times,” Barkov said.

Lightning struck just 4:52 in on a Steven Stamkos goal off Cats defenseman Anton Stralman in the crease. Stamkos — the Panthers- killer of long standing, with his 34th goal in 56 career games vs. Florida.

It was 2-0 Tampa on an Ondrej Palat shot 14:57 into the same first period.

Chris Driedger replaced Sergei Bobrovksy in goal for the Cats, making his first NHL playoff start on his 27th birthday. Could have been a sweet happy birthday story. The Lightning ruined it. This wasn’t about Driegs- or-Bob, though. No controversy here. Nothing to see. Bobrovsky’s 30 season starts and Driedger’ 23 made them all but co-starters.

“A little bit of nerves for sure,” admitted Driedger. 1188315 Florida Panthers “We’re seeing a lot of interest,” Thornton added. “I’m biased because I played the sport, but I don’t think there’s any atmosphere in sports quite like an NHL playoff game. We’re the only sport that’s 200-by-85 with no out of bounds. The energy, the intensity, the speed, you can literally feel Sellout crowd, including a fired-up Brian Flores, pack BB&T Center in it when you’re sitting in here. The crowd we had tonight and last game pandemic record just embraces and amplifies it.”

Maybe the Panthers should sign on Flores for the rest of the playoff run. After getting the crowd amped up prior to a second-period power play, BY ADAM H. BEASLEY the Panthers got finally on the board — and back in the game. MAY 18, 2021 09:45 PM

Miami Herald LOADED: 05.19.2021 Now, with all eyes set on Sunrise, there’s only one thing left to do: Whatever it takes!

Through sacrifice, skill, and heart. For yourself. For each other. For the territory. WIN! The battle continues tonight. We fear no one!

Get on your feet. It’s time for Game 2.

And with those spirited commands from Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores, blasted from the big screen above center ice, the Florida Panthers were back in action Tuesday against their rival Tampa Bay Lightning.

Nearly 10,000 seats were full — the most allowed by the NHL at the Sunrise arena. The crowd was in a frenzy.

In a region without a lot of hockey playoff experience, South Florida looked — and sounded — the part.

Miami is an event town. And Tuesday night was most certainly an event. COVID-19 is on its way out, and South Florida has responded. Tuesday’s sellout crowd was the region’s biggest indoor sporting event since the pandemic began.

“I think the restrictions have relaxed a little bit,” said Charles Metzger, a Boca Raton-based physician who bought lower-bowl seats with his friends and 560 The Joe personalities Marc Hochman and Alejandro Solana.

“I’m vaccinated, my friends are vaccinated. Felt comfortable with that. Just wanted to see a good game, get back into some action. Real life.”

A sizable chunk of the Miami Dolphins organization felt the same way. Flores and general manager Chris Grier were among roughly 40 members of the team’s coaching and personnel staffs who packed a couple of suites.

It was Flores’ second trip to Sunrise on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, Flores — as Panthers exec Shawn Thornton put it — “snuck in the back door” to tape Game 2’s introductory hype video.

When asked why it was important to him to show support, Flores replied:

“Because I love supporting the teams in South Florida. The Panthers have been fun to watch all season. I love their competitiveness and fight. I’m all in.”

The Panthers, who trailed by two goals at the first intermission, hope that enthusiasm is contagious.

By most every metric, this has been a great year for the team, even with COVID-19 capacity restrictions.

Their local television ratings were the highest in 17 years.

And the deeper they can go in the postseason, the more they hope they’re able to fill the arena.

“Right now, it’s all about league protocols,” Thornton said. “We have to achieve a certain humidity level, dew point level and CFM [cubic air feet per minute] rating. We have to bring in a certain amount of treated outside air into the building for air flow.

“We’ve been running tests nontstop,” Thornton added. “We’ve been bringing in extra dehumidifiers, cooling units, air treatment to try to get the number to the level where we can up the capacity.”

With just four playoff appearances since the turn of the century, opportunities like this to significantly build the fan base are rare.

The Panthers are determined not to let it go to waste. 1188316 Florida Panthers When Driedger went to the bench with 2:17 left, the night was down to its last gasp. Patric Hornqvist had a point-on rebound. But when Tampa Bay’s Yanni Gourde picked up a turnover and threw it in the open net, that was it. Another Panthers loss — but another night of what can be in South Florida The hope. The game. The season?

A more immediate question: Is Driedger starting Game 3 on Thursday in Tampa? He gave up the two goals — and one went off his own By DAVE HYDE defenseman.

SOUTH FLORIDA SUN SENTINEL But, again in Game 2, you didn’t have to know too much hockey to see Tampa Bay has more top-end talent. That’s why they won they Cup last MAY 18, 2021 AT 11:01 PM year — why they’ve been in the mix for several years.

“We’ve got to play a little more checking game, grind them down, like we So they lost again. have all season,” Panthers defenseman MacKenzie Weegar said. “We’ve got to get back to our game.” And they won something, too. Maybe they pull a surprise in Tampa Bay. This year has pulled enough of So the Florida Panthers were outclassed at home in Game 2 by Tampa them. But if this season showed what they can do, these two games also Bay on Tuesday night, 3-1. showed something more than the work that’s left on this roster.

And they moved up a little in class if you listened around South Florida, It showed there’s a pulse in this hockey market that was flat-line gone for too. so long. That’s a win for this franchise. More than that, it’s a start.

On the ice, the Panthers fell behind the defending Stanley Cup champs by a probably fatal 2-0 in this best-of-seven first-round series and no one would be surprised if the season doesn’t return from Tampa for a Game Sun Sentinel LOADED: 05.19.2021 5.

[Popular in Sports] Heat to open Saturday in Milwaukee, in gold uniforms; Jrue Holiday says Bucks more talented »

If that’s it, if the season doesn’t return, it was a start of what could be. A start. A glimpse of what still can happen in South Florida after so much hockey irrelevance over the past quarter-century.

Did you hear the talk after Game 1? Of course you did, the buzz was all the way up to hockey Canada?

Did you see Dolphins coach Brian Flores waving a towel and cheerleading the noise higher in Game 2? That epitomized the fun of these two nights.

Now ask this tougher question: Was this a start for this franchise in building this game — or another false start in the way so many other good seasons looked?

There’s hope still in this year. More than that, there’s a hockey pulse in this market. Let’s not go overboard. It’s restrained by sports standards. The newspapers and talk shows couldn’t sustain the Panthers big question of the night, the one that was organizational as much as tactical.

A hockey market would have gone crazy asking: Would the Panthers stick with Sergei Bobrovsky, whom they invested $72 million in and played a good Game 1 despite the gaudy five goals against? Or did they go with Chris Driedger, who will likely be gone at season’s end, had never started in the playoffs ... and was better than Bobrovsky this season.

They went with Driedger. And good for them. They played to win, hoping some hockey alchemy of a new goalie and challenged defense might improve their on-ice calculus.

You don’t need to know hockey to understand the organizational implications. How will Bobrovsky react? What does it say about their faith in Bobrovsky despite the heavy price tag? Where do they go from here?

When Tampa Bay charged to a 2-0 lead in the first period, it wasn’t a matter of goal-tending — just as it wasn’t with Bobrovsky. It was mostly Tampa Bay’s top-drawer talent. It also was some shoddy Panthers defense — again, same for Bobrovsky.

Driedger was fine. He was good. And when Mason Marchment steadied the night by putting a pass from Aleksander Barkov in the goal there was a path for the Panthers.

When they killed off a penalty to start the third period, the path got clearer.

When they got a power play midway through the third period.

When Barkov skated in with open ice, well, they couldn’t ask for anything more. And it didn’t happen. Later, Barkov’s line had a full run at the net. And it wouldn’t happen. 1188317 Florida Panthers comeback, pulling their goalie with just over two minutes to play. Gourde scored on the empty net with 1:25 remaining.

Between the first-period goals, Panthers defenseman MacKenzie Two early goals for Lightning put Panthers down 2-0 in first-round series Weegar made an impressive goal-saving back check to stop Point and Kucherov on a 2-on-1. The Lightning also had a 3-on-1 opportunity where they failed to get a shot on goal, but they had 16 of those to the Panthers’ nine in the first. By DAVID FURONES [Popular in Sports] Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo discusses racial divide SOUTH FLORIDA SUN SENTINEL from heart of racial divide » MAY 18, 2021 AT 11:49 PM After both teams played much of Game 1 on the power play and the Lightning converted three goals on those chances, neither team got a power play in the first period. Each then had one in the second but came SUNRISE — Game 1 was an epic back-and-forth battle that reminded up empty. South Florida fans of the beauty of playoff hockey, even in defeat for the Florida Panthers. In Game 2, there were no such fireworks for the The Lightning started the third with a man advantage because of a Panthers. roughing call against Weegar at the end of the second period, but it was quickly wiped away because Kucherov was called for tripping Anthony After the four lead changes on Sunday night, Florida never led in the Duclair. The Panthers had another power play in the middle of the third second game of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the but came up empty again. Tampa Bay Lightning. Early goals from Steven Stamkos and Ondrej Palat — plus a late empty-netter from Yanni Gourde — dumped the “The first game was a little more open — a lot of 4-on-4 hockey, a lot of Panthers, 3-1, on Tuesday night at the BB&T Center. power plays and whatnot,” Weegar said. “This game was a little more tight, 5-on-5 hockey.” “They had the lead they were looking for,” said Panthers coach Joel Quenneville, “so it was a lot more patient of a game, a lot more The Panthers played Tuesday without center Sam Bennett, who served a structured of a game.” one-game suspension for boarding Tampa’s Blake Coleman in the third period of Florida’s Game 1 loss on Sunday night. Down 2-0 in the series with a pair of home losses to the defending champs, the Panthers need a split over the next two games in Tampa With two games in South Florida down, the series shifts to Tampa Bay just to bring the series back to Sunrise. The home-ice advantage they for the next two, beginning with Thursday night’s Game 3 in a 6:30 p.m. fought for over the final two regular-season wins has now been puck drop. obliterated after the Lightning already stripped the Panthers of it in Game

1. Sun Sentinel LOADED: 05.19.2021 “We go home, but we reflect back and we come back with a fresh attitude and appetite,” said Quenneville. “We got our work cut out going to Tampa. We’ve had success there.”

Added star Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov of the outlook with the series deficit: “We got to win four games, and it doesn’t matter how.”

Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy saved 32 of 33 Panthers shots on goal for the win. Panthers goalie Chris Driedger, who shut out the Lightning in the regular-season finale and was making his first postseason start on his 27th birthday, had 26 saves.

“That was pretty special. It was pretty great,” said Driedger of getting the postseason experience and handling himself well. “That was my first pro playoff start, so it was a lot of years waiting for that.”

Like Sergei Bobrovsky in Sunday’s Game 1, though, it wasn’t good enough against Vasilevskiy in the other net, who is a favorite to win the NHL’s Vezina Trophy for top goalie.

Also like in Game 1, the Lightning were first to score. Stamkos was on a 2-on-1 with Alex Killorn, who dished to Stamkos and, as he was passing back to Killorn, the puck deflected off of veteran Florida defenseman Anton Stralman for the goal 4:52 into Game 2.

Later in the first period, Palat scored on a wrist shot off a rebound from a Brayden Point shot off the crossbar. Game 1 heroes Point and Nikita Kucherov were credited with the assists.

Making the early Lightning goals more difficult to swallow was that they came off of a couple of unfortunate bounces.

“It’s definitely frustrating,” said Driedger. “Usually, in games like that, you want to get a bounce yourselves. Those happen every once in a while, but kind of a tough bounce for sure.”

Said Quenneville: “You got to earn your breaks. Fortunate or not fortunate, the effort’s there.”

Down two goals deep into the second period, Mason Marchment put the Panthers on the board, tapping in the puck over Vasilevskiy off a pass up front from Carter Verhaeghe after Barkov dug it from behind the net to Verhaeghe.

Florida increased its defensive pressure in the second as Tampa Bay was held to four shots on goal in the period after ripping off 16 in the first. But the Panthers ultimately never found the net again to complete the 1188318 Florida Panthers Said Wennberg of playing alongside Huberdeau: “I played with him in the past and know what type of player he is. It’s part of hockey.”

Added Quenneville of Lammikko’s insertion: “He played a great last Panthers to start Driedger in net for Game 2 vs. Lightning, adjust lines game of the year in that role. He skates well, big guy.” with Bennett suspended Bennett has reinvented himself in Florida after the April 12 deal that brought him to the Panthers, along with a 2022 sixth-round pick, from the Calgary Flames for Emil Heineman and a 2022 second-round pick. By DAVID FURONES Bennett notched 15 points — six goals and nine assists — in 10 regular- season games with the Panthers, more than he produced in 38 games SOUTH FLORIDA SUN SENTINEL with Calgary this year (12). MAY 18, 2021 AT 12:03 PM Bennett’s penalty on Sunday resulted in the Lightning power play that led to Brayden Point’s tying goal with 7:00 remaining before Point later won it on a breakaway goal with 1:14 to play. SUNRISE — For Chris Driedger’s birthday, Florida Panthers coach Joel Quenneville put the goaltender in net for Game 2 against the Tampa Bay It was an eventful third period for Bennett as he also had assists on the Lightning over Sergei Bobrovsky. Panthers’ two earlier goals that flipped a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 advantage — one for Huberdeau and another by Tippett off a Huberdeau feed. Quenneville announced Driedger, who turned 27 on Tuesday, as starter after the team’s morning skate at BB&T Center.

“All year long, he did everything we would want. It’s an opportunity,” Sun Sentinel LOADED: 05.19.2021 Quenneville said. “When we’re looking at goaltending, we see how it’s going to play out in the playoffs, and we’re going to take it one game at a time. He hasn’t had this [playoff] chance for two years here, so we feel it’s the right time to give him this opportunity.”

While Bobrovsky allowed five goals in the Panthers’ 5-4 Game 1 loss, three of them came on the power play. Quenneville said the decision was about giving Driedger the opportunity and not due to Bobrovsky’s Game 1 performance.

“All year long, it was the same thing. Bobrovsky was fine. Driedger has been more than fine,” Quenneville said. “But they’ve both been back and forth all year. … He’s played extremely well in the Tampa games, as well.”

As Florida’s second goalie, Driedger ranked fourth in the NHL during the regular season with his .927 save percentage and fifth with a 2.07 goals against average. He got 23 starts to Bobrovsky’s 30 in the regular season.

Driedger was 2-0-1 in regular-season games against Tampa Bay. He shut out a watered-down version of the playoff Lightning — without star forwards Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos or productive defenseman Victor Hedman — in the finale on May 10. Driedger also won against the Lightning on Feb. 15, 6-4, and got the Panthers to overtime for a 3-2 loss on April 15.

“We got two great goalies,” defenseman Brandon Montour said. “Whoever’s in the net, we trust whoever’s there. It’s one of those things where maybe I play the puck a little different, but talk, help each other out.”

After the NHL announced on Monday that forward Sam Bennett was suspended for Game 2 of the Panthers’ first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning for boarding Lightning center Blake Coleman, Quenneville reacted after Tuesday’s morning skate.

“It’s what it is, and we’re going to deal with it and learn and move forward,” Quenneville said. “I think they raised their antenna up right when it happened after the game. … We let them do their thing, and we’ll go from there.”

Lightning coach Jon Cooper had a stronger opinion of the Bennett hit. After Sunday’s Game 1, he called it “predatory.”

In Bennett, the Panthers lose a productive second-line center, who has played with wingers Jonathan Huberdeau and rookie Owen Tippett since being acquired at the trade deadline.

At morning skate, the Panthers elevated each of their centers behind Bennett. Alex Wennberg moved up from his usual third line to run with Bennett’s linemates. Noel Acciari was with the third line at center, and Juho Lammikko, who scored a goal in the regular-season finale against the Lightning, was inserted as the fourth-line center.

“We did that prior to [the playoffs] when that happened,” Quenneville said. “I think Bennett missed a game or two, and we moved Wennberg up there in that spot. We have a little bit of familiarity, and Huberdeau and Wennberg basically played all year together.” 1188319 Florida Panthers The puck never reached Kucherov and Stralman probably got credit for a blocked shot. Little consolation since it bounded past Driedger. 1-0.

Florida missed numerous scoring chances including a wide open look Game 2: Panthers in deep, head to Tampa down 0-2 after Lightning loss from Anthony Duclair, who was deployed with the fourth line zoom squad.

The Lightning then made it 2-0 when Brayden Point did his best dipsy-do Published 6 hours ago on May 18, 2021 as he walked around MacKenzie Weegar and put one off the cage.

By George Richards No Florida player was there to clean up the bounce and Ondrej Palat went top shelf and it was 2-0 at 14:57 of the period.

Driedger ended the first with 13 saves as the Lightning took aim 21 The Florida Panthers hoped to even their playoff series with the Tampa times. Bay Lightning on Tuesday night, get a win in Game 2 and move on up the road. The two teams were running at the start, but once Tampa Bay took a 2-0 lead, the Lightning clamped down. Now, the Panthers will be heading to Tampa just hoping to survive and get another home game. ”We had good shifts in the first but we were down two goals,” barkov said. “We either fell asleep or made mistakes in the zone and it basically After losing 3-1 on Tuesday night, the possibility exists this may have cost us the game because we couldn’t score more than one. We have been the Panthers final home game of the season. been doing good things on the ice. We just have to put it all together.” The Panthers are now down 2-0 in the best-of-7 series with the Said Quenneville: “They got the lead they were looking for and were a lot defending Stanley Cup champions ready to rock on home ice. more patient after that. There was a lot more structure. But we fought ”We know we have to win four games, no matter how,” captain Sasha back. I thought the later part of the second, we were in the right spot just Barkov said. “There are four games we have to win and that’s our couldn’t buy the goal. We need more guys who are at their to get that mindset right now. Anything that happens, happens. We have to learn we’re going to push them to make sure we’re the best we can going from that and move forward. … forward. You have to improve as the games go along. We have to expect more.” “We have to win one game, go to Tampa and we have a good chance to win the next game. We just have to play smarter than this. We had good The Lightning were also credited with 18 hits (14 for the Panthers) as periods, good shifts. We need to stick with that, make it a 60 minute effort neither team was whistled for a penalty in the opening period. from everyone and we’ll be fine. We just have to win the first game.” There were chances to call them, the refs just didn’t do it. Said Joel Quenneville: “It’s the old story; you have to earn your breaks. I SECOND PERIOD HIGHLIGHTS think fortunate or not, the effort is there. We just need more guys playing whether they’re comfortable or uncomfortable. We can be a little better The refs found their whistles early in the second with Weegar getting and more effective across the board.” called for delay of game 31 seconds into the period.

Tampa Bay hasn’t played a home playoff game since it dropped Game 2 Florida looked much better on the kill than it did on Sunday night, in 2019 to Sergei Bobrovsky and the Columbus Blue Jackets; the clogging up passing lanes and keeping the Lightning’s big hitters bottled Lightning did not get another home game that year. It won the Cup last up. year after a postseason run in Toronto that ended in Edmonton. The Panthers were down 2-0 into the second half of the period with On Tuesday night, the Panthers and Lightning minded their manners (for Flores (the coach, not the singer) firing up the crowd by waving his towel the most part) compared to recent games as the game was tight while scowling and flexing. throughout. It seemed to work — even if a good number of players on the Panthers Tampa Bay benefited from a goal off a Florida defenseman and took the root for the Patriots. first multi-goal lead of this (relatively) young series. Mason Marchment, a surprise addition to the top line, made that move Yet, the Lightning — a team with the reputation for running-and-gunning look golden as he popped in a nice end board feed from Carter — did what it did best in the its run to the Cup last summer. Verhaeghe to make it 2-1 with 5:39 left in the period.

Tampa Bay ground the Panthers down. The two teams had, for the most part, been on their best behavior but that all changed when dropped Brayden Point at center And now, the Lightning can finish them off on home ice. ice. Moments later, David Savard leveled Ryan Lomberg — and the bad The Panthers are looking for the comebacks of comebacks. blood was back.

”We are a confident group,” Barkov said. “We have great players in that Weegar got hit with a roughing call at the end of the second putting room, everyone is prepared to work hard. We just have to be smarter on Florida on the kill for the second time with Pat Maroon taunting the the ice against that team, be prepared for anything. We know how to win Panthers bench — and Lomberg — by doing the “chicken” as Florida these games.” players headed to the room.

FIRST PERIOD HIGHLIGHTS THIRD PERIOD HIGHLIGHTS

Having Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores narrate the pregame video The Lightning started the third on a power play chance but Kucherov got was probably about the best thing to happen to the Panthers in the called for tripping and that was that. opening period. That and Martin Flores’ rendition of the anthem. Florida looked to tie things up on its first power play chance of the third, Both strong. only with Maroon in the box for tripping, the Panthers only got a few pucks through. The Panthers? Meh. Tampa Bay bottled up the middle of the ice, keeping the shots Florida did Actually, the Panthers played a pretty solid opening 20 with Driedger not get off from the side. getting as much help as he gave them. Vasilevskiy, through the first 18 minutes of the period, was never really Tampa Bay got on the board first at 4:52 when Anton Stralman (a threatened until the final minutes when Florida added an attacker. surprise seventh d-man addition to the lineup) dropped to block a pass from Steven Stamkos to Nikita Kucherov at the cage. Still, that allowed Yanni Gourde to throw one into an empty net with 1:25 left to wrap things up. Stralman was a little too close to the flame. WHAT’S NEXT? Driedger, making his first playoff start on his 27th birthday, was solid. All he gave up was the own-goal on Stralman and Palat’s post-rebound in the first. Driedger had 25 saves before vacating the net late in the third.

It would not be surprising at all to see Driedger back in net on Tuesday night.

”Driedgs always gives us a chance to win,” Barkov said. “We couldn’t win it for him.”

Actually the surprise would be if Driedger was not starting Game 3.

“We’re not going to dwell on this game,” Driedger said. “We’re going to go into Tampa ready to win. We have confidence in our group. We’re looking forward to getting back into the W column.”

Quenneville said the Panthers just need to go home, come back on Wednesday with a “fresh attitude and appetite” then jump the plane for a short flight to Tampa with the idea they’re going to win this thing.

The Panthers, as everyone would have expected, said all the right things about coming back. Weegar said Florida is going to Hillsborough County to “xxxx.”

Quenneville, of all people, knows this is not going to come easy.

”We have had success there,” Quenneville said. “They play the right way from start to finish … let’s win a period and start from there. Hey, let’s go. Let’s get momentum as early as we can.”

Florida Hockey Now LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188320 Florida Panthers throwing stuff on the ice and we know we’re going to get a penalty. We’ve got to be smarter than that.”

On Tuesday morning, Joel Quenneville talked about that taking penalties RATS! Florida Panthers could get penalty if rubber rats are thrown is part of the game. The Panthers, he said, have to make sure they aren’t taking dumb penalties.

Can you imagine Quenneville if the Panthers get a delay of game due to Published 13 hours ago on May 18, 2021 rats and Florida has to face that Lightning power play?

By George Richards “Their power play is lethal,’’ Quenneville said. “They have so many different options and looks and some of the great playmakers and

deceiving playmakers as well.” The Florida Panthers infatuation with rubber rats is well known. Since the Back in 2012, when the Panthers made the playoffs for the first time in team’s magical run to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1996, fans have been over a decade, the NHL actually ordered the team to stop selling the bringing the toy rodents. rubber rats in their gift shop. But fans are asked not to throw them onto the ice when the team scores Florida was selling what we all assumed were “recycled” rats for $5 each anymore. It can actually cost the Panthers if the on-ice officials decide to or free with a minimum purchase. penalize the team. The team blamed visiting Devils fans from throwing them and causing all in Sunday night’s opening game of the playoffs against the Tampa Bay the havoc. In 2016, Devils fans in the building were blamed as well. Lightning, some fans tossed the rubber rats onto the playing surface following goals by the Panthers — and when fights broke out between Perhaps it was Lightning fans tossing them on Sunday night as well. the two teams. So when, exactly, can you throw your rubber rats? The Panthers, being the home team, can be charged with a two-minute delay of game if the officials choose to call it. Basically, when the game is over.

While the delay of game call wasn’t a thing in 1996 (who can forget Fans have been tossing rats following a win — either at home or on the seeing Penguins goalie Tom Barasso taking refuge in the cage as the road — for years. No penalty is going to be called when the game is rats rained down at Miami Arena?) it is now. over.

You want in-depth, daily coverage of the Florida Panthers? Subscribe to You do not need to sneak in the rats — again, the team sells them in Florida Hockey Now today! their store or has in the past — and the players love them.

The NHL made the ruling that all objects, like rubber rats, cannot be Keith Yandle has been known to flip them back up into the stands (again, thrown onto the ice during a game. recycling) and players get them as gifts from the team’s booster club complete with their name and number painted on them. The exception is ballcaps when a player scores three goals and gets a hat trick. That is fine. Feel free to toss your cap onto the ice if you see Rubber rats are cool. one of those. No penalty there. Just toss them with caution. After the game. Rats are different — although if they’re mixed in with the baseball caps, no harm and no foul. Florida Hockey Now LOADED: 05.19.2021 In a game against New Jersey in 2016, the team actually handed out rubber rats to the first 10,000 fans coming into the building to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the 1996 run to the Finals,

It went exactly as one would have imagined.

Fans started chucking those giveaway rats when Jonathan Huberdeau scored Florida’s first goal of the game.

The officials told the PA announcer to warn fans not to do it again. When Huberdeau scored his second goal to make it 2-1 in the third, here came the rats again.

This time, Florida got hit with the penalty.

Sasha Barkov also saw the rats come down when he scored later in the period leading to a second delay of game call.

Florida ended up winning 3-2.

“It was a good night but we can’t have rats after every goal or there’s going to be penalties,” said Huberdeau. “But it was a cool atmosphere and was a big win for us. I had never seen [the rats] live, but now they have penalties and it’s tough to go on the penalty kill in a close game.”

Said Jaromir Jagr: “I don’t agree with the penalties; it could have been New Jersey fans throwing them in an important game.I think the league should do something about it. If they give us a penalty when someone throws a rat, who are we going to play in the playoffs? They’ll hire guys to get them power plays all game.”

Word was the league was not happy for making it so easy for fans to be armed with rubber rats.

“They called it like they’re supposed to call it,” Florida coach Gerard Gallant said. “There’s nothing they can do. When we throw stuff on the ice, it has been a rule for a long time, we’ve got to know better than that.

“I sure hope it doesn’t happen again because we’re battling for a playoff spot and we’re trying to kill penalties and working hard and when we’re 1188321 Florida Panthers Bobrovsky was named the Panthers’ nominee for the King Clancy Trophy which goes to “the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.” The Morning Skate: Driedger gets Game 2 start for Panthers vs. Lightning You may remember when I worked for The Athletic that I wrote about Bobrovsky taking the lead on making sure the Panthers’ part-time employees were going to get paid when the 2019-20 season was put on pause, making the initial pledge of $100,000 the day the team landed Published 14 hours ago on May 18, 2021 from Dallas. By George Richards Bobrovsky also teamed up with Artemi Panarin and Semyon Varlamov in buying protective masks when those were in such short supply and donated them to local health care workers during the height of the The Florida Panthers will start a goalie who had the fifth-best save pandemic. percentage as well as goals-against average in the NHL during the regular season in Game 2 against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday The winner will be chosen by a committee of senior NHL executives led night. Yeah, that’s Chris Driedger. by commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly.

Driedger’s play during the season, and not necessarily Sergei POWER PLAY POISON Bobrovsky’s performance in the series opener, is a big reason why The Lightning has traditionally had one of the best power play units in the Driedger gets the start on Tuesday. league and that was on full display Sunday when Tampa Bay — led by Looking at the stats, Driedger has played at an elite level. Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos and Brayden Point — scored on three of its four chances. He had terrific stats last season, but in only playing 12 games, it was obviously a much smaller sample size. ”They have all the options you want,” Quenneville said. “The patience and the options, you know, pick your poison. These guys are the best at For daily, in-depth coverage of the Florida Panthers, subscribe to Florida it and that’s why we can’t take penalties.” Hockey Now today! With Kucherov and Stamkos back from a long absence, the Panthers This season, Dreidger played in 23 of Florida’s 56 games — that’s 41 looked like they were caught by surprise. percent of the starts. If not for what is believed to be a groin injury late in the season (and the signing of Spencer Knight), he likely would have ”It was a different look than we had seen all season,” Quenneville said. more starts than that. “We watched a lot … stay out of the box, there was a lot of special team time in that game. Their power play is lethal. They have so many different Driedger, without a doubt, deserves to play in these playoffs. options and looks and some of the great playmakers and deceiving playmakers as well.” The Panthers are not waiting to give him the chance. Q COOL WITH KUCH And, it is coming on Driedger’s 27th birthday. Nice present. Although many are upset with the Lightning going around the salary cap As Quenneville noted, Driedger did not play in the Toronto postseason by having Kucherov’s money on long-term injured reserve all season although they did consider him. (there’s a suspicion he could have been able to play weeks ago), “Driedge has been in a position, even last year, he was in consideration,” Quenneville says it is not a big deal to him. Joel Quenneville said after Tuesday’s morning skate at BB&T Center. ”I’m not complaining. That’s the way it is and that’s the rules,” he said. “He has done everything we would want and it was an opportunity to see “Deal with it. He was a big part of their team and he has been around how it would play out in the playoffs. We were going to take it one game them. That’s where it’s at. No complaint here.” at a time and he hasn’t had the chance here in two years and we felt this was the right time to give him the opportunity. It is based on the performance and the opportunity.” Florida Hockey Now LOADED: 05.19.2021 Said Alex Wennberg: “We obviously have two really good goalies. Right now, it’s his opportunity and we’re excited for him.”

HELLO, JUHO

With Sam Bennett sitting this one out after being suspended for his boarding of Blake Coleman in the third period of Game 1, the Panthers are sliding their centers up.

Wennberg replaces Bennett on Florida’s second line (and on the top power play unit) with Noel Acciari centering Frank Vatrano and Patric Hornqvist.

Juho Lammikko makes his NHL playoff debut tonight as the center of the fourth line.

He had a nice game in the regular season finale, scoring a nice wraparound goal on Andrei Vasilevskiy.

”When Bennett missed a game or two (at the end of the season) we moved Wenny up into that spot so there’s a little familiarity and Wenny and Huberdeau basically played the whole year together,” Quenneville said.

Speaking of Bennett, the Panthers weren’t very surprised he got suspended. Quenneville said they knew on Sunday night it was likely.

Bennett was on the ice for practice Tuesday.

”It is what it is,” Quenneville said. “We are going to live with it and learn from it and move forward. They raised our antenna up right after the game. We looked at it and decided to let them do their thing. We’ll go from there.” 1188322 Florida Panthers “Two exceptional teams going at it. That’s why it’s the greatest sport in the world. We just witnessed why, that display and those two teams.”

Florida will be without Bennett, who got a one-game suspension for Game 2: Florida Panthers need to move past opening loss to Lightning charging and boarding Blake Coleman.

It was one of the final questionable hits in a game which was full of them. Although the NHL did not single out anyone else, that doesn’t mean what Published 20 hours ago on May 18, 2021 Bennett did was not worthy of suspension.

By George Richards It was.

Quenneville may decide to move Mason Marchment off the fourth line and have him center the second line in Bennett’s spot as he did in the The Tampa Bay Lightning did not appear to be all that interested in regular season finale last Monday when Bennett was out with an getting home ice advantage in the playoffs from the Florida Panthers at undisclosed injury. the end of the regular season. But going into Game 2 on Tuesday, the Lightning has it anyway. Sam Bennett suspended, will miss Game 2 of Panthers-Lightning series

Tampa Bay now controls home ice in the best-of-7 first-round series by Florida’s fourth line of Marchment, Noel Acciari and Ryan Lomberg were virtue of its 5-4 win over the Panthers on Sunday night. a handful on Sunday night and created a ton of hits and kept the Lightning off its game. The trio combined for 16 official hits. Florida can get it back, of course, and a win Tuesday would be a good start. “They kept us going whether it was big hits or a big shift,’’ said Owen Tippett, who scored a goal in his NHL debut off a spin-o-rama pass from Following the game, captain Sasha Barkov said his team had already Huberdeau. “Whatever it was, those three guys drove the train. They moved past the loss although that’s a sentiment easier said than actually played ball tonight.” done. Tampa Bay got five goals, yes, but only one of them came during 5-on-5 The Panthers truly have to get over the opening night loss to the play. Lightning if they want to move on to the next round. The Panthers simply have to stay out of the box if they hope to contain a It’s not going to be easy. Everyone knew that coming in. Lightning power play which is back to its dangerous self with Kucherov The Panthers did a lot of good things on Sunday night, but a handful of back from his season-long sojourn. mistakes were their undoing. Florida also needs to make life a little easier on its goalie as the Lightning You simply cannot give the defending Stanley Cup champions an had numerous odd-man rushes throughout the game, something not opening. seen much this season.

“Every shift is so critical against that team because they can make Tampa Bay, after taking a 1-0 lead on a shorthanded goal by Coleman, something out of nothing,” Joel Quenneville said. “There are things we had two more big chances on that Florida power play as well. can take from that game, learn from and improve. It was a heck of a Sergei Bobrovsky may have given up five goals on Sunday night, but he hockey game.” made some big saves in big situations to keep the Panthers in the game. The Panthers were not going to surprise the Lightning and perhaps “We faced a good, skilled team up front,’’ Bobrovsky said. “They’ve got Florida’s dominating wins over Tampa Bay at the end of the season gave the weapons there. But I thought for most of the time the guys did a great them a little false sense of security. job, 5-on-5 we did a great job. Florida picked the Lightning apart in the final two meetings of the season “It’s a long series, we just have to put that behind and be fresh for the as the Panthers ended up winning five of the eight games between the next one. It’s 0-0 next game.” two during the regular season.

Panthers players dig larger attendance capacity for playoffs Florida Hockey Now LOADED: 05.19.2021 But the postseason is what the Lightning live for.

It is why the team could afford to keep star players like Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos stashed on the long-term injury list to barely stay under the salary cap.

The Lightning were never in danger of missing the playoffs. This is when their season really starts.

“There was some frustration where you think you deserve better,” said Quenneville, whose team had a 4-3 lead midway through the third before Sam Bennett went to the box with a suspendible hit and the Lightning tied it up.

“That’s the difference between teams who know how to win and … we are getting educated.”

Sunday’s game was exciting from the start with both teams showing their mutual dislike of one another early.

There were big hits, rolling hip checks and punches thrown throughout the game.

There was also a lot of skill shown, from Jonathan Huberdeau’s slick moves to Kucherov’s one-timer from the right circle, it was a game hockey fans around North America were glued to.

On Tuesday, fans outside of South Florida and the Lightning television territory are going to have to find CNBC to watch the second round of what has become a truly heated rivalry.

“It was quite a hockey game,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. 1188323 Florida Panthers had home-ice advantage if they had Kucherov all season so there are negative consequences to having top players miss significant time.

“The rules all have to be followed as far as recovery times, etc. I think the LeBrun: What the Lightning, League and rival GMs are saying about way to look at things is teams react when things happen, none of it is Nikita Kucherov’s return manufactured.”

Still, the optics of Kucherov’s return didn’t sit well with a few other NHL team executives I texted with, none of whom wanted to be quoted for this By Pierre LeBrun story.

May 18, 2021 But it’s something at least one GM believes should be a conversation down the road among GMs. Probably at the next GM meeting.

Another team executive felt the horse was out of the barn once it It was one of the best playoff games I’ve seen in years. happened with Kane in 2015 so nobody can blame Tampa now. The focus should have just been on how the two Florida teams, at long One question I get a lot from some readers is why there is no salary cap last, had played each other for the first time in the playoffs and delivered in the playoffs. At first blush, I have always assumed it had to do with the an instant classic. players’ salaries being paid in total by the end of the regular season. But what dominated the conversation on social media was the accusation “One reason among a number of others,’’ Daly said. from rival fans that the Lightning had cheated the system by having Nikita Kucherov return for Game 1 of the playoffs after missing the entire My colleague Joe Smith had a very detailed look at the Kucherov regular season recovering from hip surgery. situation back in mid-March, after his return to skating sparked an uproar among conspiracy theorists. The accusation, of course, is that the cap-challenged Bolts delayed his return until the playoffs when there is no longer a salary cap, that Tampa Finally, I reached out to Kucherov’s agent Dan Milstein. GM Julien BriseBois cleverly manipulated the system. “Initially, doctors told him the earliest (return) date was going to be That Kucherov scored two goals in the opening game and looked like he around the second round of the playoffs,’’ Milstein said. “I was personally didn’t miss a beat in his first game since last September’s Stanley Cup on every single Zoom call and in every meeting. I flew with him to New Final only added fuel to the fire. York for the surgery, was there with him throughout it all.

The optics weren’t great. So let’s get to it. “It was a much-needed surgery. He accelerated (his return), but the initial return doctors told us was around the first week of June. It’s a six-month First of all, understand that the Panthers don’t believe for a second process.’’ there’s anything malicious happening here. What I don’t believe for a second is that Kucherov was ready to play a “No, I don’t feel there’s a circumvention,” Panthers GM Bill Zito told The month ago and played ball with the team because of the cap situation Athletic. “It’s all within the rules. From our standpoint, everything is above and was ok staying on the sidelines because of it. board. He’s a good player, obviously. Julien’s a smart guy. There’s no issues with the integrity of this whatsoever.’’ He is way too much of a competitor for that.

That was echoed by his head coach on Tuesday. “Kuch is one of those guys, if he could have been playing in March, he would have been playing in March and it would have been Julien’s “I’m not complaining,’’ Joel Quenneville said. “It’s the way it is. It’s one of problem to clear the (cap) space for him,” said Milstein. “And rest the rules, you deal with it. He was a big part of their team last year and assured, I would have been calling the NHLPA. I would have been so not like he hasn’t been around them. So no complaints here.’’ fighting to get my client back on the ice earlier if I could.’’ Secondly, there’s the NHL. If the league truly felt a team was cheating The fact is, Milstein remains surprised Kucherov came back in time for the system using long-term injury provisions in an improper way, and Game 1. delayed his return because of cap reasons, the NHL could actually bar that player from playing in the playoffs. “This is truly a miracle for him to come back this soon,’’ Milstein said. “To be honest with you, I think he started playing a little bit earlier than he And clearly, the league looked closely at this situation. should have. But that’s Kuch, you can’t hold this guy back.’’ “Yes, we did, as well as a number of additional cases involving the use of Again, the optics of a Game 1 return is what has given this story new life. LTI,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said. “We determined that the provision was invoked and applied in a consistent manner with the Some rival clubs aren’t thrilled. Others I reached out to were fine with it. requirements of the CBA.’’ Either way, I think a little too much is being made of it. For further perspective, I reached out to Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman on Tuesday. When Patrick Kane missed the end of the regular season with a collarbone injury in 2014-15 but was able to come back for the The Athletic LOADED: 05.19.2021 start of the playoffs en route to a Stanley Cup championship, some front offices around the league were not thrilled. Some didn’t feel it passed the smell test. Especially since the Blackhawks were able to use the cap space to add at the trade deadline.

It’s something that would be discussed at a GM meeting or two in the aftermath. Just like Daly was asked to address LTI usage at the GM meeting last month, where he assured teams the league was closely monitoring not only the Tampa situation but other ones as well (presumably Toronto, among others).

Bowman, for one, certainly doesn’t think Tampa Bay is getting away with anything here.

“The point I would make is that these are legit injuries which sidelined the players and as such there’s nothing that a team can do but react,” Bowman said. “I think it’s fair to say that no team would ever wish for a top player to miss a substantial amount of time due to serious injury. Just like we wanted Kane to stay healthy and never miss a game, I’m guessing that Tampa feels the same with Kucherov. They might have 1188324 Florida Panthers onto it. The game is gonna be on the big screen in the living room. I’m making everyone sit down and watch it, because that was exhilarating.

I’m hooked after that game. It’s always nice to have a hometown team to ‘I didn’t know anything that was happening, but I was so, so into it’: How root for. I think I’m in. I’m going to see if I can get tickets. If there’s a Lightning-Panthers made new hockey fans Game 5, I think I’m there.

I’m a huge Miami sports fan, so I’m at least familiar with all of our teams, but I’m not watching the Panthers every day or anything. We had a run By Sean Gentille three years ago or so that made me notice them. From there, what games I could watch, I watched, and it’s been ramping up since then. May 18, 2021 To be honest, I didn’t realize (how crazy the game was) until I saw a

couple tweets saying “The Fight For Florida is on fire.” Whatever Game 1 of Lightning-Panthers was — certainly one of the It was the scoring, it was the intensity, it was the non-stop fights. I’ve more unexpected crossover events in NHL history, potentially the best seen enough hockey games to tell my girlfriend, “This doesn’t usually game of the Stanley Cup playoffs, probably the most anyone has ever happen, where they’re fighting every couple minutes.” I know we had a discussed any game between those teams — it came with one couple games near the end of the regular season with the Lightning, and unavoidable, extremely answerable question. those were intense already. That definitely carried over to the series. So What if that was the first hockey game you’d ever watched? A returning that for sure (made me say) “This might be the first round of the playoffs, MVP, an early disallowed goal, breakaways, scraps, dirty hits, four lead but they’re playing with a lot of intensity and a lot on the line.” changes … “The NHL’s hottest new club is Lightning Panthers. It has (The environment) was amazing. I knew going into it that it was a playoff everything.” This was the Jon Bois “why watch overtime playoff hockey” game, and it was going to be next-level stuff, but just the atmosphere tweet, stretched over 60 minutes. If this game were a person, I’d marry it. was great. Everyone was really into the game. Whenever we scored a I’d have married it on Sunday night. goal, it was deafening. And you could see the rally towels being waved. It So, naturally, this stuck with me, though the part about the Flames and was really, really fun — and it’s interesting now seeing any games, Canucks — much like their game — is best ignored. whether it’s baseball, football, baseball, after (COVID-19), getting back into the building and just being able to cheer on your team. Especially a Some people didn’t have to imagine it. Here are a few of them. Some of good team? It’s pretty next-level. their answers have been lightly edited for clarity. There’s no doubt (that I’m hooked). I will be following the Panthers. All right, so how did you stumble on that? You knew the Heat had their Regardless, too — I’m a Dolphins fan. I couldn’t care less about the spot locked up, so you were like “I’m gonna watch this because it’s on?” quality of the team. But after yesterday, after seeing it live and the intensity they played with? Yeah, that’s my team right there. I got a hat Pretty much. They were starting random G-Leaguers, so I was like, “Eh, and everything. I want to get myself a hockey jersey, but I’ve got to warm know what, I heard the Panthers are playing their first playoff game in a myself up to spending, like, $200. But I know who I’m going for: Barkov. while, so why not?” And I’ve never been into hockey. The Panthers’ arena is behind this mall in South Florida. I was curious about (hockey). I said, “This is something that isn’t popular with Hispanic people. Let me look into it. Let me see what’s up with it.” The only reason anyone ever goes out there is for the (Sawgrass Mills) And it is a very white sport — but that curiosity was what led me to it. It’s mall. I don’t know anyone who’s ever been to the stadium. I’ve seen not something that’s commonplace in my culture, so I wanted to reach Panthers tickets on the ground in the mall parking lot. out and say, “What’s up with this? What’s this?” And I love it. Hockey is a So that was literally the first hockey game you’ve sat down and watched? great frickin’ sport. I told my dad that I went to a game, and now he wants to go to a game. And his friend wants to go to a game. And we’re not Dude. It was my first hockey game. Ever. I’m watching it, like, “… Is this white! (laughs) how they are normally? Is it this exciting? I might have to get into this.” I heard (that I couldn’t have picked a better game). I don’t even know the I’m telling you, if you have more games like that, you’re not gonna be a rules. “OK, if they’re tied at the end of regulation, do they go to OT?” I No. 5 sport for long. It was on fire, back and forth. It was incredible. So if didn’t know anything that was happening, but I was so, so into it. they have more games like that — maybe it doesn’t happen, but wow.

Was there any single moment where you were like, “Oh yeah, I’m locked It reminded me of the shot Ray Allen hit in 2013. That shit marked me in?” forever. I remember leaving my house and going outside because I was so pissed, and coming back because I couldn’t give up on my team. And The first (Aleksander Barkov) goal, I was like, “OK, I know this dude. I then he nails the shot. know the Barkov guy. He scored. He’s, like … Jimmy Butler, I guess?” And then I saw on Twitter, every time they scored a goal, people were Same thing with hockey. There’s no doubt that I’m going to follow the talking about rats? What the hell does a rat have to do with a panther? I Panthers every single game this playoff, then go to a couple games next got some history, I’ve been Wikipedia-ing. So I’ll watch some highlights of year. that (1996 Eastern Conference finals). That’s pretty cool, with the rats, Everything about it was great. The players were so chippy, it was so but I didn’t have a clue what that meant. I was like, “OK, a Panther eats a aggressive, it was so tense. You could feel that Florida rivalry. I knew rat for lunch, I guess?” nothing about Tampa Bay, and by the end of it, I was like “I really want to I love this, because everyone has half a complex about hockey’s spot in crush these guys.” the food chain, and they’re like “If someone could only see the game at Over the course of the season, I kept tuning in, watching my feed and its best, they’d be in.” I honestly feel bad for you, because that’s basically SportsCenter and everything, and they just kept outperforming as good as a playoff game can get. expectations. Everyone was like, “The Panthers are legit this year. The So (for the NBA) it’s like, 2016 Finals, Warriors-Cavs, LeBron’s Panthers are a team to watch.” And I knew nothing about hockey, and comeback, all that — and this is the peak of hockey, I guess? I didn’t then suddenly, I have a bunch of friends on Twitter that I’m DMing, like, even realize there were that many Panthers fans. “Where do these “Hey, what does offside mean? Can you tell me some of these rules?” people come from?” But I’m a fan now. I’m getting my Barkov jersey. I’m And over the course of the season, I became a big fan. I love our guys. I all the way in. think Barkov has been fantastic this season. He made a fan out of me this season, and that game yesterday, ooh, everything about it. I was I just saw (Sam Bennett’s suspension). I don’t even know how good he DMing my friend like, “Is it always like this? Are they always this intense? is? Is he good? Because sign me up for seven games of this, man!”

It’s just not in my family. My dad, we watch sports together, my grandad I got my whole family (involved), who’d never watched hockey either. was a player growing up, so basketball has been the main We’re a basketball household. And by the end of it, we were all cheering thing in my family. And football, we always watch Dolphins games. But for our Panthers. We were heartbroken at the end there. hockey just has never been a thing for me. Now, I’m turning everyone I’ll tell you this, as a hardcore basketball fan and a casual fan of football and a lot of the other big Miami sports, I think hockey for a long time just hasn’t had a huge presence in our city. And this season has done a lot to get Florida viewers engaged and watching. This is our most successful season in a while, and we’ve been in the media spotlight more than we were in years past. It felt like they did a great job of getting local fans to pay attention to their teams — because I’ll be honest with you, prior to this season I could maybe name one guy on the roster.

They’ve made more of an effort on their social media pages. I noticed that a lot of the big hockey teams keep the engagement going with that constant presence on social media, and I thought the Panthers were kind of lacking in that until this season. So they’ve stepped up in that regard. It definitely made a fan out of me. If I can get a ticket to one of these games, shoot, you know I’ll be there.

Some of those confrontations on the ice — on the Panthers subreddit, the top comment was “(Radko Gudas) is playing like a true Florida Man.” And I’m texting my friend, like, “Damn, are they always this aggressive out there?” That was definitely the moment for me. “Wow, this is worth watching.”

I’d try to tune into a couple games in the past, and it never really did it for me. But the energy level, and having names to the faces of all those guys that were putting it all out there really made it for me. I watched a Penguins game last year with a friend of mine, but I didn’t recognize anyone. I didn’t have a stake in any of the teams. Now that I know who these guys are, there’s more storylines to follow and more things to get invested in.

Trust me, I’ve bought in. They truly made a fan out of me. When I saw your message this morning, I couldn’t help but think, “Wow, I wonder if a bunch of people had the same reaction that I did.”

I’m invested now. I’ve got to see who wins the Stanley Cup now. I’m hoping it’s us, but I’m down for good games either way.

I’m a big basketball fan. A big Heat fan. So last night, they clinched their spots in the playoffs, and I was like “Eh, I don’t need to watch them today.” And I heard a lot of people talking about the Florida Panthers making the playoffs. So I was like, why not? The Panthers are good this year, apparently. And that game was awesome. It was electric.

I just really liked that it was non-stop action. It’s back and forth. They do not stop. I’m definitely still a little confused about penalties and all that stuff, but that didn’t deter me at all. I was just like, “OK, whatever, that happened” and kept watching. I went into it with an open mind, like “Oh, this is pretty fun. This is cool.”

A big thing, especially here for South Florida fans, they go all-in when our teams are good — and they show no interest when they’re not.

I had somebody tweet at me from Tampa, saying “This happened to us in 2015, and now we’re huge Lightning fans.” Maybe that’s what happens to me.

The Athletic LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188325 Los Angeles Kings “As a team, we are going to have to find ways to generate more offense five-on-five than we’re getting,” McLellan said. “We actually just sat here this morning and went through our notes from last year in regards to what we were saying at this time, and there’s still some similar tones that are Kings know they must seize the opportunity to improve coming out of the year-end meetings.”

Now the Kings face the evaluation of players to see which players they will stick with over the course of their development and which ones might By ANDREW KNOLL have stagnated to the point where a replacement is in order. PUBLISHED: May 18, 2021 at 4:32 p.m. | UPDATED: May 18, 2021 at Though Blake, a former star defenseman for the Kings, was not as blunt 5:33 p.m. as the team’s current top blue-liner Drew Doughty, he did acknowledge that it seems difficult to envision the same roster returning next year and constituting enough to make the playoffs. Though the playoffs began last weekend without the Kings, the Black and Silver are also looking to advance from a disappointing campaign to “It wasn’t this year, obviously, right? So we need to add to it. You get a another that they hope brims with promise. full season of game experience for some players, but we need to add to this roster to get better,” Blake said. To do so, they’ll need to navigate a shortened offseason in which they will have to not only develop young players but also determine how to This season, the focus was on cleaning up the salary cap and gaining patch the various holes and gaps that pervaded their lineup this season. experience not only for young players at the NHL level, but to take advantage of the rare opportunity to have junior prospects compete at After three consecutive campaigns outside the playoffs and in the draft the minor pro level. The Ontario Hockey League did not have a season lottery, the Kings have a chest stocked with prospects, draft picks and this year and the Western and Quebec Major Junior leagues were limited young NHL players. They also have roughly $20 million in projected considerably by the pandemic. salary cap space to attract established talent. Blake said his team of scouts adapted to the challenge of not being able “We want to get better. There’s a reason you put yourselves in a position to attend games and having fewer recordings to review, preparing them to get better. There’s some summers where you may not be able to do well for yet another vital draft with high picks. that. We have an advantage to step forward this year and make this team better,” General Manager Rob Blake said. Blake also appeared enthusiastic about the prospects of signing restricted free agents such as Andreas Athanasiou and Trevor Moore, The Kings saw an encouraging start to the season behind the resurgence though their restricted status made negotiating their deals less exigent of their veterans and a reinvigorated power play. That period peaked with than some other offseason tasks. a six-game win streak. The cache of young players and draft selections the Kings have could Yet they had just two other instances with consecutive wins, both two- make them players in any negotiations for marquee names. Buffalo game spurts, and collapsed down the stretch. They lost four of five Sabres center Jack Eichel is one of a handful of elite talents who have immediately after the trade deadline, as well as their final five games of been the subject of trade speculation. the season. Their power play did another about-face, this time in the wrong direction, as it went from jockeying around the back end of the top Blake pointed out that the previous administration, led by Dean 10 to sliding into the bottom of the top 20 league-wide. The production of Lombardi, also made use of such assets as the team’s needs came into their veterans also tailed off noticeably, without a significant bump from clearer focus. Blake believed he and his staff better understood their younger players to make up the difference in production. personnel and where augmentations were needed. https://embed.sendtonews.com/oembed/?fk=XOBj4afj&cid=8130&sound “That’s exactly what happened the last time around. They were able to =off&format=json&offsetx=0&offsety=0&floatwidth=400&floatposition=bot use assets to add a Jeff Carter that came in here and established two tom-right&float=on Stanley Cups within the organization,” Blake said. “We were there for a while and then we fell out. That’s not acceptable,” Although they are positioning themselves for an ascent, the Kings have Coach Todd McLellan said. “I think we had a team that could have quite a ways to climb if they are to return to the summit. stayed in the fight a little bit longer. I’m not sure we would have got there eventually. Next year we’ll have to push further.”

McLellan said the penalty kill took a major step forward while the team’s Orange County Register: LOADED: 05.19.2021 forecheck was underwhelming.

McLellan also said the trade deadline deal that sent veteran Jeff Carter to Pittsburgh could not be used as an excuse for how his team played down the stretch.

Carter is one of eight recent departures, six of whom have ties to one or both of their Stanley Cup championships, who are in the playoffs with another club. Carter, Tyler Toffoli (Montreal), Alec Martinez (Vegas), Kyle Clifford (St. Louis), Jack Campbell (Toronto), Ben Hutton (Toronto), Derek Forbort (Winnipeg) and Trevor Lewis (Winnipeg) are all competing in the postseason.

“I’ve (also) seen a lot of talent come in the door here. We just haven’t seen the fruits of the labor yet,” McLellan said.

“Yes, very good players left, championship players left. The players that were acquired, the picks and then the talent that were acquired should inevitably be greater than the pieces that went out,” McLellan continued.

Last year, the Kings finished the season on a seven-game win streak, but their campaign ended abruptly due to the suspension of play. This year, they ended their season as lame ducks, eliminated from playoff contention but still with games remaining, including the final three games that had been postponed from earlier in the season.

There were, however, overarching themes from last season to this year, including a lack of potency at even strength. 1188326 Los Angeles Kings That’s not a complete list of all of their injuries during the season. The staff frequently noted that every other team in the NHL was dealing with a challenging set of circumstances in a condensed 56-game season.

How can the Kings build off this season? GM Rob Blake and head coach Mental challenges of the season Todd McLellan speak From Blake: “I think all these guys should go home for a little (while). It’s been a really different year. We’ve read these comments from all teams and all players. Where you’re separated from your family. Where you By Lisa Dillman don’t get the opportunity to see them at Christmas or to have them come out and visit. May 19, 2021 “There’s different protocols where you’ve had to go through two or three

weeks at a time where you’re not even really coming out of your As it turns out, Kings defenseman Drew Doughty and general manager apartment or your place. So I think it’s important they go home, regroup Rob Blake seem to be on the same page in terms of the next steps for and then we look at the structure that we’re allowed to put in place from the organization. the league as far as development throughout the summer.”

On Friday, Doughty made it clear he would not be happy with the Analysis: Blake gave his answer when I asked about the spring/summer direction of the franchise if they didn’t make any big moves in the plans for Quinton Byfield. McLellan has also noted how difficult it has offseason. been for many of the players not being able to see family members.

Four days later, Blake addressed the future and the recently completed One of the more heartwarming moments during the final round of video season, in which the Kings went 21-28-7 and failed to make the playoffs, chats was with rookie defenseman Mikey Anderson last week. I asked landing in the draft lottery for the third consecutive season. him what was the first thing he planned on doing when he walked in the door at home in Roseville, Minn. “Drew’s comments are 100 percent — it’s the same feeling up here,” Blake said. “It’s not like we don’t want to get any better. We’re all on the “Make sure I give my mom a hug first,” he said. same page. Now we can take the necessary steps and we can filter in Personnel evaluations (from this past season) young players, develop them and bring them in when they’re ready and surplus them with quality NHL players to take a step forward.” Analysis: Expectations were unnaturally raised when the Kings won their final seven games of the season in 2020. Far too much was read into The two sessions, via video call, with the media on Tuesday morning that run when the pressure was off the players. featured coach Todd McLellan, followed by Blake. They both addressed a wide range of topics, breaking down the season and looking ahead to a Accordingly, you can’t exactly say the sky is falling when the Kings failed critical offseason for the franchise. McLellan said the entire coaching staff to win in their final five games in 2021. I asked McLellan about the will be returning for next season. danger of reading too much into the final stretch in terms of evaluating individuals. Injuries, 2021 edition From McLellan: “I’m going to compare last season to this season. Last Jonathan Quick: Quick suffered an injured rib on May 3 at Arizona and year, our year ended abruptly. We had no idea where the finish line was. did not play the third period. That was his final appearance of the season. Blake added that Quick is scheduled to have shoulder surgery on “This year, our finish line, once we were eliminated from the playoffs was Wednesday, which has nothing to do with the other injury actually extended, which was (the) exact opposite. It created a little mental stress on the group. Once you’re out, you’re out. The COVID “That was wear and tear over the years,” Blake said. “Fully expect him situation isn’t an easy one to deal with. Albeit some of the teams are back.” doing a really good job and are playing really well. But we have to look at Dustin Brown: Brown also had his season shut down early in Arizona, the whole body of work of certain players or each player and there’s ebbs wrapping it up on May 5. He had been dealing with an upper-body injury, and flows in every individual. which had been nagging him throughout the season. Blake said it would “It would be a real big mistake if we ignored all parts of the season and not require surgery. just focused on either the beginning, the middle or the end. We have to “It got to the point where the doctors recommended he not play down the ask certain questions about individuals: Why did their play start off real stretch … against what he wanted to do,” Blake said. well and then fall off?

Blake Lizotte: The second-year center suffered a sprained knee keeping Personnel discussions (moving forward) him out of the lineup for the final nine games. It also prevented him from From Blake: “We need to add to this roster to get better.” accepting an invitation to represent Team USA at the upcoming World Championships in Latvia, according to Blake. “He is progressing,” Blake Analysis: Free agency is a start. But there are other ways to make said. augment the roster, starting with phone calls to Buffalo and Columbus. The Kings are in a position to take advantage of their fortuitous At the AHL level, Blake noted the meaningful amount of time that circumstances this summer — ample cap space and a surplus of draft prospect Tyler Madden missed this season because of a broken picks and prospects. collarbone. Madden, of course, was one of the key players the Kings got back from Vancouver in the Tyler Toffoli trade last season before the The extra component will be the Seattle expansion draft. I asked Blake if trade deadline. the Kings could use that as an opportunity to add if teams were boxed in with their protected lists. Analysis: They weren’t the only players to miss significant stretches during the season. Lizotte, in fact, was out of the lineup in the first month, “We’ll explore all those different areas to help add to our team,” Blake put in COVID-19 protocol one day after linemate Andreas Athanasiou said. entered protocol. Jaret Anderson-Dolan was on the best run of his young career — five points in six games — when he injured his shoulder on Asset management Feb. 18 at Arizona. Analysis: One of the more revealing insights from Blake came near the The Kings lost two of their top six defensemen in the same game at end of the video call. The Kings have eight selections in the upcoming Minnesota on Jan. 28. Matt Roy suffered a concussion and Sean Walker NHL Draft, which is in July, including five picks in the first three rounds. took a Matt Dumba slap shot in the face. Blake was asked if he would consider stockpiling picks and try to find another Jeff Carter-type player that could be a difference-maker on a “I thought Walker was significantly better in the last third of the season young team. Blake can be elliptical but his answer to that question was than he was at the beginning,” McLellan said. “COVID protocol to start yes. with and puck in the face. There’s many reasons why he missed a lot of hockey and why his confidence level (was) lower in the first or the middle (In 2012, the Kings acquired Carter from the Columbus Blue Jackets for third than it was in the last third.” defenseman Jack Johnson and a future first-round pick, which was used by Columbus to select Marko Dano in 2013.) From Blake: “They were able to use assets to acquire a Jeff Carter that came in here and established two Stanley Cups in the organization … We’re further along in our situation of understanding where these players will play in the roster and understanding holes and needs that we need to fill. But you have to have the assets to be able to maneuver around there.”

From Blake: “They’re young. We’re not going to put them in the NHL until we know they’re ready. The players need to evolve, and they need to fall naturally with our development and be able to fit in.”

Analysis: Five players made their NHL debut with the Kings this season — Byfield, Arthur Kaliyev, Rasmus Kupari, Austin Strand and Drake Rymsha. Rymsha, who was recalled on an emergency basis, played in the final game of the season, which was a nice touch for a hardworking player with a good attitude on the taxi squad. It also sent the right message throughout the organization.

From McLellan: “The easy part is the talent going out the door. The organization can dictate the pace of that and when they want to do it and the fact that the decision was made to do it was all part of a plan.

“And it was the right thing to do … Yes, very good players left, championship players left. The players that were acquired, the picks and then the talent that was acquired should inevitably be greater than the pieces that went out. It’s the in-between time, the waiting … and we’re waiting for players to evolve and develop.

“We can’t rush them. As much as we’d like to wave a magic wand and make Gabe (Vilardi) or JAD (Jaret Anderson-Dolan) or Byfield the perfect player, make them Nathan MacKinnon or Anze Kopitar, it doesn’t happen that way. It takes time.

“Their evolution into becoming dominant players will be dictated by how much we can help them and their growth as an individual. We don’t have the magic ball that dictates when that will happen.”

The Athletic LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188327 Los Angeles Kings

Game Thread – Reign vs. Eagles, AHL Play-In Series, 5/18

By Zach Dooley

Ontario Reign 4, Colorado Eagles 5

FINAL – Overtime

Game Links: LA Kings Insider Preview – AHL Game Center – Colorado Eagles

AHLTV Live Stream

SOG: ONT – 31 COL – 29

PP: ONT – 2/6 COL – 1/3

First Period

1. COL – Keaton Middleton (1) – (Callahan Burke, T.J. Tynan) – 1:38

2. ONT – Akil Thomas (1) – (Mikey Eyssimont, Samuel Fagemo) – 3:32

3. ONT – Lias Andersson (1) – (Samuel Fagemo, Adam Johnson) – 7:58 (PP)

Second Period

4. COL – T.J. Tynan (1) – (Keaton Middleton, Martin Kaut) – 14:36

5. COL – Riley Woods (1) – (Justin Barron, Jean-Luc Foudy) – 18:57 (PP)

Third Period

6. ONT – Mikey Eyssimont (1) – (Matthew Villalta) – 3:16 (SH)

7. ONT – Martin Frk (1) – (Kale Clague, Matthew Villalta) – 3:16 (PP)

8. COL – Keaton Middleton (2) – (Ryan Wagner) – 1:38 (SH)

Overtime

9. COL – Justin Barron (1) – (Sampo Ranta) – 9:00

Tuesday, May 18, 2021 – 7:30 p.m. PT

FivePoint Arena – Irvine, CA

Referees: #42 Corey Syvret, #47 Michael Markovic

Linesmen: #55 Kyle Flemington, #88 Tyson Baker

AHLTV

ONT Starters: G Matthew Villalta, D Markus Phillips, Kale Clague, F Mikey Eyssimont, Akil Thomas, Samuel Fagemo

ONT Scratches: Mark Alt, Blaine Byron, Martin Chromiak, Jacob Doty, Aidan Dudas, Sean Durzi, Cameron Gaunce, Troy Grosenick, Nick Halloran, Cole Hults, Jacob Ingham, Drake Rymsha, Devante Smith- Pelly, Johan Sodergran, Austin Strand, Alex Turcotte,

COL Starters: G Adam Werner, D Keaton Middleton, Justin Barron, F Miikka Salomaki, Mike Vecchione, Sampo Ranta

COL Scratches: Justus Annunen, Shane Bowers, Luka Burzan, Kevin Carr, Nate Clurman, Sheldon Dries, Alexandre Fortin, Miles Gendron, Peter Tischke

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188328 Los Angeles Kings players and we can bring them in when they’re ready and surplus them with quality NHL players to take a step forward.”

We’ll break that improvement down into two buckets, internal and Exit Interviews – General Manager Rob Blake external.

Internal improvement is easy to identify, because you know which players it focuses on – the ones under contract with the Kings. The hard By Zach Dooley part is recognizing who, when and by how much.

The Kings have several holes to fill in the lineup this offseason, and it’s not reasonable to expect that all of those improvements will come from This morning, Head Coach Todd McLellan and General Manager Rob outside of the organization. Internal improvement comes from two Blake gave their season-ending interviews. We’ll start with Blake’s different groups in the development process, the middle group, consisting interview here, with a lot to unpack from both, and follow up with of guys with a few years of NHL experience, and the younger group, with McLellan’s thoughts and remarks. guys either completing or entering their first full NHL seasons. First, the cold hard facts. That first group is perhaps more key in terms of seeing immediate In terms of injury updates, Blake shared information on four players, who improvements – either had or ended the season with various ailments. “The next leadership, the second level, to be able to push to another – Blake Lizotte suffered an AC Sprain, that cost him both the end of the level. I mentioned, the Iafallos, the Kempes, Trevor Moore, Matt Roy, season and an opportunity to play at the World Championships in Latvia. Sean Walker, Cal Petersen, they’re in that position. It’s not just the youth and the young guys coming in, they need to take that next step. That’s – Dustin Brown had been fighting an upper-body injury throughout the where we’re at to be able to progress and where we say the progression season, playing through it, until he was advised by doctors to shut it is coming. The young kids will filter into this lineup, but we can also down. Brown’s recovery will be “non-surgical” per Blake, but will require surplus that lineup ourselves.” time to rehab and heal. The second group is the younger players and integrating them into the – Jonathan Quick suffered a rib injury in his final game of the season in lineup. This season, it was players like Mikey Anderson, Jaret Anderson- Arizona, which kept him out for the remainder of the season. Quick is Dolan, Tobias Bjornfot and Gabriel Vilardi who were inserted as true also expected to undergo an unrelated shoulder surgery tomorrow, rookies, and they experienced the ups and downs that true rookies do. something due to wear and tear over time, which will be repaired and he is fully expected to be back. “We also got to see some young players participate in the NHL for a full season. Todd mentioned a couple of young D, for example, in Mikey and – Tyler Madden, who returned to the Ontario Reign’s lineup this past Toby, so we’re better off in that position.” Friday in Tucson, suffered a broken collarbone in early-March in Bakersfield, an injury that required surgery and cost him more than two The other side of the coin is external improvements, and it’s something months of his first professional season. that was touched on in many ways, but also the hardest question to answer. Without a clear sense of the free agent class, or the trade The Kings currently have a small collection of restricted free agents this market, at this time, exactly who will be available to the Kings at this time offseason, with the largest names being Andreas Athanasiou and Trevor via both avenues will shape itself over the coming months. Moore. Blake did not go into the status of each player specifically, but did confirm what both players said earlier this month, that conversations Blake said that the team will explore possibilities around the Seattle have started. expansion draft as one area to potentially acquire proven talent, and feels that the team is further along in terms of acquiring assets, that can “It’ll take place further down the road, but we have been in contact with potentially be used to acquire proven NHL talent this offseason. He them, prior to the deadline, after the deadline. They’re a little bit of a referenced the Jeff Carter trade in 2012 as an example of that process in different situation than UFA’s, such as Iafallo at the deadline, priority wise the organization’s build up to the two championships. with signing at that time, not priority in we want them on our team. Definitely conversations, and we’ll be continuing those.” “That’s exactly what happened the last time around. They were able to use assets to acquire a Jeff Carter, that came in and established two – One note from McLellan’s interview is that indicated that the coaching Stanley Cups with the organization. The ability to have that in place, staff will return, in its entirety. That consists of McLellan himself, we’re further along in our situation of understanding where these players assistants Trent Yawney and Marco Sturm, goaltending coach Bill will play on the roster, understanding hole and needs that we need to fill. Ranford and video coaches Samson Lee and Derik Johnson. You have to have the assets to be able to move around there.”

“We’ve clarified that our staff is going to be back together and we’re Blake felt the organization took a step forward with working on the salary looking forward to moving the team in an upward direction. Obviously we cap, which has set the Kings up to be able to add essentially whatever have a lot of work to do, but our group will be back together.” they want to or need to this offseason. The Kings finished with the league’s second most available cap space, and has more than $20 I’m not sure how many ways someone can say that the team needs to million available to use this offseason, a total that balloons to more than get better, but Rob Blake may have covered them all throughout the $40 million in the summer of 2022. The Kings have 18 players already course of his availability this morning. under contract for next season, and several others on entry-level deals It was the primary topic of discussion and the secondary topic of that will take up minimal cap space when they break into the NHL. discussion and rightfully so. – Looking at the kids, Blake said that one priority this season was to “This summer is very important, as it always is. I think it’s a step further in introduce several prospects into the professional ranks at the AHL level, the direction that we want to get to, where we want to progress and get and that was one step the organization took. better……We’re going to take the necessary steps this summer, we’ve “As far as expectations, we expected, first of all, for some players to play taken the necessary steps to do that. Regarding age groups and players, their first years pro in the American League, so the organization took a lot of that will be where it fits in our lineup. We’re further ahead this some steps in that direction.” year in understanding where certain holes may be, and we’re a year further in the progression of some of our players, so we understand that The Reign were a tale of two seasons. They started out with one victory better.” from their first 13 games played, but ended the season just two games under the .500 mark. That development was something that came down Blake’s comments are longer, and perhaps less pointed, than what Drew to adding a couple more veterans at the AHL level throughout the Doughty said after his own exit interview the other day. They were not in season, as well as the continued growth and development of younger disagreement though on the desire to improve. players. “Drew’s comments are 100 percent, it’s the same feeling up here,” Blake “That team took kind of a pattern that we thought would be in place there. said. “It’s not like we don’t want to get any better, we’re all on the same Very young team, led by a lot of the younger players, minutes wise and page. Now, we can take the necessary steps, we can filter in young special teams wise. Struggled early, seemed to get things figured out, close to .500. With a different style, different playoff format, they’ll be playing a single elimination game here tonight.”

Blake was asked specifically about three members of the Reign – Arthur Kaliyev, Akil Thomas and Alex Turcotte – and how he felt they fared during their first professional seasons in the AHL. Blake seemed to be pleased with all three, who made up a young group with Ontario this season.

“Arthur Kaliyev, led [the Reign] in goals and points, up [among the league leaders] in rookie scoring, you could see as a 19-year-old, it took games to figure out the league a little bit, to find his position, but he was probably penciled in to be in juniors this year. With everything that happened with COVID and the pandemic, we were at an advantage to be able to play him, and Byfield, in the American League and gain that valuable experience. Akil Thomas was a very valuable player throughout the whole season and at different positions. Whether it was wing, center, power play, penalty kill, throughout the lineup. Turcotte, he had a few different injuries throughout the year that may have slowed out the number of games we expected out of him, but he was able to produce when he was in there.”

Blake also discussed the progress of Quinton Byfield, who got his NHL debut and got a taste of professional hockey throughout the season. Blake felt it was important for Byfield to play with Anze Kopitar and learn from him, taking that experience into an offseason that is hopeful to set him up for a permanent role in the NHL in the fall.

“I think the ability to have him around a player of Kopitar’s stature, albeit for a few weeks, is so important. To see the difference from not only junior to the American League but to the NHL will help him. He’s obviously in a unique situation next year, being the age he is, there’s not the American League option that we had this year with him. We really wanted him to experience the NHL and be around these pros that have established themselves and been able to win in the league.”

– Looking at the team’s season this year, not necessarily looking ahead to the future, and Blake said that regardless of the team’s good start, the team being in the hunt during the middle, and the team fading from contention down the stretch, he did not change his expectations at any point throughout the season.

“No, not at all. I think we put ourselves in a pretty good position early. You look at the trade deadline and Todd referenced the records, I think we were 5-11 after and in the 16 previous we were 6-10, so not a lot of difference, but enough to establish that it was going to be a difficult chore to get into the playoffs. They played well enough and hard enough to stay in the mix for awhile there, but the difference here being the last 4-5 games when you’re officially out, I’m not sure that’s a good sense of the compete level we needed from our players.”

Blake said that this season’s roster was not good enough to qualify for the postseason, which naturally leads to the need to improve the roster moving forward.

Naturally, not a ton of answered questions regarding direction, but today’s interviews made clear the need, and desire, to improve.

Coming up, we’ll take a look at Todd McLellan’s exit interview, as well as a game thread tonight for the Ontario Reign’s playoff game in Irvine. 1188329 Los Angeles Kings

Trevor Moore nominated for King Clancy Memorial Trophy

By Zach Dooley

The NHL announced this morning the 31 nominees across the league for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, presented “to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.”

The LA Kings nominee this season is forward Trevor Moore, a Thousand Oaks native, who contributed to the local community here in Los Angeles during the pandemic, as well as during the season.

Partnering with the Kings Care Foundation, Moore spent time dropping food off at the local Children’s Hospital LA and giving out laptops and wifi hotspots to help kids with online schooling during the pandemic. Moore was selected for the award by the Kings, with the eventual winner chosen by Gary Bettman and Bill Daly, along with a committee of senior-level NHL executives.

The overall winner is expected to be announced with the full collection of NHL awards in the offseason. The first-place finisher at the leaguewide level will receive a $25,000 donation to benefit a charity or charities of his choice. The two runners-up each will receive a $5,000 donation to benefit a charity or charities of their choice.

Trevor Moore reflects on being able to give back to the LA community during the pandemic.

Busy day to come, Insiders!

Todd McLellan and Rob Blake are scheduled to give their season-ending interviews this morning, with full coverage to follow on LAKI. Then, the Ontario Reign begin their postseason journey this evening in Irvine, CA, with the first game of the Play-In Series.

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188330 Minnesota Wild So much for strong starts, especially when momentum can change on a shot during the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The series, however, is tied 1-1 and the Wild is well-positioned as it Greed would have served Wild well, but it heads home tied heads for Game 3. Sure would have been nice for it to get greedy.

MAY 19, 2021 — 1:37AM Star Tribune LOADED: 05.19.2021

La Velle E. Neal III @LAVELLENEAL

One team had a chance to be greedy Tuesday night, but there were no Gordon Gekkos playing for the Wild.

Its 3-1 loss to Las Vegas will be known for the 18 seconds the Wild led the game before it was tied, then the two Alex Tuch goals that put the Golden Knights ahead for good,

The Wild was at full throttle in the first period, banged around in the second, then made a push in the third for a tying goal. For the second consecutive game, Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was outstanding between the pipes, enabling Las Vegas to leave town with vital victory. The man was a wall, stopping 34 shots.

Greed would have been great. With a Wild win on Tuesday, it would have taken a 2-0 lead against a team they have handled for most of the season. It would have turned the 702 blue, raising the possibility that the Golden Knights might have played their final home game of the season.

The Wild has little reason to feel frustrated. It heads home with the series tied at 1-1 with two games at Xcel and a chance to open up an all-but- insurmountable lead against the Golden Knights.

Two things the Wild has to consider as it returns to the Twin Cities. The first is what coach can do to get Kirill Kaprizov going.

The Wild's most dynamic player was pointless for a second consecutive game. He played responsibly on defense, even mixing it up a few times. But he had one shot in the first period, then one more in the second period. He did try to set up Mats Zuccarello from the trapezoid late in the third, to no avail.

That's not going to work.

Kaprizov didn't help his cause with a tripping penalty in the final minutes, as he watched from the box as Las Vegas put the game away.

The other issue: What has outplaying the opponent in the first period of this series gotten these teams?

The Wild rode Cam Talbot's brilliance in goal during a 1-0 overtime win in Game 1. For as well as the team performed, there were things it needed to address heading into Game 2.

Las Vegas took it to the Wild in the first period of Game 1, outshooting it 19-5. Matt Dumba took a penalty for delay of game. It didn't look good then, but the Wild responded and got the ever-important road win.

"We need to have a push earlier," Evason said before Game 2, "so we don't get behind the 8-ball and rely on our goaltender to make several key saves to keep us in the ballgame."

His players listen to him, for they started on the front foot Tuesday.

Zuccarello had an early shot on goal. Ryan Hartman, once again, got good looks at the net. Kevin Fiala had four shots on goal in the period and eight for the game. Nick Bjugstad, getting early minutes, was a forechecking fiend. Fleury was under siege at times in the first period, as the Wild outshot Las Vegas 17-10.

"It was encouraging," Dumba said. "It's a seven-game series. You have to build on every category. It's shots, everything just piles up. We're going to keep with that. I think if we play like we did at the start of the game there, we're going to be just fine."

The Knights got some shots on Talbot, but the Wild plays mostly disciplined defense. And Dumba must have had pock marks on his chest from the shots he blocked.

And what did it get the Wild? A 2-1 deficit after two periods as the game got more physical, the Wild didn't fly around the rink like in the first period and Las Vegas responded with two goals following Dumba's well-placed finish near the 12-minute mark. 1188331 Minnesota Wild

Wild-Vegas Game 2 recap

MAY 19, 2021 — 12:48AM

GAME 2 RECAP

STAR TRIBUNE'S THREE STARS

1. Marc-Andre Fleury, Golden Knights: The goaltender was the best player on the ice, making 34 saves.

2. Alex Tuch, Golden Knights: The winger scored twice, including the game-winning goal in the second period.

3. Matt Dumba, Wild: The defenseman had the Wild's only goal and blocked eight shots.

BY THE NUMBERS

8 Shots by Wild winger Kevin Fiala.

17 First-period shots by the Wild after just five in Game 1.

100 Career playoff games for the Wild's Nick Bonino.

SARAH McLELLAN

Star Tribune LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188332 Minnesota Wild

Ex-Wild winger Alex Tuch scores twice to kick-start Vegas offense

By Randy Johnson Star Tribune

MAY 19, 2021 — 12:57AM

If Peter DeBoer had his druthers, the Vegas Golden Knights coach would roll his regular four lines and rely on his team's depth to score.

Instead, the absence of the injured Max Pacioretty, the Golden Knights' leading goal-scorer in the regular season, prompted DeBoer to move Alex Tuch from a productive third line to left wing on the first line, hoping to get right winger Mark Stone and center Chandler Stephenson going.

While the move made midway through the Golden Knights' Game 1 first- round playoff loss didn't produce immediately as Wild goalie Cam Talbot had a 42-save shutout, it did pay dividends in Tuesday night's Game 2 in Las Vegas.

Tuch, a player the Wild fan base knows all too well, scored the go-ahead goal 17:19 into the second period, then delivered the dagger on a goal with 51 seconds left in the third as Vegas defeated Minnesota 3-1 to even the series at a game apiece.

"It's huge going forward, not only tonight,'' said Tuch, who scored both of his goals in front of the net. "We had a couple, three different opportunities right there on the doorstep. That was our mentality, to try to get inside of them.''

On Sunday, Tuch replaced left winger Tomas Nosek and delivered a burst of speed and energy to the line. On Tuesday, Tuch made his biggest impact late in the second period.

After the Wild and Vegas traded goals 18 seconds apart, Tuch, left alone in front of the Wild goal, took a pass from Mattias Janmark from behind the net and quickly fired a shot past Talbot with 2:41 left in the period.

"I saw Janny get on the puck first, and he took a quick peek over his shoulder,'' Tuch said of Janmark. "As soon as he did that, I just tried to get my stick into position, and he was able to put it on my stick. It was a phenomenal play, and I had half the net to shoot at.''

DeBoer was impressed by the consistency of the 6-4, 220-pounder.

"Tuchie's such a dynamic skater, and when he's using that size and that speed and getting to those tough areas of the rink, he's a really hard guy to handle,'' DeBoer said. "He's consistently been doing that, and when he does, he gets rewarded. He's been excellent.''

Tuch sealed the victory on a power-play goal with 51 seconds left, giving him five goals and three assists against the Wild in the 2020-21 regular season and postseason. In 18:10 of ice time Tuesday, he led the Golden Knights with five shots, delivered two hits and won two of his four faceoffs.

That Tuch is playing for Vegas is a tribute to how former Golden Knights General Manager George McPhee managed the expansion draft back in 2017. Knowing that the Wild didn't want to lose a defensive prospect like Jonas Brodin or Matt Dumba, McPhee made a deal with former Wild GM Chuck Fletcher. Vegas would not pick Brodin, Dumba or any forward prospect and would agree to sign free agent center Erik Haula. The price of that, however, was the Wild sending Tuch, their 2014 first-round draft pick out of Boston College, to the Golden Knights.

It's paid off marvelously for Tuch, who had 15 goals and 22 assists as a rookie in 2017-18 and added six goals and four assists in 20 playoff games as the Golden Knights advanced to the Stanley Cup Final.

Star Tribune LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188333 Minnesota Wild that flew top-shelf on Wild goalie Cam Talbot — snapping Talbot's shutout streak to open the series at 95:45.

Later in the period, Ian Cole was penalized for roughing and although the Alex Tuch, Marc-Andre Fleury spark Vegas to 3-1 victory over Wild to Wild survived being shorthanded, Tuch scored the decisive goal soon even series after play was back to 5-on-5. Talbot finished with 25 saves.

The Wild had only one power play in the game, in the first period, but the team blanked on its opportunity — one of many unsuccessful looks that By Sarah McLellan Star Tribune could have flipped the game in a different direction if the Wild converted.

MAY 19, 2021 — 1:42AM "It was tough not coming out with a goal," Suter said, "but the way that we played, we have to continue to play that way."

LAS VEGAS - How does it feel to control play, take most of the shots, and still lose like Vegas did in Game 1? Star Tribune LOADED: 05.19.2021 The Wild found out in the rematch.

After the Wild eked out a 1-0 overtime win on Sunday, the team switched spots with the Golden Knights in Game 2 as Vegas overcame being upstaged to rally 3-1 on Tuesday night in front of 8,683 at T-Mobile Arena and even the best-of-seven series 1-1.

Game 3 of the first-round matchup is Thursday at Xcel Energy Center.

"Obviously, the loss stings and [in the] playoffs, you don't really want moral victories," Wild center Nick Bonino said. "But I think tonight we got better [and] played better."

Former Wild winger Alex Tuch scored twice, including the go-ahead goal at 17 minutes, 19 seconds of the second period when he one-timed in a behind-the-net feed from Mattias Janmark soon after the Wild was back to full strength after killing off a Vegas power play.

Tuch also added a power-play goal with 53 seconds remaining in the third period after rookie Kirill Kaprizov was whistled for a tripping penalty with the Wild in a 6-on-5 formation — a call that stalled the Wild's comeback bid before Tuch pulled the plug.

But goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was the backbone of this victory for the Golden Knights with 34 saves that helped Vegas avoid going into a 0- 2 hole for the first time in its postseason history.

As for the Wild, the team is now 2-13 all-time in Game 2s.

Early on, though, it looked like the Wild might ditch that trend and return to St. Paul in the driver's seat in the series.

After a timid-looking start to Game 1, the Wild was much more aggressive Tuesday.

In fact, the team dominated the Golden Knights in the first period and could have led by multiple goals if not for the stellar play of Fleury, who made 17 saves alone in the first.

He stopped shots in tight, from a distance and even had a sequence when he kept the puck out while lying down in the crease.

"We loved our start," Wild coach Dean Evason said. "We loved the whole game, not just our team. The game was fantastic. They're going to be like that the rest of the way."

Fleury's best work in succession came in when he made consecutive saves on three shots from Kevin Fiala, one from Victor Rask and another from Ryan Suter — five shots by the Wild in 27 seconds, this after the team managed only five against Fleury in the entire first period of Game 1. Overall, Fiala racked up eight shots and was the most dangerous skater on the ice despite not producing any offense — repeatedly getting foiled by Fleury.

"What can I do?" Fiala said. "What can we do? Just keep pushing. I feel tonight was his night."

The pressure had Vegas looking frazzled, a rare sight this season, but the action was scoreless until the second period.

That's when the Wild finally capitalized, going ahead at 12:07 on a point shot by Matt Dumba that sailed by Fleury while Marcus Foligno was setting a screen in front of the net.

The finish continued a strong game by Dumba, who was a shot-blocking fiend in the first — making four of his eight total blocks in the period.

But the Wild had the lead for only 18 seconds before the Golden Knights responded, a shot by Jonathan Marchessault from the right faceoff circle 1188334 Minnesota Wild

Ex-Wild winger Alex Tuch scores twice to kick-start Vegas offense

By Randy Johnson Star Tribune

MAY 19, 2021 — 12:57AM

If Peter DeBoer had his druthers, the Vegas Golden Knights coach would roll his regular four lines and rely on his team's depth to score.

Instead, the absence of the injured Max Pacioretty, the Golden Knights' leading goal-scorer in the regular season, prompted DeBoer to move Alex Tuch from a productive third line to left wing on the first line, hoping to get right winger Mark Stone and center Chandler Stephenson going.

While the move made midway through the Golden Knights' Game 1 first- round playoff loss didn't produce immediately as Wild goalie Cam Talbot had a 42-save shutout, it did pay dividends in Tuesday night's Game 2 in Las Vegas.

Tuch, a player the Wild fan base knows all too well, scored the go-ahead goal 17:19 into the second period, then delivered the dagger on a goal with 51 seconds left in the third as Vegas defeated Minnesota 3-1 to even the series at a game apiece.

"It's huge going forward, not only tonight,'' said Tuch, who scored both of his goals in front of the net. "We had a couple, three different opportunities right there on the doorstep. That was our mentality, to try to get inside of them.''

On Sunday, Tuch replaced left winger Tomas Nosek and delivered a burst of speed and energy to the line. On Tuesday, Tuch made his biggest impact late in the second period.

After the Wild and Vegas traded goals 18 seconds apart, Tuch, left alone in front of the Wild goal, took a pass from Mattias Janmark from behind the net and quickly fired a shot past Talbot with 2:41 left in the period.

"I saw Janny get on the puck first, and he took a quick peek over his shoulder,'' Tuch said of Janmark. "As soon as he did that, I just tried to get my stick into position, and he was able to put it on my stick. It was a phenomenal play, and I had half the net to shoot at.''

DeBoer was impressed by the consistency of the 6-4, 220-pounder.

"Tuchie's such a dynamic skater, and when he's using that size and that speed and getting to those tough areas of the rink, he's a really hard guy to handle,'' DeBoer said. "He's consistently been doing that, and when he does, he gets rewarded. He's been excellent.''

Tuch sealed the victory on a power-play goal with 51 seconds left, giving him five goals and three assists against the Wild in the 2020-21 regular season and postseason. In 18:10 of ice time Tuesday, he led the Golden Knights with five shots, delivered two hits and won two of his four faceoffs.

