Down the Frozen River

Tag: Toronto Maple Leafs

  • The waiting game in Calgary

    As you may already be aware, the Calgary Flames are trading Rasmus Andersson. The Boston Bruins and Vegas Golden Knights remain the favorites in a four-team bidding war, while the Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs remain linked.

    Last night, Elliotte Friedman reported on Sportsnet that the Bruins have been allowed to engage in conversation on an extension with Andersson as part of the frameworks of a potential transaction between Boston and Calgary.

    To reiterate, the Bruins’ current offer– and best available to the Flames currently on the table— is only if Andersson agrees to and signs an extension with Boston.

    Meanwhile, one of the major components expected in return for Andersson, Mason Lohrei, scored a pair of goals in Boston’s, 5-2, comeback win Saturday night in Chicago. It’s the first of a two-game road trip for the Bruins with a stop in Dallas coming up Tuesday night before returning home to host Vegas on Thursday.

    It’s also a siblings’ road trip (similar to moms’ and dad’s trips around the league) for Boston while Saturday also happened to be Lohrei’s birthday too.

    The business of professional sports sacrifices birthdays, holidays and more, but that’s understood as “just part of the industry.” What’s not usually part of the business is for a team to ruin the mood for everyone involved during a special outing like Boston’s siblings’ trip.

    That might influence the timeline of the expected outcome if the Bruins are favored by the Flames, Andersson and his agent, as well as Lohrei and his respective parties (agent and sibling).

    Neither Andersson, nor Lohrei were withheld from their respective lineups as Andersson registered an assist in Calgary’s, 4-2, win on home ice Saturday afternoon against the New York Islanders.

    Had both players been kept out of the action– preserved in fear of an untimely injury that would otherwise negate a trade– that would’ve been a dead giveaway regarding the likely winner of the Andersson sweepstakes.

    Of course, Vegas could’ve held someone out of Saturday night’s, 7-2, win against the Nashville Predators, but it wouldn’t have been likely that all three teams would’ve sat one or more players in their respective organizations that are potentially on the move as an insurance policy.

    If Andersson won’t agree to an extension as part of the proposed trade with Boston and Calgary won’t make a deal with Vegas, then the Flames will have to pivot to a potential move with Dallas or Toronto.

    Craig Conroy and his front office executives in the Flames organization hold a lot of leverage over the outcome of this transaction, even if Andersson believes he is more inclined on going to Vegas should an extension not get done with the Bruins.

    Andersson has a modified no-trade clause that includes a six-team no-trade list per PuckPedia as part of his current contract that expires after this season.

    Unless Andersson has a personal beef with a city like Dallas or Toronto, it’s hard to conceive that– should the Flames not get something done with Boston or Vegas– the 29-year-old defender wouldn’t end up in either of those organizations.

    Calgary is back in action Monday night as the Flames host the New Jersey Devils.

    Meanwhile, Lohrei’s impressive effort in Boston’s five unanswered goal-comeback victory over the Blackhawks could have been enough to make Bruins general manager, Don Sweeney, reconsider his offer to the Flames.

    It could have also helped Sweeney market Lohrei to other potential suitors in the event Andersson does not agree to an extension and this potential trade falls through and Boston remains set on moving their 25-year-old defender.

  • 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Now with some spice!

    Thursday night’s action brought us a close, 2-0, win for the Florida Panthers over the Tampa Bay Lightning– stealing home ice advantage in the process heading back to Florida for Games 3 and 4 with a 2-0 series lead for the Cats.

    What’s more, it also brought a 3-0 series lead for the Toronto Maple Leafs over the Ottawa Senators as an unlikely hero scored the game-winning overtime goal in Game 3 on the road.

    Matt Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov continued their hot streaks for the Minnesota Wild as they downed the Vegas Golden Knights, 5-2, and took a 2-1 series lead in the process.

    Finally, the St. Louis Blues blew out the Winnipeg Jets, 7-2, which is bad news for Connor Hellebuyck fans as the Jets netminder was pulled from the action and good news for Hellebuyck haters, I guess. At least Winnipeg still leads that series 2-1, however.

    Now it’s a battle

    Just the other day I asked if the “Battle of Florida” actually kind of sucks and it’s good to see both teams are rejecting the hypothesis.

    Game 2 was a low scoring battle of attrition. Then Brandon Hagel went and threw gasoline on the fire.

    Now, I didn’t mean for someone to do that and go about making an illegal check rendering a five-minute major for interference and knocking Aleksander Barkov out of the game in the process.

    I want to note I’m a fan of heavy hockey, not bullshit hockey.

    A physical presence is always a good thing and a corresponding immediate response to it via fisticuffs is sometimes necessary and encouraged under heavy hockey pretenses. Unlike in bullshit hockey where premeditated or staged fighting occurs at, say, the opening puck drop of a 4 Nations Face-Off game between the U.S. and Canada.

    Heavy hockey is a grind and something to pride oneself on when the final score reads in your favor. Bullshit hockey is a five-minute major penalty in the waiting and possible other supplemental discipline upon a hearing.

    The latter tends to lead to being embarrassed in the next matchup too when it matters most– at least as Team USA found out.

    Now, I’m not saying that fighting isn’t part of the game or anything. Quite the contrary. It’s always been part of the game– as a penalty.

    You run the risk of being penalized and you will be penalized for shedding the gloves in an attempt to enact vigilante justice.

    Yet, big, clean hits are always perfectly legal and well within the range of “normal expectations and teetering on the edge of ‘the line’ or whatever.”

    The best way to handle something like Hagel’s illegal check? Score more goals than his team. Then win the next game for good measure too.

    In fact, make it a living hell for the opposing team. Finish every check. Capitalize on as many scoring chances as possible.

    Anyway, the Panthers still won Thursday night, 2-0, courtesy of a goal from the red-hot defender, Nate Schmidt, and an empty-net goal from Sam Bennett in the dying seconds of the game for insurance.

    Sergei Bobrovsky turned aside all 19 shots that he faced for his fourth career Stanley Cup Playoffs shutout in 96 postseason games. Bobrovsky has now recorded at least one shutout in each of the last three postseason runs for Florida and currently has a 1.00 goals-against average and a .951 save percentage to boot.

    Tampa spent a lot of time in the attacking zone with no results on the scoreboard and Jake Guentzel sent a rebound through the crease behind Bobrovsky and out the other side at one point late in the action too.

    The Bolts dropped home ice advantage and despite only trailing 2-0 in the series are basically in a do-or-die situation heading into Game 3 Saturday on the road.

    For the Panthers, their focus has to remain on the bigger picture– score goals and beat the Lightning on the scoreboard. Don’t try to settle the score, but let Matthew Tkachuk and Brad Marchand do the talking (and walk the walk). A 3-0 series lead is within reach and can be accomplished with some home cooking.

    After writing this, Tampa forward, Brandon Hagel, was suspended by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for one game for interference against Florida forward, Aleksander Barkov. Hagel can return to the series in Game 4.

    Sonny and Cher approaching

    Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Ottawa Senators, 3-2, in overtime in a playoff game.

    Unlike in Game 2 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, this time the Leafs did it in Game 3 on the road from Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa sorry, Kanata (well, technically it’s still Ottawa– it’s just 30 minutes from downtown Ottawa).

    Toronto now has a 3-0 series lead heading into Saturday night for Game 4 and can sweep the Senators while on the road and become the first team to advance to the Second Round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    Claude Giroux kicked off the night’s scoring to give the Senators a, 1-0, at 1:38 of the middle frame.

    Almost midway through the period, however, Matthew Knies had other plans and evened it up, 1-1, at 8:31 of the second period.

    Nobody else could muster anything on the scoreboard through the second intermission.

    Then it happened.

    A mere 32 seconds into the final frame of regulation, Leafs forward, Mitch Marner, fed Auston Matthews a pass with his golden stick while Ottawa’s goaltender, Linus Ullmark, was caught looking the other way and had no idea the puck was now briefly on Matthews’ stick.

    Matthews sent a one-timer behind Ullmark’s back to give Toronto their first lead of the night, 2-1, and people will still find a way to complain about Marner despite his offensive awareness and playmaking abilities.

    In any case, he’s due for a surefire raise this summer. Where he’ll be getting his new salary from, however, remains to be seen.

    Midway through the period, Brady Tkachuk carried the Sens into the attacking zone and proved Ottawa wouldn’t go down without a fight as he tallied a wrist shot goal on a breakaway from the faceoff circle– top shelf blocker side while using Maple Leafs defender, Brandon Carlo, as a screen– and tied the game, 2-2.

    Giroux picked up the primary assist as the home crowd came alive at 11:22 of the third period.

    But nobody could seal the deal on a regulation victory thereafter.

    Signed as a free agent by the Anaheim Ducks on March 7, 2019, before making his NHL debut during the 2020-21 season, Simon Benoit joined the Maple Leafs via free agency on August 28, 2023, and has recorded just six goals in 279 career regular season games.

