THREE HARD LAPS

* Colorado scored five unanswered goals to rally past Los Angeles and clinch the 2020-21 Presidents’ Trophy, becoming the first team to claim the award in its final game of the season since Vancouver in 2011-12.

* The Avalanche’s win also finalized the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs bracket, confirming that Colorado will meet St. Louis in a series for the first time since 2001 when current general manager Joe Sakic scored one of his NHL-record eight postseason overtime goals.

* The Maple Leafs and Jets conclude their regular season tonight at Bell MTS Place before opening First Round series versus the Canadiens and Oilers, respectively, next week.

NEW YORK (May 13, 2021) – The Colorado Avalanche have claimed the Presidents’ Trophy as the team with the best overall record, winning their final game of the 2020-21 regular-season to overtake the Honda West Division rival Vegas Golden Knights.

The Avs can win the Presidents' Trophy tonight with a win over the LA Kings.

Scenario is below and Nathan MacKinnon will not play again tonight.

Gerard Gallant is Canada's head coach for the upcoming World Hockey Championships, but could there be an opportunity for him to get back behind an NHL bench? The Oilers have a number of players becoming free-agents this summer, so how close are they to locking up some of their blueliners? TSN Hockey Insiders Darren Dreger and Frank Seravalli discuss this and more.

Watch at TSN and/or read the transcrpt of the show, here is part of it...

Is Gerard Gallant being considered for a full-time coaching position in the NHL?

Embedded ImageDarren Dreger: Yes, he most definitely is with the New York Rangers. The Rangers have been granted permission by the Vegas Golden Knights to interview Gerard Gallant so clearly he is one of the top candidates in the process that has been started by new general manager Chris Drury.

The timing is more to do with the travel plans for Gallant. He is the head coach for Team Canada and he is on his way to Latvia this weekend. The Rangers at least want to spend some time and have at least one conversation with Gallant before he begins taking on the responsibility of running Canada at the World Men's Ice Hockey Championship.

from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

As the world awaits the identity of the next Red Wings coach — will it remain Jeff Blashill or be someone else — it appears there’s one less question mark regarding the team.

Jakub Vrana is going to be an exciting and possibly impactful player for the Wings. The 11 games at the end of the season, though a snippet of information, sure looked promising.

General manager Steve Yzerman, who hasn’t yet announced his decision whether to retain Blashill, has made a flurry of deals already in his two years retooling the roster.

But acquiring Vrana at this season’s trade deadline (along with Richard Panik and two draft picks) for Anthony Mantha could be an important one going forward.

The draft picks were Washington's 2021 first-round pick and 2022 second-round pick, so both players could be legitimate prospects. But more so, Vrana, in a brief sample size, looked special.

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via Ben Munson of Fierce Video,

Despite securing streaming rights as part of its new deal with the NHL, WarnerMedia doesn’t have plans to put live hockey on HBO Max this year.

However, CEO Jason Kilar, speaking today at a MoffettNathanson investor conference, said NHL content on HBO Max is absolutely something that could happen down the road a little further. He added that when his team built the new HBO Max platform, it made a conscious decision to not just design it around on-demand programming.

from Wayne Scanlan of Sportsnet,

Players and coaches alike took turns trying to describe this bizarre, unmatching bookends of a 2020-21 campaign by the Ottawa Senators.

“It was the tale of two seasons,” said head coach D.J. Smith.

“NIght and day,” was how veteran forward Nick Paul, Ottawa’s Masterton Trophy nominee, described the horrendous 2-12-1 start for Ottawa before a turnaround that sparked a 10-3-1 finish.

“We just wish we could keep going here,” Brady Tkachuk said, the day after completing the season with a 4-3 overtime victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ottawa finished 23-28-5, for 51 points in 56 games, eight points behind the Montreal Canadiens holding down fourth place and the final playoff spot in the North Division.

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What would the plays of the week be without Connor McDavid? Others too.

SEATTLE (May 13, 2021) — Today, Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), an Amazon.com, Inc. company (NASDAQ: AMZN), and the National Hockey League (NHL) announced they will debut two new advanced analytics during the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs. These new stats powered by AWS will appear as on-screen graphics and data visualizations during NHL games and give fans a better understanding and deeper appreciation of how their favorite players and teams perform during crucial moments. The first two stats, shot analytics and save analytics, will debut on Saturday, May 15, during the first day of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs and be used throughout the 2021-22 season. For more information about AWS and its involvement with the world’s premier professional hockey league, please visit https://aws.amazon.com/sports/nhl/.

