NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – May 6, 2024
The Stars eliminate the Golden Knights, the Rangers defeat the Hurricanes in Game 1 of their second-round series, the Selke Trophy finalists are announced, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
GAME RECAPS
NHL.COM: There will be a new Stanley Cup champion this year as the Dallas Stars eliminated the defending champion Vegas Golden Knights with a 2-1 victory in Game 7 of their first-round series. Radek Faksa snapped a 1-1 tie early in the third period, Jake Oettinger made 22 saves and Wyatt Johnston also scored for the Stars. Brett Howden tallied the only goal for the Golden Knights. The Stars will face the Colorado Avalanche in the second round with Game 1 starting on Tuesday, May 7 at 9:30 pm EDT.
Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Stars prevailed with solid goaltending from Oettinger, who gave up two goals or less in six of the seven games. He had help from his teammates as their improved defensive play smothered Vegas’ offense.
The Golden Knights opened this series with 4-3 and 3-1 victories but managed only nine goals over the following five games. Jack Eichel was held scoreless in three games. 2023 playoff MVP Jonathan Marchessault was held to two goals and never scored again after Game 2. Mark Stone only scored twice and those came on the power play. Trade deadline acquisition Tomas Hertl was held to one goal.
New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad scored twice and collected an assist as his club held off the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 in Game 1 of their best-of-seven second-round series. Vincent Trocheck and Chris Kreider each collected two points for the Rangers while Sebastian Aho had two assists for the Hurricanes. Game 2 is Tuesday, May 7 at 7 pm EDT.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This was an entertaining contest as the Rangers and Hurricanes set the stage for what should be another thrilling series comparable to their 2022 second-round matchup. The Rangers struck first and opened a two-goal lead in the first period, forcing the Hurricanes to play catchup for the rest of this game.
HEADLINES
NHL.COM: The full schedule for the second round was released following the completion of the Stars-Golden Knights series.
Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov, Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews, and Carolina Hurricanes center Jordan Staal are the finalists for the Frank J. Selke Trophy, honoring this season’s top defensive forward.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Congratulations to the finalists. It’s the third time in four years Barkov has been up for this award, winning in 2020-21. It’s the second time for Staal since 2009-10 when he was with the Pittsburgh Penguins. It’s the first time for Matthews.
TSN: Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett will be unavailable for Game 1 of his club’s second-round series with the Boston Bruins. He’s been out with an upper-body injury since Game 2 of the Panthers first-round series with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
OTTAWA SUN: Bruce Garrioch reports the Senators have narrowed their search for their new head coach to four candidates. They are former St. Louis Blues coach Craig Berube, former Los Angeles Kings coach Todd McLellan, former Minnesota Wild bench boss Dean Evason and New Jersey Devils interim coach Travis Green.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Garrioch reported his sources cannot confirm if the Senators have had formal discussions with Berube yet. He added Berube’s had serious discussions with New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald.
Another nail-biter last night to finish off Round 1 where my picks went 5-3.
In Round 2 I take NYR over Carolina in what will likely prove to be a long, grinding, hard-hitting debilitating series – probably 7 games, they are that evenly matched. In the other Eastern series Florida will take out the offensively-challenged Bruins in 5, possible 4, games. Out West I think Dallas will eliminate Colorado in 5 or 6, while Vancouver will become Canada’s last chance this season to bring the cup home for the first time in just over 3 decades by beating Edmonton in another long series – 6 or 7 games.
I’ll take a stab at it George if nobody else will.
I would have taken CAR over Rangers before
last night, plus had them going to finals in my bracket, gotta stay with them.
CAR in 7 over NYR. Best series in East.
FLA in 6 over BOS Hate to do it, but it worked last RD, doing it again. Go B’s.
DAL in 7 over COL. Best series in the West. Total coin flip. Can the Stars contain the firepower? Maybe, probably, I dunno.
Oil in 5 over Nucks. Great story with Silovs, but the Oil aren’t the Preds. He gets lit up in game one, Demko tries to come back early but isn’t himself. Perry and Kane accidently on purpose fall on him every time they get touched in front of the net and Perry gets away with it, because he always does and did against the Oil when with ANA.
Vancouver’s inexperience shows when they fall behind, they snap and take penalties against Perry and Kane and it snowballs as the Oil’s PP keeps clicking. Oilers average 4 goals a game in this series.
15 of 17 sportsnet members had Toronto beating Boston. 6 of them had it in 5 games or less including Jeff Marek of the Elliotte Freidman podcast.
One thing to have them winning but based on what, did you actually think it would be a short series.
Now it was be a short series against Florida according to the experts. Boston beat Florida in all 4 regular season games, all very close games and 2 went into OT. Ullmark got 3 of the 4 wins.
This series is going to be closer than most think it will be. It will be another hard battle close games.
24 of 25 media have taken Edmonton over Vancouver. This mean Vancouver has a chance.
