* The Oilers moved within one win of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final and marked just the third time in franchise history they’ve taken a 3-2 series lead in the Conference Finals – in each of the previous two instances Edmonton closed out the series in Game 6 en route to winning the Stanley Cup (1985 CF vs. CHI & 1990 CF vs. CHI).

* Evan Bouchard became the third-fastest defenseman in NHL history to reach 50 career playoff points.

* Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored the first power-play goal of the 2024 Western Conference Final, marking the first time in nearly 80 years it took a series five games to see its first power-play tally.

* Chris Kreider could pass a former Rangers captain for sole possession of an NHL record and Matthew Tkachuk can follow up his last performance when a trip to the Stanley Cup Final was on the line as New York and Florida contest Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final tonight.

from Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet,

Among the nine potential UFAs, Zadorov’s situation is fascinating.

Acquired from the Calgary Flames on Nov. 30, the 29-year-old was regarded as a rental-plus. Mobile and rugged, he was always going to deepen the Canucks’ defence and make them a bigger, tougher team for the Stanley Cup playoffs. Anything beyond that was going to be a bonus.

But when the six-foot-six Russian had a thunderous playoff run, elevating his game and his minutes while contributing four goals, eight points and 45 hits in 13 games, the “bonus” of more Zadorov started to feel like a necessity for the Canucks.

Sure, Zadorov was a 17-minute, third-pairing, 20-point defenceman in the regular season. But he was a lot more than that in the playoffs, and with his rare combination of size, toughness and mobility, he looks like a defenceman who will help the Canucks win.

Zadorov also became a massive (literally and figuratively) fan-favourite.

He is the kind of player whose high regular-season salary may make sense only at playoff time.

But at what salary? Of course, that is the root question. Unless, the question is term.

“For me, the main focus is the term, for sure,” Zadorov told Sportsnet in a one-on-one interview after last week’s year-end press conferences. “I feel like I can play until 35 or 36 easily, on a high level. I think my body can do that. It's not like I'm injury prone. I feel like I can get to another level of leadership and hockey as well when I know I'm in this team (long-term). It's just going to be easier mentally and physically as well, so I don't have to move my family around.”

more

from Eric Francis of Sportsnet,

There’s no bigger question surrounding Game 5 than whether Dallas Stars defenceman Chris Tanev will be healthy enough to play against the Edmonton Oilers.

“I would call him ‘Game time,’” said Dallas Stars coach Pete DeBoer Friday morning. “I’m optimistic.”

Stars fans should be too, given Tanev’s history as one of the league’s toughest hombres.

Tanev left midway through Game 4 after blocking an Evander Kane shot and did not return, prompting plenty of concern over the seriousness of his ailment. After all, the 34-year-old has made endless trips to the dressing room over the years to address injuries, only to re-emerge minutes later.

He was reportedly spotted in the Edmonton airport Thursday wearing a walking boot and did not take part in the Stars’ optional skate Friday morning.

“It got him in a soft spot,” said DeBoer, who had counted on Tanev for upward of 23 minutes a night before he was injured. “Huge part of our group, I think that’s obvious.

“Our record since the trade deadline with him in (15-4-0), all the underlying numbers … he affects all kinds of parts of the game.”

Added Stars forward Jason Robertson of the gap-toothed veteran, “He’s a warrior, I mean, all you have to do is look at his smile and you’ll see how tough he is.”

continued

from the NHL's website,

Sergei Bobrovsky is a two-time winner of the Vezina Trophy, voted as the best goalie in the NHL, and has helped the Florida Panthers reach the Eastern Conference Final for the second straight season.

He's the winningest goalie all-time among players born in Russia with 396, and he's four victories away from becoming the 14th NHL goalie with 400.

About the only thing the 35-year-old hasn't won in his 14 seasons is the Stanley Cup, and to get there he's having to go through the person who gave him his start in the NHL, New York Rangers coach Peter Laviolette, in the Eastern Conference Final.

The Panthers lead the best-of-7 series 3-2 with Game 6 at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN, TVAS, CBC).

Long before he became one of the top goalies in the NHL, Bobrovsky was a 22-year-old rookie with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2010-11, hoping to play for Laviolette, then in his second season as Flyers coach.

Philadelphia had signed the undrafted Bobrovsky on May 6, 2010, a move that was overshadowed the following day by the beginning of the Flyers' historic comeback from being down 3-0 against the Boston Bruins to win the Eastern Confernence Semifinals in seven games.

The unheralded goalie arrived in Philadelphia ahead of training camp in 2010, and it didn't take long for him to make an impression.

