SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 04/28/19 Boston Bruins Columbus Blue Jackets 1143196 Resiliency is again needed in wake of Game 2 defeat 1143229 Michael Arace | Heart-pounding win gives Blue Jackets 1143197 Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron silent in double-OT loss split they need to Blue Jackets 1143230 Blue Jackets 3, Bruins 2, 2OT | Jackets tie up series on 1143198 Blue Jackets prevail in second OT, even series with Bruins thrilling OT goal 1143199 Bruins deliver moving pregame tribute for John Havlicek 1143231 Blue Jackets look for more from Josh Anderson 1143200 Bruins’ David Krejci able to play in Game 2 against Blue 1143232 Blue Jackets | Markus Nutivaara practices before sitting Jackets out Game 2 1143201 Forty years ago, Bruins’ misfortune was Ken Dryden’s 1143233 Blue Jackets | 'There’s no time to get upset,' Zach saving grace Werenski says 1143202 Observations from the Stanley Cup playoffs 1143234 Michael Arace | Blue Jackets want series to be a grind 1143203 Matt Duchene, Blue Jackets edge Bruins in double OT 1143235 Blue Jackets | Short-handed, Jackets find answers during 1143204 Columbus Blue Jackets cannon blast a part of home ice critical penalty advantage 1143236 Blue Jackets Report Cards — Game 2 vs. Boston 1143205 Bruins notebook: Joakim Nordstrom’s play an asset 1143206 Danton Heinen gets job done for Bruins Dallas Stars 1143207 Patrice Bergeron a modern-day John Havlicek 1143237 Block or charge? Blues' Jaden Schwartz insists his 1143208 Bruins pregame notes: B’s can double series lead third-period goal was clean; Stars' Ben Bishop tried to blo 1143209 Highlights from the Briuns' 3-2 loss in 2OT to the Blue 1143238 Desperate times call for desperate measures: Stars Jackets in Game 2 capitalize on Blues' mistakes in Game 2 1143210 Aly Raisman waves flag as banner captain before Bruins- 1143239 'Bish-op! Bish-op!' How an aggressive penalty kill, Ben Blue Jackets Game 2 Bishop's goaltending allowed Stars to tie series vs. B 1143211 Bruins vs. Blue Jackets live stream: Watch Stanley Cup 1143240 Miro Heiskanen's Game 2 performance vs. Blues told the Playoffs Game 2 online Stars more about the 19-year-old than the Calder Trophy 1143212 Hometown hero Coyle 'just trying to do his part' after 1143241 Series tied! Big first period, big saves from Bishop send starring Game 1 role Stars past Blues in game 2 1143213 Cassidy: Krejci's availability for Game 2 tonight a 'game- 1143242 How does Miro Heiskanen stand against Rasmus Dahlin? time decision' A statistical look at Dallas rookie's Calder snub 1143214 Marchand: Blue Jackets' Atkinson 'rude' for stick blade 1143243 Live Blog from Dallas Stars 4-2 defeat of the St. Louis incident Blues 1143215 Power plays could prove the difference in tight Bruins-Blue 1143244 Stars coming home with series tied 1-1 after Game 2 win Jackets series, and so far, Bruins aren’t capitali over Blues 1143216 ‘We got stretched’: The critical breakdown that Tuukka 1143245 Stars 20/20: Second-line surge and Ben Bishop’s recovery Rask was unable to clean up help Stars even up chess match Buffalo Sabres Detroit Red Wings 1143217 Sabres' Rasmus Dahlin among finalists for Calder Trophy 1143246 How the Red Wings’ ‘Russian Five’ premiere offered lessons for the Lightning Carolina Hurricanes 1143218 Canes fans get taste of what could be with Stanley Cup Edmonton Oilers visit to Raleigh 1143247 Gritty comeback performance sends Edmonton’s farm 1143219 After long wait, Justin Faulk savoring playoff success team to the second round of the AHL playoffs 1143220 Not just the pig: Hurricanes aware of Hamilton but won’t 1143248 Dylan Cozens might be ideal fit for Oilers at No. 8 overall let him hog all the credit in the 2019 draft 1143221 Staal scoring big goals for Canes. Brind’Amour says: ‘Look out’ New York Islanders 1143222 Five points for the Hurricanes going into Game 2 1143249 Islanders Give Up Only One Goal to Hurricanes: The Winning One in Overtime Chicago Blackhawks 1143250 Bad bounce costs Islanders in Brooklyn as Hurricanes 1143223 Blackhawks’ moment is here, and their rebuild hinges on grab Game 1 in OT GM Stan Bowman 1143251 Robin Lehner confident he can reverse his karma vs. 1143224 Rozner: NHL replay could have saved Vegas' Cup hopes Hurricanes 1143252 Islanders know not to panic in 0-1 playoff hole to Colorado Avalanche Hurricanes 1143225 Gone in 600 seconds: Inside the 10-minute sequence that 1143253 Barry Trotz named a finalist for this prestigious NHL award cost the Avs in Game 1 1143254 Islanders need to raise their level or the hole only will get 1143226 Sharks take advantage of costly mistakes in Game 1 deeper victory over Avalanche 1143255 Islanders' Josh Bailey moves on from failure to score on 1143227 Avs fall to Sharks in San Jose breakaway 1143228 Call in the Exorcist; Avalanche need something to shoo 1143256 Islander goalie Robin Lehner has some points to make the Shark Tank Demons 1143257 Islanders might have to unleash some offense to beat Hurricanes 1143258 Islanders confident they can bounce back from first loss of playoffs 1143259 Barry Trotz thinks the Islanders still have room for growth despite their playoff success 1143260 What went wrong for the Islanders in Game 1, and why they won’t let the bad breaks bother them Pittsburgh Penguins Websites 1143261 Penguins will have to buck NHL age trend to raise Stanley 1143285 Sportsnet.ca / Maple Leafs’ Kyle Dubas faces a Patrick Cup again Marleau conundrum 1143286 Sportsnet.ca / Sharks' Burns moving past defensive San Jose Sharks criticism with world-class play 1143262 Sharks’ winger earns kudos from Pete DeBoer for Game 1 1143287 Sportsnet.ca / Takeaways: Young Finns, penalty kill help performance Stars even series vs. Blues 1143263 Five observations from Sharks' strong 5-2 win in Game 1 1143288 Sportsnet.ca / Marner contract talks with Maple Leafs vs. Avalanche expected to move slowly 1143264 Martin Jones' performance holds key to Sharks' Stanley 1143289 Sportsnet.ca / Senators permitted to interview Maple Leafs Cup aspirations assistant D.J. Smith 1143265 Sharks' third line sets tone in convincing Game 1 win over 1143290 Sportsnet.ca / Coach's Corner: Golden Knights can't Avalanche blame referees for Game 7 penalty 1143266 Joe Thornton’s line, and one amazing goal, help the 1143291 TSN.CA / Double OT winner a long time coming for Sharks win one for Joe Pavelski Duchene 1143292 TSN.CA / Coyle, Johansson could make Bruins trade St Louis Blues deadline winner 1143267 Binnington is named finalist for top rookie award 1143293 USA TODAY / Boston Bruins national anthem singer is 1143268 Power play turned off in Game 2 loss by Blues also a bartender at arena 1143269 Stars goalie, who grew up in St. Louis, relishes 1143294 USA TODAY / Red-hot Sharks forward Kevin Labanc homecoming scores gorgeous Game 1 goal against Avalanche 1143270 This time, slow start dooms Blues in Game 2 loss to Stars 1143271 Stars even series with 4-2 win over Blues in Game 2 1143272 Binnington in top three for Calder Trophy as rookie of year SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 Tampa Bay Lightning 1143273 Five questions the Lightning must answer moving forward 1143274 How the Red Wings’ ‘Russian Five’ premiere offered lessons for the Lightning Toronto Maple Leafs 1143275 SIMMONS: Babcock will be asked to change in order to remain Leafs coach 1143276 Tulloch: Handing out full season report cards for the 2018-19 Leafs Vancouver Canucks 1143284 Canucks: Pettersson nominated for Calder, Stecher gets Team Canada call Vegas Golden Knights 1143277 Bill Foley’s dream for Golden Knights has worldwide feel 1143278 Golden Knights face difficult decisions with free agents 1143279 Max Pacioretty, Paul Stastny, Mark Stone sparked Golden Knights 1143280 No bad beat rebates for Golden Knights bettors in Las Vegas 1143281 Sharks needle Golden Knights on Twitter after killing off penalty 1143282 5 things to watch in Vegas Golden Knights’ offseason Washington Capitals 1143283 'Patience is always a good thing': Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik ponders NHL future 1143196 Boston Bruins saves at the start of that Game 7 win against Toronto, they rewarded him with two late first-period goals that allowed him to breathe. They don’t panic, and they bounce back well. Three different times they trailed in the Resiliency is again needed in wake of Game 2 defeat Toronto series, and three different times they came back.

“I mean it’s unbelievable,” midseason acquisition Marcus Johansson said after the opening win against Columbus, when the Bruins turned a 2-1 By Tara Sullivan Globe Staff,April 28, 2019, 1:06 a.m. deficit into a 3-2 overtime win. “The group we have is very special. I mean there is nothing that fazes us. I think the way we stepped up after

they scored their two goals and came back and we never gave up. That’s They were down in their opening series, multiple times, but pulled it out in something special. ” seven games. They were down in their opening game of the second It was Johansson’s beautiful pass to Charlie Coyle that won that game in round, but came back to win it in overtime. From an identity forged in the OT, precisely the kind of on-ice manifestation of locker-room chemistry, a regular season to one carried into the playoffs, these Bruins are nothing if type of chemistry that leads to the trust in each other than they can not resilient. recover when things go south. After a disappointing Game 2, they’ll need that now more than ever. Some of it can be attributed to the experience in the room, particularly in On a chippy, mistake-prone night filled with missed opportunity and poor the postseason. The Bruins boast a core of five players who were here puck management, the Bruins went down when Matt Duchene sent a the last time they won it all (in 2011), in captain Zdeno Chara, Brad rebound sailing past Tuukka Rask to give Columbus a double-overtime Marchand, Bergeron, David Krejci, and Rask. “You go back to their most win. It was the only time the home team trailed all night, but it was the successful season with that core group,” head coach Bruce Cassidy said. only time that mattered, and the 3-2 loss sends the series off to “They were down 2-0 at home to Vancouver. They came back to win a Columbus tied at a game apiece. Stanley Cup. They know what it takes. They know what it takes. It’s not the end of the world to have things not go your way right away. You have The Bruins tried to stay upright, but couldn’t sustain much offense in the to work hard to correct it to play the right way, so I have to credit it all to face of a solid team defensive effort by Columbus, a bruising, physical the guys in the room.” effort that kept the Bruins chasing the action most of the night. That they led early, 1-0, and tied it late, 2-2, was a credit to their core identity — Now would be a good time to show it. Again. resilience. Boston Globe LOADED: 04.28.2019 Be the first to know the latest sports news as it happens.

It is a characteristic developed over the course of a regular season and coveted when the calendar flips to the postseason. We saw more evidence of it Saturday night at TD Garden, with a player taking the ice after a hit to the face that left a bloody tear trailing down his cheek (take a bow Sean Kuraly), with the splayed body or outstretched arm of a goaltender making clutch saves in the final minutes of regulation or the opening minutes of a second straight OT game (take a bow Tuukka Rask).

Really, we’ve seen it from the Bruins all season, their ability to ride the wave of a long, exhausting schedule to clinch the No. 2 seed in the conference heading into the playoffs coming out immediately as the second season began. Otherwise, they might never have survived the first-round bloodshed. The Bruins emerged from their wild seven-game opener against Toronto while the rest of the hockey world imploded in a heap of upsets, sending top seed Tampa Bay, defending champion Washington, and perennial playoff power Pittsburgh home early, survived because they could take a punch and keep on fighting.

They rebounded from a similar 1-1 start on home ice, though that one began with an opening game loss, and they rebounded from a 3-2 deficit by winning back-to-back games — at Toronto and then at TD Garden. And while it’s too early to sound any real alarms over one more home loss, the toll of a seven-game series against the stunning sweep Columbus scored against the Lightning does raise the specter of fatigue. Factor in an extra period-plus Saturday night and the Bruins are no doubt going to have to dip into that reservoir of resilience.

Because on and on this one went, deep into the cold Boston night, past midnight, past the last train departures, through the jelly-legged late shifts of a tired team, extended by near misses and great saves on both sides, daring someone, anyone, to prove they could throw that final punch. Duchene was the one to connect.

Now it’s up to the Bruins to get off the mat. With history as their guide, they believe they can. It’s what they’ve spent a season doing.

Resilience doesn’t happen by accident, or even by design. It happens when the right group of players comes together under the right coach. Ask the Red Sox, who wore everyone out a season ago with their relentlessness, constantly picking each other up. Ask the Patriots, who confounded the NFL world yet again by turning one of their more inconsistent regular seasons of the Bill Belichick era into another Super Bowl coda.

Much like their championship predecessors, the Bruins have a good thing going in the locker room. Guys like each other. They like playing together. As the veteran Patrice Bergeron likes to put it, they “fill each other’s tanks.” When Rask bailed them out with a couple of amazing 1143197 Boston Bruins balanced scoring. But he hasn’t quite been himself since coming back from a thumb injury late in the regular season.

“Maybe that bounce off the skate is all he needs to get going,’’ said Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron silent in double-OT loss to Blue Cassidy. Jackets Now if there’s something that can get Marchand and Bergeron going, too.

Boston Globe LOADED: 04.28.2019 By Chad Finn Globe Staff,April 28, 2019, 12:25 a.m.

The Eastern Conference series against the Columbus Blue Jackets seems to have brought Brad Marchand (63) and Patrice Bergeron (37) to their knees.

Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand have been unusually quiet. Too quiet. And when we have heard their names, it’s been for the wrong reasons.

It was still early, of course, and things were subject to change with a well- timed snap of the wrist. But through two games of the Bruins’ Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series with the Blue Jackets — which is now tied at one game apiece after Columbus’s 3-2 win in double overtime at TD Garden on Saturday night — Bergeron and Marchand are still searching for their first point.

Worse, both players committed penalties that led to Blue Jacket goals.

But that was nothing compared to the winner, Matt Duchene’s power-play goal in the second overtime. Columbus had the man-advantage because Bergeron was in the box for tripping Seth Jones, the Blue Jackets defenseman falling to the ice after Bergeron’s stick ended up between his legs.

“You work hard to put yourself in position throughout a tight game,’’ said Bergeron, who didn’t dispute that it was a penalty. “That’s one of those plays you make many times and it never happens, but it’s part of the game.”

Bergeron lamented the Bruins’ missed opportunities, many of which were his own. Bergeron had four chances to end the game in the first overtime, but Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky thwarted him three times and a fourth shot hit the post.

“It’s frustrating, but there are ways to generate more,’’ he said. “We can find the inside a little bit more against them.”

But that’s not what the Bruins are looking for from the two linemates and stalwarts, who totaled 68 goals and 111 assists between them in the regular season, and the lack of production is not something that usually happens for long from the two proven postseason performers.

Both delivered in the seven-game series victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round. Marchand was the Bruins’ top scorer in the series with four goals and five assists, while Bergeron had three goals — including one in Game 7 — and four assists.

So far, John Tortorella’s gritty Blue Jackets, who sometimes seem as satisfied by blocking a shot as they are scoring a goal, have kept Bergeron and Marchand in check.

Said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy, “In a short sample you can pick apart their production, but sometimes you’ve just got to tip your cap to the goalie.”

The duo combined for six shots on goal in Game 1 — three apiece. They had seven between them (four by Marchand) though the first 80 minutes of Game 2, but nothing to show for it.

The Bruins did get a goal from one of their marquee stars, though it came via blade of his skate rather than his stick. David Pastrnak scored his third goal of the postseason at 2:01 of the second period when Charlie Coyle’s backhand flip on a wraparound attempt deflected off his skate and into the net.

That goal, which was initially credited to Coyle, put the Bruins up, 2-1. The tally was a timely answer to what happened just 58 seconds earlier, when Panarin got the Blue Jackets’ first of the night on the power play (Marchand was in the box) with a wicked one-timer past Tuukka Rask off a Jones feed.

Cassidy moved Pastrnak — the Bruins’ leading goal scorer during the regular season, with 38 in 66 games — around, ostensibly to provide 1143198 Boston Bruins Grzelcyk took a pounding the rest of the first period. He received a stick to the chops on his next shift, departing down the tunnel and returning with a cotton plug in his nose. Nash smacked him along the boards on Blue Jackets prevail in second OT, even series with Bruins his next shift.

Playing John Tortorella’s preferred brand of hockey, Columbus blocked 16 shots to Boston’s 10, and led, 42-35, in hits at the end of regulation. By Matt Porter Globe Staff,April 28, 2019, 12:11 a.m. Like Bobrovsky, the Blue Jackets whiffed on a few early. The Bruins were stapling opponents to the boards.

One team is going to emerge from this series and head to the Eastern But in the second period, Columbus took control of the physical game. Conference finals. More pointedly, they’ll likely limp there. After the buzzer sounded at the end of the first, an extended dustup A slugfest of a Game 2 ended with Columbus a 3-2 double-overtime between the teams ended with Marchand taking a cross-checking winner early Sunday morning, tying the series, 1-1. penalty. With Marchand in the box, the Bruins thought it would be 4-on-4 when Foligno dumped Sean Kuraly face-first into the boards. Game 3 is Tuesday night at Nationwide Arena. Instead, the next official’s signal that came was a goal. Chara, who Matt Duchene scored on a rebound 3:42 into the second OT, with Patrice struggled on Saturday, couldn’t clear the puck, and Panarin ripped a one- Bergeron, one of Boston’s best penalty-killers, in the box for tripping. timer past a sliding Rask at 1:03 of the period. “It’s on me,” Bergeron said of the penalty. “My stick can’t be there at that The Bruins needed 58 seconds to answer. Coyle took a smart neutral- point of the game.” zone feed from his running mate, Marcus Johansson, and shrugged off Brad Marchand also committed a penalty that wound up with a goal Panarin as he wheeled around the net. against. Like Bergeron, he was struggling to generate offense in the face His wraparound bid went off the skate of Pastrnak, who was credited with of tight checking and hot goaltending, and part of a power play that went his third goal of the playoffs and first since Game 4 of the Toronto series. 1 for 4. They don’t ask how. Matt Grzelcyk and David Pastrnak scored for the Bruins, who suffered Chara tripped Cam Atkinson, but Columbus made it 4-on-4 when the slings and arrows of two outrageous Artemi Panarin goals, and a Anderson whacked Kuraly below the left eye. Kuraly, a streak of blood remarkable effort by goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (29 saves on 31 shots). running down his cheek on the bench, was lucky the stick didn’t hit him Grzelcyk nearly ended it 6:25 into the first OT, throwing a center-ice an inch higher. dump-in that took a wild hop toward an open side of the Columbus cage. With the Bruins looking to reload, Coyle made a backhand pass to the Bobrovsky had to dive to keep it out. slot. Jones was all too happy to send it to Panarin below the circle. He “It should have been over right there, honestly,” said Duchene, who beat Rask from an absurd angle: over the shoulder, under the bar, on a called the stop “insane.” chance that Rask, scrambling after the giveaway, played reasonably well.

Bobrovsky robbed the Bruins. Moments after the close call from center The rest of the power play went nowhere. A Marchand cross-ice ice, Bergeron nearly scored from the doorstep. With 2:12 left in the first giveaway gave Atkinson a chance. The Bruins looked a bit jittery. OT, Bergeron was robbed twice again, once off the pad, once off the They were guilty of chasing hits and chasing the game for most of the post. Charlie Coyle hit the outside of the post on the next shift. second. They ended the period with 13 shots on goal and 10 giveaways, “That’s when I thought we were better team,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. hardly a recipe for winning hockey. “We just didn’t finish. And then we got into penalty trouble.” They surrendered chances — DeBrusk, seven minutes into the third, was Bergeron’s missed chances, and Duchene’s winner, came in the same all alone with Bobrovsky and passed — but had a major opportunity with stretch as a big-boy penalty kill. After Charlie McAvoy’s high-stick 9:12 left. Atkinson tripped Krug in a tie game. midway through the first OT, Zdeno Chara and Brandon Carlo killed the Columbus’s penalty-killers were poised, denying the middle with their full two minutes. Chara, who had a subpar night overall, was large when sticks. Three telegraphed passes later and the Bruins had a zero-chance his team needed him most. power play. Columbus made a game-saving kill. Carlo logged a team-high 32:50, and Torey Krug played 32 minutes, but Boston’s game-saving kill came a period later, as did a slew of game- Columbus’s Seth Jones (38:01), Zach Werenski (33:33), and Panarin saving stops. Bobrovsky got the last ones, though, and we’ve got a (32:10) all had monster nights, and monster production. series. The Bruins got too little from Marchand and Bergeron, David Krejci Boston Globe LOADED: 04.28.2019 (assist), and Jake DeBrusk. Pastrnak, outside of his goal, wasn’t much of a factor. Cassidy, who moved him to Krejci and Coyle’s line, called Pastrnak “indecisive . . . he’s got to fight his way through it.”

The Bruins, who had 21 shots through 60 minutes, simply couldn’t produce enough in the face of Columbus’s defensive team effort. Cassidy was hoping his PP would move the puck more quickly in Game 3, against an excellent Columbus PK.

At even strength, Boston had 15 scoring chances, five of them of the high-danger variety.

Tuukka Rask kept Boston in it, saving 36 of 39 Columbus shots. He stoned captain Nick Foligno with his glove, keeping the game tied at 2 with 17 seconds left in the third. Two minutes into overtime, he made a diving glove stop on Foligno to snuff out a 2-on-1.

It was blood, sweat, and tears from the opening shift, when Chara crushed Riley Nash at center ice. The Boston captain repaid Nash for his pop on Krejci the previous game. Both teams are comfortable in a playoff streetfight. Referees Tim Peel and Marc Joannette let ’em duke it out.

Given that, Columbus’s Josh Anderson was incensed he was called for interference for taking out both Bruins defensemen in front of the net. Grzelcyk had a shooting lane, and converted off Bobrovsky’s glove at 7:50 of the first. 1143199 Boston Bruins

Bruins deliver moving pregame tribute for John Havlicek

By Chad Finn Globe Staff,April 27, 2019, 9:12 p.m.

The Bruins paid homage to Celtics legend John Havlicek on Saturday night in a manner befitting the man.

It was all class.

Before Game 2 of their Stanley Cup playoff series with the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Bruins requested a moment not of silence but applause for Havlicek, who died Thursday at age 79.

A video tribute followed the cheers. It included the clip and Johnny Most’s famous call of his series-clinching steal in Game 7 of the 1965 Eastern Conference finals against the Sixers, several highlights featuring his picturesque shot (with a couple of bank shots mixed in), and a soundbite of Red Auerbach saying that if he had a son, he’d want him to be just like Havlicek.

The video concluded with scenes from the final game of his Hall of Fame 16-year career on April 9, 1978, including the final words as he addressed the crowd that day:

“You have given us what every team really wants to have: enthusiasm, dedication, and you helped us win many championships. What more can I say? Thank you, Boston. I love you.”

Well done, Bruins.

Boston Globe LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143200 Boston Bruins In Game 7, the coaches didn’t expect Kuraly to go.

“Sean, I love him to death, he’s got lots of high energy,” Cassidy said. “But sometimes we have to repeat, he gets so dialed in.” Bruins’ David Krejci able to play in Game 2 against Blue Jackets In Game 5, his line-juggling caught up to him. He was moving Heinen from right wing to left wing, and both DeBrusk and Johansson went at the By Matt Porter Globe Staff,Updated April 27, 2019, 8:55 p.m. same time. “I should have reminded the guys,” Cassidy said.

“These have been clear-cut, no argument. We’ve got to clean that up.”

David Krejci played in Saturday’s Game 2, though it was unlikely he was Home cooking 100 percent. Best part about playing at home for Coyle, one of the Bruins’ hometown Krejci, the Bruins’ valuable No. 2 center, opened between Jake DeBrusk heroes? “Just getting to do my job close to my family. Before, I’d see and Danton Heinen. He was a full participant during the morning skate in them once every, however many months,” said the Weymouth product, Brighton, when he manned his usual station on the second power-play acquired from Minnesota at the trade deadline. “It’s life. You want to be unit, in the right circle. as close to your family and see them as much as possible.” The Coyle contingent has been at every playoff game . . . It’s not easy for those who “He felt good when he came in this morning,” coach Bruce Cassidy said are scratched. Backes, a former (St. Louis) captain making $6 million a after the morning run-through. “Felt good when he came in this morning, year, hasn’t played since skating 4:39 in a Game 5 loss to Toronto. He a positive. So I’d say we’ll keep our fingers crossed.” believes he can contribute, especially in a physical series. Moore, a healthy scratch over Clifton in Game 1, summed up the attitude of those The 32-year-old pivot took a heavy hit to his right shoulder area from in the press box. “It’s that time of year,” he said. “It’s about the team.” Columbus’ Riley Nash with 2:48 left in regulation of Game 1. Nash, his former teammate, appeared to catch him in the back of the shoulder. It’s Globe staff writer Chad Finn contributed to this article. unclear what may be ailing Krejci, who was not suspected to have a concussion, Cassidy said after Game 1. However, a righthanded Boston Globe LOADED: 04.28.2019 centerman with right shoulder trouble could have issues pulling his stick back violently with his bottom (right) hand.

If Krejci was unable to take power-play draws, fellow righty Charlie Coyle was ready to step in. At even strength, the Bruins were prepared to use others.

Had Krejci missed the game entirely, Karson Kuhlman or David Backes would have drawn into the lineup, and Coyle, fresh off his two-goal performance in Game 1, would have moved up to No. 2 center.

Things aren’t as dire as they were in 2010, when the Bruins, up 3-0 on the Flyers in the second round, replaced Krejci (busted wrist after a hit by Mike Richards) in the lineup with Trent Whitfield (a baby-faced Brad Marchand was another option for Claude Julien).

Krejci, who has a 2-3—5 line in eight playoff games, wasn’t saying much about his condition before puck drop.

How do you feel, he was asked.

“Good,” he said with a smile, offering nothing more.

Told Cassidy considered him a “game-time decision,” Krejci replied, “If that’s what he said, that’s the truth.”

Did he feel like he can play?

“Yeah.”

Kuraly ready

Sean Kuraly was back in the lineup after a knee-on-knee hit by Columbus defenseman Scott Harrington in the first period.

David Pastrnak moved up to the top line, reuniting with Patrice Bergeron and Marchand. Chris Wagner remained with the Marcus Johansson- Coyle pair, which has been developing chemistry of late.

The extra forwards were Kuhlman and Backes. Connor Clifton maintained his spot on the back line, meaning defensemen John Moore and Steven Kampfer were the extras.

It’s too much

We’re not quite in Dave Lewis territory yet, but the Bruins’ count of postseason too many men penalties was up to three. Besides the fact they all came in the most recent home games — Games 5 and 7 against Toronto, and Game 1 against Columbus — any common thread there?

“Clearly I can’t count to five, we’ll start with that,” Cassidy said. “I always thought it was on the coaches.”

He owned it, but explained further:

In Game 1, Krejci jumped on during a power play, and Marchand “decided to button-hook, Krech is already out,” Cassidy said. “That one, we needed a lasso, and there wasn’t one long enough to get him back.” 1143201 Boston Bruins As he recalled the final twists and turns in the final minutes that night, Dryden initially did not remember it was Middleton who popped in the go- ahead goal for the Bruins at 16:01, with Jean Ratelle and Al Sims getting Forty years ago, Bruins’ misfortune was Ken Dryden’s saving grace the assists.

“I think that’s right,” Dryden said. “I think that’s who it was. I mean, at that particular time, when in doubt, guess Middleton.” By Kevin Paul Dupont Globe Staff,April 27, 2019, 1:58 p.m. What made the goal unique and also infuriated him, noted Dryden, was that it came off a pass attempt, Middleton dishing out from behind the net with a setup feed intended for the slot. The May 10 date all Bruins fans clutch dear to their hearts is in 1970, that steaming, glorious Mother’s Day afternoon when Bobby Orr banged “It went off my skate . . . and . . . went . . . in,” he said, still sounding home his overtime winner at the Garden to clinch the club’s first Stanley miffed the puck found the back of the net. “A goal from behind the net, off Cup in 29 years. my skate. The Bruins are ahead, 4-3, and this is my last game, only four minutes to go in the game. And to this moment, I remember [Habs The “Flying Bobby” statue, depicting the moment Orr knocked Derek defenseman] Serge Savard was on the ice, right in front of the net, and I Sanderson’s feed by Blues goalie Glenn Hall, stands proudly along can remember the sound he made when he realized the puck had gone Causeway Street now almost a half-century later. in . . . it was just an, ‘Uhhhhhhhhh!’ “I’m a Boston kid, I certainly followed the team,” recalled Blue Jackets “It’s four minutes to go and I’ve ruined everything.” coach John Tortorella, who was an 11-year-old Concord schoolboy at the time. “I think that goal had an impact on everybody in hockey. And just From a Boston fan’s perspective, the night then quickly flipped to theater the way the game was played back then . . . that’s when hockey . . . of the absurd when play was halted with 2:34 remaining in regulation, the that’s when the game was played.” Bruins bench caught for having too many men on the ice. The extra player: Don Marcotte, under orders from coach Don Cherry not to leave There are no statues, or the slightest fond Hub memories, for the game the ice if the great Lafleur was out there. Marcotte followed orders, the Bruins played precisely nine years later, May 10, 1979, at the linesman John D’Amico spotted the infraction, and only 1:20 later, Lafleur Montreal Forum. Quite to the contrary. Here at the cusp of its 40th rocketed home the 4-4 equalizer. Devastating from the Black and Gold anniversary, the infamous “Too Many Men on the Ice” game remains the perspective. deeply imbedded thorn in the minds of most Bruins fans. “Now we are going into overtime and I am still like at this loss,” recalled To recap, painfully: Dryden. “I don’t know what I’m doing, why this isn’t working right, what I Without a playoff series win over the Habs since 1943, the Bruins were need to do next. I thought I had the answer 12 times and 12 times I didn’t on the verge of clinching Game 7 of the Cup semis and advancing to have the answer.” face the Rangers for the championship. Rick Middleton’s goal with 3:59 Ultimately, all was made right for Dryden and the Habs when Yvon remaining in regulation snapped a 3-3 deadlock and brought the Lambert connected for the 5-4 winner, with help from Mario Tremblay hallowed Forum to a stunned silence. The Bruins were on the verge of and Rejean Houle 9:33 into OT. the unimaginable, sinking the Flying Frenchmen, breaking the curse of the Forum, and clipping Montreal’s streak of Cup titles that then stood at Still vivid for Dryden, though, was a moment earlier in the OT when in a three years. flash he was convinced the Bruins would clinch it. The winning goal would be off the stick of Marcotte, who had the puck alone in the slot. Bruins fans through the decades have heard what transpired next through a narrative usually cobbled together from the various Boston “A Bruin guy passed it out in front of the net,” said Dryden. “And Don voices involved that night. Marcotte was wide open. And I’m just out to lunch. He shoots and . . . it hits me right in the chest. And I’m thinking, ‘Oh, my God.’ If it had been But here it is now from the viewpoint of Ken Dryden, the then-age 31 anywhere else, it would have gone in, because I wasn’t going to stop it. I Montreal netminder, who had informed Montreal management that he knew going in, win or lose, that was going to be my last year, and that would retire at the end of the ’79 playoff season. When Middleton scored too-many-men-on-the-ice goal saved me.” to make it 4-3, Dryden’s career timeline stood at less than four minutes. GUT PUNCH “I’d actually told them the year before,” said Dryden, speaking this past week from his home in Toronto. “And we sort of worked out that I’d play Knights bounced in painful fashion an additional year. So right from the beginning of that season, I knew that was going to be my last year. It’s why that game, and the playoffs that A year after reaching the Stanley Cup finals in their first season, the year, were so difficult for me. I wasn’t playing well. We won our first Vegas Golden Knights were eliminated by the San Jose Sharks in this series, fairly easily, against Toronto, and I think I was sort of OK. But season’s first round. then we were playing the Bruins . . . and I always played well against the Vegas Golden Knights fans this past week were dealt a Bruins 1979-like Bruins. I loved playing them and I loved the games in Boston Garden . . . mule kick to the gut when they saw a 3-0 lead over the Sharks in the third and so this would be the way to right myself through the series, knowing turn into an identical 5-4 OT loss that eliminated the Knights from the it would be my last year.” playoffs.

The Habs opened with a pair of wins at the Forum. The Bruins pulled out “Different circumstances, but the end result sure felt the same,” said the next two with one-goal edgings at the Garden. They each won on Dave Goucher, the superb Knights TV play-by-play announcer who grew their home ice again, setting up the Game 7 closer at the Forum on May up a Bruins fan in Rhode Island. “I was just a kid in ’79, but I remember, 10. in that instance, everyone felt the call on the ice was correct — but it “That’s not what was supposed to happen,” said Dryden, now 71 years seemed the officials almost didn’t want to call the too many men. This old, chuckling as he recalled the surprise he felt that the Bruins evened was similarly painful — and maddening — but the call . . . ” the series, 2-2. “They maybe were going to win one, but they certainly The call was utter and amateur craziness, and the immediate fallout weren’t going to win two. And I didn’t play very well, and I’m thinking, bizarre. The officiating crew, led by referees Dan O’Halloran and Eric ‘Geez, what’s going on here?’ ” Furlatt, whistled play dead after Sharks center Joe Pavelski was injured Into Game 7, Dryden still didn’t have command of his game. amid a faceoff against Vegas’s Cody Eakin. As the puck went back toward the Sharks’ point, Eakin smacked an aggressive cross-check “I’ve lost all my guideposts,” he recalled. “I have no idea where to find my across Pavelski’s chest. Eakin linemate Paul Stastny, attempting to game now. So we go into this seventh game . . . ” charge the point off the faceoff, collided with Pavelski, triggering a fall that sent the latter tumbling to the ice and injuring his head. A pair of Wayne Cashman goals, scored early and late in the second period, brought the Bruins into the third with a 3-1 lead. Then in a span of The proper call: maybe a two-minute minor against Eakin. Maybe. 2:06, off feeds from Guy Lafleur, the Habs knotted it on strikes by Mark Napier and Guy Lapointe with 11:44 to go in regulation. The call that was made: a five-minute cross-check and a game Kuraly is in large part a product of the Chillers network. The Dublin rink misconduct for Eakin. Out of the game, and a five-minute power play for has two sheets, making plenty of ice time available for kids in and around the Sharks. Kuraly’s neighborhood. As is always the case, more rinks lead to greater youth participation, and for Kuraly that meant being able to develop his “Cody went to the box right away,” noted Goucher. “Before the penalties talent close to home instead of constantly being on the road for out-of- were announced, one of the officials came over to the box and Cody town practices and games. thought they’d figured it was no penalty. Instead, it was ‘No, you’re all done.’ ” Part of his growth curve, prior to the USHL, included playing for the AAA Blue Jackets, their home games played on Chiller surfaces, including the Gerard Gallant, the Knights coach, was informed by one of the referees practice rink housed inside the NHL club’s Nationwide Arena. that Eakin had cross-checked Pavelski to the face. Video of the incident clearly showed the cross-check was smack dab to Pavelski’s chest. The “I would have gotten into hockey,” said Kuraly, “but I wouldn’t have had four on-ice officials, unable to consult video replay in such the support system around Columbus without the NHL team there. We circumstances, took a guess. They guessed incorrectly, by a good 10-12 wouldn’t have had other kids interested and it wouldn’t have made it as inches. possible for me to continue. I played in Columbus from the time I could skate until I left for the USHL. I played in the Triple A program. Without Minus Eakin, arguably their top penalty killer, the stunned Knights then the NHL team, I would not have had the support and it would not have were eviscerated by the Sharks’ power play, with Logan Couture, Tomas been possible without the Blue Jackets.” Hertl, Couture again, and then Kevin Labanc all connecting for power- play goals in a span of 4:01. Loose pucks

San Jose Sharks center Joe Pavelski lies on the ice after being cross- Ex-Bruin Joe Thornton was suspended for one game in San Jose’s checked by Cody Eakin. series with the Golden Knights for a hit he delivered to the head of the Vegas forward Tomas Nosek. “I think my son hits me like that six times a Hard to believe, but it has happened before — and only once, according day,” Jumbo said in his defense. “It was just a weird position [Nosek] put to the NHL, per the league’s record keepers. On April 27, 1998, Kings vs. himself in.” It was only the second suspension of Thornton’s career. Blues in the playoffs, Los Angeles backliner Sean O’Donnell was tossed Based on league record keeping, he thus became the oldest player in for jumping and fighting Blues forward Geoff Courtnall when the latter NHL history to be served a suspension. The Hall of Fame-bound charged Kings goaltender Jamie Storr. The Blues then delivered four Thornton will celebrate his 40th birthday on July 2 . . . The Bruins power-play goals in a span of 3:07 (Pascal Rheaume, Brett Hull, Pierre recently cut ties with oft-concussed prospect Jesse Gabrielle, the club’s Turgeon, and Terry Yake) and finished with a 4-3 win. fourth-round pick (No. 105) in the 2015 draft. “It didn’t work out for either The league, according to Knights owner Bill Foley and general manager side the way it was intended,” said John Ferguson, Jr., GM Don George McPhee, called the next day to apologize for the officiating Sweeney’s top lieutenant and GM of AHL Providence. “Both sides are blunder. It’s believed NHL commissioner Gary Bettman made the moving forward.” Gabrielle, who said recently that he suffered three apology. concussions this season, beginning in training camp with the WannaB’s, is now free to seek employment as an unrestricted free agent . . . The McPhee, in the hour of bitter disappointment, delivered a quote that all Philadelphia Flyers scurried to cloak and remove the long-standing managers and owners should clip and save in their wallets: “There will be statue of singer Kate Smith last weekend after learning of 1930s no pity parties,” he said. “Stuff happens in games. We’re going to take recordings of songs with disturbingly racist lyrics. Smith became a Philly the rearview mirror out and put a real good team on the ice next year. icon in the 1970s with her performances of “God Bless America” prior to We’re not going to carry around a big suitcase full of yesterdays.” Flyers games. Her statue had been outside the Flyers’ home rink since 1987, erected the year after she died at age 79. Flyers president Paul There is no “make good” here for Vegas. The guys in stripes blew it. Holmgren: “We cannot stand idle while material from another era gets in Badly. The league needs to think seriously about allowing referees and the way of who we are today.” linesmen the ability to review tape on five-minute major calls. If not, then take away their ability to review calls such as ticky-tack offsides and Boston Globe LOADED: 04.28.2019 goalie interference. Talk about not seeing the forest for the trees.

“I can tell you, it’s the second time I’ve called a Game 7 where one team overcomes a three-goal deficit in the third,” noted Goucher, who handled the radio call when the Bruins beat the Maple Leafs in similar circumstances in the 2013 playoffs. “The first one was a lot more fun.”

ETC.

Kuraly grateful for Blue Jackets

Bruins forward Sean Kuraly grew up in Dublin, Ohio, some 15-20 miles northwest of downtown Columbus, and jumped on the Blue Jackets bandwagon with both feet as a grade schooler when they entered the NHL in 2000.

“Personally, I think I was going to play hockey regardless,” he said. “But I was at games from the day they played their first game until I left to play in the USHL [at age 17]. I grew up on guys like Rick Nash, and it was always a dream of mine to play.”

Among the keys to growing the sport in Columbus, true of most expansion cities, is the club’s involvement in engaging area youth to take up the sport.

In Columbus, ownership invested immediately in area rinks, helping to deliver ice sheets for kids to get out there with skates and sticks. In Columbus, the team-sponsored rinks are called Chillers, a network of eight indoor rinks in the city and immediate suburbs — including one in Kuraly’s hometown of Dublin.

“They’re beautiful,” said Bill Zito, the Blue Jackets assistant GM who was once the agent for Boston goalies Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask. “One of them in the suburbs has a shooting range with all this advanced, unbelievable technology. First time I saw it I was like, ‘Hey, let’s get this to Columbus.’ ” 1143202 Boston Bruins The Players Association, contacted this past week, does not consider an extra day’s break in such circumstances to be a front-burner issue. Part of the reason: Players on the rested team(s) figure they’re entitled to Observations from the Stanley Cup playoffs whatever advantage comes from clinching, say, in four or five games. They like the prospect of facing tired clubs faced with minimal recovery times and consider it an award.

By Kevin Paul Dupont Globe Staff,April 27, 2019, 1:54 p.m. ■ Zito has interviewed for multiple GM openings the last couple of years, including the Sabres gig that went to Jason Botterill last offseason.

A former Yale forward (class of 1987), Zito earned his law degree at the General observations, random thoughts, clearing shots, pucks to smart University of Wisconsin prior to opening his own player agency (Acme) in areas, a couple of line changes, and a smattering of icings under Chicago. pressure early in Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs . . . Zito could move up to the GM job with Columbus, currently held by ex- ■ Bill Zito, the ex-player representative in town as assistant general Bruins forward Jarmo Kekalainen, if rumors prove true that Blue Jackets manager of the Blue Jackets, these days has only sporadic contact with president John Davidson is heading back to Manhattan to replace Glen his ex-Bruins client Tim Thomas. Sather as Rangers president. “I haven’t spoken to Timmy in a while,” Zito said. “Every once in a while, ■ Selfish wish of the day: For Davidson to return to broadcasting. we check in, that’s about it.” During his Rangers days at the microphone with the indefatigable Sam Thomas, Conn Smythe winner as MVP of the 2011 playoffs, has Rosen, and also on national broadcasts, the ex-Rangers goalie was a remained far from the limelight after playing his final NHL game with delightful on-air presence, bringing good info and dashes of humor. Dallas, a 15-minute appearance in the 2014 playoffs. Upon retiring, ■ Lelands, the well-known auction house, reports that it recently Thomas initially moved to Colorado, but Zito said he doesn’t know where gaveled off Bobby Orr’s rookie card for $204,020.40. For those who keep the ex-stopper resides these days. track of such things, it was the 1966 Topps USA Test #35 in “Mint 9” ■ A couple of final notes regarding lead time in Round 1: condition.

The Blue Jackets topped the charts, holding a lead 64.83 percent of the Shame on you if you pegged it to the side of your bike tires to hear it time during their four-game dismissal of the gobsmacked Lightning. The snap between the spokes. If so, being cool cost you a cool 200 large. Islanders (52.11 percent) and Bruins (48.99 percent) ranked 2 and 3. ■ I know I’ll forget, but I’m hoping to have nerves steeled for the heart- The Bruins ranked No. 1 for net total lead time in a series, holding the palpitating cannon blasts that await inside the Blue Jackets’ Nationwide advantage for 205:46 over seven games, while the Maple Leafs Arena. But it’s probably a lost battle. controlled the scoreboard for only 78:01. Net advantage: 127:45. The “That’s not vintage, you know,” said Columbus local Sean Kuraly, who Islanders (122:38) and Blue Jackets (117:54) ranked 2 and 3. started attending Blue Jackets games in their inaugural 2000-01 season. Worst on the clock overall: The Penguins, wiped out by the Islanders in “They added that later.” four games, led for a paltry 4:51 during the series. Such progress. ■ Leafs GM Kyle Dubas on mercurial, impulse-challenged Nazem Boston Globe LOADED: 04.28.2019 Kadri, the third-line center who got himself pitched out of Round 1 for his menacing cross-check to Jake DeBrusk’s face:

“His temperance is a major point. He’s an excellent player for us, and brings an element that we don’t have in abundance. Yes, he likes to defend his teammates and he plays hard and everything of that nature, but we need him to be available. It’s a major challenge for him, character- wise.”

Kadri: “Usually, I don’t think about consequences ahead of time. That’s something I’m becoming much more aware of.”

Bottom line: Kadri’s knuckleheaded actions vs. the Bruins in Round 1 the last two years were the No. 1 obstacle in the way of the Leafs advancing. He turned out to be Boston’s most valuable forward in both series.

■ Both the Bruins and Hurricanes started Round 2 within 48 hours of going to Game 7 to clinch their opening-round series (Hurricanes went to two overtimes in their Game 7 vs. the Capitals).

Why the short turnaround? TV, of course, which is the failsafe answer to virtually all questions related to inane sports scheduling (Exhibit A: the interminable NBA playoffs).

And what happened to the Bruins and Hurricanes? Both won their Round 2 openers. So much for the theory here that clubs forced to play a Game 7 should be allowed a minimum 72-hour respite. The Blue Jackets and Islanders both swept, both were well rested ahead of Round 2, and both lost.

Nonetheless, I’ll stick to my point: From a health-wellness-and- maintenance standpoint, better to allow the Game 7 winners a full two- day break before moving on to the next best-of-seven.

Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said going into the series with an extra day’s respite would have been “the best scenario.”

“So we’d get another day to sort of take our breath, come in, [go over] a couple of situations we want to run through,” he added. “You know, get back into battle. I think sometimes it depends on how healthy you are . . . do you need an extra day? Or are the guys ready to go and you want to build on the high you just came out of? You play the hand you’re dealt, and I think our guys are pretty good at that.” 1143203 Boston Bruins Bobrovsky robbed Bergeron in the slot as the puck trickled to the front of the crease. It was cleared away before another Bruins stick could tap it.

Bergeron took a penalty 2:59 into the second overtime, and it took just 42 Matt Duchene, Blue Jackets edge Bruins in double OT seconds for Duchene to bury it from the crease.

“I’m sure we’ll see a lot more of that (physical nature) on Tuesday, By MARISA INGEMI | PUBLISHED: April 28, 2019 at 12:09 am | Thursday, next Saturday,” Cassidy said. “It’s kind of their game, get it UPDATED: April 28, 2019 at 2:29 am behind you and be physical, try to force you into mistakes. I think when we start eliminating our mistakes, the overtimes, they didn’t get much…. That’s when I thought we were the better team, just didn’t finish.”

The Bruins played nearly four hours of tough, physical hockey Saturday Game 3 is Tuesday night in Columbus. night in search of a commanding two-game lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Columbus Blue Jackets. “We can take a lot of good from this game,” Grzelcyk said. “It sucks to lose, but it was nice to get Game 1, and we have to go hopefully steal But just after midnight, the clock struck. Matt Duchene buried a power- one in Game 3.” play goal 3:42 into the second overtime to lift the Blue Jackets to a 3-2 win in Game 2, pulling even in a best-of-seven series that shifts to Boston Herald LOADED: 04.28.2019 Columbus for Game 3 on Tuesday.

Like in Game 1, the Bruins came out with energy, but this time the Jackets matched the intensity. The B’s led 1-0 and 2-1, but Artemi Panarin responded both times, his third and fourth goals of the playoffs.

“I thought we were the aggressor early,” Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “I thought we had the better hits. … I thought we set the tone physically.”

Patrice Bergeron was called for a trip 2:59 into the second overtime, giving the Blue Jackets their second man-advantage since the end of regulation. Duchene fired home Columbus’ first power-play goal of the series, assisted by Panarin and Cam Atkinson, and snapped the Bruins’ three-game winning streak.

“Tight, tight matches for sure,” said Tuukka Rask, who made 38 saves. “They don’t give up a lot, and they play a heavy game. They try to forecheck and capitalize off our mistakes. Very tight games.”

The higher-tempo opening period for the Blue Jackets did not pay off on the scoreboard. The Bruins, who were 0-for-4 on the power play in Game 1, cashed in on their first chance in Game 2. Moments after Jake DeBrusk’s bid was stopped by Sergei Bobrovsky (29 saves), Matt Grzelcyk snuck in from the blue line and wristed a shot in from the edge of the circle for a 1-0 lead at 7:50.

The physical first frame, which featured 28 total hits, ended with fisticuffs, as Torey Krug squared off with Oliver Bjorkstrand in the corner. Zdeno Chara had set that tone with an open-ice hit early on Riley Nash, who posted a big hit in Game 1 that left David Krejci a gametime decision for Saturday night.

The Blue Jackets responded in the second.

Moments after Sean Kuraly came up injured from a hit into the boards, Chara couldn’t clear the puck, sending it right to the Blue Jackets, and Panarin took advantage, knotting the game up just 1:03 in.

The Bruins had a response of their own.

Less than a minute later, Charlie Coyle, the overtime hero in Game 1, wrapped the puck around the net and bounced it off David Pastrnak for a 2-1 lead.

With Chara in the box for a trip, Josh Anderson’s stick caught Kuraly up high, drawing blood and earning a double-minor. But at the tail end of the 4-on-4, Coyle turned the puck over with a no-look pass that found the stick of Seth Jones, who connected with Panarin at 11:57 for his second goal of the game and a 2-2 score.

The Blue Jackets killed off the double minor without the Bruins getting a shot in 2:46 of power play time, and the Bruins finished the frame having just 13 shots on goal in 40 minutes.

It was a repeat in the third, when Atkinson was sent off for a trip with 9:12 to play, and the Bruins didn’t get a single look on net.

Without a tally in the third, the second straight game to start the series went to overtime.

Early in the overtime, Rask robbed Nick Foligno to keep it going. Later, the Bruins survived a Charlie McAvoy high-sticking call with 9:12 left in the extra period, and with two minutes left in the frame, they got their best chance. 1143204 Boston Bruins “As if I don’t have enough (motivation) already.”

The Bruins hope the cannon can be limited in Columbus, if not for just it means pucks aren’t in the net, but to save their own ears. Columbus Blue Jackets cannon blast a part of home ice advantage They’ll have to deal with it at least twice, as they take the ice before Games 3 and 4.

By MARISA INGEMI | April 27, 2019 at 11:30 PM They’re as ready as they can be.

“I kind of brace myself when it goes, even when we’re going on the ice,” Not much is going to catch a hockey player off guard. said Wagner. “But it still scares the crap out of me every time.”

Aside from the on-ice play, arenas are loud, packed, and crazy — Boston Herald LOADED: 04.28.2019 especially during the postseason.

Somehow, the Columbus Blue Jackets have found a way to alarm anyone who steps into Nationwide Arena.

“The cannon” has been startling opposing fans, players, and media since 2007, when the team brought it in before the season as they sought an identity. Since then, it’s become so ingrained with the team that there’s now a cannon on the uniform.

Their embrace of the ear-shattering blast has come to the chagrin of opponents throughout the league.

“I’ve probably jumped,” said Chris Wagner. “My first year, I was watching in the press box with Anaheim and we were up there with it. That definitely scared me. It’s so loud.”

The humble origins of the cannon came in August 2007, when the front office decided it might be an interesting idea. In-game host Mike Todd took a journey west that changed the franchise identity for good.

“We flew out and drove to where this guy was, she (former Jackets employee Kimberly Kershaw) found him on the Internet,” said Todd. “We go out to this place and he shows us one of the cannons he made, and it looks spectacular. He said, ‘would you like to hear it being fired,’ and we’re like, ‘sure.’ He wheels the cannon out, and this was in a rural neighborhood, so he wheels out the cannon and all the neighbors start making their way over to where the cannon is, like they’re about to hear something spectacular. He says, ‘first, I’ll fire with gunpowder.’ So he puts the cannon powder in and lights the fuse, and it goes off and makes a loud boom like a gunshot.”

“Then he says, ‘would you like me to fire it with cannon powder in it?’ I didn’t realize there was a difference. He packs it full, and in the meantime, Kimberly calls one of our VPs, and says, ‘do you want to hear it fired?’ He lights this thing, and it goes off, and my teeth rattled. I felt like I’ve been hit by something. the cannon was so loud, it almost knocked Kimberly off her feet. (VP) Larry Heffner (on the phone) said something to the effect of, holy (bleep) get this thing here now.”

The rest was history, and so were the eardrums of several Nationwide Arena tenants. On the ice, it’s just as loud and surprising for those who have been there several times over.

