from Ed Graney of the Las Vegas Review-Journal,

Consistency is most always a valued trait in sports, but not this kind: The Knights on Friday head to Game 7 of a playoff series for the third time in as many seasons after losing all of a 3-1 advantage.

It’s the Minnesota Wild who rallied back this time, the capper a 3-0 victory in Game 6 on Wednesday of this divisional playoff at Xcel Energy Center.

It means the series will be decided in T-Mobile Arena, which will host a Game 7 for the first time....

“It’s a new year and (the past) doesn’t really matter,” Knights forward Reilly Smith said. “It’s an opportunity to come out in your home arena with all your fans excited and full of emotion.”

Feeling things out. Waiting for the other to make a critical mistake. Call it whatever you want, the Knights and Wild spent an opening two periods Wednesday playing as if whichever scored first would immediately be declared the winner.

It was a Game 6 with Game 7 nerves.

read on and below watch the game highlights plus another goalie interference call...

Is it just me or have you noticed more bitterness, more complaints, more of anything negative about our game? I find it astonishing what people are complaining about. Refs, video reviews, game times the color of sweaters, even negative views of those who bring us the game, the play-by-play and analysts folks.

Oh wait, it happens every year and will continue to happen every year. It's just not in our little hokey world, it is everywhere, Check out the big boys like CNN, then go to Fox News, it's the complete opposite. I have decided it's not me, it is them, every one of them.

I am going to trust my mind, my judgement, my everything. I'd rather discuss a high risk merchant processor for US company than read something that is trying to sway me instead of inform me.

from Emly Sadler of Sportsnet,

Questions will be asked about the core: can it stay together, sustainably, for another run? Since winning back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017, the club has won just a single playoff series.

But front of mind for many right now, in the wake of Wednesday's disheartening loss, will be goaltending. Once boasting the kind of depth organizations dream of, the team chose Matt Murray over Marc-Andre Fleury with Vegas calling a few years ago, then went with Jarry over Murray last off-season. Jarry’s under contract for two more seasons at $3.5 million per; DeSmith, one more at $1.25 million.

While his regular season numbers weren’t as strong as last year’s, which ultimately won him the starting gig, Jarry put up respectable stats worthy of a No. 1 behind a strong offensive team through most of 2020-21. But he now finishes the post-season with a stat line that tells a drastically different story: 3.18 goals against average, .888 save percentage through six games in his first full playoff series against the Islanders, a team not exactly known for scoring.

With the core at the age and stage that it is, top-tier goaltending was the most obvious missing piece this spring. With new management at the helm, where does that factor in? Time for a young netminder to develop isn't the kind of luxury this group has if they're to turn around and make another run. How Pittsburgh tackles its crease will be the biggest key as we shift focus from looking back on this season that was to looking ahead to what the next could be.

more and a look at all the games played on Wednesday...

from Ansar Khan of Mlive,

“We need to score more goals and improve offensively,” general manager Steve Yzerman said. “That’s easier said than done. The biggest part of that is having players who have the ability to produce.

“I’m hopeful our younger players can generate a little more offense. With the players that have been here for a while, I expect them to score more than they did this year.”

The improvement must come mostly from within the organization. The Red Wings will look to sign a couple of free-agent forwards, preferably right-handed shooters, but that market surely will be thin when it opens on July 28.

The list of potential unrestricted free-agent forwards with offensive ability includes Alex Ovechkin (Washington), Gabriel Landeskog and Brandon Saad (Colorado), Taylor Hall and David Krejci (Boston), Mike Hoffman and Jaden Schwartz (St. Louis), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Edmonton), Blake Coleman (Tampa Bay) and Zach Hyman (Toronto).

Several are expected to re-sign with their current club. Those that don’t might not be inclined to move from a strong team, in many cases, to a rebuilding club.

read on

from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

THREE HARD LAPS

* It was a clean sweep for the home teams on Wednesday as the Islanders, Lightning and Wild each claimed wins in front of a combined 23,592 fans. New York and Tampa Bay each advanced to the Second Round, while Minnesota forced Game 7.

* The first Game 7 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs will be played Friday at 9 p.m. ET in Las Vegas when the Golden Knights host the Wild (NBCSN, SN, CBC, TVAS).

* Two more series are on the line tonight as the Maple Leafs look to advance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in more than 17 years, while the Hurricanes eye a spot in the Second Round for the second time in three seasons.