NEW YORK (May 13, 2021) – The National Hockey League today announced the schedule scenarios, starting times and national broadcast information for the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round based on the outcome of tonight’s Los Angeles Kings-Colorado Avalanche game. The 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round will begin Saturday, May 15 with Game 1 between the Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals at 7:15 p.m. ET (NBC, SN, CBC, TVAS). All times listed are ET and subject to change.

I remember one day — and this was my first summer in L.A. — I was training at the practice facility that we shared with the Lakers. I was out in the parking lot getting ready to head home, and I see this guy pop out of his car in a purple velour tracksuit. And he’s wearing the biggest, flashiest sunglasses I’ve ever seen. I’m sort of squinting, like, Maaaaan, who is that guy??

He’s walking over, and I feel like time is standing still for this guy. I’m not even sure his feet are touching the ground, to be real with you. He’s just gliding.

That’s the Kobe experience.

He looked at me, flashed me a peace and floated right on into the facility. I don’t know if he thought I was the valet, or a King, or what — but there were two L.A.’s in that moment: Kobe’s, and the rest of ours.

Who is this current NHL player is.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - USA Hockey announced today the 26 players that will comprise the U.S. Men’s National Team set to compete in the 2021 International Ice Hockey Federation Men’s World Championship May 21-June 6 in Riga, Latvia.

"We’re excited with the roster we have and look forward to the world championship," said ChrisDrury, general manager of the 2021 U.S. Men's National Team and also the president and general manager of the NHL's New York Rangers. "It’s a unique year and we appreciate the dedication and commitment of everyone. We really like our team and our goal, like every other team our country puts on the ice, is to bring home a gold medal."

from Michael Traikos of the National Post,

If it felt like the NHL season was split into two different leagues this year — one in the U.S. and one in Canada — having Boston and Washington play Game 1 of the playoffs on the same day that Edmonton and Vancouver will be playing an otherwise meaningless regular-season game probably won’t change that.

It’s an odd move by the NHL schedule-makers.

Call me old fashioned, but is it too much to ask that the regular season ends before the playoffs begin?

Then again, for most hockey fans the Bruins-Capitals is nothing more than the opening act. The playoffs won’t really begin until a week from now, when the Toronto Maple Leafs play the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of the North Division semifinal.

This is the match-up fans have been waiting for since 1979. It’s the investment that Rogers Sportsnet spent more than $5 billion on. And with apologies to the Oilers and Jets, who begin the playoffs, it’s the most hyped series of the first round.

The question is, will it live up to the hype?

I don’t think it will go seven games. But I’m expecting a tough series — tougher than most Toronto fans probably want to admit.

For the first time in the past five years — and, no, last year’s play-in against Columbus doesn’t count — the Leafs will be the favourites. They will have all the pressure. Everyone expects them to win the North Division and go all the way and win a Stanley Cup. Anything less will be considered a disappointment.

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from Paul Lukas at Inside Hook,

These rankings are based primarily on the teams’ standard home and road uniforms, with alternate and Reverse Retro (ЯR) designs considered mainly for bonus points and tiebreakers. Ready? Here we go.

10. Detroit Red Wings

Much like the Maple Leafs, the Red Wings are an Original Six franchise with a classic uniform that’s held back by the “one color plus white” factor. This uniform is so firmly etched in the NHL’s visual firmament that you can’t just add another color to it — but that means the team will always come up a bit short on this list (despite the bonus points for the vertically arched player names). A very good uniform set? Yes. A great one? Not quite.

the rest of the NHL teams...

My apologies, this should have been posted in Abel to Yzerman.

from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

Steve Yzerman’s silence on the Detroit Red Wings coaching front would seem to favor Jeff Blashill, but hold off on placing any bets.

Yzerman is as deliberate and patient as they come; when he was named general manager in April 2019, he announced he wanted to spend his first year observing. He held off on naming a captain, made low-key signings to patch the lineup and set about steering the rebuild in the direction he deemed fit.

That included keeping Blashill on as coach, honoring the two-year extension Blashill had signed 17 days before Yzerman’s return....

Yzerman is not at the point where he’s looking for a coach who can guide the Wings to the Stanley Cup. The Wings need someone who can develop players, as Blashill has done with Larkin, Bertuzzi, Filip Hronek, Filip Zadina, Michael Rasmussen and more.