"First met him in a skate with [goalie coach] Jeff Reese in probably the latter half of August," said Brian Boucher, a Flyers goalie at the time and now a hockey analyst for TNT and the Flyers. "I remember I turned to Jeff Reese after about 20 minutes and I said, 'Uh-oh, I'm in trouble.'

"My first impression was this kid was a stud and I'd yet to see anybody move like that and have the flexibility and agility, all that good stuff. Maybe the only thing he lacked, and still lacks, is probably that killer size (6-foot-2, 188 pounds). He's not the size of (Tampa Bay Lightning Andrei) Vasilevskiy (6-4, 220), but as far as pure athleticism and skating ability, agility, it was the best I'd ever been on the ice with at one time."

continued

TORONTO (May 31, 2024) ­– Frank Seravalli, President of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, and Chuck Kaiton, President of the NHL Broadcasters’ Association, announced today that Scott Burnside will receive the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award for excellence in hockey journalism, and Pierre Houde will receive the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for outstanding contributions as a hockey broadcaster.

TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun joins SC with Jay Onrait to discuss the latest on the NHL free agent market, Utah's team name and how it could use its league-leading cap space, why a Brady Tkachuk trade to St. Louis is a far-fetched idea, and much more.

LeBrun xtarts off with the lack of offer sheets.

from Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post,

The Rangers have one more game to find some answers offensively against the Panthers, or their dreams of ending their 30-year drought without hoisting the Stanley Cup will end prematurely.

Five games into this conference final and the Rangers’ Big 3 on offense remain, for the most part, missing in action.

That’s as good a reason as any for their 3-2 loss to the Panthers on Thursday night at the Garden, leaving them one stressful game from elimination, down 3-2 in the series as it shifts to Florida for Game 6 on Saturday night.

Paging Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. Goals are needed.

Yes, Kreider scored the first of two Rangers goals Thursday, ending his four-game slide without a single point.

continued

Below are the game highlights.

* The Panthers rallied to capture a come-from-behind victory at Madison Square Garden to move within one win of returning to the Stanley Cup Final. Florida can become the first team to return to the championship series after losing the previous year since the Penguins in 2009.

* No lead is safe in the 2024 Conference Finals as Florida’s victory in Game 5 marked the fifth consecutive day in which a team erased a deficit of any kind en route to victory – the longest such stretch in the Conference Finals/Semifinals in Stanley Cup Playoffs history.

* Captains Jamie Benn and Connor McDavid will look to keep their respective offenses ignited during the Western Conference Final as the Stars and Oilers face off in a pivotal Game 5.

* The NHL announced the schedule for the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, with Game 1 set for Saturday, June 8. Each contest will be available on ABC and ESPN+ in the U.S; in Canada, every game will be available on Sportsnet, CBC and TVA Sports.

via the NHL PR department,

Madison Square Garden could witness history Thursday as the Rangers and Panthers clash in Game 5 on the heels of three straight overtime finishes won on the sticks of Barclay Goodrow (Game 2), Alexander Wennberg (Game 3) and Sam Reinhart (Game 4). A Conference Finals/Semifinals series has never featured four consecutive overtime games – in fact, only three series in any round have witnessed an OT streak of that length.

NEW YORK (May 30, 2024) – Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin is the 2023-24 recipient of the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, awarded “to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability,” as selected by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

NEW YORK (May 30, 2024) – The National Hockey League today announced the schedule for the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, which will match the winner of the Eastern Conference Final (either the Florida Panthers or New York Rangers) against the winner of the Western Conference Final (either the Dallas Stars or Edmonton Oilers). Game 1 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final is scheduled for Saturday, June 8.

Every game in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final will start at 8 p.m. ET and will be available on ABC and ESPN+ in the U.S. In Canada, every game will be available on Sportsnet, CBC and TVA Sports.

Media Day in advance of the Stanley Cup Final will take place on Friday, June 7. A full schedule of media availabilities for Stanley Cup Final Media Day will be announced when available.

35 1/2 minutes of Larkin's goals and assists from the past season.

For a detailed list, check out awood40's YouTube page.

NEW YORK/TORONTO (May 30, 2024) – The National Hockey League (NHL), National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA), and all 32 NHL Clubs unite in their celebration of the LGBTQ+ community ahead of June’s Pride Month.

Five minutes of highlights from the 2023-24 season.

from Eric Francis of Sportsnet,

“That was a kick in the butt,” said Jamie Benn, whose club is scoreless with the man advantage this series, going 0-for-2 on the night.

“Their penalty kill is good. I think they’ve been pretty good all playoffs. They put a lot of pressure on you. We’ll have to be creative here and try to break it down.”

His summation after the game?

“They’re not just going to hand it to us,” said Benn.

“Our start was better than last game, but they made a strong push.

