NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – April 27, 2024
The Rangers push the Capitals to the brink of elimination while the Canucks, Avalanche and Oilers take 2-1 leads in their first-round series. Check out the details in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
GAME RECAPS
NHL.COM: The New York Rangers have the Washington Capitals on the brink of elimination with a 3-1 victory in Game 3 of their opening round best-of-seven series. Igor Shesterkin made 28 saves, Vincent Trocheck had a goal and an assist and Barclay Goodrow scored the winning goal for the Rangers, who lead the series 3-0. John Carlson replied for the Capitals. Game 4 goes on Sunday in Washington at 8 pm EDT.
New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Rangers’ special teams also played a key factor in this game. They successfully killed off all six Capitals’ power plays with Goodrow’s game-winner a shorthanded tally. Trocheck’s goal came on the power play as the Blueshirts went 1-for-4 with the man advantage.
The Capitals lost another defenseman to injury as Trevor van Riemsdyk left this game with an upper-body injury following a hit by Rangers forward Matt Rempe, who received a minor penalty for interference.
Vancouver Canucks goaltender Casey DeSmith made 29 saves for his first playoff win as his club held off the Nashville Predators 2-1 in Game 3 of their first-round series. J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser scored their first goals of the postseason while Quinn Hughes picked up two assists for the Canucks, who hold a 2-1 series lead. Luke Evangelista put the Predators on the board late in the third period. Game 4 is Sunday in Nashville at 5 pm EDT.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: DeSmith was solid between the pipes for Vancouver. The Predators had a 30-12 shot advantage but the Canucks blocked 28 shots and successfully killed off five penalties while going 2-for-3 on the power play.
Canucks forward Dakota Joshua received a minor penalty for boarding Predators defenseman Spencer Stastney early in the first period. However, the referees reviewed the play and reversed that decision. Stastney would return to action briefly leaving the game in the first period but later departed for the night with an upper-body injury.
The Colorado Avalanche scored five unanswered goals in the third period to defeat the Winnipeg Jets 6-2 and take a 2-1 lead in their opening-round series. Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Devon Toews each had two points and Casey Mittelstadt collected three assists for the Avalanche. Tyler Toffoli and Josh Morrissey’s second-period goals gave the Jets the lead before they were snowed under in the third. Game 4 is Sunday in Denver with a 2:30 pm EDT start time.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Undisciplined play proved costly for the Jets. The turning point occurred when Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi received a double minor for high-sticking Toews in the face. That set the stage for Valeri Nichushkin’s game-winning goal.
Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard made his series debut after being sidelined for the past several games with a concussion. Jets blueliner Nate Schmidt got into the lineup for the first time in this series. Winnipeg’s Brenden Dillon suffered a deep cut on his hand following a fight at the end of the game. During his postgame interview, Jets coach Rick Bowness said Dillon was still being examined.
Edmonton Oilers superstars Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid each had three points to lead their club to a 6-1 drubbing of the Los Angeles Kings as they took a 2-1 lead in their first-round series. Draisaitl scored twice, McDavid netted his first of the series and Zach Hyman tallied two goals for the Oilers. Drew Doughty got his second of the series for the Kings. Game 4 goes on Sunday in Los Angeles at 10:30 pm EDT.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This game got rough with most of the combined 92 minutes of penalties being called in the third period. The Oilers made the Kings pay as Hyman and Draisaitl each netted their second goals on the power play while the Kings were held scoreless in five attempts with the man advantage.
PLAYOFF NOTEBOOK
TORONTO SUN: Maple Leafs winger William Nylander joined his teammates in practice on Friday, sparking speculation he could rejoin the lineup for Saturday’s Game 4 against the Boston Bruins. Nylander’s been sidelined from the series with an undisclosed injury but he doesn’t expect his layoff will make it challenging when he does return to action.
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Stars forward Mason Marchment and Radek Faksa are listed as day-to-day with unspecified injuries. They were sidelined during Game 2 of their first-round series with the Vegas Golden Knights.
TAMPA BAY TIMES: With the Lightning on the verge of elimination from the first round, John Romano believes their championship window has finally slammed shut. One reason is attrition brought on by the salary cap depleting their roster since winning the second of their back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in 2021.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Romano pointed out the Lightning have lost Tyler Johnson, Ryan McDonagh, Ondrej Palat, Alex Killorn, Blake Coleman, Barclay Goodrow, Kevin Shattenkirk, Pat Maroon and a handful of others since 2020 through free agency or cost-cutting trades. No team can endure the loss of that much talent for long.
