Caps/NYR penalties are listed below.

Feel free to comment on the games tonight.

Full schedule is below.

You may have missed a few of these goals.

from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

There is an issue at the top of the Rangers lineup that must be resolved before the hierarchy can move into what necessarily must be a Summer of Reconstruction to transform this collection of homogenous ingredients into a more diverse blend that can take the next step in its evolution.

And that is resolving what surely seems a disconnect between the team’s marquee forwards and head coach David Quinn. I am not suggesting that there has been a rebellion that has undermined the season. I am not saying this is tantamount to the Mark Messier-Roger Neilson schism of 1992-93 that resulted in the coach’s dismissal that ultimately cleared the way for the hiring of Mike Keenan, but it has been clear for months that the high-end players and Quinn do not see the game the same way.

But more consequential than that, it has also been clear that the high-end players have had little if any interest in changing their approach in order to accommodate the coach. It is their way, their increasingly obstinate way, in which there has been no quarter given by either side.

As frustrating as it must be for Quinn to watch the top two lines continue with a high-risk, high-reward approach that has provided diminishing returns this season despite constantly being counseled against it, it must be equally infuriating for, say, Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Ryan Strome and Pavel Buchnevich to hear the coach publicly complain about it after nearly every game, including victories.

continued

via the YouTube page of the NHL,

Braden Holtby does an around-the-world pad stack, Ilya Samsonov stones the Devils with a lunging glove, Cam Talbot sprawls to rob the Golden Knights and Mike Smith puts his hat in for save-of-the-year!

Watch 25 minutes of saves below.

NEW YORK (May 3, 2021) – Detroit Red Wings goaltender Thomas Greiss and Saint Joseph Mercy Health System regional director of pharmacy Joanne MacDonald have been named the NHL’s “First Stars” for the week ending May 2.

Throughout the 2020-21 season the NHL is celebrating the remarkable efforts of the off-ice stars who make it possible for us to play our games amid a pandemic by honoring frontline healthcare heroes from the regions represented by the League’s weekly and monthly “Stars.”

MacDonald serves as a pharmacy leader within the Saint Joseph Mercy Health System, overseeing five hospitals and providing support to more than 100 colleagues across the southeast Michigan region – including hospital and retail pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and clinical dietitians. MacDonald’s team, which is responsible for preparing and coordinating the distribution of medications and vaccinations to patients across the healthcare continuum, ensures that colleagues have the resources they need and clear processes in place to deliver safe, high-quality care to patients.

Just 7 ticks south of 6 minutes to watch.

from Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer,

Without being prompted last week, Flyers coach Alain Vigneault again brought up how the Flyers have missed defenseman Matt Niskanen in all situations this season.

Make no mistake, Niskanen was a good player and a very good leader for the Flyers last season, his first and only year with the team.

But by the way the Flyers collapsed after he retired, you might have thought he was Bobby Orr and Victor Hedman rolled into one.

It has been a mystifying season for the Flyers, with goaltender Carter Hart going from ultra-promising to one of the worst goalies in the league, with the special teams being a disaster, with poor starts to games becoming the norm.

The most mystifying part, however, was this: The way so many parts of the Flyers’ game became dreadfully bad without Niskanen, a veteran called “Steady Eddie” by his teammates.

Consider:

– The Flyers allowed just 2.77 goals per game last season, placing them tied for seventh in the league. This year, they are last in the NHL — 31st — as they have allowed 3.57 goals per game.

– The penalty kill was 11th last season, with a success rate of 81.8%. This year, it is 30th, clicking at 73.2%.

continued

from Emily Kaplan of ESPN,

So Robertson returned to his family home in Michigan, and got to work with a trainer. He made the Stars' opening night roster in 2021, but through his first few games wasn't making much of an impact. Robertson was a healthy scratch for a handful of early-season games. He says now that he may have been "uptight" or afraid to make mistakes.

"We had a discussion this year around that time, and watched some video together," Peverley said. "As much confidence as he had, not playing is hard. But he was willing to work. He loves the game so much, he'll go home and watch all of his shifts because he wants to get better. There's only so many players I've had, in my minimal time in this role, where they're there because they love it so much. They'll go home and they'll work on things, when everyone else is home doing other things. He naturally has the drive to be the best player."

