from Joe Starkey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,

Did you actually listen to coach Mike Sullivan at his season-ending news conference two weeks ago?

I would imagine, as a fan, you wanted some outrage. You wanted the fiery Sully that arrived in Pittsburgh all those years ago, the drill sergeant who put the stars in their place and seemingly did not smile once until the Penguins won it all.

That Sully might have stepped to the podium, after missing the playoffs for the second straight season, and begun by telling fans — the real audience at those types of gatherings — that he was beyond disgusted and would exhaust every last ounce of energy to make it right. That Sully might have said something like, “This is unacceptable, and it begins with me. Given our talent, our good health and the golden opportunity our opponents gave us, missing the playoffs again is simply intolerable. We failed. I failed. This cannot happen again.”

Instead, we got this from a kinder, gentler Sully: “I’ve said on a couple of occasions we’re proud of the group for the performance down the stretch. ... There were a lot of excuses out there to go in a different direction, and they chose not to. And I think that speaks volumes for the character of the people in the room, the leadership we have, the professionalism of the group and their care factor. And we couldn’t be more proud of the effort and the investment they all put in to drag ourselves back in the fight. ... I can’t say enough about the character of the people in our dressing room.”

Come again? Isn’t trying hard the least a professional athlete can do? And why did the Penguins leave the fight in the first place? Oh, and where was the “care factor” when the team basically quit upon learning longtime teammate Jake Guentzel would be traded? The night the Penguins found out, they lost at home to the Capitals, 6-0, and remained in a funk, basically costing themselves a playoff spot. I don’t think that speaks volumes for the “professionalism of the group,” quite frankly, although at least defenseman Kris Letang told the truth after the Capitals debacle.

more

from Luke Fox of Sportsnet,

William Nylander was still catching his breath on the Toronto Maple Leafs' bench after scoring the Game 7–triggering goal when, upon noticing that Scotiabank Arena had flashed his image on the Jumbotron, he held an open gloved hand up to his ear.

The arena was already going bonkers, witnessing a dramatic script getting flipped in real-time, but much like prime Hulk Hogan — another blond athletic superstar who prefers his tarps off and his comebacks theatrical — Nylander wanted to hear more.

Scoring both Maple Leafs goals in Thursday's airtight, win-or-stay-home Game 6 in stylish fashion, Nylander may have been late to put his stamp on this series. But his performance — heck, the whole squad's performance — in a gutsy 2-1 victory now has the Boston Bruins on the ropes.

Toronto is but a leg drop away.

"Incredible. Big-time stuff. That's what you're looking for from a player of his calibre," marvelled coach Sheldon Keefe, who could've said nice things about his players all night if he didn't have a plane to catch.

"He's a heckuva game-breaker. When he's got the puck on his stick, he can make something happen at any time. Two elite finishes for us tonight," added captain John Tavares. "Not surprising. Love having him."

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Below find the game highlights.

* William Nylander and Joseph Woll led the Maple Leafs to a second straight one-goal win as Toronto rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to force the first Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

* The Maple Leafs became the 65th team in NHL history to force a Game 7 after facing a 3-1 series deficit. The winner-take-all showdown has been a 50-50 split to date: the club that trailed has won 32 times, as has the team that led.

* The Predators and Golden Knights can follow the Maple Leafs’ lead and force this year’s second and third Game 7s when they host the Canucks and Stars on Friday.

* Thursday’s edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured more notes on Toronto’s victory as well as tomorrow’s winner-take-all showdown at TD Garden.

NEW YORK (May 2, 2024) – The National Hockey League today announced that the Second Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs will begin on Sunday with Game 1 between the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers. In addition, on Monday, the Florida Panthers will host Game 1 against the winner of Saturday’s First Round Game 7 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins. The complete 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round schedule, as well as the start times and broadcast information for this weekend’s potential Game 7s, will be announced when available.

Boston at Toronto with puck drop just after 8pm ET.

Watch on TBS, MAX, Sportsnet, CBC and TVAS.

Bruins will clinch the series with a win, Toronto will force a game 7 with a win. Something has to give.

from Joe Smith of The Athletic,

He’s adamant — doubters be damned — that this accomplished and aging core has a few more kicks left at the can. Or the Cup.

The doubt, Cooper says, is why the next one might be the most meaningful.

