NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – April 30, 2025
The Hurricanes move on to the second round, the Senators stave off elimination again, the Oilers and Golden Knights are on the verge of advancing, the Norris Trophy finalists are revealed, Rick Tocchet won’t return as Canucks coach, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
RECAPPING TUESDAY’S PLAYOFF ACTION
NHL.COM: The Carolina Hurricanes are the first team in this postseason to reach the second round following a 5-4 double-overtime victory over the New Jersey Devils in Game 5 of their first-round series.
Carolina Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho (NHL Images).
Sebastian Aho scored twice (including the game-winner) and collected an assist. Seth Jarvis and Shayne Gostisbehere each collected two assists and Pyotr Kochetkov made 31 saves for the Hurricanes, who won the series four games to one.
Jacob Markstrom kicked out 49 shots for the Devils, who blew 3-0 and 4-3 leads in this game. Stefan Noesen and Brett Pesce each had two assists.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Devils forward Dawson Mercer got a double-minor for high-sticking Hurricanes center Jesperi Kotkaniemi early in the second OT period. That was the turning point, setting the stage for Aho’s winning goal.
The Hurricanes had a horrible start to this game, but their poise and experience shone through as they rallied back. Their special teams made the difference in this game, as they had throughout the series, going two-for-six on the power play and killing off three penalties.
Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark stopped 29 shots to shut out the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-0 in Game 5 of their first-round series. Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk each had a goal and two assists while Thomas Chabot and Dylan Cozens also scored for the Senators, who staved off elimination for the second straight game.
Toronto goaltender Anthony Stolarz gave up two goals on 17 shots. The Leafs hold a 3-2 series lead and can end it in Game 6 on Thursday, May 1, in Ottawa at 7 pm ET.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Collars are tightening for the Leafs and their fans. They are 1-13 in postseason elimination games since 2017.
The Edmonton Oilers took their first series lead in their first-round tilt with the Los Angeles Kings with a 3-1 win in Game 5, taking a 3-2 lead after starting this series down 2-0.
Evander Kane, Mattias Janmark and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored for the Oilers while Calvin Pickard stopped 21 shots for his third straight win in this series. Darcy Kuemper made 43 saves for the Kings.
The series returns to Edmonton for Game 6 on May 1 at 10 pm ET.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It’s no mystery who’ll be the Oilers’ starting goalie for Game 6. Pickard’s steady goaltending has made the difference since replacing Stuart Skinner late in Game 2.
An overtime goal by Brett Howden lifted the Vegas Golden Knights to a 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild, giving them a 3-2 lead in their first-round series.
William Karlsson and Mark Stone also scored, and Jack Eichel had two assists for the Golden Knights. Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy replied for the Wild. Game 6 is back in Minnesota on Thursday, May 1 at 7:30 pm ET.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson left this game with an illness after the second period. Backup Marc-Andre Fleury stopped six of seven shots.
HEADLINES
NHL.COM: Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks, Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche, and Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets are the finalists for the James Norris Memorial Trophy as this season’s top defenseman.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Hughes and Makar are former Norris Trophy winners. This is the first time Werenski’s been a finalist for this award. He was the Jackets’ best player this season.
SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman broke the news yesterday that Rick Tocchet will not return as head coach of the Canucks.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This is another serious blow in a tumultuous season for the Canucks. They wanted to sign Tocchet to an extension, but he cited family reasons for his decision to move on and explore other options.
NHL.COM: The league announced the 2025 Draft Lottery will be on Monday, May 5. The San Jose Sharks have the best odds of winning the lottery for the second straight season, finishing last in the overall standings.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: There is no clear-cut potential superstar prospect in this year’s draft class compared to 2023 (Connor Bedard) and 2024 (Macklin Celebrini) and no clear favorite as the top pick. The front-runner is defenseman Matthew Schaefer of the OHL’s Erie Otters.
FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW/TAMPA BAY TIMES: Panthers defenseman Aaron Eklad received a two-game suspension by the NHL department of player safety for a high hit on Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brandon Hagel during Game 4 of their first-round series. Hagel has been ruled out for Game 5 between the two clubs.
NHL.COM: Speaking of the Panthers, defenseman Niko Mikkola was fined $5,000.00 for boarding Lightning forward Zemgus Girgensons in Game 4.
DAILY FACEOFF: Winnipeg Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi will return to the lineup for Game 5 of his club’s first-round series with the St. Louis Blues. Vilardi had been sidelined since late March with an upper-body injury.
Blues defenseman Tyler Tucker is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury and will miss Game 5 against the Jets on Wednesday.
MONTREAL GAZETTE: Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault remains day-to-day with a lower-body injury and isn’t expected to be in the lineup for Game 5 against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday. Defenseman Alex Carrier (possible concussion) is also expected to miss that game. The Canadiens face elimination, down 3-1 in the series.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Backup Jakub Dobes will get the start as he did in Game 4. Jayden Struble is expected to replace Carrier on the Canadiens’ blueline.