    Benoit notched his first career Stanley Cup Playoffs goal in his 10th career postseason game.

    It also happened to be the game-winning goal at 1:19 of the overtime period.

    See, Benoit received a pass off the kickplate from Matthews– who had just won an offensive zone faceoff– then blasted a slap shot from the point with eyes past Ullmark.

    Benoit had served as the screen and had the only assist on Max Domi’s overtime goal in Game 2. This time in Game 3, he was the hero.

    For the first time since the 2001 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal, the Leafs have the chance to sweep a postseason series. Coincidentally, that 2001 series also happened to be against the Senators.

    Toronto can also improve to 5-0 in all-time playoff series’ against Ottawa with a win in Game 4 on Saturday, having most recently beaten the Senators in seven games in the 2004 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal.

    Meanwhile, Sens head coach, Travis Green, has a difficult task ahead of him– besides the obvious “reverse sweep” attempt, Green has to contemplate starting Ullmark in Game 4 or, perhaps, looking to someone like Leevi Meriläinen to tend the crease.

    Meriläinen has never appeared in the postseason before and went 8-3-1 in 12 games (11 starts) with a 1.99 GAA, a .925 SV% and three shutouts in that span this season.

    Either way, it’s do or die at home for Ottawa and they look very much on their deathbed.

    Xceling in the Wild?

    Xcel Energy Center is getting a new naming rights partner next season and the Minnesota Wild opened up the 2025 postseason on home ice with a, 5-2, win in Game 3 of their First Round matchup with the Vegas Golden Knights.

    The Wild took a 2-1 series lead in the process and chased Adin Hill from the net after 40 minutes in favor of Akira Schmid.

    Zeev Buium recorded his first career Stanley Cup Playoffs point via the primary assist on Kirill Kaprizov’s power-play goal to give Minnesota a, 1-0, lead just a few minutes into the game Thursday night.

    Matt Boldy notched the secondary assist on the goal and, like Kaprizov, remained hot the rest of the night.

    Hill lost his focus a few minutes later after Wild forward, Justin Brazeau, sent the puck around the boards in the attacking zone. Hill went to play the puck in the trapezoid– stopping the rubber biscuit for a few seconds before going right back up the boards and directly to… …Brazeau.

    Brazeau eagerly worked the puck back down low to Yakov Trenin, who fed Marco Rossi in the slot for a one-timer goal while Hill was caught playing catch up.

    The goal marked the first of Rossi’s postseason career and gave the Wild a, 2-0, lead at 6:51 of the opening frame.

    Midway through the period, however, Alex Pietrangelo willed Vegas back into the game– if only for a little while, anyway.

    Pietrangelo received a pass from Noah Hanifin and rushed the attacking zone before unloading an old-school slap shot through Filip Gustavsson’s five-hole to cut Minnesota’s lead in half, 2-1.

    Midway through the second period, however, Boldy re-extended Minnesota’s lead to two-goals with a wrist shot goal.

    Then in the dying seconds of the period, the Wild struck gold on the power play. Again.

    This time Kaprizov put the puck in the back of the twine on a deflection to send the Wild into the second intermission with a, 4-1, lead.

    That goal was enough for Golden Knights head coach, Bruce Cassidy, to make a change in net and utilize the services of Schmid for the rest of the night.

    Midway through the final frame, the Golden Knights were shorthanded and Reilly Smith made it a two-goal game again, but Vegas couldn’t do anything else to erase the, 4-2, deficit.

    Boldy rang the post from way downtown while Schmid was on the bench for an extra attacker, but Marcus Foligno followed Boldy’s effort up with a surefire empty-net goal while shorthanded. Mostly because he skated the puck into the attacking zone and everything.

    Vegas finds themselves in a “must-win” situation entering Game 4 Saturday in light of the fact that the Golden Knights split Games 1 and 2 on home ice.

    Minnesota, meanwhile, can take a commanding 3-1 series lead with a win in front of their home crowd Saturday and try to eliminate Vegas on the road in Game 5.

    Of note, The Athletic‘s Michael Russo pointed out that Boldy and Kaprizov became the first Wild players in franchise history with multiple points in each of Minnesota’s first three postseason games. Eric Staal had multiple points in a two-game streak back in 2020.

    Hat’s all folks!

    Lately– and I haven’t had a chance to look at the swath of data, so I’m just going off of the “eye test” here– it seems like teams that have a blowout win in a series go on to win the series more times than not.

    Well, the St. Louis Blues ran away with a, 7-2, victory over the Winnipeg Jets in Game 3 in front of St. Louis’ home crowd at Enterprise Center Thursday.

    Pavel Buchnevich scored a power-play goal 48 seconds into the night, then added two more goals– including one more on the power play– to complete the hat trick and give the Blues a, 4-1, lead at 5:24 of the third period.

    Then the flood gates opened and Connor Hellebuyck was chased from the net and replaced by Eric Comrie as Winnipeg head coach, Scott Arniel, tried to wake up his team.

    Hellebuyck didn’t help himself, admittedly, after mishandling the puck with pressure bearing down on him from Blues forward, Robert Thomas, in the trapezoid leading to a gift goal for Buchnevich for the hat trick on a grab and go effort.

    The long story short is that “playoff Hellebuyck” might be back and the Jets couldn’t score (or defend, really) and that’s a dangerous combination for Winnipeg’s hopes in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    Especially after their best season in franchise history– having won the Central Division, clinched the best record in the Western Conference and league courtesy of the Presidents’ Trophy for the first time ever.

    It’s not quite a 2007 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal collapse like when the Atlanta Thrashers were swept by the New York Rangers after winning the Southeast Division title in their only playoff appearance before relocating to Winnipeg in 2011, but…

    The feeling is awfully familiar.

  • 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Fourth day takeaways

    Tuesday night marked the fourth night of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs and– well, I’m not going to keep track of the number of days that have passed. I WILL forget one of these days, so let’s just get ahead of it now.

    Anyway, the Carolina Hurricanes hosted the New Jersey Devils in Game 2 of their series and took home a, 3-1, victory to go along with a 2-0 series lead heading to New Jersey for Games 3 and 4. Jordan Martinook scored the game-winning goal for the Hurricanes after they fell behind, 1-0, through 20 minutes of action.

    The Toronto Maple Leafs jumped out to a 2-0 series lead over the Ottawa Senators and had a, 2-0, lead in Game 2 from Scotiabank Arena before the Sens tied things up late and forced overtime. Max Domi was the hero for the Leafs early in the extra frame to give Toronto a, 3-2, victory.

    The “Battle of Florida: Part IV” commenced as the Florida Panthers paid a visit to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Game 1 of their series. Florida upset the Bolts on the road, 6-2, at Amalie Arena with Nate Schmidt credited as the game-winning goal in the dominant effort from the Cats.

    Finally, after an 11 p.m. start for the East Coast crowd, the Minnesota Wild jumped out to a huge lead and never looked back as they beat the Vegas Golden Knights on the road, 5-2, to even their First Round series 1-1. Mats Zuccarello had the game-winning goal, but Matt Boldy continued his hot start with a goal and an assist in the effort.

    Hello Hurricanes

    Two of their last three series meetings were quick five-game routs by Carolina and thus far in the 2025 First Round, there’s nothing to show that the Devils might make it past a Game 4.

    Though closer on the scoreboard than Game 1’s, 4-1, win for the Hurricanes, Game 2’s, 3-1, victory by the Canes felt like a classic, defensively dominant game in the Rod Brind’Amour era.

    Shots on goal were pretty even with Carolina holding the 28-26 advantage by the end of the night and Seth Jarvis’ first goal of the 2025 postseason occurring on an empty net to add the insurance marker to Carolina’s triumph.

    Former Hurricane, Erik Haula, fired a shot off of Frederik Andersen early in the action that New Jersey’s regular season leading scorer, Jesper Bratt, pounced on to give the Devils a, 1-0, lead 3:51 into the first period.

    That was it for the night for New Jersey, however.

    Shayne Gostisbehere tied things up, 1-1, for the Hurricanes early in the middle frame after collecting his own rebound for a snap shot goal at 2:57.

    Just a few minutes later, Martinook added a shorthanded goal to give the Hurricanes a, 2-1, lead at 5:54 of the second period after Dmitry Orlov fed Martinook a pass to breakout of Carolina’s own zone and skate up the ice without much pressure before unloading a snap shot past Jacob Markström.

    Another display of a strong defensive zone effort resulted in the Canes winning the draw from their own end with New Jersey’s net empty in the last minute of regulation.

    Martinook fed the puck up to Jarvis, who split the Devils defenders and skated through the uprights to guide a soft poke check empty net goal into the back of the twine for the, 3-1, win.

    Brenden Dillon and Luke Hughes did not appear in Game 2 after both Devils defenders exited Game 1 due to injury with the latter later returning late in the third period.