The Lightning beat the Florida Panthers 4-0 to advance to round 2 where they will play the winner of Carolina/Nashville.

added 11:08pm, Highlights first, handshakes below.

next up, the Boston Bruins.

The Islanders defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3 tonight to win the series 4-2.

added 9:35pm, handshakes and highlights are below.

The Pittsburgh Penguins, Florida Panthers and Minnesota Wild need a win tonight to force a game 7.

As always, feel free to discuss the games tonight and the full schedule is below.

from Bruce McCurdy of the Edmonton Journal,

Ken Holland took to Zoom for an expansive, dare I say rambling press conference on Wednesday morning to discuss the demise of the 2021 version of the Edmonton Oilers he manages, and to respond to reporters’ questions as to how he plans to improve his club going forward.

65 minutes later, after many variations on the theme of “I’ve lived it, I’ve done it” and reminiscences of his long years of experience in Detroit, the two most interesting items to these ears were the two questions he answered most directly. So let’s start there.

Holland mentioned the names of his pending unrestricted free agents on a number of occasions, but was most forthcoming on the future of the oldest of them. When asked if he intended to bring back his 39-year-old netminder, he answered in a single syllable, “Yes”, and it didn’t take more than a few seconds before he made it crystal clear: “Yes I do want to re-sign Mike Smith“....

Another Oiler who was singled out by Holland in the presser was forward Devin Shore. When Stauffer asked about him specifically, Holland praised the player’s versatility, ability to play either centre or wing or to wait his turn in the press box without creating waves. Invited to camp on a Professional Tryout, Shore earned a one-year contract at NHL minimum, cleared waivers a couple of times, but became something close to a full time player down the stretch, primarily as a bottom six LW, bringing physicality and penalty killing to the mix. While his path to making the team superficially resembles that of Alex Chiasson a couple of years ago, presumably a Shore extension would come a whole lot cheaper. He is a restricted free agent for one thing, and he didn’t have a career season in the manner that Chiasson did in 2018-19....

Otherwise, Holland spoke in generalities rather than specifics, returning to some takes time and time again. His initial comment was that he is “obviously disappointed, any time you don’t win the Stanley Cup, you’re disappointed… I was proud of our guys, lots of positive steps made this year. The pain that we’re feeling today is a good thing, it means we were good enough to have aspirations to go on a playoff run.”

more

“I promise you, with the people I’ve worked with over the course of my career, I don’t think you’re going to tell Andy Van Hellemond, Don Koharski or Kerry Fraser how to referee a hockey game,” said Hall of Fame referee Paul Stewart, a fourth-generation official. “They just look at you like pffft.

“I didn’t give a shit. I did the job based on what my feelings were. In many senses, I felt the players played for me. If you’re going to officiate and be at the top level of your game, you can’t allow this type of outside influence to taint your thinking. You have to gauge it by how you are and who you are.”

-Paul Stewart, former NHL referee

“At a stoppage of play, I would go to the benches to both coaches and say, ‘Obviously you’ve taken way too much advantage of my generosity and I’m embarrassed, but I’m now going to lay the hammer down. I prefer you to control your guys before I have to. But I’m going to grab one player in the scrum — it might be your guy or their guy. Control your guys or I will.”

“If I said something, you can take it to the bank, I was going to do it. The guys that are really successful are when they step on the ice and players know they mean business. When they tell them something, they follow through. It’s not an idle threat.”

-Kerry Fraser, former NHL referee

Joe Smith of The Athletic has much more ($$$)

from TSN,

St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said Wednesday he believes the team's Stanley Cup window is still open, despite a second straight early exit from the postseason.

The Blues were swept in four games by the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of this year's playoffs, after being eliminated in six games in the opening round by the Vancouver Canucks last year.

Now two years removed from the team's first ever Stanley Cup championship in 2019, Armstrong said he sees at least two more years of the Blues being a contender.

"When we brought in the players a couple years ago, we thought we had a 5-year window (to win the Cup)," Armstrong said. "This was Year 3 of it.

"I still think it’s open."

continued

How about all 13 from the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

via Turner Sports press release,

The NHL is coming to Turner Sports’ networks and platforms later this year and the first additions to the roster of studio and game commentators are in place. Turner Sports and Wayne Gretzky have reached a multi-year agreement for “The Great One” to offer studio analysis during key moments of the NHL regular season and throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Additionally, veteran play-by-play commentator Kenny Albert and analyst Eddie Olczyk will call live games for Turner Sports throughout the regular season and the Stanley Cup Playoffs, airing on TNT and TBS.