That Tuch is playing for Vegas is a tribute to how former Golden Knights General Manager George McPhee managed the expansion draft back in 2017. Knowing that the Wild didn't want to lose a defensive prospect like Jonas Brodin or Matt Dumba, McPhee made a deal with former Wild GM Chuck Fletcher. Vegas would not pick Brodin, Dumba or any forward prospect and would agree to sign free agent center Erik Haula. The price of that, however, was the Wild sending Tuch, their 2014 first-round draft pick out of Boston College, to the Golden Knights.

It's paid off marvelously for Tuch, who had 15 goals and 22 assists as a rookie in 2017-18 and added six goals and four assists in 20 playoff games as the Golden Knights advanced to the Stanley Cup Final.

Star Tribune LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188335 Minnesota Wild This time, with this roster, all levels of optimism are permitted. As for the Twins, the embarrassment of what has been a hat trick of

futility — bad pitching, lousy hitting, shaky fielding — was trumped in the Which is the bigger surprise: The Wild's rise or the Twins' collapse? wake of Monday's 16-4 battering from the White Sox.

The last run came when the Willians Astudillo comedy act was on the mound for the ninth. Astudillo threw his 45 miles-per-hour loopers, got a MAY 19, 2021 — 1:40AM couple of outs and everybody was chuckling.

Patrick Reusse Then, on a 3-0 count, Astudillo lobbed another one and Yermin Mercedes slaughtered it for a 430-foot home run to center field.

Mercedes is Astudillo's twin with the White Sox — a chubby catcher long There is nothing to excite sports fans more than unexpected success. buried in the minors, finally given a chance and producing, and with more There is nothing better to irritate sports fans than unexpected failure. power than the Turtle. The hockey team located in St. Paul and the baseball team located in The height of silliness followed, with the Twins deciding to be offended Minneapolis find themselves at the extreme edges of these reactions. that someone had the audacity to hit a 3-0 pastry from Astudillo for run The NHL's shortened 56-game schedule started in mid-January with a No. 16, rather than wait for a 3-1 pastry to do the same. Wild outlook that was, "They might squeeze into the playoffs." Mercedes was disrespecting the Turtle as a pitcher, and disrespecting a Then rookie Kirill Kaprizov turned out to be the team's first true franchise team that had put the Turtle on the mound for the laughs? We have to player — so much so the question among Minnesota's hockey fanatics protect our dignity by having Tyler Duffey throw at this make-believe became: villain a night later?

"Why not a Stanley Cup parade for us?" That Twins reaction was more pathetic than the putrid manner in which Baldelli's club has had to play to overtake the Detroit Tigers for the title of Kaprizov has plenty of help up front, Jonas Brodin leads an excellent Baseball's Worst. defense, and General Manager Bill Guerin's decision to sign Cam Talbot as the goalie who could steal wins and not contribute to losses in the playoffs looks 100%. Star Tribune LOADED: 05.19.2021 As the Twins were starting spring training Feb. 19 in Fort Myers, the Wild was escaping a two-week COVID shutdown and launching a six-game winning streak to end the month.

The optimism created by that winning streak could not have been greater than what surrounded the Twins.

On those days that manager Rocco Baldelli put most of his A team on a Florida field, it was a dangerous group — particularly with indications that Byron Buxton and Josh Donaldson could be healthy.

Kenta Maeda and Jose Berrios were sharp. Michael Pineda was going to be the same: well above average.

The bullpen had suffered a serious loss in Trevor May, but the nominees to replace him, Alexander Colome or Hansel Robles, seemed adequate.

The Twins opened the season at No. 7 in Las Vegas sportsbooks to win the World Series at 20-1. They also had the seventh-highest over-and- under wins number: 88.5.

Those of us at the Star Tribune also were preaching optimism. My projection was 87-75 for the Twins, a number that some readers suggested was simply an attempt to be negative.

I'm now in a position to apologize along with colleagues for not only drinking the Kool-Aid, but helping to mix it.

On Tuesday, the Wild was taking a 1-0 lead, in goals and in the series, into a late-starting Game 2 at Las Vegas. At the same time, the Twins were holding the worst record in the majors, 13-26, and trying to avoid another thumping from the White Sox.

The Wild's surprising push from mid-February created a Big Three with Las Vegas and Colorado in the COVID-refigured West. This wasn't as hyped as would've been the case in a normal season.

There was only a smattering of relatives inside Xcel Energy Center for a long while, and then restricted crowds. The headlines were there, the Kaprizov highlights were seen often, but the buzz was missing the sellout crowds.

That changed Sunday, when the Wild got the head start in Las Vegas. The hockey team is going to own this sports market as long as it plays this late spring and perhaps into summer.

The Wild only has given the Twin Cities one legitimate playoff run. That was in its third year of existence, 2003, when the seven-game upsets of Colorado and Vancouver were basically miracles produced by coach Jacques Lemaire.

It was a great odyssey, also impossible to perceive that those Wild actually could bring home a Cup. 1188336 Minnesota Wild Star Tribune LOADED: 05.19.2021

Ian Cole's blocked pass was vital to Wild's Game 1 playoff victory in Vegas

By Sarah McLellan Star Tribune

MAY 18, 2021 — 8:49PM

LAS VEGAS - The Wild-Vegas first round playoff series heads to Xcel Energy Center after the teams split at T-Mobile Arena.

The Golden Knights won Game 2 3-1 Tuesday, finally breaking the ice on Wild goalie Cam Talbot, who had a shutout in Sunday's Game 1.

Joel Eriksson Ek's overtime goal and Talbot's 42 saves were the highlights in the Wild's Game 1 victory .

But what was also vital to the 1-0 outcome was defenseman Ian Cole sprawling on the ice in the third period to intercept a William Karlsson centering attempt, a block that might have saved a goal.

"You just kind of try to get down and make sure you take that passing lane away, and then if you can work your way into the shot lane, then you work your way into the shot lane as well," Cole said.

"It happened quick so in the moment, that's just how I ended up doing it. It ended up working, so it was good."

Not all shot blocks are successful; Vegas' Alec Martinez tried to get in the way of Eriksson Ek's windup in overtime, and the puck ended up clipping Martinez's skate and sailing into the net for the game-winning goal. But players still take their chances, especially in the playoffs.

"They're never going to be perfect," Cole said. "They're never going to be 100 percent.

"You're never going to be able to not get hit with a puck like Martinez did and go in. It happens. You do your best."

Attendance numbers across the NHL are on the rise in the playoffs.

The Wild and Golden Knights played in front of 8,683 on Sunday for Game 1, approximately 50% capacity for T-Mobile Arena.

"It's always a great atmosphere here in Vegas," Cole said. "Even their half-full or just-under-half-full buildings are very loud and very energetic, so it was a great atmosphere and they certainly brought it."

Carolina had 12,000 fans on hand Monday when it hosted Nashville for Game 1. The Predators are allowed 12,135 for their home playoff games, and St. Louis is expecting 9,000.

The Wild can have up to 4,500 fans at Xcel Energy Center (25% capacity) when the series shifts to Minnesota, starting with Game 3 on Thursday. After only a few hundred attendees early in the season, the Wild eventually expanded to 3,000 and then 3,300 for the regular- -season finale.

"Just watching around the league, the games, the energy that the fans have has been tremendous," coach Dean Evason said. "We've talked about it a lot, about our 3,000 or whatever we've had in our building have been absolutely amazing."

The Wild nominated Mats Zuccarello for the 2020-21 King Clancy Memorial Trophy, which honors the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities.

Matt Dumba won the award last year, the second consecutive season a Wild player was recognized. Jason Zucker won in 2019.

Making marks

Dumba's eight shot blocks in Game 2 were a franchise record for a playoff game, and Kevin Fiala's eight shots are tied for the second most by a Wild player in a playoff game.

Talbot's shutout streak of 95 minutes, 45 seconds to open the series was also a team record.

1188337 Minnesota Wild

Wild eyeing better start in Game 2 vs. Golden Knights

By Sarah McLellan Star Tribune

MAY 18, 2021 — 2:40PM

LAS VEGAS – The Wild didn't win Game 1 until overtime, when Joel Eriksson Ek scored early in the extra session, but the team could have lost the game in the first period.

Vegas had the early edge, outshooting the Wild 19-5, and although the Wild survived the onslaught, the team is eyeing a better debut in Game 2 on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena when it has the chance to go up 2-0 in the best-of-seven, first-round series.

Road teams that go up 2-0 are 80-20 all-time in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Wild hasn't won a Game 2 since April 11, 2008, vs. Colorado.

"They're going to be as desperate as they were, and we need to be even more desperate than they are," coach Dean Evason said. "We've talked about it all year that it doesn't matter what happened last game. At the drop of the puck tonight, we have to be prepared, ready to go, and if we can match what we know they're going to bring and hopefully exceed it, we should be in a good spot."

After getting shut out in Game 1, the Golden Knights are looking to play with a lead but the Wild can also improve its execution after missing on a bevy of quality chances in Game 1.

On Monday, Evason checked in with the Kevin Fiala, Victor Rask and Marcus Johansson line that combined for just three shots in Game 1 and Evason said the group can't get frustrated.

"Kevin, in particular, can get frustrated offensively," Evason said. "But I talked to him [Monday]. He's doing his job. He's doing what he has to do. He's giving his team an opportunity to have success. They'll be a game where Kevin obviously will score. He scores. That's his thing.

"But he can't hurt us anywhere else, and that's no different than anybody else on our hockey club, and we expect them to play the same way here tonight."

The Wild is expected to roll out the same lineup for Game 2; the team's morning skate was optional, and many players – including starter Cam Talbot – stayed off the ice.

Game 2 will be veteran center Nick Bonino's 100th in the playoffs.

Key numbers:

42: Saves for Talbot in Game 1, his fifth career playoff shutout.

23: Blocked shots by the Wild in Game 1.

81: Shots attempts by Vegas in the first game.

41: Faceoff wins by the Golden Knights last game compared to 25 for the Wild.

3: Successful penalty kills by the Wild in Game 1.

About the Golden Knights:

Injured winger Max Pacioretty will be a game-time decision for Vegas. He missed Game 1 and hasn't played since May 1. Expect goalie Marc- Andre Fleury back in net after he made 29 saves in Game 1. Fleury is the NHL's active leader in playoff wins (81) and games played (147). If Pacioretty remains out, winger Alex Tuch could start on the team's top line after getting moved there during Game 1.

Star Tribune LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188338 Minnesota Wild make a mistake in Game 7 of the regular season, it might not hurt you. In the playoffs, everything can come back to bite you."

Wild's Nick Bonino: On 100th playoff game and 'annoying' Marc-Andre Star Tribune LOADED: 05.19.2021 Fleury

By Michael Rand MAY 18, 2021 — 10:49AM

Center Nick Bonino is not the first player you think of on this year's Wild team. If we're being honest, he might not even be the 10th.

But there might not be one player on the Wild team who is a better fit or symbolic match than Bonino: an overachieving former sixth-round draft pick who is set to play his 100th career NHL playoff game Tuesday night against Vegas for an overachieving team that can use all the playoff experience it can get.

I asked him if he remembers his first playoff appearance a decade ago with Anaheim. As it turns out, Bonino's memory is as solid as his game.

"I do remember. That year I think I played 26 games in November and December and then I was sent down and I didn't get called up until the playoffs. I played Games 2, 3, 4 and 5. I think we played Nashville, actually, with Anaheim. Back then I wasn't playing too much. I was more an energy, checking (player). Just kind of getting a taste of the playoffs," Bonino said on Tuesday's Daily Delivery podcast. "I think I've learned over the years really how hard it is to win, how long the playoffs are, the toll it takes on your body — mentally and physically. ... It's pretty crazy to be playing my 100th game."

Though Bonino is hardly the only Wild player with extensive postseason experience — Ryan Suter has logged 82 playoff games, for instance — some of the most important players on the roster are far less-seasoned. Rookie sensation Kirill Kaprizov, of course, made his NHL playoff debut on Sunday.

"My message mostly is just emotionally that's where games are won and lost with your team," Bonino said. "Just staying focused, whether it's a first period like we had (Sunday) where we looked a little bit maybe like we had 'plane legs' but we got awesome goaltending and came into the locker room and just completely turned the page. Came out and played ... two great periods and then won in overtime."

Bonino's teams are 55-44 in his 99 career playoff games to date.

Wild general manager Bill Guerin was an assistant GM in Pittsburgh when Bonino was there as part of two Stanley Cup-winning teams. On draft night in October, he acquired Bonino plus the No. 37 and No. 70 picks from Nashville for Luke Kunin and the 101st pick — an under-the- radar move that has tilted toward the Wild as Bonino had 10 goals and 16 assists while playing in all but one of 56 regular season games.

"When we won the Cup (against) Nashville in '17, he couldn't play in the last game because he broke his leg blocking a shot," Guerin said after he traded for Bonino. "Those are the type of things that we need to move forward, and he brings all those intangibles along with offensive capability."

Marc-Andre Fleury helped Pittsburgh win both of those Stanley Cups and matched Wild goalie Cam Talbot save-for-save until Joel Eriksson Ek's goal gave the Wild a 1-0 win in the opener.

"He's annoying. So many good saves (Sunday) night," Bonino said with a smile. "When you play with him, he talks a lot on the ice. Anytime someone makes a block, he's cheering and going, 'Woo!' and he's happy. I loved it when I was playing for it, but now it's killing me."

Bonino marveled at Fleury's streak of playing in the postseason for the 15th consecutive year — 11 with the Penguins and four with the Golden Knights — but Bonino's own streak is almost as impressive: nine consecutive trips to the playoffs, done with five different teams (Anaheim, Vancouver, Pittsburgh, Nashville and Minnesota).

That journey has taught him what it takes to win this time of year.

"You need confidence. Teams that win are the teams that execute confident plays — aren't just chipping it out and chasing it all game," Bonino said. "Everything is magnified in the playoffs. Mistakes are magnified. Faceoffs. Blocked shots. Getting pucks in. Everything is magnified. Everything is more important. They can cost you games. You 1188339 Minnesota Wild

Three keys to victory in Game 2 for Wild vs. Vegas

By Randy Johnson Star Tribune

MAY 18, 2021 — 10:23AM

As the NHL saying goes, it's not a playoff series until somebody wins on the road. If that's the case, then the Wild and Vegas Golden Knights certainly have themselves a playoff series.

With its 1-0 overtime victory in Game 1 on Sunday in Las Vegas, the Wild showed that its 5-1-2 record against the Golden Knights in the regular season wasn't a product of smoke and mirrors. Behind Cam Talbot's 42 saves and a patient, structured game that showed no panic when under pressure, coach Dean Evason's squad weathered a stormy first period and hung around long enough for Joel Eriksson Ek to finally solve Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury 3:20 into overtime.

Game 2 on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena is certain to feature pushback from a Golden Knights team that won the Western Conference title in its inaugural season in 2018 and played for another conference crown last year.

With that in mind, here are three keys for the Wild in its quest to take a 2- 0 series lead:

1. Score first

It's simple, right? The Wild scored first on Sunday and won the game. Chances are, Game 2 won't need overtime to get to the first goal, and a Vegas team that tied for third with 191 goals in the regular season has the talent to get on opponents early.

"We can help ourselves by making them play from behind,'' said Vegas coach Peter DeBoer, whose team was 31-3-2 in the regular season when scoring first. "If we get the first goal, the other team has to open it up a bit, and sometimes games look different because of that.''

In the regular-season series between the Wild and Vegas, the team that scored first won six of the eight games. Overall, Minnesota outscored opponents 60-40 in the first period this season.

2. Stay physical, but don't take the bait

Golden Knights tough guy Ryan Reaves tried to set a physical tone from the get-go in Game 1, trying to get in the Wild's heads, especially the line of Jordan Greenway, Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Foligno. The Wild matched and even surpassed the Golden Knight's physicality, and it did so without ending up in the penalty box for fighting. In turn, that rendered Reaves' tactics ineffective.

Look for Vegas to revisit that approach. If Reaves and, say, Marcus Foligno each spend five minutes in the box, that's an advantage for the Golden Knights.

"They're big and heavy,'' said Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb, whose 10 hits Sunday tied for the team lead with Reaves. "… We've got size and we play that way, too, so it's definitely going to be [physical] going forward.''

3. Create doubt in Vegas

By adhering to the steady, grind-it-out approach Evason has instilled, the Wild has the type of game that can frustrate and wear down opponents, as evidenced by a 75-58 scoring advantage in the third period and OT this season. And if Talbot is dialed-in like he was Sunday, sooner or later the Wild's 12-2-3 all-time record against Vegas could get in the Golden Knights' heads.

The Wild has DeBoer's attention, and he doesn't see the team as a fluke.

"I don't look at last night's game as we totally outplayed them and walked out of there robbed,'' DeBoer said Monday. "… We can be better, and we have to be better.''

Star Tribune LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188340 Minnesota Wild

Three keys to victory in Game 2 for Wild vs. Vegas

By Randy Johnson Star Tribune

MAY 18, 2021 — 10:23AM

As the NHL saying goes, it's not a playoff series until somebody wins on the road. If that's the case, then the Wild and Vegas Golden Knights certainly have themselves a playoff series.

With its 1-0 overtime victory in Game 1 on Sunday in Las Vegas, the Wild showed that its 5-1-2 record against the Golden Knights in the regular season wasn't a product of smoke and mirrors. Behind Cam Talbot's 42 saves and a patient, structured game that showed no panic when under pressure, coach Dean Evason's squad weathered a stormy first period and hung around long enough for Joel Eriksson Ek to finally solve Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury 3:20 into overtime.

Game 2 on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena is certain to feature pushback from a Golden Knights team that won the Western Conference title in its inaugural season in 2018 and played for another conference crown last year.

With that in mind, here are three keys for the Wild in its quest to take a 2- 0 series lead:

1. Score first

It's simple, right? The Wild scored first on Sunday and won the game. Chances are, Game 2 won't need overtime to get to the first goal, and a Vegas team that tied for third with 191 goals in the regular season has the talent to get on opponents early.

"We can help ourselves by making them play from behind,'' said Vegas coach Peter DeBoer, whose team was 31-3-2 in the regular season when scoring first. "If we get the first goal, the other team has to open it up a bit, and sometimes games look different because of that.''

In the regular-season series between the Wild and Vegas, the team that scored first won six of the eight games. Overall, Minnesota outscored opponents 60-40 in the first period this season.

2. Stay physical, but don't take the bait

Golden Knights tough guy Ryan Reaves tried to set a physical tone from the get-go in Game 1, trying to get in the Wild's heads, especially the line of Jordan Greenway, Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Foligno. The Wild matched and even surpassed the Golden Knight's physicality, and it did so without ending up in the penalty box for fighting. In turn, that rendered Reaves' tactics ineffective.

Look for Vegas to revisit that approach. If Reaves and, say, Marcus Foligno each spend five minutes in the box, that's an advantage for the Golden Knights.

"They're big and heavy,'' said Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb, whose 10 hits Sunday tied for the team lead with Reaves. "… We've got size and we play that way, too, so it's definitely going to be [physical] going forward.''

3. Create doubt in Vegas

By adhering to the steady, grind-it-out approach Evason has instilled, the Wild has the type of game that can frustrate and wear down opponents, as evidenced by a 75-58 scoring advantage in the third period and OT this season. And if Talbot is dialed-in like he was Sunday, sooner or later the Wild's 12-2-3 all-time record against Vegas could get in the Golden Knights' heads.

The Wild has DeBoer's attention, and he doesn't see the team as a fluke.

"I don't look at last night's game as we totally outplayed them and walked out of there robbed,'' DeBoer said Monday. "… We can be better, and we have to be better.''

Star Tribune LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188341 Minnesota Wild Getting back on the ice Even in the afterglow of an overtime triumph, Wild players were mindful

of the context — recognizing that there's more hockey to be played. Wild didn't panic in playoff opener, but knows tough times are ahead vs. Their actions reinforced that, too. The players opted to practice Monday Vegas instead of staying off the ice.

"It's a long day if you don't do anything," winger Mats Zuccarello said. By Sarah McLellan Star Tribune "Just to get out there, get your legs going, feel the puck a little bit and then get out of there. Gets the day going a little faster." MAY 18, 2021 — 6:30AM Still, the decision underscored the reality of the Wild's situation: The team is on a business trip.

LAS VEGAS – The celebration on the ice was exuberant. It ended with a "One game at a time," Evason said. "Our ultimate goal is the Stanley Cup boisterous group hug behind the Golden Knights net after Joel Eriksson and it's one at a time. We've done it all year. We did it yesterday. We did Ek scored in overtime to finalize a 1-0 victory for the Wild in Game 1 of it today, and we're now ready for the drop of the puck tomorrow." the first-round playoff series.

And the hoopla must have spilled over into the locker room Sunday afternoon inside T-Mobile Arena considering the team was blasting music Star Tribune LOADED: 05.19.2021 at decibels that coach Dean Evason said prevented him from hearing himself.

"Guys are excited, obviously," Evason said.

But scenes like that seem to be the exception and not the norm.

Since this series with Vegas started, the Wild has looked and sounded very businesslike, playing with a matter-of-fact flair that helped the team pluck home-ice advantage from the Golden Knights ahead of Game 2 on Tuesday.

"We liked how our group just stayed focused, didn't push any panic buttons, didn't blow zones, didn't try to push offense," Evason said. "We stayed with it. We got opportunities that didn't go in. We didn't get frustrated, and our group's done that all year."

The longer a game stays scoreless, the more the margin of error shrinks — especially in the playoffs where the stakes are steeper.

And yet the Wild didn't play like it was scared by the circumstances; while Vegas was juggling its lines, looking to spark its top unit, the Wild didn't make any personnel changes and kept relying on everyone.

"That's exactly the way we want to play," said goaltender Cam Talbot, who picked up his fifth career playoff shutout with 42 saves. "The longer it stays scoreless, I think it definitely favors us."

That composure was rewarded 3 minutes, 20 seconds into overtime, when Eriksson Ek scored to seal only the fourth Game 1 victory in a best- of-seven series in Wild history. But the Wild's poise probably wouldn't have flourished if the team didn't persevere through a shaky start.

As the first period progressed, Vegas became increasingly dangerous — controlling the puck and driving play toward Talbot's crease. If Talbot didn't make 19 saves in the period, the rest of the game might have followed a completely different script.

"We need to have a push earlier, so we don't get behind the 8-ball and rely on our goaltender to make multiple key saves to keep us in the ballgame," Evason said.

A turn in fortune

From the second period on, the Wild steadily traded chances with Vegas and frequently had quality looks but the Wild didn't stray from its structure to produce them.

Actually, the game- winning goal came off a back-to-basics sequence: after Marcus Foligno pressured the Vegas defense into an unsuccessful clearing attempt, Jordan Greenway scooped up the puck, headed for the forecheck and then sent a pass to the front of the net toward a wide-open Eriksson Ek.

His shot caromed off Golden Knights defenseman Alec Martinez's skate before sliding five-hole past goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, a fortunate bounce but a break that was the result of a diligent effort.

"We knew the way he was making saves that if we were to score it was going to be something like that, a tipped shot that trickles in," said center Ryan Hartman, who had five shots stopped by Fleury in Game 1. "The hard shots and the shots off the wing weren't going in [Sunday]. We hope we can get some more of those opportunities next game. We just have to try to bury more of our chances." 1188342 Minnesota Wild game in the second period when he hit the crossbar after a great pass from Fiala.

If Rask scores there, we’re not having this conversation. Yet he didn’t, Wild need a hero. How about Kevin Fiala? and we are.

Evason and the Wild expressed confidence as they head home. They were 21-5-2 at the X this season and held serve in Vegas. They like their By JOHN SHIPLEY | [email protected] | Pioneer Press chances if they continue to play as they have. That’s especially true for Fiala. PUBLISHED: May 19, 2021 at 12:08 a.m. | UPDATED: May 19, 2021 at 2:17 a.m. “He was real good in tonight’s hockey game.” Evason said. “We believe that if he keeps grinding away like that, he’s going to produce — and if he

doesn’t one of his teammates will.” Kevin Fiala was sighted briefly in the Wild’s 1-0 victory over Vegas on

Sunday in Las Vegas, sending on net a wicked one-timer that Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury managed to glove. Pioneer Press LOADED: 05.19.2021 It was Fiala’s lone conspicuous moment, but because the Wild ultimately won a first-round playoff game for just the fourth time in 20 years, it was of little consequence.

That changed on Tuesday when the Golden Knights got their offense untracked in a 3-1 Game 2 victory at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Wild return to Minnesota for Thursday’s Game 3 at Xcel Energy Center looking for goals.

From anybody, really, but at some point you have to think Kevin Fiala will have to score a goal if the Wild are to survive the first round for the first time since 2015. He came close once on Sunday, and a few more times on Tuesday after putting a team-high eight shots on goal.

But still, no goals.

“Frustrated, for sure, that nothing went in,” Fiala, 24, said. “But it’s one game, and I’m comfortable that my shots are going to go in eventually.”

At this point, Fleury is stealing the series not just from Minnesota, but form his teammates, as well. After making 29 saves in the Wild’s 1-0 overtime victory on Sunday, he stopped 34 shots on Tuesday.

At this point, someone has to actively take it away from him.

It felt different for the Wild this postseason because in Kaprizov, they have the player capable of burying genuine scoring chances. The rookie led the team in scoring with 27 goals and 51 points in 55 games, and the Wild made 11.7 percent of their shots on goal as a team this season, second in the NHL.

Then they run into Fleury. It’s always something with this team.

Asked if his players have displayed any frustration after being turned back by Fleury again and again, Wild coach Dean Evason said, “We’re getting the looks, right? A great goaltender’s making great saves. You just have to keep doing that and keep doing that, and maybe you get a break.”

Fiala led the Wild with three goals and four points in last summer’s play- in series loss to Vancouver. Frustrated by the attention he got from the Canucks, he also committed five penalties. After Fiala’s line combined for three shots in Game 1, Fiala, Victor Rask and Marcus Johanssen were summoned by the coach before he sent them back out together for Game 2. Despite a second-period lull, Fiala was the Wild’s most active forward on Tuesday.

Asked what he told Fiala, Evason said, “He told himself. When we had a chat with him, he said he wasn’t very good (Sunday), but when we talked to him we just said, ‘It’s OK,’ you know?’ He played really well tonight, (just) didn’t score.”

That was the case for the Kaprizov line on Sunday. Mats Zuccarello, Ryan Hartman and the rookie sensation sent a combined 13 sots at Fleury, most of them Grade-A chances. But Vegas handled that line better on Tuesday, holding the Kaprizov to two shots on goal, neither of which was memorable, and four by Hartman.

“I feel comfortable for the whole team that we are going to score goals,” Fiala said. “I don’t think we need to change anything.”

That may be the case, but one couldn’t fault Evason for tinkering ahead of Thursday’s game to maybe take some pressure off Fiala. Johannsen has been the Wild’s only conspicuously inadequate forward this series, and Victor Rask, while enjoying something of a career renaissance, hasn’t gotten any faster — though to be fair, he just missed tying the 1188343 Minnesota Wild That set the stage for the third period where Fleury continued to stand on his head to preserve the lead. He recorded huge saves on Fiala and Dumba down the stretch. In total, Fleury finished with 34 saves, frustrating the Wild with his artistry between the pipes. Wild fall to Golden Knights in Game 2, series returns to St. Paul tied 1-1 “What can we do?” Fiala said. “Just keep pushing. I feel tonight was his night again. Just keep pushing, keep pushing, and I feel comfortable for the whole team that we are going to score goals. I don’t think we have to By DANE MIZUTANI | [email protected] | Pioneer Press change anything.” PUBLISHED: May 18, 2021 at 11:49 p.m. | UPDATED: May 19, 2021 at In the final minutes, Kirill Kaprizov got called for tripping, and Tuch 12:58 a.m. promptly scored for the Golden Knights late in the frame to finalize the score at 3-1.

LAS VEGAS — All season long, Wild coach Dean Evason has preached “Obviously the loss stinks and in the playoffs we don’t really want moral a one-game-at-a-time approach. While that measure of coach speak victories,” Nick Bonino said. “Just a couple of little breakdowns they certainly isn’t unique to the 56-year-old Evason, he’s almost forced his capitalized on. We came on the road and we split. We get to go home players to buy into the cliche with how often he uses it. now. Just learn a little bit from the first two games and get ready to go.”

So much so that after the Wild earned a 1-0 overtime win over the What’s the message heading home? Anyone that’s been around Evason Golden Knights in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series, the this season can probably guess. celebration stopped as soon as the players exited the locker room. It was “It’s one game at a time,” Evason said. “It doesn’t matter what happened on to Game 2. There was still work to be done. here. We will get ready for Game 3.” That same mentality will be necessary after the Wild suffered a 3-1 loss to the Golden Knights on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena. The series will head back to St. Paul tied 1-1. Pioneer Press LOADED: 05.19.2021 “We aren’t proving anything to ourselves,” Matt Dumba said when asked about splitting the road games. “We know the level we can play at. It’s more (the media) putting us as underdogs. You’re going to see a totally different team at home. We are a different beast.”

It was a much better start for the Wild on this particular night, though that shouldn’t come as much of a surprised with how much Evason stressed the importance in the hours leading up to the game.

“We have to start a helluva lot better than we did the other night,” Evason said. “We we were very fortunate that (Cam Talbot) was as good as he was early in (Game1). Our group knows that. We will start better.”

After recording 23 blocked shots in Game 1, the Wild maintained their commitment in that area in Game 2, especially Dumba. He had a few huge blocked shots in the first period alone, none more important than putting his face in front of Mattias Janmark shot near the crease.

On the other end, the Wild applied constant pressure in front of Marc- Andre Fleury, though they failed to solve the ageless veteran. There was a particular stretch in which Kevin Fiala and Victor Rask fired point-blank on net only to turned away by Fleury’s pad. Ryan Suter also watched a one-timer get gobbled up with relative ease.

“We felt good,” Suter said. “When we’re getting chances, and we’re getting looks, that’s a good thing. You have the momentum. It was tough not coming out with a goal. But the way that we played, we have to continue to play that way.”

Though the Wild couldn’t get any pucks past Fleury, the Golden Knights struggled to any pucks to Talbot. And the frustration grew as the game wore on. Remember, the Golden Knights were among the highest- scoring teams in the league during the regular season averaging 3.39 goals per game.

Meanwhile, the Wild finally broke through in the second period when Dumba fired a shot through traffic to make it 1-0. It was a well-deserved goal for Dumba after he put his body on the line time and time again throughout the opening 30 minutes of the game.

That stunned the announced crowd of 8,683 fans into silence. If only for a moment. Less than 20 seconds later, Jonathan Marchessault leveled the score at 1-1 with a top-shelf snipe off the rush. That snapped Talbot’s shutout streak to start the series at 95 minutes, 45 seconds.

More importantly for the Golden Knights, it provided a shot of that they could actually score goals. Not long after that, Alex Tuch helped the Golden Knights go in front 2-1. The former Wild prospect scored from right in front of the blue paint after Janmark delivered a pinpoint pass to set him up.

“It’s a hope play from behind the net,” Evason said. “It hits the side of the net and ends up right on their tape. There’s no breakdown. It’s just a bounce. That’s the type of hockey game that it was.” 1188344 Minnesota Wild best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.

Wild defenseman Matt Dumba won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy last Kirill Kaprizov’s physicality on display in Wild’s playoff series vs. Golden year, and former Wild winger Jason Zucker won the year before that. Knights As for Zuccarello, he was nominated largely because of his “Match Mats” initiative. For every point Zuccarello scored this season, he has vowed to to donate 1,000 Norwegian Krone his foundation, which is designed to By DANE MIZUTANI | [email protected] | Pioneer Press grow grassroots sports programs in his native Norway.

PUBLISHED: May 18, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. | UPDATED: May 18, 2021 at 8:22 p.m. Pioneer Press LOADED: 05.19.2021

LAS VEGAS — Wild rookie Kirill Kaprizov probably should have come away with a goal and a couple of assists in his NHL playoff debut. The 24-year-old Russian star had an incredible scoring chance late in Sunday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights only to be turned away by veteran goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. He also skillfully set up linemate Ryan Hartman several times but came away with nothing to show for it.

Though he failed to find the scoresheet, the 5-foot-9, 200-pound Kaprizov made his presence felt elsewhere. He obliterated Golden Knights winger Tomas Nosek in the neutral zone early in the game, then sacrificed his body to block a shot in front of Wild goaltender Cam Talbot.

Think of it as a statement game. Not only did Kaprizov make it clear that he wasn’t going to be pushed around by the Golden Knights, he also showed he was willing to do whatever it takes to win.

That’s something Wild coach Dean Evason has come to expect out of Kaprizov this season.

“He’s a mature guy that understands and has been through a bit of it,” Evason said. “He’s very calm regardless. He’s not a fiery person. He’s fiery, obviously, when he gets engaged in the physicality end of it. But he’s pretty calm in all other areas.”

That type of physicality from Kaprizov shouldn’t surprise anyone at this point.

He’s more than willing to stand up for himself as he proved during a regular-season game against the Golden Knights earlier this month. After a dangerous check from behind left him face down on the ice, Kaprizov responded by staggering to his feet, unseating Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud with a double-leg takedown and leaving him with a blood nose as he skated off to the penalty box.

“He knows he’s going to have to defend himself at least to a certain extent out there,” Wild defenseman Ian Cole said. “These teams are going to try to hit him and goon him up, for a lack of a better term. He’s playing through it and still producing and playing great hockey. Just playing through that stuff is the best way to combat it because they’re trying to get him off his game and they’re trying to get him to shut down. He doesn’t let them.”

If anything, it seems to make Kaprizov hungrier, which could be a good sign for the Wild moving forward.

“I don’t think anybody is surprised by who he is and what he does,” Evason said. “There’s enough video out there for everybody to see what he does and how he plays the game and certainly they’ve watched him all year, so I don’t think there’s any surprises there.”

There were approximately 8,600 fans in attendance for Sunday’s game at T-Mobile Arena with a similar turnout expected for Tuesday’s Game 2 of the series. Asked about the playoff feel, Cole responded, “It was a great atmosphere, and they certainly brought it last game.”

As for the Wild, they will be allowed to have approximately 4,500 fans in attendance for Thursday’s Game 3 at Xcel Energy Center. That number could go up on May 28 when Gov. Tim Walz’s state-mandated attendance caps are in line to be lifted.

“We’ve talked about it a lot that our 3,000 fans or whatever we’ve had in our building have been absolutely amazing,” Evason said. “We can’t wait to get there.”

KING CLANCY

Wild winger Mats Zuccarello is the Wild’s nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy. The award is given annually to the NHL player who 1188345 Minnesota Wild capitalized, but for the most part, we came on the road, we split, we’ll go home now and learn a little bit from the first two and get ready to go.”

It’ll be interesting to see if coach Dean Evason does anything to tinker Wild still haven’t solved Marc-Andre Fleury as series heads to Minnesota with the lineup Thursday.

Zach Parise, the Wild’s all-time leading playoff scorer, was scratched for a second consecutive playoff game while Johansson continues to turn By Michael Russo pucks over, not shoot pucks and not propel a talented linemate like Fiala.

May 19, 2021 Evason took exception with that after the game, however, when asked about Johansson’s turnovers, saying, “It’s very rare that we see those

types of mistakes. We aren’t turning the puck over in those crucial areas. LAS VEGAS – There are times in hockey when you just have to tip your They want the puck too, right? And it’s tough. There’s going to be a few cap to the opposing goalie and say, “Bravo.” mistakes made obviously for scoring chances, and both goaltenders are real good. No, we aren’t disappointed in that area at all.” The Wild found a way to score one greasy goal on him in Game 1, and that was good enough for an overtime victory. Evason preaches accountability, but if that’s truly how Evason feels, it sure doesn’t sound like Parise will draw in for Game 3, at least for Tuesday night, in a game in which the Wild had the improved start they Johansson. sought and outplayed and outchanced the Golden Knights for large chunks, Fleury turned away shot after shot during a 3-1 Vegas win to Now, if he wants to play Parise, would he pull Nico Sturm or Nick even the best-of-seven playoff round at one win apiece. Bjugstad?

“What can I do? What can we do?” said Kevin Fiala, who was buzzing all We’ll see. game but watched helplessly as Fleury closed the door on all eight of his What Evason is right about is hockey is a game of mistakes, and no shots. “Just keep pushing. I feel tonight was his night again. Just keep player is going to be perfect with the puck all game long. The Wild, pushing, keep pushing, and I feel comfortable for the whole team that we regardless, played well enough to win Tuesday night, yet Fleury stood in are going to score goals. their way. “I don’t think we have to change anything.” “Not necessarily the start we wanted, but Fleury, that’s just what he One game after the Wild were outplayed dramatically in the first period does,” Marchessault said. “That’s what we expect from him every night. but Cam Talbot stole the show with 19 of his 42 saves during an eventual He gives us a chance to win every night. He stood on his head in the first shutout, 17 of Fleury’s 34 saves came in a scoreless first period in Game period and was great all game. It was a tough loss in Game 1, 1-0 in 2. You can tell right from his first shift that Fiala came to play after a overtime. He played great, so we wanted to get him a win. He kept us in tough opening game with linemates Marcus Johansson and Victor Rask. it in the first period, so it was all in his honor, and he definitely deserved the first star tonight.” The coaching staff met with the line, and Fiala, who oftentimes looks like a man alone on an island, responded by flashing his speed and skill in all Another area Evason might be able to take advantage of when the Wild three periods. But Fleury kept turning him away, and these weren’t your return home for Thursday night’s Game 3 is getting easier matchups for garden-variety flips toward the net that could easily be turned aside. Kaprizov. The Wild leading scorer’s NHL playoff debut is so far off to a tough start with no points, five shots and an undisciplined penalty as the “We’re going to need to score more than one a night to beat this team in Wild were trying to push for the tying goal with an extra attacker on the a seven-game series,” said veteran forward Nick Bonino, Fleury’s former ice. teammate from Pittsburgh. “They’re dangerous offensively, and even with our great goaltending, we know they’re probably going to score some “Don’t jinx it. I mean, he’s their best player,” Marchessault said. “He’s goals. We need to get at Flower here. everywhere. Honestly, he’s the real deal. He’s been great all year. We’ve got to make his life harder. We’ve got to keep going. Same thing with “I can give you some cliches about making it harder for him to see and Fiala. He’s a great player. They move well with the puck. They’re a threat getting the rebounds up, but we’re having some pretty grade-A’s here. every time down the ice, and you have to be aware when you play We’re making him move side to side, we’ve had a lot of one-on-one against them. I think we did a pretty good job overall.” chances with him, and he’s made some big saves.” The Wild have never held a 2-0 series lead in their 20-year history. What was so aggravating about Tuesday’s outcome was in a game Tuesday was the fourth time that the Wild failed to stretch a 1-0 series where the Wild and Golden Knights had to fight for every inch, the Wild lead to 2-0. finally broke the Fleury Dam with a second-period goal from defenseman Matt Dumba. It was a well-earned tally for Dumba, who was throwing his But, the good news if you’re a Wild fan is they now return home and host body in front of every puck and finished with a franchise-record eight the Golden Knights in an arena where Minnesota went 19-2-2 in its past blocked shots and four shots on goal. 23 games and is 6-0-1 all-time against Vegas.

“We were joking about it on the bench that he was going to have a record “We’re not proving anything to ourselves,” Dumba said. “We know the night,” defenseman Ryan Suter said. “He played great. Guys are level that we can play at. I think it’s more you guys – the media – putting sacrificing, and that’s what it takes for sure.” us as underdogs. You’re going to see a totally different team even at home. We’re a different beast.” But after finally snapping a 0-0 tie 12:07 into the second, the Wild gave up the tying goal in just 18 seconds. The Wild didn’t get the puck deep, ‘Black Aces’ on the way and sharp-shooter Jonathan Marchessault snapped a beauty by Talbot With the Wild set to fly home from Las Vegas on Wednesday morning, from inside the right circle. six other players from the Iowa Wild will meet the team in Minnesota for Then, after the Wild came up with a big penalty kill after an Ian Cole the remainder of the playoffs. roughing minor, all seemed settled until Johansson, like he too often It’s believed the players who have been recalled are forwards Matt Boldy, does, just carelessly threw a puck away in the offensive zone. The Connor Dewar and Brandon Duhaime, defensemen Calen Addison and Golden Knights came the other way, Talbot couldn’t catch a shot that Louie Belpedio and goalie Hunter Jones. While the Wild will continue to went wide, Mattias Janmark got to the loose puck first behind the net and practice on off-days at Xcel Energy Center, the minor-league insurance centered for Alex Tuch. players will practice at TRIA Rink but can be inserted into the main group The Wild first-rounder gifted to the Golden Knights in an expansion-draft as needed. trade in 2017 scored the first of his two goals. The second came in the The Wild continue to also have forwards Luke Johnson, Kyle Rau and waning minutes after Kirill Kaprizov was dinged for tripping Marchessault Joseph Cramarossa, defenseman Dakota Mermis and goalie Andrew at center ice. Hammond at their beck and call. “The loss stings, and playoffs you don’t really want moral victories, but Zuccarello nominated for King Clancy tonight we played better,” Bonino said. “A couple little breakdowns they Right wing Mats Zuccarello is the Wild’s nominee for this season’s King Clancy Trophy. The honor is presented annually to the NHL player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.

Wild players have actually won the past two trophies (Dumba last season and Jason Zucker two seasons ago).

Zuccarello kicked off a fundraising endeavor called “Match Mats” this season. It’s an initiative for his foundation, which supports grassroots sports in his native Norway. Zuccarello’s foundation has donated more than $1 million in the past four years.

The Athletic LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188346 Montreal Canadiens

Canadiens' Alexander Romanov will be a spectator for Game 1 vs. Leafs

Stu Cowan • Montreal Gazette

Publishing date: May 18, 2021

Alexander Romanov will join Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Cole Caufield as a spectator when the Canadiens play the Maple Leafs in Game 1 of their first round playoff series Thursday night in Toronto (7:30 p.m., CBC, SN, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).

Captain Shea Weber practised with his teammates for the first time Tuesday after missing the final eight games of the regular season with an upper-body injury. Weber was paired with Jon Merrill, while the other defence pairings had Joel Edmundson with Jeff Petry and Brett Kulak with Ben Chiarot.

After practice, head coach Dominique Ducharme confirmed Romanov would not be in the lineup for Game 1 against the Leafs. The coach also confirmed that Caufield and Kotkaniemi won’t be in the lineup as they continued to practise on the fifth line with Michael Frolik.

Merrill had no points and was minus-11 in 13 games with the Canadiens after being acquired from the Detroit Red Wings. Romanov only missed two regular-season games, posting 1-5-6 totals and a plus-1 in 54 games. Romanov was minus-7 in his last 10 games, often having Merrill as his partner.

When asked what Merrill brings to the lineup that Romanov doesn’t have, Ducharme said: “Stabilize a little bit. Romy’s a guy that he’s got a lot of energy and we like that. He’s a young player that went through some ups and downs and he’s still learning.”

The coach added: “I think overall it was an adjustment for Jon, for sure, like any new player coming in. All those guys coming in came in at a pretty tough time. We were in that schedule (25 games in 44 days) with guys missing (due to injuries). With no practice to get adjusted to a new team it’s double the challenge for those kind of guys. We like a lot of little things that Jon does and that’s the way we’re going to start.”

Romanov was the Canadiens’ second-round pick (38th overall) at the 2018 NHL Draft, the same year the team selected Kotkaniemi in the first round (third overall). Caufield was the Canadiens’ first-round pick in 2019 (15th overall).

“We believe in him,” Ducharme said about Kotkaniemi. “We know at one point he’s going to be coming in, he’s going to be good. I’m confident of that … at the right time. Same thing with Cole. I think he’s going to come out of that week (of practice this week) grown a lot. For him, seeing the first (playoff) game and watching like he did early when he came with us — he watched three or four games, really paid attention and we talked with him about those kind of things. It’s one thing to come into the NHL and see … playoffs is a different animal. So it’s good for those guys, taking a step and just getting everything straightened out and coming in at the right time. I’m 100-per-cent confident with everyone in our lineup.”

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188347 Montreal Canadiens Toronto Marlies. The Marlies scored on two of their first four shots on Price.

“We’re really happy with him getting that playing time and getting those Canadiens Notebook: Shea Weber and Carey Price ready to go for game situations,” Ducharme said. “It was great for him to get that time.” Game 1 Price has played only four periods with the Canadiens since April 1. He missed six games with a lower-body injury before suffering the concussion in the first period of his second game back. Stu Cowan • Montreal Gazette Price finished the season with a 12-7-5 record, a 2.64 goals-against Publishing date: May 19, 2021 average and a .901 save percentage. Backup goalie Jake Allen had an 11-12-5 record with a 2.68 GAA and a .907 save percentage.

“He’s one of the top goalies in the world and we’re lucky to have him on Head coach Dominique Ducharme is “very, very confident” that captain this side,” said Perry, who played with Price at the 2014 Olympics. “But Shea Weber will be in the lineup for Game 1 of the Canadiens’ playoff we have to play well in front of him. We have to limit their chances and if series against the Maple Leafs Thursday night in Toronto (7:30 p.m., he sees it he’s going to stop it. But if there’s anything second, third CBC, SN, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM). opportunities we got to make sure we clear those out for him and help On Tuesday morning, Weber took part in his first full practice with the him out that way. team since missing the last eight games of the regular season with an “He’s gone through some tough situations this year,” Perry added. “He’s upper-body injury. Tony Marinaro of TSN 690 Radio, who has a history of a battler … he competes. He wants to be on the ice when the games being correct when it comes to reporting on Canadiens injuries, reported matter and there’s no better opportunity when you go into the playoffs to last Friday that Weber has ligament damage in his left thumb that will show what you can do. We have full confidence in him. He looks great at require surgery at the end of the season. practice and he’ll be ready.” Weber was paired with Jon Merrill at practice Tuesday, while Alexander The underdogs Romanov was bumped off the top three defence pairings. Ducharme confirmed Romanov won’t be in the lineup for Game 1, joining Jesperi The Canadiens will be big underdogs against the Maple Leafs after Kotkaniemi and Cole Caufield as healthy scratches. finishing 18 points behind them in the regular-season standings and having a 3-6-1 record in 10 games against Toronto. “I mean anything can happen,” Ducharme said after practice when asked about Weber’s status. “But it was important for him and for us to see him That doesn’t concern Byron. back on the ice today. Everything went well and tomorrow he’s going to take another step in that direction. We’re very confident that he’s going to “We have a lot of guys in our room who people looked at and probably be 100-per-cent ready to play. He’s such a pro. He did everything that he never thought they’d play in the NHL,” said Byron, who was selected by needed to do on and off the ice, even though he was not with the team, the Buffalo Sabres in the sixth round (179th overall) of the 2007 NHL getting ready for that moment. For him, that time of the year, playing in Draft. “To be honest, it doesn’t really matter what everybody else thinks the playoffs is huge and he wants to be part of it. Not only that, his outside this room. It matters what the 20 guys in the locker room believe situation with the injury is in control so we’re happy to have him with us. in and right now we believe in each other and we believe we can win. Unless anything happens in the next day or so, yeah, he’s going to be That’s the most important thing is believing in that. We’re going to bring in.” everything we can to win a hockey game and that’s the most important thing.” Weber played 48 games this season, posting 6-13-19 totals and a minus- 4 while trying to play through his injury that happened at the start of a Byron was asked what it takes to be a winner. Western Canada road trip near the end of April. “Twenty guys playing their best hockey possible at the right time,” he Paul Byron spoke after practice about how Weber can still be an effective said. “Through every playoff series there’s some great players who do a player even when he’s not 100-per-cent healthy. great job individually. But there’s always an unsung hero, a line, a (No.) 5, 6 defenceman that on any given day can steal a game. It’s a full team “His body positioning, the way he defends the hockey game,” Byron effort. explained. “I think he’s got elite-level IQ on the ice and he reads the play really well. He can gap up, he plays hard and for him I think getting some “I look through our team, our depth, the guys we have, I have a lot of faith of that rest time you’re going to see a little bit of a new player. It’s crazy in our team,” Byron added. “I have faith that anyone can step up and then how different you can feel from not playing for a few weeks, three weeks. be a hero every night. It’s going to take everybody to accomplish our You’re so excited to play in the game and not drained, not fatigued. I goal. We know how good Toronto can be and it’s on us to show how know Shea’s an incredible player, he a warrior, competitor, competitive. good we can be. I know I’ve seen high-level hockey from our club and He’s going to be ready to go. He’s our captain for a reason and he’s now it’s about putting together every single game. Every game matters going to lead our ship.” and I like our team and I like our chances.”

Corey Perry and Weber have been teammates in the past at the Which team will show up? international level with Team Canada, winning Olympic gold medals The only consistent thing about the Canadiens this season has been together in 2010 and 2014. Perry says the Weber he sees now as a their inconsistency. teammate with the Canadiens is the same type of guy he was back then. After starting the season with a 7-1-2 record, head coach Claude Julien “It’s the exact same,” Perry said. “He hasn’t changed a bit. He’s laughing was fired when they fell to 9-5-4. Under Ducharme, the Canadiens had a in the room, he’s joking around, but then when it’s time to be serious 15-16-7 record. everybody listens to him when he has something to say. He leads by example on the ice, he says some things off the ice when it needs to be After playing their final 25 games over 44 days, the Canadiens are now said. He’s the exact same person and I don’t expect anything different. enjoying a seven-day break between games and will be rested and healthy when the playoff series with the Leafs begins. “He’s the guy that wants to be on the ice in every situation,” Perry added. “He competes, he wants to win. He battles for that place on the ice and Is there a chance we see that team from the beginning of the season the room that you have on the ice. I know when that puck drops he’ll be again? ready and he’ll be anxious to get going again.” Byron said it’s more likely to see the Canadiens team that went 3-1-0 in Price ready to go its first four games after a nine-day break in the schedule at the end of March following Joel Armia’s positive COVID-19 test. Ducharme also said Carey Price will be ready to go for Game 1 after missing the last 13 games of the regular season with a concussion. “We had the week off from COVID where we had a three-, four-game stretch of really good hockey,” Byron said. Price played two periods with the AHL’s Laval Rocket Monday night at the Bell Centre, allowing two goals on 15 shots in a 2-0 loss to the “At the start of the year, it was just a completely different hockey game,” Byron added about the first 10 games. “It was very loose, not much preparation time, no preseason games and it was really sloppy. Now, it’s such a tight, structured game. Every mistake can end up in your net, so it’s really hard to compare then and now. But having the practice time, everyone getting on the same page, getting reps in, having time to rest, not playing every second night, getting back on a good sleep schedule. I think it’s going to be enormous for our team. We’re going to have lots of jump, lots of energy and we’re going to need that.

“It’s a big series,” Byron added. “We know how good the other team is and now it’s on us to bring our A game and play up to our ability that we’re capable of playing at.”

In a first-person story published last week on The Players’ Tribune website, Tyler Toffoli had some high praise for teammate Nick Suzuki after watching him play in the postseason bubble last year.

“When I was with the Canucks, I had been watching a lot of games during my time in the bubble in Edmonton — because there wasn’t a whole to do — and one of the guys who kept catching my eye? Nick Suzuki,” Toffoli wrote. “I’m serious. I didn’t get to see a whole lot of him while I was playing on the West Coast. But watching him against the Pens … I was just like, Man, I want to play on this guy’s line one day.

“So when my agent came to me during this last off-season and said Montreal was interested, Nick was one of the guys I thought of when I was looking through their lineup. I had heard from my buddy Nate Thompson that the Habs were a great group of guys off the ice, and that is something that matters a lot to me. And (my wife) Cat and I both really loved the idea of living in Montreal, so it just made sense.”

Suzuki, who is now on a line with Toffoli and Armia, was asked about Toffoli’s comments in the article after practice Monday.

“It was pretty cool for me,” Suzuki said. “He’s a guy that I’ve watched a lot of. He’s won a Stanley Cup (with the Los Angeles Kings), he’s done all these great things. Just for a veteran guy like that to say maybe he wanted to play on my line one day is pretty cool for me and now we get to do that together and we’ve had a lot of success throughout the whole season. Getting to play with him is a ton of fun. He plays the right way, he’s always in the right position to shoot and score. So he’s definitely a guy I enjoy playing with.”

The Canadiens announced Tuesday that Jonathan Drouin is the team’s nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy.

The trophy is presented annually to the NHL player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community. Each team selects its own nominee and the winner is chosen by a committee of senior NHL executives led by commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly.

Drouin left the Canadiens indefinitely at the end of last month for personal reasons and is not expected to return during the playoffs. In 44 games this season, Drouin had 2-21-23 totals.

Shortly after the Canadiens acquired him from the Tampa Bay Lightning in the summer of 2017 in exchange for defenceman Mikhail Sergachev, Drouin announced he would donate $500,000 of his own money to the CHUM hospital with a goal of raising another $5 million over 10 years as an ambassador for the Fondation du CHUM. Drouin also partnered with the Canadiens Children’s Foundation to purchase a Bell Centre loge called “Jo et ses champions” for home games, allowing about 350 underprivileged kids to watch the Canadiens play.

The Black Aces arrive

The Canadiens announced Tuesday that they have called up nine players from the AHL’s Laval Rocket to serve as Black Aces during the playoffs.

The Black Aces will practise together and be ready in case the Canadiens need extra players.

The players called up from Laval were forwards Alex Belzile, Laurent Dauphin, Lukas Vejdemo and Jesse Ylönen; defencemen Cale Fleury, Otto Leskinen and Xavier Ouellet; along with goaltenders Michael McNiven and Cayden Primeau.

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188348 Montreal Canadiens we play. We can play the game any way you want to play it — all the way throughout our lineup.

“The opposition has a lot to worry about us as well,” Keefe said, Pressure on both teams in Canadiens-Leafs series, Sheldon Keefe says somewhat ominously.

That, of course, begins with centre Auston Matthews, who scored 41 goals in 52 games this season and will capture the Rocket Richard Herb Zurkowsky • Montreal Gazette Trophy as the NHL’s leading scorer — the first Leafs player to accomplish that in 75 years. Matthews also scored seven goals and 14 Publishing date: May 18, 2021 points against Montreal this season.

He might only be in his second season behind Toronto’s bench, but Montreal Gazette LOADED: 05.19.2021 Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe is aware of the organization’s playoff futility.

The Leafs haven’t won a series since 2004 — a span surpassed only by the Florida Panthers. And since Toronto went wire-to-wire atop the North Division, not to mention finishing 18 points ahead of the Canadiens, Keefe knows there will be pressure on his team to live up to expectations.

The opening game goes Thursday night (7:30 p.m., CBC, SN, TVA Sports, TSN Radio-690, 98.5 FM) at Scotiabank Arena.

But Keefe said he believes the pressure’s as paramount on the Canadiens — a team that overhauled its roster this season and, most people would suggest, underachieved.

“They themselves have their own pressures and their own adversities they’re looking to deal with,” Keefe said Tuesday during a video conference. “They’re a team that was built for this season, and invested significantly in changing their team and culture. They’re in a similar market to ours. I don’t think the pressure’s a whole lot different.”

The Canadiens are considered huge underdogs for a variety of reasons, including the fact Toronto went 7-2-1 in 10 games between the teams. But the Leafs are a team that was constructed to compete for a Stanley Cup. Another opening-round playoff elimination would be viewed as disastrous in that city.

Toronto general manager Kyle Dubas made several personnel moves throughout the season, in an attempt to erase the past, adding Nick Foligno, Riley Nash, T.J. Brodie, Wayne Simmonds, Zach Bogosian and Joe Thornton either through trades or free agency.

While there’s pressure on the Leafs, Keefe said he doesn’t sense the mood’s engulfing his players.

“Our team recognizes the opportunity we have and they believe in our group,” he said. “We know the work that’s required to push through; we’re not discounting that. Our group realizes this is a different team than we’ve had in the past.

“We know we have a good team that can accomplish great things.”

Keefe realizes the Canadiens will present obstacles his team must overcome — starting with veteran goaltender Carey Price, who is well rested after recovering from his concussion and has the experience to carry his team in a short series.

“Any goalie you face has the ability to play really well and change a series,” Keefe said. “Certainly a goalie of Price’s pedigree has that.

“We’re playing a rested team not contending with an unprecedented challenging schedule,” he added. “We’re going to see a different Montreal team than what we saw here down the stretch.”

Keefe also said he expects feisty winger Brendan Gallagher, who will return to the Canadiens after fracturing his thumb, will attempt to create havoc. Keefe anticipates Montreal will attempt to play a physical game, and knows Gallagher, Corey Perry and even Josh Anderson will do their best to disrupt Leafs netminder Jack Campbell, who will start the opening game in his playoff debut at age 29.

“We’re far better equipped whatever way the game wants to be played and will be played,” Keefe said. “We also have the ability to initiate things ourselves. And we have the confidence. We’ve played Montreal 10 times. We’ve dealt with that physicality. We’re used to it.

“We’ve done a much better job this season preventing teams from getting access to our net and to the puck around our net,” he added. “Our guys are going to be physical, with intelligence and be very purposeful in how 1188349 Montreal Canadiens

Former Canadiens defenceman Gilles Lupien dies from cancer at age 67

Stu Cowan • Montreal Gazette

Publishing date: May 18, 2021

The Canadiens announced Tuesday evening that former defenceman Gilles Lupien has died from cancer at age 67.

Lupien, who was born in Brownsburg, was selected by the Canadiens in the second round (33rd overall) of the 1974 NHL Draft. He only played three seasons with the Canadiens, but won two Stanley Cups in 1978 and 1979 while serving as an on-ice bodyguard for superstar . The Canadiens traded the 6-foot-6, 205-pounder to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sept. 26, 1980 in exchange for a third-round draft pick. The Penguins traded Lupien to the on Feb. 20, 1981 in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick.

Lupien retired as a player after the 1981-82 season with 5-25-30 totals and 416 penalty minutes in 226 career regular-season NHL games.

“I guess you can say they wanted me to be an enforcer,” Lupien said in 2010 when he was profiled in a Where Are They Now feature by the late Ian MacDonald in the Montreal Gazette. “I think I did a good job. I was a good fighter to a certain degree.

“The game plan when you play is to win,” Lupien added. “When you win … that’s when everyone has fun.”

Lupien noted that during his time with the Canadiens head coach was a master at arranging his forward lines and defence pairings.

“We had so many excellent defencemen — players like Larry Robinson, Serge Savard, Guy Lapointe — Scotty knew which players worked best together,” Lupien said. “Those guys could play with anyone and make a good pair. They were all equally good.

“Savard was the best all-around,” Lupien added. “Scotty teamed him with me because Serge covered up for my mistakes. Serge was the best. I was the worst. It worked out quite well, I think.”

After hanging up his skates, Lupien worked for 25 years as a player agent and his clients included goalies and . Lupien also became a successful businessman in the fast-food industry.

“With the signing bonus ($75,000) and my first contract with the Canadiens, I bought shares in a lumber company in ,” Lupien recalled in 2010. “I was able to get the best lumber to build my first home (in Pine Hill).

“I had bought a small Humpty Dumpty (business) early in my career,” he added. “I wanted to get something more for the kids, so I bought a Boston Pizza (outlet in the West Island near Sources Blvd. and Highway 40) for them.”

Lupien is survived by his daughters Jennifer and Catherine, his son Erik, his grandchildren Izac, Evan, Maelle, Charles and Livia.

The Canadiens announced that the Lupien family would like to thank everyone for their condolences and kindly requests that the family’s privacy be respected during this time of grief.

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188350 Montreal Canadiens

Canadiens could have 2,500 fans at Bell Centre for Game 6 vs. Leafs

Stu Cowan • Montreal Gazette

Publishing date: May 18, 2021

Quebec Premier François Legault announced the upcoming easing of some COVID-19 restrictions on Tuesday afternoon and, as a result, the Canadiens could have 2,500 fans at the Bell Centre for Game 6 of their first-round playoff series against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, May 29.

Of course, the underdog Canadiens would have to extend the best-of- seven series that far to make it happen. Game 1 will be Thursday night in Toronto (7:30 p.m., CBC, SN, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).

“We are delighted with the government’s decision regarding shows and events,” France Margaret Bélanger, executive vice-president and chief commercial officer for the Canadiens, said in a statement released by the team. “Although the number of spectators remains limited, we applaud this decision which allows us to foresee an eventual return to normality. Regarding the Montreal Canadiens and the playoffs, under the new rules, the Bell Centre will initially accommodate 2,500 people — or about 12 per cent of capacity — for a hockey game beyond May 28. We really missed our fans and spectators and we can’t wait to host them again. And we will be ready.”

The Canadiens are big underdogs heading into the series. They finished the regular season in fourth place in the all-Canadian North Division with a 24-21-11 record, 18 points behind the first-place Leafs (35-14-7). The Canadiens had a 3-6-1 record in 10 games against the Leafs and finished the regular season with a five-game winless streak (0-3-2).

“We control what we can control,” Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme said after practice Tuesday when asked about the challenge of facing Toronto. “When you look at the Maple Leafs on paper, it’s an extremely talented group. On paper, it’s probably one of the best editions in team history. They have a lot of talent. It’s a challenge for us, but we like challenges.”

After playing their final 25 games over 44 days in a condensed 56-game season, the Canadiens are now enjoying a seven-day break between games, which gives them time to both rest and practise.

“We’re in a good place,” Ducharme said. “We’re excited, but we’re in control. We’re focused. We wanted to capitalize on every moment of preparation we had, whether it was a game, a video session or practice. We didn’t have consecutive practices for a long time. I like the way our players are handling themselves. The guys needed some time to recharge their batteries and work on their game. Our group is in a good spot.”

Forward Paul Byron agrees.

“The only focus from our team right now is to play the best hockey we can and try and win the series,” Byron said. “It doesn’t matter who you play in the playoffs. I don’t think there is as much animosity toward Toronto as maybe other rivalries, but it won’t take long in the series. I think it’s going to heat up pretty quick.

“I think it’s pretty exciting for Toronto and Montreal right now to have the opportunity to play each other in the playoffs,” Byron added.

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188351 Montreal Canadiens When the Canadiens won the Stanley Cup in 1986, they had eight rookies in their lineup: Patrick Roy, Brian Skrudland, Mike Lalor, Stéphane Richer, Claude Lemieux, Sergio Momesso, Kjell Dahlin and Steve Rooney. Roy won the Conn Smythe Trophy. Stu Cowan: Canadiens' lineup for Game 1 vs. Leafs doesn't make sense When the Canadiens advanced to the conference final in 2010 one of the key players was P.K. Subban, who had two games of NHL experience.

Stu Cowan • Montreal Gazette “The little mistakes, you pay cash right away at that time of the year,” Ducharme said about wanting veterans in his playoff lineup. “The Publishing date: May 19, 2021 pressure is not the same with the puck. The time and space that you have to make a play is different.”

The Canadiens will be counting on experience over youth — big time — So the Canadiens have decided to go with experience over youth this to start their first-round playoff series against the Toronto Maple Leafs. year, just like they did in 2017 when they picked up Dwight King and Steve Ott before the NHL trade deadline. King had one goal in 17 Head coach Dominique Ducharme confirmed after practice Tuesday in regular-season games with the Canadiens and no goals in the six playoff Brossard that forwards Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Cole Caufield, along with games against the Rangers. Ott had no goals in 11 regular-season defenceman Alexander Romanov — three faces of the future for the games with the Canadiens and none in the six playoff games. franchise — will all be spectators when the puck drops for Game 1 Thursday night in Toronto (7:30 p.m., CBC, SN, TVA Sports, TSN 690 The good news for Canadiens fans who are frustrated or even angry Radio, 98.5 FM). about the team’s lineup for Game 1 against the Leafs is that Ducharme said he is “100 per cent” willing to make changes if his original plan to go The Canadiens’ lineup will include a pair of 36-year-old forwards in Corey with experience doesn’t work. Perry and Eric Staal, along with 29-year-old defenceman Jon Merrill, who will take Romanov’s spot. The same Jon Merrill who didn’t pick up a point We’re about to find out if it works, starting Thursday night. and was minus-11 in 13 games with the Canadiens after being acquired from the Detroit Red Wings before the NHL trade deadline. Montreal Gazette LOADED: 05.19.2021 While Perry definitely earned a spot in the playoff lineup, Staal has been a disappointment since being acquired from the Buffalo Sabres before the trade deadline, looking very slow while posting 2-1-3 totals and a minus-10 in 21 games with the Canadiens.

Kotkaniemi played himself out of the playoff lineup by posting 0-4-4 totals in the last 24 games of the regular season and going pointless in the last 12 games. Rookie Jake Evans, who had one goal in his last 42 games, will be in the lineup as the fourth-line centre.

Caufield scored four goals in 10 games after getting called up by the Canadiens, but that wasn’t enough to earn a spot on the playoff roster. Romanov’s game got worse after he was paired with Merrill, but it’s Romanov who won’t be in the lineup to start the playoffs.

Last season, the Canadiens decided to rely on their youth when they were lucky to get into the expanded postseason format because of COVID-19. Kotkaniemi and Nick Suzuki both rose to the challenge, finishing tied for the team lead with four goals each in 10 games as the Canadiens upset the Pittsburgh Penguins in the qualifying round before losing to the Philadelphia Flyers in the first playoff round.

The last two times the Canadiens were in the playoffs, they lost in the first round despite outstanding performances by goalie Carey Price. In 2017, the Canadiens lost in six games to the New York Rangers because they only scored 11 goals. Last season, the Canadiens lost in six games to the Flyers because they only scored 13 goals and were shut out in back-to-back games.

Scoring goals was a problem yet again for the Canadiens this season, when they ranked 17th in the NHL in offence with an average of 2.82 goals per game. But Caufield, a natural born goal-scorer, will be a spectator for Game 1 against the Leafs.

It doesn’t make sense and it’s hard to understand how the Canadiens went from relying on their youth in the playoffs last season to throwing that strategy out the window this year. It’s hard to imagine the Canadiens beating the Maple Leafs in this series — let alone winning the Stanley Cup — and this playoff experience could be priceless for Kotkaniemi, Caufield and Romanov.

It also doesn’t make sense when you look at the success the Canadiens have had in the past — including last year’s surprising upset of the Penguins — by counting on their youth.

Goalie Ken Dryden had six games of NHL experience when he led the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup in 1971, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

Chris Chelios had 12 games of NHL experience when he helped the Canadiens advance to the conference final in 1984 before losing in six games to the New York Islanders. Chelios had 1-9-10 totals in 15 playoff games. The Canadiens’ goalie during that playoff run was Steve Penney, who had four games of NHL experience. 1188352 Montreal Canadiens interest, given his success in Laval. He knows it, but is reluctant to broach the topic, especially with the Canadiens in the playoffs.

“I won’t talk about what’s in sight for me,” he said. “My contract’s up, but Rocket coach Joël Bouchard takes stock after successful AHL season I’m not here to talk about that.”

Herb Zurkowsky • Montreal Gazette Montreal Gazette LOADED: 05.19.2021

Publishing date: May 18, 2021

He called it the most coachable group he’s ever had. But on the day after the AHL season ended — without the benefit of playoffs — Joël Bouchard also was slightly emotional, knowing he won’t get that opportunity with these same players again.

“The partnership between everybody was so smooth,” the head coach of the Laval Rocket said Tuesday, during a video conference. “I had a vision, and I never had to correct the guys on anything at all.

“I sounded almost like a broken record after games — you guys listened, look at the results.”

The Rocket enjoyed its most successful season since moving to Laval in 2017, going 23-9-4, capturing the Canadian Division by nine points over Manitoba. Overall in the AHL, only Hershey (24-7-2) had a better winning percentage.

The Rocket could have fared even better, but won only one of seven games — two losses were in overtime — in May after clinching top spot in their division and learning they wouldn’t be included in the league’s abbreviated post-season format because of COVID-19 and border restrictions.

“This year, we just kind of ran out of runway,” Bouchard said.

Added left-winger Brandon Baddock: “It’s a little disappointing the season ends like this. All your success doesn’t lead to anything. But I think a lot of players grew from this.”

But while the pandemic affected the season in many ways, it was mostly business as usual for Bouchard. Sure, it was a truncated 36-game schedule, played against only four other Canadian-based opponents. But, when Canadiens goaltender Carey Price and winger Brendan Gallagher dressed for the Rocket Monday night, against the Toronto Marlies, they became the 40th and 41st players active for at least one game this season.

And that’s what the AHL is — a developmental league where rosters are fluid because of injuries and NHL recalls. Winning is a bonus, but coaches must react on the fly, never losing sight of their mandate and the bigger picture.

The Rocket had so many players at different stages of their careers.

Rookie centre Cam Hillis, 20, who was selected 66th overall by the Canadiens in 2018, got his feet wet this season, while 26-year-old defenceman Gustav Olofsson, a second-round (46th overall) draft pick of Minnesota’s in 2013 who has 59 games of NHL experience, now wonders what his next move will be.

“You can get lost in the fold, being an older guy,” said Olofsson, eligible to become a restricted free agent. “There are prospects and players the organization wants to develop. My next challenge is finding where that right fit is, to take the next step.”

Undersized forward Rafaël Harvey-Pinard is ecstatic, having just signed a two-year, entry-level contract last week, while defenceman Josh Brook, selected 56th overall by Montreal in 2017 and still only 21, wonders if he could be that elusive right-hand shooting blue-liner that appears to be in short supply on the Canadiens’ depth chart.

And then there’s Czech forward Jan Mysak, only 18 and selected 48th overall in 2020. Mysak should have been playing junior in Hamilton this season, but the OHL cancelled its season and Mysak found himself in the AHL, not knowing how to cook or do laundry. But he learned and dressed for 21 games. And he’ll probably return to junior next season.

Where Bouchard ends up this summer is anyone’s guess. The 47-year- old’s contract is ending, and while it’s inevitable Montreal will want to re- sign him and keep him in the organization, Bouchard could garner NHL 1188353 Montreal Canadiens Both those things only became worse as the season came to a close where Montreal was 29th in shooting percentage and 31st in save percentage at five-on-five. There’s a lot of bad luck there that the Canadiens didn’t deserve, but even their expected goals numbers fell off 2021 NHL playoff preview: Maple Leafs vs. Canadiens down the stretch too. Over the final six weeks, Montreal earned just a 49 percent expected goals rate, an unusually low mark for a team known for

its puck possession prowess. Part of that was obviously due to injuries, By Dom Luszczyszyn but it was still a worrying trend at the worst possible time. The Leafs only got better as the season went on with a 57 percent expected goals rate May 18, 2021 and 62 percent actual goals rate that was second to only Colorado on both accounts.

Montreal should be more formidable at five-on-five when fully healthy, but It’s been far too long since the NHL’s two most storied franchises have the team is still several steps below Toronto and that showed up when met in the postseason. Finally, as a result of an all-Canada division, the two teams went head-to-head. Toronto earned 54 percent of the Canada’s two biggest cities with the two most passionate hockey fan expected goals and 59 percent of the actual goals, mirroring the team’s bases in the world will face off. Toronto vs. Montreal. Feel the full-season totals. excitement. The Leafs also won the special teams battle, an area that is of slight It’s been 42 years so beggars can’t be choosers and it’s nice that this concern going into the playoffs. Toronto’s power play has been down bad series is finally happening, but it is a shame that this series isn’t … for a lengthy stretch of time now and is 27th in the league over the last closer. There was a massive divide in the standings between Toronto six weeks. The chances are there, but the team seems to have the yips and Montreal this season and the season series wasn’t much different. when it comes to converting. Montreal’s penalty kill is relatively weak, so Combine that with each team’s recent trajectory and all signs point to a a series could be just what the doctor ordered for the team’s power play lopsided series in Toronto’s favour. to finally wake up. When it’s on it’s scary good and it’s a testament to Series odds how strong the team is elsewhere that Toronto is this good despite not having a functioning power play for over two months now. Matchup adjustment takes into account each player’s Game Score against this specific opponent as well as his Game Score over the last six Given the talent at its disposal, Toronto should be a lot better there. weeks. Depth wise, there isn’t much separating these two clubs, but the top end is definitely stacked in Toronto’s favour. By a considerable margin. This is the second most uneven series of the first round, behind only the Colorado-St. Louis series. A probability that high feels uncomfortable Roster breakdown enough, but this feels much worse. It’s over 80 percent and it’s the Leafs. Matchup adjustment takes into account each player’s Game Score That math simply does not compute for a team that is cursed. against this specific opponent as well as his Game Score over the last six But it’s hard to spin it any other way given the information at hand. Based weeks. The numbers may be slightly skewed as a result of ice-time on the talent on each roster, this series is closer to 75/25 which is already allocation. pretty high. The Leafs are obviously more talented, possess more depth, I did the math with Colorado and St. Louis and though it’s not as stark and yes, have better goaltending too (especially with the news that Carey here, it’s pretty close. Montreal’s 18 skaters are worth 16.8 combined Price will likely be ready for the start of the series, news that downgraded wins. Toronto almost gets there with Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Montreal’s chances). The roster itself is enough to feel comfortable with John Tavares, Morgan Rielly and Jake Muzzin alone — a quintet worth Toronto winning this one. 16.6 wins combined. The rest, which is still a lot of talent, is the cherry on But it’s the extra layers of added context that give the team a further eight top. percentage point boost. The matchup adjustment here is the second High-end talent is what Montreal has been missing for a long time and largest of the opening round and it stems from Toronto being excellent Toronto has loads of it. It’s been the exact difference in the season series down the stretch, Montreal struggling in comparison, and the head-to- to date as Toronto has been carried by the top of its lineup. Matthews head dominance the Leafs had during the season series. Toronto won has seven goals and 14 points in 10 games, Marner has 11 in 10 games, seven of 10 and though the model expects something a little less than and even Zach Hyman had seven points in six games. Tavares went that going forward (67 percent at home, 60 percent on the road), it shows point-per-game, William Nylander had seven points in eight games. Even how likely a series win is when a team is expected to win six-or-seven the two top defencemen cooked as Muzzin and Rielly had eight and times out of 10. seven points over the 10 games. Every single player won the five-on-five It’s no guarantee, but the Leafs are heavy favourites for a reason. scoring chance battle too.

Season stats It’s simply far too much firepower that Montreal not only had no answer for, but no response back either. Jeff Petry had 10 points in 10 games (all You’ve seen enough of these season stats charts to know by now the assists, seven secondary), but the forward scoring was led by Nick Leafs look very strong relative to the field. The league’s best teams — Suzuki (eight points in 10 games), Tyler Toffoli (seven points in 10 Colorado, Tampa Bay — have very few flaws if any. It’s a lot of different games) and then three players with five points. Jonathan Drouin, who did blue shades, some deeper than others, and maybe one or two light pink that in just six games, won’t be suiting up either. splotches. No red. Toronto has an elite offence at five-on-five buoyed by both quality and quantity. The Leafs have a stingy defence and strong It’s an uphill battle that starts with stopping Matthews, the second-best goaltending. Their chance creation and suppression on special teams is player in the league this past season who has had a knack for torching good, and though they’ve slumped for a long while, their power play is Montreal specifically. Good luck with that. Matthews was a goal-scoring still 10th in goal rate. Of the 15 categories here, Toronto is top 10 in 14 of machine this year, putting up 41 in 52 games, a full-season pace of 65 them. Only Colorado can say the same thing and it explains why the goals. He scored 2.19 goals-per-60, the highest ever in the analytics era Leafs are second to only the Avalanche in expected and actual goals which was aided by his elite finishing ability, but also his penchant for percentage at five-on-five. creating quality looks. His 1.47 individual expected goals-per-60 ranked second in the league this season and 28th since 2007-08. That’s a rare Montreal’s full-season stats are far less rosy. The Canadiens sure started and potent combination. strong, looking like a five-on-five juggernaut, but they didn’t finish there. The team ended the year 10th in expected goals percentage and only What makes Matthews so valuable is not just that he scores goals — he average in terms of actual goals, with a clear focus on quantity over can play at both ends of the ice. Matthews led the Leafs with a 60.7 quality. That the team has a 54 percent Corsi that goes down with percent expected goals rate for the season and also had a 65 percent expected goals and down further with actual goals is a troubling sign. actual goals rate to go with that. His two most frequent linemates, Marner The Leafs are the exact opposite and that comes down to talent. and Hyman, weren’t far behind and together the trio were one of the Montreal was unsurprisingly not a strong finishing team this season and league’s best lines this season. The line had a 65 percent expected goals didn’t have the strongest goaltending either. rate together in 291 minutes, comparable to other super-lines in Colorado and Boston. It helps to have another superstar on the line and Marner certainly good for 26th in the league, narrowly edging out Kirill Kaprizov and elevated his game to another level this season playing full-time with William Nylander. Not bad for a fourth-line center. Matthews. Marner finished fourth in league scoring with 67 points in 55 games, a 100-point pace that was the product of his elite play-making Eric Staal has been on the opposite trajectory this season and hasn’t ability. Marner’s 34 primary assists this year were second to only Connor shaken off the Buffalo stink since coming to Montreal. Three points in 21 McDavid and by GSVA he’s now projected to be a borderline top 10 games, a team-worst 39 percent expected goals rate and he’s been player in hockey. outscored 11-2 at five-on-five. He started the season projected to be a capable second-line center, but an awful season where he was worth That leaves Tavares as the third fiddle now, but he’s still a massive minus-0.9 wins (the 12th least valuable in the league) has catapulted his luxury for Toronto to have. Only Edmonton has a better second-line value all the way down to nothing. Montreal might be better off with him center among playoff teams and that should give opposing teams in the press box. That spot instead goes to Jesperi Kotkaniemi who matchup nightmares. Matthews is hard enough, but when he’s off the ice simply hasn’t lived up to his draft-day billing as a third overall pick. He the next group has to deal with Tavares too. That was the vision when was excellent in the bubble last playoffs, but has seen his game regress the team signed him and this season was the best embodiment of it. this season. He doesn’t move the needle much, but given Staal’s Tavares started the year slowly from a production standpoint, but he performance this year I’d much rather gamble on Kotkaniemi. really picked it up to close the season with 50 points in 55 games. His play-driving ability was a steady force all season though and for the year In terms of total value, Toronto’s forward group is just over 50 percent he had a 56 percent expected goals rate. It pays to have two top lines stronger than Montreal’s. The gap on defence is even larger where the controlling play to that degree and it’s something that will be tough for the Leafs’ top six is double Montreal’s. Canadiens to stop. On the back-end it’s about the Leafs, for the first time in a long time, It helps that Tavares gets to play with Nylander, whose impacts are having a completely functional top four. All the pieces are top four quality, sometimes forgotten on this team. Nylander remains the team’s most fit well together and are completely balanced in filling specific niches. gifted player with the puck, leading the team in zone entry and exit rate, They can all move the puck really well which is a key part of Toronto’s while also being the team’s most effective paster, leading in shot assists success. According to data tracked by Corey Sznajder, the Leafs are one and high danger shot assists. His expected goals percentage was 57 of the best teams in the entire league at exiting the zone with control and percent for the year. The team is really hoping Nick Foligno can do to that’s on a mobile defence group. that line what Hyman does for the top line. Through seven games, he has Morgan Rielly is the strongest on the breakout and has no issues rushing a 54 percent expected goals percentage. it up the ice either. He may struggle on defence, but his offensive ability Montreal’s top six just doesn’t stack up, but there’s some undervalued is nearly unmatched league-wide. He’s a crucial part of Toronto’s attack. pieces to it despite the lower projected values. Rielly had a much improved season where he had a 55.5 percent expected goals rate playing tough minutes. TJ Brodie was a big part of For starters, it should be mentioned that while Matthews was tops in that and was an excellent off-season addition. He’s been exactly what goals-per-60, Tyler Toffoli was second at 1.85. I’m not sure anyone the team has needed in the top four and he ended up leading the Leafs expected that when he signed, but he’s been a revelation for Montreal defence with a 57 percent expected goals rate. Jake Muzzin and Justin this season scoring 28 goals in 52 games, three shy of a career-high in Holl were also in that range giving the Leafs two strong pairs that can 30 fewer games. It was a 44-goal pace over a full season. Toffoli created control play. more chances for himself than ever before, but his sky-high shooting percentage means the model is skeptical he can be a full-time 40-goal The team’s biggest X-factor on the back end is the youngest, Rasmus scorer, pegging him closer to 32 goals as a true talent level. If he truly is Sandin, who may just have played his way onto the roster full-time after a a 40-goal scorer that’s an extra 0.4 wins in his favour which nudges nine-game stint. He may have been playing sheltered minutes, but a 59.5 Montreal a little closer to Toronto. But obviously not far enough. percent expected goals rate and four points is nothing to scoff at. Alex Romanov is Sandin’s counterpart on the other side and he too has The bigger piece to Montreal solving Toronto is its top line which remains played sheltered minutes all season himself. In that time he’s managed one of the league’s best at five-on-five. While much has been made just six points in 56 games, has a solid 54 percent expected goals rate, regarding Toronto’s dominance over Montreal, it’s worth noting that but has been out-scored. He’s a defender that Toronto really victimized Brendan Gallagher, Montreal’s best player, was absent for six of those this year as he had just a 39 percent expected goals rate against the contests. When he did play, he had a 58 percent expected goals rate and Leafs. Brett Kulak, also on the third pair, also got crushed. all signs point to him being back in the lineup. The top line, with Gallagher on it, is a buzzsaw, earning a 69 percent expected goals Montreal’s top four looks a lot less impressive in comparison to percentage in 250 minutes together, outscoring opponents 18-to-3. At Toronto’s. Jeff Petry had a marvelous year that was comparable to five-on-five they are a real problem and have the capability to shut down Rielly’s offensively, but the five-on-five numbers weren’t nearly as strong. one of Toronto’s top two lines. When Gallagher was in the lineup the top He led the team with a 54 percent expected goals rate that would grade line did a damn good job against Matthews and that’s potentially a out lower than five of Toronto’s six defenders. The further degradation of troubling thought for Leafs fans. Shea Weber is an issue too as he no longer looks like a capable number one defenceman. He and partner Ben Chiarot are last on the team in Montreal will need to find an answer for Toronto’s other top line though expected goals percentage and Weber was only even for the year in and that’s where things get a bit tricky. Can Suzuki rise to the occasion terms of actual goals. Weber’s 19 points in 48 games is also his lowest there? He’s had flashes all season, scored at a 60-point pace and earned scoring pace in a while, suggesting his offensive ability has likely left him. a 55 percent expected goals percentage, blossoming into a real top six With his play-driving also in decline, it’s fair to ask how much of a center. But that may not be good enough in this series where he’ll have difference he can make in this series, especially considering his current to face off against one of Matthews or Tavares. Toffoli should help, but it health being questionable. Weber earned the better of the scoring doesn’t seem like the team has another bonafide top six quality winger to chance battle when facing the Leafs head-to-head this year, but was also assist the duo. Josh Anderson started strong, but he’s one of the team’s out-scored 6-to-3 in seven games. worst play-drivers. In net is where some people believe Montreal has the advantage and There are big differences in the top-end talent, but at forward the that would perhaps be true if the year was still 2016. I’m not sure why differences end there with both teams having similar levels of bottom-six we’re still jumping through hoops about this, but Price had a .901 save depth. My model isn’t very fond of Riley Nash as Toronto’s third-line percentage this year and allowed seven goals above expected in just 25 center, especially at the expense of Alex Galchenyuk who has played games. After an admittedly stellar run in the bubble many expected that well with Toronto, but it could work as a strong checking line if the team to be the real Price, but as I argued in Montreal’s season preview, it was wants to alleviate some of the defensive load off the top two lines. The more than likely just a hot 10-game run. grizzled veteran line is almost enough to make the Leafs likeable outside of Toronto. The idea of Price is much scarier than the actual goalie in between the pipes and while Price has the potential to steal the series, so does It is worth noting that Jason Spezza had a quietly strong offensive literally any goalie (recall the backup on this very team doing just that in season that seems to have flown way under the radar this year amidst all 2017 against Minnesota). That’s just variance, baby. the stars in Toronto. Spezza had 30 points in 53 games, a 46-point pace despite playing only 11 minutes per night. That would’ve tied Tomas What the goaltending values suggest is the likelihood of such an event Tatar for fourth on Montreal this season and on a per minute basis was happening, and with Price it’s likely lower than most people think. I mean, we just saw Jack Campbell have a hot stretch of his own more recently and he’s been very strong as a Leaf. There’s a reason he’s rated higher and that’s simply because he’s played better than Price. Campbell has earned his place in the starter’s crease this season and the difference between him and Frederik Andersen has been noticeable. Campbell finished the season with a .921 in 22 games while saving six goals above expected.

Price had a stretch that good to end the 2019-20 season, so maybe it’s just a small sample. The difference is that it’s all we really have to go on for Campbell. For Price, there’s so many more 22-game stretch where he isn’t even close to a .921 goaltender. In 110 distinct stretches over the last four seasons he has been at that level 38 percent of the time, with two-thirds of those coming in 2018-19 — his last actually good season.

Maybe that Price is still in there and getting him to full health might be the key to unlocking it, but his past two seasons leave a lot to be desired. There’s a big gap in net just as there is at forward and defence. There’s nowhere on the roster where Montreal has an advantage and it’s why the series is as lopsided as it is.

The bottom line

The Leafs have a stronger roster in every facet and have the results to show for it this year. From every possible angle you can look, this series looks like it’s Toronto’s to lose. Montreal started strong, but the talent just isn’t there and the usual territorial dominance slipped throughout the season. In this series, against this team, it wouldn’t even be an edge anyways.

Here’s the thing about Montreal though: The team lives for these kinds of scenarios — the us against the world underdog story. Twice over the past decade, the team has had no business winning a series — in 2010 against Washington and in 2014 against Boston — and the team pulled it off anyway. You can arguably count last year’s play-in against the Penguins too. The Canadiens live for playoff chaos, and Toronto lives for playoff disappointment. It’s a match made in narrative heaven.