    This series doesn’t look like it’s going to be an offensive dynamo only two games into it. Yet, if New Jersey wants to have any chance of defending their home ice for Games 3 and 4, they’re going to have to get pucks in the back of the net.

    “Thanks Captain Obvious.”

    “You’re welcome!”

    One of the good things for the Devils heading home for Game 3 Friday night (8p ET on TBS, MAX, SN360, TVAS2, FDSNSO, MSGSN) is the fact that Carolina was only 16-21-4 on the road in the regular season, though New Jersey went 19-17-5 on home ice this season.

    The Hurricanes had a .439 points percentage in away games, while the Devils had a .524 points percentage at Prudential Center.

    Not your fathers’ Leafs?

    Morgan Rielly and John Tavares each scored for the second time in as many games to give Toronto a, 2-0, lead less than halfway through the first period Tuesday night– 8:20 into the opening frame, to be exact.

    The Maple Leafs recorded just seven shots on goal in the first 20 minutes and had scored on two of them.

    Things weren’t looking like they were going to bounce back for Linus Ullmark from Game 1 to Game 2, but then the Leafs just… …didn’t score again for the next 40 minutes and only had 12 shots on goal in the remaining two periods of regulation.

    Ottawa outshot Toronto 10-7 in the first period and 13-3(!) in the second period before the Maple Leafs held the advantage in shots on goal over the Senators 9-4 in the third period.

    The Leafs also had two shots on goal in overtime to Ottawa’s one shot on Anthony Stolarz in the extra frame.

    The final shot totals may have looked pretty close with the Sens holding a 28-21 advantage by the end of Game 2, but the Senators had fired far more rubber in the Leafs’ direction that didn’t end up hitting twine.

    Instead, the Vulcanized rubber disk smattered against the end boards, glass and Ottawa’s opponents. Toronto finished Tuesday night with 32 blocked shots– a number that would make John Tortorella smile, even if Craig Berube is the actual head coach of the Maple Leafs.

    At the other end, the Senators recorded six blocked shots themselves as the Leafs hit bodies with pucks few and far between by comparison.

    Heading into Game 3, Ottawa is going to have their work cut out for them to open up the shooting lanes and focus on getting more quality shots on net to make Stolarz earn every save.

    Power plays were few and far between with Toronto capitalizing on their only skater advantage of the night on Tavares’ goal. That’s something the Sens need to improve on too– their penalty kill.

    That said, Brady Tkachuk notched his first goal of the postseason while on the power play for Ottawa on a backhand shot late in the second period.

    Tkachuk’s goal planted a seed of doubt as Toronto’s lead was cut in half, 2-1, and the all too familiar comeback that Leafs fans have suffered through almost annually in the Stanley Cup Playoffs crept to the forefront of their minds.

    It wasn’t until late in the third period, too, that Adam Gaudette tipped a shot from the point by Tyler Kleven past Stolarz– tying the game, 2-2, in the process at 14:47 of the third period.

    But Domi made it look easy in overtime as he skated past Dylan Cozens and avoided Drake Batherson’s last-ditch effort flyby to breakup Domi’s advance.

    Domi wired a wrist shot from the slot just inside the outer edge of the faceoff circles through traffic past Ullmark to win the game, 3-2, at 3:09 of the overtime period.

    Toronto is going to want more of the same effort from Games 1 and 2, but without the jitters towards the end of the latter as they head to Canadian Tire Centre Thursday for Game 3 (7p ET on ESPN2, SNE, SNO, SNP, CBC, TVAS).

    Who wanted this exactly?

    Ever since the Florida Panthers were introduced to the National Hockey League in 1993, we’ve been dreaming of the intensity of Stanley Cup Playoff games between the Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

    But I have to ask– does the “Battle of Florida” actually just suck?

    We were treated to the first edition of the “Battle of Florida” back in the 2021 First Round. Yep, it only took 28 years, but we rejoiced when it finally happened.

    The first game was a thrilling back-and-forth, 5-4, victory for the Lightning on the road. The Bolts stole the Cats’ thunder in Game 2 with a, 3-1, victory and stole home ice advantage out from under the Panthers– despite both teams still playing in Florida, mind you.

    Then the Panthers responded with a, 6-5, overtime win in Game 3– proving that home ice simply didn’t matter at all.

    Well, until Tampa lit up Florida, 6-2, in Game 4 and took a commanding 3-1 series lead.

    Then the Panthers responded with a lopsided, 4-1, win of their own in Game 5 to force a Game 6.

    Despite the final scores, the Hockey Gods were setting the scene for what could have been a thrilling finish in a Game 7– except the Lightning shutout the Panthers on home ice in Game 6, 4-0.

    Tampa outscored Florida, 24-17, in the series.

    We didn’t have to wait another 28 years for the next rendition of the “Battle of Florida” as the sequel “Battle of Florida II: 2 Fast 2 Florida (Teams)” happened in the 2022 Second Round.

    The Panthers were riding high after advancing from the previous round for the first time since 1996– the same year that Florida went to their first Stanley Cup Final appearance.

    The Lightning were looking to keep their younger brother (by a year) down and win their second series in as many years against the Panthers.

    Game 1 was a, 4-1, win for the Lightning. Game 2 was a closer, 2-1, win for the Lightning as once again the Panthers dropped their first two games on home ice in the “Battle of Florida Part Deux.” Game 3? You guessed it, another win for Tampa– this time, 5-1.

    The Bolts completed the sweep, 2-0, in Game 4 and outscored the Cats, 13-3, in the 2022 edition of the “Battle of Florida.”

    Then we had a year off as the Everglades went fallow as the Toronto Maple Leafs pulled off the unthinkable and won a playoff series for the first time since 2004– knocking off the Lightning in six games in the process in 2023.

    But in 2024, we witnessed the return of the “Battle of Florida” with the third edition: “The Battle of Florida III: Medium Sized Edition.”

    Whereas their 2021 First Round meeting required six games and the 2022 Second Round meeting required four, the 2024 First Round matchup between the Panthers and Lightning required just five games. A happy medium of sorts.

    Florida won Game 1, 3-2, then Game 2, 3-2, but this time in overtime.

    The Panthers took a 3-0 series lead with a convincing, 5-3, victory in Game 3 and, well, everyone thought “oh, great, this one’s going to be another rollover isn’t it?”

    But then Tampa rattled off a, 6-3, win on home ice in Game 4 just to play with us a little because Florida came back and stomped the Lightning to the curb, 6-1, in Game 5– clinching the series– their first series victory in the “Battle of Florida” on home ice.

    The Panthers outscored the Lightning, 20-14, in the 2024 First Round series win.

    And so far in 2025?

    Game 1 was a, 6-2, blowout for Florida on the road in Tampa.

    The defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers had goals from Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart, Nate Schmidt (x2) and Matthew Tkachuk (x2). The Lightning had goals from Jake Guentzel and Brayden Point.

    Sergei Bobrovsky turned aside 20 out of 22 shots faced for a quality start and a .909 save percentage in the win.

    Andrei Vasilevskiy made 11 saves on 17 shots against for a .647 SV% in the loss. Oof.

    Let’s hope the rest of the series gives us the “battle” part in “Battle of Florida.”

    Call of the Wild

    Matt Boldy became the second player in Minnesota Wild history to score three consecutive team goals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs joining Marián Gáborík in the process.

    Gáborík did it on three consecutive goals in Games 3 and 4 of the 2003 Western Conference Semifinal.

    Boldy, meanwhile, kicked off the scoring as the Wild went on a run of four goals– three in the first period, one early in the middle frame– to jump out to a, 4-0, lead in Game 2 of their series with Vegas.

    For a moment, we all held our breath as the Golden Knights got on the board courtesy of Noah Hanifin to make it, 4-1, just past the midpoint of the second period.

    If Monday night was any indication in Los Angeles, then Tuesday night might have been a rerun in Vegas (kind of).

    Tomáš Hertl continues to be hot and made it a two-goal game at 2:26 of the third period, but the Golden Knights couldn’t muster anything else on the scoreboard.

    Kirill Kaprizov tallied an empty-net goal to put it away, 5-2, for Minnesota in Game 2– evening the series at 1-1 in the process.

    The Wild had five goals on 17 shots on net.

    Adin Hill’s 12 saves on 16 shots faced yielded a .750 SV%, which was better than Vasilevskiy’s save percentage over in Tampa at least. But still, that’s… …not a good look for Vegas.

    This series will be closer than you think and it could generate enough momentum to propel the winner on a deep run.

  • 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Second day takeaways

    Whether you were out celebrating Easter on Sunday or busy having a regular Sunday that may or may not have included watching any of the action Sunday afternoon and evening, the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs rolled along with three more Game 1s.

    By now you probably already know the final results, but in case you were under a rock or emerged from a tomb yesterday, all of the home teams won on Sunday as the the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New Jersey Devils, 4-1, the Toronto Maple Leafs topped the Ottawa Senators, 6-2, and the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Minnesota Wild, 4-2, to open their respective series’.