Finally, it all came together. Over the past two-plus months, the offensively gifted winger has arguably been the Stars' best player, and certainly one of their most indispensable ones. Since Feb. 7, Robertson has scored a team-high 15 goals and 40 points as Dallas makes its final push for a playoff spot in the Central Division, following a sluggish start marred by injuries to key veterans. The 21-year-old was especially impressive in April, when he was named the NHL's Rookie of the Month after appearing on the scoresheet in 13 of 17 games, including a nine-game point streak.

more

The Wings are off until Friday when they will play a back to back 2 game series in Columbus to wrap up their season.

So we have some time to talk about the team.

Let's start off with a "what's on your mind" regarding the Wings.

Start the conversation and see where it goes.

from Aaron Portzline of The Athletic,

We asked them about their perception of Columbus as a city, why they think the Blue Jackets keep losing players, what it’s like to play for coach John Tortorella, what it’s like to negotiate with the Blue Jackets, and what they’d change if they were running the club.

We had several stipulations to these interviews:

• the players would be granted full anonymity so that they could speak freely
• the players must have played in Columbus during the Kekalainen/Tortorella era
• the players needed to have played in multiple other cities during established NHL careers
• the players must have left the organization on good terms, with no ax to grind and no agendas

Two players we asked to participate politely declined. Three others agreed to talk, with the promise that their comments would be only lightly edited to avoid revealing their identities....

What are your thoughts on how/why the Blue Jackets keep losing top players, either to free agency or forced trades?

Player 2: Young kids would rather get drafted somewhere else. Maybe this is overgeneralizing, but a lot of the younger guys want to go where they’re rock stars — Toronto, New York, Boston. They want to go hang out with hot chicks in Miami and Arizona and L.A. They want to try to wheel girls in Montreal. That’s what they want to do. So there has to be some other draw that Columbus has, right? There has to be something else. “We have a great team and a great culture and we’ll pay you.” Or, “We really value this (aspect) in you and we want you to stay and we’ll make sure you stay no matter what the cost.”

When we talked contract it was, “Where do you want to be?” And we said “X” amount, they immediately said, “Nope, no chance.” And we were like, “Well, that’s where we’re at and there are like six other teams willing to go there.” They expected me to give up a ton of money to play there, like they were the only team in the league.

more (paid) and a recommended read, the little blurb I posted doesn't due justice...

NEW YORK/TORONTO (May 3, 2021) – For the first time, the National Hockey League (NHL®) and National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) will celebrate Asian & Pacific Islander Heritage Month as part of their annual Hockey Is For Everyone™ campaign.

from Ansar Khan of Mlive,

Detroit has been outshot 205-95 in five of its past six games and scored only three goals in five games since its 7-3 victory over Dallas on April 22....

“We got to learn (to) spend more time in their zone. That’s why lately the shot differential is big,” Jonathan Bernier, who made 40 saves on Sunday, said. “We got to come out of our zone cleaner. I feel like defensively we’ve improved. We obviously got to find a way to score more goals. That’s the bottom line. It’s going to tough to win every night if you score only one or two. You got to put pucks towards the net, especially against (Tampa Bay’s Christopher) Gibson, (who) didn’t play much this year.”...

The Red Wings leveled the ice in the third period, outshooting the Lightning 7-6, but didn’t capitalize on three power plays in the final 7:44, including a full five-on-three advantage, during which they registered only one shot.

This is there they missed injured forwards Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi, Robby Fabbri and Bobby Ryan.

“Certainly, our power play hasn’t been good enough; goaltending has been pretty good,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “I think the last week or so we’ve gotten zoned and given up way more shots. Previously, if you look back at games, they weren’t as one-sided from a shot aspect. From a chances aspect, there were a number of games our chances were greater, especially even-strength.

“So, I don’t know if it’s indicative of the season. Tonight, Bernie was good, and we needed our power play to score, and it didn’t.”

read on

THREE HARD LAPS

* The Bruins and Oilers can punch their tickets to the postseason during Monday’s 14-game slate.

* Semyon Varlamov can become the third goaltender in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44) with a shutout in four consecutive appearances and first since Brian Boucher blanked opponents in five straight over 17 years ago.

* The Lightning preserved their perfect record when leading after two periods this season and moved within two points of the League-leading Hurricanes in the Discover Central Division.

from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

Red Wings fans would probably like to completely forget last season, but let's look back one more time.

The Wings won a grand total of 17 games (with 39 total points earned) in 71 games, before the pandemic forced the NHL to end its season.

That certainly made for a low bar for the Wings to hurdle to show any sort of improvement.