Sean Kuraly grew up a Blue Jackets fan, and though it wasn’t there when he went to games as a kid (“that’s not vintage”), he’s well aware to be ready for it.

“It has (made him jump) before,” he said. “It’s startled me before. But you kind of know it’s going to happen now. The one in warmups, you’re not sure, or the one right before the game when they do it, that’s when you have to be ready for it.”

The cannon itself doesn’t actually fire indoors, but it sure sounds like it.

“If you would fire that cannon for real, every pane of glass would shatter,” said Todd. “They have it synchronized with flash powder, and a fireworks company up in the rafters fire a concussion charge. Once the goal is scored, it’s immediate. Once they play the ACDC song, they say fire, it’s a flash and concussion charge. All the different things that have to happen for the cannon to go off, it’s incredible.”

The cannon has become synonymous with the organization, and though it’s an annoyance for visiting players and fans alike, it’s created a unity for the team.

“Unlike the Bruins we don’t have the history of Bobby Orr and Gerry Cheevers and all that,” said Todd. “It’s given this team an identity. It annoys the hell out of opposing players.”

Or, as Kuraly said as well, it’s a motivator to stop opposing goals. 1143205 Boston Bruins

Bruins notebook: Joakim Nordstrom’s play an asset

By MARISA INGEMI | PUBLISHED: April 27, 2019 at 7:20 pm | UPDATED: April 27, 2019 at 7:22 PM

Joakim Nordstrom‘s Game 7 goal against the Maple Leafs isn’t the only thing he’s contributed to the Bruins playoff run.

The do-it-all forward has settled into a role on the fourth line, skating to the left of Sean Kuraly and Noel Acciari. While the fourth line had some struggles at the start of the Toronto series, it finished as primary contributors and got off to a solid start again against Columbus.

“It helps with chemistry,” he said. “Just knowing in the back of your head your linemates’ tendencies and where they go. You don’t have to take that extra half-second to look for them. I think that’s the biggest key.”

Nordstrom’s goal in Game 7 sparked the clinching victory, and while he has done all the other little things to make him an asset, there was something rewarding about that moment.

“I haven’t thought about the reasons I scored, just tried to come out and play hard,” he said. “I do that night in and night out, shift by shift. If we play the right way, we get chances. You want to score goals, you want to help your team win. Some nights you score, some nights you don’t. But there’s many areas of the game you can help your team win if you play the right way.”

Too many men

The Bruins have committed three too many men penalties in the postseason, including one in Game 1 against the Blue Jackets.

“I always thought it was on the coaches, but (David Krejci) jumped on the other night on the power play, (Tuukka Rask) plays it up, (Brad Marchand) is going to the bench, decides to button-hook, Krejci is already out,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. “That one we needed a lasso and (there) wasn’t one long enough to get him back.

“Kuraly, the other night, just jumped for Krejci for no reason. Sean, I love him to death, he has lots of high energy, but sometimes we have to repeat. He gets so dialed in. So that one was a tough one because for whatever reason, he just jumped and Krejci wasn’t off the ice.”

The penalty kill has done its job in those instances, but those infractions must stop.

“When I move (Danton) Heinen from right wing to left wing, our wingers sometimes miss that,” Cassidy said. “That happened to us against Toronto, so I’ll put that on myself. I should have reminded the guys Heinen was right.

“I think Jake (DeBrusk) and (Marcus) Johansson both went at the same time for one player. That’s probably the rundown. I think there were three (penalties) … so generally there’s a miscommunication, and sometimes a guy just goes early. Sometimes, you get screwed a little bit where you jump on the ice, the puck hits you. … We’ve got to clean it up.”

Clifton steps up

With Kevan Miller still out and now John Moore dealing with an injury, Connor Clifton has seamlessly stepped back into the lineup.

“Through all of the games he’s been here, I don’t know that he’s been scored on more than a couple of times,” Cassidy said. “Clearly, he’s taken care of his own end, and that’s your first goal as a defenseman, play good defensively, play your one-on-ones. He’s competitive. I like his physical side.”

Boston Herald LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143206 Boston Bruins Boston Herald LOADED: 04.28.2019

Danton Heinen gets job done for Bruins

By STEVE CONROY | April 27, 2019 at 6:43 PM

There was a time when it appeared that this might be a lost season for Bruins forward Danton Heinen.

Struggling out of the gate, he failed to nail down the right wing spot that was open next to David Krejci. He didn’t score his first goal until Nov. 8 and had two separate 11-game pointless streaks. He was a healthy scratch for two games in October and then again the first week of February.

But his season turned around dramatically when David Pastrnak suffered a thumb injury and he took his place on the Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron line. In a 26-game span, Heinen posted 4-20-24 totals in 26 games (two of those games pre-dated Pastrnak’s injury). And in the playoffs, Heinen has played all over the lineup, on all four lines and on both the left and right sides. In the eight playoff games going into Saturday’s Game 2 against Columbus, he has a goal and three assists and is tied with Zdeno Chara and Charlie McAvoy for a team-high in plus/minus with a plus-5.

“I don’t know what the term is, but sometimes in Europe they’d call a guy the joker if you’d move all around your lineup. He’s a guy who can fit in on the power play, he can kill penalties, he plays right wing, left wing. We were prepared to play him at center one night this year when we had a late injury,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said Saturday morning. “He’s a trustworthy guy. I think that’s what endears himself to A, the coaching staff and B, his teammates.

“In the long run, we’d like to get him placed in a spot where he can consistently work on his game and grow it from one spot. But that’s the hand we’ve been dealt because of the injuries and it’s worked out well. We appreciate what he does. And he’s well-liked by his teammates. Everybody that plays with him knows he’s got the ability to make plays. He’s a smart player. Everyone likes playing with him because of that. He can slide into a line. He’s got good hockey IQ and good hands, so he can help the line. For him, we’ve always said ‘Keep your pace up, win your puck battles.’ That’s when he gets down on himself and it goes the other way. But so far, he’s been good.”

While everyone was rightfully glowing about Marcus Johansson’s skilled passes on Charlie Coyle’s tying and game-winning goals in Game 1 against the Blue Jackets, Heinen got the play going by deftly dragging his back leg to stay onside and then sending a difficult backhand pass to Johansson on the left side.

Some thought the play was offside — Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski admitted he stopped playing and let Coyle get behind him — but a review declared it a good goal and the game over.

It was the third line Heinen played on during the game and he didn’t look out of place on any of them. And from where he was in the first half of this season, Heinen’s not about to complain about bouncing around.

“I want to be a part of this,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun. I’ve kind of tried to work on my defensive game and be reliable in that area of the game and go from there. It’s nice to be part of and be put in different situation.”

For some observers, Heinen’s game can be an acquired taste. He doesn’t have blazing speed, he’s not overly physical, he doesn’t possess a booming shot. But when he’s playing well, Heinen excels at puck retrieval. Like Marchand and Bergeron, he wins his puck battles not necessarily with brawny shoulders but with his smarts and deft stickwork.

And winning battles is what makes his game go.

“When I’m chasing the game a lot, when I’m without the puck, I feel like you lose energy,” Heinen said. “That starts from winning your battles. That’s something they’ve obviously preached to me. And the more battles you win, the more you have the puck, the less you’re chasing. It starts with your battles and if you have your battle, you have the puck. It all stems from there.”

Right now, Heinen is winning his fair share. 1143207 Boston Bruins Bruce “Butch” Cassidy must experience the same soothing feeling watching Bergeron lace his skates that Arnold Jacob “Red” Auerbach, Bill Russell and Tom Heinsohn felt watching Havlicek knot his sneakers.

Patrice Bergeron a modern-day John Havlicek Boston Herald LOADED: 04.28.2019

By TOM KEEGAN | PUBLISHED: April 27, 2019 at 6:32 pm | UPDATED: April 27, 2019 at 11:00 PM

It’s only natural to use a modern comparable when trying to describe a great one from the past to someone too young to have had the pleasure of watching the athlete compete.

When news spread of the death of Celtics great John Havlicek during the Bruins’ series opener Thursday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets, it occurred to me from my seat in the halo of the Garden that I was watching Hondo’s play-alike.

One Garden and two generations later, I find myself asking the same questions about Bruins center Patrice Bergeron as I asked about Havlicek from my seat on the floor of our den in Rochester, N.Y., watching with my father and brothers.

“How can he be over there already when he was just way back there?”

“Why hasn’t he collapsed of exhaustion yet? If I’m tried of watching him go, go, go, why does he look so fresh?”

“How unbelievably annoying must this guy be to play against?”

Havlicek, No. 17, used all 94 feet of parquet to disrupt opponents the way Bergeron, No. 37, uses all 200 feet of ice to gain the edge on his foes.

Hondo’s versatility might not stand out as much in today’s position-less NBA, but in his era, most players easily slid into a compartment as either a guard, forward or center. Havlicek was a guard/forward, whichever position the Celtics needed more at the moment.

Name something Bergeron doesn’t do well on a rink. Best defensive forward in the game, one of the greatest at winning draws of all-time, slick passer and scorer, strong in front of the net, a bumper on the power play, a skilled penalty killer. Name any aspect of the game and his presence makes teammates better. Same for Havlicek on the hardwood.

You can find teammates and foes in both sports with deadlier shots than Hondo and Bergy, but put them in a big spot and watch them find the net.

Havlicek’s most famous play was a steal, against the 76ers of Wilt Chamberlain and Hal Greer in the 1965 Eastern Conference finals, fitting considering he was named either the first or second NBA All-Defense team eight times.

Bergeron has won the Selke Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s top defensive forward, four times and currently is a finalist for the eighth consecutive year, this time joined by Ryan O’Reilly of the St. Louis Blues and Mark Stone of the Las Vegas Golden Knights.

Havlicek, like Bergeron, moved so efficiently that it was sometimes easy to overlook his extraordinary athleticism. What stood out was that he never stopped moving, always found something productive to do to further his team’s cause, a la Bergeron.

Sometimes crossing sports is required to find the best comparisons. The first time I watched Allen Iverson weave through traffic on his way to points for Georgetown, Barry Sanders came to mind. Wayne Gretzky and Larry Bird shared similar radar that made them play quicker than they appeared. Muhammad Ali’s left jab and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s sky hook were such unstoppable forces delivered with such grace and beauty.

But I’m not sure any of those crossovers hits quite as cleanly as Hondo and Bergy. So strong, such a great feel for their respective sports, so consistently reliable.

Winning Game 1 of this series didn’t rid the Bruins of all their concerns. What’s keeping David Pastrnak from playing well? Is he healthy? Are his bad decisions with the puck the result of him pressing? Is his youth showing? Is Brad Marchand at risk of crossing the line and incurring a penalty at the worst possible time? The notion came to mind when he stomped on Cam Atkinson’s stick in overtime.

But the only ones ever worrying about Bergeron are the poor souls who must play against him. 1143208 Boston Bruins Dean Kukan – David Savard

Scott Harrington – Adam Clendening

Bruins pregame notes: B’s can double series lead Goalies

Sergei Bobrovsky

By MARISA INGEMI | PUBLISHED: April 27, 2019 at 12:42 pm | Joonas Korpisalo UPDATED: April 27, 2019 at 12:42 PM Boston Herald LOADED: 04.28.2019

The Bruins are in the same exact spot they were in a season ago.

A Game 7 win over Toronto behind them, the B’s opened the second round of the playoffs with a Game 1 win over the well-rested Blue Jackets, just like they did against the Lightning last year.

That time, though, the Bruins went on to lose the next four.

They can begin erasing that history on Saturday night in Game 2, looking to head on the road to Columbus with a 2-0 series lead.

“It’s been brought up,” said Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy. “Other than that, we don’t want to dwell in the past. We have a new group of players. I think the veteran guys are aware of what happened last year, so they know there can be no letdown. We expect Columbus to be better, I expect us to be better.”

The Bruins jumped out quick in Game 1, using a Noel Acciari shorthanded goal to take the lead, but didn’t build upon it, allowing Columbus to come back and tie and take the lead in a 13 second run in the third period.

That’s the kind of thing they’ll look to avoid in Game 2.

“I loved our start,” said Cassidy. “Our starts in the playoffs have been on- time. We just have to extend leads and manage the puck well…. I suspect we’ll be better prepared to continue to play at a high level. Whether that happens or not, we’ll see.”

Unlike against the speedy Maple Leafs, this is a heavier series, which does mean the Bruins can play a certain type of game they’re comfortable with.

Closing out games though — and building upon leads — hasn’t been a strength; they blew a 2-0 lead in Toronto in Game 4 only to come back and win it after.

As it gets deeper into the postseason, it’s going to get tougher to win that way.

Especially with history not exactly on the Bruins side.

Game notes

David Krejci left the game in the third period after a big hit from Riley Nash and didn’t play in overtime, and was considered day-to-day by Cassidy after practice on Friday.

He’s a gametime decision after skating with Jake DeBrusk and Danton Heinen at morning skate.

The rest of the lineup stays intact.

About the Blue Jackets

After the Blue Jackets struggled to catch up to the Bruins tempo aside from a 13-second stretch in the third period, they’ll look to make adjustments in Game 2.

“We had struggles in the first, but found our game for a number of minutes there, but just couldn’t finish the game,” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said after the game.

Columbus looks to line up like this.

Artemi Panarin – Pierre-Luc DuBois – Oliver Bjorkstrand

Ryan Dzingel – Matt Duchene – Cam Atkinson

Alexandre Texier – Nick Foligno – Josh Anderson

Riley Nash – Boone Jenner – Brandon Dubinsky

Defense

Zach Werenski – Seth Jones 1143209 Boston Bruins UP NEXT:

Game 3: Tuesday, @Columbus, 7 p.m., NBC Sports Network

Highlights from the Briuns' 3-2 loss in 2OT to the Blue Jackets in Game 2 Game 4: Thursday, May 2: @Columbus, 7 p.m., NBC Sports Network

*Game 5: Saturday, May 4: @TD Garden, 7:15 p.m., NBC

By Michael Deprisco April 27, 2019 7:48 PM *Game 6: Monday, May 6: @Columbus, TBD

*Game 7: Wednesday, May 8: @TD Garden, TBD

FINAL SCORE: Blue Jackets 3, Bruins 2 Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 04.28.2019

IN BRIEF: After going to overtime in Game 1, Game 2 took two overtime periods to decide a winner. Unfortunately for the Bruins, Columbus found its way into the back of the net to even the series.

BRUINS-BLUE JACKETS SERIES: Series tied 1-1

BOX SCORE

HIGHLIGHTS:

BRUINS HONOR JOHN HAVLICEK PREGAME

The tribute video to John Havlicek ahead of Game 2. pic.twitter.com/2x3u4VZULK

— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) April 28, 2019

BRUINS FANS SING BON JOVI

 OoOoOoOhhhhh we're halfway thereeeeee 

We see you, @NHLBruins fans  pic.twitter.com/ikk449xK6N

— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) April 28, 2019

GRZELCYK GIVES B'S A 1-0 LEAD

Icebreaker. @NHLBruins. @Matt_Grzelcyk5's first career playoff goal!

Get to @nbc or stream it here: https://t.co/YugQLbt0jn pic.twitter.com/R2GTMvVuRO

— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) April 28, 2019

BLUE JACKETS MOVE THE PUCK AROUND TO TIE IT 1-1

The bakery is OPEN. @9Artemi gets the @BlueJacketsNHL on the board. Watch #CBJvsBOS: https://t.co/YugQLbt0jn pic.twitter.com/IrbH0n9zkb

— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) April 28, 2019

COYLE RESPONDS RIGHT AWAY TO GIVE B'S THE LEAD AGAIN

Would you like some sauce with that Pasta?

 : @nbc or stream it here: https://t.co/YugQLbt0jn pic.twitter.com/b9JtekYKs5

— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) April 28, 2019

PANARIN WITH HIS SECOND OF THE GAME

Snipe City, Population: @9Artemi. #CBJvsBOS: @NBC or https://t.co/YugQLbt0jn pic.twitter.com/dKBPunnry6

— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) April 28, 2019

TERRIFIC SAVE BY RASK

Tuukka flashes the leather.  pic.twitter.com/3wroyhKZ7o

— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) April 28, 2019

BERGERON NEARLY WINS IT IN OT

Doc on the call. Bob on the save.

Playoff hockey is something else. pic.twitter.com/jDCAB6vPu4

— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) April 28, 2019

DUCHENE EVENS THE SERIES

A Matt Duchene power play goal in OVERTIME ties the series! pic.twitter.com/ldX0W4XWJS

— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) April 28, 2019 1143210 Boston Bruins

Aly Raisman waves flag as banner captain before Bruins-Blue Jackets Game 2

By Justin Leger April 27, 2019 8:11 PM

Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman is the latest banner captain for the Bruins.

Pastrnak says he's healthy, so what's up?

The Needham native waved the honorary flag prior to Game 2 vs. the Blue Jackets. Watch her fire up the TD Garden crowd below:

3-time Olympic gold medalist @Aly_Raisman and @SpOlympicsMA athlete Danny Miller are the fan banner captains in Boston tonight! pic.twitter.com/gBm4XPuXIW

— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) April 28, 2019

Raisman joins Rob Gronkowski, Marc Savard, Julian Edelman, and Jaylen Brown as the Bruins' banner captains so far during their playoff run.

The Bruins aim to extend their series lead to 2-0 on Saturday night.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143211 Boston Bruins

Bruins vs. Blue Jackets live stream: Watch Stanley Cup Playoffs Game 2 online

By Justin Leger April 27, 2019 5:17 PM

It wasn't easy, but the Bruins pulled off a hard-fought overtime win vs. the Blue Jackets in Game 1 of their second-round series on Thursday night. Weymouth native Charlie Coyle tallied the game-tying and OT game- winning goals.

The B's will look to extend their series lead to 2-0 on Saturday night at TD Garden. One interesting storyline to keep an eye on is the feud brewing between Brad Marchand and Columbus winger Cam Atkinson after Game 1's stick blade incident.

Here's how and when to watch Bruins vs. Blue Jackets Game 2 online.

When: Saturday, April 27 at 8:00 p.m. ET

TV Channel: NBC Sports Network

Live Stream: NBC Sports App

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143212 Boston Bruins

Hometown hero Coyle 'just trying to do his part' after starring Game 1 role

By Joe Haggerty April 27, 2019 3:43 PM

BRIGHTON, Mass. – Charlie Coyle has undoubtedly enjoyed the last couple of days.

After all, the Weymouth kid scored the game-tying and overtime game- winning goals in Game 1 for his hometown Boston Bruins in Thursday night’s series-opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and then got to celebrate with one of his lifelong buddies Chris Wagner on the ice afterward.

Wagner yelling to Coyle, “How do you like playing at home?” right after the goal is the kind of stuff young hockey buddies all around New England dream of doing one day if they’re lucky enough to grow up and play for the Bruins.

Pastrnak needs to start scoring if he's really healthy

There’s also the simple fact that Coyle has monumentally shown up in the postseason with five goals scored in eight games, and a third line that’s really showing a ton of life with Marcus Johansson and Wagner on either side of him.

“I just try to use my abilities and size to be the best player that I can for my team,” said Coyle. “When playoff time comes around, it’s a big man’s game and you want to step up to that challenge. There’s more responsibility and more challenges, and you’re just trying to step up to that as a team. I’m just trying to do my part.”

So Coyle should be feeling sky-high confidence wise right now, but he’s also experienced enough to know that it’s not going to automatically carry over for him into tonight’s important Game 2 at TD Garden.

“It was good. It was just great to get the win, and doing it in front of friends and family was great,” said Coyle. “But that’s over and done with now and we need to focus on the task at hand, which is Game 2 tonight. I’m just preparing for that.

“We just need to get into our game again because we know they are going to have a better start. That’s a no-brainer. We’re kind of figuring they’re going to come out like we did in that Game 2 against Toronto after losing the first one. We’re expecting their best and we’re expecting our best. We need to get to it right away and keep building from there.”

Marchand: Atkinson 'rude' in stick-blade incident

One additional thing going for Coyle headed into Game 2?

It looks like David Krejci might just play after making it through Saturday’s morning skate, and that would leave Coyle’s highly effective third line intact and ready to keep “doing their part” when the puck drops for the B’s and Blue Jackets.

It looks like the B's just might not have any changes as both Krejci and Matt Grzelcyk participated in Saturday's morning skate:

Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak

DeBrusk-Krejci-Heinen

Johansson-Coyle-Wagner

Nordstrom-Kuraly-Acciari

Chara-McAvoy

Krug-Carlo

Grzelcyk-Clifton

Rask

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143213 Boston Bruins

Cassidy: Krejci's availability for Game 2 tonight a 'game-time decision'

By Patrick Dunne April 27, 2019 11:40 AM

Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said center David Krejci will be a "game- time decision" tonight at 8 in Game 2 of their second-round playoff series against the Columbus Blue Jackets at TD Garden.

Krejci, who left Game 1 with an upper-body injury after taking a hit in the shoulder from Riley Nash in the third period, was on the ice for the team's morning skate on Saturday.

Per #NHLBruins coach Bruce Cassidy:

David Krejci is a game-time decision for tonight.

“Felt good when he came in this morning. Got through morning skate...fingers crossed.” pic.twitter.com/34AOsP152C

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 27, 2019

Cassidy had said immediately after the overtime victory Thursday that Krejci was day-to-day, adding, "He left the game, and by the time he was available to come back, the game was over."

Here are the lines and defensive pairings from the morning skate:

#NHLBruins morning rushes:

Marchand - Bergeron - Pastrnak

DeBrusk - Krejci - Heinen

Johansson - Coyle - Wagner

Nordstrom - Kuraly - Acciari

Chara - McAvoy

Krug - Carlo

Grzelcyk - Clifton

Rask

Halak

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 27, 2019

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143214 Boston Bruins

Marchand: Blue Jackets' Atkinson 'rude' for stick blade incident

By Joe Haggerty April 27, 2019 11:11 AM

BRIGHTON, Mass – Brad Marchand was relatively quiet in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Toronto Maple Leafs, so it’s a welcome development that the Little Ball of Hate seems to be finding himself in the second round against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Marchand chirped former teammate Riley Nash for his physical play in Game 1 on Friday’s off day and he also addressed some other Little Ball of Hate-type activity in the overtime of Game 1. It was clear that something had happened with Marchand and Columbus forward Cam Atkinson when the two were jawing with each other in the OT, and then Atkinson needed to return to the Blue Jackets bench for a new stick after his was broken.

Atkinson gave Marchand a final shove to the back as he returned for the face-off circle, but at the time it wasn’t clear what happened.

A review of the video after the Game 1 win showed that Marchand stepped on Atkinson’s stick and broke it, thereby setting off the Columbus forward and forcing him to get a new stick in the process. One could understand Atkinson’s ire, but Marchand thought he had a reasonable explanation for exactly what happened.

Marchand steps on Atkinson's stick... pic.twitter.com/VB8KwfZFHg

— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) April 26, 2019

"I think he was trying to dull my blade there,” said Marchand, with a smirk on his face while insinuating that Atkinson slid his stick blade under his skate ahead of the draw. “Send me to the room, get it sharpened. It's kind of rude of him to do."

MORE HAGGERTY: Pastrnak says he's healthy, so what's up?>>>

Atkinson wasn’t in a joking mood about the stick incident when he was asked about it on Friday, and said Marchand owes him some money.

“He owes me $300, so you can tell him that,” said Atkinson, who said he'd go “toe-to-toe” with Marchand. “I'm expecting that. Cash. Straight cash.”

It’s unclear whether Marchand would actually owe the $300 to Atkinson or to the Columbus Blue Jackets, who presumably pay for all of Atkinson’s hockey lumber, but you can file all of this under Marchand finally Being Marchand in the second round.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143215 Boston Bruins This is where Cassidy’s checklist comes into play.

“You just can’t do whatever the hell you want,” he said. “Our guys are pretty good at that — recognizing that trust in us that’ll we’ll generally Power plays could prove the difference in tight Bruins-Blue Jackets identify what will be there from night to night and then off they go.” series, and so far, Bruins aren’t capitalizing The Bruins spend plenty of practice time working on special teams, and the players accept it. Yet the power play remains inconsistent for Boston By Joe McDonald 2h ago this spring. It has been the difference between winning and losing so far, and the latter was the case in Game 2.

“Even when Claude (Julien) was here, he was a power-play guy, so The Boston Bruins conclude each morning skate in the same fashion, (Cassidy) obviously stuck with that, and he does his scouting report and every game day. The team’s top power play works at one end of the ice, gives us good tips,” said David Krejci. “Every day we work on it, and while the second unit works at the other end. It’s a normal routine and every day we have meetings on it. It definitely helps.” usually runs smoothly. The power play was sloppy and ineffective in Game 2. If that doesn’t As the Bruins prepared for Game 2 of the second-round series against change, it could be the Bruins’ downfall against the Blue Jackets. the Columbus Blue Jackets Saturday morning at Warrior Ice Arena, Boston coach Bruce Cassidy stopped the second power-play unit’s drill. The Athletic LOADED: 04.28.2019 He didn’t like what he was watching.

Cassidy explained what he wanted to see, and it proved crucial, because that unit scored the Bruins’ first goal of the game when defenseman Matt Grzelcyk’s shot from the top of the left circle snuck past Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky at 7:50 of the first period.

Since this series could be decided on special teams, it was a good sign that Boston’s power play gave the team its early lead. Unfortunately for the Bruins, they finished 1-for-4 on the PP and failed to execute consistently as the Blue Jackets finished with a 3-2 double-overtime victory to even the series at a game apiece.

Postgame, Cassidy admitted his one criticism of the team’s best players was their lack of efficiency on the power play.

“They were out of sync and didn’t execute well, and it could have been the difference tonight,” Cassidy said.

Since the best players aren’t lighting up the scoresheet, Cassidy believes his team’s offense should start with generating better scoring chances on the power play, and that usually bleeds into 5-on-5 play.

“They start to have confidence, and that’s part of the challenge for us, or part of the solution,” Cassidy said.

While Cassidy promotes creativity on the power play, he also has a checklist of plays that he wants his players to execute on the man advantage, especially against a potent Columbus penalty kill. The Blue Jackets finished the regular season with the No. 3-ranked penalty kill in the league, while Boston ranked 16th on the PP.

“This is a good kill, and we’re a good power play, so we have to find solutions to what they do well,” explained Cassidy.

The boxes that need to be checked off include pressure, quicker puck movement, better support and quality shot selection. Forcing passes has been an issue for Boston.

“Sometimes when you’re (facing) a good kill and they’re aggressive, you’ve got to shoot, take the obvious shot and recover the puck,” Cassidy said. “We did well against Toronto — shot, recover, get them out of sync and then you make your play. We need a little more of that mindset, as opposed to overpassing.”

Since his playing days as a defenseman, Cassidy has always focused on the importance of the power play. When his once-promising career was cut short due to injuries, he decided to stay in the game and try coaching. No matter which level he was behind the bench, he always designed the team’s power play.

“It’s probably one of the few things I did well, so I had to try to make my living that way, and I enjoyed it,” he said. “I was good at it. I see the ice, saw it as a player, so I like that part of the coaching.”

At times, especially during his time in Boston, he’s given assistant coach Jay Pandolfo more responsibility with the power play, but it always comes back to Cassidy.

“There’s no sense passing it to someone and then stepping all over their toes,” he said. “It’s unfair to that particular person. Jay has helped me a lot, so at some point, I will pass it off. I just want to be comfortable with how we teach it to the players, because I think they’re creative and they want to do their own thing.” 1143216 Boston Bruins “Just a stick got caught,” Bergeron said. “It’s one of those plays that you make many times and it’s not going to happen. My stick shouldn’t be there at this point of the game.”

‘We got stretched’: The critical breakdown that Tuukka Rask was unable Rask did his part. But so did Sergei Bobrovsky. to clean up The Columbus ace (29 saves) turned back shots he had no business stopping. In the first overtime, Bobrovksy stoned Bergeron twice. After By Fluto Shinzawa 2h ago turning back Danton Heinen’s close-range big, Charlie Coyle pasted the puck off the left post.

“He’s played at a different level,” said John Tortorella. “Not just playoffs, Tuukka Rask had his pants down. Artemi Panarin, Columbus’ best but the last quarter of the season, he’s played at a level that I haven’t player, was about to uncork one of his most dangerous weapons: a one- seen him play at. As you can see, we’re going to need it. It’s a good team timer on the power play from the left elbow. we’re playing against. We’re going to continue to need it as we move forward here in the series.” Rask did his job. He slid from left to right and somehow stopped Panarin’s ripper. The Athletic LOADED: 04.28.2019 But doing everything to turn back Panarin left Rask unable to reposition himself for what was coming next. So when Matt Duchene easily cleaned up the garbage at 3:42 of double overtime, the Bruins found themselves staring at 1-1 series tie.

“Rebound, he’s there, second overtime,” Rask said. “Obviously, scraps are going to be in front of the net.”

It was a disappointing outcome following a lights-out puckstopping performance. Rask turned away 38 of 41 shots, including one excellent save in the opening minute of double OT when he shrugged off Boone Jenner’s close-range steamer.

One overtime earlier, when Nick Foligno and Josh Anderson peeled off for a two-on-one rush against Zdeno Chara, Rask had the patience to hang in and wait for a forehand shot. When Foligno went backhand at the last moment, Rask, who had dropped into his butterfly, had the athletic ability to halt his momentum, streeeeeeetch to his left and glove the puck at 1:58.

What left Bruce Cassidy most disappointed was how Rask’s penalty killers dropped their goalie on an island. Against every opponent, the Bruins’ priority is to eliminate what they do best and accept being beaten elsewhere.

In the Blue Jackets’ case, there is no shot more lethal than Panarin’s man-advantage rocket from the left circle. The Bruins have designed their penalty kill to be passive in some areas, but extremely vigilant whenever the puck even hints at arriving in Panarin’s wheelhouse. Their No. 1 task is to deny Panarin the puck.

The breakdown started when Sean Kuraly, the high forward on the penalty kill, pursued Seth Jones at the point instead of remaining compact. This initiated a cascade of problems. When he went for Jones, Kuraly should have been sure he could cut off the pass before it got to Cam Atkinson on the right-side boards. At the same time, Noel Acciari should have identified Kuraly’s reach and moved up higher in the penalty-killing box.

None of this happened. Jones’ pass got through to Atkinson. The secondary safeguards should have kicked in: Kuraly’s stick in the passing lane, and Acciari shifting up to negate Panarin as an option. But Kuraly couldn’t flip his stick back after reaching for Jones. Acciari, flat- footed, was caught watching the puck. Atkinson one-touched a puck for Panarin to wind up. By then, all the Bruins could do was hope nothing else would go wrong.

“We got stretched,” Cassidy said. “Our first forward up to Jones, he was too high. So when they go to Atkinson, (Kuraly’s) not able to flip his stick and recover quick enough. Atkinson makes a hell of a play, one-touching it through there. Then our other forward was not in the seam. He was too low. So we’ve got one too high, one too low. Bang-bang, it’s on net. Our D are out a little too high. Rebound, goal. Real nice play by them. Give them credit. Breakdowns for us.”

In the Bruins’ system, the defensemen are told to fill the shooting lanes. If the opponent deploys a net-front man, Rask is asked to fight through his presence. In theory, the net-front attacker is negated because pucks are not supposed to get through. But when Panarin’s blast arrived and thudded off Rask, neither Chara nor Brandon Carlo were close enough to defend Duchene.

The opportunity happened because Patrice Bergeron had taken an offensive-zone tripping penalty on Jones. It was a needless penalty to take. 1143217 Buffalo Sabres

Sabres' Rasmus Dahlin among finalists for Calder Trophy

By Lance Lysowski|Published April 27, 2019|Updated April 27, 2019

Rasmus Dahlin has added another accomplishment to his remarkable rookie season with the Buffalo Sabres.

Dahlin, who turned 19 years old earlier this month, was announced Saturday, along with Vancouver center Elias Pettersson and St. Louis goalie Jordan Binnington, as a finalist for the Calder Trophy, which is awarded annually to the league's rookie of the year.

The winner will be revealed June 19, during the NHL Awards in Las Vegas. Dahlin is the first Sabres player voted a Calder finalist since defenseman Tyler Myers won the award in 2009-10 and could join Myers, Tom Barrasso (1983-84) and Gilbert Perreault (1970-71) as the fourth rookie of the year winner in franchise history.

Dahlin, who was drafted first overall last June, led all rookie defensemen with 44 points and ranked third among all rookies, trailing Pettersson and Ottawa's Brady Tkachuk. That is the second-most points recorded by an NHL defenseman before his 19th birthday, surpassing Hall of Famer Bobby Orr and trailing only Phil Housley's 57 points with the Sabres in 1982-83.

Dahlin had nine goals, 20 power-play points and a minus-13 rating on a team that posted a negative-50 goal differential.

Additionally, Dahlin's five-game point streak in January matched the longest by any 18-year-old defenseman in NHL history and his eight multi-point games were tied with Orr for second. He ranked second among all rookies with 21 minutes, 9 seconds of ice time per game, and his role grew throughout the season.

"For me, new to the league, a young guy, a rookie, it’s been so much fun for me," Dahlin said during locker cleanout in KeyBank Center following the season finale. "For me, to come to a new country and all that kind of stuff. I learned so many new things and it’s been amazing. But hockey- wise, we haven’t played how we want to play. We didn’t end up how we wanted to end up, so I want to play better next year and the guys want to play better next year. It’s going to be an important year next year, too."

Pettersson, 20, was drafted fifth overall in 2017 and established himself as a franchise player for the Canucks this season, scoring 28 goals among 66 points with a plus-3 rating in 71 games. He began his NHL career with a five-game point streak and went on to lead all NHL rookies, and the Canucks, in goals, assists and points.

Pettersson also led all rookies and Canucks players in power-play goals (10) and game-winning goals (seven). Pettersson's 66 points set a Canucks rookie record, beating the previous mark set by Pavel Bure in 1991-92.

Binnington, 25, finished the regular season with a 24-5-1 record, led the NHL in goal-against average (1.89) and ranked fourth in save percentage (.927). His nine-game winning streak from Jan. 23 - Feb. 19 stands as the third-longest in franchise history. He is also the first Blues player voted a Calder finalist since defenseman Barret Jackman became the franchise's first-ever winner of the award in 2002-03.

The last goaltender to win the Calder Trophy was Columbus' Steve Mason in 2008-09.

Binnington being among the award's leading vote-getters made Dallas defenseman Miro Heiskanen a sub. Heiskanen, a 19-year-old drafted third overall in 2017, had 12 goals among 33 points with a minus-14 rating while playing all 82 games, like Dahlin.

Heiskanen led all NHL rookies in minutes per game and has helped the Stars reach the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, though the Professional Hockey Writers Associated conducted voting prior to the start of the postseason.

Buffalo News LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143218 Carolina Hurricanes

Canes fans get taste of what could be with Stanley Cup visit to Raleigh

BY ANNA JOHNSON

APRIL 27, 2019 05:28 PM

The Stanley Cup was in downtown Raleigh Saturday afternoon giving Carolina Hurricanes fans a taste of what could be.

It’s the hockey team’s first time in the Stanley Cup playoffs since 2009. The Canes defeated the defending champion Washington Capitals during the first round of the 2019 playoffs and won their first game in the second round against the New York Islanders Friday night. They play again in New York on Sunday.

Fans lined up for over an hour for their chance to win some Canes gear and take a photo with the iconic trophy during the craft beer festival Brewgaloo. At least one fan brought their own trophy.

In a Canes sweater (or jersey, for you non-hockey fans), 5-year-old Oliver Dedene carried a cardboard and tinfoil trophy almost bigger than him. Scrawled on it were the words “let’s go Jerks,” a reference to the comment made by hockey commentator Don Cherry earlier this year about the team’s post-game celebrations. “Bunch of Jerks” is a moniker the team and fans have embraced in recent months.

Oliver just started playing hockey as goalie and tries to stay awake through most of the late Canes matches, but it depends on school, his dad Kevin said.

Kevin grew up in Detroit and made a similar Stanley Cup when the Red Wings won the championship in the late 1990s. He thought his own son would enjoy the experience of seeing the real cup with the one he made. He’s hopeful the cup could be coming back to Raleigh with a Canes championship.

“The way we’re playing right now, I think we could win,” he said. “I’m surprised by who was knocked out of the first round and I didn’t expect them to make it out, but they did.”

But it wasn’t just Canes fans who stopped for a photo-op. A pair in Pittsburgh Penguin gear got a few taunts from the crowd during their photo.

John Stampf, wearing an Islander jersey, said he got a few comments from folks in line, but it helped that his 8-year-old son Ethan was decked out in Canes gear. Stampf is a life-long Islander fan but said he also roots for the Canes. They always go to the Islander-Canes games and there is a “friendly father-son rivalry,” Stampf said.

His wife Jen was wearing a Whalers hat, the name of the Hurricanes hockey team before it moved to North Carolina in 1997. Their other son, Maxwell, 12, was completely neutral in his Superman t-shirt.

“We want to be together as a family and experience these playoffs together,” Jen said. “They haven’t gone to the playoffs since Ethan has been born. So this has been exciting for him. We actually got to go to one of the games.”

Ethan has seen the trophy on television but said he’d never seen it in real-life. His favorite part about hockey? Cheap shots.

The cup is touring the nation during the playoffs with Mike Bolt, the “keeper of the cup” who travels with the trophy. Arriving in Raleigh was a way of treating the Canes fans to something special, he said.

“I am sure the fans here would hope the Stanley Cup spends a little bit more time in North Carolina,” he said.

The first person to get their photo taken was former Hurricanes trainer Pete Friesen. His name appears on the trophy from the Canes 2006 win.

After Friesen, N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper took a photo, promising not to touch the cup, a tradition among some fans, and led the crowd in a Canes chant.

News Observer LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143219 Carolina Hurricanes both Faulk and the Hurricanes that there was never really an offer that made sense.

With everything else that went on around him, he ended up playing for After long wait, Justin Faulk savoring playoff success another team without changing his jersey. He got the change of scenery he needed by staying in place.

BY LUKE DECOCK News Observer LOADED: 04.28.2019

APRIL 27, 2019 04:22 PM

The weight of it was oppressive. Seven years in the league without a playoff appearance, an endless succession of seasons going nowhere, even before Justin Faulk was thrust into a co-captaincy he didn’t want. A year ago, Faulk was one of many Carolina Hurricanes players who looked in desperate need of a change of scenery, a fresh start, something – anything – different.

“Especially guys that have been here for a while,” Faulk said Saturday, a year and 180 degrees later, “we had some gray, cloudy days.”

The Hurricanes defenseman then saw everything around him change in a whirlwind offseason. Bill Peters left, Rod Brind’Amour was promoted to head coach, Justin Williams was elevated to captain. Players came and went. The mix in the room changed.

Faulk, having become uncomfortable in the only home he had known in the NHL, felt at home again.

The game that had become a grind became fun again.

Faulk became the defenseman the Hurricanes once thought he was again.

And, finally given the chance to play in the postseason after 557 regular- season games, Faulk has been even better than that.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Minnesota Wild forward J.T. Brown, who won an NCAA title with Faulk as freshmen at Minnesota Duluth. “I’ve gotten to see what he can do in pressure games. He hasn’t been in those situations lately, but I knew all along that player would show up – and has showed up – in big-time games.”

With the exception of a rocky start to Game 2 of the Washington series, when Faulk helped spot the Capitals an early 2-0 lead, he’s been a rock on the Carolina blue line in the postseason, playing first with Brett Pesce and more recently with Calvin de Haan after the reshuffle late in the Washington series.

While Jaccob Slavin’s offense has gotten a lot of attention, Faulk is right behind him in ice time – Slavin, at 26:39 per game, is second among active players in the postseason, while Faulk is sixth at 25:58 – and has seen as much duty against the opposition’s top lines. He played a team- high 24:27 in Friday’s Game 1 overtime win over the New York Islanders.

But the roots of Faulk’s postseason performance were planted in the fall, when the Brind’Amour-Williams regime took over and the mood in the room changed. On the day Williams was announced as captain, Faulk was visibly elated, the rare player relieved by an ostensible demotion.

Winning helped, to be sure, but the new coach and captain both demonstrated a lighter touch than the dour Peters, who visibly lost the support of the players last January.

“It’s been enjoyable to come to the rink,” Faulk said. “That goes a long way. You can probably ask some of the guys who have been here for a while, that really does help a lot.”

In Faulk’s career arc, it’s a timely rebirth. There was a point in his career, when he was young and raw, where he looked like he might have long- term Norris Trophy potential, because of his shot and two-way game. That’s not how things panned out, but the Hurricanes also knew he was better than he had shown the previous few years.

It was just a matter of getting back to that level, if he could.

“He had a couple years where I felt like he wasn’t Justin Faulk,” Brind’Amour said. “This year, for whatever reason, he’s been the player we all saw early when he was with us. For whatever reason, he’s turned the corner this year, and he’s continued on into the playoffs.”

With a logjam of right-shot defensemen after the Dougie Hamilton trade, Faulk appeared ticketed to join the offseason exodus. It worked out for 1143220 Carolina Hurricanes Jordan Martinook remains a game-time decision for Game 2 after sitting out Game 1. Micheal Ferland continues to work toward a return.

“It’s day-to-day with all these guys,” Brind’Amour said. Not just the pig: Hurricanes aware of Hamilton but won’t let him hog all the credit News Observer LOADED: 04.28.2019

BY LUKE DECOCK

APRIL 27, 2019 03:25 PM

Hamilton the Pig has somehow become an international viral sensation since appearing in the PNC parking lots before Game 3, which is the kind of random bizarre nonsense that happens in the playoffs.

The team has since become aware of its unofficial porcine good-luck charm – “he’s made it into the room, not like actually,” Justin Faulk said Saturday – and was aware that the ham was hitting the road for Game 7 in Washington, but wasn’t aware until Saturday that Hamilton stayed home for Game 1 of the second-round series against the New York Islanders.

Somehow, the Hurricanes were able to win 1-0 in overtime without him.

“I guess it’s not just Hamilton the Pig, huh?” Faulk said. “Some of the boys get some credit, too.”

Support for the team has been coming from all kinds of unexpected corners. On Friday, the Los Angeles Kings tweeted out a version of their logo tweaked with Hurricanes iconography – and it’s unusual to say the least for one NHL team to jump on another team’s playoff bandwagon.

The connection, of course, is Hurricanes captain Justin Williams, who was an essential part of two Stanley Cups with the Kings. (Williams was tagged in the Twitter post.)

Felt cute, might delete later idk pic.twitter.com/MLyyqmiTX2

— LA Kings (@LAKings) April 26, 2019

“I did, I actually did see that,” Williams said. “That’s awesome. I have a lot of friends back there cheering for us. It’s great. I love it. But my role in it? I don’t know. It wasn’t provoked, no, but it’s certainly appreciated.”

A Kings spokesperson said in an email: “We all have an affinity for Justin Williams and love the storm surge. We needed to pick a team to root for.”

THE WAY IT IS For Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour, one of the nice things about having a team this young and playoff-inexperienced is most of the players don’t realize that they’re not supposed to be this tired at this point. They just assume this is how it is in the playoffs.

“We’re young – well, some of us are – in shape and hungry,” Williams said. “It’s a good combination.”

That’s not the reality. Six games and four flights in 11 days with 35 minutes of extra hockey in back-to-back games is about as harsh as the grind gets, especially with three key forwards out of the lineup.

“Having such an emotional week, especially with getting that Game 7 win and coming over here, there’s not much to think about the next game,” Nino Niederreiter said. “You just got to play your game, and that’s what we did, and that helps us keep our minds fresh and our legs fresh.”

And if that weren’t enough, the Hurricanes are going from a double- overtime game to an overtime game to a 3 p.m. start on Sunday, taking another four hours of rest out of the equation.

The Hurricanes took the day off again Saturday, with just the injured players and healthy scratches going to the arena. They have hunkered down at the team hotel, conserving energy, staying quiet.

“This time of year, it’s more mental fatigue for me, than physical,” Brind’Amour said. “Obviously, you get nicked up and banged up. But there’s less travel and we have days off between games. Physically, it’s not as demanding as the mental grind. It’s as important to rest the mind as the body.”

DAY-TO-DAY-TO-DAY Brind’Amour said after Game 1 that Andrei Svechnikov had cleared the concussion protocol but needs a full team practice before he can return. The earliest that could happen is Tuesday in Raleigh ahead of Wednesday’s Game 3 1143221 Carolina Hurricanes “We didn’t know when he was coming back and to be honest he didn’t even know if he was coming back,” Brind’Amour said. “So that’s a pretty low point for him.

Staal scoring big goals for Canes. Brind’Amour says: ‘Look out’ “He cares so much about our group that he actually felt he was going to disrupt what we were doing. All I kept telling him was, ‘Man, imagine if you do come back, what team we can be.’” BY CHIP ALEXANDER It has been a tough go for Staal at times the past seven years. Traded to APRIL 27, 2019 03:18 PM Carolina by the Pittsburgh Penguins in June 2012, he hoped to join his brother, Eric, in leading the Canes to postseason success. That didn’t

happen and Eric, long a franchise player and the team captain, was Jordan Staal is the strong, silent, dependable type of player that coaches traded. For Jordan, that was a downer. appreciate and teammates admire. Last season, Jordan and his wife, Heather, had an infant daughter die The Carolina Hurricanes center isn’t into fanfare or hyped-up acclaim. because of a terminal birth defect. Jordan kept the situation private, even He’s strictly low maintenance. Put him in the lineup every game, line him from teammates, until Hannah’s death in February. other against the other team’s best forwards, give him his minutes and The concussion this season wasn’t the first of his career. Still, another watch the 6-foot-4, 220-pounder work. setback, another challenge. But Canes captain Justin Williams says he has noticed a difference in But the Canes are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2009, Staal this season, and especially in the Stanley Cup playoffs. And, no, it’s coincidentally the year Jordan Staal won the Stanley Cup with the Pens, not just that Staal is scoring big goals -- the biggest Friday in overtime to beating Carolina in the Eastern Conference finals. He feels good, about beat the New York Islanders 1-0 in Game 1 of their second-round himself, about his team. Eastern Conference series at Barclays Center. “He’s a real caring individual and he’s got confidence now,” Brind’Amour “You can make a case for Jordan for MVP of this team,” Williams said. said. “And that’s look out, right?” “He just does everything for us and you just don’t doubt that he’s going to get it done, ever. He’s such an integral part of this team, it’s silly. News Observer LOADED: 04.28.2019 “He’s getting a little bit more vocal, which I’m loving to see but he is more of a quiet leader. I think we’ve got a pretty good leadership group and he’s a huge part of that.”

Staal won’t be the kind to stand up to give impassioned locker-room speeches during games. That’s not his style. Even when he was being chirped by forward Jordan Martinook on a Canes vlog after Friday’s game -- “We’ve got the OT hero right beside me,” Martinook said -- Staal just reacted with a smile and a thumbs-up, letting Martinook do all the talking.

So why a little more vocal?

“I don’t know,” Staal said. “I don’t know that there’s any more reason for it. I think the guys are a little more confident with seeing me as a leader and believing what I’m saying and how to play.

“I guess I’ve been in the playoffs before. I know how it works. It’s a grind. It’s investing every game, all that stuff.”

Few players invest more than Staal. He always has the physical presence. When he wants to separate an opposing player from the puck, there’s usually a separation. If there’s a big faceoff, especially in the defensive zone, he usually takes it and often wins it.

Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour has said that Staal is an underrated player offensively, that he’s the kind who seems to get few breaks around the net. The effort is there, just not the reward, as coaches like to say.

But with the Canes trailing the Washington Capitals 3-2 in the third period Wednesday, in Game 7 of their series, Staal delivered. Unleashing a shot from the right circle, he beat goalie Braden Holtby to the far side with a perfectly placed top-shelf shot, Holtby looking back over his shoulder in dismay. The Canes won in double overtime 4-3 on Brock McGinn’s goal.

Against the Islanders, Staal was in the right spot to take the right shot in overtime. After Nino Niederreiter was wide with a shot, the hard carom off the end boards came Staal’s way and he quickly got off a low shot to the right of the net that beat Robin Lehner at the post for the winner.

It was Staal’s fourth goal in the Canes’ eight playoff games, to go with his three assists.

“We went through the game again and he was the best player on the ice,” Brind’Amour said Saturday.

The Canes did not practice Saturday, again opting for more recovery time. Game 2 is Sunday at 3 p.m.

Staal, 30, is so selfless that when he missed a big chunk of the season following a concussion and then lingering concussion symptoms, he hoped he wouldn’t cause any chemistry problems when rejoining the lineup. The Canes, resurgent after New Year’s Eve, had played well without him. 1143222 Carolina Hurricanes

Five points for the Hurricanes going into Game 2

BY LUKE DECOCK

APRIL 27, 2019 02:23 PM

1. CLEAN IT UP Lost in the shuffle of the overtime drama and Petr Mrazek’s performance Friday night was how loose the Hurricanes played in the first two periods, turning the puck over and doing some uncharacteristically sloppy things. Mental fatigue surely played a role, but the Islanders (like the Hurricanes) are built to feast on such mistakes. The Hurricanes need to tighten things up Sunday.

2. NO-NO NINO Since the midpoint of the Washington series, only one of the Hurricanes’ top forwards has yet to have an impact in the playoffs. Nino Niederreiter is still looking for his first goal and has just two points, although he had two great chances Friday – passing up a shot on two- on-one to try to hit the trailer instead, then missing the net on the overtime rush that led to Jordan Staal’s overtime goal. Niederreiter has gotten better as the playoffs have worn on, but he has yet to get back to the clinical finishing he displayed upon his arrival in January. Was Friday a sign that he’s close to breaking through?

3. POWER UP At some point, Rod Brind’Amour is going to have to shake things up on the power play because the Hurricanes’ performance has been abysmal. Friday night was another round of perimeter shooting without screens in front, without any playmaking down low, without any attempt to create a two-on-one anywhere on the ice. The Hurricanes are 3-for-29 in the playoffs. They’re winning in spite of their power play. That’s a dangerous game to play.

4. PETR PRINCIPLE Mrazek’s numbers weren’t great in the first round, which had a little to do with him and a lot to do with how the games were played and the quality of the opposition. Friday was a goaltending masterpiece, and the kind of scrambly game that played to his strengths. (The shutout dropped his goals-against average from 2.53 to 2.22 and his save percentage jumped from a subpar .899 to an palatable .914.) Mrazek is a battler, and the Hurricanes needed that Friday more than they would have Curtis McElhinney’s calm resolve. McElhinney may yet get a chance to play – and nearly did in Game 5 in Washington – but Mrazek is at the top of his game right now.

5. CHARLOTTE’S GOT A LOT The Hurricanes got good minutes from AHL call-ups Patrick Brown and Clark Bishop on Friday with Andrei Svechnikov and Jordan Martinook still out. Midseason call-ups Greg McKegg and Saku Maenalanen also played well, with McKegg having the Hurricanes’ best chance to score in regulation. The Checkers, meanwhile, managed to clinch their first-round playoff series Friday night without Brown and Bishop. It has been a good month for hockey in the Carolinas.

Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk, after a strong regular season, is enjoying his first taste of the Stanley Cup playoffs

News Observer LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143223 Chicago Blackhawks “As much as everyone wants to be an elite team for the next 20 years, with the system we have that’s really an impossibility,” he said, sitting at the head of a long, glass conference table in the Hawks’ fourth-floor Blackhawks’ moment is here, and their rebuild hinges on GM Stan offices at the United Center. “There’s always going to be some type of a Bowman correction. Your job is to try to smooth that out and minimize a dramatic drop-off for a prolonged period of time.