“What was special about Jack Nicklaus winning the Masters in ’86? He kept grinding and then he did it,” Cooper says. “How about Tiger (Woods) when he won the Masters in ’19? Our window is open. But it’s not as open as it was four, five years ago. At some point, guys are going to get older. (Andre Vasilevskiy) is going to get older. (Nikita Kucherov) is going to get older. (Brayden Point) is going to get older. Stamkos.

“But to win, get knocked down and come back, would be super cool. To be able to knock back at people that said, ‘They were Chicago, they were Pittsburgh, L.A.’ — the teams that dominated, won their Cups and had to take steps back because of the salary cap — if we can fight through that, it’d be really gratifying.”

With the Lightning coming off back-to-back first-round playoff exits, many see them headed to the same purgatory as the other recent multiple-Cup winners: the Pittsburgh Penguins, Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings. They’re too good to rebuild, not good enough to compete for a championship.

Cooper sees this group differently.

more ($)

from Stephen Whyno of the AP at the Seattle Times,

Off the goaltender’s mask, off a defenseman’s back, nothing but net. Well, at least in the net.

That is how Colorado’s Casey Mittelstadt got his first goal of the NHL playoffs this year, and it is not the only one. Several players have scored by ricocheting the puck in off a goalie’s head, including Dallas’ Evgenii Dadonov against Vegas earlier this week.

It is an art that is becoming more and more refined as skaters find ways to score against the best netminders in the world. Sniping goals in from near-impossible angles — Mario Lemieux was remarkable at it — is now common and even expected for NHL forwards. Maybe banking shots in off a goalie’s mask was the inevitable next step in a league that saw its first “Michigan” — the lacrosse-style goal done from behind the net — only in 2019.

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NEW YORK (May 2, 2024) – Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen, Arizona Coyotes goaltender Connor Ingram and Calgary Flames defenseman Oliver Kylington are the three finalists for the 2023-24 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which is awarded “to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey,” the National Hockey League announced today.

The local chapters of the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) submitted nominations for the Masterton Trophy at the conclusion of the regular season and the top three vote-getters were designated as finalists.

Following are the finalists for the Masterton Trophy, in alphabetical order:

from Nick Kypreos at the Toronto Star,

It’s just so typical of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

A new level of frustration had been reached, with many wanting their beloved hockey team to rip the Band-Aid off by losing in Game 5 to get the much-needed organizational overhaul underway.

On Tuesday night in Boston, they gave everyone reason to hope again.

“We were playing for our lives and wouldn’t be denied tonight,” Max Domi said after the game.

Here we go again. Leafs Nation has lived through so many consecutive seasons that ended in utter disappointment that it’s hard to muster up optimism for an epic series comeback against, of all teams, the archrival Bruins. It’s fair if they’ve convinced themselves that even the impressive overtime win in Game 5 without Auston Matthews will only prolong the inevitable.

When Toronto was down 3-1 in the series, the thought process was not if changes are going to be made but which major changes ownership would start with. At the top with president Brendan Shanahan? Or maybe with head coach Sheldon Keefe?

But they won Game 5 and at least for a moment — before Game 6 on Thursday at Scotiabank Arena, where they’ve lost six straight playoff games — the mood has improved.

So let’s be hypothetical for a second. After abysmal and embarrassing losses in three of the first five games of this first-round series, what would it take for this Leafs team to earn respect back from fans and media alike?

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from Sean McIndoe of The Athletic,

NHL playoff controversies are all unique, like precious little snowflakes, although they typically fall into a handful of categories. There’s the (maybe) dirty hit. There’s the (maybe) missed call. There’s the (maybe) violation of The Code, which may also involve a dirty hit on which there’s a missed call.

One way or another, something is on the way, and we’re all going to be mad at each other about it. For now, we may as well prepare. So let’s get ready for the inevitable, with a quick reminder of the 20 stages of an NHL playoff controversy.

Stage 1: Something happens

It barely matters what. All you know is that one minute, things are fine. The next, the crowd is booing, a coach is turning red, everyone is mad on your TV, and your social media feeds are already yelling at each other.

You’re not even completely sure what happened, which leads to …

Stage 2: The first replays

They do not help. If anything, they make it worse. One angle looks like the play was maybe bad. The next one makes it look fine. The third angle is too far away to help. The fourth angle is from a different game in a different league. You’re more confused than you were before.