    This could be quick

    Already without Jack Hughes, the Devils lost Brenden Dillon and Cody Glass to injuries in Game 1 Sunday as the former got tangled up with Hurricanes forward, William Carrier, and landed hard on the ice in front New Jersey’s own net while Dillon’s legs went all kinds of ways that they normally aren’t supposed to go.

    Devils defender, Luke Hughes, also briefly missed time Sunday after colliding with Hurricanes forward, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and sliding into New Jersey’s net before clutching his arm as he skated off the ice. The younger Hughes, however, returned to the action in the waning minutes of the final frame.

    Glass, on the other hand, was self-inflicted casualty courtesy of his teammate, Jacob Markström, as the Devils goaltender appeared as though he meant to deliver a quick slash to Carolina forward, Andrei Svechnikov, and, well, he missed.

    New Jersey head coach, Sheldon Keefe, provided a report on the injuries on Monday, telling reporters that– despite his eagerness to return to action– Dillon was held out for the remainder of Game 1 as a precaution by doctors and indicated there was no update on Glass.

    The Devils were outshot 45-24 in Game 1, while Logan Stankoven notched a pair of goals for the Hurricanes in their, 4-1, victory.

    Jalen Chatfield and Taylor Hall each had a goal for Carolina as well, while Nico Hischier recorded the lone goal for New Jersey.

    Carolina went 2-2-0 in four games against New Jersey in the regular season, but outshot the Devils 125-93 in that span with 13 goals for and 12 goals against in their season series.

    In the postseason, history is on the Canes’ side with the Hurricanes holding a 4-1 advantage in all-time best-of-seven series matchups.

    New Jersey took their first meeting in six games in the 2001 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal, but Carolina’s been successful ever since. The Hurricanes beat the Devils in six games in their 2002 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal rematch, five games in the 2006 Eastern Conference Semifinal on their way to their first– and only– Stanley Cup ring thus far, seven games in the 2009 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal and five games in the 2023 Second Round.

    If there’s one thing that’s for certain for either of these teams, it’s that a deep run can be expected when they meet in a playoff series.

    The Devils beat the Hurricanes in 2001, then wound up losing to the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Final that spring.

    The Hurricanes beat the Devils in 2002, and lost to the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Final that year. The Canes won again in 2006, then won the Cup that spring after beating the Edmonton Oilers in a Game 7 on home ice. They won again in 2009 and 2023, but both of those playoff runs came to an end in the Eastern Conference Final to the Pittsburgh Penguins and Florida Panthers, respectively.

    With so many injuries hampering New Jersey’s lineup and Carolina looking like a team that’s logged over 1,100 career Stanley Cup Playoff games across the roster on top of a rowdy Lenovo Center crowd on their side for Game 2 Tuesday night (6p ET on ESPN, SN360, TVAS2, FDSNSO, MSGSN), this series really shouldn’t get past a Game 4.

    Yikes, what was that

    For the first time in 21 years, we have ourselves a Battle of Ontario, but unlike 2004, this Game 1 wasn’t exactly close.

    The Ottawa Senators have the least playoff experience out of the 16 teams that qualified for the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs with 361 career postseason games among their roster before Sunday’s, 6-2, loss in Toronto.

    The Maple Leafs have just over 1,000– 1,003, to be exact– career Stanley Cup Playoff games played entering the series and wasted no time capitalizing on their shots early– recording five shots on goal in the first period, but scoring on two of them to lead, 2-0, heading into the first intermission.

    We knew goaltending would be one thing Toronto would have on its side with Anthony Stolarz having amassed a 21-8-3 record in 34 games played in the regular season to go along with a 2.14 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage and four shutouts in that span prior to starting in Game 1, while Senators goaltender, Linus Ullmark produced a 25-14-3 record in 44 games with a 2.72 GAA, a .910 SV% and four shutouts as well.

    But what we didn’t know was how, exactly, would Game 1 pan out given Stolarz had only ever recorded one postseason appearance– just 35 minutes worth– before with a 5.17 GAA and an .842 SV% in that span, while Ullmark had a 3-6 record in 10 career Stanley Cup Playoff games (all with Boston) with a 3.59 GAA and an .887 SV% entering Sunday.

    It was a little surprising, in all honesty, that Joseph Woll didn’t get the start in Game 1 given his 3-2 record in seven postseason games previously with a 1.78 GAA and a .933 SV% in that span despite his 2.73 GAA and a .909 SV% in 42 games in the regular season this year.

    Perhaps Maple Leafs head coach, Craig Berube, has a tandem approach in mind as both Stolarz and Woll handled the season well working diligently behind Toronto’s defense to render the Leafs their first division title in a non-pandemic influenced season since 2000.

    Then again, maybe they keep riding Stolarz until Ottawa finds a way to chase him from the net.

    That’s where things get interesting for the Sens, since Ullmark struggled early and made 18 saves on 24 shots against for a .750 SV% in Game 1.

    Toronto was on pace for about 15 shots if they hadn’t amassed 13 shots on goal in the second period alone and that would’ve made Ullmark’s numbers even worse.

    Ullmark battled injuries in the regular season, but still managed to appear in 44 games while Anton Forsberg, Leevi Meriläinen and Mads Søgaard split the duties in relief and out of necessity.

    Forsberg matched Ullmark’s 2.72 GAA, but had a .901 SV% and three shutouts in 30 games played with an 11-12-3 record. Meriläinen had a 1.99 GAA and a .925 SV% to go along with three shutouts and an 8-3-1 record in 12 games, while Søgaard appeared in two games and had a 5.24 GAA and an .800 SV% in the regular season.

    Though the sample size might be small, Meriläinen is worthy of getting a look– if anything for the confidence boost that the Sens skaters in front of him might get.

    Forsberg, Meriläinen and Søgaard have never appeared in a postseason game before, however.

    Speaking of confidence, though, Ullmark is one of the most mentally-focused goaltenders in the league and goes on walks to clear his mind, so he probably won’t be shaken by a disappointing Game 1 effort heading into Game 2 Tuesday night (7:30p ET on ESPN2, SN, CBC, TVAS).

    Focus is one of the things Ottawa is going to have to adjust to with a significant portion of their roster having made their Stanley Cup Playoffs debut on Sunday.

    The Sens can’t let the small things get to them or allow the Leafs to egg them on and draw penalties– and, for the record, Ottawa captain, Brady Tkachuk, only had two penalty minutes for roughing late in the middle frame as he took Maple Leafs forward, Scott Laughton, to the box with him.

    Nevertheless, however, Toronto scored three power-play goals in Game 1 and got top performances from three out of their four usual suspects in Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander.

    Auston Matthews later had an assist on a goal from Matthew Knies.

    Marner had 1-2–3 totals, while Tavares, Nylander and Knies recorded power-play goals for the Leafs.

    Clutch playoff performer (did I read my notes right?) Oliver Ekman-Larsson kicked off the scoring in the series and Morgan Rielly added a fluke goal that deflected off of at least one Senators skater in Sunday night’s victory.

    Drake Batherson and Ridly Greig had the only goals for Ottawa.

    Entering Game 2 it’s more of the same for Toronto and, well, don’t do that again if you’re the Senators.

    The house always wins, but this could be Wild

    Look, growing up, the Colorado Avalanche were my second-favorite team, so I’m going to hold your hand when I tell you this, Vegas Golden Knights fans, but don’t let a Game 1 victory fool you when you face the Minnesota Wild in a playoff series.

    The Avalanche, of course, were upset by the Wild in the 2003 Western Conference Quarterfinal and in the 2014 First Round– the latter of which the Avs won Game 1. Both times Colorado was the higher seed with the Avs ranked 3rd in 2003, and Minnesota 6th and Colorado atop the Central Division and the Wild as the first wild card in the Western Conference in 2014.

    Both series’ resulted in a Game 7 overtime win for Minnesota.

    I say all of this because– despite a, 4-2, victory for the Golden Knights in Game 1 on Sunday at T-Mobile Arena– Vegas and Minnesota have gone the distance in their only other playoff series meeting in 2021.

    Though, at least then Vegas won, 6-2, in what was their first ever Game 7 appearance.

    The scoreboard might not look it– in part because of Brett Howden’s last tenth-of-a-second empty-net goal to give him a two-goal effort and the Golden Knights a two-goal lead– but Sunday night was a grind.

    There were only three penalties in Game 1 with the first call against the Wild in the second period before Vegas and Minnesota each had one more minor infraction in the final frame.

    Tomáš Hertl tallied the first goal for Vegas at 15:22 of the first period, but Minnesota’s Matt Boldy evened things up, 1-1, at 17:42.

    Pavel Dorofeyev rocketed a slap shot power-play goal past Filip Gustavsson to give the Golden Knights a, 2-1, lead at 13:33 of the second period while Marcus Foligno went to cover the shooting lane that Shea Theodore decided against pursuing– instead opting to pass the puck to Dorofeyev for the goal.

