Max Bultman of The Athletic answers questions from his readers,

Everyone is expecting a leap next season, but inevitably losing some key vets, growing pains for young players and hard competition, do you really expect a playoff berth? I feel like Wings are forever on this treadmill of get good, not good enough, trade assets, draft, repeat.

This is a great question because there’s a real chance the Red Wings could be in for a step back next season largely because of an expected infusion of young players. Defenseman Simon Edvinsson looked very good down the stretch, but he’s still going to need some grace in what will effectively be his rookie season. Detroit general manager Steve Yzerman has said he’ll need to make room for forward Jonatan Berggren and defenseman Albert Johansson, and if both are on the roster, the same will be true for them. There’s a solid chance at least one of Danielson, Carter Mazur or Kasper makes the team, too.

On any given night next season, there likely will be at least two young players in the lineup who were not on the team this past season. And that’s a good thing. It’s progress in the developmental arc. It will help the Red Wings get through a squeeze year under the salary cap before some contracts expire. And it should bring some more young energy to the locker room.

But it will probably lead to a few more mistakes, too. So, whether that means a step back or a step forward (and possible playoff berth) depends on what else they can do this summer. If they mostly promote internally, it will be hard to expect a postseason run. But if they mix in some youth and a couple of key upgrades (goaltending and some playoff-style scoring), I could see them managing to make a similar push to this season.

more ($) Q & A

from Eric Francis of Sportsnet,

f the Colorado Avalanche were going to be able to stave off elimination Wednesday, it was going to require heavy lifting from their stars.

In a series in which Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen had combined for two points and were minus-17 over the course of three straight losses, it was now or never.

They responded accordingly.

“You knew we were going to get their best game of their series and we did, and their big guys were all on the scoresheet, which you probably anticipated would happen,” said Stars coach Pete DeBoer following a 5-3 loss to the Avs.

“Listen, this is a hard league to beat any team four times in a row, never mind the Colorado Avalanche when you’re in the conference semifinals and you’re down to eight teams left in the league.

“It would have been a great thing to accomplish tonight, but you have to give them credit, they played a really good road game.”

Makar scored twice, MacKinnon had a goal and an assist and Rantanen added a helper as the Avalanche broke a 2-2 tie by scoring three goals in the third for a 5-3 win that sets up Game 6 Friday in Denver.

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Game highlights are below.

* A two-goal performance from Cale Makar secured him as the first defenseman in Avalanche/Nordiques history to score multiple game-winning goals in potential elimination contests (also Game 6 of 2020 R2) as Colorado forced a Game 6.

* The 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs is the sixth in NHL history in which all second round series have required at least six games alongside the 2017 Second Round, 2014 Second Round, 2009 Conference Semifinals, 1999 Conference Semifinals and 1986 Division Finals.

* Connor Ingram was awarded the 2023-24 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy after a breakout performance that came as a result of seeking help for his obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and lingering depression through the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance program.

* Thursday’s action includes the Rangers aiming to advance to the 2024 Eastern Conference Final, the Hurricanes focused on forcing a Game 7 and both the Oilers-Canucks vying for a 3-2 series lead.

They defeated the Milwaukee Admirals 4-2 to wing game 1 in the best of five series;\

Comments are always welcomed.

from Kevin Allen of Detroit Hockey Now,

NHL general managers and scouts don’t generally like comparisons for their draft picks because they believe they create unreasonable or unfair expectations. But that doesn’t mean the Red Wings wouldn’t love to see Carter Mazur have a breakthrough postseason similar to the one Tyler Bertuzzi enjoyed in 2017.

With four in four points, plus 12 penalty minutes, Mazur is off to a strong start going into tonight’s Game 1 against the Milwaukee Admirals in the best-of-five Central Division Final (8 p.m. ET, in Milwaukee).

Mazur feisty playing style, coupled with his offensive product, has drawn comparisons to Bertuzzi. Second-round pick Bertuzzi was 22 when he got everyone’s attention with nine goals and nine assists for 18 points in 19 games. The Griffins won the AHL championship that season. Bertuzzi also put up 50 penalty minutes. Mazur is also 22 coming off a regular-season in which he put up 17 goals and 37 points in 60 games for Grand Rapids. Bertuzzi, bigger than Mazur, was drafted 58th and Mazur was chosen 70th in 2021.