“The world’s best hockey league is coming to Turner Sports later this year and the exciting additions of Wayne, Kenny and Eddie will jumpstart our NHL coverage with some of the best and biggest talents in the sport,” said Tara August, Senior Vice President of Talent Relations and Special Projects, Turner Sports. “Their incomparable experiences within the game and unparalleled depth of knowledge will bring a distinct dimension to our game and studio coverage. We’re thrilled to welcome them to the Turner Sports family.”

from Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun,

And then there was one.

Not since the spring of 2004 have the Maple Leafs won a playoff series.

With a 4-0 victory in Game 4 against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night, the Leafs are on the brink of changing that narrative.

One more win in the best-of-seven will do it, as the Leafs have taken a firm grip with a 3-1 series lead versus their Original Six rivals and head home full of confidence for Game 5 on Thursday....

“Scoring, defending, checking, all the way through the lineup, the guys dug down,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. “These back to backs are tough. I thought a lot of guys were actually better (Tuesday) than (Monday). There were a lot of great efforts all the way through.”

Toronto most recently won a playoff series 17 years ago, when it beat Ottawa in the Eastern Conference quarterfinal. The Leafs then lost in the conference semis to Philadelphia, and since then, have lost their past five series, including the qualifier last August against Columbus.

A win by Toronto on Thursday — or in Game 6 or 7 — and the Leafs will meet the Winnipeg Jets in the second round.

read on

Watch the highligts below.

from Kurt Dusterberg at NHL.com,

Jordan Staal scored 2:03 into overtime, and the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Nashville Predators 3-2 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup First Round at PNC Arena on Tuesday.

Staal batted the puck out of the air after goalie Juuse Saros stopped a shot from the point by Brett Pesce. The goal came 20 seconds after Alexandre Carrier was called for interference, which ended a Predators power play.

"I was fortunate enough, I easily could have whiffed on that one," Staal said. "I think I got my shaft on it. I was just swinging at it and I got a good bounce."

Martin Necas scored twice, and Alex Nedeljkovic made 23 saves for Carolina, which is the No. 1 seed from the Discover Central Division and leads the series.

"I think we got rewarded tonight," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "We finally got a bounce, something that went our way that we really haven't had this series. It's that kind of goal you have to have every night."

continued

Game highlights are below.

THREE HARD LAPS

* The Maple Leafs earned their third straight win to move within one of reaching the Second Round, while the Hurricanes snapped a two-game slide to take a 3-2 series lead.

* Joe Thornton scored and became the oldest Toronto player to record a point in a playoff game, while William Nylander also found the back of the net (again) to move closer to matching a franchise record.

* The Islanders, Lightning and Golden Knights will look to advance past the First Round, while the Penguins, Panthers and Wild aim to force the first Game 7s of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

I'm in relaxed mode tonight...

via the NHL PR department,

HURRICANES HOPE HOME ICE ADVANTAGE CONTINUES FOR GAME 5

A pivotal Game 5 goes tonight at PNC Arena in Raleigh between the Predators and Hurricanes, while in Montreal the Maple Leafs and Canadiens will battle for a second straight day with the host looking to even the series at 2-2.

* The home team has won each of the first four games between the Predators and Hurricanes, with Carolina returning to a building that welcomed 12,000 fans to watch them win Games 1 and 2. Carolina also was involved in the last series to have the home team win each of the first four contests – that happened in the first six games of the 2019 First Round against the Capitals before the Hurricanes snapped the streak with a Game 7 victory in D.C.

from Sportsnet,

Wayne Gretzky has resigned from his post as vice-chairman of the Edmonton Oilers after five years, he announced Tuesday via Twitter, and will join TNT as an analyst, according to Andrew Marchand of The New York Post.

"The Oilers, their fans, and the city of Edmonton have meant the world to me and my family for over four decades – and that will never end," Gretzky wrote in a statement. "Given the pandemic and other life changes, I realize I will not be able to dedicate the time nor effort needed to support this world-class organization."

The Great One will serve as lead analyst on the cable network's forthcoming studio show, per Marchand, which is in the works after the NHL and Turner Sports agreed to a seven-year TV rights deal late last month.