    Howden gave Vegas a, 3-1, lead early in the final frame with a wrist shot goal at 2:28 before Boldy tied things up again on a wraparound goal midway through the third period.

    Then, of course, with the Wild goaltender pulled and Boldy in the box for tripping, Howden capitalized on his less than a second remaining empt- net goal to reestablish a two-goal lead and margin of victory for the Golden Knights.

    A lot of people favor Vegas in this series– what with another 50-win season from the Golden Knights and only two years removed from their 2023 Stanley Cup championship, as well as their 3-0-0 record against Minnesota in the regular season, in which the Golden Knights outshot the Wild 102-62 and outscored them, 12-4, in that span– but here’s the thing, Minnesota was built for moments like this.

    The Wild like stealing the thunder from teams that were supposed to win Patrick Roy one last Cup in 2003, as a player or his first as a head coach in 2014– I mean, yeah…

    Minnesota likes to play spoiler or at least make you face some adversity as they ramp up the intensity in the postseason.

    Though I’ll admit, I have the Golden Knights moving on from this matchup, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Adin Hill and Gustavsson are not that far off from each other in postseason performances.

    Entering Game 1, Hill had a 12-6 record in 19 career Stanley Cup Playoff games with a 2.09 GAA, a .932 SV% and three shutouts in that span, while Gustavsson was 2-3 in five postseason games with a 2.33 GAA and a .921 SV% in that span.

    These are two goaltenders that could keep the scoring in this series pretty low, so I fully expect we’ll get seven games of entertaining playoff hockey.

    Game 2 is in Vegas on Tuesday (11p ET on ESPN, SN, SN360, TVAS, FDSNNO, SCRIPPS).

  • 2022 NHL Entry Draft Round 1 Recap

    2022 NHL Entry Draft Round 1 Recap

    Round 1 of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft was held Thursday night at Bell Centre in Montréal, Québec marking the first time since the 2019 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver that the selections were made in person in front of a live audience as the 2020 and 2021 editions of the draft were held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Coverage of this year’s first round began Thursday night at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN and streaming on ESPN+ in the United States, as well as on SN and TVAS in Canada.

    Rounds 2-7 will be televised on NHL Network and ESPN+ in the U.S., while viewers in Canada can tune to SN or TVAS starting at 11 a.m. ET Friday morning.

    Here’s a quick recap of the First Round in case you had other things going on Thursday night.

    2022 NHL Entry Draft Round 1

    1. Montréal Canadiens – LW Juraj Slafkovsky, TPS (Liiga)
    2. New Jersey Devils – D Simon Nemec, Nitra (Slovakia)
    3. Arizona Coyotes – C Logan Cooley, USA U-18 (USHL)
    4. Seattle Kraken – C Shane Wright, Kingston (OHL)
    5. Philadelphia Flyers – C/LW Cutter Gauthier, USA U-18 (USHL)
    6. Columbus Blue Jackets (from Chicago) – D David Jiricek, Plzen (Extraliga)
    7. Chicago (from Ottawa Senators) – D Kevin Korchinski, Seattle (WHL)
    8. Detroit Red Wings – C Marco Kasper, Rögle BK (SHL)
    9. Buffalo Sabres – C Matthew Savoie, Winnipeg (WHL)
    10. Anaheim Ducks – D Pavel Mintyukov, Saginaw (OHL)
    11. Arizona Coyotes (from San Jose Sharks) – C Conor Geekie, Winnipeg (WHL)
    12. Columbus Blue Jackets – D Denton Mateychuk, Moose Jaw (WHL)
    13. Chicago (from New York Islanders via Montréal Canadiens) – C Frank Nazar, USA-U18 (USHL)
    14. Winnipeg Jets – RW Rutger McGroarty, USA U-18 (USHL)
    15. Vancouver Canucks – RW Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Djurgårdens IF (SHL)
    16. Buffalo Sabres (from Vegas Golden Knights) – C Noah Ostlund, Djurgårdens IF (SHL)
    17. Nashville Predators – RW Joakim Kemell, JYP (Liiga)
    18. Dallas Stars – D Lian Bichsel, Leksands IF (SHL)
    19. Minnesota Wild (from Los Angeles Kings) – LW Liam Ohgren, Djurgårdens IF (SHL)
    20. Washington Capitals – RW Ivan Miroshnichenko, Omsk Krylia (Russia)
    21. Pittsburgh Penguins – D Owen Pickering, Swift Current (WHL)
    22. Anaheim Ducks (from Boston Bruins) – C Nathan Gaucher, Québec (QMJHL)
    23. St. Louis Blues – RW Jimmy Snuggerud, USA U-18 (USHL)
    24. Minnesota Wild – RW Danila Yurov, Magnitogorsk (Russia)
    25. Chicago (from Toronto Maple Leafs) – D Sam Rinzel, Chaska (High School- Minnesota)
    26. Montréal Canadiens (from Calgary Flames) – RW Filip Mesar, Poprad (Slovakia)
    27. San Jose Sharks (from Carolina Hurricanes via Montréal Canadiens and Arizona Coyotes) – C Filip Bystedt, Linköping HC (SHL)
    28. Buffalo Sabres (from Florida Panthers) – C Jiri Kulich, Karlovy Vary (Extraliga)
    29. Arizona Coyotes (from Edmonton Oilers) – D Maveric Lamoureux, Drummondville (QMJHL)
    30. Winnipeg Jets (from New York Rangers) – C Brad Lambert, Pelicans (Liiga)
    31. Tampa Bay Lightning – LW Isaac Howard, USA U-18 (USHL)
    32. Edmonton Oilers (from Colorado Avalanche via Arizona Coyotes) – LW Reid Schaefer, Seattle (WHL)

    Trades made during the first round of the draft:

    • The Montréal Canadiens trade D Alexander Romanov and the 98th overall pick to the New York Islanders for a 2022 1st round pick (13th overall).
    • Montréal traded a 2022 1st round pick (13th overall, originally belonging to the New York Islanders) and a 2022 3rd round pick (66th overall) Chicago for D Kirby Dach.
    • The San Jose Sharks traded a 2022 1st round pick (11th overall) to the Arizona Coyotes for a 2022 1st round pick (27th overall), a 2022 2nd round pick (34th overall) and a 2022 2nd round pick (45th overall).
    • Chicago acquired G Petr Mrázek and a 2022 1st round pick (25th overall) from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 2022 2nd round pick (38th overall).
    • The Arizona Coyotes acquired F Zack Kassian, a 2022 1st round pick (29th overall), a 2024 3rd round pick and a 2025 2nd round pick from the Edmonton Oilers for a 2022 1st round pick (32nd overall).

    Trades made earlier in the day prior to the first round of the draft:

    • The Colorado Avalanche acquired G Alexandar Georgiev from the New York Rangers in exchange for a 2022 3rd round pick, a 2022 5th round pick and a 2023 3rd round pick.
    • The Ottawa Senators traded a 2022 1st round pick (7th overall), a 2022 2nd round pick (39th overall) and a 2024 3rd round pick to Chicago for F Alex DeBrincat.
  • DTFR Podcast #250- Is This The Leafs’ Year (To Get Out Of The First Round)?

    DTFR Podcast #250- Is This The Leafs’ Year (To Get Out Of The First Round)?

    Nick and Cam present cases for James Norris Memorial Trophy, Vezina Trophy and Calder Memorial Trophy finalists and predict how the rest of the 2022 First Round should go.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Amazon Music and/or Audible.

  • Bruins force Game 7 with commanding, 5-2, victory at home

    Bruins force Game 7 with commanding, 5-2, victory at home

    For the 29th time in franchise history (a National Hockey League leading postseason stat), the Boston Bruins are going to a Game 7 in a best-of-seven series after defeating the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-2, Thursday night at TD Garden.

    Whereas recent memory conjures images of Boston’s 2019 Stanley Cup Final Game 7 loss on home ice to the visiting St. Louis Blues, this time around the Bruins will look to be a spoiler on the road in Raleigh, North Carolina and become the first wild card team since the NHL adopted its current playoff format in 2014, to usurp a division winner in their non-traditional division.

    See, the B’s belong to the league’s Atlantic Division, while the Canes exist in the Metropolitan Division.

    Carolina, meanwhile, will have home ice in their first Game 7 against Boston since the Hurricanes upset the Bruins in the 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinal.

    It will also be Carolina’s first Game 7 appearance since they beat the Washington Capitals on the road in their 2019 First Round matchup.

    The last Game 7 victory on home ice for the Hurricanes was, of course, the 2006 Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers.

    Jeremy Swayman (3-1, 2.51 goals-against average, .913 save percentage in four games played) made 23 saves on 25 shots against in the win for Boston Thursday night.