IN OTHER NEWS…
NHL.COM: The 2024 NHL Draft Lottery will be held on May 7 at NHL Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. The San Jose Sharks have the best odds (18.5 percent) of winning the lottery and the right to select Boston University center Macklin Celebrini, considered the top prospect in this year’s draft.
CALGARY SUN: The Flames have extended their regional broadcast deal with Rogers Sportsnet through 2035.
Lyle, Nylander’s undisclosed injury was revealed to be the effects of excruciating migraine pain a couple of days ago
Yes, George, but it officially remains “undisclosed” by the Leafs and Nylander isn’t revealing why he’s been sidelined.
While that may be the case, why would several different sources come out with the migraine story? I can understand a team wanting to keep close to the vest an injury to some part of the anatomy to prevent opponents from “targeting” the area when the player returns – but a friggin’ headache?
There had to be a credible source for some newspaper to print that
https://www.thestar.com/sports/william-nylander-has-been-missing-from-the-leafs-playoff-lineup-reportedly-due-to-migraine-attacks/article_930c86f8-03f1-11ef-8a9e-fbb467ad6634.html
Take it up with Leafs GM Brad Treliving, George. He’s the one who’s dropped the cone of silence on all Leafs injuries and ailments for the playoffs. That’s what’s sparked the media guessing game about Nylander’s status.
Well the way Leafs fans see it or main concerns were based on the fact the guy plays 82 games without any issues then comes the playoffs and he misses 3 games without any previous mention of where/what the issue is nor any word.
The whole way they went about it was odd but as Lyle mentioned, any beefs ought to be brought up with Treliving since this is 100% his team and his decision to play it that way.
Hopefully when he plays, he’ll factor in positively for the Leafs.
Tampa needs to get up front on their retool!Don t delay like Pittsburgh and the Islanders are doing!They still have a good nucleus of players and an all world goalie to work with!They have done a great job maintaining their place in the East despite losing all those players in the above article!
Hey SR,
A couple of thing hear regarding TB…
They Really miss big d/man Mikhail Sergachev
on the back end, Matt Dumba has been ok but not great on d❓
Tanner Jeannot has not played up to expectations this season in Tampa❓
Florida are clearly a better team again and to much for Tampa…
Stamkos has been playing very well but to bring him back he may take a home town discount to $6.M for 3 years
as they only have $10.M in cap space this year but in 2025/26 season it will be just over $30.M….
so it will be a patch work team for next season in Tampa……⁉️😲
No Dought the Easter confrence is going to get way harder to make the playoffs..
with emerging NJ, Buffalo & maybe Ottawa I hope if they get a Real Goaltender❓
2 or maybe 3 of these teams are in the playoffs…
Williew, I hear what you are saying but I think the bolts still have more than Detroit,Buffalo,Montreal and Ottawa! 88 will be BETTER AFTER A FULL REHAB FOR HIS BACK!Totally agree on Sergachev ! Fla looks like they can compete physically with Vegas this year! Still Vegas is a scary group!
Not excited about the Rempe wrecking ball getting only 2 minutes on an illegal play that put a player out of the game and probably more. Is the NHL really intent on protecting all the players or just a select few? I think we all know the answer.
Heading into game 4s, and barring sudden reversals of play by two of the teams involved, it appears Canada’s best hope of ending the 3-decade cup drought lies with Vancouver and Edmonton, and even in those cases there is cause for concern.
Toronto faces a must win scenario tonight at home against Boston, down 2-1 in the series and being outscored 11-6 so far. Facing the excellent goaltending tandem of Swayman and Ullmark, the Leafs had better hope “undisclosed injury” Nylander and gimpy Marner have strong games because if they lose this one, it’s likely over in game 5 in Boston.
The Jets, also down 2-1, and with supposedly one of THE best goaltenders in the game, have been outscored 17-11 (albeit including a couple of empty -netters against), also face a must-win in game 4 in Colorado.
The Vancouver-Nashville series has been tight with Vancouver leading 2-1 and both teams scoring just 7 goals in 3 games. This one appears like it could go the full 7.
Edmonton’s firepower, with a 17-10 lead in goals, appears to be too much for L.A.’s D and goaltending to handle. But those 10 goals scored by L.A. makes it clear Edmonton will find things extremely different if running up against a Vegas or Colorado as the playoffs proceed.
Re; Oilers & Kings game last nite.