But maybe the most chaotic thing of all for a series 42 years in the making is everything just going as expected. With the way these two teams have played all season, of late, and against each other, that would mean Toronto’s first playoff series win since 2004. The Leafs haven’t had many chances since, but this is their best one to finally break the ugly streak.

The Athletic LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188354 Nashville Predators The Canes’ Andrei Svechnikov (eight shots) and Sebastian Aho (seven) combined for more shots on goal than all the Preds’ forwards combined.

That's not good enough in many games. It surely wasn’t good enough for Nashville Predators' struggles vs. Carolina Hurricanes highlights a 2- the Preds on Monday. And it’s not going to be good enough as this year-old problem playoff series continues against the favored Canes, who have the look of a comfortable and confident team with no reason after Game 1 to feel otherwise.

Gentry Estes | Nashville Tennessean

Tennessean LOADED: 05.19.2021 RALEIGH, N.C. – Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour seemed in good spirits Tuesday morning, about like you’d expect.

Two thumbs up, mostly, for Game 1 against the Nashville Predators. He gave high marks to a rollicking home crowd, his own team in general and also his 25-year-old goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, who’d won his first Stanley Cup Playoff game.

“He didn’t have to work tremendously hard,” said Brind’Amour, “which was great.”

Harsh. But not off base.

After the Canes’ 5-2 victory, it was reflected, too, in what Preds coach John Hynes – less cheerful than his Carolina counterpart – was saying as he reflected and turned attention to Wednesday night’s Game 2.

Basically, Hynes surmised, “The main group here needs to be better."

“Players that we count on every single game here, there needs to be an elevation in their game. … That’s how you win in the playoffs. Those guys have to be able to produce.”

He didn’t name names, but really, he didn’t have to. We’ve heard plenty about the underachieving forwards on this team. Hynes’ point was the same one general manager David Poile has been making for a couple of seasons now: The Preds need their best forwards to step up and start playing and scoring like their best forwards.

That wait has been lengthy and fruitless. It’s to a point now where I have to ask: Who exactly are the Preds’ best forwards?

Calle Jarnkrok and Mikael Granlund tied for the team lead with 13 goals. Meanwhile, the Canes had six players score at least 14 goals in their 56 games.

Injuries did limit numbers for many Preds players, but the point remains that their most productive forwards are still not their highest-paid forwards.

Even as this team was able to successfully turn things around and scramble into the playoffs, the Preds still finished the regular season 22nd in the NHL in goals per game.

“If scoring by committee is what it takes, that’s been good for us to make the playoffs,” Poile said last week. “But you know in the playoffs, there’s always going to be somebody that scores more goals at a higher rate than they did in the regular season. And you’ve got to have your top players pitch in there. … We’re going to have to push the envelope to create more offense, because we’re up against one of the best offensive teams in the league (in Carolina)."

And yet, the Preds’ lack of consistent offensive firepower carried Monday’s defeat into a familiar place with familiar talking points.

In Game 1, Matt Duchene ($8 million salary) received 10:38 of ice time compared to 20:55 for Granlund and 16:40 for a banged-up Viktor Arvidsson. Ryan Johansen ($8 million) was criticized Tuesday by Hynes, who said his “level of intensity needs to be better for 60 minutes.”

And while Filip Forsberg ($6 million) scored a brilliant goal in the first period, he ended the game with only one other shot on goal.

Against a Carolina team with few weaknesses, an inexperienced goalie like Nedeljkovic could have been a rare spot for the Preds to seize an advantage. Didn’t happen, though. They finished with only 24 shots to the Hurricanes’ 38.

Of those 24, a dozen were by defensemen. The only Preds to log more than two shots on goal were both defensemen: Mattias Ekholm (four) and Ryan Ellis (three). 1188355 Nashville Predators

Nashville Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm: 'We have another level'

PAUL SKRBINA | Nashville Tennessean

Working hard, in and of itself, will hardly work for the Nashville Predators.

Not against the Central Division champion Carolina Hurricanes, against whom the Predators have their work cut out for them in their first-round series.

But they knew that going in. They knew that, after working so hard for so long just to make the playoffs, hard work and grit alone wasn't going to be enough.

The Predators will have to work smarter and harder if they are to have a chance against the Hurricanes, who had the third-best record in the league.

"There's a lot of performances within our lineup that need to be better from (Monday) night," coach John Hynes said Tuesday, a day after his team's 5-2 loss in Game 1. "We've thought a lot about lineup changes and who's in and who's out, but there are lots of players that are in the lineup that don't really ever come out and they need to be better."

And that's nothing new. Shuffling the lineup — say, adding Eeli Tolvanen to the mix to help boost a sagging power play or splitting up Roman Josi and Ryan Ellis on defense — probably will matter little if the big players don't play big.

Ryan Johansen and Matt Duchene both make $8 million a year. Neither has produced consistently during the past two seasons.

That's one part of the formula the Predators will need to follow.

After playing two months of "playoff" hockey just to get to the playoffs, though, they will need to turn the dial up yet again if they are to survive this series, let alone another two months.

"We have another level than we showed (Monday)," defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. "We know we need to be better. You're always saying there's more to it; there's another level we can get to and we're preparing to show that."

That can be done, Ekholm said, by paying attention to details — all of them. Being first to pucks, reading plays, things like that.

"You see the small details of every little bounce, every little battle," he said. "If you relax for just that split second, it can end up in the back of your net. You can't just take a second off or leave your guy for a second. You always have to be on your game. Every moment is huge. ... Respect those little moments; they can make a huge difference in the end."

An end the team and its general manager, David Poile, hope not to reach too soon.

Poile, his team in the midst of a rebirth, decided against selling at the trade deadline, following his heart and his gut rather than his head.

The gamble paid off with a playoff berth. Now the stakes are raised.

All of which means the Predators must play their hand to perfection or another first-round knockout will be imminent.

Tennessean LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188356 Nashville Predators

Nashville Predators earn double TV ratings for Stanley Cup playoff game against Carolina

MIKE ORGAN | Nashville Tennessean

Monday night's Nashville Predators-Carolina Hurricanes game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs earned a combined 4.5 local television rating, according to WTVF-5 senior programming director Mark Binda.

That means 49,604 Nashville households tuned into Bally Sports South and CNBC to see Carolina claim a 5-2 win in the first game of the best- of-seven series, which was played in Raleigh, North Carolina.

That rating is about twice as a high as an average Predators regular- season game.

Game 2 is Wednesday at 7 p.m. also in Raleigh on CNBC and Bally Sports South.

Game 3 on Friday will move to Bridgestone Arena at 6 p.m. and be on the USA Network and Bally Sports South and Game 4, also at Bridgestone Arena, will be Sunday at 1:30 p.m. on NBC Sports and Bally Sports South.

Tennessean LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188357 Nashville Predators For tickets, call 615-690-4487 visit milb.com/nashville/tickets or e-mail [email protected].

Vandy's Luke Kornet starting for the Celtics Nashville is only U.S. city on SportsPro’s 'Seven sports event Former Vanderbilt star Luke Kornet has moved into a starting role for the destinations to watch' Boston Celtics.

Kornet was traded from Chicago on March 26 and had been coming off MIKE ORGAN | Nashville Tennessean the bench before Tristan Thompson and Robert Williams both suffered injuries that took them out of the lineup.

In his second start last Sunday against New York Kornet recorded three The manner in which Nashville has become a magnet for top sports blocked shots giving him a total of 10 blocks over three games. events has the city being recognized on a global scale. Oakland's first girls basketball coach Ben Cates dies Nashville is the only U.S. city on SportsPro’s recently released list of “Seven sports event destinations to watch.” Ben Cates, the first girls basketball coach at Oakland, died on May 15. He was 76. What got Nashville on the list? Cates spent 14 years at Oakland before retiring after the 1986 season. How about the SEC men's basketball tournament, a future NASCAR Cup His career record was 331-175. He is a member of the Oakland Series race, the IndyCar Music City Grand Prix, the past NFL Draft and Basketball Hall of Fame. the NASCAR Awards Show. After his coaching career, Cates served as founding director of The other top destinations were Budapest, Hungary; Santiago, Chile; Rutherford County Recreation through 2018. Senegal; Glasgow, Scotland; Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. In high school in the early 1960s, Cates was a standout at Kittrell High "Music City is making all the right noises when it comes to attracting School. sports," according to the story. "Nashville has made a concerted push to add major sporting events to an annual calendar long built on thriving After graduating from MTSU, he began his career coaching at Kittrell, scenes for music, arts and culture." where he remained until Oakland opened.

The story also pointed out Nashville was named by Sports Business Ryan Hunt makes first hire as Cumberland baseball coach Journal as America’s best sports city in 2019. New Cumberland baseball coach Ryan Hunt made his first hire by adding The recognition is another feather in the cap of Nashville Convention & Brett Neffendorf to his staff as pitching coach. Hunt replaced his father Visitors Corp president and CEO Butch Spyridon, who has spent 30 Woody, who had been at Cumberland since 1982, at the end of the years helping the city expand its sports landscape. regular season.

“It is extremely rewarding to be recognized on a global level for Neffendorf, a Beaverton, Oregon native, spent the last five seasons as Nashville's collaborative efforts to recruit sporting events," Spyridon said. pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Campbellsville. "This validation is further motivation to raise the bar.” "Brett has a very good reputation of developing guys and getting every bit While one NASCAR Cup Series race (Ally 400) already is coming June of potential out of his pitchers," Hunt said. 20 to Nashville Superspeedway, the story also pointed out a second Neffendorf also serves as an associate scout for the Atlanta Braves. could be on its way if a deal between Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway gets worked out. Austin Peay's record-breaking Head earns player of the week honors

Fans flock to Sounds games Austin Peay first baseman Bobby Head's record-breaking hitting performance against Jacksonville State last week earned him one of Average attendance at First Horizon Park for the first three Sounds Collegiate Baseball's eight national player of the week honors and the games after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted on May 14 was 10,155. Ohio Valley Conference player of the week honor. Capacity is listed at 10,000. The 6-foot-6 junior from Winter Garden, Florida, had 11 hits in the three The first two games against the Memphis Redbirds were sellouts, while games, making him only the third Austin Peay player since 1996 to have attendance for the third was 8,993. more than 10 hits in a series. Along with being allowed to have full capacity, face coverings were no He batted .786 (11-for-14) with four doubles, two home runs, three RBIs longer required at the park, and the buffer zones, which prevented fans and six runs scored. from sitting in the majority of the first two rows, were lifted. South Alabama's Pettway transfers to Tennessee Tech Capacity for the first two home games earlier last week was restricted to 40%. John Pettway, a 6-foot-3 redshirt senior from Safford, Alabama, has transferred from South Alabama to Tennessee Tech. Hometown Heroes are back Pettway, a guard, started in 25 games this past season and averaged The Sounds announced Monday the return of the Hometown Hero 10.7 points and 3.9 rebounds. program presented by Middle Tennessee State's Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center. He helped lead South Alabama to winning records in each of the last two seasons. At select home games, veterans, active members of the armed forces, paramedics, emergency medical technicians, police officers and Former Xavier forward Daniel Ramsey also transferred to Tech. He is a firefighters will be honored. 6-9 sophomore from Cordele, Georgia, who played in only two games during his two seasons due to injuries. Nominations for heroes are being accepted at nashvillesounds.com. Coach Forum lineup announced Nominees must be, or have been, a member of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force or Coast Guard, or be a paramedic, emergency medical Last week the Coach Forum announced that former Tennessee technician, police officer or firefighter. defensive back Inky Johnson would serve as its featured speaker.

Selected heroes will receive complimentary tickets to a Sounds game This week the lineup was announced, and it includes veteran Florida and be recognized on the guitar scoreboard during a special in-between women's soccer coach Becky Burleigh, former president of the Nashville inning feature. Area Women's Soccer Association Molly Grisham, who is now a workshop facilitator, and author Brett Ledbetter, co-founder of the What The Sounds also are offering military family ticket discounts for all home Drives Winning Conference. games based on availability. The forum, which is from 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. July 14 at Rocketown, is sponsored by the Nashville Coaching Coalition and is designed for coaches and athletic administrators on all levels.

Gallatin resident Chris Erwin earned co-medalist honors Monday at a U.S. Open qualifier event at Illini Country Club in Springfield, Illinois.

Erwin tied with two other golfers at 3-under-par 68.

The U.S. Open is June 17-20 at Torrey Pines.

John Leverton from Hermitage failed to qualify after shooting 6-over.

Bell Buckle races set for June 19

This 26th annual Bell Buckle RC & MoonPie Festival 10-mile and 5K are set for June 19.

Both races start at 7 a.m.

For more information, visit bellbucklechamber.com/rc-cola-moonpie- festival.

Travis LeBlanc promoted on Austin Peay beach volleyball team

Travis LeBlanc, who recently finished his fifth season as an assistant coach with Austin Peay’s indoor and beach volleyball programs, was promoted to associate head coach.

LeBlanc and head coach Taylor Mott led the Governors to their first Ohio Valley Conference tournament title this season.

The American Volleyball Coaches Association recently named LeBlanc to its "Thirty Under 30" list, which recognizes up-and-coming beach coaching talent at all levels of the sport.

Tennessean LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188358 Nashville Predators The Preds threw their punches, but the Canes punched back with authority. They didn’t bully the Preds, but they won this game more than the Preds lost it.

If this wasn't enough for Nashville Predators, what will be against Not to say the Preds were perfect. They weren't. They’ll have to be a lot Carolina Hurricanes? closer to it, though, to get past these Canes. And I’m not sure that’s a level they have in them.

They can improve, sure. They can do more offensively and be cleaner GENTRY ESTES | Nashville Tennessean with sloppy penalties. But how much harder can they play for 60 minutes? How much more physical can they be?

It’s the tough-guy traits that have formed the Preds’ identity under Hynes RALEIGH, N.C. – Blame those lineup choices if you want to, Nashville during this odd, turnaround season. Can’t be surprised that he’d opt to Predators fans. lean that way in the season’s most important game to date. I know you want to. It didn’t work. It's alluring to think it's that simple. Because if it’s that simple, then the But against these Canes, what will? cause of Monday night’s 5-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1 can be quickly corrected.

Maybe it’ll be as easy as sliding Eeli Tolvanen or Nick Cousins or Rocco Tennessean LOADED: 05.19.2021 Grimaldi or Dante Fabbro or Matt Benning back onto the ice to tilt this series the other direction.

John Hynes – and all of Smashvlle – should hope that's the case. They should hope that the lineup was the problem.

But he doesn’t think it was. For that matter, neither do I.

"Guys, look, we came in and it's 2-2 going into the third period,” Hynes told reporters when pressed after the game. "You have to make lineup decisions. ... We were physical. It was hard. It was a hard-fought game. It's 2-2 going into the third period. …

"We can talk all about the lineup all we want, but we played physical. We played hard. It was a competitive game. We didn't find a way to win.”

He’s right. The Preds weren’t awful. They really did play physically and hard – but they didn’t do either of those things better than the opponent. As an intense game slogged along with 12,000 Caniacs howling, the Hurricanes were able to wear down the Preds, physically and mentally. They imposed their will. They pushed and pressured the Preds into mistakes and then pounced when they happened, which is what Stanley Cup contenders do in the playoffs.

Which leads me to the part that can’t be explained away conveniently:

The Canes were just better.

More difficult to solve that one. Before Monday night's game, the jumbotron at PNC Arena showed a tale of the tape matching the teams' stats this season in power play, penalty kill, faceoffs, goals and goals against. The Canes were better in all five.

So it was hardly a shock that a heavy favorite would win Game 1 at home. It’s just the way it transpired didn't inspire confidence that the Preds are going to find a way to win four times against a superior foe.

While I didn’t entirely agree with Hynes’ lineup decisions Monday night, I understood them. The Preds spent the past few days talking about grit and toughness. Using Mathieu Olivier and Erik Gudbranson spoke to that. Hynes wanted size, stacking physicality at the expense of skill.

This might not have been the Preds’ best strategy. But Hynes thought it was, which was telling. It wasn’t something a coach does in an equal matchup. An overly defensive approach seemed more like a bid to try to steal one.

Except the Canes were too good for that. They were more skilled and proved to be more physical, too. They had more shots on goal in every period, ending up with a 38-24 edge. They also were credited with 56 hits to the Preds’ 49 despite being on the offensive end more often.

"Part of the playoffs is just doing it harder for longer,” Hynes said. “I thought we had stretches where we did it in the game, and they had more stretches."

If you can’t outmuscle the Canes and you can’t outmaneuver them, then what can you do to beat them?

That's a tough question for the Preds entering Game 2. The fear after Monday night is that their best shot simply won't be enough. 1188359 Nashville Predators "They were the better team in the third and they deserved to win tonight," said Erik Haula, a former Hurricane who scored a goal and was showered with boos.

Nashville Predators need more than 'grit' to get it done against Carolina One thing is almost certain: The Predators, one way or another, will get Hurricanes what they deserve — and earn — against the Hurricanes.

Some were quick to point to those who didn't play Monday — see: Eeli Tolvanen, Nick Cousins, Dante Fabbro, et al. — than those who did. PAUL SKRBINA | Nashville Tennessean Coach John Hynes was second-guessed for his lineup decisions, perhaps with some shreds of validity.

Roman Josi paused while trying to sum up the Nashville Predators' Some names could change Wednesday, some might not. identity going into the postseason. "We'll see," Hynes said. "We have to evaluate the game and evaluate our "One word?" the Predators defenseman asked Monday before his team's players and continue to move forward from there." 5-2 Game 1 loss against the Hurricanes in their opening-round series. The odds against the Predators, though, are something they'll have to Then it came to him. continue to fight.

"I don't know, 'grit,' " he continued. "The way we played down the stretch, After all, that's what they've earned. we played with a lot of grit ... coming back from the position we were."

Colton Sissons used the same word. Tennessean LOADED: 05.19.2021 Perhaps "underdog" or something of that ilk would have been more apropos.

Then again, the season appeared all but over for the Predators as February leaned into March, when their chances of making the playoffs were more closely related to none than to slim. Still, the team found its way, improbably, to mid-May and Raleigh, North Carolina.

So grit it is.

"We need to find a way to come out of this better," Josi said back then.

The Predators did. Going from 11-16-1 on March 13 to finish 31-23-2 and winning 20 of their final 28 games.

"Grit" was enough to get the Predators into the postseason.

That and Juuse Saros.

But the Predators likely will need more than grit and great goaltending to move past the first round against one of the best teams in the league.

One of the last ones in, the Predators are trying to avoid becoming one of the first teams out. They're fighting the odds again, against the team with the third-best record in the NHL. Moneypuck.com gave the Predators a 35.3% chance of beating the Hurricanes and a 1.2% chance of winning it all. That was before they were outmatched by a better team.

Continuing their rally in Raleigh is the Predators' plan. How that works out remains to be seen.

"It's been kind of a crazy season for us, with the start we had," Josi said. "Looking back, the turnaround we had ... we've been talking about this a lot. We've been kind of playing playoff hockey, fighting for our playoff lives for about 15 games ... a lot of must-win games. We've had that playoff intensity and hopefully we can continue that into the playoffs."

Filip Forsberg followed that directive Monday when he deposited a beauty of a pass from Ryan Johansen into Carolina's net, then sprouted a smile as he appeared to shout some words of celebration — "that's for you, baby" according to amateur lip-readers — at the home crowd with 7 minutes, 46 seconds left in the first. But the lead was soon erased thanks to a Teuvo Teravainen tip with 6:19 left in the period.

Jordan Staal scored the first of his two goals with three seconds left on a four-on-four 4:19 into the second for a 2-1 Carolina lead.

The team that won 20 of its 28 games suddenly found itself outmatched.

Yet the Predators still managed to give themselves a shot going into the third period tied 2-2.

GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS: Nashville Predators vs. Carolina Hurricanes Video highlights from Game 1

GOOD GOALIES: Pekka Rinne, Juuse Saros and a Predators playoff run to savor

ESTES: Hurricane warnings in Raleigh, where Predators arrive as an afterthought 1188360 Nashville Predators done, so we have some guys that are not in the lineup that we know are ready to play and can really contribute.”

Why did the Predators scratch Eeli Tolvanen and Dante Fabbro in Game The Athletic LOADED: 05.19.2021 1 against the Hurricanes?

By Adam Vingan

May 18, 2021

Viktor Arvidsson, who missed the final five games of the regular season, returned Monday in the Predators’ Game 1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.

When coach John Hynes spoke to reporters in the morning, he said he had not decided who would be coming out of the lineup for Arvidsson, but the answer seemed obvious. Hynes openly discussed the possibility of sitting Eeli Tolvanen in the lead-up to the series, which he did Monday.

“(He) hasn’t been at the same level he was prior to the (lower-body) injury,” Hynes said last week. “You never fault (Tolvanen’s) effort. You never fault his competitive nature. You never fault him coming in and doing the right things, but I think five-on-five and on the power play, (he) hasn’t (had) the same level of impact that he (did) prior to that. He’s working at that, and we’re trying to help him through that to see if we can get some traction into his game.”

Fans were incredulous, accusing Hynes of roster malpractice. Statistically, Tolvanen, who had 11 goals and 22 points this season, mostly maintained his pre-injury level of play after returning from a seven-game absence April 21. His shot output from the slot and inner slot at five-on-five was virtually the same, though his overall total per game dipped slightly.

The biggest difference was that Tolvanen’s all-situations shooting percentage, which was 19.6 percent in 31 games before the injury, regressed to 7.1 percent over his final nine games.

Tolvanen made his greatest impact on the power play, helping transform the Predators’ top unit into one of the most productive in the NHL. But not even he could have helped Monday as the Predators could barely enter the offensive zone against the Hurricanes’ excellent penalty kill. (Calle Jarnkrok replaced Tolvanen on the No. 1 unit with Filip Forsberg, Mikael Granlund, Ryan Johansen and Roman Josi.)

Hynes loaded his lineup with beef Monday. For the first time this season, Tanner Jeannot, Mathieu Olivier, Colton Sissons and Yakov Trenin dressed in the same game. On defense, Ben Harpur and Erik Gudbranson made up the third pair, which had trouble with the Hurricanes’ speed.

Dante Fabbro, who, like Tolvanen, missed time near the end of the regular season, was conspicuously absent.

“Dante was off for quite a long time,” Hynes said. “(Fabbro and Tolvanen are) both great players, but I still think there needs to be another level to each one’s game. With Dante, (he needs to be) just a little bit quicker. He’s a very good puck mover, just quick puck decisions. Coming off the situation he was with the injury, you don’t get a lot of opportunities for battle situations or competitive situations in and around the net, like live game action. Both guys are real important to our team, but (I) feel like they each have another level here.”

Before the series began, Hynes and Predators general manager David Poile stressed that the lineup would probably change from game to game.

“My take on this, and what I think the messaging is to anybody who doesn’t dress in Game 1, is, ‘Please work hard. Be ready to go. This is a decision for one game,’” Poile said. “No guarantees on this, but I would say our lineup for Game 2 in Carolina will be different by two or three players. I just think that’s the type of year that it’s been. … I think it’s our depth that’s actually put us in the playoffs.”

The reality, though, is that the players who are counted on to lead the team have to be better.

“We came in, and we had a lot of guys that have made cases for themselves to play,” Hynes said. “Obviously the group tonight didn’t get it 1188361 Nashville Predators

Preds reach deal to build ice center in Sumner County

MICHAEL GALLAGHER

MAY 18, 2021

Ice hockey is finally coming to Sumner County.

The Nashville Predators announced on Tuesday a partnership with the city of Gallatin, the city of Hendersonville and Sumner County to open a 100,000-square-foot ice center at the 54-acre Goat Farm at the corner of Nashville Pike and Shute Lane.

"As I've said before, the environment we've created in Antioch and Bellevue — and will create in Montgomery County — is something everyone in Smashville should be proud of, and we are thrilled to be able to bring that same enthusiasm for growing the game to Sumner County," Predators President and CEO Sean Henry said in a release.

"Since we first opened Ford Ice Center Antioch in 2014, we've been able to see the benefits of our public-private partnerships come to life, from the economic impact to the growth of youth and adult hockey.”

The new ice center, which will be partially funded by the NHL and NHLPA Industry Growth Fund, will feature two sheets of ice — complete with seats for up to 1,800 fans — as well as public and private locker rooms, a weight training room, a hockey pro shop and other amenities.

With a target opening date of summer 2023, the new facility will be used in similar fashion to Ford Ice Bellevue and Ford Ice Antioch, which host on-ice events, local hockey tournaments, as well as continued development of community programs such as the learn-to-skate initiative, Scott Hamilton Skating Academy lessons, the Go Skate! Program and the Youth Hockey Diversity Program.

Sumner County's two high school hockey teams — Pope John Paul II and Station Camp-Hendersonville-Beech — also are expected to practice at the new center. Previously, the schools were having to travel to either Centennial SportsPlex in Nashville or either of the Ford Ice Centers to practice and play games.

"I am very excited about this state-of-the-art ice hockey facility and quality commercial development coming to Sumner County and the City of Gallatin," Sumner County Mayor Anthony Holt said. "This event center will create numerous opportunities for our young people and families that are passionate about this growing and vibrant sport.

The new ice center is expected to be part of a multi-purpose development with an estimated 60,000 square feet retail and dining space, residential units, a four-story hotel and several other entertainment venues possibly being added by 2026.

The Sumner County Commission voted on Monday 18-5 in favor of a concept plan to rezone the part of the development that is earmarked for the ice center.

"We have been working with Randy Smith and the Predators for several years to bring ice here and I am incredibly excited to see it happening," Hendersonville Mayor Jamie Clary said. "Hundreds of Hendersonville residents have spent too much time driving to other ice facilities for too long, so for many reasons, this facility promises to improve the quality of life for many of our families."

Nashville Post LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188362 Nashville Predators But perhaps Hynes learned his lesson. Maybe he saw the same thing we all saw Monday night: Nashville's best chance of making this series competitive is to play its best players. Hynes didn’t promise lineup changes for Game 2 Wednesday in Carolina, but he didn’t rule them out After Game 1 loss, the Preds' problems run deeper than tweaking the either. lineup “Let’s see,” he stated. “We’ve got to evaluate the game and evaluate our players and continue to go forward from here.”

MICHAEL GALLAGHER

MAY 18, 2021 Nashville Post LOADED: 05.19.2021

Nashville Predators head coach John Hynes deserves a lot of credit for the job he did in the final 28 games of the regular season to steer the Predators into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Conversely, he deserves just as much criticism for what transpired on Monday night in Nashville’s 5-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena.

The lineup changes Hynes made — benching Eeli Tolvanen, Rocco Grimaldi, Nick Cousins and Dante Fabbro — were questionable at best. And his responses when reporters asked him to defend those lineup changes were met with noticeable annoyance.

“We have to make lineup decisions," Hynes said. "We were physical and it was a hard-fought game. But it was 2-2 going into the third period and if you look at a couple of the goals, there are breakdowns in the goals.

“One of them is a turnover. They come back in and it’s a D-zone goal. So when you look at those situations — we can talk about the lineup all we want — but we played physical, we played hard. It was a competitive game, but we didn’t find a way to win one. As we’ve gone all year long, it hasn’t been who’s in or who’s out. It’s been how we played and today we didn’t play well enough to win.”

It was clear what Hynes was going for. However, he simply got outcoached and the Predators were outplayed. Frontloading the lines with physicality at the expense of speed wasn’t the worst idea, but it wasn't exactly a genius move either.

Realistically, the Predators weren't going to win Game 1, regardless of what the lineup looked like. Carolina was far and away the better team and the numbers show that.

The Hurricanes outshot the Predators 38-24, outhit them 56-49 and wore them down on the forecheck. Nashville reverted back to the team that regularly shot itself in the foot with penalties in the first 10-12 games of the regular season.

Hynes and the players will tell you the lineup changes had nothing to do with the loss, and maybe they didn't. But the Predators were never going to even have a fighting chance against the Hurricanes, who scored the 11th-most goals in the NHL and have the second-best power play in the league, without their third- and fourth-leading goal scorers (Tolvanen and Grimaldi).

“We came in and we had a lot of guys who made cases for themselves to play,” Hynes said. “Obviously, the group tonight didn’t get it done, so we have some guys that are not in the lineup that we know are ready to play and really contribute; that’s all part of the process. We came in in Game 1, we did some good things — a 2-2 tie game going into the third period — but didn’t find a way to win it… We’ll evaluate the players tonight and then go from there.”

To say the Predators’ power play struggled in Game 1 would be an understatement. It felt like watching a group of junior varsity basketball players who were thrust into the varsity starting lineup on a day’s notice. There was no organization, no timing, bad passing, and worst of all, no threat of scoring.

Nashville was 0-for-3 on the power play. Sitting Tolvanen, who led the Predators in power play goals (six) and had the third-most power play points (12) on the team, didn’t help matters. Only three players in this series had more power play goals than Tolvanen this season, and they all play for Carolina.

It’s also hard to follow the logic that led to Hynes benching Dante Fabbro, who totaled two goals and 12 points while averaging 19:18 of ice time in 40 games, in favor of Erik Gudbranson, who played all of nine games with the team and had one point and averaged nearly two minutes less per game than Fabbro did. 1188363 New Jersey Devils Clarke are all intriguing long-term options, but it would be a bonus if any of them became a consistent NHL scorer in 2021-22.

A veteran leader (or two): Kyle Palmieri, Blake Coleman, Travis Zajac, Devils offseason primer: Key decisions, dates and debates for the Andy Greene, Cory Schneider, Taylor Hall, Wayne Simmonds … the list offseason ahead of veterans the Devils have traded over the past two seasons is long. And suddenly Severson, Butcher and Andreas Johnsson are tied for the second-oldest players under contract at 26 years old, behind Subban at 32. A player, or players with significant playoff experience, might add By Corey Masisak significant value for a club full of young players trying to figure out what it May 18, 2021 takes to make it.

Help on the PK: This might go hand-in-hand with No. 3. The Devils were terrible on the penalty kill for part of 2021 and finished last in the league If nothing else, the wait won’t be as long as last year. in proficiency. A veteran with leadership skills and a track record of playing well on the PK would check off multiple boxes. After waiting 310 days through a global pandemic for the first game of the 2020-21 season, the Devils’ 2021 offseason might be exactly half as A backup/tandem goaltender: Scott Wedgewood and Aaron Dell are long. The NHL is reportedly shooting for Oct. 12, 2021 to be opening unrestricted free agents. The Devils could shoot for someone who can night of the 2021-22 campaign, 155 days after New Jersey lost to push Blackwood as a No. 1B, or someone who fits more as a true Philadelphia to wrap up this weird, twice-condensed season. backup and only plays 25-30 games.

It’s hard to say any offseason isn’t a big one for any NHL franchise but TBD — 2021-22 schedule announced this one seems particularly important, and potentially tricky, for the Devils. New Jersey has missed the playoffs three straight years and eight The NHL announced the 2019-20 schedule on June 25, 2019, so just a times in nine seasons. Several players, starting with Jack Hughes, coach few days after the draft. It was announced in between the expansion and and general manager Tom Fitzgerald pointed to next season amateur drafts when Vegas entered the league in 2017. as a time for the focus to shift from being a young, developing team to a There will be plenty of highlights to watch for in the schedule, including still-young-but-slightly-older club able to win more consistently and start Seattle’s first trip to Newark and potential returns (with fans in the the upward trajectory towards being a playoff team and eventually a building) for ex-Devils like Palmieri, Coleman, Zajac and Greene, if none championship contender. of them return before then as a free-agent signing. Given the Devils are not participating in the NHL’s postseason One theme to watch for: Hughes is likely going to face a bunch of his old tournament, there is going to be plenty of time to break down the friends from the USA Hockey National Team Development Program for offseason’s biggest events in greater detail. For now, let’s take a 30,000- the first time. He played against Cam York at the end of this season in foot view of everything that will happen between now and when the puck Philadelphia, but the list in 2021-22 could include former roommate Alex drops again at Prudential Center for the 2021-22 season. Turcotte (Kings), former linemate Cole Caufield (Canadiens), Trevor TBD — 2021-22 salary cap set Zegras (Ducks), Matt Boldy (Wild) and Spencer Knight (Panthers). Michael McLeod could also get the chance to play against his brother The NHL set the 2019-20 salary cap on June 22, 2019, which was the Ryan (Oilers) for the first time. second day of the draft that year (yes, that is very late to tell teams how much they can spend, considering the number of trades that typically TBD — NHL awards happen on draft weekend). Using last season as a guide isn’t very Still no official word on whether there will be a show or if the awards will helpful, given how off the timing was for everything. be announced throughout the playoffs like last year. The best chance for Let’s go ahead and assume the NHL will set the cap ceiling ahead of the a member of the Devils to win an award might be P.K. Subban, who draft (and likely the expansion draft, too, given the cap ramifications should have received the King Clancy Trophy years ago for his potentially in play with trades involving the Kraken). It’s probably going to humanitarian work. He was a finalist last year. be set at $81.5 million again, for the third straight season. The cap ceiling Rookie defenseman Ty Smith is going to end up on some Calder Trophy isn’t going up until the league’s revenues return to normal and the ballots. The top two are likely to be Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov and players’ escrow debt gets paid down, which some industry insiders have Dallas’ Jason Robertson, but Smith could slot in somewhere in the 3-7 warned could take several years. range in the voting. For now, a flat cap will continue to favor the Devils, who used the least Smith has a strong chance of making the NHL’s All-Rookie team after amount of cap space in 2021 (though they wouldn’t have had Corey leading all rookie defensemen in points (23) and finishing third in average Crawford not retired). The Devils currently have $37.63 million of cap time of ice (20:07). His partner on the All-Rookie team is likely to space committed to 13 players, according to CapFriendly. They have Rangers freshman K’Andre Miller. Smith was the 17th pick in the 2018 $2.25 million in dead money — $2 million from the Cory Schneider draft, and Miller went five spots later. buyout and $250,000 from Ilya Kovalchuk’s cap recapture penalty. If there was a second-team (there isn’t), Yegor Sharangovich would have New Jersey has a bushel of restricted free agents, but none that should a chance to make it. He might finish in the top six, but not the top three, command a huge contract. The Devils should have ample cap space to among the forwards. search for roster improvements, and they have even more flexibility going into the following offseason. June 1 — Deadline to sign CHL draft picks

Here’s a brief shopping list of what the Devils could be looking for this The Devils have already signed all of the 2019 picks from Canadian offseason, though some of these needs could extend into future Hockey League programs — Okhoytuk, Clarke and Michael Vukojevic. trading/signing windows: This could be an interesting day though around the league. A lot of these kids, particularly the ones in the OHL, have not played a lot of hockey A top-four defenseman (or two): The Devils could start next season with since March 2020. Could that lead to some teams not signing a few more Damon Severson, P.K. Subban, Ty Smith and Jonas Siegenthaler as the players than normal, and them re-entering the draft this year? Maybe. top four guys. Or Will Butcher could wedge his way back into the mix. Or one of the prospects like Reilly Walsh, Kevin Bahl or Nikita Okhotiuk June 2 — NHL draft lottery could have an awesome camp. But Subban’s contract is up after next year and Siegenthaler, Walsh, Bahl or Okhotiuk could all be third-pairing The Devils finished with the third-worst record in the league, but the types or years away from maxing out their potential. Adding one or two addition of Seattle (locked in with the third-best odds, just like Vegas high-end defensemen could be the quickest path to playoff contention for was) bumps New Jersey to fourth. Assuming there are no changes to the the club. lottery odds, the Devils have a 9.5 percent chance to select first, a 9.6 percent chance to select second, they cannot pick third, a 14.5 percent A scoring wing (or two): New Jersey needs to score more goals next chance to stay at fourth, a 45.8 percent to slip to fifth and a 20.6 percent season, and just counting on in-house improvement might not be chance to fall to sixth. enough. Alexander Holtz, Nolan Foote, Dawson Mercer and Graeme One of the new lottery reforms — two selections are up for grabs instead sometimes center for Djugardens this year, is one of the top four of three — starts this season. One of the others — where teams will only forwards. be able to win a lottery twice in a five-year span — does not begin until next year and will start from scratch so New Jersey’s 2019 win and July 28 — Free Agency potential 2021 win would not apply. It’s a few weeks later on the calendar than a normal year, but close to the July 1 — Signing bonuses paid for 2021-22 end of the playoffs/drafts. New Jersey has plenty of its own free agents:

New Jersey has several young players who will collect standard $92,500 UFAs: Ryan Murray, Connor Carrick, Matt Tennyson, Wedgewood, Dell signing bonus payments this day, but the two veterans who get a check RFAs: McLeod, Kuokkanen, Sharangovich, Bastian, Merkley, this day are both interesting. Subban has a $6 million bonus due this day, Siegenthaler and Johnsson has a $1.75 million bonus as well. The big prize, if he actually reaches the UFA market, is defenseman That means Subban’s base salary for the final year in his deal is $2 Dougie Hamilton, who would rival Alex Pietrangelo last year as the top million, which is what any team that acquired him after July 1 would owe player at the position to become a free agent in the past decade. him. His cap hit would still be $9 million. Johnsson’s base salary is Hamilton will be more than two years younger than Pietrangelo was last $750,000, and the cash owed to him after July 1, 2021 is $750,000 for offseason, which could increase the number of teams interested and also next season and $2.5 million total for 2022-23, well below his $3.4 million inflate the price. cap hit. If we assume Alex Ovechkin is not actually going to reach the market, The Devils aren’t exactly in a position where they need to shed cap three of the top forwards available could all be ex-Devils — Hall, Palmieri space, but those types of players (higher cap hit, lower cash outlay) can and Coleman. Toronto’s Zach Hyman and Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog be valuable to teams looking to reach the cap floor. One important note would also be in that group if they reach the open market. here: If the Kraken select a player during the expansion draft with a signing, Seattle has to pay the other team back. So the Kraken would still August 15 — Deadline to sign college draft picks be paying $8 million in cash for Subban, as an example. New Jersey has one college player left from the 2017 draft without a July 21 — Seattle expansion draft contract. Matthew Hellickson, a defenseman from Notre Dame who went in the seventh round, signed with Binghamton on an AHL contract after The Devils are going to have at least one tough decision to make at his NCAA season ended. Hellickson is going to get one more chance to forward, and an interesting one on defense, unless they make some impress his potential boss — he was named to the United States entry roster moves between now and then. New Jersey has 10 forwards who into the 2021 IIHF world championships in Latvia. Fitzgerald is part of the are eligible for the draft and help meet the games played requirements, American management team. so no issues there. That said, the Devils would have to expose three of , Miles Wood, Jesper Bratt, Pavel Zacha, Nick Merkley, *Sept. 22 — 2021-22 training camps open Michael McLeod, Janne Kuokkanen, Yegor Sharangovich, Nathan *Oct. 12 — 2021-22 season begins Bastian and Johnsson. Both of the start dates for next season are tentative, and so too would be Merkley is probably one. Bastian is probably two. Three is … Johnsson? any roster speculation. The Devils are well below the cap floor, and just Wood? McLeod? Johnsson had the worst 2021 season, but also dealt signing all of the RFAs to reasonable contracts won’t likely be enough to with COVID-19 complications because of his asthma and might still have get there. Also, there is motivation to improve the club and holes to fill a higher upside than several of the players that seem like they’d be after three years of being a seller at the deadline. ahead of him on this list. How many spots will actually be up for grabs? Will younger players like Severson and Siegenthaler seem like easy locks for two of the three Holtz, Mercer, Foote, Clarke, Bahl and Walsh be in a position to make a defense spots. This leaves one spot for Subban or Butcher, who are two push? How will the shorter offseason affect the younger players’ ability to of the four largest cap hits on the books for 2021-22 (and Johnsson is improve on and off the ice? Conversely, will a potentially “closer to No. 5). Mackenzie Blackwood is an easy choice as the goaltender, and normal” summer allow players more access to ice and gym facilities than Evan Cormier fulfills the club’s exposure requirement because he’s an during the height of the pandemic in 2020? RFA heading into next season. There will be a lot of questions when the Devils reconvene in Newark, Perhaps the Devils can make a trade with the Kraken to ensure they get and plenty of answers (or new questions) to come over the next few to keep an extra player, either up front or to retain the four defensemen. months. July 23-24 — NHL Draft *Tentative dates The Devils currently have eight picks in the 2021 draft. They have two in the first round, their own and the Islanders’ pick from the Kyle Palmieri/Travis Zajac trade. If the Islanders do not reach the third round, The Athletic LOADED: 05.19.2021 the pick will be at least No. 21, and could bump up another spot or two if teams that finished below them in the league standings do breakthrough to the semifinals.

If the Isles reach the third round, the pick will be in the 29-32 range, depending on how they finish. New Jersey does not have its own second-round pick (part of the Nikita Gusev trade) but does have the Islanders’ second from the Andy Greene deal.

New Jersey is guaranteed to land a top-six selection. There are three themes near the top of this draft:

1. Owen Power is not a consensus No. 1 prospect, but seems like the best bet at this point in the process to go first. The next tier behind him could be seven or eight players deep, and trying to place Nos. 2 through 8 or 9 is not easy.

2. Power is one of four high-end defensemen in the top group, meaning the Devils could still land one of them if they fall to No. 6.

3. There are three significant connections to the Devils in that top group, which adds an interesting wrinkle to their plans. Luke Hughes, Jack’s brother, and Brandt Clarke, Graeme’s brother, are two of the top four defensemen. William Eklund, Alexander Holtz’s best friend and 1188364 New York Islanders

Islanders lose to Penguins in Game 2 of opening round playoff series

Staff Report

ASSOCIATED PRESS

MAY 18, 2021 AT 10:38 PM

PITTSBURGH — Tristan Jarry bounced back from a shaky performance to stop 39 shots, and the Pittsburgh Penguins evened their first-round playoff series with the Islanders with a taut 2-1 victory on Tuesday night.

Jarry, who gave up four goals in the opener, picked up the first playoff win of his career as Pittsburgh won for just the second time in its last 12 postseason games.

Game 3 is Thursday night in New York.

Bryan Rust and Jeff Carter scored during a dominant first period, and Jarry did the rest to outduel New York’s Semyon Varlamov.

Varlamov, unavailable for Game 1, made 43 saves, including several highlight-reel stops in the third period. Josh Bailey’s slick backhand in the later stages of the second period drew the Islanders within a goal, but Jarry hung tough down the stretch, particularly in the final 90 seconds after Rust took an inexplicable delay-of-game penalty when he grabbed a loose puck and threw it like a baseball out of the Pittsburgh zone.

New York couldn’t find the equalizer, sending the series to Long Island tied.

The Islanders pulled off a 4-3 overtime stunner in the series opener on Sunday, taking advantage a subpar effort by Jarry to steal home-ice advantage. The Penguins insisted there was no time to panic, expressing confidence in both Jarry and their ability to rebound.

And just like Game 1, Pittsburgh came out flying. Energized by the largest crowd at PPG Paints Arena this season after COVID-19 protocols were eased to allow 50% capacity, the Penguins overwhelmed the Islanders in the opening 20 minutes, even with Russian star Evgeni Malkin sitting out again with an undisclosed health issue.

Varlamov looked a little rusty in his first start in over a week. Rust gave the Penguins the lead 3:22 when he pounced on a New York turnover and fired an innocuous shot from above the right circle that found its way over Varlamov’s glove and into the net.

Carter, who has been electric at times since being acquired from Los Angeles at the trade deadline, scored the 40th playoff goal of his 16-year career at the end of a sequence in which linemates Kasperi Kapanen and Jared McCann did the heavy lifting. Kapanen chased down the puck in the corner and flipped it behind the net to McCann while absorbing a check. McCann then centered it to Carter, who patiently dragged it across the slot before beating Varlamov between the legs.

Just as they did on Sunday, however, the Islanders appeared to find their legs as things wore on. A pair of listless Pittsburgh power plays in the second period gave New York life, and Bailey ripped a backhand over Jarry’s shoulder 14:46 in to draw the Islanders within one, just as they were entering the third period in the opener.

Yet this time there would be no third-period rally. The Penguins withstood an early push by New York and counterpunched effectively to avoid falling into a potentially fatal 0-2 hole.

New York Daily News LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188365 New York Islanders

Semyon Varlamov’s rust proves costly for Islanders

By Mollie Walker

May 19, 2021 | 3:10am

It took goaltender Semyon Varlamov, who was scratched with a lower- body injury in the series opener, a few shifts to get his bearings in the Islanders’ 2-1 loss to the Penguins in Game 2 on Tuesday night.

Just over three minutes into the game, Ryan Pulock turned the puck over in the Isles’ zone and Penguins winger Bryan Rust scooped it up before sending a shot that soared over Varlamov’s stagnant glove.

“If you talk to Varly, he’ll want that first one back,” head coach Barry Trotz said after the loss, which evened the series 1-1 heading to Long Island. “Any goaltender would want that first one back. After that, he was outstanding.”

Varlamov looked more like himself for the remainder of the game. The second goal he gave up, scored by Pittsburgh center Jeff Carter at 13:07, was a result of another defensive breakdown.

The Russian netminder gave the Islanders a chance to even the score in the third, coming up with save after save as the Penguins continued to pressure despite having the lead. He turned aside 43 of the 45 shots he faced, including 16 in the final 20 minutes.

Semyon Varlamov

Asked why he went with Varlamov in Game 2 after rookie Ilya Sorokin held his own in the Islanders’ Sunday’s overtime win, head coach Barry Trotz pointed to Varlamov’s stellar performance in the regular season.

“Varlamov has been our number one goalie all year,” Trotz said. “He’s got seven shutouts, he was outstanding, he set team records and he’s fully healthy. We wouldn’t be maybe in the playoffs if it wasn’t for Varly’s performance this year. That’s, to me, very simple. He was very close to being 100 percent [for Game 1], but we thought let’s make sure that he’s ready. Felt very confident in Sorokin’s ability to come in here and give us a good game, and he did. Varly backed it up with a really strong game, as well.

“I will tell you this, there will be a Russian goaltender in net for the Islanders next game.”

Mathew Barzal has yet to register a point through the first two games of the series, and Trotz believes there’s another gear the Islanders star center can get to.

“We’re going to need for him to do something,” Trotz said. “It’s hard sometimes, Mathew cares, he tries to do it by himself sometimes and the Penguins are doing a good job.”

Anders Lee is the Islanders’ nominee for the 2020-21 King Clancy Memorial Trophy, which is presented to “the power who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.”

“There’s athletes that have a presence, I think since we made him captain, it’s just grown,” Trotz said of Lee, who was ruled out for the rest of the season with an ACL injury in mid-March. “He always had it, he probably held back a little bit with not being captain for a few years. But since we made him captain, you see the growth and why he’d be nominated for this award.

“From a captain standpoint, he’s the last person who thinks about himself. He thinks about team first, other players, families, all that. And then also the community. He loves the Island, he loves helping people. That’s just sort of in his DNA.”

New York Post LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188366 New York Islanders

Islanders fall to Penguins with series knotted at one

By Mollie Walker

May 18, 2021 | 10:22pm | Updated

A two-goal first period from the Penguins was all it took to rattle the Isles, who were uncharacteristically careless with the puck to start the game and ultimately fell 2-1 Tuesday night in Pittsburgh.

By the time the Islanders settled down and began generating scoring chances, the Penguins had already adopted a bend-don’t-break mentality that helped them fend off anything that was thrown their way.

Even when the Islanders were gifted their first power play of the game with less than two minutes left in regulation, after Penguins forward Bryan Rust was called for closing his hand on the puck, the team couldn’t capitalize on the six-on-four opportunity with their net empty.

The equalizer never came, so the series is tied 1-1 heading to Long Island.

“At the end of the day, I just thought they had more desperation in their game,” head coach Barry Trotz said after the loss. “We were a little bit light in some areas and we didn’t make it hard enough on them. We’ve got to raise our level, we have that. I was just disappointed that we didn’t get our level to the level that we needed it.”

Trotz wasn’t thrilled with the Isles’ start in Game 1, either. Series-opening jitters could be an explanation for Sunday, and then PPG Paints Arena increased its capacity to 50 percent Tuesday. But the slow starts will have to be rectified.

“There’s no magic pill that I can give everybody to take and we’ll have a good start, it comes from within,” Trotz said. “They’ve got to simplify, they’ve got to be ready to go.”

Matt Martin fights with the the Penguins’ Zach Aston-Reese during the Islanders’ 2-1 Game 2 loss.

Pittsburgh, as it had in Game 1, led 2-1 at the start of the third. This time around, they kept the Islanders out of their zone and maintained pressure for a majority of the final frame.

The Islanders managed to tighten up their game in the second period, with Josh Bailey making it a one-goal contest after cutting to the slot and backhanding the puck in over Jarry’s left shoulder at 14:44, but the team wasn’t able to build on it.

In his series debut, Semyon Varlamov put on a clinic in the third period, which allowed the Islanders to stay completive after falling into a 2-0 hole. Varlamov, who was scratched in Game 1 out of precaution due to the lower-body injury he sustained in the regular-season finale, made 16 of his 43 saves in the third period.

The Penguins had the Islanders out of sync through the first 20 minutes, beating them on the walls and forcing turnovers in their defensive zone. Defenseman Ryan Pulock coughed up the puck to Rust for a shot that soared over Varlamov’s glove to make it a 1-0 game at 3:22. Jeff Carter then doubled the Penguins’ score after a strong forecheck, skating in front of the crease and going five-hole on Varlamov.

Trotz noted that the Islanders will have to stop easing into the game and establish themselves right away.

“Getting a split was crucial,” Trotz said. “I don’t think anybody would come in here [and say], ‘Hey, we’re going to win both.’ You go in with the plan to win both, but it doesn’t happen a lot.

“You look around the NHL right now, in almost every series, there’s been some splits. That’s the NHL, it’s going to be a dogfight, it’s going to be the team that stays with it.”

New York Post LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188367 New York Islanders

Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s playoff impact a welcome Islanders sight

By Mollie Walker

May 18, 2021 | 6:31pm | Updated

Jean-Gabriel Pageau has seemingly picked up right where he left off in the 2019-20 bubble playoffs.

With a goal and two assists in the Isles’ overtime win over the Penguins in Game 1 Sunday, including the dish to Kyle Palmieri for the game- winner, Pageau continues to make the slew of picks the Islanders sent to the Senators at last season’s trade deadline to acquire the Canadian center look like a bargain.

He went 11-for-26 (42.3 percent) from the faceoff dot in the win, with 13 of those battles coming against Penguins star Sidney Crosby in the defensive or neutral zones. Pageau, who anchors the third line, was a force in all areas of the ice.

“Pager’s been key for us ever since the day we got him, regular season and playoffs,” Brock Nelson said Sunday. “He elevated himself last playoffs in the bubble. Hopefully, we’ll get more of that, he’s a key guy for us and can kind of do it all for us.”

Pageau essentially started his Isles tenure in last season’s playoffs, after competing in just seven regular-season games with the team before the coronavirus pandemic suspended play last March. Aside from taking the time to integrate himself into the organization, which he did by winning the team’s pingpong tournament in the Toronto bubble, the 28-year-old played a major role in the Islanders’ run to the conference finals.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s playoff opener included 13 face-offs against Sidney Crosby.

He recorded eight goals, all at even strength, and three assists in 22 games, and finished last postseason at a plus-10 with 21 penalty minutes and 82 hits, as well as a 55.6 percentage on faceoffs. It was fitting that Pageau scored the first goal for the Islanders against the Panthers in the preliminary round. He had officially arrived.

Since then, head coach Barry Trotz has only seen Pageau grow more comfortable in the team’s systems and assume a notable leadership role.

“When you come in as a new player, they just want to fit in,” Trotz said Tuesday ahead of Game 2 in Pittsburgh. “I think the experience in the bubble and then the whole season, this is his team now. He’s an Islander. He has a big impact, in terms of leadership in our room, he has a big impact in the games. He has a sense of what I expect of him, he has a sense of how we’re going to use him.

“From my standpoint, the comfort level is really good with Pager and from his standpoint, I think he elevates his game when the game gets on the line, all the time. That’s just something that he’s done. I thought last game he did that and it started with a real good penalty kill. His game really elevated after that and it elevated the team.”

Pageau went a bit cold toward the end of the regular season, in which he finished with 14 goals and 14 assists in 54 games. He had just three goals over his last 21 games and no points in his last seven.

But his postseason numbers with the Islanders continue to grow, sitting at 14 points in 23 games heading into Game 2.

New York Post LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188368 New York Islanders

Islanders’ power play execution crucial against Penguins

By Mollie Walker

May 18, 2021 | 3:34pm | Updated

Special teams were always expected to play a role in the Islanders- Penguins first-round series, considering how both teams measure up against one another.

Pittsburgh owned a top-four power play during the regular season, while the Isles ranked 21st in the league. The Islanders posted a solid 83.7 percent penalty kill, with the Penguins sitting in the bottom five.

Neither team capitalized on the power play in Game 1, but the Islanders whiffed on a four-minute man-advantage at a crucial time that could’ve saved them a trip to overtime. When Jeff Carter earned a double-minor for high-sticking Brock Nelson at 12:25 of the second period, the Isles were granted their lone power play of the game while trailing 2-1.

But the team spent most of the four-minute man-advantage flailing through the neutral zone and struggling to set up in the offensive zone, generating just two shots.

“We didn’t execute,” coach Barry Trotz said on Monday. “I thought we got spread out a little bit. Our releases and our exits weren’t clean and, therefore, they were able to get sticks and get into those battles and break up plays and break up your next pass. They were able to anticipate that, jump us, and we didn’t move it quick enough.

“It’s all about executing very quickly against their pressure. Our entries, our retrievals and moving it to our options, we didn’t do it quick enough and with the execution that we needed and, therefore, we didn’t get anything done.”

Brock Nelson and the Islanders couldn’t make use of their only power play opportunity in Game 1.

On the other hand, the Islanders went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill, limiting the Penguins to just three shots on goal.

Goaltender Semyon Varlamov, who was scratched with a lower-body injury in Game 1, made his series debut in Tuesday’s rematch in Pittsburgh.

Anders Lee is the Islanders’ nominee for the 2020-21 King Clancy Memorial Trophy, which is presented to “the power who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.”

“There’s athletes that have a presence, I think since we made him captain, it’s just grown,” Trotz said of Lee, who was ruled out for the rest of the season with an ACL injury in mid-March. “He always had it, he probably held back a little bit with not being captain for a few years. But since we made him captain, you see the growth and why he’d be nominated for this award.

“From a captain standpoint, he’s the last person who thinks about himself. He thinks about team first, other players, families, all that. And then also the community. He loves the Island, he loves helping people. That’s just sort of in his DNA. “

New York Post LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188369 New York Islanders Last year, Trotz benched a tiring Varlamov for Game 7 of a second-round series against the Flyers in favor of Thomas Greiss, who won that game.

Then Greiss was pulled early in Game 1 against the Lightning, and Trotz Barry Trotz's next call in goal will be crucial for Islanders went right back to Varlamov.

"Varly is low maintenance," Trotz said last week. "He’s calm. He’s had some experience." Updated May 18, 2021 11:25 PM Tuesday’s experience was a tough one. But Varlamov proved his mettle by shrugging off his disastrous start to show that he merits another opportunity. Such is the reservoir of goodwill Barry Trotz has developed in three seasons with the Islanders that no matter the result, the events of Tuesday night should not be considered a significant event on his performance chart. By Neil Best

But the line on that chart after the Islanders’ 2-1 loss in Game 2 of a first- Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 05.19.2021 round playoff series against the Penguins certainly was a jagged one.

It began with the coach surprising many by starting Semyon Varlamov in goal after Ilya Sorokin had beaten the Penguins in Game 1, 4-3 in overtime.

It continued with Varlamov giving up an awful early goal that threatened to make Trotz’s decision look very bad indeed.

It ended with Varlamov settling down, making 43 saves – many of them big ones – and giving the Islanders a chance that their offense failed to cash in on.

Reading the hockey tea leaves on Monday, it seemed Trotz would stick with the rookie for at least one more game. But no.

It was back to Varly, arguably the team MVP this season. When asked to explain his decision, Trotz sounded surprised anyone would be surprised by it.

"Varlamov has been our No. 1 goalie all year," Trotz said. "He’s been outstanding. He’s got seven shutouts. He set team records and he’s fully healthy.

"We wouldn’t be maybe in the playoffs if it wasn’t for Varly’s performance this year. So that’s to me very simple."

Varlamov had been out since May 10 because of a lower body injury, and in the opening minutes he looked as if he might be either rusty or still hurting.

At 3:22 of the opening period, a long, seemingly harmless shot by Bryan Rust after a turnover by Ryan Pulock fluttered over the goaltender’s glove.

"If you talk to Varly, he’ll want that first one back," Trotz said. "Any goaltender would want the first one back, and after that he was outstanding."

Asked whether perhaps the layoff or injury had contributed to the whiff, Trotz said, "He missed the puck. That’s a question for him. He just missed the puck." (Varlamov was not among the players provided for postgame interviews.)

At 13:07 of the first, Pulock was unable to get a body on Jeff Carter, who cruised into the slot and beat Varlamov between his pads to made it 2-0.

Meanwhile, the Penguins’ Tristan Jarry, who was awful in Game 1, looked sharp in turning away every Islanders chance early on.

At 14:44 of the second, Josh Bailey cut the lead to 2-1 with a backhand from the slot over Jarry’s glove, which had been an area of concern for the goalie in Game 1.

But the offense never could quite bail out Trotz and Varlamov.

It says here that Trotz made the right move in goal. Fully healthy, Varlamov is the Islanders’ best, and based on Trotz’s postgame comments it sure sounded as if he will go back to him for Game 3.

Four minutes into Tuesday’s game, that did not seem likely. But 56 game minutes later, it seemed as simple a decision as Trotz portrayed his Game 2 move to be.

One thing the coach needn’t worry about is Varlamov’s state of mind. He repeatedly has praised the Russian for being an easy player to deal with, comfortable in his own skin and full of veteran savvy. 1188370 New York Islanders Meanwhile Jarry, who had allowed anywhere from two to four questionable goals in Game 1, was much improved. He denied Kyle Palmieri’s shot from the left and Wahlstrom’s rebound at 7:50 before Jean-Gabriel Pageau hit the post. He also stopped Anthony Beauvillier, Islanders can't overcome early two-goal deficit in Game 2 loss to who kept the puck and got to the crease on a two-on-one at 12:22 of the Penguins first period.

Both teams played a physical game and it turned chippy at 15:03 of the second period. By Andrew Gross Brandon Tanev went headfirst into Varlamov on a breakaway, with the [email protected] @AGrossNewsday Islanders taking exception to that even as Tanev remained on his knees May 18, 2021 10:34 PM holding his head after crashing into the post as well. Cizikas and Teddy Blueger wrestled and Matt Martin and Zach Aston-Reese were both called for roughing while Tanev, after arising, got into a yelling match with defenseman Scott Mayfield. PITTSBURGH – The Islanders had plenty of time to recover. They just could never get the equalizer, despite skating six on four for the final 88 seconds. Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 05.19.2021 So, the Islanders and Penguins are tied, 1-1, in their first-round playoff series after the Penguins’ 2-1 win in Tuesday night’s Game 2 at PPG Paints Arena.

The game started with an interesting decision as Islanders coach Barry Trotz started goalie Semyon Varlamov, who recovered to make 43 saves after letting in an early softie, despite rookie Ilya Sorokin made 39 saves in Sunday’s 4-3 overtime win, his NHL playoff debut.

"Between him and Varly, we’re a confident group going out there," Casey Cizikas said. "It doesn’t matter who’s in the pipes."

Tristan Jarry stopped 37 saves after his rough Game 1 outing.

PPG Paints Arena hosted at 50% capacity of 9,344, twice the crowd in the building for Game 1. It made for a raucous atmosphere that the Penguins fed off of early. Nassau Coliseum will also be allowed to host at 50% of capacity for Thursday night’s Game 3, with approximately 6,800 in the venerable barn.

The Islanders won the first game after trailing 2-1 entering the third period and that’s where they found themselves again on Tuesday.

Unlike Sunday, the Islanders could never net the equalizer. Jarry stopped Jordan Eberle’s backhander from the high slot at 2:02 and Mathew Barzal couldn’t quite get full control of the puck as he broke in on the crease at 7:52.

Other than his goalie, Trotz did not make many changes for Game 2, other than trying to anticipate what adjustments the Penguins would try.

"Not a lot of adjustments," Trotz said. "It’s more of a mindset in terms of our decisions, recognizing danger. Some of the plays we tried to force (in Game 1)."

The Islanders halved the Penguins’ lead on Josh Bailey’s backhander over Jarry’s glove at 14:44 of the second period. As they did in Game 1, the Islanders survived their own slow start to hang around long enough to make it a game.

The Islanders seemed to gain momentum from their penalty kill, which is now 5-for-5 in the series after going 2-for-2 on Tuesday. Rookie Oliver Wahlstrom was called for three, second-period minors, resulting in two Penguins’ power play that yielded just a one shot.

Varlamov shot out his right leg to get his skate on Jeff Carter’s redirection at 9:38 of the second period on the Penguins’ second power play.

Varlamov had skated with the extras at a limited, optional practice on Monday and split time in one net with third-stringer Cory Schneider while Sorokin had the other net to himself in Tuesday’s morning skate.

All clearly subterfuge hiding Trotz’s goalie plans for Game 2.

But the Penguins took a 1-0 lead at 3:22 of the first period on their third shot, an embarrassing play all around for the Islanders. First, defenseman Ryan Pulock flubbed an exit pass at the Islanders’ blue line. Bryan Rust took the puck, skated to his right and flipped a long-range shot at Varlamov, who barely moved as the puck flew over his glove.

That became 2-0 at 13:07 of the first period as Jared McCann’s forecheck led to Jeff Carter’s goal from the slot with Varlamov coming high out of his net and Pulock caught in no-man’s land between Carter and the goal line. 1188371 New York Islanders Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 05.19.2021

Brock Nelson's line has been quietly effective for the Islanders

By Colin Stephenson [email protected] @ColinSNewsday

Updated May 18, 2021 6:41 PM

The things that Mathew Barzal can do on the ice can surely take people’s breath away sometimes.

But Barzal, as mesmerizing as he can be to watch, is hardly a one-man team.

In fact, while Barzal was held off the scoresheet in Game 1 of the Islanders’ first-round playoff win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday, third-liners Kyle Palmieri and Jean-Gabriel Pageau combined for three goals, including Palmieri’s OT winner. And second-line center Brock Nelson had the other goal, which had given the Isles a 3-2 lead with 4:10 remaining in regulation, before Kasperi Kapanen tied it with 3:39 remaining.

And while Barzal did lead the Islanders in scoring in the regular season, with 45 points in 55 games (17 goals, 28 assists), it was Nelson who led them in goals, with 18 in 56 games. And Nelson’s right wing, Josh Bailey, was second to Barzal in points, with 35 (eight goals, 27 assists).

On a balanced, four-line team like the Islanders, with Barzal as the headliner on the first line, a fourth-line generally regarded as perhaps the best in the NHL, and Pageau emerging as the key 2020 trade deadline pickup , it is possible that the second line of Nelson, Bailey and Anthony Beauvillier gets to fly under the radar most nights.

"I don't know if they're under the radar to our opponents any night,’’ Islanders coach Barry Trotz said Tuesday after the Islanders’ optional morning skate at PPG Paints Arena, before the teams faced off in Game 2 of their best-of-seven series.

"Maybe to the general public — I mean, you turn on the TV and and people will be amazed with some of the things that Barzy does, and he catches your eye because of his speed and skill,’’ Trotz said. "Brock is a little more subtle. Brock has a ton of skill and Bails is very intelligent, and Beau's got outstanding speed. And they're a real good line.

"But, you know, Barzy has that sort of ‘wow’ factor in some things that he can do. So he gets probably a little bit more attention by, I'll say just the general public. But I know our opponents, they really respect Nelson's line. I don't think they underrate it at all.’’

Bailey led the Islanders in scoring in the 2020 playoff run to the Eastern Conference finals with two goals and 18 assists for 20 points in 22 games. And Nelson (9-9-18) and Beauvillier (9-5-14) were tied for the team lead in goals and finished second and fourth in points.

And then there’s this: Nelson and Beauvillier each had three game- winning goals in the 2020 playoffs. And Bailey had one.

In 49 playoff games before Tuesday, the 6-4, 212-pound Nelson, 29, had scored 17 goals and 13 assists, with five game-winners. Bailey, 31, had played 53 career playoff games before Tuesday, registering 10-27-37, while Beauvillier, 23, had 10 goals and 17 points in his 31 career playoff games through Sunday.

On Tuesday, Nelson said he was happy to get his goal Sunday, after the line had been on ice for a couple goals against in the game.

"We had given a couple up, so we wanted to get one back,’’ he said.

He was asked if he thought his line might be overlooked sometimes.

"I'm not too sure how people view us,’’ he said. "We believe in each other, that we have a good mix of skill, and want to go out there and try to contribute offensively and be responsible. I think we did a good job of that and built our game a little bit last year, then [we're] trying to grow on that even more so this year.’’

1188372 New York Islanders want to do . . . We respect what he can do, but we’ve got to make sure that we limit his ability to do some of those things."

Islanders' strategy to contain Sid: Bang Crosby By Neil Best

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 05.19.2021 Updated May 18, 2021 3:41 PM

Sidney Crosby had four shots on goal in the first period for the Penguins in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series against the Islanders on Sunday.

Then he began the second period with a highlight-reel goal, reaching around Andy Greene with one hand on his stick to tip in a long shot by Brian Dumoulin.

At that point, the Islanders had had quite enough. Soon Scott Mayfield was hammering Crosby with a big hit, and Cal Clutterbuck was cross- checking him to the ice.

He never did get another shot on goal after that early second-period score, and the Islanders won, 4-3, in overtime.

So it goes for Sid the Former Kid, who at 33 might be the Pens’ best hope of avoiding another playoff frustration against the Islanders.

He already has been a bigger factor than he was in the Islanders’ sweep of Pittsburgh in 2019, when he famously managed only one assist and was minus-4 for the series.

But that was an anomaly. In his long, complicated history against the Islanders, he has 122 regular-season points — the most for any current player against any one team.

Now it is playoff time again, and that is all that matters, both for the Islanders as they seek their first Stanley Cup since 1983 and Crosby as he seeks the fourth of his career.

The good news for the Islanders is that Barry Trotz’s defense-first group should be well-suited to the task.

The Islanders were credited in Game 1 with a 72-47 advantage in hits, including Leo Komarov’s 14 (!), plus nine for Matt Martin and eight for Ryan Pulock.

Asked on Monday whether the Islanders were trying to rough up Crosby, Martin said, "A guy like that obviously gets a lot of attention all over the ice, not only from a physical standpoint but just how quickly he can hurt you if you lose track of him. So he’s certainly a guy that gets extra attention.

"We just tried to be physical with everybody, and really that’s a big part of who we are as a team, who we are as a line, and we wanted to come out and be hard on all of them. Obviously this has the makings to be a long series, so we want to continue that type of pressure, continue to be heavy on them and wear them down a bit that way.

"If you give them time and space — not just Crosby, a lot of the guys on their roster — and you’re not physical on them, they’re capable of making plays and making you pay for it."

Before Game 2 on Tuesday, Greene said of the Crosby goal, "Obviously, a great play by him. Tried to kind of get him off balance there, and that’s always why you try to go for the stick first.

"Just missed it, and at that point I was trying to knock him off balance and not be able for him to get a good look, and obviously with him it doesn’t take much and he got his stick on it."

Greene entered the NHL in 2006-07, the season after Crosby, and as a longtime Devil has seen a lot of him. He confirmed that being physical always is a priority — or at least attempting to be.

"You try to force him into different spots and different areas where it’s a little bit tougher for him, whether it’s to beat you one-on-one or make a great play," Greene said.

Easier said than done. But the Islanders might just be the ones to do it.

After Game 1, Trotz said, "You know what I think of Sid. Sid is the gold standard. I was trying to take away his time and space, which you always 1188373 New York Islanders

Ugly Start Sinks Islanders in Game 2 Loss to Pittsburgh

Published 4 hours ago on May 18, 2021

By Christian Arnold

What will sting worse for the New York Islanders?

The ugly effort in the first 20 minutes of Game 2 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the fluky goal Semyon Varlamov gave up less than four minutes into the game or a missed opportunity in the closing minutes of the game to capitalize on a power play. In the end, it all added up to the same result which was a 2-1 loss to Pittsburgh.

The loss evened the series 1-1 as it shifts to Long Island for Game 3 and Game 4.

It was the first-period effort that sunk the Islanders, who were outshot 19- 13 in the opening 20 minutes, and whipped away what would have been an impressive outing for Varlamov in his first game back in net. The veteran goaltender made 43 saves Tuesday night in the loss, including a number of critical stops in the second and third periods, but that was overshadowed by the easy goal he gave up 3:22 into the game.

That was compounded by another saveable shot that got by later in the period.

“He just missed the puck,” New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz said. “I thought he was excellent after the first goal. I thought he was moving well, he was crisp. We just wanted the first goal back.”

Varlamov didn’t receive much from the players in front of him either during the first period. The Islanders turned the puck over at the Pittsburgh blue line allowing them to break out and eventually find Jeff Carter for their second goal of the night.

A neutral zone turnover by Ryan Pulock allowed Bryan Rust the opportunity to fling a puck on net that snuck by Varlamov for the opening goal of the night. While the Islanders did get a goal back late in the second period, the early lead allowed Pittsburgh to clamp down the rest of the game.

“It’s tough out there, it’s tough to get some chances,” Anthony Beauvillier said. “They did a good job defending their lead. There’s room for improvement to have a push.”

Tuesday marked the second straight game that the Islanders have started off the game slow. On Sunday, they suffered a similar circumstance, but rookie netminder Ilya Sorokin only allowed one goal in the first period.

“We just have to come out better,” Trotz said. “THere’s no magic pill and say ‘take this’ and we’ll have a good start. They have to simplify things and be ready to go. They can’t ease into the game, they have to be ready to go right off the bat.”

The decision to start Varlamov came as a surprise on Tuesday after Trotz was coy with who his starter would be. Sorokin was seen practicing in his own net during the morning skate leading many to believe that he would get the start.

Game 3 takes place on Thursday at the Nassau, where Josh Bailey, who scored the Islanders’ lone goal on Tuesday, said they must now turn their focus to.

“We just move forward,” Bailey said. “This can always be a bit of a match switching things here and there. We got one win, we would’ve liked two, but we move forward and get ready for a big game on our ice.”

NYI Hockey Now LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188374 New York Islanders

Playoff Gameday: Islanders Game 2 Lines, Matchups and Game Notes vs. Pens

Published 10 hours ago on May 18, 2021

By Christian Arnold

Will the New York Islanders be able to take a commanding series lead back to Long Island? We’ll soon find out when the puck drops on Game 2 at PPG Paints Arena between the Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Islanders took Game 1 of the First Round series on Sunday in dramatic fashion in overtime. Kyle Palmieri became the first Islander in team history to score an overtime goal in his first playoff game for the team. Palmieri scored twice on Sunday against Pittsburgh.

The heroics of Palmieri were nothing new to Andy Greene, who played with Palmieri in New Jersey previously.

“As each game goes on he gets more comfortable and more confident,” Greene said. “The last little bit he’s had a lot of chances and it was great to see him go in there on Sunday. He plays a hard game, a physical game, he gets in there and it was good to see him get rewarded for that.”

The New York Islanders are hoping for another strong effort from Palmieri and the rest of the lineup for that matter tonight. Nothing will change for the Islanders when it comes to the lineup, Islanders head coach Barry Trotz confirmed this morning after the team skated.

Trotz didn’t tip his hand over who would start in goal tonight either, saying that Semyon Varlamov was available and that a Russian goalie would be in net. However, Ilya Sorokin was seeing practice in a net all to himself this morning.

Islanders Need to Capitalize on Tristan Jarry’s Weaknesses Again in Game 2

This is the second consecutive playoff series against the Pittsburgh Penguins the Islanders have found themselves ahead after winning Game 1 in dramatic fashion. In 2019, the Islanders won Game 1 in overtime against Pittsburgh and then handed them a regulation loss the following game.

The New York Islanders are drawing on past experiences to help them stay focused on just one game at a time.

“As the years pass and you get more opportunities like this, you learn from them,” Brock Nelson said. “Being so close last year, you learn from that and try to use that in any way as motivation or knowledge in how to react in different situations. We also have staff and Lou, guys that have been around. They’ve pretty much seen it all and they know what the game is about.

Tristan Jarrry will be in net for Pittsburgh in Game 2 and Evgeni Malkin and Brian Dumoulin are game-time decisions for tonight. Backup goalie Casey DeSmith will not dress for tonight’s game either.

GAME NOTES

Pittsburgh is 31-28 all-time at PPG Paints Arena in playoff contests. They are 5-0-1 at home after any type of loss this season. … Pittsburgh has a 15-16 all-time series record when trailing 1-0 in a best-of-seven series, which includes an 8-7 series record when starting at home. … Since Sidney Crosby entered the league in 2005-06, no team has more playoff wins than Pittsburgh’s 98. The next closest team is the Boston Bruins with 84 wins. … The Islanders have an all-time playoff record of 162-133 and are 18-12 all-time against Pittsburgh in the postseason. … With Sunday’s win, the Islanders improved to 5-0 in playoff games against Pittsburgh under Head Coach Barry Trotz, including 3-0 in Pittsburgh. … In every series that the Islanders have won un head coach Barry Trotz, they have won Game 1.

NYI Hockey Now LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188375 New York Islanders

Ilya Sorokin Likely to Start Game 2 for Islanders

Published 16 hours ago on May 18, 2021

By Christian Arnold

All signs are pointing to Ilya Sorokin starting Game 2 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

All three New York Islanders goaltenders took part in the team’s morning skate on Tuesday, but Ilya Sorokin was seen practicing in a net all to himself while Cory Schneider and Semyon Varlamov shared a net at the other end of the ice. If Sorokin does get the nod in Game 2 it will be the rookie’s second postseason start of his career.

Islanders head coach Barry Trotz did tell reporters after the team’s morning skate that Varlamov was available for Game 2 and that “yes, I will have a Russian goalie playing net.”

Ilya Sorokin made his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut on Sunday in a 39 save effort in the opening game of the series between the Isles and Pittsburgh. He helped backstop the Islanders to a 4-3 overtime win to give New York the early 1-0 series lead.

Varlamov did take part in the Islanders optional practice on Monday at PPG Paints Arena and was on the ice for nearly an hour. Trotz was vague on Monday regarding whether or not Varlamov would get the start in Game 2.

The veteran netminder left the Islanders season finale in Boston on May 10 after two periods and missed the team’s first two practices of the postseason. He returned to the ice last Friday, skating with the Islanders extras on Long Island and then taking part in a full practice the following day before the Isles departed for Pittsburgh.

Sunday was only Sorokin’s third time facing Pittsburgh in his career and it was the second time he had been victorious against them.

Varlamov owns a 24-20-0 record in 44 career playoff starts, with a 2.38 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage. He has a 3-4-0 against Pittsburgh in the postseason.

NYI Hockey Now LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188376 New York Islanders You can bet that the Islanders will put the first couple of shots towards Jarry’s glove side, and if it shows to be a weakness still, they will be looking to take full advantage of it.

Islanders Need to Capitalize on Tristan Jarry’s Weaknesses Again in Game 2 NYI Hockey Now LOADED: 05.19.2021

Published 13 hours ago on May 18, 2021

By Stefen Rosner

There is no question that the New York Islanders studied the book on Pittsburgh Penguins netminder Tristan Jarry ahead of Game 1 on Sunday. The Islanders scored all four goals glove side as the clear weakness became the downfall for Jarry and Pittsburgh in the exciting Game 1 win.

Now the New York Islanders must do that again when the puck drops for Game 2.

The 26-year old Jarry performed relatively well against the Islanders during the regular season, winning five of six, with a .917 SV% and a 2.41 GAA. On Sunday, Jarry was fairly sharp in tight, using his lower body to deny an abundance of Islanders opportunities, but when the puck was elevated, the 2019-20 All-Star struggled mightily.

Because goaltenders are so big in stature, dropping down on every shot has become the norm. That was evident in Game 1 and it is why that initial instinct to drop could be costly.

The Islanders expected goals for (xGF) at even strength in the win was 1.9, which sums up the kind of game that Jarry had. All four goals allowed came at even-strength and the weakest of the four goals he allowed was the tying goal that came off the stick of Jean-Gabriel Pageau to even the score at two in the third period.

Although the release was a strong one, there is no way this puck can enter the back of the net from that far out. The fact that Jarry was aggressive on this play and still got beat should tell the Islanders that any shot to that side, regardless of Jarry’s positioning, can make its way in.

Part of what worked on Sunday was the Islanders’ aggressive nature when putting shots on net and how it appeared to rattle Jarry even with shots coming from way beyond where he’d normally have trouble.

Jarry saw shots this past regular season from an average of 34.77 feet out. The goals he did allow averaged from just under 19 feet away (18.97), a 15.8-foot discrepancy in the right direction. Sunday, the average distance on the shots he faced was rather similar to what he saw during the regular season, at 35.38 feet. The major difference was that the Islanders’ goals on the Penguins netminder came from 32.50 feet out.

That is a sure problem.

Scoring goals was not something the New York Islanders had been doing as they headed into the postseason. New York scored three or fewer in seven of their last regular-season contests and ranked 21st in the NHL, scoring just 2.71 goals per game. That was mainly in part to this Islander group registering the 10th fewest shots on goal per game at 29.0.

When the Islanders had a chance to let shots go on Sunday, there was very little hesitation. 41 shots found their way to Jarry, and the beauty of what we saw from the Islanders was that it did not matter where on the ice the shots were coming from. Barry Trotz’s group committed to this game plan and it paid off in the long run.

As mentioned, the Islanders’ offense was not one of the best this season, but the Penguins were. Their offense was second in the NHL as they scored 3.45 goals per game. But the statistic that truly stood out was their expected goals for this season 5 on 5 (xGF), which was 96.37.

This matters because Mike Sullivan’s group scored 126 goals. The commitment to attacking opposing netminders allowed the Pens to score goals that statistically should have been stopped. The Islanders had an xGF of 106.13 and scored 118 at even-strength during the 56-game season.

Now there are is one big question in play before Game 2: Does Jarry make the necessary adjustments to be more effective against this Islanders offense? 1188377 New York Rangers

Rangers arrange Rick Tocchet meeting in fluid coaching search

By Larry Brooks

May 18, 2021 | 6:29pm | Updated

Chris Drury’s search for the next Rangers coach will include a meeting with Rick Tocchet, The Post has confirmed.

The Blueshirts’ newly installed president-general manager has previously met with Gerard Gallant, who entered this derby with the shortest odds. It is believed that Drury has been in contact with both John Tortorella and Patrick Roy, though it does not seem that their talks could be construed as job interviews.

The Rangers, seeking a coach with NHL experience, appear to be working off of a relatively short list of candidates. But sources have indicated that the list could expand dramatically depending on outcomes of playoff series.

For instance, if the Penguins’ Mike Sullivan or the Bruins’ Bruce Cassidy were to become victims of first-round defeats, both would immediately become prime candidates to fill the vacancy on Broadway created by the dismissal of David Quinn on May 12.

The 57-year-old Tocchet, who stepped down after four years as head coach of the Coyotes, won the Stanley Cup in 1992 as a power winger with the Penguins before winning back-to-back Cups with Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017 as one of Sullivan’s assistants.

Arizona compiled a 125-131-34 record under Tocchet, advancing to the playoffs last year, but losing in the first round to Colorado after defeating Nashville in the qualifying round under the Edmonton bubble. The Coyotes finished 24-26-6 this season, nine points out of a tournament berth.

Tocchet, whose interview with the Rangers was initially reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, is also lined up to talk with Seattle.

New York Post LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188378 Ottawa Senators return to Boston for the first time in the playoffs. Former Ottawa defencemen Mike Reilly was dealt to Boston in April and former Senators’ first-round pick Curtis Lazar is there now.

GARRIOCH: Former Senators' goaltender Craig Anderson making an Of course, Bruins’ coach Bruce Cassidy is from Ottawa and suited up for impact for Washington Capitals the 67’s.

But, Anderson’s participation is the most unlikely of all. Nobody saw this coming, but one thing Anderson has been through his career is a Bruce Garrioch competitor by making the right saves at the right time and when on his game he’s tough to beat.

Anderson has always the right approach by staying on an even keel. The last time we saw Craig Anderson in the playoffs in an Ottawa He’s the ultimate in never getting too high or never getting too low. He’s Senators’ uniform he was in the crease being comforted by his got a great ability to move on from a loss and doesn’t rest on his laurels teammates after a devastating double-OT loss to the Pittsburgh after a win. Turn the page and get ready for the next one. Penguins in Game 7 of the 2017 East final. “You get on that horse and ride again,” Anderson said several times in As the years passed and the Senators opted to turn the page last spring Ottawa. after he spent a decade in the club’s net, you wondered if Anderson, who will celebrate his 40th birthday Friday, would get a taste of playoff hockey The Capitals will need Anderson to keep giving them a chance to win if again or if his NHL career would even continue after he joined the they want to keep playing this spring. Washington Capitals on a pro tryout in January. Ottawa Sun LOADED: 05.19.2021 But as Washington’s first-round series shifts to Boston for Game 3 Wednesday at the TD Garden tied 1-1, Anderson is the centre of attention after he was forced to take over for injured top goalie Vitek Vanecek by making 21 stops in a 3-2 victory in Game 1 and then making 44 saves in a difficult 4-3 OT loss in Game 2 Monday night.

Not bad for a guy who played only four games for Washington this season.

“I would think (experience) means a lot,” Caps’ coach Peter Laviolette said Tuesday. “He’s played a lot of games, a lot of playoff games and his numbers in the playoffs are pretty good. He gave us an opportunity to win (Monday’s) game and he made some big saves in there.

“The way he’s handled himself the entire time he’s been here has been a really positive. He’s been a (good) influence on our young goaltenders, leading every day with a good work ethic. He’s just been really good. To get an opportunity in the first two games, and to play the way he has, that’s really helped our team. When you’re talking about that experience, they generated more (Monday) but he continued to make saves.

“That experience from previous years and a lot NHL career was evident.”

Some goalies feel they need to play a lot to get into a groove but Anderson has never been that way. We witnessed it first hand when he played for the Senators. If he was out for an extended stretch with injury, it wouldn’t take long for him to get back to form once he returned to the net and that’s why he’s the winningest goalie in franchise history with 202 victories.

“Well you could say I’m well rested,” Anderson said after the Game 1 win. “When opportunity knocks, you make the most of your opportunity.”

During that special playoff run that ended May 26, 2017 when the Senators knocked off the Bruins and New York Rangers in five before Chris Kunitz’ knuckle-puck winner in Pittsburgh, Anderson left the team in November that season to be with his wife Nicholle, who was under going treatment for a rare form of throat cancer and didn’t return until January.

Does it show a lot of poise?

“It shows a lot of everything,” Laviolette said. “As you know, as we get older, things get a little more difficult. Andy is a veteran player and he’s been around and he’s played a lot of games. The one thing you’d like to have is that rhythm of playing a lot of games all the time so he can keep his rhythm in the net. He wasn’t afforded that luxury.

“He came in and played the last two games, really from being the extra goalie on the ice, and being on the taxi squad. That’s what makes what he’s done in the last two games even more impressive. He did it for us through the course of the regular season as well. It’s a credit to him for keeping himself in shape, ready to play and handling himself (well).”

Anderson was on the bench when Vanecek got hurt because backup Ilya Samsonov was just taken off the COVID-19 protocol list on the weekend. He was on the ice for the club’s optional skate Tuesday and travelled to Boston so he may be ready to play, but the expectation is the club will stick with Anderson.

As our friend Stephen Whyno of AP noted there’s shortage of Ottawa storylines with Zdeno Chara patrolling the Caps’ blueline and making his 1188379 Philadelphia Flyers seasons this year with the Phantoms. Those underage players were only allowed to play in the AHL because their Ontario Hockey League seasons were wiped out by COVID-19.

Scott Gordon, Kerry Huffman are out with Phantoms, the Flyers’ top farm Gordon, who played in 23 NHL games as a Quebec Nordiques goalie, team had a 186-121-40 record (with one tie) with the Phantoms; he was 25-22- 4 as the Flyers’ interim coach after was fired. Head coach Gordon, who developed many of the players on the Flyers' current team, and assistant Huffman parted ways with the Phantoms. Huffman, 53, a former Flyers defenseman, joined Gordon’s staff with the Phantoms in 2016-17, and he was their interim coach when Gordon replaced Hakstol. by Sam Carchidi Gordon was among the Flyers’ candidates before Fletcher hired after the 2018-19 season.

Breakaways In a stunning development, the Flyers announced Tuesday that they were parting ways with Phantoms coach Scott Gordon and called it a Fletcher confirmed that captain Claude Giroux, like Justin Braun, broke “mutually agreed upon decision.” his foot in the season finale against New Jersey on May 10. Giroux, Braun, and Kevin Hayes, who will have core-muscle surgery, will all be Gordon directed the Phantoms to an 18-7-6 record this season, and ready for training camp, Fletcher said. Hayes is the only Flyer who needs many of the Flyers’ young players were developed by him in the AHL. He offseason surgery. ... Scott Laughton is the Flyers’ nominee for the King has been a head coach with the Islanders and an interim coach with the Clancy Memorial Trophy, presented to the NHL player who shows Flyers. leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy The Flyers also announced that assistant Kerry Huffman had stepped humanitarian contribution to his community. down from his role. Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 05.19.2021 Ian Laperriere, a Flyers assistant, is a candidate to replace Gordon, and InsideAHLHockey.com said Terry Murray -- who was the Phantoms’ head coach in their first year in in Lehigh Valley in 2014-15 -- is expected to replace Huffman.

What to watch for in the Democratic primary between Philly DA Larry Krasner and Carlos Vega

Gordon, 58, coached the Phantoms for six seasons, a tenure interrupted by an interim stint with the Flyers in 2018-19.

In a statement, Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher said Gordon and Huffman “have dedicated their time and effort in developing Flyers prospects and bringing success to Lehigh Valley over the last several years. In speaking with each of them, we felt this was best for the future direction of the organization.”