Marchand reports that Gretzky will be paid roughly $3 million per season by TNT, who scooped him up with recruitment help from friend Charles Barkley after the NHL legend failed to reach a deal with ESPN nearly three weeks ago.

continued

via the YouTube page of Sportsnet,

Connor McDavid talked about the core the Oilers have built and his future with the team going forward.

from George Richards is Florida Hockey Now,

The Panthers can only hope so.

Knight was fantastic, as you may have heard on Monday night. After giving up a goal on Tampa Bay’s first shot of the night (off a 2-on-1 due to botched defensive coverage), Knight settled in and stopped the Lightning’s next 36 offerings.

Once you let one in you kind of just reset and you’re like, ‘Alright, this is how it’s going to go, can’t do anything to change it so let’s just go play now,'” Knight said. “That’s how it was. It was a good goal by them, great play, but I just tried to recover. Just smile and have fun.”

The kid from Connecticut went from playing in the NCAA tournament with the Boston College Eagles — he was named the school’s male athlete of the year — to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

He got his first playoff game under his belt Monday night but Wednesday will be his first in enemy territory. Amalie Arena is going to be rocking for Game 6. Are the Panthers worried their goalie can handle that pressure?

“You don’t see any nervousness on him,’’ Sasha Barkov said. “He’s a special kid. You don’t see that often. He’s so young, he’s so confident, technically really good. I could be here until tomorrow if you want me to say everything about Spencer. He’s just great.”

read on

NEW YORK (May 25, 2021) – Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for cross-checking Florida Panthers forward Mason Marchment during Game 5 of the teams’ First Round series in Sunrise, Fla., on Monday, May 24, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

The incident occurred at 7:16 of the first period. McDonagh was assessed a minor penalty for roughing.

Watch below.

NEW YORK (May 25, 2021) – Tampa Bay Lightning forward Pat Maroon has been fined $3,879.31, the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for unsportsmanlike conduct during Game 5 of the team’s First Round series in Sunrise, Fla., on Monday, May 24, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

The incident occurred at 19:45 of the third period. Maroon was assessed a 10-minute misconduct.

Watch the incident below.

from Al Montoya at The Players' Tribune,

I was seven, playing in a house league at the old Glenview Park District ice arena back home in Illinois. And at that point, on that team, being the goalie was like losing a bet or something. We used to have to pass the goalie bag to a different player before each game. No one wanted the job. And the beat-up bag with recycled equipment didn’t exactly help sell it.

But for me? As a little kid looking for new ways to have fun? Are you kidding?

To me, it was like that bag was filled with gold. What was inside couldn’t have been any more special — the old-school leather pads, one of those ancient chest protectors where it was just the chest and you had to slide on the arms, the whole thing. It may as well have been Patrick Roy’s or Eddie Belfour’s gear. In my eyes, it was beautiful.

And when the bag landed at my feet one day, I strapped on the mask and … I fell in love. Immediately. With that mask on, I felt like I could block out the noise around me and trust my instincts to respond to whatever came my way.

To fully understand why, you have to understand what it’s like to navigate two different worlds: The one shaped by being the son of a Cuban refugee — my mom, who had come to America after fleeing the Castro regime with her parents when she was 10 years old — and the one I had to create for myself, as an everyday American kid born in Chicago.

Let me be totally clear: I’m proud of every part of my identity. But moving between two completely different versions of yourself on a daily basis can be challenging. It’s not that I didn’t know which one I most belonged to. It’s that I didn’t feel like society would let me be everything I was — Cuban, American, the son of an immigrant — all at the same time.

read on

First video is Jets/Oilers, Leafs/Canadiens and Islnders/Penguins.

Second video is below and includes more Winnipeg/Edmonton and Toronto/Montreal and Florida/Tampa.

from John Romano of the Tampa Bay Times,

This was not how the final 10 seconds were supposed to look.

This was supposed to be a celebration for the Lightning, a vindication for their hard work. This was supposed to be the end of the first-round series, and the beginning of Tampa Bay’s quest for back-to-back NHL titles.

Instead, the final 10 seconds included a pitiful attempt at a fight and one final indignity in a night full of them.

Pat Maroon tried to take out Noel Acciari after a faceoff with 10 seconds remaining but ended up in a scrum of bodies at center ice in a fitting metaphor for a team that did not go down swinging.

The Lightning lost 4-1 to the Panthers in Game 5 on Monday night with an effort that was even more disappointing than the final score.

continued

Watch the game highlights below.