original post was at 10:15am on 5/5/24

The first round will be complete after the Dallas/Vegas game, but round 2 starts today too.

So make your pick or wait until after the Dallas/Vegas game, you will have up to 6pm on Monday to make changes or picks.

Your first round picks. If you missed the first round, by all means join us for round 2.

Playoff style.

WINNIPEG, May 6, 2024 – Winnipeg Jets head coach Rick Bowness today announced his retirement from coaching after 38 seasons in the NHL. The Moncton, NB. native led the Jets to a 98-57-9 record during his two seasons as the head coach en route to a pair of Stanley Cup Playoffs appearances.

In 2023-24, Winnipeg set club records for road wins (25), winning streak (eight games, twice: Dec. 30/23-Jan. 11/24 and Apr. 1-18/24), and point streak (14 games: 12-0-2 from Dec. 13/23-Jan.11/24). The Jets also set a franchise record by going 35 consecutive games allowing three goals or fewer (Nov. 4/23-Jan. 20/24). During that stretch, they also set a club record with a 14-game run without allowing more than two goals (Dec. 20/23-Jan. 20/24). Their 52 wins matched the franchise record set in 2017-18. Bowness was named a finalist for the 2023-24 Jack Adams Award which is awarded to “the NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success”.

Bowness served as a coach for eight different franchises and was behind the bench for 17 playoff appearances, including trips to the finals as an associate coach with the Vancouver Canucks in 2011, as an assistant with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2015, and as Dallas Stars head coach in 2020. He is one of only three head coaches (along with Scotty Bowman and Pat Quinn) to serve behind the bench in five different decades. His 2,726 games as an NHL coach are the most by anyone in league history.

from Ed Graney of the Las Vegas Review-Journal,

A team in Dallas that deserved to win. It was the better team most of the series. It earned the right to advance.

It means the Knights get ready for exit interviews and clean-out day and vacation plans. It also means this: The team next season could have a decidedly different look given several free agents on the roster.

Among them is one of the most popular players in franchise history in forward Jonathan Marchessault. You can’t overstate the importance of Marchessault to the Knights these past seven years, an Original Misfit who became a fan favorite almost overnight.

But the Knights have hardly been afraid of moving on from such beloved names (see Fleury, Marc-Andre), and it’s uncertain if they would again.

From a player who scored 42 goals this season and won the Conn Smythe Trophy during last season’s playoffs.

He’s 33 and has completed a six-year, $30 million deal. He’s also among five players remaining from an original expansion roster in 2017-18.

This was Marchessault earlier this season: “Obviously, it’s on my mind. I have a wife and four kids. I love it here, love the organization. I think I’ve been very good for it, too. It’s just about seeing eye to eye on things. I know it’s a business. I know we’re not married to each other. But you know what you’re going to get from me every year. I have a lot of hockey in front of me.”

more

The Maven continued on X,

Lou knows. Letting him go was huge Shanny mistake.
Hiring the whiz kid was no Cup bargain.

from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

An area the Wings need to improve next season, Compher said, is being a more consistent team. It's a trait many Wings players talked about, as well as general manager Steve Yzerman and coach Derek Lalonde. The highs and lows, from month to month, were staggering and likely cost the Wings ultimately some valuable points.

"Every team that battles that question, of how do we become more consistent," Compher said. "We learned the hard way that every point matters. It's so cliche, but every point matters. It's a hard way to learn that lesson, but when it's in the middle of February this could be the point that pushes us ahead."

Compher, 29, signed a five-year contract on July 1 with the Wings, worth $25.5 million ($5.1 million annual average value). The move was made to fill the second-line spot, and add the versatility and experience that Compher can provide to a lineup.

Compher had 48 points (19 goals, 29 assists) in 77 games with a minus-five plus-minus rating. Compher had 17 goals and 52 points his final season in Colorado (in 82 games). Though the offensive numbers dipped, Lalonde was thrilled with what Compher brought to the roster.

"Winning those shifts, the growth in his game, he's a very valuable player for us," Lalonde said "He's someone that can play in every situation. He can take faceoffs on both sides (of the ice). He has a lot of pride in penalty kill. He gets mad at me if after an extended shift I don't put him out first on the penalty kill.

"There's some games he’s getting 22, 23 (minutes). I don’t know if that's healthy or productive for him over time, but I just can’t help it. I'm trying to get through a matchup or end of a period and he's on all the special teams.

"He's a really good player for us."

more ($)

from Bob Duff of Detroit Hockey Now,

* Wyatt Johnston and Radek Faksa scored each of the Stars’ two goals in what was another tightly-contested Game 7 as Dallas became the eighth and final team to advance to the Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

* Mika Zibanejad led the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Rangers to a Game 1 victory against the Hurricanes in the Second Round as New York remained perfect to begin the postseason.