Gordon had one year left on his contract.

Later in the day, Fletcher said that when Huffman told him he didn’t want to coach any longer, “we were going to have to look for an assistant coach this summer. And Gordo was going into the last year of his contract next year.”

Fletcher talked with Gordon on Monday about his contract.

“Right now, I’m not sure I want to extend him beyond next year. I don’t know where the world’s going to be,” Fletcher said. “And yet, we have to hire an assistant coach this summer. We just started talking about it, and I’m not sure he would really want to be a lame duck, and I’m not sure it makes sense for us to be hiring an assistant coach if our head guy is a lame duck.”

Fletcher and Gordon then decided to mutually part ways.

“This gives him time to find the next step and he doesn’t have to be a lame duck, which I don’t think is good for either him or us,” Fletcher said.

Fletcher said Gordon “did a really good job, and I thought he did a really good job in that interim season, but going forward, next year is Year 7, and if I don’t want to extend him beyond that, what’s best for him and best for us?”

The Phantoms and Gordon “did a heck of a job this year,” Fletcher said. “They had a good team, so it wasn’t like we were upset about this year.”

Flyers interim coach Scott Gordon directs the team against Carolina on April 6, 2019.

In a testament to Gordon’s ability to develop prospects, 14 players (excluding injury-related rehabs) on the Flyers’ end-of-season roster have played for him with the Phantoms: Wade Allison, Nic Aube-Kubel, Joel Farabee, , Robert Hagg, Carter Hart, Tanner Laczynski, Scott Laughton, Oskar Lindblom, Alex Lyon, Samuel Morin, Phil Myers, Travis Sanheim, and Cam York.

In addition, three teenagers -- right wingers Tyson Foerster and Zayde Wisdom, and defenseman Mason Millman -- had impressive rookie 1188380 Philadelphia Flyers general manager Ron Hextall opted for Patrick. Makar has become a candidate for this year’s Norris Trophy, awarded to the league’s best defenseman.

Is Nolan Patrick seeking a trade to leave the Flyers? Promising center Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 05.19.2021 won’t say

The 22-year-old Patrick is a restricted free agent and under the Flyers’ control. His agent said he didn’t know if he would seek a one-year deal or a longer pact.

by Sam Carchidi

A report from TSN in Canada suggested the other day that Flyers center Nolan Patrick was on a list of players who could ask for a fresh start elsewhere this summer.

Patrick, through a team spokesman, said he didn’t want to comment on the story.

His new agent, Rich Evans, was asked Monday if Patrick wants to remain with the Flyers, the team that selected him No. 2 overall in the 2017 draft.

“I’m just at the stage now where I’m compiling information and trying to ascertain what ‘s happened in the past,” Evans said. “Once we get that figured all out, then we’ll have a plan for the future. It involves me speaking with Chuck [Fletcher, the Flyers general manager].”

Divide over mask requirements | Coronavirus Newsletter

Patrick, a Winnipeg native, “just got home, and I don’t think players should be making decisions on anything until they’ve been home and get to take a deep breath and have some discussions, and then we’ll figure it out,” Evans said.

Patrick, 22, is a restricted free agent and under the Flyers’ control. Evans said he didn’t know if he would seek a one-year deal or a longer pact.

After a season in which he struggled mightily, Patrick is not in a good bargaining position. He missed the entire 2019-20 season because of a migraine disorder, and this year he managed just four goals and nine points in 52 games despite playing on the second power-play unit. He had a minus-30 rating, tied for the second-worst in the NHL.

But his potential is unlimited. Back when he played in the , Patrick was more dominating than players such as Mathew Barzal and Brayden Point, two current NHL stars.

“At the end of the day, Philadelphia retains his rights. He’s s Group 2 free agent, so the Flyers determine ultimately what happens with his rights,” Evans said. “I’m sure we’ll have further discussions with Chuck about the whole situation. But I would like everybody to take a deep breath at the end of the year, and we’ll work from there.”

Patrick signed a one-year deal for $874,125 before last season.

In an interview after the season ended earlier this month, Patrick was asked if he shied away from contact because of his past migraine condition. “Maybe a little bit at the start,” said Patrick, whose migraines are believed to be related to the concussion he suffered late in the 2018- 19 season. “I think when you’re dealing with an injury that long, it’s always on your mind a little. At the start of the year, I was thinking about it quite a bit. It probably affected my play a little bit, but I’m back to 100% health now, so it’s nice.”

Patrick said this will be “the most important offseason of my life. The last couple years have been tough, so I’m looking forward to having a healthy summer of training. ... I think having a full offseason and a full camp, and hopefully back to normal next year, will help.”

Despite missing a full season because of migraines, Patrick has played the third-highest number of games (197) among players selected in the 2017 draft, behind New Jersey center Nico Hischier (230) and Dallas defenseman Miro Heiskanen (205). The latter two players were drafted Nos. 1 and 3, respectively.

Center Elias Pettersson, selected fifth overall by Vancouver that year, leads the draft class with 65 goals in just 165 games.

Reportedly, Flyers scouts wanted to select either Heiskanen or defenseman Cale Makar, who went No. 4 overall to Colorado, but then- 1188381 Philadelphia Flyers recalled by the Flyers, he had nine points, including four goals, and a plus-8 rating in 10 games with Lehigh Valley.

With a strong offseason, Allison will put himself in a good spot to be in Before parting, Phantoms coach Scott Gordon developed quality Flyers the NHL at the start of the 2021-22 season. He was the third-rated Flyers prospects | On the Fly prospect in The Inquirer’s rankings in January, behind only Morgan Frost and York. While the Flyers had a miserable season, the AHL's Phantoms had a solid year and developed several players who look like they will help the York, a puck-moving defenseman with good speed and smarts, is also a NHL team down the road. candidate to start next season with the Flyers, depending on the moves GM Chuck Fletcher makes this summer.

After the Phantoms’ final game, Gordon told reporters that Zamula, right by Sam Carchidi winger Tyson Foerster, and defenseman Linus Hogberg were his most improved players from the start of the season. Hogberg, 22, drafted by

the Flyers in the fifth round in 2016, played in North America for the first Good morning, folks. If you watched Boston’s thrilling 4-3 overtime win time after a long stint in Sweden. Monday over Washington in an opening-round game, you probably felt “It’s a big jump coming from a big rink and a game that didn’t have a lot cheated that the Flyers’ season is over. of contact,” Gordon said, adding that Hogberg was “probably our most There is nothing, of course, like playoff hockey. Every shift is magnified. reliable guy” on defense. Every inch of ice has to be earned. Open ice is rare. Foerster, 19, the Flyers’ first-round pick last year, displayed a cannon of As for intensity, it’s a regular-season game times 10. Or perhaps 100. As a shot before his season ended because of a separated collarbone in the for suspense, it’s at the Mare of Easttown level. season’s final week. Right winger Zayde Wisdom, 18, a fourth-round selection last October, and 19-year-old defenseman Mason Millman (a For the Flyers, they hope to make several off-season changes and get fourth-rounder in 2019) were also impressive teenagers. back to the playoffs next season. Their sorry season is a little more digestible when you look at the prospects that the Lehigh Valley All were underage players who normally would not have been eligible for Phantoms are producing in the AHL. the AHL yet, but they were permitted to play because the Ontario Hockey League was shut down by COVID-19. All were scheduled to play in the What to watch for in the Democratic primary between Philly DA Larry OHL. Krasner and Carlos Vega Wisdom finished third on the Phantoms with 18 points (7 goals, 11 The Phantoms, the Flyers’ top farm team, are directed by Scott Gordon, assists), one point more than Foerster (10, 7). who has done a great job developing young players over the years — and this season was no exception. “COVID really hit him, but in his last few games, he was really good,” Flahr said of the 5-foot-11, 195-pound Wisdom. “He’s a rugged guy who On Tuesday, Gordon and the Flyers mutually agreed to part ways. That can really shoot it. He’s got enough skill where he can generate offense, leaves a big void in Lehigh Valley. and he also has some jam and physicality to his game.”

You’re signed up to get this newsletter in your inbox twice a week during In a testament to Gordon’s ability to develop prospects, 14 players the Flyers season and once week in the offseason. If you like what you’re (excluding injury-related rehabs) on the Flyers’ end-of-season roster reading, tell your friends it’s free to sign up here. I want to know what you have played for the Phantoms: Allison, Nic Aube-Kubel, Joel Farabee, think, what we should add, and what you want to read, so send me Shayne Gostisbehere, Robert Hagg, Carter Hart, Laczynski, Scott feedback by email ([email protected]) or on Twitter (@broadstbull). Laughton, Oskar Lindblom, Alex Lyon, Samuel Morin, Phil Myers, Travis Thank you for reading. Sanheim, and York.

— Sam Carchidi ([email protected]) Defenseman Egor Zamula, who was impressive in his first pro season with the Phantoms, has a bright future with the Flyers. Phantoms end solid season Things to know The AHL isn’t awarding the Calder Cup this year, which is a shame because the Phantoms would have been a contender. Report cards are out. The Flyers got no A’s, lots of D’s, and one F.

The Phantoms finished their season with an 18-7-6 record. Bernie Parent and Brian Boucher critique Hart’s season, and talk about their own confidence struggles early in their NHL careers. Both think Hart “It was a crazy year as far as the shutdowns and the quarantines and all will rebound next season. that stuff, but our veteran guys did a good job of helping out the younger guys,” said Brent Flahr, a Flyers assistant general manager. “We put a lot That Little Ball of Hate, aka Brad Marchand, rescued Boston as the of young guys in this year, and a lot of them made big strides.” Bruins beat Washington in overtime Monday, 4-3, to even their series. Fans rooting for former Flyer Michael Raffl didn’t like this crazy finish in The Phantoms developed several prospects who look like they can help D.C. the Flyers down the road. One of them was 24-year-old goalie Felix Sandstrom. Former Flyers star Rod Brind’Amour directed his Carolina Hurricanes past Nashville, 5-2, in their series opener Monday. The Canes are a Sandstrom’s season totals — a 3.19 goals-against average and a .903 trendy pick to reach the Stanley Cup Final. save percentage — don’t look overly impressive, but the Sweden native wasn’t playing much because of injuries and schedule interruptions Kevin Hayes update earlier in the year. He began playing more frequently late in the season, however, and went 3-1-1 with a 1.85 GAA and .950 save percentage in a Now we know why second-line center Kevin Hayes didn’t look as speedy five-game stretch. and struggled in the second half of the season.

Sandstrom, a pending restricted free agent who is eligible for arbitration, On Monday, general manager Chuck Fletcher said Hayes will soon have needs more AHL seasoning, but he realistically could be a candidate to core-muscle surgery. If all goes well, he should be ready for training help the Flyers in 2022-23. Or perhaps at some point in the second half camp in September. of next season. Hayes managed just 12 goals and 31 points in the shortened season, Five Phantoms made their NHL debuts with the Flyers this season: and suffered through a drought in which he produced only two goals in a Maksim Sushko, Tanner Laczynski, Wade Allison, Egor Zamula, and 27-game span late in the year. Cam York. During his season-ending interview with reporters, he downplayed his Of that group, Allison, 23, a rugged right winger, made the best injury, but he clearly wasn’t himself over the last couple of months. impression. Allison had seven points (4 goals, 3 assists) in 14 games Important dates with the Flyers and supplied energy and physicality. Before being May 21-June 6: IIHF World Championships (Latvia)

July 17: Deadline for clubs to submit protection lists for expansion draft, 5 p.m.

July 21: Seattle expansion draft

July 23: NHL draft, Round 1

July 24: NHL draft, Rounds 2-7

July 28: Free-agent signings permitted, noon

From the mailbag

Question: Given that the Flyers could not sell 3,100 seats this season, what will they do to get fans back in the building next season? — Paul Dziomba (@PaulDziomba) via Twitter

Answer: Thanks for the question, Paul, and it’s a good one. In my 13 years on the beat, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Flyers fans so angry and frustrated by this organization. Part of it is because every time they take a step forward one season, they seem to take a step back the next year. There is no growth, and the fans, understandably, have grown impatient.

If I’m reading the tea leaves correctly, the fans’ complaints — and social media is full of them — have forced the club’s Big Cigars into a state of urgency. I truly believe you are going to see major moves this offseason.

If not, there will be a lot more empty seats in the Wells Fargo Center when the season rolls around.

Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188382 Philadelphia Flyers

Phantoms coaches Gordon, Huffman 'mutually' agree to depart

By Rob Parent

You could accept the Flyers' news release Tuesday, which stated that Lehigh Valley Phantoms head coach Scott Gordon and the Flyers "mutually parted ways." And that Gordon's assistant coach for the AHL club, Kerry Huffman, coincidentally decided to step down from his position.

Or, you could think a little more realistically, and conclude that the purge has begun.

Although the Phantoms finished 18-7-6 in this, Gordon's sixth season as head coach, he thought it best to walk away without a published word?

Perhaps Gordon wanted the NBC/Comcast ownership suits to pony up a little more money for a new contract and was told that wasn't happening? That's not known. What is known is the Flyers, after perhaps their most disappointing season since their historically bad 2006-07 fiasco, won't/can't cast some major blame Alain Vigneault's way, since the head coach making $5 million a year has three guaranteed years remaining on his contract.

However, Vigneault has two assistants in Michel Therrien and who respectively oversaw fairly disappointing special teams units, yet are both ex-NHL head coaches and paid accordingly.

It might not be a surprise if either one of them wasn't around for the start of the 2021-22 season. Or, maybe the plan is to float one over to the Phantoms' way, now that Gordon and former Flyer Huffman have allegedly saw fit to simply leave on their own mutual accords.

According to the Allentown Morning Call, Gordon declined comment on his future with the club after the Phantoms finished Sunday with a 4-3 shootout loss to the Binghamton Devils.

“I’ve never talked about my contract,” Gordon told reporters, “and I’m not going to start now.”

He said largely the same thing amid a lousy 2018-19 Flyers season finish, after he'd taken over at midseason when head coach Dave Hakstol was fired. Gordon only said then that new GM Chuck Fletcher had increased his pay accordingly, but Gordon, a former New York Islanders head coach, wasn't subsequently considered to stay in the Flyers' role as Fletcher quickly moved to hire Vigneault.

In the Flyers' press release, Fletcher made a statement on the "mutual" parting with Gordon and Huffman's supposed voluntary departure.

“I would like to thank Scott and Kerry for their service to the organization,” Fletcher's statement read. “Both Scott and Kerry have dedicated their time and effort in developing Flyers prospects and bringing success to Lehigh Valley over the last several years. In speaking with each of them, we felt this was best for the future direction of the organization.”

Gordon went 186-121-41 (one tie) with the Phantoms during his tenure there and went 25-22-4 in his interim Flyers gig.

Delaware County Times LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188383 Philadelphia Flyers Vegas Golden Knights: Marc-Andre Fleury Washington Capitals: Garnet Hathaway

Winnipeg Jets: Blake Wheeler Laughton named Flyers' 2020-21 King Clancy Memorial Trophy nominee Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 05.19.2021

BY JORDAN HALL

Scott Laughton on Tuesday was announced as the Flyers' nominee for the 2020-21 King Clancy Memorial Trophy, which is awarded annually "to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community."

Each NHL club selects its nominee and the winner of the award is picked by a committee of senior NHL executives, led by commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly. The award winner will receive a $25,000 donation to benefit a charity or charities of his choice, while the second- and third-place finishers will each receive a $5,000 donation to benefit a charity or charities of their choice.

Laughton, who signed a five-year contract extension at the April 12 trade deadline, has spent his entire professional career in the Flyers' organization, going back to 2013 after he was selected in the first round of the 2012 draft.

"I love it here in Philly," Laughton said in April.

Last season, Laughton, a hard-working forward who turns 27 years old later this month, earned the Flyers' Yanick Dupre Class Guy Award.

Here are the 31 nominees for this season's King Clancy Memorial Trophy:

Anaheim Ducks: Cam Fowler

Arizona Coyotes: Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Boston Bruins: Charlie Coyle

Buffalo Sabres: Jack Eichel

Calgary Flames: Mikael Backlund

Carolina Hurricanes: Jordan Staal

Chicago Blackhawks: Connor Murphy

Colorado Avalanche: Pierre-Edouard Bellemare

Columbus Blue Jackets: Cam Atkinson

Dallas Stars: Esa Lindell

Detroit Red Wings: Dylan Larkin

Edmonton Oilers: Kyle Turris

Florida Panthers: Sergei Bobrovsky

Los Angeles Kings: Trevor Moore

Minnesota Wild: Mats Zuccarello

Montreal Canadiens: Jonathan Drouin

Nashville Predators: Pekka Rinne

New Jersey Devils: P.K. Subban

New York Islanders Islanders: Anders Lee

New York Rangers: Chris Kreider

Ottawa Senators: Thomas Chabot

Philadelphia Flyers: Scott Laughton

Pittsburgh Penguins: Sidney Crosby

San Jose Sharks: Kurtis Gabriel

St. Louis Blues: Ryan O’Reilly

Tampa Bay Lightning: Alex Killorn

Toronto Maple Leafs: John Tavares

Vancouver Canucks: Tyler Motte 1188384 Philadelphia Flyers

Is Vigneault's track record a sign of big things to come for Flyers?

BY JORDAN HALL

The Flyers are hoping track records prevail in 2021-22. They'll be banking a good bit on them, pulling for track records and potential to outweigh poor performance from an abnormal but disastrous 56-game 2020-21 season.

While the club undeniably needs to acquire significant help this offseason, it also needs its in-house pieces to improve, perform better and reach expectations.

Will those things come to fruition for the Flyers as the NHL aims to return mostly to its traditional format and length of schedule?

"I need a normal season," Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault said straightforwardly last week. "I’ve been here two years and we haven’t had one of those."

If there's doubt about the Flyers' chances of bouncing back into contention next season, Vigneault's track record of bouncing back should alleviate some of those concerns.

Prior to 2020-21, Vigneault had missed the playoffs twice over his last 13 seasons as a head coach. After leading the Canucks to the postseason in his first season with the club in 2006-07, Vancouver missed the playoffs the next season. The following year, in 2008-09, the Canucks were back in the postseason with a 100-point campaign. It marked the first of four consecutive seasons in which Vigneault led Vancouver to 100 or more points, with a Stanley Cup Final appearance coming in 2011.

During his five seasons in New York from 2013 to 2018, Vigneault missed the playoffs only once — his final season with the Rangers — which led to his firing. New York went to the Stanley Cup Final in 2014, which began the Rangers' Vigneault era, and had three seasons of 100 or more points follow it. After his firing, Vigneault took a year away from the game and then took the Flyers to the playoffs in 2019-20, his first season with the club. The Flyers fell one win shy of the Eastern Conference Final.

The only time Vigneault has missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons throughout his career was back in the late-1990s and early-2000s with the Canadiens, his first NHL head coaching gig. He led Montreal to the postseason in Year 1, then missed the playoffs the next two seasons before being fired 20 games into his fourth season.

The Flyers were 41-21-7 in 2019-20 with 13 games left before the NHL postponed the season because of the coronavirus pandemic. In 2020-21, the Flyers took a major step backward, finishing 25-23-8 in the 56-game regular season and without a playoff berth in the realigned East Division.

When Vigneault fails to clinch a postseason bid, his track record of bouncing back over the next 82 games is good. One could and should argue that making the playoffs is not the goal for the Flyers, that they should be vying for more. But it's always the first step.

In 2021-22, the pressure is on for the Flyers and Vigneault's track record.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188385 Philadelphia Flyers Bunnaman should get a shot in the bottom six. 2016 first-rounder German Rubtsov’s stock as a prospect is certainly down but if he does re-sign (he’s a restricted free agent) and returns to North America for 2021-22 training camp, he’d have a chance to impress. Recent college Flyers depth chart analysis: Breaking down Philadelphia’s strengths and UFA signing Jackson Cates should also take a run at the 4C job. weaknesses In other words, the Flyers could probably find a way to cobble together a one-through-four center hierarchy for next season without making any additions. They can give Patrick/Frost first crack at the gig, knowing that By Charlie O'Connor May 18, 2021 Giroux and Laughton are in reserve as fallback options if neither proves worthy of the job. But there’s certainly room for an addition, especially if one (or both) of Patrick or Frost was moved in a trade. Jack Eichel is Where do the Philadelphia Flyers stand entering the 2021 offseason? available this summer, and it wouldn’t be difficult to simply slot him in at the top and move down Couturier and Hayes to accommodate him — It’s a complex question, and one that we’ll be breaking down Flyers coaches would merely have to get a little creative in order to give comprehensively via a number of articles during this “dead period” for all of them sufficient ice time. Flyers hockey as the playoffs progress. But before analyzing what pieces might be added or shipped off, it helps to fully understand the Beyond Eichel, perhaps another quality middle-six center could be organization as it stands today. justifiable if the organization has decided to no longer trust Patrick and/or Frost in the short term. Or maybe they could acquire a veteran 4C with That’s right — it’s time for a full-fledged depth chart breakdown. the goal of beefing up the team’s grit. The center position is an intriguing The Flyers’ depth chart — broken down by position — includes quite a one for the Flyers because while they don’t necessarily have to address few moving parts, because of just how many players in their system it, it wouldn’t be difficult to move some pieces around and present such a possess significant positional flexibility. But each player still has a move as having always been part of the plan. “natural” position, and the below depth charts account for that, even while Claude Giroux noting any secondary positions a player might have. In addition, the Flyers have quite a few pending restricted free agents and unrestricted Joel Farabee free agents still technically under contract now, but in need of new deals to stay with the organization. All RFAs are shaded in green while UFAs James van Riemsdyk are shaded in red. Secondary positions are given the orange designation. Oskar Lindblom Now, let’s take a look at Philadelphia’s current depth at every position. Scott Laughton Carsen Twarynski Kevin Hayes Andy Andreoff Nolan Patrick David Kaše Morgan Frost Max Willman Tanner Laczynski Maksim Sushko Jackson Cates Tanner Laczynski (C) Andy Andreoff Connor Bunnaman (C) Connor Bunnaman The breakdown German Rubtsov Left wing is probably the Flyers’ deepest position at the NHL level, at Claude Giroux (W) least in terms of players at their “natural” position. It’s been Giroux’s primary spot since moving over to wing. It’s Joel Farabee’s natural side. Scott Laughton (W) James van Riemsdyk has always been a LW. Oskar Lindblom can play the right side, but he’s naturally a left winger as well. Even Laughton is The breakdown probably best served on the left side when at wing. And the position isn’t Sean Couturier may not be a superstar 1C, but he’s clearly top-line lacking for quality, either — Giroux is a clear-cut first-line quality LW, center quality given his combination of near point-per-game scoring rates Farabee sure looked like a top-sixer this season, JvR is either a luxury and stellar two-way play. The only complication? His contract is up at the top-sixer as a third-liner or one of the best 3LWs in hockey. Both end of the 2021-22 season. There’s little reason to think the Flyers will let Lindblom and Laughton can be quality middle-sixer LWs when they’re at Couturier leave, and Couturier publicly stated his desire to stay in their best. Philadelphia on exit interview day. That said, contract negotiations are Even if one of those players is flipped to another position — Farabee to impossible to predict, so Couturier’s status does come with a bit of RW, Giroux or Laughton to center — the Flyers still are sitting pretty at uncertainty, even if it’s not likely to have any impact on his depth chart the position entering the offseason. And that’s not accounting for the fact spot heading into next season. Kevin Hayes had an underwhelming that Frost could ultimately end up at LW if he doesn’t stick at center, and season on the whole, but he’s locked in as the team’s 2C and has a no- both Travis Konecny and Jakub Voracek can play there as well, at least movement clause that holds through next season. Hard to see him going occasionally. anywhere. Assuming that Andy Andreoff is not re-signed, however, they could Then, things get interesting. Nolan Patrick and Morgan Frost clearly have maybe use a bit more depth at the position. Carsen Twarynski and David the raw talent to be third-line NHL centers, but Patrick is coming off a Kaše aren’t lacking talent, but neither has established himself as a clear- thoroughly underwhelming attempt at a comeback season in the wake of cut NHL-caliber player in the past, either. Max Willman, 26, is intriguing his migraine disorder, and Frost is fighting his way back from shoulder as a player who earned his way up from an ECHL tryout to an NHL surgery. Neither are slam-dunk, set-it-and-forget-it 3C options at this contract, but he’s still a complete unknown in terms of what he might point. bring to the table at the highest level. That said, players like Bunnaman Now, what the Flyers do have is quite a few players who may not be and Laczynski could potentially help out at LW as well, so the Flyers clear-cut “center-only” forwards, but can certainly play the position. don’t necessarily need to replace Andreoff with another quad-A forward. Claude Giroux — largely used at LW since the 2017-18 season — As for whether the Flyers could fit a high-profile LW addition — the short showed this year he can still deliver above-average results in the middle. answer is that they could find a way if necessary. JvR is a legitimate Scott Laughton is probably somewhere between a 3C and 4C in terms of candidate to be selected by Seattle in the expansion draft (though not a quality when he’s not on the wing. Tanner Laczynski will be in the mix at lock), and one of Giroux or Laughton could certainly end up in the middle. camp as a fourth-line center option assuming he’s recovered from Add in Farabee’s history at RW so far in the NHL, and it’s not difficult to offseason surgery (he’ll also presumably get looks on the wing). Connor imagine the Flyers making room if a high-end natural LW became If Gostisbehere stays, he presumably would remain in the six-man available in a trade — especially if he fit the shoot-first, sniper mold that rotation, likely bouncing back and forth between his natural left side and the team certainly would like to acquire. the right. In theory, Ghost could stick around and the Flyers could still find a spot for one of York or Zamula in their 2021-22 opening night Jakub Voracek lineup. But that would involve Robert Hägg and/or Samuel Morin (a Travis Konecny pending UFA who is no lock to return, to be clear) sliding down to accommodate him. In any case, it’s really not the left side of Wade Allison Philadelphia’s defense that’s the issue.

Nicolas Aubé-Kubel (new player)

Tyson Foerster Justin Braun

Zayde Wisdom Philippe Myers

Linus Sandin Shayne Gostisbehere (LD)

Joel Farabee (LW) Nate Prosser

Oskar Lindblom (LW) The breakdown

Claude Giroux (LW/C) The right side is their biggest roster issue — namely, that enormous gap at the top of the depth chart, which was left when Matt Niskanen retired Nolan Patrick (C) in the wake of the 2020 postseason. Simply put, the Flyers need to add The breakdown at least a solid right-handed defenseman or else they’ll enter the 2021-22 campaign with the trio of Justin Braun, Philippe Myers and Gostisbehere On paper, the Flyers’ right wing hierarchy heading into the offseason (playing his off side) holding down the fort on the right side. As 2020-21 looks fairly clean. Voracek and Konecny are 1RW and 2RW (in some showed, that’s simply not going to cut it. order), Wade Allison sure looks like a solid fit as the team’s third-line right winger and Nicolas Aubé-Kubel returns to the fourth line. Perfectly fine, But the Flyers’ issues with the right side of their defense even go beyond right? the first pair problem. Nate Prosser — their “organizational depth” at RHD — is a pending UFA. Chris Bigras is a UFA as well. Their RHD Well, maybe. But if there’s a position ripe for a shakeup, it’s probably prospects (Ronnie Attard, Wyatte Wylie, Jack St. Ivany) are either not yet RW. Konecny regressed after his breakout 2019-20 season, even if he under contract or clearly not ready for NHL action. So in addition to remained a useful player. Aubé-Kubel regressed as well, except he didn’t adding impact NHL talent at the position this offseason, Chuck Fletcher remain a useful player. And then there’s Voracek, who is still a strong will likely be picking up some high-end AHL RHD depth as well. He really top-six forward from a scoring standpoint but no longer is the play-driving doesn’t have much of a choice. dynamo he was in his prime. Voracek’s $8.25 million cap hit (for the next three seasons) won’t be easy to move, but there’s a very good chance Carter Hart he’ll be exposed in the expansion draft, so a departure can’t be ruled out Brian Elliott entirely. Alex Lyon As for depth, Farabee certainly provides it, as he’s played extensively at RW so far in his NHL career; he could easily flip sides if needed. Same Kirill Ustimenko with Giroux, Laughton, Lindblom and even Patrick, who received a handful of games at RW this season. The Flyers also have a few of their Felix Sandström more intriguing prospects — Tyson Foerster and Zayde Wisdom — at The breakdown this position. My guess is that neither will make the big club out of camp next season, but both impressed enough at the AHL level that the Carter Hart isn’t going anywhere. Yes, he’s in need of a new contract, possibility can’t be ruled out completely. and yes, he’s coming off a very rough season. But expect him to be penciled into the No. 1 spot on the depth chart come September, Ivan Provorov regardless of what other moves the front office makes this summer. Travis Sanheim They’re not giving up on him.

Shayne Gostisbehere The rest of the depth chart is in a state of flux, though.

Robert Hägg It seems unlikely that Brian Elliott will be brought back — he’s been a good soldier in Philadelphia, but he’s 36 now, and with Hart coming off a Samuel Morin truly disastrous season, the Flyers probably will want a goalie who provides more insurance for Hart than Elliott can be reasonably expected Cam York to provide. So that means a new — and likely more expensive — No. 2 Egor Zamula netminder on the depth chart. They very well might have a new No. 3 as well, since Alex Lyon is also a pending UFA. It’s not out of the realm of The breakdown possibility he returns, but it’s also no lock.

The Flyers have obvious issues on defense, but they’re certainly not Beyond Hart and the free agents, Philadelphia has two prospects under lacking for raw talent on the left side: four established NHLers, and then contract — Kirill Ustimenko (who missed all of 2020-21 with injury) and their two top blueliner prospects, and both project as potential top-four Felix Sandström, who after a strong finish to his AHL season might caliber defensemen. actually be recapturing a bit of his old prospect momentum. Still, neither is ready to serve as an NHL backup. That’s a hole the Flyers will need to I’d be surprised if Ivan Provorov or Travis Sanheim is moved out this fill. offseason — nothing’s truly off the table given the debacle that was 2020-21, but in all likelihood, those two players will remain at the top of Isaac Ratcliffe the Flyers’ LHD depth chart come training camp in September. The rest of the hierarchy remains unclear. Shayne Gostisbehere isn’t a lock to be Matthew Strome traded this summer, but there is a sense of looming inevitability when it Elliot Desnoyers comes to that situation, especially after he was waived this season and with both Cam York and Egor Zamula closing in on NHL readiness. York Olle Lycksell especially will probably begin his NHL career essentially playing Gostisbehere’s current role. Add in the desire on the part of the front Wyatte Wylie office to clear cap space in order to make moves, and Gostisbehere is an Mason Millman obvious candidate to be shipped out, possibly with a sweetener added so that another team takes on the remaining two years of his contract. Linus Högberg Pascal Laberge

Derrick Pouliot

Tyler Wotherspoon

Chris Bigras

The breakdown

To be clear, it’s not that these players will never factor into the Flyers’ plans — for some, there’s even a possibility they could emerge as viable options by the end of next season. But they just won’t realistically be in the mix for roster spots at camp come September, regardless of the moves that the front office makes this summer.

Nevertheless, there are viable prospects here. Mason Millman is a plus skater from the back end who will be turning pro; Wyatte Wylie is one of the few right-handed defensemen prospects in the system; Elliot Desnoyers had a breakout draft-plus-one season in the QMJHL; Olle Lycksell just signed his entry-level contract and has underrated skill; Isaac Ratcliffe remains an intriguing project even after two rough developmental years. Linus Högberg is perhaps the only player who could factor into the mix, as he impressed the Phantoms’ coaching staff to close out the 2020-21 season and he has extensive professional experience at the SHL level. But leaping over top prospects like York and Zamula on the LHD depth chart would take a perfect storm of events, especially given the fact that Högberg’s NHL upside is likely limited to that of a quality third-pair blueliner.

These guys can play themselves into the mix. But they’re not there yet.

The Athletic LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188386 Pittsburgh Penguins “It was good for our overall team confidence,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “When you get a lead like that against a tough opponent like the Islanders, it gives your team some juice. We got some energy. I thought we were on our toes. We had a great start. Tim Benz: Tristan Jarry's bounce-back win wasn't the only important Penguins rebound in Game 2 “When you get a couple of big goals like that, it just brings our energy to a whole other level. It was the kind of start we were looking for. Give the players a lot of credit. They were ready to play.”

TIM BENZ | Wednesday, May 19, 2021 12:34 a.m. The pair of goals in the first period also energized a crowd of 9,344 — the largest of the season due to some relaxed coronavirus restrictions.

Jarry seemed to get a spark from the energy. The turnaround performance by Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry wasn’t the “It’s exciting to hear that,” Jarry said. “We know how passionate our fans only bounce-back storyline between Game 1 and Game 2 of the East are, and how much they get into the game. I think that’s awesome. We Division first-round series. love to see it. We love when they are behind us like that.” Let’s talk about Jeff Carter’s, too. Carter was also a team-best 10-5 in the faceoff circle, an area that tested I won’t put Carter’s rebound effort during the Penguins’ 2-1 win over the the Penguins on Tuesday as the Isles won 52% of the draws. That’ll be New York Islanders Tuesday in the same category as Jarry’s. something to watch Thursday for Game 3 on Long Island as will waiting to find out which Islanders goalie is in the net. After all, the 26-year-old netminder went from being the goat of Game 1 in a 4-3 overtime loss to winning a tight decision in Game 2 with 37 Also — if we are being honest — which version of Jarry is in the other saves. crease, too.

But Carter had a rough Sunday afternoon in Game 1 as well. He was Tribune Review LOADED: 05.19.2021 guilty of a four-minute high-stick penalty in the second period and ended the night as a minus-2 while committing three giveaways.

Certainly not the kind of effort Penguins fans have come to appreciate since he was acquired from the Los Angeles Kings before the trade deadline in April.

Carter’s Game 2 wasn’t exactly perfect either. Josh Bailey walked right by him in the second period for the Islanders’ only goal.

BeautifulbackhandbyBailey

The @NYIslanders are catching up — the score now sits at 2-1. #Isles pic.twitter.com/LSSMfpQEQY

— NHL on NBC Sports (@NHLonNBCSports) May 19, 2021

That didn’t erase the importance of Carter’s first-period goal, though.

The Penguins got off to an energetic start. They threw a lot of bodies and pucks at Semyon Varlamov, and he looked shaky. At 3:22 of the first period, the Islanders goalie who sat out Game 1 completely fanned on a shot from beyond the top of the right circle from Bryan Rust for the first goal of the game.

A mistake that was far worse than any Jarry made on Sunday.

GOOD VIBES ONLY IN GAME 2! pic.twitter.com/MhaemZBAF8

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) May 18, 2021

But 10 minutes later, the Penguins were still only up 1-0 even though it felt like they should’ve been up two or three goals.

That’s when Carter entered the fray, scoring at the 13:07 mark to give the Penguins a two-goal lead after some fine puck-retrieval work in the offensive zone from linemates Kasperi Kapanen and Jared McCann.

That's 40 career playoff goals for @JeffCarter_77!

Spoiler: this one is definitely our favorite... pic.twitter.com/yD2Qedidu6

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) May 19, 2021

“For us, anytime we do score the first goal we try to keep the pressure on and keep playing on our toes,” Rust said after the game. “That’s what we did and that second goal was a result. … It was definitely nice to get that second one.”

That goal was enormous and not just because it was the eventual game- winner.

It also got Carter pointed in the right direction again personally. And, perhaps most importantly, given the way that game started, if the Islanders had gotten to the intermission down just 1-0, that would’ve felt like a win to them. It could’ve been a huge boost heading into the locker room.

The Penguins needed to be up 2-0 after the first to pay off how they tilted the ice early. And, as it turns out, for the final score as well. 1188387 Pittsburgh Penguins If that sounded characteristically understated, listen to how Jarry explained being “better than the last game” was accomplished.

“Just stopping the puck. Make sure I am trying to stop as many pucks as For Penguins' Tristan Jarry, it was ‘easy’ to be better in Game 2 I can, just like in practice.”

It sounds easy enough: “Just stopping the puck.” Even if, for example, the waning moments of a playoff game, with the opponent on a 6-on-4 CHRIS ADAMSKI | Tuesday, May 18, 2021 11:49 p.m advantage, like the Islanders were Tuesday, is hardly anything “just like in practice.”

“‘Jars’ is a gamer,” wing Bryan Rust said. “He comes to the rink, works NHL locker rooms remain closed to media, and Tristan Jarry was not hard, kind of learns from the past and moves on. Jars is an unbelievable made available to speak to media after Game 1 of the Pittsburgh goalie. He’s showed it time and time again over the course of this year Penguins’ first-round series against the New York Islanders. and last year. And he was great (Tuesday), too.” But while he never publicly gave a self-assessment of his play during Keep up with the Pittsburgh Penguins all season long. Sunday’s loss, what he said after Game 2 about his approach going into it let it be known his evaluation likely was in line with that of his harshest Tribune Review LOADED: 05.19.2021 critics.

“Just be better tonight (than in Game 1),” Jarry said not long after making 37 saves during Tuesday’s 2-1 Penguins win. “That was an easy thing to do for me.”

Jarry was better than “just better” than Game 1. In earning his first career NHL postseason win, Jarry was the announced No. 1 star in a much- needed victory that evened the best-of-seven series as it heads to Long Island for Games 3-4.

“I thought Tristan had a great game,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “He’s done that for us for most of this year, and he’s been a big part of the success that this team has enjoyed to this point.

“Our players, our coaching staff, our management team, we have the utmost faith in Tristan. He’s a great goaltender, and he’s shown us time and time again. There was no doubt in my mind he was going to come back have a solid effort.”

First career #StanleyCup Playoff W for Tristan Jarry!#NHLTonight | @penguins pic.twitter.com/YV8VEPMvpr

— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) May 19, 2021

Jarry allowed four goals on 41 shots in Sunday’s 4-3 overtime setback, three of which came on unscreened shots, three of which were shot high, all of which beat him glove side.

Tuesday, the only time he was beat it again was high glove side. But this was on a perfectly placed backhand shot from inside the left faceoff circle by an open Josh Bailey.

It halved the 2-0 lead the Penguins staked Jarry with, but Jarry would not allow any more goals on any of the 15 pucks on net the Islanders offered over the final 25 minutes of the game. Good thing, too, because those two goals were all the Penguins’ offense would provide Jarry.

“He was so solid for us,” defenseman Mike Matheson said. “All game long, not just down the stretch, he was making big save after big save. That’s the Tristan Jarry we all know and love, and it was great to see that.”

G ALIE L VE

After the Game 2 win, Maxime Lagace passed the player of the game helmet to @tjarry35. pic.twitter.com/qogEhzY5qS

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) May 19, 2021

Jarry was an All-Star in the midst of his first extended regular playing time in the NHL in 2019-20, and he went 25-9-3 this year in what was his first regular season as an NHL team’s No. 1 goalie.

But in a league in which the Stanley Cup playoffs are regarded as an almost different sport altogether, Jarry had yet to prove he could win a postseason game, let alone series. Though he was absolved from any blame in losing 1-0 in his playoff debut last August, his outing Sunday hardly inspired confidence.

Not that the raised stakes of the postseason nor any desire to prove that Game 1 was an aberration caused Jarry to approach Game 2 any differently.

“I was just trying to keep it simple,” he said, “trying to get better than I was than last game.” 1188388 Pittsburgh Penguins Jarry and company offered far more in Game 2 than in Game 1 and as a result, they have leveled off what has quickly turned into a bellicose series.

Penguins defeat Islanders in Game 2, even series “Going into this game, we knew every single one of us needed to bring a higher level of execution, intensity,” Matheson said. “I think we did that tonight.”

SETH RORABAUGH | Tuesday, May 18, 2021 10:17 p.m. Tribune Review LOADED: 05.19.2021

If the Pittsburgh Penguins are to enjoy any success in this postseason — in the context of a single victory or the complete set of 16 required to claim the Stanley Cup — there is a baseline level of effort and execution required to gain those desired results.

They largely did not offer that upon the opening of their first-round matchup with the New York Islanders and entered Game 2 on Tuesday trailing in the series.

Vowing to be better, they made good on that pledge and claimed a fiercely combative 2-1 triumph at PPG Paints Arena, evening the series.

“We think we have another level,” coach Mike Sullivan preached via video conference on Tuesday morning. “We’ve got to make sure that we heighten our level of intensity, we heighten our level of urgency.

“When we do that, I think we’re a competitive hockey team.”

The series moves to Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y. for Games 3 and 4 on Thursday and Saturday. Game 5 will be Monday at PPG Paints Arena.

As for Game 2, it was far more combative than the tactical feel of Game 1. In addition to an untabulated number of scrums, shoves and squabbles, the Islanders were penalized four times and the Penguins recorded three penalties.

“Obviously playoff hockey is playoff hockey,” Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson said. “It’s a new level of intensity and grit.”

A strong start for the hosts in Game 2 was punctuated by a goal by forward Bryan Rust 3 minutes, 22 seconds into regulation. After a neutral-zone turnover by Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock, Rust claimed the puck, gained the offensive zone and veered to the right wing.

As Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech applied minimal resistance, Rust chucked a fairly pedestrian wrister past the glove hand of goaltender Semyon Varlamov on the near side. It was Rust’s first goal of the playoffs and his second postseason goal since 2018.

“We’re just trying to get to our game as fast as we can,” Rust said. “Get out there, have a good start, create some momentum. Obviously, when you score the first goal, there’s no better way of doing that.”

They got the second goal at 13:07 of the first. After Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen kept a puck free on the Islanders’ end boards, linemate Jared McCann flicked a backhand pass to the left circle for forward Jeff Carter. Circumnavigating around Pulock, Carter fired a wrister from the slot through Varlamov’s legs for his first playoff goal as a member of the Penguins and first since 2016.

After snuffing out two power-play chances for the Penguins during the second period, the Islanders got on the scoreboard at 14:44 of the middle frame. Taking a pass on the left half wall of the offensive zone, Islanders forward Josh Bailey deked around a lethargic pokecheck from Carter in the left circle and shoveled a backhander past goaltender Tristan Jarry’s glove on the far side for his first goal.

The Islanders had a fantastic opportunity to force overtime late in regulation after Rust was called for closing his hand on the puck at 18:32 of the third period. Despite pulling Varlamov for an extra attacker, the Islanders could only muster a single shot in the final 88 seconds.

“I made kind of a mental error there,” Rust said. “Closed my hand on the puck for too long and threw it out of the zone. (The penalty killers) were working hard for me and the team.

“I’ve got to thank those guys.”

The Penguins had reason to be thankful for their goaltender as well. Rebounding from a 4-3 overtime home loss in Game 1, Jarry made 37 saves on 38 shots to earn his first career postseason victory. 1188389 Pittsburgh Penguins Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin was in the lineup for Game 2. On Monday, he was held out of practice for what was termed as a “maintenance day.” … The Penguins recalled forwards Anthony Angello, Kasper Bjorkqvist, Drew O’Connor and defenseman Wilkes- Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin misses Game 2 against Islanders Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. As some of the organization’s top prospects, all four players will join the so-called “Black

Aces,” reserves players on the NHL roster during the postseason in the SETH RORABAUGH | Tuesday, May 18, 2021 7:48 p.m. pursuit of furthering their development.

Seth Rorabaugh

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin remained sidelined for Game Tribune Review LOADED: 05.19.2021 2 of his team’s first-round playoff series against the New York Islanders at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday.

A presumed right knee injury has kept Malkin out of the lineup, including a 4-3 home overtime loss in Game 1.

He was sidelined for 23 games in the late stages of the regular season but returned for the final four games of the schedule before absorbing a check to his right knee in the regular season finale May 8.

Before participating in Tuesday’s optional morning skate, Malkin worked out on the ice with skills and skating development coach Ty Hennes. On Monday at the team’s facility in Cranberry, Malkin was the final player to leave the ice, about 45 minutes after the conclusion of the formal practice session.

“He’s a world-class player,” Islanders forward Matt Martin said Monday. “Malkin is going to be in this series at some point, but either way, they have a top team in this league and we have to be ready for them regardless of who is out there.”

In 33 games during the regular season, Malkin had 28 points (eight goals, 20 assists).

DeSmith remains out

Backup goaltender Casey DeSmith also remained sidelined for Game 2. He has not played since suffering an undisclosed injury May 3.

Reserve goaltender Maxime Lagace served as backup to starter Tristan Jarry for the second consecutive game.

In 20 games during the regular season, DeSmith had a 11-7-0 record, a 2.54 goals against average, a .912 save percentage and two shutouts.

New look for Matheson

After wearing a full shield for Game 1 to protect a face injury he suffered April 1, defenseman Mike Matheson donned an extended visor that covered less of his face for Game 2.

Matheson was injured when a clearing attempt by Jarry struck him.

“It’s always an adjustment when players have to wear the face shields,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “Just getting used to that, it’s just different. When players have to put the shields on for protection, there’s always an adjustment process. I don’t think it’s significant but certainly, it is an adjustment.”

Crosby up for Clancy

Forward Sidney Crosby was named as the team’s nominee for the NHL’s King Clancy Memorial Trophy. The award recognizes the player “who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.”

No Penguins player has ever won this award.

Former Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (Vegas Golden Knights) and forward Jordan Staal (Carolina Hurricanes) also were nominated.

Varlamov back for Isles

The Islanders started goaltender Semyon Varlamov for Game 2 after he sat out Game 1 as a precaution against an undisclosed injury.

During the regular season, Varlamov appeared in 36 games and had a 19-11-4 record along with 2.04 goals against average, a .929 save percentage and a league-leading seven shutouts.

Ilya Sorokin, who made 39 saves in Game 1, served as Varlamov’s backup.

Game notes 1188390 Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins recall 4 from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

Seth Rorabaugh

The Penguins recalled forwards Anthony Angello, Kasper Bjorkqvist, Drew O’Connor and defenseman P.O Joseph from Wilkes- Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL) on Tuesday.

All four prospects will join a group informally dubbed the “Black Aces,” players who are on the NHL roster during the postseason to practice in the name of furthering their development.

Angello, 25, appeared in 19 NHL games this season and had four points (two goals, two assists). In 12 AHL games, he scored 10 points (six goals, four assists). At 6-foot-5, 210 pounds, he is one of the largest players in the organization.

The 23-year-old Bjorkqvist spent most of the 2020-21 season in his native Finland playing for KooKoo of the Liiga, that country’s top league. In 44 games with KooKoo, Bjorkqvist had 26 points (11 goals, 15 assists). Rejoining Wilkes-Barre/Scranton earlier this month, Bjorkqvist had one goal in five games.

O’Connor, 22, played in 10 NHL games this season and recorded one assist. In 20 AHL games, he was third on Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in scoring this season with 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists).

Arguably the Penguins’ top prospect, Joseph, 21, appeared in 16 NHL games this season and had five points (one goal, four assists). Appearing in 23 AHL games, he had 13 points (one goal, 12 assists).

Tribune Review LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188391 Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith remains sidelined for Game 2

SETH RORABAUGH | Tuesday, May 18, 2021 11:15 a.m.

Penguins backup goaltender Casey DeSmith will remain sidelined for Game 2 of his team’s first-round series against the New York Islanders at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday.

DeSmith has not played since suffering an undisclosed injury May 3.

His status was announced by coach Mike Sullivan via video conference Tuesday morning.

Reserve goaltender Maxime Lagace served as backup to starter Tristan Jarry during Game 1 on Sunday, a 4-3 home overtime loss.

In 20 games this past regular season, DeSmith had a 11-7-0 record, a 2.54 goals against average, a .912 save percentage and two shutouts.

Notes:

• Forward Evgeni Malkin and defensemen Brian Dumoulin were termed as “game-time” decisions by Sullivan. Both players participated in Tuesday’s morning skate.

Malkin missed Game 1 due to a presumed right knee injury that sidelined him for 23 games late in the regular season.

Prior to the morning skate, Malkin also worked out on the ice with skills and skating development coach Ty Hennes. On Monday, Malkin was the final player to leave the ice following practice in Cranberry. He remained on the ice for approximately 45 minutes following the conclusion of the formal practice sessions.

Dumoulin did not practice Monday for what was termed as a maintenance day.

• Penguins forward Sidney Crosby was named as the team’s nominee for the NHL’s King Clancy Memorial Trophy. The award recognizes the player “who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.”

Former Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (Vegas Golden Knights) and forward Jordan Staal (Carolina Hurricanes) were also nominated.

• The Islanders are expected to start goaltender Ilya Sorokin for the second consecutive game. In Game 1, he made 39 saves on 42 shots.

Typical starter Semyon Varlamov, who led the NHL with seven shutouts this past regular season, was withheld from Game 1 for what coach Barry Trotz termed as “cautious” measures against an undisclosed injury.

Tribune Review LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188392 Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins prospect WATCH: Kasper Bjorkqvist scores 1st goal for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

SETH RORABAUGH | Tuesday, May 18, 2021 8:01 a.m.

A weekly look at how Penguins prospects and minor leaguers have fared over the past seven days:

• In the American Hockey League (AHL), forward Kasper Bjorkqvist scored his first goal of the season in overtime for the Wilkes- Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 2-1 road win against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Saturday.

A second-round pick (No. 61 overall) in 2016, Bjorkqvist, 23, is in the second year of a two-year entry-level contract with the Penguins.

• On Sunday, defenseman Cam Lee had a goal and an assist in Wilkes- Barre/Scranton’s season finale, a 5-2 road loss to the Hershey Bears.

An undrafted free agent signing in 2020, Lee is in the first year of a two- year entry-level contract.

• In the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) postseason, forwards Nathan Legare and Sam Poulin each had two goals and an assist for the Val-d’Or Foreurs during a series-clinching 8-2 road win against the Rimouski Oceanic in Game 3 of a quarterfinal round on March 11. Val-D’Or swept the series, 3-0.

Legare’s first goal:

Poulin’s first goal:

Moving on to the semifinal round, Legare recorded the game-winning goal and an assist while Poulin scored a goal for Val-D’Or in a 5-2 home win against the Chicoutimi Sagueneens in Game 1 on Monday.

Legare’s goal:

Poulin’s goal:

Each drafted in 2019, Legare (third round, No. 74 overall) and Poulin (first-round, No. 21 overall), each 20, are both signed to three-year entry- level contracts that have yet to begin.

• For the upcoming International Ice Hockey Federation (IIH) World Championship tournament, forward Valtteri Puustinen was selected for Finland’s roster. The tournament is scheduled to begin on Friday.

A seventh-round pick in 2019 (No. 203 overall), Puustinen, 21, is signed to a two-year entry-level contract scheduled to begin in 2021-22.

Statistics

(Players currently on the NHL roster are excluded.)

Forwards and defensemen penguinsforwards

Goaltenders penguinsgoaltenders

*-Current team

(All figures are through Monday.)

Follow the Penguins all season long.

Seth Rorabaugh

Tribune Review LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188393 Pittsburgh Penguins If the rest of the Penguins don’t listen, the Islanders may be driving to Pittsburgh International Airport with a 2-0 series lead late Tuesday night.

In Tuesday’s “Breakfast With Benz” podcast, Pens Radio Network host Tim Benz: Penguins too dismissive of 3rd-period struggles in Game 1 Brian Metzer joins me to discuss the Penguins loss. We talk about what loss to Islanders needs to change for Game 2 and if Evgeni Malkin can come back. And what happens if Tristan Jarry continues to struggle.

Tribune Review LOADED: 05.19.2021 TIM BENZ | Tuesday, May 18, 2021 6:03 a.m.

Tristan Jarry’s goaltending issues and Evgeni Malkin’s health weren’t the only concerns coming out of the Penguins’ Game 1 loss to the New York Islanders Sunday afternoon.

So was the way the whole team finished that game.

Despite leading 2-1 after the second intermission, the Penguins found themselves scrambling to come back and tie the game at 3-3 in the third period. And that was just to force overtime, before eventually losing on a Kyle Palmieri goal at 16:30 of the extra frame.

Well, at least that should be a concern. Somehow it wasn’t based on how most of the Penguins spoke about the last 20 minutes of regulation.

“I don’t think a lot changed,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said of Sunday’s third period. “You expect a team to push when they’re down a goal. I thought that we had some chances to build on our lead when it was 2-1 and we didn’t. And they were able to hang around.”

The line score and the stat book tell a different story, though. Not only did the Islanders score those two pivotal goals, but they outshot the Penguins 13-6 after being outshot 23-17 the first two periods. In terms of shot attempts, the Pens had a 36-27 lead through 40 minutes. New York had a 17-9 edge in the third.

According to Natural Stat Trick, the Islanders had six scoring chances over the final 20 minutes, after getting only nine over the first 40. The Penguins only totaled four scoring chances in the last frame after gobbling up 22 before the final intermission in regulation. None were in the so-called “high danger” zones compared to nine such opportunities over the first 40 minutes.

An extreme departure for a team that was 25-1-1 when leading after two periods during the regular season.

“Momentum switches all the time like that,” forward Freddy Gaudreau said. “I think we were trying to keep it simple. Maybe we didn’t do enough. That’s just playoff (hockey) and we’ve got to keep our mind right for the next one.”

If “keeping it simple” means lying back in hopes of insulating and protecting Jarry, either they failed to do so or they need to try a different strategy. Because given his issues Sunday afternoon, the Penguins need to do a better job expanding the lead so as not to rely on Jarry shutting the door while up only one goal.

But like his players, head coach Mike Sullivan didn’t seem that concerned about how the Penguins played after the second intermission Sunday.

“There were moments in the third period when they had some momentum. And we had some pushback as well,” Sullivan said, pointing to Kasperi Kapanen’s goal to tie the game at 3-3 as an example of a late Penguins counterpunch. “A lot of teams would’ve been extremely deflated. I thought it was a great response by our guys. That’s just the nature of playoff hockey.”

That may be. Although at least one Penguins player acknowledged what he thought was a tangible shift in play over the last 20 minutes of regulation.

“In the third, we were a little bit on our heels. They caught us in transition a couple times just from pucks we couldn’t get in and we got stuck on the ice,” defenseman Cody Ceci said. “They needed a goal in the third, and they came pretty hard. We knew they were gonna push, and that’s what they did. They pressured us hard and made it hard for us to make plays.”

Ceci’s voice may not be the biggest or most recognizable on the Penguins team. But in this case, I think he’s the most accurate. And I hope the Penguins are listening. Because he’s driving home the right message. 1188394 Pittsburgh Penguins re-entered the offensive zone. Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson then tried to clear, but his soft attempt was held in by Bailey. Finally, Carter whiffed on his attempt to knock Bailey off the puck, while Matheson was standing in front of the net watching it all unfold. Stick taps, chirps and observations from Penguins-Islanders Game 2 Rust’s late penalty: The Penguins were just 1:28 from closing out the game, when Rust committed what could have been an extremely costly penalty. He caught the puck in mid-air and then threw it out of MIKE DEFABO Pittsburgh’s defensive zone. Um, yeah. You can’t do that. It put the Penguins’ penalty kill on the ice for some nerve-wracking final seconds.

The Penguins evened their opening-round series against the Islanders at They said it: one game each on Tuesday night. Bryan Rust and Jeff Carter scored Bryan Rust on the response by the team: “We’re a team that’s built on first-period goals, Tristan Jarry made 37 saves and the Penguins hung resilience. That shows its face in many forms.” on for the 2-1 win. Mike Matheson on the late PK: “That was probably our biggest moment It was over when: A late Rust penalty led to some tense final moments. of the season as of yet, and they came through.” Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin got his stick on a late shot attempt and then Kris Letang got one final clear in the closing seconds to start Coach Mike Sullivan on Jarry’s performance: “The players, coaches, staff the celebration. and management team have the ultimate faith in Tristan. He's a terrific goaltender. There was no doubt in my mind he was going to come back Turning point: After dropping Game 1 in overtime, the Penguins began to with a solid effort.” turn the tide of the series just over three minutes into the game. Rust flicked a harmless shot on net that goalie Semyon Varlamov somehow let Islanders coach Barry Trotz: "Getting a split was crucial. I don’t think sail over his glove hand. The Penguins rode that early cushion. anybody would come in here [and say], ‘We’re going to win both.’ You go in with the plan to win both, but it doesn’t happen a lot...That’s the NHL, Stick taps: it’s going to be a dogfight, it’s going to be the team that stays with it.” Penguins push back in Game 2, hold on late to defeat Islanders, 2-1 Post Gazette LOADED: 05.19.2021 Jarry’s response: After allowing several sketchy goals in Game 1, it was fair to wonder how Tristan Jarry would bounce back in what was just his third career NHL playoff game. He fought the puck at times early but got better as the game went on. Most importantly, he allowed just a single goal and made 37 saves to earn the win and the No. 1 star of the night.

Rust’s shoot-first mentality: It was a soft goal, yes. Still, give Rust his due for throwing the puck on net and waiting for something good to happen. That’s his game. During the regular season, he led Penguins forwards in shot attempts at 5-on-5 play with 181 and was 31st among forwards in the league. Especially this time of year, no shot is a bad one.

The Teddy Blueger line’s tone-setting shift: With 50% capacity inside PPG Paints Arena for the first time this season (double what it was in Game 1), the building was already rocking. Then, just moments into the game, Brandon Tanev absolutely leveled Brock Nelson, knocking the Islander off his skates.

Simple postseason playmaking: Jeff Carter described his game as simple when the Penguins acquired him just before the deadline. The recipe for his first playoff goal was exactly that. Carter redirected the puck deep. Kasperi Kapanen won a foot race and then a puck battle below the goal line to chip the puck to Jared McCann, who made a nifty feed to Carter in front. Get pucks deep. Win battles. Score goals.

Brian Dumoulin’s toughness: The Penguins’ top left-handed defenseman likely wasn’t completely 100% to start the game after taking a puck to the outside of the right skate in Game 1. He took more punishment early in the third period. Jean-Gabriel Pageau spun Dumoulin around and hammered him into the boards. Dumoulin stayed down for a minute, skated off under his own power and then went to the dressing room. He returned to play a key role down the stretch, including a shot block on that final Islanders’ power play.

Aston-Reese’s business decision: After Tanev barreled into Islanders’ goalie Semyon Varlamov, Islanders heavyweight Matt Martin gave him a good cross check in the back of the head. Zach Aston-Reese came to his linemate’s defense. While it was good to see Aston-Reese stick up for a teammate, his decision not to engage in fisticuffs with a certified brawler like the 6-3, 220-pound Martin was probably wise.

Chirps:

The Penguins’ power play: The man-advantage hasn’t been much of an advantage at all early in the series. After going 0-for-3 in Game 1, the Penguins were 0-for-2 in Game 2. The Penguins generated just a single shot during their two power play chances on Tuesday. In total they have four shots on their five chances in the series.

The sloppy sequence that led to the Islanders’ goal: Give Islanders’ Josh Bailey credit first of all. His backhand shot was lethal to beat Jarry. But had the Penguins executed better in the moments leading up to it, it never would have happened. McCann fanned on a backhand attempt to clear the puck. The Islanders easily picked it off in the neutral zone and 1188395 Pittsburgh Penguins from behind the net completed a difficult centering pass to Jeff Carter, who beat Varlamov five-hole.

Heading into the series, much was made about a formidable Islanders Penguins push back in Game 2, hold on late to defeat Islanders, 2-1 forecheck. But in the first two games it was the Penguins who caused their opponent problems with forwards such as Tanev and Kasperi Kapanen doubling as defenseman-seeking missiles after dump-ins. Their forecheck created a goal in both games. MATT VENSEL Unfortunately for the Penguins, the second period of Game 2 looked a lot

like the second period of Game 1. After a fast start, the physical The Penguins have to win more than one playoff game to prove they are Islanders, who racked up an eye-popping 72 hits in their win Sunday, capable of something special. But in fighting off the New York Islanders appeared to be wearing them down. And the Penguins squandered two on Tuesday, they showed a quality we haven’t seen much of in recent power plays and a pair of 2-on-1s. postseasons. With the Penguins on their heels, Josh Bailey stepped around Carter and Pushback. whipped a backhand from the slot past Jarry’s glove. That goal, which came on their 22nd shot of the night, got the Islanders within a goal with In their 2-1 win in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the 5:16 left in the period. Islanders, guys like Brian Dumoulin and Jake Guentzel got up after crushing hits. Tristan Jarry bounced back after a worrisome Game 1. And The Penguins coughed up a third-period lead in Game 1. But two days even though the Penguins again lost steam after an awesome start, they later, they limited the Islanders to just two high-danger chances in the buckled down in crunch-time. final frame, per Natural Stat Trick, and in the last 88 seconds held on after Rust, well, held on. “We’re playing against a real good team. We knew this was going to be a tough battle. The games are going to be close. And we’re going to need “I thought we played on our toes,” Sullivan said. “I thought we defended everyone to compete,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “The guys competed well.” really hard tonight.” In just the second game of this best-of-seven series, Tuesday’s game Stick taps, chirps and observations from Penguins-Islanders Game 2 was hardly a must-win. But securing a split at home was highly recommended. Game 3 is slated for Thursday at 7 p.m. at Nassau And yet a strong performance was in danger of slipping away after Bryan Coliseum, a rowdy place where the Penguins as a franchise have Rust, a Notre Dame product, challenged his inner Joe Montana by endured some of their toughest postseason losses. inexplicably chucking the puck out of the zone with 1:28 left. With Rust penalized for closing his hand on the puck, the Penguins had to survive a Two of them came in 2019, when these Islanders stunningly swept the 6-on-4 the rest of the way. Penguins. But Rust, pointing to the resiliency shown Tuesday, says it’s time to turn the page. They allowed only one shot, from 57 feet out, and the PPG Paints Arena crowd exploded when the Penguins got one last clear in the final “This is a different group. We’ve gone through different things. We’ve seconds to secure their second playoff win in their last 12 playoff games learned different lessons,” he said. “We’ve built a good team game over dating back to 2018. the year. Just to be able to get this game to get the series to 1-1 before heading there was huge.” “They did a great job,” Mike Matheson said of the penalty kill. “That was probably the biggest moment of our season as of yet. And they came Post Gazette LOADED: 05.19.2021 through.”

Again, it was just one win. But the Penguins have to start somewhere, right?

The Penguins, still without injured center Evgeni Malkin, smartly rolled out the same lineup as they did in Sunday’s 4-3 loss in overtime. That included Dumoulin, who was hobbled by a blast to his boot in Game 1, and their embattled goalie.

Sunday, in his first playoff start as the unquestioned No. 1 in Pittsburgh, Jarry cost the Penguins a win by allowing four stoppable shots to sneak behind him.

Despite that shaky performance, the Penguins publicly expressed confidence in the 26-year-old. After watching Jarry go to work at Monday’s practice in Cranberry, Sullivan said he liked where Jarry’s mindset was heading into Game 2.

Once again, Sullivan had a good read on his goalie. Jarry made 37 saves.

“We have the ultimate faith in Tristan. He’s a terrific goaltender,” Sullivan said after Jarry’s first career playoff win. “There was no doubt in my mind he was going to come back and have a solid effort. And that’s what he did for us tonight.”

One way to ease the tension for a goalie who had been under public scrutiny for two days is giving him an early lead. Rust did that 3:22 into the game, when his long-distance wrister somehow evaded Semyon Varlamov’s glove.

Seconds earlier, on their first shift of the night, Brandon Tanev and his linemates set the tone. Tanev barreled into Brock Nelson, who has four inches and 32 pounds on him, along the boards so hard the sound boomed over the din of a 50% capacity crowd. Then Zach Aston-Reese nearly scored before the shift ended.

The Penguins pushed the lead to 2-0 with 6:53 left in the period, less than a minute after Jarry held his ground against Anthony Beauvillier on a 2-on-1. The Islanders botched another breakout and Jared McCann 1188396 Pittsburgh Penguins Backup goalie Casey DeSmith has been ruled out for Game 2 as he continues to work through a lower-body injury.

DeSmith departed mid-game on May 3 after initially sustaining the injury. Evgeni Malkin out, Brian Dumoulin good to go for Game 2 against the He returned to practice but re-aggravated the same issue on Friday. He Islanders has not skated since.

Tristan Jarry got the nod in net again. Maxime Lagace served as the backup. MIKE DEFABO More accolades for Sid

Sidney Crosby is the Penguins’ nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Evgeni Malkin was unable to suit up for Game 2 against the Islanders, Trophy, which is awarded “to the player who best exemplifies leadership forcing the Penguins to shuffle their middle-six and elevate Jeff Carter qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian into a second-line role. contribution in his community.”

Signs were not encouraging for Malkin at Monday’s practice. The 34- The nominees were selected by their respective NHL teams. The winner year-old did not take part in line rushes, nor did he work with the power will be chosen by a committee of senior NHL executives led by play. That’s the same level of participation Malkin had on Saturday’s final commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly. tune-up before skipping Sunday’s Game 1. Four additions to the NHL roster On Tuesday morning, Malkin worked one-on-one with skills coach Ty Hennes for a solid 45 minutes before sticking around for the optional The Penguins have recalled forwards Anthony Angello, Kasper morning skate. Almost always, when a player puts in that much work in Bjorkqvist, Drew O’Connor and defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph from the morning, they do not play in the evening. the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League.

There is no public timeline for Malkin's return. Sullivan said on Tuesday The NHL expands its rosters in the postseason. Now that the Penguins’ that Malkin is “day-to-day,” which is not especially illuminating AHL affiliate has wrapped up its season, these four will provide depth in considering that's how he describes virtually every injury this time of year. case of injury.

Stick taps, chirps and observations from Penguins-Islanders Game 2 PPG Paints increases capacity

With Malkin out, the focus shifts to the new-look second- and third-line The arena will be half full when the puck drops for Game 2. Due to Gov. centers, Carter and Freddy Gaudreau. Tom Wolf’s revised regulations on public gathering, indoor events are now permitted to host up to 50% of normal capacity. For the Penguins, Carter was acquired at the trade deadline to add a malleable puzzle that will be more than 9,000 fans, the largest attendance by far this piece who could skate in virtually any situation: center, wing, power play, season. penalty kill. In the games leading up to the postseason, it appeared Carter would provide stability, scoring and shut-down defense in a third- “I know our players are so appreciative of what [the fans] bring to the line role. environment,” Sullivan said. “It’s just not the same without them. As much as we love the game, the fans are an important aspect of the exciting Now? He’s being counted upon to carry a much heavier load. The environment, especially in the playoffs. Penguins need him to become an offensive threat behind the Crosby line. On Tuesday, he centered the second line with Jared McCann and “We feel as though our home-ice advantage is significant, given the fan Kasperi Kapanen on his wings. support and the energy they bring to the rink. We’re thrilled to have more people in the building. We all look forward to the day when we can sell it At 36, the big righty has a lot on his plate, as a player who also skates on out again.” both special teams units. That’s a lot of minutes and responsibility for any player, especially a 16-year veteran with more than 1,000 games of wear Post Gazette LOADED: 05.19.2021 and tear on his body.

Malkin’s absence also moved Gaudreau back into the middle. He centered the third line, with Jason Zucker and Evan Rodrigues on his wings.

When the season began, Carter and Gaudreau probably weren’t even on a Penguins fans' radar. But as long as Malkin's absence lingers, they could play critical roles in determining how long the Penguins’ 2021 postseason run lasts.

Dumoulin good to go

Ron Cook: Sidney Crosby’s efforts will ensure this series is different than 2019

The Penguins did receive one piece of positive injury news on Tuesday. Top-pair defenseman Brian Dumoulin, who was a “game-time decision” on paper, was ready to go.

The reliable lefty absorbed a hard shot to the outside of the right foot during Sunday’s 4-3 overtime loss. He played through the pain for the rest of the third period. However, he was held out of practice on Monday due to what Sullivan termed a “maintenance day.”

Dumoulin participated in Tuesday’s optional morning skate. The fact that he was on the ice was a positive sign and a good indication he’d be ready for game time.

While Kris Letang is the Penguins most-talented defenseman, there’s an argument to be made that Dumoulin may be the most-valuable. His presence on the ice allows Letang to freelance and maximize his unique skill set. At the same time, with Dumoulin on the top pair, all the other left-handed blue liners are playing in roles that fit them.

Casey DeSmith ruled out 1188397 Pittsburgh Penguins I’m guessing Crosby will lead the way. I know how competitive Crosby is. I can only imagine how sick he is of

those 10 losses in the 11 playoff games. I’m sure he is counting minutes Ron Cook: Sidney Crosby’s efforts will ensure this series is different than until puck drop Tuesday night. 2019 That’s why I had to laugh at a column Monday in the Toronto Globe and Mail, lobbying for the Penguins to do the right thing by trading Crosby to Montreal. RON COOK Amazing, isn’t it, that a Canadian newspaper wants to bring Crosby to Canada?

The Penguins’ 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Islanders at PPG “The Penguins are a neither/nor team — neither good nor bad,” Cathal Paints Arena Sunday was punishing for a number of reasons. One, it Kelly wrote. “It’s been a while since they won a playoff series. Actually, denied them from taking a 1-0 lead in the first-round playoff series and it’s been a while since they looked as if they belonged in a playoff series maintaining home-ice advantage. Two, it prevented them from slowing a … mind-numbing futility streak that has reached 10 losses in their past 11 postseason games. And three, it kept Sidney Crosby’s goal early in the “[This stage of Crosby’s career] is becoming a bit of a mess. What second period from going down as one of the most spectacular and exactly is the motivation of the Pittsburgh Penguins captain here? What’s significant of his career. his purpose? What does he do? It isn’t winning, that’s for sure. It’s more like existing.” OK, so that last point might be the least important of the three. Did I mention I laughed when I read that? I’m going to focus on it for a bit, anyway. Out loud, actually. The game was tied, 1-1, when Crosby skated through the slot, where he was tied up by defenseman Andy Greene. As Brian Dumoulin fired a shot Post Gazette LOADED: 05.19.2021 from long range on goaltender Ilya Sorokin, Crosby reached around Greene and, with his stick in one hand, somehow deflected the puck into the net. It was the 190th post-season point of his career, tying him with Brett Hull on the NHL’s all-time list. He has 69 goals and 121 assists in 169 games. That’s a 1.12 points-per-game average.

Evgeni Malkin out, Brian Dumoulin good to go for Game 2 against the Islanders

Not bad, right?

“Fortunately, Dumo put it in a good spot and I got my stick on it and it just found its way in there,” Crosby said, matter-of-factly.

Sounds so simple, doesn’t it?

There can’t be a handful of players in the world who could have scored that goal.

That was Crosby’s fifth shot on net in the game. He had just six in four games when the Islanders swept the Penguins in the first round in 2019. He also had only one assist and was a minus-4 in that series.

Crosby nearly had an amazing goal late in the first period Sunday, seconds after a Penguins’ power play ended. He chipped a pass from Kris Letang on net, but his shot was stopped by Sorokin’s wonderful toe save.

“I’ve got to bury that one,” Crosby said.

Evgeni Malkin’s status remains uncertain, Brian Dumoulin absent with ‘maintenance day’

Unfortunately for the Penguins, the Islanders tightened up their normally suffocating defense on Crosby and linemates Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust after Crosby’s goal. They ratcheted up the physicality in a big way. The checking line of Casey Cizikas, Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck was a nuisance all afternoon and finished with a combined 20 hits. Teammate Leo Komarov had an astonishing 14 hits as the Islanders had a 75-47 edge in hits.

Crosby didn’t have another shot on net in the game.

Still, I saw enough to be encouraged, to believe that this series will be different than that epic failure in 2019.

Despite the increased attention, Crosby and Guentzel had a two-on-one rush midway through the second period. Crosby, skating down the right wing, had the puck and should have fired a shot on net. Instead, he tried to force a goalmouth pass to Guentzel, who, by then, was tangled with defenseman Ryan Pulock and barely was able to get off a weak shot that dribbled into Sorokin.

A goal there would have given the Penguins a 3-1 lead and probably clinched a win.

Sometimes, Crosby is too unselfish for his and his team’s good.

I’m eager to see how the Penguins push back in Game 2. 1188398 Pittsburgh Penguins the late, dramatic power play. It was an exclamation point on what was a truly great performance from one of the league’s most underrated players.

Yohe’s 10 observations: On the Penguins’ perfect third period in a Game The top pairing of Dumoulin and Kris Letang was outstanding, and as we 2 win all know, they make each other better. Having Dumoulin play at this level was a big deal. I didn’t particularly like his game Sunday even before he was hobbled by an injury. I loved his game in this one. Dumoulin was a step ahead of the play all night and played one of the better games of his By Josh Yohe May 19, 2021 postseason career, and that’s saying something.

• I didn’t think the dynamic duo of Carter and Jared McCann was sharp Through two periods, Game 2 felt an awful lot like Game 1. The Sunday, but they were off the charts in Game 2. McCann’s pass from Penguins generally dominated the first two periods but were up only one behind the net was a thing of beauty and set up Carter’s first-period goal. goal, and the Islanders had all kinds of momentum entering the third THAT'S 40 CAREER PLAYOFF GOALS FOR @JEFFCARTER_77! period. SPOILER: THIS ONE IS DEFINITELY OUR FAVORITE… Uh-oh. PIC.TWITTER.COM/YD2QEDIDU6 Or, maybe not. — PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (@PENGUINS) MAY 19, 2021 The Penguins played perhaps their finest period of the season in the final As for Carter, well, I thought he played his best game with the Penguins. 20 minutes, dominating the Islanders while playing smart in a 2-1 victory And yes, I’m well aware he scored four goals in a recent game. that evened the series on Tuesday at PPG Paints Arena. Carter was a bull all evening, barreling his way to the net in his Game 3 will be Thursday night when the setting shifts to Long Island. customary fashion. Everything about his game was sharp. Bryan Rust and Jeff Carter scored for the Penguins, while Josh Bailey However, he was at his best in the final minute. When you think of notched the only goal for the Islanders. Carter, you think of that great shot, the clutch offensive game, the size It was gut-check time for the Penguins after Bailey’s goal made things and the speed. But his penalty-killing display late in the game was really more than a little interesting. They responded in a very impressive way. something. His reach, anticipation and willingness to sacrifice his body down the stretch were admirable. He is playing so many roles for the Ten postgame observations Penguins right now, and he’s thriving at everything he does. What a story this guy has been. • The first two periods were well played by the Penguins, but the story of this game was what the Penguins did in the third. They led 2-1 • What a bizarre night for Rust. He opened the scoring with one of the throughout the entire 20 minutes. Conventional wisdom would indicate luckiest goals of his career. that a team would sit back and hang on in that position. Instead, the Penguins did what they do best: They forced the issue time and time GOOD VIBES ONLY IN GAME 2! PIC.TWITTER.COM/MHAEMZBAF8 again. It was a brilliant display of forechecking and of playing offense to — PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (@PENGUINS) MAY 18, 2021 preserve a lead. The Penguins outshot the Islanders 16-10 while clinging to that 2-1 lead. That was truly an incompetent display of goaltending from Semyon Varlamov, which is interesting because he was very good the rest of the It was simply a wonderful display of the Penguins playing at their best. I evening while making his series debut. don’t recall one overly good look for the Islanders in the third period, as those 10 shots were generally harmless. Those final 20 minutes were Rust later took one of the strangest penalties of his career. With 1:28 critical for the Penguins. I wondered about their mental toughness a bit remaining in the third period and Varlamov pulled, the puck was in after what was a very nervous showing in overtime during Game 1. They Penguins territory. Standing by the glass, the puck floated around Rust’s answered some of those questions Tuesday. The Penguins were head. He clearly grabbed the puck with his glove and threw it out of the ferocious during the third period, and they were also poised. If the zone, forcing officials to give the Islanders their first penalty. Penguins play like that, they’re going to be difficult for any team to beat in a seven-game series. The question is: Can they maintain the way they It was still a bad penalty to take, and Rust is one of the Penguins’ played in the third period? smartest players. It was more surreal than anything. The Penguins bailed him out, and rest assured, Rust was relieved. We shall see. Normally a great playoff player, Rust has been a little off in this series. • The story of the night was Tristan Jarry, and that would be the case His turnover at the blue line led to Brock Nelson’s go-ahead goal in the whether he stunk or played well. He chose the latter. third period of Game 1. And yes, he did get a goal in Game 2, but that was a lucky play. Jarry stopped 37 of 38 shots and looked as poised as we’ve seen him all season. He didn’t have to make a number of wildly difficult saves, but Look for him to get better. It’s his time of year. stopping 37 of 38 shots under the pressure cooker of a must-win playoff game, 48 hours after you play poorly, is some kind of spot for a young • The series took a hostile turn in Game 2. Jake Guentzel took an goaltender. absolute beating all night, and he’s been continuously targeted throughout this series. Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang were in multiple The young man answered the bell in a big way. Jarry was rightly named scrums. Dumoulin avoided a potentially serious injury after Jean-Gabriel the game’s No. 1 star and took an extra little skate around the Penguins’ Pageau nudged him into the boards while Dumoulin was completely blue line to acknowledge the crowd. It was a nice moment for Jarry, and vulnerable. the crowd responded with conviction when he took the ice for the honor. It remains to be seen how he’ll respond during the rest of the series — Then, there was what happened to Brandon Tanev. One can argue that his road numbers in his young career are not good — but Jarry showed Tanev could have received a penalty for bumping Varlamov in the us something during this game. Lots of pressure. Lots of stress. And a lot second period, though he was diving for the puck in an attempt to score. of shots were thrown his way. Jarry never blinked. Then, while Tanev was down on the ice, Matt Martin crushed him with a cross-check in the ribs. Really nasty play. Tanev wasn’t especially happy • We didn’t know if Brian Dumoulin was going to participate after blocking afterward. a shot in Game 1. He played. And as usual, the Penguins were the better for it. “YOU FUCKING COWARD. SHUT THE FUCK UP” PIC.TWITTER.COM/CW5183XLWN Much better. — Y – BARSTOOL YINZERS (@BARSTOOLBURGH) MAY 19, 2021 Dumoulin played a spectacular game and was at his best late. Bryan Rust took a terrible penalty in the final two minutes, giving the Islanders In classic NHL fashion, neither Tanev nor Martin was penalized for those an opportunity for a six-on-four power play with the goaltender pulled. actions, though Martin ended up in the penalty box after Zach Aston- Dumoulin made two marvelous plays to snuff the New York attack during Reese took exception to what he did. It’s great that the Penguins were short-handed only once all game. Mike Sullivan doesn’t want his team retaliating. “Just play” is the mantra, and I get it. It helped them win championships in 2016 and 2017. They aren’t designed to win a fistfight with the Islanders, anyway. However, it remains troubling that the Penguins’ best players take so much abuse while their teammates provide such little pushback. No matter what happens this spring — whether the Penguins lose to the Islanders, win the Stanley Cup or somewhere in between — I assure you changes will be coming to the Penguins’ lineup. Brian Burke and Ron Hextall don’t like seeing Crosby and the other Penguins’ big names take a beating on a regular basis. This is something that is going to be addressed.

• Evgeni Malkin remains out of the lineup. He is skating every day, and that’s good news. He also isn’t looking particularly strong while skating every day, which is a problem. I wonder if we won’t see Malkin until the Penguins are in serious trouble in this series. With things even heading into Game 3, I don’t know that we’ll see Malkin on Thursday. Even when he does return, assuming he does, I don’t believe Malkin will be functioning at anything close to 100 percent. It’s a problem.

• Kudos to the fans who showed up at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday. The state allowed for 50 percent capacity, and at the national anthem’s conclusion, I mentioned to my co-worker Sean Gentille that it felt like a full house. He agreed. The atmosphere was off the charts throughout the evening — 9,000 people really did sound like 18,000.

It wasn’t just an enthusiastic crowd; it was also a supportive one. The ovation Jarry received when he was announced as the starting goalie was stirring. That was the best crowd I’ve witnessed in that building in a long, long time.

• The Islanders are exactly who we thought they were. They’re a bunch of tough customers, they’re so well-schooled defensively and they’re simply abrasive to play against. They also aren’t blessed with the finishing skill you’ll see from other playoff teams.

They aren’t going to change how they play, and they clearly believe beating up the Penguins is one of the keys to this series. Perhaps it is. But the Penguins absorbed the blows.

• The series now heads to the Coliseum, and the Penguins should feel good about themselves. Malkin hasn’t played in this series and Crosby has one point in two games, yet it’s the Penguins who have been the better team for the majority of play. There have been seven periods in this series, including Sunday’s overtime. The Penguins have been the better team in five of those seven periods.

That was a supreme display of energy and desperation from the Penguins on Tuesday. It says something about their character that they played a nearly flawless game in what was their biggest game of the season. Had they lost Game 2, the series would have likely been over. Now, it has a totally different feel.

The Penguins have their issues, and getting Malkin back is the biggest of all. However, they remain a very good team, and that was on display in Game 2. Every facet of their game was clicking.

The Athletic LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188399 Pittsburgh Penguins Sidney Crosby: A blueprint for all the youngsters who supposedly have passed him and a lesson for captains around the NHL: Goals are great. Points are nice. But there’s a lot to be said for setting a tone by forechecking, playing a bit prickly and treating a Game 2 with the urgency Penguins report cards: Tristan Jarry bounces back big in Game 2 victory of a Game 7. A

Jared McCann: Remember when some folks (ahem) were wondering if McCann fit with the Penguins? Turns out, all the guy needed was to find By Rob Rossi, Sean Gentille, and Josh Yohe May 19, 2021 the Batman to his Robin. B-plus

Jeff Carter: He’s Batman! B-plus Critics were silenced. Doubts were erased. Jake Guentzel: Pound for pound, probably the toughest winger in the With 37 saves — and 16 of those while protecting a one-goal lead in the NHL. He’s taken a series’ worth of punishment through a couple of final period — Tristan Jarry turned aside the Islanders and helped the games. But he’s still skating, trying to create and getting enough out of Penguins win, 2-1, in Game 2 at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday night. those quick hands that a goal feels as though it’s coming soon. B

“That’s the Tristan Jarry we all know and love,” defenseman Mike Bryan Rust: The Penguins needed to score first. Rust did that for them. Matheson said. And he was tracking for an A-grade until an astonishing decision to catch-and-throw a puck from the defensive zone late. Says a lot about “That’s his old self. That’s his game. I don’t think it’s anything out of the how well he performed otherwise — and a lot about the penalty killers ordinary for him, as crazy as that sounds.” who bailed him out — that he still earned this grade. B

Winger Bryan Rust and center Jeff Carter scored for the Penguins, who Kasperi Kapanen: He’s noticeable. His speed is an issue for the again played without star center Evgeni Malkin. Islanders. Could he get the puck deeper more often? Sure. But so could just about each of his teammates. A professional performance in his Jarry, in his first season as the Penguins’ go-to goalie, was shaky in a second postseason game for the Penguins. B Game 1 overtime loss Sunday afternoon. Though making only his second NHL postseason start, Jarry’s performance in the series opener Yohe’s grades stirred concerns in Pittsburgh everywhere outside of the Penguins’ dressing room. Safe to say, at least until the series shifts to Long Island Brandon Tanev: I loved his game Tuesday. You can’t tell me the for Games 3 and 4, the talk about Jarry won’t be what it had been coming Penguins aren’t a better and different team when he’s in the lineup. He into what felt like a must-win Game 2 for the Penguins. threw his body around with conviction all game and was simply outstanding. A-minus Reporters from The Athletic graded Penguins players and coach Mike Sullivan after Game 2. Zach Aston-Reese: Much, much better in this game. I admit I can be a little critical of him at times. He always leaves you wanting a little more, Gentille’s grades right? But I thought he was a force at times Tuesday. The more he barges his way to the net, the better. A-minus Cody Ceci: The big fella might have been responsible for the shift of the game; he kept the puck in a couple of times and generated shot attempts Teddy Blueger: Solid work defensively all night, as you’d expect. He immediately after a second brutal power play. I made fun of my friend didn’t do anything that was overly flashy, but that’s OK. He’s been a Andy for buying a Ceci jersey at the start of the season. Maybe I stalwart in his own zone, and his line produced plenty of offense in this shouldn’t have. B. one. Solid outing. B

Brian Dumoulin: Did he look a step slow on a couple of puck retrievals? Evan Rodrigues: I thought he was pretty invisible in Game 1, but this was Sure, but that’s life after you take a puck to the foot. Dumoulin came back a better performance. He had four shots on goal and a couple of good from another near-disaster, when J.G. Pageau shoved him into the looks. He’s become a very reliable player for Sullivan. I love his shoot- boards and helped hold the fort late. It’s not a coincidence that he was first mentality and it was on display in this game as he registered four out there handling business with the empty net. That’s a gutsy player. A shots in only 10:31 of ice time. B

Kris Letang: Points for erasing a couple of two-on-ones, which he’s done Frederick Gaudreau: Nothing special from him, but he did win four of five often. He also prevented a disaster on the first power play, on a blind draws. Even on nights when he isn’t contributing in the offensive zone, pass from Jared McCann. He wasn’t perfect, and the expected-goals Gaudreau has become a completely trusted player in the defensive zone. percentage for Letang and Dumoulin is ugly, but this was a good night for That was very much on display in this one. He continues to impress. B- Letang. B. minus

John Marino: He and Ceci had the best night in terms of scoring chances Jason Zucker: He was better than in Game 1, but let’s be honest, he allowed. That’s good enough, though in most games, there’s a time or looks a little bit lost on what is essentially the fourth line right now. Only two that Marino reminds you of how good (and creative) he is on the ice. one shot on goal in 12 minutes. He’s in a tough spot, but you’d like to see Didn’t notice any of that in Game 2. B-minus. a little more from him. C-plus

Mike Matheson: It feels like too often he’s teetering on the brink of The Penguins are tied, 1-1, in their best-of-seven East Division semifinal disaster, but that, I suppose, is the Mike Matheson Experience. Nothing series against the Islanders. Game 3 is Thursday night at Nassau catastrophic happened on Tuesday — he had a couple of nice individual Coliseum. plays against the puck in his own end — and he was largely unnoticeable. The Penguins are at their best when that’s the case. C- The Athletic LOADED: 05.19.2021 plus.