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from Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet,

“We've been a resilient group all year, but we need five or six guys to get going here,” Tocchet said near the beginning of his painfully-honest, post-game press conference. “I mean, it's the Stanley Cup playoffs. Some guys, I don't know if they thought it was the playoffs. We can't play with 12 guys. We've got to figure it out quick.

“It's 2-2. Obviously, (this) is a tough one. Edmonton came to play; they wanted it more early. The second goal, at the end of the period, was a killer. Another couple of mistakes, and then the last goal. You can't do that.”...

Responsible more than anyone for the resurrection and rebranding of the Canucks this season, Tocchet, the coach-of-the-year favourite, publicly outed one-third of his players for either not understanding the magnitude of the opportunity in front of them or being unwilling so far to fully sacrifice themselves for it.

Reporters tried to steer the coach towards positive comments to suit their narratives of another impressive comeback and near-miss against the mighty Oilers. But Tocchet was having none if it.

Since ink-stained, cigarette-smelling, booze-soaked newspaper reporters first invaded NHL dressing rooms a century or so ago, coaches have tried to spin positivity. But what Tocchet was selling Tuesday was not negativity; it was reality.

A Stanley Cup winner as a player and assistant coach, Tocchet understands what some of his players do not: that this might be the best opportunity they ever have to win, and to attack it with anything less than their best is unforgivable.

more

Watch the highlights below.

* Evan Bouchard trumped the Canucks’ late tying tally by scoring the winning goal in the final minute of regulation as the Oilers evened their Second Round series at 2-2.

* Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman helped the Bruins force a Game 6 in their Second Round matchup with the Panthers via another one-goal victory to evade elimination.

* Wyatt Johnston, who celebrated his 21st birthday Tuesday and accounts for two of the Stars’ last three series-clinching goals, looks to lead Dallas to its second straight Conference Finals appearance and third over the last five seasons.

* Jacob Trouba of the Rangers was named the 2023-24 recipient of the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award on Tuesday. New York will look to close out its series with Carolina tomorrow, while the Hurricanes hope to become the 10th team in NHL history to force a Game 7 after facing a 3-0 series deficit.

from Michael Russo and Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic,

The Boston Bruins are still alive after a 2-1 Game 5 win Tuesday against the Florida Panthers.

Without Brad Marchand for a second straight game, the Bruins broke a 1-1 tie in the second period, courtesy of a Charlie McAvoy strike off the rush. The Panthers challenged for goaltender interference, but video review concluded there was no infraction.

“Never say die,” McAvoy said. “We’re going home. This series is wide open. Let’s go win a hockey game.”

Jeremy Swayman continued his impressive playoffs with 28 saves in the game, including a key one on Sam Reinhart with Florida’s net empty in the closing seconds. His .933 save percentage is first among goalies with more than three games in the postseason.

“He’s a very confident kid,” winger David Pastrnak said of Swayman. “You could see that from Day 1 he came to the locker room. Quite honest, that’s what you need from the goalie. He has that healthy cockiness, I guess. That’s the only word I can come up with in English. But in a good way. A healthy one.”

continued ($)

Highlights are below.

from Ansar Khan of Mlive,

The Detroit Red Wings wielded their most potent power play in nine years this season, cracking the top 10 for the first time since 2014-15.

Shayne Gostisbehere was one of the main reasons.

The club signed him last summer primarily to give the man-advantage a boost with his left-handed shot from the point. He did just that, leading the team with 29 power-play points, including 27 assists, the most for a Red Wing since Nicklas Lidstrom in 2010-11 (32).

That’s why general manager Steve Yzerman is hoping to re-sign the unrestricted free agent, despite the team’s crowded blue line and his desire to make changes on defense.

“Absolutely,” Yzerman said right after the season. “He was very good on the power play. A little bit different in our corps, an offensive guy. You need to be good defenders, but you also got to have some defense that generate offense and play on the power play. He was good at that.