“In order to chase those Cups, you have to spend assets to build your By Jason Lieseremail team. So there’s always a day of reckoning coming. Obviously we dropped from the Nashville series to where we are now, but hopefully 04/27/2019, 06:00am we’re already back on the upswing. This year we were better than last year, and next year I expect us to be better than we were this year. And then we’re back.” Stan Bowman is about to say some unpopular things about the state of the Blackhawks. Because everything Bowman says is unpopular. In order to keep the Hawks’ core intact and fight for championships, Bowman faced difficult choices. He extended Duncan Keith and Brent He’s among the most derided figures on the Chicago sports landscape, Seabrook on massive deals, which were arguably market value at the the scapegoat for the collapse of a dynasty that brought home three time but are questionable now. He shipped out young talent like Artemi Stanley Cups. The great calamity for which he’s responsible? Two Panarin and Teuvo Teravainen in part because the Hawks wouldn’t be consecutive years missing the playoffs under his watch as general able to afford the contracts those players were tracking toward. manager, which not long ago was the norm for this franchise. Playing the results, the Hawks could’ve used Panarin and Teravainen Bowman will say the drop-off, precipitous and shocking as it might have this season. But based on the circumstances at the time, Bowman been, was inevitable and maybe not as apocalyptic as many seem to doesn’t second-guess himself. think. That’ll just further infuriate the fan base, but the truth is all but one Cup winner in the salary cap era has already endured something like “The makeup of our team and the makeup of our competitors — you this. wouldn’t redo those deals,” he said. “I think we were one of the first teams — I guess you could say Los Angeles as well — where this He’ll hit on some other sore spots and many of his explanations will be became a big issue for managing your assets. There are some other dismissed as excuse making or self-serving, and he knows that. But he teams that are bumping right up against it now. has real conviction that this isn’t as bad as it looks and the Hawks are trending the right way. “It’s hard to navigate that without something giving. The whole hope is that you can manage it well enough that you don’t flounder for a long And it’s not that he doesn’t care what anyone thinks. He talks often about time.” giving the city the thrill it craves and chasing the borderline irrational expectations the championship run created. If he catches some shrapnel When the NHL implemented a salary cap in 2005, it became harder for along the way, he can take it. good teams to stay good and bad ones to stay bad. Three of the top four teams in the Western Conference this season weren’t even close to “It doesn’t do me any good to get wrapped up in that, because I know contending when the Hawks won the title in 2015. that if we win, people are gonna be happy,” he told the Sun-Times. “You’ve gotta do what you think is the right thing to do, even if it’s One aspect that makes it difficult to grasp the Hawks’ slide is the optical unpopular. If you do something short-term that you know will be popular illusion of them looking almost identical to the title teams at first glance. but it turns out to be a disaster… the people that applaud it that day will Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Corey Crawford, Keith and Seabrook are come back and criticize you later. still out there every night.

“You have to do what, in your heart, you believe is the best for the team But that isn’t enough. Even if they all played at their best for another in the long term. Sometimes it’s unpopular.” decade, it wouldn’t be enough. The best players only play about one-third of the game, and that’s where selling off future depth to go all-in on the He says it with minimal emotion, simply stating the facts as he sees present caught up with the Hawks. them. That’s always been his disposition, and it’s no surprise he meshes with coach Jeremy Colliton. Was it worth it? Bowman would nod to the championship banners and say yes, but it’s not a question he asks himself. He’s preoccupied by If there was ever temptation to do something impulsive for the sake of every tedious step involved in hunting the next one. public approval, it would’ve been during this two-year dip. The Hawks had the best record in the Western Conference in 2016-17, got swept by Disastrous defense the Predators in the first round and plummeted to the bottom of the NHL. Any discussion about restoring the Hawks must begin at their end of the They salvaged this season with a second-half push that got them to 36- rink. They were the No. 2 defense in their last championship season, 34-12, which was 20th in the league and six points out of a playoff spot. then dropped dramatically.

That failure doesn’t make Bowman desperate. He isn’t fretful about job They were still 11th in 2016-17, then plunged to 23rd last season and security, nor does he think a splashy summer in free agency is totally 30th of 31 in this one. Colliton isn’t easily exasperated, but reached his necessary. He promised to be aggressive and has the cap space to do limit two weeks ago when they allowed 50 shots on goal in a season- so, but any move will be carefully calculated. ending loss to the Predators. He sent a warning.

“I have highs and lows like anybody does, but in my job, when you get “Having the opportunity to start the season with a training camp and to too emotional is when you make poor decisions,” he said. “You’re going have the time to establish a standard, that allows you to be a little more to make fewer mistakes when you stay steady and exhale and assess it. direct and aggressive about enforcing how we need to play to win,” he said. “If you want to fix something, you have to understand really what the problem is. If you take a quick reaction that’s a little bit off and you act on With Colliton trying to install on the fly, the Hawks finished second-worst it and go the wrong path, it’s hard to undo that.” in goals and shots allowed and gave up by far the most five-on-five high- danger scoring chances. From mid-December to mid-March, when they Long fall from the top went 23-12-4, they scored and allowed the second-most goals in the NHL. That’s not sustainable. Bowman sounds like a politician at times as he tries to steer conversations toward budding progress rather than sulking in the mess of Here comes another highly flammable Bowman opinion: He thinks the the last two seasons. Hawks can turn it around with essentially the same crew of defensemen.

It’s genuine, though, and he doesn’t bother rehashing everything that They have Keith under contract through 2022-23 and Seabrook through transpired during the Hawks’ fall because he knew it was coming one the season after that on contracts largely protected by no-movement way or another. His aim was to hold it off as long as he could and shift clauses. Connor Murphy is signed for $3.9 million annually through 2021- out of it as quickly as possible. 22, and Erik Gustafsson hits free agency in a year. There’s little maneuverability. And Bowman somehow doesn’t think that’s scouting top-tier players because they were in last place for so long early a problem. in the season. They’re ramping up evaluations now with more clarity, but they had an idea of who they’d want at this spot in December. “That’s something people have a hard time grasping,” he said. “What was is not always a perfect indicator of what will be.” While the pick is a big trade asset, too, there’s almost no chance of that happening. Bowman will take anyone’s phone call, but it’s a near- He’s acutely aware of every team’s trajectory at all times, and just in case certainty the Hawks will use their selection rather than try to parlay it into everybody hasn’t been studying the New York Islanders’ defense the last something else. two years, he’s happy to offer a quick sketch: same defensemen, new goaltender, new coach — substantial improvement. “There’s not enough good players in the league,” Bowman said. “There’s a shortage of stars. You have to draft them in order to get them. Why The Islanders were way out of the playoffs a year ago, but leapt to 48-27- would a team that has a superstar trade that player to get someone who 7 and swept the Penguins in the first round last week. They went from isn’t at that player’s level yet? It’s an unlikely scenario, so I’m not really dead last in goals allowed, shots against, penalty kill and five-on-five focused on it.” high-danger chances against to average or better in every category. They allowed the fewest goals in the NHL this season. The Hawks will make this pick without taking into account anyone on their current roster or any plans they have for free agency and trades. It’ll Their situation wasn’t that different than the Hawks’ other than they were be driven entirely by talent, regardless of position and need. slightly younger. The draft is an often-overlooked strength of Bowman’s. He got Alex Their top seven defensemen this season were already in the DeBrincat at No. 39. Teravainen, Ryan Hartman and Nick Schmaltz all organization, and the only newcomer was a rookie. The Hawks have went 18th or later. Brandon Saad was a second-rounder. That’s a lot of Adam Boqvist, the No. 8 overall pick last year, in the pipeline. hits with mediocre selections. Now he gets his first crack at a top-three Robin Lehner was second in the NHL in save percentage this season choice. and was a major upgrade at goalie, but the improvement in shots against Bowman hopes that’s just one element of what comes together in this and high-danger chances didn’t have anything to do with him. The Hawks pivotal summer. The possibilities are there: an elite rookie, enough cap might get a similar boost if Corey Crawford stays healthy next season. space to pursue meaningful free agents and a rising coach who gets a Bowman believes coach Barry Trotz was instrumental after taking over full shot at laying out his vision rather than the haphazard situation he for Doug Weight, and the Hawks are heading into Colliton’s first full walked into in November. season running the team. This is the most momentum the Hawks have had in the last two years.

It’s not a step-by-step guide for the Hawks, but it’s plausible to Bowman Bowman’s planning has always been well-reasoned, but hasn’t always that his team could pull off that type of transformation. worked out. This time it must. He can’t stomach the thought of this rough “People would say that sounds good but that doesn’t ever happen,” he patch turning into the team being “irrelevant for seven years” and wasting said. “And my point would be that it can happen — it just did happen.” what looks like a promising second act for Kane and Toews. His opportunity is here, and everything is riding on it for the Hawks. Seabrook is the elephant in the room, and Bowman probably takes more heat for the eight-year, $55 million contract that runs through age 39 than Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 04.28.2019 any other move. The advanced stats on him the last two seasons are ugly.

At the season wrap-up, Bowman swerved from a question on Seabrook’s play by pointing to Toews’ resurgence. The message between the lines was that the Hawks need Seabrook to have that type of offseason and come back somewhere near peak form.

Seabrook has become the fans’ most popular target other than Bowman. The Hawks want more from him, too, but he’s hardly the only reason the defense fell off a cliff.

“It wasn’t that the rest of our team was airtight defensively except Brent Seabrook and he was the one that caused all these goals to go in,” Bowman said. “It was more of a systemic thing. It’s understandable why you’d point to him or question how he could be better… but we’re looking for other players to be better as well.

“It wasn’t like 90 percent of them were caused by ‘this.’ Even if [Seabrook] was dramatically better individually, the team results might not be swayed that much. The reason we gave up a lot of goals this year wasn’t because of one player that had the preponderance of the blame.”

Bowman’s moment is here

The lottery bounce that jumped the Hawks from 12th to third in the upcoming draft was so fortuitous and unlikely that some fans were convinced there must have been a conspiracy behind it.

Seriously, though, it was an incredible break. The Hawks refused to tank, and their late-season run cost them in the lottery. They had nearly a 92 percent chance of staying at No. 12, but hit on a 1-in-13 shot at the top three.

It launched them into a new tier of prospects, picking from the position where they landed Toews in ’06. It’s hugely helpful for a team that’s rebuilding.

“You get a player that could make an impact pretty quickly,” Bowman said. “It could impact next year’s team, but the bigger thing is over the next 10 years, you’re going to have an elite talent in your organization, and it’s not easy to do that.”

This caliber of prospect needs to become a Toews-like contributor for the pick to be a success. Fortunately for the Hawks, they’re well ahead on 1143224 Chicago Blackhawks missed Daniel Sedin's headshot on Duncan Keith, leading to Keith's retaliation and a very violent game that got out of control.

What should not be forgotten in all of this is Vegas blew a 3-1 series lead Rozner: NHL replay could have saved Vegas' Cup hopes and failed with three chances to end it. The Knights also could have killed that major penalty, or limited the damage.

Barry Rozner They could have won the game in overtime. The opportunity was still there for them. The players don't get a free pass. Updated 4/27/2019 3:43 PM The other side of it is replay. A 10-second review would have removed the major penalty. The NHL had the guts to apologize, so maybe they would have done the right thing even in the injured player's home rink, It's as bad a call as you're ever going to see. even with a player helped off the ice and a bloody towel pressed to his There's just no hiding it -- or hiding from it. head.

It was in fact so bad that the NHL -- hardly known for its transparency -- The NBA reviews flagrant fouls because of the damage it can do to a apologized to the Vegas Golden Knights. game or a series. The NHL must now consider the same for majors.

It's the penalty the entire league is still talking about and it will be As for the Knights, until they win a Stanley Cup, it will be very hard to discussed for a very long time, especially given the number of first-round forget what was stolen from them this year because of a bad call. upsets and the path Vegas could see back to the Stanley Cup Final. "You always get better from losing like that," Gallant said. "It's tough to With 10:47 to play in Game 7 Tuesday night and with the Knights ahead swallow, but I'm moving on. We're not going to make excuses." 3-0, Cody Eakin lost a faceoff to the Sharks' Joe Pavelski and gave him a The NHL can never make it right, but adding replay review for majors and routine cross-check to the chest, something that occurs on every faceoff game misconducts would at least be progress. of every game. It's too late to help Vegas, but it's the right thing to do. It's not a minor penalty or even an afterthought. Daily Herald Times LOADED: 04.28.2019 Paul Stastny, close to Eakin and trying to fight through Pavelski to reach the shooting area, barely touched Pavelski in the process, but the Sharks' forward was horribly off balance, fell hard and hit his head on the ice.

It was bad luck for Pavelski. It was two normal hockey plays. It was, in other words, nothing.

Without minimizing the resulting injury, which you wouldn't wish on anyone, no referee is calling anything there in the first period of Game 7 of the regular season, let alone with 10 minutes left in Game 7 of a playoff series.

And there was no call -- until the refs saw Pavelski on the ice, bleeding from the head.

That's when the officials got together and refs Dan O'Halloran and Eric Furlatt called the major and a game misconduct, giving San Jose a five- minute power play.

"It's a (bleeping) joke," said the Knights' Jonathan Marchessault. "It's embarrassing. That's what it is.

"He falls bad. It's unfortunate. I really hope he's OK and he comes back, but that call changes the whole outcome. It changes the whole future for us and the outcome of this year.

"Furlatt said, 'It looks pretty bad.' If it 'looks' pretty bad then clearly you did not see it. It's a joke. I would be embarrassed if I was them."

Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said one of the refs told him that Eakin hit Pavelski "in the face with the stick," which isn't even close to accurate.

Four officials missed the play, saw the blood and overreacted out of fear of the optics. Everyone feels bad for the injured player, but hockey can be dangerous and this was a fluke.

San Jose scored 4 power-play goals in less than four minutes and had the lead after being completely outplayed for 50 minutes.

Vegas tied it late, but lost in overtime. Their season is over.

"Last year we lost in the Stanley Cup Final," Gallant said. "Tonight was tougher than that, the way we lost that hockey game."

Vegas GM George McPhee said the NHL called the next morning and apologized for the penalty. Owner Bill Foley said the admission of guilt came from someone at the league "about as senior as you can get."

"Everyone saw the play and knows what happened," Eakin said. "We can't think about it anymore. Mistakes were made, but it's a fast game. That kind of stuff happens and that's all you can say about it."

It's unlikely to make them feel any better, but the refs were removed from Round 2 series assignments, including O'Halloran, who was on the ice the night of a brutal Blackhawks-Canucks game in March 2012 when he 1143225 Colorado Avalanche Thornton’s goal was a byproduct of turning a blocked shot into a scoring chance whereas Labanc’s goal was an individual effort that allowed him to find a soft spot in coverage.

Gone in 600 seconds: Inside the 10-minute sequence that cost the Avs in Brent Burns’ insurance goal, however, is exactly what Cole referenced Game 1 when describing what makes the Sharks strong at getting to the net front and/or low slot to create high-dangerous scoring chances.

By Ryan S. Clark Apr 26, 2019 Colorado was trying to clear the puck out of its zone when San Jose’s forecheck led to the Sharks regaining possession. Thornton won a corner battle with Cole and played a support pass to Sorensen, who was behind the net. SAN JOSE – Ten minutes. Sorensen sent possession above the left faceoff circle where Burns had Anyone who listened to Jared Bednar’s four-minute long postgame news enough space to survey the ice. He quickly fired a shot on goal that conference heard him say the phrase “10 minutes” at least half-dozen deflected off Avalanche rookie defenseman Cale Makar and past times. Grubauer for a 4-2 lead with a minute left in the frame. There’s a reason. Bednar repeatedly lamented the costly final 10 minutes NBCSN analyst Pierre McGuire, as the goal was being replayed on the of the second period. The Colorado Avalanche held a 2-1 lead until they broadcast, mentioned how the sequence was another example of the allowed one goal. And another. And then another. Soon enough, those Sharks’ “ground-and-pound” approach. three unanswered goals over that specific 600-second sequence were the difference in an eventual 5-2 loss Friday to the San Jose Sharks in “They’ve got some D who are pretty active from the point and they’re Game 1 of a Western Conference semifinal at the SAP Center. able to get pucks to the net,” Avalanche forward Alexander Kerfoot said. “Their forwards do a good job of finding space for themselves and getting “It’s the 10 minutes I didn’t like after that at the end of the second,” pucks on sticks. We have to do a little bit of a better job of getting to the Bednar said. “We lost too many races. We didn’t get our numbers to the points, getting in the lanes and also, boxing out.” puck. They started skating in the offensive zone, and we weren’t competitive enough to stay with it for that 10-minute span.” Bednar revisited each of the goals. He said Burns’ goal was a result of a deflection compared to the first two goals which came from quick plays. Bednar, as previously mentioned, kept returning to what became the worst 10-minute stretch the Avalanche have gone through during the Acknowledging those errors was part of the overall discussion from playoffs. Bednar, Cole and Kerfoot.

How did it happen? The Avalanche will practice at 12:30 p.m in San Jose and will certainly use film sessions, along with on-ice tutorials, to address the issues that Each of the three goals was unique but had similarities. Namely the fact hindered them against the Sharks. they were either in the slot or on the edge of what’s one of the more coveted pieces of real estate on the ice. The last time the Avalanche were in this position, they ended up winning four straight games to close out the first round against the Flames. Operating in the slot, however, was part of the Sharks’ larger theme of creating high-danger scoring chances at a strong pace. Speaking of that series, are there any similarities between the Game 1 loss to Calgary compared to this opening-game defeat against San Think back to when the Avalanche fell 4-0 against the Calgary Flames in Jose? Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinal. The Flames finished with eight high-dangerous scoring chances over the course of the game, “I’m going to say it was different tonight,” Bednar said. “We didn’t play as according to Natural Stat Trick. good as we needed to and do enough right things for that 10-minute stretch that really cost us the game.” San Jose? The Sharks had nine high-dangerous scoring chances … in the second period … alone. The Athletic LOADED: 04.28.2019 “They get it back to the point and they pound pucks,” Avalanche defenseman Ian Cole said. “They get three guys going to the net and start whacking away. It’s going to be a challenge. We knew this going into it. They’re a great hockey team. We’re just going to have to respond now.”

A heat map from Natural Stat Trick further illustrates how the Sharks were able to generate the possession needed to create the prime scoring chances that led to their three second-period goals.

Marcus Sorensen was the primary reason why the Sharks tied the game. The forward closed in and pressured Erik Johnson right as he was taking a shot from the lower portion of the left point. Sorensen blocked the Avalanche’s defenseman’s shot and immediately created an impromptu opportunity.

Sorensen carried possession down the wing with forward Joe Thornton trailing down the middle. It was a 2-on-1 that left Samuel Girard on an island.

Girard dove in an attempt to stop Sorensen’s centering pass from making its way to Thornton, who scored the game-tying goal.

Now let’s examine the goal that gave the Sharks a 3-2 lead.

San Jose forward Kevin Labanc deposited the puck through the neutral zone and into Colorado’s portion of the ice. He deked around Avalanche star winger Mikko Rantanen, allowing him to take a few more steps toward Philipp Grubauer.

Labanc was able to fire a shot from the right edge of the slot that beat Grubauer for what proved to be the game-winning goal with 3:58 left in the period. 1143226 Colorado Avalanche

Sharks take advantage of costly mistakes in Game 1 victory over Avalanche

By DJ Stanec - April 27, 2019

There are a few cardinal sins in hockey – things every mini mite learn not to do in their first year.

The Avalanche committed a few of those sins in Game 1 of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the San Jose Sharks. Saying this makes it sound like Colorado played as bad as 6-year-olds, which they didn’t. They played well for the first half of the game.

“I thought we played really well in the first 30 minutes,” captain Gabe Landeskog said after the game. “I thought we were creating chances.”

When Colorado plays fast and uses their speed to apply pressure to opposing teams’ defenseman, they control games. They controlled much of the first period doing exactly that.

“When we’re skating and getting in there first and getting our F2 in there quick, that’s when we’re at our best,” Landeskog continued. “We got away from that a little bit after the halfway mark in the second period after they killed off our 4-minute power play.”

The difference from the first half of the game to the second was Colorado’s mistakes in their defensive zone. This is not a new weakness to the Avalanche. It seems to have been an issue that has plagued the team all season.

Failure to exit their defensive zone has been an issue for the Avalanche most of the season and is one of those dreadful sins Colorado committed. Part of that is the failure to skate the puck and becoming too fancy. When the Avalanche stopped skating and playing a physical game, the Sharks capitalized.

“It’s the 10 minutes at the end of the second that I didn’t like,” Coach Jared Bednar said. “We lost too many races, we didn’t get our numbers to the puck, they started skating in the offensive zone, and we just were committed enough to stay with it.”

San Jose makes teams pay with their hard forecheck and then shooting absolutely everything to the net, which is why if the Avalanche get caught in their zone, it is tough to get out and get a line change or offensive zone pressure.

This game felt very similar to Game 1 against Calgary. The Avalanche played well and controlled the beginning of the game. The difference was that Calgary, and on Friday San Jose, capitalized on the mistakes and lack of speed from the Avalanche.

“We’re going to come out strong for Game 2,” Bednar said, “There’s no question. I think we did enough good things in this game that we can look at and some things that we shot ourselves in the foot and it ended up costing us the game.”

Opening games are always a feeling out of a team. How fresh are they going to be? How fast are they going to play? How physical is this series going to be?

The Avalanche have a chance to make corrections to their game just as they did after Game 1 in the first round. To be successful Sunday night in Game 2, Colorado needs to utilize its speed all game and make sure they are smart in their defensive zone.

Puck drop for Game 2 is set for 5:30 PM PST from San Jose. The Avalanche currently trail in this series, 1-0. milehighsports.com LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143227 Colorado Avalanche

Avs fall to Sharks in San Jose

By Evan Rawal - April 26, 2019

The Colorado Avalanche came out firing early, but the San Jose Sharks have been in this spot before, and it showed. After going down early in the second period, the Sharks responded with four consecutive goals to secure a 5-2 victory on their home ice.

Leading 2-1 in the second period, the Avalanche had a four minute power play that could have given them a stranglehold on the game. Instead, the Sharks killed it off and carried the momentum through the rest of the period, scoring three straight goals and shutting the door in the third. The Avs would register only four even strength shots down by two goals in the third period, as the Sharks kept everything to the outside.

The Avs will need to bounce back in Game 2, much like they did against Calgary in the opening round. The Avs and Sharks meet again on Sunday night (5:30 p.m. MT).

What did we learn from this one?

Philipp Grubauer, although not to blame, had his first sub .900 game in two months. The Avs had plenty of breakdowns in front of him, but he didn’t come up with the big save in the second period when they needed it most. I’m sure he would like the rebound back on the opening goal as well. Regardless, it will be interesting to see how he responds Sunday night.

Erik Johnson had a really rough night, and didn’t see much ice in the third because of it. Johnson’s poor decision in the second period led to a shot block and the tying goal at the other end, which completely changed the game. In the third period, Johnson was dropped to the third pair and didn’t see much ice. He needs to be much better the rest of the series.

Samuel Girard returned to the lineup, and didn’t look like himself. Whether it was the injury still bothering him, or just rust, Girard struggled at times with the puck and didn’t create as much havoc for the Sharks forwards as you would normally see. The Johnson/Girard pair was on the ice for the game-tying and game-winning goals.

Tyson Jost is playing his best hockey in an Avs uniform and needs to be rewarded for it. Jost is skating as well as he ever has for the Avs, but is still barely seeing the ice – playing only 9 minutes in this game, despite an assist early. At some point the staff needs to recognize that he can probably take on more ice, especially in light of Carl Soderberg’s struggles offensively.

It’s a long series. The Avs lost game one in Calgary and came back with adjustments to take control of the series. This is a veteran Sharks team, but there’s no reason to panic just yet. milehighsports.com LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143228 Colorado Avalanche

Call in the Exorcist; Avalanche need something to shoo the Shark Tank Demons

BY ADRIAN DATER APRIL 27, 2019

SAN JOSE, Calif. – From an Avalanche perspective, the record is 2-15-6. From a San Jose Sharks perspective, the record is 21-2-0. Either way for the Avs, the record stinks like a dead skunk in the middle of the road.

The Avs have won two games at the SAP Center, formerly H-P Pavilion, formerly the San Jose Arena, since March of 2009. The record is becoming…a thing. Is it just a fluky thing, or is there really something to this place that gives the Avs the heebie-jeebies and it affects their play? Philipp Grubauer has only experienced three games of those 23 as an Av, and he made it clear he is not a guy who lingers long on previous failures.

“I don’t think any of us is aware of that or any of us is looking at that or anybody cares about that,” Avs goalie Philipp Grubauer said.

The Avs were not a very good team in several of the years since 2009, so they had bad records in a lot of opposing buildings. But two wins in 23 games is…real bad. The Sharks have had a strong home-ice advantage for a long time against many teams, though.

Edmonton coach Ken Hitchcock once said that the SAP Center was the “toughest building to play in” for a visiting team. There are a couple theories as to why: For one thing, the building has a stainless steel interior, so noise ricochets around faster and amplifies noise more.

For another, the Sharks are the team furthest west in the league. So, it takes a long time to get here from most places, and with a late, Western time zone, teams may be just more tired once the games finally start.

But the biggest reason is probably: the Sharks have just had a really good team for, it seems like, forever. Even in the Avs’ glory years from 1995-2002, they had a tough time in this building. The games were always wars, many going to overtime. It’s just a tough, tough place to play wearing a visiting sweater.

But the Avs swear they don’t think about any curse or anything, even the ones who have been here a while.

“I think we’ve played some real good games here actually,” Tyson Barrie said. “We just have to keep grinding and playing our game and put any past stuff behind us.”

Said Grubauer: “In the playoffs, you can’t take one loss too hard. The good thing is, we play another one, and another one, and another one. This group fights through a lot of stuff. We were down a game in Calgary, we were down 2-0 in a couple of games and came back, so it showed the resilience of the team.”

It’s time to fight through whatever this Shark Tank thing is, though. Otherwise, it’ll become an even bigger thing.

OFF-DAY NOTEBOOK

Jared Bednar mixed up his defensive pairings at practice in San Jose today. Cale Makar was paired with Sam Girard, Ian Cole with Erik Johnson and Tyson Barrie with Nikita Zadorov. After practice, though, Bednar said he was undecided whether the pairings would stay the same, and he also said he may use seven defensemen in Game 2, with Patrik Nemeth maybe getting in.

Sunday’s game will be at the unusual time of 4:30 local here, 5:30 Denver time. That’s something Grubauer said he doesn’t mind, though. “It’s better than starting games at 8:45 at night,” he said.

Grubauer said, after watching video as a team, that the Avs made a couple of “simple mistakes, almost lazy mistakes, we need to clean up.”

Carl Soderberg, on the fact that he has yet to score in the postseason; “I need to score too, if we’re to make a run here. We all do. Am I frustrated? No, not really, just gotta stick with it and it’ll come in a game.”

BSN DENVER LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143229 Columbus Blue Jackets Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 04.28.2019

Michael Arace | Heart-pounding win gives Blue Jackets split they need

Michael Arace Apr 28, 2019 at 12:53 AM

Apr 28, 2019 at 12:53 AM

BOSTON — The Blue Jackets did what they came to do here. OK, it took a little extra time, but they’re coming home with a 1-1 road split in their second-round playoff series against the Boston Bruins. Goodness, this is hard. It’s hard on the fans.

The Jackets on Saturday night got a power-play goal from Matt Duchene early in the second overtime and beat the Bruins 3-2 in the new Garden. Actually, it wasn’t Saturday night. Technically speaking, Game 2 ended Sunday morning.

Jackets fans well recall the last time their team played a two-overtime game. The only other two-overtime game in franchise history. It was the pivotal Game 3 of last year’s series against the Washington Capitals. Lars Eller. The Jackets went on to finish blowing a 2-1 series lead.

Maybe, just maybe, that ghost has been exorcised. We shall see as this best-of-seven against the Bruins gets to Nationwide Arena for Games 3 and 4. The first two went overtime. Expect more of the same. Goodness.

Between Games 1 and 2, Jackets coach John Tortorella said this: “I still don’t think we had a lot of guys play well throughout (Game 1).”

And this: “Everyone has talked how it’s physical. It’s just hockey.”

The Jackets as a collective played better in the first period of Game 2 than they did in Game 1 — when they had to shake a week’s worth of rust off themselves. Still, there was an eerie echo: The Bruins once again took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

Torts put his forward lines in a blender.

A bruising tone was set early. There was some hockey played with a physical bent. Riley Nash (by Zdeno Chara), Matt Grzelcyk (by Nash) and David Pastrnak (by David Savard) were among those who were smoked with clean body checks. There was also any number of forays into different genres: sumo wrestling (Brad Marchand with a takedown of Pierre-Luc Dubois), hug-dancing (Torey Krug with Oliver Bjorkstrand) and attempted assassination (the Bruins seemed to have a contract out on Alexandre Texier).

Where both teams were zero-for-four on the power play in Game 1, each cashed in with the man advantage in Game 2. It allowed the game to breathe a bit. The Bruins’ first-period goal was a power-play job scored by Grzelcyk. Early in the second period — with Marchand in the box for cross-checking Texier — Artemi Panarin scored on a wicked one-timer.

The Bruins answered immediately when they scored a funny one (off of Pastrnak’s skate) to take a 2-1 lead. And the Jackets faced a challenge. They were getting leaned on, gummed up in the neutral zone and pushed to the outside of their attack zone. They finally get a puck cleanly past Tuuka Rask — and the Bruins score 58 seconds later.

Then, Anderson took his second penalty of the game, this one a double- minor for drawing Sean Kuraly’s blood with a high stick. Here, the game hinged. Panarin scored four-on-four with another wicked shot, the Jackets went on to kill off the double-minor and there was a discernable difference in their carriage. They looked confident. It was 2-2.

The Jackets were the better team in the second period — which is something that could be said for the first time this series.

The third period was set up to be a closely contested 20 minutes awaiting a bounce. It was, but there was no bounce. The Bruins threatened deep in the third. Nick Foligno had the last clean look of regulation and got off a quality wrist shot. Jackets fans probably had a quick flashback to Game 4 in 2014. Rask gloved it with 16.8 seconds showing on the clock. On to overtime.

Rask robs Foligno (flashback!). Bob robs Patrice Bergeron, two or three times. Bob robs a deflected shot from Chara. Still no bounce. Terrific goaltending, though. On to the second overtime. Pass the defibrillator. 1143230 Columbus Blue Jackets The first overtime was a nonstop thrill ride, both ways, from Rask’s diving glove save to deny Nick Foligno on a 2-on-1 early to a Bobrovsky’s desperate right pad save to turn away Patrice Bergeon’s shot with 2:17 Blue Jackets 3, Bruins 2, 2OT | Jackets tie up series on thrilling OT goal left.

Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 04.28.2019

Brian Hedger

Apr 28, 2019 at 12:09 AM

Apr 28, 2019 at 12:09 AM

BOSTON – Before the first body check was even thrown in this series, coach John Tortorella shared his main concern with the Blue Jackets’ long down period that preceded it.

It wasn’t rust. It wasn’t the almost guaranteed period or two it would take to get back up to speed in the playoffs. It was soreness, the kind that only playing intense, hard-hitting games generate.

“That’s where I think they have the advantage going into one here,” Tortorella said of the Boston Bruins, who rolled into the first two games of a second-round series against the Jackets two days after ousting the Toronto Maple Leafs. “We’re not in that state of mind. I think as the series gets going, yeah, we’ll get there — but we can’t wait.”

Well, they ought to be there now after a bone-crunching, teeth-rattling Game 2 on Saturday night at TD Garden — where the Blue Jackets outlasted the Bruins in double overtime, 3-2, to split the first two games as the series shifts to Nationwide Arena for the next two. Matt Duchene won it with a goal at 16:18 of the second overtime session.

Artemi Panarin had two goals and Seth Jones two assists, and Sergei Bobrovsky made xx saves for the Jackets in the latest of his strong postseason performances.

Matt Grzelcyk and David Pastrnak scored goals in regulation for the Bruins, who got xx saves from Tuuka Rask.

The tenor of the entire game was set on the first shift, when the Bruins started hunting for kill shots with their body checks. Towering defenseman Zdeno Chara sent Riley Nash flying — and then hobbling to the bench — 27 seconds into the game with a huge shoulder to the chest.

About four minutes later, Bruins defenseman Connor Clifton hit his target, backing into Oliver Bjorkstrand in the right-wing corner of the Boston zone so hard that Bjorkstrand’s helmet popped off before he landed, hard, on his backside.

The Bruins landed more hits in the period, but only by a slim margin (20- 18) – as the Blue Jackets fought back with several big ones of their own.

Boston also took a 1-0 lead on Grzelcyk’s power-play goal at 7:50, which happened with Josh Anderson stewing in the penalty box after an interference call that caused him to smack his stick so hard on the ice the sound echoed into the rafters.

The Jackets finished the period with a 9-6 advantage in shots, but most came from the boards on each wing, playing right into the Bruins’ defensive game plan.

A wild scrum after the horn sounded to end turned the tide, though, resulting in a cross-checking penalty that put Brad Marchand in the box to start the second. Panarin scored his first of the game on that power play, tying it at 1, and the Blue Jackets gained some steam.

Pastrnak stole the thunder back just 58 seconds later, credited with a goal that Charlie Coyle shot off his skate blade to make it 2-1, but the Jackets started to take over in the remainder of the period, similar to Game 1.

The Jackets also got a big lift out of Anderson’s second penalty of the game, a high-sticking double minor that drew blood from the cheek of Dublin’s Sean Kuraly and negated a power play.

Panarin tied it with his second goal during the ensuing 4-on-4 time and the Blue Jackets killed off the Bruins’ remaining 2:59 of power-play time.

It stayed scoreless in the third, only because of the goalies and numerous blocked shots, including one by Boone Jenner with 7:51 left to help kill a Bruins power play with Cam Atkinson in the box for tripping. 1143231 Columbus Blue Jackets

Blue Jackets look for more from Josh Anderson

Adam Jardy

Apr 27, 2019 at 10:22 PM

Apr 27, 2019 at 10:22 PM

BOSTON — It’s never difficult to notice Josh Anderson on the ice. A linebacker on skates, the forward brings a 6-foot-3, 221-pound frame and a dangerous scoring ability to the Blue Jackets each time he steps on the ice.

As captain Nick Foligno put it earlier during the postseason, “When he doesn’t (bring his complete game), it’s noticeable because he’s a big guy skating around the ice and when he does, he’s really noticeable because he’s a big guy skating around the ice.”

After Game 1 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden, coach John Tortorella said Anderson needs to be noticed more.

“Josh has to be a guy that brings attention to himself,” Tortorella said Saturday morning. “That’s the best way to describe him, and I’ve said that about him from day one. He’s a very important guy in this series, and he’s one of the guys that needs to be better in Game 2.”

Against the Bruins on Thursday, Anderson finished with four hits and one takeaway and was on the ice for 18:07. He did not attempt a shot on goal.

The need to be noticed more has as much to do with that as with his physicality.

“I think just wanting the puck more and carrying it and protecting it and working it down low,” he said. “I think that’s a strength of my game. It’s not all about hitting and being on the forecheck. I’ve got to create some more space for myself and get open and try to find the puck as much as I can and go to the net.”

The Bruins set an early tone, doling out multiple hits and outshooting the Jackets 14-4 during the first period. Forward Riley Nash said later that “when you’re turning pucks over and you’re chasing their butts, your legs don’t feel good doing that.”

Although sometimes a few early hits help get his game going, Anderson said he didn’t feel he spent too much time looking to deliver a few checks in the opening period.

“The forecheck just wasn’t there,” he said. “We were playing too much in our own end. I think that if we’re playing a little bit closer together and supporting each other I think that we’ll have the puck on our sticks a lot more.”

Tortorella was quick to point out that Anderson was far from alone in not performing up to expectations in Game 1, but Anderson said he recognizes that his individual performances go a long way toward helping the Jackets win.

“We’ve got a couple guys on the team like myself and once one guy does it, the physical play, other guys like to follow,” he said. “We’ve got to continue to play like (that) and support each other out there and also be hard on the body.”

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Blue Jackets | Markus Nutivaara practices before sitting out Game 2

Adam Jardy Apr 27, 2019 at 1:41 PM

Apr 27, 2019 at 10:21 PM

BOSTON — Markus Nutivaara missed his fourth straight game Saturday night, but at least he’s back in skates.

The defenseman, who suffered an upper-body injury against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, participated in the Blue Jackets’ optional morning skate Saturday at TD Garden ahead of Game 2 of a second-round series against the Boston Bruins. It was his first skate since Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov injured him with a hit that drew a one-game suspension.

“You’ve got to get in shape,” Nutivaara said. “These games are hard and long, so you’ve got to be ready when you step in.”

When that might happen is unclear, but he’s starting to shake off the effects of the hit, which forced him to watch the final two games of the first-round series in the locker room.

“It makes me want to play so hard, so I watched those games from the TV,” Nutivaara said. “It’s hard to watch. You want to play these games so bad. I’m just trying to get in shape now.”

The injury occurred late in a 5-1 win at Amalie Arena. Kucherov tripped Nutivaara in the corner, followed him and smashed his upper body and head against the wall before he could get to his feet. Nutivaara, who declined to reveal the exact injury, has watched the video.

“It looked way worse than it was,” he said. “First time (that’s happened to me). I guess you’ve got to be ready for that, too.”

Nutivaara took warmups before Game 3 of that series but didn’t play.

“I just wanted to play so bad, so I wanted to give another shot at it,” he said. “Hardest choice that I had. It’s my decision. I decided I didn’t want to hurt the team. If I can’t play 100%, I don’t want to be on the ice and (make) a mistake that could cost us the game.”

The hope now is to return to action at some point in this series. Adam Clendening filled in the last three games and has one assist and a plus-2 rating.

“You never know,” Nutivaara said. “I feel good now. You want to be on the ice all the time. I’m so hyped, go on the ice (at the skate), pass the puck, shoot the puck, be with the guys.”

Watching, waiting

Vladislav Gavrikov got his first live look the Stanley Cup playoffs in Game 1 of the Bruins series and liked what he saw, even if it was from the press box at TD Garden instead of ice level.

“Good atmosphere,” the 23-year-old Russian defenseman said after participating in the morning skate. “Second round of the playoffs started. Boston won, but I think (in Game 2) we have a good chance to win.”

Gavrikov arrived in Columbus last week, after the conclusion of his season with SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League. He has practiced, including the Jackets’ open scrimmage Monday at Nationwide Arena, but has yet to make his debut in a game.

While he waits, Gavrikov is studying the team’s systems from both the press box and team video breakdowns.

“The guys won against Tampa, 4-0, so the system is good, but you need to work all the time,” he said. “When you’re on the ice, you need to work hard. I think that’s the key.”

Primetime

The game Saturday was an NBC broadcast in primetime — national attention the Blue Jackets aren’t used to getting. This was the first time they have appeared on NBC’s main network this season, after playing just once on NBC last year in Game 5 of the first round against the Washington Capitals. 1143233 Columbus Blue Jackets

Blue Jackets | 'There’s no time to get upset,' Zach Werenski says

Brian Hedger Apr 27, 2019 at 5:00 AM

BOSTON — It happened in a flash, as most things do in hockey.

The Boston Bruins chipped a puck into the neutral zone in overtime against the Blue Jackets at TD Garden, and that "flipper” started a sequence that put them in a 1-0 hole in their second-round playoff series with a 3-2 loss.

The puck landed with a thud, Zach Werenski briefly poked it away from Danton Heinen, but it still slid forward, slowly, appearing at live speed to cross the blue line after the Bruins forward. If that had been the case, the play would have been offside and blown dead.

That wasn’t the case, though, and the Bruins made the Blue Jackets pay for a split-second decision Werenski made, putting his right hand up and stopping for a fraction of a second to alert the linesman.

Did he think the play was offside?

“In the heat of the moment, I did,” Werenski said after practice Friday in advance of Game 2 on Saturday night. “I guess I can’t worry about that, though. I’ve just got to keep playing. There’s nothing I can do about that now.”

He spoke for himself, but also a team that was off its top game after a long layoff between series.

Now, largely because of it, the Jackets are in a spot they haven’t been since 2017: down 1-0 on the road for the first time since losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1 on April 12, 2017, at PPG Paints Arena.

“There’s no time to get upset,” Werenski said, thinking back to the sting of watching Charlie Coyle wheel around him to score the winner. “I’m (mad) at what happened. It sucks. You never want to make the mistake that ends up in the back of your net, but unfortunately for me, that’s kind of how it went. I’ve just got to move past it.”

That’s easier to do after victories, of course, compartmentalizing each game into its own secure box. Losses are different, especially when they occur in the playoffs — and doubly so in overtime.

That, however, is what Werenski and the Blue Jackets have to do. After sweeping the heavily favored Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round, experiencing little adversity, they are already cornered by the Bruins.

“I can’t go back and change what happened,” said Werenski, who was also on the ice when Coyle scored the tying goal late in the third period. “I can’t go back and play that any differently. I just have to move on and try to help the team win (Saturday). And I think that’s how a lot of guys feel.”

It’s how a lot of them probably should feel, too.

The only one who was sharp coming out of the time off was goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, and the Jackets are fortunate that was the case. Otherwise, it could have been a Bruins rout. His performance, plus a stretch of nearly 20 minutes in the middle of the game, are what the Jackets took out of Game 1, along with some further lessons learned.

“There’s no excuses next game,” said Cam Atkinson, one of the Jackets’ veterans who knows what a 1-0 series deficit feels like. “We should all have our legs and be feeling good. We’re just going to play with confidence and continue.”

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Michael Arace | Blue Jackets want series to be a grind

Michael Arace Apr 27, 2019 at 5:00 AM

BOSTON — The Blue Jackets shocked the hockey world and became America’s Team when they swept the mighty, 62-victory Tampa Bay Lightning out of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. After nine days between games, they came to Boston with a well-defined goal: Take at least one of the first two games on the road and get this best-of- seven series back within range of an 1857 Napoleon cannon.

They let Game 1 of their second-round series slip from their grasp in the third period, and in overtime, Thursday night. They lost to the Bruins 3-2, and the question now is this: Did they blow their best shot in Game 1? The game was right there for them.

Despite playing as if sedated for 20-plus minutes, the Jackets had a 2-1 lead deep into the third period. A defensive misread by Seth Jones led to the tying goal late in regulation. A defensive mistake by Zach Werenski led to the winning goal in overtime. A third-line center, Charlie Coyle, took advantage of both errors.

Now, the Bruins are stepping on sticks and licking their chops.

The core of this group has made deep playoff runs — the Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011 and lost in the final in 2013 — and the current roster has been tweaked with the express purpose of taking one last grab at the grail. A window is closing on Zdeno Chara, 42, Patrice Bergeron, 33, David Krejci, 33 on Sunday, and Brad Marchand, 31 next month.

The Lightning is out of the way. The Jackets? Bruins fans look at the matchup as if it were a bye week. Game 1 tickets were farmed out to nieces, nephews and scalpers. Who goes to Game 1's?

The average age of the Jackets is south of 26, and they’ll lose a few more months if and when defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov is activated. The Big, Bad Bruins have to believe they can get into the heads of these naifs, especially after the lesson they imparted in Game 1.

Marchand, who is like Richard III with a bad playoff beard, is in his element. He stepped on and broke Cam Atkinson’s stick in OT on Thursday night. On Friday, he joked that this was an Atkinson effort to dull his skate blade.

And when he was asked about former Bruin Riley Nash’s big hit on Krejci, Marchand said, “I don’t think he had a hit in two years with us. So obviously everybody’s bought into their system.”

And you thought you hated Phil Kessel.

Aside from the fact that the Jackets are America’s Team, one reason this series holds fascination is that these teams are startlingly similar in style. They have talent that will grind. On the eve of the series, there was a prevailing notion that the Bruins were the one team left that could outgrind the Jackets.

The Jackets position is, “We’ll just see about that.” The Jackets believe that attrition is their friend in this series and, to that end, Krejci is day-to- day after the Nash hit, and No. 2 centers are difficult to replace.

Outside of goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, the Jackets weren’t great in Game 1, and they know it. They need more from their top two lines (and a scramble may be in store for Game 2). Here’s another thing to WATCH:

As similarly constructed as these teams may be, the Jackets have at least one thing the Bruins don’t — Josh Anderson. He is the largest vessel, figuratively and literally, of the Jackets’ identity. He is the X-factor, and he did not have an impact on Game 1. If he is on his game Saturday night, the Jackets will have a much better chance of gaining the road split they seek.

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Blue Jackets | Short-handed, Jackets find answers during critical penalty

Adam Jardy

Apr 28, 2019 at 5:18 AM

Apr 28, 2019 at 5:18 AM

BOSTON – The looming sense of dread was palpable inside TD Garden. The 432nd straight sellout crowd had seen their Bruins take a first-period lead and quickly answer a tying goal from the Blue Jackets with one of their own to claim a 2-1 lead in the second game of the second-round Stanley Cup playoff series, and more was in the offing.

With the Jackets on the power play, Josh Anderson negated most of it when his stick slashed the face of Boston’s Sean Kuraly and sent him to the penalty box for a double minor at 7:37. That ensured that, in about one minute, Boston would be enjoying a three-minute man advantage with a one-goal lead.

Then out of nowhere, forward Artemi Panarin netted his second goal of the game with about 30 seconds of four-on-four hockey remaining. Then the Jackets killed off the entirety of the penalty.

It was a pretty big turn of events.

“It’s an important part of the game, that’s for sure,” coach John Tortorella said. “Could’ve gotten away from us there. Bread scores a huge goal 4-on-4 and I just liked our desperation as far as killing the penalties, blocking shots. Really important part of the game.”

Tortorella did lament the fact that the penalty was another taken in the Jackets’ offensive zone, a growing point of contention for the coach during the series. But again, the Jackets found an answer and flipped the script on their opponent like in Game 1 at Tampa Bay, when a shorthanded goal helped change the momentum of the series.

Panarin’s goal, assisted on by Seth Jones, came out of seemingly nothing. The forward sniped the puck past Tuukka Rask from a seemingly impossible angle to deflate the growing momentum inside the arena. It was his sixth straight postseason game with a point, the longest such streak in Jackets history.

But then there was still the matter of the penalty to kill.

“I was so proud of our group because I thought our penalty killers just dug in and found a way to get that done, because that could’ve been a whole different (ending),” captain Nick Foligno said. “We score there and come back to tie it and (if) they score one, that could really change the tides. It was nice to be able to kill that. I think it gave us confidence and got our game going.”

Following the Panarin goal at 8:01 of the second, the teams would skate the next 54:17 without a goal until Matt Duchene’s rebound of a Panarin shot at 3:42 of the second period sent the Jackets home with the 3-2 win.

“That was big for us,” Jones said. “It gave us some momentum going forward. They scored a power play goal earlier in the game so it was great to kill those three minutes, get the four-on-four goal, great shot by Bread and then kill those big three minutes off was huge for us.”

Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143236 Columbus Blue Jackets Sergei Bobrovsky — perhaps the best playoff performance of his career

About a year ago, Bobrovsky made 50-some saves in a Game 2 double- overtime win over the Washington Capitals. He was damn good in that Blue Jackets Report Cards — Game 2 vs. Boston game, but we’re giving the nod for best outing to this gem of a performance tonight. There aren’t enough superlatives to describe what he did tonight, but it was the biggest reason the Blue Jackets are in a 1-1 By Alison Lukan Apr 27, 2019 series. His most difficult save, ironically, may have been the Francisco Lindor-esque pick that he made on a dump-in during the first overtime.

This was goaltending at its finest. It took 83 minutes and 42 seconds of play, but the Jackets got their first Artemi Panarin — two goals, a huge assist and a much-awaited arrival in win of the conference semifinal in Game 2 in Boston on Saturday night. It the series started off with a first period that seemed hellbent on proving the theory that this would be a physical series; but, after the initial 20, boosted by an This was a much better game from Panarin tonight, aside from the two ever-strong penalty kill, the Jackets seemed to find their game and were goals he scored. He worked harder, found his way into space and made rewarded with a 3-2 double-overtime victory. plays. He was involved in all three Blue Jackets goals, but his best play might have been the final one: his rocket one-timer barreled off Tuukka This one had a little bit of everything, so let’s dive into how Rob Mixer Rask’s pads into the feet of Duchene, who kicked to his stick and buried and I evaluated Saturday’s contest. the winner. He played 32 (!) minutes in Game 2. How did the team look? Need more? We could watch this goal all day. What a shot.

5-on-5 — 䈏䈏䈏䈏 Seth Jones — two big assists and 38 minutes for the guy Torts calls “The Let’s get this out of the way — the first period was a slugfest in which Engine” players were throwing bodies around often, seemingly more focused on Just a ridiculously impressive showing from Jones tonight. My goodness, hitting one another than trying to chase down the puck. But for the this guy is quickly becoming one of the best defensemen in the NHL, and balance of the game, things seemed to settle down, and the Jackets a lot of people saw it in Game 2. He played nearly 40 minutes, set up the performed admirably. Boston had more shot attempts (+5), but it was double-OT winner and controlled the quality part of the game with a +3 advantage Columbus when it came to scoring chances (+6) and high- scoring chances margin. At times, it felt like you could feel him willing the danger attempts (+3). Crazily enough, however, not one of the Jackets team to drive play. Reputations are made in the postseason, and Jones goals came in 5-on-5 play. is on his way.

There are still tweaks to be made here. It took some time to see a Dean Kukan — 25 minutes, 58 percent Corsi, some serious composure semblance of the dominant forecheck that the Jackets showed against in a big spot the Lightning, and there needs to be better execution in passing and winning the 1-on-1 battles because Boston is certainly not going to give John Tortorella made certain to highlight Kukan’s game in his postgame Columbus a lot of ice. news conference, and for good reason. The young Swiss defenseman has really given the Blue Jackets a boost and a shot in the arm on “Each team wants to set a tone,” Nick Foligno said. “(In the first period) defense as they’re struggling with injuries. He was poised, solid and not they were running over us; we were running over them. (Then) we settled afraid to carry the puck tonight — and against a team like Boston that in and started to make plays. (We) stopped running out of position. (We loves to pressure, that escapability is a huge asset. need to walk) that fine line of physicality and control.” Nick Foligno — 27 minutes, two shots and two of the game’s best Power Play — 䈏䈏䈏䈏 chances

There was a bit of concern regarding Columbus’ power play after it went Aside from the obvious moments — the two glorious chances that were 0-for-4 in Game 1. Were we back to a power play that struggled in the turned away by Rask — Foligno had his best game of the playoffs in regular season? People wondered if the 50 percent conversion rate we Game 2. He was fast and physical, and his line was able to create saw in the Tampa Bay series was a mirage instead of a new standard. offense (six total scoring chances at 5-on-5) and drive play against the And while the Jackets’ play with the man advantage was inconsistent Bruins, who did the opposite to Columbus in Game 1. Foligno nearly Saturday (let’s not talk about that PP in OT1), they also found a way to ended the game late in regulation, then had the best non-goal chance get back to converting half their chances. Columbus scored two goals on early in the first overtime, but he just couldn’t elevate the puck over four power-play opportunities, including the Matt Duchene game-winner. Rask’s pad.