    Meanwhile, Hurricanes goaltender, Antti Raanta (2-2, 2.46 goals-against average, .926 save percentage in five games played), turned aside 29 out of 33 shots faced in the loss.

    Once more, the Bruins were without Jakub Zboril (right ACL) and Jesper Frödén (lower body) Thursday night, while Hampus Lindholm returned to the lineup after missing the last few games with an upper body injury.

    Down 3-2 in the series entering Thursday and with Lindholm’s return to action, Boston’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy, restructured his lines and defensive pairings to a more familiar look around the trade deadline when the B’s were surging in the regular season.

    Jake DeBrusk went back to the first line right wing with Patrice Bergeron at center and Brad Marchand on left wing, while David Pastrnak was reunited with Taylor Hall and Erik Haula on the second line.

    Trent Frederic returned to the lineup on the third line with Charlie Coyle at center– flanked by Frederic and Craig Smith on his wings.

    Meanwhile, Nick Foligno, Tomáš Nosek and Curtis Lazar returned to their usual roles on the fourth line with Chris Wagner joining the short list of healthy scratches in the press box at TD Garden for Game 6.

    On defense, Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy were reunited, while Mike Reilly suited up alongside Brandon Carlo and Derek Forbort and Connor Clifton’s third pairing went unchanged.

    Wagner and Matt Grzelcyk joined Jack Studnicka, Marc McLaughlin, Steven Fogarty, Troy Grosenick, Josh Brown, Joona Koppanen, Cameron Hughes, Jack Ahcan, Tyler Lewington, Oskar Steen, Nick Wolff, Anton Blidh, Kyle Keyser and Jakub Lauko as Boston’s healthy scratches on Thursday.

    Sebastian Aho kicked things off with a hooking infraction at 12:44 of the first period, but the Bruins couldn’t muster anything on the skater advantage.

    Neither team could score, nor did either club score a goal in the opening frame, rendering it, 0-0, entering the first intermission despite Carolina holding an, 11-8, advantage in shots on goal.

    Boston led in blocked shots (6-3), giveaways (4-0) and faceoff win percentage (62-39), while the Hurricanes held the advantage in hits (22-11).

    Both teams had three takeaways each and had yet to see time on the power play entering the middle frame.

    It didn’t take long for the B’s to jump out ahead first as Marchand (4) received a pass and entered the attacking zone along his off wing before sending a wrist shot high on the short side over Raanta’s glove and under the bar to give the Bruins a, 1-0, lead 46 seconds into the second period.

    Clifton (1) and Coyle (4) notched the assists as Boston scored the game’s first goal for the first time in the series.

    Less than a few minutes later, however, Clifton kicked off a string of penalties for the Bruins when he was assessed a holding minor at 3:23, but Boston made the kill.

    Carolina got a second chance on the power play at 9:08, however, when Frederic tripped Brett Pesce and even had 54 seconds on a 5-on-3 advantage when McAvoy cut a rut to the sin bin hooking Vincent Trocheck at 10:15 of the second period.

    The Canes, however, failed to convert on the two power plays.

    Haula caught Jesperi Kotkaniemi with a high stick at 13:36 of the second period and presented another power play opportunity that went by the wayside for Carolina.

    At 16:58, Pesce was assessed a holding minor and yielded Boston their second power play of the night.

    Late in the ensuing skater advantage, the B’s worked the puck around the zone enough before Marchand dished a pass back to Pastrnak for a shot attempt from the point that was blocked by a Hurricane before rebounding to Coyle (2) in the slot for the doorstep goal on the forehand.

    Pastrnak (3) and Marchand (7) tallied the assists on Coyle’s power-play goal at 18:04 of the second period and the Bruins had a, 2-0, lead as a result.

    Through 40 minutes of play, the B’s held a two-goal lead going into the second intermission and led, 19-17, in shots on goal, including an, 11-6, advantage in shots in the middle frame alone.

    Boston also dominated in blocked shots (15-9), takeaways (6-3) and faceoff win% (53-47), while Carolina led in giveaways (5-4) and hits (27-21).

    The Hurricanes were 0-for-4 and the Bruins were 1-for-2 on the power play heading into the final frame.

    Carolina struck first in the final frame as Seth Jarvis setup Andrei Svechnikov (2) for a catch and release goal high on the short side past Swayman’s blocker to cut Boston’s lead in half, 2-1.

    Jarvis (2) had the only assist on Svechnikov’s first goal of the game at 3:24 of the third period.

    Less than four minutes later, however, the Bruins responded and re-extended their lead to two-goals after Haula (1) redirected a shot pass into the far corner of the net behind Raanta for a, 3-1, lead at 7:08 of the third period.

    McAvoy (3) had the only assist on Haula’s first goal of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    Midway through the third period, Forbort (1) flung a shot from the point with eyes that may have tipped off of a Canes skaters’ stick under Raanta’s blocker side while the Carolina netminder was temporarily without a stick– having dropped it seconds prior.

    Nosek (1) had the only assist on Forbort’s first goal– regular season or playoffs– since Nov. 20th and the Bruins had a, 4-1, lead as a result at 10:43.

    Jaccob Slavin sent an errant puck over the glass and out of play at 12:01, but the B’s failed to capitalize on their last power play opportunity of the night.

    With 4:33 remaining in the action, Hurricanes head coach, Rod Brind’Amour, pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker, but it wasn’t long before Lazar (1) floated a shot from the red line into the empty twine to give Boston a, 5-1, advantage.

    Foligno (1) and Nosek (2) tallied the assists on Lazar’s empty net goal at 15:43 of the third period.

    Less than a minute later, Marchand was assessed a four-minute double-minor penalty for spearing Kotkaniemi while skating past the Carolina forward at 16:20.

    The Hurricanes made relatively quick work of the first power play as Slavin sent the puck to Martin Nečas, who fed Svechnikov (3) for another one-timer goal– this time cutting the deficit from four goals to three.

    Nečas (3) and Slavin (4) had the assists on Svechnikov’s power-play goal– his second goal of the game– at 17:30 of the third period.

    The Bruins killed off the rest of Marchand’s penalty and went on to win, 5-2, at the final horn.

    At the end of the night, Boston left their own ice leading in shots on goal, 34-25, including a, 15-8, advantage in the third period alone, while Carolina dominated in everything else, including blocked shots (18-12), giveaways (10-5), hits (42-34) and faceoff win% (52-48).

    The Hurricanes finished the night 1-for-6 on the power play, while the Bruins went 1-for-3 on the skater advantage.

    The B’s are now 13-14 all time in a Game 6 when trailing in a series 3-2 and are looking to win a best-of-seven series for just the third time in 29 instances of at one point trailing 2-0 in the series heading into Game 3.

    Game 7 is back at PNC Arena in Raleigh Saturday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. ET with the winner clinching the series 4-3 and advancing to the Second Round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    Viewers in the United States can tune to ESPN, while those in Canada can catch the action on SN360, SNE, SNW, SNP and TVAS.

    Local markets can also watch the game on their corresponding regional networks if so desired.

    Boston will be making their 29th appearance in a Game 7 and enters Saturday with a 15-13 record in 28 prior Game 7 efforts, having most recently lost in a Game 7 on home ice to the St. Louis Blues in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.

    The Bruins lead in Game 7 appearances (28) and are tied with the Montréal Canadiens for the most wins (15), as well as with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the most losses (13).

    Carolina is entering their eighth appearance in a Game 7 Saturday afternoon with a 5-3 record in seven prior instances of a Game 7, having most recently beaten the Washington Capitals on the road in Game 7 of their 2019 First Round series in double overtime.

    The Hurricanes last hosted a Game 7 on home ice in the 2006 Stanley Cup Final when they defeated the Edmonton Oilers to clinch the franchise’s first Stanley Cup championship.

    The Canes are 5-0 in a Game 7 since relocating from Hartford and previously defeated the Bruins on the road in Game 7 of their 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinal series in overtime.

    Coincidentally, that game was also held on May 14th.

  • DTFR Podcast #248- 2022 First Round Preview In Progress (Part 1)

    DTFR Podcast #248- 2022 First Round Preview In Progress (Part 1)

    Nick and Sean tackle a few leftover news items from the last week of the regular season and preview the Eastern Conference matchups in the First Round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Amazon Music and/or Audible.

  • Bruins drop season finale on the road, 5-2

    Bruins drop season finale on the road, 5-2

    William Nylander scored a pair of goals in a, 5-2, victory for the Toronto Maple Leafs over the Boston Bruins Friday night at Scotiabank Arena.

    Erik Källgren (8-4-1, 3.31 goals-against average, .888 save percentage in 14 games played) made 24 saves on 26 shots against in the win for the Leafs.

    Bruins goaltender, Jeremy Swayman (23-24-3, 2.41 goals-against average, .914 save percentage in 41 games played), stopped 22 out of 26 shots faced in the loss.

    Boston finished the regular season with a 51-26-5 record (107 points)– good enough for 4th in the Atlantic Division and the first wild card in the Eastern Conference.