Marcus Pettersson: He got worked in the corners more than once, and he looked a step slow. That’s something to watch. C

Tristan Jarry: He got better as the game went on, and he generally did a good job of keeping rebounds in a position where he could handle them. Were there shaky moments? Absolutely. He’s moving … oddly. But it was a major improvement from Game 1. B-plus

Rossi’s grades

Mike Sullivan: He’s been saying “just play” since arriving in Pittsburgh. That was December 2015. Some people are skeptical that the mantra still works. (One of those people might be a relatively new boss.) But Sullivan had the Penguins ready from the start for a pivotal Game 2, and their willingness to “just play” through the Islanders’ intended physicality was a testament to a coach in full command of his group. A-plus 1188400 Pittsburgh Penguins

Report Card: Aggressive Penguins Don’t Back Down, Win Game 2

By Dan Kingerski

The Round One series is even. The 2020-21 Pittsburgh Penguins did what the 2019 version could not. The Penguins beat the New York Islanders in a playoff game and did so with a strong third period with an aggressive attack. After a 2-1 win, the Penguins tied the Round One series against New York, 1-1.

With the game on the line, the Penguins played forward, on their toes.

“I thought we competed hard. I really liked the third period in particular,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “We played on our toes and defended well.”

In Game 1, New York adjusted to the Penguins speed with a somewhat surprising tactic. Rather than backing further, or bringing more players back into the defensive zone, thus sacrificing offense, coach Barry Trotz ordered his troops to step forward. New York upped their pressure on the puck, especially in the neutral zone on the Penguins puck carriers.

That flip changed the game.

In Game 2, the Penguins again opened up New York in the first period. The Penguins had 19 shots on goal, scored a pair of goals (Bryan Rust, Jeff Carter), and otherwise played the period in the New York zone.

However, the Islanders used a different tact in the second. Instead of pressuring the charged-up Penguins, New York uglied-up the game. New York hit, hacked, and whacked at the Penguins. Some legal, some extra- legal, and some illegal. It ground the game to a halt and clearly gave the Fish Sticks a lift.

Once New York started the physical, everything evened out. The Penguins had chances to pull ahead, and New York had chances to tie it.

However, the feel of the game was entirely different until midway through the third period. How the Penguins responded this time bodes well for the series.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188401 Pittsburgh Penguins 2. Cody Ceci Ceci had four shots in the first period and was a brick wall on the

offensive blue line. He kept several plays alive, which only enhanced the 3 Stars & Recap: All EVEN! Penguins Cook Islanders for 2-1 Win in Penguins momentum. Ceci finished with five shots and three hits. Game 2 1. FANS

Damn, it was good to have you back. The place wasn’t the same without By Dan Kingerski you, and I’m pretty sure there were more than 9,000 here. The energy made a huge difference in the game. The Pengiuns surge in the third period was only enhanced with the crazy crowd.

The Pittsburgh Penguins again had a 2-1 lead after two periods against “It was that was pretty cool to be a part of, you know, the building was the New York Islanders. This time, not even being shorthanded in the going crazy. Any time you look up and see those tiles spinning with that final minutes could deter the Penguins, who beat the New York Islanders many people in the building, especially with everything going on in the 2-1 in front of a raucous crowd at PPG Paints Arena. world. And, you know, the fact that we haven’t been able to have everybody in the building through this season to see that gives you chills More importantly, the Penguins evened the Round One series, 1-1. and really puts a spark and in our team…” The Penguins got off to the start they wanted. They dominated more than Pittsburgh Hockey Now LOADED: 05.19.2021 the first 10 minutes and scored a pair of goals in the period.

“We knew that every single one of us needed to bring a higher level of execution intensity,” defenseman Mike Matheson said. “And I think we did that tonight.”

At one point, the shots were 13-4 for the Penguins and ended at 19-13, which also favored the Penguins beyond the totals.

Three minutes into the game, surprise New York starter Semyon Varlamov badly misplayed an easy save. Bryan Rust (1), from the back of the right-wing circle, whipped a shot towards the net. Varlamov thought he had it. He didn’t, and it sailed past his glove. 1-0.

The Penguins pressure continued throughout the period. Later in the period, the Penguins retrieved another dump-in, and Jared McCann spotted Jeff Carter on the doorstep. Carter (1) swept the puck around Varlamov for an important second goal and a two-goal lead.

However, New York physically asserted itself in the second period, and it began to pay dividends. The Penguins had a pair of power-play opportunities but barely managed a shot under heavy New York pressure.

The lone goal of the middle period was also in New York’s favor. Winger Josh Bailey (1) cut across the slot, zipped past Carter, and his backhander eluded Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry to halve the Penguins lead.

New York outshot the Penguins 16-10 in the second period and erased the Penguins’ advantage in most metrics. After 40 minutes, the Penguins had the narrowest of margins on the stat sheets and scoreboard.

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby found himself in the middle of more than a few scrums and helped linemate Jake Guentzel lead all players with 7 shots, not including a third period rip which hit the post.

The Penguins turned up the offensive pressure in the third period, and despite New York needing a tying goal, the Penguins had more shots and scoring chances. According to our friends at NaturalStatTrick.com, the Penguins had 11 of the first 15 scoring chances.

With just 88 seconds remaining and the goalie pulled, New York got their first power play when Rust closed his hand on the puck.

Evgeni Malkin did not play in Game 2. Malkin had an on-ice workout before the Penguins optional skate Tuesday morning. Game 2 marked another step towards normalcy past COVID-19. The Penguins were allowed to host more than 9,000 fans (and it sure seemed like more).

Overall, the Pittsburgh Penguins outshot New York 45-38. Jarry stopped 37 of 38 and was much better in Game 2.

“I think I was just trying to keep it simple as trying to get better than I was last game,” Jarry said. “I think that was something that I wanted to improve as this be better tonight. And I think that was an easy thing to do for me.”

3 Stars:

3. Bryan Rust

Rust was in the Islanders face from the puck drop. It wasn’t his goal which stands out, but the pucks he retrieved and the number of scrums he started. Four shots and two hits seem low. 1188402 Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins Crowd Goes Crazy Before Game 2, Sounds like Sellout

By PHN Staff

(PPG Paints Arena) – Game 2 of the Pittsburgh Penguins Round One series against the New York Islander was already pressure-packed enough with history and the Penguins’ future perhaps in the balance. As the Commonwealth of loosened COVID restrictions, thousands more fans were allowed into Game 2 at PPG Paints Arena.

Even before the puck drop, the Penguins faithful, officially numbering around 9,000 but seemingly more in number, exercised their voices. Many were attending their first hockey game in over 14 months.

The Penguins could have a full house if their season lasts beyond Memorial Day when PA Governor Tom Wold is set to relax all COVID mitigation efforts. The Penguins’ typical capacity is just over 18,000, but it seems they rather full for Game 2.

The crowd had more to cheer about just three minutes into the game when Bryan Rust scored the game’s first goal. And, you guessed it, the place erupted again.

Later in the first period, Jeff Carter scored the second Penguins goal for a 2-0 lead.

The Pittsburgh Penguins lost Game 1 of their Round One series and trail the series, 1-0, but were off to a good start in Game 2 behind more fans than they’ve seen since March 2020.

The happy crowd alternated chants of “Lets Go Pens,” and even a “Jarry” chant broke out late in the first period for goalie Tristan Jarry.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188403 Pittsburgh Penguins

Black Aces: Penguins Recall Joseph, O’Connor, Angello, Bjorkqvist

By Dan Kingerski

Don’t get too excited about the Pittsburgh Penguins recalling several young minor leaguers on Tuesday. The players, including P-O Joseph, who had a head-turning stint earlier this season, are most likely on the Penguins roster to comprise the Black Aces crew since the Wilkes- Barre/Scranton Penguins season is over.

But, you never know, either.

The Penguins have recalled forwards Anthony Angello, Kasper Bjorkqvist, Drew O’Connor, and defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph general manager Ron Hextall announced.

Angello, 25, appeared in NHL 19 games and had four points (2-2-4) and was plus-4. He also appeared in 12 games for WBS, whose season concluded on Sunday. In WBS, he scored six goals, four assists, and 10 points.

The 23-year-old Bjorkqvist appeared in five games for WBS with one goal: an overtime winner on May 15. Before joining WBS for the end of their season, Bjorkqvist spent the 2020-21 campaign with KooKoo of Liiga (Finland’s top professional league). In Finland’s top league, Bjorkqvist scored 26 points (11-15-26) in 44 games.

His 26 points were tied for fourth-most on KooKoo.

O’Connor, 22, made the Penguins out of training camp. He played in 10 games for the Penguins, including an assist in his NHL debut on Jan. 26 at Boston. In WBS, the 6-foot-3, 200-pound O’Connor had seven goals, 12 assists, and 19 points in 20 games. His 19 points were third-most on WBS.

Joseph, 21, played 16 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins in his first NHL season. He scored one goal, four assists, and five points but was a star when both Kris Letang and Brian Dumoulin were out of the lineup. Joseph notched a point (assist) in his NHL debut on Jan. 22 against the New York Rangers and later registered a three-point game (3 assists) against the Rangers on Jan. 30.

Joseph and Penguins defenseman John Marino functioned at the top pairing in the Jan. 30 game. Marino played 30 minutes, and Joseph played more than 26 minutes.

The Laval, Quebec native, skated in 23 games for WBS this season, recording 13 points (1G-12A).

Pittsburgh looks to even their Round One series as they take on the New York Islanders in Game 2 tonight at 7:30 p.m.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188404 Pittsburgh Penguins Carter, a trade deadline acquisition, scored nine goals for the Penguins in 14 games to close the season. If he keeps shooting the puck, he will find the net, and the Penguins will try to continue to do their thing and get good looks. Islanders vs. Penguins Game 2 Prediction, Odds, Picks (May 18, 2021) Carter is the type of player who doesn’t miss many of those looks.

Pittsburgh needs some scoring beyond Crosby’s line if it is going to win By Kyle Laskowski this series. With Evgeni Malkin’s status still up in the air at the time of this writing after missing Game 1, Carter is the next best option in the middle

to find the net. The Islanders just seem to ramp things up to a different level in the Kasperi Kapanen (+300, FanDuel) also offers good value to score a goal postseason. They went through the motions much of the final few weeks for Pittsburgh. of the regular season, secure in the knowledge that they would be playoff-bound, but they quickly revved things up against the Penguins in Islanders Bets We Like With a New York Win a Game 1 win. Islanders to win AND UNDER 5.5 goals (+255, DraftKings) Let’s take a look at Game 2 of this first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs matchup from a betting perspective in our Islanders vs. Penguins betting We aren’t as bullish on the Islanders in Game 2 as we were in Game 1. preview with odds, picks, and predictions. There was a lot to like about how the Penguins played in that game, and although you should always side with Islanders coach Barry Trotz in a DraftKings Sportsbook chess match, it usually takes his opponent a bit longer to find a weakness before Trotz has to counter punch. States: PA, NJ, IN, IL, CO, MI, TN, VA, WV In this series, Trotz has to counter following a win. GET THE APPSIGNUP BONUSUP TO $1,050 FREE In that vein, we expect this game to be a lot tighter, and if we’re brutally DEPOSIT BONUSBET NOW honest, we think Pittsburgh wins. Still, if you like the Islanders and want a Kyle Palmieri, who hadn’t done much since coming to the Islanders in a little more gravy on your meal than simply taking them at +118, tease up trade deadline deal with New Jersey, scored two goals in Game 1, the over/under a half puck to take the under and get +255 odds.f including the overtime game-winner, in a 4-3 victory over the Penguins. Click here to get BetMGM and bet $20, win $100 guaranteed on the Pittsburgh, to its credit, wasn’t suffocated by New York’s defensive Penguins. scheme and was able to come from behind twice to tie the score. The BetMGM Sportsbook Penguins even took the lead once and peppered Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin with 42 shots on goal, so there’s reason for optimism heading States: NJ, PA, IN, CO, MI, VA, WV into tonight. GET THE APPSIGNUP BONUSBet $20, Win $100 Guaranteed! Click here to get up to $1,050 in free bets with DraftKings Sportsbook. ANY BET!BET NOW Islanders vs. Penguins Betting Pick (May 18, 2021) Bets We Like Independent of Outcome A difference-maker in Game 1 was the Penguins’ inability to score on the power play. The Penguins had the eighth-best power play in the NHL in UNDER 5.5 goals (-150, FanDuel) the regular season, but the Islanders had the sixth-best penalty kill. We gave you this bet in Game 1 and cursed our unlucky stars when the New York doesn’t take many penalties, so chances are usually few and Penguins tied it late in the third period. Still, this series should ultimately far between, but the Penguins had three chances with the man be more on the defensive side, and we think both teams will find a way to advantage and came up short on all three in the opener. adjust to the back-and-forth nature of Game 1 and lock it down in Game 2. Pittsburgh can’t let those chances slip away if they want to win this series because New York boasts one of the league’s best 5-on-5 units. Not to mention, the East teams are known for more lower-scoring games than the other divisions, and although the playoffs have trended higher Meanwhile, New York was surprisingly able to get its offense going scoring early on, things tend to really tighten up as a series moves along. against Pittsburgh. The Islanders tend to be more deliberate and DraftKings has the over/under set at 5. You can still get 5.5 as the opportunistic offensively, yet they got four goals on 41 shots against a primary line at Fan Duel, and you should take it. Penguins team that usually is a lot tighter defensively on home ice. Islanders vs. Penguins Prediction Game 1 was definitely played in the Penguins’ style. Despite the Islanders’ victory, the Penguins will have to continue to dictate this type This is the Penguins’ season tonight. of play if they want to even the series tonight. They were swept by the Islanders two seasons ago in the playoffs. This States: PA, NJ, IA, IL, CO, IN, TN, VA, WV, MI time, the Pittsburgh Penguins had home-ice advantage – something that mattered to the Penguins, who were tied for the best home record in the GET THE APPSIGNUP BONUS$1,000 NHL this season, and coughed it up after one game.

RISK-FREEBET NOW They can’t afford to go down 2-0 to the Islanders and think they can come back to win. We expect a focused, determined and stifling game. Islanders vs. Penguins Game 2 Odds We’ll take the Penguins by a 3-1 final, but if you are feeling frisky, a Here are the Islanders vs. Penguins Game 2 odds at DraftKings shutout is at +850 on DraftKings. Sportsbook: It’s exotic but might be worth a look in a game where there shouldn’t be Team Spread Moneyline Total much room to operate.

Islanders +1.5 (-235) +112 O 5 (-143) Pittsburgh Hockey Now LOADED: 05.19.2021

Penguins -1.5 (+190) -130 U 5.5 (+118)

Penguins Bets We Like With a Pittsburgh Win

Jeff Carter OVER 0.5 goals (+270, FanDuel)

Carter didn’t score in Game 1, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. Carter was second only to Sidney Crosby in shots on goal, and he was very active and noticeable in the game. 1188405 Pittsburgh Penguins Matt Martin Casey Czikas Cal Clutterbuck Adam Pelech Ryan Pulock

Nick Leddy Scott Mayfield ‘We Have Another Level,’ Game 2: Penguins Lines, Notes & Matchups vs. NYI Andy Greene Noah Dobson

TEAM Power Play Penalty Kill

By Dan Kingerski Pittsburgh Penguins 23.7%, 4th NHL 77.4%, 27th NHL

New York Islanders 18.8%, 21st NHL 83.7%, 6th NHL

The Pittsburgh Penguins seemingly had Game 1 in their hand. Sidney What to WATCH: Crosby and their top line was a buzzsaw. They had a lead after two periods. And they owned the New York Islanders in the regular season. Please forgive the self-stick tap, but it seems no one else is talking about All of the good vibes evaporated, beginning with Jeff Carter’s second- it. What the New York Islanders changed in the third period were their period double-minor high sticking penalty, and the Penguins trail the gaps. All over the ice. We delved into it in the PHN+ Report Card. Round One series 1-0. (And that’s why you should subscribe!)

The puck drops (sometime) after 7:30 p.m. New York stopped letting the Penguins handle the puck or breathe. It Kyle Palmieri scored exactly two goals in 17 games after the Islanders was a bit of a gamble, but the New York Islanders were behind and had acquired him from the New Jersey Devils, scored a pair of goals, nothing to lose. They stepped forward and disrupted the Penguins, who including the OT game-winner. never really regained their footing.

The Penguins did rally to tie the game in the third period when Carter When the Penguins had some space, they went hard around the edges stormed the Islanders zone two-on-two but took a defender with him to of the New York defense. The Penguins skated the puck low and forced the net. The center drive created space for Kasperi Kapanen’s nifty toe- the Islanders to defend them in the dirty zones. It wasn’t quite a drag and stick side goal. traditional low-to-high game because the defensemen weren’t shooting as much as they were looking for tip plays. “We think we have another level and that that’s that was part of the discussion, we think we have another level. We’ve got to make sure that The shots were wide or targeted at players in good position. Sidney we heighten our level of intensity, we heighten our level of urgency. Our Crosby almost had a few of them. execution can improve and get better in certain areas. However, when the Islanders stepped forward, the Penguins no longer Tristan Jarry has received a healthy amount of criticism after allowing had their speed to push the New York defense. four goals, a few of which could have been stopped. We’ll see which wrinkles the Penguins get to in Game 2. Center drives The Penguins starting goalie stopped 37 of 41 shots. Penguins backup with cutting to the middle seemed to have some success. Casey DeSmith remains out with a lower-body injury, and unless the Tristan Jarry will be a primary story in Game 2, too. A goalie can have a Penguins face another Jeff Zatkoff scenario, Jarry will be in the net. bad game in the playoffs. Lose your first three starts and look bad in the New York has a little bit of a question mark in goal. Starter Semyon last two? Questions arise. Varlamov skated with the team’s extras on Monday. And Ilya Sorokin Pittsburgh Penguins Game Notes: was excellent in Game 1. The call will likely be shrouded in secrecy until we see who leads the team in warmups. -The Penguins went 6-2-0 against the Islanders in 2020-21. This year marks the first time in franchise history the Penguins won six games “We’ll see where Varly is in terms of health. He’s very close,” New York against the Islanders in a single season. coach Barry Trotz said. “I trust both our goalies. That’s the great thing about having Ilya. … The thought process is pretty simple. Whoever we -The Penguins have a 15-16 all-time series record when trailing 1-0 in a put in net we feel pretty comfortable with, and we don’t make any best-of-seven series, including an 8-7 series record when starting at excuses of this guy is in so we won’t be as good.” home.

Penguins Injuries: Evgeni Malkin appears to be out. He skated solo for -The team is 5-0-1 this season following a loss of any kind at PPG Paints an hour, and PHN had exclusive video. Arena.

Casey DeSmith is officially out for Game 2 and remains day-to-day. Head -The Penguins are 18-9 all-time under head coach Mike Sullivan in the coach Mike Sullivan said Brian Dumoulin also skated Tuesday morning playoffs following a loss (7-1 in 2016; 7-2 in 2017; 3-2 in 2018; 0-3 in and is a game-time decision. 2019; 1- 1 in 2020).

Pittsburgh Penguins Lines & (Regular Season) Special Teams -Since Sidney Crosby entered the league in 2005-06, no team has more playoff wins than the Pittsburgh Penguins 98. The next closest team is LW C RW the Boston Bruins with 85 wins.

Jake Guentzel Sidney Crosby Bryan Rust -Frederick Gaudreau netted his first goal of the 2021 playoffs on Sunday Jared McCann Jeff Carter Kasperi Kapanen against the Islanders. Gaudreau has five goals in 103 regular-season games but four goals in nine career postseason games. Jason Zucker Frederick Gaudreau Evan Rodrigues .How to WATCH: Zach Aston-Reese Teddy Blueger Brandon Tanev TV: AT&T SportsNet, NBCSN; Radio: 105.9 The X LD RD Pittsburgh Hockey Now LOADED: 05.19.2021 Brian Dumoulin Kris Letang

Mike Matheson Cody Ceci

Marcus Pettersson John Marino

Expected Islanders Lines

Leo Komarov Mathew Barzal Jordan Eberle

Anthony Beauvillier Brock Nelson Josh Bailey

Kyle Palmieri J-G Pageau Oliver Wahlstrom 1188406 Pittsburgh Penguins

Malkin Appears OUT For Game 2 (Exclusive Video), Dumoulin GTD

By Dan Kingerski

Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin is unlikely to play in Game 2 against the New York Islanders, at least according to long-standing process and ritual.

Before the Penguins’ (optional) morning skate on Tuesday, Malkin took an extended on-ice workout with skills coach Ty Hennes and a practice goalie.

Evgeni Malkin was on the ice for the Penguins practice on Monday but participated little in the main practice. He neither participated in line rushes nor took his customary spot on the Penguins power play. Instead, Malkin floated around the ice-observing the practice and drills.

He did work on individual skills and shooting after practice, both with teammates and coaches. Head coach Mike Sullivan has termed Malkin a game-time decision, but skating solo for at least 45 minutes before the morning skate is a bad sign.

Malkin missed 23 games this season and returned for the final four games of the 2020-21 NHL season. However, later in the season finale against the Buffalo Sabres, Sullivan said Malkin tweaked his lower-body injury. Malkin was injured in mid-March against the Boston Bruins when heavy defenseman Jared Tinordi caught Malkin with a clean open-ice hit deep in the Boston zone. Malkin played another shift and on a power play but missed the next six weeks.

The Pittsburgh Penguins dropped Game One of their Round One series against New York, 4-3. Kyle Palmieri scored two goals, including the game-winner in overtime. According to NaturalStatTrick.com, the Penguins top line with Sidney Crosby had nearly as many scoring chances at every other line from both teams combined. The Crosby line had 17 scoring chances, all other lines for both teams combined for 20.

Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin was also absent from practice on Monday. The Penguins have lost 10 of their last 11 playoff games, including seven straight to teams coached by Barry Trotz, the New York bench boss.

Game 2 begins just after 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday at PPG Paints Arena.

UPDATE: Head coach Mike Sullivan said Brian Dumoulin skated on Tuesday morning. PHN was the first media outlet to arrive, nearly one hour before the skate but didn’t see Dumoulin skate. So, we cannot assess if it was a quick test, to the positive or negative to the apparent lower-body injury he may have suffered in Game 1.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188407 Pittsburgh Penguins Pittsburgh Hockey Now will have full coverage of the Pittsburgh Penguins morning skate on Tuesday. We’ll get an update on Brian Dumoulin and Evgeni Malkin then.

Dan’s Daily: Bruins Survive, Avs Brawl, Penguins Health Iffy Pittsburgh Hockey Now LOADED: 05.19.2021

By Dan Kingerski

These NHL playoffs are too good. If you’re not glued to the TV in each of these games, I can’t help. The Colorado Avalanche took Ryan O’Reilly’s bulletin board quotes to heart, and Colorado captain Gabe Landeskog pummeled Brayden Schenn, too. The Boston Bruins were inches from being down two games but survived in overtime, and the Pittsburgh Penguins injury woes may have taken another turn for the worse.

I suppose the NHL must keep the Wild Card playoff format. A situation can’t be unfair, even if it makes for much better playoff watching in Round One. And a situation like the 1987-88 Penguins would occur in which the Penguins missed the playoffs with 81 points (just seven shy of the Patrick Division lead), and the Hartford Whalers made the playoffs in the Adams Division with fewer points.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Speaking of the Penguins, Evgeni Malkin was essentially a spectator at practice, and Brian Dumoulin was absent. Head coach Mike Sullivan downplayed Dumoulin’s absence.

Some questions are best asked rhetorically. Barry Trotz teams have beaten the Penguins in seven straight postseason games. Is Trotz getting in the Pittsburgh Penguins head?

PHN+: Our “Off The Record” column continues to be a forerunner to breaking hockey news. There are serious conversations underway if the Buffalo Sabres put Jack Eichel on the NHL trade market and Patrick Roy is lurking.

NYI Hockey Now: Semyon Varlamov skated for an hour with the team extras on Monday. That probably means Ilya Sorokin gets another start, but Trotz isn’t saying.

The other half of the East Division playoffs are as heated as you’d expect. The Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders should hope the Washington Capitals, and Boston Bruins continue to go to overtime and pummel each other like this.

Boston Hockey Now: The Boston Bruins needed that big goal from a big player. Brad Marchand broke Bobby Orr’s team record for the fastest goal in a playoff OT, and the Bruins evened the series 1-1.

Our Boston boys are all over that series. Check out Boston Hockey Now to keep up to date on the other East Division series.

NHL & National Hockey Now:

Colorado: Fight! The Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 4-1. Gabriel Landeskog had a Gordie Howe hat trick, including this pummeling of Brayden Schenn for a dirty hit.

Florida: Sam Bennet was suspended for one game for his vicious boarding penalty on Tampa Bay Lightning forward Black Coleman. Bennett will serve the suspension Tuesday in Game 2.

NHL.com: Carey Price was pretty good in his AHL rehab assignment on Monday. Price is expected to play in Game 1 for the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.

Sportsnet: Carolina raced past Nashville for a Game 1 win, 5-2.

TSN: The Toronto Maple Leafs promoted Hayley Wickenheiser to Senior Director of Player Development. That’s kind of a big deal. They also named Danielle Goyette the Director of Player Development for both the Leafs and Marlies.

San Jose: The Sharks plucked Rudolfs Balcers off waivers from Ottawa in January. The RFA had a breakout year with 17 points in 41 games. Now contract negotiations have begun.

Philly: The Philadelphia Flyers had a rough go this season. COVID hit them before the outdoor game, and injuries didn’t help. Sean Couturier had a long, tough season, too. 1188408 San Jose Sharks U-18 Team) and Simon Edvinsson (Frolunda HC, SHL) all project to be drafted right around where the Sharks should be picking.

On the other hand, if they're looking for a forward, William Eklund Where Sharks' pick landed heading into NHL draft lottery (Djurgardens IF, SHL), Dylan Guenther (Edmonton Oil Kings, WHL), Mason McTavish (Olten, SL), Kent Johnson (Michigan), Fabian Lysell (Lulea HF, SHL) and Aatu Raty (Karpat, Liiga) all could pique San Jose's interest. BY BRIAN WITT Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 05.19.2021

The last time the Sharks missed out on the playoffs two years in a row, they ended up with the No. 2 overall pick in the ensuing draft, which they used to select none other than Patrick Marleau.

Safe to say, that pick worked out just fine for San Jose. Aside from everything Marleau has done throughout his legendary career, all you have to do is look at the Sharks' draft history over the two-plus decades since to see the long-term effects of that selection.

Over that span, the Sharks were tremendously consistent, failing to qualify for the playoffs just two times. Consequently, they rarely were picking in the top half of each entry draft. In fact, since Marleau, San Jose has selected in the top 10 of an entry draft just four times, and only twice within the top seven picks.

So, naturally, the Sharks are hoping their current two-year drought leads to a similar extended turnaround. And now that they know where their pick is slotted heading into the draft lottery, they can begin to develop an idea of which prospects will be available when it's their turn to pick.

Thanks to the Vancouver Canucks' 4-2 win to the Calgary Flames on Tuesday, the Sharks are slotted in seventh going into the NHL draft lottery. The Sharks and rival Los Angeles Kings finished the season with identical records, but since San Jose had fewer regulation and overtime wins than LA, the Kings are right behind the Sharks in eighth.

That means that the Sharks' pick ultimately will land in one of five spots in the first-round draft order: No. 1, No. 2, No. 7, No. 8 or No. 9 overall.

The Nos. 1 and 2 overall picks will be determined by a drawing of ping pong balls, with the best odds going to the worst team -- the Buffalo Sabres -- and then descending from there. Once the top two picks are determined, the remaining lottery teams will fill out picks No. 3 through No. 16 according to total points.

So, the Sharks' only chance to jump into the top two is if they win the draft lottery. Otherwise, they're likely to pick seventh overall, unless one or two teams below them in the order leapfrogs them in the lottery, which is how they could drop to eighth or ninth.

San Jose only has a 6.5 percent chance of landing the first overall pick, and a 6.8 percent chance of landing the second. There's a 44.4 percent chance the Sharks stay at seven, a 37.0 percent chance they drop to eight and a slim 5.3 percent chance they fall all the way to ninth.

Regardless, the Sharks will be in as good of a draft position as they've been in since 2015 and 2007, when they selected Timo Meier and Logan Couture, respectively, with the ninth overall pick. And it's extremely likely they'll be picking even earlier than that.

So, which prospects might the Sharks be targeting in the draft? It's tough to say without knowing their exact draft position, but we can get a general idea of who they're likely considering.

There's a lot that could change between now and July 22, but at this point, it would be a surprise if Michigan defenseman Owen Power fell outside the first two picks. He's generally regarded as the top defenseman available. Power would be a tremendous addition to the Sharks, but they'll likely have to jump up in the lottery to have a chance at him.

In terms of the top forward available, the consensus seems to be that it's Power's teammate at Michigan, Matthew Beniers. Yes, the Wolverines were stacked this past year, as their roster also included San Jose prospect Thomas Bordeleau. It seems highly unlikely that Beniers would drop to the seventh pick, so again, the Sharks likely would have to move up to get him.

Beyond Power and Beniers, there's a handful of other prospects who reside in the same tier.

If the Sharks are looking for a young defenseman, this is a great draft, as Brandt Clarke (HC Nove Zamsky, Slovakia), Luke Hughes (US National 1188409 San Jose Sharks San Jose Sharks 2019 fifth-round pick Timur Ibragimov made his AHL debut. Meanwhile, top prospects Ozzy Wiesblatt and Tristen Robins sat out with injuries.

Agent, on Pacific Division Playoffs: “Why are you basically playing for Wiesblatt’s status, according to a source, is day-to-day. Per SJHN’s free?” Barracuda correspondent Brian Truong, Robins missed the last eight games on the WHL season with a lower-body injury.

It was a quiet opening frame until Barracuda captain Jaycob Megna was By Sheng Peng felled by a Jan Jenik knee.

Jaycob Megna hurt after a knee-on-knee collision with Jan Jenik. #SJBarracuda pic.twitter.com/p0n5rBXKdr IRVINE, Calif. – Do the San Jose Barracuda want to make the playoffs? — Brian Truong (@_BrianTruong) May 18, 2021 That’s been the question since the AHL’s Pacific Division announced in late April that they’d be hosting a self-contained divisional playoff, the Luckily, Megna returned to start the second period. Scoring also started only AHL division to host a post-season tournament. The top-three teams in the middle frame, courtesy of Jenik. in the Pacific received an automatic playoff berth, while the No. 4 through 7 seeds – the Barracuda were fourth in the Pacific this year – are Cuda slow to clear, leave Jan Jeník open to score the first goal of the participating in a play-in tournament at FivePoint Arena in Irvine to game.#SJBarracuda pic.twitter.com/ZzK4YgwR5J determine which squad joins the top-three in the playoffs. — Brian Truong (@_BrianTruong) May 18, 2021 And even though the San Jose Sharks’ AHL affiliate edged the Tucson Eight minutes later, however, Evan Weinger responded with the Roadrunners 2-1 this afternoon to advance to the play-in tournament final equalizer. tomorrow, it’s still a fair question to ask: Do they want to be here? Do any of the teams – San Jose, Tucson, Ontario, or Colorado – really want to Evan Weinger scores off his skate from 's shot. Also be here? assisted by Brandon Coe.#SJBarracuda pic.twitter.com/r03a5txFYy

Professional Hockey Players’ Association executive director Larry — Brian Truong (@_BrianTruong) May 18, 2021 Landon said unequivocally in late April: “I am disappointed in the AHL Pacific Division’s decision, as it disregards the wishes of the vast majority Notably, Weinger wore an “A” today, along with Jake Middleton. Weinger of the players within the Pacific Division.” also wore a letter in the last two games of the regular season. That’s a real achievement for the 24-year-old winger, who’s signed not with the A statement from PHPA Executive Director, Larry Landon, in response to San Jose Sharks, but with the Barracuda. the AHL's announcement of Pacific Division games scheduled beyond May 16th, the final day of the Regular Season “He’s a guy who can not only beat you with his feet, now he’s starting to pic.twitter.com/GzZXkgdCti get some finish,” Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer said of Weinger. “He’s well-liked by his teammates, he leads by example, he’s a perfect — PHPA (@thephpa) April 29, 2021 guy to wear a letter.”

Player agent Allan Walsh backed Landon’s statement up, tweeting, “AHL Meanwhile, Josef Kořenář, coming off a month-long stint with the San players surveyed in the Pacific Division voted 133-8 against playing in Jose Sharks, kept the Roadrunners at bay. this ridiculous farce of a ‘playoff tournament.’” Quite a few close calls but Josef Kořenář keeps the game tied. Landon confirmed that 133-8 landslide figure in an interview with San #SJBarracuda pic.twitter.com/jxrYoFgZKw Jose Hockey Now today. — Brian Truong (@_BrianTruong) May 18, 2021 “None of the guys are excited to be playing,” another player agent told SJHN, “but they will do their best.” Kořenář made just 19 saves, but a number of the high-danger variety.

So has anything changed since Landon’s original statement on Apr. 29 Then, midway through the third period, Orange County native and and Walsh’s tweet? Apparently not, which we’ll get to at the bottom. But resident Jake McGrew potted the game-winner, off a picture-perfect first, to the game itself. Jayden Halbgewachs thread.

BARRACUDA ADVANCE Rookie Jake McGrew scores for the lead off a feed from Jayden Halbgewachs and Scott Reedy.#SJBarracuda At least it didn’t go into overtime. pic.twitter.com/EpkMgS1VIn

Kevin Lacy of Teal Town USA asked me what the OT format would be for — Brian Truong (@_BrianTruong) May 18, 2021 these pseudo-playoff games. According to a group of AHL off-ice officials that I checked in with, it would be regular playoff overtime – meaning in a Scott Reedy was also credited with an assist on the GWG. tournament that the players didn’t want to play in to begin with, they For what it’s worth – and it’s hard to evaluate a game where you’re not could be forced to play one, two, three, four, five OTs to decide the sure how much the players actually want to be here – Halbgewachs and “winner.” Reedy stood out to this reporter. Reedy, in particular, caught the eye of a Here’s how San Jose lined up this afternoon: couple scouts that I talked to.

Barracuda lines this afternoon, Ibragimov makes his AHL debut, Korenar Yay? Barracuda advance to play-in tournament final tomorrow starts: pic.twitter.com/x5dlvUnV6C

Halbgewachs-Reedy-McGrew — Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) May 18, 2021

Chekhovich-Topping-Kotkov The Barracuda play the Eagles tomorrow at 7:00 PM at FivePoint Arena to determine who joins Henderson, San Diego, and Bakersfield in the Weinger-Letunov-Coe Pacific Division playoffs.

Ibragimov-Gallant-S. Pasichnuk FOLLOW THE MONEY – OR THE LACK THEREOF

Megna-Merkley San Jose Hockey Now will have a lot more from PHPA executive director Larry Landon tomorrow. B. Pasichnuk-Meloche I also talked to a player agent today, who spoke more on the players’ Middleton-Russo perspective about this tournament. Korenar Agent, on why the players don’t want to play: — Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) May 18, 2021 The biggest thing is the compensation. In hockey, whether it’s the minor league or the NHL, player salaries are based on the regular season. Playoffs are based on a bonus structure, based on how far you go. So the fact that they’re not doing the bonus structure in the AHL, on top of the fact that the salaries were cut so much — understandably so, to some degree, because of the pandemic and no fans in the stands — but the fact that the players had to take so much of that responsibility on themselves and then be asked to play playoffs without a bonus structure really is unfair.

Players I have talked to say, Why are you basically playing for free? Why are we having the playoffs if you’re not putting people in the stands?

The understanding for this year in the minors — and again, I think all the players understand there’s a lot of difficulties even having a season — but it was more so for a development season than wins and losses and let’s play for a championship. The way it comes to the players is that the teams are now forcing them him to play basically seven more developmental games, up to seven more developmental games without a financial reward.

Agent, on what NHL teams realistically could have done to entice players to want to participate in this playoff format:

I think there could have been, whether you’re extending their regular salary or at least some type of bonus, on a per day or per week basis, just to compensate them for the added time and the added risk and the added effort.

Agent, on if individual teams could reward their players “under the table”:

Technically, under the CBA and the AHL agreement, and for tax purposes, you’d probably have to have something across the board for compensation. I’m not gonna say I’ve never heard of an NHL team or a minor league team, putting $1,000 on the board saying, Hey, you win this game tonight, you get this.

But at this point, I’m not aware of that. The league probably wouldn’t want to know about it.

San Jose Hockey NowLOADED: 05.19.2021 1188410 St Louis Blues Every Blues prospect in the international leagues, American Hockey League, Western Hockey League and colleges has finished his season. That leaves only goalie Colten Ellis and forward Jeremy Michel still playing, in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoff semifinals. Blues notebook: Dunn skating, but still not playing Ellis, who’s had a banner season for the Islanders, remained unbeaten in the playoffs (4-0) with 27 saves in a 5-4 overtime victory Tuesday over the in Game 1 of their best-of- Jim Thomas five series.

Counting regular-season games, Ellis is 27-1-0 this season. Ellis, 20, DENVER — For someone who hasn’t played since April 24, Vince Dunn was a third-round pick in the 2019 draft (No. 93 overall). is sure spending a lot of time on the ice. In the other QMJHL semifinal, Michel has two goals and four assists and The Blues defenseman missed the team’s last 11 games of the regular is plus-6 in seven games for the Val-d’Or Foreurs in the postseason. Val- season after getting slammed in the face and knocked backward to the d’Or is up 1-0 in its best-of-five series against the Chicoutimi ice following a faceoff in a game April 24 against the Colorado Sagueneens. Avalanche. Michel, 20, was a seventh-round pick (No. 217 overall) in the 2019 draft. On Monday, he missed the Blues’ playoff opener, against the Avalanche During the regular season, he had nine goals and 16 assists in 36 games at Ball Arena, a 4-1 Blues loss. But he has practiced a lot lately. In fact, and was plus-17. he was on the ice forever Tuesday — one of the last Blues on it during Barile an injury scratch an optional skate. Not even the Blues’ veteran head athletic trainer, Ray Barile, could Asked about Dunn’s status, coach Craig Berube said: “He’s feeling OK. escape the team’s injury bug this season. He’ll skate today and we’ll get a better view of him after practice to see if he’s available.” Barile, who worked his 2,000th NHL game in March, did not work Monday’s playoff game after suffering a back injury Saturday. Berube’s Zoom call took place before the optional practice. The assistant coaches run the optional practices; Berube’s never on the ice for them. St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 05.19.2021 By normal standards, it was a lightly attended workout, with about 10 players.

Among them, Robert Thomas, Ivan Barbashev and Kyle Clifford were the only players skating who played Monday. Among the “extras” on the ice were Klim Kostin, Mackenzie MacEachern, Dakota Joshua, Steven Santini and Ville Husso. And Dunn.

With just a handful of players left on the ice, Berube came out post- Zoom, sat on the visitors’ bench and spoke with Dunn, who leaned over the sideboards from the ice.

Meanwhile, David Perron, Jake Walman and Nathan Walker remained on NHL’s COVID list Tuesday; they are the only players on the list among the 18 NHL teams still playing.

More skating, please

If you were impressed by Vladimir Tarasenko in the early going Monday and then didn’t notice him much the rest of the way, you’re not alone. Berube saw the same thing.

“Early on he was good, he was skating and attacking,” Berube said. “He didn’t do it for 60 minutes. He’s gotta skate. It’s all skating for him and getting involved and getting in there and being aggressive . . . getting inside the dots and getting around the net.

“I thought early on in the game, he was good, he had a couple real good looks. He had a partial breakaway, hit the post.”

Playoff tickets

A limited number of tickets for Blues home games in Rounds 1 and 2 of the playoffs will be made available to the general public at 2 p.m. Wednesday. Attendance at Enterprise Center has been boosted to 9,000, or basically 50% of capacity, starting with first-round games against the Colorado Avalanche on Friday and Sunday.

Friday’s game starts at 8:30 p.m.; Sunday’s contest starts at 4 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased at ticketmaster.com.

Clancy nominee

Captain Ryan O’Reilly is the Blues’ nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy. The annual NHL award recognizes leadership qualities on and off the ice, as well as humanitarian contributions in the community.

All 31 teams selected a nominee, with three finalists named later. The winner will be announced during the Stanley Cup semifinals, as selected by a group of NHL senior executives.

The only Blues winner of the award was Kelly Chase, in 1998.

In the “Q” 1188411 St Louis Blues Game 1 did have some fireworks. After Brayden Schenn made a dangerous hit on Avalanche star Mikko Rantanen, Colorado captain Gabe Landeskog fought Schenn. And near the end of the game, Colorado’s Patrik Nemeth viciously hit Blues captain Ryan O’Reilly — Hochman: Physical education — the Blues learned lessons about could be some retaliation Wednesday night. And then, of course, when aggressiveness in the Game 1 loss the game ended, there was much shoving and shouting.

But the veteran defenseman Faulk felt this playoff game wasn’t like the other playoffs games (and he wasn’t referring to the lopsided shot totals). Benjamin Hochman “For Game 1 and Period 1 for Round 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs, I

don’t really think it was all that physical, especially if you watch the DENVER — Game 1 was classified as a playoff game, but it wasn’t games that happened previously (this week), throughout the league,” classically a playoff game. Faulk said. “So if anything, it was probably a little bit different than what we thought. And who knows if it’s going to become more physical or kind “I don’t know if it was all that physical, to be honest with you,” the Blues’ of stay the way it was. But I think as a group, we’re ready for either side Justin Faulk said. of that.

To win Game 2, the Blues need to establish the environment of a playoff “I think everyone expects it to be physical in the playoffs, especially early game. To win Game 2, shoot, the Blues need to do a lot of things. But in the series. It usually starts physical and then dies down as it goes, one thing they can improve is playing opportunistically physical. To put because it gets pretty tough to play that way for seven games and up a fight in this series, the Blues don’t need to fight, but they need to whatnot. But at the same time, the way they play, they play fast, they tactically check and strategically forecheck. generate stuff off the rush and take advantage of opportunities and turnovers. So it’s not necessarily their game, and hasn’t been the whole “Maybe we have to get in there and be a little bit more physical so we year, to kind of run us through the boards.” can get on our forecheck and get to our game a little bit more … ” Faulk said Tuesday from Ball Arena, as the Blues, trailing 1-0 in the series, St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 05.19.2021 prepared for Wednesday’s Game 2 at Colorado. “If we execute with the puck, especially coming out of our own end and through the neutral zone, that sets up our forecheck. When you get that going, it allows us to play offense. And then, even if your forecheck is going the right way and (the Avs) break the puck out, (our defenseman) are generally up tight or have better gaps. It allows us to shut them down and create turnovers on our end, and then kind of starts that cycle all over again.”

Sounded doable on Tuesday; we’ll see if it happens on Wednesday. The Avalanche are wildly talented. The Blues know that — they’ve seen these guys nine times. Nine times. And in those nine games against Colorado, St. Louis has won just three. The Blues know this isn’t going to be one of those bruising series we saw during the 2019 run to the Stanley Cup. They’re well aware that the Avalanche play a speed game, a transition game with a don’t-blink style — for both the opposition and the fans. And the Blues know that the Avs finished last in the National Hockey League in hits.

But the Blues, 16th in hits, could shake things up by shaking things up. The fourth line wasn’t amazing on Monday — why not put in the Russian wrecking ball Klim Kostin for Game 2?

In today’s 10 a.m. video from Colorado, columnist Ben Hochman praises the Game 1 play of Jordan Binnington, who, as Ryan O’Reilly said, kept things from getting “messy.” Also, happy birthday shoutouts to two Cooperstown legends and, as always, Hochman chooses a random St. Louis Cards card from the hat. Ten Hochman is presented Monday- Friday by The Milliken Hand Rehabilitation Center.

“I think, especially against these guys, we definitely need to be ultra- aggressive,” said Jordan Kyrou, who scored the Blues’ lone goal in Game 1. “You can’t really play back and play slow because they play with a lot of speed. So I think we kind of need to counter that and we can’t be slow — we’ve just got to play hard and play aggressive.”

Again, that doesn’t mean just hit to hit. Sure, we remember the Sharks series in 2019 — the Blues bruised the opponents early and often. And by the end of the series, the Sharks were beleaguered and besieged by the bulldozers in blue. But against Colorado, it’s too tricky to have that mindset. The Blues must hit to get the puck — or to keep the puck loose in the offensive zone.

That was one of the problems in Game 1. How many times do you recall two Blues players hitting the same Colorado player? A few times, right? And while maybe, if anything, it looked cool — crunched from both sides, awesome! — it didn’t strategically work out for the visitors.

As coach Craig Berube explained Tuesday, “We were physical, but probably over-physical at times. A lot of times on the forecheck we had two guys going to one guy and finishing checks, and that’s what I’m talking about when you lose numbers. So we’ve got to be better, we got to let that (first forward in the offensive zone) do his job, and then the (trailing forward) read and get in there and jump on a loose puck. But we can’t have two guys going on one, and losing numbers all the time. And that’s what kind of evaporated over time in the game.” 1188412 St Louis Blues Granted, eighth is still pretty good. But the rest of the West Division didn’t struggle as much against the Colorado power play as the Blues.

Colorado clicked at a 34.2 percent rate against the Blues (13 for 38); but Blues must find answer for Avs' speed and special teams only 20.1 percent against the rest of its schedule. So the Avs can be at least contained.

Nonetheless, in the very first Colorado power play in a scoreless game Jim Thomas Monday, Cale Makar scored from the blueline with 4:45 to go in the opening period.

“We can’t let Makar beat a guy 1-on-1 on the PK like that and score that DENVER — Short of installing speed bumps on the ice surface at Ball goal,” Berube said. “That’s a mistake.” Arena, the challenge remains daunting for the Blues in Game 2 of their opening-round playoff series. Makar beat one of the Blues’ best penalty killers on the play, Tyler Bozak, and Bozak owned up to it after the game. How to slow the speedy Colorado Avalanche, particularly the Nathan MacKinnon line. “(Makar’s) very shifty on the blue line,” Bozak said. “He makes really smart plays. I was trying to just get him to keep it to one side off the To even the series at one game apiece in Wednesday’s 9:30 p.m. draw. (Central) battle, the Blues will have to figure out a way to better deal with Colorado’s speed and rush game. Doing better on special teams is a “Obviously if you win the draw you don’t have to deal with that, so gotta good idea, too. bear down there. But yeah, he made a really nice move and got me on that one. He did it a few times throughout the night, so we gotta be aware But first the speed element. Playoff hockey is about imposing your will on of that. And a really good shot, too.” the other team. Dictating the pace and style of play. On the other side of special teams, a key juncture in the game came with With that in mind, the Blues let the Avalanche get to their game far too Colorado up 2-1 and Ryan Graves sent to the box for tripping the Blues’ often and far too easily after about 5-10 minutes of play in Monday’s Sammy Blais 5½ minutes into the third period. This was an opportunity to series opener. There are several layers to preventing this from tie the game, but the Blues had two shots from distance that were happening, and it starts not when the Avalanche have the puck but when stopped by Avs goalie Philipp Grubauer and two other attempts blocked. the Blues do. And that was it. “That’s where it starts, coming out of our own end with the puck,” coach Fifty-eight seconds after killing that Blues penalty, Colorado took a 3-1 Craig Berube said. “We didn’t make plays. We just gave it back. We lead on Gabriel Landeskog’s redirection, and that was pretty much the punted pucks out of our zone.” game. And too much punting isn’t a good thing — in football or hockey. “Special teams this time of the year are big, and we won the special Beyond that, once the puck was in the St. Louis zone, the Blues didn’t do teams battle last night,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said Tuesday. enough to keep it there, or hem in the Avalanche. “And I guess that was probably the difference in the hockey game.”

“Our forecheck wasn’t tight enough,” Berube said. “We allowed numbers It certainly wasn’t the “punting” game. up the ice. Odd-man rushes against us. We didn’t do a good enough job St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 05.19.2021 on their D, making ‘em stop, controlling the puck in the offensive zone. So our forecheck’s gotta be better.”

The forecheck has been a hallmark of recent Blues teams. If it’s not there, or not there consistently enough, the Blues have a tough time winning hockey games. With a skilled, skating team like the Avalanche, the longer it takes the likes of MacKinnon & Co. to get out of their own zone, the less time they have to cause trouble on offense before their shift’s over.

Simple as that.

In the days leading up to Monday’s 4-1 loss, Berube talked about the need to be aggressive against the Avalanche. Don’t sit back and play it safe all the time. Don’t give Colorado too much respect.

But on several occasions Monday, the Blues had a chance to maintain possession by jumping on a free puck and maintain possession in the offensive zone, only to have their defensemen already backing out and on the other side of the blue line — guarding against the Avalanche speed in an effort to avoid odd-man rushes the other way.

“We want them to be up and be tight,” Berube said, of the Blues’ defensemen. “(But) when you’re losing so many numbers that quickly on certain plays, it’s natural for the D to back out because they don’t want to get beat up the ice, and I don’t blame ‘em.

“It’s a little of both but we’re gonna be better tomorrow.”

The Blues will have to be better on special teams as well if they want to avoid being down two games to none in the best-of-seven series heading back to St. Louis. Speed and special teams were the Blues’ demise in Game 1, and that must change to escape Ball Arena with a victory Wednesday.

For all the talk about the vaunted Colorado power play, and the Blues’ struggles there for much of the season, it was the Blues who had the better unit over the course of the regular season. Surprising, isn’t it?

The Blues finished sixth in the NHL in power play efficiency at 23.2 percent; Colorado was eighth at 22.7 percent. 1188413 St Louis Blues

Colorado takes on St. Louis, seeks 10th straight home win

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MAY 19, 2021 02:03 AM

St. Louis Blues (27-20-9, fourth in the West Division) vs. Colorado Avalanche (39-13-4, first in the West Division)

Denver; Wednesday, 10:30 p.m. EDT

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Avalanche -322, Blues +253

BOTTOM LINE: Colorado hosts St. Louis aiming to extend its nine-game home winning streak.

The Avalanche are 39-13-4 against division opponents. Colorado leads the league averaging 3.5 goals per game, led by Mikko Rantanen with 30.

The Blues are 27-20-9 against West Division teams. St. Louis has given up 38 power-play goals, killing 77.8% of opponent opportunities.

St. Louis defeated Colorado 4-1 in the last meeting between these teams on April 26.

TOP PERFORMERS: Rantanen leads the Avalanche with 30 goals and has 66 points. Andre Burakovsky has five goals and seven assists over the last 10 games for Colorado.

Ryan O'Reilly leads the Blues with 24 goals and has 54 points. David Perron has five goals and eight assists over the last 10 games for St. Louis.

LAST 10 GAMES: Avalanche: 8-2-0, averaging 3.5 goals, 6.3 assists, 3.1 penalties and 7.6 penalty minutes while giving up two goals per game with a .918 save percentage.

Blues: 6-1-3, averaging 3.4 goals, 5.8 assists, 2.9 penalties and 7.5 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game with a .915 save percentage.

INJURIES: Avalanche: Jacob MacDonald: out (lower body), Bowen Byram: out (upper body), Matt Calvert: out (undisclosed), Dennis Gilbert: out (face).

Blues: Mackenzie MacEachern: out (upper body), Vince Dunn: day to day (upper body), Carl Gunnarsson: out for season (lower body), David Perron: day to day (covid-19), Oskar Sundqvist: out for season (knee).

Belleville News-Democrat LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188414 St Louis Blues “I don’t think it was a dirty play,” Landeskog said. “Just have to stand up for my teammates.”

There was a another skirmish after the final horn. MacKinnon, Grubauer lift Avs to 4-1 win over Blues in Game 1 “I didn’t like that shot on O’Reilly at the end of the game from behind,” Blues coach Craig Berube explained. “That should be looked at. That’s a cheap shot in my opinion and a dirty play.” BY PAT GRAHAM AP SPORTS WRITER Before leaving the ice, Binnington skated into the Avalanche zone. He was stopped by an official.

DENVER-Gabriel Landeskog found an early way to calm down the “He can do whatever he wants,” Landeskog said. “He’s not going to get Colorado Avalanche — he dropped the gloves and brawled. to us. He’s not going to get to Grubi.”

That fighting spirit energized a roaring crowd — biggest of the season — The tension could be high all series after the Blues and Avalanche faced and certainly rubbed off on the team. each other eight times in the regular season. Colorado won the season series 5-3. Nathan MacKinnon scored the tiebreaking goal 30 seconds into the third period and wrapped it up with an empty-netter, Philipp Grubauer stopped VLAD'S RETURN 22 shots and the Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 4-1 on Monday night in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series. Vladimir Tarasenko returned from a lower-body injury that sidelined him for six games and nearly made an immediate impact. His snap shot early “We’re skilled and fast, but I also think we’re a tough team,” Landeskog in the game clanged off the right post. said. "I thought we showed that tonight.” LONG SHOTS Landeskog recorded a “Gordie Howe hat trick” with a goal, assist and a fighting major, which he earned in the first period by sticking up for a The odds of the Blues capturing the Stanley Cup are +4100, according to teammate following a big hit. FanDuel Sportsbook. The Avalanche check in as a +450 favorite.

It breathed some energy into the Avalanche. THE NOISE

“We were kind of tiptoeing our way into it a little bit,” Landeskog said. “I It felt and sounded like a full house inside Ball Arena, with the facility thought that was going to calm us down a little bit and get the crowd into recently being approved to increase capacity to 42.3%. The attendance it.” was listed at 7,741.

Landeskog added a third-period goal by tipping in a blue-line blast from THIS & THAT MacKinnon and assists on both of MacKinnon’s goals. Cale Makar got Avs F Alex Newhook made his NHL playoff debut. ... Rantanen had two things started for the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Avalanche with a assists. power-play goal in the first period. Belleville News-Democrat LOADED: 05.19.2021 Game 2 is Wednesday.

Jordan Kyrou scored his first postseason goal for a Blues team missing leading scorer David Perron, who’s out due to the NHL’s virus protocols.

Colorado kept Jordan Binnington busy through the first two periods, outshooting the Blues by a 32-16 margin. They finally were able to solve him in the third with MacKinnon leading the way.

Binnington finished with 46 saves.

“If it wasn’t for Binner it could have been messy early,” said Blues captain Ryan O'Reilly, who once played for Colorado. “They were, by far, the better team tonight."

MacKinnon showed no signs of rust after missing four of the last five games with a lower-body injury. His three-point night gives the speedy forward 22 goals and 35 assists in 41 career playoff games.

His 1.39 points-per-game average is the fourth-highest in Stanley Cup playoff history (minimum 25 games). He trails only Wayne Gretzky (1.84), Mario Lemieux (1.61) and Barry Pederson (1.53).

Grubauer was sensational all game. He's coming off a regular season in which he won a career-best 30 games.

Kyrou tied the game at 1-all with 3:29 remaining in the second period.

Binnington made an astonishing stop in the second while down on the ice and with the puck on the stick of Mikko Rantanen down low. Rantanen tried to lift it over Binnington, who raised his left pad just in time to deflect Rantanen's shot.

Moments later at the other end, Mike Hoffman had an open net on a wrap-around, only to have defenseman Ryan Graves slide over and poke the puck away with his stick.

Makar scored a power-play goal late in the first period as the young defenseman picked up where he left off last postseason. In 2020, Makar had 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) over 15 playoff games.

Midway through the first, there was the all-out brawl between Blues forward Brayden Schenn and Landeskog. The catalyst was an open-ice collision by Schenn on Rantanen that drew the wrath of Landeskog. 1188415 Tampa Bay Lightning “I think both teams were a little more disciplined tonight,” Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh said.

“Both teams are trying to set the tone here in the first game and now you Intensity high, Lightning penalties low this time out vs. Panthers realize that you have to go out and play high-percentage and be disciplined. Both teams were a little smarter in that aspect, and it’s Florida mostly picks on Mikhail Sergachev in Game 2, but cooler heads probably going to have to continue. We have to stay out of the box.” prevail for Tampa Bay. Loose pucks

• The first period was penalty-free, compared to eight in the opening By Mari Faiello period on Sunday.

• Lightning forward Alex Killorn was named the team’s King Clancy Memorial Trophy nominee for the second straight season. The award SUNRISE — After two first-round playoff games, one thing remains honors the player who “best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off certain: this Panthers-Lightning matchup likely will stay physical to the the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his bitter end. community.” A soldout crowd of 9,646 certainly seemed to help fuel the feud between • Lightning defenseman David Savard notched his first point since being the in-state rivals as the Lightning took a two-game series lead after traded to Tampa Bay. He received an assist on Steven Stamkos’ goal in Tuesday night’s 3-1 win. the first period. #FlaPanthers crowd going strong ahead of a face-off on the power-play GOAL: #GoBolts captain lands his first goal of the postseason against pic.twitter.com/QYCVA2njFg #FlaPanthers. Killorn finds Stamkos for the shot. #TBLightning leads with — ���� ������� (@faiello_mari) May 19, 2021 15:08 remaining. pic.twitter.com/bMWzYj3by6

Lightning forward Blake Coleman took many of the pushes and shoves in — ���� ������� (@faiello_mari) May 19, 2021 Sunday’s opener, but it wasn’t something he took personally. • Coach Jon Cooper’s lineup shifted from a traditional 12 forwards and “I guess it’s just the way I play the game,” Coleman said before six defensemen to 11-7. Forward Mathieu Joseph sat out as a healthy Tuesday’s game. scratch while defenseman Luke Schenn found his way onto the ice for the first time this postseason. “I just try to play hard, play honest. If guys want to take liberties, then fine. I’m more than happy to help our team get on the power play and Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 05.19.2021 create some chances. It’s playoff hockey. It’s going to be intense and there’ll be a lot of battles all over the ice, not just with me but with the entire team.”

It wasn’t just Coleman the Panthers kept their eyes on during Game 2. The team added Mikhail Sergachev to its list of players to pester.

Portrait of a Maker: Loria Stern

SPONSORED CONTENT

Portrait of a Maker: Loria Stern

By KitchenAid

The Lightning defenseman found himself in multiple tussles early on with Florida’s Ryan Lomberg and Mason Marchment.

More than halfway through the first period, Lomberg landed a late hit on Sergachev against the boards. Sergachev turned to an on-ice official, but no call was made. At the end of the period, Sergachev barely maneuvered out of the way from another late check, this time from Marchment.

#GoBolts' Sergachev and #FlaPanthers' Marchment exchange words after Marchment tried to check Sergachev at the end of the first period. Seems like he's the player of choice tonight instead of #TBLightning's Coleman. pic.twitter.com/IFLRe85DWN

— ���� ������� (@faiello_mari) May 19, 2021

The antics only amped up from there.

At the end of the second period, Lightning forward Pat Maroon flapped his arms in a chicken dance motion at the Panthers bench.

We love hockey, am I right? https://t.co/Av8H8rUKx5

— ���� ������� (@faiello_mari) May 19, 2021

And toward the end of the game, Coleman waved goodbye to Lomberg as Lomberg left the ice after receiving a misconduct penalty following a after a post-whistle scrum at the net.

#GoBolts Coleman to #FlaPanthers: Bye-bye pic.twitter.com/mZMKXPEUau

— ���� ������� (@faiello_mari) May 19, 2021

Even though it appeared like another emotional outing, the Lightning believed they kept things in check better in Game 2. Tampa Bay had just eight penalty minutes, half of the time it sat out on Sunday. 1188416 Tampa Bay Lightning Mason Marchment scored with 5:39 left in the second period to cut the lead to 2-1.

Yanni Gourde’s empty-net goal with 1:25 remaining sent most of the Lightning in command after another road victory limited capacity crowd of 9,646 to the exits as plastic rats, usually saved for to celebrate Panthers home wins, were heaved onto the ice Tampa Bay shut the Panthers down in the third period, killing two power prematurely in frustration. plays in the final period. Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 05.19.2021

By Eduardo A. Encina

SUNRISE — In the waning moments of the Lightning’s 3-1 Game 2 win, forward Blake Coleman — who has quickly become Public Enemy No. 1 to the Panthers — was pulled away from Florida forward Ryan Lomberg following a scrum that led both players into the Lightning goal.

Coleman dropped his gloves as Lomberg was escorted away to serve a misconduct penalty that ended his night. Coleman followed a few strides behind, smiling big and pointing up at the BB&T Center scoreboard. Then he threw two fingers into the air and made a fist — a reference to Tampa Bay’s two-games-to-none lead in the first-round playoff series that was about to become official — and waved goodbye to his aggressor.

The Lightning flexed their muscles in the series’ first two games in Sunrise, scoffing at the notion that home ice matters in the playoffs. The first-round playoff series heads to for Games 3 and 4 on Thursday and Saturday.

SCRUM: #GoBolts' Cernak is ready to go with #FlaPanthers' Marchment. Coleman gets tangled up with Lomberg. pic.twitter.com/c2JKldw8Wk

— ���� ������� (@faiello_mari) May 19, 2021

“We talked about the last game,” Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said. “Anytime you start on the road, the goal is to at least get one win. And if you get the first one, you want to get greedy and take the second. I thought tonight was an outstanding effort.”

Games like the Lightning’s 5-4 opening victory are rare in the postseason. Wins like Tuesday’s — when the Lightning took an early lead and preserved it with a third period of stellar defense and remarkable goaltending by Andrei Vasilevskiy — are more within the recipe for winning Stanley Cups.

“We talked about, probably you don’t want to play too many 5-4 games in the playoffs,” Stamkos said. “This was more indicative of the playoff style and you’ve got to defend hard. And it’s not easy but we stuck together tonight. Vasy was huge and then the penalty kill was huge. We shut it down in the third period like really good teams do when you have the lead. it was a great game all around.”

And there’s no team that can close out games like the Lightning, who have been unbeatable this season when carrying a lead into the final period.

Vasilevskiy made 13 of his 32 saves in the third period Tuesday, and the Lightning killed off two Panthers power plays in the final frame period while clinging to a one-goal lead.

Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov bales for the puck against Panthers defenseman Markus Nutivaara during the first period.

“It always seems to work that way, that you have the lead and something gets called on you and you have to kill it off like that,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “I thought it was a huge part of the game. We killed it off. Guys were laying out blocking shots, getting clears. You need to do that to win hockey games this time of year and guys pulled through.”

The Lightning were 26-0-0 in the regular season when leading after two periods. The last two teams to go undefeated in those situations won the Stanley Cup.

Stamkos scored the first goal 4:52 into the first period, flicking a puck across the crease intended for Alex Killorn, but it hit off Anton Stralman and into the net.

The Lightning took a two-goal lead with 5:03 left in the first when Brayden Point raced down the ice and unloaded a shot that hit the far post, but Ondrej Palat was perfectly positioned for a backdoor putback. 1188417 Tampa Bay Lightning — ���� ������� (@faiello_mari) May 19, 2021 Lightning kill the penalty

Mikhail Sergachev hits the post with a shot First round: Lightning-Panthers Game 2 live updates Vasilevskiy goes post to post to stop a backdoor attempt from Carter Steven Stamkos, Ondrej Palat and Yanni Gourde score as Tampa Bay Verhaeghe wins, 3-1. Vasilevskiy smothers quick shot from Brandon Montour

Victor Hedman snap shot goes high off Driedger By Frank Pastor Panthers pull Driedger

Vasilevskiy stops Weegar attempt Steven Stamkos, Ondrej Palat and Yanni Gourde scored as the Lightning beat the Florida Panthers 2-1 in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series Ondrej Palat and Ryan McDonagh break up a pass for Barkov Tuesday at BB&T Center in Sunrise. LIGHTNING GOAL! Yanni Gourde scores into an empty net. Lightning 3, The Lightning lead the best-of-seven series 2-0. Panthers 1.

A Stamkos pass that deflected off former Tampa Bay defenseman Anton GOAL: #GoBolts' Gourde gets the empty-net goal for the 3-1 lead over Stralman and into the net opened the scoring. Palat scored the second #FlaPanthers pic.twitter.com/HP7BrRsNH5 goal on a rebound of a Brayden Point shot that went off the post. Gourde added an empty-net goal in the closing minutes. — ���� ������� (@faiello_mari) May 19, 2021

Former Lightning forward Carter Verhaeghe set up Mason Marchment Skirmish in front of Lightning net results in penalties to Erik Cernak and with a pass from just above the goal line, as the Panthers trimmed Ryan Lomberg. Tampa Bay winds up with a power play Tampa Bay’s lead to 2-1 in the second period. Driedger gloves a high shot from Kucherov Florida made a change in net, with Chris Driedger replacing Game 1 Second period starter Sergei Bobrovsky. With Stralman in the lineup as the seventh defenseman, the Panthers played with one fewer forward. Lightning center Brayden Point (21) takes a shot that hits the post before Ondrej Palat puts the rebound into the net. The Lightning did the same, inserting defenseman Luke Schenn into the lineup in place of forward Mathieu Joseph. Lightning center Brayden Point (21) takes a shot that hits the post before Ondrej Palat puts the rebound into the net. [ DIRK SHADD | Times ] Florida was without center Sam Bennett, who was suspended one game for charging Blake Coleman in the third period of Game 1. MacKenzie Weegar penalized for delay of game after shooting the puck over the glass Follow our live updates throughout the game: Steven Stamkos one-timer goes high over Driedger’s shoulder Third period Victor Hedman misses on a great one-time chance from the point Lightning left wing Ondrej Palat (18) goes airborne as he gets checked by Florida Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour (62) during the first Nikita Kucherov shot blocked period. Panthers kill the penalty Lightning left wing Ondrej Palat (18) goes airborne as he gets checked by Florida Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour (62) during the first Vasilevskiy with a kick save on a shot by Owen Tippett period. [ DIRK SHADD | Times ] Another Vasilevskiy kick save

Lightning open the period on the power play after the roughing penalty to Anton Stralman reaches in with his stick to deflect a Stamkos shot from MacKenzie Weegar to end the second in front up over the net

Steven Stamkos just misses from the left circle after a tape-to-tape pass Patric Hornqvist shot steered wide by Vasilevskiy from Nikita Kucherov Active shift for Pat Maroon, who puts big hits on Patric Hornqvist and The Lightning power play ends as Kucherov is penalized for tripping on Radko Gudas the backcheck. We’ll have 4-on-4 for 52 seconds before the Panthers go on the power play Brayden Point penalized for holding, and the Panthers get their first power play Anthony Cirelli shoots wide from the high slot Alexsander Barkov shot blocked by Ryan McDonagh Ryan McDonagh breaks up a pass and clears the zone Yanni Goudre wins a faceoff and the Lightning clear the zone Yanni Gourde kills a bit more time with a steal and scoring chance in the Panthers zone Barkov shot goes wide and the puck caroms to the other end of the ice

Anthony Duclair misses on a backdoor opportunity Lightning kill the penalty

Lightning kill the penalty PANTHERS SCORE: Mason Marchment scores top shelf after a feed from Carter Verhaeghe. Lightning 2, Panthers 1. Andrei Vasilevskiy stops Carter Verhaeghe backhand chance and keeps the puck away from Aleksander Barkov GOAL: #FlaPanthers get on the board with 5:39 remaining in the second period. Crowd goes wild. pic.twitter.com/56nppUyxSn Victor Hedman shot saved by Driedger — ���� ������� (@faiello_mari) May 19, 2021 Ryan McDonagh shoves Mason Marchment to the ice near the corner Radko Gudas rocks Blake Coleman with a high hit at center ice THROW-DOWN: #GoBolts' McDonagh stiff-arms #FlaPanthers' Marchment pic.twitter.com/bqBFXrdXYF The Lightning will start the third period on the power play after MacKenzie Weegar picks up a penalty late — ���� ������� (@faiello_mari) May 19, 2021 (Lightning lead 2-1 after two periods) Pat Maroon penalized for tripping First period PENALTY: #GoBolts' Maroon is called for tripping. #FlaPanthers on the power-play. pic.twitter.com/KBl6a8FLdG Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) works in net during pregame goal with 1:14 remaining. Point and Kucherov, who missed the entire warmups. regular season following hip surgery, scored two goals apiece. Blake Coleman added a shorthanded goal. Chris Driedger makes a save on Yanni Gourde’s chance from low in the right circle The Lightning dominated special-teams play, scoring on three of their four power-play opportunities and killing two of three penalties while also MacKenzie Weegar shoots wide from the right circle scoring shorthanded. But Florida had the better of the play at even Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov have 2-on-1, but Palat’s pass doesn’t strength, outscoring Tampa Bay 3-1. allow Kucherov to bet a shot off. Anxious to even the series, the Panthers have made a change in net, LIGHTNING GOAL! Steven Stamkos scores when his pass for Alex with Chris Driedger replacing Sergei Bobrovsky, who allowed five goals Killorn goes in off Anton Stralman’s pad. Lightning 1, Panthers 0. Tampa on 40 shots on Sunday. Bay scores first for the second time in the series. Florida will be without second-line center Sam Bennett, who was GOAL: #GoBolts captain lands his first goal of the postseason against suspended one game for charging Coleman in the third period of Game #FlaPanthers. Killorn finds Stamkos for the shot. #TBLightning leads with 1. Bennett, who had two assists in the game, will be replaced by Alex 15:08 remaining. pic.twitter.com/bMWzYj3by6 Wennberg, with Jonathan Huberdeau and Owen Tippett on the wings.

— ���� ������� (@faiello_mari) May 19, 2021 Setting the scene

Great backcheck by Weegar prevents Nikita Kucherov scoring Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman participates in the morning skate. opportunity after a 2-on-1 with Brayden Point. Kucherov slow to get up Looks like the #FlaPanthers could be rolling 7 D. after going hard into the end wall Here's what I'm seeing: #GoBolts' Kucherov goes sliding straight into the boards after trying to score on #FlaPanthers. He was slow to get up as the crowd erupted... Verhaeghe - Barkov - Duclair pic.twitter.com/S2G8o6E8Rr Huberdeau - Wennberg - Tippett — ���� ������� (@faiello_mari) May 19, 2021 Vatrano - Acciari - Hornqvist Jonathan Huberdeau centering pass just misses the stick of Owen Lomberg - Marchment Tippett. A similar pass from Alex Wennberg just moments later also goes by Tippett’s stick Forsling - Weegar

Frank Vatrano shot from the left point goes off a body in front of the Yandle - Gudas Lightning net Nutivaara - Montour Weegar shot hits a skate Stralman Driedger robs Anthony Cirelli from the doorstep after puck bounces away from Radko Gudas Driedger

Mikhail Sergachev screaming at official after hit into the boards from Bob Ryan Lomberg, who came a long way to hit him — x - Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) May 18, 2021 Missed opportunity for Yanni Gourde, who loses control of the puck from #TBLightning pregame warmup lines and D-pairings for Game 2 vs. low in the left circle after being sprung by Ryan McDonagh #FlaPanthers Driedger covers Alex Killorn deflection from in front Palat-Point-Kucherov LIGHTNING GOAL! Ondrej Palat scores on a long rebound after a rush Killorn-Cirelli-Stamkos from Brayden Point and a shot off the goalpost. Lightning 2, Panthers 0. Colton-Gourde-Coleman GOAL: #GoBolts' Palat brings #TBLightning up 2-0 against #FlaPanthers with 5:03 remaining in the first period. A nice move by Maroon-Johnson-Joseph Kucherov to get the puck in the middle of the ice to Point, whose shot on goal rebounds to Palat. pic.twitter.com/Mhqz0l6OAC Hedman-Rutta

— ���� ������� (@faiello_mari) May 19, 2021 McDonagh-Cernak

Andrei Vasilevskiy stops Anthony Duclair chance from low in the slot. Sergachev-Savard

Driedger stops rolling shot from Ross Colton Schenn#GoBolts

Brayden Point shot from the slot stopped by Driedger — Eduardo A. Encina (@EddieInTheYard) May 18, 2021

Anthony Cirelli shoots off the crossbar after being hit by Weegar and Luke Schenn is on the ice for pregame warmups. Looks like #GoBolts sliding into the end boards could go 11 forwards/7 defensemen tonight. #TBLightning #FlaPanthers

Duclair slapshot deflected high by Point — Eduardo A. Encina (@EddieInTheYard) May 18, 2021

(Lightning lead 2-0 after first period) The #TBlightning on the ice for pregame warmups before tonight’s Game 2.#gobolts #flapanthers pic.twitter.com/atNTCJF8w9 Your pregame scouting report — Eduardo A. Encina (@EddieInTheYard) May 18, 2021 Lightning center Steven Stamkos fires a one-timer during the morning skate Tuesday at BB&T Center in Sunrise. Suited. pic.twitter.com/Sr5kvSvLEB

Caught your breath yet? Because you’re about to lose it again. — Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) May 18, 2021

Two nights after the Lightning and Panthers combined for nine goals, on Game 2 #FLAvsTBL | #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/juiRXxmcXK four lead changes, 90 hits, 79 shots, 34 penalty minutes and untold post- — Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) May 18, 2021 whistle scrums in their first-ever postseason meeting, the teams will resume hostilities tonight at BB&T Center in Sunrise for Game 2 of their A lil tune up. pic.twitter.com/Yh80Jr3KeJ best-of-seven, opening-round playoff series. — Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) May 18, 2021 With Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos back in the lineup, the Lightning won Game 1 on Sunday, 5-4 on Brayden Point’s breakaway Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188418 Tampa Bay Lightning

Lightning pregame: Panthers switch goalies for Game 2

Florida sits Sergei Bobrosky, turns to Chris Driedger after the starter allowed give goals in Game 1.

By Eduardo A. Encina

SUNRISE — After just one game, the Florida Panthers are making a switch in net in their first-round playoff series against the Lightning.

Panthers starting goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who allowed five goals on 40 shots in the Lightning’s 5-4 Game 1 comeback victory, will sit for Tuesday night’s Game 2 at BB&T Center in favor of backup Chris Driedger.

The start will mark the postseason debut for Driedger, who was 2-0-1 with a .913 save percentage in three regular-season meetings against the Lightning, including a shutout win over Tampa Bay on May 10.

“Driedge has been in this position,” Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said. “Even last year at the end of the year, he was under consideration. And all year long, he did everything you’d want, and it’s an opportunity when we’re looking at goaltending to see how it’s gonna play in the playoffs. We’re gonna take it one game at a time. He hasn’t had this chance here for two years here. So we feel it’s the right time to give him an opportunity. It’s based on performance and based on the opportunity.

Bobrovsky, who was a big reason the Columbus Blue Jackets upset the Lightning with a first-round, four-game sweep in 2018-19, posting a 4-0 record and .932 save percentage, hasn’t had the same success against the Lightning this year. He went 3-2 with an .879 save percentage against Tampa Bay in the regular season.

Bobrovsky, a two-time Vezina Trophy winner, allowed three goals on six shots in power-play situations during Game 1 but held the Lightning to one 5-on-5 goal on 25 shot attempts. He also allowed a shorthanded goal in the first period.

Why Weekend Off-Roaders Will Love This Versatile Light Truck Tire

“They’re trading one NHL goalie for another NHL goalie,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “That’s what they’re doing. Their system doesn’t change. How they play doesn’t really change, and I don’t think goaltender should matter. We’ve had a lot of playoff series against the best of the best, and they’re putting another guy in who is having a fabulous year and it’s his job to stop the puck. It’s our job to get it by him.”

Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188419 Tampa Bay Lightning And Bryson-Kirksey’s project is making an impact. When she recorded The Wonky Donkey at the beginning of the year, she heard from a listener whose child ran around the house for an entire week braying.

Lightning’s Sonya Bryson-Kirksey unveils children’s reading project “She said, ‘We couldn’t make them stop,’ ” Bryson-Kirksey said, chuckling. “I thought it was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen, so that was Drawing on fond memories from her childhood, the national anthem cool.” singer is using her voice in a different way. Some families have added her project to their hockey night routines, listening to stories after the games. It emphasizes why Bryson-Kirksey started the project. By Mari Faiello “One guy said his daughter won’t go to sleep on a hockey night unless

she hears a story first,” Bryson-Kirksey said. “That makes me feel good. TAMPA — Sonya Bryson-Kirksey has fond memories of her childhood. That makes me feel like I’ve accomplished what I’ve set out to do.”

Growing up with her sister, Phillis, in Greensville, S.C., the Lightning’s Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 05.19.2021 national anthem singer recalls sitting on her aunt Evelyn’s lap while her mother, a hairdresser, worked on Evelyn’s hair.

Whether it was family tales or children’s books, Bryson-Kirksey loved hearing her aunt’s voice, the way she put words together and her inflection.

“If you ever sat at the feet of this woman, you’d be amazed,” Bryson- Kirksey reminisced. “She just got engulfed into what she was saying, each and every time.”

Bryson-Kirksey has carried on the tradition and reads to the youngsters in her family. During quarantine last summer, the storybook sessions were held over Facebook Live.

While she read The Wonky Donkey, one of her all-time favorites, the children giggled at her rendition, which included Bryson-Kirksey braying like a donkey.

“The best applause from kids are the giggles,” she said. “You know you’ve done your job at that point.”

That’s when Bryson-Kirksey got the idea to start the Sonni Reading Project with her sister.

“I knew I had to do this for other kids,” she said. “At least give them something to focus on in a pandemic other than the pandemic.”

Since launching the project last fall, Bryson-Kirksey has read and recorded more than 40 children’s stories on platforms like Spotify, Google Podcasts and YouTube.

Aside from The Wonky Donkey, Bryson-Kirksey said her favorite story to date is The Magic Hockey Stick.

The fictional story derives inspiration from a real-life event in which a little girl’s parents win a Wayne Gretzky stick at an auction. The child is told not to play with the stick, but she can’t resist and becomes a star player herself.

As “The Great One” hits a slump in his career, the child tries to reunite him with his stick, helping him get over his 1,000-goal hump.

“I thought that was just a really cool little story,” Bryson-Kirksey said. “I like those kinds of stories, the kind that make kids feel like they’re in control of certain situations.”

For Bryson-Kirksey, diversity in what she’s reading is a huge key for the project’s success. She didn’t want to lean on well-known authors, like Dr. Seuss.

“I knew at the beginning I couldn’t just read Sonya’s favorite stories,” she said. “I knew I was going to have to diversify, so I started looking online.”

With the political and racial unrest the country was going through at the time, Bryson-Kirksey at first wanted to share stories from African- American authors.

That led her to branch out to stories about the pandemic, the LGBTQ+ community, Native Americans and other topics that children might not be typically exposed to as new readers.

“I tried to pull in all the different ones that I could that would ... introduce people to all of these different stories that are out there,” she said. “Now that maybe you heard this story online, maybe you go out and pick this up for your child.” 1188420 Tampa Bay Lightning in 2015. During that overlap, there were times she would sing on base before arriving at Lightning home games.

“I could feel the strain,” she said, recalling a day in which she sang the Lightning’s anthem singer hits all the right notes on and off the ice national anthem four times. “I have a big mouth and singing comes easy to me for the most part, but it was a strain that day and in doing that I Sonya Bryson-Kirksey, in her eighth season with the team, is “like a ball noticed if I kept it to a minimum on game days, I was good to go.” of life and light.” Singing isn’t her only art form

Sonya Bryson-Kirksey also has a flair for painting, which relaxes her By Mari Faiello when she's feeling stressed.

While an excessive workload is no longer a concern, Bryson-Kirksey still needs an outlet to relieve her day-to-day struggles. TAMPA — In the last home game of the regular season, rookie Ross Colton listened in awe from the Lightning bench as Sonya Bryson- She finds peace when she has a paint brush in her hand and recalls fond Kirksey finished the national anthem. memories of her aunt reading stories to her and her sister, Phillis, when they were younger, which has led to her latest endeavor, the Sonni “Sonya brings it every night, eh?” he asked center Brayden Point and Reading Project. forward Mathieu Joseph. “Every time.” Both have helped her stay on track, mentally, during the coronavirus “She’s the best, for sure,” Point said. pandemic. That’s the kind of recognition Bryson-Kirksey has received for the past “People don’t think about the mental side of the pandemic because as eight seasons singing for the Lightning, where her voice can raise you’re staying home, especially a person who’s as social as I am, it’s goosebumps all the way up to the third level of Amalie Arena. hard to keep yourself on a level playing ground,” she said. She still blows everyone away with her talents, which extend beyond One of her pandemic projects included painting a photo she took of a music. sunset 16 years ago — six years before she even moved to Florida — on Our @sonnisings fan club lead by Ross Colton and Brayden Point is now a rock and a palm tree husk. After George Floyd’s death, she painted a taking volunteers rock in his honor for her garden.

Colton is Wired for Sound! Other projects over the years have included a painting of Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (using glass collaged in a Lightning bolt), Listen: https://t.co/kdQQmHckzx pic.twitter.com/mKfclVyNKw which she later gave to him as a present. Recently, she has explored marbling techniques on canvas with paint. — Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) May 15, 2021 When my goalie gets an assist....Im just A Lightning icon is born saying!#KeepBeingTheFreakinThunder #GoBolts Bryson-Kirksey remembers singing since she was in the crib. But she pic.twitter.com/hBtN7LpjXj started “feeling herself” as a teenager and knew her abilities were above — x- Sonya Bryson-Kirksey�� (@SonniSings) September 13, 2020 average. She has provided artwork to local businesses as well as USF for a She sang in chorus groups in high school and started singing on military multiple sclerosis fundraising auction. bases with an American Idol-like event after encouragement from her family. “The creativity on the inside of me kind of covers all at some point in my day or life because at the end of the day, I can turn the TV off and I can Bryson-Kirksey’s first competition went better than she expected with a focus introvertedly on myself, my growth, my mental health,” Bryson- second-place finish at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz. Kirksey said. She did a similar event while spending a year in Korea and, again, when she got to MacDill in 2011. A feeling that can’t be faked

Funnily enough, she doesn’t know how to read music and has never Even though Bryson-Kirksey sings the anthem over and over, the found her way onto a stage for karaoke night. passion in her voice never wanes.

“You learn something different every time (you sing),” said Bryson- “I think I’ve been patriotic all my life,” she said. “Even as a kid, I’ve Kirksey, 54. “Showmanship is a lot more than standing and holding a always realized there was meaning to that song.” microphone. You have so much more to convey other than just standing and singing a song. You have to put your heart into what you’re singing, When she gets to “and the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,” you learn from other people.” she’s taken back to her previous deployments.

In November 2013, she sang at a USO event and was invited to a Bucs “I think about how people have given their life for the flag, given their life game that weekend as a thank you. She watched the action in the same for this country as a whole,” she said. “If you, just as a normal person, suite as John Franzone, the Lightning’s vice president of game can wrap your head around war as a whole, and this song is about war presentation. specifically, then you’ll get it and you’ll feel it as far as the importance of what’s going on in the verses. Sonya Bryson-Kirksey's distinctive voice is a big part of the Lightning's game days at Amalie Arena. “It adds to what I feel, it adds to how I convey it, but it also adds to the depth of what I feel for this country, and I don’t think I could sing this An audition offer to sing the national anthem at Lightning games led song if I didn’t love where I was and who I am on a daily basis.” Bryson-Kirksey to Amalie Arena the following week. She expected other vocalists to be in the running, but was shocked to find out it was just her. And that mind-set is evident to those around her. She went to the “crow’s nest” with Franzone and organist Krystof “She is like a ball of life and light,” coach Jon Cooper said. “Her smile Srebrakowski to test her vocal cords. radiates and there’s a reason the people love her, not only because of When Srebrakowski asked Bryson-Kirksey what key she sang in, she her voice. … We’re really fortunate to have somebody sing alongside us couldn’t give an answer. They spent around 15 minutes finding her match and lead us out there game in and game out with how she does the Star- before she sang the anthem three or four times. Spangled Banner.”

Upon completion, Franzone looked at her and asked if she could come The Lightning didn't play any of the 2020 postseason at Amalie Arena, that Saturday for the game. The rest was history, she said. but Sonya Bryson-Kirksey was still a virtual presence in the bubble.

Bryson-Kirksey spent a year performing at Amalie Arena and working as The players take note of the nights she isn’t behind the microphone. a U.S. Air Force technical sergeant before retiring from the armed forces “We’re lucky to have Sonya as the national anthem singer most nights in Tampa,” Joseph said. “… It’s good when we come back after a road trip and we know Sonya is singing, it kind of fires me up a bit.”

Added captain Steven Stamkos: “She’s great. You can hear the ovation she gets before every home game, so it certainly adds to the experience here at the rink. I think she’s been a huge success here in Tampa and certainly a crowd favorite.”

Bryson-Kirksey is so important to the team, they brought her voice to the Toronto and Edmonton bubbles during last year’s Stanley Cup run. The team is giving her a championship ring, which she will wear on her middle finger during games because it will be clearly visible to the audience when she holds the microphone.

“It’s fun,” she said. “I think it’s one of those things where you enjoy it while you are experiencing it, you live in the moment because if you don’t live in the moment, you never have any fond memories to look back on.”

Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188421 Tampa Bay Lightning “It was certainly exciting to be part of, and I’m sure it was for the fans in attendance,” Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said. “I don’t think both teams want to play 5-4 hockey all playoffs.”

This could be a new kind of test for the Lightning in the postseason Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 05.19.2021

By John Romano

SUNRISE — In a season that was played entirely within a division and with contenders in control long before the regular-season finale, it was a little risky to read too much into statistics or head-to-head results going into the NHL playoffs.

Yes, Florida looked like an aggressive offensive team. The Panthers were fourth in the league in goals scored and averaged more shots per game (34.9) than any NHL team since Detroit in 2008-09.

But how much of that was a mirage built on 19 wins in 24 games against Columbus, Detroit and Chicago?

Turns out, not so much.

If we learned anything from Tampa Bay’s enormously entertaining 5-4 victory in Game 1 on Sunday night, it is that Florida is a different beast than what the Lightning faced in last year’s postseason.

No more Blue Jackets or Islanders slowing the game down with a trap. The Lightning and Panthers combined for nine goals in three periods in Game 1; it took 11 periods before Tampa Bay and Columbus got to nine goals in last year’s first round.

“Florida is aggressive. They stretch the ice and have a very quick transition,” Lightning color analyst Brian Engblom said. “They have a mobile defense so as soon as they grab hold of the puck in their own zone, they’ve got at least one guy on the way out of the zone. That’s the idea of stretching out the defense.”

In retrospect, one of the most impressive things about Tampa Bay’s run to the Stanley Cup last season was how the Lightning adjusted according to their opponents. Think about those teams. Boston was first in the NHL in goals-against. Dallas was second. Columbus was fourth and New York was fifth. That means the Lightning beat four of the top five defenses from the regular season.