Does Boston start Ullmark tonight and give Swayman a couple days of rest.
Whatever the Sportsnet or TSN crews choose, bet the opposite.
GeorgeO as i posted the other day Boston had Bergeron and Krejci out last year and were up 3 games to 1
Bergeron comes back in and Boston losses 3 straight.
The fact remains the same Toronto didn’t score and it just magnifies the fact is Matthews, Nylander, Marner or JT not scoring or if you shut them down their toast.
Boston won all regular season against Toronto and haven’t loss in years in the playoffs against them.
Why would anyone think Toronto was going to win in 5 games? 6 or 7 ok, but 5… you’re just a homer at that point.
Where did I say Toronto over Boston in 5? At first, when I posted my picks, I had Boston in 6 but before the series got under way I changed that to Toronto in 6 after realizing that my initial analysis was off.
Hell, I’m no “homer” when it comes to Toronto – I’m as far from that as anyone could possibly be. But, I reiterate, missing Nylander for the first 3 and then Matthews for essentially the last 3, along with a gimpy Marner, took away probably 70% of their offensive power. And it showed, with just 12 goals in 7 games.
As I say, hypothetically take away Pastrnak and Marchand for the same number of games and how do you see Boston faring?
The reference to Bergeron and Krejci is understandable – two great players in their prime – but that does not take away from the fact that both were near the ends of their careers – in fact had to be hauled out of retirement – and not the players they once were. There is NO comparison there to Nylander and Matthews.
It’s all about perception caper.
It took Boston 7 games and OT to eliminate the Leafs who did not have their second-leading points producer for the first 3 games of the series, and their best F for the last 3 (I know Matthews dressed and played in game 7 … but whatever virus he has been dealing with clearly left him debilitated for that one). Marner, meanwhile, was trying to play with the lingering effects of a high-ankle sprain.
Something of that magnitude will hurt any pp … and it crippled theirs.
I know, I know ….excuses … but this is coming from someone who is as far-removed from being a Leafs fan as anyone can possibly be. I’m looking at purely from a logical, pragmatic viewpoint – not as an excuse.
Imagine, of you will, Boston going through that series without Marchand for the first 3 games, then Pastrnak for the 2 of the last 3 and in the final playing at less than full capability.
It’s hard to win in the playoffs, and even harder to repeat. This is the time of year that Lightning fans finally accept reality with a wry smile – there are now 23 other clubs with “issues”, and most fanbases don’t sit around kvetching in t-shirts from three consecutive cup runs.
Sheldon actually played a few games with Martin St Louis, and now they (for the moment) occupy two of the most high pressure coaching jobs in the NHL. St Louis started with the stature of an HOF career. His contemporary,
Keefe, to my eye might be the most improved Leaf over the last five years. He has now earned some stature; won a series last year, and reacted well to a lot of issues this year. I think he is now a proven commodity. His coaching with a depleted roster was not the reason the Leafs lost, it may well have been the reason they didn’t lose in four.
When the Leafs beat the Lightning their best asset was short-termer O’Reilly; Keefe used that asset well but didn’t get him back.
Many of the Leaf assets are finally ready to get over the hump; numerous teams in the past were groups that faced a lot of adversity together before finally breaking through.
Sacrifice one salary for the cap space, understanding that if you are making that one final push you can take a seventh round pick in return, and buy the depth you need. A year out,
you’ll have plenty of room with both ‘problems’ gone, even with no return 20mm permits a lot of restructuring.
Tearing things down and starting over is a certain run of lean years; have the courage to play out the window you’ve created.
Caper, IMO if Bergeron was healthy and not playing with a herniated disc, and so was Krecji healthy and playing well, the B’s don’t lose that series. I do think that it was a mistake to play Bergy, when he wasn’t close to full health, but hindsight 20/20, so I get the decision by Monty.
If the Leafs were at full health, or at least not having issues with 3 of their best 4 players, that series very well could have gone differently. But hey, it happened to the B’s last year, they benefited this year. Take the win! Picking them in 5 is pretty dumb, so we agree on that.
Agree Richard, Treliving will have some tough decisions this off season. If Marner agrees to waive his NMC he will still dictate where he goes, which means a much smaller return than he is worth. Question is how small, or what POS contract do I need to take back to make the deal work? He ain’t waving and signing an extension to go play in SJ, CHI, or another cellar dweller who has the space.
So the question he has to ask himself is; are the Leafs better if I make that trade? Or are they better if I roll them out again, sign him to an extension, and wait until next offseason for the cap space required to add the depth they need and Tavares is off the books, or signed to a way smaller amount.
Cap space is great, and easy to type, but what I know for sure is – Cap space can’t play D in a shut down role, score goals or make saves. You need good players to win. Is giving one away for pennies on the dollar actually make you better? Who is the offensive depth when both Marner and Tavares are gone? Looks like another hole to me.