Penalty Kill — 䈏䈏䈏䈏䈏 Boone Jenner — seven shots on goal, 22:54 and +4 in scoring chances (this is good!) If we could award more than five stars for Saturday’s penalty kill performance, we surely would. The Jackets’ PK has been among the top Whatever magic Tortorella sprinkled on his fourth line before these in the league all season for a reason. While Saturday they allowed one playoffs, he should spread it to the rest of his lines. The fourth line has goal against in four chances, they also provided what arguably was the been a pain in the ass over the last six games and has made a difference catalyst to Columbus finding their game and ultimately winning in Boston. for the Blue Jackets, especially in this series. Jenner was great tonight, firing seven shots on Rask (including a couple of grade-A chances) and In the second period, Josh Anderson took a double-minor for high- driving play against some tough competition and defensive-zone starts. sticking Sean Kuraly, which not only negated a Columbus power play but also created a 2:46 window in which the Jackets would have to play a Brandon Dubinsky — excellent penalty killing and defensive zone work, man down, with one of their best penalty killers in the box. again

Boy, did they respond. Tied 2-2, the Jackets did indeed kill off the penalty It’s a shame we’re writing this late into the night after Game 2, because while allowing zero shots on goal — and creating two of their own! — in Dubinsky’s best work might have been his postgame quote to Jerod that almost three-minute span. Columbus would go on to allow just two Smalley of NBC 4 Columbus. He proclaimed Nationwide Arena would be shots through the entire 6:22 they played a man down. Compare that to a “hell of a lot louder than it was here in Boston” mere minutes after the the six shots against that the Boston PK gave up in over a minute-and-a- Blue Jackets ended the game. Great stuff. But seriously, Dubinsky has half less of ice time. been great in these first two games, and the fourth line has been given hefty minutes for a reason. They’re driving play and providing energy. “Our penalty kill has given us a spark (all season),” Foligno said. “We take a lot of pride in that.” BRANDON DUBINSKY FOR PRESIDENT. #CBJ PIC.TWITTER.COM/Y7VLOCTLRF Image from MoneyPuck.com — 1ST OHIO BATTERY (@1STOHIOBATTERY) APRIL 28, 2019 Player Reports 䈏䈏䈏䈏 Best player on the ice: Matt Duchene — The biggest goal of his NHL career? No arguments Tortorella mentioned postgame the Blue Jackets are going to need “more accepted guys going” as they get deeper in this series. You can’t help but think Dubois is one of those he’s talking about. His game has been You can tell that Duchene is thriving on this opportunity with the Blue slooooooooow to come around in the playoffs — he was better tonight, Jackets. On the whole, his line did well to generate offense, and more aggressive, and had chances. They’ll start there, but if he’s going to Duchene finished +3 in high-danger chances (zero against). Individually, center a top line, he’s going to need to create some offense … soon. too, he’s seemingly gotten better as these playoffs have continued — potting a big one tonight to even the series at 1-1. Panarin’s shot Cam Atkinson — two assists, 28:44, three shots on goal rebounded off the goalie’s pads, and Duchene was well-positioned to tuck in the loose puck. He’ll be the first to tell you this, but Atkinson hasn’t had his best stuff in the first two games of this series. Still, he’s had an impact. He had two You also have to appreciate the patience and skill that Duchene showed assists tonight, including on the Duchene game-winner, and was much before putting the puck in the net. more involved in the offense despite some obvious struggles.

David Savard — 32:26, during all of which he was underappreciated for Josh Anderson — three shots, six hits, but some ill-timed penalties both his play and his beard It’s been a rough start to the second round for Anderson. Tortorella All this guy has done in the playoffs is bring the same game every night keeps talking about how he can be a guy to tilt the series in the Blue and, by and large, the same result has arrived: The Blue Jackets tend to Jackets’ favor, but gosh, we’re two games deep and he’s yet to get have an advantage in puck possession when he’s on the ice, and they revved up. He had moments in Game 1, and his Game 2 will mostly be tend not to give up much defensively. In Game 2, it was more of the remembered for fumbled chances and two bad penalties. They need this same: simple, straight-ahead and few mistakes. That’s a recipe for guy rumbling, stumbling and scoring goals — not spending six minutes in success. the penalty box.

Adam Clendening — three shots, key minutes and a nice little surprise Alexandre Texier — we might be hitting the wall here, folks

We can’t repeat enough just how important it is for the Blue Jackets to There was a big shot of adrenaline for Texier upon entering the lineup have players like Clendening step up in the wake of the injuries on and starring in the sweep over Tampa Bay. But in this series against defense. Clendening played sparingly in the opening round, but in Game Boston, it’s different now. Maybe Texier adjusts and gets straightened 2, he logged 14:40 — which might not seem like much in a four-plus- out for Game 3, but these first two games have seemed way too rich for period game, but those minutes helped get valuable rest for Jones, him. Werenski and Savard. Game Score Riley Nash — two shots on goal, generally steady in all three zones Most important GIF of the night He took a massive hit from Zdeno Chara early in the game, briefly left and then returned to finish the game. That’s postseason hockey in a Final thoughts from the game nutshell: Find a way to keep going, and give everything you’ve got. The As the old saying goes, “you’re never in trouble until you lose one at Blue Jackets are getting a lot from their depth right now, and Nash is a home.” With the Jackets taking Game 2, they’ve gained an advantage big part of it; that fourth line isn’t just playing important minutes, but and we officially have ourselves a series. Coming home with a split is they’re playing in the offensive zone quite a bit — which goes a long way certainly something that can buoy this Columbus squad, and if you’re toward wearing down the opposition. Boston, you have to wonder if all this extra play coming on the heels of a Zach Werenski — 33 hard-fought minutes, positive scoring chance seven-game series against Toronto isn’t going to take a toll. The Jackets differential, which is impressive with only 1.5 hands can — and need to — continue to get sharper in their execution, but the stage is set for them to do some important work at home in Columbus You can tell Werenski is playing through pain. He didn’t shoot the puck come Games 3 and 4. much tonight (or attempt to, even), which isn’t a surprise given the blocked shot off his left hand in Game 1. But he’s another guy who keeps Final Grade: B+ plugging along, and obviously, he felt good enough to play big-time — Data via NaturalStatTrick.com and Evolving-Hockey.com. All numbers minutes in all situations. represent 5-on-5 play, unless otherwise stated. This post relies heavily Scott Harrington — 18 minutes, three shots, and strong PK work on shot-based metrics. Here is a good primer on these numbers.

There’s a reason Brad Shaw trusts Harrington to kill penalties. For the The Athletic LOADED: 04.28.2019 most part, he keeps it simple and is willing to make the tough plays like blocking shots, laying out for passing lanes and winning battles. He’s not a flashy player by any means, but he’s been key to the Blue Jackets’ penalty killing success, and he saw increased minutes in a solid Game 2.

Oliver Bjorkstrand — two shots, some good shifts, but not enough chances

Bjorkstrand bounced around a bit tonight as Tortorella tried to find combinations that worked, and it may have thrown off the player’s rhythm. He wasn’t as sharp as we saw him in the opening round, and perhaps he’s adjusting to what’s become a completely different series. One change, which affects a player like him: less ice available. Tonight, Bjorkstrand worked hard to create shooting opportunities and had a few good looks blocked or deflected wide as well.

Alexander Wennberg — 16 minutes, three blocked shots, PK machine

Sitting a player like Ryan Dzingel isn’t fun or easy for a head coach, but Tortorella made an equally tough call to get Wennberg back in. He said the Blue Jackets were “out of time” with Wennberg late in the season as he struggled through a tough year, but in the playoffs, the Swede finally got his chance in Game 2 of the second round. You know what? Wennberg played pretty well; his best work was on the penalty kill, disrupting passing lanes, winning battles and managing the clock. We’ll have to wait and see if he’s back for Game 3, but you’d think it’s likely.

Pierre-Luc Dubois — 22 minutes, two shots, more noticeable than Game 1 1143237 Dallas Stars

Block or charge? Blues' Jaden Schwartz insists his third-period goal was clean; Stars' Ben Bishop tried to block

By Dave Luecking , Special contributor

ST. LOUIS -- Initially, the question was whether the puck went into the net on Blues winger Jaden Schwartz' goal 1:48 into the third period. Replays clearly indicated the puck clearly went into the net before bounding out off the back post, and referees called it a good goal.

But the NHL war room in Toronto, which reviews goals, wanted a further look to determine whether Schwartz had interfered with Stars goalie Ben Bishop as he deflected home Parayko's shot. Schwartz had collided with Bishop and spun him around as the puck went into the net. Upon further review, the goal ultimately was upheld.

After the game, Schwartz suggested the contact between him and Bishop was the result of the goalie's move as he drove the net.

"He tried blocking me, tried getting in my way a little bit," Schwartz said.

Berube also questioned Bishop's antics on a roughing-the-goalie penalty against David Perron with 12:39 to play. Perron had tussled with Ben Lovejoy, then threw an elbow to which Bishop reacted strongly, raising the ire of Berube.

Berube disagreed with the call, calling it "a little bit of a dive by Bishop in my opinion."

Powerless play: The Stars killed all four of the Blues' power=plays in the game.

"We had some good looks, but not enough," Berube said. "We gotta do a better job of traffic on Bishop, taking his eyes away. We got a lot of attempts tonight but not many got through."

Calder time? With Binnington named a finalist for the Calder Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year, both goalies in the series are up for major NHL postseason awards. Last week, Bishop was named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy as the top goalie of the season.

In addition to Binnington, Calder finalists are Buffalo's Rasmus Dahlin and Vancouver's Elias Pettersson. The Islander's Robin Lehner and Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy are the other Vezina finalists.

Dallas Morning News LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143238 Dallas Stars

Desperate times call for desperate measures: Stars capitalize on Blues' mistakes in Game 2

By Dave Luecking ,

ST. LOUIS -- Coach Jim Montgomery wanted the Stars to play with more desperation in the second game than they did in the first of the second- round NHL playoff series against the St. Louis Blues.

The Stars not only did as the coach asked, but the Blues didn't have an answer to the desperation. In fact, they played right into the Stars' hands.

A couple of turnovers, as well as weak 4 on 4 play, cost the Blues three first-period goals en route to a 4-2 Stars victory Saturday at Enterprise Center in St. Louis.

"We've got to make better puck decisions and back our 'D' up," St. Louis coach Craig Berube said. "We made a couple of mistakes, and they capitalized."

Stars center Roope Hintz scored the first goal 7 minutes 11 seconds into the game after Blues winger Pat Maroon lost the puck on Hintz's backcheck while attempting to exit the zone. Stars winger Jason Dickinson held in the puck at the blueline and sent it ahead to Hintz for a quick shot from the high slot.

Blues goalie Jordan Binnington stopped that salvo, but winger Mats Zuccarello swooped in for the rebound, circled the net as Blues defenseman Joel Edmundson fell down, then fed Hintz for the goal from the left circle for a 1-0 lead.

With the squads playing four-on-four 131/2 minutes into the period, defenseman Miro Heiskanen scored after sharp passing by Zuccarello started a rush from the Stars' zone. Deep on the attack, Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo missed connections on a centering pass to Tyler Bozak, and the puck bounded off the boards to Zuccarello, whose quick pass sprung Hintz and Heiskanen for a two-on-one break. Hintz passed to Heiskanen, who stickhandled around Binnington for a 2-0 lead.

Then, after the Blues' Colton Parayko scored at 14:25, Dickinson answered with another 4 on 4 goal, again after a Blues miscue. Defenseman John Klingberg swept the puck away from Blues' center Brayden Schenn on a rush, then Dickinson knocked it away from defenseman Vince Dunn for a rush with Mattias Janmark. They played a little give-and-go, with Janmark beating Binnington at 14:51.

"They're a high offensive team and can capitalize on mistakes," Binnington said.

Berube called the Stars "a good transition team. ... We made a couple turnovers and they transition well. We have to make better decisions there and get it in deep."

Another bad puck decision doomed the Blues in the final minutes. With Dallas holding a slim 3-2 lead, the Blues went on the power-play with 2:45 left and the prospect of a 6-on-4 advantage in pulling Binnington for a sixth attacker. They only needed to keep the puck in the Stars' zone, but lost the puck and Dallas cleared the zone. As a result, the Blues were unable to pull Binnington to get the 6-on-4 advantge for a full minute. By then, it was too late.

"We ended up with the puck on the faceoff, but made a bad play and gave it up," Berube lamented. "If we get the puck there and get set up, we can get our goalie out a lot quicker there."

Dallas Morning News LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143239 Dallas Stars Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov showed up in the period, but so did young Binnington, and that kept the pressure on Bishop. But he outplayed last year's Vezina winner, Pekka Rinne, in the 'Bish-op! Bish-op!' How an aggressive penalty kill, Ben Bishop's first round, and he's capable of doing the same to a hot rookie this time goaltending allowed Stars to tie series vs. Blues around.

The series comes to Dallas at 7 p.m. Monday, dead even in about every way you might try to view this series. In other words, the Stars did their By Tim Cowlishaw , job in the first two games, and anything is possible now.

"You want to get one of the two no matter how you do it," Bishop said. Now the Stars have to try to stop St. Louis from doing the same thing. ST. LOUIS -- I would say Ben Bishop can put his feet up and retire now, that his life is complete. But the Stars would remind me that this thought Dallas Morning News LOADED: 04.28.2019 is premature by 11 wins this spring and perhaps several years (Bishop is 32) still to come.

But on Saturday, while outplaying his opposite, the Blues' talented rookie Jordan Binnington, Bishop heard his name chanted from high in the rafters at Enterprise Arena. The strains of "Bish-op, Bish-op" were not the sounds of love, but it didn't matter since the visitors' penalty kill and the goaltender's big stops led Dallas to a 4-2 victory and a split in the first two games of this Western Conference semifinal series.

"It's pretty crazy to think you were that kid up there in St. Louis screaming [Eddie] Belfour's name, and now you're on the ice and they're screaming your name," Bishop said. "You don't think about it during the game. Never in a million years did I think about it as a kid, that I'd be here playing against the Blues. But it's kinda cool."

Bishop did his best to cool off a St. Louis team that had scored power play goals in five straight games including a Game 1 score that ended the Stars' streak of short-handed stops. Nashville went 0 for 15 on the power play and, on Saturday, the Blues were granted five power plays totaling 9:36. That included a 46-second 5 on 3 overlap in the second period, but the Stars slammed the door on all of it, robbing the Blues of their strength and perhaps a bit of their confidence on the way to Dallas.

Mostly the Stanley Cup playoffs are all about 1 on 1 contests, players now too familiar with each other battling for inches that might provide the two most precious commodities in hockey -- time and space. As Hall of Famer Bob Gainey once explained the playoffs, "It's me and you, buddy."

But man-advantage opportunities are viewed as gifts from heaven. Refs are known to swallow their whistles after the regular season and it gets particularly tough to earn power-play time late in games or especially in overtime.

The Blues got lots of power-play time Saturday and went scoreless. That can stick with you if it happens over and over as it did with the Predators. The Stars' penalty kill ranks No. 1 in the postseason, having stopped 21 of 22 attempts. It's an aggressive style, more aggressive than most, anyway, and the strategy benefits from knowing the 6-foot-7 Bishop provides the last line of defense.

"I thought the two consecutive that we stopped in the second period were big," coach Jim Montgomery said. "The penalty kill was good, and the goaltending was great."

It was a bounceback game of sorts for Bishop, who should have stopped two of the three goals he surrendered in Thursday's 3-2 defeat. The Vezina Trophy finalist is rarely bad or even off in consecutive games, and he made big stops throughout Saturday's win.

In fact, the Stars challenged the Blues' second goal, one by Jaden Schwartz early in the third that changed the tone of the game as it cut St. Louis' deficit from 3-1 to 3-2. Officials studied the replay at length but could not see enough to overturn it.

Montgomery acknowledged that the team's video coach did not want to challenge it. But Montgomery figured it was a big goal and a reasonable use of a timeout if the attempt failed. "I couldn't tell if [Schwartz] touched the puck before he hit Bishop's stick, so I thought it was worth a challenge," Montgomery said.

When the goal was allowed it meant every Blues shot in the period would be the potential tying goal. But the Stars took the attack to the Blues. Trailing teams almost always outshoot their opponent in the third period. In this case, Dallas outshot the Blues 18-10 in the third.

The top line, which was shut down on the scoresheet, had seven shots on goal in the period after failing to produce a single shot the first 40 minutes. 1143240 Dallas Stars

Miro Heiskanen's Game 2 performance vs. Blues told the Stars more about the 19-year-old than the Calder Trophy could

By Tim Cowlishaw ,

ST. LOUIS -- Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen scored the game's second goal, led the team in shots on goal, logged 22 minutes and was the only Star to finish a +3 in Saturday afternoon's 4-2 victory at Enterprise Center.

So it's understandable that he didn't feel like a loser. But the Calder Trophy finalists were announced Saturday, and the only Dallas Star rookie ever to play in an All-Star Game was not one of them.

It was no surprise that Vancouver's Elias Pettersson, who ran away with the rookie scoring title at 28 goals and 66 points, was a finalist. So was Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington, who appeared in just 33 games. But his 24-5-1 record was crucial in St. Louis going from out of the playoff picture in January to nearly winning the Central Division.

But one can question whether Buffalo defenseman Rasmus Dahlin was the right pick over Heiskanen as a finalist. Dahlin outscored him, but Heiskanen, while having more goals, played more minutes and took a bigger role on a better team as a teenager.

Asked if he was bothered by Heiskanen's omission, Stars coach Jim Montgomery said, "No, because we see him every night and I wouldn't trade him for anyone."

Heiskanen also smiled and laughed when asked about it.

"I don't care. Those guys are good players also," Heiskanen said. "I'm having fun here in the playoffs, so it's fine."

That's fun as defined by playing nearly 26 minutes a game, second only to defenseman Esa Lindell.

He may not collect a trophy, but Heiskanen has won the admiration of this team's most important player.

"The guy's a sure-fire Hall of Famer, no doubt,'' goaltender Ben Bishop said. "He's one of the best defenseman that I've ever played with, and he's only 19. The sky is the limit for him.''

Dallas Morning News LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143241 Dallas Stars

Series tied! Big first period, big saves from Bishop send Stars past Blues in game 2

By Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Ben Bishop made 32 saves, Roope Hintz scored twice and the Dallas Stars beat the St. Louis Blues 4-2 on Saturday in Game 2 to even the Western Conference semifinal series.

Miro Heiskanen and Mattias Janmark also scored for the Stars.

Jaden Schwartz and Colton Parayko scored for St. Louis, and Jordan Binnington made 31 saves. The Blues had won three straight.

Bishop bounced back after allowing three goals in 20 shots in a 3-2 loss in Game 1 on Thursday night.

Dallas scored three times in the opening 14:51 before Bishop took over.

Hintz, who added an empty-net-net goal with 3 seconds left, converted on a pass from Mats Zuccarello at 7:11. Heiskanen scored on a give- and-go with Hintz just over six minutes later.

The Blues answered 46 seconds later on Parayko's drive from the top of the circle.

Dallas needed just 26 seconds to restore the two-goal lead, with Janmark scoring off a Jason Dickinson's pass.

Schwartz tipped in a shot from Parayko with 1:48 left in the third. Schwartz has a team-high five goals in the first two rounds.

Bishop, a Vezina Trophy finalist, improved to 11-3 when coming off a loss in the playoffs. He made big saves on Ryan O'Reilly and Oskar Sundqvist in the third period. Bishop used his arm to clear a shot from David Perron that hit the boards and bounced behind him in the second.

Bishop also held off the Blues' 6-on-4 advantage down the stretch.

NOTES: The series is the 14th between the teams. St. Louis has won seven. Dallas holds a 38-37 advantage in games. ... The Stars have killed 21 of 22 penalties in the playoffs. ... Binnington allowed two goals or fewer in his previous four games.

Game three of the series will be played at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Monday. Puck-drop is set for 7 p.m. CT.

Dallas Morning News LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143242 Dallas Stars

How does Miro Heiskanen stand against Rasmus Dahlin? A statistical look at Dallas rookie's Calder snub

By Josh Lile

The NHL has announced finalists for the Calder Trophy. The award goes to the rookie of the year, and it has long been assumed that Dallas Stars super rookie Miro Heiskanen would be one of the three finalists with Rasmus Dahlin and Elias Pettersson. That will not be the case. The NHL announced that the other two will be joined by Jordan Binnington of the St. Louis Blues.

Elias Pettersson is going to run away with the award justifiably. He had 66 points in 71 games in his age 20 season after dominating in Sweden. He leads a quality cast of young players developing with the Vancouver Canucks, and he's going to be a thorn in the side of the Western Conference for years to come.

The question really comes down to Heiskanen vs Binnington. I went into Binnington a bit here when discussing how Jamie Benn was able to pepper him in two games this season. He's fine, and he did have a good season. He's also a 25 year old goaltender who fell off considerably in the last six weeks of the season, and he has continued to be "just ok" in the playoffs.

Balloting is done prior to the playoffs so the last point is a bit moot, but it will eventually further illustrate the point when their careers are several years down the line. Heiskanen is a 19 year old playing 25+ minutes a night all season for a rapidly improving team. Dahlin is likely better, but they're both really good. This is how close they look through the stats tracked by Corey Sznajder and visualized by CJ Turtoro. Differentiating between them as candidates is a pretty close call.

Binnington is getting the nod for the sensational nature of his story. He deserves recognition for the season he had, even if it did slow down considerably after a hot start. I think that is the part of this that makes it the most difficult to reason away. Heiskanen had a consistently great season from opening night as a 19 year old being asked to play first pairing minutes. Binnington had an amazing start to his run as the starting goalie for the Blues. and the Blues turned their season around as soon as he took the reins. There is a case to be made for him being a candidate, but it sure is hard to make it over the wonderful debut from Heiskanen given his consistent excellence.

Ultimately it isn't going to matter. Pettersson is going to run away with the award. A year from now most people will have no idea Heiskanen went without a nomination. It's a tough break for the kid, but given that he's still playing meaningful hockey in late I think he'll probably survive.

Dallas Morning News LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143243 Dallas Stars If St. Louis had their powerplay working tonight this game would probably look different. St. Louis has had a couple of good chances with the extra man, but nothing special. These shots from distance aren't going in on Live Blog from Dallas Stars 4-2 defeat of the St. Louis Blues Bishop with the way he's been playing all season.

Despite the heavy shot advantage for the Blues they aren't getting heavily to the net in front of Bishop. Peep the heat map from Natural Stat By Josh Lile Trick after two. This is all man power situations so it includes the powerplay time disparity.

Also, this is bad and it needs to change. The Dallas Stars have tied their second round series with the St. Louis Blues at a game apiece after a 4-2 win this afternoon. Roope Hintz had a 2nd Period: pair of goals, and Ben Bishop did his thing en route to the victory. 3:39 A living history of the game in the form of a live blog is here for you in case you missed the game. John Klingberg just took a very silly penalty to give the Blues another power play. That is not an ideal play. He came to the defense of Esa 3rd Period: Lindell and Ben Bishop, but why? You like to see him showing toughness. I get it. This is not the time though, not with a two goal lead :03 halfway through the second period of game two. Roope Hintz ends it with an empty netter from his own blue line. Fortunately for the Stars the penalty killing looks strong, and Bishop is on 1:00 his game.

The Stars have killed most of the penalty off. But....uh... I appreciate you trying to be Big Bad Klingberg, but pick your battles bro.

2:45 — Brandon Worley (@brandonworley) April 27, 2019

Hintz takes a penalty for flipping the puck over the glass. This isn't ideal, 4:31 but on the bright side the Stars can now dump the puck down the ice with As soon as I mention a mistake, Hintz has a huge chance in front of impunity for most of the remaining time. As bad as the Blues powerplay Binnington. has been this might actually work out. 5:14 4:25 Given that the Stars have a 3-1 lead this is probably fine, but this is a Bishop does the thing where he makes a big save then has an pretty boring game. The Blues have 65% of the shot attempts at even equipment issue. It works like a timeout whether anything was wrong or strength in the 2nd period at this point, but it's still only 11-6 Blues. This not. has turned into an opportunistic game where a mistake is going to make 5:36 the difference. Expected goals still favor the Stars 1.16 to .93 at even strength for the game. The Stars powerplay ends with eight shots. Heiskanen shows off his ridiculous poise once again to shake off a defender prior to causing 8:23 chaos in front of Binnington. Blake Comeau gets whistled for high sticking as his stick is being lifted. 7:21 NHL officiating is not having a good playoffs.

David Perron hits Bishop. The Stars are on their second powerplay and 10:32 really need to score. David Perron is whistled for a hold. The Stars are now on their first power 9:07 play of the game.

Binnington saves the game for the Blues. Jamie Benn off the wing is 11:03 stoned. Tyler Seguin crashing the slot is denied too. This Stars is so Ben Bishop makes the save of the game. opportunistic, and that is almost certainly a bad thing. Bishop being as good as he is will ultimately win them some games. Ben Bishop makes this save the exact way he was taught to play the position. #GoStars pic.twitter.com/2XLhdjdoGq 10:40 — J.D. Burke (@JDylanBurke) April 27, 2019 Oskar Sundqvist steps to the middle to take a shot on Bishop off of an odd man rush. That simply isn't going in on Bishop right now. St. Louis is 11:07 going to have to do better than that to tie the game up. That, or just fire a ton of pucks on net the next ten minutes. This has been a low key boring period, but now Blues are hurting each other. Robert Thomas smoothly takes a stick in the chest from his 18:13 teammate.

After a long review the refs give Jaden Schwartz a goal. There was some 15:02 question about goaltender interference, but that would have been a tough goal to waive off. Schwartz enters the crease and makes contact with the We have the first mention of Paul Kariya. Drink. top of Bishop's stick before he deflects the puck into the net. 16:00

Schwartz redirects it past Bishop…was reviewed & upheld The NBC broadcast points out that the Stars have gone nine minutes pic.twitter.com/MxcNMb9v71 without a shot. If you are new to hockey, that is not an ideal thing to — Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) April 27, 2019 happen.

Whoever lost that one was going to be mad. 3-2 1st Intermission:

18:38 The Stars had a great first period. The Blues got a decent amount of powerplay time as the period wound down, but the Stars still led in Heiskanen rings one off the post. expected goals for the entire period .88 to .77. Dallas is up 3-1 with Ben Bishop looking more like himself. If you wondered if Bishop gives them a 2nd Intermission: legitimate chance to win a Cup, he's showing you. Personal update: the dog really needs to go outside. The NHL also just announced that Jordan Binnington, Elias Petterson, and Rasmus Dahlin are nominated for the Calder Trophy as the rookie of the year. Miro Heiskanen has officially been snubbed. 1st Period: Patrick Sharp is now on television sets handsoming us all to death. I don't know what the bigger treat is right now. I don't know how any of us Dunn ends the period getting away with interference against Janmark deserve the level of handsome currently on display. after diving to draw a call on Faksa. The second period should be wild. 1:53 PM 1:19 Lineups are coming in hot. Radek Faksa gets called for a hook to give the Blues :24 of two man advantage time. Vince Dunn deserves an Oscar for the dive though. The St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars face off today at 2:00 PM CST for game two of their second round meeting. The game will be broadcast on 3:01 NBC live for the nation to see. This will be our Dallas Stars Oral History Taylor Fedun gives the Blues their first powerplay of the game. The Stars Project until a better name can be determined. penalty kill hits the ice looking to keep the two goal lead. Following along with all of the Good Things that go on in these games 5:09 can be a challenge. I'm neurotic and going to be doing it anyway. Why not let me help? You'd rather go here than Twitter anyway. I'll Yawnmark scores 26 seconds after the Blues made it 2-1. The Stars chronologically update this at the top as the game goes along. can't stop scoring skilled goals. Dallas Morning News LOADED: 04.28.2019 All the goals! Janmark makes it 3-1. #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/SUjvZGOIf7

— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) April 27, 2019

6:13

Miro Heiskanen appears to not be too upset about Vladimir Tarasenko burning him in game one. He scores a beautiful goal from in tight on a nice pass from Hintz. Zuccarello set it up in the neutral zone.

The #GoStars double their lead, as Miro Heiskanen takes the Roope Hintz feed and sends it past Jordan Binnington. #STLBlues pic.twitter.com/ncc2bVuMGX

— J.D. Burke (@JDylanBurke) April 27, 2019

7:00

The Stars are playing as well in this game as they did in game one. They're playing well enough to win this series. They're winning the shot share and expected goals. As of now St. Louis is having a tough time getting to the net per the Natural Stat Trick heat map.

12:49

Mats Zuccarello creates space in the corner by being very slippery. Roope Hintz crashes the slot to accept a pass. The Stars go up 1-0. It was pretty.

14:00

According to my tracking the Stars have iced the puck 11,450,133.7 times in the first period.

17:50

Jordan Binnington makes his first big save of the game off a slap shot from Jason Spezza with Mattias Janmark crashing the net.

Pregame:

2:24 PM

The game started 24 minutes after the initial estimate by NBC. Hope your plans are flexible.

2:20 PM

This was definitely an anthem.

2:13 PM

In game one the Stars had a 55% share of the shot attempts. When they come out tonight there aren't many changes they really need to make other than to, you know, score. And not let in soft goals from 30 feet. Ben Bishop came back strong after a tough game against the Nashville Predators. Expecting anything less today is probably foolish.

2:01 PM

And game two is about to begin. Josh Bogorad sent out a picture of their view from the press box. True story: I once sat beside he and Brian Rea as they called a training camp scrimmage. If you ever want a surreal experience where you aren't allowed to talk or else riski incurring the wrath of a multi-million dollar corporation this is it. 1143244 Dallas Stars

Stars coming home with series tied 1-1 after Game 2 win over Blues

BY STEFAN STEVENSON

APRIL 27, 2019 05:18 PM

The Dallas Stars are coming home tied with the St. Louis Blues in their second round playoff series.

The Stars evened the series at 1-1 with a 4-2 Game 2 win Saturday at Enterprise Center.

Game 3 is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday at American Airlines Center.

Goals by Roope Hintz and Miro Heiskanen gave the Stars a 2-0 lead with 6:21 left in the first period. Colton Parayko got the Blues on the board less than a minute later.

Dallas, however, regained a two-goal lead when Mattias Janmark 26 seconds late. Neither team scored in the second period. St. Louis outshot Dallas 24-17 in the first two periods.

The Blues pulled to within 3-2 with a controversial goal early in the third. The Stars challenged the goal scored by Jaden Schwartz for goalie interference but the call was upheld.

The Blues had a power play in the final 2:30 and pulled goalie Jordan Binnington in the final two minutes for an extra skater but the Dallas defense held them off. Hintz scored an empty netter in the closing seconds to make it 4-2.

Hintz’ three points are the most recorded by a Stars rookie in a playoff game.

The Stars held a 35-34 shot advantage and killed five Blues’ power players. Dallas was 0 for 2 on power plays.

Second round results, schedule:

Game 1: Blues 3, Stars 2

Game 2: Stars 4, Blues 2

Game 3: Blues at Stars, 7 p.m. Monday

Game 4: Blues at Stars, 8:30 p.m. Wednesday

Game 5: Stars at Blues, 8:30 p.m. Friday

Game 6*: Blues at Stars, TBD May 5

Game 7*: Stars at Blues, TBD May 7

Star-Telegram LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143245 Dallas Stars 4. Hintz became the first NHL rookie since Jake Guentzel in 2017 to record multiple multi-goal games in the playoffs.

For the general populace, Hintz’s emergence wasn’t expected. The Stars 20/20: Second-line surge and Ben Bishop’s recovery help Stars Stars, however, saw this bubbling to the surface. even up chess match Stars management had visions of this while watching Hintz two years ago in the Finnish playoffs, a campaign where he was on the same team By Sean Shapiro Apr 27, 2019 as Heiskanen. After Game 2, Heiskanen said Hintz had always been a big-game player.

Dickinson watched Hintz closely in the AHL playoffs last season when ST. LOUIS — The Dallas Stars evened up their second-round playoff the Texas Stars went to Game 7 of the Calder Cup Finals. That AHL run series against the St. Louis Blues with a 4-2 victory in Game 2 on gave Dickinson confidence that Hintz would be an impact player at the Saturday. next level.

1. Jamie Benn unintentionally gave this second-round series the perfect “Yeah, I think for Roope, he’s not thinking about it, you know?” Dickinson moniker after Game 1. said. “He’s just going out there and playing hockey, and that’s why he’s doing so well. Because he’s not worried about the moment. He’s not Speaking after a loss in the series opener the Stars captain said, “it’s worried about what the situation is. He’s just going out there and playing going to be a chess match for the whole series.” like Roope. It’s been amazing to watch.” The Blues would make their moves. The Stars would counter. And in the For Montgomery, the ascent really started back on March 12 when Hintz end, the team that better adjusts and dictates will likely be the one scored twice in a 2-0 win against the Buffalo Sabres. marching into the Western Conference finals in roughly two weeks. “Ever since then, he’s just been a machine for us,” Montgomery said. And in Game 2, in the chess capital of the United States, the Stars made the first counter as their Bishop rebounded and helped bring the best-of- And to think this is a player who wasn’t expected to make the Stars out of seven series back to Dallas with a 1-1 split. training camp, someone who heading into the season was lower on the depth chart than players such as Gemel Smith and Remie Elie. 2. Ben Bishop doesn’t have to do it often, but after he has a rough night, he bounces back extremely well. 5. Game 2 was the 10th game Zuccarello played with the Stars between the playoffs and the regular season. After allowing a soft goal in Game 1, Bishop shut things down in Game 2 with a 32-save performance and was back to his typically calm demeanor He has nine points in that showing, and we’re starting to see the that helps breed confidence for the Stars defense. Norwegian really get into an offensive rhythm.

“We knew Bish would be great. He’s been great for us all year, and he’s “I think Zucc is a huge piece to this line,” Dickinson said. “He plays off of Vezina finalist because of it,” Jim Montgomery said. “He’s our brick wall us so well, like he makes it a lot easier to find open ice and know he’s back there.” going to be able to find you and it just kind of goes to show on Miro’s goal. It looks like a nothing play at first, but Zucc makes a great pass up It was evident early in the game. In the second period, when the Stars hit the middle and it springs a 2-on-1. Zucc does a lot of great things for this a lull, Bishop was at his best and stopped all 14 shots. line.” In the third period, when the Stars were locking things down late, he 6. While they had some tense moments at the end of the third, the Stars made timely stops on the penalty kill. It was both welcomed and didn’t turtle with the lead this time. expected from his teammates, who had seen the goaltender make a similar recovery after his one poor game in the first round. In the third period, they continued to attack and push. Instead of collapsing into their own end, they forced the Blues to play defense. The Bishop was serenaded by fans chanting his name in a mocking fashion, Stars fired 18 of their 35 shots in the final period. “Bishop, Bishop,” during the game. For a native St. Louisan, it was laughable. Dallas should have picked up an insurance goal sooner, but Jordan Binnington was that good. “You don’t think about it during the game, but now, you can chuckle about it,” Bishop said. “It’s pretty crazy to think you were that kid up there The rookie goaltender made some of his finest stops on the Stars’ in St. Louis, screaming (Ed) Belfour’s name and now, you’re on the ice biggest names. He stopped an initial chance and rebound from Benn and and they’re screaming your name. Never in a million years would I have Tyler Seguin on a rush midway through the period. He later did yeoman’s thought that when I was watching playoff games as a kid that I would be work on a penalty kill where Dallas was surging for a potential fourth in the net playing against the Blues. But it’s pretty neat now. I’m not goal. thinking too much about it, but obviously, it’s pretty cool.” Throw away any thoughts of the rookie goaltender being broken by the 3. The playoffs can really flip a story. big moments. With the way he and Bishop are playing, it certainly feels like low-scoring games are going to be the norm for the remainder of the Throughout the season, the Stars struggled to find a fit for their second series. line. They were top-heavy and looked like a team with one superb line and three bottom-six units. 7. Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson is deservedly going to win the Calder Trophy, but it’s ridiculous that Heiskanen wasn’t among In the playoffs, the Stars have had a legitimate top six, and they were the the three finalists announced Saturday during the first intermission. difference in Game 2 against the Blues. In addition to Pettersson, Binnington and Buffalo Sabres defenseman Roope Hintz scored twice and had an assist, while Mats Zuccarello and Rasmus Dahlin were the other finalists who will be heading to Vegas for Jason Dickinson each dished out a pair of helpers. the awards ceremony in June. Hintz, in particular, took over the first period. In my view, Binnington should be a finalist. In fact, you could even make He scored to give Dallas its first lead of the series, then combined with the case that he’d be worthy of Hart Trophy votes with how he saved the Miro Heiskanen to burn Carl Gunnarson on this passing play to put Blues’ season. I had him third on my ballot. Dallas ahead 2-0. Binnington talked about being on the finalist list after the game. HINTZ TO HEISKANEN. #STANLEYCUP “Very honored,” Binnington said. “It’s been great here, the team has been PIC.TWITTER.COM/51YDNS16B6 great for me, and I’m very honored and humbled to receive the — NHL GIFS (@NHLGIFS) APRIL 27, 2019 recognition.”

Hintz later scored the insurance goal with three seconds remaining, Heiskanen was the NHL’s best rookie defenseman this season, and he potting a shot into the empty net while falling at the Stars’ blue line. played a larger role on a better team than Dahlin. But Dahlin plays in the Eastern Conference and was the first overall draft pick, and those things Esa Lindell – John Klingberg tend to come into play when awards are voted on. Miro Heiskanen – Roman Polak “I don’t care,” Heiskanen said after the game. “They are good players also. So I’m having fun here in playoffs, it doesn’t matter for me.” Taylor Fedun – Ben Lovejoy

Awards are given out for the regular season. There is a reason ballots 13. St. Louis also rolled out the same lineup it used in Game 1. are due before Game 1 of the playoffs. But I wonder if there is a twinge of David Perron – Ryan O’Reilly – Vladimir Tarasenko regret for some voters watching the playoffs and seeing how much Heiskanen truly impacts the game in all three zones. Jaden Schwartz – Brayden Schenn – Oskar Sundqvist

“We see him every night,” Montgomery said. “I wouldn’t trade him for Pat Maroon – Tyler Bozak – Robert Thomas anyone.” Robby Fabbri – Ivan Barbashev – Alexander Steen 8. Bishop probably put it best when talking about the teenager. Carl Gunnarsson – Alex Pietrangelo “The guy is going to be a Hall of Famer. No doubt. He’s unbelievable, Jay Bouwmeester – Colton Parayko one of the best defencemen I’ve ever played with, and he’s 19,” Bishop said. “So, the sky is the limit for that guy. He’s unbelievable on and off Joel Edmundson – Vince Dunn the ice with everything that he does. He’s a true pro, and he’s only getting better. It’s scary to think that he’s only 19.” 14. For the second time in the postseason, Dickinson was discussing concussion testing on the off-day between Games 1 and 2 of a series. 9. The Stars penalty kill corrected itself after allowing its first goal of the postseason in Game 1. In Game 1, he was tripped and went hard into the boards, was slower to get up than the concussion spotter liked and was back in the locker room Dallas went five-for-five on the power play and halted a St. Louis power taking a concussion test. play that had scored in five consecutive games, which raised the stress levels for Stars fans when the Blues went on the power play with 2:45 “I mean, I knew the boards were there, I just thought, tuck my shoulder remaining. and protect my head and I thought I did a fine job of that. They had to send me through protocol,” Dickinson said. “I was just taking my time “That was a big kill, obviously,” Montgomery said. “I thought the two because I went into the boards fast. It wasn’t because I hit my head or consecutive in the second was even more impressive. And I thought anything. When you hit the boards fast, it takes a second to gather your special teams, our power play was good, too. We generated a lot of things.” opportunities. Special teams was good, and our goaltender was great.” In Game 1 of the first round, Dickinson went through a concussion test 10. Four-on-four hockey opened things up and led to a wild sequence after getting leveled by Brian Boyle. He also went through a concussion that featured three goals in 72 seconds in the first period. test in St. Louis during the regular season when he was hit by Oskar Sundqvist in March. First, Heiskanen and Hintz combined on for their highlight-reel goal. For whatever reason, Dickinson’s head and face seem to be a magnet “I mean, that’s a lot of speed coming between him and Roope. And what for attempted violence. Whether it’s pucks, sticks, human bodies or end a pass from Zuccarello to send them in, right?” Montgomery said. “Four- boards, the forward has been hit more in the face than any other player on-four is good when you have those players.” this season. Less than a minute later, Colton Parayko bombed home a shot from the 15. Blues coach Craig Berube was announced as a finalist for the Jack point that beat Bishop to temporarily cut the lead to one. Adams Award as coach of the year Friday afternoon alongside New York Twenty-six seconds after that, and while the Blues’ goal was being Islanders coach Barry Trotz and Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon announced in the arena, Mattias Janmark scored on a feed from Cooper. Dickinson to restore the two-goal lead at 3-1. Berube was named the head coach in St. Louis back in November when “There’s a lot more space out there, so expect chances on both ends,” the Blues had a 7-9-3 record. The Blues were ranked last in the NHL on Dickinson said. “But I think it was good we were able to respond after Jan. 3 but were the NHL’s best team from that point forward, with a 30- they got theirs and take back some of the swing they got on that goal and 10-5 record in their final 45 games. put things back in our favor.” It’s amazing that Berube still has an “interim” tag on his title. 11. St. Louis cut the lead to 3-2 early in the second period on a tip by 16. Anton Khudobin briefly joined the equipment staff in the third period Jaden Schwartz when he went to the front of the net and beat out when Bishop a strap broke on his pad after a scrum in front of the Dallas Zuccarello to get a tip on the puck. net. Dallas challenged the goal for goalie interference after Schwartz made The backup goalie ended up doing the work to get Bishop’s pad back into contact with Bishop on the play, but the call on the ice stood after the order, quickly eschewing his catching glove to jump into action. review. Khudobin does it all on the bench, and last series it was his pointer that “I don’t know. I haven’t seen it yet,” Bishop said. “It doesn’t matter Klingberg credited on the series-clinching goal. Now he can add anyway. It’s a big win and I’ll just get ready for Game 3.” volunteer assistant equipment manager to his résumé. Montgomery overruled the Stars’ video coach to challenge the goal. 17. Like the first round, tempers started to flare a bit more and a level of “I gotta say, video coach Kelly Forbes didn’t want to challenge it, but chippiness entered the series in Game 2. we’re two goals up,” Montgomery said. “I couldn’t tell exactly when he That’s likely going to ramp up when the series moves to Dallas for Game touched the puck and when his body hit Bish’s stick, and that definitely 3 on Monday. moved Bish’s body to allow the puck to go in. So I thought it was worth a challenge of burning our time out.” 18. What do the Blues feel they have to do differently heading into Game 3? I told Montomgery that we’d be putting an asterisk on Forbes’ record in challenges, which dropped to 5-2 this season. “It’s tight. They’re a good defensive hockey team, they protect their area, their net, they protect the middle of the ice really well,” Berube said. “We 12. The Stars used the same lineup as Game 1. have to get on the inside a little more, but we had a lot of good looks. Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Alexander Radulov Goalies make saves, but we have to do a better job of traffic on Bishop, taking his eyes away a little bit more. We had a lot of attempts tonight but Jason Dickinson – Roope Hintz – Mats Zuccarello not enough got through.”

Andrew Cogliano – Radek Faksa – Blake Comeau 19. The Stars’ third Finn didn’t have the point totals of Hintz or Mattias Janmark – Justin Dowling – Jason Spezza Heiskanen, but the defenseman was once again one of Dallas’ most valuable players. Lindell played a game-high 30:13 — almost eight minutes shorthanded — and blocked six shots.

20. Here is how the Stars did when it came to Montgomery’s Process:

Win 56 percent of faceoffs: Failed. The Stars won 53 percent of the draws.

Zero undisciplined penalties: Failed.

Three or fewer odd-man rushes: Passed.

Win net-front battle: Passed.

Win special teams: Passed.

The Athletic LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143246 Detroit Red Wings defensemen going into a series, it’s a different game. We had a lot of setbacks, a lot of heartaches until we found a way to make the turn. (The Lightning) are a young team. I’d say, ‘Just stick with it and look ahead. How the Red Wings’ ‘Russian Five’ premiere offered lessons for the Don’t look back.'” Lightning How can Lightning coach Jon Cooper get his team to bounce back after its frustrating first-round loss in the playoffs? “Just stick with it and look ahead,” said Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman. “Don’t look back.” (Kim Joe Smith Apr 27, 2019 Klement / USA Today)

Teams like Toronto and Tampa are built more on speed, skill, and didn’t get past the first round. Do you need to build your team differently (for the TAMPA, Fla. — As Scotty Bowman took his seat at the Tampa Theater postseason)? for Wednesday’s “Russian Five” movie premiere, a Red Wings fan approached him with an odd request. Bowman: “They’re both young teams. When you look at our Detroit team, we added pieces like Larry Murphy, Brendan Shanahan. It’s so hard now, “Scotty, you’re royalty,” he told the Hall of Fame coach. “Can I kiss your with the salary cap, to add players. The Bruins (who beat Toronto) have hand?” a lot of veteran players, a core of five guys that have been through five, Bowman, 85, laughed and obliged before sitting down next to Jimmy six years of these playoffs. Devellano, the former GM and architect of those mid-1990s Red Wings “Patience is probably what you have to pray for. The Lightning are a very Stanley Cup teams. The two legends were here to watch the good team. There’s not a lot of veterans on that team. It’s a different documentary on the ground-breaking group of Russians — Sergei game now, you saw our last regular-season game against Colorado (in Fedorov, Igor Larionov, Vladimir Konstantinov, Vyacheslav Kozlov and 1996-97) in March of that year, but the difference between regular Viacheslav Fetisov — who became key cogs in ending Detroit’s 42-year season and playoffs in those years is different than it is now. championship drought. “When you look at the team we had in Detroit, all the great players we They were also game-changers for a sport that now has Russians on had, we still had players like (Kris) Draper, (Kirk) Maltby, Marty Lapointe, most rosters. The quintet inspired stars such as Nikita Kucherov, who (Joey) Kocur, the grinding type players. Not Hall of Fame players. Even had a poster of the “Russian Five” on his childhood bedroom wall. back in my day with Montreal, the Bob Gaineys, you don’t hear about Bowman was seeing the film for the first time. Well, he lived it. You could those players. But those are the kind of players you need in the playoffs. sense the emotion in Bowman and Devellano watching the 100-minute They call them the ‘bottom six’ now — that’s a new term. But those guys documentary that was part mob movie, part drama, part sports and part can make a difference. It’s going to take a little bit of patience and the fairy tale (with a happy ending). A few times, they’d look at each other odd addition here or there to make a real Stanley Cup winner.” and smile. Or laugh. Scotty, if you were to coach a team today, would you coach it the same From the opening scene in which Fedorov became the first to defect, way you did back in the day? sneaking out of Team Russia’s hotel in Portland to flee in a getaway car, Bowman: “The concept would be the same, but I think the important thing to the bags of cash Devellano showed Konstantinov in a middle-of-the- for me, what we had in Detroit, is I had the same assistants for nine night meeting at Joe Louis Arena, there was plenty of “Goodfellas” in this years. Now a lot of teams get unhappy and impatient and keep changing one. There was bribing of doctors, and former Detroit Free Press writer coaches. That’s something I was fortunate (with) in Detroit. For a couple Keith Gave using his experience as an NSA linguist to set the wheels in years, we didn’t get it done. To able to have patience. motion with a sneaky meeting in Helsinki; Gave wrote the book that inspired the film. “The biggest loss that Tampa is going to have is the loss of (former GM) Steve Yzerman. I remember the first year I showed up in Detroit, I told But as Lightning fans (and players) watch this film closely, it’s easy to Steve, ‘I thought you had a pretty good year.’ He was injured, but he find some common threads and potential lessons to learn. This year’s came back and said, ‘You haven’t seen anything yet.’ I’ll always Tampa Bay team tied the 1995-96 Red Wings for the NHL record with 62 remember that. I told him, ‘For us to win, you have to become a complete regular-season wins, and there are strong comparisons between the player,’ and he became as complete a player as there has been in my rosters. Both teams fell short of the Stanley Cup, though the Lightning days in the NHL. What I always admired about Steve, we brought in a lot had the more embarrassing, unceremonious exit, getting swept in the of firepower, captains from other teams. But I don’t know what Steve did, first round by the Columbus Blue Jackets. but they came in, joined the group like they had been there for 3-4 years. As much as “The Russian Five” has the happy ending — back-to-back It’s so much different now, with guys changing teams.” Cups in 1996-97, 1997-98 serenaded by Queen’s “We Are the Your favorite moment with the “Russian Five”? Champions” — there was also plenty of heartbreak, anger and doubt. Devellano promised the Red Wings’ owners — Mike and Marian Ilitch — Devellano: “My favorite moment was how you saw “Hockey Night in they’d have a Cup in eight years, and it took 14. Fans wanted the team Canada” provocateur Don Cherry saying the reason we couldn’t win is broken up, wondering if it had the makeup to win it all? because we had too many Russians. And when we won the Cup in 1997 after 42 years … we did it with five Russians and they were all major, They had to “become one,” as former Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman major parts of that Stanley Cup victory.” put it in the film, giving up their individual accolades. They had to be hardened by playoff defeats, specifically to the rival Colorado Avalanche. Bowman: “My favorite moment was one day Slava Fetisov came to see They had to add some grit, “The Grind Line” and all. And they needed me. He asked, ‘How are we doing?’ I said. ‘You’re doing great.’ I said, some luck. ‘Slava, whatever you guys are doing, keep it up because I don’t know how you do it.”’ So when the film ended Wednesday night and fans had questions for the Q&A panel of Devellano, Bowman and Gave, many asked how the With all the animosity toward Sergei Fedorov after he left Detroit, what Lightning can bounce back to complete the same feat. are the chances the Red Wings retire his jersey (No. 91)?

From left, Scotty Bowman, Jimmy Devellano, agent Dan Milstein and Devellano: “I’d say pretty good.” Keith Gave at the film premiere in Tampa. (Joe Smith / The Athletic) Scotty, with Steve Yzerman coming back to Detroit, would you ever The first question was: What would you tell Lightning coach Jon Cooper consider coming out of retirement to coach the Red Wings for a few on getting them back? weeks?

“It was the first series, and really unfortunately for Tampa, the team was Bowman: “Only if I can bring the Russian Five back with me.” not 100 percent healthy going into the playoffs,” Bowman said. “Those things happen. One of the years we won, in 1998, we had one player Was there ever a personal moment that really changed your view on miss one game in 22 games. It was amazing, one player with the flu. Russian players?

“Tampa had to start without (Victor) Hedman, who won the Norris last year, and another great defender in Anton Stralman. When you lose two Bowman: “I got spanked about three times in international hockey by Russians. The way the Russians played, they played the puck- possession game. It’s not easy to get the puck back.

“I remember after Sergei (Fedorov) left the game, I talked with Wayne Gretzky, met him at a reception, and he said, ‘People don’t know how great a player Sergei was.’ He was a great player without the puck. Wayne said to me, ‘I don’t know how many players, maybe Gordie Howe, could have played forward and then come back to play defense.’

“One year, we had a bunch of injuries, and I asked Sergei if he would play back on defense, and he said, ‘Sure!’ Sergei played for six weeks on defense. Wayne said he’d never think of playing defense. Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr were great players, and they wouldn’t do it. Russian players were just very different.”

Was there ever any NHL interference once you brought the Russians over to Detroit?

Devellano: “The one person who deserves a ton of credit here was our executive vice president, Jim Lites — he really made it happen. He found a way for guys to defect, bribed doctors in Russia, whatever it took. The NHL, no one ever really came down on me. The NHL is the best hockey league in the world. You should have the best players in the world. And when we did it in Detroit, we became a great hockey team. And you know what? It’s a copycat league, everybody has copied us. Now there are Russians all over the league.”

The Athletic LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143247 Edmonton Oilers with four points in four games, including the series clincher. Like Gambardella, he’s a mainstay on the penalty kill.

Brad Malone has played 199 NHL games, including 16 this year, and Gritty comeback performance sends Edmonton’s farm team to the was Bakersfield’s top player in Saturday’s decisive game against second round of the AHL playoffs Colorado. (Sergei Belski / USA Today)

Malone isn’t really a high-level scorer in the AHL, but he had his best By Jonathan Willis Apr 27, 2019 game of the series with a three-point showing, including the setup on the game-winner. He was named first star of the game and deservedly so.