“It (re-signing him) is something I would like to consider, strongly consider.”

continued

With a win tonight, the Florida Panthers will advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

On the other hand the Boston Bruins will try to force a game 6 on Friday in Boston.

Brad Marchand took the morning skate but is unavailable for tonight.

With a win tonight in Edmonton, the Vancouver Canucks will have a chance to eliminate the Edmonton Oilers in game 5 in Vancouver.

Calvin Pickard starts in net for Edmonton.

from Eric Francis of Sportsnet,

Shoulders slumped, Nathan MacKinnon put his head down and exhaled deeply before making the long skate back to his bench as play resumed.

His attempt at a zone entry had just been stymied, as so many had throughout a first period in which his team needed a heroic effort from Alexandar Georgiev to limit the damage to a late Wyatt Johnston goal.

Outshot 16-2 by the Dallas Stars and horrifically outplayed on home ice, MacKinnon’s body language said plenty about where things stood for the Colorado Avalanche then and where they stand now.

Earlier in the day the top-heavy hosts took two massive blows, losing leading scorer Valeri Nichushkin to a six-month suspension, and missing top-pair defenceman Devon Toews to illness.

Plenty to absorb on the heels of a Game 3 loss at home.

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Highlights of the 5-1 loss can be found below.

from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

The Rangers spent all season showing us who they are by overcoming every obstacle along the way to finish with the best record in the NHL

Now, they are going to have to do that again.

And they are going to have to try, try and try again to clinch this second-round series against the Canes because they showed up as imposters in dropping Monday’s potential Game 5 clincher at the Garden 4-1.

The Rangers lacked snap. They lacked energy. They seemed paralyzed by the opportunity to advance. They were at least a step slower than their opponents. They turned 50-50s into 30-70s the wrong way. They were disconnected and, for the most part, disengaged.

Do you know what it looked like? It looked like Game 7 of the 2015 conference finals in which the Blueshirts could barely muster a whimper before going down to Tampa Bay, 2-0, at the Garden in what was their second straight shutout at home. That night was lousy and so was this one.

Maybe more to the point: Do you know what else it looked like? A typical Rangers game in December or January; that’s almost exactly what it looked like.

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* Captain Jordan Staal and Evgeny Kuznetsov started a third-period comeback for the Hurricanes, who staved off elimination for the second straight contest and moved one step closer to becoming the 10th team in NHL history to force a Game 7 after falling behind 3-0 in a playoff series.

* In his last night as a 20-year-old, Wyatt Johnston joined elite company in NHL history with a pair of goals and helped the Stars skate to a five-goal outing in Game 4. Dallas now owns an opportunity to advance to the Western Conference Final on Wednesday.

* The Bruins look to accomplish a franchise-first as their quest to rally from a 3-1 series deficit against the Panthers begins in Game 5, while the Oilers and Canucks return to the ice after a trio of one-goal games have highlighted their series’ first three contests.

On Oilers Now, MacTavish told host Bob Stauffer that the Oilers have time to correct their game but more intensity and ferocity is in order. “As maybe the best leader in the history of sports, Mark Messier, said to our group at one point, ‘It’s time to get your balls on the crest of your jerseys and go play the game.’ Message received Mark.

“There really is nothing worse — or should not be worse — of a feeling for a player if you’re not involved in the game offensively or physically… We have far too many guys that at the end of the game take their jersey off and don’t really participate or contribute to the overall performance of the group — and that can’t happen. If you’re going to win, if you serious about winning, and want to win the Stanley Cup, you can’t be satisfied in that dressing room without being a contributor physically.

-Craig MacTavish on the Edmonton Oilers. David Staples of the Edmonton Journal has more.

NEW YORK/TORONTO (May 13, 2024) – The National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players’ Association announced today that forward Valeri Nichushkin of the Colorado Avalanche has been placed in Stage 3 of the Player Assistance Program of the NHLPA and NHL.

Under the terms of the joint program, Nichushkin will be suspended without pay for a minimum of six months and then will be eligible to apply for reinstatement.

The New York Rangers will send the Carolina Hurricanes home for the summer with a win tonight.

With a win tonight, the Dallas Stars could wrap up the series on Wednesday.

