SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 5/31/2020 Boston Bruins Philadelphia Flyers 1185556 NHL playoff season comes with plenty of on-ice questions 1185577 Flyers sign defenseman Linus Hogberg to entry-level deal; 1185557 David Pastrnak a true gem for Bruins still trying to lure Wyatt Kalynuk 1185558 This Week in Bruins Playoff History: The best B's game 1185578 Flyers will take strong resume into round-robin tournament I've ever covered against Capitals, Bruins, Lightning 1185579 NHL training camps won’t start until July 1 at earliest; Buffalo Sabres Flyers could get top seed in East 1185559 Sabres laud ‘natural-born leader’ Ralph Krueger despite 1185580 Victory over fear is what makes the return of sports another bad season essential | David Murphy 1185560 What are the best moments from Sabres’ Zoom 1185581 Flyers sign prospect Linus Hogberg to entry-level contract interviews? We present the Zoomies 1185582 2020 NHL playoffs: Without fans, will Stanley Cup Playoff games lose authenticity? Chicago Blackhawks 1185561 Patrick Sharp foresees wide-open NHL hierarchy when Pittsburgh Penguins coronavirus pause, much like 2013 lockout, ends 1185583 Penguins A to Z: Marcus Pettersson rewards 1185562 Coronavirus pandemic silences Gene Honda's versatile management’s faith voice 1185584 ‘Burgh’s Best to Wear It, No. 93: Petr Nedved’s overtime heroics endure Dallas Stars 1185585 ‘It was pretty heroic what he did’: Penguins president/CEO 1185563 How a comeback OT win over the Oilers was the David Morehouse saves KDKA cameraman amid violent p difference between the Stars being winners, losers of the 1185586 Penguins’ player grades: Teddy Blueger NHL pl San Jose Sharks Detroit Red Wings 1185587 Sharks captain expresses support for Evander Kane, calls 1185564 Detroit Red Wings' final grades are in. Here's who passed for change and who flunked 1185588 On this date, 2016: Sharks lose their first Stanley Cup Finals game Edmonton Oilers 1185589 After playoff miss, Sharks have 2015-16 season as a 1185565 Former Oilers goaltender Cam Talbot makes his greatest model save 1185590 Sharks' Logan Couture speaks up on racism, in support of 1185566 Edmonton Oilers: Boys on the Bus ready to become Boys Evander Kane in the Bubble 1185591 Evander Kane and the Sharks speak out about racial 1185567 Lowetide: Oilers coach Dave Tippett’s track record in injustice developing young players St Louis Blues Florida Panthers 1185592 With team rested and Tarasenko as '1967 Bob Gibson,' 1185568 Panthers GM Dale Tallon on playoffs: ‘We have a chance Blues appears strong for Cup run to do something special’ 1185593 Blues' Armstrong has a plan for small-group workouts and training camp Los Angeles Kings 1185594 Finals First! Gunnarsson's OT goal delivers first title-series 1185569 Kings part ways with minor-league coach Mike Stothers victory in Blues history 1185570 Kings part ways with Ontario Reign coach Mike Stothers 1185595 Blues alumni player poll: Best coach, uniform, prankster, 1185571 Kings opt to move on from Mike Stothers as Reign shift to enforcer and more developmental focus 1185572 KINGS WILL NOT RENEW CONTRACT OF REIGN Tampa Bay Lightning HEAD COACH MIKE STOTHERS 1185596 NHL draft lottery: Making sense of the confusing 1185597 TV freelancers working Rays, Lighting games to get Montreal Canadiens $2,500 payments 1185573 Series preview: Penguins hold upper hand, but Canadiens have surprised before Toronto Maple Leafs 1185598 SIMMONS: Odd circumstances surround Steve Nash's New Jersey Devils Hall of Fame election 1185574 LeBrun: The NHL’s ruling on conditional trades is the right call Vegas Golden Knights 1185599 Local artist draws inspiration from Golden Knights in New York Islanders cancer fight 1185575 NHL’s attempt to change popular rule may spark restart tension New York Rangers 1185576 NHL’s attempt to change popular rule may spark restart tension Washington Capitals 1185600 How to watch Evgeny Kuznetsov's best games with the Capitals 1185601 Ever Wonder: Why the Capitals' jerseys have three stars on them 1185602 Remembering the play that defined Braden Holtby's legacy: The Save 1185603 Freezing the ice! Caps GM Brian MacLellan on preparing to open the doors Websites 1185606 The Athletic / LeBrun: The NHL’s ruling on conditional trades is the right call 1185607 Sportsnet.ca / Quick Shifts: Anger, pain, trade speculation swirls in Buffalo 1185608 TSN.CA / Zach Parise on Dean Evason's approach, Kevin Fiala's surge and prepping for Vancouver Canucks 1185609 TSN.CA / Nick Foligno outlines what Columbus Blue Jackets must do to shut down Toronto Maple Leafs Winnipeg Jets 1185604 NHL's 'important step' toward a return was small compared to what lies ahead 1185605 TED’S TALK: NHL playoff