THREE HARD LAPS

* With more than 9,000 fans at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, and nearly that number at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the Penguins and Golden Knights each claimed home wins to even their respective series at one game apiece.

* Nikita Kucherov moved within one of 100 career playoff points as the Lightning pulled ahead 2-0 in their series with the Panthers as the clubs get set to head cross-state for Game 3 on Thursday.

* The final game of the 2020-21 regular season is slated for this afternoon, with four playoff games to follow including Connor McDavid and the Oilers hosting Mark Scheifele and the Jets in the first postseason game in the Scotia North Division.

from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

“I feel our team is collectively very competitive,” Yzerman said. “Whether we play well or not every night is different, but we play hard. Our players play hard and I think that’s a reflection of the coaching staff, that they have the respect of the players.”...

"I’ve been a Red Wing for a long time and in this seat for a long time," Blashill said. "I love being a Red Wing. I love being part of this organization, and I want to continue to see this team get to a better tomorrow. We’ve been through tough times and to get a chance to continue to lead this team, I’ve very grateful for it and I’m very excited."

With the team in a rebuild, the focus has been on player development more so than winning percentage.

“Jeff has really worked with me with transitioning our young players into the lineup, being patient with them,” Yzerman said. “Not handing them positions or ice time, really forcing them to earn it and guiding them along.”

read on

The GM is up first, the coach is below.

The Islanders, Lightning and Wild can take a 2-0 lead tonight with a win.

Today's full schedule is below and feel free to comment on the games.

Kris Draper appeared on The Hook Show at the Woodward Sports Network. Draper spoke with Darren McCarty, Tom Mazawey and Pilar Lastra.

The show atarts with the Draper interview and this was just before the Yzerman press conferenc

Watch below.

The Word on Woodward crew along with Ken Kal and Larry Murphy will be on and then at 4:15pm you will be able to watch the Steve Yzerman press conference followed by Jeff Blashill.

Watch below and the stream is scheduled to start at 4:00pm ET.

DETROIT -- Detroit Red Wings executive vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman today announced that Jeff Blashill has agreed to a contract extension to remain head coach of the Red Wings. Additionally, Yzerman announced that assistant coach Dan Bylsma will pursue other NHL opportunities in 2021-22.

from the CP at CBC,

A shot at a Stanley Cup late in an NHL career is something to savour.

Edmonton Oilers goaltender Mike Smith is a 39-year-old veteran aspiring to hoist the Cup before the end of his career.

He's aware of the chance in front of him when the Oilers open the post-season Wednesday against the Winnipeg Jets.

Smith isn't the oldest goaltender in this year's NHL playoffs.

Craig Anderson, who turns 40 on Friday, backstopped the Washington Capitals to a 1-1 record to open their series against the Boston Bruins.

Smith has played 16 NHL seasons and started 618 games. He has made 23 career playoff starts.

"I remember as 24-year-old being in my first year in the league and guys telling me 'it goes by quick.' You're thinking 'OK, old goat. I've got a lot of time left,"' Smith said recently.

"Now I'm the old goat and I'm trying to say the same things to these young players.

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from Neil Best of Newsday,

You know those position-by-position analyses sportswriters have produced before postseason series since around the time the first Stanley Cup playoff was held in 1894?

They generally prove irrelevant or inaccurate once the games are played. But not always.

Consider the current first-round series between the Islanders and Penguins. It widely was assumed before it started that the Islanders had the edge in goaltending. Then Game 1 confirmed that, in the extreme.

To review: The Islanders’ second-best goalie seems to be better than the Penguins’ first-best goalie.

Poor Tristan Jarry. He sounds more like an ancient Canadian baseball stadium – ask your grandparents – than a modern Canadian goalie. And he was exposed (see what I did there?) on Sunday.

If the Penguins are to have any hope of beating the Islanders four times in six games, he is going to have to be better than he was in the 4-3 overtime loss, in which he allowed a series of savable pucks to go unsaved.

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from Luke DeCock of the News & Observer

It’s been two years and a day, to be exact, since the last time the Carolina Hurricanes got to play a playoff game in front of their own fans, and a little longer than that since they won one.

It feels like it’s been a lifetime. In some ways, it almost has been. The last few minutes, as the Hurricanes turned the first two-goal lead of the entire playoffs so far into the first three-goal lead, felt like a celebration of something bigger than a playoff win. It’s not quite normal yet, not with a good chunk of the 300 level still held empty, not with COVID not yet fully conquered, but it’s a lot closer to it than anything we’ve seen in the past year and change.