And they beat them at their own game. When scoring two goals or fewer against the Lightning, those four teams combined to go 1-13 in the playoffs. Yet Tampa Bay managed to go 4-5 when scoring two goals or fewer. In other words, the Lightning won the defensive battles.

When you consider Tampa Bay’s reputation was a team with a lot of skill and flash, that’s a heck of a testament to knowing when and how to dial it back and play a style necessary to win.

Now the Lightning are facing a new kind of challenge with the Panthers and three-time Stanley Cup-winning coach Joel Quenneville.

“Quenneville has been a pretty aggressive coach for a while. You have to have the skill level to do it and you have to get used to it, but that’s how he’s going to play,” Engblom said. “Florida has had that team the last couple of years with guys like (Jonathan) Huberdeau and (Aleksander) Barkov who are very skilled, and they want to get the puck on their sticks as quickly as possible

“Their transition game is quick, and he wants their defense to throw the puck ahead as quickly as possible and start moving up. And that’s what the Lightning want to do, too.”

And that’s how you end up with a game like Sunday night when neither team was able to hold the lead for more than a handful of minutes. It turned out to be Tampa Bay’s good fortune that Brayden Point didn’t score the winner until there was 74 seconds remaining on the clock because you had the feeling the Panthers would eventually have answered.

By game’s end, Florida had taken 40 shots on goal. Other than overtime games, that’s more shots than Andrei Vasilevskiy faced in the entire playoffs last year. It’s not as if the Lightning and Panthers will be able to keep up that pace the entire series, but Game 1 was a pretty good indication that we’re going to see a different mindset than we did in the last postseason. 1188422 Tampa Bay Lightning Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said after Game 1 that it showed that Tampa Bay was a team that “knows how to win” and “we’re trying to get educated.”

Game 2 was ‘vintage Lightning Cup-winning hockey’ for Tampa Bay Well, Game 2 was another lesson.

This wasn’t a perfect game for the Lightning, but it was a smart one, in which their mental and physical toughness showed. They didn’t get By Joe Smith sucked into taking retaliatory penalties. They didn’t make costly turnovers at the blue line like they did in Game 1. They stuck with their structure,

took the lead and protected it. There was about a minute left in Tuesday’s game when an empty beer They’re now 28-0 when entering the third period with a lead, including the can was tossed from the upper deck of BB&T Center onto the ice. regular season and postseason. Well, at least it wasn’t a rubber rat. “This was vintage Lightning of last year, for sure,” Engblom said. “The 2- The can landed about 10 feet from Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. 1 lead, and Florida really had trouble creating some stuff. They really shut it down. There’s a difference between hanging on by your fingernails In Game 2, that’s about as close as the Panthers got to cracking the and shutting it down and executing. When guys are fighting for loose former Vezina Trophy winner. pucks, dumping it in when they have to. Even with the empty net, you saw Kucherov at center ice dump it in and (he) went for a quick line Vasilevskiy was terrific as the Lightning played championship hockey change. Then Yanni Gourde forces a turnover and scores an empty- down the stretch to close out a 3-1 win over the Panthers, taking a 2-0 netter. lead in the best-of-seven series. There were plenty of reasons Tampa Bay won, from two critical penalty kills to the dominant play of Ryan “You could tell they had no qualms about anything, not nervous. It wasn’t McDonagh and the top line continuing to create. Their experience and sketchy or barely hanging on — they played Cup-winning Lightning championship mettle showed. hockey.”

But the most encouraging sign for the Lightning was that Vasilevskiy The Lightning were holding on to a one-goal lead with eight minutes left looked a lot like the backbone who could see himself on the Hart Trophy in the second when the Panthers got a power play. The nearly 10,000 ballot this summer. He had given up four or more goals in three straight fans in attendance were going nuts. Dolphins coach Brian Flores was games to the Panthers, but if he continues to play like he did Tuesday, swinging a towel in a suite. Tampa Bay just put its top penalty killers — when he made 32 of 33 saves, this could be a shorter series than we all Cernak, McDonagh, Anthony Cirelli — on the ice and put on a clinic. thought. McDonagh took a puck off the shoulder. Cernak blocked another.

“Vasy’s back,” Lightning color analyst Brian Engblom said. “That’s what “We just tried to stick with the game plan,” McDonagh said. “Whether he normally looks like for me. I thought his last three games against you’re up or down, you’ve got to make some crucial plays. You need Florida were OK, but (Tuesday) he just shut the door. He had that look guys to sacrifice their bodies on the line to make some blocks and make about him — the saves he made, when he made them, how he made some plays. Every one of these guys was willing to do it. Everyone is them. He really shut the door. pulling the same direction, and that’s a good feeling in the locker room.”

“The Lightning really looked playoff dangerous.” McDonagh ‘a stud’

After winning a wild 5-4 Game 1, the Lightning returned to the recipe they Remember when McDonagh was banged up at the end of the season, used in their Cup run last summer. They jumped out to an early lead, with missing the final two games? the top line of Ondrej Palat–Brayden Point–Nikita Kucherov combining for the eventual game winner off the rush. Their penalty kill protected a It certainly doesn’t show, as the veteran defenseman has been a beast in one-goal lead in the second and third period, with McDonagh and Erik this series. There was McDonagh’s block and stretch pass to set up Cernak among those blocking key shots. Point’s game-winning breakaway at the end of Game 1. And there is the fact McDonagh and Cernak have the toughest matchup against the And there was Vasilevskiy, who was extremely sharp. You could sense it Aleksander Barkov line and have been stout. in his body language at the morning skate, as he strutted back to his net after stretches to take on the usual shootout attempts. Nobody scored, McDonagh’s work on the penalty kill was a difference-maker, including not Tyler Johnson or Steven Stamkos. Vasilevskiy looked loose and taking a puck off the shoulder in the second-period kill. confident, like he was having fun. He said he hoped to “elevate my #GOBOLTS BLOCK PARTY DURING THE PK game” in the playoffs, and this was a perfect example. @BALLYSPORTSFL PIC.TWITTER.COM/HWIT2N2QEM The biggest save might have come with three minutes to go. There was a pass from behind the net from Sasha Barkov to Carter Verhaeghe at the — HERE'S YOUR REPLAY (@HERESYOURREPLAY) MAY 19, back post, but Vasilevskiy slid over and smothered it between his pads. 2021 Threat squashed. The Panthers led the Lightning in scoring chances five- on-five (21-14) and high-danger chances (13-5) but mustered just one “He’s been a stud — there’s no way around it,” Lightning coach Jon goal. Cooper said. “It all starts in the D-zone; he’s a selfless player and sacrifices his body all the time. He’s a Stanley Cup champion and been Look at their five-on-five shot map, where a lot of the looks came from: in the league a long time. He’s a warrior and fearless teammate, and that’s shown the last two games.” (Natural Stat Trick) Said McDonagh: “He was outstanding. He was a machine. One of the “Some days, if to Vasy’s lofty standards he doesn’t play well, it’s up to us best players for both of these games.” to get his back,” Stamkos said. “So many more times, we don’t play well and he’s got our back. He was outstanding. We know he’s the best goalie Maroon’s presence in the world, and he showed it. He was a huge part of the PK and then some timely saves down the stretch when they were pushing the last 10 Pat Maroon didn’t play a ton (6:51) but made a sizable impact. minutes. He’s our rock back there.” It started before the game, when Maroon was jawing with Panthers pest THE BIG CAT KEEPS IT A 1-GOAL GAME! Ryan Lomberg. He delivered four hits during the game, including back-to- #FLAVSTBL#NHLPLAYOFFS PIC.TWITTER.COM/PEGUVIRMXF back hits on Radko Gudas and Patric Hornqvist on one shift, knocking the two-time Cup champion off his feet. But Maroon will likely be — BALLY SPORTS SUN: LIGHTNING (@BALLYLIGHTNING) MAY 19, remembered for his chicken gesture at the Panthers before leaving the 2021 ice at the second intermission. It was reminiscent of Brian Boyle against the Red Wings in the playoffs five years ago. Here are several other observations from Tuesday night’s win: PIC.TWITTER.COM/L02FLEGRWR A mature approach — SHAYNA (@HAYYYSHAYYY) MAY 19, 2021 Why the 11/7 lineup worked

The Lightning used an 11-forward, seven-defenseman lineup often during their run to the Cup last summer, and they brought it out again Tuesday.

It makes sense against the Panthers for a number of reasons. Now that Kucherov and Stamkos have shown they’re healthy, Cooper can play them more on different lines (Kucherov played a whopping 22:15). It got Maroon involved in more shifts too, especially when there was a stretch of penalties.

And it allowed Cooper to put veteran defenseman Luke Schenn in the lineup. Schenn played really well down the stretch. He can really clear out traffic in front of the net, and his physical presence helps hold opponents accountable in a series like this. The Lightning were able to spot David Savard more, and this was one of his best games since being acquired at the trade deadline. He had four hits and two blocks and was a plus-2.

Quick hits

• Quenneville made the interesting — and bold — decision to change his goaltenders for Game 2, putting in Chris Driedger for his first career pro playoff start. They benched the two-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who gave up five goals in Game 1 but didn’t play poorly necessarily. Quenneville cited Driedger’s performance this season and against the Lightning (2-0-1 during the regular season) for the call, and Driedger was good in Game 2, stopping 26 of 28 shots.

“It was pretty special,” Driedger said. “It’s been a lot of years waiting for that. It was a lot of fun. Would have been nice to come out with a win, but we’ll have to go and do that in Tampa.”

You wonder what the Panthers will do in Game 3 — do they go back to Bobrovsky or stick with Driedger? Would sitting Bobrovsky impact the veteran goalie who was brought in for the playoffs at $10 million a year?

“You shouldn’t lose (Bobrovsky) after one decision,” said NBCSN analyst Brian Boucher, a former NHL goaltender. “Joel is one of the few coaches in the NHL who can make a bold move like this. If Sergei is rattled by this, that’s a bigger issue. I imagine this isn’t going to sit well with him, and it shouldn’t, but it’s not like he’s going to fold up his tent and say, ‘That’s enough.’ I think they probably had a conversation about it. They can always turn back to ‘Bob.’

“It was a bold move. I wouldn’t have done it, personally, for the start of Game 2; I thought Bob played well in Game 1. But Quenneville has three Cups and I have none.”

• What an incredible move by Point on Palat’s goal in the first period. I remember asking Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour what makes Point so tough to defend, and he said it’s Point’s ability to change speeds on a play. This was a perfect example of Point accelerating around Florida’s top defenseman, MacKenzie Weegar, and flipping a shot off the crossbar. Palat got the rebound and scored to make it 2-0.

LOOKS LIKE BRAYDEN POINT FOUND ANOTHER GEAR HERE. #STANLEYCUP

��: HTTPS://T.CO/LCI8HSQS1R @NHLONNBCSPORTS

��: HTTPS://T.CO/0CXUACT6MQ @SPORTSNET PIC.TWITTER.COM/MQEEMQCE80

— NHL (@NHL) MAY 19, 2021

• What they’re saying:

Weegar: “We’re not even close to out of this series yet. … We have to stick with it. No one is hanging their heads here.”

Stamkos: “This series is definitely not over. We certainly know that team over there is not quitting. Not going anywhere.”

The Athletic LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188423 Tampa Bay Lightning “The rules all have to be followed as far as recovery times, etc. I think the way to look at things is teams react when things happen, none of it is manufactured.”

LeBrun: What the Lightning, League and rival GMs are saying about Still, the optics of Kucherov’s return didn’t sit well with a few other NHL Nikita Kucherov’s return team executives I texted with, none of whom wanted to be quoted for this story.

But it’s something at least one GM believes should be a conversation By Pierre LeBrun May 18, 2021 down the road among GMs. Probably at the next GM meeting.

Another team executive felt the horse was out of the barn once it happened with Kane in 2015 so nobody can blame Tampa now. It was one of the best playoff games I’ve seen in years. One question I get a lot from some readers is why there is no salary cap The focus should have just been on how the two Florida teams, at long in the playoffs. At first blush, I have always assumed it had to do with the last, had played each other for the first time in the playoffs and delivered players’ salaries being paid in total by the end of the regular season. an instant classic. “One reason among a number of others,’’ Daly said. But what dominated the conversation on social media was the accusation from rival fans that the Lightning had cheated the system by having Nikita My colleague Joe Smith had a very detailed look at the Kucherov Kucherov return for Game 1 of the playoffs after missing the entire situation back in mid-March, after his return to skating sparked an uproar regular season recovering from hip surgery. among conspiracy theorists.

The accusation, of course, is that the cap-challenged Bolts delayed his Finally, I reached out to Kucherov’s agent Dan Milstein. return until the playoffs when there is no longer a salary cap, that Tampa GM Julien BriseBois cleverly manipulated the system. “Initially, doctors told him the earliest (return) date was going to be around the second round of the playoffs,’’ Milstein said. “I was personally That Kucherov scored two goals in the opening game and looked like he on every single Zoom call and in every meeting. I flew with him to New didn’t miss a beat in his first game since last September’s Stanley Cup York for the surgery, was there with him throughout it all. Final only added fuel to the fire. “It was a much-needed surgery. He accelerated (his return), but the initial The optics weren’t great. So let’s get to it. return doctors told us was around the first week of June. It’s a six-month process.’’ First of all, understand that the Panthers don’t believe for a second there’s anything malicious happening here. What I don’t believe for a second is that Kucherov was ready to play a month ago and played ball with the team because of the cap situation “No, I don’t feel there’s a circumvention,” Panthers GM Bill Zito told The and was ok staying on the sidelines because of it. Athletic. “It’s all within the rules. From our standpoint, everything is above board. He’s a good player, obviously. Julien’s a smart guy. There’s no He is way too much of a competitor for that. issues with the integrity of this whatsoever.’’ “Kuch is one of those guys, if he could have been playing in March, he That was echoed by his head coach on Tuesday. would have been playing in March and it would have been Julien’s problem to clear the (cap) space for him,” said Milstein. “And rest “I’m not complaining,’’ Joel Quenneville said. “It’s the way it is. It’s one of assured, I would have been calling the NHLPA. I would have been the rules, you deal with it. He was a big part of their team last year and fighting to get my client back on the ice earlier if I could.’’ so not like he hasn’t been around them. So no complaints here.’’ The fact is, Milstein remains surprised Kucherov came back in time for Secondly, there’s the NHL. If the league truly felt a team was cheating Game 1. the system using long-term injury provisions in an improper way, and delayed his return because of cap reasons, the NHL could actually bar “This is truly a miracle for him to come back this soon,’’ Milstein said. “To that player from playing in the playoffs. be honest with you, I think he started playing a little bit earlier than he should have. But that’s Kuch, you can’t hold this guy back.’’ And clearly, the league looked closely at this situation. Again, the optics of a Game 1 return is what has given this story new life. “Yes, we did, as well as a number of additional cases involving the use of LTI,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said. “We determined that the Some rival clubs aren’t thrilled. Others I reached out to were fine with it. provision was invoked and applied in a consistent manner with the requirements of the CBA.’’ Either way, I think a little too much is being made of it.

For further perspective, I reached out to Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman The Athletic LOADED: 05.19.2021 on Tuesday. When Patrick Kane missed the end of the regular season with a collarbone injury in 2014-15 but was able to come back for the start of the playoffs en route to a Stanley Cup championship, some front offices around the league were not thrilled. Some didn’t feel it passed the smell test. Especially since the Blackhawks were able to use the cap space to add at the trade deadline.

It’s something that would be discussed at a GM meeting or two in the aftermath. Just like Daly was asked to address LTI usage at the GM meeting last month, where he assured teams the league was closely monitoring not only the Tampa situation but other ones as well (presumably Toronto, among others).

Bowman, for one, certainly doesn’t think Tampa Bay is getting away with anything here.

“The point I would make is that these are legit injuries which sidelined the players and as such there’s nothing that a team can do but react,” Bowman said. “I think it’s fair to say that no team would ever wish for a top player to miss a substantial amount of time due to serious injury. Just like we wanted Kane to stay healthy and never miss a game, I’m guessing that Tampa feels the same with Kucherov. They might have had home-ice advantage if they had Kucherov all season so there are negative consequences to having top players miss significant time. 1188424 Tampa Bay Lightning its best, they’d be in.” I honestly feel bad for you, because that’s basically as good as a playoff game can get.

So (for the NBA) it’s like, 2016 Finals, Warriors-Cavs, LeBron’s ‘I didn’t know anything that was happening, but I was so, so into it’: How comeback, all that — and this is the peak of hockey, I guess? I didn’t Lightning-Panthers made new hockey fans even realize there were that many Panthers fans. “Where do these people come from?” But I’m a fan now. I’m getting my Barkov jersey. I’m all the way in.

By Sean Gentille May 18, 2021 I just saw (Sam Bennett’s suspension). I don’t even know how good he is? Is he good?

It’s just not in my family. My dad, we watch sports together, my grandad Whatever Game 1 of Lightning-Panthers was — certainly one of the was a basketball player growing up, so basketball has been the main more unexpected crossover events in NHL history, potentially the best thing in my family. And football, we always watch Dolphins games. But game of the Stanley Cup playoffs, probably the most anyone has ever hockey just has never been a thing for me. Now, I’m turning everyone discussed any game between those teams — it came with one onto it. The game is gonna be on the big screen in the living room. I’m unavoidable, extremely answerable question. making everyone sit down and watch it, because that was exhilarating. What if that was the first hockey game you’d ever watched? A returning I’m hooked after that game. It’s always nice to have a hometown team to MVP, an early disallowed goal, breakaways, scraps, dirty hits, four lead root for. I think I’m in. I’m going to see if I can get tickets. If there’s a changes … “The NHL’s hottest new club is Lightning Panthers. It has Game 5, I think I’m there. everything.” This was the Jon Bois “why watch overtime playoff hockey” tweet, stretched over 60 minutes. If this game were a person, I’d marry it. Lazaro Fernandez, 22, Miami: First game in attendance I’d have married it on Sunday night. FIRST @FLAPANTHERS GAME EVER LET’S GET THE W!! ALSO So, naturally, this stuck with me, though the part about the Flames and HOCKEY IS PRETTY EXCITING DEF RECOMMEND Canucks — much like their game — is best ignored. PIC.TWITTER.COM/0V38RDXGWW

IMAGINE YOUR FIRST HOCKEY EXPERIENCE EVER WAS — LAZ FOR MAYOR (@PAPABLESS420420) MAY 17, 2021 LIGHTNING/PANTHERS GAME 1 AND YOU LOVED IT SO MUCH YOU DECIDED TO TURN ON THE NEXT GAME ONLY TO REALIZE IT IS A I’m a huge Miami sports fan, so I’m at least familiar with all of our teams, REGULAR SEASON GAME BETWEEN THE FLAMES AND THE but I’m not watching the Panthers every day or anything. We had a run CANUCKS three years ago or so that made me notice them. From there, what games I could watch, I watched, and it’s been ramping up since then. — PLAYOFF NOAH HOCKEY STICK EMOJI (@CAPSBOYBEBOP) MAY 17, 2021 To be honest, I didn’t realize (how crazy the game was) until I saw a couple tweets saying “The Fight For Florida is on fire.” Some people didn’t have to imagine it. Here are a few of them. Some of their answers have been lightly edited for clarity. It was the scoring, it was the intensity, it was the non-stop fights. I’ve seen enough hockey games to tell my girlfriend, “This doesn’t usually Alex, 19, Tamarac, Fla.: First game watched, ever happen, where they’re fighting every couple minutes.” I know we had a couple games near the end of the regular season with the Lightning, and ABOUT TO SIT DOWN A TURN ON A HOCKEY GAME FOR THE those were intense already. That definitely carried over to the series. So FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE that for sure (made me say) “This might be the first round of the playoffs, — KZ OPALOCKA (@06NOTRIGGED) MAY 16, 2021 but they’re playing with a lot of intensity and a lot on the line.” All right, so how did you stumble on that? You knew the Heat had their (The environment) was amazing. I knew going into it that it was a playoff spot locked up, so you were like “I’m gonna watch this because it’s on?” game, and it was going to be next-level stuff, but just the atmosphere was great. Everyone was really into the game. Whenever we scored a Pretty much. They were starting random G-Leaguers, so I was like, “Eh, goal, it was deafening. And you could see the rally towels being waved. It know what, I heard the Panthers are playing their first playoff game in a was really, really fun — and it’s interesting now seeing any games, while, so why not?” And I’ve never been into hockey. The Panthers’ whether it’s baseball, football, baseball, after (COVID-19), getting back arena is behind this mall in South Florida. into the building and just being able to cheer on your team. Especially a good team? It’s pretty next-level. The only reason anyone ever goes out there is for the (Sawgrass Mills) mall. I don’t know anyone who’s ever been to the stadium. I’ve seen There’s no doubt (that I’m hooked). I will be following the Panthers. Panthers tickets on the ground in the mall parking lot. Regardless, too — I’m a Dolphins fan. I couldn’t care less about the quality of the team. But after yesterday, after seeing it live and the So that was literally the first hockey game you’ve sat down and watched? intensity they played with? Yeah, that’s my team right there. I got a hat Dude. It was my first hockey game. Ever. I’m watching it, like, “… Is this and everything. I want to get myself a hockey jersey, but I’ve got to warm how they are normally? Is it this exciting? I might have to get into this.” I myself up to spending, like, $200. But I know who I’m going for: Barkov. heard (that I couldn’t have picked a better game). I don’t even know the I was curious about (hockey). I said, “This is something that isn’t popular rules. “OK, if they’re tied at the end of regulation, do they go to OT?” I with Hispanic people. Let me look into it. Let me see what’s up with it.” didn’t know anything that was happening, but I was so, so into it. And it is a very white sport — but that curiosity was what led me to it. It’s HOCKEY IS LIVE AS FUCK I BEEN MISSING OUT not something that’s commonplace in my culture, so I wanted to reach out and say, “What’s up with this? What’s this?” And I love it. Hockey is a — KZ OPALOCKA (@06NOTRIGGED) MAY 17, 2021 great frickin’ sport. I told my dad that I went to a game, and now he wants Was there any single moment where you were like, “Oh yeah, I’m locked to go to a game. And his friend wants to go to a game. And we’re not in?” white! (laughs)

The first (Aleksander Barkov) goal, I was like, “OK, I know this dude. I I’m telling you, if you have more games like that, you’re not gonna be a know the Barkov guy. He scored. He’s, like … Jimmy Butler, I guess?” No. 5 sport for long. It was on fire, back and forth. It was incredible. So if And then I saw on Twitter, every time they scored a goal, people were they have more games like that — maybe it doesn’t happen, but wow. talking about rats? What the hell does a rat have to do with a panther? I It reminded me of the shot Ray Allen hit in 2013. That shit marked me got some history, I’ve been Wikipedia-ing. So I’ll watch some highlights of forever. I remember leaving my house and going outside because I was that (1996 Eastern Conference finals). That’s pretty cool, with the rats, so pissed, and coming back because I couldn’t give up on my team. And but I didn’t have a clue what that meant. I was like, “OK, a Panther eats a then he nails the shot. rat for lunch, I guess?” Same thing with hockey. There’s no doubt that I’m going to follow the I love this, because everyone has half a complex about hockey’s spot in Panthers every single game this playoff, then go to a couple games next the food chain, and they’re like “If someone could only see the game at year. @dewontheleaves, 24, Miami: First playoff game on TV happened” and kept watching. I went into it with an open mind, like “Oh, this is pretty fun. This is cool.” GOD I DONT WANNA LOSE TO TAMPA DUDE A big thing, especially here for South Florida fans, they go all-in when our — 1. E4 PLAYER (@DEWONTHELEAVES) MAY 17, 2021 teams are good — and they show no interest when they’re not.

Everything about it was great. The players were so chippy, it was so I had somebody tweet at me from Tampa, saying “This happened to us in aggressive, it was so tense. You could feel that Florida rivalry. I knew 2015, and now we’re huge Lightning fans.” Maybe that’s what happens to nothing about Tampa Bay, and by the end of it, I was like “I really want to me. crush these guys.” The Athletic LOADED: 05.19.2021 Over the course of the season, I kept tuning in, watching my feed and SportsCenter and everything, and they just kept outperforming expectations. Everyone was like, “The Panthers are legit this year. The Panthers are a team to watch.” And I knew nothing about hockey, and then suddenly, I have a bunch of friends on Twitter that I’m DMing, like, “Hey, what does offside mean? Can you tell me some of these rules?” And over the course of the season, I became a big fan. I love our guys. I think Barkov has been fantastic this season. He made a fan out of me this season, and that game yesterday, ooh, everything about it. I was DMing my friend like, “Is it always like this? Are they always this intense? Because sign me up for seven games of this, man!”

I got my whole family (involved), who’d never watched hockey either. We’re a basketball household. And by the end of it, we were all cheering for our Panthers. We were heartbroken at the end there.

GEE THIS AGED WELL

— 1. E4 PLAYER (@DEWONTHELEAVES) MAY 17, 2021

I’ll tell you this, as a hardcore basketball fan and a casual fan of football and a lot of the other big Miami sports, I think hockey for a long time just hasn’t had a huge presence in our city. And this season has done a lot to get Florida viewers engaged and watching. This is our most successful season in a while, and we’ve been in the media spotlight more than we were in years past. It felt like they did a great job of getting local fans to pay attention to their teams — because I’ll be honest with you, prior to this season I could maybe name one guy on the roster.

They’ve made more of an effort on their social media pages. I noticed that a lot of the big hockey teams keep the engagement going with that constant presence on social media, and I thought the Panthers were kind of lacking in that until this season. So they’ve stepped up in that regard. It definitely made a fan out of me. If I can get a ticket to one of these games, shoot, you know I’ll be there.

Some of those confrontations on the ice — on the Panthers subreddit, the top comment was “(Radko Gudas) is playing like a true Florida Man.” And I’m texting my friend, like, “Damn, are they always this aggressive out there?” That was definitely the moment for me. “Wow, this is worth watching.”

I’d try to tune into a couple games in the past, and it never really did it for me. But the energy level, and having names to the faces of all those guys that were putting it all out there really made it for me. I watched a Penguins game last year with a friend of mine, but I didn’t recognize anyone. I didn’t have a stake in any of the teams. Now that I know who these guys are, there’s more storylines to follow and more things to get invested in.

Trust me, I’ve bought in. They truly made a fan out of me. When I saw your message this morning, I couldn’t help but think, “Wow, I wonder if a bunch of people had the same reaction that I did.”

I’m invested now. I’ve got to see who wins the Stanley Cup now. I’m hoping it’s us, but I’m down for good games either way.

Colin Ortega, 21, Miami: First game watched, ever

I AM. AS A SOUTH FLORIDA NATIVE THIS IS MY FIRST HOCKEY GAME I’VE SEEN ON TV AND I AM ALL IN ON THIS ACTION

— KABOOM (@BRICKNAYSH) MAY 17, 2021

I’m a big basketball fan. A big Heat fan. So last night, they clinched their spots in the playoffs, and I was like “Eh, I don’t need to watch them today.” And I heard a lot of people talking about the Florida Panthers making the playoffs. So I was like, why not? The Panthers are good this year, apparently. And that game was awesome. It was electric.

I just really liked that it was non-stop action. It’s back and forth. They do not stop. I’m definitely still a little confused about penalties and all that stuff, but that didn’t deter me at all. I was just like, “OK, whatever, that 1188425 Toronto Maple Leafs Jason Spezza (Vintage): July 1, 2019. Seems more dialed in this year. Offers some scoring help from the fourth line.

Wayne Simmonds (The Wayne Train): Oct. 9, 2020. Big and strong and Turning over every Leaf: Here are the building blocks for what Toronto just the kind of player the Leafs haven’t had in the playoffs in previous hopes is a long playoff run years.

T.J. Brodie (Teej): Oct. 9, 2020. Does everything so well you hardly notice him. By Kevin McGran Staff Reporter Zach Bogosian (Bogo): Oct. 10, 2020. Provides the physical side of the game, great penalty killer. Cup champion in Tampa.

There isn’t exactly a science to building a Stanley Cup champion, but Joe Thornton (Jumbo): Oct. 16, 2020. A supersized personality to match there are guideposts. his nickname. He’ll keep things loose in the locker room.

First, look at what successful teams have done, and do that. Second, Michael Hutchinson (Hutch): Oct. 30, 2020. He’s back. And fits the look at what unsuccessful teams have done, and don’t do that. qualifications for a goalie the Leafs must expose in the expansion draft.

And when it comes to the 2020-21 Maple Leafs, general manager Kyle Scott Sabourin (Sabo): Feb. 7, 2021. Depth physical forward. Matthews Dubas has followed a map laid out by successful teams: knows his name now.

Draft well, especially for the kind talent that simply isn’t available via The trades trades or free agency. Look at recent Stanley Cup winners like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang (Penguins), or Alex Ovechkin and Zach Hyman (Hymes): June 19, 2015, from Florida for Greg McKegg. Nicklas Backstrom (Capitals), Alex Pietrangelo (Blues) or Steve May go down as one of the best trades in franchise history. Stamkos, Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov (Lightning). Frederik Andersen (Big Red, Fredzilla): June 20, 2016, from Anaheim for Develop talent that can be traded for players who fit your program. In the a 2016 first-round pick and a 2017 second-rounder. Part of Phil Kessel’s Leafs’ case, they’ve proven adept at drafting and/or developing speedy impressive trade tree. The best goalie the Leafs have had since Ed wingers with offensive upside (Trevor Moore, Carl Grundstrom, Andreas Belfour. Johnsson, Kasperi Kapanen) and they have turned them into Jack Jake Muzzin (Muzz): Jan. 28, 2019, from Los Angeles in a multi- Campbell, Jake Muzzin and a bit of needed cap space. player/prospects/picks deal. The most reliable blueliner on the team Sign the right free agents at the right price at the right time. This is the since he got here. They missed him when he got hurt in the qualifying trickiest part, since free agents require a premium to change teams. It round last year. can work (John Tavares) or backfire (Patrick Marleau). But if the price is Alexander Kerfoot (Kerf): July 1, 2019, from Colorado as part of the right (Jason Spezza, Joe Thornton, Zach Bogosian, Wayne Simmonds), Nazem Kadri deal. Offers versatility and has looked more comfortable a team can be rounded out at its edges. this year than his first in Toronto. Here’s how the Leafs were built: Nicolas Petan (Pete): Feb. 25, 2019, from Winnipeg for Par Lindholm. The Draft Picks Depth piece for a depth piece with better analytics.

Morgan Rielly (Mo): The fifth pick in the 2012 draft and the longest- Denis Malgin (Malgee): Feb. 19, 2020, from Florida for Mason tenured Leaf. Marchment. A short-solution to an injury problem that has Florida laughing right now. William Nylander (Willie Styles): The eighth pick in 2014, a signal the team was heading toward speed and skill. Jack Campbell (Soupy): Feb. 26, 2020, from L.A. in a multiplayer/pick deal. The goalie of the future and the goalie of now. Pierre Engvall (Giraffe): A seventh-round pick in 2014, a late bloomer with speed and size who often suffers the wrath of his coach. Alex Galchenyuk (Gally): Feb. 15, 2021, from Carolina for minor-leaguer David Warsofsky and KHLer Yegor Korshkov. A low-risk, high-reward Mitch Marner (Mitchy): The fourth pick in 2015. He can drive a line and is trade. His defensive side lacks. the rare offensive star who can kill penalties as well. Riley Nash (Roadrunner): April 9, 2021, from Columbus for a conditional Travis Dermott (Derms, The Skin Doctor): A second-round pick in 2015. seventh-round pick. A no-risk pickup with playoff experience. Grew up playing ministicks with Connor McDavid. David Rittich (Big Save Dave): April 11, 2021, from Calgary. The backup Auston Matthews (Tony): The first pick in 2016. The most gifted goal to the backup. scorer the franchise has seen. Nick Foligno (Fligs): April 11, 2021 in a three-way trade with Columbus Adam Brooks (Brooksie): A fourth-round pick in 2016. A gifted scorer in and San Jose. Setting out to finish what his father started with the Leafs. junior who could be a valuable role player in the playoffs. Stefan Noesen (Nosey): April 11, 2021, along with Foligno in that three- Timothy Liljegren (Lilly) The 17th pick in 2017. A right-side defenceman team deal. The Leafs are his sixth NHL organization. for the future who took a step forward in his development this year. Ben Hutton (Smiley): April 12, 2021, from Anaheim for a late draft pick. Rasmus Sandin (Sandman): The 29th pick in 2018. Made a big leap Apparently unafraid to put his face in the way of danger. forward, ironically, in a year in which he barely played. Some see him as Morgan Rielly’s heir apparent as the No. 1 defenceman. Toronto Star LOADED: 05.19.2021

Nick Robertson (Bobby): A second-round pick in 2019. His time in the top six will come.

The free agents

Justin Holl (Hollsy): July 2, 2015. A late bloomer on the Marlies’ 2018 Calder Cup team. Hard to imagine the Leafs without him.

John Tavares (J.T.): July 1, 2018. The hockey hero comes home. Named captain in 2019, a unique combination of grit and high-end skill. He’s all about hockey.

Ilya Mikheyev (Soupman): May 6, 2019, from the KHL. A are combination of size and speed. If his scoring returns, he’ll be lights-out. 1188426 Toronto Maple Leafs Note: The Bell Centre could be home to as many as 2,500 fans if the Maple Leafs-Canadiens series gets to a Game 6. The Quebec government is expected to lift its COVID curfew next Friday and allow controlled indoor and outdoor gatherings. Game 6 is scheduled for next The Canadiens will let kids Caufield, Kotkaniemi and Romanov watch Saturday in Montreal. before testing them against the Leafs Toronto Star LOADED: 05.19.2021

By Mark Zwolinski Sports Reporter

The Montreal Canadiens will be dressing a playoff-hardened lineup for Game 1 of their first-round playoff series against the Maple Leafs.

Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme confirmed Tuesday that 20-year-old forwards Cole Caufield and Jesperi Kotkaniemi and 21-year- old defenceman Alex Romanov will not dress for Thursday’s opener in Toronto.

“We talked about experience ... we have to go with it,” Ducharme said of his discussions with Montreal GM Marc Bergevin. “One thing is they all know what the plan is, they all know what we want to do. It’s about right now, at the moment, Game 1, one game.”

Ducharme said that he wanted to put his young talent “in situations where they can succeed, and they’ll come back into the lineup when the time is right.”

The Canadiens will welcome back goaltender Carey Price, 33, defenceman Shea Weber, 35 and forward Brendan Gallagher, 29, from injuries. Price, who hasn’t played since April 19 due to a concussion, and Gallagher, who suffered an upper-body injury April 5, took part in an AHL game Monday.

Weber practised for the first time Tuesday after missing the last seven games of the season with an upper-body injury. He was paired with Jon Merrill, acquired at the trade deadline, and that essentially bumped Romanov to the press box. The rookie defenceman had a goal and six points in 54 games.

The decision to sit Caufield raised eyebrows. The five-foot-seven American star had 30 goals in 31 games at the University of Wisconsin this season and scored four more, including two overtime winners, in 10 games with Montreal.

Kotkaniemi has been a bit of an offensive disappointment since the Canadiens selected him third in the 2018 NHL draft. He had just five goals and 20 points in 56 games this season.

“We believe in (Kotkaniemi),” Ducharme said. “We know at one point (in these playoffs), coming in, he’s going to be good. I’m confident of that.

“Same thing with Cole, he’ll come out from (the last week of practice) growing a lot. He’ll see the first game ... We talked to him about those kinds of things. It’s one thing to come into the NHL, to see the games, but the playoffs are a different animal. So it’s good for those guys, taking a step and getting everything straightened out, and coming in at the right time.”

Game 1, however, will be about the veterans. Price, Weber and forwards Corey Perry and Eric Staal are Olympic gold medallists. Twenty-nine- year-old Tyler Toffoli and 27-year-old Josh Anderson, two key off-season additions, led Montreal in goals with 28 and 17, respectively. And 32- year-old Paul Byron, on a line with Jake Evans and Artturi Lehkonen, may draw a shutdown matchup against Toronto’ top line of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and Zach Hyman.

Byron, whose line had success against Edmonton’s Connor McDavid, knows Matthews and company will present a different challenge.

“When he doesn’t play with Leon (Draisaitl), McDavid is all over the ice,” Byron said. “He’s very dynamic, a great skater, he can turn nothing into something at any point in the game. He is such an electric player.

“Auston, I’ve watched him play, he’s very, very intelligent, a sneaky good skater, strong … he just finds areas to get himself open and shoot from. With McDavid, you’re more worried about skating, and Matthews, you’re more worried about how good his shot is.

“And (Marner is) the guy that stirs the drink. He always has the puck. Even when he’s not looking at (Matthews), he still finds great passing lanes to hit him on the tape. So it’s a great hockey line, very dangerous.” 1188427 Toronto Maple Leafs Just imagine if this most unlucky of Leafs picked now to start converting some of those marvelous breakaway scoring chances he whiffed on through the year. Certainly there’s no doubting his speed or his buy-in of Keefe-Leafs hockey. Watch these potential sleepers rise to the occasion in Leafs-Habs series LW Alex Galchenyuk

A projected Game 1 scratch, but on the short list to get back in. Having Lance Hornby worked hard to restore his game and his reputation, he wants nothing more than to shine against his draft team.

D Rasmus Sandin/D Travis Dermott Joel Edmundson of the Montreal Canadiens and Ilya Mikheyev of the Toronto Maple Leafs, jostling for the puck during an earlier , could be In a physical series, with Zach Bogosian’s return on the horizon, both unlikely heroes for their respective teams. must make the most of his first couple of games. In Sandin’s case, a role in getting some pucks through to the net to re-ignite the power play will You know they’re out there, waiting for their moment to pounce. sustain his ice time. The players who’ve flown under the radar in regular season, left off your G Jack Campbell playoff pool, until the most unlikely moment, say a nationally televised series between the Maple Leafs and Canadiens. While no longer an understudy, there’s that blank sheet of playoff games beside his name to consider. Leafs have waited too long for a stopper to “Through every playoffs there’s some great players who do a great job rise and shine and steal them a series. individually,” said Canadiens’ forward Paul Byron in Tuesday. “But there’s always that unsung hero, or a line, a No. 5 or 6 defenceman that Toronto Sun LOADED: 05.19.2021 on any given day can steal a game.

“We have faith anyone (on the Habs) can step up and be a hero every night. We know how good Toronto can be. It’s on us to show how good we can be.”

Here’s a look at five on each team who can impact the series in some unexpected way:

Montreal

C Phillip Danault

Hardly a secret in Montreal, but few outside of the Habs’ family fully appreciate his defensive qualities.

He’ll see lots of Auston Matthews or John Tavares in this series as he did in regular season. With a 52.5% draw percentage, actually his lowest in three years, he’s better than Matthews, though behind Tavares’ 55.3%. If the Leafs stars get too fancy on breakouts, Danault will be among those who make them pay.

RW Corey Perry

Started out on the Habs’ taxi squad and like Toronto warhorse Joe Thornton, got better as the second season approached.

Perry can draw penalties as an unwanted crease visitor. He and Jumbo Joe can now pick up their dormant San Jose-Anaheim rivalry on the East Coast.

“He’s a competitor, who always raises his level in the playoffs,” Perry said of Thornton. “That’s how I know Joe. We’ve had some battles for 13, 14 years. It’s going to be fun.”

F Jake Evans

Turned it on through the stretch to become a solid bottom-six centre, challenging Jesperi Kotkaniemi for a role. The Toronto-born former St. Mike’s Buzzer was chosen 207th in the draft.

D Joel Edmundson

A 6-foot-4 Stanley Cup winner with St. Louis, he played all but one game this season in a year the Habs had plenty of absentees. Also a plus-28 to lead all North Division players and one reason the Leafs are concerned they can’t get inside to distract Carey Price.

G Jake Allen

What if Price is not right?

Maple Leafs

C Riley Nash

We know, he hasn’t even played a game yet. But there’s a reason Toronto traded for him and left the door open through his weeks on the injured list. They hope the former Bruin/Blue Jacket does to the Habs what he did to the Leafs in previous playoffs. Has seen 32 career post- season games.

F Ilya Mikheyev 1188428 Toronto Maple Leafs “We’ve been using one loaded unit going back to last season and you’re still going to see that group together,” Keefe predicted. “But we like some of the elements of the balanced groups in terms of multiple threats, spreading the puck around differently. Maple Leafs - Habs anxious to join playoff wars “For the first time (in a while), we’ve had a good chunk of practice time and a healthy team (with Hyman back) to be able to give ourselves different looks.” Lance Hornby PRICE FEELS RIGHT

The Canadiens returned to the ice Tuesday after a day in the gym. Maple Leafs goalie Jack Campbell gives Canadiens forward Corey Perry Monday night, Carey Price went across town to Laval for two periods of a a shove during a game on May 6. The Toronto-Montreal series gets conditioning stint game against the Toronto Marlies after weeks away underway on Thursday. with a concussion. Call the past few nights must-see TV for Sheldon Keefe and the Maple Price, on whose shoulders rest much of Montreal’s hopes in the series, Leafs, though they’re getting a bit sick of spectating from the couch. stopped 13 of 15 shots and talked Rocket coach Joel Bouchard into The first three nights of intense playoff action saw lead changes, letting him go past his scheduled 30-minute mark to face some Marlies overtimes, some crease crashing and a couple of scraps, while the Leafs power plays. and Montreal Canadiens are still waiting to get their series underway, “I talked to Carey this morning, we were really happy with him getting the starting Thursday at Scotiabank Arena. game situations,” said Ducharme. “He asked Joel for a bit more time so “That anticipation just grows, and now that you’re watching the other (he could work on) finding pucks throught traffic.” series up and going, you want to play that much more,” Toronto coach While Price was not having his usual consistent season before getting Keefe said Tuesday. knocked around, forward Corey Perry wasn’t worried about him against Keefe kept his players away from the ice on the fourth of six days of their the Leaf gunners.“If he sees it, he stops it,” Perry declared. “But second, break. After Edmonton-Winnipeg begins Wednesday, the Leafs-Habs will third opportunities, we have to help him.” be the last of the NHL’s eight first round series to launch. That’s even Forward Brendan Gallagher (thumb) also tested his healing process more time to perfect the game plan on both sides. And in the Leafs’ case, against the Marlies. to endure even more chirping from outside about their four failed recent attempts to get through the opening round, the last one with Keefe in WE ARE THE WORLDS charge. Some former Leafs and picks are popping up on various world “I don’t sense that pressure at all,” Keefe insisted. “Our team recognizes championships’ rosters as the tournament in Riga, Latvia, draws closer. the opportunity we have and we believe in our group. The nice thing Trevor Moore is playing for Team USA, then there are Alexander about our team is that you know what you’re working towards, but you’re Barabanov and Igor Ozhiganov (Russia), Martins Dzierkals (Latvia), having fun doing it.” Viktor Loov and Par Lindholm (Sweden), Korbinian Holzer (Germany) and Fabrice Herzog (Switzerland). Keefe cited the laid-back Joe Thornton’s early season comments about what was then a training camp mixed with survivors and newcomers. Defenceman Jesse Blacker is with Kazakstan of all places after playing Toronto proceeded to wire-to-wire winners of the North Division, without in the KHL. Blacker was the 58th overall pick in the 2009 draft and while the mid or late-season slide that cost it home-ice advantage or seeding in he legitimately sparked interest among many teams at the time, the Leafs previous campaigns. and other clubs passed on blueliners Tyson Barrie, Brayden McNabb and David Savard, all taken shortly after. “(Joe said) ‘I have no stress, man. I really don’t,’” Keefe recalled. “That sums up our team. Our group realizes this is a different team.” LOOSE LEAFS

WILL DOGS HAVE THEIR DAY? The Canadiens’ family is mourning the death of tough guy Gilles Lupien. The 6-foot-6 policeman had more than 100 penalty minutes in three On Tuesday, the Canadiens were back on the ice after a day in the gym, straight seasons in the late-70s and spent time with Pittsburgh and embracing the underdog label most have put on them in this series. Hartford. Toronto fans will recall him as goalie Felix Potvin’s jovial agent “We have a lot of guys in our room who people look at and probably … Tavares is the Leafs nominee for the King Clancy Trophy for on-ice never thought they’d play in the NHL,” said forward Paul Byron. “It leadership and community service … After the Quebec government doesn’t matter. Right now there’s 20 guys in this room who think we can announced Tuesday a slight easing of COVID restrictions, the Canadiens win.” said they will allow 2,500 fans — about 12% of Bell Centre capacity — after May 28. A Game 6 in the Toronto series would take place on May The first playoff meeting between the clubs in 42 years will 29. also spice up the series. Toronto Sun LOADED: 05.19.2021 “It doesn’t matter who you play in playoffs,” Byron said. “This (Toronto- Montreal) isn’t the intensity of other rivalries (Bruins – Habs for example). But it will heat up pretty quick. (Playoffs) are what drives rivalries.”

Said coach Dominique Ducharme of facing the Leafs: “it’s a challenge. But we love challenges.

SPECIAL TEAMS TIME

Toronto’s extra work out time has been geared in part to fix its power play, which finished the regular season 6-for-71. That its primary weapons are Rocket Richard Trophy winner Auston Matthews, creative Mitch Marner and proven scorers John Tavares, William Nylander and Thornton make its continual misfires all the more mystifying.

Keefe and assistant Manny Malhotra’s latest gambit is to lean away from a stacked No. 1 unit, with Matthews and Marner now fed from down low by Thornton with Zach Hyman as the net presence, while Nylander and Tavares front the other unit.

Of post-season games before Tuesday night, power play success was running at 17.5% around the league. 1188429 Toronto Maple Leafs part of the story, too. It’s not easy to see a smile through a goalie mask but his seems to shine through.

You cheer for the Leafs because they’re your team. But you cheer for SIMMONS: Leafs don't need Jack Campbell to be Dryden or Roy. They Campbell because how can you not cheer for someone who seems so just need him to be himself. easy to like, so proud of his accomplishments, so happy for his teammates.

You learn a lot in a season coaching all your players and Keefe has Steve Simmons certainly come to appreciate what he has in Campbell. At the beginning, with his record-breaking winning streak to start the season, you revel in

the victories. You appreciate them. You celebrate them. Goaltender Jack Campbell makes a save against the Canadiens during a But there’s a part of you that’s still not sure. If there is any kind of doubt, game this season. Campbell and the Maple Leafs take on Montreal in the coaches often keep it to themselves. first round of the playoffs, starting Thursday. And the doubt came when the Leafs started playing poorly and Campbell Just seven months ago, Anton Khudobin, a lightly regarded 34-year-old wasn’t happy with his play and midnight seemed to be arriving for journeyman, backstopped the Dallas Stars all the way to Game 6 of the Cinderella. Stanley Cup Final. That’s the part of the season that impresses Keefe the most. Campbell He had never started a playoff game prior to 2020. was losing his way. The Leafs were losing. And then they weren’t. The year before that, Jordan Binnington, a six-year minor-leaguer He ended the season with a 17-3-2 won-loss record, a 2.15 goals-against apparently going nowhere, saved the St. Louis Blues season and won a average, a save percentage of .921. Stanley Cup. Brilliant numbers for his first, albeit shortened, brilliant season. He had never started a playoff game prior to 2019. Andrei Vasilevskiy was superb leading Tampa Bay to the most recent There have been, over the years, all kinds of famous stories about first- Stanley Cup championship. But over the past decade or so, for every time playoff goaltenders becoming Stanley Cup stars. Ken Dryden did Vasilevskiy or Quick or Tim Thomas who has won, Murray won twice, the almost impossible in 1971, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy the Niemi won, Binnington won, won two, Braden Holtby season before he was NHL rookie of the year. On the same team, 15 won. There is a variety of levels for championship goaltenders. years later, a little-known rookie named Patrick Roy carried Montreal to the Stanley Cup. And there’s room now for Jack Campbell to join that group. There’s precedent for this. There are possibilities. More recently, Matt Murray was in goal for Pittsburgh when he won his first of two straight Stanley Cups. And before that, Antti Niemi was the The rest is up to him. netminder for Chicago in the Blackhawks’ first of three Cups. That was his playoff debut. Toronto Sun LOADED: 05.19.2021

Now, it’s Jack Campbell’s turn. His first Stanley Cup start on Thursday night against les Canadiens. His first opportunity to play difference-maker with the long-suffering Maple Leafs.

He doesn’t have to steal games the way Dryden did against Boston in ‘71 or Roy managed in the ‘86 playoffs, and even more so in the crazy overtime run of 1993. He just has to do a little Khudobin, a little Binnington, a little Murray: Win when he should win. Stop the puck when he should make saves. He doesn’t need to be Jonathan Quick of 2012, the most spectacular playoff goaltending we’ve seen since Roy.

He needs to be the Jack Campbell, who has been the Leafs best goaltender in the best Maple Leafs regular-season most of us have ever seen. And the circumstances for him, and for his team, are different than they’ve been in this short era of playoff disappointment.

Some of the names may be the same but this Leafs team is different. The coach, Sheldon Keefe, is different.

Campbell starts in goal ahead of Frederik Andersen. That’s different. The Leafs depth and strength on defence, that’s different. The long list of leaders throughout the lineup, the hunger, that’s different.

And for the first time since Brendan Shanahan took over the Leafs as president and began the rebuild that has taken the team this far and, occasionally, this frustrated, this is a playoff series with Montreal they have to win.

They haven’t won before and now they must win. The first round certainly. They finished 18 points ahead of the Habs. Playoffs are never easy, but this could be one-sided. Last year the Leafs lost to Columbus and finished the season tied with the Blue Jackets in points. The two years before that, they lost in seven games to Boston, and both years finished seven points behind the Bruins. In the first Auston Matthews- Mitch Marner playoff series, the Leafs shocked the Washington Capitals with their play, still losing in six games to a team 23-points better than them.

The first round is the first step for Campbell and the Leafs. Both needing to go where they’ve never been before.

Campbell’s journey from can’t miss kid, to draft failure, to forgotten netminder, to rebuilt career, to Leafs regular-season saviour has been rather well documented. Along the way, his uplifting personality has been 1188430 Toronto Maple Leafs Montreal coach Dominique Ducharme said earlier in the week there is plenty of motivation for his team, beyond the obvious national rivalry with Toronto.

'ANTICIPATION JUST GROWS': Maple Leafs getting antsy as playoff “We had to go through a storm this year. We were missing pieces and spectators some other pieces fell along he way because of injuries. Now that we’re through, that might be a lot of (incentive) for those guys.

“We’ve talked about (his team’s COVID-19 compacted) schedule and Lance Hornby everything we’ve faced. The guys stuck together. There were hard times, and some games that were not pretty to watch. We fought to get that

ticket here and made the most out of it. Call the past few nights must-see TV for Sheldon Keefe and the Maple “I feel the guys are energized and ready to go.” Leafs. Toronto Sun LOADED: 05.19.2021 The coach has seen close games, leads changes, overtime, crease crashing and a couple of scraps around the NHL. But the Leafs and Montreal Canadiens are still 48 hours from puck drop in their playoff series, the last of eight to get underway.

“We’re very excited, though it’s been a bit longer of a gap than you’d like,” Keefe said Tuesday, the fourth of a six-day wait during which his club took a break from practice. “That anticipation just grows and now that you’re watching the other series up and going, you want to play that much more.”

Toronto’s extra workout time has been partly dedicated to the power play, which finished the regular season in a funk, 6-for-71. Of all post- season games so far, power play success is running at 17.5% around the league.

After much of regular season strategy was to pack one unit, Keefe moved back this week to dividing resources on both power play groups.

"Taking this time to get ready and prepare. These last two days have been pretty solid days for us as a group.”

Practice Media Mashup | #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/WYc2ouTidW

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) May 17, 2021

“We’ve been using one loaded unit quite a while going back to last season and they have good experience together,” Keefe said. “You’re still going to see that group together, but we like some of the elements of the balanced groups in terms of multiple threats, spreading the puck around differently.”

The past couple of days, John Tavares has been split from Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, with Zach Hyman back as a net presence with the later duo. Joe Thornton is centring them now, Rasmus Sandin is the point man, while Wayne Simmonds is the second unit’s screen option.

“For the first time (in a while), we’ve had a good chunk of practice time and a healthy team to be able to give ourselves different looks,” Keefe added.

With Game 1 at Scotiabank Arena drawing nearer, so are the chirps about the first-place Leafs having lost four straight first-round playoff series, including last summer under Keefe.

“I don’t sense that pressure at all,” he said. “Our team recognizes the opportunity we have and we believe in our group. The nice thing about our team is that you know what you’re working towards, but you’re having fun doing it.”

"Now with the next chapter here it’s going to get more exciting, more intense, and it’s going to be really enjoyable.”

Practice Media Mashup | #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/WM7yEur3TI — Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) May 16, 2021

Keefe cited the laid-back Thornton’s early press quotes.

“(He said), ‘I have no stress, man. I really don’t.’ That sums up our team. Our group realizes this is a different team.”

The Canadiens are using their break to work in some injured players as well. Goaltender Carey Price, on whose shoulders rest much of Montreal’s hopes, played a two-period conditioning stint Monday night for Laval against the Toronto Marlies and stopped 13 of 15 shots. He has been out a few weeks with a concussion, Brendan Gallagher (thumb) also played. 1188431 Toronto Maple Leafs But what will some of the changes that Wickenheiser and Goyette could make to the Leafs player development department look like? The Athletic breaks down the potential future of the department.

How Hayley Wickenheiser and Danielle Goyette plan to revamp the Personal attention and psychological development Maple Leafs’ player development With Dubas at the helm, personal attention for players has been prioritized. Keefe and Marlies head coach Greg Moore often prioritize one-on-one post-practice conversations on the ice. Players have access By Joshua Kloke May 18, 2021 to Dr. Meg Popovic, the team’s director of athlete wellbeing and performance, who provides a trusted sounding board.

Wickenheiser and Goyette both spoke about the need to maintain those Hayley Wickenheiser knows about success. personal connections with young players and provide them with specific Widely regarded as the best women’s hockey player of all time, she has feedback for their game, but with perhaps more of a different tone. won four gold medals with the Canadian national team. After a decorated “That’s what I think we need to work with right now with the players is: playing career, she completed medical school while holding down a role you have to be tough,” said Goyette. “This is a tough league to play in. as assistant director of player development with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Any player in the world wants to have your spot on the team. You have to On the ice, she’s not afraid to call it like she sees it. be able to be mentally strong and forget about what’s going on around and focus on what you have to bring to the team and sometimes even to “I don’t sugarcoat things. If something needs to be said to a player, I’m change position.” not afraid to say it, which I think benefits the player down the road,” said Wickenheiser. “I’m straight to the point,” Goyette added.

Her voice within the Leafs organization is about to become even louder. Adding a sense of resiliency to young players could help better prepare She was promoted to senior director of player development on Monday them for the eventual rigours of playing in Toronto. One example to after Scott Pellerin’s contract was not renewed. The department she’ll consider is forward Adam Brooks. Throughout the early season, Brooks oversee has arguably never been more important. The Leafs’ core is set cut a sometimes lackadaisical figure in Marlies practices and games. until 2024, but developing young players to complement that core will be Then, in March, after going pointless in four games, Brooks called crucial — especially if the salary cap remains flat as predicted in a post- himself out on his poor play. pandemic world. “You have to look yourself in the mirror and come to that realization,” said The team hopes Wickenheiser’s attitude, keen eye for detail and Brooks. “For me, I know there’s more to give. I need to be more engaged championship pedigree will help turn those in the team’s s prospect pool in battles. This is a league where everyone’s fighting to get to the next into NHL-ready talent sooner rather than later. That pool includes elite level. If you’re not engaged every game, you’re going to stand out like a talents, but those who have also been accused of wilting at times on the sore thumb.” ice, such as 2020 first-round pick Rodion Amirov. When Brooks eventually returned to the Leafs, he impressed by playing a In her new role, Wickenheiser will be tasked with overseeing each composed and even physical game in limited minutes. He is starting to prospect’s development plan to ensure their readiness for the Leafs’ style look like a safe bet to get more NHL minutes next season. of play. She’ll also work with those on the NHL squad when necessary. The mission is to continue the department’s recent success, having Now, this isn’t to say that every young player needs to treat every day graduated more than 20 players from the AHL and junior ranks to the with a hyper-intense approach. But “clear communication” was a term Leafs, including late-round picks such as Pierre Engvall. referenced multiple times in Wickenheiser and Goyette’s introductory press conference. They believe that if the Leafs development staff do not “(Wickenheiser) played the game at a high, high level, obviously, and shy away from more difficult conversations with players about necessary talent that has that unique combination of elite intelligence and elite work improvements, the result will be more well-rounded players. ethic, and all those things shine through in her role any time she’s been around myself and our coaching staff or our players,” said Leafs head Goyette referenced how AHL players might be loaded with skill, but “to coach Sheldon Keefe. “So to have her take a significant step into a play NHL sometimes, skill is not going to be good enough to get you leadership position here now within the player development program is a there or to keep you there.” huge win for our organization.” Goyette believes it’s important for young players to make adjustments Wickenheiser’s first order of business was adding Danielle Goyette as from the player they were in junior hockey to eventually fitting a different director of player development. Goyette is a member of the Hockey Hall type of role in the NHL. A continued focus on this belief could help the of Fame who previously worked as the head coach of the University of Leafs when drafting to better project where a possible draft pick could fit Calgary women’s hockey team since 2007. She has been an assistant in the Leafs’ system. coach of the Canadian national women’s hockey team and is a two-time Olympic gold medalist as a player. To do that, Goyette believes young players will have to master the “mental aspect of the game.” In addition, Will Sibley was promoted to director of development operations and analysis. Player development consultant Darryl Belfry will “Trust me, you have learn that the hard way sometimes,” said Goyette. “I oversee the technical development of the team. know the Maple Leafs are going to have sports psychologists. They’re going to have so many people around them but sometimes it’s at that Having a player development department headed by two women is an moment, at the right time on the ice, during a practice or during a NHL first. Wickenheiser was asked about the importance of women situation, after a play they did, how to help them to overcome and win taking on prominent management roles in one of the NHL’s biggest their way back back to that situation. That’s going to make them better.” organizations. She views her promotion to Maple Leafs (which she called an “incredibly progressive organization”) and her subsequent hire of Ben Matchett, the University of Calgary’s interim athletic director, has Goyette as simply finding the best people to do the jobs. seen Goyette go the extra mile when developing relationships with players. “(Hockey is) probably the last pro sport that’s really making these changes and progressions, but you’re seeing another pro sport, the NBA, “Danielle really showed a knack for looking at the player as a whole, not that this is kind of becoming old news and it’s just about going after the just for what they were doing on the ice,” said Matchett. “She’s the best-qualified person for the job,” said Wickenheiser. hardest worker I’ve ever seen.”

For her, the opportunity to be open-minded and consider different More video tracking perspectives in player development is an important one. In March, Dubas highlighted how in a season that has seen in-person “We have to change as the world changes,” she said. prospect viewing dramatically decrease, the Leafs developed better relationships with teams that control their prospects including access to players and video of players. “It has given us a chance to be able to adapt and not be too complacent in what we do with development,” said Dubas.

Under Wickenheiser and Goyette, and with the newly-promoted Sibley, the next step in that adaptation could see the Leafs taking even more control of prospect development.

“We’re developing a much more robust system of tracking and video work for each player with quite in-depth detail for their development plan,” said Wickenheiser.

Consider that three of the team’s top prospects, Amirov, Roni Hirvonen and Topi Niemelä, will all spend the 2021-22 season in Europe. All three have the upside to make them NHL players one day. The Leafs will want to ensure that while they’re developing in their own right in the KHL and Liiga, they’re also adding tools to their game to help them assimilate to the Leafs’ possession-driven style of play far quicker.

It’s a delicate balance to strike. While the frequency in which prospects communicated with Pellerin varied this season, the average was once a month. Wickenheiser noted the importance of “constantly” keeping in touch with prospects, and so it seems possible that frequency will increase.

Being able to provide players with more detailed video breakdowns could also see the Leafs development staff rely less on informal conversations, and instead showcase specific situations in games that they will need to improve upon. Comprehensive video breakdowns could also allow prospects to study their games on their own time as well.

“From where player development started in the NHL 10 years ago to where it’s going, I’m pretty proud to be a part of a group like this that’s hopefully going to continue to evolve the well-set plans and blueprints that were put into place by Scott Pellerin and Stéphane Robidas,” said Wickenheiser.

Belfry’s influence could grow

While Wickenheiser and Goyette will oversee the department, Belfry’s influence within the department looks likely to grow. Amidst the changes and promotions announced on Monday, Belfry remained a constant.

“Player development is more than two people,” said Goyette, referencing the many resources Leafs prospects have at their disposal. “Our job is to work well together to make sure we help the players as much as we can.”

Dubas and the Leafs clearly feel a sense of trust in Belfry, having hired him as a consultant in 2015. He’s helped some of the more notable Leafs add dimensions to their game, including Auston Matthews, as James Mirtle detailed in his recent look at the Leafs’ prolific goal scorer.

Under Pellerin, Robidas, who accepted a position as head coach of the Magog Cannonniers of QMAAA but will stay with Toronto through June, worked primarily with the team’s defence prospects while Pellerin often focused on the team’s forward prospects. With Belfry overseeing all aspects of technical development, forwards and defenceman could possibly master skills and on-ice approaches they might not have otherwise in their position.

One of Belfry’s focuses remains developing players in the offseason. The Leafs did not hold a development camp in 2020, but a 2021 camp seems more likely. This will be a critical point for the organization’s top prospects to learn Belfry’s methods and begin the process of working with him in earnest.

The Athletic LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188432 Toronto Maple Leafs Canadiens didn’t deserve, but even their expected goals numbers fell off down the stretch too. Over the final six weeks, Montreal earned just a 49 percent expected goals rate, an unusually low mark for a team known for its puck possession prowess. Part of that was obviously due to injuries, 2021 NHL playoff preview: Maple Leafs vs. Canadiens but it was still a worrying trend at the worst possible time. The Leafs only got better as the season went on with a 57 percent expected goals rate

and 62 percent actual goals rate that was second to only Colorado on By Dom Luszczyszyn May 18, 2021 both accounts.

Montreal should be more formidable at five-on-five when fully healthy, but the team is still several steps below Toronto and that showed up when It’s been far too long since the NHL’s two most storied franchises have the two teams went head-to-head. Toronto earned 54 percent of the met in the postseason. Finally, as a result of an all-Canada division, expected goals and 59 percent of the actual goals, mirroring the team’s Canada’s two biggest cities with the two most passionate hockey fan full-season totals. bases in the world will face off. Toronto vs. Montreal. Feel the excitement. The Leafs also won the special teams battle, an area that is of slight concern going into the playoffs. Toronto’s power play has been down bad It’s been 42 years so beggars can’t be choosers and it’s nice that this for a lengthy stretch of time now and is 27th in the league over the last series is finally happening, but it is a shame that this series isn’t … six weeks. The chances are there, but the team seems to have the yips closer. There was a massive divide in the standings between Toronto when it comes to converting. Montreal’s penalty kill is relatively weak, so and Montreal this season and the season series wasn’t much different. a series could be just what the doctor ordered for the team’s power play Combine that with each team’s recent trajectory and all signs point to a to finally wake up. When it’s on it’s scary good and it’s a testament to lopsided series in Toronto’s favour. how strong the team is elsewhere that Toronto is this good despite not having a functioning power play for over two months now. Series odds Given the talent at its disposal, Toronto should be a lot better there. Matchup adjustment takes into account each player’s Game Score Depth wise, there isn’t much separating these two clubs, but the top end against this specific opponent as well as his Game Score over the last six is definitely stacked in Toronto’s favour. By a considerable margin. weeks. Roster breakdown This is the second most uneven series of the first round, behind only the Colorado-St. Louis series. A probability that high feels uncomfortable Matchup adjustment takes into account each player’s Game Score enough, but this feels much worse. It’s over 80 percent and it’s the Leafs. against this specific opponent as well as his Game Score over the last six That math simply does not compute for a team that is cursed. weeks. The numbers may be slightly skewed as a result of ice-time allocation. But it’s hard to spin it any other way given the information at hand. Based on the talent on each roster, this series is closer to 75/25 which is already I did the math with Colorado and St. Louis and though it’s not as stark pretty high. The Leafs are obviously more talented, possess more depth, here, it’s pretty close. Montreal’s 18 skaters are worth 16.8 combined and yes, have better goaltending too (especially with the news that Carey wins. Toronto almost gets there with Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Price will likely be ready for the start of the series, news that downgraded John Tavares, Morgan Rielly and Jake Muzzin alone — a quintet worth Montreal’s chances). The roster itself is enough to feel comfortable with 16.6 wins combined. The rest, which is still a lot of talent, is the cherry on Toronto winning this one. top.

But it’s the extra layers of added context that give the team a further eight High-end talent is what Montreal has been missing for a long time and percentage point boost. The matchup adjustment here is the second Toronto has loads of it. It’s been the exact difference in the season series largest of the opening round and it stems from Toronto being excellent to date as Toronto has been carried by the top of its lineup. Matthews down the stretch, Montreal struggling in comparison, and the head-to- has seven goals and 14 points in 10 games, Marner has 11 in 10 games, head dominance the Leafs had during the season series. Toronto won and even Zach Hyman had seven points in six games. Tavares went seven of 10 and though the model expects something a little less than point-per-game, William Nylander had seven points in eight games. Even that going forward (67 percent at home, 60 percent on the road), it shows the two top defencemen cooked as Muzzin and Rielly had eight and how likely a series win is when a team is expected to win six-or-seven seven points over the 10 games. Every single player won the five-on-five times out of 10. scoring chance battle too.

It’s no guarantee, but the Leafs are heavy favourites for a reason. It’s simply far too much firepower that Montreal not only had no answer for, but no response back either. Jeff Petry had 10 points in 10 games (all Season stats assists, seven secondary), but the forward scoring was led by Nick You’ve seen enough of these season stats charts to know by now the Suzuki (eight points in 10 games), Tyler Toffoli (seven points in 10 Leafs look very strong relative to the field. The league’s best teams — games) and then three players with five points. Jonathan Drouin, who did Colorado, Tampa Bay — have very few flaws if any. It’s a lot of different that in just six games, won’t be suiting up either. blue shades, some deeper than others, and maybe one or two light pink It’s an uphill battle that starts with stopping Matthews, the second-best splotches. No red. Toronto has an elite offence at five-on-five buoyed by player in the league this past season who has had a knack for torching both quality and quantity. The Leafs have a stingy defence and strong Montreal specifically. Good luck with that. Matthews was a goal-scoring goaltending. Their chance creation and suppression on special teams is machine this year, putting up 41 in 52 games, a full-season pace of 65 good, and though they’ve slumped for a long while, their power play is goals. He scored 2.19 goals-per-60, the highest ever in the analytics era still 10th in goal rate. Of the 15 categories here, Toronto is top 10 in 14 of which was aided by his elite finishing ability, but also his penchant for them. Only Colorado can say the same thing and it explains why the creating quality looks. His 1.47 individual expected goals-per-60 ranked Leafs are second to only the Avalanche in expected and actual goals second in the league this season and 28th since 2007-08. That’s a rare percentage at five-on-five. and potent combination. Montreal’s full-season stats are far less rosy. The Canadiens sure started What makes Matthews so valuable is not just that he scores goals — he strong, looking like a five-on-five juggernaut, but they didn’t finish there. can play at both ends of the ice. Matthews led the Leafs with a 60.7 The team ended the year 10th in expected goals percentage and only percent expected goals rate for the season and also had a 65 percent average in terms of actual goals, with a clear focus on quantity over actual goals rate to go with that. His two most frequent linemates, Marner quality. That the team has a 54 percent Corsi that goes down with and Hyman, weren’t far behind and together the trio were one of the expected goals and down further with actual goals is a troubling sign. league’s best lines this season. The line had a 65 percent expected goals The Leafs are the exact opposite and that comes down to talent. rate together in 291 minutes, comparable to other super-lines in Colorado Montreal was unsurprisingly not a strong finishing team this season and and Boston. didn’t have the strongest goaltending either. It helps to have another superstar on the line and Marner certainly Both those things only became worse as the season came to a close elevated his game to another level this season playing full-time with where Montreal was 29th in shooting percentage and 31st in save Matthews. Marner finished fourth in league scoring with 67 points in 55 percentage at five-on-five. There’s a lot of bad luck there that the games, a 100-point pace that was the product of his elite play-making Eric Staal has been on the opposite trajectory this season and hasn’t ability. Marner’s 34 primary assists this year were second to only Connor shaken off the Buffalo stink since coming to Montreal. Three points in 21 McDavid and by GSVA he’s now projected to be a borderline top 10 games, a team-worst 39 percent expected goals rate and he’s been player in hockey. outscored 11-2 at five-on-five. He started the season projected to be a capable second-line center, but an awful season where he was worth That leaves Tavares as the third fiddle now, but he’s still a massive minus-0.9 wins (the 12th least valuable in the league) has catapulted his luxury for Toronto to have. Only Edmonton has a better second-line value all the way down to nothing. Montreal might be better off with him center among playoff teams and that should give opposing teams in the press box. That spot instead goes to Jesperi Kotkaniemi who matchup nightmares. Matthews is hard enough, but when he’s off the ice simply hasn’t lived up to his draft-day billing as a third overall pick. He the next group has to deal with Tavares too. That was the vision when was excellent in the bubble last playoffs, but has seen his game regress the team signed him and this season was the best embodiment of it. this season. He doesn’t move the needle much, but given Staal’s Tavares started the year slowly from a production standpoint, but he performance this year I’d much rather gamble on Kotkaniemi. really picked it up to close the season with 50 points in 55 games. His play-driving ability was a steady force all season though and for the year In terms of total value, Toronto’s forward group is just over 50 percent he had a 56 percent expected goals rate. It pays to have two top lines stronger than Montreal’s. The gap on defence is even larger where the controlling play to that degree and it’s something that will be tough for the Leafs’ top six is double Montreal’s. Canadiens to stop. On the back-end it’s about the Leafs, for the first time in a long time, It helps that Tavares gets to play with Nylander, whose impacts are having a completely functional top four. All the pieces are top four quality, sometimes forgotten on this team. Nylander remains the team’s most fit well together and are completely balanced in filling specific niches. gifted player with the puck, leading the team in zone entry and exit rate, They can all move the puck really well which is a key part of Toronto’s while also being the team’s most effective paster, leading in shot assists success. According to data tracked by Corey Sznajder, the Leafs are one and high danger shot assists. His expected goals percentage was 57 of the best teams in the entire league at exiting the zone with control and percent for the year. The team is really hoping Nick Foligno can do to that’s on a mobile defence group. that line what Hyman does for the top line. Through seven games, he has a 54 percent expected goals percentage. Morgan Rielly is the strongest on the breakout and has no issues rushing it up the ice either. He may struggle on defence, but his offensive ability Montreal’s top six just doesn’t stack up, but there’s some undervalued is nearly unmatched league-wide. He’s a crucial part of Toronto’s attack. pieces to it despite the lower projected values. Rielly had a much improved season where he had a 55.5 percent expected goals rate playing tough minutes. TJ Brodie was a big part of For starters, it should be mentioned that while Matthews was tops in that and was an excellent off-season addition. He’s been exactly what goals-per-60, Tyler Toffoli was second at 1.85. I’m not sure anyone the team has needed in the top four and he ended up leading the Leafs expected that when he signed, but he’s been a revelation for Montreal defence with a 57 percent expected goals rate. Jake Muzzin and Justin this season scoring 28 goals in 52 games, three shy of a career-high in Holl were also in that range giving the Leafs two strong pairs that can 30 fewer games. It was a 44-goal pace over a full season. Toffoli created control play. more chances for himself than ever before, but his sky-high shooting percentage means the model is skeptical he can be a full-time 40-goal The team’s biggest X-factor on the back end is the youngest, Rasmus scorer, pegging him closer to 32 goals as a true talent level. If he truly is Sandin, who may just have played his way onto the roster full-time after a a 40-goal scorer that’s an extra 0.4 wins in his favour which nudges nine-game stint. He may have been playing sheltered minutes, but a 59.5 Montreal a little closer to Toronto. But obviously not far enough. percent expected goals rate and four points is nothing to scoff at. Alex Romanov is Sandin’s counterpart on the other side and he too has The bigger piece to Montreal solving Toronto is its top line which remains played sheltered minutes all season himself. In that time he’s managed one of the league’s best at five-on-five. While much has been made just six points in 56 games, has a solid 54 percent expected goals rate, regarding Toronto’s dominance over Montreal, it’s worth noting that but has been out-scored. He’s a defender that Toronto really victimized Brendan Gallagher, Montreal’s best player, was absent for six of those this year as he had just a 39 percent expected goals rate against the contests. When he did play, he had a 58 percent expected goals rate and Leafs. Brett Kulak, also on the third pair, also got crushed. all signs point to him being back in the lineup. The top line, with Gallagher on it, is a buzzsaw, earning a 69 percent expected goals Montreal’s top four looks a lot less impressive in comparison to percentage in 250 minutes together, outscoring opponents 18-to-3. At Toronto’s. Jeff Petry had a marvelous year that was comparable to five-on-five they are a real problem and have the capability to shut down Rielly’s offensively, but the five-on-five numbers weren’t nearly as strong. one of Toronto’s top two lines. When Gallagher was in the lineup the top He led the team with a 54 percent expected goals rate that would grade line did a damn good job against Matthews and that’s potentially a out lower than five of Toronto’s six defenders. The further degradation of troubling thought for Leafs fans. Shea Weber is an issue too as he no longer looks like a capable number one defenceman. He and partner Ben Chiarot are last on the team in Montreal will need to find an answer for Toronto’s other top line though expected goals percentage and Weber was only even for the year in and that’s where things get a bit tricky. Can Suzuki rise to the occasion terms of actual goals. Weber’s 19 points in 48 games is also his lowest there? He’s had flashes all season, scored at a 60-point pace and earned scoring pace in a while, suggesting his offensive ability has likely left him. a 55 percent expected goals percentage, blossoming into a real top six With his play-driving also in decline, it’s fair to ask how much of a center. But that may not be good enough in this series where he’ll have difference he can make in this series, especially considering his current to face off against one of Matthews or Tavares. Toffoli should help, but it health being questionable. Weber earned the better of the scoring doesn’t seem like the team has another bonafide top six quality winger to chance battle when facing the Leafs head-to-head this year, but was also assist the duo. Josh Anderson started strong, but he’s one of the team’s out-scored 6-to-3 in seven games. worst play-drivers. In net is where some people believe Montreal has the advantage and There are big differences in the top-end talent, but at forward the that would perhaps be true if the year was still 2016. I’m not sure why differences end there with both teams having similar levels of bottom-six we’re still jumping through hoops about this, but Price had a .901 save depth. My model isn’t very fond of Riley Nash as Toronto’s third-line percentage this year and allowed seven goals above expected in just 25 center, especially at the expense of Alex Galchenyuk who has played games. After an admittedly stellar run in the bubble many expected that well with Toronto, but it could work as a strong checking line if the team to be the real Price, but as I argued in Montreal’s season preview, it was wants to alleviate some of the defensive load off the top two lines. The more than likely just a hot 10-game run. grizzled veteran line is almost enough to make the Leafs likeable outside of Toronto. The idea of Price is much scarier than the actual goalie in between the pipes and while Price has the potential to steal the series, so does It is worth noting that Jason Spezza had a quietly strong offensive literally any goalie (recall the backup on this very team doing just that in season that seems to have flown way under the radar this year amidst all 2017 against Minnesota). That’s just variance, baby. the stars in Toronto. Spezza had 30 points in 53 games, a 46-point pace despite playing only 11 minutes per night. That would’ve tied Tomas What the goaltending values suggest is the likelihood of such an event Tatar for fourth on Montreal this season and on a per minute basis was happening, and with Price it’s likely lower than most people think. I mean, good for 26th in the league, narrowly edging out Kirill Kaprizov and we just saw Jack Campbell have a hot stretch of his own more recently William Nylander. Not bad for a fourth-line center. and he’s been very strong as a Leaf. There’s a reason he’s rated higher and that’s simply because he’s played better than Price. Campbell has earned his place in the starter’s crease this season and the difference between him and Frederik Andersen has been noticeable. Campbell finished the season with a .921 in 22 games while saving six goals above expected.

Price had a stretch that good to end the 2019-20 season, so maybe it’s just a small sample. The difference is that it’s all we really have to go on for Campbell. For Price, there’s so many more 22-game stretch where he isn’t even close to a .921 goaltender. In 110 distinct stretches over the last four seasons he has been at that level 38 percent of the time, with two-thirds of those coming in 2018-19 — his last actually good season.

Maybe that Price is still in there and getting him to full health might be the key to unlocking it, but his past two seasons leave a lot to be desired. There’s a big gap in net just as there is at forward and defence. There’s nowhere on the roster where Montreal has an advantage and it’s why the series is as lopsided as it is.

The bottom line

The Leafs have a stronger roster in every facet and have the results to show for it this year. From every possible angle you can look, this series looks like it’s Toronto’s to lose. Montreal started strong, but the talent just isn’t there and the usual territorial dominance slipped throughout the season. In this series, against this team, it wouldn’t even be an edge anyways.

Here’s the thing about Montreal though: The team lives for these kinds of scenarios — the us against the world underdog story. Twice over the past decade, the team has had no business winning a series — in 2010 against Washington and in 2014 against Boston — and the team pulled it off anyway. You can arguably count last year’s play-in against the Penguins too. The Canadiens live for playoff chaos, and Toronto lives for playoff disappointment. It’s a match made in narrative heaven.

But maybe the most chaotic thing of all for a series 42 years in the making is everything just going as expected. With the way these two teams have played all season, of late, and against each other, that would mean Toronto’s first playoff series win since 2004. The Leafs haven’t had many chances since, but this is their best one to finally break the ugly streak.

The Athletic LOADED: 05.19.2021

Vegas Golden Knights It’s true that the 8,600-plus in attendance the past few games has felt 1188433 and sounded much louder. It has looked as if far more bodies are in the building. In an almost must-win game, Knights earn huge victory Take away boxing Hall of Famer Oscar De La Hoya straining to ring the arena siren at the game’s outset — the poor kid appeared as if he had thrown far too many plates on the bench press bar — and the Knights fed off their home crowd like it was, well, before the world changed. By Ed Graney Las Vegas Review-Journal “The place was rocking,” Marchessault said. “It’s what we expect in the playoffs. We’re not done here yet.” The Golden Knights celebrate their win against the Wild, including right Dwelling of doom wing Alex Tuch (89), center left, who scored two of the three goals in an NHL playoff game at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday, May 18, 2021 in Las First, a massive test. Vegas. (Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @ellenschmidttt It’s off to the state with all those lakes and museums and parks and The Golden Knights, including Golden Knights right wing Keegan Kolesar skyways, to what has been a dwelling of doom for the Knights at Xcel (55) and center Jonathan Marchessault (81), celebrate after defeating the Energy Center. They have never posted a win in regulation there. Wild in an NHL playoff game at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday, May 18, 2021 in Las Vegas. (Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review-Journal) It’s not a trend that can continue for the Knights if the series is to @ellenschmidttt ultimately fall in their favor. I’m guessing none of that Minnesota hospitality will be awaiting the visitors. Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) waves to the crowd after winning an NHL playoff game against the Wild at T-Mobile Arena on They can’t allow for history to repeat itself. Tuesday, May 18, 2021 in Las Vegas. (Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review- This, then, is the Knights’ challenge: Write their own. Journal) @ellenschmidttt LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 05.19.2021 Do you know the only real time a sports team faces a must-win game? When a loss would eliminate it from a playoff series. Do you know what might have been a just-outside-city-limits of such a test? When the Golden Knights faced Minnesota on Tuesday night. Calm down. Don’t go hiding under any covers and calling in sick to work. The Knights were able to even their best-of-seven divisional series against the team they have all sorts of trouble with by beating the Wild 3- 1 at T-Mobile Arena. Things are now a game apiece as the drama shifts to Minnesota for Games 3 and 4 on Thursday and Saturday. And there will be plenty of it. This thing is just getting started. The postseason offense that has been lacking for some time was discovered over the final 40 minutes — at least a little of it — when two of three goals came via the stick of Alex Tuch. He was elevated by coach Pete DeBoer to join a top line with Chandler Stephenson and Mark Stone. Things just work sometimes. They needed to Tuesday, even with another this-is-why-he’s-in-net effort from goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. He stopped all but one of 35 shots. There is supremely dialed in and then there is Fleury right now. He kept the Knights in it early and Tuch finished things off late. Strange beginning Weird. You almost wondered which team was down in the series after a period had been contested. It was again 0-0 but the script had been flipped from Sunday. Minnesota was the aggressor. Jonathan Marchessault had said earlier Tuesday — and thank goodness he did only to remind us he’s by far the most genuine and up front Knights player when it comes to addressing media — that it was imperative his team earned a lead following 20 minutes and play from ahead. Do that and it’s far tougher for Minnesota to be so structured defensively. To be such pests. The best thing going when playing the Wild is to make them cheat to chase offense. But it didn’t happen exactly the way Marchessault had hoped, Minnesota outshooting the Knights 17-10 and holding a 6-3 edge in high danger chances after one. How ironic, then, that it was Marchessault who finally ignited some life into the Knights. His second-period goal 18 seconds after the Wild had grabbed a 1-0 lead brought an ear-piercing eruption to T-Mobile not felt since those pre- pandemic days that now seem eons ago. “I sensed we were a different group after that goal,” DeBoer said. “Once we got that one, it was almost like a little weight off our shoulders. We started to play.” 1188434 Vegas Golden Knights

Failure to capitalize on fast start dooms Wild in Game 2

By Adam Hill Las Vegas Review-Journal

Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (29) saves a shot on goal by Wild right wing Ryan Hartman (38) during the first period of an NHL playoff game at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday, May 18, 2021 in Las Vegas. (Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @ellenschmidttt Minnesota Wild coach Dean Evason preached the importance of a good start and then watched his team go out and swarm the Golden Knights for the first 20 minutes on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena. The reward never came. Minnesota outshot the Knights 17-10 in the first period and had seven high-danger chances while allowing just three, a dramatic reversal from Sunday’s series-opener when the Wild were dominated early on. Yet they still found themselves in a scoreless tie after the first period of Game 2 and eventually lost 3-1 to even the first-round series. “My gosh, we loved our start,” Evason said. “We loved the whole game. Not just our team, but the game was fantastic. They’re going to be like that the rest of the way. For sure, there was encouragement (with the start).” It was a dramatic shift from the opener when the Wild struggled to get the puck out of their own zone early on. The Knights’ failure to capitalize on their quick start proved fatal in the opener and Minnesota suffered a similar fate on Tuesday. Instead of opening up a lead, the Wild allowed the Knights to settle into the game. Defenseman Matt Dumba finally scored for Minnesota midway through the second period, the first regulation goal of the series, but Jonathan Marchessault had an immediate answer. Marchessualt’s equalizer snapped Minnesota goaltender Cam Talbot’s shutout streak at 95:45, the second-longest such run in franchise history. Alex Tuch gave the Knights their first lead of the series late in the period and, suddenly, the Wild were trailing despite a 2.51-1.64 edge in expected goals at the time, according to Money Puck. “I think if we play like we did at the start of the game there, we’re going to be just fine,” Dumba said. The Wild were hoping to take a 2-0 lead in a playoff series for the first time in franchise history. Instead, they had to settle for a split and the comfort of taking home-ice advantage back to Xcel Energy Center where they are 6-2 against the Knights. “We’re not proving anything to ourselves,” Dumba said. “We know the level we can play at. I think it’s more you the media putting us as underdogs. You’re going to see a different team at home. We’re a different beast.” Dumba not only had the lone goal for the Wild and blocked eight shots. Minnesota also got a big effort from forward Kevin Fiala, who had eight shots on goal in the loss and was all over the ice. It was tied for the second-most shots ever by a Wild player in a postseason game. The Wild know they must finish some of those chances if they want to win the series after scoring just one regulation goal in two games in Las Vegas. “We’re going to need to score more than one a night to beat this team in a seven-game series,” forward Nick Bonino said. “They’re dangerous offensively. Even with our great goaltending we know they are going to score some goals. “We need to get to (Marc-Andre Fleury) and get some on him.” They will try to do that at home starting with Game 3 on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 05.19.2021 Vegas Golden Knights “Not necessarily the start that we wanted, but Fleury, it’s just what he 1188435 does,” Marchessault said. “It’s what we expect from him every night. He gives us a chance to win every night, and he stood on his head in the first period.” Golden Knights finally break through, tie series against Wild LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 05.19.2021

By David Schoen Las Vegas Review-Journal

For the first 4½ periods of their first-round West Division playoff series, the Golden Knights squeezed their sticks and were wound tighter than a banjo string. They were finally able to exhale a bit Tuesday night. That’s what scoring a few goals will do. The Knights overcame a sluggish start and relieved the pressure that was starting to mount with a 3-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild in Game 2. Alex Tuch scored twice to help the Knights even the best-of-seven series in front of an announced crowd of 8,683. Game 3 is Thursday at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, where the Wild went 21-5-2 during the regular season. “This year it’s unbelievable the feeling that we get in the playoffs here,” left wing Jonathan Marchessault said. “We’re not done, and we wanted to get a win for our fans at home.” Tuch skated on the first line with Max Pacioretty (upper body) still sidelined and helped the Knights snap a four-game postseason losing skid dating to last season’s playoff bubble. He gave the Knights a 2-1 lead with 2:41 remaining in the second period because of the hustle of Mattias Janmark. Wild goalie Cam Talbot was unable to glove Alex Pietrangelo’s shot, and Janmark tracked down the rebound behind the net before he centered for Tuch at the top of the crease. “That was our mentality, to try to get inside of them,” said Tuch, who added a power-play goal late in the third period. “They’re a really good defensive team, so if we’re able to get to the inside, get pucks in there and just kind of whack at him, get a few lucky bounces, it’ll be huge for this series.” Marc-Andre Fleury started for the second straight game and finished with 34 saves. He kept the Knights even during the first period when the Wild were buzzing around the net and received help in the third from his crossbar on Victor Rask’s shot at the end of a two-on-one. “We’re going to need to score more than one a night to beat this team in a seven-game series,” Wild forward Nick Bonino said. “They’re dangerous offensively. Even with our great goaltending, we know they are going to score some goals. We need to get to (Fleury) and get some on him.” The Knights lost center Tomas Nosek to injury midway through the first period and fell behind at 12:07 of the second period when defenseman Matt Dumba’s shot from the point sailed past a screen and into the top corner. But before doubt could creep into the building, Marchessault answered 18 seconds later. He took a pass from Reilly Smith near the blue line and moved to the right circle before firing a shot over the shoulder of Wild goalie Cam Talbot to end the Knights’ 92:25 scoring drought. “I think in playoffs, little pointers that we need to be aware is the first minute of each period, the last minute of each period and the follow-up goals against and for,” Marchessault said. “I think it was a good shift for us, and obviously we were looking for the first of the series. We got everybody going again.” The Knights emphasized starting fast and playing from ahead, but had to weather the storm in the first period as the Wild reversed the script from Game 1. Fleury finished with 17 stops and kept the game even despite Minnesota producing 1.88 expected goals, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. He needed to be sharp on an early penalty kill, then made a series of saves to deny Kevin Fiala (twice) and Victor Rask with about eight minutes remaining. 1188436 Vegas Golden Knights

Max Pacioretty to miss Golden Knights’ second playoff game

By Ben Gotz Las Vegas Review-Journal

Golden Knights left wing Max Pacioretty will not play in the team’s second playoff game against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night. Pacioretty did not participate in the team’s optional morning skate and did not take warmups at T-Mobile Arena. The 32-year-old missed the last six games of the regular season and the Knights’ 1-0 overtime loss to the Wild on Sunday. Pacioretty led the team in goals for the second straight season with 24. He finished second in points with 51. Coach Pete DeBoer said Pacioretty was considered day to day Monday. “I think it’s trending in the right direction,” DeBoer said. “I’m not lying when I say it’s day to day. I really feel that.” LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188437 Vegas Golden Knights

Fans can print out Golden Knights playoff posters at home

Las Vegas Review-Journal May 18, 2021 - 6:32 PM

The Golden Knights are offering printable PDF downloads of their gameday posters on their website so fans can continue adding to their poster collections. (Vegas Golden Knights) Do you miss getting the gameday posters from T-Mobile Arena? Then you’re in luck. The Golden Knights are offering printable PDF downloads of their gameday posters on their website so fans can continue adding to their poster collections. You can find the gameday posters from the entire season and the new card-themed playoff posters as well. LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188438 Vegas Golden Knights LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 05.19.2021

Marc-Andre Fleury nominated for King Clancy Trophy

By David Schoen Las Vegas Review-Journal

Marc-Andre Fleury was the Golden Knights’ nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, the NHL announced Tuesday. The award is presented “to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.” Each team nominated one player, and the winner will be chosen by a committee of senior league executives led by commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly. The winner receives a $25,000 donation to a charity or charities of his choice, and the two runners-up each will have a $5,000 donation in their names. Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba was the recipient of last season’s King Clancy Memorial Trophy. Dumba, who delivered a powerful message against systemic racism and intolerance in hockey during the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers, co-founded the Hockey Diversity Alliance. He also spearheaded the Rebuild Minnesota initiative to assist businesses in Minneapolis impacted by riots and protests following the wake of the murder of George Floyd. Longtime Las Vegas resident Jason Zucker won the award in 2019 while playing for the Wild. Fleury made a $100,000 contribution to assist part-time staff at T-Mobile Arena and the team’s own part-time employees whose jobs were affected when the NHL season was paused March 12, 2020, because of the coronavirus pandemic. The veteran goalie previously was nominated for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy that is given to the player who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. Quick draw Neither the Knights nor the Wild were good in the faceoff circle, ranking 20th and 28th in the league during the regular season. But there was a distinct gap between the teams in Game 1, with the Knights going 41-25 overall. Chandler Stephenson led the way winning 76 percent of his draws (13-4), and Nicolas Roy (10-6) and William Karlsson (14-11) also were above 50 percent. “They do a real good job of getting in and helping,” Minnesota coach Dean Evason said after Tuesday’s morning skate. “We think we have quality faceoff people for that initial faceoff draw. But a lot of times that thing doesn’t get back there immediately and quickly. There’s a scrum. We have to do a better job of getting in there and helping our center icemen out for sure.” Love in the air There has been a rise in marriage proposals at T-Mobile Arena, and Knights coach Pete DeBoer was asked for his thoughts of all the fans saying, “I do.” He compared it to the baby boom after World War II. “I’m sure you’re going to see a spike in all that,” DeBoer said. “Everyone’s been locked up for a year and a half, so I think it’s awesome. The fact people are celebrating being out and in public, in places like T- Mobile watching hockey is great to see.” Silver Knights on TV Game 2 of the Silver Knights’ first-round Pacific Division playoff series will be televised on The CW Las Vegas (Channel 33, cable 6) and include a 30-minute postgame show. All the games can be found at AHLTV, the American Hockey League’s streaming service. They also can be heard on 1230 AM with Brian McCormack and analyst Mike McKenna. The Silver Knights open the playoffs Friday at Orleans Arena. Their opponent will be determined by a play-in tournament. 1188439 Vegas Golden Knights

Golden Knights offering free swag with vaccines before Game 2

By Janna Karel Las Vegas Review-Journal

Everyone who gets vaccinated will receive a free Golden Knights hat and an exclusive sticker. Immunize Nevada will host a COVID-19 vaccine clinic at Tuesday’s Golden Knights game. The Janssen and Pfizer vaccines will be available for Nevada residents ages 12 and older. The vaccine clinic is open from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at Toshiba Plaza ahead of the Golden Knights’ game against the Minnesota Wild. Appointments are not necessary. LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 05.19.2021 Vegas Golden Knights scored, as Minnesota wing Marcus Foligno kept Fleury from ever getting 1188440 eyes on a Dumba shot at 12:07 of the second period.