Tyler Benson – Cooper Marody – Josh Currie. This line ended up not Edmonton’s farm team faced a determined and capable opponent on really being a line, with Marody leaving the game after being cross- Saturday. The Bakersfield Condors’ 5-2 victory was a gritty comeback checked from behind in the first period. His health will be a key question effort, featuring three straight third-period goals and then an empty-netter entering the second round; the Condors have depth but are most to give them the win and the right to advance to the second round of the vulnerable at centre, and despite a weak first round, Marody is their most AHL playoffs. dynamic player at that position.

The Colorado Eagles were opportunistic offensively, with 2018 first- Benson’s a useful defensive player even when he isn’t scoring, but he rounder Martin Kaut scoring two sneaky goals. They were physical to the got his first two points of the series Saturday. The better point was point of brutality, knocking prospect centre Cooper Marody out of the probably a crafty setup pass on Bakersfield’s 1-0 goal, one in which he game. Pavel Francouz, as he has all season and all series, provided waited until Mitch Callahan had beat his man to create a break, rather exemplary goaltending. than making a quicker pass to send him in one-on-one.

It was enough to give the Eagles a 2-1 lead going into the third period, Currie had a quiet first round, something that was true of this line but it wasn’t enough to win the game. generally. He looked dangerous at points but, along with the rest of this line, will be looking to make up for a low-scoring first round against the Evan Bouchard, rarely used as the seventh defenceman in a seven-man Gulls. rotation, started the comeback. A desperate dive on the backcheck broke up a Colorado rush. Ten seconds later, he was in the Eagles’ zone, Evan Polei – Tyler Vesel – David Gust. Through two periods, this was blistering a puck past a screened Francouz to tie the game at two goals Bakersfield’s best line, with Vesel and Luke Esposito alternating down apiece. the middle. They created a bunch of good chances, though the goals weren’t there this time. All three are playing for NHL contracts, and Polei The Eagles got a chance to take the lead after a delay-of-game penalty probably has the best shot at it given his age and the fact he has a was assessed to Ethan Bear. Instead, the Condors took advantage, with standout characteristic (physical dominance). veteran Brad Malone and top right wing Patrick Russell taking off on a 2- on-1 rush. Malone threaded the puck cross-ice to Russell, who put home Gust is maybe the most fun player on the line, though. He’s a legitimately the game-winner. dangerous scorer, and he and Vesel are a regular pairing on the penalty kill. He’s sneaky physical, too, which is part of how a guy listed at 5-foot- Malone himself would score the insurance goal for Bakersfield. He made 10 and 174 pounds finds himself surviving on a grind line. a good play in the neutral zone to gain the offensive blue line, which was followed in turn by Tyler Benson taking it to pass the puck off to William Luke Esposito – Mitch Callahan. Esposito had one really rough moment Lagesson. Lagesson skated in, fired the puck, and had it deflect off on Colorado’s 1-1 goal. Usually reliable and intelligent, he made a Malone past a helpless Francouz. boneheaded pass across slot in the defensive zone, which Kaut pounced on and put past Shane Starrett. The Condors will meet the San Diego Gulls in the second round. Mitch Callahan, a former Red Wings prospect, has salvaged his career The Gulls are the farm team of the Anaheim Ducks and are overseen by with a comeback AHL campaign and was stellar on Saturday. (Caylor former Oilers coach Dallas Eakins. The tactical match between Eakins Arnold / USA Today) and Condors coach Jay Woodcroft should be interesting to watch, since both men are up-and-coming coaches and since the two got into a Callahan, in contrast, was very impressive, and especially so when screaming match the last time their teams played. pressed into centre duty on the second line. That promotion gave him the opportunity to score the 1-0 goal for Bakersfield off a Benson pass. He’s They finished nine points back of Bakersfield and were led in the first authoring an ice redemption story as an all-purpose veteran after falling round by Sam Steel, who had six points in four games to pace the team. off the map last season. He’s killed penalties, played on the power play The 2016 first-rounder had 11 points in 22 NHL games this year and is a and lined up at all three forward positions, and he brings some needed star in the making. Most of San Diego’s best players found their way to experience (two Calder cup wins in Grand Rapids, Michigan) to a the NHL in the final months of the season, so the caliber of these two relatively inexperienced forward group. teams is probably closer than the nine-point standings gap would suggest. The back end

That, though, is for next week. For now, the Condors can take a moment William Lagesson – Caleb Jones. Lagesson looked a lot more impressive to enjoy a brilliant first-round win over a very tough opponent, and the in Game 4 than he did in Game 3, showing off some confidence with the Oilers organization can look optimistically at the abundance of talent on puck and standing up nicely to a physical Colorado forecheck. the farm. Former Oilers prospect Kale Kessy, who has mostly been mired in the The forwards ECHL since leaving the organization, was called up by Colorado in advance of Saturday’s game and was running around all night. He took a Joseph Gambardella – Brad Malone – Patrick Russell. It was a hard night long run at Lagesson and ended up hammering his own head off the physically for this trio, as it was for most of the Condors. Russell was hit glass after Lagesson mostly evaded the hit. from behind into an open door on the bench. Gambardella took a hit and, while down on the ice, took a knee to the skull. Both remained in the Lagesson picked up an assist after a nice attack on the Colorado net and game. finishes the series with three points in four games, which would lead the blue line if not for Bouchard’s magical play. All excelled in this deciding contest. Gambardella should have had a penalty shot not long after taking that head shot; he was hooked on a Jones and Lagesson had a heavy edge in scoring chances at 5-on-5 and breakaway but got a shot away, and the referees decided not to call it. both were very involved in the attack. Expect both players to impress in He had five shots on the night and no points, but some good moments, NHL training camp next season. including on the penalty kill. He continues to add to his argument for a fourth-line NHL job next year. Keegan Lowe – Ethan Bear. This pairing had a mostly competent evening, and Lowe’s value was evident as the game grew more physical. Russell was arguably better. He lacks top-end speed, and that’s going to He went toe-to-toe with 6-foot-3, 210-pound A.J. Greer in the last minute hurt his ultimate NHL ceiling, but he’s a gamer and finishes the series of the first period after a melee was set off by Mason Geertsen cross- checking Russell from behind into the bench. Ryan Stanton – Logan Day. Stanton stood out on this pairing, with both he and Lowe exemplifying why coaches like veteran defencemen in games like this. He stood his ground under a heavy Eagles forecheck, moved the puck crisply and offered some pushback of his own.

Evan Bouchard. Bouchard’s vicious shot gives him two goals in two AHL playoff games. He barely saw the ice in the opening frame, with the coaching staff opting to spot him more as an offensive specialist than a regular defenceman, but it seemed like every time he took to the ice, he did good things. No player on the Condors is more important to the Oilers’ future than Bouchard, and he plays quickly, intelligently and with a level of offensive skill that is unmatched in Bakersfield and has few peers on the NHL blue line either.

The one knock is that it’s hard to get a full read on him while the coaches are handling him so carefully — he’s done as much as he can with the minutes he’s been given, but so far the Condors have preferred to lean on their regular group of six who have carried the mail all season. At some point, though, Bouchard’s continued excellence is going to force the issue.

Shane Starrett. Starrett didn’t have much chance on either goal against. He had a mediocre first round after an outstanding season but played quite well in two of Bakersfield’s three wins.

Round 2 starts with back-to-back games Friday and Saturday in Bakersfield. It will follow the typical NHL best-of-seven format, rather than the best-of-five used in the first round.

The Athletic LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143248 Edmonton Oilers ridiculously well for 6-foot-3, and brings skill, playmaking ability, a good shot and a great two-way work ethic. He’s the complete package, and when Canada needed a big play, he delivered. Nobody was able to Dylan Cozens might be ideal fit for Oilers at No. 8 overall in the 2019 manage him off the rush when he came barreling down because of his draft size and elite speed.”

Scott Wheeler raved about Cozens in February: “When he’s at his best, he has everything. He’s big, he can make plays off the rush because he’s By Allan Mitchell Apr 27, 2019 a strong skater for his size, he can dictate an offensive zone shift with his puck-protection skill off the cycle and he has excellent hands for a player

of his size (which allows him to both escape traffic and finish plays The Edmonton Oilers enter the summer of 2019 with a dire need to get around the crease). Once he sorts out some inconsistency issues better in a hurry, while also requiring a strong draft haul to ensure the offensively, he’s got a freakishly high ceiling.” prospect group (especially at forward) improves. The team drafts No. 8 Deployment overall, and the nature of this year’s talent pool dictates that the player Edmonton chooses will be headed back to junior or college. Drafting Cozens makes sense for Edmonton, especially considering it likely means two USHL forwards are ahead of the WHL forward. Cozens That fact (no one as NHL-ready as Evan Bouchard will fall to No. 10, as can carry the puck through the neutral zone with authority, he sees the happened one year ago) might impact the immediate course of action for ice well and is an expert passer. He has size and shoots the puck (223 the Oilers’ next general manager (we’ve discussed possible acquisitions shots in 68 games, 3.28 per game) while also skating very well. Cozens in the past involving the first-round pick, including Nikolaj Ehlers) but if he can win battles and pass the puck quickly and with touch. keeps the pick, getting full value will be vital. What does it all mean? One of the players who might be available for Edmonton is forward Dylan Cozens of the Lethbridge Hurricanes. The WHL centre dropped from No. The U18’s in Sweden have given scouts the opportunity to view the 3 to No. 5 in the final Central Scouting (North America) rankings, placing cream of the 2019 draft crop. The talk of the hockey world is no doubt the him in the draft window for the Oilers. He ranks among the top players in plethora of USHL players who have impacted the score sheet in Europe. the WHL in U18 points-per-game, and it’s an impressive group. One or two (Cole Caufield, Matthew Boldy) might slide ahead of Cozens in the final ranking, leaving Edmonton with Cozens at No. 8 overall. Cozens, Kirby Dach and Petyon Krebs are likely to go inside the top 15, with Dach a possible top-5 overall selection. Cozens delivered more in Cozens is playing well in Sweden (scoring leaders here) and the full- each 5-on-5 category, an indication he has the kind of talent that might season résumé should have him near the top of the draft on merit. He translate to an NHL skill line in the coming seasons. won’t be NHL-ready for a couple of seasons (especially if the Oilers hold the line on fast-tracking), but Cozen’s range of skill, size and speed might Cozens by the numbers be too much to pass over if he’s there. If Edmonton keeps the pick, and At 6-foot-3, 185 pounds, Cozens would be one of Edmonton’s bigger skill Caufield plus others are chosen before Cozens, fans might see another forwards upon NHL arrival. Leon Draisaitl (6-2, 208) is the Oilers’ biggest WHL forward welcomed to the Oilers’ prospect pipeline in 2019’s first skill forward, with Connor McDavid (6-1, 193) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins round. (6-0, 184) giving up 15 to 30 pounds on the big man. Cozens might not The Athletic LOADED: 04.28.2019 reach Jesse Puljujarvi’s published playing weight (6-4, 201) but we can extrapolate Cozens to 200-plus pounds as he matures — giving Edmonton more size on the skill lines.

Cozens and Dach became famous prospects early, so I’m constantly conflating them. Both men are big with substantial skill and can easily be projected as future power forwards, but Cozens is the more cerebral player and his passing ability will be a major asset when he reaches the highest level.

Cozens won the WHL Rookie of the Year award in 2017-18, posting impressive numbers across the board and signaling to NHL scouts that trips to Lethbridge would be commonplace in the winter of 2018. Year- over-year progress is an important barometer for prospects, but Cozens’ age-16 season was good enough to make improvement a hurdle:

Cozens at 16 (2017-18): 57, 22-31-53 (.930)

Cozens at 17 (2018-19): 68, 34-50-84 (1.24)

That kind of increase is encouraging (Dach spiked from .885 to 1.18) and indicates continued growth as Cozens matures and gets stronger. Scouts say Cozens’ strength is one of the areas that need improvement and it should come naturally as he develops “man strength” as he gets older.

Cozens’ 5-on-5 performance year over year is worth noting and is one of the reasons I think he might have more talent than his boxcars imply. Here is his progression (as above) using only 5-on-5 results:

Cozens at 16 (2017-18) 5-on-5: 57, 13-24-37 (.649)

Cozens at 17 (2018-19) 5-on-5: 68, 25-34-59 (.868)

That’s a handsome increase and superior to Dach’s progress (.423 to .677) in the same category year over year. HockeyProspect.com tracked Cozen as a right winger during the 2017-18 season and suggested it benefited him in what was a quick adjustment to the WHL. I’m not sure if he’ll be a centre or winger at the NHL level, but he plays a north-south game that might lend itself to the wing eventually.

Scouting reports

Corey Pronman was in Edmonton for the Hlinka Gretzky tournament last summer and had this to say about the big forward: “He skates 1143249 New York Islanders outcomes, in totality, ran so counter to the regular-season standings that it seemed as if it had been decreed that the series would be decided not by the teams themselves but rather by the potency of their mascots: an Islanders Give Up Only One Goal to Hurricanes: The Winning One in avalanche should smother flames, so happy trails, Calgary, and welcome Overtime to the next round, Colorado.

In advancing, the Islanders and Hurricanes knocked out two of the league’s most recognizable and accomplished players, Alex Ovechkin By Ben Shpigel and Sidney Crosby, who have hoisted the last three Stanley Cups. In a field that now lacks a pair of perennial contenders, Pittsburgh and April 27, 2019 Washington, and the Presidents’ Trophy winner for the most points in the regular season, the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Islanders and Carolina sense an opportunity. The only shot that eluded Robin Lehner on Friday night, the shot that wrested home-ice advantage from his Islanders, struck his left skate as “We’re not in a position to believe we have a better chance against one he slid across the crease and banked into the net. team than we do another,” winger Cal Clutterbuck said. “We really don’t feel like we’re entitled to anything. We don’t feel like we’re owed A bad bounce, Lehner would later call it — though he used spicier anything. We really feel that what we’ve accomplished is because of the language than that — and as the Carolina Hurricanes celebrated their 1- entire group doing it a certain way.” 0 overtime victory by the boards, he lurched forward so that his head met the ice, and he stayed there for a good three seconds, legs splayed The Islanders’ renaissance is steeped in their structure, a commitment behind him, unwilling to accept that he, and his team, had lost, like that. and discipline instilled by Trotz, who nevertheless lamented how they got “a little cute” at times, looking to make an extra pass instead of shooting. For the fourth consecutive game of these playoffs, Lehner allowed one That mistake buried them in overtime, when Clutterbuck, with a clear goal. This was the first he did not win. shooting lane, passed — to no one.

“Small margins here in the playoffs,” Lehner said. The Hurricanes charged up the ice on a two-on-one that Lehner thwarted, but the puck stayed in the Islanders’ zone. It soon found Nino The Islanders encountered small margins all season. They gave up the Niederreiter in the slot, who ripped a shot that could have been a pass, fewest goals in the N.H.L. while ranking among the bottom third in off the end boards, at an acute angle, to the waiting stick of Staal. scoring. They know close games. They like them. They should also prepare for more of them. Lehner had saved 160 of the 167 shots he had faced this postseason, but not this one, hesitating ever so slightly going from post to post. In a After throttling the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round, they are likely to matchup of two ostensibly even teams, both deep and ruthless, Lehner have a decidedly more difficult time defeating the Hurricanes, who, in offers a clear advantage in net every game. At least, he should. The personnel and in spirit, resemble the Islanders. margins, as he knew before but even more now, are smaller in the Though it’s dangerous to extract cosmic significance from an opener, it playoffs. would not be surprising if Game 1 of this Eastern Conference semifinal New York Times LOADED: 04.28.2019 served as a template for the remainder of the series: low-scoring and bruising, studded with excellent goaltending and bursts of opportunism.

“They’re prepared, they’re smart, they don’t give you anything for free,” Hurricanes captain Justin Williams said of the Islanders. “And that’s fine. Because neither do we.”

Williams offered that prescient assessment about seven hours before face-off — or, roughly 36 hours after the Hurricanes ousted the reigning champion Washington Capitals in double overtime. They did not so much charge into Barclays Center as pant their way in, exhausted after expending so much mental and physical energy across a seven-game series in which Carolina ended up playing nearly twice as many minutes as the Islanders did in their sweep of Pittsburgh.

Carolina’s persistence minimized its weariness. As delighted as the Hurricanes were with the result, they were just as glad that Jordan Staal scored when he did, at 4 minutes 4 seconds into overtime. Had the game lasted into a second or third overtime, Coach Rod Brind’Amour said, Carolina’s vitality for Game 2 on Sunday, if not beyond, could have been compromised.

“The thing I give our group the biggest credit for tonight is somehow figuring that out, to match the intensity right away,” Brind’Amour said.

The Islanders had thought about hockey, practiced hockey, discussed hockey and watched hockey, but they had not actually played hockey in 10 days, since dispatching the Penguins on April 16. Coach Barry Trotz was more curious than concerned about how his team would react after the long layoff, and though he hinted at potential line changes for Sunday, over all, he said, he was pleased.

The Islanders had a goal by Mathew Barzal negated by goaltender interference. They thought they scored in the third period — the horn blared, the crowd roared — but Ryan Pulock’s one-timer instead lodged in the outside netting. They felt they should have neutralized Carolina goalie Petr Mrazek earlier — Josh Bailey’s breakaway, Anders Lee’s backhand from in tight — but they didn’t, couldn’t.

Like a trick candle at a child’s birthday party, the Hurricanes cannot be extinguished. After twice staving off elimination, they won despite not leading during regulation for the second time in three days.

Punctuated by Carolina’s contribution, the opening round unspooled into chaos, detonated by the exits of all four division champions. The 1143250 New York Islanders

Bad bounce costs Islanders in Brooklyn as Hurricanes grab Game 1 in OT

By EDWARD GLAZAREV

APR 27, 2019 | 12:19 AM

It was only Game 1 but Friday’s Eastern Conference semifinal opener between the Islanders and Hurricanes already had the feel of a Game 7.

And the way these two gritty teams battled for every inch of ice, rattled the boards with every check and struggled to get a puck past either goalie, they may find themselves in that position in 10 days.

However, the Islanders will be playing from behind for the first time in these playoffs. Carolina’s Jordan Staal shoveled a shot past Robin Lehner to break a scoreless tie 4:04 into overtime for a 1-0 victory to deflate the sea of orange-and-blue clad fans at a soldout Barclays Center.

The Canes, who needed two overtimes Wednesday to eliminate the Capitals in Game 7 of the first round, got a bit of good fortune on the winning goal. Staal, alone at the right side of the net, rattled the shot off Lehner’s skate after Nino Niederreiter’s blast banked off the boards to the wide-open center.

“It’s not the result we wanted,” Lehner said. “We knew they’d throw a lot of weird stuff at us and they win on a (crap) bounce.”

The Islanders put themselves in jeopardy after Cal Clutterbuck turned the puck over in his own zone to give Carolina a 2-on-1 and the Isles couldn’t scramble back in time. It was the team’s 25th giveaway of the game, to just 10 for the disciplined Canes.

“We got a little cute and it came back the other way,” Isles coach Barry Trotz said. “We had some people tired and on the wrong side. They throw the puck off the end wall and get a bounce and they put it right back in there.”

Lehner had made 31 saves up to the point, keeping the Canes at bay after the Islanders -- playing for the first time in 10 days -- got off to a flat start. The Isles didn’t get their first shot on goal until nearly six minutes into the opening period.

[More Sports] Islanders need to shake off the rust quickly when Stanley Cup chase resumes against the Hurricanes at Barclays Center »

Canes goalie Petr Mrazek stopped 31 shots, many in spectacular fashion, for his second shutout of this postseason and fifth of his career. In the first period, Mrazek foiled Josh Bailey on a breakaway and stoned Anders Lee all alone in the crease, then made a nice glove save on Clutterbuck’s shorthanded effort midway through the third.

“If we had converted on some of our chances early it may have been a different game,” said Trotz, who was named as one of the finalists for coach of the year before the game.

The Canes showed few ill-effects from their grueling first-round series, bottling up Isles playmaker Mathew Barzal, who finished with just two shots. He did have a goal waived off in the second period after Anders Lee was called for goalie interference.

[More Sports] Islanders finish off Penguins 3-1 in stunning playoff sweep »

“I felt Lee got pushed in there but those are hard to call,” said Trotz, who didn’t ask for a review. “We looked at it as a staff and decided we wouldn’t go there."

The Islanders’ power play also let them down, going 0-for-4 with seven shots on goal.

“It’s game 1. They didn’t win the series,” said Trotz, as he looked ahead to Sunday’s rematch. “We lost a game and have to respond right back.”

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Robin Lehner confident he can reverse his karma vs. Hurricanes

By Brett Cyrgalis April 28, 2019 | 3:20am

The 0-0 tie after regulation was one indication, as were the smattering of big saves that each goalie had to make to get to that point. But the lesson from the Islanders’ 1-0 overtime loss to the Hurricanes in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series on Friday night at Barclays Center was that this is not just going to be a tight series, but an unbelievably tight series.

As the series moves to Game 2 on Atlantic Avenue on Sunday afternoon, that is where goalie Robin Lehner comes in.

Lehner was a huge part in the Islanders’ goals-against revival this season, just as he was a huge part in the first-round sweep of the Penguins, outplaying his counterpart Matt Murray. Yet just like it is up and down the lineup this series, the Islanders are matched in nets by a very similar player.

Petr Mrazek has gotten hot at the right time for the Hurricanes and he shined early on in Game 1 to keep his team afloat less than two days after a grueling double-overtime win in Game 7 of Carolina’s first-round series against the Capitals.

“It was a 0-0 game, so we knew one goal was going to win the game,” Lehner said after the team’s short and upbeat practice in Brooklyn on Saturday afternoon. “I think Mrazek made a lot of good saves, I think I made some good saves. Both teams are good at creating from nothing.”

When those chances do arise, it’s going to be on the goaltenders to make timely saves. Those are the types of moments this season when Lehner has been terrific, the big-time saves that earned him a spot as a finalist for the Vezina Trophy while his own personal and professional revival has made him the more-than-likely winner of the Masterton Trophy. It’s also what earned him the role as the postseason starter from first-year head coach Barry Trotz.

“Robin is the biggest goaltender I’ve had in terms of pure mass,” Trotz said of the 6-foot-4, 240-pound Swede. “He’s just a big man. He’s built like a linebacker. But he works well on his game.

“What I like about him is he’s got a really good focus. He’s had to do that because of his challenges off the ice. He’s had a really good focus this year, all year, in terms of how he plays and how he handles things. That’s undeniable.”

It was clear Lehner would be the starter entering the playoffs, but when the second-round opponent became the Hurricanes, it was hard to look away from the past. Lehner did not start a game against the Hurricanes all season, and his lifetime record against them entering the series was 0-4-0 with a 4.25 goals-against average and an .885 save percentage.

Meanwhile, Thomas Greiss, who shared the Jennings Trophy with Lehner and who got 39 starts to Lehner’s 43, played all four games against Carolina during the regular season. Greiss went 3-1-0 in those contests — the most recent on Jan. 8 — with a 1.76 goals-against average and a .949 save percentage.

Nevertheless, numbers can be misleading. The Hurricanes didn’t hit their stride until the second half of the season, and Lehner’s previous statistics against Carolina while he was with the Senators and Sabres mean very little at this juncture with a very different team in front of him.

“I know that Carolina I have struggled with. But if you look through players’ careers, it’s an easy pattern to find for [the media] without really understanding situations,” Lehner said. “They’re a new team over there. I don’t think it has any significance.”

What does have significance is that in extremely low-scoring and tight games, just one more save can be the difference between moving on to the conference final and going home for the summer.

“As you mature as a goalie in this league and get older [and] you get some more experience in this league, you start realizing it’s not much what they do, it’s more about what you do,” Lehner said. “It’s the same color of the puck. Things don’t change. I have to save the puck.” 1143252 New York Islanders

Islanders know not to panic in 0-1 playoff hole to Hurricanes

By Brett Cyrgalis April 28, 2019 | 1:09am

There were a handful of “must-win” clichés thrown around the Islanders locker room Saturday afternoon, looking ahead to Game 2 of their second-round series against the Hurricanes the following day at Barclays Center. But losing a 1-0 overtime contest in Game 1 on Friday night has hardly created any panic.

“From experience, I do remember the team I was part of last year that lost the first two games,” coach Barry Trotz said, referring to his Capitals team from a year ago that lost their first two games of the postseason before going on to win the Stanley Cup. “If that were the case, then it’d be the best-of-two. That’s not the case. It’s a race to four.”

Most players described the mood as “fine” and “happy.” It was hard to tell this was anything different than a regular season practice, quick and upbeat. But the Islanders know going to Carolina down 2-0 in the best-of- seven series might not be the most ideal situation, and they need to get over their 10-day break following the first round and the change in home venues from the Coliseum to Brooklyn.

“Carolina, they’re good man,” Mat Barzal said. “Obviously they beat Washington, gave them a lot of problems. [Friday] night, they gave us some problems too. We just have to make a few adjustments and get our intensity up a little bit.

“Shaking off some rust [Friday] night, timing and whatnot. Getting back used to this rink, haven’t played here in a while. Just have to come in [Sunday] prepared, playing our game. It’s a big game for us, we have to win.”

Forward Leo Komarov and defenseman Scott Mayfield missed practice due to “maintenance.” Trotz said he expects both to be ready to play on Sunday.

Winger Jordan Eberle started this postseason red-hot, scoring a goal in each game of the four-game sweep of the Penguins in the first round. That run ended in Game 1 when the Islanders were shut out, but he wasn’t too concerned the long break affected his personal momentum.

“I felt good [Friday] night, still created a little bit, had a couple chances,” Eberle said. “I think this series is going to be so much different as far as Pittsburgh [when] we scored quite a few goals. This series is going to be a lot tighter. Everyone knows that. They play defensive, we play defensive. That’s how the games are going to go. 0-0, into overtime. That just has to be how the series is one and lost.”

New York Post LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143253 New York Islanders

Barry Trotz named a finalist for this prestigious NHL award

By Brett Cyrgalis April 27, 2019 | 4:58am

Barry Trotz doesn’t like to talk about himself, so everyone else did the talking for him.

The Islanders coach was announced Friday as one of three finalists for the Jack Adams Award as the league’s best coach, along with the Lightning’s Jon Cooper and the Blues’ Craig Berube, as voted on by the National Hockey League Broadcasters Association at the end of the regular season.

In his first year behind the Islanders’ bench following his Stanley Cup victory with the Capitals just a year ago, Trotz has joined with first-year team president Lou Lamoriello to lead a massive organizational turnaround.

The club went from last in the league in goals-against to first, the only team to do that since the original Senators from 100 years ago. They finished with 103 points, the most for the club since 1984, and their fifth- overall finish in the league earned them home-ice advantage in a playoff series for the first time since 1988.

They also happened to win that series, sweeping the Penguins, the franchise’s second postseason-series victory since 1993.

Yet before he had the Islanders preparing for their second-round matchup with the Hurricanes, eventually a difficult 1-0 overtime loss in Game 1 on Friday night at Barclays Center, the 56-year-old Trotz was asked about his possible nomination — not yet announced.

The winner of the award in 2015-16 with the Capitals, Trotz balked at the chance to pump his own tires.

“No,” he said when it was brought up. “No, no. You’re right, I don’t like to talk about myself.”

Winger Anthony Beauvillier, 21, didn’t hesitate to laud his coach.

“He’s done an unbelievable job this year, teaching us how to win,” Beauvillier said. “His game plan, just the way he’s handling situations. He’s got a lot of experience, obviously a Stanley Cup winner last year, it’s just been big for us. Every little moment, his message has been clear, and I think everyone is listening.”

The Islanders’ struggling power play went 0-for-4 over 7:43 of man- advantage time Friday, dropping to 2-for-17 this postseason, including 0- for-9 on home ice.

Islanders goalie Robin Lehner didn’t play the Hurricanes in any of the four regular-season games and Thomas Greiss excelled while the Islanders went 3-1-0.

In Lehner’s career, he has never beaten the Hurricanes, previously 0-4-0 with a 4.25 goals-against average and a .885 save percentage.

It wasn’t being totally ruled out that defenseman Johnny Boychuk could return late in this series as he recovers from his lower-body injury suffered blocking a shot in Game 4 against the Penguins on April 16. The projected timeline was three-to-four weeks, and three weeks would be May 7, which is a possible Game 6 in Raleigh.

“I would say probably not, unless it goes the distance maybe,” Trotz said of his availability. “But he’s making great progress, and hopefully he’ll be back on the ice shortly.”

New York Post LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143254 New York Islanders albeit mild, in the tournament. A response is necessary Sunday afternoon in Game 2.

There is no debate about that. Islanders need to raise their level or the hole only will get deeper New York Post LOADED: 04.28.2019

By Larry Brooks April 27, 2019 | 4:24am

The call, which not only wiped out the one and only puck the Islanders were able to put past Petr Mrazek in Friday’s second-round opener at Barclays Center, but also sent Anders Lee to the penalty box for goaltender interference at 17:07 of the second period, was a debatable one. And so Barry Trotz and his staff debated whether to challenge it.

“It was tough, you can’t challenge the penalty, and at first it looked like [Lee] was shoved into the goalie and then maybe not,” the Islanders coach said. “At that point in the game, 0-0, I didn’t want to lose the timeout in case something else were to come up later for a challenge, so we didn’t.”

So Mat Barzal, who popped in the puck from just outside the crease, did not score. He was not alone. Indeed, when the night ended on a put-back of a well-placed carom off the back wall by the Hurricanes’ Jordan Staal at 4:04 of overtime, it was 1-0 on the scoreboard and in the series for the Rock Candy Canes.

There were spasms of chances in this game that hardly served as advertisement for what is largely a no-name matchup. There was little in the way of sustained offense from either team, one back on the ice a bit too quickly after a seven-game first-round that ended on Wednesday and the other back on the ice with a bit too much rest following its opening sweep that concluded April 16.

If this was an internal battle of rust versus rest fought by the Islanders, well, they lost. Yes, they hung with Carolina, and no, they didn’t get blown out, but boy, this was one that could have been played in December without much notice. Pace came and went. Golden chances were few and far between. Creativity was at a low ebb.

“They play tight, we play tight,” said Jordan Eberle, the magic dust that coated his stick blade against Pittsburgh apparently having evaporated during the break. “There’s not a lot of room out there. That’s the way it’s probably going to be.”

Oh, please, no. Mrazek, who has a 121:47 shutout streak, made a nifty glove save on a Josh Bailey breakaway with 6:02 to go in the first period and denied Eberle from the left circle early in the second, but was hardly under siege. Robin Lehner, whose shutout streak of 111:10 ended with Staal’s goal, made a handful of noteworthy stops, the most memorable coming with the left pad on a Greg McKegg backhand breakaway midway through the second.

But this was hardly an old-time playoff goaltending duel. Perhaps it would have been if the netminders had faced a greater degree of difficulty, but no. Mrazek and Lehner were the best players on the ice, but largely by default.

The ice was bad and pucks were bouncing. The Islanders made uncharacteristic blunders with the puck, notably the one by Cal Clutterbuck while his team was on the rush immediately before his poor decision and errant play allowed Carolina to rush the other way for what became the winner.

The Islanders and Canes had never before met in the postseason, not even when the Hurricanes were Whalers in Hartford. The teams share no memories beyond the 64:04 played in Game 1 in Brooklyn. We will go out on a limb and suggest these won’t last a lifetime.

No series can be lost in Game 1, unless that is, you’re the Lightning and blow an early 3-0 lead. The Islanders are obviously not done. But in order to turn rust into diamonds on a Stanley Cup ring, they must be sharper, crisper and more purposeful. The Islanders weren’t exactly bad, but they never truly asserted themselves. They did not elevate from Round 1 to Round 2.

“We can’t get hung up on one game,” Lee said. “For the most part we played the way we wanted to.”

But they didn’t play as well as necessary in to in order to take Game 1. They didn’t play with enough authority to plant even a seed of doubt into their opponents. Hence, the Islanders face their first bit of adversity, 1143255 New York Islanders

Islanders' Josh Bailey moves on from failure to score on breakaway

By Colin Stephenson

Updated April 27, 2019 8:04 PM

When you lose a game 1-0, as the Islanders did Friday in overtime in the opener of their second-round playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes at Barclays Center, it’s a reality that any one moment could have changed the game and reversed the result.

One of those key moments came with about six minutes left in the first period when Josh Bailey found himself flying over the blue line on a breakaway against Carolina goalie Petr Mrazek. Bailey went to his backhand and lifted a shot that Mrazek picked out of the air with his glove.

It was an important point in the game because the Islanders, after a sluggish start, were dominating play at the time.

Had Bailey scored to give the Islanders the lead, who knows how the Hurricanes — playing 48 hours after their double-overtime Game 7 win over Washington in the first round — would have responded?

Did he realize that a goal there might have been the game-winner? “Of course,’’ Bailey said after the Islanders’ brief practice Saturday at Barclays Center. “It went through my mind after the game. You think back to those chances. But you can’t beat yourself up over that stuff.

“I think as I’ve gotten older and more experienced in the league, it’s easier to push those things aside and keep focused and use it more as ‘OK, what am I going to do next time?’ Not that it’s going to work, but maybe it’ll give you a little bit more of an edge.’’

Bailey, who scored in overtime in Game 1 of the first-round series against Pittsburgh, said he had so much time to think on the breakaway that he first thought of doing one thing but changed his mind and did something else.

“As soon as the turnover happened, Kuhnie [Tom Kuhnhackl] knew I was available. I was calling for it as well,’’ he said. “I just wanted to set my angle and come in and make a decisive move. Your mind can go to what your comfort is on breakaways, and I think, originally, I thought about going five-hole, and then went and made a decent move, I thought, and he hung in there. He’s a good goalie. I think with breakaways and shootouts and stuff, I think he’s got a good track record.’’

The 6-1, 190-pound Mrazek faced only six shootout shots during the regular season and did not allow a goal. He was 2-0 in shootouts and is 14-6 in his career, including 10-1 in the last three seasons. In his career, he has allowed 21 goals on 85 shootout attempts (.752 save percentage).

Mrazek, who made 31 saves in earning his second shutout of these playoffs and the fifth of his career, is 5-3 with a 2.22 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage this postseason. That includes allowing six goals on 28 shots in Game 5 of the Hurricanes’ first-round series against Washington.

He is 9-9 with a 2.09 GAA and .921 save percentage in the playoffs in his career. In the 2018-19 regular season, he was 23-14-3 with a 2.39 GAA and a .914 save percentage.

“He’s athletic,’’ Bailey said. “He’s never really out of a play, he’s so quick. He’s unpredictable at times. Some goalies can be set and you’ve got to make sure you make a good shot. With him, it’s tough to read him sometimes. I think . . . it’s like the old saying, you’ve got to make sure you get bodies to the net and all those things, and just make things tough on him.’’

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Islander goalie Robin Lehner has some points to make

By Andrew Gross

Updated April 27, 2019 6:18 PM

Goalie Robin Lehner clarified — corrected, really — the basis of some of the questions shot his way after the Islanders’ practice on Saturday at Barclays Center.

He is expected to start on Sunday afternoon as the Islanders look to even their second-round series against the Hurricanes in Game 2 in Brooklyn after a 1-0 overtime loss on Friday night.

That dropped Lehner’s career record against the Hurricanes to 0-5 in his first start against them as an Islander. But he said the quality of the teams he played behind in Buffalo and Ottawa must be considered.

“If you go through the record between me and teams this year compared to what I had against other teams, the other teams might not have been really good,” Lehner said. “(The Hurricanes) are a new team over there so I don’t think it has any significance.”

He also disputed the notion that he and Thomas Greiss split time this season while sharing the Jennings Trophy for allowing the fewest goals. Lehner was 25-13-5 with a 2.13 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage and has started all five playoff games while Greiss went 23- 14-2 with a 2.28 GAA and a .927 save percentage.

“It’s lazy work to take out the game sheet and it’s even in games,” Lehner said. “But there never was splitting. With an exception of one stretch, if I was going good, I was playing and if I lost a game or something, Greiss went in and he was hot.”

Back in

Defenseman Thomas Hickey logged 18:16 with one blocked shot while paired with Nick Leddy in Game 1, his first game action since April 4. He was a healthy scratch in seven of the last eight regular-season games but regained his lineup spot with Johnny Boychuk (lower body) out for three to four weeks.

“It’s a long layoff for me so to get back in sync and match that intensity, it’s tough," Hickey said. “I shook that stuff out. As a player, you know your body and it took a little time as I expected it would.”

No worries

Defenseman Scott Mayfield and right wing Leo Komarov were given maintenance days but Trotz said both would be available for Sunday’s Game 2.

“I don’t have any doubts that those two will be in,” Trotz said.

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143257 New York Islanders The Islanders made their position clear, no matter how many times I asked them annoying questions about it.

“We have some skill here; we can score,” Eberle said. “But I think the Islanders might have to unleash some offense to beat Hurricanes identity of our team is the way we play defensively. We’ve won and lost that way.”

Updated April 27, 2019 7:37 PM Said Martin, “We have an identity as a team. It led us to 103 points this year. It led us to a first-round sweep. We’re not changing anything now. By Neil Best As long as we stick to our guns, we’ll be all right . . . We’re not worried about scoring the most goals. We’re worried about winning the most

games.” The wider world — well, at least the NHL and NBC — surely would have Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 04.28.2019 preferred a second-round series featuring Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin.

Instead, the world has the Islanders and Hurricanes, who ended the seasons of Crosby’s Penguins and Ovechkin’s Capitals.

Not that there is anything wrong with that. They earned it as two squads that might have limited star power but come armed with devilish defensive schemes and an underdog’s mentality.

What now, though? Someone has to win this series, and after practice on Saturday the Islanders made it clear that someone likely will have to do it the way the Hurricanes did in Game 1.

“They play defensive, we play defensive,” said Jordan Eberle, who saw his goal-a-game playoff run come to an end with the Hurricanes’ 1-0 overtime victory.

“That’s how the games will go: 0-0 with an overtime goal. That’s just how the games have to be won or lost.”

Perhaps, but it says here that for the Islanders to advance they must tap into an offensive reservoir amid their array of talented if not Crosby/Ovechkin-level scorers.

Winning with defense has been their hallmark under Barry Trotz, and they have allowed only one goal in each of the past four games. So a radical makeover would be folly.

But to survive this round and even more so to win the 12 more games required to earn the Stanley Cup, scoring will be required from all available sources.

This is a team whose most dynamic player, Mathew Barzal, is a playmaker more than a goal-scorer, and whose leading regular-season goal scorer, Anders Lee, finished in an 11-way tie for 48th in the NHL with 28.

The first two lines carried the load in the first round, which is normal for most teams. But the much-heralded fourth line of Matt Martin, Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck has produced no goals and no assists in five games.

They have done their job on defense well, especially against Crosby, but they also have been the Islanders' secret weapon on offense, one that would be a big help right about now.

“Just keep at it, and you would imagine that sooner or later it will go in the net,” Martin said. “I’m not going to sit here and tell you it isn’t frustrating, because you want pucks to go in the net.

“I think we’ve played pretty well over five games even though if you look at the stats line it’s not so great. It’s about staying the course and looking at the big picture.”

That picture will remain relatively rosy if the Islanders rebound on Sunday. But six more games like Game 1 will not be good for anyone’s nervous system.

(Speaking of a potential Game 7, the NHL still might seek to move it from May 8 to 9 to give the teams a day of rest rather than play back-to-back. The Liberty is to host the Chinese National Team at Barclays Center that night.)

The Islanders face big free agent decisions this offseason, with three of their top four regular-season goal scorers — Lee, Brock Nelson, Eberle — set to be free agents. Even if all three return, the Islanders figure to be in the market for snipers.

Back to the present: Can they continue to win the way they have been, or do they need more offense? 1143258 New York Islanders That’s not the expectation for this series.

“It’s going to be a drawn-out series,” defenseman Thomas Hickey said. “You go through the first four games and win them all and life’s good. But Islanders confident they can bounce back from first loss of playoffs if you want the ultimate prize, you’re going to lose a few along the way. That’s a motivation for us to even this thing up right away.”

By Andrew Gross Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 04.28.2019

Updated April 28, 2019 2:58 AM

The Islanders have lost for the first time in these playoffs. It was going to happen.

“You’re not going to go 16-0,” right wing Jordan Eberle said of the amount of wins it takes to lift the Stanley Cup. “It’s our first little bump, and with the character of our group, we need to respond, and I know we will.”

The Islanders will face the Hurricanes in Game 2 of their second-round series on Sunday afternoon at Barclays Center after a 1-0 overtime loss in Friday night’s Game 1 in Brooklyn. The Islanders had not played since completing a four-game sweep of the Penguins on April 16. The Hurricanes were coming off Wednesday night’s 4-3 double- overtime win over the defending Cup champion Capitals in Game 7 in Washington.

Still, the Islanders have no desire to go to Carolina for Game 3 on Wednesday night trailing 2-0 in the series. Eberle went so far as to call Sunday a “do-or-die” game for the Islanders.

Coach Barry Trotz strongly disagreed. Last season, his Capitals lost the first two games of their first-round series to the Blue Jackets — both in overtime at home — before winning four straight. The Capitals won the first two games of their series against the Hurricanes before bowing out in Game 7.

“If that were the case, it would be the best out of two,” Trotz said. “That’s not the case. It’s a race to four.

“I didn’t think we were going to go 16-0,” he added. “That’s part of the playoffs. There’s no team that runs that anymore. The teams are so close.”

Neither team was at its best on Friday night as the Islanders tried to regain that competitive edge lost during their long playoff layoff and the Hurricanes played on short rest.

“Physically, we’re fine,” Trotz said. “We’ve got to get back to that mental state that [the Hurricanes] are in, and it takes some time. You get to that state where you’re fully invested. It’s not necessarily physical rust. Sometimes it’s mental rust. You double-clutch on a thing. You take a look, that extra second, that you didn’t take earlier. Those go away, and I’m confident we’ll be better in the series.”

Eberle estimated the Islanders lost 65 percent of the 50-50 battles for pucks in Game 1, adding they usually win about 65 percent of those.

Center Mathew Barzal said the Islanders need to do a better job of getting traffic in front of Hurricanes goalie Petr Mrazek. He and the Islanders’ Robin Lehner each made 31 saves.

“He’s a pretty athletic goalie, but you make the right shot, it’s going to go in,” said Barzal, who had a second-period goal waved off because Anders Lee was called for goalie interference. “He closes quickly on cross-ice passes. Maybe we’ve got to get a little more traffic, more pucks to the net and around the net. He’s got a lot of confidence now. We’ve scored in the past, so we’ve just got to find that first one and roll from there.”

“For sure, it’s a test, but I think we have all the confidence in the world this group will respond the right way,” center Brock Nelson added. “We had good things in the first game. We didn’t get the result and there are areas we can be better at and elevate to get ourselves in a better position to win a game.”

The Islanders did maintain their defensive consistency from their first- round sweep and have allowed only one goal in each of their last four games.

There were stretches in the Penguins series in which the game became a bit of a track meet, with the teams trading chances and plenty of open ice. 1143259 New York Islanders So, no, Trotz is not ready to declare the Islanders have accelerated their timetable for being a perennial Cup contender. But he is pleased with the progress that’s been made.

Barry Trotz thinks the Islanders still have room for growth despite their From Day 1 playoff success Trotz was named a Jack Adams Award finalist on Friday, the honor that goes to the NHL’s top coach, and right wing Cal Clutterbuck said the Updated April 27, 2019 2:46 PM Islanders saw the benefits the new coaching staff could bring right from the start. By Andrew Gross “It was a tough training camp,” Clutterbuck said. “I think he wanted us to know what it would take to get somewhere. It’s hard when you start a season to get it back if things don’t go well. We saw that last year. Things There will be organizational-wide benefits to this Islanders’ playoff run were going well and then things started to not go well and I don’t think we regardless of how they fare in their second-round series against the had the understanding and foundation of detail and work ethic. If it Hurricanes. doesn’t start from the first day, sometimes it can be hard to get back. But nothing that has happened, or will happen, changes coach Barry “That first practice and just the way training camp was run really set us Trotz’s earlier assessment of where the franchise is in its development up for mentally being able to handle what comes our way,” Clutterbuck toward becoming a perennial Stanley Cup contender. added. In January, Trotz opined, “We have to get to the final level where we’re in Trotz worked hard to instill an “even-keel” attitude with his new team, the playoffs year in and year out and grow to be a contender down the rather than have it ride emotional highs and lows throughout the grueling road. There’s still lots of work. We’re probably a year or two away.” season. Asked in a private moment by Newsday this week whether the Islanders’ Clutterbuck said that paid benefits during their first-round sweep. second-place finish in the Metropolitan Division and four-game sweep of the Penguins in the first round has accelerated where he believes the “It’s exhausting to ride that wave, especially in the playoffs,” Clutterbuck team is in its development, Trotz stuck to his original assessment. said. “Through that first series we all really saw what a benefit the even- keel mentality can be for a group. The biggest thing he’s brought to this “No, I don’t think it has,” Trotz said. “I think it’s steady progress. The first room is that calmness under pressure.” goal was to make the playoffs this year, just to be a consistent regular- season team, where we had an identity. We had a standard of how we No relief played. We had a structure of how we played and formed an Islanders’ identity. You’re going to come into our building, you know you’re going to For sure, the Capitals have more widely-recognized players than the have to work. You’re going to have to work hard to score.” Hurricanes, starting with Alex Ovechkin. But the Hurricanes dispatched the defending Stanley Cup champions with a 4-3 double overtime win in Trotz, in his first season behind the Islanders’ bench after leading the Game 7 at Washington on Wednesday night. Capitals to the Cup last season, transformed his new team from one that allowed an NHL-worst 293 goals last season – the most in the NHL since And Ryan Pulock quickly dispelled the notion the Islanders might be 2007 – to one that gave up an NHL-low 196 this season. relieved to face the Hurricanes rather than the Capitals when the Islanders defenseman was asked that prior to the second round. He said his first job was to identify the Islanders’ leadership core. “They have some pretty high-end skill and threats,” Pulock said. “Maybe “When you come in and try to do a change of culture, or create an they don’t have the names like Washington does. Either way, it’s a identity, you’re not coaching all 23 guys,” Trotz said. “You figure out who challenge. It’s a different challenge every team you play because every the core is and the guys who have influence and the guys that you know team has elite players.” are going to be long-term solutions. Those are the guys that you coach. Because, if you coach them correctly, they actually end up coaching the The ex-Islanders rest because the rest follow. Eight teams remain in the NHL playoffs. Four of them have at least one “When I was young,” Trotz added, “I tried to coach all 23 and that’s former Islanders player on their roster. Here’s the list: impossible. You learn you only have to coach six or seven really well. If Bruins (3) – D Zdeno Chara, G Jaroslav Halak, RW Chris Wagner you coach them really well, everything else falls into place.” Hurricanes (2) – D Calvin de Haan, LW Nino Niederreiter But there’s a transitional component to any NHL team in the salary-cap era. Stars (1) – LW Blake Comeau

Captain Anders Lee is an impending unrestricted free agent, though Sharks (1) – C Micheal Haley Trotz’s words and actions in naming him captain by the end of training camp indicate the Islanders badly want to re-sign him. Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 04.28.2019

Vezina Trophy finalist Robin Lehner is also an impending UFA, as is top- line right wing Jordan Eberle, second-line center Brock Nelson and third- line center Valtteri Filppula.

All fall under Trotz’s umbrella of team leaders.

So, as much as the Islanders have exceeded outside expectations this season, there are no guarantees for next season, only the knowledge that this season has set a strong foundation for the organization.

“It will be important to every individual that is part of this group, be it players, coaches, trainers, managers. Everybody. Wives, girlfriends. All that,” Trotz said. “Because experience, good, bad or indifferent, prepares you for success and if you can avoid some of those landmines or some of those mistakes of the way you were thinking or how you respond, they build character. They build trust in what you believe in. They build confidence and they build a reference file where you can go back to a good place.”

Still, the Islanders won’t sneak up on any team next season, other teams in the Metropolitan Division figure to improve and offseason changes to the Islanders are inevitable. 1143260 New York Islanders In fact, the Isles had at least one golden look on each of them. That should be the norm, but this power play has had difficulty setting up and executing all season long. On their first power play in the opening period, What went wrong for the Islanders in Game 1, and why they won’t let the it was clear that the Isles coaches identified a few spots to attack the bad breaks bother them Carolina PK. With Devon Toews directing traffic from center point, Jordan Eberle and Josh Bailey were able to find seams either through the Canes’ PK box or over the top of it to put Carolina’s skaters in awkward spots. By Arthur Staple Apr 27, 2019 Brock Nelson whiffed on a one-timer off a seam pass from Eberle in the

second. Ryan Pulock’s blast was the one that fluffed the netting on the “Score more goals.” late-third period power play, but it was never in. The Hurricanes have excellent penalty-kill forwards, Sebastian Aho in particular, and they are Anders Lee had a pretty good read on the Isles’ Game 1 overtime loss aggressive at the top of the zone to look for turnovers and odd-man rush Friday night. There was more in response to a rambling question about opportunities. The Islanders did give ground a couple times, but they also feeling OK regarding the pace of the game, the amount of chances the used that aggressiveness to create seams. Islanders generated and their ability to play through 10 days of inaction. — On the OT winner, the clip below begins once Carolina is set up in the But that was the crux of it. The Islanders had plenty of chances, put one zone and the Isles are chasing. Clutterbuck had come on for Leo puck in that was immediately called back and had one most fans thought Komarov, which was how he ended up as part of a three-on-two rush was in but clearly wasn’t. They had the last crack with the man with Filppula and Nick Leddy — Anthony Beauvillier was the trailer/slash advantage in the third period and didn’t generate enough. They had the safety valve with Leddy rushing the puck up the middle. That was the run of play in overtime before Cal Clutterbuck’s ill-advised drop pass sent worst part of the turnover; Clutterbuck, a smart player who rarely forces Carolina away for its first opportunity as the Islanders tried to change things and was having a strong night, looked for a trailer that a) was a forwards. The mess that created, plus a perfect carom off the end wall forward staying in safe position while a D rushed the puck and b) wasn’t and a ridiculous carom (or “shit bounce,” as Lehner put it) once Jordan looking to make a play. Staal put it on net — off the post, off Robin Lehner’s skate and in — ended Game 1. So that’s how Beauvillier and Leddy, both gassed from their shift, ended up racing back and being out of position once the Canes got to work. Easy to be a bit frustrated, but there was no resignation in the Isles’ Everything happens for Carolina on this goal because their guys are room. simply throwing pucks towards the net. Nino Niederreiter’s initial shot goes off the end wall and out the other side, where Toews actually does “We play like that and get the chances we did, we’re going to score some get a stick on Staal’s shot before it pinballed in. goals, there’s no question about that,” said Tom Kuhnhackl, whose wall work and speed created a couple of those Grade As in the first period. “We were on the rush, had a fourth guy coming in, but he wasn’t fully “We had a few turnovers tonight and we know they’re a team that tries to committed to getting in,” Trotz said. “We had some people that were make you speed things up. But I felt like a lot of times when they came at tired. You look at their goal (in Game 7) the other night — puck on net. us with speed, we got the puck and got it behind them to create some Throw pucks to the net in overtime, good things are going to happen.” things for ourselves.” Trotz was as nonplussed as his players about the loss. “They didn’t win There were breakdowns from the Islanders, so this wasn’t a command the series,” he said, “we lost a game.” performance that was stolen from them by Petr Mrazek. Carolina is a younger, speedier version of the Isles, a team that tries to hound It was bound to happen, even if the Islanders very easily could have won. opponents into mistakes and capitalize on them. Lehner stopped a few Game 2 has a bit more pressure on it now, but the Islanders simply need odd-man rushes and got desperation help from Nick Leddy in the third to change the result, not the process. and Val Filppula in the second to disrupt what looked like sure The Athletic LOADED: 04.28.2019 Hurricanes goals. Of course, Mrazek stopped three breakaways and got some rugby-scrum help in the second to deny the Isles’ fourth line twice in close.