There’s a finish line to this pandemic out there somewhere, one getting closer with every shot into every arm — you could even get vaccinated inside the arena Monday, if you weren’t already ... and if not, why not? — but everyone was ready to take a victory lap Monday night.

The Hurricanes pulled away in the third period for a resounding 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators. The fans yelled things and sat shoulder to shoulder and did the wave for the first time in months. Gov. Roy Cooper, who lifted the capacity restrictions Friday at the conclusion of months of careful guidance, was the ceremonial siren sounder before the game. Cooper is, he announced via Twitter later Monday night, 3-0 on the siren in the playoffs.

read on

View the game highlights below.

from Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post,

With every punch Avs captain Gabe Landeskog landed to the mug of a bozo wearing a Blues sweater, the message was pounded home: Do not mistake pretty for weak.

The NHL playoffs are not for the meek of heart. Turn the other cheek? This ain’t church, pal.

This best-of-seven series got chippy early. So be it. Are you sure this is a battle you want, St. Louis? Colorado is built to make good trouble. In a 4-1 victory, Landeskog bombed the Blues with a Gordie Howe hat trick: a goal, not one but two assists and a fight.

Not long after he first stepped on the ice in North America as a 16-year-old from Sweden, “I started fighting,” Landeskog said. To prove he’s no soft European import, he has never been reluctant to drop the gloves and exchange punches.

Although some people might take his fondness for fisticuffs the wrong way, Landeskog admits: “I kind of enjoy it.”

A little over 10 minutes into the opening period of this opening-round playoff series, St. Louis forward “Bozo” Brayden Schenn took a cheap shot at the knee of Avalanche star Mikko Rantanen as he wheeled on the attack.

The Blues, knowing full well they cannot skate with Colorado, went low on Mikko. The Avs better get used to it, because the NHL playoffs might be the last true vestige of old-time hockey, where elevated testosterone levels can turn an otherwise fine gentleman into a goon wielding a stick, and the refs often sit back, swallow their whistles and let it all be decided on the ice.

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Below watch the game highlights.

from Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe,

First some grit, then some finesse, and the Bruins on Monday night muscled their way right back to front and center in their first-round series with the Capitals.

Taylor Hall brought grit, charging in from the right side to mash in the 3-3 equalizer late in the third period. Then Matt Grzelcyk and Brad Marchand worked their magic with Grzelcyk sending a perfect diagonal feed from above the left wing circle for Marchand to ram home with a one-timer. All of it set up by an alert play around the blue line by David Krejci, getting the puck over to Grzelcyk with the Capitals in disarray in their own end of the ice.

The 4-3 overtime win, only 39 clicks into the extra session, evened the best of seven series, 1-1, and now it’s back to Boston for Games 3 and 4.

“We had to play better,” said coach Bruce Cassidy. “Everyone came to play. A little bit of a tough start (in the first period), and we’ll have to address that, but we played better.”

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Watch the highlights below.

/from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

The Detroit Pistons held their exit interviews with the media on Monday, less than 24 hours after the end of their season. The Detroit Red Wings have been silent since their season ended 10 days ago.

The lack of any availability since the Wings finished 19-27-10 on May 8 seemingly indicates general manager Steve Yzerman is keeping Jeff Blashill as coach. An announcement on Blashill is expected this week.

Blashill has been behind the bench since 2015, guiding the team to a 172-221-62 record and one playoff appearance, in 2016. But the Wings are in a rebuild and higher-ups in the organization have not been expecting the team to advance to the playoffs during most of Blashill’s tenure.

Blashill and his assistants are all on expiring contracts. Dan Bylsma is unlikely to return; he’s been in charge of forwards and the power play since he was hired in June 2018.

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THREE HARD LAPS

* Brad Marchand scored 39 seconds into overtime to even the First Round for the Bruins, who haven’t fallen behind 2-0 in a postseason series since the 2011 Stanley Cup Final.

* Nathan MacKinnon picked up right where he left off following his 25-point postseason last year as the Avalanche earned a Game 1 win.

* Thrilling games have highlighted the first three days of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs, which have featured 15 tying goals as well as five contests decided by a one-goal margin (including four that have required overtime). The score has been either tied or within one goal for nearly 95% of total game time (94.7%; 421:40 of 445:10) – the Hurricanes and Avalanche are the only teams that have held a multi-goal lead.