“No team wants to go down 3-1 in a series. They had a strong effort tonight and got it done.”

“We need to reset here. We’re going to learn from it, and we have a great opportunity in front of us — a best of three on home ice here.”

Neither team appears to have learned anything about sustaining early momentum, other than understanding pushbacks are going to happen when the difference between two juggernauts is so razor-thin.

“This isn’t supposed to be easy, and it’s not supposed to be pretty,” said Stars coach Pete DeBoer, whose 16 years of coaching experience has taught him a thing or two about remaining even-keel through times like these.

“As much preparation as we can do to manage momentum swings and things like that, you’ve got the four best teams in the league left. That’s what it’s going to look like.

“If it takes seven games in OT, it takes seven games in OT.”

more

The game highlights are below.

* Connor McDavid collected a three-point outing in his club’s two-goal comeback victory as the Oilers won four contests in a single postseason to at least tie a series in consecutive years – an NHL first.

* The 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs marks the seventh time in the past 20 postseasons that both Conference Finals/Semifinals series went at least six games.

* After the 2024 Eastern Conference Final witnessed three straight overtime periods, the Rangers and Panthers could make history with another when they clash for Game 5 at Madison Square Garden.

* PWHL Minnesota became the first-ever Walter Cup champion with a 3-0 win over PWHL Boston, concluding the league’s inaugural season.

via the NHL PR department,

The Oilers will look to even the 2024 Western Conference Final on home ice Wednesday, while the Stars can move within one win of advancing to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2020. Edmonton has a 4-1 record following a loss this postseason and has not lost three consecutive postseason games since being swept by the Avalanche in the 2022 Conference Finals.

from Mike Gould of The Daily Faceoff,

With the assistance of CapFriendly‘s projections, we’ve compiled a list of five teams with the cap space, assets, and, above all, the motivation to make a splash in the 2024 offseason. Look for these teams to be major players at the draft, free agency, and beyond.,,,

Projected cap space: $29.1 million with 13-man roster
Notable UFAs: Patrick Kane, David Perron, Daniel Sprong, Christian Fischer, Shayne Gostisbehere, James Reimer
Notable RFAs: Lucas Raymond, Joe Veleno, Jonatan Berggren, Moritz Seider

If the Red Wings weren’t fully motivated to end their long playoff drought before, they certainly will be now after losing out on the final Eastern Conference wild card berth in heartbreaking fashion in the final week of the 2023-24 regular season. Even though the Washington Capitals went on to be swept by the New York Rangers in Round 1, the Red Wings still only have themselves to blame for missing out on the opportunity to take on the Presidents’ Trophy winners.

After making the playoffs in a staggering 25 consecutive seasons from 1991 to 2016, the Red Wings have now failed to qualify for the postseason eight years in a row. Make no mistake, they’ll certainly want to be back in the playoffs once again by the time the franchise begins its centennial celebration in 2026. Steve Yzerman has a lot of leeway as Red Wings GM, but the results just haven’t been there … yet.

Detroit’s top two priorities this summer are undoubtedly Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider, both of whom have more than lived up to their billings as top draft picks for this club. But beyond those two, the Red Wings could go in any direction. It’s difficult to say whether they’ll bring back Patrick Kane, who fit in seamlessly on their top power-play unit this season, or Shayne Gostisbehere, who led their defense corps with 56 points. Both are on the wrong side of 30, as are fellow pending UFAs David Perron and James Reimer.

If anything, the Red Wings are a little light on true star power. Could Detroit be the landing spot for Steven Stamkos, who knows Yzerman well and still has yet to agree to terms on an extension in Tampa Bay? What about Trevor Zegras, whose time in Anaheim could be nearing its end? Both would be welcome additions to a Red Wings team that badly needs to take the next step.

four more teams

from Mark Spector and Eric Francis of Sportsnet,

Judging by the fact that defenceman Vincent Desharnais, winger Warren Foegele and centre Sam Carrick each skated long after the morning practice, it’s a safe bet that young D-man Philip Broberg, veteran winger Corey Perry and centre Ryan McLeod will all draw into the Oilers lineup for Game 4.

Knoblauch wouldn’t confirm or deny the moves, and Dallas head coach Pete DeBoer couldn’t recall ever making three healthy scratches in the same playoff game....

Nurse took it on the chin from coast to coast on the off day between Games 3 and 4, from both media and fans. TV, print media, fan blogs — everyone took their shots at a $9.25-million defenceman who just isn’t getting it done often enough in these playoffs.

On the morning of Game 4, Nurse was not playing ball with any of those groups.

“Your thoughts on Philip Broberg … the time he’s put in, the work he’s done here?” Nurse was asked.