plan sounds fun, but is it really necessary? … Downs gets off to great start, without World Leagues News 1185610 Paul Klee: Still believing the science? Then bring on the college football season 1185611 Why Major Sports Might Risk Comebacks During the Pandemic 1185612 Coronavirus wrap: Premier League tests all-clear as ‘sporting recovery’ begins 1185613 Coronavirus: UK permits sport behind closed doors from June 1, Premier League welcomes decision SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 1185556 Boston Bruins has asthma. Florida’s Brian Boyle had leukemia treatments two years ago. The CDC considers all of those COVID-19 risk factors. ▪ With 12 teams at each hub city, and only so much ice available, how NHL playoff season comes with plenty of on-ice questions will they space the games? With multiple teams carving the ice each day, what will the playing By Matt Porter Globe Staff surface be like after a few rounds? Tough task for ice master Dan Craig and scheduling guru Steve Hatze Petros. Challenge accepted. Updated May 30, 2020, 1:03 p.m. Quick takes on playoff matchups in which we speculate mostly on how teams looked at the pause and who might return from injury. Maybe it’s all the time I’ve spent looking at the same walls the last 11 EASTERN CONFERENCE weeks, but I find it hard to gripe about the NHL’s playoff plan. Round robin: Boston, Tampa Bay, Washington, and Philadelphia If the Bruins or Blues are bothered by the thought of slipping from No. 1 to No. 4 with a poor round-robin showing, they have the right. If the The Bruins took great care this season to manage workloads, ensuring Flyers and Capitals are incensed by the thought of the Penguins, No. 7 in players were rested for another long postseason. Let’s see if that matters the NHL standings, losing a play-in series and getting a shot at Alexis … Past numbers don’t favor them. They were 1-2-1 against the Lafreniere, well, no shame in that. After selling at the deadline, the Lightning, 1-1-1 against the Capitals, and 1-0-2 against the Flyers. Some Blackhawks or Canadiens could win the Stanley Cup? Sure. Let’s get great hockey between these teams this year … This round will be played wild. with regular-season OT rules, meaning the Bruins, 0-7 in shootouts, could be in for more pain. Better hope Ondrej Kase has the goods. He All this weirdness means we’re inching closer to normalcy, even if I still was 4 for 5 this year as a Duck; the Bruins were 4 for 30 as a team, have my doubts we see hockey until 2021. Just happy to have it back including Brad Marchand’s center-ice whiff in Philly on Jan. 13 … Tampa (potentially, if everyone stays smart about it). Bay was one of two teams (Carolina) who voted “no” on the 24-team proposal. According to forward Alex Killorn, the team reasoned it was What was laid out this past week is as comprehensive as we can expect, unfair for a high seed playing a semi-meaningful round-robin tourney to given the state of our pandemic-addled world. start its Stanley Cup chase by playing a non-playoff team that earned This league has never frozen with 85 percent of its season complete, new life in the play-in round. Know who might fit that bill? Columbus … Is amid a virus that has trampled some cities and affected the personal and this Braden Holtby’s last stand in Washington? Penalty killers should financial health of millions, and then tried to thaw again. I recognize that watch out for Alex Ovechkin and Ilya Kovalchuk. Everyone should watch sports are an escape for many people, but entering the weekend, this out for Tom Wilson … Empty buildings, microphones everywhere. virus had killed more than 360,000 worldwide, more than 104,000 in the Shudder to think what Gritty’s got in mind. United States, more than 6,800 in Canada. The numbers are chilling, and Play-in series: Pittsburgh (5) vs. Montreal (12) inescapable. Don’t bet on the Habs, who were 10 points out of a playoff position when Without a vaccine in place, they’re going to try this. Let’s hope they are the pandemic hit. Several players, including Phillip Danault, said last cautious and transparent as they do so. month they’d rather focus on next season. Whether or not that attitude There was so much to unpack this past week. Everyone has questions. has changed, the last team in will have a tough road, particularly since Some of mine, beyond the whens and wheres that won’t be decided for veteran Carey Price — 32nd among netminders in five-on-five save weeks: percentage, 44th in goals saved above average per Natural Stat Trick — hasn’t looked like a series-stealer. The formidable Penguins, meanwhile, ▪ Will they re-seed? get Jake Guentzel back from injury and drop Cup-chasing Patrick Marleau, 40, into their middle six.