Pair that with the Wild’s deflected, friendly-fire overtime game-winning Marc-Andre Fleury has kept Golden Knights afloat through two playoff goal on Sunday, and they haven’t scored cleanly on Fleury once in the games series. Vegas’ goalie is once again its star in Game 2 victory over Minnesota “Definitely kind of a tough loss in Game 1, 1-0 in overtime, he played great so we wanted to get him a win and he kept us in it in the first period so it was all in his honor,” Marchessault said. By Case Keefer Going into the series, a compelling argument could have been made advocating for the Golden Knights to stick with their goalie rotation between Fleury and Lehner. Now that’s not even a question and it’s to no Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba slouched his shoulders, looked fault of Lehner. down at the T-Mobile Arena ice and skated around aimlessly for a Fleury has been the most important player in the series through two moment late in his team’s 3-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights Tuesday games, and it isn’t remotely close. The Golden Knights will likely get night. other parts of their game going eventually — especially if Max Pacioretty Dumba had just seen the second of two shots he fired in less than two returns — but at this rate they’re only going as far as Fleury can take minutes swallowed effortlessly by Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre them. Fleury. If Dumba and his teammates were frustrated, they had every LAS VEGAS SUN LOADED: 05.19.2021 reason to be. Fleury is the primary, if not only, reason the Wild aren’t leaving Las Vegas with the 2-0 first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series lead they probably feel like they deserve. Instead, the Wild and Golden Knights head to the North Star State for Thursday night’s Game 3 deadlocked at one win apiece after Fleury managed his second straight dominant performance on Tuesday. “I feel good, you know,” Fleury massively understated in an attempt to not have to talk about himself. “I’m stopping the pucks when they come at me, and the guys are battling hard to get those goals. It’s nice to see.” Johnathan Marchessault’s quick-strike equalizing goal, equipped with shades of Golden Knights’ playoff past, will be the talk out of the Game 2 victory. It might even be looked back on as the moment the team got on track offensively if they prevail in the series. But with almost any other goalie, any mere-mortal goalie, it wouldn’t have mattered as much. Without Fleury, the Golden Knights wouldn’t have been down 1-0 at the time. They would have been down at least 2-0, probably 3-0 and conceivably even worse than that. The Golden Knights greenlit a parade of the Wild’s best players to fling pucks at Fleury for the opening period of Game 2, but Fleury let none of them through. “He stood on his head in the first period,” Marchessault said. Can you imagine if this guy was traded in the offseason? That point, and all perspective on how far Fleury has come since getting benched last postseason, may feel belabored by now, but it shouldn’t. Fleury’s late-career turnaround is so remarkable that it bears repeating and more repeating. This is a 36-year-old whom most of the hockey world thought was done a few months ago. Now he’s the best part of a team that led the NHL in goal differential and only lost the President’s Trophy for most regular-season points on a tiebreaker. The Wild have arguably been better than the Golden Knights all across the ice for two games except one spot — the goalie crease. And Minnesota’s Cam Talbot hasn’t been bad at all; he just hasn’t been Fleury. One more time — remarkable. “He’s been consistently excellent all season, so for me he’s just doing what he’s done all year for us,” Golden Knights coach Pete DeBoer said. That’s the correct thing to say, but it’s not entirely true. Fleury has played great throughout this shortened Golden Knights’ campaign, but he hadn’t been transcendent like in these first two playoff games since the midseason stretch when Robin Lehner went down, and he carried the team for a while. Get Fleury an extra-long back massage during Wednesday’s recovery day because he’s now carrying the Golden Knights again. His Game 2 performance wasn’t as flashy as the Game 1 galore of glove saves but it might have been even better. Fleury had 35 saves on Tuesday as opposed to 30 on Sunday and received less help, at least early. He praised his teammates’ defensive performance after the victory, which must mean he has a short memory because it was rather languid for the first period-and-a-half. The Wild bullied their way in close to Fleury and regularly had a screener in front of him to muddle save opportunities. That’s how they eventually Vegas Golden Knights Vegas hung tough thanks to Fleury, who carried over his stellar play from 1188441 Game 1 into the early parts of Game 2. The Wild had just under 2 expected goals in all of Game 1, according to Natural Stat Trick. They surpassed an expected goal by the first TV timeout on Tuesday and had Golden Knights even series with Game 2 victory over Wild 1.82 expected goals by the end of the period. The Golden Knights had their best chance in the final minute of the period. They got the advantage they wanted, with Mark Stone's line By Justin Emerson taking an offensive-zone draw against Minnesota's fourth line. Stone even had a breakaway chance, but the puck slid off his stick just enough for Wild goalie Cam Talbot to poke it away. The Golden Knights went nearly five periods worth of hockey in their first- round series with the Minnesota Wild without scoring. Once they did, it Minnesota led 17-10 in shots on goal after a period. was enough to carry them to a Game 2 win. Urgency rises as Golden Knights look to even series with Wild Jonathan Marchessault answered Minnesota's first goal of the game to The Golden Knights felt like they did a lot of things right in Game 1 tie it, and Alex Tuch netted the eventual game winner at the end of the against the Wild, especially early on but didn't get the outcome they second period to carry Vegas to a 3-1 win over the Wild at T-Mobile wanted. Arena on Tuesday. Now facing the threat of a 2-0 series deficit at home, Vegas knows the Matt Dumba opened the scoring for the Wild at the 12:07 mark with what importance of Game 2, which is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at T-Mobile could have easily been a back-breaker. The Wild had a tremendous first Arena. The Golden Knights need a victory and will look to replicate the period where only strong play from goalie Marc-Andre Fleury kept Vegas process of what they did early in Game 1, but hopefully with a better in it, and the Golden Knights couldn't muster anything offensively. After a result. shutout in Game 1, the Golden Knights could have easily spiraled after Dumba's goal. "We need a great start tonight. We need to lead after the first period," forward Jonathan Marchessault said. "There's no secret that we've got to Marchessault had other ideas. He fired from the right circle just 18 be ready right from the puck drop and if we do that we should be in good seconds after Dumba's tally to even the score and bring the crowd to its position for the rest of the game." feet. Tuch swatted home a Mattias Janmark feed later in the period, and just like that the Golden Knights had their first two goals of the series. The first period on Sunday was the Golden Knights' best, outshooting Minnesota 19-5. The rest of the game was pretty even, but Vegas missed The Wild had a ferocious push looking for the tying goal in the third a great opportunity to put the Wild on their heels early. A bouncing puck period. They pulled goalie Cam Talbot with 1:53 to go, but Kirill Kaprizov in overtime turned a strong game from the home team into a 1-0 loss. took a tripping call 23 seconds later to put them on the penalty kill, all but ending their comeback hopes. Tuch even had a power-play goal to ice it. Minnesota is a strong defensive team that excels in low-event games where it doesn't have to chase the game. The Wild were 23-5-2 when Fleury finished with 34 saves in the victory, as the Wild led in final shots scoring first in the regular season, but just 12-11-3 when allowing the first on goal 35-28. goal. It took the Golden Knights 95 minutes, 45 seconds of hockey this series Granted, the same is true of the Golden Knights. They were an eye- to finally score a goal. popping 31-3-2 when they scored first, but 9-11-0 when they didn't. It Jonathan Marchessault gave the T-Mobile Arena crowd a reason to does underscore a major point of this game. In a game with two strong cheer for the first time in two games, as he netted the Golden Knights' defensive teams, one can't afford to have a 19-5 shot advantage in a first of the series just 18 seconds after the Wild scored to take the lead. period and not come out of it with a lead. Alex Tuch added to the fun at the end of the frame, and after two the "I thought we had those intentions in Game 1; we just didn't finish off one Golden Knights led the Wild 2-1. of the chances we had," Vegas coach Pete DeBoer said of playing fast. You could almost feel the nervous energy crank up to 11 when Matt "That can change the game, especially against a defensively structured Dumba scored 12:07 into the second period. He settled the puck at the team like Minnesota. You can't play the same way behind as you do right point and fired a seeing-eye wrister into traffic that beat Marc-Andre when you're out in front defensively. That's going to be a key I think in Fleury for the first time on the night. It was only the Wild's second goal of this whole series." the series, but it gave them a short-lived lead. The Golden Knights are expected to again play without leading goal- Because Marchessault answered with what could prove to be one of the scorer Max Pacioretty, who did not take part in morning skate today, most important goals of Vegas' season. The longer the game went with though it was optional. He has not skated with the team since he left the Minnesota in the lead the longer doubt would creep into the Golden game on May 1 early. Knights' minds. Instead, Marchessault caught Reilly Smith's pass on his And though the Golden Knights used an every-other-game rotation zone entry, found a lane between two Wild and beat goalie Cam Talbot throughout much of the regular season with their goalies, Marc-Andre high to the glove side 18 seconds after Dumba's goal. Fleury was the first goalie off the ice at morning skate, a typical indicator Then as the period was coming to a close, Tuch gave the Golden Knights of that night's starter. He also played Game 1, making 29 saves in a their first lead of the first. Mattias Janmark chased down an Alex terrific performance. Pietrangelo rebound, won the race to the puck and centered it in front of With the Game 1 loss, Vegas will have to win at least one game at Xcel the net. Tuch was there to whack it home, and gave an emphatic two- Energy Center to win the series. Asking to win two is a tall task for a armed pump with 2:41 left in the period. team that has won there twice all-time, so a win tonight feels almost Vegas led the second period 13-10 in shots, and trailed 27-23 for the necessary for the Golden Knights' chances in the series. game. Sunday was the first time in four series that started at T-Mobile Arena The Golden Knights also played the second period short-handed. that the Golden Knights lost Game 1 at home. The good news is that Forward Tomas Nosek left the game in the first period and did not return they've lost Game 1 three times and have come back to win Game 2 in for the second, leaving Vegas with 17 skaters, each of those instances (they are 1-2 in the series overall). Golden Knights start slow, but still tied with Wild after one period The Golden Knights know how to shake off a playoff loss. They'll need to do it again tonight. It's been a long time since the Golden Knights were worked in the first period like the way they were Tuesday. If not for the play of their goalie "You can't get too high or low in the playoffs," defenseman Brayden they would be chasing a lead, and likely a big one. McNabb. "You get a win, you can't think you're winning the Stanley Cup; you lose, you can't think you're going home. It's a little bit of a roller The Wild dominated the first period of Game 2, doing to the Golden coaster and if you can stay even-keeled through the whole playoffs, you'll Knights what the Golden Knights did to them in Game 1. Marc-Andre have success. Fleury made 17 saves to keep the Wild off the board, and the game went to the first intermission in a 0-0 draw at T-Mobile Arena. "We lost Game 1, maybe could have won it, but I know we could have played better definitely for a full 60 minutes. We need to learn from that, The Golden Knights didn't get the hot start they talked about this be ready for (tonight) and come out with a good effort." morning. It was far closer to the opposite of that. The Wild had seven of the first nine shots of the game, several from high-danger areas and Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 1 even had a power play just past the four-minute mark of the game. Series: Wild lead 1-0 TV: AT&T SportsNet (DirecTV 684, Cox 1313, CenturyLink 1760) Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM Betting line: Golden Knights minus-160, Wild plus-140; over/under: 5.5 (plus-110, minus-130) Golden Knights (0-1, West Division No. 2 seed) Coach: Pete DeBoer (second season) Points leader: none Goals leader: none Assists leader: none Expected goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury (0.96 GAA, .967 save percentage) Wild (1-0, West Division No. 3 seed) Coach: Dean Evason (second season) Points leaders: Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Foligno, Jordan Greenway (1) Goals leader:Joel Eriksson Ek (1) Assists leaders: Marcus Foligno, Jordan Greenway (1) Expected goalie: Cam Talbot (0.00 GAA, 1.000 save percentage) Golden Knights projected lineup Forwards Alex Tuch—Chandler Stephenson—Mark Stone Jonathan Marchessault—William Karlsson—Reilly Smith Mattias Janmark—Nicolas Roy—Keegan Kolesar William Carrier—Tomas Nosek—Ryan Reaves Defensemen Alec Martinez—Alex Pietrangelo Brayden McNabb—Shea Theodore Nicolas Hague—Zach Whitecloud Goalies Marc-Andre Fleury, Robin Lehner LAS VEGAS SUN LOADED: 05.19.2021 Vegas Golden Knights Fleury carried the Golden Knights in Game 1 as well. He was unbeatable 1188442 for 60 minutes despite Minnesota’s litany of grade-A chances. It was obvious that he was the best player on the ice on Sunday, and even more obvious that he needed to be on the ice on Tuesday. Whether it Golden Knights stick with Marc-Andre Fleury, might have solved goalie was the plan all along, or the Golden Knights diverted following Fleury’s rotation in critical win performance, they ended up with the right goalie in net. And it was a good thing they did, because it might have saved their season.

A hot goalie can win a Stanley Cup. Just ask the 2019 St. Louis Blues, By Jesse Granger May 19, 2021 2012 Los Angeles Kings, or the dozens of championship teams that have ridden a sharp netminder to glory over the years. And when Fleury is at the top of his game, there are few in history who are harder to beat. His Marc-Andre Fleury was brilliant in the opening period of the Golden technically proficient skating in the crease is almost always Knights’ crucial Game 2 on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena. overshadowed by his theatrical acrobatics, but both are equally important when he’s on. And through the first two games of the playoffs, his The team needed him to be, as Vegas struggled to find its legs early in proverbial switch has been flipped “on” so aggressively it might have the game and Minnesota dominated possession. The Wild threw been completely broken off. everything they had at Vegas’ net, and Fleury was there to turn away each and every shot. “I feel good,” Fleury said. “I’m just trying to stop the puck when they come at me. I just try to worry about stopping them and keeping the team in the Early on, Ryan Suter was staring at a wide-open net with Fleury lying on game, and it’s been going pretty good so far.” his back in the crease after a scramble in front, but as he fired his slapshot from the left circle, Fleury rolled onto his side, extended his Vegas made the right call starting Fleury, but it doesn’t mean a rotation arms and snared the puck. should be completely forgotten. Right now Fleury is at his best, but if that were to change they have another outstanding goalie waiting in the On the following shift, Fleury robbed Nick Bonino of a goal on a perfect wings. Lehner has experience coming off the bench and has been part of deflection from the doorstep. Kirill Kaprizov fed a perfect pass to Bonino, rotations for most of his career. He’ll be ready if his number is called. who redirected it over Fleury’s left pad, but Fleury lunged to his left and got just enough of the shot with his glove. Because that is the optimal way to rotate the goalies, at least in my opinion. Play one goalie until he plays poorly, and then make the switch. “I can give you some cliches about making it harder for (Fleury) to see Then, play that goalie until he plays poorly enough to turn back to the and getting the rebounds up, but we’re having some pretty good grade- other. Not after a loss. Not after one soft goal. Every player makes A’s here,” Bonino said after the game. “We’re making him move side to mistakes, and a goalie walking on eggshells, afraid to lose the net, isn’t a side, we’ve had a lot of one-on-one chances with him, and he’s made confident goalie. But if the time comes when Fleury is off his game – it some big saves. so as the series goes on, hopefully those go in for us.” doesn’t seem likely right now but it happens to everyone – the Golden “It was just, ‘Let’s keep going. Let’s keep going,'” Minnesota coach Dean Knights have the luxury of an alternative option. Evason said, describing the mood on the bench as Fleury made save It’s how last year’s postseason likely should’ve been handled. If Fleury after save. “If anything it was like, ‘Wow. Are you kidding me?’ After a was given the net to begin the postseason until he played his way out of save it was like, ‘Holy smokes.’ They know. But they know they’re doing it, it would’ve saved the team a lot of off-ice drama, and would’ve likely the right things, and we’ll reinforce it before Game 3.” led to a more cohesive room. Not that the play of either goalie was the Fleury stopped all seven of Minnesota’s seven high-danger chances in reason Vegas’ season ended, Lehner was very good. But there’s no the opening 20 minutes, frantically holding the Golden Knights’ heads arguing the entire situation could’ve been smoother. just above water as they entered the first intermission. If not for his Would either goalie be happy to surrender the net? Of course not. heroics, the game could’ve easily been out of reach. And heading to They’re competitors at the highest level and want to play every night. But Minnesota – where Vegas has never won in regulation in franchise they are athletes, and understand this is the business of winning. history – down 2-0 would’ve been a nearly impossible mountain to climb. Right now Lehner understands why Fleury was in the net after the way But Vegas escaped Tuesday night’s game with a 3-1 win. Jonathan he played in Game 1. We haven’t had a chance to ask him, but I’d wager Marchessault scored a momentum-swinging goal only 18 seconds after he would say it was the right call. In fact, playing Lehner in Game 2 Minnesota’s Matt Dumba opened the scoring, and Alex Tuch added two would’ve put unnecessary pressure on him, feeling the need to live up to goals from the Wild doorstep to help earn the Golden Knights their first Fleury’s outstanding Game 1 despite it ending in a loss. win of the series. None of that happens without Fleury’s herculean effort in the first. Handling the goalies in this fashion eliminates that chance, because any time a switch is made it means the goalie taking over is following up a “(It wasn’t) necessarily the start we wanted, but Fleury, that’s just what he poor performance in net. It provides them with an opportunity to come in does,” Marchessault said. “That’s what we expect from him every night. and right the ship. It relieves pressure, allows that goalie to play He gives us a chance to win every night. He stood on his head in the first confidently, and is better for all parties involved. It also allows the goalie period and was great all game. It was kind of a tough loss in Game 1, 1-0 who is playing at his best to remain in rhythm, and string together in overtime. He played great so we wanted to get him a win. He kept us performances like Fleury’s first two of this series. in it in the first period, so it was all in his honor and he definitely deserved the first star tonight.” There haven’t been many poor performances from either goalie this year, but if Fleury does play his way out of the net he’ll be the first to pass the And it’s entirely possible Fleury wasn’t even originally scheduled to play baton to Lehner. The two have gotten along well since Lehner’s arrival, on Tuesday. Based on coach Peter DeBoer’s usage of the goalie but have really bonded over this regular season. When Fleury won the tandem, there’s a legitimate chance he initially intended on playing Robin final regular-season game to clinch the Jennings Trophy, Lehner was the Lehner in Game 2 after Fleury opened the series in net on Sunday. first player off the bench and almost sprinted to the crease to When both goalies were healthy, DeBoer alternated their starts for congratulate Fleury. Later he posted on social media that Fleury should essentially the entire regular season, and both goalies played win the Vezina Trophy. exceptionally. IT’S AN HONOR TO BE ABLE TO PLAY WITH AND GET TO KNOW That’s obvious by the hardware that Fleury and Lehner will be adding to MARC. A FUN PRIZE FOR US TO WIN TOGETHER WITH THE HARD their trophy cases when the season ends. They combined to earn the WORK OF OUR ENTIRE TEAM. BEEN REALLY COOL TO SEE THE William M. Jennings Trophy, awarded to the goaltenders who allow the SPECIAL SEASON MARC HAVE HAD AND I BELIEVE THAT’S WHERE fewest goals in the regular season. Fleury posted a career-high .928 THE VEZINA BELONGS. NOW THE FUN BEGINS! save percentage in the rotation, and Lehner had a stretch of 12 games PIC.TWITTER.COM/XWFIIZIJDU without a regulation loss. — ROBIN LEHNER (@ROBINLEHNER) MAY 13, 2021 “He’s played like that all year for us,” DeBoer said of Fleury’s performance. “He’s been consistently excellent all season, so for me, Despite competing for playing time, they are in this together with the he’s just doing what he did all year.” ultimate goal of lifting the Stanley Cup. Entering the postseason, DeBoer was faced with the task of managing Rotating goalies is tricky. It’s a big reason no team has ever won the Cup the best goalie tandem in the NHL. Both are clearly deserving of playing doing it. Egos and emotions are involved, and during the Stanley Cup time, but there’s only one net. Perhaps he was considering continuing the playoffs, those are at their peak. But there might not be a tandem more rotation, but after Fleury’s impressive 29-save performance in Game 1, equipped to do it. The key is finding the best way to rotate them. I think he smartly threw that out the window. DeBoer and his coaching staff have been searching for that answer for more than a year, dating back to last postseason. I also believe Tuesday’s game might have been the beginning of finding that answer. It ended up winning the game and perhaps saving the Golden Knights’ season. The Athletic LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188443 Vegas Golden Knights

Original VGK Misfits Fleury, Tuch, Marchessault Lead Vegas To 3-1 Win Over Minnesota Tuesday; Series Tied At One

May 18, 2021 Alan Snel Alex Tuch, Cam Talbot, Chandler Stephenson, Fleury, Jonathan Marchessault, Mark Stone, Matt Dumba, Max Pacioretty

VGK nemesis Minnesota jumped out to a 1-0 lead after outworking the Golden Knights for the first half of this pivotal game two at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Then something interesting happened before the 50 percent attendance capacity crowd of 8,683. The Golden Knights began grinding and hustling and reverting to the tough Misfits of 2017-18, with original Misfits Jonathan Marchessault tying the score at one and Alex Tuch adding two scores to give the Vegas squad a 3-1 win over the rugged Wild. The series shifts to St. Paul Thursday for game three with the two teams splitting in Vegas. From NHL Stats: Fleury allowed one goal or fewer in a playoff start for the 36th time in his career (146 starts), surpassing Ken Dryden (35x in 112 starts) for sole possession of the 11th most such performances in Stanley Cup Playoffs history. Among active goaltenders, only Henrik Lundqvist (45x in 130 starts) has more playoff starts in which he has allowed one goal or fewer. Playoff veteran Fleury was in goal for the Vegas Golden Knights, looking to score its first goal in the Best-of-7 first round series against the Minnesota Wild. The Knights lost, 1-0, in overtime Sunday afternoon. Fleury was superb, keeping the game scoreless after one period and stopping 17 Wild shots. The Knights tonight were still without their top scorer, winger Max Pacioretty. So, Tuch was moved to the top line with center Chandler Stephenson and forward Mark Stone. Fleury saved the Golden Knights’ ass in period one. With the season nearly in the balance for the Vegas club, the Minnesota Wild took it to the Knights, outshooting the VGK, 17-10. Fleury made several spectacular saves on Minnesota’s Grade A scoring chances, keeping the Knights deadlocked with Minnesota, 0-0, after one period. VGK was still looking for their first goal after 80 plus minutes of play. Midway through period two, it was still scoreless. But the Wild were outshooting the Knights, 25-15. This might not be a popular observation, but the Minnesota team was outworking the Golden Knights, with the Wild sealing off the center of the ice in front of goalie Cam Talbot. Minnesota went ahead midway through the second period with a Matt Dumba goal. But the Knights answered, with Marchessault snapping off a wrister to beat Talbot at 12:25 — a mere 18 seconds after the Dumba goal. The Knights needed to pound the Minnesota net and that’s exactly what Tuch did, slamming home a goal from the doorstep for a VGK 2-1 lead with only 2:41 left in the second period. Tuch then scored the third period’s only goal on a power play to seal the 3-1 win. And the Knights had knotted the series, as Fleury stopped 34 of 35 Minnesota shots on goal. The Vegas Golden Knights still have tickets available for tonight’s VGK vs Minnesota Game 2 showdown at T-Mobile Arena. The tickets start at $189 and range to $750, according to the Golden Knights ticket exchange website. The VGK have 50 percent attendance capacity, or 8,682 seats for the first round playoff game. Masks must be worn inside the arena. LVSportsBiz.com LOADED: 05.19.2021 Vegas Golden Knights With the series heading back to Minnesota it’ll be interesting to see how 1188444 things go when the Wild have the last change. Vegas has to figure out a way to win in St. Paul and come home with at least a split. Fortunately Cam Talbot finally looks human. Matchups are going to be incredibly Tuch Tallies Twice, Fleury is Fantastic As Golden Knights Tie Series important and Pete DeBoer’s role in this series will be under a magnifying glass come Thursday night.

Vegas Hockey Now LOADED: 05.19.2021 By Tom Callahan

Alex Tuch scored a pair of goals and Marc-Andre Fleury was once again spectacular in net for the Vegas Golden Knights in a 3-1 win to even the Stanley Cup Quarterfinal series with the Minnesota Wild at one game apiece. It took four-plus periods of hockey to see the first regulation goals, but Matt Dumba finally broke the drought at 12:07. Just 18 seconds later Jonathan Marchessault notched his first goal of the playoffs on a perfectly placed shot just under the crossbar to beat Cam Talbot and tie the game right back up. Then it was the Alex Tuch show. Tuch scored crashing the net on an assist from Alex Pietrangelo at 17:19 of the second period for a lead the Golden Knights would not relinquish. Tuch wrapped the scoring with a late power play goal at 19:07 of the third period to nail things down for Vegas. Marc-Andre Fleury finished with 34 saves and for the second straight game was spectacular. GOLDEN GRADES Goaltending: A- Fleury did everything right once again, and this time was rewarded for his efforts. At the end of the game he appeared to even take a shot at the empty net but ran out of time. Hey, why not score a goal while you’re at it? Fleury has been outstanding all season long and Vegas will go as far as he can carry them. Defense: B Much better this game than the last. Minnesota didn’t get nearly as many quality opportunities although they did still generate some. It’s really good to see Alex Pietrangelo getting more comfortable out there with each passing game. This is his time to shine. Forwards: B Again, much better this game. At times the VGK attack had the Wild helter-skelter in their own zone, running around and blowing up coverages to lead to scoring chances. That’s exactly what we talked about earlier today, and they need to keep right on doing that. Getting the Wild to run around and break down defensively is a huge key. Special Teams: A The late power play goal is simply icing on the cake here. The penalty kill turned aside the only chance against. What is even more important is the discipline the VGK has showed so far in the series. THE TAKEAWAYS: Kevin Fiala was everywhere for the Wild tonight. I really liked his game and he was dangerous. The only difference is that he wasn’t able to finish his chances. Kirill Kaprizov did not show as well as he did in Game One. Marc-Andre Fleury is the VGK MVP. Case closed. Aren’t you glad they didn’t trade him now? Jonathan Marchessault is feeling it after that goal. Even in his intermission interview you could see the difference. He’s engaged. He’s energized. The Golden Knights need more of that. Along with Marchessault, Tuch is another one of the players we singled out in need of getting things going. Two goals is a massive boost to his confidence, and he looks good playing up in Max Pacioretty’s spot. Don’t get me wrong I can’t wait for Patches to get back in the lineup, but this is a great opportunity for Tuch to get his confidence going and tonight was exactly what a streaky scorer like him needs. It’s tempting to think Shea Theodore had a quiet night, and for the most part he did. But this stands out: three shots, two missed shots, and eight shot attempts blocked. Eight! Only Alec Martinez had three and everyone else was two or less. Theodore needs to change up his looks and his lanes to start getting pucks through. Pouring it into traffic and hoping something happens is not a good plan. Keep an eye on him in this series when he’s looking to unload the puck. 1188445 Vegas Golden Knights

Five Vegas Golden Knights Who Must Step Up In Game Two

By Tom Callahan

After getting shut out 1-0 in Game One against the Minnesota Wild, Mark Stone and the Vegas Golden Knights find themselves needing a win in tonight’s Game Two for a split on home ice in the Stanley Cup Quarterfinal series. Head coach Pete DeBoer said that the Golden Knights failed to play “hard enough for long enough” in the overtime loss in Game One. It was an unfortunate deflection that ended the game, and things could have easily gone the other way but didn’t. So with that in mind, here are five players to circle that must step up for Game Two. Mark Stone This one is almost not fair. Mark Stone has been the best player on this team all season with all respect to Max Pacioretty. He almost singlehandedly tied the game with a late rush through the Wild defense. And selfishly, I’m asking for more of that. Way more of that. Stone has carried this team in good times and bad, and tonight he must step up more than any other game this season to even the series for his team. Ryan Reaves Another one that’s a really hard ask, but this is the playoffs. Reaves can dominate a game with his physical presence and needs to upset Minnesota’s apple cart. It looked like he was going to be his normal, truculent self at the start of Game One but Reaves needs to absolutely steamroll someone early tonight, even if it means taking a minor penalty. Finishing your checks is incredibly important because it makes the other team look over its shoulder constantly, and Reaves is one of the best a getting those heads to swivel. Shea Theodore Why not Alex Pietrangelo? Matchups. With home ice advantage, DeBoer is going to try to match Pietrangelo against the Wild’s top line as much as he can. That frees up Theodore to wheel and create. Hopefully he’s able to use that skill and knife through the box to create dangerous chances. Jonathan Marchessault His linemate William Karlsson was generating chances in Game One, and was one of the few VGK players to successfully penetrate the box. Now Marchessault has to follow him into the breach and wake up his scoring abilities. He’s always been a streaky scorer, and now would be an excellent time to catch fire. Alex Tuch Tuch was the Golden Knights leading scorer in the playoffs last season and is another player who can heat up quickly. With Pacioretty out Tuch was elevated to the top line after Tomas Nosek started there in Game One. If he’s able to spend some time with Chandler Stephenson (honorable mention for this list) and Mark Stone, there’s no reason why he can’t generate enough chances to start a hot streak. Vegas Hockey Now LOADED: 05.19.2021 Vegas Golden Knights The second major key is actually one I harp on constantly for the power 1188446 play – movement away from the puck. If the passing targets are standing still, they’re very easy to defend. Vegas must generate far more movement off the puck. Most importantly, that movement must be No Goals in Game One. Are the Vegas Golden Knights in Trouble? weaving constantly through the high-danger areas to break up defensive coverage assignments, cause mismatches and mistakes, and generate scoring opportunities. By Tom Callahan This isn’t something you often see, but the Golden Knights have the speed to do it. Instead of cycling on the wall and trying to generate chances off of that, Vegas should be more focused on causing In Game One, Marc-Andre Fleury played his best game of the season for breakdowns with East-West movement in the attacking zone. If the Wild the Vegas Golden Knights. Through 60 minutes of regulation time, he begin to lose players and assignments or begin to chase the player they was perfect, stopping Kirill Kaprizov, Ryan Hartman and more Minnesota should be marking, it will lead to chances. If the Wild choose instead to Wild players on several dangerous scoring chances. A bad bounce in maintain position and not chase, then getting a player into an open OT off Alec Martinez’s attempted shot block was the only puck to beat position allows them to receive a pass, tip a shot or unload a one-timer. him, but it gave the Wild a 1-0 win and a 1-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Quarterfinal series. Finally, more and more traffic in front of Cam Talbot will be mission- critical. Keep taking away his eyes and eventually, something finds its The Golden Knights fired 42 shots on Cam Talbot who was very good in way in the net, or even if he does make that first save rebound control his own right, although in not quite as spectacular a fashion as Fleury. becomes a matter of luck. That’s when the Golden Knights can pounce Still, the Golden Knights were shut out. If we set our wayback machine to on the rebounds. last season’s 3-1 series lead over the Vancouver Canucks, the VGK has scored only 12 goals in the nine playoff games since. In that stretch, The Vegas Golden Knights and Minnesota Wild are right back at it in a they’re working with a 3.5% shooting percentage. Not good. pivotal Game Two tonight, 7 pm PT at T-Mobile Arena. Are the Golden Knights in trouble? Vegas Hockey Now LOADED: 05.19.2021 In my hockey career, I’ve always leaned far more towards telling it like it is. I recognize there are times when necessary to soothe the faithful and spout some team-related platitudes. Still, it surprises me to see all kinds of excuses and apologies going around right now. A lot of “well let’s take the positives out of this…” when I can only wonder if people watched the same game I did? Being completely honest about Game One, yes I am concerned based on not only past playoff performance but also the times during this regular season when the scoring absolutely disappeared. Let’s review Game One: Vegas dominated the first period and failed to score. By itself that is not any cause for concern, those periods happen. The Wild were pushed back on their heels by the opening burst from the VGK who were riding the home ice momentum. But Minnesota weathered the storm, and after that, the game was not only even but the more dangerous chances went for the Wild. Only the insane goaltending antics of Marc-Andre Fleury kept the game scoreless while Kirill Kaprizov and Ryan Hartman ran roughshod over the Golden Knights defense. Minnesota was the better team for two of the three periods. Fleury was the better goaltender for the whole game. Here’s the most important takeaway: the Wild’s chances occured in high- percentage, dangerous territory. Vegas’ chances were mostly perimeter. If you take a moment to break down film on the Vegas Golden Knights or any other Pete DeBoer coached team, one thing becomes obvious fairly quickly. His teams are designed to get initial shots through and capitalized on rebounds or pressure around the net. Defending that style effectively requires two things: goalies must control rebounds, and skaters must block shots. If you can accomplish that, you can hold down the effectivness of the Golden Knights attack. Minnesota did an excellent job of that once they weathered the storm. Vegas had 42 shots in the game, but also had an additional 23 blocked and 16 missed shots. Forcing those shots wide or blocking them entirely indicates that the Wild’s defensive gaps are tight, they’re pressuring the shooter and working to take away time and space. This is what’s important for any changes or adjustments for the Golden Knights entering Game Two. When Vegas has struggled to score goals this season, often it had to do with zone entry and puck possession. I don’t think that’s actually the problem against the Wild. The problem was in getting the puck into what I call the “cone of fire” for higher-quality scoring chances. Imagine if you drew a line from each goal post through the faceoff dot just over the blue line to form a cone shape from the net out. Inside of that cone is where your scoring percentages go way up. So how can the VGK unlock this magic zone? It’s going to take a few things, and the first is individual creativity. Players are going to have to beat defenders one-on-one and attack directly into the cone. Passing the puck around the perimeter, moving it D-to-D and to the half-wall and back is just wasting time. Vegas is going to have to attack off the half-wall or from down low, curling in front and breaking the coverage. Washington Capitals “black ace” — an extra depth player around the team for the postseason 1188447 — in the lineup. In the regular season, Philippe Maillet and Garrett Pilon filled in at center when the regulars were unavailable, but Maillet played just two games and Pilon suited up for only one. The Capitals head to Boston with a tied series and a battered roster On Tuesday, the Capitals called up four players from their American Hockey League affiliate in Hershey, Pa.: center Connor McMichael, forward Brett Leason and defensemen Paul LaDue and Alexander Samantha Pell Alexeyev. They did not skate at the team’s optional practice. The Capitals said 25 or 26 players would travel to Boston. The black aces are expected to stay in D.C., but some could go to Boston. The Washington Capitals had two clear weaknesses heading into the Stanley Cup playoffs: goaltending and depth at center. Then they were If McMichael, the Capitals’ top prospect, doesn’t travel, that would hit with two critical injuries in the first two games of their first-round series indicate Laviolette is comfortable with the options above him at center. against the Boston Bruins. The 20-year-old played one game — his NHL debut — for the Capitals in the regular season. Now, with the series tied and Game 3 scheduled for Wednesday in Boston, the Capitals’ depth is being tested again. “I think through conversations with the Hershey coaches and the management side of things in Washington here,” Laviolette said, “these Rookie goalie Vitek Vanecek was injured in Game 1, throwing 39-year- are the players that we want up here that we feel, if needed, if pushed, old Craig Anderson into the fire, and then center Lars Eller was hurt in we might have to insert into the lineup.” Game 2 — an injury that could have series-altering implications. On Tuesday, Coach Peter Laviolette said Vanecek and Eller are day-to-day Washington Post LOADED: 05.19.2021 with lower-body injuries. “I’m not going to go on speculation [on whether Eller plays Wednesday], but I can tell you that Lars is an important player for us,” Laviolette said. “He’s done a really good job, he’s handled big minutes against big opponents, and he’s played well for us, especially in the last month — a guy certainly that we count on.” Capitals let Brad Marchand and the Bruins get even in Game 2 Eller missed seven straight regular season games in March with a lower- body injury. He left Monday’s game midway through the second period; he appeared to be flexing his left leg after a rush as he gingerly skated to the bench. Eller, a versatile 32-year-old center known for his defensive abilities, had eight goals and 15 assists in 44 regular season games. He had been the Capitals’ go-to center against Boston’s top line in Games 1 and 2. If Eller is out Wednesday — or longer — his absence creates problems for the Capitals. Without Eller, Washington’s next-best defensive line is the fourth line of Carl Hagelin, Nic Dowd and Garnet Hathaway, which has been together for the entire season. That trio has contributed offensively in the postseason, notching three of the team’s six goals in the series. Dowd had the overtime winner in Game 1, and Hathaway had two goals in Game 2. But the Capitals will not have the last line change in Boston, and the Bruins surely will try to expose Washington’s defensive weaknesses by aggressively deploying their top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak. The Capitals believe they are ready for that challenge, even with pieces missing from their shuffled lineup. “They are an elite line,” Dowd said. “We have lines like that, too — lines that can put up points every night and are tough to play against.” When Eller exited Monday, Washington was down to two centers: Nicklas Backstrom and Dowd. T.J. Oshie, whose natural position is right wing, was playing center because Evgeny Kuznetsov was not available. Kuznetsov was placed on the NHL’s covid-19 list May 4 and skated for the first time in nearly two weeks Sunday. He was joined by goalie Ilya Samsonov, who also had been on the list. Samsonov and Kuznetsov will travel to Boston, the team said, but it remains unclear whether either will dress Wednesday. Disciplinary issues kept both out of a May 3 game against the New York Rangers, but Laviolette said those matters will not influence their playing time now. “That’s kind of behind us, and we’ll keep that in the room, and that’s in the past,” he said. “Right now, what we’re dealing with is them coming out of the league protocol.” Svrluga: Before the first playoff puck dropped, the two missing Capitals already had dropped the ball If Kuznetsov is on the ice Wednesday, Laviolette hopes to see the player who was a star for the Capitals during their 2018 Stanley Cup run. “He’s an effortless skater,” Laviolette said. “He can consume minutes without a lot of wear and tear on himself because he skates so well, and he’s certainly a power-play guy. ... He can make a difference on a team.” If Kuznetsov and Eller are unable to go Wednesday, the Capitals will have to do some major shuffling. That includes the possibility of putting a 1188448 Washington Capitals

Oshie dutifully answers Capitals' call as fill-in center in playoffs Amenability to move from wing helps cover holes for Washington

By Andy Kostka - The Washington Times - Tuesday, May 18, 2021

In an ideal setup, T.J. Oshie wouldn’t be playing center. He’s a winger by trade — and a good one at that — but the Washington Capitals have a hole, and Oshie is a do-it-all player who’s shown the aptitude to play anywhere across the forward line. That’s what coach Peter Laviolette has come to expect from the 34-year- old. He moved Oshie to center when Washington was in an injury pinch in January. Now in the first round of the playoffs, the Capitals are there again, calling on Oshie to play out of position for the good of the team. And when the Capitals call, Oshie answers. “T.J. is: ‘Whatever you ask, whatever it takes,’” Laviolette said. “There is never a ‘Yeah, but’ or ‘I can’t’ or ‘Are you sure?’ It’s always: ‘Yep, no problem.’ It’s not his position. It’s not probably where he feels the most comfortable. But he’s able to adjust and adapt.” Oshie first shifted to center for the Capitals on Jan. 28, filling in because Evgeny Kuznetsov, Brian Pinho and Lars Eller were all unavailable. He said “it’s definitely been a while” since he last played the position, but Oshie understands the responsibilities attached. That’s because he’s a self-described “student of the game,” not only knowing his own assignments but tracking the assignments of his teammates, too. “I feel like I’ve always paid attention to what other guys are supposed to do in certain situations,” Oshie said. “D might get a little bit iffy; I might get lost a little bit there. But for the most part, I know what their jobs are on every situation on the ice.” Take Saturday night, for example. Laviolette started Oshie as a center in Game 1 against the Boston Bruins. He and winger Tom Wilson led a charge through the neutral zone, and Oshie played the give-and-go pass back to Wilson that led to the Capitals’ opening goal. But later, once the game was in overtime, Laviolette shifted Oshie to left wing as the coach shortened his rotation. And Oshie’s slapshot from the blue line deflected off center Nic Dowd and into the net, securing the 3-2 win. “To be able to jump positions inside the lineup, inside a game, and have your mind switch to the systematic part of it, says a lot about his hockey IQ,” Laviolette said. It also says a lot about Oshie’s versatility and amenability. He could play center again Wednesday for Game 3 because the statuses of Eller and Kuznetsov are up in the air — Kuznetsov is working his way back from the coronavirus protocol list and Eller suffered a lower-body injury Monday night and is day-to-day. Oshie has performed well in that role, though, with three points in the first two games. He scored the Capitals’ first goal Monday night, deflecting in a shot from Alex Ovechkin on the power play early in the 4-3 overtime loss that leveled the series at one game. While Oshie — and the rest of Washington’s centers — have struggled in the faceoff circle overall, he has otherwise slid in seamlessly as a center. “For him, it’s probably a challenge,” winger Anthony Mantha said. “But it looks pretty natural to us.” With the rash of absences at center, Oshie would be needed to fill in that spot regardless of his proficiency. But Oshie’s ability to play across the forward line — and play well in each role — has allowed the Capitals to paper over cracks in the lineup. Those cracks could’ve sunk the ship, earlier in the season and especially in the playoffs. Oshie, though, is keeping the team afloat. “He does it without ever questioning or without ever saying, ‘I’d rather be a winger,’” Laviolette said. “He’s doing it for the good of the team, and that’s the ultimate teammate.” Washington Times LOADED: 05.19.2021 Washington Capitals amend the current faceoff outlook before Game 3 in Boston on 1188449 Wednesday.

“We’ve got to dig in a little bit more,” Laviolette said, “see if we can find Faceoff percentage doesn't guarantee success, but the Capitals seek something that can swing that puck our way.” improvement at the dot Washington Times LOADED: 05.19.2021

By Andy Kostka - The Washington Times - Tuesday, May 18, 2021

There’s not much separating the Bruins and the Capitals, as evidenced by their latest close contest, Monday night’s Game 2 Bruins’ win. For the 11th straight postseason game between the teams, the contest was decided by a single goal, this time with Boston‘s Brad Marchand tying the series at one apiece just 39 seconds into overtime. But if there’s one area where Boston has a clear edge over Washington, it’s at the faceoff dot. And the Bruins have flexed their superiority there throughout the first two games of the first-round series, winning 80 of 130 puck drops. Boston has been a consistently strong faceoff team, finishing the regular season with an NHL-best 55.3 faceoff win percentage. Washington is on another end of the spectrum, closing the regular season at 49.2%. It doesn’t help that Evgeny Kuznetsov has yet to return from the coronavirus protocol list and Lars Eller left midway through the second period Monday. Those absences exacerbate the issue in the faceoff circle. Losing 61.5% of the draws through two games isn’t a recipe for success. But if there’s any consolation for Washington, the last decade shows a team doesn’t need to be dominant at the dot to find playoff success — just ask the 2017-18 Capitals, who won the Stanley Cup despite losing a majority of the draws. Still, coach Peter Laviolette isn’t satisfied with how Washington is performing on draws, although he recognizes having Eller and Kuznetsov out has likely played a role in the discrepancy with Boston. “The faceoffs definitely matter,” Laviolette said. “That’s possession. That’s clear-cut possession. It’s either you’re creating offense in the offensive zone or a chance to break out from the defensive zone and get out of your end or to establish the direction in the neutral zone. There’s no question that it matters. We’ll try to look at it and continue to see if there’s things that we can do.” The task is complicated through Eller’s injury and Kuznetsov’s absence. Laviolette didn’t have an update on Eller’s lower-body injury apart from calling the center day-to-day. Kuznetsov will travel with the team to Boston, as will goaltender Ilya Samsonov, who also spent time on the coronavirus protocol list. But Laviolette downplayed the move by saying, “they are a part of our team,” and the team travels. That leaves little certainty about when the Capitals’ lineup could resemble something closer to full strength. So in the meantime, Washington aims to narrow the gap between it and Boston, potentially through more tie-ups — allowing all six forwards to battle for possession in a scrum rather than relying on the center alone to win the puck. “When you lose two centermen where their job is to take faceoffs and you’ve got a couple out of the lineup, it becomes a little bit more challenging,” coach Peter Laviolette said. “But we’ll continue to work at it.” Four times since the 2010-11 playoffs, a team that won under 50% of its faceoff attempts went on to secure the Stanley Cup title. The Los Angeles Kings in 2012 (49.7%), Chicago Blackhawks in 2013 (46.8%), Capitals in 2018 (49.1%) and Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 (48.4%) proved teams can overcome a slight deficiency in that area. Just one team in the last decade has produced as poor of a regular- season faceoff win percentage as the Capitals and gone on to win the Stanley Cup: the Penguins. Pittsburgh posted a 47.6 faceoff win percentage in 2016-17 — the third-worst mark in the NHL — but rebounded in the playoffs to win 50.4% of the draws en route to the title. Washington’s current faceoff margin is much wider through two games, even on power plays (37.5%) and penalty kill opportunities (42.9%). Those special teams scenarios can be especially costly, although the Bruins and Capitals set up faceoff plays during 5-on-5 situations, too. Garnet Hathaway scored Washington’s second goal Monday directly off a faceoff win, for instance. So while there’s precedent in place that a faceoff win percentage doesn’t guarantee success, there’s a correlation there. And Washington hopes to 1188450 Washington Capitals

Connor McMichael among 4 players recalled from Hershey by Caps

BY J.J. REGAN

The Capitals recalled four players from the Hershey Bears on Tuesday including highly-touted prospect Connor McMichael. Brett Leason, Paul LaDue and Alex Alexeyev were also recalled. It is not uncommon to see teams recall a number of players from the minors in the playoffs when teams are no longer bound by roster limits or the salary cap. Many of these players become what is known as a "black ace" which is basically a practice player who remains with the team to provide additional depth and, in the case of prospects like McMichael, as a way for young prospects to gain experience and learn what life is like for NHL players during the playoffs. McMichael, 20, is wrapping up his first professional season. In Hershey, he played 33 games scoring 14 goals and 13 assists. He finished the season as the team's leading scorer both in terms of goals and points. "My game, I took it to the next level I think," McMichael said at Hershey's end-of-year availability. "Last year, playing junior you get away with a lot more things than you would around here and that kind of taught me every little mistake can be costly, especially in the playoffs. So I worked on my game a lot, just little details away from the puck." McMichael now joins the Caps at a time when the team is in need of center depth. Evgeny Kuznetsov did not play in either Game 1 or Game 2 for the Caps as he has been on the NHL's COVID-19 list. He only just returned to the ice on Sunday. Lars Eller, meanwhile, came out of Game 2 in the second period with a lower-body injury. A team that only dressed three centers for Monday's game was down to two by the game's end. Could this leave an opportunity for McMichael to get into the lineup? It's possible but very doubtful. By Saturday it was already known that Kuznetsov would not be ready for the game and yet the team did not recall McMichael at that point. On Saturday, Hershey clinched the division title. With no Calder Cup playoffs this year, there was nothing on the line in Sunday's regular-season finale, but McMichael still was not recalled until Tuesday. McMichael has made great strides in his game this season, but he has only one game of NHL experience and he played wing in that game, not center. To think he will get into the lineup as a center for a playoff game seems very unlikely as the team was already in need of a center prior to Tuesday's recall. Most likely, if both Kuznetsov and Eller remain out, Michael Raffl will move to center while McMichael serves as a black ace to watch and learn. His time will come, but that time will most likely not be until next season. But, if he is called upon, McMichael made clear he will be ready. "In playoffs, you never know," McMichael said. "Guys can go down with injuries or whatever can happen in this weird season. You've got to be ready whenever your name's called." Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188451 Washington Capitals

Caps have already fixed a postseason weakness: Depth scoring

BY J.J. REGAN

The Capitals are in a tight series with the Boston Bruins and head into Game 3 tied 1-1 with both games going to overtime. It doesn't get any tighter than that. If this series continues to remain so close, any aspect can tip the balance of the series in favor of one team or the other and the good news for Washington is that it appears to have already addressed one of its biggest weaknesses from the past two early postseason flameouts: depth scoring. In 2019, the Caps scored 20 goals in seven games. Fourteen of those 20 goals came from the top six. The bottom six and the defense contributed only six goals and, of those six, one was an empty netter. Things were worse in 2020 as Washington scored only eight goals in five games and zero from outside the top six. There were only three Caps players who scored at all in that series as the team got literally zero-depth scoring. None. Through two games in the 2021 postseason, the Caps have scored six times and four of those goals have come from outside the top six. "I think it's huge for us to contribute offensively," Garnet Hathaway, who had two goals in Monday's loss, said of his line. "I know we're capable of it. You can go back to the regular season and see how we played. We take a lot of D-zone starts, but I think we contribute." The Conor Sheary, Lars Eller, Michael Raffl line has not scored, but they have been tasked with matching up against Boston's top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak so their role is more of a defensive one. Washington's fourth line, however, has scored three goals in just two games including Nic Dowd's overtime winner in Game 1 and with Hathaway's performance in Game 2. “That line has been solid," head coach Peter Laviolette said. "We haven’t touched that line the entire year. I think they play a really good game, they are hard to play against and they are capable of chipping in offense just with their hard work, their speed, their tenacity." For the Caps to know they can get goals from their fourth line and from the defense, which has produced one goal in the series to this point but has been productive all season long, takes some of the pressure off of top players like Nicklas Backstrom (0 points) and John Carlson (1 point) who are off to a slow start. "It is nice when you get contributions from a line that usually starts in the defensive zone and takes on tough opponents," Laviolette said. The Caps must continue to get goals from throughout its lineup, but it is clear already the Caps' depth players are going to play a more significant role in this series than they have in either of the past two postseasons. Said Hathaway: "We want it to be a long run so we're going to do our best to help out." Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188452 Winnipeg Jets

Jets confident in chances if team plays its best

Jeff Hamilton

The Jets have heard all the negative talk surrounding their play in the weeks leading into the playoffs. Winnipeg hasn't exactly been playing its best hockey, with just three wins in their final 12 games. They've also lost six in a row to the Edmonton Oilers, the team they'll be up against in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, with Game 1 at Rogers Place Wednesday night. So, what do they have to say to the people who say they don't have a chance? "I mean, I think you look at our team, the way it's built, the kind of players that we have on our team, from the guys on the first line to the guys on the fourth line, to the guys that are not even playing, I think we got talent and heart and character and guys that play the right way up and down our lineup," Andrew Copp said. "Just counting us out of the series is a little insulting to me." Mathieu Perreault took the suggestion a different way. He said the outside noise is fine, that fans can think what they will, but what he's seen inside the locker room shows a team hungry to prove to themselves that they're on the right track to success. "We know what we can do. I think we loved the way we played our last games there at the end of the season, where everything we do is towards the team success," Perreault said. "There's no more my own stats going around, it's all about the team and in the playoffs that's what you need. I can see our team go out and if everybody plays that way then we have a chance against anybody." D PAIRINGS SET: After running the same defensive pairings in practice Sunday and Monday, the Jets had a different look to their blue line Tuesday. The top pairing of Josh Morrissey and Dylan DeMelo remained intact, as did the second group made up of Neal Pionk and Derek Forbort. It was the third pairing that had the change, with Tucker Poolman being inserted into the lineup alongside Logan Stanley. That leaves Jordie Benn as the odd man out for Wednesday's Game 1. Maurice was asked earlier in the week what went into deciding his third pairing. It's been a bit of a revolving door the last few games, and has included the likes of Ville Heinola, who is also set to be a healthy scratch. "The first will be health, where we think we’re at, and that’s probably the big one. If everybody is healthy, we’ll have one decision to make," Maurice said. "If we have to hold a guy a game, we’ll let the first game be played and we’ll make a decision after that. Up to Game 1 it will be health, then after Game 1 it’ll be performance." It's clear whatever was ailing Poolman is no longer an issue. Poolman missed the last three games owing to injury but had been a full participant in practice this week. Benn will miss his fourth game since being acquired by the Jets at the trade deadline. INJURY UPDATE: All signs suggest that Pierre-Luc Dubois will be ruled out. The Jets centre, who also plays wing, has yet to practice after taking a shot to the head. Dubois joins Nikolaj Ehlers as players whom are doubtful for Game 1. But Maurice did say they would be travelling with the team. Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 05.19.2021 Winnipeg Jets frustration and that's when you'd want to take advantage of that and 1188453 when you get your opportunity you don’t want to miss it."

There's a growing theory that McDavid needs to be physically engaged Containing 'Super Freak' key to Jets' success more than he has this season. But hitting McDavid is easier said than done, and something teams haven't ignored as much as they've tried to figure out exactly how to do just that. Jeff Hamilton Neal Pionk is one of the Jets smartest and hardest hitters. "Yeah, it's really difficult. Because he's arguably the best player in the world, if not THE best player in the world, so you have to respect that. He's been called The Super Freak by members of the Winnipeg Jets for But at the same time, you don't want to give him too much time and how much damage he's inflicted on them this season. It's just one name space," Pionk said. "You certainly can't run around at him, because he'll to describe Connor McDavid and the dominance he's shown throughout make you look like an idiot and he'll score and get a lot of chances along the 2021 NHL campaign. with that." Indeed, whether it's the Jets or any of the other five teams that have had The Jets have talked at length this year about limiting McDavid, and it's to face him as many as 10 times this season while playing in the North been a recurring theme through six straight losses to the Oilers. But Division, there's been a running dialogue of ways to encapsulate just sometimes overthinking things, Jets forward Mathieu Perreault said, can what McDavid has achieved this year. Even for a player who was dubbed lead to doing too much. Perhaps it's about keeping it simple. a generational talent before the Edmonton Oilers selected him first overall in 2015, McDavid has somehow managed to take his game to "Everybody's got to be aware when he's out there, and we will be doing even greater heights with the attention around him magnified this season. that. So, this is kind of the one way I can see we can slow him down," Perreault said. "Every time he gets on the ice someone gets in his way. "I think one of the differences is he plays in Canada. There is more focus And no one's cheating offensively when he's on the ice." on it, there is more excitement about it, there is probably a different kind of appreciation for it," Jets head coach Paul Maurice, the originator of Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 05.19.2021 Super Freak, said following Tuesday's practice. "His speed, and his hand speed, is different than what we’ve seen from maybe anybody else. Then we start comparing different kinds of players to who’s the greatest. How do we do that? We do it with points. That’s the first thing — he scores more goals, or he gets more assists than everybody else so he’s that good. I always think you’re better off waiting for another 15 years when it’s over and deciding the impact he’s had on the game is. He’s clearly a brilliant player." If only the Jets had the superpower to control time. Because they don't, they will begin the tough task of trying to stop McDavid and the Oilers when Game 1 of their best-of-seven opening-round series gets underway Wednesday night at Rogers Place. McDavid truly has been unique in his success this season. He was the only player, by a longshot, to hit the 100-point mark, in a truncated season owing to COVID-19. He finished the year with 105 points (33G, 72A) in 56 games — a dazzling average of 1.88 points per match. The next closest player was linemate Leon Draisaitl, who chipped in 84 points, with Boston's Brad Marchand coming in third with 69 points. McDavid has been so good this season that he's often overshadowed the play of Draisaitl, who is not only on a line with McDavid but is also someone many view to be in the conversation as a top-5 player in the NHL. In fact, Maurice even poked fun at reporters for how much attention they were giving McDavid, and how little focus was on Draisaitl. "You guys know that Draisaitl guy’s not bad, eh? I think that’s how you pronounce his last name, I haven’t really heard it," Maurice quipped. "'Cause he’s not bad." As good as Draisaitl has been this year, McDavid has been particularly dominating against the Jets. The 24-year-old had 22 points in nine games versus Winnipeg, accumulating seven goals and 15 assists. He has scored at least two points in every game against the Jets, with four of those games ending with at least a three-point night. In their most recent meetings, which were back-to-back games at Bell MTS Place in late April, McDavid had a combined seven points, including three goals and one assist in a convincing 6-1 Oilers win. Maurice won't have the luxury of last change through the first two games on the road, but whenever possible he will task Adam Lowry with shutting down the McDavid line. With Nikolaj Ehlers doubtful for Wednesday, it's likely Andrew Copp gets bumped to the Lowry line, along with fellow winger Mason Appleton. "I mean, he had 105 points, so if I could shut him down and he has zero in the game, I think that really, really bodes well for our chances. But, no, it's one of those things where you're not just going out there with the sole mindset of flipping pucks out — you kind of want to tilt the ice as well. You want to frustrate them, you want to force them to bend, you want to create some chances. If you can chip in offensively, that's huge," Lowry said. "The chances of him getting on the board in the game are pretty high, the way he and Leon have played this year. It's about just trying to advance the puck, making smart plays. If you're kind of staying (true to your game), you're going to force some turnovers, you're going to see some 1188454 Winnipeg Jets Goals for per game: Winnipeg 3.04 (12th), Edmonton 3.27 (7th) Goals against per game: Winnipeg 2.71 (10th), Edmonton 2.75 (T-11th)

Power play: Winnipeg 23.0% (7th), Edmonton 27.6% (1st) History likely to repeat Penalty kill: Winnipeg 80.5% (13th), Edmonton 82.5% (9th)

Shots for per game: Winnipeg 29.7 (T-16th), Edmonton 29.9 (15th) Mike McIntyre Shots against per game: Winnipeg 30.6 (20th), Edmonton 30.7 (21st)

Faceoffs: Winnipeg 50.5% (13th), Edmonton 50.4% (14th) Death, taxes and the Winnipeg Jets having their Stanley Cup dreams crushed by the mighty Edmonton Oilers. Corsi for percentage (5-on-5): Winnipeg 48.21% (21st), Edmonton 48.64% (18th) Hockey fans around these parts got used to singing the same sad song every spring, with six head-to-head meetings between 1983 and 1990 Expected goals percentage (5-on-5): Winnipeg 46.48% (23rd), Edmonton that ended in the same frustrating fashion. The Oilers advanced every 49.66% (16th) time, winning 22 of 26 games and outscoring the Jets 114-73 in the process. High-danger chances percentage (5-on-5): Winnipeg 44.63% (29th), Edmonton 49.78 (16th) Fun fact: For all five Edmonton championships won during that decade of dominance, they wiped out Winnipeg along the way. 5. Familiarity breeds contempt: An all-divisional schedule this season seems to have ratcheted the intensity up right out of the chute in the But that was then, and this is now. And the former Smythe Division rivals playoffs so far, and this series will likely be no exception. Playing on the are facing-off on the biggest hockey stage for the first time in 31 years, edge, but not over the edge, is critical. The Jets got bullied by the Flames starting Wednesday in Edmonton as their best-of-seven first round series in the bubble last year, and can't allow that to happen again. Taking the gets underway. body, especially on the likes of McDavid and Draisaitl, to limit their time and space is sound strategy. Gretzky, Messier, Coffey, Hawerchuk, Steen and Ellett have been long- ago been replaced by the likes of McDavid, Draisaitl, Nurse, Scheifele, 6. Familiarity should also breed increased emphasis on coaching Wheeler and Morrissey. One thing that hasn't changed, however, is the strategy: The Jets and Oilers have seen so much of each other already view from many pundits and oddsmakers that this series is likely to be that there shouldn't be a whole lot of surprises. That puts additional swift, and one-sided. pressure on the coaching staffs to make adjustments, and counter- adjustments, along the way. Can the Jets turn those six straight losses It would seem the Jets aren't being given a snowball's chance in a into something positive, for example? In that sense, the battle behind the sweltering prairie summer, due largely to the fact they won just two of benches between Paul Maurice and Dave Tippett is worth keeping an nine meetings during the regular-season against the Oilers — including eye on. the last six times in regulation in which they were outscored 21-7. 7. Home ice no advantage? Unlike all of U.S.-based series there will be There is plenty of pressure on both sides: For Winnipeg, to win a playoff no raucous hometown crowds cheering teams on north of the border. series for the first time since disposing of Minnesota and Nashville during Momentum swings that can be massive in the playoffs likely won't be that 2018 run to the Western Conference final. The Jets have dropped quite the same with piped-in noise. That really adds an element of three straight rounds since: to Vegas in 2018, St. Louis in 2019 and uncertainty, which might explain why both Winnipeg and Edmonton were Calgary in 2020. There's also the troubling matter of a late-season slide actually better on the road this year. in which they won just three of their last dozen games. Looking for an unsung hero For Edmonton, the pressure is not to waste yet another season of having the best player on the planet in their fold. Incredibly, this is just the Sure, the biggest stars need to shine bright. But teams that go a long second time they've officially made the playoffs since dropping the Cup way typically have some of their lesser-heralded players step up on the final to Carolina way back in 2006. The Oilers lost in the second-round to big stage. Here's a few who could fit that role: Anaheim in 2017, then got knocked out of the qualifying round last year by the underdog Chicago Blackhawks. 1. Andrew Copp — He would seem to be built for the playoffs, and the versatile forward is coming off his best offensive season and eager to Is history about to repeat itself, or can the Jets right some wrongs of the make an impact. past and end the Oilers season for the first time in their NHL history? 2. Jesse Puljujarvi — The fourth-overall pick of the 2016 draft is playing Key storylines and questions the best hockey of his career and has all the physical tools needed to be something special. 1. Can the Jets at least limit the damage McDavid does? Expecting them to completely shut down the 105-point man is silly. But if Winnipeg has Pierre-Luc Dubois hasn't practised since being injured on Friday in the any hope of winning, they'll have to at least keep McDavid somewhat in last game of the season. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press files) check. He had at least two points against them in all nine games this year, a ridiculous 22 in total. Whether it's Mark Scheifele's line or Adam Pierre-Luc Dubois hasn't practised since being injured on Friday in the Lowry's line getting the bulk of the work, someone needs to cover No. 97 last game of the season. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press files) like a blanket or else he could end up beating them by himself as he 3. Pierre-Luc Dubois — We've been waiting for the third-overall pick of often did during the season. the 2016 draft to really emerge in Winnipeg, and the clean slate of the 2. Is there a doctor in the house? Andrew Copp is likely good to go for post-season is the perfect opportunity for the 22-year-old to put a Game 1, but Nikolaj Ehlers and Pierre-Luc Dubois are major question frustrating regular-season in the rear-view mirror. The question is, will he marks. If the Jets are without both for any duration, the odds become even be in the lineup given the injury suffered last Friday in the final even steeper as their forward depth will be severely tested. The Oilers, regular-season (a shot to the head) which has kept him out of practice all meanwhile, would seem to have all their regulars save for defenceman week. Kris Russell available for the series. In a series such as this, health is 4. Kailer Yamamoto — Speed kills, and the young winger has it in likely to play a pivotal role. spades. He will be counted on to provide some much-needed secondary 3. The goalie duel: Mike Smith had a terrific year, and you wonder if the scoring for his top-heavy club. bubble might burst at some point for the 39-year-old. Connor Hellebuyck 5. Dylan DeMelo — He looks to be starting the playoffs on a shutdown is the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, and the Jets likely need him to pair with Josh Morrissey, and Winnipeg's chances improve mightily if he steal a game or two (or even three or four) along the way. Playoff series can bring their collective games up a notch or two. are often decided by the masked men, and this may be no different with two teams that can score in buckets. 6. Adam Larsson — The big, physical blue-liner quietly had a terrific season and is a big reason for Edmonton's improved defensive game. 4. Potent power plays: Edmonton had the top regular-season unit in the NHL, while Winnipeg's was seventh-best. In other words, both teams The season series would be wise to stay out of the box as much as possible at the risk of paying a steep price when lines do get crossed. 1. Jan. 24: Edmonton 4 at Winnipeg 3 — A roller-coaster ride of a game. The Jets took a 1-0 lead in the first, fell behind 2-1 after two, grabbed a Tale of the tape 3-2 lead in the final frame only to surrender the tying goal with 185 seconds left and the winning goal, to Draisaitl, with less than a second 9. Apr. 28 - Edmonton 3 at Winnipeg 1 — A better defensive effort but a left in regulation. similar result as the Jets fell for a fifth straight game (and sixth consecutive to the Oilers) to conclude their regular-season series. 2. Jan. 26: Edmonton 4 at Winnipeg 6 — The Jets trailed 3-2 heading into the third, but rallied with a big final 20 minutes to take this one. What Vegas is saying Nikolaj Ehlers had a goal and three assists to lead the way. The latest odds as of Tuesday are favouring the Oilers: Lineups Overall: This is based on line rushes and defence pairings at Tuesday's practices in Winnipeg and Edmonton. Oilers -175 (4/7) Jets Jets +155 (31/20) Forwards Odds to win the Stanley Cup: Connor-Scheifele-Wheeler Oilers 18/1 Copp-Stastny-Vesalainen Jets 50/1 Perreault-Lowry-Appleton Game schedule Harkins-Thompson-Lewis Wednesday May 19 — Jets at Oilers, 8 p.m. CT (TV: CBC, Sportsnet, TVAS, Radio: CJOB 680) Injured: Ehlers, Dubois Friday May 21 — Jets at Oilers, 8 p.m. CT (TV: CBC, Sportsnet, TVAS, Extras:Toninato, Gustafsson, Dano Radio: CJOB 680) Defence Sunday May 23 — Oilers at Jets, 6:30 p.m. CT (TV: CBC, Sportsnet, TVAS, Radio: CJOB 680) Morrissey-DeMelo Monday May 24 — Oilers at Jets, 8:45 p.m. CT (TV: CBC, Sportsnet, Forbort-Pionk TVAS, Radio: CJOB 680) Stanley-Poolman Wednesday May 26 — Jets at Oilers, if necessary Injured: Beaulieu Friday May 28 — Oilers at Jets, if necessary Extras: Benn, Heinola, Niku, Samberg Sunday May 30 — Jets at Oilers, if necessary Oilers Prediction: Oilers in five. Sorry, Jets fans. Time really doesn't heal all Forwards wounds as the playoff beatings continue. Kahun-McDavid-Puljujarvi Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 05.19.2021 Nugent-Hopkins-Draisaitl-Yamamoto Archibald-Khaira-Chiasson Neal-McLeod-Kassian Extras: Turris, Ennis, Haas, Nygard, Shore, Russell Defence Nurse-Barrie Kulikov-Larsson Koekkoek-Bear Injured: Russell Extras: Jones, Lagesson, Bouchard, Broberg 3. Feb. 15: Winnipeg 6 at Edmonton 5 — The high-scoring games continued, with the Jets blowing leads of 4-1 and 5-3 only to get a third- period goal by Blake Wheeler which proved to be the winner as they kicked off a western road swing. 4. Feb. 17: Winnipeg 2 at Edmonton 3 — McDavid recorded his 500th career point, assisting on Draisaitl's second period power-play goal that proved to be the difference, in a tighter-checking affair. 5. March 18: Winnipeg 1 at Edmonton 2 — The Jets were coming off a home win against Montreal the previous night and couldn't get much offence going against the Oilers, which used a pair of goals from McDavid to take it. 6. March 20: Winnipeg 2 at Edmonton 4 — The Jets grabbed a quick 2-0 lead but surrendered four straight, including three in the third period. For the third time this season, Draisaitl scored the game-winner against them. 7. Apr. 17: Edmonton 3 at Winnipeg 0 — The Jets were coming off a terrific five-game eastern road trip in which they went 4-1-0 and seemed to be out of gas for this one. Smith stopped all 26 shots he faced and the Oilers struck twice on their power play. 8. Apr. 26 - Edmonton 6 at Winnipeg 1 — Perhaps the ugliest loss of Winnipeg's season, they were outclassed in every way as McDavid ran wild with three goals and an assist, seemingly wide-open every time he was on the ice. Winnipeg Jets “Yeah, that’s really difficult,” Pionk said. “You certainly can’t run around at 1188455 him, because he’ll make you look like an idiot and he’ll score and get a lot of chances along with that. You have to manage it. You have to respect him but at the same time try to take as much time and space as Expect Jets and Oilers to go out of character, at least early possible.” Maurice repeated his assertion that the Jets’ style of play of late is more suited to stopping McDavid and the Oilers than it was throughout much of Paul Friesen the regular season. “Now it’s going to get playoff tested,” the coach said. “These are all They’re known for their wheels and their finish, artistry over truculence. theories and then you get into the playoffs and as they say, everybody has got a plan until they get punched in the face. This will be a different Yet, the Stanley Cup chase usually brings out the nasty in teams. style of hockey and it will be hard for both teams.” That means the Winnipeg Jets and Edmonton Oilers could come out with The backup plan some crash-and-bang to match their speed-and-dangle when their playoff series gets underway, Wednesday. With Nik Ehlers and Pierre-Luc Dubois doubtful for Game 1, Maurice had Kristian Vesalainen skate on a makeshift second line in Tuesday’s “That’s the unusual unknown here,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said, practice, alongside Paul Stastny and Andrew Copp. Tuesday. “Especially when you turn the TV on and you watch some of these other series. They’re so physical. In the North, the four teams left, I “It’s by position,” the coach explained. “He’s played some right side. I just don’t think any of them are overly physical teams. wanted to give him some reps there, so if we go to it, it wouldn’t be the first time with those two guys.” “Based on what we’ve all seen, the first 10 or 20 minutes of the first period is going to be really physical. What level it settles at, I’m not sure.” Ehlers and Dubois were making the trip, Maurice said. Maurice says the pent-up energy he felt in practice this week will likely “Everybody is making progress. We’ll get to (Wednesday) and make a come out in the form of body contact. bunch of game-time, not so much game-time, but morning-skate decisions, to see where guys are at. But they’re all real close.” “Maybe it’s because we’ve had some days to get ready for this and get rested,” he said. “You could feel it on the ice. They just want to go. They All-in for long run need to go.” It’s been a trying season with the pandemic-forced isolation and the end STORY CONTINUES BELOW of it will allow players, particularly in the U.S., to return to less restrictive environments. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Some have been separated from members of their family. Article content But those we asked say that doesn’t mean they’re any less motivated to It begs the question: Do the Jets need to dictate the hitting game, or does go on a long playoff run. that take them out of their comfort zone and risk putting Edmonton’s deadly power play on the ice? “You put in all the hard work throughout this year, throughout your entire hockey-playing career to get to this point and to try and win a Stanley More than likely, both teams crank it up a few notches. Cup,” Copp said. “I don’t think motivation’s going to be any sort of question.” Defenceman Neal Pionk says the Jets learned a lesson from last year’s post-season loss to Calgary. Trevor Lewis agreed. “Calgary outmatched us in that aspect a little bit,” Pionk said. “Hopefully, “You don’t know how many times you’re going to get to be in the we learned our lesson this year and come out with that intensity and playoffs,” he said. “We worked hard to get here, and we’ve got a chance physicality. But we have to play smart, too, because you can’t just be to win the Cup.” running around and looking for those huge hits.” Lewis won one in L.A. His teammates never have. About No. 97 “Every time you get in the playoffs it’s a chance at winning the Stanley Connor McDavid is, by far, the most talked about and important player in Cup,” Perreault said. “I’m very excited… we’ll see where this takes us.” the series. Winnipeg Sun LOADED 05.19.2021 The following paraphrased exchange took place in Tuesday’s media Zoom call. Reporter: “What’s the plan for stopping McDavid?” Maurice: “I’m not gonna tell you.” Reporter: “But what is the secret to defending him?” Maurice: “If it was a secret, you wouldn’t be getting it. If I had a secret and he would get zero points, I’d hang onto that.” Reporter: “But there’s got to be a game plan. Toronto limited him to 10 points in nine games. He had 22 against your team. What did they do that your team wasn’t able to?” Maurice: “They played better against them than we did.” After another McDavid question, Maurice came up with this: “You guys know that Draisaitl guy’s not bad, eh? I think that’s how you pronounce his last name, I haven’t really heard it. ‘Cause he’s not bad.” The plan Forward Mathieu Perreault says there are two keys to limiting McDavid. “You’ve just got to get in his way,” Perreault said. “You’re always reloading, you’re trying to stay above him and get in his way. And no one’s cheating offensively when he’s on the ice.” As for trying to hit him, Pionk, one of Winnipeg’s most frequent hitters, says that’s a dangerous game. Winnipeg Jets The Oilers hold a less discernible edge when killing penalties (82.5% to 1188456 80.5%)

Most concerning for Jets fans, the Oilers hold the trump card in every Jets: You gotta believe game: McDavid. There is only one like him on the planet. He ate the Jets’ breakfast, lunch and dinner this season, adding 22 points to his league-leading girth, seven of them goals, all at even Paul Friesen strength. Winnipeg’s biggest point-getter against the Oilers: Nik Ehlers with eight. And he’s been out with an injury and isn’t likely to play Game 1. On first blush, you wonder why the Winnipeg Jets even bothered boarding a plane for Edmonton on Tuesday. But the Jets have the best goalie in hockey, you say? To hear most tell it, they could have saved everyone the time and Tell that to Mike Smith, who bested Connor Hellebuyck’s performance expense and just conceded their first-round playoff series with the mighty this season. Even more compelling evidence the underdogs don’t have a Oilers. hope in Helle. As a date with destiny, this one has swift, decisive rejection written all “That’s fine,” Mathieu Perreault said of the doubters. “We know what we over it. can do. There’s no more ‘my own stats’ going around. It’s all about the team and in the playoffs that’s what you need.” The only question to be answered is how lopsided it’ll be: will the Jets go down meekly in four straight, or will their goalie steal one and prolong the That’s the one thing most successful underdogs have in common: their inevitable? collective strength being greater than the sum of their parts. Regardless, you can start making your plans for Round 2 of the Stanley “We know that if we play our best game we can beat anyone on any Cup tournament, away from the television. After you pick up the pointy given night,” defenceman Neal Pionk said. “Now that’s a lot easier said sticks and march to team headquarters demanding heads roll, of course. than done, but there’s a lot of inner belief that we can do it.” Well, funny things happen to favourites when the ice chips begin to For what it’s worth, that’s how all miracles on ice begin. spray. With belief. “In Carolina we lost the season series four straight to Boston,” Jets head coach Paul Maurice reminisced before hopping on the team charter. “And Game 1 is always the best time to feed it. beat them in Game 7 in their building.” Because it can fade faster than you can say Connor McDavid. Maurice was referring to a second-round matchup in the 2009 playoffs. Winnipeg Sun LOADED 05.19.2021 The Bruins had finished atop the NHL’s Eastern Conference with 116 points, throttling Maurice’s Hurricanes by a combined 18-6 score in four regular-season games. Yet it was the 97-point, sixth-place Hurricanes who advanced. Maurice’s current challenge is no less daunting. The Oilers dominated the season series, winning seven of nine and the last six in a row. Over those last six, the Jets were outscored, 21-7, and never even came close to finding an answer to Connor McDavid. The easy conclusion: the Jets don’t stand a chance. Tell that to the players and you might get an arched back or two. “We’ve got talent and heart and character and guys that play the right way up and down our lineup,” Andrew Copp said. “Just counting us out of the series is a little insulting to me.” Sitting next to Copp in Tuesday’s Zoom Room, Trevor Lewis shot back with a history lesson of his own, one he was proud to have lived, first- hand, nearly a decade ago. “In 2012 we were the No. 8 seed taking on the President’s Trophy Canucks,” Lewis said, telling the origin story of the eventual Cup-winning Los Angeles Kings. While Vancouver won the regular-season trophy with 111 points that year, the Kings took home The Big One after recording just 95 and grabbing the last Western Conference playoff spot. “It’s all about that belief in playoffs,” Lewis continued. “We’ve got a strong belief in here. We’ve got a group that we know can do it.” Of course they’re going to say that going into the series. That belief will be either tested and strained with some early-series hardship or bolstered by some early success. In many ways, the teams aren’t that far apart. The Oilers scored 13 more goals (183-170) than Winnipeg and allowed two more (154-152). They had five more regulation or overtime wins (35- 30). Narrow that margin down to regulation wins only, and the gap widens to seven (31-24). Where things get dicey for the Jets is on special teams, where Edmonton’s top-ranked power play stands alone (27.6%). The Jets had the league’s seventh-ranked attack with the extra man (23%). Winnipeg Jets The Jets are going to need massive performances from Hellebuyck, 1188457 centre Mark Scheifele, shutdown centre Adam Lowry and blue-liners Josh Morrissey and Neal Pionk. They’re going to need to play tougher than they did in the regular season, they’re going to have to put more WYMAN: A lot on the line for Jets organization as playoff series with pucks in the net than they did in the regular season and they’re going to Oilers looms need to skate like the wind in order to defend against McDavid. Easy right? Ted Wyman Maurice no doubt has a plan for how to get the job done, but executing that plan is a whole different story.