Gabriel Landeskog takes on Brayden Schenn.

One game 2 tonight and two opening games.

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

from TSN,

Toronto and Montreal may be playoff strangers but the heated rivalry has never been forgotten in the minds of hockey fans. Despite not facing off in a postseason series since 1979, all that drought has done is build a fire in each fan base which will be unleashed when the two teams meet Thursday. Michael Farber has more.

Watch the 5 1/2 minute feature at TSN, no geo-blocking.

from Andrew Bucholz of Awful Announcing,

There’s yet another hockey media move in the works, and while this one is just a departure for now rather than a transfer, there’s already lots of talk about what could be ahead. The move in question is veteran reporter Frank Seravalli exiting TSN after six years. Seravalli, who joined TSN in 2015 after six years on the Flyers’ beat for The Philadelphia Daily News, tweeted about his TSN exit Monday, and said this was his choice:

Seravalli notes in there that he isn’t “exactly sure” what’s next for him, but there’s been plenty of speculation that he might join ESPN or Turner ahead of the start of their NHL coverage next season. Either of those moves might make some sense. ESPN in particular might have some merit, as Seravalli could contribute not only to game coverage for them, but perhaps also to SportsCenter and other shows. They also have a strong website for reporting, written features, and video features, and Seravalli has found some success in all of those formats.

Turner might be a little harder to envision as a destination given that they don’t have sports news shows or a real website association.

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NEWARK, NJ – MAY 17, 2021: The New Jersey Devils and Fanaply have announced the first digital collectibles partnership in Devils team history. Via the landmark partnership, industry-leading digital collectibles provider, Fanaply, will host, mint, sell and distribute the Devils first officially licensed Non-Fungible Token (NFT) Collection. The NJD NFTs will feature imagery inspired by iconic moments in Devils history, the team’s vibrant fanbase and the team’s recent “Made in Jersey” brand campaign; providing true digital ownership and engagement for fans at both premium and accessible prices. The NFTs in partnership with Fanaply will be all minted and backed on the Ethereum blockchain. To purchase the newly released NJD NFTs, go to NJDNFT.com.

from Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News,

It's impossible to oversell just what Kucherov means to the complexion of this Lightning outfit. With him and Stamkos back on the power play, Tampa Bay is lethal and that was on full display against the Panthers in Game 1 with the Lightning scoring on three out of four power play opportunities. Kucherov scored both his goals from a near-identical spot with that wicked shot of his, but with Tampa Bay presenting so many weapons on the man advantage, the Panthers will truly have to pick their poison in this series.

As for Kucherov himself, the potent winger is still getting used to his physical situation.

"A new hip is a new hip; it's different," he said. "I'm better and I feel really good. I was excited to get back in the game and be with the boys. I've been waiting for this for a long time and it's nice to get this one out of the way and focus on the next game."...

And the fact of the matter is, Tampa Bay broke no league rules. The Lightning were deep enough that they could faithfully trudge on without Kucherov for 56 games and sure enough, they did so successfully. Now, with no salary cap to worry about, the Bolts have their superstar back and Game 1 went swimmingly.

more

Five ticks south of 2 1/2 minutes long.

from Andrew Marchand of the New York Post,

For its NHL coverage, ESPN has signed Leah Hextall to do play-by-play and other roles, The Post has learned.

While the exact number of games she will broadcast is not yet known, she will be the first woman play-by-player to be a regular part of national NHL TV package.

Hextall has been broadcasting hockey for 17 years. Last year for SportsNet, she became the first woman in Canada to call play-by-play for a national NHL broadcast.

She previously became the first woman to call the NCAA Men’s Tournament, which she did for ESPN. She is the cousin of former Flyers great Ron Hextall.

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My opinion, she's good. Knows the game and is an excellent choice.

Boarding.

from Mike Johnston of Sportsnet,

You weren’t expecting a bunch of blowouts were you?

The 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs got underway this weekend with three of the first four games requiring overtime and the other being a heated back-and-forth one-goal thriller between state rivals.

Yep. It’s definitely the post-season, folks.

The Capitals downed the Bruins 3-2 in OT in the lone game on Saturday, but three series got underway Sunday and each got progressively more entertaining as the day went on.

Sunday’s action concluded with the first playoff game between the Florida Panthers and defending Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning and oh boy did it ever live up to and exceed the hype.

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