* The 2024 Second Round continues Monday as the Atlantic Division’s top two teams, the Panthers and Bruins, begin their rematch of last year’s thrilling seven-game opening-round series. For the full Second Round schedule, click here.

The Stars will face the Colorado Avalanche.

A side note, Pet DeBoer is now 8-0 in game 7's.

Here is the game winning goal and below are the handshakes and highlights.

NEW YORK (May 4, 2024) – The National Hockey League today announced the schedule for the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round. All times listed are ET and subject to change.

Grand Rapids defeated the Rockford Ice Hogs 4-2 to win the best of five series 3-1.

GRG goals are below.

Carolina Hurricanes/New York Rangers should be a great series.

Dallas/Vegas features two desperate teams in game 7.

NEW YORK (May 4, 2024) -- The Western Conference's top seed Dallas Stars and defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights will decide their First Round series in Game 7 at Dallas Sunday (7:30 p.m., ET, TBS, truTV, MAX, Sportsnet, TVA Sports), capping a 'winner-take-all weekend.' This marks the fourth straight year and fifth time in six postseasons that the First Round will feature multiple Game 7s.

NEW YORK (May 5, 2024) – Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov, Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews and Carolina Hurricanes center Jordan Staal are the three finalists for the 2023-24 Frank J. Selke Trophy, awarded “to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game,” the National Hockey League announced today.

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

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

from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

- ... If Lamoriello is going to change the dynamic, the guy to sacrifice is 32-year-old Brock Nelson, who has been nothing but an exemplary Islander and representative of the franchise over his 11 seasons. The 6-foot-4 center backed up 37- and 36-goal seasons with 34 this year, recorded four points (2-2) in the Carolina series and should have value as a full-season rental before his contract with a $6M cap hit expires at the end of the season.

Moving Nelson allows Barzal and Horvat to play the middle. It creates additional cap space. And it changes the dynamic.

That is a requirement. It doesn’t matter whether or not Lamoriello and the Islanders have been looking back the last few years, the NHL has been gaining on them.

Same old, same old that wasn’t quite good enough before surely isn’t going to be good enough going forward....

- You’ve got to hand it to the Sabres, right, 13 straight years out of the playoffs and they go back to the guy who was behind the bench when this all started in the first place, romanticizing a 16-year era in which they did not win the Stanley Cup with Lindy Ruff. Five of Ruff’s last seven teams did not make the playoffs.

Makes perfect sense.

To no one.

more on the first topic plus other notes...

from Luke Fox of Sportsnet,

The talk of thin margins and tight groups, of hard efforts and bitter pills, coming through hushed voices from gutted hockey players, following a 2-1 Game 7 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday.

The latest in a long list of series in which this group was just good enough to lose.

"It sucks, to be honest. We were really close, and we battled back into the series, and I don't know what to say. It's just an empty feeling right now," said William Nylander, the only member of The Core to score in any of Toronto's three elimination games this week.

"Look, I don't think there's an issue with the core. I think we were (expletive) right there all series. Battled hard and got it to Game 7 in OT. That's a (expletive) feeling."

John Tavares tried explaining what gives him the belief that this same group of stars should get another crack at this thing come October.

"We're right there," the captain said. "I mean, it's very small difference. And just the type of hockey that we played, the way we needed to play to give ourselves a chance to win the series, and the way we came together, the way that we stuck with it.... There's no doubt that we're right there."

read on

from Mike Zeisberger of NHL.com,

from Kevin Allen of Detroit Hockey Now,

Dylan Larkin, expected to be a key contributor for Team USA at the upcoming World Championships, was forced to leave the team because of an injury. No details about the injury have been released.

The World Championship tournament is scheduled for May 10-26, in Ostrava and Prague, Czechia.

The Larkin injury was announced with the announcement of nine more additions to the team. One of the new players includes goalie Trey Augustine who is a Detroit Red Wings goalie prospect.

continued

* David Pastrnak propelled the Bruins to their seventh consecutive playoff series victory against the Maple Leafs with a winner 114 seconds into overtime and set up a postseason matchup against the Panthers for the second time in as many years.

* The Stars and Golden Knights are set to contest the second Game 7 of the First Round as the reigning Stanley Cup winners look to keep their championship defense alive. This marks the fourth straight year, and fifth time in six postseasons, the First Round has featured multiple seventh-and-deciding contests.

* The puck drops on the Second Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs when the Rangers and Hurricanes clash at Madison Square Garden for their third postseason meeting – all of which have occurred since 2020.

The Boston Bruins defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 in overtime to win game 7.