But maybe Yzerman wants a fresh voice. When he left the Wings’ front office in 2010 to accept the Tampa Bay Lightning GM position, Yzerman hired Guy Boucher for his first NHL head coaching job. Yzerman fired Boucher on March 24, 2013, and, the next day, announced the promotion of Jon Cooper. Yzerman had hired Cooper to coach the Lightning’s AHL affiliate in 2010.

more ($$$)

THREE HARD LAPS

* J.T. Compher scored the first hat trick of his NHL career and Philipp Grubauerturned aside all 18 shots he faced as the Avalanche, who improved to 15-0-1 in their last 16 games at Ball Arena, clinched home-ice advantage for the First Round where they will face either the Wild or Blues. If Colorado defeats Los Angeles in any fashion tonight, it will claim the Presidents’ Trophy and Honda West Division crown while simultaneously finalizing the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs bracket.

* Marc-Andre Fleury (36 GP) and Robin Lehner (19 GP) combined to win the William M. Jennings Trophy as the Golden Knights allowed a League-low 124 goals against this season, four fewer than the Islanders (128).

* Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl had multiple points again as the Oilers defeated the Canadiens in their penultimate game of the regular season. Edmonton contests its finale versus Vancouver on Saturday before facing Winnipeg in the First Round.

from Curtis Pashelka of the Mercury News,

Patrick Marleau was given a special gift by the NHL Players’ Association before the Sharks played the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday at SAP Center.

At the request of Gordie Howe’s family, the NHLPA presented Marleau with the stick used by Howe in his 1,767th and final NHL game on April 6, 1980.

The stick had been on display in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto and will be replaced by a stick used by Marleau on April 19 when he played in his 1,768th career game and broke Howe’s all-time record.

The Sharks also presented Marleau with a custom painting by Lucasfilm and Disney Master Artist Kevin-John, which is of him and Howe.

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Below, a tweet the Sharks sent out which includes a picture of the stick. You can also see it within the article.

via Sportsnet,

Sam Cosentino joins Hockey Central to discuss his top-10 NHL Prospect list where Owen Power tops the list.

from Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet,

Vancouver Canucks coach Travis Green, marooned on an expiring contract without an extension for next season, broke his silence Tuesday on his employment status but only to explain that he is a better coach now than when he came to the National Hockey League team four years ago.

“I think every year has its own challenges,” Green told reporters before the Canucks, freshly eliminated from the playoff race, crashed 5-0 to the Winnipeg Jets. “We came into the season and you're always hoping for good things. It hasn't gone the way we wanted. But you learn from everything. I think every year you coach you have an opportunity to improve as a coach, and I know over the years in Vancouver, I've improved every year and become a better coach every season. And this year is no different.

“When you go through challenges and you go through adversity, sometimes you grow even more in those situations than when you're having success. And when I look back at the season ... I know I'll be able to look back and say, 'You know, I'm a much better coach today than I was coming into this season.'”

And, yet, here we are.

After inheriting a 29th-place, 69-point team in 2017 and taking it three years later into the playoff bubble last summer where the Canucks had their first post-season success since 2011, Green and his entire staff of assistants are about to become coaching free agents.

There are a lot of ways to judge a coach besides wins and losses, and Green’s teams have opened him to criticism even as they improved until this season.

read on

That's thinking outside the box.

Video starts with the segment of Art Regner and Helene St. James,

added 11:31am,

added 11:32am,

NYR release is below.

from TSN,

This year’s prospect class is shaping up to be a boon for teams looking for blueline help, with defencemen holding down the top four spots on the latest edition of TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button’s rankings ahead of the 2021 NHL Draft, scheduled for July 23.

Owen Power, the towering 6-foot-5-1/2, 213-pound Michigan Wolverines defenceman, is Button’s top prospect available after scoring three goals and 16 points in 26 games at the NCAA level. And his talents will be showcased again later this month as he'll play for Team Canada at the IIHF Men's World Hockey Championship in Latvia.

“Power’s combination of skills is unique,” Button said of the left-shot defenceman. “He’s got superb hockey sense, very good skill and superior size.”

Barrie Colts defenceman Brandt Clarke, who spent this season with HC Nove Zamky in the top Slovakian professional league while the Ontario Hockey League was on pause during the pandemic, comes in second in Button’s rankings.

Clarke, a right-shot defenceman who is 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, helped Canada win gold at the under-18 men's hockey championship in Frisco, Texas with two goals and seven points in seven games.

“Clarke brings a skill set that includes creativity, boldness and confidence,” Button said. “His game combines elements of Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns.”

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