from Michael Russo of The Athletic,

The playoffs are obviously a different animal than the regular season, and the path to where the Wild want to ultimately get to this postseason will have to go through Vegas or Colorado, and, quite frankly, probably both.

But doesn’t it feel like there’s something different about this team and that something possibly special could be brewing with the Wild?

They’ve got threats on every line, including two bonafide game breakers in Kevin Fiala and Kirill Kaprizov. They’ve got a goalie in Cam Talbot that makes the clutch stops when it most matters. They’ve got one of the best shutdown centers in the league in Joel Eriksson Ek who also happens to be on a near 30-goal pace over an 82-game season. They’ve got guys with Stanley Cup pedigree such as super-handy Nick Bonino, who’s consistently scoring, winning big draws and sacrificing his body to block shots. They’ve got defensive stalwarts such as Jonas Brodin, who in his ninth season is finally becoming an offensive threat.

Heck, even Victor Rask (yes, that Victor Rask) is making big plays of late.

Every time one counts this deep Wild team out, every time one questions their goaltending or the number of turnovers they commit or their thinness up the middle or confusing line combinations, the Wild find a new way to make the naysayers feel foolish.

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A little over 3 minutes long.

NEW YORK (May 4, 2021) – Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for roughing New York Rangers forward Pavel Buchnevich during NHL Game No. 814 in New York on Monday, May 3, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

The incident occurred at 7:40 of the second period. Wilson was assessed two minor penalties for roughing and a 10-minute misconduct.

The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

from Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun,

Now this is a losing streak with teeth.

The Winnipeg Jets’ skid has taken on a life of its own, baring its fangs in Ottawa on Monday.

Make it seven: Jets find another way to lose

These things don’t become living, breathing beasts until a team begins finding multiple ways to lose.

The Jets found a whole new way against the Senators: anemic on the power play, dominant at even strength but with just enough mistakes to ultimately wind up on the short end of a 2-1 score against a team out of playoff contention and playing its fifth goalie of the season.

Oh, and the dagger coming with just 1:13 to play.

You can almost hear the streak laughing as it grows, now seven games long – the ugliest run since this franchise relocated from Atlanta to Winnipeg.

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from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

Stock up
Thomas Greiss
What a performance he delivered. Back-to-back 33-save outings to set up 0-0 shootouts. The second game, against the Lightning, was a lopsided affair; the Wings were outshot, 11-4, after the first period and 33-15 after overtime. The shootout went eight rounds. Greiss posted a 1-0-1 record on the week, with a 1.00 save percentage and 0.00 goals-against average in 130 minutes to land on the stock up for a second straight week.

Jonathan Bernier
He continued his season-long role as the team’s rock, making 29 saves April 29 in a game in which the Wings were outshot, 32-17, and 40 saves in Sunday’s loss to the Lightning. Bernier’s performances last week yielded a .932 save percentage and 2.61 GAA in 114:48 minutes.

Joe Veleno
He’s played four NHL games, and looked like he belongs. That’s a good sign for the organization from the 30th overall pick in 2018. Veleno has made a favorable impression towards being a regular out of camp next season, playing with physicality and winning draws. He set up Sam Gagner for a good scoring chance. It’s a solid showing for a short time.

read on (paid) for the stock down players, Hronek and Stecher.

from Mark Spector of Sportsnet,

It has been inevitable for some time now, so it’s easy for hockey fans in other markets to see the Edmonton Oilers clinch a playoff spot and simply shrug their shoulders.

But for long suffering Oilers fans, whose team has made the playoffs exactly five times now in this 21st century — and just twice in the past 14 seasons — it is time to stop, maybe crack a beer, and enjoy a long slow pull.

With a 5-3 win against the Vancouver Canucks Monday night, the Oilers clinched only their second playoff appearance since Connor McDavid joined the team six seasons ago. Even though they were a playoff lock when the pause hit last March, a loss in the Qualifying Round does not qualify as a playoff appearance.

That loss to Chicago counted for only one thing: a hard, embarrassing lesson that this Oilers team took to heart.

“Everyone left the bubble in a bad mood. No one felt great about where we were at, or how that series went,” said McDavid, fresh off of lighting the Canucks up with two goals and four points. “It was a good moment to step back and learn from it. Learn what it takes to win.”

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from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

The NHL’s ultimate decision whether and for what duration to suspend Tom Wilson for twice body-slamming Artemi Panarin, who will miss the final three games of the season, to the ice after the Washington recidivist went upside a prone and defenseless Pavel Buchnevich’s head with a sucker punch during a second-period incident at the Garden on Monday will not be a reflection on Wilson, but instead on the league, itself.

This was not only bush-league stuff from this notorious headhunter who has been suspended five times in his NHL career, it was frightening how close his initial body slam of Panarin, on which the Washington winger grabbed a chunk of hair to gain leverage, came to causing calamitous damage.

Had Panarin’s head, rather than shoulder, hit the ice full force, the NHL might be presiding over a death.

This is reckless stuff that is repeated over and over again and is enabled over and over again by the Washington organization. Just as Caps coach Peter Laviolette shrugged off Wilson’s blow that concussed Boston’s Brandon Carlo in early March that earned Wilson a seven-game suspension, the coach did it again after Monday’s match.

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To watch the video, head to a previous KK post and discussion from last night.

THREE HARD LAPS

* Connor McDavid eclipsed 90 points on the season as the Oilers became the second Scotia North Division team to clinch a berth in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

* The Bruins locked up a postseason berth and moved past the playoff-bound Islanders for third place in the MassMutual East Division.

* The Canadiens, Predators and Blues, who occupy fourth place in their respective divisions, earned wins to improve their playoff chances.