Ultimately, it wasn’t a bad Game 1 after the layoff. “You don’t know what to expect that first period and I thought our first was pretty good,” Barry Trotz said. “We had some good pace to our game.”

A closer look at a few items from the opener:

— It was, shall we say, mentioned to referee Wes McCauley that Mrazek flopped a couple of times in Carolina’s Game 7 win over the Caps, looking for calls as Washington forwards swung low on the forecheck. He certainly sold it on Anders Lee’s bump that negated an Islander goal and put the Hurricanes on the power play in the second period.

Here’s the clip:

Lee’s feet are outside the blue paint and Lucas Wallmark is clearly directing Lee into the goaltender. Trotz and his coaching staff had time to consider a challenge, but the penalty call made them hesitate. If the goal had simply been waved off that likely would have brought a challenge, but the addition of the penalty made them wonder, correctly, if the situation room in Toronto would go all the way to overturning not only a disallowed goal but take a penalty off the board.

Lee got to the net with relative ease on Friday and Carolina’s only answers around the net were a couple of exaggerated falls to draw penalties. Dougie Hamilton went down easily in the third to draw a Lee penalty as Mathew Barzal circled the net on a rush. That call was far more suspect than the goalie interference one.

— Even with those dubious calls and the third-period officials huddle that produced a double minor to Clutterbuck — the correct call, with a streak of blood running down Trevor van Riemsdyk’s neck — the Islanders were strong on the penalty kill and had their looks on their own four power plays. 1143261 Pittsburgh Penguins That could be the blueprint these aging Penguins try to follow.

“It’s a pretty fine line. That’s what I’ve learned over the years,” Crosby said. “It’s pretty small, the difference between winning and losing. You’ve Penguins will have to buck NHL age trend to raise Stanley Cup again got to find a way to overcome that and be on the winning side of it, but I definitely have confidence in the group of guys we have.”

JONATHAN BOMBULIE

Saturday, April 27, 2019 7:16 p.m. Tribune Review LOADED: 04.28.2019

Amidst swirling uncertainty about what his roster will look like in the fall, Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford has been steadfast in one belief in every public comment he’s made since his team was swept out of the first round of the playoffs earlier this month.

The team’s championship window, Rutherford insists, is not closed.

“Because I have such a belief in (Sidney Crosby), Matt Murray, our coach and a number of other people in that room that have done it before and know how to do it,” Rutherford said. “But we have to go about it the way we did when we won. We can’t go about it as individuals and not come together as a team.

“I believe we have the ability to do it. If it’s not the ability to do it with the exact same guys, we certainly have players that other teams want that we can make the changes and bring in different players and good players.”

For the Penguins core to win another championship, it first would have to stay intact, then buck age-curve trends that have existed in the NHL for decades.

By the start of next season, Evgeni Malkin will be 33. Crosby, Kris Letang and Phil Kessel will be 32.

By the time their core players reached that age, the vast majority of the NHL’s greatest teams over the past 50 years had long since put their parade days in the rearview mirror.

Most notably from a Penguins perspective, Mario Lemieux was 27 at the end of the team’s back-to-back championship run in 1992. That’s hardly the only piece of evidence that indicates winning the Stanley Cup is a young man’s endeavor.

• When Bobby Orr, the undisputed greatest defenseman in NHL history, won the last of his two Stanley Cups with the Boston Bruins in 1972, he was 24.

• When the Philadelphia Flyers won the second of their back-to-back championships in 1975, Bobby Clarke and Reggie Leach were 25.

• When the Montreal Canadiens concluded a stretch of four straight titles in 1979, Guy Lafleur was 27.

• When the New York Islanders captured their fourth consecutive championship in 1983, Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier were 26, and Denis Potvin was 29.

• When Wayne Gretzky won the Stanley Cup for fourth and final time with the Edmonton Oilers in 1988, he and Mark Messier were 27.

• More recently, when the Chicago Blackhawks won their third and final title this decade, Patrick Kane was 26, and Jonathan Toews was 27.

There are two reasons even an exhaustive list such as this shouldn’t leave the Penguins resigned to the fact that their championship era has come to an end.

First, they already bucked the trend once in 2017. On the night they raised the 35-pound silver trophy for the second consecutive season in Nashville, Malkin and Letang already had turned 30, and Crosby and Kessel were 29.

Second, there are more than a few examples of teams with a core of older veterans winning at least one last title for the road.

For instance, after taking back-to-back titles in 1997-98, the Detroit Red Wings went three seasons without a championship. In 2001-02, their top eight scorers in the regular season and No. 1 goalie were all 30 or older as they hoisted the Cup again.

Steve Yzerman, Nicklas Lidstrom, Brendan Shanahan, Sergei Fedorov and Igor Larionov were holdovers from the 1998 club. 1143262 San Jose Sharks

Sharks’ winger earns kudos from Pete DeBoer for Game 1 performance

By Curtis Pashelka | [email protected] | Bay Area News Group

PUBLISHED: April 27, 2019 at 3:12 pm | UPDATED: April 27, 2019 at 7:03 PM

SAN JOSE — The Sharks do not have a true replacement for captain Joe Pavelski, either on the ice or off. But Gus Nyquist, who filled Pavelski’s spot on a line with Logan Couture and Timo Meier in Game 1, earned kudos from coach Pete DeBoer on Saturday after he had his most impactful game of the postseason.

Playing on the Sharks’ second line, Nyquist scored his first goal of the playoffs and finished with 14 minutes and 29 seconds of ice time in the Sharks’ 5-2 win over the Avalanche on Friday.

“I thought he was really good,” Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said. “We’ve been waiting for that type of impact. The effort’s been there, but we haven’t had the impact on the game like we got last night, which is something he needs to build on and bring some more of.”

On his goal, which came at the 14:44 mark of the first period, Nyquist got away from a check by Nikita Zadorov and got to the front of the Avalanche net.

Couture had won a draw back to Brent Burns, who skated to the middle of the ice, pulled the puck back to his forehand and fired a shot on net.

Philipp Grubauer was there to make the first save, but Nyquist swooped in, collected the puck, took a stride and lifted it over Grubauer.

“I’m just trying to get to the net and the rebound came out,” Nyquist said after Friday’s game. “It’s nice to be able to put it home.”

Nyquist had three assists in seven games against Vegas and had a brief spell on the Sharks’ fourth line in Game 6.

Nyquist, though, will likely continue to have an increased role as long as Pavelski and Joonas Donskoi remain unavailable. Pavelski is considered day-to-day with a head injury but will not likely play anytime soon, and it doesn’t appear Donskoi will return to the lineup either for Game 2 from his undisclosed injury, meaning the Sharks do not have many other experienced options for top nine forward roles.

If he plays again Sunday, Dylan Gambrell feels he’ll be able to learn from his NHL playoff debut in Game 1 when he had just 6:10 of ice time, was on the ice for Colorado’s first goal and took a penalty that lead its second.

“I think I got all the nerves out in that game,” said Gambrell, who was also 1-for-3 in the faceoff circle. “I think that’s kind of inevitable, getting in your first NHL (playoff) game. Just figuring out the things I need to do to have an impact. If I get in, that’s what I’ll focus on.”

If Gambrell sits Game 2, Micheal Haley would be the most likely replacement. Haley played the first two games of the Sharks’ series against Vegas before he was injured blocking a shot by Shea Theodore in Game 3. Haley has been skating in recent days.

Lukas Radil finished with 14:01 of ice time Sunday, his most in any NHL game he’s played — regular season or playoffs — as he skated on a line with Tomas Hertl and Evander Kane.

Radil had three shots on goal and was credited with two hits, although he missed an opportunity to score in the third period after a cross-ice pass from Kane.

In any case, it was a step in the right direction for Radil after he played just 2:36 in Game 7 of the Sharks’ series against the Golden Knights.

“I thought he got better,” DeBoer said. “A little bit of a tough start, but our whole team was a little bit off early. But as the game went on, he got better.”

San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143263 San Jose Sharks

Five observations from Sharks' strong 5-2 win in Game 1 vs. Avalanche

By Brodie Brazil

April 27, 2019 2:59 PM

The Sharks are on a four-game Stanley Cup playoff win streak, thanks to Friday's 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 1 of the second round. Their run of allowing “two or fewer” goals also expanded to a flawless 36-0 record across the regular season and playoffs.

Here are five observations from the Sharks taking a 1-0 series lead.

Martin Jones overcomes slow start

San Jose allowed that infamous early goal, when Gabriel Borque beat Martin Jones just 2:10 into the night. It was all too familiar.

But Jones settled, and in fact, also made some tremendous saves that preserved the scoreboard from getting out of hand. The goaltender essentially set a tone for the skaters, and bought them some time to get their own grasp on the game. If it weren’t for Jones, the final outcome could have been much different.

A big concern was the emotional fatigue of the Sharks entering Friday, following three wins against elimination and of course the storybook finish that was Tuesday night. They also missed captain Joe Pavelski, and needed to adjust to a new reality for the start of the series.

Although the the group did look flat in the first period, their offense became engaged in the second stanza. Right after a four-minute penalty kill was successful, the Sharks never looked back on the scoreboard.

The Avalanche already has a glaring issue in this series: Can they account for Joe Thornton’s “third line”?

This is something the Vegas Golden Knights were able to counter in the first round with their own depth, but it’s uncertain how -- and if -- Colorado can best respond. The problem is that if you fixate on the most impactful trio from Game 1, it opens up the prowess of other threats at the top of San Jose's lineup like Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture, Timo Meier and Evander Kane.

Stay out of the box

The Avalanche is unreal on the power play. They move the puck with such precision and tact.

Staying out of the penalty box is one of the biggest slogans in hockey, but it will be imperative in this series, no matter how good the Sharks' penalty kill can look. Going back to the regular season, Colorado had the fourth-most power-play goals, and topped the league in power-play opportunities with 286.

No Stanley Cup playoff series has ever been decided with the results of Game 1 alone. However, this matchup already feels quite different than what the Sharks saw last round against the Golden Knights.

This is not to discredit Colorado as a formidable opponent who could end up advancing to the Western Conference Final. Let’s not forget the Avs just had a full week off, and we also know that drama and storylines will evolve as the series does.

But at this point, you can’t say there’s any of the same animosity, temperature, or nastiness facing San Jose as there was one week ago.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143264 San Jose Sharks

Martin Jones' performance holds key to Sharks' Stanley Cup aspirations

By Chelena Goldman

April 27, 2019 2:45 PM

SAN JOSE – It became clear in just one game that the Sharks’ second- round series against the Colorado Avalanche will be much different than their seven-game, first-round slugfest with the Vegas Golden Knights. One of the most immediate differences was in San Jose's net.

Goaltender Martin Jones gave up the first goal in Game 1 -- a 5-2 Sharks win on Friday over the Avalanche -- just 2:10 into the contest. In the first six games of the first round, that likely would have spelled disaster for San Jose. We’re excluding Game 7 here, of course, because that game was just completely insane and thus belongs in its own category.

But in Friday's series opener, Jones maintained that calm and collected demeanor he exuded late in the first round and symied the Avs’ speedy offensive attack.

If he can keep playing like that, then the Sharks have their best chance of extending their playoff run.

“He’s found his rhythm, and that shouldn’t be surprising,” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said Friday. “We knew the first period was going to be tough and we needed him to make some saves.”

“He’s such a big part of this team, we’re going to go as far as he wants to take us,” Sharks center Joe Thornton said.“He’s just calm and makes the game look easy back there.”

That ease was visible almost instantly after Colorado scored early. The Avalanche continued creating chances off the rush, fueled by a week of rest and recuperation following their five-game first-round win over the top-seeded Calgary Flames. But Jones appeared completely unphased by the chances coming his way, turning aside two Carl Soderberg breakways.

With the Sharks facing a four-minute penalty kill and 2-1 in the second period, Jones led a short-handed effort that visibly tilted the game back in San Jose’s favor. Jones didn’t let the puck get past him again, ending Game 1 with 26 saves on 28 shots.

Not bad for a goalie – and a defense, no less – coming off back-to-back overtime games and one of the craziest Game 7s ever seen. Not surprisingly, though, Jones credited the defense in front of him.

“It can be obviously after a Game 7 like that, but we did a great job,” Jones said Friday. “We hung in there early in the game.”

DeBoer has talked all the postseason about wanting to see how his team reacts to adversity, and Jones is no exception. For him to rebound nicely from the early goal in the first game indicates the Sharks' goaltender has found his playoff rhythym. Jones has played it cool, and told reporters he’s “just trying play my game and not overthink it,” but whatever that entails is working for him.

Now, it’s just a matter of continuing that confident play. Colorado’s offense isn’t going to take a back seat and slow down. After a Game 1 loss, Nathan MacKinnon and co. likely will come out even faster in Sunday afternoon's Game 2 at SAP Center. The Sharks' defense did a pretty good job of breaking up the Avalanche's chances late in the game, but Jones ultimately has to stop the puck.

If he keeps playing like he did in Game 1, though, the Sharks will be in good shape.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143265 San Jose Sharks

Sharks' third line sets tone in convincing Game 1 win over Avalanche

By Chelena Goldman

April 26, 2019 11:55 PM

SAN JOSE – Between the emotional toll taken by a tough first-round series and the physical one extracted by injuries, the Sharks needed a few players to rise to the occasion in Game 1 of their Stanley Cup playoff second-round series with the Colorado Avalanche on Friday.

Joe Thornton’s line answered that call in a 5-2 win, as San Jose took a 1- 0 series lead.

“Jumbo, he likes to think of us as the difference-makers,” said Kevin Labanc, one of Thornton's linemates. “That’s the way we want to play. It’s still a long playoffs and guys are going to get injured. So we have to be ready.”

Ready they were with a second-period scoring surge that gave San Jose a nice cushion on the scoreboard. Thornton, Labanc and fellow third-liner Marcus Sorensen scored or assisted on all three of the Sharks' second- period goals, giving the Sharks a much-needed burst of energy midway through the game.

The well-rested Avs jumped on the tired Sharks quickly in the first period, scoring just 2:10 in. But as the game went on, Thornton’s line answered by taking away Colorado’s offensive chances and turning them into rushes in the opposite direction.

“We just out-worked them,” Labanc said. “We were hard, we were heavier. We were winning our battles in the o-zone and in the d-zone.”

Labanc, who was coming off an impressive four-point night in Game 7 of the first round against the Vegas Golden Knights, added to his postseason highlight reel when he grabbed a pass from defenseman Brent Burns in the second period Friday. He deftly maneuvered the puck between Avalanche All-Star Mikko Rantanen's legs before depositing the goal that gave the Sharks a 3-2 lead -- their first of the evening.

“What a beauty,” Thornton gushed afterward when asked about Labanc’s goal. “Just a beautiful goal. He found some confidence from Game 7 and continued tonight. World-class goal, what can I say.”

That’s big praise from the guy who notched his 100th career playoff assist Friday, a feat only 23 NHLers before him have ever reached. Thornton also notched a goal himself in the second period when Sorensen made a slick saucer pass to set him up for a wrist shot on an odd-man rush.

“That’s all Marcus,” Thornton complimented. “Great little saucer pass over and I just had to hit the net there. He’s been skating real well and he just hasn’t been getting rewarded.”

Labanc had a front-row seat watching his linemates connect for the goal.

“Marcus, he was so tired, it was such a long shift for him,” he recalled. “But he got it through and Jumbo made a good shot. It got the whole rink going.”

The Sharks fed off the home crowd as the game went on, playing more energetically after fighting off elimination in three straight first-round games. That included two consecutive overtime games to close out the seres with Vegas, and the Sharks' start Friday was expectedly sluggish.

“I think we were a little bit tired, it was a long series with Vegas,” Labanc admitted. “But I think we got going as the game went on and once we did, we were hard to play against.”

If they can keep being that hard to play against, the Avalanche will have a hard time creating chances in this series.

“We’ve just got to stick with it and keep that momentum going for us in the second game,” Labanc said.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143266 San Jose Sharks “Yeah,’’ Labanc said, laughing. “I mean, it was awesome. … It kind of got the whole rink going.”

On that goal, Sorensen bolted up the ice with Thornton to his right and Joe Thornton’s line, and one amazing goal, help the Sharks win one for only one defender to beat. Sorensen carried the puck until the defender, Joe Pavelski Samuel Girard, had a decision to make: cover Thornton or stop the puck?

By Daniel Brown And just as Girard dived in an attempt to knock the puck loose, Sorensen skipped a pass over to Thornton, who wound up as if he were trying to Apr 27, 2019 blast the puck to Mountain View. Grubauer never had a chance.

“That’s all Marcus,’’ Thornton said. “Just a great little saucer pass over. All I had to do was hit the net and it goes in. Joe Thornton is having a great time. He just wishes Joe Pavelski were here. “He’s been skating really good. He hasn’t been getting rewarded too, too much. But tonight he played hard and carried the line for us.” Instead, the Sharks’ captain is sidelined indefinitely with a concussion. That goal helped perk up the crowd, and the scoring. It was part of a So Thornton and the rest of his line did their best Friday night to buy their three-goal outburst for a Sharks team that appeared in the first period buddy more time. Pavelski remains a driving force in these playoffs, even just to be looking to find its legs again. without a stick in his hands. “The first period was a struggle to be honest with you,” Thornton said. “I “We’re trying to win as many games as we can so we can see him back don’t think we had too much early on, but we kind of felt our groove as on the ice,’’ Thornton said after the Sharks beat the Colorado Avalanche the middle of the game went on.” 5-2 at SAP Center in Game 1 of the second round. As grueling as the Vegas series was, Labanc said it had a lasting effect. With Pavelski ailing, the result of a controversial hit in Game 7 against Rallying from a 3-1 deficit with three consecutive victories is not the kind Vegas, and with fellow forward Joonas Donskoi still out from a hard hit in of thing that fades quickly. Game 6, the Sharks got an immediate test to their forward depth. “I think the Vegas series brought us that much closer together, knowing Thornton played the headliner role this time, with a game-tying goal and we had to go through that wall,’’ Labanc said. “We’re a tight group here, his 100th career playoff assist. But the show-stopping number came from and it’s going to be hard to stop us.” a much younger member of his line. He also said that the effect was particularly potent on his line with Kevin Labanc glided across the ice from right to left with about four Thornton and Sorensen. They know that with Pavelski out, the Sharks minutes elapsed in the second period. Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen are searching for those willing to pick up the slack. zoomed over to pressure the skater but focused on the body, not the puck. In fact, he made it sound as if Thornton has a heroic-sounding name at the ready. Labanc took note and, in a blink-and-you-missed-it moment, tapped the puck between Rantanen’s legs, retrieved it on the other side of the “Well, Jumbo, he likes to think of us as the Difference-Makers,’’ Labanc human tunnel, deked a shot — then blasted one over Philipp Grubauer’s said of his line. “That’s the way we want to play. The playoffs are long, high glove side. and guys are going to get injured, so the next guy has to be ready. We have a lot of depth here and that’s what makes us a special team.” That goal put the Sharks up 3-2 and gave them a lead they would never relinquish. And if Labanc’s goal were ever entered as a pageant Pavelski remains day-to-day. The same can be said for the Sharks’ contestant, Thornton would crown it on the spot. ability to cope without him. They dominated the opener, but Thornton was in no rush to celebrate. “What a beauty,’’ Thornton said, smiling wide. “What a beauty. It was just a beautiful goal.” “It’s one game, so it’s a small snapshot,’’ he said.

Thornton, 39, said he suspects the youngster got some confidence from DeBoer was asked at the morning skate where the Sharks miss Pavelski a late Game 7 goal against Vegas. And Labanc, 23, acknowledged after the most. this one that putting the puck through an opponent’s legs during a tied playoff game wasn’t something he would have tried earlier in the season. “Miss him everywhere,’’ he said. “He’s our captain, so it starts in the dressing room and on the bench with his composure, especially this time But now? Labanc looks like he was auditioning for Harlem Globetrotters of year with the emotion of the game. He’s missed there. On the ice, he on ice. does it all — blocks shots, takes faceoffs, he plays power play, penalty kill, first minute, last minute, whether you’re up or down.” “I just had a lot of time and I saw Rantanen just kind trying to take the body and not the puck, so he kind of left a little opening in between his DeBoer paused. legs,’’ Labanc said. “And it went through. … The next thing you know, it’s in the back of the net.” “Is that enough?” he added with a laugh.

The razzle-dazzle provided Labanc with his fourth career playoff goal and But Thornton, Labanc and Sorensen did their part Friday help cover up repaid the faith that coach Pete DeBoer — and Thornton, for that matter all that was lost. For a night at least, the Difference-Makers looked super. — had in him earlier in the season.

Of all things, the coach worried that Labanc, a sixth-rounder in 2014, The Athletic LOADED: 04.28.2019 wasn’t the type of player who would respond well to the demands of playoff hockey.

“So we challenged him,’’ DeBoer said. “Jumbo challenged him. We wanted him to be a guy who could be relied upon at this time of year.

“Everybody sees the talent and the special things. But are you a guy we can win with in the playoffs? I think he’s risen to the occasion.”

Labanc credited for Thornton for setting the tone for both him and Marcus Sorensen, the third member of the line.

So when Thornton scored his goal, at 10:05 in the second period, on a pretty pass from Sorensen, to tie the score 2-2, Labanc was as thrilled as the rest of the building. He was asked whether Thornton’s goals infuse the arena with an extra jolt of energy. 1143267 St Louis Blues

Binnington is named finalist for top rookie award

By Jim Thomas St. Louis Post-Dispatch

After a season that no one saw coming, Jordan Binnington was honored again Saturday by being named a finalist for the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year.

“Very honored,” Binnington said. “It’s been great here, the team has been great for me and I’m very honored and humbled to receive the recognition.”

Binnington was one of the top three votegetters in balloting by hockey writers. The other candidates are Elias Pettersson of Vancouver and Rasmus Dahlin of Buffalo. Pettersson, who had the most goals (28), assists (38) and points (66) among rookies, is the favorite to win the award.

Binnington gets a large amount of the credit for turning the Blues’ season around. He posted a shutout in his first NHL start on Jan. 7, the first of a Blues-record five shutouts by a rookie goalie. He went 24-5-1 in the regular season and led the NHL in goals-against average (1.89) and was fourth in save percentage (.927). He had a nine-game winning streak in January and February, the third-longest streak in Blues history. He was named the league’s rookie of the month twice.

The Blues haven’t had a Calder finalist since the franchise’s only winner, Barret Jackman, received it in 2002-03. The last goalie to win the award was Steve Mason of Columbus in 2008-09.

The Blues are up for four postseason awards. In addition to Binnington and the Calder, Craig Berube is up for the Jack Adams for coach of the year and Ryan O’Reilly is up for the Selke as best defensive forward and the Lady Byng for gentlemanly play.

INTERIM WINNER?

Berube has a chance at hockey history. He could be the first interim coach to win the Jack Adams Award as the league’s coach of the year.

Berube has carried the interim tag since taking over for Mike Yeo, and while everyone assumes that Berube will have that label removed as soon as the season ends, he’s still officially listed on the team’s game- day roster as interim head coach. On Friday, he was named one of the three coaches, along with Barry Trotz of the New York Islanders and Jon Cooper of Tampa Bay, who are up for the Adams.

“Honestly, I’m not even focused on that,” he said. “I’m focused on the playoffs. That’s the honest truth. I have nothing to say about it.”

In typical Berube style, he diverted credit for the honor to others.

“It’s a great honor for sure to be in the conversation with those other coaches. I’ve said that all along, it’s an organizational thing. Doug’s done a great job of putting the players together and my coaching staff, obviously a great coaching staff, they’ve done a great job with these guys and the players. For me, it’s the players. They’ve come together and played well as a team and bought into what we’re preaching. That’s why we’re here where we’re at.”

MOVING PIECES

Ivan Barbashev’s injury in the second period Saturday led to some line tinkering by Berube, and even when Barbashev returned at the start of the third period, he stuck with one change.

Berube switched Robby Fabbri and Oskar Sundqvist, moving Fabbri up to the second line centered by Brayden Schenn, while Sundqvist moved to the fourth line. Sundqvist has just one point in the past six games since scoring two goals in Game 2 of the Winnipeg series.

St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143268 St Louis Blues Alas, they struggled even setting up that power play, too.

“Our power play’s been giving us a lot of momentum – it wasn’t as sharp today,” Schwartz said, “but obviously with how our power play’s been Power play turned off in Game 2 loss by Blues going, when we get one, we have that belief that we’re going to score.”

Will they have that belief heading into Game 3 power plays?

Staff Report They must. And they must muster something with the advantage.

These playoff games are tight, like tape wrapped around an Easton. All The power play is a minx. It’s this alluring advantage which, if handled five of the Blues’ playoff wins have been by one goal. Actually, 13 of the with too much tentativeness or too much cockiness, can backfire and 18 playoff games, since the start of the 2017 playoffs, have been a one- become wasted and lost time. goal margin. The Blues actually won 10 of the 13. But for all intents and purposes, Game 2 was a “one-goal game,” considering Dallas scored its Or, after the Blues blew all five chances Saturday, maybe the power play empty-netter with three seconds left. And the Blues lost that one. is a jinx? Entering this series, we knew that to beat Bishop, a Vezina Trophy “Our power play could have helped us (today),” Blues coach Craig finalist, the Blues were going to need to play sharper in every aspect of Berube said after the 4-2 loss. “It didn’t. That might have made the the game. They needed to create opportunities. Well, they sure created difference in the game.” optimal opportunities in Game 2, but couldn’t execute with the man advantage. Yes, it was. In an airtight five-on-five series, the Blues were awarded five power plays, a quintet of coquettes, and didn’t score a goal with the man And thus, they lost home-ice advantage. advantage. Or even a two-man advantage! That happened late in Game 2, with the goalie on the bench, the Blues with a six-on-four and unable to score. It was bad. Sad. Maddening. St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 04.28.2019 And really, it was a rare performance of futility and the worst possible time. Consider this — in the regular season, the Blues played nine games in which they drew five or more power plays. In eight of those games, they scored at least one power play goal. Eight of the nine.

So what happened on Saturday?

“They did a good job up ice on us and disrupted our breakout at times – and winning the face-off is important, obviously,” said Berube, whose team only won three of 10 on the power play. “We lost some draws and kills your momentum a little bit. We had some good looks but not enough. We’ve got to do a better job of little things, like in the breakout, better execution, and face-offs, execution too. That will help for sure.”

And on the final power play, the Blues struggled with even getting the puck into the Dallas zone. The Blues were literally and figuratively going in circles in their own zone, until, finally, they got the puck into and through the neutral zone.

“They do a good job with up-ice pressure, it’s effective,” Blues defenseman Colton Parayko said. “I think just advancing it past them and make sure that we get in the zone cleanly. But obviously that’s easier said than done. We’ll take a look at the video.”

And that leads to a big question going forward in this series, which is tied 1-1 with Game 3 on Monday. Just how good is Dallas’ penalty kill? Nashville didn’t score even one power play goal the entire first round off the Stars. But, take that for what it’s worth, since Nashville’s power play was historically pathetic – the Predators finished last in the NHL with a 12.9 power-play percentage, incredible considering that they won the division.

The Blues did crack the code in Game 1 with a power-play goal, but in Game 2, goalie Ben Bishop didn’t crack.

“Obviously, last game they got one on us, but you don’t want to change too much,” said the Dallas goalie, who was raised in St. Louis. “We’ve been doing some good things on it. We just wanted to stick with what we were doing.”

Well, here’s a look on the bright side – at least the Blues are drawing penalties. Vince Dunn, who otherwise hasn’t done much, drew a penalty, sending Jamie Benn to the sin bin. And with 2:45 left in the third period, the pest Robby Fabbri powered his way toward the goal, Tarasenko- style. The Blues couldn’t score, but a jumpy Roope Hintz shot the loose rebound into the stands, thus receiving a delay of game penalty.

“They were pretty tired there at the end,” Blues forward Jaden Schwartz pointed out. “We missed that a couple times, got a couple blocked and just didn’t execute it as well as we needed to.”

Perhaps the time that seemed primed for St. Louis was the entering the second period. After regrouping and re-energizing, the Blues had 39 seconds of power-play time. Oh, and if you recall, the Blues scored two power-play goals this postseason on a power play that carried over an intermission. 1143269 St Louis Blues two.”) Hintz closed the scoring with an empty-net goal with three seconds to play. (The other goal was from a Swede, Mattias Janmark.)

Heiskanen, who had 12 goals and 21 assists in the regular season, had a Stars goalie, who grew up in St. Louis, relishes homecoming goal and was plus-3 on a day that he found out he wasn’t a finalist for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year. “I don’t care,” he said. “They are good players also. I’m having fun here in playoffs, it doesn’t matter for By Tom Timmermann St. Louis Post-Dispatch me.”

Others sang his praises.

In the third period, as the Dallas Stars hung on to a 3-2 lead in Game 2 “The guy is going to be a Hall of Famer,” Bishop said. “No doubt. He’s on Saturday, Ben Bishop heard something familiar coming from the unbelievable, one of the best defensemen I’ve ever played with and he’s crowd at Enterprise Center: His name. 19. So, the sky is the limit for that guy. He’s unbelievable on and off the ice with everything that he does. He’s a true pro and he’s only getting “You don’t think about it during the game, but now, you can chuckle better. It’s scary to think that he’s only 19.” about it,” Bishop said. “It’s pretty crazy to think you were that kid up there in St. Louis, screaming (Ed) Belfour’s name and now, you’re on the ice “We see him every night, and I wouldn’t trade him for anyone,” and they’re screaming your name. Never in a million years would I have Montgomery said. thought that when I was watching playoff games as a kid that I would be in the net playing against the Blues.

“It’s awesome. I love it. It reminds me of college. When you play college, St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 04.28.2019 you have them all over you all game. That’s what is so much fun about the playoffs. The hockey is better, but the crowds and the atmospheres are that much better. That’s the coolest part about this game, to be able to play in these playoffs and to have the fans be as rowdy as they are, with how emotional the games are, it doesn’t even compare to a regular- season game.”

Bishop could enjoy it on Saturday but those derisively chanting his name, not so much. Bishop weathered some storms, and recovered from a sometimes rocky Game 1, stopping 32 of 34 shots he faced on Saturday as the Stars beat the Blues 4-2 to even their conference semifinal series at a game apiece as they return to Bishop’s current home, as opposed to the town he grew up in, for Game 3 on Monday.

“It’s important,” he said. “Obviously, you just want to get a win in Game 1 or Game 2, no matter how you do it. You scratch and claw all playoffs, it doesn’t matter how you do it. It’s not always going to be pretty. You just have to work hard and that’s what we ended up doing.”

No one worked harder than Bishop. In Game 1, two of the Blues’ three goals went between Bishop’s legs and the third saw Vladimir Tarasenko drive hard to goal before putting the puck in the top corner. Bishop had a great regular season, with a 1.98 goals-against average, second-best in the league behind Jordan Binnington, and a league best .934 save percentage. Game 2 was more like that.

“I do a pretty good job of not carrying the luggage with me,” he said. “I’ve been pulled, I’ve given up six (goals). It happens. That’s the cool thing about playoffs. Every game is a new game and you don’t carry on that from the last game. You can have good ones, you can have bad ones. There is obviously a bigger spotlight on the bad ones and everybody else wants to blow them up. But I’ve done a pretty good job of leaving them in the rear-view mirror and getting ready for the next one.”

“We knew Bish would be great,” Dallas coach Jim Montgomery said. “He’s been great for us all year and he’s a Vezina finalist because of it, and he’s our brick wall back there.”

Among the many saves Bishop made, the one that will be best remembered came midway through the second period. David Perron took a shot that hit the end boards and bounced straight back toward the goal, where it hit the back of Bishop’s pads and started sliding toward the goal. Bishop quickly spun and slapped the puck away with his glove, an inch or two from crossing the goal line. “It went off the boards, then it was coming at me and hit my pad,” he said. “It was one of those ‘oh — you know what’ moments. Luckily, I was able to keep it out.”

The win made for good feelings among the Stars, who got a split in their first two games, just as they did in their opening series with Nashville.

“The thing that our group has shown is that we’re resilient,” Montgomery said. “We always come back with a better effort. Our work ethic was a lot better. We competed for loose pucks and we showed a lot more desperation than we did in Game 1. I didn’t think our execution was as good, except on special teams. It was really good.”

The Stars got three of their four goals from Finnish rookies. Roope Hintz, from Tampere, had the first goal, and Miro Heiskanen, from Espoo, had the second, with an assist from Hintz. (“They’re roommates and they’re together 24/7,” Bishop said. “They should have some chemistry, those 1143270 St Louis Blues draws, and (that) kills your momentum a little bit. We had some good looks but not enough.”

Speaking of faceoffs, the Blues won only three of 10 during those five This time, slow start dooms Blues in Game 2 loss to Stars power plays — losing each of the first seven such faceoffs.

Power play woes notwithstanding, Dallas took control of this game during By Jim Thomas St. Louis Post-Dispatch even-strength play, albeit 4-on-4 play when Tarasenko and the Stars’ Jamie Benn were both in the box for roughing 13 minutes into the game.

Three goals were scored over a 72-second stretch of 4-on-4, and two of Even though they took Game 1, the Blues knew they had to be better them belonged to Dallas — stretching what had been a 1-0 Stars lead to managing the puck. They knew they had to start quicker. Neither 3-1. On both Dallas goals during this stretch, by rookie Miro Heiskanen happened Saturday, and this time they paid for their transgressions. and Mattias Janmark, the Blues were victimized by the Stars’ transition game. With the Blues looking a step slow early, Dallas had a 5-1 edge in shots just 2½ minutes into play. Getting the puck out of their zone again was an “We’ve got to make a better puck decision in the neutral zone, and then adventure early. back our defense up on the play,” Berube said. “A few mistakes on that.”

And by the end of first period they were in a 3-1 hole, a hole they couldn’t A few mistakes in Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs can send you into climb out of in a 4-2 loss to the Stars before 18,285 at Enterprise Center. the offseason. But just like the Winnipeg series, the Blues expected a tough time with Dallas, and it looks like that’s exactly what they’re going “Obviously, you never want to give up three in a period,” defenseman to get. Colton Parayko said. “I thought we did a good job of sticking with it throughout the game. We had a good second-half push. They played “It’s not going to be easy,” said Binnington, who lost to the Stars for the well, too. So that’s playoff hockey.” third time this season. “These teams are here for a reason.”

Playoff hockey that now has this Western Conference semifinal tied at 1- “It’s gonna be what we expected, one-goal games,” said Parayko, who 1, with the action shifting to Dallas for games Monday and Wednesday. scored the Blues’ first goal and assisted on the Schwartz score. “They The Blues need to be more aggressive at the start in those games if they played well. And we’re looking forward to going down there. ... We’re a want to take control of the series. good road team. So it’s gonna be good.”

“They took advantage of some opportunities they had there,” forward Jaden Schwartz said, speaking of the slow start Saturday. “Our puck play wasn’t as good, wasn’t as sharp as it usually is. ... We did a good job St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 04.28.2019 climbing back, but that’s a lapse we can’t have.”

Schwartz’s fifth goal of the playoffs and first of this series made it a 3-2 game early in the third period. But over the next 13½ minutes of play, the Blues were outshot 16-4. Not exactly what you’d call a third-period push.

The Stars peppered newly named Calder Trophy finalist Jordan Binnington with nine shots — on one two-minute power play — during that stretch, squeezing away any momentum the Blues hoped to muster after the Schwartz goal.

“I thought we were going real well,” interim coach Craig Berube said. “We gave them that power play, they got momentum off it and they got some good looks and some shots. Binner made some real good saves there and kept us in it.”

The power play came when David Perron was whistled for goaltender interference, a call that drew loud boos from the crowd. There was a lot of jostling going on in front of the net on the play, and Perron got caught shoving back at Stars netminder Ben Bishop.

Berube didn’t like the call.

“Not really, no,” he said. “Little bit of a dive by Bishop in my opinion.”

After facing 17 shots in the third period in Game 1 Thursday, when the Blues were able to hold on for a 3-2 victory, Binnington faced 18 in the third period Saturday when the Blues were trying to mount a comeback. Not exactly a recipe for success.

Nor was going 0 for 5 on the power play, as was the case Saturday. The Blues were able to mount just eight shots combined on those five power plays — which included 24 seconds of 5-on-3 play in the first period. Or one less shot than Dallas had on that Perron infraction.

“We had some good looks,” Schwartz said. “Obviously ‘Bish’ made some good saves. We hit some sticks and couldn’t seem to get the bounce on our stick at the right time.”

Over their previous five postseason games, dating back to Game 3 of the Winnipeg series, the Blues had gone 6 of 14 on the power play, or 42.9 percent. But the Stars have one of the league’s top penalty kill units. They ranked fifth in the regular season (82.8 percent) and went through the entire first round of the playoffs without allowing a power-play goal.

The Blues got them once in Game 1 on a Vladimir Tarasenko goal but couldn’t get much going Saturday with the man (and two-man) advantage.

“They did a good job up ice on us and disrupted our breakout at times,” Berube said. “Winning the faceoff is important, obviously. We lost some 1143271 St Louis Blues Bishop's pads and was sliding toward the goal when Bishop reached back and swiped it away with his glove, inches from crossing the line.

It was not a solid first period for the Blues defensively, as Dallas got their Stars even series with 4-2 win over Blues in Game 2 goals shooting with minimal coverage at open sections of the net. Colton Parayko had the first goal for the Blues.

By Tom Timmermann St. Louis Post-Dispatch "They took advantage of some opportunities they had there," Schwartz said. "Our puck play wasn't as good, wasn't as sharp as it usually is. They took advantage and executed on their opportunities. We did a good job climbing back, but that's a lapse we can't have." The Blues and Stars will go to Dallas with the series tied at one win apiece after the Stars scored three goals in the first period and made Dallas went ahead 1-0 on a goal by Hintz. Maroon couldn't get the puck them stand up for a 4-2 win over the Blues in Game 2 on Saturday at out of the Blues zone, Mats Zuccarello skated the puck out from behind Enterprise Center. the net and found Hintz pretty much alone to Binnington's right and he fired it in. Game 3 is Monday at 7 p.m. in Dallas. At 6:56 into the period, Vladimir Tarasenko and Jamie Benn both went off Jordan Binnington, named a finalist for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the for roughing, setting up an eventful four-on-four which would see three year earlier in the day, didn't lack for work, facing 34 shots, but it was the goals get scored. Blues' slow start that set the tone for the game and put them in a hole they couldn't get out of. The Blues were 0 for 5 on the power play with Dallas went first, with Miro Heiskanen finishing off a two-on-one with eight shots on goal. Hintz. After Heiskanen got around Binnington, he had an open net to shoot into to make it 2-0. “It's not going to be easy," Binnington said. "These teams are here for a reason. Both are good and both can play, so … we're going on the road Parayko got the first goal for a Blues defenseman this postseason 46 tied 1-1.” seconds later. After Perron kept the puck in the attacking zone, Ryan O'Reilly fed Parayko at the blueline and he slowly crept in before beating "It's going to be tight," coach Craig Berube said. "Both teams play good Ben Bishop to make it 2-1. defensive hockey, both goalies are playing well. Our power play could have helped us tonight, it didn't. That might have made the difference in The one-goal deficit didn't last long. Twenty-six seconds later, before the game." Parayko's goal had even been announced, Dallas scored on another two- on-one, this time with Jason Dickinson moving the puck around a sliding “It’s important," Dallas goalie Ben Bishop said. "Obviously, you just want Alex Pietrangelo to Mattias Janmark for the goal. to get a win in Game 1 or Game 2, no matter how you do it. You scratch and claw all playoffs, it doesn’t matter how you do it. It’s not always going to be pretty. You just have to work hard and that’s what we ended up doing.” St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 04.28.2019

Jaden Schwartz made it a one-goal game at 3-2 1:48 into the third period when he redirected a shot by Colton Parayko into the net for his fifth goal of the postseason. Schwartz had Mats Zuccarello of Dallas on his back and made slight contact with Ben Bishop on the play, but after a challenge by Dallas, the goal stood.

That was the beginning of an intense third period with chances both ways. Oskar Sundqvist had a breakaway midway through the period that Bishop saved and Jordan Binnington made back-to-back saves, first on a breakaway by Jamie Benn and then Tyler Seguin's rebound attempt. With 7 ½ minutes to go, Ryan O'Reilly had a redirection on a feed from Pat Maroon but Bishop saved it.

Fourteen seconds later, David Perron was called for interference, setting off a power play in which Dallas had nine shots on goal, and Binnington stopped them all.

The Blues had a power play with 2:45 to go and pulled Binnington halfway through for a 6-on-4 but couldn't score. Roope Hintz put in an empty met goal with 3 seconds remaining.

"We ended up with the puck on the faceoff with the power play and made a bad play and gave it back to them," Berube said. "We get the puck there, get set up, we can get our goalie out a lot quicker and get 6 on 4 with more time."

"Through the neutral zone we could have just chipped it in there better and create some zone time," Schwartz said. "They were pretty tired there at the end. We missed that a couple times, got a couple blocked and just didn't execute it as well as we needed to."

The Blues had two full power plays in the second period and one that carried over from the first, but couldn't take advantage of them. The last one was the most promising, with the Blues getting off four shots on goal. The others didn't have much to recommend.

The Blues also killed off a Dallas power play in the second.

Ivan Barbashev was banged up in a collision with teammate Vince Dunn and left the game. Later in the period, he was back on the bench, but didn't return to the ice until the start of the third period. At various points in the period, Robert Thomas and Oskar Sundqvist were also banged up, and the Blues had to scramble their lines for much of the period.

The closest the Blues came to scoring in the second was on a shot by Perron that hit off the end boards, bounced back toward the goal, hit off 1143272 St Louis Blues

Binnington in top three for Calder Trophy as rookie of year

By Tom Timmermann and Jim Thomas St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Blues goalie Jordan Binnington is one of the top three votegetters for the Calder Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year.

Binnington is in the top three along with Elias Pettersson of Vancouver and Rasmus Dahlin, last year's No. 1 draft pick, of Buffalo.

Binnington had a shutout in his first start and went on to have five in the season, a franchise record for a rookie. He went 24-5-1 in the regular season and led the NHL in goals-against average at 1.89 and was fourth in save percentage at .927. His nine-game win streak is the third-longest in team history.

Binnington is the first Blue to be in the top three since defenseman Barret Jackman became the team's first-ever winner of the award in 2002-03. The last goaltender to capture Calder honors was Columbus' Steve Mason in 2008-09.

INTERIM HONOR?

Craig Berube has the Blues in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. On Friday, he was named as a finalist for the Jack Adams Award, which goes to the NHL's coach of the year.

Isn't it time to remove the "interim" from his coaching title?

"Honestly, I'm not even focused on that," Berube said Saturday, during a media briefing prior to Game 2 of the Blue-Dallas Stars series. "I'm focused on the playoffs. That's the honest truth. I have nothing to say about it."

As an Adams finalist, it means Berube was among the top three vote- getters for coach of the year. The votes were cast by the end of the regular season, by the NHL broadcasters association. The other finalists are Tampa Bay's Jon Cooper and the New York Islanders' Barry Trotz.

"It's a great honor for sure to be in the conversation with those other coaches," Berube said. "I've said that all along, it's an organizational thing. Doug (Armstrong)'s done a great job of putting the players together and my coaching staff _ obviously a great coaching staff _ they've done a great job with these guys and the players.

"For me, it's the players. They've come together and played well as a team and bought into what we're preaching. That's why we're here where we're at."

St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143273 Tampa Bay Lightning The Lightning likely lets Rutta walk. If Coburn, Girardi or Stralman — all of whom have families established in the Tampa area — is amendable, it might bring back one or more at a lower salary.

Five questions the Lightning must answer moving forward But Stralman is 32 (33 on Aug. 1), Coburn is 34, and Girardi turns 35 on Monday. The Lightning could use some younger defensemen, so it probably wouldn’t bring back all three. By Diana C. Nearhos Plenty of free agents are scheduled to come on the market. The biggest Published Yesterday name is two-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson, 28, who has been linked to the Lightning in the past, but he would come with a large cap hit,

and Tampa Bay needs to figure out Point’s contract before looking at free Almost two weeks removed from the culmination of the worst sports agents. collapse in recent memory, we start looking toward the Lightning’s future. In the Lightning system, Cal Foote and Oleg Sosunov are promising The 62-win Lightning’s first-round playoff sweep by the Blue Jackets calls young defensemen. The Lightning has been good about not rushing for answers about what went wrong. But Tampa Bay already has prospects, so opens spots wouldn’t necessarily mean one or both joins pressing issues for next season. the NHL team.

Here are the five biggest Lightning topics for the offseason: Prediction: One of Coburn, Girardi and Stralman returns and the Lightning brings in at least one free agent in his mid 20s. How much will Brayden Point cost? How much will the front office change? Brayden Point has established himself as one of the top two-way centers in the game, and his salary this season was $686,667. To say he’s due a Al Murray is one of the most underrated, least-known pieces of the front raise is an understatement. office. As director of amateur scouting, the development system, an organizational strength, goes through Murray. The 23-year-old can be a restricted free agent July 1. He wants to return. The Lightning wants him back. But what will it cost? So now that former GM Steve Yzerman is Detroit’s GM, there’s speculation he might hire Murray away. If he does, that would be a big The Lightning and Point could land anywhere in the range of $6 million to blow. $8.5 million a season. Yzerman hired most of the Lightning staff and could want to keep He wouldn’t be the highest-paid player on the Lightning roster. Nikita working with some of them. Kucherov’s raise next season kicks him up to $9.5 million. Point probably wouldn’t pass Steven Stamkos at $8.5 million, but it could be close. Another question is will BriseBois want to hire some of his own people. BriseBois took over as GM when Yzerman stepped down at the start of Point didn’t do much against the Blue Jackets (one goal), but few on the the season, and that’s not a good time to shake up the front office. Now Lightning did, so that probably won’t hurt him. In the regular season he BriseBois could decide to make changes. was often arguably the best skater on the ice. The Lightning also may be looking at losing assistant general manager Prediction: Point gets a big signing bonus to re-up and a salary averaging Pat Verbeek. Verbeek got permission to interview with teams in 2017. He about $8 million annually. and Yzerman have spent their whole management careers together. He could go to Detroit. How does the Lightning manage the salary cap? Verbeek also could stay. One of the few marks against him as a GM Tampa Bay was roughly $1.5 million under the $79.5 million cap this candidate is that he hasn’t managed a minor-league team. BriseBois season, and next season’s cap is projected to increase to roughly $83 spent this season managing the Lightning and AHL Syracuse, but he million. likely will want to put an assistant general manager in charge of the The Lightning has four players with multimillion-dollar contracts headed Crunch. to unrestricted free agency: Braydon Coburn ($3.7 million this year), Dan Prediction: Front-office changes won’t be numerous. Murray stays. Girardi ($3 million), Jan Rutta ($2.2 million) and Anton Stralman ($4.5 Verbeek stays if he is the Crunch GM. million). If all those salaries come off the books, nearly all of the total would go for scheduled raises for Kucherov, Yanni Gourde and Ryan How does the Lightning get its stars to perform in playoffs? McDonagh. This is perhaps the biggest question after two straight years of being General manager Julien BriseBois needs to find money in other places to eliminated in an embarrassing fashion. replace or bring back some of those defensemen and pay other pending free agents. Forwards Adam Erne, Danick Martel and Cedric Paquette Stamkos, Kucherov and Point have combined for five points in the are can be unrestricted free agents. Lightning’s past six playoff games, going back to the shutout losses to the Capitals in Games 6 and 7 of the 2018 Eastern Conference final. Ryan Callahan has played an important role on the team, particularly as Andrei Vasilevskiy has not been up to his two-time-Vezina-Trophy-finalist a leader, but he was mostly a healthy scratch after the All-Star break, standard. Hedman and McDonagh were sloppy this year (though and the $5.8 million he is due next season — the last of his contract — is Hedman missed the final two games against the Blue Jackets with an a lot to pay a player not in the regular lineup. He has a modified no-trade injury). clause, but Callahan, 34, could be on the trading block or even a buyout. This is also the hardest question to answer. Is a mental block affecting There is a trade market for Callahan. He probably wouldn’t be the odd- play in the playoffs? Does the coaching staff need to make adjustments? man out among forwards on many teams with less depth. But given his The answer probably involves a combination of the two. price tag, the Lightning may have to retain some of his salary in a trade. The Lightning don’t necessarily need to have an answer in the offseason, Tyler Johnson ($5 million), Ondrej Palat ($5.3 million) and Alex Killorn but it needs one before its next playoff game. ($4.4 million) have modified no-trade clauses. J.T Miller ($5.2 million) has a modified no-trade clause that kicks in July 1. Prediction: TBD next season.

Prediction: The Lightning makes a couple of trades/cuts that hurts, including Callahan, but fills some holes. Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 04.28.2019 What will the defense corps look like?

Four of the eight defensemen the Lightning finished the season with have expiring contracts: Coburn, Girardi, Rutta and Stralman. The other four are still under contract: McDonagh, Victor Hedman, Erik Cernak and Mikhail Sergachev. 1143274 Tampa Bay Lightning “Tampa had to start without (Victor) Hedman, who won the Norris last year, and another great defender in Anton Stralman. When you lose two defensemen going into a series, it’s a different game. We had a lot of How the Red Wings’ ‘Russian Five’ premiere offered lessons for the setbacks, a lot of heartaches until we found a way to make the turn. (The Lightning Lightning) are a young team. I’d say, ‘Just stick with it and look ahead. Don’t look back.'”

How can Lightning coach Jon Cooper get his team to bounce back after Joe Smith its frustrating first-round loss in the playoffs? “Just stick with it and look ahead,” said Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman. “Don’t look back.” (Kim Apr 27, 2019 Klement / USA Today)

Teams like Toronto and Tampa are built more on speed, skill, and didn’t TAMPA, Fla. — As Scotty Bowman took his seat at the Tampa Theater get past the first round. Do you need to build your team differently (for the for Wednesday’s “Russian Five” movie premiere, a Red Wings fan postseason)? approached him with an odd request. Bowman: “They’re both young teams. When you look at our Detroit team, “Scotty, you’re royalty,” he told the Hall of Fame coach. “Can I kiss your we added pieces like Larry Murphy, Brendan Shanahan. It’s so hard now, hand?” with the salary cap, to add players. The Bruins (who beat Toronto) have a lot of veteran players, a core of five guys that have been through five, Bowman, 85, laughed and obliged before sitting down next to Jimmy six years of these playoffs. Devellano, the former GM and architect of those mid-1990s Red Wings Stanley Cup teams. The two legends were here to watch the “Patience is probably what you have to pray for. The Lightning are a very documentary on the ground-breaking group of Russians — Sergei good team. There’s not a lot of veterans on that team. It’s a different Fedorov, Igor Larionov, Vladimir Konstantinov, Vyacheslav Kozlov and game now, you saw our last regular-season game against Colorado (in Viacheslav Fetisov — who became key cogs in ending Detroit’s 42-year 1996-97) in March of that year, but the difference between regular championship drought. season and playoffs in those years is different than it is now.