Stu Skinner had a Great Bounce back game last night in the Oilers 6-1 Win 👌
Talbot was talbot last night Run out of Gas…..
2 goals each from Leon & 2 more from Hyman…
Kings will be one of the teams in the hunt for a Starting goaltender…💯% with $20.M in cap space, all 3 goaltenders are UFA…..they also need a top 4 d/man and re-sign big Byfeild & 6 UFA & 5 RFA players❗️ so they are going to be tight up against the cap
They got Evander Kane’s Back up early and Woke him up❗️ He had a Gordie Howe hatrick, Kane just feeds off the intensity
L.A. Andreas Englund made an illegal hit on the Oilers’ Evander Kane he had a good fight with him and then Viktor Arvidsson the UFA RW
L.A. defence man Drew Doughty was a pain all night…
The Oilers may need to look at an Enforcer for there 4th line next year as Kane dose ALL the Rought stuff for the Oil as Big Daniel Nurse is Sleeping most nights…..🙈😲
Maybe Ullmark will rethink that LA trade!
Nylander migraine story is hardly from a credible source, Elliotte Friedman quoted by different guys.
Migraines don’t suddenly appear, they are ongoing and a lifelong condition varying in severity and can be debilitating .
Considering that there ha never been a hint of migraines throughout his career it is more than likely that its just another “thought”
One day Nylander may disclose.
The source is a LOT more credible than any in here dissing the speculation out of some self-centered smug “opinion”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPC2X31w0aA
https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/report-migraine-issue-sparked-william-nylanders-absence-from-maple-leafs-playoffs-lineup
Which contains “In the fall of 2022, Nylander indicated that he had switched to a tinted visor after experiencing migraine.”
https://thehockeywriters.com/nylander-dealing-with-migraine-concussion-issues/
And with reference to your statement “Considering that there ha never been a hint of migraines throughout his career it is more than likely that its just another “thought” there is this
https://theleafsnation.com/news/william-nylander-is-going-with-a-tinted-visor-due-to-migraines
which contains “The statement in itself may sound absurd to many, as a visor often has very little or no impact on how a player actually performs on the ice. But what is even more surprising is the fact that after the Leafs’ 4-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators in their first pre-season game, the first of their back-to-back series Saturday, Nylander revealed that he had been suffering from migraines throughout parts of last season.”
https://torontosun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/nylanders-absence-due-to-painful-migraine
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/health/other/reason-for-william-nylander-s-playoff-absence-hard-to-pin-down/ar-AA1nEZh9
both of which contain this “It wouldn’t be Nylander’s first issue with headaches. In September of 2022, he told media he had switched to a tinted visor due to migraines the previous season.”
Seems to me the “thought” has some basis in fact.
Actually habfan, Nylander did mention he suffers from migraines when asked about the tinted visor he was sporting this year…you see many “reporters” where thinking he was styling a new look and he clarified how having a tinted visor helped reduce the bright lights that tend to bring on or make his headaches worse.
Ron Moore, whatever the reason, Nylander and the TML may or may not ever disclose what it is.
Tinted visors are worn for different reasons, eg concussion.
He’s a valuable player and I’m very leery of unsubstantiated reports and “thoughts” filling some people’s need to know.
As a professional it’s doubtful that anybody wants to see him on the ice any more than Nylander himself.
So why did he say he chose a tinted visor for the specific purpose of helping with a migraine issue?
You chose instead to dump all over Friedman who, I would venture to guess, has forgotten more about pro hockey and has more valid sources than you – or any of us in here – will ever know or connect with.
Should Nylander play, he’ll be targeted… and being the hard-nosed, rugged individual he is, well…
Zimmer he’ll be fine and if not the Leafs have proved they can win without him.
Wasn’t migraine what ended Nolan Patrick career.
I must admit I surprised by the Jets.
I said their defense isn’t good but normally play a good system.
Winnipeg is backing up way to far in their dzone, they are scared of the Av’s speed. Need to forecheck better.
McKinnon is fun to watch, he doesn’t stay in one spot, his legs are constantly going and he isn’t scared to cut to the net at full speed. He is a pleasure to watch.
Hellebuyck has the 4th worst sv% and second worst gaa of the 17 goalies who have played in the playoffs.
No one blaming Hellebuyck as scored last night could’ve been 9-2
The team needs to get back to its structure and it would be nice if Ehlers, Monahan, Iffalo, Connor would show up more frequently.