LAS VEGAS (May 13, 2024) – The NHL Awards™ will return to Las Vegas this summer at the newly opened Fontainebleau Las Vegas. The ceremony, held for the first time inside BleauLive Theater at the 67-story luxury resort, will take place on Thursday, June 27, and will be broadcast live on ESPN and Sportsnet in the United States and Canada, respectively, beginning at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. Tickets for the ceremony will go on sale to the public on Friday, May 17 at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET.

“The overall premise I have, to be perfectly honest with you, is we should not be asking the coach after the game what they feel about the officiating and what happens,” Sweeney said prior to the Bruins’ departure from Hanscom Field. “You guys should really be focused on what we didn’t do well enough in the course of the game to win a hockey game. Those questions should either be directed at either the supervisor of officials, supervisor of the series and/or the officials.

“You want full access and transparency? Then put the officials in front of the microphone to answer the question. They’re the only ones that have the experience to be able to handle whatever interpretation they applied to Rule 69.”

-Don Sweeney, GM for the Boston Bruins. Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic has more ($).

from Sean Shapiro of Shap Shots,

I’ve admitted this before, but I was one of the people that looked at the Danielson pick too harshly when it happened. I wanted a flashier pick in the top 10 and I was overly critical of Detroit buying into his defensive play for an early selection.

Mea culpa.

Danielson started proving me wrong with his showing in the NHL preseason, showing his overall ability in four NHL exhibitions, including a goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins that well encapsulated his overall performance.

Danielson returned to the WHL and was a point-per-game player with the struggling Brandon Wheat Kings, before getting traded to Portland for a boatload of assets. After the trade Danielson had 41 points (12 goals, 29 assists) in 28 regular season games and has 22 points (16 goals, 6 assists), in 16 playoff games for the Winterhawks....

We’ll get into some video, but first I wanted to bring in Winterhawks beat writer Joshua Critzer, who covers the team for PNW Hockey Talk and has watched Danielson closely since the trade.

I fired over a couple questions that Critzer happily answered for me.

Q: Did anything stand out to you about Danielson’s game that wasn’t expected before the trade?

The general consensus was Portland was getting a 200-foot player, but I don’t think anyone expected it to this extent. His backchecking tenacity and effectiveness have turned over countless pucks. At the junior level, he is the best passer I’ve seen since Cody Glass. The area passes he makes, along with the tape-to-tape passes through traffic, have forced other teams to essentially double-team him in the offensive zone. Especially in Games 3 and 4 against Prince George, he would beat two defenders with one move or one pass.

much more

added 5:07pm, Soucy suspended one game.

A short one today, 3 1/2 minutes long.

from Mark Spector of Sportsnet,

The Edmonton Oilers are getting nervous.

About their goaltending. About their depth players. About the fact they haven’t beaten the Vancouver Canucks in regulation yet this season — in seven tries.

About Stuart Skinner’s career .881 save percentage in the playoffs.

How do we know?

Because, after a 4-3 loss in which Skinner was pulled after 40 minutes — then reinserted to sneak in a pseudo timeout in the final two minutes — the affable and accountable No. 1 goalie was withheld from the media by the team.

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from Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet,

When veteran backup Casey DeSmith was unable to play Game 4 of the first-round series against Nashville — three games after Vezina Trophy-candidate starter Thatcher Demko was injured — Silovs, with zero experience in the National Hockey League playoffs, merely went in and outplayed Predators’ goaltending star Juuse Saros.

Now three games into Round 2, he is outplaying Oilers starter Stuart Skinner so much that while Silovs was making 21 saves in the third period of Vancouver’s 4-3 win, Skinner was watching from the Edmonton bench after being yanked by coach Kris Knoblauch after surrendering four goals on 15 shots through 40 minutes.

Not only has Silovs not been the liability for the Canucks many predicted, based only on his inexperience and the daunting circumstances surrounding of his sudden rise to prominence, but the six-foot-four Latvian is outplaying celebrated opponents and actually giving Vancouver the advantage in the crease the team planned to have with Demko when the Stanley Cup tournament began.

more

Game highlights are below.