    The B’s will face the Carolina Hurricanes in the First Round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs as a result.

    Toronto improved to 54-21-7 (115 points) overall and finished 2nd in the Atlantic Division. They will host the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2022 First Round.

    The Bruins went 25-13-3 on the road and 0-3-0 against the Maple Leafs this season after going 2-0-1 against Toronto in 2019-20.

    The two teams did not meet last season due to the temporarily realigned divisions in light of the ongoing COIVD-19 pandemic.

    Boston’s list of injured players and healthy scratches got a bit of a shakeup heading into the final game of the regular season as Jakub Zboril (right ACL) and Jesper Frödén (lower body) were joined by Hampus Lindholm, Patrice Bergeron, Matt Grzelcyk, Erik Haula, Brad Marchand, Taylor Hall, Charlie McAvoy and David Pastrnak among those held out of the lineup.

    Zboril missed his 62nd game this season due to an injury sustained on Dec. 2nd in Nashville, while Hall missed his first game of the season as a healthy scratch.

    As a result, Charlie Coyle was the only Bruin to suit up in all 82 games this season– marking the first time that anyone in a Boston uniform played in all 82 games in a full 82-game season since Pastrnak and Tim Schaller did so in 2017-18.

    Since then, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic shortened the 2019-20 regular season and kept 2020-21 limited to 56 games.

    Chris Wagner made his season debut on Friday after being recalled from the Providence Bruins (AHL) with Jack Studnicka, Oskar Steen and Jack Ahcan to fill in for the regulars.

    Boston’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy, opted to keep Trent Frederic, Coyle and Craig Smith together on the same line, while he moved Jake DeBrusk to the second line left wing with Studnicka at center and Marc McLaughlin on right wing.

    Curtis Lazar centered the third line with Nick Foligno and Steen on his wings, while Tomáš Nosek held the fourth line together– flanked by Anton Blidh and Wagner.

    On defense, Ahcan was paired with Brandon Carlo on the first pairing, while Mike Reilly and Josh Brown comprised the second pairing with Derek Forbort and Connor Clifton in their regular roles filling out the bottom pair.

    The Bruins struck first in quick fashion as Smith wrapped the puck around the back of the net and slipped a pass to Frederic (8) for the flub shot through Källgren’s five-hole.

    Smith (19) and Coyle (28) tallied the assists on the goal and the B’s led, 1-0, at 1:10 of the first period.

    Boston didn’t hold the lead for long, however as McLaughlin caught Mark Giordano with a high stick at 1:48 of the first period that was reviewed for an injury on the infraction– resulting in a four-minute double minor.

    Toronto made it a little past the midpoint of the skater advantage before Giordano sent a shot towards the net that Ilya Mikheyev (21) tipped past Swayman to tie the game, 1-1, at 3:51.

    Giordano (27) and Timothy Liljegren (18) notched the assists on Mikheyev’s power-play goal.

    Midway through the opening frame, William Nylander (33) got a breakaway and buried the puck in the twine on a forehand tuck after pulling Swayman to the right side of the crease.

    Nylander’s goal was unassisted and gave the Maple Leafs their first lead of the night, 2-1, at 13:16 of the first period.

    Late in the period, Morgan Rielly floated a shot towards Swayman that Nick Abruzzese (1) tipped for his first career National Hockey League goal.

    Rielly (58) had the only assist on the goal as a result and the Leafs extended their lead to two goals at 19:52.

    After one period, Toronto led, 3-1, on the scoreboard and, 10-6, in shots on goal.

    The Maple Leafs also led in blocked shots (10-2) and takeaways (2-0), while the Bruins held the advantage in giveaways (4-3), hits (20-15) and faceoff win percentage (56-44) entering the first intermission.

    The Leafs were 1-for-2 on the power play, while Boston had yet to see time on the skater advantage heading into the middle frame.

    DeBrusk went hard into the boards early in the second period, but skated off on his own power and sat on the bench until his next shift without much discomfort despite play briefly coming to a stop while he laid on the ice.

    Late in the period, Foligno tripped Wayne Simmonds and presented the Leafs with a power play at 14:49 of the second period, but Toronto failed to convert on the skater advantage.

    Shortly thereafter, Nosek cross checked Liljegren and became entangled in a quick exchange of pleasantries with Rielly– resulting in minor infractions for both Nosek and Rielly for cross checking and roughing, respectively at 19:30.

    The two clubs skated at 4-on-4 into the third period as a result.

    Through 40 minutes of action Friday night, the Maple Leafs led, 3-1, on the scoreboard and, 20-15, in shots on goal– including a, 10-9, advantage in the second period alone.

    Toronto also maintained control in blocked shots (11-5), takeaways (8-3) and giveaways (8-7), while Boston led in hits (45-27) and faceoff win% (53-47).

    The Leafs were 1-for-3 and the Bruins were 0-for-0 on the power play heading into the final frame.

    Nylander (34) collected his second goal of the night on a similar backhand-forehand effort from his first goal of the game and the Maple Leafs grabbed a, 4-1, lead at 8:00 of the third period.

    Moments later, Foligno thought he had his 500th career NHL point by scoring a would-be goal on the doorstep, but Toronto’s head coach, Sheldon Keefe, challenged the call on the ice on the basis that he believed Boston was offside entering the zone prior to the goal.

    Upon video review, it was determined that Lazar had gone over the blue line into the attacking zone before Steen broke the plane for a zone entry, rendering the call on the ice reversed. No goal.

    Toronto still led, 4-1, and Foligno will have to wait until next season for his 500th point.

    Shortly thereafter, T.J. Brodie cut a rut to the box for holding and Boston went on the power play for the first time at 11:55.

    Smith sent a shot on goal that DeBrusk (25) buried on the rebound past Källgren’s short side to give the Bruins their third power-play goal in their last two games.

    Boston trailed, 4-2, while Smith (20) and Reilly (13) picked up the assists on DeBrusk’s goal at 12:49 of the third period.

    With about a minute left in the action, Cassidy pulled Swayman for an extra attacker, but the B’s weren’t able to muster any last-minute comeback efforts.

    Pierre Engvall (15) capitalized on a turnover and buried the rubber biscuit in the empty twine for an empty net goal in addition to a three-goal lead at 19:50 of the third period.

    Engvall’s goal was unassisted and the Leafs finished their season with a, 5-2, victory on home ice.

    At the final horn, Toronto had won and wrapped things up leading in shots on goal, 27-26, despite trailing, 11-7, in shots on net in the third period alone.

    The Maple Leafs finished the night leading in blocked shots (13-8) and giveaways (13-11), while the Bruins exited the ice with the advantage in hits (54-48) and faceoff win% (53-47).

    The Leafs went 1-for-3 on the power play, while the B’s went 1-for-1 on the skater advantage Friday night.

    Boston fell to 37-10-2 (19-5-1 on the road) when scoring first, 6-15-2 (2-8-1 on the road) when trailing after one and 4-20-2 (1-9-1 on the road) when trailing after two this season.

    Toronto improved to 19-15-4 (13-7-2 at home) when allowing the game’s first goal, 29-3-3 (17-0-0 at home) when leading after the first period and 40-1-3 (23-1-0 at home) when leading after the second period in 2021-22.

    With the 2021-22 regular season in the rearview mirror, the Bruins look ahead to the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs and their First Round matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes.

    Games 1 and 2 will be at PNC Arena in Raleigh.

  • Yet another milestone night for Patrice Bergeron in a, 5-0, shutout

    Yet another milestone night for Patrice Bergeron in a, 5-0, shutout

    Patrice Bergeron scored a hat trick in a, 5-0, victory for the Boston Bruins over the Buffalo Sabres as Linus Ullmark recorded his first shutout with the Bruins against his former team.

    Bergeron’s trio of goals earned him his 398th, 399th and 400th career tallies in his 1,216th career National Hockey League game– becoming just the fourth player in Bruins franchise history to score 400 goals with the club, while trailing Rick Middleton (402) for third overall.

    Ullmark (26-10-2, 2.45 goals-against average, .917 save percentage in 41 games played) finished his regular season campaign with his first shutout of the year in a 37-save effort for his fourth career shutout win overall.

    He set a career-best 2.45 goals-against average and .917 save percentage in the most games he’s played as a starter in the first season of his four-year, $20 million contract that he signed with Boston on July 28, 2021, with the future of Tuukka Rask then uncertain in the wake of major surgery and Jeremy Swayman as a young goaltender of the future– still a few years away from taking the full-time reins in the crease.

    Though technically you could say both Ullmark and Swayman were the starting goaltenders for Boston all season long as they’ll split the 82-game season in half– 41 appearances each– in their 2021-22 workload.

    Even as Rask made a midseason comeback attempt before retiring in February due to his hip not being up to par.

    Swayman is expected to get the start Friday night in Toronto as the B’s take on the Maple Leafs in their 2021-22 regular season finale.