I dunno, but should be an interesting off season, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see the “core 4” back next season. Not sure the deal Leaf fans want for Marner is out there. Also have a look at this off season’s UFA’s. Most will get overpaid for too long. Who are you going to get with that space and what will it cost? Easy to type use that space for depth. WHO?
I get why Leaf fans don’t want to hear the word patience, but maybe that is the best course of action?
Richard: You say the Leafs are finally ready to get over the hump!??
I feel bad having to point out that the Leafs have won one playoff series since 2016 with Marner, Matthews, and Nylander in the line up. Tavares joined in 2018 but had playoff experience before coming to the Leafs.
If losing developed character and improved the chances of winning the Cup, don’t you think the Leafs would have at least one by now?
And if Keefe as coach is the most improved Leaf as you assert, that is hardly an endorsement for the team.
As I said, I feel bad seeming to pile on the Leafs, but your comments don’t hold water.
So if there is a trophy for the best Defensive forward…. why not a trophy for the best Defensive Defenseman… we all know that the Norris basically goes to the Defenseman with biggest point production.
Why not have the Scott Steven’s trophy for best Defensive Defenseman…(just using Steven’s as an example, I’m sure there are better names to use, but he was the first one I thought of)
I was on a similar thought pattern when I read that above Starsfan, but went the other way – have a separate award for the best Offensive Defenseman. My thinking being their #1 job is to defend first, hence the title defenseman.
Either way, we agree on the merits, the great defenders should be recognized.
Call one the Bobby Orr trophy for best Offensive D-man and the Scott Steven’s trophy for best Defensive D-man… this only makes sense, since we’re giving out a trophy for the best Defensive forward.
100% in favor of this. Stevens is a good choice and recognizable name but I’ll throw Rod Langway’s name into the mix. He won the Norris in 83&84 , he was the epitome of a ‘stay at home’ dman
Las Vegas just met karma. Looks great on them. Play games with the ltir/cap, even if actions were technically legal it is definitely immoral and displays exceptionally poor organization professionalism. GO KARMA.
Loved seeing them go down.
i loved seeing Vegas go down also…👍
Lol GeorgeO, sorry if my point wasn’t clear.
I was referring to the list of sportsnet media. 5 of them had Toronto in 5 an another Toronto in 4
I know you picked Toronto in 6
Everyone has an opinion, I had Boston in 6
I thought Boston Defense and Goaltender was better than Toronto going into the series. Toronto had the advantage up front.
I can’t speak to the unknown.
Boston should’ve ended this series in 5 or 6 but they didn’t.
Did you look up Bergeron and Krecji stats before you made that comment. I know answer by your comment.
Matthew out they won, because their best lime was Domi, Bertuzzi and Marner. That line was excellent for Toronto. That’s the comparison to Bergeron.
Domi was lights out on the dot. Started out at 10-0 he was unbeatable. That translate to Toronto having the puck 100% of the time with Domi on the dot.
That line was a big reason they won game 5 and 6. That line doesn’t happen with Matthew in the lineup.
I argue last year that Bergeron shouldn’t have been in the lineup for game 5, they were winning without him, Coyle and Zacha, with Hall moved up created a different chemistry that worked.
Maybe if Matthew not a 100% doesn’t play game 7, then we’re talking about Monty job and not Keefe.
Folks keep forgetting the best player in round one was Jeremy Swayman.
In the end, I’ll thank, Matthew’s, Nylander, Marner and Woll for all the injuries because surely for the team that didn’t beat Boston in the regular season and over several years of playoff hockey, would’ve put the Bruins out in 4 or at the very least a max of 5 according to the sportsnet panel.
Congrats to Stars for knocking off defending champs
Oettinger looked great
Ranger/Canes series ought to be the most exciting of round 2
Re Sens looking at Berube. Berube would be an excellent replacement for Sullivan (it’s time to move on; great guy, lost his touch). So, hoping Sens sign one of the others.
87, Berube will be signing with the Leafs. Look at Craig’s reaction on the U.S. broadcast last night when Biz suggested that he will be the next coach in Toronto.
Pittsburgh will get Keefe and Marner, maybe Tavares next summer for the trifecta. Berube doesn’t seem to be a Dubas type of coach. Babcock giving Monty pointers before game 6 must be the largest middle finger salute ever given to TML.
Berube will coach the Devils
Babcock should forever thank the TML’s for making him the richest coach in NHL history.
Montgomery may rue that particular conversation one day.
True that BCLeaf Fan, and evry NHL coach should thank Babcock for raising the bar in HC contracts.
Hammer of the Gods
Berube may go to Leafs ; don’t know for sure
What I do know is that Berube IS the type of coach Pens’ need.
Marner OR Keefe OR Tavares on Pens?
Sure, kick a guy when he’s down
Any of those three on Pens is a detriment; unless Dubas can get Treliving to retain 50% on Marner for a return of Accari, Graves, and Nietto 🤣
Colorado in 6. GO AVS!!!!