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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

from Sean Shapiro of Shap Shots,

Steve Yzerman is well known for not sharing his plans.

And when Yzerman does tip his hand in a public setting, he rarely explains why or how he came to that respective decision.

So we have to take the snippets when we get them.

And today, in April, we know that Yzerman intends to have defenseman Albert Johansson in the NHL next season. Yzerman said as much at his end-of-season media availability, noting that the 23-year-old no longer being waiver exempt effectively made him an NHL or bust player with the Detroit organization for next season.

Yzerman added the requisite modifiers, how Johansson would have to earn his spot and such, but the reality is the defenseman represents a young asset that Yzerman isn’t going to risk losing for free.

Johansson has also never stepped foot in the NHL, a side effect of Yzerman overloading the Detroit roster with older defenders, like Justin Holl, who will have to be moved out this summer.

So Johansson played the last two seasons in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins, acting a mobile, puck-moving defender, typically in a top-four role. He’s currently playing in the AHL playoffs with the Griffins, who lead their first-round series 1-0 against the Rockford IceHogs with Game 2 on Wednesday.

Johansson, paired with Simon Edvinsson, played 25:21 in Game 1 and was on the ice for two of Grand Rapids three goals. It was the second busiest game of his AHL career, after he logged 25:59 in a game against the Milwaukee Admirals on March 9.

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NEW YORK (April 30, 2024) – Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard, Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber and New Jersey Devils defenseman Luke Hughes are the three finalists for the 2023‑24 Calder Memorial Trophy, awarded “to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition,” the National Hockey League announced today.

Members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association submitted ballots for the Calder 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 Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

The issue with Copp, who turns 30 in July, isn't how hard he plays, it's that his production is not commensurate with his salary. It was, from the get-go, on the higher side for a forward who had only one 20-goal season on his resume (from 2021-22, which he began with the Winnipeg Jets, who drafted Copp at No. 104 in 2013, and finished with the New York Rangers). But that's free agency in a nutshell: It's a player's market, where teams pay premiums for what is available.

The Wings signed Copp expecting him to build on the 53-point season he was coming off, even with accounting for the fact his offseason was hampered by undergoing core surgery.

Copp was fully healthy coming into this season, but his production still disappointed. He didn't see much top-six time, true — but neither did Robby Fabbri and Daniel Sprong, and they each scored 18 goals.

"I think I have proven that I can be a top-six offensive player," Copp said. "It wasn’t what was asked of me. If you’d look at the No. 1 strength of my game, you’d say hockey IQ and defending. I do relish that role. Everyone wants to produce, everyone wants to score goals, but whatever is best for the team I think is the biggest thing."

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from Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun,

After all, nothing reveals character like playoff adversity.

Has anything changed from a year ago, when in this same scenario the Jets folded like a lawn chair against Vegas?

That was enough to leave a couple thousand empty seats most games.

This team was different, we’ve been told. Not fractured. More committed.

Is this new-found team unity strong enough to produce their best game of the playoffs – or was it just lip service?

Players facing elimination will always say the right things.

Rick Bowness has no doubt heard more of the backs-to-the-wall cliches than most of us.

“We can all say all the words in the world and say all the right things … tell you everything you want to hear,” the coach said on Monday. “But everything will be decided on what our eyes tell us. Not our ears.”

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from John Romano of the Tampa Bay Times,

It’s worth asking, after consecutive first-round exits, whether the Lightning need a new direction. Not a teardown, not a rebuild. Just a reimagining of a roster that has tried to hang on to its identity despite losing so many of the pieces that once made it the envy of the NHL.

For the better part of two years, the Lightning have been a good team.

Which would be a compliment if they had not been a great team for so long.

“Maybe this wasn’t the team we’ve had in the past, but that didn’t creep into this room,” Stamkos said later. “We played hard, we showed it was a tight series but, you know, we just didn’t have that extra — whatever you want to call it — come playoff time to get some of those wins in close games.”

The evidence suggests the Lightning are a few pieces shy of elite. And the problem is there is no easy route to finding those pieces since their farm system has been largely depleted and their salary cap is as stretched out as your favorite Lightning T-shirt.

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