Maurice has been the Jets head coach for eight years and he’s a terrific Are the Winnipeg Jets still a team on the rise or one that has already hit asset to the organization and the city in many ways. He’s as experienced its peak and is back on the way down? as they come, he’s smart, he’s insightful and he has made Winnipeg his That’s a question that should be answered over the next couple weeks home. as the Jets take on the favoured Edmonton Oilers in the NHL North Cheveldayoff has too, and he’s done a good job as the only general Division playoffs. manager the Jets have known since moving from Atlanta in 2011. But he This is an important best-of-seven series for a Jets’ organization that has didn’t get this team much help at the trade deadline this year and their been slipping backwards since making it to the Western Conference final performance down the stretch suggests that might have been a big in 2018. mistake. The Jets lost in the first round of the playoffs in 2019, fell in the play-in The Jets have made the playoffs five times under Cheveldayoff and round in 2020 and are now faced with the daunting task of facing Maurice and have been an above-average team for the last four years. superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and a strong Oilers’ team Their worst stretch with the organization came during a 10-game block in the first round of the 2020 playoffs. this spring, in which the Jets went 1-9. They looked tired, lacklustre and Games 1 and 2 are in Edmonton, Wednesday and Friday. defeated. Coming off a dreadful stretch run, in which they went 3-9 in their last 12 If that team shows up for the playoffs, things simply can’t stay the same. games, the Jets are widely considered underdogs in the series. Winnipeg Sun LOADED 05.19.2021 The question for many pundits is not “Will the Oilers win, but how many games will it take them to win?” Expectations are not overly high among the Jets faithful after seeing McDavid scorch their team for 22 points in nine games while leading Edmonton to a 7-2 record against Winnipeg. Maybe Winnipeg fans aren’t expecting a series win, but they sure as heck expect a good showing from the Jets, something far better than what they displayed in losing their last six games of the season against the Oilers. It all hit a rock bottom on April 26 and 28, when the Jets lost 6- 1 and 3-1 to the Oilers in consecutive home games. Those kinds of performances cannot be repeated. There had better be fight, there had better be competitiveness and there had better be at least a couple of wins. Otherwise, there should be serious consideration given to making changes within the Jets organization. If the Jets get swept in four games by the Oilers, the jobs of both general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff and head coach Paul Maurice should be re-evaluated. There are some who believe Maurice should be out if the Jets don’t win the series, period. An argument can be made for such action, given how the Jets have been backsliding over the last three seasons. But if the Jets put in a great performance, win some games and prove to be the kind of scrappy, playoff-tested team they’ve been in the past, it might not be the time for drastic moves. Most people think the Jets won’t win the series, but that doesn’t mean they can’t win. This is still a strong team that has an all-world goaltender in Connor Hellebuyck, the 2020 Vezina Trophy winner. The Jets —though battling some injuries that will make Pierre-Luc Dubois and Nikolaj Ehlers game- time decisions Wednesday — have four strong forward lines, three that can score regularly, and a patchwork defence corps that is at least capable of holding its own. Edmonton isn’t quite as balanced upfront — although who needs balance when you’ve got McDavid (105 points in 56 games) and Draisaitl (84 points) in the lineup. They have the edge on defence, where Darnell Nurse, Tyson Barrie and Adam Larsson have all been stellar, and they’re looking very good in goal, where 39-year-old Mike Smith has been excellent, particularly against Winnipeg. The Jets have no choice but to try to neutralize the two stars — who play together at times and on separate lines at others — and outperform the Oilers when McDavid and Draisaitl are not on the ice. They could not do it during the regular season and it’s going to be difficult now, but it has to happen or this series could be over quickly. 1188458 Winnipeg Jets 1-3 AWAY 3-1 22 GOALS 34

25% PP% 29.6% GAMEBREAKERS: A look at the players most likely to make the difference in Jets series against Oilers 70.4% PK% 75% 31 SHOTS/GP 31 Ted Wyman 50.4% FACEOFFS 49.6% Overall, vs. all teams GAME BREAKERS JETS OILERS EDMONTON OILERS 30-23-3 RECORD 35-19-2 CONNOR MCDAVID 63 POINTS 72 McDuh. This guy is the best player on the planet and he led the NHL with 14th OVERALL 11th 105 points in just 56 games this season. He also scored seven goals and had 22 points in nine games against the Jets. 13-13-2 HOME 16-12 LEON DRAISAITL 3-7 LAST 10 7-3 He won the Hart Trophy in 2020, was second in league scoring this year 170 GOALS FOR 183 with 84 points and yet he’s thought of as a sidekick to McDavid. Size, 154 AGAINST 154 speed and hands make Draisaitl the complete package and he’s be the unquestioned No. 1 star of any other team. +16 DIFFERENTIAL +29 MIKE SMITH 19-7-2 SCORE FIRST 23-3-1 Smith had an outstanding season at age 39 and some of his best games 11-16-1 OPP. SCORE FIRST 12-16-1 were against the Jets. He went 4-0 with a 2.06 goals against average and .936 save percentage against Winnipeg. He’s also a terrific puck 23% (7th) POWER PLAY 27.6% (1st) handler and he’ll force the Jets to adjust their plans for zone entries. 80.5% (13th) PENALTY KILL 82.5% (9th) WINNIPEG JETS TOP SCORERS CONNOR HELLEBUYCK Edmonton If there’s one thing that gives the Jets confidence they can upset the Oilers, it’s having a Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender. Hellebuyck had a GP G A rough go against the Oilers this year, going 2-5, but was terrific against P +/- everyone else, going 24-17-3 overall with a 2.58 GAA and .916 save Connor McDavid 9 7 15 22 percentage. +14 MARK SCHEIFELE Leon Draisaitl 9 7 5 12 It was only three years ago that Scheifele scored 14 goals in 17 playoff +8 games as the Jets advanced to the Western Conference final. He has Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 8 5 5 10 shown that he can be a big-game player. The question now is, can the +8 Jets leading scorer do it while facing the world’s best player, often head- to-head? Darnell Nurse 9 2 8 10 +11 NIKOLAJ EHLERS Tyson Barrie 9 2 7 9 It’s not even clear if or when Ehlers will play in this series, as he missed +7 the last nine games of the regular season with a shoulder injury. He’s been skating but was still wearing a non-contact jersey at Tuesday’s Winnipeg practice. If and when he gets into the lineup, he can be a huge difference maker for the Jets. Before the injury he was having his best offensive GP G A season, with 21 goals and 46 points in 47 games. His speed, his ability to P +/- carry the puck over the offensive blue-line and his hands make him very Nikolaj Ehlers 7 3 5 8 effective. +5 The Oilers win the series if … Andrew Copp 9 3 4 7 They just keep doing the same things they did against Winnipeg in the +1 regular season. They outperformed the Jets in all areas, including in Mark Scheifele 9 3 4 7 goal, and got 2.44 points per game from Connor McDavid on the way to -12 going 7-2. If McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the Oilers are given room to free-wheel, it’s going to be a short series. Blake Wheeler 9 3 2 5 -14 The Jets win the series if … Adam Lowry 7 2 3 5 Connor Hellebuyck does magic tricks, followed by a circus act. -2 Hellebuyck won the Vezina Trophy last season and worked his way into the conversation again this year. If he steals a game or two for the Jets, JETS-OILERS PLAYOFF HISTORY this series will be a toss-up. He can’t do it alone though and strong team defence will be critical in slowing down McDraisaitl. World Hockey Association TALE OF THE TAPE 1975-76 (First round) — Jets 4, Oilers 0 Regular season head-to-head 1979 (Final) — Jets 4, Oilers 2 JETS OILERS National Hockey League 2 WINS 7 1982-83 (First round) — Oilers 3, Jets 0 4 POINTS 14 1983-84 (First round) — Oilers 3, Jets 0 1-4 HOME 4-1 1984-85 (Second round) — Oilers 4, Jets 0 1986-87 (Second round) — Oilers 4, Jets 0 1987-88 (First round) — Oilers 4, Jets 1 1989-90 (First round) — Oilers 4, Jets 3 SERIES SCHEDULE Wednesday Jets at Oilers, 8 p.m. CT Friday Jets at Oilers, 8 p.m. CT Sunday Oilers at Jets, 6:30 p.m. CT Monday Oilers at Jets, 8:45 p.m., CT Wednesday, May 26 x-Jets at Oilers, TBD Friday, May 28 x-Oilers at Jets, TBD Sunday, May 30 x-Jets at Oilers, TBD x-If necessary Winnipeg Sun LOADED 05.19.2021 Winnipeg Jets Nugent-Bowman: I’d say it’s possible — likely even — that Tippett uses 1188459 McDavid and Draisaitl together for a full game. He and his staff like to keep their coaching rivals on their toes. He always has that option, and it didn’t go well for the Jets the one time he did it. The Oilers won 3-0 on Scouting the Winnipeg Jets’ enemy: Breaking down the Edmonton Oilers April 17 and both players had two points. with Daniel Nugent-Bowman But even if they start the series separated and stay that way regularly, they’ll get their shifts together. Because, well, why not? By Murat Ates and Daniel Nugent-Bowman May 18, 2021 The Oilers kill off a penalty? Bet the farm; McDavid and Draisaitl are coming over the boards, likely with Jesse Puljujarvi. Other scenarios? Often late in periods, for occasional shifts, if the Oilers haven’t received From here in Winnipeg, the Edmonton Oilers seem like a series of many power plays, and last minutes of tight games — whether protecting dualities. a one-goal lead or searching for the tying marker. There is the team that dominates when Connor McDavid and Leon Ates: Alright, that’s enough fear mongering. I’m genuinely trying to learn Draisaitl are on the ice and the one that treads water without them. here. Beyond those two players, what threats do the Jets need to be aware of? There is the team that was a heavy favourite in the qualification round last summer and the one that got stunned by Chicago in four games. Nugent-Bowman: Behind McDavid and Draisaitl, and the aforementioned Nugent-Hopkins and Yamamoto, the one other forward to be wary of is And of course: there is the team that ran roughshod over the Jets vs. the Jesse Puljujarvi. one that was Winnipeg’s equal against the rest of Canada. He had a solid campaign after almost two years (one season) away from To sort through these dualities with expertise, we turn to Daniel Nugent- the NHL. The expectation was to ease Puljujarvi back into the roster as Bowman, our reporter in Edmonton. Daniel possesses a wealth of he started the year on the third line. But that lasted all of six games and knowledge about the Oilers and his recent features on Connor McDavid, he’s been with McDavid basically ever since. His 15 goals and 25 points Leon Draisaitl, and Jesse Puljujarvi are must-reads for any hockey fan. won’t blow you away, but he’s consistently gotten better all season. You’ll want to follow DNB on Twitter and make sure you read him here at The Athletic throughout this series. The forward ranks thin out pretty quickly from there. But the Jets would be advised to keep tabs on two defencemen: Darnell Nurse and Tyson Today, he’s helping us understand how Edmonton runs its match-ups, Barrie. how Dave Tippett gets the most out of McDavid and Draisaitl, where the Oilers’ weak spots might be, and so much more. Nurse had the most even-strength goals (15) among blueliners and finished second at his position in total goals (16) and even-strength It’s everything a Jets fan could want to know about Edmonton before points (29) as part of a season worthy of Norris Trophy consideration. puck drop on Wednesday. Barrie led all defencemen with 48 points, nearly having his production split between the power play (23 points) and even strength (25). Ates: Let’s start with the obvious, DNB. Connor McDavid. Have you ever seen a crack in his armour? A mini-slump? A style of play he dominated The Oilers don’t have many offensive weapons, but they aren’t bringing only slightly less than the others? knives to gunfights. Nugent-Bowman: He had one point in the season finale. What the hell Ates: Do the Oilers have a shutdown line or a shutdown pair? For kind of performance was that? example, if Dave Tippett wants to get McDavid away from Scheifele, who takes Winnipeg’s top line? In all seriousness, there was one small stretch, a three-game series against the Maple Leafs (Feb. 27-March 3) where he was held pointless. Nugent-Bowman: McDavid, naturally, plays against good players, It might have been the worst three-game segment of his career. whether they’re offensive stars, two-way forces, or defensive dynamos. As a result, Tippett predominantly uses his top pair, the all-around Nurse The Oilers played 31 games after that series and McDavid was held off and his offensive-minded partner Barrie, with McDavid. the scoresheet just four times. He just went off during the last month of the season. The Oilers were shut out 5-0 in Calgary on April 10, the The pure stopper pairing is Adam Larsson and former Jet Dmitry Kulikov. same day as a memorial service for former teammate Colby Cave — a They’ve only played 10 games together, but the numbers at 5-on-5 have scheduling snafu that drew McDavid’s ire. After that night, he had 36 been excellent in 147 minutes — 55.2 CF%, 6-3 goals advantage — with points over the final 14 games and was only held completely in check heavy defensive responsibilities. once. Ates: Where is the fountain of youth Mike Smith is drinking from and what Those stats are something you’d expect to see from a beer-leaguer are the odds he can realistically out-Hellebuyck Hellebuyck? playing down a couple of levels. It appears McDavid might have figured this NHL thing out. Nugent-Bowman: What a story, eh? I’ll have a couple bottles of whatever he’s having. I won’t get into too many details because I’d encourage Ates: Maybe I should have started with a sliver of hope. How about Leon everyone to read colleague Scott Burnside’s excellent profile of Smith. Draisaitl, Edmonton’s more recent Hart Trophy winner. He “only” scored the NHL’s second-most points, with 84 in 56 games. How does Winnipeg Can he out-Hellebuyck Hellebuyck? Well, he did it during the season, so stop him? there’s no reason to suggest that he can’t. Still, you’ve gotta put your money on the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, no? Nugent-Bowman: Well, it’s probably easier to do it when he’s away from McDavid. Those two superstars can produce together like few other duos Ates: Where are the weak spots on the Oilers? I like to talk about can in the league. McDavid, Draisaitl, and “the soft underbelly” but, given the Jets finished 2-7-0 against Edmonton, am I overstating the Oilers’ lack of depth? The Oilers have outscored the opposition 33-17 with McDavid and Draisaitl on the ice together in 343 minutes at 5-on-5, a 66 percent goal Nugent-Bowman: Yes and no. The Oilers were fifth in the Western share. Draisaitl away from McDavid in 567 minutes? Still an impressive Conference (remember that thing?) by points percentage when the 2019- 57.9 percent goal share, but his 46.4 Corsi for percentage looks rather 20 regular season was postponed and later cancelled. They’ve been a pedestrian. much better team this season. The Oilers have iced many line combinations this season, but one McDavid’s a better player. So is Draisaitl. So is Darnell Nurse. And Draisaitl appears likely to start the playoffs is with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins they’ve mostly had excellent goaltending — at least when Smith’s been and Kailer Yamamoto. That trio was so dominant during the second half in net. of last season, but RNH and Yamamoto both saw their production The Oilers were 18th in Corsi for percentage in the NHL and were minus- plummet in 2021. 1 in terms of goal differential at 5-on-5. Last season, they ranked 27th That line could be deadly if those two return to their January-March 2020 and were minus-16. Still room for improvement, but they’re on the right forms. Even if they don’t the Jets better watch Draisaitl closely because track. he can drive a line with little reinforcement. But the fact that they were in the red with McDavid and Draisaitl filling the Ates: Lastly on those guys for the time being: I understand that, even if net perfectly illustrates the depth issues on this team. Play-driving and they are officially listed on different lines, Dave Tippett will sometimes put production are limited among bottom-sixers. McDavid and Draisaitl together. When does he do that… and Why? Ates: Actually, on that note: one of the things I’ve noticed about Edmonton is that when the big guns aren’t on the ice, the team was awfully good at protecting the middle of the ice against Winnipeg. How? Neal is next up, followed by Puljujarvi. But it’s the McDavid and Draisaitl Is this a Dave Tippett thing? (and RNH) show. Those guys will often play the full power play. Nugent-Bowman: In talking to people who know Tippett well over the last The three lefties all have the ability to play either flank or the bumper couple of years, his philosophy is to coach to his players’ and his team’s position (although McDavid seldom plays there). The most common strength. For instance, he had lunch pail teams in Arizona, so he alignment sees McDavid on his strong side, swooping around, making coached a defensive, checking style. passes, and blasting wristers; Draisaitl unleashing one-timers and looking to set up teammates on the other side, and Nugent-Hopkins In Edmonton, he lets the high-flyers fly (within reason), but most of the ready to take shots from the slot or the faceoff dot to the right of the rest of the group is blue-collared. They need to play as sound as possible goalie. defensively. I’d say it’s a Tippett thing. They’re deadly. Ates: Beyond the big two — and beyond Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, whose game I’ve come to admire since the Oilers took him first overall in 2011 Ates: After all of this, which Edmonton Oilers team do you expect — who are the unsung heroes? Is there a Fernando Pisani to be found Winnipeg to have to deal with — the high-flying, rush-dominant, 7-2-0 among Kailer Yamamoto, Jesse Puljujarvi, or Josh Archibald? team that rolled over the Jets this season or the “pretty good” one that had a virtually identical points total (58) to Winnipeg’s (59) with the Nugent-Bowman: Nice pull. Pisani sure was a cult hero 15 years ago. season series removed? (Wow; has it really been that long?) Nugent-Bowman: You never know after how badly the Oilers looked last I thought Yamamoto had that type of performance in him last summer, season, but I truly expect the former option. The Jets should have their but he struggled mightily in the bubble. He went pointless in four games. hands full. He has the potential to make amends for a below-average season. The Athletic LOADED: 05.19.2021 Puljujarvi might be the guy, though it wouldn’t be shocking considering he’ll likely play a ton with McDavid. For Archibald to have that type of impact, he’ll likely need to be elevated in the lineup. That’s happened on occasion, largely in the event of an injury. Ates: Speaking of Jesse Puljujarvi, how in the world did he go from elite prospect to so far off the NHL map to impact scorer? What should we expect from his first playoffs? Funny you should ask about Puljujarvi. I wrote about him a couple of weeks ago. Two quotes stand out in the piece. McDavid: “He’s worked hard at his game. He’s changed his game. Before he left, I don’t think he wanted to do those things. He didn’t want to forecheck. He didn’t want to play hard. And now he’s come back and that’s his specialty. “He’s hard on pucks, he’s a big man, he goes to the net hard, and makes D-men pay the price if they want to box him out. That’s the kind of winger we need.” Assistant coach Glen Gulutzan: “He marries himself to the front of the net and he marries a defenceman with him. He does a really good job there. That’s something he didn’t do in the past. That’s something that I can remember talking to him a couple of years ago that he needed to add to his game if you want to score in North America. “He has just come with such a purpose here.” So, yeah. He’s a different player. And he seems a lot more comfortable on and off the ice. His English is much better, too. I’m not sure if I’d call him an “impact scorer” yet, but his 15 goals this season were five ahead of 2016 World Junior teammate Patrik Laine. Puljujarvi should make some noise on McDavid’s wing in this series. Ates: Tyson Barrie and Darnell Nurse have a lot of points between them. Who’s better? Is one a power play weapon whereas the other is a threat at even strength? Nugent-Bowman: Murat, I fear you’ve triggered a few Oilers fans with this one. You know, the ones who think Nurse is carrying Barrie and that top prospect Evan Bouchard should replace him in the lineup. There’s no doubt Barrie has had an outstanding offensive season, but Nurse is no slouch offensively —you’ll probably see him fill in for Barrie at times on the power play — and is the better all-around defender. If the Oilers are leading late, except Nurse’s last-season partner Ethan Bear to relieve Barrie for important shifts. Ates: How’s our old friend Dmitry Kulikov doing? Nugent-Bowman: Kulikov’s had a few iffy turnovers, but generally has been excellent on a shutdown pair with Larsson. He’s averaged 17:44 and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him get a bump in the playoffs. Ates: Edmonton had the top-ranked power play (27.6 percent) during the regular season. Who “runs” it and who are its most dangerous shooters? Nugent-Bowman: And the power play was 1.9 percent less effective than it was last season when it was the fourth-best in league history. Warning to the Jets: stay out of the box. Barrie has replaced the injured Oscar Klefbom on the point, with Nurse getting minutes, too. Alex Chiasson is the main net-front guy; James Vancouver Canucks Hamonic got to the high slot, controlled a bouncing puck and then went 1188460 far post and in on former Canucks goalie Louis Domingue. And in the second period, he intercepted a breakout pass to start a prolonged offensive-zone sequence in which he directed two shots at the net. Canucks 4, Flames 2: Home-ice finale overshadowed by Travis Green’s status, Sedin rumours “He’s played some good hockey the last 20 to 25 games since he came back from injury,” said Green. “When he came here, he hadn’t skated in Tuesday’s drama wasn’t only on the ice for the Vancouver Canucks as almost a year (injury, opting out of the playoff bubble) and he has been they hosted the Calgary Flames in the final home game at Rogers Arena everything we thought and hoped he would be.” Höglander’s second-period goal was a result of going hard to the net and pouncing on a rebound for his 13th goal. He was also denied on a Ben Kuzma backhander off a third-period breakaway. That would have triggered a US $68,000 performance bonus. He can reach it Wednesday in Calgary to cap the season. Memory lane was a long and winding road for Travis Green on Tuesday. “I try to play my best every game and help the team win and I had no The final National Hockey League regular-season home game for the goals for the year — I just wanted to take a spot on the team,” he said. Vancouver Canucks was dripping in drama before puck drop against the “I’m happy. It felt good.” Calgary Flames. Myers opened the scoring in the third period from the high slot after Not only is Green’s contract expiring as bench boss, speculation of having a second-period goal negated by a successful offside challenge. sweeping change within the organization was spreading like wild fire. It now includes Henrik and Daniel Sedin possibly returning in some Thatcher Demko showed early and often that he was going to be hard to capacity. beat. He was calm and square and it looked like the only puck that would elude him was swept off the goal line by Jimmy Vesey. His late-game When the Sedins were inducted into the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame in save off an Adam Rucizka backhander on his doorstep could have 2019, they hinted of future involvement in a game they had dominated on preserved the shutout, but Mangiapane scored with 3:22 remaining and the ice and the impact they left in the charity community. Tkachuk with the goalie pulled. As great as they were over 17 NHL seasons to establish franchise “I’m pretty happy with my game, but it’s been a crazy year,” admitted records for goals (Daniel, 393), assists (Henrik, 830) and points (Henrik, Demko, who had lingering COVID-19 symptoms. “Definitely the hardest 1,070) — their league-wide impact was immense. And their knowledge of year I’ve had to go through, just with unforeseen adversity and having to the game is second to none, so to have their names surface to help battle through a bunch of stuff. I feel like I’m a stronger hockey player revamp the Canucks isn’t surprising. coming out of it and if we can make it through a year like this, we can probably make it through anything.” “We’ve said all along that hockey is the main thing for us and what we know, but at the same time we’ve said we’re tired of travelling and tired of All hail Clark getting on those long road trips,” Daniel told Postmedia. “It has to be the right fit. Who knows? We might end up doing something completely Canucks goalie coach Ian Clark is largely responsible for Jacob different. We’ll find something that makes us happy.” Markstrom and Demko turning into starting goalies in Vancouver. The crease crusader has had considerable success elsewhere in bringing out Added Henrik: “We said we were going to take a year off and here we the best in superlative stoppers. are. We’ll see what happens, but it’s something we’re going to keep our mind open to for sure.” However, Clark doesn’t have a contract for next season, so Demko did some heavy lobbying on his behalf post game. NEXT GAME “Clarky is unbelievable,” started Demko. “I owe probably just about Wednesday everything to him. I’m obviously putting in the work, but the way he has guided me and mentored me has been amazing. I desperately hope they Vancouver Canucks vs. Calgary Flames can figure something out and have him return. 12:30 p.m., Scotiabank Saddledome. TV: Sportsnet Pacific. Radio: “The momentum Ian and I have right now is exciting and there’s still a ton Sportsnet 650 AM of room for me grow with how we’re on the same page. It’s something I’d Toss all that into the mix of what may happen to the coaching staff and love to continue to do. I really hope he gets back here.” general manager Jim Benning, and Tuesday’s scuffle on the ice was In March, Demko had an 8-1-0 run with a 1.74 goals-against average, shifted to the back burner. Not that Green wasn’t immersed in the task at .950 saves percentage, one shutout and stopped 301 of 317 shots. hand in directing a 4-2 victory, but the cloud of career uncertainty is lingering. “It was a good year for taking another step in my development, starting to understand what I had to do in my game to be successful on a nightly “As the season winds down, there are lots of things running through your basis when you’re playing a lot of games,” he added. “Those lessons are head,” Green said before the matinee. “You’re always thinking about the invaluable.” last one (home game) and how the season has gone and a lot of players will feel the same way.” A Will and a way In his post-game address, Green refused to comment on his contract The book on rookie Will Lockwood would please any bench boss. status. As for the effort on the ice, it was a fond farewell to an unimaginable home portion of a season that has tested the mettle of The fearless right-winger, who plays with an edge in the corners and players and the coaching staff. traffic and also possesses a good puck-control touch, made his NHL regular-season debut. He was noticeable. “We played a pretty solid first two periods and hung on a little bit at the end and found a way to win,” said Green. The 64th selection in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft showed speed and some moxie. He accidentally/on purpose knocked the stick out of the hand of Here’s what we learned as Travis Hamonic, Nils Höglander, Tyler Myers Domingue and had a pond hockey shift where he circled untouched in and Brock Boeser (empty net) scored for the Canucks while Andrew the offensive zone while looking for passing options. He also caused Mangiapane and Matthew Tkachuk replied late for the Flames: havoc in the crease when a cross-ice feed came his way. More Hammer time? This all occurred in 4:25 of first-period ice time on a line with Travis Boyd and Vesey, and Lockwood would finish with two shots, three hits and a Was that the last we saw of Travis Hamonic at Rogers Arena? tripping minor in 12:25 of ice time. Lockwood had 11 AHL points (4-7) in The unrestricted free-agent defenceman has expressed a desire to 24 games this season with the Utica Comets. remain with the club, but it will be a function of whether UFA Alex Edler “I thought it went really well,” said Lockwood. “The first shift I kind of had returns and making roster room for other prospects. a bit of nerves, but I just went out there and played my game. The older Hamonic did remind the coach that there is more to his game than guys helped me a lot and just told me to play like it’s just any other game. pairing with Quinn Hughes and allowing the fleet-footed blueliner to do I feel I did that. his offensive thing. However, after Hamonic took a holding penalty in the “It got better as the game went on and I kept it simple and just worked opening period, he responded with a little flash and dash to open the hard. To get that one under my belt is awesome. Right now, I’m just scoring. going to soak it all in and enjoy it.” Said Green: “He’s fast and handles the puck pretty well. I thought he had a strong game.” Vancouver Province: LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188461 Vancouver Canucks

Nils Höglander wins most Canucks’ exciting player award The Vancouver Canucks announced their 2020-21 player and fan hero awards before the final home game of the season on Tuesday

Patrick Johnston

It’s not a big surprise that rookie Nils Höglander has wowed fans this season, even if they have not been able to witness his play in person. The Swedish rookie came with a reputation for hard-nosed hockey and an elite set of hands that he uses to pot all manner of goals. He didn’t disappoint in his first season in North America and the fans took notice, clearly, as they voted him the Canucks’ most exciting player for the 2020- 21 NHL season. He highlighted his win in Tuesday’s matinee vs. the Calgary Flames with a late first-period goal, and was thwarted on a third-period breakaway by goalie Louis Domingue. Höglander’s win highlights this season’s list of the annual team awards, which also featured Bo Horvat named the team’s MVP, Quinn Hughes the team’s best defenceman and Tyler Motte being handed a pair of awards, named the team’s unsung hero as well as the Henrik and Daniel Sedin Award for community leadership. The team also honoured a group of front-line workers, handing out awards for their work in the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bryana and Matthew Thacker are the the Fan Hero MVPs, recognizing them as “individuals making an exceptional difference.” Bryana is a respiratory therapist who works in an intensive care unit while Matthew is a paediatric registered nurse who also teaches at BCIT. They’re both former competitive hockey players who still play — when it’s safe — in recreational leagues. Senior activity worker Jen Gendron won the Fan Hero unsung hero award, recognizing the efforts of essential services workers. She has been working full-time since the beginning of the activity to keep residents occupied and entertained — often by making gifts for other vulnerable people in the community — while they’re not able to leave their facility or receive visitors. Registered nurse Prabhjot Dhillon is the winner of the Fan Hero best defenceman award, recognizing health-care workers and first responders. She’s been working with seniors who are suffering from physical problems related to COVID-19 while also offering support to those who are struggling with their mental health because they haven’t been able to be visited in person by family. And Mary Choi and Steve Lee, owners of Mountain Market in North Vancouver, are the Fan Hero most exciting players, recognizing the work of small businesses to help the community. Along with offering a safe place to shop for essential items, they’ve been making flower arrangements that can be given as gifts to front-line workers as well as offering bouquets to 2020 graduates at Argyle secondary, who saw their graduation ceremony cancelled because of the pandemic. Vancouver Province: LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188462 Vancouver Canucks

Another nomination: Tyler Motte up for King Clancy trophy ‘First of all, you’re proud of the guy. Motter’s come a long way,’ head coach Travis Green said Tuesday

Patrick Johnston

Another week, another nomination for Vancouver Canucks winger Tyler Motte. The NHL announced Tuesday that Motte, 26, has been nominated by his team for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, which is presented “to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.” Every team nominates a player and a winner is chosen from the 31 nominees by a committee of senior NHL executives led by commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly. Six main criteria are used to select the winner: • Clear and measurable positive impact on the community. • Investment of time and resources. • Commitment to a particular cause or community. • Commitment to the league’s community initiatives. • Creativity of programming. • Use of influence; engagement of others. Over the past year, Motte has revealed his personal struggles with depression and anxiety, in the hopes that others will feel comfortable speaking about their own mental health battles and seek support. He started his own campaign, Motter’s Mental Health Fund, to direct funds towards mental health organizations. Thank you to everyone for your comments and support! For those who want to help in other ways @Canucksforkids and I have teamed up to create “Motter’s Mental Health Fund” all proceeds will benefit a range mental health initiatives and foundations. https://t.co/zzdxVCcwpX https://t.co/xyvtxeMQvk — Tyler Motte (@tmotte_14) February 24, 2021 “First of all, you’re proud of the guy. Motter’s come a long way,” head coach Travis Green said Tuesday. “I think the more awareness we can bring to those types of issues the better. It’s not easy to do.” Last week, Motte was nominated by the Vancouver chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which recognizes perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey, for many of the same reasons as his Clancy nomination. Three Canucks have won the Clancy in the past for their community work: Trevor Linden in 1997 and the Sedin twins (Henrik alone in 2016, both Henrik and Daniel in 2018). The first-place finisher will receive a $25,000 donation to benefit a charity or charities of his choice. The two runners-up each will receive a $5,000 donation to benefit a charity or charities of their choice. The King Clancy Memorial Trophy was first presented in 1988 by the NHL’s Board of Governors in honour of Frank “King” Clancy, who worked for the league for decades as a player, referee, coach, manager and goodwill ambassador. A three-time Stanley Cup champion and 1958 inductee to the Hockey Hall of Fame, Clancy was voted as one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in 2017. Vancouver Province: LOADED: 05.19.2021 Vancouver Canucks diminishing returns of just how high his play can get to aren’t very clear 1188463 right now, it still feels like a solid safe bet the Canucks can take.

Now, will Hamonic accept a cheap deal on a short term again? That’s The Armies: Alex Edler’s chase continues and the Sedin smoke screen another question. But it’s certainly an avenue the Canucks should explore, assuming they don’t run out of time.

As for the prime assist on that goal, it was from none other than the By Wyatt Arndt May 19, 2021 Gravy Train Tyler Graovac, who I have been a proud member of the “Bring back the Gravy” for several weeks now, and we meet up every Thursdays at De Dutch on West 2nd because Sekeres and Price With the Canucks/Flames season-ending series having the energy of wouldn’t stop recommending it. parents “sticking together for the kids,” there are three main storylines Again, every player I feel could be an asset for this club is predicated on playing out as the Canucks finish up their schedule. short term, cheap contracts, which is why I feel Graovac has at the very Will Alex Edler score his 100th career goal? least earned a look at training camp next year. In a perfect world, you’ve got young skilled rookies pushing people out of your lineup and earning Will the Canucks continue their proud tradition of winning meaningless those bottom line roles, but next season is a crapshoot, and at this point, games at the end of the season to hurt their draft position? I will hammer home the idea of cheap and short contracts versus anything the Canucks have been doing under Jim Benning. Will there be any changes in Canucks management? Tell me you don’t watch these games and watch a bottom six at the very All of these storylines are in various states of flux, but No. 3 is the one least equalling what the past expensive bottom six has done in the last that got the surprising spotlight today when news came out that the seven seasons. Canucks have reportedly approached the Sedins about a role with the team, which ace reporter Thomas Drance can fill you in on. Best going full Hög We, of course, have a game to run through, and in proud Armies tradition HÖGLANDER!!! THE MOST EXCITING PLAYER! WOOO!!!#CANUCKS we will save the Sedin story for the end, so in the meantime, let’s tackle Nos. 1 and 2 on that list. — OPTIMISTIC CANUCK (@OPTIMISTCANUCK) MAY 18, 2021 Normally I would quote a song or poem here, so in the interest of time, I MIGHT AS WELL GO OUT WITH A BANG #CANUCKS will briefly quote Samuel Taylor Coleridge: — JORDAN LYNN PRENTICE (@JORDANLYNNPREN1) MAY 18, 2021 “Water, water, everywhere, At this point it’s safe to assume that the Canucks will both win games that And all the boards did shrink; hurt their draft position as well as lose out on lottery odds, so you might as well enjoy the ride like Nils Höglander is: Water, water, everywhere, Höglander won the most exciting player of the year team award, following Nor any drop to drink.” in the footsteps of such notable players like Pavel Bure, Tony Tanti, Alex Mogilny, Todd Bertuzzi and … David Booth. Best this is our life now And while Höglander doesn’t boast about his ability to overwhelm a WATCHING A HOCKEY GAME BETWEEN THE #CANUCKS & defenceless opponent quite like Mr. Booth has, he clearly deserved the #FLAMES THIS AFTERNOON. award if for no other reason than the fact he was a shining light on a very — DAN RICCIO (@DANRICCIO_) MAY 18, 2021 dismal season. With the news of the Sedins possibly having a role with the Canucks in The bar has now been set quite high for Vasili Alexandrovich Podkolzin the future, you can imagine not much attention was paid to Tuesday’s next season, but for a team in desperate need of a talent injection, it’s game. nice to get the win once in a while with a player like Höglander. And as always, I’m certain Höglander celebrated that goal with a nice And you’d be right. korvapuusti after the game. But this is The Armies, and we excel at making sure things survive for Best how about we keep it to a thank you Cam Robinson posterity sake. WHAT A DAY FOR NILS HÖGLANDER. In four years when the Canucks win the Cup (just go with it), maybe you’ll want to look back and remember Will Lockwood’s first game to see the -WINS THE SHL GOAL OF THE YEAR AWARD FOR THE THIRD journey he took from first NHL game to scoring the Game 7 overtime goal CONSECUTIVE YEAR. in the Stanley Cup Final (again, please, just go with it). -NAMED AS THE VANCOUVER CANUCKS’ MOST EXCITING PLAYER Best comeback OF THE 2021 SEASON. #CANUCKS SHOULD REALLY RE SIGN HAMONIC, HE’S BEEN A -SCORES HIS 13TH GOAL OF THE SEASON IN HIS 55TH GAME. SOLID PLAYER ALL SEASON. — ����� FABER (@CHRISFABER39) MAY 18, 2021 — JORDAN KISS (@JORDANKISSPXP) MAY 18, 2021 Best smarter man than I HAMONIC GOALSTREAK BAYBEEEEEEE CANUCKS FANS, YOU REALLY SHOULDN’T BOTHER YOURSELF — ZACHARY #BRINGSHAYLANNAHOME – MMIWG2S ABOUT LOTTERY ODDS THIS SEASON. I KNOW THAT’S BEEN THE (@HAIDAHOCKEY) MAY 18, 2021 LOGICAL THING TO DO IN PREVIOUS ONES, BUT I CANNOT HAMONIC NOW TIED WITH HUGHES IN GOALS (3) EMPHASIZE ENOUGH THAT IT LIKELY DOES NOT MATTER THIS SEASON. — ROB WILLIAMS (@ROBTHEHOCKEYGUY) MAY 18, 2021 THERE ARE LIKELY NO FRANCHISE CORNERSTONE PIECES THIS I was pretty down on Travis Hamonic early on the season, despite YEAR. knowing he was fighting an uphill battle having not played hockey in many months. — RHYS JESSOP (@THATS_OFFSIDE) MAY 17, 2021 Yet here I stand, a new recruit to the “Bring Hamonic Back” club that Best chaos is a ladder meets every Tuesday at Burgoo on Burrard. AT THIS RATE EVERY #CANUCKS DEFENSEMAN WILL SCORE It’s not just the offensive numbers he has started putting on the board, as BEFORE EDLER. shown on the Canucks’ first goal here: — VICTÖR SUM (@SUMDEVIANT) MAY 18, 2021

It’s the fact that this defence is going to need to get through next season, WHERE WAS THIS WHEN IT MATTERED?! #CANUCKS and if Hamonic can come back at an affordable rate, that’s a plus for a team that needs to dance with the salary cap devil in the pale moonlight. — �� X-DEVON MCLEAN #RIPKIRK (@DMCLEAN154) MAY 18, 2021 His play has gotten stronger as the season has worn on, and while the CALL REVERSED! TEAM TANK LIVES!!#CANUCKS — RYLES (@MIGHTY_QUINN43) MAY 18, 2021 With grim determination in his eyes, Jeff Paterson stood up, threw a handful of blonde hair into the air, yelled out “RUFIO!” and signalled for Tyler Myers, my pick for most exciting player of the year just due to the The Flow. chaotic energy he brings to the rink every single game, almost put the Canucks up 3-0 with a sneak attack point shot that went straight through Best relief the NHL Great Bake Champion Louis Domingue: BROCK BOESER STOP STEALING ALEX EDLER'S 100TH CAREER But because chaos reigns supreme with this large rogue, the goal was GOAL called back after Calgary challenged the play, and it was decided that Myers put himself offside after he failed his hide roll, which Daniel — CLARISSA! (@QUINNSEDGEWORK) MAY 18, 2021 Wagner enforced because he is a very strict DM. Brock Boeser struck once again, both in terms of scoring a goal, and in At this point I whispered “all you’ve done is anger the giant and made terms of denying Alex Edler that easy road to 100: things worse for yourself” which later turned out to be true. The good news is Vancouver has one more game for Edler to score his Best question centennial goal, and let’s be honest, this is Alex Edler, you think he wants that goal on an empty net? The dude wants to block three shots in the WHY EVEN BOTHER CHALLENGING GOALS IN THIS GAME?? sequence leading up to the goal, and you damn well know he wants his #CANUCKS stick breaking on the shot that goes in. — GABRIELLE (@I_LOVE_CANUCKS) MAY 18, 2021 Best put your faith in Rhys Shout out to challenging a goal in a meaningless game, which harkens GET USED TO HEARING THIS. back to coach , in his last season with the Canucks, his foot out the door, his team in dire need to not win games for better lottery "WITH THE 12TH PICK IN THE 2021 NHL ENTRY DRAFT, THE odds, challenging the Arizona Coyotes for an offside call in a game on VANCOUVER CANUCKS PROUDLY SELECT…." April 6, 2017. — BLAKE PRICE (@JUSTBLAKEPRICE) MAY 18, 2021 Best revenge is a dish best served with fries Best plea bargain @THESTANCHION MYERS WITH THE SILK DEMKO IS JUST SO GOOD TODAY — ROB (@ROBL1991) MAY 18, 2021 — XE – KATIE (@NJHUGHES86) MAY 18, 2021 HOLY SHIT WHAT A GOAL BY TYLER MYERS! #PING 3-0 #CANUCKS “CLARK IS UNBELIEVABLE, I OWE JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING TO — JIMMY B (@HEATAPOCALYPSE) MAY 18, 2021 HIM. I DON’T SPEAK TOO MUCH ABOUT HIM IN THE MEDIA, BUT WHILE I’M PUTTING IN THE WORK THE WAY HE’S GUIDED ME, Again, I knew the second they called Myers offside on his earlier goal MENTORED ME… that he was going to go full Captain Jack Sparrow and swashbuckle his way to a goal, and boy did he deliver: “I DESPERATELY HOPE THEY CAN FIGURE SOMETHING OUT.” – THATCHER DEMKO ON IAN CLARK’S CONTRACT STATUS For all of his issues in his own zone, and for all of the future problems his contract will bring this team, Myers remains must-watch hockey for me. — THOMAS DRANCE (@THOMASDRANCE) MAY 18, 2021 Look at that Olli Juolevi-esque break out pass from the Chaos Giraffe. Demko had a variety of good saves, so I will just use one of them to show how in control and bubbly he looked: Look at that cut-back from Myers, completely freezing Calgary’s Andrew Mangiapane. Demko having good games is increasingly becoming the norm around these parts, but what isn’t the norm is having Thatcher basically Look at that finish on Domingue, going top shelf where Louis keeps the negotiate through the media to have the Canucks retain the services of chocolate babka. goalie coach Ian Clark. Glorious. From what many have heard, it looks like Clark’s time is all but done in Vancouver, but it does speak to the impact he’s had on Thatcher’s game Best Xerxes Myers that Demko is willing to shoot his shot with the media to try and keep “YOU THINK YOU’RE TALL ENOUGH TO CHALLENGE ME?! I AM A Clark around. GOD! THE GOLDEN GOD!” You know things are serious when a pro athlete uses the word — CANUCKS PAIN ZONE (@BIGBRADPRICE) MAY 18, 2021 “desperate.” I just picture one day someone throwing a hockey stick at Myers like that Best of the rest scene in 300, and it grazes his cheek causing him to bleed and he finally VESEY WITH THE SAVE. SWEEPS LOOSE PUCK OFF GOAL LINE. realizes he’s mortal. #CANUCKS Until then, bring on the end-to-end goals. — BEN KUZMA (@BENKUZMA) MAY 18, 2021 Best what are we even doing here? Many people might have been worried about the Flames scoring on this MANGIAPANE SCORES . 1-3 FLAMES play, but real ones know that if you have an empty net and you want to keep that puck away from it, Jimmy Vesey is the best man for the job. — CANUCKSARMY (@CANUCKSARMY) MAY 18, 2021 Best missed call Mangiapane, perhaps never having felt more alive after surviving an encounter with Myers, put the Flames on the board after outwaiting THE CAPTAIN HIMSELF, BOWIE WILLIAM HORVAT, IS THIS YEAR'S Thatcher Demko and stuffing the puck in far side like a young Wes Walz: CYCLONE TAYLOR AWARD RECIPIENT–AS VOTED BY YOU #CANUCKS FANS AS THE MOST VALUABLE PLAYER! The Canucks, much like the Flames in the previous game, were clearly in PIC.TWITTER.COM/448KXME09H the “everyone just wants to go home mode” and now had to deal with some pushback. — VANCOUVER #CANUCKS (@CANUCKS) MAY 18, 2021 Best seriously, what are we doing here? For my money the Canucks’ MVP this year was clearly Boeser. Not to take away from Bo Horvat, who always puts in his captain-like effort even NO OT, SERIOUSLY. NO ONE WANTS IT. #CANUCKS when given linemates ordered from Wish, but it felt like Boeser elevated his game to another level. — DOMINIC ŠRAMATY (@DOMSRAMATY) MAY 18, 2021 He has shown more ability to be a playmaker as seen here: With the Flames trying to mount their own multi-goal comeback, they pulled their goalie and got to within one when Matthew Tkachuk made it He has continued to find areas on the ice to be a goal scoring threat as 3-2 banging home a rebound in down low: noted here and by his 23 goals on the season: With fear of overtime running through every media members’ head, And as pointed out throughout the year in The Armies, his play off the something had to be done. puck might be his most noticeable improvement, like his effort at hounding the puck and getting back defensively. Best shot at 100 WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION, ACCORDING TO #TSNHOCKEY INSIDER @DARRENDREGER – HTTPS://T.CO/X6IDBR6CFI THAT MIGHT’VE BEEN THE BEST CHANCE THAT EDLER WILL GET PIC.TWITTER.COM/0PTCWXMQVU TO SCORE GOAL 100. WHAT A PASS BY SCHMIDT. #CANUCKS — TSN HOCKEY (@TSNHOCKEY) MAY 18, 2021 — DANIEL WAGNER (@PASSITTOBULIS) MAY 18, 2021 WE’LL SEE WHERE THIS GOES WITH CANUCKS AND DANIEL AND EDLER OUT HERE LOGGING 9:21 OF THE FIRST. HAD SWEET HENRIK SEDIN, WHOSE CHARACTER, INTEGRITY AND LOOK LATE IN #QUESTFOR100 INTELLIGENCE CAN MAKE UP FOR MUCH OF THEIR — JEFF PATERSON (@PATERSONJEFF) MAY 18, 2021 INEXPERIENCE. FINDING THEM ROLES WOULD FOLLOW OWNERS’ 2014 PLAYBOOK WHEN LINDEN WAS HIRED AMID CONSUMER Again, the stick didn’t break on the shot, that can’t be the one that goes CONFIDENCE CRISIS. in. We need this goal in true Edler fashion. — IAIN MACINTYRE (@IMACSPORTSNET) MAY 18, 2021 Best Hughes your daddy MY UNDERSTANDING IS THE AQUILINI FAMILY MET YESTERDAY FOR THE SECOND STRAIGHT SEASON, QUINN HUGHES HAS ON STATE OF THE #CANUCKS & PLANS WERE HATCHED TO GET YOUR VOTE FOR THE WALTER 'BABE' PRATT TROPHY, AS THE EYES/EARS INTO EXIT MEETINGS LEST THEY BLOW OUT THE #CANUCKS BEST DEFENCEMAN! FRONT OFFICE & THE COACHING STAFF. PIC.TWITTER.COM/EOVDK2W8IH SEDIN TWINS & SENIOR ADVISOR STAN SMYL MAY WELL DO THE — VANCOUVER #CANUCKS (@CANUCKS) MAY 18, 2021 SITTING-IN ON EXITS. Quinn Hughes has had his struggles this year, but a player with his skill — MATTHEW SEKERES (@MATTSEKERES) MAY 18, 2021 set, you can’t help but want to see how he bounces back next year. REGARDING DISCUSSIONS BETWEEN HENRIK AND DANIEL SEDIN During Tuesday’s game he showed flashes of what makes him so AND THE #CANUCKS, THEY’RE NOT CENTERED ON A PRESIDENT dynamic by slashing to the net like a young Tyler Myers: OR GM-TYPE TOP DECISION MAKER ROLE A SOURCE CONFIRMS. Getting in position to fire off point shots like a young Alex Edler: MAKES SENSE. NO QUESTION THE TWINS CAN BRING SOME UNIQUE INSIGHT INTO WHAT’S GONE WRONG FOR THE Rushing back to make defensive plays like a young Ed Jovanovski: ORGANIZATION. Rushing back into the play to bounce between two players and harass — THOMAS DRANCE (@THOMASDRANCE) MAY 18, 2021 them to break up a two-on-one like a young Lukas Krajicek: SEKERES SAYS #CANUCKS ORG IS WORKING ON SOME SORT OF And standing his ground and denying the zone entry like a young Mattias "PLAYER COUNSEL" TO BE THE EXTRA LAYER BETWEEN Ohlund: MANAGEMENT AND PLAYERS. Put that all together and baby, you’ve got a stew going! — BUCKFOSTON (@BUCKFOSTON_) MAY 18, 2021 Best what in the world NOT SURE WHAT TO EXPECT FOR A TIMELINE OF ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE CANUCKS, BUT WORD TONIGHT IS THE VESEY-BOYD-LOCKWOOD LINE WITH TOE DRAGS AND JIM BENNING WAS GIVEN INDICATION IN THE LAST 24 HOURS BEHIND THE BACK PASSES PINNING THE FLAMES FOR ENTIRE THAT HE IS TO RETURN. SHIFT THERE — ELLIOTTE FRIEDMAN (@FRIEDGEHNIC) MAY 19, 2021 — JEFF PATERSON (@PATERSONJEFF) MAY 18, 2021 In order to satisfy a large part of the market, bringing in the Sedins would I never thought I would see that tweet appear anywhere on the internet, have to be the first step of many, even if it’s a hell of a first step. but here we are. On that play, Lockwood drew a penalty after the Flames had their feelings hurt after his big hit: The problem with the Canucks is that we’ve all seen this trick before, back when they brought the former golden child Trevor Linden into the To which I made the cardinal sin of putting something out into the fold. It felt like a PR move to help boost ticket sales and inflate universe that the Hockey Gods could quickly throw in my face by having confidence in the franchise, but ended up being a disaster when Linden Edler quickly head to the penalty box: left in a messy divorce. THAT'S ON ME And to that note, if we know anything about the Sedins, it’s that they — WYATT ARNDT (@THESTANCHION) MAY 18, 2021 would never put themselves or the team in a bad predicament. They would be the last people in the world to accept a job they weren’t All of which led to Edler having his first, true shot at 100 when he finally prepared or qualified for. So in one sense, them joining the organization had his stick break on his shot: and learning from the ground up is a very Sedin-like approach, and I have all the faith in the world they would do a tremendous job following We were that close to the perfect Alex Edler goal. that path. It would also be a move applauded by many because if you live Best by the numbers by the idea of surrounding yourself with good people, there aren’t many better than the twins. PIC.TWITTER.COM/Z56MC5VHD5 The problem is if you bring in the Sedins and utilize their goodwill as a — DANIEL WAGNER (@PASSITTOBULIS) MAY 18, 2021 smoke screen for making no other major changes, it once again reeks of a shortcut by Francesco Aquilini, and also shows a carelessness for the There will be a day when one of the most underappreciated Canucks legacy of the Sedins if you’re willing to use them as a prop. gets an article written up on what a tremendous career he had. If you also happen to think your management team needs an insular level Best Zack MacEwen Fight Club of protection with the players, either your management team isn’t good WHAT ARE YOU DOING BO #CANUCKS enough do to the job or else you are making it painfully obvious your views are firmly pushing your management team’s decisions and that you — SLIM SHADY ♔ (@ALEXLOVESBURRS) MAY 18, 2021 don’t really think changes are needed. Best fashion icon Don’t get me wrong, bringing in new voices and skill sets is a cornerstone of any good company, and something the Canucks should absolutely do. "NO MR. BOND, I EXPECT YOU TO DIE." It’s just hard to give the benefit of the doubt to an ownership and PIC.TWITTER.COM/QWTITUNHKW management team that has done everything in its power to quiet any voices of dissent. — WYATT ARNDT (@THESTANCHION) MAY 18, 2021 If you bring in the twins and make only minor changes, what is going to Best news of the day actually change? OK, so a lot went down behind the scenes, and these tweets kind of lay Once again I find myself asking, what is the plan here, really? out the emotional journey Canucks Nation went on: THE VANCOUVER #CANUCKS ARE INVOLVED IN ONGOING TALKS WITH HENRIK AND DANIEL SEDIN REGARDING POTENTIAL ROLES If the Canucks hope was to ride the goodwill of former players through another season of the last seven years, one almost hopes the Sedins stay as far away as possible from it. I also think the Canucks have badly misjudged this market if they think that’s going to work. Best truth behind the news @THESTANCHION THIS WHOLE SEDIN/BENNING STORY TODAY IS JUST BACK EAST CORPORATE SPORTSNET SUBTERFUGE TO DISTRACT US FROM THE FACT THIS IS YET ANOTHER CANUCK GAME NOT IN 4K. — STEPHEN QUINN (@GOFOUR3STEVE) MAY 18, 2021 The Athletic LOADED: 05.19.2021 Vancouver Canucks This week, Canucks scouts, many of whom have twisted in the wind 1188464 throughout this campaign on expiring contracts, were informed that extensions would be forthcoming. What we’re hearing about the Canucks, the Sedins and fallout from this We can’t quite tell and sources wouldn’t specifically confirm whether season these deals are signed and executed, but functionally, the Canucks should be considered to have given a signal of their intent to those on their scouting staff whose deals expire at the conclusion of this league year. By Thomas Drance and Rick Dhaliwal May 18, 2021 The majority of NHL scouts earn the wages of regular working folks and not the type of salaries that we commonly associate with NHL head Perhaps the Vancouver Canucks could use some Sedin magic? coaches, general managers and players. It represents a rounding error for a business like the Canucks, even in a challenging season in which As first reported by TSN’s Darren Dreger, the Canucks are engaged in revenues have fallen to historically low levels. conversations with franchise legends Henrik and Daniel Sedin about potential roles in hockey operations, multiple sources confirmed to The The best NHL organizations don’t even permit scouts to work the final Athletic. year of their deal. That’s a policy the Canucks would do well to adopt if they want to recruit and retain the industry’s best. Those conversations are still fluid, The Athletic understands. There’s a desire to find roles for Henrik and Daniel, but it’s not clear what that No Green new deal? means just yet. While conversations internally have heated up on the subject of perhaps Sources close to the negotiation confirmed, however, that the roles being extending Canucks head coach Travis Green and his staff, those internal discussed are not top decision-maker roles like a president or general discussions don’t appear to have translated into progress in actual manager. In fact, there’s some possibility the Sedin twins could work negotiations. with, and under, in terms of reporting structure, embattled Canucks And the clock is ticking. general manager Jim Benning. Teams with coaching vacancies from Seattle to Manhattan are already The Athletic understands that Canucks management and ownership met interviewing candidates. If the club doesn’t work through an extension at length in the early part of this week. Internal conversations continue on with Green in the next 48 hours, which seems unlikely at this juncture, he the subject of the Canucks’ out-of-contract coaching staff and long-term should be permitted in good faith to interview elsewhere. organizational planning, with communication between hockey operations leadership and ownership functioning as normal despite the raging While Canucks sources insisted to The Athletic that a deal to retain external speculation in the Vancouver market over the past week. Green remains a possibility, at this point, it would be a surprise if the club were able to find common ground with Green, his assistant coaches and It’s an indication that changes at the very top of the hockey operations goalie coach Ian Clark. pyramid may not occur, as many have anticipated in this market following a calamitous Canucks campaign. The big extensions The 40-year-old Sedins are franchise icons, the leading scorers in It’s busy in the halls of power on Griffiths Way at the moment. Canucks history and some of the most cerebral hockey people you’re likely to meet. While they’ve taken time away from the sport in recent Negotiations are underway with the Sedins, with the Canucks’ expiring years, they remain keen and dedicated observers of the game, Game coaching staff, with a variety of expiring scouts and — and this is the Centre Live junkies of the highest order. really big one — with Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes’ camps, too. “These guys are the most prepared, hardest working people I’ve ever Hughes and Pettersson, like Henrik and Daniel, are represented by CAA. met,” the Sedins’ longtime agent J.P. Barry of CAA told The Athletic while It’s best to describe the second contract talks with Vancouver’s two most declining to comment further on talks between the twins and the club. important young players as preliminary at this point, but over multiple “They would be assets in any role. Winners through and through.” conversations, both sides have begun to hash out parameters for what these deals could look like. Reached by telephone Tuesday, Henrik Sedin declined to comment. Calls to Benning weren’t returned. The Athletic understands that while shorter-term bridge deals for Vancouver’s best young players remain modestly the more likely More than anything, there’s a certain preternatural emotional maturity to outcome, discussions have included what extensions could look like if the the twins. These aren’t your average superstar athletes. two sides were to agree to contracts of the longer-term variety, too. The Sedins are keenly aware of their limitations. Moreover, they’re It’s early days, but the work has begun. And the outcome of these talks intelligent enough to be deliberate about choosing their first step back will shape Vancouver’s flexibility to build a contending team around into professional hockey on the management side. Pettersson and Hughes during their primes. Henrik and Daniel are confident they know the game and can contribute, The Athletic LOADED: 05.19.2021 but they’re also savvy enough to avoid putting themselves in a position in which they wouldn’t be prepared to excel. In this, the Steve Yzerman and Chris Drury models loom large, sources indicate. Before becoming the general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Yzerman spent four years as a VP of hockey operations with the Detroit Red Wings after his retirement, learning the business in an NHL front office while apprenticing with Ken Holland. Drury spent time with the New York Rangers in a player development role before serving as assistant general manager for five years prior to his ascension to the top job in Manhattan this month. While the exact nature of how Henrik and Daniel might contribute to a revamped front office structure is still a work in progress, bringing individuals of this calibre back into the organization in a prescribed way makes a lot more sense than bringing in an inexperienced alumnus to learn the hockey management ropes on the fly in a leadership role. Scouting extensions This is another interesting one and a strong indication that stability in Canucks hockey operations should be expected to carry the day at this juncture. Websites viewership? Are fans burned out on LeBron and on the Warriors? We’ll 1188465 know in a couple of days.

The games are part of this season’s new playoff format that has the Nos. The Athletic / Preakness Stakes, Stanley Cup playoffs team up for 7-10 seeds in a play-in tournament. LeBron dislikes it, but others think it’s another strong weekend for live sports TV viewership great. At least they’re not forced to play in the Orlando bubble anymore. The play-in schedule starts with two Eastern Conference games on TNT Tuesday: No. 10 Hornets at No. 9 Pacers at 6:30 p.m. and No. 8 Wizards By Bill Shea May 18, 2021 at No. 7 Celtics at 9 p.m. The winner of the Washington-Boston game is in the playoffs as the East’s No. 7 seed. The loser plays the winner of Charlotte-Indiana for the No. 8 seed at 8 p.m. Thursday on TNT. (The The drama around racehorse trainer Bob Baffert and Kentucky Derby losers of Hornets-Pacers and Thursday’s game are out.) winner Medina Spirit isn’t good for the sport, but it didn’t appear to harm ESPN has Wednesday’s Western Conference games: No. 10 Spurs at subsequent TV ratings. No. 9 Grizzlies at 7:30 p.m. and then the No. 8 Warriors at the No. 7 Baltimore’s Preakness Stakes returned to its traditional May calendar Lakers at 10 p.m. Same deal there: The Golden State-L.A. winner is in as spot at the second leg of the Triple Crown, and that return to normalcy the West’s No. 7 seed, while the San Antonio-Memphis winner meets the helped the thoroughbred race enjoy 7 million viewers on NBC’s linear TV Golden State-L.A. loser on Friday, time TBD, on ESPN for the final spot. and streaming broadcast last Saturday. The traditional playoff field begins Saturday and games air on both A peak of 8.6 million watched as Rombauer and jockey Flavien Prat won networks and their streaming partners. as an 11-1 longshot between 6:45 and 7 p.m. ET. Almost all of that GOLF: NBC and ESPN will air live coverage this week of the PGA number is television viewing rather than streaming. Championship from The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, S.C. The event After all we’ve seen over the past 14 months, those are good numbers. will have 50-percent in-person fan capacity, which is another positive sign that the pandemic is loosening its grip. Some sports fans have said Baffert-trained Medina Spirit, embroiled in Baffert’s latest doping they’ve watched less live TV because they dislike events with few or no controversy, and referred to by the recent former president as a “junky,” fans. finished third. Last year’s tournament, won by Collin Morikawa at TPC Harding Park in The overall average was the race’s best audience number since just San Francisco, averaged 5.15 million viewers for its final round on CBS, under 8 million watched Justify win at Pimlico in 2018. And this year’s which was up 3 percent year over year, per Pro Sports Media. race easily topped last year’s Preakness, which averaged an abysmal 2.4 million when it was run five months late, in October, and was the final This year’s PGA Championship returns to its normal May schedule Triple Crown leg — without a Triple Crown possibility in play — because (where it moved in 2019) after being pushed to August last year because of pandemic rescheduling. of, you guessed it, the pandemic. In a sign of a continued return to normalcy for live sports TV, this year’s ESPN will carry the first two rounds, and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. coverage on Preakness also topped the 2019 race’s 5.4 million. The Kentucky Derby the weekend. CBS will carry the afternoon and evening live coverage of on May 1 also rebounded with an average of 14.5 million viewers, up the final two rounds. from last September’s record-low 9.3 million. NHL: The 16-team Stanley Cup playoffs are in full swing for the 7,000 The top five TV markets for Saturday’s Preakness were Baltimore, Fort networks and streamers that carry the games. Just kidding, it’s NBC, Myers, Louisville, West Palm Beach and Buffalo. NBCSN, USA, CNBC, and the NHL Network in the gosh-darn good ol’ US of A, and on Sportsnet, Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet 360, CBC, FX, The audience numbers are from NBC Sports via Nielsen and Adobe FXX and OMNI in the hockey-mad federal parliamentary constitutional Analytics. monarchy known as Canada. Pucks and poutine, baby. It’s what’s for dinner. There won’t be a Triple Crown winner this year, so the audience data for the Belmont Stakes on June 5 will be an interesting number to watch. The Stanley Cup Finals times and dates are still TBD, but will end no Will the lack of a Triple Crown contender siphon eyeballs from the later than July 15. They will air on NBC and NBCSN in the U.S. and Belmont, which last year ended up as the first leg of the Triple Crown Sportsnet and CBC in Canada. (run only two weeks late, in June)? It averaged 3.4 million linear and streaming in 2020. WNBA: The season kicked off last week, and 2020 No. 1 pick Sabrina Ionescu, who missed almost all of last season with a high-ankle sprain, Belmont Stakes coverage begins at 3 p.m. June 5 on NBCSN, and the made her Barclays Center debut memorable by hitting a game-winning race itself airs that afternoon on NBC. triple. NBC’s coverage of the Preakness led into its broadcast of the Boston SABRINA FOR THE WIN. ICE COLD Bruins-Washington Capitals opening game of the NHL Stanley Cup PIC.TWITTER.COM/XEHFXEMQGV Playoffs. The game averaged 2.31 million on TV and streaming, the network said, making it the most-watched first-round Game 1 since 1995. — ESPN (@ESPN) MAY 15, 2021 NBC said the Caps’ 3-2 OT win also is the most-watched opening-round TV ratings for the W are something to keep an eye on. The league, now playoff game since 2.4 million watched Pittsburgh put up four third-period in its 25th season, averaged 205,000 viewers in the 2020 regular season goals in a wild 8-5 win over Philadelphia in a first-round Game 6 in 2018. for its 37 games on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. The was down about 16 percent from 2019’s average of 246,000 per game and about on par with NBC and NBCSN’s regular-season broadcasts averaged 391,000 the general overall decline in most sports TV last year. viewers, which Sports Media Watch noted was down only 2 percent from 2020’s average of 398,000 before the pandemic. That’s a good sign amid The WNBA playoffs were a different story. The three-game Seattle the ongoing (but softening) decline in live sports TV consumption, but the Storm-Las Vegas Aces finals averaged 440,000 on ESPN in October, average is still the lowest in the network’s 15 years of broadcasting the which was an improvement of 15 percent versus the 2019 Washington NHL. Mystics-Connecticut Sun finals (which went a full five games). Last year’s clinching Game 3 averaged 570,000 viewers on ESPN, a double-digit The NBCSN “Wednesday Night Hockey” telecasts averaged 508,000 improvement over the deciding games in the prior two seasons. viewers over 15 games this season, according to Sports Media Watch, and that’s a 15-percent improvement over the 441,000 average for 21 The Athletic’s Chantel Jennings has a great round-up of the W’s opening games last season. weekend. On TV this week … SNL: If you missed Saturday Night Live spoofing The Last Dance, with host Keegan-Michael Key as Michael Jordan and cast member (and NBA: TNT airs Tuesday’s first two play-in games, but the match-up with sports super fan) Heidi Gardner as curly-haired United Center security the potential for the most eyeballs is the second of ESPN’s play-in games guard John Michael Wozniak, here it is. And it was hilarious. on Wednesday. That, of course, is the Golden State Warriors at the Los Angeles Lakers. Lights-out Stephen Curry vs. LeBron James and his EXTENDED SCENE FROM THE LAST DANCE tender ankle trying to defend their NBA title. PIC.TWITTER.COM/VBFCMAKGS2 While that seems like a savory treat for basketball fans, the game airs at — SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE – SNL (@NBCSNL) MAY 16, 2021 10 p.m. ET Wednesday on a weeknight. Will that peel off some The Athletic LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188466 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Stanley Cup Playoffs takeaways: Lightning's Brayden Point has clutch gene

Mike Johnston’

Brayden Point led the playoffs in goals one year ago en route to hoisting the Stanley Cup and the clutch Tampa Bay Lightning forward is off to another hot start to the post-season. Point scored two goals in the final seven minutes of Game 1 to lead his team to victory – in fact, 17 of Point’s 24 career playoff goals have been game-tying or go-ahead markers – and the centre assisted on Ondrej Palat’s eventual game-winner in Game 2 Tuesday after undressing MacKenzie Weegar on a nice individual effort. Point’s regular-season numbers might’ve taken a slight dip following his 92-point campaign in 2019, but he is gaining a reputation for raising his intensity and production in the playoffs. He does it at both ends of the ice, as well, playing a 200-foot game and has won more than 64 per cent of the faceoffs he has taken through two games. Point and his teammates stepped up defensively in Game 2, a mature response to a rambunctious Game 1. The Lightning dressed Luke Schenn as an extra blueliner and went with only 11 forwards Tuesday, tightening things up and not allowing Florida really any top-notch scoring chances. “That was more indicative of the way we can play,” Steven Stamkos said of his team taking a 2-0 series lead. Jarry bounces back from Game 1 blunders Tristan Jarry allowed several soft goals, all on his glove side, in a losing effort against the New York Islanders in Game 1. The Pittsburgh Penguins netminder was solid and able to avenge that loss with a 37- save performance Tuesday. Semyon Varlamov got the nod in net for the Isles after missing Game 1 and he allowed a muffin from Bryan Rust to float over his glove and into the net three minutes into the first period. Ten minutes later he left a gaping five-hole open for Jeff Carter’s first playoff goal in a Penguins uniform. Varlamov settled down after that and ended up making 43 saves yet he was outplayed by his counterpart on this night. It was Jarry’s first-career playoff win and a vital W for the Pens as the series gets set to shift to Long Island for Game 3 on Thursday. Pittsburgh had won nine consecutive playoff series starting with their back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017, however ever since a second-round loss to the Capitals in 2018 the Pens had only won three post-season games prior to Game 2. Falling behind 2-0 against an Islanders team that swept them two seasons ago was not an option for a Pens team still without Evgeni Malkin. Remaining Time -3:57 Without Malkin, Carter stepped up for Penguins Tuch a nice stopgap yet Vegas could really use Pacioretty back The Vegas Golden Knights forward unit has shown some holes thus far against the Minnesota Wild and could use some “Patches” if you catch my drift. Max Pacioretty was a game-time decision Tuesday for Game 2 but didn’t take warmups and has now missed eight straight with an undisclosed injury. Alex Tuch started Game 2 on the top unit and ended up as the No. 2 star of the game behind Marc-Andre Fleury. Tuch scored two of his team’s three goals and did it against the team that drafted him which must’ve made it extra sweet. The series is tied 1-1 as it heads to Minnesota though Vegas can’t be happy with only three goals in two games. Getting Pacioretty back can give Vegas a totally different dynamic. Pacioretty scored 24 goals in 48 regular-season games and his chemistry with Mark Stone, in particular, can’t be duplicated. Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188467 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Canadiens approved to host 2,500 fans for games starting May 28

Eric Engels May 18, 2021, 6:46 PM

MONTREAL -- For the first time since March 10, 2020, the Montreal Canadiens will host upwards of 2,500 fans at the Bell Centre when Quebec’s 9:30 p.m. ET curfew is officially lifted. Premier François Legault announced on Tuesday that the province is preparing to ease several coronavirus restrictions in most regions, including those on gatherings at outdoor stadiums and interior concert halls, with the admission of up to 250 people per section coming into effect as of May 28. “This is a big day, a big step,” Legault said. The Canadiens, who are scheduled to start their first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series in Toronto against the Maple Leafs this Thursday, have played 28 games at the Bell Centre this year without fans in attendance. Should the best-of-seven series extend to a sixth game -- scheduled for May 29 -- that will change. Legault and Public Health Director Dr. Horacio Arruda also announced a four-phase plan to convert Quebec’s red zones to green by the end of June. The reopening of the Bell Centre to the public is part of the preliminary phase, which will begin on May 28 and also see curfew lifted for the entire province for the first time since January, restaurants permitted to reopen their terraces, backyard gatherings of up to eight people and travel between regions authorized. Phase 1 will begin as of May 31, with high school students from Grades 9-11 returning to class, and restaurant dining rooms and gyms reopening. For Phase 2, which begins June 14, orange zones will shift to yellow, with bars reopening and all team sports -- including contact sports -- resuming. And the final phase will see most regions turn to green zones as of June 28, with indoor gatherings of 10 people from three separate homes being permitted and all indoor sports resuming. "We are delighted with the government's decision regarding shows and events," France Margaret Bélanger, the Canadiens' Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer said in a statement. "Although the number of spectators remains limited, we applaud this decision which allows us to foresee an eventual return to normality. Regarding the Montreal Canadiens and the playoffs, under the new rules, the Bell Centre will initially accommodate 2,500 people -- or about 12 per cent of capacity -- for a hockey game beyond May 28. We really missed our fans and spectators and we can't wait to host them again. And we will be ready." Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 05.19.2021 Websites in every one of his stops, be it in the Soo, with the AHL’s Marlies, or in 1188468 his first two seasons at the helm of the Leafs. “Why, after the first time, I just didn’t realize it and learn it then, and then apply it every time moving forward, that’s just a mistake on my end,” Dubas admits. “Shame on me Sportsnet.ca / THE MISSING INGREDIENT for that.” The Maple Leafs’ room now holds 12 different players who have worn an ‘A’ or ‘C’ on their chest at some point in the NHL. By Luke Fox Leadership is a touchy topic no more.

"HE'S A LEGEND" After years of disappearing — or imploding — in big moments, the Toronto Maple Leafs are hoping gritty, veteran depth can finally get them Thornton instantly endeared himself to his fellow Leafs. "Everybody over the post-season hump wants to go to battle and win for him,” says Jack Campbell. Even in a pre-Zoom world, when hockey reporters milled about dressing Funny. The sense in Toronto is that the same team that lacked killer rooms during specified times, observing and chatting and gathering a feel instinct on the ice also needed to lighten up a bit off it. for relationships and dynamic and culture, we didn’t really know what went on. Even in the Before Times, the best we could get was a sense of Enter 41-year-old nickname machine Joe Thornton and his jumbo whose voices ran the room, whose actions had impact, and whether the personality. “I got no stress, man, honestly,” Thornton said upon arriving bond tying these athletes — arguably more important in hockey than any in hockey’s most scrutinized market. “I feel good, I feel comfortable. I other team sport — was sturdy enough to go the distance. tend to play with no stress, have a smile on my face and stay hungry. I think that’s when I perform the best.” And prior to 2021’s wire-to-wire cruise through the North Division as Canada’s top seed, one of those mysterious ingredients was missing Whether he’s orchestrating pants-free sketch comedy to celebrate from the Toronto Maple Leafs. They were fast and fun, young and Marleau’s milestone or belting out Britney Spears standards during talented. But when the going got tough or they had a chance to squash joyrides around the Swiss Alps, the NHL’s oldest forward brings a zest to lesser opponents or the series was on the line, they shrunk from the the workplace that is contagious. The normally clean-shaven Alexander moment. Kerfoot sprouted a raggedy, itchy beard in Jumbo’s honour. Marner looks into Thornton’s eyes and sees the kind of hockey lifeforce he aspires to After his final game as a Leaf in 2019, in the pall of another Game 7 loss have in 17 years. Matthews lights up whenever Thornton glides in for in TD Garden, a hollow Patrick Marleau — he of the most NHL games post-goal hug time. played — lamented a lack of “killer instinct.” Auston Matthews would use that exact phrase in the wake of getting upset by Columbus in 2020 and The appeal is obvious, even from social distance: Thornton is predictable booted out of their own home bubble. When I asked a former veteran of in his unpredictability. “Just having him in the room and in the training those Leafs rooms, not so far removed from a different Round 1 room, whenever I’m getting worked on and he’s in there, I don’t think I’ve elimination, to describe the leadership dynamic in Toronto in those ever laughed so hard in my life,” says Jack Campbell. “He’s a legend. captain-less years between and John Tavares, the player There’s not much more to say. He’s such an amazing hockey player and searched for the right words. just brings so much joy to our room, and everybody wants to go to battle and win for him.” “Hard to say. It’s interesting. That’s a good question,” he began. There was a long pause. “I don’t know if I have anything on that. Leadership on Adds Marner: “There’s ups and downs, and Jumbo is a guy that’s always the team…” the source continued. There was another long pause, in the same mood every single time. He’s a guy that just makes me think followed by a polite bail on a touchy topic: “I think whatever I say might of the good things, and that’s something I’ve really taken from him. get me in trouble.” There’s going to be bumps in the road and some down times, down games, but just making sure you’re always the same person, and coming Yes, in constructing this older, tougher, more defensively responsible in with the same mindset and mood is very important.” edition of the Toronto Maple Leafs over the 2020 off-season — and doubling down on that identity tweak with the Nick Foligno and Riley “It’s great. Those veteran guys act the youngest, I would say.” Nash deadline trades — general manager Kyle Dubas improved the on- After 15 seasons in San Jose, Thornton endeared himself to and ice product. The Maple Leafs’ 35–14–7 record and plus-39 goal entrenched himself within the young Leafs well before training camp differential are their best in decades. But Dubas also made a significant opened. Renting a rink-equipped quarantine home in Toronto, he correction to the spirit of his group by rearranging the cast supporting his celebrated Christmas with Matthews, Nylander, Rasmus Sandin and Mac nucleus: Matthews, Tavares, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Zach Hollowell in a sort of flophouse for hockey stars. It was there, stuck in Hyman, Morgan Rielly, Jake Muzzin, and Frederik Andersen. communal isolation, that Thornton christened Nylander with the moniker “The Maple Leafs’ room now holds 12 different players who have worn “Willy Styles,” which the fashionable playmaker then had stamped on the an ‘A’ or ‘C’ on their chest at some point in the NHL. Leadership is a shaft of his sticks. touchy topic no more.” “You just get close to him right away. He’s that special guy,” says 21- Gone were younger offensive talents like Kasperi Kapanen, Andreas year-old Sandin, on target for his post-season debut. “It’s great. Those Johnsson and Tyson Barrie. Instead, Dubas focused his effort on [veteran] guys act the youngest, I would say.” recruiting or retaining hungry free agents who’d been through the With the forward core finally at full health for post-season puck drop, wringer: Joe Thornton, Wayne Simmonds, Jason Spezza, and T.J. Thornton will join Spezza and Simmonds on a unique fourth line that will Brodie. These are grizzled veterans who’ve endured the worst, and who feature two of the top 100 all-time scorers and a ridiculous 3,007 know they may be down to their last chase of a trophy they’ve been combined career points. hunting their whole lives. In 2019–20, head coach Sheldon Keefe, a contemporary of both players, Zach Bogosian is fresh off Tampa’s 2020 title run, making him one of just noted that Spezza’s voice stood out as one of the only ones he’d hear in- two Leafs with a Cup alongside Muzzin. Thornton, Foligno, Simmonds, game on the bench, calling out encouragement, outlining instruction, and Spezza will happily lug their reduced cap hits and 359 playoff games pumping morale. of combined disappointment into Game 1. Today, there is a chorus. For the most battle-worn here, it’s no longer about a cheque. It’s only about their check. “Those guys have a real increased sense of urgency “They’ve brought a lot of spirit to the group,” Dubas says. “All of the to them. Either time is running out on their career and they want to win — players acquired in the off-season have really improved the spirit of the in the case of Spezza, Thornton and Simmonds — or they’ve faced great team. Unlike in previous seasons, where you go through a bit of a stretch disappointment in the past, like T.J. Brodie and all the guys on our where it’s not going well and you feel the group start to sag, I haven’t felt roster,” Dubas says. that right now.” “They’ve just been through a lot in their career. They’ve got some “We signed these guys with great expectations … They’ve definitely desperation, or they have lessons that they could pass along.” delivered.” All those unquantifiable elements that compose a dressing-room leader Before his first game with Toronto, Foligno, 33, wore a Maple Leafs — accountability, experience, wisdom, communication, character — are Starter snapback from his dad Mike’s deep run with the organization in “hugely important,” Dubas believes, to fostering a culture of improvement 1993 and addressed the room with a speech about how excited he is to and development. And yet, installing and empowering enough of those be pulling on the same rope. leaders, the GM confesses, is something he didn’t value enough early on Thornton isn’t shy, of course. And neither is throwback Simmonds — a Scarborough-reppin’ freight train whose fists speak just as loudly. Then there’s the penalty-killing, puck-eating Bogosian, whom partner Travis Dermott credits for improving his own defensive prowess. The vets’ contributions aren’t coming only in the room and on the bench. In the shadow of Matthews’s Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy–winning campaign, Thornton became the oldest Leaf to score a goal and just the fourth 41-year-old to launch a seven-game point streak (Teemu Selanne, Igor Larionov, and Jaromir Jagr are the others). Spezza surpassed Richard in all-time points, climbing to 99th in NHL history and established himself as the league’s best bang-for-your-buck acquisition, producing 30 points from the bottom six. (To say nothing of his altruism toward Toronto’s Marlies brethren in tough financial times.) Meanwhile, Brodie is a plus-23 workhorse drawing the most difficult defensive assignments, and Bogosian’s smart, simple style has added a dependability and edginess that wasn’t there with Cody Ceci last season. MR. CONSISTENCY A soft-spoken exception among the new additions, Brodie lets his deft stick and dependable positioning do the talking “I’d say it’s gone to plan. I mean, we signed these guys with great expectations. We have great respect for what they’ve done in their careers and felt strongly that they would be able to make an impact with our team,” Keefe says. “I don’t say they’ve exceeded anything necessarily, but they’ve definitely delivered, both in their performance and their personalities and what they bring to our team — just really filling necessary holes for us in all regards, whether it’s the personality of the team or the performance of the club on the ice.” Among the new, noisy staples, the soft-spoken Brodie would be the exception. He prefers to let his deft stick and dependable positioning do the talking. (Keefe has now tread into Thornton’s nickname territory, christening Brodie “Mr. Consistency.”) “With Brodie, Thornton, Simmonds and Bogosian, I do think that that’s a real important part of helping the team chemistry and the culture and environment of the group,” Dubas says. “Those guys don’t change day to day, and they’ve added a lot to us so far.” The true test for these leaders, these handpicked, complementary components — and the real reason for bringing them in — is now here: The Stanley Cup Playoffs, the best time of year. It’s a time when things gets ugly and uncomfortable, when skill depends on will, when it’ll help to have your oldest guy acting like the youngest. And vice-versa. “I feel great,” Thornton says, spring in the air and in his step. “On a buzzing meter from one to 10, I think I’m like a 10-and-a-half.” Muzzin, meanwhile, has that seven-year itch, and he knows as well as anyone on the outside what a contending team feels like. A Cup champ in 2014 with the L.A. Kings, the defenceman spots something special churning in Thornton and the group. “He’s bringing some fire. He’s leading the way up there. It’s beautiful. It’s contagious throughout the room. And when your oldest guy on the team is doing that every night, guys are following — and it’s paying off,” Muzzin says. “I feel like this is the tightest group since I’ve been here that we’ve had. So, it’s been a lot of fun. Guys are gellin’.” Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 05.19.2021 Websites Citing the website hockeyfights.com, Stoesz wrote that he fought 88 1188469 times in CHL games. (He wrote that does not account for his fights during training camps, team practices and in preseason games.) TSN.CA / Former player taught ‘craft’ of fighting at 16 wants WHL held “I recall being told I had a concussion at least twice, and now that I know accountable, affidavit says the symptoms of a concussion, I know I had many more,” Stoesz wrote. “I was never told to get medical attention for my hits to the head or other Four former players have provided sworn injuries. My recovery time was when I was sitting in the penalty box icing affidavits in connection with a proposed class-action lawsuit against the my fists. Western Hockey League, CHL and Hockey Canada that claims they weren’t given proper medical attention after suffering concussions in It’s unclear when the defendants will file their response and when a judge games, Rick Westhead writes. may decide whether the lawsuit should proceed as a class action. Several junior leagues have bolstered penalties for fighting in recent years. By Rick Westhead In 2016, the OHL said players would be suspended for two games after they had accumulated three fighting majors in a season. Previously, the threshold was 10 fights. The same year, the WHL said it would begin As a 16-year-old rookie with the Spokane Chiefs, Myles Stoesz started a ejecting players from games who participated in “staged” fights, dropping line brawl, fought with his own teammates to gain respect, and was the gloves immediately after a faceoff. taught the “craft” of fighting by a National Hockey League tough guy. Last September, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League – weeks That 2003-04 Western Hockey League season marked a transformation before receiving $12 million in COVID-19 relief money from the Quebec for Stoesz, who described himself growing up in Steinbach, Man., as “a government – approved new rules for fighting. All players involved in a happy and easygoing kid.” Stoesz says he was told repeatedly by fight now receive a 10-minute misconduct penalty and a five-minute Spokane coaches that he wouldn’t get any ice time if he didn’t fight major. Previously, players were assessed only the five-minute major during games. penalty. QMJHL players also receive a one-game suspension after their “I was moulded into this raged-filled fighter,” Stoesz wrote in an April 13 third fight of a season, plus another one-game suspension for each affidavit filed in the Supreme Court of B.C. additional fight. Stoesz is one of four former Canadian Hockey League players who have McEwan, a left wing, played for four seasons in the WHL from 2004 to provided sworn affidavits in connection with a proposed class-action 2008. He joined the Seattle Thunderbirds in 2004 at the age of 17. lawsuit filed in 2019 against the WHL, the Canadian Hockey League, and According to his April 15, 2021 affidavit, he fought more than 70 times Hockey Canada. over four seasons. Other former CHL players whose affidavits have been filed in court On one occasion McEwan wrote that he passed out in a parking lot while include James McEwan, who played with the WHL’s Seattle talking to one of his team’s assistant coaches after fighting, but was Thunderbirds and Kelowna Rockets from 2004-08; Rhett Trombley, who never given proper medical treatment after fights or after games. He played junior hockey from 1991-94 with the WHL’s Tacoma Rockets, wrote that he has suffered for years from distorted vision, severe anxiety, Saskatoon Blades and Victoria Cougars, as well as with the Ontario depression, and mood swings. Hockey League’s Soo Greyhounds; and Eric Rylands, who played in the “I often turned to alcohol and painkillers to cope,” McEwan wrote. OHL from 1993-96 with the Kingston Frontenacs, the Greyhounds, and the Ottawa 67’s. Rylands wrote in his April, 20, 2021, affidavit that he attended Kingston’s training camp as a 16-year-old in 1993 and fought the team’s 20-year-old The former players allege in affidavits filed in court on May 7 that they veterans during training camp. were typically not given proper medical attention after suffering concussions in games and that they still suffer from the long-term effects In one game as an OHL rookie, Rylands wrote that he fought 20-year-old of repeated brain trauma. Fredrik Oduya. The players are seeking damages for personal and physical injury, “…I still recall how hard his right hook was when it connected with my psychological injuries, special damages for out-of-pocket medical chin,” Rylands wrote. expenses and loss of past and future income. They have asked a judge to include as class members all CHL players since Aug. 21, 1974, as well Rylands wrote that he fought 45 times during three seasons in OHL. as their family members. “During my last year playing with the Greyhounds, I took a hit and lost my “I think the CHL needs to be held accountable to the current and former memory for about five hours,” he wrote. “I recall watching the video of players for these injuries,” Stoesz wrote. “I want the CHL to acknowledge what happened and after that hit, I got up, fought the guy, went to the that what we had to do to play in the CHL as teenagers was not penalty box, fought another guy, and then went to the penalty box again. acceptable. Looking back at my career in the CHL, I feel like I lost part of I have no memory of this and it was not until one of my teammates called my youth. My time in Spokane was a daze of fights. I’m scared about my over an assistant coach because I was saying nonsensical things that I future because I took repeated blows to my head. I’m in my early 30s and was taken off the ice. In addition to these incidents, I would often see I suffer from headaches and migraines and my right hand is disfigured stars after my fights and suffer dizziness, ringing in the ears, and with a mallet finger from punching.” confusion during and after fights.” Stoesz played three seasons for the Chiefs before he was traded in 2006 Trombley played three seasons in the WHL with the Tacoma Rockets, to the Chilliwack Bruins. Later that same season, he was traded again to Saskatoon Blades and Victoria Cougars. He said he fought so often as a the Regina Pats. Drafted by the National Hockey League’s Atlanta 16-year-old that he couldn’t hold a pencil during school because his hand Thrashers in the seventh round of the 2005 draft, Stoesz did not play a was so swollen. game in the NHL but did play four pro seasons, bouncing between the “I would receive particularly hard punches to the head and would often American Hockey League and ECHL. have several days of feeling completely spaced out, almost like I was Stoesz wrote in his affidavit that he was an enforcer and routinely drunk, and would not be able to focus on anything in school or suffered brain injuries because he fought in WHL games. When he was otherwise,” he wrote. “On one occasion, I broke my orbital bone during a 16, Stoesz said the Chiefs sent him to a local gym for boxing lessons and fight. After the fight, I received a five-minute penalty and, five minutes brought in an unnamed “NHL tough guy” to train him on “the craft of after getting out of the penalty, I fought the same player again. While I did fighting.” see the team doctor after this and had to get an X-ray, I typically did not receive medical attention after fights, no matter the outcome.” Stoesz wrote that he still remembers fighting the Tri-City Americans’ Keith Spencer on Nov. 8, 2003. Trombley wrote that he suffers from ongoing memory issues and pain throughout his body, including his hands, shoulders, and back. “I feel sick to my stomach to see my younger self being punched in the face, pushed on the ice or seeing myself doing that to another player,” Lawyers for the former players also filed an affidavit by Clemson Stoesz wrote. “In the video you can see that we drop our gloves, take off University sport management professor Dr. Skye Arthur-Banning, who our helmets and then start pounding our fists into each other in the head. cited a 2002 study that reported high school-aged athletes who suffered The referees stay back and watch us take multiple punches at each other three concussions were nine times more likely to generate mental deficits until we both fall onto the ice. Only then do they break up the fight.” than players without a history of concussions. Dr. Arthur-Banning wrote in a Feb. 23 expert report that the CHL should follow the lead of NCAA hockey and suspend players for fighting. From 2012-13 to 2015-16, there were 20 fights in NCAA Division I hockey. According to another document filed in connection with the lawsuit, there were 2,456 fights in the WHL over those four seasons. Dr. Arthur-Banning’s other recommendations include mandating that CHL players be assessed by medical professionals after a fight before being allowed to return to play, and improved education for players, coaches, officials, administrators, billet families and biological families about the symptoms of concussions and long-term consequences of concussions. The concussion lawsuit against the CHL was filed months after the NHL settled major concussion-related litigation of its own. In August 2019, a U.S. judge ruled that a proposed lawsuit against the NHL filed in Minnesota would not proceed as a class action largely because medical monitoring laws were too different between various U.S. states and Canadian provinces for players to form a common class of plaintiffs. After that ruling, the NHL agreed a settlement with about 300 former players, paying them each about (U.S.) $20,000. The CHL is also defending two other class-action lawsuits. One has alleged the league is complicit for hazing and other forms of abuse of former players stretching over decades. The other case involves working conditions for players and whether teams should pay players at least minimum wage. While the CHL and former players agreed to settle the working conditions case, a judge has not approved that settlement. TSN.CA LOADED: 05.19.2021 1188470 Websites

USA TODAY / NHL playoffs: Gabriel Landeskog's Gordie Howe hat trick inspires Avalanche; Hurricanes' crowd 'crazy'

Mike Brehm

If there were any concerns about the health of Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon after he sat out of the final two regular-season games with an injury, he answered quickly with two goals and an assist in a 4-1 victory in Game 1 against the St. Louis Blues. He and top-line wingers Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen combined for eight points and 16 shots of the 50 shots against the Blues. "He's a threat every time he's on the ice," Landeskog said of MacKinnon in a postgame interview. "I would expect nothing else from Nate." Landeskog, the team captain, had a Gordie Howe hat trick (goal, assist, fight), taking on Brayden Schenn after the Blues player's hit on Rantanen in the first period. "Our team was able to feed off that," Landeskog said. "Obviously, Schenn's a physical player and he tries to run Mikko. I've got to defend my linemates and teammates." Said Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar: "He's the captain for a reason. ... I think he definitely set the tempo." Close games The NHL playoffs are always intense, and adding to that are all the tight games. The first three playoff games went to overtime, the first time that has happened in NHL history. The highly entertaining Tampa Bay-Florida game on Sunday night, which featured four lead changes, was heading that way before the Lightning's Brayden Point broke a tie with 74 seconds left. Monday, Boston and Washington went to overtime for the second time in their series. Brad Marchand scored 39 seconds in for a 4-3 win and a Bruins record. It wasn't until the sixth and seventh games of the playoffs (Nashville- Carolina and St. Louis-Colorado) that a team finally took a two-goal lead. Both of those happened in the third period. One reason for the close games: Teams have played within their divisions all season and are staying in the division for two playoff rounds, so they have a lot of familiarity with their opponents. Counting the playoffs, Minnesota and Vegas have gone to overtime four times. So have the Capitals and Bruins. The Islanders and Penguins have had three. Hurricanes crowd The Hurricanes had the NHL's biggest crowd of the postseason with 12,000 at PNC Arena after Gov. Roy Cooper eased restrictions. He was in the building Monday and sounded the siren before the game. "We had 12,000 tonight, and it felt like 24,000," said goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, who made 22 saves in winning his NHL playoff debut 5-2. "It was crazy." Tonight's games N.Y. Islanders at Pittsburgh, 7:30, NBCSN. Islanders lead 1-0 Tampa Bay at Florida, 8, CNBC. Lightning lead 1-0 Minnesota at Vegas, 10, NBCSN. Wild lead 1-0 USA TODAY LOADED: 05.19.2021