But, still, the Wings reached an interesting of milestone, of sorts, with Saturday's 1-0 shootout victory over Tampa, that being their 18th victory of this season.

So, the Wings surpassed last season's total in this season's 53rd game, and have 45 points.

That shows progress, in a pure numbers sense.

But coach Jeff Blashill, who is still without a contract for next season, offered further evidence that this Wings team is a much better version from the one a year ago.

"I don’t think there’s any doubt, anybody who’s watched us, that we’re a much better team this year than we were a year ago,” Blashill said. “What I’ve liked here in the last bit is we’ve won a number of games with a whole bunch of young guys in the lineup and that’s a big thing for our organization.

"That's not to discredit the older guys in the lineup, and they’re making great contributions, and we’ve got a number of them that have done a great job.

"But we're a better team today than we were a year ago at this time."

continued

Below, watch Jonathan Bernier and Jeff Blashll plus the game highlights.

The last home game this season for the Wings and they still have scoring issues. Wings lose 2-1 to the Lightning.

Key point of the game, late in the 3rd period the Wings had a full blown 2 man advantage for almost 2 minutes and I don't think they had a quality scoring chance.

Team Stats

Detroit goal is below.

I have a houseful of friends waiting to dine, so to the grill I go which means the post game videos will be done later tonight or in the morning.

All season long goals have been a rare commodity for this Wings team, and the drought continues. In hockey, teams usually don't win games without scoring goals, but, the Wings did manage a win yesterday, without scoring a goal in regulation or OT.
The skills competition decided the outcome, and both goaltenders recorded a regulation shutout. Even in the shootout, goals are not added to a player's total goals or points.

The Wings play another early game today, then thankfully, a four day break until the last two games of the season. It's almost over........

It's a Live Blog!

Ken Kal and Carley Johnston with the latest news and updates.

from Ed Barkowitz of the Philadelphia Inquirer,

When it comes to writing the obituary on the Flyers’ 2020-21 season, this miserable week against the Devils might not be in the first paragraph, but it is an example of how things have deteriorated since March 1.

The Flyers’ playoff hopes had all been dashed when it started, so these four games were going to be meaningless.

The Devils beat the Flyers again, this time pinning on them a 4-1 loss as the Flyers allowed the first goal for the 10th consecutive game. That should be impossible.

The players, 4-9-2 at home since March 1, have not quit, according to their captain.

“The guys care in [that] locker room,” Claude Giroux said. “I don’t think there’s laziness on the team. I think that when one thing goes wrong, there’s always a second and third thing. I don’t think laziness is part of this.”

The 9-0 loss to Rangers, the laughable trip to Lake Tahoe, or any mention of Carter Hart’s regression will take precedence in telling this season’s story.

continued

from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,

- The shortened NHL schedule is robbing Maple Leafs fans and their two best players of possible team records. The Leafs are playing at 113-point pace. The most points they’ve ever had in any season is 105. Auston Matthews leads the NHL and is scoring at 62-goal pace. No Leaf has ever had more than 54 goals in a season. Mitch Marner is scoring at 101-point pace. No Leafs winger has ever been over 100 points. No individual records or team records will obviously be broken in a 56-game schedule. It makes you wonder what if — and what might have been possible over 82 games.

- Connor McDavid, meanwhile, is scoring at a pace that hasn’t been seen in 25 years. And just six years into his career, he’s still getting better. McDavid trails only Gretzky, Lemieux, Bossy and Bobby Orr in career points per game. McDavid is at 1.386 points per game, his agent Orr is at 1.393 a game. He should pass him soon. This season, McDavid is scoring at 1.75 point a game.

- Funny, nobody needed graphs, charts and computer printouts to determine how great Bob Gainey, Guy Carbonneau or Jari Kurri were defensively. Same with Patrice Bergeron today. All you have to is watch the games. What a concept.

- If you’re an NHL player and you’ve lived the entire season with strict COVID-19 restrictions, why would you ever go to Latvia for the world hockey championships? Wouldn’t you just say no.