They were also game-changers for a sport that now has Russians on “When you look at the team we had in Detroit, all the great players we most rosters. The quintet inspired stars such as Nikita Kucherov, who had, we still had players like (Kris) Draper, (Kirk) Maltby, Marty Lapointe, had a poster of the “Russian Five” on his childhood bedroom wall. (Joey) Kocur, the grinding type players. Not Hall of Fame players. Even back in my day with Montreal, the Bob Gaineys, you don’t hear about Bowman was seeing the film for the first time. Well, he lived it. You could those players. But those are the kind of players you need in the playoffs. sense the emotion in Bowman and Devellano watching the 100-minute They call them the ‘bottom six’ now — that’s a new term. But those guys documentary that was part mob movie, part drama, part sports and part can make a difference. It’s going to take a little bit of patience and the fairy tale (with a happy ending). A few times, they’d look at each other odd addition here or there to make a real Stanley Cup winner.” and smile. Or laugh. Scotty, if you were to coach a team today, would you coach it the same From the opening scene in which Fedorov became the first to defect, way you did back in the day? sneaking out of Team Russia’s hotel in Portland to flee in a getaway car, to the bags of cash Devellano showed Konstantinov in a middle-of-the- Bowman: “The concept would be the same, but I think the important thing night meeting at Joe Louis Arena, there was plenty of “Goodfellas” in this for me, what we had in Detroit, is I had the same assistants for nine one. There was bribing of doctors, and former Detroit Free Press writer years. Now a lot of teams get unhappy and impatient and keep changing Keith Gave using his experience as an NSA linguist to set the wheels in coaches. That’s something I was fortunate (with) in Detroit. For a couple motion with a sneaky meeting in Helsinki; Gave wrote the book that years, we didn’t get it done. To able to have patience. inspired the film. “The biggest loss that Tampa is going to have is the loss of (former GM) But as Lightning fans (and players) watch this film closely, it’s easy to Steve Yzerman. I remember the first year I showed up in Detroit, I told find some common threads and potential lessons to learn. This year’s Steve, ‘I thought you had a pretty good year.’ He was injured, but he Tampa Bay team tied the 1995-96 Red Wings for the NHL record with 62 came back and said, ‘You haven’t seen anything yet.’ I’ll always regular-season wins, and there are strong comparisons between the remember that. I told him, ‘For us to win, you have to become a complete rosters. Both teams fell short of the Stanley Cup, though the Lightning player,’ and he became as complete a player as there has been in my had the more embarrassing, unceremonious exit, getting swept in the days in the NHL. What I always admired about Steve, we brought in a lot first round by the Columbus Blue Jackets. of firepower, captains from other teams. But I don’t know what Steve did, but they came in, joined the group like they had been there for 3-4 years. As much as “The Russian Five” has the happy ending — back-to-back It’s so much different now, with guys changing teams.” Cups in 1996-97, 1997-98 serenaded by Queen’s “We Are the Champions” — there was also plenty of heartbreak, anger and doubt. Your favorite moment with the “Russian Five”? Devellano promised the Red Wings’ owners — Mike and Marian Ilitch — Devellano: “My favorite moment was how you saw “Hockey Night in they’d have a Cup in eight years, and it took 14. Fans wanted the team Canada” provocateur Don Cherry saying the reason we couldn’t win is broken up, wondering if it had the makeup to win it all? because we had too many Russians. And when we won the Cup in 1997 They had to “become one,” as former Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman after 42 years … we did it with five Russians and they were all major, put it in the film, giving up their individual accolades. They had to be major parts of that Stanley Cup victory.” hardened by playoff defeats, specifically to the rival Colorado Avalanche. Bowman: “My favorite moment was one day Slava Fetisov came to see They had to add some grit, “The Grind Line” and all. And they needed me. He asked, ‘How are we doing?’ I said. ‘You’re doing great.’ I said, some luck. ‘Slava, whatever you guys are doing, keep it up because I don’t know So when the film ended Wednesday night and fans had questions for the how you do it.”’ Q&A panel of Devellano, Bowman and Gave, many asked how the With all the animosity toward Sergei Fedorov after he left Detroit, what Lightning can bounce back to complete the same feat. are the chances the Red Wings retire his jersey (No. 91)? From left, Scotty Bowman, Jimmy Devellano, agent Dan Milstein and Devellano: “I’d say pretty good.” Keith Gave at the film premiere in Tampa. (Joe Smith / The Athletic) Scotty, with Steve Yzerman coming back to Detroit, would you ever The first question was: What would you tell Lightning coach Jon Cooper consider coming out of retirement to coach the Red Wings for a few on getting them back? weeks? “It was the first series, and really unfortunately for Tampa, the team was Bowman: “Only if I can bring the Russian Five back with me.” not 100 percent healthy going into the playoffs,” Bowman said. “Those things happen. One of the years we won, in 1998, we had one player Was there ever a personal moment that really changed your view on miss one game in 22 games. It was amazing, one player with the flu. Russian players? Bowman: “I got spanked about three times in international hockey by Russians. The way the Russians played, they played the puck- possession game. It’s not easy to get the puck back.

“I remember after Sergei (Fedorov) left the game, I talked with Wayne Gretzky, met him at a reception, and he said, ‘People don’t know how great a player Sergei was.’ He was a great player without the puck. Wayne said to me, ‘I don’t know how many players, maybe Gordie Howe, could have played forward and then come back to play defense.’

“One year, we had a bunch of injuries, and I asked Sergei if he would play back on defense, and he said, ‘Sure!’ Sergei played for six weeks on defense. Wayne said he’d never think of playing defense. Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr were great players, and they wouldn’t do it. Russian players were just very different.”

Was there ever any NHL interference once you brought the Russians over to Detroit?

Devellano: “The one person who deserves a ton of credit here was our executive vice president, Jim Lites — he really made it happen. He found a way for guys to defect, bribed doctors in Russia, whatever it took. The NHL, no one ever really came down on me. The NHL is the best hockey league in the world. You should have the best players in the world. And when we did it in Detroit, we became a great hockey team. And you know what? It’s a copycat league, everybody has copied us. Now there are Russians all over the league.”

The Athletic LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143275 Toronto Maple Leafs playoffs. Philadelphia has won five of those series. There has been one playoff series between the Raptors and the 76ers prior to this year. That came down, as you all know, to a missed Vince Carter jumpshot at the SIMMONS: Babcock will be asked to change in order to remain Leafs buzzer in Game 7. Most of the Raptors history before this playoff season coach has been about almost winning … The banished Bryan Colangelo should not be forgotten as this second-round series begins. He brought Kyle Lowry to Toronto in a somewhat controversial deal. He drafted Ben Simmons in Philadelphia and traded for J.J. Redick. His fingerprints are Steve Simmons all over the Raptors and the Sixers in various ways … Kawhi staying or April 27, 2019 4:02 PM EDT going Leonard, is off to one of the best playoff starts of his career. He’s scoring more than ever before, shooting better, shooting threes better, and more difficult to handle offensively. We’re going to miss him when he’s gone … Did you know DeMar DeRozan has not made a three since Not all is well with Mike Babcock and the front office of the Toronto Maple December 26? That’s 42 games without a three. Basically, coach Gregg Leafs. Popovich has taken the three away from him. But that doesn’t mean the coach of the Leafs is about to be replaced. SCENE AND HEARD The coach will be asked over the course of the summer — and likely before that — to expand his horizons, to be less stubborn and set in his Questions not asked at the Leafs locker clean-out. What’s the future for ways, to be more creative in his approach to coaching the team. Garret Sparks? How close is Rasmus Sandin from playing for the Leafs? What are the odds of Connor Brown being traded in the off-season? Babcock’s performance in the seven-game series against the Boston What do the Leafs do with restricted free agents, Kasperi Kapanen and Bruins left reason for doubt, if there wasn’t reason already before the Andreas Johnsson? Do the Leafs limit ice-time because of sports science playoffs began. The Leafs penalty killing in the postseason was or Babcock stubbornness? Will Leafs make any changes to their historically inept at 56.3%. For the third straight playoff season, the Leafs coaching staff going forward? … The Florida Panthers had a better were beaten by an opponent on special teams. power play and better penalty killing than the Leafs this season. Bob That’s on the coach. Boughner was let go in Florida along with special teams assistant, Paul McFarland. Either of those coaches could help the Leafs … Not When Babcock won a Stanley Cup with the Red Wings, they had an nominated for coach of the year but certainly deserving of recognition: 86.7% penalty killing average. Normally, to contend at a high level, when Rick Tocchet in Arizona; Rod Brind’Amour in Carolina; Bill Peters in you add penalty killing to power play, the number should be greater than Calgary … David Poile hates firing coaches and rarely does so. But you 100. have to wonder whether Peter Laviolette’s time is up in Nashville. The team didn’t look right during the season and didn’t look right in the Washington won the Stanley Cup last year: This special teams number playoffs … Yes, that was a terrible call in San Jose. And yes, the Sharks 105.3. The year before, Pittsburgh with 104.1 won the Cup. did amazing by scoring four power play goals on a five-minute major that The Leafs this playoff season were at 75.1. In three playoff seasons, they should not have been called. But why after the second goal didn’t coach have never been higher than 93.4. Penalty killing has never been better Gerard Gallant call time out. Just to settle things down. I think Vegas than 70.6% in a playoff series. wins the series if he does that … A Stanley Cup Final I’d like to see: Joe Thornton vs. the Bruins … Still looking for coaches: Buffalo, Ottawa, The Leafs need answers from Babcock. Why he played an injured Zach Anaheim and maybe Edmonton … Vegas has won 16 playoff games in Hyman so much on penalty kill. Why he had so much faith in Patrick two NHL seasons. The Leafs have won 17 playoff games in the past 15 Marleau. Why he didn’t play Auston Matthews more minutes. Why he years. didn’t shorten his bench often enough. Almost everyone took some blame for the Leafs demise on locker clean out day. The one who didn’t, AND ANOTHER THING Babcock, is the one on the hottest of seats. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. answered all the questions at his first press THIS AND THAT conference as a Blue Jays with the aid of an interpreter. None of his answers were in English. When he went into the hallway after the Auston Matthews ended the playoffs in 35th place among forwards for conference, he turned to a Jays employee and asked in English: “Were ice-time played. He played 19:47 a game and less than that in Game 7. my answers good?” … Why did the Blue Jays give up on Dwight Smith Five forwards are over 22 minutes a game. Matthews should have played Jr.? The former first-round pick is smashing the ball with the Baltimore at least 22 minutes in Game 7 … Another thing Babcock has to change: Orioles, and you can argue hitting better than any Jay not named Justin Length of power play time. He plays his first unit one minute, his second Smoak. The Jays designated Smith for assignment upon signing veteran unit another minute. The Bruins go 1:30 or more with their first unit and starter Clay Buchholz … Marco Gonzales is 5-0 with the first place had some goals late in power plays … If you have never seen Brad Seattle Mariners. Justin Verlander is 4-0 with the great Houston Astros. Marchand in street clothes, you wouldn’t know tiny he is. He’s Darcy And you know what, Marcus Stroman is having a better April than either Tucker size and plays a similar game with more skill … Never mind the of them. His earned run average of 1.43 leads the American League and empty net goals, the last six Boston goal scorers in the playoffs have is basically half of what Gonzales has given up. He only has one win, been Noel Acciari, Charlie Coyle (2), Joakim Nordstrom, Sean Kuraly which feeds the notion that wins don’t matter much anymore with starting and Marcus Johansson. That’s who beat the Leafs in the end. Toronto pitchers … Smoak has a .404 on base percentage to start the season had two games to win the series, scored three goals in total in the two and a .917 OPS. He’s never been close to those numbers before. At 32, games. You can’t win doing that. They didn’t get a goal from an Acciari or after so much early disappointment, this is the best hitter he’s ever been a Kuraly when they needed one … First goal in Game 7 against Toronto … Godfather Updates: Vladdy Guerrero’s Godfather happens to be came off a Travis Dermott giveaway (attempted stretch pass) and a shot Pedro Martinez. Patrick Mahomes’ Godfather happens to former Blue that Frederik Andersen should have stopped. Second goal came on a Jays’ pitcher, LaTroy Hawkins … The machine that is Albert Pujols Jake Gardiner reversal to no one and a shot that bounced off the post. carries on. He is one RBI away from tying Barry Bonds for third place on Third one came on a wrist shot from a fourth liner. Human error on each the all-time list. Soon, he’ll be third on his own. With 1,995 RBI, not sure of them. Leafs had the better line matchup in each case. The goals – he can catch Alex Rodriguez at 2,086 and certainly won’t catch the great player mistakes, nothing to do with analytics … They don’t win much but Henry Aaron, first with 2,297 RBI … Happy birthday to Nick Lidstrom occasionally the Pegulas in Buffalo do something smart. The Sabres (49), Roman Polak (33), George Gervin (67), David Krejci (33), Peter Ing could have hired coach Todd McLellan for $5 million a year. The owner (50), Mel Bridgman (64), Lloyd Eisler (56), Thomas Pannone (25), Barry balked, saying why pay $5 mill for a coach who got fired in Edmonton Larkin (55) and Mark Bavaro (56) … And hey, whatever became of making $3 mill. Los Angeles paid the money and McLellan is now Silvestre Campusano? coaching the Kings.

HEAR AND THERE Toronto Sun LOADED: 04.28.2019 Take that the touch-em-all home run by Joe Carter and the history between Toronto teams and Philadelphia teams isn’t all that great. Yes, the Blue Jays beat the Phillies in dramatic fashion to win the 1993 World Series. The Leafs have played the Flyers six times in the Stanley Cup 1143276 Toronto Maple Leafs a solid case to be made that he was the team’s best 200-foot player this season. Personally, I would argue that Tavares had a bigger impact at 5- on-5, but it’s hard to disagree with the fact that Marner was Toronto’s Tulloch: Handing out full season report cards for the 2018-19 Leafs most valuable player on special teams.

Frederik Andersen – 3.60 regular season average, 4.00 playoff average (team lead) By Ian Tulloch I was so upset when I had to give Andersen a 1-star grade for Game 7, Apr 27, 2019 because I knew it wasn’t indicative of his season. He was lights out in Games 1 through 6 (by far Toronto’s best player in the series) and

arguably the team’s most important player during the regular season. It After another frustrating Game 7 loss to Boston, a lot of Leafs fans want flew under the radar, but the Leafs were actually getting outshot and out- answers. What went wrong; who’s to blame; how is the team going to chanced at even strength in the first two months of the season, but no respond with changes in the offseason? We have a long offseason to one really noticed it because Andersen posted a .932 save percentage help answer some of those questions, but with the season coming to a across this time (in 21 starts). close this week, I thought it would be fun to go back and do a year-in- His play eventually came back down to earth, but he was easily one of review type of article breaking down every player’s season. the ten best goalies in the NHL this season. When you take his workload James Mirtle recently handed out his playoff report cards, but I tend to be into account, I think there’s a good case for him being a top-five more of a large sample kind of guy, so we’re going to look at both the goaltender in 2018-19. It’s hard to ask for much more than that from your regular season and the playoffs. netminder.

For those who may not know, Dom Luszczyszyn and I had the privilege Auston Matthews – 3.60 regular season average, 3.71 playoff average of writing Leafs Report Cards after every game this season (with Joshua This was a weird year for Matthews in that he struggled to drive play at 5- Kloke helping out in the playoffs). In these postgame articles, we would on-5 without William Nylander (especially when he played alongside rank each player’s performance on a five-star scale, with one being the Patrick Marleau). His defensive game and transitional play leave a lot to lowest and five being the highest. That’s 89 games worth of (somewhat be desired considering his talent, but those shortcomings almost don’t quantifiable) data we have on each player’s individual performance. matter when you consider how ridiculous his offensive impact is. He was Thanks to one of our readers, Mark Norman, I was able to look at each on pace to score 45 goals this season, potted another five in the playoffs, player’s average grade in the regular season and playoffs. It’s not a and did all of it while playing significantly fewer minutes than most perfect system, but I think it should give us a good idea of which Leafs superstar centres (he ranked 64th in ice time among forwards this performed the best (and worst) in 2018-19. For simplicity’s sake, we’re season, which is another conversation for another day). only going to focus on players who played regular minutes in the playoffs You’d like to see his 200-foot game take a big step forward next season, (so not Garret Sparks, Martin Marincin, Igor Ozhiganov, etc.). but when it comes to Matthews’ production, he clearly met expectations To help simplify things, I’ve grouped the players into tiers based on their this season. average grades: Jake Muzzin – 3.03 regular season average, 3.57 playoff average (team Elite: 3.5 Stars lead among defencemen)

Great: 3.0 Stars I’ve bumped Muzzin up into this elite tier because of his phenomenal playoff performance (and also the fact that I felt his 5-on-5 performance Solid: 2.5 Stars in the regular season was vastly under-appreciated). I don’t know how else to put this — Muzzin turned Nikita Zaitsev into a positive possession Underwhelming: <2.5 Stars player while facing tough competition at even strength. How many other Let’s start with the elite tier. defencemen in the NHL do we think can do that?

Elite Tier (3.5 stars) I’ve argued in the past that Muzzin is a No. 2 defenceman, but if we’re strictly talking about his value at 5-on-5, I think there’s an argument to be John Tavares – 3.71 regular season average (team lead), 3.43 playoff made that he’s had more of a #1D type of impact at even strength average throughout his career. His teammates consistently perform much better with him than without him, which was clearly the case this season in I’m not sure what there’s left to say about Tavares’ season. After signing Toronto. He may not be right-handed, but he was easily the best an $11 million contract with his hometown team in free agency, defenceman who got traded this season, and Toronto was able to expectations were extremely high for the 28-year-old centre coming into acquire him without giving up an A-level prospect. That’s quite the coup the 2018-19, and he somehow managed to surpass them. He set career from Kyle Dubas if you ask me. highs in both goals (47) and points (88), while taking on tough shifts in both the regular season and playoffs coming out well on top at 5-on-5. Great Tier (3.0 stars)

Considering Tavares’ track record of drastically improving his linemates’ Morgan Rielly – 3.40 regular season average (team lead among point totals, I don’t think we should overlook the fact that Mitch Marner defencemen), 3.14 playoff average saw a significant bump in production this season. That isn’t to take anything away from the dynamic winger (who we’ll talk about next), but I This is probably going to be the most controversial grade (other than think it’s safe to say that Tavares had a major impact on Marner putting maybe William Nylander) — “How can you not have Rielly in the elite up career highs in a contract year. tier? He was a Norris-calibre defenceman this year!”

Mitch Marner – 3.67 regular season average, 3.57 playoff average I’ve tried to make these assessments as objective as possible, so if a player doesn’t meet a certain threshold (e.g. 3.5 stars on average in the Now, Tavares wasn’t alone in his efforts. He and Marner brought out the regular season or playoffs for the elite tier), I’m not allowed to shoehorn best in each other at 5-on-5, making magic happen in transition (their them in even if I believe they deserve to be there. With Rielly, I think give-and-go plays off the rush were a thing of beauty). These plays often there might be a bit of bias in the way Dom and I evaluated defencemen resulted in Marner finding Tavares with a backdoor feed for an easy tap- this season (tending to grade forwards higher on average), but I also in, which became a running joke throughout the season — “The Leafs think there’s a solid counterargument to his Norris candidacy. When you aren’t paying Tavares to just score 47 tap-in goals.” account for his usage at 5-on-5, he had an unbelievable impact offensively (which we all saw), but gave a lot of it back on defence. This is a big part of the reason Marner led the league in 5-on-5 primary assists by a country mile this season, with 36 (Sidney Crosby had 31, no Here’s a quick legend for anyone who’s unfamiliar with the following one else came close to 30). He also finished the season with the most 5- charts: 0n-5 primary points in the NHL, which is typically us nerds’ favourite stat when it comes to point production (since secondary assists aren’t very Off_xG: Impact on Expected Goals For repeatable). When you throw in Marner’s massive contributions on Off_CF: Impact on Shots For special teams (quarterbacking PP1 and dominating his PK shifts), there’s Def_xG: Impact on Expected Goals Against Let me start off by saying that Nylander’s production was obviously underwhelming this season. He was shell of his former self for the first Def_CF: Impact on Shots Against month and a half of the season when it was clear he wasn’t in game- Expected Goals are basically weighted shot differentials, for example: shape after joining the team in December. With that caveat, let’s try our best to evaluate him. 3% shot from the blue line = 0.03 Expected Goals I think the biggest mistake we make when evaluating players is 20% shot from the slot = 0.20 Expected Goals overvaluing the importance of points and undervaluing the importance of impacting 5-on-5 play. For example, if you can get your team into the Now, it definitely matters when you score 20 goals and 72 points as a offensive zone with consistency and spend most of your shifts there (and defenceman (that has value), but I tend to care much more about how not the defensive zone), that’s a good thing. We know that shooting you impact the game at 5-on-5 as a blueliner. Descriptively speaking, percentages tend to regress to a player’s career average, so I don’t think Rielly had a phenomenal season (very few players impacted goal rates we should worry about Nylander’s shooting percentage blip (5.4 percent) as well as he did), but when it comes to the more predictive measures anymore than we worried about Nazem Kadri’s in 2015-16 (he followed (e.g. shots and expected goals), I would make the argument that a player up that season with back-to-back 30-goal seasons). like Muzzin was more effective at even strength, particularly in the playoffs. When we account for usage, Nylander actually had the best impact on 5- on-5 shots and expected goals among Leafs forwards. That’s largely Players like Rielly (e.g. Roman Josi) are always going to be tricky to because of his ability to move the puck up the ice with possession — an evaluate, since they’re more of a “rover” than a defenceman (a fourth area where Matthews isn’t as strong. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that forward who likes to jump into the rush and drive things offensively). Both Matthews began playing his best hockey when Nylander rejoined him at players have significant value when it comes to generating shots and 5-on-5 (that line dominated play, controlling over 60 percent of the chances for their team, but I think it’s fair to acknowledge the fact that expected goals in the last month of the season). Conversely, I don’t think they also give up a lot defensively. Much like Matthews, the pros it’s a coincidence that the Matthews line struggled at 5-on-5 in the outweigh the cons with Rielly, but there are downsides to his game that playoffs without Nylander. we tend to overlook. The two of them tend to bring out the best in each other (Nylander with Kasperi Kapanen – 3.46 regular season average, 2.14 playoff average his play-driving ability, Matthews with his ridiculous offence), and in the It’s crazy how expectations can shift our perception on a player. Coming limited opportunities they got this season, they were both dominant into this season, Kapanen started on the fourth line, with fans hoping he together. would see a bit more time on the third line. By the end of the year, he had Nazem Kadri – 3.10 regular season average, 2.5 playoff “average” established himself as a bona fide top six forward, which ended up being a bit of a double-edged sword. Fans expected more from him in the There’s naturally going to be some recency bias in how we evaluate playoffs on a line with Matthews, so when he managed to put up only two Kadri, but I want to try my best to take a step back and evaluate his points in seven games against Boston (while getting outshot, out- whole season. Much like Nylander, I thought the process was solid. He chanced, and outscored at even strength), there was some frustration. was outshooting and out-chancing the opposition at even strength despite playing with some less-than-ideal linemates for most of the I think the best way to describe Kapanen’s game is with the following season (e.g. Par Lindholm and Connor Brown earlier in the season). With image. that being said, the production wasn’t where it had been in previous League average Carry-In % is 48 percent, Pass % is 18 percent. seasons.

This is from my article earlier this year about the importance of making The biggest concern for me is whether or not Kadri is well-suited for passes after a zone entry. Kapanen is phenomenal at gaining the zone, sheltered minutes at 5-on-5. I’m not sure he has the dynamic offensive much like the players on this list, but he struggles with creating space for ability to dominate those minutes (like James van Riemsdyk did last passing lanes in the offensive zone (something a player like Nylander year), but at the same time, you know that you can play him with pretty excels at). His acceleration and straight-line speed is a big part of the much anyone (except Marleau-Brown) and that line will come out on top reason he scored 20 goals this year (you’re going to generate a lot of at even strength. That has real value, and it’s a big part of the reason odd-man rushes when you’re a top-20 skater in the NHL), but the next Toronto is able to run a Matthews-Nylander line when he’s in the lineup. step is going to be using that speed to open up more space for his The question moving forward is whether or not he can stay in the lineup teammates. We know he can generate 5-on-5 shots, chances, and goals when the games matter most, which is a legitimate concern after his last at a first line rate, but can he develop into a better playmaker with his two playoff runs. When it comes to assessing his season, though, I think great tools? it’s fair to say that he had a strong impact at 5-on-5, but underwhelming production relative to his standards (particularly on the power play), Only time will tell, but it’s pretty fun that we’re having the discussion which sounds very similar to how Nylander’s season went. about whether Kapanen is going to become a first or second line forward (not a third or fourth line forward). Tyler Ennis – 2.63 regular season average, 3.40 playoff average

Trevor Moore – 3.12 regular season average, 3.43 playoff average Much like Moore, Tyler Ennis was a pleasant surprise this season. Toronto’s fourth line was noticeably more dangerous with him on the ice, I think Trevor Moore was my favourite Leaf this season with respect to especially in the playoffs. He managed to score 12 goals in 51 games (a blowing past his expectations. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of him 19-goal pace), which is incredible for a fourth liner. If he was so dominating fourth line minutes in the AHL playoffs last year, but he impressive, though, why does he find himself so low on this list? followed it up with a ridiculous 2018-19 season for the Marlies (leading the team in points, 5-on-5 CF%, and Game Score by a significant Well, I think it’s important to remember that he shot 18.5 percent at even margin) and continued to impress in his stint with the Maple Leafs. His strength this year (his career average is 9.6 percent). Realistically, that’s puck pursuit was noticeable seemingly every time he stepped on the ice. not repeatable and we shouldn’t expect him to come close to replicating that production next year. We also have to consider the fact that the He’s one of those players I could easily see filling in the top nine next Leafs got heavily outshot when he was on the ice, which is concerning year as a complementary winger alongside Matthews, Tavares, or Kadri. when you account for how sheltered he was at 5-on-5. When you take He checks all of the boxes: fast skater, hard worker, wins buck battles, everything into account, I think it’s fair to say that this was a fun year to some decent skill, and a bit of finishing talent to go with it. He’s never have Tyler Ennis on your team (he was scoring tons of goals), but with going to be the best player on his line, but he doesn’t need to be on this the money he’s earned himself for next year, the Leafs would be wise to roster. Given their current salary structure, the Leafs are going to need a move on and not overpay him for production he’s unlikely to repeat. rotating cast of cheap complementary players who can provide value in the top nine, and that’s exactly what Moore gives them for the next two If we’re being frank, Toronto doesn’t need to re-sign him this summer; seasons at $775,000. they need to find the next Tyler Ennis.

William Nylander – 3.28 regular season average, 2.71 playoff average Solid Tier (above 2.5 stars)

Oh boy, here we go. Zach Hyman – 2.90 regular season average, 2.71 playoff average The fact that Hyman played through a torn ACL in the last three games of Steven Stamkos, you know that you’re probably due for some regression the playoffs (without a considerable drop-off in performance) speaks to in that department, so just keep that in mind if he isn’t able to surpass 50 his dog-like mentality on the ice, which everyone from the fan base to the points next season like most fans expect. Then again, if he gets coaching staff appreciates. You love seeing him chase down a loose significant PP1 time (whether it’s on the Leafs or another team), it’s tough puck in the corner or work his tail off on the backcheck to prevent a 3-on- to say what his ceiling might be offensively. 2 rush, which is the type of “off-puck” work he helped bring to a line with two dominant puck carriers. Underwhelming Tier (2.5 stars)

I’m still not sure if it’s the best idea having your worst finisher on a line Nikita Zaitsev – 2.41 regular season average, 2.71 playoff average with your two best playmakers, but it’s hard to argue with the results of I’ve long been in the camp that “Nikita Zaitsev isn’t very good” (which I the Hyman-Tavares-Marner combination. They were one of the best lines still hold to this day), but we have to give him some credit for how well he in the NHL this season, and I feel like Hyman had a hand in that when it played in the playoffs, particularly against Brad Marchand (the left winger came to driving play. I’m not saying he’s irreplaceable (you could who was coming down his side of the ice). Zaitsev can be an infuriating probably slot Moore in there next season and be fine), but he helped give player to watch because you see things you legitimately like: a player that line an element they were missing while also potting 20 goals on the who can angle a puck carrier like Marchand to the boards and displace year. him from the puck. Then you see him attempt a breakout pass and it’s Travis Dermott – 2.97 regular season average, 2.14 playoff average like he’s never played organized hockey before.

I’ve been a card-carrying member of the Travis Dermott fan club for a This is the joke I like to make when I evaluate his play. I don’t think he’s while now, and even I can admit that he had a pretty rough playoff run. necessarily as bad as his numbers show defensively, but I feel like a big It’s hard to know how much his injury (and Jake Gardiner’s back) part of the reason he’s on defence so often is because of his inability to impacted the third pairing’s struggles in the playoffs, so I’m going to stick move the puck up the ice with possession (if you’re constantly flipping it to Dermott’s regular season when I evaluate his year. Once again, he out to the other team, you’re not going to spend much time on offence). I was getting sheltered minutes on the third pairing in 2018-19, but once know the Muzzin-Zaitsev combination performed well this season, but again, he was dominant in those minutes. one player has a long track record of inflating his partner’s value, while the other has a history of hurting his team’s 5-on-5 numbers. If we’re I thought we reached the point last year where Dermott had established being realistic, I think it’s safe to say that Muzzin is the one carrying that himself as a player who had earned an opportunity to move up the pairing, and Toronto would be wise to offload Zaitsev’s contract this lineup, but here we are again this offseason talking about our desire to offseason (which probably looks much more appealing after his pairing’s see him in a top-four role. I know that quality of competition is a thing, but strong performance in the playoffs). when you consider how much more important quality of teammates are, I think it’s fair to say that Dermott is a top four quality defenceman after Ron Hainsey – 2.28 regular season average, 2.57 playoff average dominating the past two seasons alongside Toronto’s bottom six and We used to joke about Playoff Polak, but I legitimately liked what I saw defence partners that consist of Roman Polak, Connor Carrick, and Igor from Playoff Hainsey this year. I still don’t think it’s ideal to be playing him Ozhiganov. in the top four when you’re a Cup contender, but I think we need to give Jake Gardiner – 2.90 regular season average, 2.00 playoff average him credit for his solid defensive play. As we’ve discussed, Rielly isn’t the greatest 200-foot player (he’s special offensively, but struggles at This feels like a send-off at this point, which is really sad considering how suppressing shots and chances). I thought Hainsey did a great job in the effective Gardiner has been at driving 5-on-5 results throughout his playoffs at using his stick to take away passing lanes and prevent clean tenure in Toronto. If we’re strictly evaluating his 2018-19 season, much entries in transition. like Dermott, I think we have to focus on the regular season (Gardiner clearly wasn’t 100 percent in the playoffs). Despite being saddled with When it comes to evaluating his full season, I thought he had a rough Zaitsev for most of the season, Gardiner found a way to break even at 5- start to the year (where I began to question if he was even an NHL player on-5. That’s pretty impressive when you consider how negatively Zaitsev anymore), but his game really started to pick up in the second half. He has impacted his play throughout his NHL career. looked his best when he was on the third pairing with Dermott (which is where I think he belongs on a championship-calibre team), but it’s been There’s obviously context that goes into this (Zaitsev spending more clear from the last couple seasons that Mike Babcock isn’t going to play post-PK shifts stuck in the defensive zone, Gardiner getting more him that far down the lineup. With that being the case, we’re probably minutes when Toronto needs a goal), but when the gap is that drastic, I looking at the Leafs parting ways with Hainsey this offseason (taking think it speaks to how significantly one player is holding another back at away Babcock’s “toys”), unless there’s a change coming behind the 5-on-5. With the addition of Muzzin, losing Gardiner in free agency is bench, which we probably shouldn’t rule out at this point. going to hurt much less (especially if Dermott can move up the lineup and one of Rasmus Sandin or Timothy Liljegren can make an impact Connor Brown – 2.40 regular season average, 2.29 playoff average next year), but make no mistake, the Leafs are going to miss Gardiner. Poor Connor Brown. After a 20-goal rookie season (where he had an We saw it in the games he missed this year due to injury; his puck- unsustainably high shooting percentage), he was everyone’s favourite moving ability is a valuable skill that you don’t appreciate until its gone. middle-six winger. Fast forward a couple years, and he’s become one of Much like Tomas Kaberle, I think Gardiner was wildly under-appreciated the whipping boys on Hockey Twitter. Personally, I think he can provide in his time as a Maple Leaf. As the years pass, I’m hoping fans can look more value to a team than he showed this year. When he’s the third best back on his tenure and understand the positive impact he had on the player on a line (even when he plays in the top six), he can be an team. effective complementary winger. Unfortunately, he was often asked to be the second-best winger on his line this season (whether it was on the Andreas Johnsson – 2.77 regular season average, 2.71 playoff average fourth line with Lindholm or the third line with Marleau) and he just doesn’t have the skill or offensive punch to help drive a line at 5-on-5. This grade reminds me of Kapanen’s, but in the opposite direction. Expectations were pretty high for Johnsson coming into training camp, This is a big part of the reason he had some of the worst shot metrics on but after a disastrous training camp and opening month or two to the the team this year (getting significantly outshot, outchanced, and season, it was hard to know what to make of him. Then he decided to outscored at even strength), not to mention his lacklustre point explode in the final four months of the season and score 43 points in 72 production. If we’re evaluating his performance on the Leafs this season, games (a 48-point pace across 82 games). I feel like his second half of it’s hard to give him anything other than a failing grade. With that being the season is much more indicative of the type of player we all saw last said, I could see him providing significant value to a team in need of season; an explosive skater who can get to the dirty areas and find the winger depth (e.g. Edmonton, Vancouver, Buffalo). It’s likely the Leafs back of the net with his quick release. move on from him this summer (they were reportedly trying to move him at the deadline), so I hope he finds success with his next NHL team — It’s too bad we didn’t get to see him on the penalty kill this season, but I it’s hard not to root for the guy. loved his play as the “bumper” in the middle of Toronto’s power play. For whatever reason, I thought he was a better fit on PP1 than Kadri this year Patrick Marleau – 2.22 regular season average, 1.43 playoff average (that unit seemed to work better with his quick release in the middle of (lowest among regulars) the ice). He also looked great at even strength, but it’s important to remember that he shot 15.7 percent at 5-on-5 this year. Unless your I don’t want to write this section. Patrick Marleau has had a fantastic career, is one of the nicest people out there, and has been working his tail off to stay in the league for 21 seasons. Unfortunately, at age 39, he just doesn’t have it anymore, which I broke down in detail last month. In fact, I would make the argument that he was Toronto’s worst player (among regulars) this season. He was a significant drag on possession at 5-on-5, produced points at a fourth-line rate, looked abysmal on the power play (and 6-on-5 situations), didn’t provide much defensive value, and wasn’t winning many puck battles.

I don’t like typing these things out, but I try my best to be objective in my analysis. If we took the names and numbers off the back of the jerseys, Marleau probably would have been a healthy scratch this season, and he looked even worse in the playoffs. Players are typically the last to know when it comes to their careers being over (Kobe Bryant’s last three seasons for the Lakers are a great example), but I feel like we might have reached that point with Marleau this season.

There’s an argument to be made that none of the above four players are going to be on the Leafs next season (considering their on-ice impact doesn’t match their contract). With Gauthier, though, you can live with him providing replacement level value on a league minimum contract. I don’t think anyone had high expectations for him coming into this season (personally, I thought he was closer to an ECHL player than an NHL player), but he proved us all wrong this season.

Is he ever going to score 20 points? Probably not. Is he a guy you want on the ice in a game that you’re losing by a few goals? Definitely not. But is he a guy you can give fourth line minutes to in the regular season and trust that he’s not going to give up a goal at 5-on-5? If you shelter him, I think the answer to that question is absolutely “yes.”

Frederik Gauthier in a nutshell, ladies and gentlemen. A low event centre who can slow the game down, cycle in the offensive zone, and suppress scoring chances…for both teams. That’s not a performance you’d be happy with for $2-or $3-million, but with Gauthier making $650,000 in 2019-20, I’m pretty confident that he’s is going to be on Toronto’s 23-man roster next season. At that price, he has legitimate value as a fourth line centre or 13th forward.

The Athletic LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143277 Vegas Golden Knights Each membership includes things such as a hat, flag, T-shirt, luggage tag, water bottle, poker chip, playing cards and a lapel pin, all showcasing a new logo exclusive to the community.

Bill Foley’s dream for Golden Knights has worldwide feel It’s all part of the process, of the vision an owner has for his team.

All of which, though, will never override his primary objective.

Ed Graney “My goal is to win,” Foley said. “My goal is to build a dynasty here. Not April 27, 2019 - 5:54 PM just win a Stanley Cup, but multiple Stanley Cups over several years. … People maybe underestimated us this year when we got off to a tough Updated April 27, 2019 - 11:09 PM start and had some gaps in play. But this is a good team. This definitely is a Stanley Cup team, in my opinion.”

I’m not sure how much China agrees, but somewhere within the In his mind, which is always working, always thinking bigger and better shopping district along Nanjing Road, there just might be someone being and broader in scope, Bill Foley sees the central coast of China, perhaps asked about a certain hat they’re wearing, and Foley’s dream would take along a famed waterfront promenade lined with colonial-era buildings, another step toward becoming reality. across from the Huangpu River, from which rises the Pudong district’s futuristic skyline. Maybe even the story of Game 7 will be told.

He sees his hockey team creating a global influence a world away, of How do you say meltdown in Mandarin? small children running through a sprawling Yu Garden of traditional pavilions and towers and ponds wearing … a T-shirt with Chance on it? LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 04.28.2019

“I always thought when visitors come to Las Vegas, even though they don’t get tickets (to games) because we are sold out, they are going to buy gear,” Foley said. “And they are going to be back in Shanghai wearing a Golden Knights hat.”

I mean, it’s not the monster that is the NBA in China, but foolish is the person who would doubt Foley’s ability to realize a dream.

I suppose they might even be sitting in that stylish courtyard at the Seesaw Coffeehouse on Yuyuan Road right now, pounding those spacious wooden tables and lamenting about the wrong assessment of a five-minute major penalty to Knights forward Cody Eakin in Game 7 of a Western Conference playoff series against the San Jose Sharks.

I also would hope that between sips, even the most loyal fans from China also discuss the ensuing power play that the Knights failed miserably to kill, allowing four goals in four minutes in which nary a timeout from the team was taken.

Let’s not totally avoid that important piece of a 5-4 overtime loss Tuesday.

The call on Eakin was brutal.

So, too, was how the Knights responded to it.

I’m certain the Knights’ net wasn’t empty during that kill and four teammates were on the ice with goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.

I absolutely know that San Jose hasn’t been given enough credit for rallying the way it did.

You can’t just talk about one part of the narrative. Things don’t (or shouldn’t) work that way in the real world of sports.

“We managed to do a pretty good run despite of everything, and despite the fact that we had a lot of guys hurt (during the season),” Foley said in evaluating the entirety of Year 2. “We had guys hurt in January, and then the trade deadline came along, and we got hot. (Trading for forward) Mark Stone was a piece of that, and the guys started getting healthy and coming back. So this team did go through a lot of adversity.”

Foley’s grand scheme to grow the team’s brand began a lot closer to home than China’s largest city, instead wanting to use last year’s expansion season as a way to enhance its presence across being televised in six states.

At first, it was all about being the Team of the Rockies.

The Knights have certainly made a large print of a skate’s blade in that part of the country, and wouldn’t it have made things interesting in this manner had the team advanced to play Colorado in the Western Conference semifinals?

Instead, Foley continues to think bigger and better and broader.

Worldwide push

Earlier this month, the team launched VGK Worldwide, a digitally based global community that will serve and unite Knights fans across the globe. 1143278 Vegas Golden Knights Nikita Gusev: It’s an interesting case study to see what the Knights pay the baby-faced, 26-year-old winger. If he gets a two-year, $9 million deal similar to Vadim Shipachyov but performs like Artemi Panarin, it will be Golden Knights face difficult decisions with free agents worth it.

William Karlsson: The 26-year-old posted 24 goals and 56 points in 82 games. Not bad. But it’s not 43 goals, either. A $6.5 million average David Schoen annual value seems like a good starting point. Would a team swoop in and sign him to an offer sheet? April 27, 2019 - 5:41 PM Tomas Nosek: The bottom-six forward must be extended a qualifying Updated April 27, 2019 - 6:47 PM offer of $1 million for the 2019-20 season or he will become an unrestricted free agent. He had career highs in goals (8), assists (9) and points (17). One of George McPhee’s strategies starting out as the Golden Knights’ general manager was to use the team’s considerable salary cap space Jimmy Schuldt: Signed as a free agent in March after a decorated as an asset. college career at St. Cloud State. He joins a deep pool of prospects that will compete during training camp for an NHL roster spot. The club took on dead weight in contracts (David Clarkson, Mikhail Grabovski, Clayton Stoner) to acquire desired pieces in return. Malcolm Subban: He went 8-10-2 as Marc-Andre Fleury’s backup while battling inconsistency. The 25-year-old must be extended a qualifying Those days are over. offer of 110 percent ($715,000) of his base salary or he becomes an unrestricted free agent. The Knights are pushed against the cap, and McPhee will have several difficult decisions to make this offseason after a first-round playoff exit LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 04.28.2019 against the San Jose Sharks.

“Every summer you look at what opportunities there are to make your team better. We’ll do that again,” McPhee said. “A lot of positions are filled. If there is a way to upgrade or improve, we will, but we’re in a pretty good place with this team. When we’re healthy, it’s a pretty darn good team.”

The Knights have a little more than $82 million committed with a projected $83 million cap, and the most pressing issue is center William Karlsson, a restricted free agent with arbitration rights.

The sides were unable to work out a long-term deal last summer, and he signed a one-year, $5.25 million contract to avoid arbitration. The difference this offseason is Karlsson can walk as an unrestricted free agent in 2020 if he’s not signed long term.

“We’ll get to work on it shortly and hopefully get it wrapped up,” McPhee said. “He had a real good season. He’s a good player. We like him. We’d like him to sign long term with us.”

In addition, the Knights could be looking for a fourth-line center with Pierre-Edouard Bellemare set to become an unrestricted free agent.

The third line also figures to get a makeover with center Erik Haula back in the mix. Russian Nikita Gusev burned his one-year entry-level deal during the playoffs and becomes a restricted free agent with arbitration rights.

On defense, veteran Deryk Engelland is an unrestricted free agent, and the team has several prospects waiting in the pipeline, including restricted free agent Jimmy Schuldt.

“We’ll have meetings with our pro staff shortly and just talk about our team, the future, the entire landscape, what’s out there and make decisions that are the best we can make for the organization,” McPhee said. “We’re in a pretty good place.”

Unrestricted free agents

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare: The 34-year-old center was an alternate captain and valuable penalty killer. He wouldn’t break the bank to re-sign, but the Knights could choose to go in another direction.

Ryan Carpenter: The versatile bottom-six forward made $650,000 and had a career-high 18 points in 68 games. He is a favorite of coach Gerard Gallant, but other teams could be interested in the high-character 28-year-old.

Deryk Engelland: He turned 37 on April 3 and made it clear he wants to continue playing. This could be McPhee’s most difficult decision because the longtime Las Vegas resident holds a unique place in franchise history.

Brandon Pirri: The midseason call-up found a hot stick in December, and he finished with 12 goals in 31 regular-season games. The 28-year-old is looking for an opportunity at the NHL level and is unlikely to return.

Restricted free agents 1143279 Vegas Golden Knights coaching, players in the room, weather, city, building. It’s really a privilege to not only play in the NHL but to play in Vegas.

“Who would’ve thought before there was a team here that we’d be talking Max Pacioretty, Paul Stastny, Mark Stone sparked Golden Knights about this place as a destination where every player wants to play? I feel honored that I’m able to play here.”

Ben Gotz Stone

April 27, 2019 - 5:19 PM Stone was the last, but perhaps most important, piece to arrive.

Updated April 27, 2019 - 6:41 PM The 26-year-old right wing was a symbol of the best of the Ottawa Senators, a homegrown sixth-round draft pick that became a two-way force in the NHL. But with the organization preparing for a long rebuild (the Senators finished with the fewest points in the league), he was Max Pacioretty admitted that the end to his first season with the Golden deemed a luxury. Knights, a controversy-filled Game 7 against the San Jose Sharks, made it difficult to sleep. He was traded to the Knights with minor leaguer Tobias Lindberg at the Feb. 25 deadline for prospect Erik Brannstrom, forward Oscar Lindberg The left wing used that time to think about everything, including the and a 2020 second-round pick, then agreed to an eight-year, $76 million possibilities of a full season playing with linemates Paul Stastny and extension. Mark Stone. The three joined the Knights at separate points in the past calendar year, but they formed chemistry quickly to arguably become the “It’s been a whirlwind,” Stone said. “It’s the first time I’ve ever been team’s most dangerous line. traded, whether it was juniors or pro. I knew it was going to be an adjustment, I knew it was going to be a different lifestyle. But I’m happy The team was 10-3 in the regular season when all three players were in with the decision I made. I’m excited about where this team is going to the lineup. If they could play a lot more than 13 games together in their go.” second season with the Knights, it could be one to remember. How far they go will depend on Stone, the rare forward who can score, “I’m very happy about the situation that we’re in, the team that we have, pass and defend with seemingly effortless efficiency. His addition the depth that we have,” Pacioretty said. “To have this be my home base seemed to make the Knights’ lineup whole, as the team played at a 104- and really be looking forward to coming into a comfortable environment point pace after his arrival. and knowing what to expect from Day 1, I think it should allow all of us newcomers to find our game a little bit quicker.” Now the team wants to keep that pace during its first full season with its revamped “second” line. Stastny ”We want to be a top team, so for us, we know that we’re going to have Stastny had the earliest and least stressful arrival of the three. to contribute to making that happen,” Stone said. “It was a great first A free agent last offseason, the center had options after he and the couple months playing with them, but there’s room for not only our line to Winnipeg Jets lost to the Knights in the 2018 Western Conference Finals. grow but for everybody to grow.” The 33-year-old decided to come to Las Vegas and signed a three-year, LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 04.28.2019 $19.5 million contract July 1.

Adversity struck early, though, when Buffalo Sabres forward Jack Eichel crashed into the back of Stastny’s right leg in the third game of the season. The lower-body injury caused Stastny to miss more than two months, and he didn’t return until the 34th game.

Still, upon his return, he lived up to his reputation as an all-zones player with a penchant for passing and pestering opposing forwards. He finished with his most points per game (0.84) since the 2013-14 season and had the second-best plus-minus (plus-14) of his 13-year career.

“Everything I could have imagined, it exceeded those expectations,” Stastny said. “I had the injury there, so it was kind of tough early on. As the year went on, I got more comfortable.”

Pacioretty

Pacioretty arrived second Sept. 9 as a heralded trade acquisition from the Montreal Canadiens.

The left wing had spent the entirety of his 10-year career in Montreal, but was coming off a scrutinized three-season run as the team’s captain. The Knights decided to give him a fresh start and traded forward Tomas Tatar, prospect Nick Suzuki and a 2019 second-round pick for him, then gave Pacioretty a four-year, $28 million extension.

“Not to say my time in Montreal wasn’t great, it was, but obviously there was a lot of adversity,” Pacioretty said. “When things don’t go well, you’re always looking for answers, and it seems a lot of the time it was directed toward me.”

The 30-year-old proceeded to have an eventful first season in Las Vegas, as he scored 22 goals, missed 16 games because of injury, welcomed the birth of his fourth son and put together the best stretch of playoff hockey of his career.

Pacioretty had 11 points (five goals, six assists) in the Knights’ first-round series against the Sharks after scoring 19 points in his first 38 postseason games.

“Being in Vegas has exceeded all my expectations,” Pacioretty said. “We have everything here. We have the best fans, the best ownership, 1143280 Vegas Golden Knights The Westgate, which took 13 wagers on the Knights at 500-1 odds to win the Stanley Cup in their inaugural season, avoided a six-figure liability on Vegas to win it all this year at odds ranging mostly from 10-1 to 12-1.

No bad beat rebates for Golden Knights bettors in Las Vegas A year after Knights bettors cashed in on their regular-season games, season point total and the Pacific Division and Western Conference crowns, Vegas backers lost on all counts. Todd Dewey A $100 bettor would be down $1,230 after wagering on the Knights in April 27, 2019 - 5:01 PM every game this season, including playoffs, according to Covers.com.

Updated April 27, 2019 - 5:33 PM At home alone, a $100 bettor would have lost $336 on Vegas despite it winning 26 of 44 games at T-Mobile Arena.

That’s because the prices on the Knights were inflated after their Stanley As painful as the Golden Knights’ Game 7 loss to the Sharks was to Las Cup run. They were at least minus 200 favorites in 19 games and lost Vegas fans, it was equally agonizing — if not more — to bettors who seven of those, including a 3-2 home defeat to the Detroit Red Wings as backed the Knights to win the game, series and Stanley Cup. minus 400 favorites. In a bad beat for the ages, Vegas blew a 3-0 lead midway through the “At the beginning of last season, they were home underdogs or short third period en route to a 5-4 overtime loss. San Jose scored four goals favorites,” Sherman said. “This year, we saw drastically different pricing on one power play after a five-minute major penalty that the NHL later of their games, and people weren’t so eager to get involved laying prices conceded was a bad call. like that. There was more money on the puck line.” When Barclay Goodrow scored 18:19 into overtime to end the Knights’ Alas, Vegas finished 20-24 at home on the popular puck line (-1½). second season, countless Golden tickets turned to dust in the desert. LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 04.28.2019 Warning: The following information might cause additional anguish for Knights bettors.

Bad beat rebates

PointsBet sportsbook in New Jersey inadvertently twisted the knife in the hearts and bankrolls of bettors in Las Vegas when it announced Wednesday that it would refund all Knights bets on the Game 7 money line, series futures and Stanley Cup futures as part of a “Good Karma” promotion.

PointsBet, an online book that was launched in Australia, also refunded all spread and money line wagers on the Saints when a noncall on pass interference in the NFC title game against the Rams cost New Orleans a trip to the Super Bowl.

Several other New Jersey books have employed similar bad beat rebate promotions since opening for business in the past year.

DraftKings refunded wagers — up to a $50 credit — on several NCAA Tournament games, including Virginia’s improbable overtime win and cover over Purdue in the Elite Eight.

The online New Jersey book also refunded money to Florida State bettors after the Seminoles, 8½-point favorites over Vermont, passed up an open dunk to dribble out the clock in their seven-point win.

“The promotions can cost a lot of money, but we believe it’s worth it to make the customer feel a little better and to know we’re doing something for them,” said DraftKings sportsbook director Johnny Avello, former Wynn Las Vegas sportsbook director.

‘Fail Mary’ refund

In 2012, D Las Vegas owner Derek Stevens refunded losing wagers placed on the infamous “Fail Mary” game, which the Seattle Seahawks won in controversial fashion over the Green Bay Packers on the final play on “Monday Night Football.”

But similar promotions aren’t planned at Las Vegas books, where bettors can earn comps through casino loyalty programs.

Stevens was approved Thursday by the Nevada Gaming Commission to operate sportsbooks at the Golden Gate, the D and the under- construction Circa resort under the Circa Sports brand. But he said the “Fail Mary” refund was probably a one-time thing.

“I’m glad we did it, and I know all these startup books are doing it. But I don’t know if we’d do it again,” Stevens said. “If you do it too often, it will lose its luster, and every time a game ends on a controversial call, everyone will want a refund.”

Likewise, Westgate sportsbook manager Jeff Sherman said there are no plans to offer a similar promotion.

“That’s mostly European operators making judgment calls themselves,” he said. “We always grade based on results.”

Books avoid big loss 1143281 Vegas Golden Knights this case was not the overriding cause of Pav’s awkward fall/injury. Incidental contact from Stastny resulted in bad ending.”

Jim — the guy who posed the question — was Jim Kyte, who played 598 Sharks needle Golden Knights on Twitter after killing off penalty games as a NHL defenseman and 151 with the International Hockey League’s Las Vegas Thunder.

