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.”

continued

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.

continued

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.

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.