Stage 3: The announcers aren’t sure what just happened

There’s a non-zero chance they don’t even realize what the issue is and will spend those first few minutes talking about a completely different moment that has nothing to do with this one.

more ($)

from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

...over the last two seasons, and particularly this season, there was more noticeable consistency to Rasmussen's overall game. Rasmussen's impact was felt and seen most every game.

"Definitely the biggest thing is consistency, and that's a hard thing to do in this league," Rasmussen said. "For the most part I was consistent with just the things that make my game effective. Forechecking, killing penalties, playing with energy and physicality, adding some offense here and there. There were some positives taken in that way."

An area that Rasmussen feels still needs attention is scoring goals around the net. Rasmussen has the size and strength to get to the net and cause havoc. But knocking some of those loose pucks, or deflecting pucks, continues to be a work in progress.

"Some more touch around the net," Rasmussen said of an area he'll focus on this summer. "You look at and reflect at some of the opportunities that could have changed the outcome of some games, and therefore the season, if different (scoring chances) go in for you."

And, hopefully, next season staying healthy all the way through. Rasmussen doesn't want watch those late-season games, he'd rather be playing.

He's done enough helpless watching.

"It was tough," Rasmussen said.

more ($)

from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

from Ed Graney of the Las Vegas Review-Journal,

You can change lines. You can change your goalie. You can shorten your bench.

You can hit the HIGH button on a blender.

But sloppy won’t do in a Stanley Cup playoff series this tight. It’s a major reason the Golden Knights are on the verge of elimination.

The team that took so much pride in not taking penalties is killing itself by doing just that.

By not having composure. By being frustrated and undisciplined. By being let down by team leaders.

The Knights fell to Dallas 3-2 on Wednesday night before a sold-out American Airlines Center.

The Stars now lead the best-of-seven 3-2. It means a win-or-go-home scenario faces the Knights on Friday evening at T-Mobile Arena for Game 6. It means the defending Stanley Cup champion is 60 minutes from being bounced by its skates in the first round.

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Game highlights are below.

The Edmonton Oilers advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs after defeating the LA Kings 4-3.

First the handshakes, highlights are below.

* Connor McDavid recorded two assists to help the Oilers advance to the Second Round and became the third player in Stanley Cup Playoffs history to record 11 helpers through five games.

* Jason Robertson scored the game winner as the Stars became the first home team to earn a victory in their opening-round matchup and took a 3-2 series lead. Click here to read Wednesday’s edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates, which featured more notes on Robertson and his teammates.

* The Maple Leafs will look to force the first Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs when they clash with the Bruins at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday.

As always, feel free to comment on the games or anything NHL related.

Imagine you were watching the Wings in a playoff game and then poof, your cable subscriber cut the cord on you. That actually happened in Nashville last night during the Predators/Canucks game.

from Kirkland Crawford of the Detroit Free Press,

If you have Xfinity and you're trying to watch the Detroit Tigers, you likely have to find some other options.

Diamond Sports Group, which operates all of the 18 Bally Sports regional channels, and Comcast could not come to a new carrier agreement before Tuesday's deadline, leaving tens of thousands of Michigan customers in the dark for coverage of local Major League Baseball and, if things aren't resolved over the next few months, NHL and NBA games.

Bally Sports Detroit is one of the few channels that has in-market streaming available via the Bally Sports+ app. BSD is also still available on DirecTV and FUBO. For those outside of the state of Michigan, MLB.tv is still an option for Tigers games.

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from Kevin Allen of Detroit Hockey Now,

Yzerman has said he believes it is detrimental for a prospect to go back and forth from AHL to the NHL. When he calls them up, he wants them ready to stay up. He wants them to gain the full benefit of a minor-league experience, including playing in the postseason.

That’s why the Red Wings organization is pleased to have the Grand Rapids Griffins playing their first home playoff game since 2019. The puck drops at 7 p.m. tonight at Van Andel Arena for Game 2 of their five-game series against the Rockford IceHogs.

“We’re somewhat pleased with the development of our organization, the play with some of our younger players, not only in Detroit but in Grand Rapids and some of the younger players that haven’t turned professional yet,” Yzerman said in his season-ending press conference.

The key player for Grand Rapids against Rockford might be goalie Sebastian Cossa. He was 5-2-1 with a 1.98 GAA and a .920 SV% in eight games. Mazur netted three goals against Rockford this season.

read on

The evolution of the salary cap in the National Hockey League (NHL) is a tale of how the league sought to balance competition, ensure financial stability, and maintain parity among its teams. The concept is not new to the NHL; it has been attempted previously, dating back to the Great Depression when the cap was set at $62,500 per team and $7,000 per player.