Ron Kantowski Jim…I felt sick in the pit of my stomach. Mistakes are made, we all made enough of them, but a cross-check SHOVE to the chest area in this case April 27, 2019 - 4:47 PM was not the overriding caused of Pav’s awkwark fall/injury. Incidental contact from Stastny resulted in bad ending. https://t.co/Ax9vHujFDE Updated April 27, 2019 - 5:06 PM — Kerry Fraser (@kfraserthecall) April 25, 2019

Early arrival It has been days since the Golden Knights’ Cody Eakin was sent off for five minutes for cross-checking San Jose’s Joe Pavelski midway through Las Vegan Danny Leyva recently made his MLS debut with the Seattle the third period. Sounders in a friendly against Club Nacional of Uruguay in front of 30,000 spectators at CenturyLink Field, fulfilling a dream 15 years in the It still was a terrible call. making. The bitter taste lingers. Which is Leyva’s age. But one of these years, Golden Knights fans — and the front office, “It was a dream come true, honestly,” the youngster told the Seattle coaches and players — may acknowledge that the team’s penalty killing Times about becoming one of a handful of athletes to play American pro unit was at least partly to blame for a 5-4 meltdown in Game 7 of a hair- sports as a teenager. raising first-round playoff series. Those in his inner circle say Leyva is precocious. It hasn’t happened yet. Said father Ulises: “I tell my wife he’s like an old man because he listens Still too many other people with whom to be upset before looking in a to older music, like Phil Collins.” mirror. Looking forward to watching Danny Leyva dominate the midfield. Such as the twittering fool for the official Sharks Twitter account. https://t.co/yNgyDbapYG After the Sharks killed a four-minute penalty against Colorado on Friday, — Leyvamentum (@206Hometowners) April 23, 2019 the team reminded Las Vegas hockey fans that “What do you know, you *can* kill off four straight minutes of power play time!” Local radio producer Clay Baker, on the wild third period of the Knights’ 5-4 overtime playoff loss to the Sharks: When it comes to tossing shade, this wasn’t the garden variety. This was a complete blackout. You almost had to read it through one of those “This VGK loss, almost comical at the end. Like a pro wrestling match filters kids made back in the day to view an eclipse of the sun. where the refs looked the other way while the bad guys climb back (in).”

Then there was this, from The Hockey News: This VGK loss, almost comical at the end. Like a pro wrestling match where the refs looked the other way while the bad guys climb back. This At risk of drawing the ire of those in Vegas, Marc-Andre Fleury was time it ended with a clean pin fall and the crowd is left with stunned mediocre this season. His .917 save percentage at 5-on-5 ranked 31st of disbelief. Season Two Is Over as this town gasps for oxygen 43 goaltenders with at least 1,500 minutes at five-a-side this season, his goals-saved above average was minus 2.95, again 31st of those 43 LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 04.28.2019 keepers, and .913 SP at all strengths tied for 21st among the 48 goaltenders who made at least 30 appearances. His shutout total aside, it was a far cry from the play that saw him in the Vezina Trophy conversation last season.

I still believe the Sharks would trade Martin Jones for Fleury and throw in a puck bag and subscription to The Hockey News if it came down to winning one game. Or even four in seven.

But before you assess Jared Clinton a game misconduct for dissing the hockey patron saint of Las Vegas, he also wrote the Knights were a good team that should win a lot of games again next season.

In and out

Knights owner Bill Foley said the win was in the bag when Eakin was sent off, but a less-biased observer — or the person who writes official tweets for the Sharks — might have said the bag was not close to being cinched.

Remember in Game 2, when San Jose scored three goals in 2:09 to erase a 3-0 Vegas lead? It would have been four in 3:00 had Britt Burns’ apparent goal not been overturned via replay.

Only one came on a power play.

That’s the thing about rose-colored glasses. They tend to magnify one thing while limiting focus on another.

Fraser fesses up

When asked about the major penalty assessed to Eakin, here’s how longtime NHL official Kerry Fraser (2,165 games, 12 Stanley Cup Finals) responded to a query on Twitter:

“Jim … I felt sick in the pit of my stomach. Mistakes are made, we all made enough of them, but a cross-check SHOVE to the chest area in 1143282 Vegas Golden Knights significant savings, though it would also extend their cap hits to the 2020- 21 season.

For example, if Vegas buys out Reaves’ $2.775 million cap hit/salary, he 5 things to watch in Vegas Golden Knights’ offseason would count only $925,000 against the cap in 2019, but would also count the same in 2020. It’s savings now, with interest due later.

By Justin Emerson Defensive surplus

Saturday, April 27, 2019 | 2 a.m. Making a trade could help solve more issue than one. The Golden Knights have six defensemen under contract for next season, not including Schuldt’s restricted free agency and Engelland’s unrestricted free agency. The Golden Knights’ offseason may not have the same fireworks as last year’s but there are still decisions to be made. It seems unlikely that Vegas signed Schuldt without the expectation of working out a longer deal, so he would make seven. Last year the team reshaped its roster, losing James Neal and David Perron and adding Paul Stastny and Max Pacioretty. While the big Engelland said Thursday he wants to play next season and hopes it is in names don’t figure to be involved this year, there are nine free agents to Vegas. He will play next season at 37 years old, though he was a account for and plenty of trade options. stalwart on the penalty kill this year, as well as having a strong leadership voice in the dressing room. If he’s back, that’s eight. Here are a few of their more pressing issues: Then there is the AHL defensemen. Nic Hague is knocking at the door of William Karlsson’s contract the NHL and is considered one of the team’s premier prospects. Zach The biggest offseason priority is working out a contract for the team’s top Whitecloud played one game with the Golden Knights last year and Jake center. William Karlsson and General Manager George McPhee have Bischoff has spent time with the big club, though he has yet to appear in both stated their desire for a long-term deal to be worked out between a game. the two sides, but that is easier said than done. That’s 11 defensemen who could realistically fit on an NHL roster. Maybe Karlsson is a restricted free agent, meaning the team owns his rights for the Golden Knights decide not to re-sign Engelland or trade Miller, but one more year before he is eligible for unrestricted free agency next Vegas has a good problem in having too many players on the blue line. summer. The sides could work out a one-year deal like they did last Bottom six summer, or go to arbitration where a neutral party would decide the 26- year-old’s salary on a one-year deal. Unless something bizarre happens with Karlsson, the top six forwards figure to remain the same. Karlsson will center Jonathan Marchessault As a restricted free agent, Karlsson could also sign an offer sheet with and Reilly Smith, and Paul Stastny will center Max Pacioretty and Mark another team, at which point the Golden Knights would have the Stone. Things get interesting after that. opportunity to match it and sign him to that contract. Offer sheets are rare in the NHL — the last player to sign one was Ryan O’Reilly in 2013, and Under contract, the Golden Knights have Alex Tuch, Eakin, Reaves, the last player to change teams because of one was Dustin Penner in William Carrier, Valentin Zykov and the returning Erik Haula, as well as 2007 — so this outcome is unlikely. restricted free agents Nosek and Gusev. Below the NHL level is uber- prospect Cody Glass, and other intriguing minor leaguers. Then there is Working out Karlsson’s value will be the main point of contention. He Bellemare, Ryan Carpenter and Brandon Pirri, who are restricted free signed a one-year, $5.25 million contract after last season’s 43-goal, 78- agents. point breakout. He slipped this year to 24 goals and 56 points, which could make negotiations sticky. Vegas has shown a willingness to spend So the Golden Knights have options. It starts with whether they re-sign big, as five players are signed to contracts of at least Karlsson’s $5.25 Bellemare and goes from there. If he comes back, Vegas could trot out million next season, but with that comes a lack of cap space. Someone the same fourth line as last year with Bellemare between Carrier and will have to move in order to pay Karlsson. Reaves. If not, Nosek or even Glass could grab those minutes.

Cap crunch Next is deciding if Eakin comes back. His $3.85 million cap hit could make him a trade option, and if that happens, either Haula or Glass could There’s little doubt that Karlsson and the Golden Knights will work out a play center with Tuch on the right, with Gusev or Nosek on the left. If contract, which means the team will have to find the cap space Eakin comes back, Tuch still figures to play third-line right wing, with a somewhere. Vegas currently has $82.375 million committed to next rotating cast of characters playing left wing. year’s roster, which fits under the expected cap of $83 million next season. Backup goalie

But that doesn’t give the Golden Knights a lot of wiggle room. That Subban figures to have the lead on this job, as he has for the last two number only factors in 17 players, and even if they fill the six spots on years. But he is a restricted free agent, meaning he could cost more than their 23-man roster with league-minimum contracts, they will still come in some of the Golden Knights’ other options and every dollar could count. $3.575 million over the cap. Restricted free agents Nikita Gusev, Jimmy Schuldt, Tomas Nosek, Malcolm Subban and of course Karlsson won’t Subban played well in 21 games last year with a 2.93 goals-against make the league minimum, putting them in an even bigger hole. average and .902 save percentage. He showed his potential when he started nine games in a row from March 17-April 1, and may feel that he The team will recoup $5.25 million once the season begins by moving deserves much more than the $650,000 he made this season. David Clarkson’s contract to the long-term injured reserve, or perhaps trade the remaining dead money. Depending on how much the restricted The likeliest scenario is that Subban returns, but if the Golden Knights free agents make, that doesn’t entirely solve the team’s issue, not even are looking to save money, they have Oscar Dansk on an entry-level deal counting if they want to bring back restricted free agents Deryk for next season, as well as Maxime Lagace, who is a free agent but only Engelland, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Brandon Pirri and Ryan played one game this year and 17 in his career. Carpenter. There’s also the possibility Vegas looks outside the organization. Marc- Trading would be the easiest solution. Cody Eakin ($3.85 million), Ryan Andre Fleury missed time this year with an injury, the second year in a Reaves ($2.775 million), Nick Holden ($2.2 million) and Jon Merrill row he has done so. The Golden Knights may look at their goalie who will ($1.375 million) all have sizable cap hits and are entering the last year of turn 35 in November and decide an experienced backup could be their contracts. Colin Miller ($3.875 million) and Brayden McNabb ($2.5 needed, and look outside the organization. million) could be possibilities as well, but each have three years LAS VEGAS SUN LOADED: 04.28.2019 remaining on their respective deals.

There is also the buyout option if a trade can’t be made. Buying out a player with more than one year left on his deal is a tricky proposition, but if they were to buy out their 2020 free agents, they could get some 1143283 Washington Capitals “When I got traded last year I still had a year on my contract, so anything can happen,” Orpik said. “I think you always, when the season ends, whether you have a contract or not, think about it a little bit. But obviously 'Patience is always a good thing': Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik when you don't have a contract or potentially not even playing next year, ponders NHL future you think about it even more."

Orpik was brought to Washington by MacLellan in 2014 to help stabilize a blueline in turmoil. The Capitals had just missed the playoffs for the first By Brian McNally April 27, 2019 1:32 PM time since 2007 and lacked some of the toughness and experience that Orpik had long provided Pittsburgh. Back then he wanted a deal done

close to the start of free agency on July 1. It worked out with Washington ARLINGTON — Brooks Orpik’s future might include the NHL. Or maybe and he had a new home. it will be a return to school. Or coaching eventually. For now, all the 38- “It’s hard to put into words what a guy like that means to a team,” forward year-old defenseman knows is it definitely includes Mickey Mouse. Tom Wilson said. “I mean you guys see it but you don’t really see it. It’s Disney World with the kids is about as far ahead as Orpik is willing to everything that that guy does has been good for the team. I’ve said it a look these days after the Capitals were eliminated by the Carolina bunch of times. He’s best friends with the 19-year-old, he’s best friends Hurricanes in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Wednesday. with the 35-year-old. It’s just who he is. He’s one of the guys on the team His one-year contract will expire, leaving Orpik as a free agent at an age who makes it fun coming to the rink. We were extremely lucky to have when most NHL players his age have retired – or been forced to do so. him and I hope he’s coming back."

It is a testament to Orpik’s dedication to the sport that he was still a This year Orpik says it could be well into August before he decides if he significant factor in Washington’s season. He was fifth among wants to give it another go. He’d likely be a later signing anyway as defensemen in minutes played (830:39). That time-on-ice per game younger free agents take priority and teams figure out before training (15:40) increased significantly in the postseason (18:12) after an injury to camp if they need a veteran defenseman. He’ll probably want to play by defenseman Michal Kempny (torn left hamstring) ruffled the Capitals’ then – though how his body feels will play a significant factor in that blueline. But he has a decision to make and it won’t be an easy one. decision.

"You’ve got to be 100% committed to it. If you're not, then it's unfair to But first there is family time with his wife, Erin, and daughters, Harlow your teammates and other people that are trying to help you out,” Orpik and Brooklyn, and extra healing time, which doctors told him should take said. “In terms of wanting to play or being committed to play, I think that's a month or so. Orpik limped out of the locker room at Capital One Arena something that when stuff doesn't go your way after the season you’ve for the last time after Wednesday’s loss with a giant bag of ice wrapped got to take a lot of time off to let things settle down. I know from past around the right knee. experience, the emotion you feel after a loss like that, sometimes you Orpik said at breakdown day on Friday at MedStar Capitals Iceplex that feel a lot differently a month later. You don't rush to any judgments in he hadn’t thought much about a post-hockey career yet. He wants to terms of your future or try to dissect what went wrong, because a lot of finish his communications degree from Boston College. He’s close there. times you regret what you initially think. I think patience is always a good Maybe he has a future in coaching, but that would come later. thing." “I’ve got a special place in my heart for Brooks Orpik,” said defenseman Orpik needed it this season. He missed 27 games after surgery on his Matt Niskanen, who played four years with Orpik in Pittsburgh and signed right knee in early November to repair a torn meniscus. He earned a with him in Washington the same summer. “We’ll see what couple of veterans’ days off later in the year to get him some rest and happens…But what a great, great person first and foremost. He has so indicated that he had another procedure just before the All-Star break much integrity. And that’s what I admire most, what a good friend and when he missed a game in Toronto. leader, a good, quality person he is. And I think that means something to “It wasn’t real good,” Orpik said. a hockey team. Especially young players. But as a group you’re not going to find a guy around that doesn’t respect Brooks.” It’s only the second time in a full NHL season that Orpik has played fewer than 63 games dating all the way back to 2002-03 when he broke in full Advanced stats weren’t always kind to Orpik late in his career. But focus time with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Orpik was limited to 41 games in just on that and his teammates look at you like you’re crazy. You just 2014-15, his first season with the Capitals. That will make a man ponder don’t GET it. It’s like you’re not even part of the same conversation. his future. It seems unlikely to be in Washington. Wilson’s comments hint at that. So do Niskanen’s. Orpik could always take a hit as well as level one. He could play through pain and was “It might be tough for us. We're going to wait to see what he says,” available to his teammates. He was hard on opposing players. His high general manager Brian MacLellan said. “[Orpik has] been great for us hockey IQ helped him kill penalties even if his foot speed wasn’t what it over the five years. He's done everything and more that we thought we'd once was. Nobody was more dedicated to keeping their body in top get out of him. So, it's been a good relationship. We'll see how he does condition in all the ways that’s possible. here with his injuries and his attitude and whether he wants to continue playing and whether we have room. Would we rather go with one of our “I think his last two years are maybe better than some of his earlier younger guys instead of him? We'll cross that bridge when he makes years,” Niskanen said. “Reverse aging or something. The guy is getting his decision. better. That’s not supposed to happen. If he decides he wants to, if he’s able to, if he gets an opportunity, I think he can do it. At some point Orpik was already traded to Colorado last June 23 with backup goalie maybe we all get too old, but I don’t think he’s there yet.” Philipp Grubauer. The move cleared $5.5 million in salary-cap space that the Capitals used to re-sign top defenseman John Carlson, among other That’s coming from a friend and long-time teammate. Take it with a grain priorities. of salt, if you wish. Orpik’s shots-for/against percentage was underwater (44.29) in much heavier minutes last season. He was better this year Orpik, however, was quickly bought out by the Avalanche, which really (48.09) and above water in 2015-16 (52.43), when he played just 41 just wanted Grubauer as a potential starter in goal. He is currently doing games, and also in 2016-17 (52.52). But again that’s viewing him through exactly that, starting for Colorado in the second round of the playoffs in a a prism that his teammates just don’t. series against San Jose. “The impact he’s had on our team is probably second to none, the way The move blindsided Orpik at the time. It came just 12 days after the he’s changed the culture and pushed guys to make them better,” goalie championship parade up Constitution Avenue. It was 16 days after the Braden Holtby said. “One of the true leaders in our game, and to have alternate captain was on the ice lifting the Stanley Cup in Las Vegas with been able to grow through him as a team, we wouldn’t have a Stanley his teammates. Cup if it wasn’t for him. Outstanding teammate.”

In the end, Orpik got over it. He got his money from the buyout and For now, Orpik will head home to suburban Boston and plan for Disney signed a one-year, $1 million contract with $500,000 in performance World and some other trips. The knee will heal and he’ll slowly get over bonuses added. Add in the $1.5 million that Colorado paid him this year - what he sees as a missed opportunity for the Capitals, who with a single and must pay him again next year - and Orpik almost breaks even after goal would have found themselves in the second round without the hitting his bonuses with Washington. Eastern Conference’s top seed (Tampa Bay Lightning) and their biggest nemesis (Pittsburgh Penguins). Both were swept out of the first round. For Orpik, there is time to think and time to plan for one more run - or life beyond if this chapter has closed.

"When I came here as a free agent, it was obviously a family decision, but it was something where I wanted to win a Stanley Cup." Orpik said. “As frustrated as we are about this year, if someone told me at the beginning of five years I'd come here and win a Stanley Cup, I'd sign up for it in a heartbeat. That's kind of what my role was, just to kind of help this group out any way I could. Wasn't perfect along the way, but looking back on it, a few years from now I'll be pretty satisfied with it."

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143284 Vancouver Canucks

Canucks: Pettersson nominated for Calder, Stecher gets Team Canada call

PATRICK JOHNSTON

Published:April 27, 2019

Updated:April 27, 2019 4:59 PM PDT

Pettersson would be the first Canucks rookie of the year since Pavel Bure, while Troy Stecher will play for Canada for the first time.

Elias Pettersson has his mind on next season’s NHL goals and challenges, but what the young forward did this season hasn’t been overlooked by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

The Vancouver Canucks’ centre, who will play for Sweden in next month’s IIHF World Championship in Slovakia, led all NHL rookies with 66 points (including 28 goals) and is one of three candidates for the prestigious Calder Memorial Trophy.

St. Louis Blues’ netminder Jordan Binnington and Buffalo Sabres’ defenceman Rasmus Dahlin are the other first-year players nominated for the Calder, which will be presented June 19 when the 2019 NHL Awards Night is held at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

Binnington, who joined the then-struggling Blues on Jan. 7 and has helped them rebound and reach the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, is considered Pettersson’s main competition for the award.

Pettersson, who began his NHL career with a five-game point streak (five goals, three assists) also led Vancouver in power-play goals (10) and game-winning goals (seven). His 66 points set a Canucks’ rookie record, besting the previous mark set by Pavel Bure (34-26—60) in 1991-92.

Pettersson is the second Canucks player in as many seasons to be voted a Calder finalist, following the second-place finish by forward Brock Boeser in 2017-18. The Swedish star is vying to become the first Vancouver winner of the Calder Trophy since Bure (1991-92).

Stecher taking on the world

Troy Stecher is apparently going to the world championship.

According to Sportsnet 650’s Rick Dhaliwal, the Canucks’ blue-liner has been called up by Hockey Canada. It’s the first time the Richmond native will suit up for a national squad at any level.

He’s the sixth Canuck to be named to a national squad for the worlds, joining the USA’s Thatcher Demko and Quinn Hughes and Sweden’s Pettersson, Loui Eriksson and Jacob Markstrom.

Stecher scored two goals and added 21 assists this season for the Canucks, his third in the NHL, while playing in all situations.

He’ll make $2,325,000 next season, the second year of a two-year deal he signed last summer.

Vancouver Province: LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143285 Websites “He’s a big part of this team. He flies. He’s so fast. He still gets it done.”

As part of a lighthearted question game the Leafs played this season to generate in-house video content (watch below), Marleau asked Marner if Sportsnet.ca / Maple Leafs’ Kyle Dubas faces a Patrick Marleau he had any advice for him. conundrum “For the rest of your career, another 15 years you’re going to play on our team,” Marner said, getting a touch sentimental, “realize how good you Luke Fox | April 27, 2019, 8:58 AM are, realize how you can play. Believe in yourself that you can make one- on-one decisions and make guys look stupid.”

So, what immeasurable risk does Dubas face pulling his favourite TORONTO — The Fountain of Youth? players’ favourite player out of the city early for the sake of smart financial business? Patrick Marleau’s coach swore it was just over the next hill, insisted it was tucked around that corner up there, only a little ways down the path. “It’s incredible what he’s doing,” defenceman Morgan Rielly says. “The way that he carries himself on and off the ice is something we can all Then the unwavering, kind, soft-spoken, declining, 39-year-old hockey admire. To have him in this room is very important, and we’re lucky to player could take a long drink, snap a goal or four, and quiet both their have a guy like him.” critics. On the ice, Marleau’s slide is tangible. The status quo also presents risk. “When you’re 25 and it doesn’t go as good, everyone says, ‘No big deal.’ When you start getting higher, they always say, ‘Oh, the wheels are off, His 16:21 average ice time in the regular season ranked sixth among you’re done,’” Babcock said amidst the future Hall of Famer’s fall-off Leafs forwards and signalled a 38-second plummet from Year 1 of his season. deal. Despite the hype around overuse, Marleau was deployed even less (14:40, eighth) in the Bruins series. “The wheels ain’t off. He ain’t done.” By virtually every measure, year over year, Marleau took a giant step Keep that gold watch behind the glass. Save all your heartfelt good-byes back in 2018-19: goals (27 to 16), shots (203 to 161), shooting for Jake Gardiner. percentage (13.3 per cent to 9.9 per cent), plus/minus (+1 to -6), and Marleau, who turns 40-years-old before puck drops on 2019-20, still has even-strength points (38 to 27). one more season on his contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and he’s Mapping where Marleau scored his goals is compelling. Not once did he driven to play this thing out until the axels rust through and the treads are score beyond the slot and crease area, a sharp contrast from both his smoothed bare. own history and the league-wide pattern: The most revered (internally) and most senior member of the Maple Marleau’s goal map, 2018-19 Leafs said Thursday, after his 1,848th NHL game (including playoffs) and 19th post-season run that ended in something less than champagne and Marleau’s goal map, 2010-19 diamond rings, that he has given no consideration to retirement. NHL league-wide goal map, 2018-19 Marleau fully intends to ride out the final year of his cap-crunching contract, the third season that helped Babcock and then-GM Lou Upon elimination, the errant sniper copped to a rattled confidence. Lamoriello lure him away from San Jose when the 15-time 20-goal man “This year, I found myself in spots I normally wouldn’t go. I think it’s a hit the open market in July 2017, the deal new GM Kyle Dubas must matter of just letting myself play and kinda getting out of my own head stickhandle around with delicacy. and go to the areas where I know I can go and score and be effective,” “I haven’t heard otherwise. It’d be good to be back and continue with this Marleau said. “There’s things I’m looking at changing and a different group,” Marleau said. “The results weren’t what I expected or what I’ve mind-set going into games and things like that.” come accustomed to. That’s on me, and I know I can do better. The Last of the Loveable Luddites, Marleau says this is the summer he “So, it’s an opportunity to come back next year and prove that I still have hangs up those tattered Reebok 9K Pump skates in favour of brand-new it, and I feel confident in my abilities to do that.” custom CCM Ribcors and finally wraps his farmhands around a one- piece stick. We feel confident that should Marleau indeed return, someone else in the top nine, someone on the upswing — Kasperi Kapanen? Andreas It’s a step towards practicality’s victory over romanticism, and it just might Johnsson? William Nylander? — must go as the home-run deals of be the next best thing to this fictitious Fountain of Youth. Marleau’s foster sons, Auston Matthews and Mitchell Marner, kick in like “I think it will, but we’ll see,” Marleau said. “Still looking for that first thunder. Stanley Cup, so…”

“That’s tough to swallow, being a tight group,” said Marleau, realizing the 3/5 of my favorite boys Go Leafs Go! pic.twitter.com/9Mjbs2fTTW domino effect of his fulfilling no-movement contract he earned fair and square. — Christina Marleau (@c_marleau) March 23, 2019

“That’s going to be something to Kyle. That’s his job.” Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 04.28.2019

And if Dubas were to approach him with a trade proposal?

“Then we’d have to cross that bridge,” Marleau said. “It’s tough to speculate.”

The paperwork is virtually buyout-proof: Once Marleau collects his $3- million signing bonus on July 1, he’ll only be owed $1.25 million in salary over the course of the 2019-20 schedule. So while we still believe there’s an outside chance Marleau wraps his career back in San Jose, where he still maintains a home, it’s ultimately the player’s call.

That the Marleau conundrum is one of heart as much as money complicates matters. The battery of Toronto’s young future core has, quite seriously, become like family.

“For myself, having him here, I’ve learned so much from him, and I love having him around on and off the ice,” said Matthews, who spent Christmas playing mini sticks with Marleau’s birth sons. “He’s a true, true leader, and there’s no question why he’s had the career he’s had and played as along as he has. 1143286 Websites favourite d-men to watch. I have a lot of respect for him – look at his resume and what he’s done.

“Guys get emotional and say those kind of things, but for us in the room Sportsnet.ca / Sharks' Burns moving past defensive criticism with world- we’re very fortunate to have a guy like that on this team. I see how much class play he works on his defensive game every practice. Throughout the years he’s a guy out there killing penalties and out there against top lines.

Eric Francis | April 27, 2019, 7:19 PM He can get the job done in all situations. I think he’s underrated in all the things he can do.”

Livestream every game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, blackout-free. Plus SAN JOSE – More than a month after Drew Doughty ripped into the stream the Blue Jays & MLB, Raptors and NBA Playoffs matchups and defensive abilities of Brent Burns, his comments still resonate in northern more. California. A forward who was converted to a defenceman long after he joined Doughty’s suggestion Burns “gets beat three times a game” was Minnesota as a first-round draft pick, Burns scored 16 goals and once particularly topical following the Sharks’ Game 1 win over Colorado, again finished the season leading all defencemen with 83 points. He also when the 34-year-old was paired with Marc-Edouard Vlasic with an eye fired 300 shots on goal for the fourth-straight year. on shutting down Nathan MacKinnon. Although he went through the motions following practice Saturday, Burns Not only did the duo limit MacKinnon to one power-play assist in a 5-2 wasn’t particularly interested in talking to the media about anything, win, Burns also broke a team playoff record with the first four-point outing including a simple shrug when asked of his latest Norris nomination. by a defenceman. His goal and three assists also made him the franchise’s all-time leading scorer amongst defencemen, moving him Fact is, his play has done most of his talking, as he played almost 40 ahead of Dan Boyle. minutes in the Game 7 against Vegas. In Game 6 he played 42 minutes.

“He’s a Norris Trophy candidate, so it’s not an aberration – he’s been “The great thing about him is he’s taking what they’re giving him,” said great all year,” said Sharks coach Peter DeBoer. “And the people that DeBoer. wrote about his defensive play … I think the last three games of the “In the Vegas series they stood beside him so he checked the offensive Vegas series and then MacKinnon (in Game 1), he has been all-world side of his game and defended and did a fantastic job against (Mark) defensively. He has been invaluable for us in doing what he does and Stone’s line. If they’re going to give him room he’s going to create doing what we, in our room, know he’s capable of doing and playing at a offence.” really high level.” He did that Friday against Colorado when he made a world-class move Having seen MacKinnon take over the series against Calgary, DeBoer at the blue line to create space and take a shot that wound up being knew it would take a special pair to stop Great Nate. He chose to pair collected and fired home by Gustav Nyquist to tie the game 1-1. Burns with Vlasic. Do the knocks on his defensive game drive him? It’s an assignment Vlasic has specialized in over the years, but one Burns was asked to take on because, well, he’s once again a Norris “Of course it does,” said DeBoer. Trophy finalist. “That’s what people do – they pick holes in peoples’ game. I get that’s “People like to have something to say about peoples’ game, but when part of the job, but it’s hard not to take that personally for sure.” you’re a skilled player and a smart player you can play any type of situation,” said fellow Norris winner, Erik Karlsson. Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 04.28.2019

“He’s an example of that. At the end of the day it’s all about making reads and being in the right position and for that his hockey IQ is just as high as anybody else. Just because he does great things offensively and gets a lot of credit for that doesn’t mean he’s not equally as good defensively.”

Brenden Dillon concurs.

“I think the biggest thing for Burnsie is his offensive skills are so good his defensive play gets overlooked because you see a guy who is so good, puts up so many points, is so great on the power play, has such an unbelievable shot, they forget how good his stick is, they forget he’s 6- foot-5, 240 pounds. Just a big guy and when you go into the corners or in front of the net with him he’s not an easy guy to out-battle for a puck.”

While in a particularly feisty mood in Calgary last month, Doughty’s annual war of words with Matthew Tkachuk suddenly included a run at Burns.

“All you’ve got to do is watch one San Jose Sharks game and you’ll see Brent Burns get beat three times a game, literally, and everybody has him up for the Norris. I just don’t get it,” Doughty told Sportsnet.

“I would want (Mark) Giordano on my team before I’d want those points guys. Giordano has like 75 points or something and he plays good defense. From me, based on how I know he plays, I think he should be the front-runner.”

Given the fact both DeBoer and Karlsson alluded to Doughty’s comments unprovoked on Saturday, it’s pretty clear Doughty’s words stung around here.

“For guys in this room, and I think even for him too, it’s kind of water under the bridge and it didn’t really affect him much,” said Dillon, who admitted it bothered him personally.

“It does a little bit, but at the end of the day there are so many different opinions on everybody. Doughty is a first-class player and he’s one of my 1143287 Websites blue line this season. In Game 2, Parayko had a goal and an assist as part of a giant group of Blues defencemen where it seems like everyone is at least 6-foot-3.

Sportsnet.ca / Takeaways: Young Finns, penalty kill help Stars even The 6-foot-6 Parayko, now in his fourth NHL playoffs (fifth NHL season) series vs. Blues has a calm about his game that wasn’t there even a year ago. Here’s a kid who was passed over completely in the 2011 draft, and did not get taken until the third round in 2012. Anyone could have had him, and a Mark Spector | April 27, 2019, 6:34 PM scout named Marshall Davidson — the brother of Columbus Blue Jackets president John — convinced St. Louis GM Doug Armstrong to take a

chance on the lanky kid out of St. Albert, Alta, via the Fort McMurray Oil The St. Louis Blues haven’t been to a Stanley Cup Final since they were Barons and the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. part of the Original 12. Back then, they were by far the best of the six Can you imagine that 30 teams passed Parayko over, not in one draft, expansion franchises, but got swept in three straight finals from 1968-70. but in two-plus rounds of the next draft? Parayko is a franchise Today, the Blues have become that franchise that gives their fans a defencemen, and played like one in Game 2. pretty good team almost every season — yet never quite gets to the end LOL! of the road in the West. Well, that road has never been more wide open, with only a No. 7 seed (Dallas), a No. 8 seed (Colorado) and a No. 2 Stars coach Jim Montgomery wanted a better start, which he got. Heck, seed (San Jose) standing between St. Louis and a shot at its first Stanley he even thought he knew what would happen next. Cup in franchise history. “Both teams will be better than in Game 1,” Montgomery boldly predicted They’re battling the Stars in an epic Round 2 series, that sits even after on the off day between Games 1 and 2, “(but) even though the two games. We watched Game 2 on Saturday, and here are our desperation is going to increase, there won’t be a lot of scoring chances takeaways: because they defend really well and we defend really well. It won’t lead to end-to-end scoring chances.” Finnish Line Ha! The first period ended with the Stars ahead 3-1, the teams combining As Finland begins to assert its Suomi control over the hockey world, to score three goals in a span of 72 seconds. End-to-end action, be the winning three of the past six World Junior tournaments and knocking off very definition. the Canadian women at the World Championships, the Stars are unveiling two of the top rookies in the 2019 NHL playoffs: defenceman Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 04.28.2019 Miro Heiskanen and left winger Roope Hintz.

Hintz was a dominant force in Game 2, closing the game with two goals and an assist, and three shots on goal. He came up from AHL Texas and has 9-13-22 in 58 games with the Stars this year, and at game’s end Saturday he had moved past Carolina’s Warren Foegele atop the playoff rookie scoring race with 4-3-7. He’s 22 and plays an all-around game with a nice mix of skill and physicality.

Then there is Heiskanen, who led all rookies with 23:07 of time on ice per game during the regular season, and has only increased that lead in the post-season, where he was averaging 26:19 heading into Game 2 — nearly five more minutes than second place Erik Cernak (21:39) of Tampa.

On Saturday, Heiskanen took a step back with just 22:14 of ice time, and of course, looked even better for it, with a goal and a plus-3 rating. With the Calder Trophy vote still nearly two months away, Heiskanen’s long stride and comfort with the puck had some folks wondering why he couldn’t beat out any of Elias Pettersson, Jordan Binnington or Rasmus Dahlen as a Calder finalist.

Men Advantage

We always look back at the end of a series, in search of a factor that put one team past the other. Early in Dallas-St. Louis, let’s talk about the penalty kill, shall we?

The Stars are the best team in the NHL playoffs right now at 94.1 per cent, a number that is otherworldly, especially at this crucial time of year. If you kill penalties at that rate, it can literally tilt a series, and the Stars have given up one goal in 20 shorthanded opportunities.

Late in Game 2, with less than three minutes to play, the Stars killed a minor with the score 3-2 — against a Blues power play that hasn’t been so bad. St. Louis is clipping along on the PP, entering the game with the third best unit in the league. The Blues went 0-for-5 in Game 2.

Next D-man Up

Remember when it went like this: as goes Alex Pietrangelo, so do the St. Louis Blues? Well, those days are almost gone, with Colton Parayko’s ascent to being the Blues.

OK, Pietrangelo is still the No. 1 horse on that St. Louis blue line. He’s a guy who always seems to find a spot in the bottom half of my Norris Trophy ballot, but like Sergei Zubov — who could never surpass Nicklas Lidstrom or Ray Bourque — we’re not sure that Pietrangelo will ever win the hardware.

At 29, however, Pietrangelo is beginning to give some minutes up to young Parayko, who played the second most minutes on the St. Louis 1143288 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Marner contract talks with Maple Leafs expected to move slowly

Mike Johnston | April 28, 2019, 1:01 AM

The Toronto Maple Leafs went through a rough contract negotiation with William Nylander. A couple of months later they had a smooth one with Auston Matthews.

Kyle Dubas is hoping talks with pending restricted free agent Mitch Marner and his representatives resemble the latter.

The Maple Leafs general manager said during a media availability earlier this week that it’s imperative a Marner deal gets done by July 1.

“If he really is sincere in trying to get Mitch Marner signed before July 1 he’s going to going to have to come out with a pretty good offer right away and everything we hear is either at par or close to the Auston Matthews contract,” Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos said Saturday during the Headlines segment of Hockey Night in Canada. “If that doesn’t happen, then I think Mitch Marner owes it to himself to take this to July 1.”

Getting a deal done as early as possible would not only help the team from a salary-cap and off-season-planning perspective, but it would mean avoiding a similar situation to the one involving Nylander, who missed the start of the 2018-19 season while holding out and then struggled to get up to speed for most of the season.

Nylander signed a six-year deal worth slightly less than $7 million per year. Matthews signed a five-year deal worth an average of $11.634 million per year, which was a slightly higher cap hit than the $11 million AAV John Tavares received in free agency.

Marner set new career highs this past season with 26 goals and a team- high 94 points in 82 regular-season games. His 68 assists ranked fourth in the NHL behind Nikita Kucherov, Connor McDavid and Blake Wheeler and Marner added four points in his team’s seven-game playoff series against the Boston Bruins.

As with any complicated high-profile negotiation involving a restricted free agent, the idea of a team presenting Marner with an offer sheet has been floated out there.

“I think what the Toronto Maple Leafs are saying by mentioning that July 1 date is that they’re not going to let anyone else dictate to them about what Mitch Marner’s salary is going to be,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said.

Trade rumours are never too far off in the distance either and Friedman went on to add that if a deal is not reached by July 1 “anything’s in the air.”

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143289 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Senators permitted to interview Maple Leafs assistant D.J. Smith

Mike Johnston | April 28, 2019, 1:01 AM

Back in March it was reported that Toronto Maple Leafs assistant coach D.J. Smith could draw interest from NHL teams in the market for a new bench boss.

The Ottawa Senators are now confirmed to be one of those teams.

The Sens have permission to talk to Smith about their vacant coaching position, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported Saturday during the Headlines segment of Hockey Night in Canada.

The Senators finished the 2018-19 campaign with the worst record in the league (29-47-6) and fired head coach Guy Boucher with 18 games remaining in the regular season.

Prior to Ottawa hiring Boucher back in 2016, the club had asked the Maple Leafs for permission to speak with Smith but that request was rejected by Toronto at the time.

Smith spent three years as head coach of the OHL’s Oshawa Generals where he won a championship in 2014-15 prior to joining the Maple Leafs ahead of the 2015-16 campaign.

Friedman added that he believes the other candidates the Senators have interviewed at this time include: current interim coach Marc Crawford, former head coach Jacques Martin and Troy Mann, the head coach of Ottawa’s AHL affiliate in Belleville.

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143290 Websites Channel B: Paint drying

Channel C: Lowest rated movie of all time

Sportsnet.ca / Coach's Corner: Golden Knights can't blame referees for Channel D: Colorado Avalanche at San Jose Sharks Game 7 penalty *turns off TV, goes to bed*

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) April 27, 2019 Mike Johnston | April 27, 2019, 11:09 PM Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 04.28.2019

It’ll be quite some time before hockey fans – in particular Vegas Golden Knights supporters – stop talking about how exactly the San Jose Sharks advanced to the second round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

That’s because a blown penalty call had a direct impact on the Sharks’ incredible Game 7 comeback victory earlier this week. Apparently, though, not all hockey pundits thought it was a blown call as Don Cherry defended the officials.

With Vegas up 3-0 midway through the third period, Golden Knights centre Cody Eakin was assessed a cross-checking major on a fluke play that ended with Sharks captain Joe Pavelski unconscious and bleeding.

Eakin gave Pavelski a light two-handed shove with his stick – a common occurrence during faceoffs – that caused the Sharks forward to lose his balance. Then, Paul Stastny got tangled up with Pavelski as the Vegas forward attempted to skate to the point to cover his man.

Unfortunately for Pavelski he was unable to protect himself while falling and his head hit the ice hard.

“He’s laying there, he’s bleeding like a stuck pig,” Cherry said Saturday during the Coach’s Corner segment of Hockey Night in Canada. “There is a cross check and he’s going down, but it’s not much of a crosscheck. … Blood’s all over the place, so you’ve got to think of the referee. The two of them, they’re standing there, they see the blood, they carry [Pavelski] off and the whole deal. I’m sticking up for the referee. He can’t call nothing. He can’t call [a two-minute penalty] because the guy’s bleeding so he’s got to call five.”

The Sharks went on to score four goals on the extended power play. Vegas tied the game 4-4 with 47 seconds remaining in the third period to send the game to overtime and Sharks forward Barclay Goodrow scored the OT winner.

Golden Knights head coach Gerrard Gallant said it was “an awful call” after the game and the vast majority of onlookers agreed.

“They said that basically he cross-checked him across the face and we all saw that didn’t happen,” Gallant told reporters in San Jose after the game. “Last year we’re in the Stanley Cup Final and it was tough to lose. Tonight was tougher than that.

“I’m sure you’ve all seen it on TV, there was no intent. I feel awful Joe got hurt, he’s a class player for that team, everybody loves him. There was no intent. There was no high stick that hit him in the face. … We all saw it. It’s too bad we ended up losing because of that.”

Cherry said he’s a huge fan of Gallant but at the end of the day, “You can’t blame the referees on that one.”

Two days after the loss, Golden Knights owner Bill Foley told The Associated Press he received a phone call from a high-ranking NHL executive who apologized for what he described as a “bad call.”

Cherry said he didn’t like that Foley went public with that information.

“That is bad when you do that because it makes the referees look bad and those referees weren’t bad in that game at all,” Cherry said. “It wasn’t their fault at all.”

The two referees that game were veteran officials Dan O’Halloran and Eric Furlatt, however the pair were not assigned to any second-round series. Both Cherry and Ron MacLean disliked learning of that.

“I don’t like the league sending them home,” MacLean said. “That’s unbelievable.”

The Sharks moved on to face the Colorado Avalanche. Suffice it to say TV ratings in Nevada for that series might not break any records.

*turns on TV*

Channel A: Grass growing 1143291 Websites going to sit back like a punching bag, play rope-a-dope and wait for them to run out of gas. We wanted to take it to them.”

Until Panarin’s shot found him in the slot, Duchene said he felt like he TSN.CA / Double OT winner a long time coming for Duchene “had puck repellent on” because he was “chasing the puck around all night.”

Frank Seravalli In a way, Game 2 has encapsulated Duchene’s time in Columbus well. It hasn’t always been a seamless fit since the Feb. 22 trade from Ottawa. He and the team struggled after his arrival.

BOSTON — For Matt Duchene, nearly every spring was like Groundhog “I’m still fighting it sometimes,” Duchene said. Day at his cottage in Haliburton, Ont. John Tortorella said Duchene has never been “a bad fit,” it was just poor He had more than 700 NHL regular season games under his belt, but just timing that conspired, as the team limped to a 5-7-1 run immediately after eight Stanley Cup playoff contests over 10 seasons. He never even his arrival. They settled in, won the games they needed to get in, then put sniffed the second round before arriving in Columbus. it behind them and wiped the slate clean once the playoffs arrived.

Most years, Duchene would tune out the playoffs on TV, avoid hockey “I think he just puts a tremendous amount of pressure on himself to be and focus on fishing. Last year, he changed it up. the best he can be to help this team win,” Tortorella said of Duchene.

“I had a lot of years I didn’t watch anything, but I watched every single The pressure is off now. playoff game last year. Every. Single. Game,” Duchene said. “I wanted to get as much of a taste for it as I could without being there.” “I think he’s just having a lot of fun,” Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno said. “He’s thriving on the big stage. That’s what you want.” The only constant was the Stanley Cup clincher. No matter what, Duchene said, he would tune in on the night a team had a chance to For Duchene, it’s been everything he’s imagined. Six wins down, he hoist the Cup. wants to have a say in what photo he’s posting in his gym this summer.

“I wanted to see the celebration,” Duchene said. “I wanted to see it front “We’ve got a long way to go, but I love playing for this team,” Duchene to back.” said. “I couldn’t be happier to be a Blue Jacket. I’m really excited to be here. This is something I’ve chased for a long time.” Once the Final ended, Duchene would get a photo printed of the winning team’s captain with Lord Stanley’s chalice over his head - and post it on TSN.CA LOADED: 04.28.2019 the wall in the gym in his cottage. It was a conspicuous reminder of the ultimate goal, incentive for the sweat.

Fast forward to the wee hours of Sunday morning at TD Garden.

The Blue Jackets, the best power play team in the postseason, were on the man-advantage for the second time in overtime. Squander this chance and there's no telling if you'll get another one. Seth Jones made a fantastic keep at the blue line. Then Artemi Panarin’s shot bounced off Tuukka Rask’s pads directly to Duchene in the slot.

He didn’t freeze. The moment wasn't too big for him, not after all of that dreaming.

Duchene calmly kicked the puck to his stick.

“I just tried to stay patient and see what was there,” Duchene said. “Rask opened up his five-hole. That was it.”

Duchene picked the perfect time to pop in his first career Stanley Cup overtime winner, evening up this Eastern Conference semifinal series at one game apiece with a 3-2 victory for Columbus in Double OT. He has seized the stage, racking up four goals for the Blue Jackets in just six playoff games this spring.

So, how did that compare to what he watched from afar for so long?

Duchene was yelling “yeahhhhhh!” so loud during the celebration that his face was as red as his Columbus Blue Jackets pants.

“This is something that I've dreamt about for a long time,” Duchene said. “It’s like the most stressful - in the best way possible - thing that I’ve ever been through. I’m an outgoing guy. I’m a talker. But there’s times I can’t talk.”

Duchene’s goal came at a pivotal moment in the series. One shot the other way, one fantastic save that Sergei Bobrovsky didn’t make, and the Blue Jackets would need a shovel to dig their way out of a two-nothing hole.

“We needed to win,” Brandon Dubinsky said. “It was crucial that we found a way to split the series.”

Now, you could make the argument that the Blue Jackets are in the driver’s seat. The Bruins have played nine games in 17 nights to open this marathon tournament. They’ve played 180 more minutes of hockey than Columbus, then were pushed to overtime twice - and Double OT in Game 2 for good measure to start this series.

That has to take its toll at some point.

“Are we probably a little fresher from the break? Yeah, we probably are,” Duchene said. “Our mentality in overtime was to keep pushing. We’re not 1143292 Websites “His buddies probably expect him to get a hat trick next game, that’s the problem,” Cassidy said.

The hope is that the rest of the Bruins’ scorers can step up and help TSN.CA / Coyle, Johansson could make Bruins trade deadline winner shoulder the load now. David Pastrnak has been unusually quiet, held without a goal for four straight games. Jake DeBrusk has just one in the playoffs. Brad Marchand does not have a point in two straight games, but Frank Seravalli had three glorious chances in Game 1.

That’s where Coyle and Johansson have come in. Johansson had the primary assist on both of Coyle’s goals in Game 1. BOSTON — When the panels broke down Deadline Day’s winners and losers after TradeCentre two months ago, there was no love for the It had been a tough go for Johansson in Boston. He was briefly Boston Bruins. hospitalized on March 5, less than a week after arriving, with a lung contusion after a hard hit from Carolina’s Micheal Ferland. Then he Praise was heaped on Jarmo Kekalainen swinging for the fences in missed two games in the first round against Toronto with an illness. Columbus, or Mark Stone’s arrival in Vegas, or the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators bulking up their lineups. His last three years have been like a player stuck in traffic. Stop. Start. It’s been one setback after another. Now two months from free agency, The Blue Jackets are the only team still standing among that group - in Johansson has an incredible opportunity to reboot his career in the NHL no small part to the addition of Matt Duchene and the suddenly clear with a strong Stanley Cup playoffs. headspace of pending free agents Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin. “I don’t want to dwell too much about it, but being injured and being sick, Meanwhile, Columbus’ newcomer Ryan Dzingel appears to be a healthy that bothers me a little bit,” Johansson admitted. “But I feel like the last scratch for Game 2, and the Bruins’ two most important wins of the few games have been pretty good and it’s going in the right direction. season so far have come off the sticks of their two trade deadline Most of all, it’s fun to be part of this group, we have a really good hockey acquisitions. team here so it’s fun to be part of.” Marcus Johansson scored the game-winner to knock off the Maple Leafs Johansson and Coyle serve as yet another reminder that the trade in Game 7, then threaded the needle to find linemate Charlie Coyle for deadline can’t be won in February. Their clutch contributions could well the overtime triumph on Thursday night that gave the Bruins a 1-0 series make GM Don Sweeney the ultimate winner. edge over Columbus. “We need it,” Cassidy said. “Our guys that have scored all year haven’t Who would have imagined that a year ago? found that level yet. We’re all assuming they will, but until they do, we Last year at this time, Harvard product Ryan Donato was a Boston need that to stay in the mix.” darling. The Bruins traded Donato and a fifth-round pick to Minnesota for TSN.CA LOADED: 04.28.2019 fellow Boston native Coyle five days before the trade deadline on Feb. 20.

Meanwhile, Johansson blasted now Bruins teammate Brad Marchand after he missed two months with a concussion after a blatant elbow to the head. Johansson called the hit “stupid” and said it’s “sad that there are still guys out there trying to hurt other guys.”

Marchand called Johansson to apologize in the first hours after the Bruins acquired him from New Jersey on Deadline Day for a second and fourth-round pick.

Suddenly, the Bruins were armed with two high-skilled players in their prime on their third line who put up 56 and 58 points in 2016-17, but had fallen on hard times either due to injury (Johansson) or opportunity (Coyle).

Neither Coyle nor Johansson made a dent in their regular season introduction, but the Bruins’ new guys are brewin’ up something special in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

It’s been hometown boy Coyle, from Weymouth, Mass., who has been the biggest revelation. Coyle scored just two goals in his first 21 games as a Bruin, but has five in eight playoff games so far, one of the league’s postseason lead.

“I just think that if you’re going to be a successful team in the playoffs, there’s always going to be a story about a guy who kind of rises up. Maybe a guy you deem a secondary scorer. Right now, it’s him for us,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. “It’s been a good story.”

Cassidy said the Bruins discussed internally for months the idea of acquiring a centre who could elevate in the lineup should one of David Krejci or Patrice Bergeron go down. They were ready to do that for Game 2 on Saturday night at TD Garden, since Krejci left Game 1 with injury, but it appears he will play.

Coyle, 27, has nearly as many goals (five) in these playoffs as he did in his previous 44 playoff games combined (seven). He has embraced the moment.

“Playoffs come around and it’s a big man’s game,” Coyle said Saturday. “You want to stand up to the challenge. It’s more responsibility, more opportunity. I think as a team we’ve done a great job responding to that challenge and I just want to do my part.”

It’s not easy playing at home, where the spotlight is always on. 1143293 Websites

USA TODAY / Boston Bruins national anthem singer is also a bartender at arena

Andy Nesbitt, For The Win Published 12:00 a.m. ET April 28, 2019 | Updated 2:52 a.m. ET April 28, 2019

Todd Angilly is in his first year as the national anthem singer at Boston Bruins home games, taking over for the legendary Rene Rancourt, who retried last season after over 40 years on the job.

Angilly has been seen on TV before every playoff game belting out the national anthem (as well as Canada's in the first round when Boston played Toronto) in his traditional black suit and yellow and black striped tie. And man can he sing.

He absolutely nails it every time.

NBC shared a great story about the singer during Saturday night's Game 2 broadcast. Angilly actually tends bar in the arena before and after singing the anthem. He just takes a quick break to throw on his suit and get down to the ice.

Check his story out, it's pretty great.

Todd Angilly: Man of many talents@NHLBruins Anthem Singer ✅

Bartender ✅

Probation Officer ✅ pic.twitter.com/NBPXQM9DOI

— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) April 28, 2019

USA TODAY LOADED: 04.28.2019 1143294 Websites

USA TODAY / Red-hot Sharks forward Kevin Labanc scores gorgeous Game 1 goal against Avalanche

Mike Brehm, USA TODAY Published 12:27 a.m. ET April 27, 2019 | Updated 10:16 a.m. ET April 27, 2019

No Joe Pavelski. No problem.

Kevin Labanc is having a playoff breakthrough since the San Jose Sharks captain went down with an injury in Game 7 against the Vegas Golden Knights.

He recorded a goal and three assists on a controversial five-minute penalty to Vegas' Cody Eakin as the Sharks rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win 5-4 in overtime.

But he was equally impressive with a beautiful second-period goal against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 1 of the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.

Taking a pass from Brent Burns, he pushed the puck between the legs of Colorado's Mikko Rantanen while somehow skating through a narrow gap between Rantanen and San Jose's Joe Thornton.

Goodness gracious, @Str8ToTheBanc.  #StanleyCuppic.twitter.com/Oh8xCRWSTJ

— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) April 27, 2019

He then used Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard as a screen to wrist a shot past Philipp Grubauer for the winning goal in a 5-2 victory Friday night.

Labanc, who plays on the third line, was hot down the stretch with 26 points in his final 30 games to give him a career-best 56 points.

But he had just one goal and no assists in six playoff games before his Game 7 outburst.

The Thornton line had five points in Game 1 and Burns had four.

The Sharks will need more of that type of offense as Pavelski remains day-to-day.

"We love him so much," Thornton said in an NBCSN interview about Pavelski. "We want to continue this so he can play again."

USA TODAY LOADED: 04.28.2019