The Bruins will open the 2nd round in Sunrise, Florida to face the Panthers.

First the OT winner, below watch the handshakes and highlights.

NEW YORK (May 4, 2024) – The National Hockey League today announced the Eastern Conference schedule for the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round, featuring the Carolina Hurricanes against the New York Rangers, and the Boston Bruins against the Florida Panthers. The complete Second Round schedule, including Western Conference matchups between the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks, as well as the Colorado Avalanche against the winner of the Vegas Golden Knights-Dallas Stars First Round series, will be announced when available. All times listed are ET and subject to change.

The winner tonight will advance to round 2 and play the Florida Panthers, the loser will go golfing.

Puck drops just after 8pm ET in Boston. Watch on ABC, ESPN+, CBC, Sportsnet and TVAS.

May the best team win.

NEW YORK (May 4, 2024) – Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews, Vancouver Canucks center Elias Pettersson and Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin are the three finalists for the 2023-24 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, awarded “to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability,” the National Hockey League announced today.

Members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association submitted ballots for the Lady Byng 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 Tom Mayenknecht of the Vancouver Province,

Boston versus Toronto isn’t just a Game 7. It’s an historic Original Six matchup. It’s a heritage brand pairing. And it’s an intense rivalry game; a showcase of fan intrigue and storytelling, which is ultimately what drives interest and audiences.

Will the Bruins become the first team in NHL history to squander a 3-1 series lead in back-to-back opening round series or will the Leafs be sent to the off-season by yet another heartbreaking collapse when it matters most?...

South of the border will be equally hot. As per TV Sports News & Updates, with U.S. coverage anchored by ABC on Saturday night, it marks the first Game 7 in an opening-round series to be presented on American broadcast TV since 1972 when CBS showed Game 7 of the first-round series between the old Minnesota North Stars and the St. Louis Blues.

It says here that the conditions are perfect for Boston-Toronto to set a new Canadian record for an opening-round game (at least on English-language TV).

South of the border, it could rival the average American audience of 3.5 million that watched the Bruins beat the Washington Capitals in Game 6 in overtime on NBC in 2012, the year after a Game 7 Cup Final between Boston and the Vancouver Canucks in 2011 drew more than eight million in Canada alone.

more

NEW YORK (May 3, 2024) -- Two of the NHL's storied franchises whose century-long rivalry has never been hotter will meet in a Game 7 showdown Saturday night when the Boston Bruins play host to the Toronto Maple Leafs at TD Garden to decide their Eastern Conference First Round series. The winner advances to the Second Round and will face the Atlantic Division champion Florida Panthers in a best-of-seven series that opens Monday, May 6 in Florida.

from Ed Graney of the Las Vegas Review-Journal,

Desperate teams play like this sometimes. Play up to their ability. Often beyond it.

Survival can be the greatest of motivators.

The Golden Knights aren’t done yet. There is still a Stanley Cup to defend.

It hasn’t gone anywhere.

The season continues after the Knights’ 2-0 win over the Dallas Stars before a crowd of 18,432 Friday at T-Mobile Arena.

What it means: There will be a Game 7 of the series Sunday at American Airlines Center. Winner takes all. Loser gets ready for things such as exit interviews and clean-out day and vacation plans.

What it also means: This series deserves a Game 7. It has been too closely contested for it not to be brought to the brink.

continued

Game highlights are below.

from Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet,

When Pius Suter signed with the Vancouver Canucks six weeks into free agency last summer, cut adrift by the Detroit Red Wings, a lot of friends back home in Switzerland thought he was nuts.

“They said, ‘You're going to another team that's not going to make the playoffs,’” Suter recalled late Friday. “I was like, 'No, this team is better than you think. We have guys that are top-five guys in the league at every position.’ It's huge for us to win this series. But we know what people say. Not many believed in us before this season. Probably even less next series.”

Suter, who came to the Canucks with a lot of skills in his tool box but was never regarded as tough, was one of the best Vancouver players against the Nashville Predators. He took a beating in the hard areas all series, won more battles than he lost, never shied from the fight and played the last two games with a mouthful of stitches.

And on Friday, having never logged a National Hockey League playoff game until two weeks ago, Suter scored the franchise’s biggest goal since the 2011 Stanley Cup Final.

After smashing his stick in frustration at missed opportunities earlier in the game, the 27-year-old from Zurich used its replacement to direct Brock Boeser’s centring pass past Nashville goalie Juuse Saros with 1:39 remaining as the Canucks beat the Predators 1-0 to win the first-round series in six games. They advance to a dream Stanley Cup quarterfinal matchup against the Edmonton Oilers that starts Tuesday at Rogers Arena.

continued

Watch the only goal in the game below.

Game highlights are here.