However, the modern salary cap, as we know it today, was introduced in the 2005-06 season following the 2004-05 lockout, which resulted in the cancellation of an entire season. This marked a pivotal moment in NHL history, leading to the current system, designed to address the high cost of salaries relative to team revenues.

NEW YORK (May 1, 2024) – Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks, Roman Josi of the Nashville Predators and Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche are the three finalists for the 2023-24 James Norris Memorial Trophy, awarded “to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position,” the National Hockey League announced today.

Members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association submitted ballots for the Norris Trophy at the conclusion of the regular season, with the top three vote-getters designated as finalists.

Following are the finalists, in alphabetical order:

from Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet,

Having won the hard way in Nashville, the Vancouver Canucks lost the hard way at home.

And now they’re making another hard trip three-quarters of the way across the continent that no one in Vancouver wanted.

With the chance to close out the Nashville Predators and win a Stanley Cup playoff series on home ice for the first time since 2011, the Canucks blew a third-period lead Tuesday in Game 5 and lost 2-1, forcing Game 6 and that long trudge back to Tennessee.

The late reversal came one game after the Canucks stunned the Predators by scoring twice with their goalie on the bench and then winning 4-3 in overtime on Sunday to take a 3-1 lead in the National Hockey League’s opening playoff round.

Winning is hard. Losing can feel even harder.

“Listen, you need to prepare like you're going to play seven games every single series,” Canuck defenceman Ian Cole said. “If you play less than that, great. If you finish early, great. But be prepared to play seven.

“Whether we want to get on the plane or not? That's just kind of a prima-donna attitude. That's bulls***. Just go and win the freakin' game. Of course, no one wants to fly back across the country, but this is the matchup that we have. If we need to win in six games, you win in six games. If we win in seven games, we win in seven games. We just need to win the series. That's all that matters. We win this series, we move on and then we've got to win the next series. Like, that's all that matters. Whether we do that here, whether we do it Nashville, whether we do that in five games or six games or seven games, it doesn’t matter. Just win the series.”

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Game highlights are below.

* Carolina and Colorado became the third and fourth teams to advance past the opening round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Hurricanes have set up a Second Round matchup with the Rangers, while the Avalanche await the winner of the Stars-Golden Knights series.

* Joseph Woll and Matthew Knies guided the Maple Leafs to victory to stave off elimination and produced the first playoff contest to feature a rookie goaltender claim the win in the same game a rookie teammate scored the overtime winner since Conor Sheary and Matt Murray did so with the Penguins (Game 2 of 2016 SCF).

* Nashville joined Toronto as the second team to force a Game 6 in their First Round series. A team has overcome a 3-1 series deficit to advance in each of the past three postseasons and in four of the past five – with each of those rallies coming in the First Round (FLA vs. BOS in 2023, NYR vs. PIT in 2022, MTL vs. TOR in 2021 & SJS vs. VGK in 2019).

* Vegas and Dallas begin Wednesdays’ two-game slate each looking to take a 3-2 series lead before the Kings take the ice in hopes of extending their series against the Oilers with a Game 5 win.

A 6-3 victory tonight by the Colorado Avalanche over the Winnipeg Jets gives them a 4-1 series win.

from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,

Beneath the mystery of the disappearance of Auston Matthews, after the unexplained return of William Nylander, after the barking incident and the glove-throwing on the bench went viral, with so much pressure and drama and jobs on the line, the Maple Leafs finally showed up for the Stanley Cup playoffs.It was about time.

The Leafs showed up the way playoff teams are supposed to show up every spring.

It took all of that to turn the regular-season Leafs into the playoff Leafs. They did all that against all odds in Game 5 against the Boston Bruins. They scrapped. They battled. They owned the puck. They skated extraordinarily hard. They played with depth and strength and they stayed alive on a playoff night that almost ended their season.

They did so by being the best team on the ice.

The key word being “team.”

It wasn’t just about mammoth scorer Matthews, who didn’t play. It wasn’t just about Mitch Marner, who was among the many who played a strong game for the Leafs. It wasn’t just about Nylander, who hit a post, may have hit another, and was a handful for the Bruins all night. It wasn’t about any individual.

It was about all of them.

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Game highlights of Toronto's 2-1 OT can be watched below.

The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the New York Islanders 6-3 to win their series 4-1.

Four teams face elimination.