- Both ESPN and Turner have to fill out their hockey broadcasting rosters now that they’re doing NHL games next season. In no particular order, I would reach out to Ray Ferraro, Eddie Olczyk, Pierre McGuire, Elliotte Friedman, Kevin Bieksa, Mike Johnson, Pierre LeBrun, Kevin Weekes, Kathryn Tappen, Kenny Albert, Mike Johnson, Steve Levy, Michael Farber, Anson Carter, AJ Mleczko, John Forslund, and yeah, I would make a call to Doc Emrick to see if he wanted to come out of retirement. And then I’d go from there and complete the staffs. And doesn’t Turner have to find a place for Charles Barkley, who loves the Stanley Cup playoffs, if only on occasion? And I’m probably in the minority on this, but for panel purposes, I’d bring back Mike Milbury. Every good panel needs a contrarian.

more, including time to break hockey's fighting code...

from Robby Stanley at NHL.com,

Erik Haula scored at 3:32 of overtime, and the Nashville Predators extended their lead over the Dallas Stars for fourth place in the Discover Central Division by defeating them 1-0 at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday.

Juuse Saros made 28 saves for Nashville (28-22-2), which has won three of its past four games and leads fifth-place Dallas by three points for the final Stanley Cup Playoff berth in the division.

"Well, what a game," Predators coach John Hynes said. "I think you knew both teams were going to come in and play as hard as they could. I thought it was a hard-fought battle by both teams. There wasn't a lot of room on the ice, lots of physicality. I thought both goaltenders played really well. A playoff-style game, playoff-style atmosphere. Our fans were fantastic. I just liked that we were able to find a way to win and stay with it against a really good team. It was a good night for us."

Anton Khudobin made 33 saves for Dallas (21-17-13), which has lost three in a row.

"We played our hearts out," Stars coach Rick Bowness said. "We did. We did. We didn't give up much, and obviously we didn't score, and we need to score. But in terms of the effort and the commitment to the team, 100 percent satisfied."

continued and note Dallas has played one less game than Nashville.

Below, watch the OT goal from Haula.

Let's turn to some fan sites for the answer.

from Tyler Kotila of Detroit Jock City,

Given the state of the Red Wings rebuild and the fact that the team is not going to turn a drastic corner and be competitive in the next year or two. It will likely be a two or three-year window before the team is entering that competitive era once again.

That means that the Red Wings will likely opt to extend and keep Blashill around as the bench boss for, at minimum, one more season. It seems like extending Blashill will be what Yzerman decides to do this offseason.

While it seems like there is a good majority of Red Wings fans who would like to see Blashill hit the road and find a new place to work, instead, the Red Wings are likely going to see Blashill sticking around for the next couple of seasons with the Red Wings.

One of the things to note is that a one-year contract with a coach is a bit uncommon. At least, it does not show a huge vote of confidence to give a one-year deal.

While Blashill is not the most deserving candidate, it seems like Blashill might be the coach for the immediate future.

more

from Nate Brown of Octopus Thrower,

It’s essentially two camps: One that believes Blashill should go while another believes he needs to have a real roster to make a judgement. I already wrote about the positives and negatives of Blashill’s tenure in Detroit. But a sweep of Tampa Bay, following back to back shutouts, with a team that is limping to the finish line, gives a high chance that Blash returns for at least a season....

Blashill, in my opinion, has earned another shot at coaching this team. I know this drives a lot of people nuts, but he’s done more with less this season and though his decision making has been puzzling at times, the man deserves his due.

But what Yzerman does next is anyone’s guess. If he in fact offers Elias Pettersson an offer sheet, and it’s accepted, it changes the timeline significantly. More likely, he goes according to his word and rides out what will be a long rebuild–using those picks in 2022 to fuse the final pieces necessary to begin the climb to contention.

Is Blashill the man for the job? Only Yzerman can answer that. We don’t know what happens behind closed doors, and fans only see the media sessions and performance on the ice.

more

Below, watch the extended game highlights from Saturday's shootout win.

THREE HARD LAPS

* Semyon Varlamov earned another “Battle of New York” shutout as the Islanders blanked the Rangers to clinch a berth in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

* Marc-Andre Fleury backstopped Vegas to an overtime victory and continued his ascent of the League’s all-time wins list.

* Ryan Miller, who recently announced that he will retire at the conclusion of the 2020-21 season, was victorious in the final appearance of his NHL career at Honda Center.

Cole Caufield Has A Flair For The Dramatics and below, watch Caufield post-game.

Elliotte Friedman and Chris Johnston along with host Ron MacLean discussed- The allegations against Jake Virtanen, the IIHF Women's World Championship, the health of Frederik Andersen, Rob Brind'Amour's contract and the playoff plan for the NHL.

via Sportsnet