“Really good player. He’s ready,” answered Nurse, curtly....

By the time the Stars skated Wednesday morning, the three likely lineup changes for the Oilers were already posted on the white board in Dallas’ dressing room.

Teams certainly watch every move the opposition makes.

DeBoer said the only lineup change he’ll make for Game 4 will see Craig Smith replaced on the fourth line by Radek Faksa.

When asked if he’d like anything else done differently, he chuckled.

“Yeah, start on time, I think that’s probably the obvious one,” said DeBoer, whose club was lucky to escape the first-period barrage thrown at his club the first period of Game 3 down just 2-0.

more

from Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic,

The front office is settling into important organizational meetings over the next few weeks in the lead-up to the draft and July 1 free agency. Utah figures to be an active franchise this offseason.

“We’re in here running our (amateur) meetings,” Armstrong told The Athletic from Salt Lake City during a break in said meetings. “We’re getting into it, you know?”

The Utah hockey club has more than $40 million in salary cap space come July 1, easily the most of any NHL club.

“Pretty good, huh?,” chuckled Armstrong, who was obviously forced to do things for financial reasons under the previous regime in Arizona.

The cap space is comes in large part from dead-money contracts of Jakub Voracek ($8.25 million cap hit) and Bryan Little ($5.3 million) coming off the books.

No more of that. Time to stock the roster with active players. Time to supplement the rebuild that’s now heading into Year 4. Although just because they have all this cap space, that doesn’t mean they’ll spend like drunken sailors.

“Our big theme is to be relentless on improving our team without sacrificing the future,” Armstrong said. “And what that basically means in English is just making decisions that are smart, that are going to help our group grow. When we become good, those contracts can’t be burdens.

“Just because you have all that cap money doesn’t mean you have to make bad decisions and fill up your cap and all of sudden five years from now when you need the space, you don’t have it. So it’s really important, good decisions, healthy decisions, that can help this group grow and improve the team without sacrificing the future.”

more ($)

from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

This was not the ending Blake Wheeler deserved but it surely was the end result that the Rangers earned.

You look at the score, 3-2 in overtime for the Puddy Tats with a pair of power-play goals including Sam Reinhart’s dagger at 1:12 with Wheeler in the box. You see that the other one was scored three seconds after the Blueshirts killed one off. It might strike you that the Blueshirts were able to pretty much hold their own against a desperate opponent.

You would be wrong.

Because after the first period that represented the Blueshirts’ best 20 minutes of the series if not the entire tournament, they caved. They were overwhelmed. They yielded a flurry of odd-man rushes against. They defended nearly the entire remaining 41 minutes, out-attempted 59-14 after the first period at five-on-five after holding a 15-12 edge in the first in which they took a 1-0 lead.

This was not about being mauled physically. This was about being outplayed dramatically.

continued

Game highlights are below.

Tyler Kuehl of Mlive included this in his season review of the Grand Rapids Griffins,

When it came to the next wave of Red Wings, Watson pointed out the three players that he believes are ready to be in Detroit next season: Simon Edvinsson, Jonatan Berggren and Albert Johansson.

“Even [Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman] mentioned in his postseason press conference. Those are the three that I would say. Jobs will be potentially up for grabs. I don’t know that for sure, but I know guys will be working hard this summer to go in and have a great camp, get off to a good start, and make a good impression.”

Arguably, the most exciting player on the Griffins this year was third-year pro, Jonatan Berggren. The top Red Wings prospect proved once again why he is ready for the NHL. After playing the bulk of the 2022-23 season with Detroit, Berggren only played a handful of games with the Red Wings, with the team electing him to continue to be a top-line asset with the Griffins.

The decision was welcomed by the team, as the 23-year-old led Grand Rapids with 24 goals and 56 points in 53 games. Berggren says he was happy with how the season went and feels ready to take the next step and stay there.

“I’m confident in my game,” Berggren admitted. “I’m happy about the points and the play [with the Griffins], but of course, I wanted to be up in the show...I feel like, since last season when I was up there, that I could contribute. I’m feeling more confident now and feeling better than last season. I think I have a good chance of being an impact player.”

much more on the Griffins...

* Florida and New York required overtime for a third consecutive contest, but it was Sam Reinhart and the Panthers who prevailed this time as the hosts evened their Eastern Conference Final series.

* Anders Lee of the Islanders was named the 2023-24 recipient of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy on Tuesday. The winner of the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy will be announced Thursday.

* Connor McDavid and the Oilers look continue their success following a loss this postseason and even the Western Conference Final against Jason Robertson and the Stars, who aim to return home with a 3-1 series lead.

The Florida Panthers with a loss tonight would be heading to MSG facing elimination in game 5.