    With the win on Thursday night, Boston improved to 51-25-5 (107 points) on the season and remained in command of 4th place in the Atlantic Division– one point behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for 3rd place in the Atlantic.

    Tampa needs to win in any fashion to secure a First Round matchup with Toronto, while Boston needs the Lightning to lose in regulation and at least get one point against the Maple Leafs to surpass the Bolts in the division and face the Leafs in the First Round.

    If the Bruins and Lightning tie in points, Boston holds the tiebreaker on regulation wins.

    Otherwise, if Boston ends up losing Friday night and Tampa gets a point in any fashion, the B’s will face the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2022 First Round.

    If you’re confused just watch the game and/or wait for Friday night’s recap. You’ll know by then.

    Dustin Tokarski (9-12-3, 3.32 goals-against average, .899 save percentage in 28 games played) made 27 saves on 32 shots against in the loss for Buffalo.

    The Sabres fell to 31-39-11 (73 points) overall and remain in command of 5th place in the Atlantic Division.

    For the first time since the 2019-20 regular season, Boston swept Buffalo in their regular season series, 4-0-0.

    The Bruins went 7-1-0 against the Sabres last season and 3-0-0 against Buffalo in 2019-20.

    Boston finished the 2021-22 regular season with a 26-13-2 record on home ice overall.

    The B’s were without Jakub Zboril (right ACL) and Jesper Frödén (lower body) on Thursday, while head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made no changes to his lineup.

    As a result, Mike Reilly, Marc McLaughlin, Josh Brown and Anton Blidh served as healthy scratches for the Bruins against the Sabres.

    Prior to puck drop, NESN presented its annual 7th Player Award as voted on by the fans to this year’s recipient– Jeremy Swayman.

    Swayman has gone 23-13-3 in 40 games this season with a 2.37 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage as part of Boston’s tandem goaltending apparatus for 2021-22.

    Henri Jokiharju tripped Jake DeBrusk and presented the Bruins with the night’s first power play at 1:26 of the first period, but the B’s fell to 0-for-37 on the skater advantage in their last 13 games instead as the Sabres managed to kill off Jokiharju’s infraction.

    Late in the period, Trent Frederic cut a rut to the sin bin for catching Alex Tuch with a slash at 16:41, but Buffalo wasn’t able to convert on the ensuing advantage.

    Less than a few minutes later, Brad Marchand rattled off four hacks with his stick before the fifth slash resulting in a minor penalty at 19:30.

    Boston managed to kill Marchand’s infraction despite Buffalo’s power play spewing over into the middle frame.

    After one period, the B’s and Sabres were tied, 0-0, on the scoreboard despite Buffalo attaining a, 12-6, advantage in shots on goal.

    The Sabres dominated in blocked shots (10-2), takeaways (5-3), giveaways (6-4) and faceoff win percentage (63-38), while the Bruins led in hits (12-5).

    Buffalo was 0-for-2 and Boston was 0-for-1 on the power play heading into the middle frame.

    Taylor Hall tripped John Hayden at 2:55 of the second period, yielding another skater advantage to the Sabres that went unconverted.

    Moments later, Bergeron (23) gathered a loose puck on the doorstep and buried it in the twine to give the Bruins a, 1-0, lead at 6:16 of the second period after DeBrusk fired an initial shot on goal.

    Bergeron’s first goal of the game was unassisted, however.

    A couple minutes later, Jeff Skinner tripped Erik Haula and made his way to the sin bin at 8:54.

    Boston failed to capitalize on the resulting power play, however.

    Midway through the middle period, Bergeron (24) scored one of his patented goals from the bumper to extend the lead to two-goals.

    This time, DeBrusk (17) and Marchand (47) tallied the assists as the B’s took a, 2-0, lead at 12:29 of the second period.

    Sabres coach, Don Granato, challenged the call on the ice, however, on the basis that he believed Nick Foligno had been offiside prior to the goal.

    Upon video review, however, Foligno had extended his right leg far enough to break the plane at the blue line in the midst of a line change while Boston entered the attacking zone– thereby remaining onside.

    The call on the ice stood as a result and the Sabres were charged with a bench minor for delay of game due to their unsuccessful challenge at 12:29.

    Victor Olofsson skated across the rink to serve Buffalo’s infraction, but Boston fell to 0-for-39 on their last 39 power plays as neither team took another penalty nor scored another goal before the second intermission.

    Through 40 minutes Thursday night, the Bruins led, 2-0, on the scoreboard, but trailed, 27-20, in shots on goal as the Sabres continued to outshoot Boston– including a, 15-14, advantage for Buffalo in the second period alone.

    The Sabres led in blocked shots (13-4), takeaways (8-5), giveaways (13-6) and faceoff win% (53-47), while both teams had 16 hits aside and were 0-for-3 on the power play heading into the final frame.

    Then it happened.

    Peyton Krebs caught Marchand with a high stick at 1:28 of the third period.

    Less than a minute later, Hall setup David Pastrnak (40) for a power-play goal through the five-hole– reaching the 40-goal plateau for the second time in his career in the process.

    Oh, also, Boston snapped their drought on the power play in their 40th consecutive opportunity.

    Hall (41) and Marchand (48) notched the assists as Pastrnak’s power-play goal put the Bruins up, 3-0, at 2:11 of the third period, but not before Granato challenged the call on the ice on the basis that he believed Hall had gone offside prior to the goal while Marchand dangled the puck at the blue line.

    Video review confirmed the call on the ice, however, as Marchand did not drag the puck completely past the blue line back into the neutral zone and Hall remained onside.

    The Sabres, as a result, were charged with a four-minute double minor for delay of game due to their second unsuccessful challenge of the night at 2:11.

    Shortly after the second consecutive power play began while Olofsson was back in the box serving the bench minor, Hall (20) collected the garbage on the doorstep of the crease off the right leg pad and slipped the puck into the net to give Boston a four-goal lead.

    Pastrnak (38) and Bergeron (40) tallied the assists on Hall’s power-play goal and the B’s led, 4-0, at 4:16 of the third period.

    With the secondary assists on the goal, Bergeron reached the 40-assist plateau for the fifth time in his 18-year NHL career.

    Meanwhile, Hall reached 20 goals or more for the seventh time in his 12 NHL seasons.

    Less than a minute later, Tomáš Nosek and Casey Fitzgerald went to the box for roughing and brought the action down from 5-on-5 to 4-on-4 for a couple minutes.

    Late in the period, Bergeron (25) scored another bumper goal for his second hat trick of the season (eighth of his career), as well as his 400th career goal.

    Charlie McAvoy (46) and Hampus Lindholm (22) had the assists on Bergeron’s third goal of the game and the Bruins took a, 5-0, lead at 17:47 of the third period.

    Only four Bruins have ever scored 400 or more goals; Johnny Bucyk (545), Phil Esposito (459), Rick Middleton (402) and now Bergeron (400).

    At the final horn, the Bruins won, 5-0, and Ullmark picked up his first shutout of the season, as well as his first shutout with Boston, despite Buffalo outshooting the B’s, 37-32.

    The Bruins left their own ice leading in blocked shots (17-4) and faceoff win% (59-41), while the Sabres exited TD Garden leading in giveaways (17-10) and hits (21-19).

    Buffalo went 0-for-3 on the power play, while Boston went 2-for-6 on the skater advantage.

    The Bruins honored Don DelNegro in his final home game of the regular season. After 29 years working for the organization, DelNegro is retiring from his head athletic trainer role to go hit up the local golf courses some more on his own time.

    Bergeron and the rest of the B’s surrounded DelNegro at center ice for a team photo.

    In addition to his hat trick, Bergeron also moved ahead of Bucyk for the most career game-opening goals in franchise history Thursday night with his 86th career game-opening goal.

    Marchand (795), meanwhile, had two points on the night to surpass Wayne Cashman (793) for sole possession of the seventh-most points in Bruins history.

    No. 63 in black and gold trails Bobby Orr (888) by 93 points for sixth overall and is now five points shy of his 800th career NHL point.

    The Bruins snapped Buffalo’s four-game winning streak by extending their own win streak to four games and improved to 17-6-2 (8-3-1 at home) when tied after the first period, 37-9-2 (18-5-1 at home) when scoring first and 33-1-3 (16-1-1 at home) when leading after two periods this season.

    The Sabres fell to 13-10-3 (5-5-1 on the road) when tied after one, 8-26-6 (3-15-2 on the road) when allowing the game’s first goal and 2-29-2 (2-15-2 on the road) when trailing through the second period in 2021-22.

    The Bruins visit Toronto on Friday night in their final road game– as well as the final game– of the 2021-22 regular season.

    The B’s will face either the Leafs or Hurricanes in the First Round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs with Games 1 and 2 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto or PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina depending on the matchup.

    Games 3 and 4 will be Boston’s first taste of postseason action on home ice.