DETROIT HOCKEY NOW: The Red Wings announced that assistant coaches Alex Westlund and L.J. Scarpace won’t return.
Former Red Wings forward Valtteri Filppula announced his retirement. He spent 16 seasons in the NHL from 2005-06 to 2020-21 with the Red Wings, Lightning, Philadelphia Flyers and New York Islanders, scoring 197 goals and 530 points in 1,056 regular-season games, and 86 points in 166 playoff games. Filppula spent the past four seasons playing in Switzerland and Finland.
With the Devils the first to bow out, there are 2 possibilities to follow them tonight – Montreal and Tampa.
Keep an eye on Caufield in this one — with 21 shots on goal so far he’s second in these playoffs in that category, albeit a distant second b/o MacKinnon (31).
Florida is 5-0 in their history when leading a series 3-1, while Tampa is 1-5 when trailing 1-3.
Over their past 3 playoff appearances Hellebuyck has given up “4 and more” in 10 of his 14 starts. For the Blues, Cam Fowler has arguably been the best trade acquisition late-season deals.
As for the Ottawa game, we lost power in a lightning storm around 6:30 pm and didn’t get it back until 2:00 am so I never got to see any of it, although I did watch the highlights on YouTube this morning, and from what I saw this one could have gone Toronto’s way if not for Ullmark.
Should be an interesting one Thursday!
I am originally an Ottawa boy so the powers that be are punishing Ottawa with a blackout for allowing the Liberals back in.
Spain and Portugal got major country wide backouts. Cuba and Puerto Rico are always offline.
The Senators won and that is the main thing, BEAT TORONTO. Keep their losing streak alive. Give everyone outside the GTA something to cheer about.
It’s not playoff hockey if we are not questioning the leafs ability to close out a series are we. So hoping for 1 more Ottawa win. Let’s get a nail biting game 7 in Toronto for us to enjoy lol
A close second to that is in wondering what version of Helly are we to see tonight. Like the oil the blues have the momentum now can they go back to Peg and get a W? I think they do.
Oilers played their best all around playoff game last night and hopefully a sign of that the team is tightening up and playing better and that it continues.
NJ was always going to be a Longshot without Hughes but being up 3 to 0 in the game and losing it is a tough way to bow out.
Tonight should be another fun night of hockey
1Oilerfan, that Oil/Kings game last night was total domination. It’s been a long time since I have see a playoff game that 1 sided. Kuemper should have got the first star even though they lost.
Scoring chances were over 70% in favor of the Oil.
HD chances were over 80% in favor of the Oil. EIGHTY. 29 -7. 29 is unheard of. And 7 against is outstanding. At 5 on 5, LA had 4. That is peanuts. I dare say the Oil would have won with Skinner in net too.
The expected score, based on all info, rounded, was 7-2 Oil. Which is what it looked like.
That is now 5 straight periods where LA has been totally outclassed.
Does that mean last years playoff Oilers are back? Or that LA is rattled by blowing late leads and are now in their own heads?
Kind of shocking after the regular season both teams had. But then again, Oilers have knocked them out 3 straight years, and did it 5 games last year.
I have no idea what to expect Thursday. But if those Oilers show up again, watch out West.
Fully agree Ray. I am hoping this is more of they are healthy and getting things ironed out vs than Kings running of gas but only time will tell.
Oilers played an unbelievable game just watched highlights of the fights at the watch party unbelievable looks like a third world country. Edmonton city is a mess I avoid it like the plague not safe anymore.
In the various columns in the Sun media this morning, two comments more or less highlight why so many hockey fans seem to enjoy seeing the Leafs lose … and which, in the end, have absolutely nothing to do with the team. One, in referring to Ottawa, calls them “the pesky Senators…” – as if they were some sort of annoying gnat at a picnic that really shouldn’t be on the same ice as the Leafs. A team that missed the 100-point mark by 3, just 11 back of Toronto over 82 games played. Then there was Hornby observing “If there’s one team the Maple Leafs historically have no trouble closing out at playoff time, it’s the Ottawa Senators” … a classic example of dredging up ancient history with no real point since this is the first time in 21 years they’ve met in the playoffs! It seems more like Hornby is suggesting that, regardless of rosters/coaches whatever, there is just no way a team from Ottawa could possibly handle the Leafs. It’s that sort of elitist media arrogance that. in the end, only serves to rile up the opposition and so make it just a bit harder for the young kids wearing the blue and white. Will they ever discard their superiority stance and learn to replace subjectivity with objectivity?
It’s really quite true George. I’m fairly certain that Bob Cole and Harry Neal left Chris Cuthbert and Craig Simpson their Leaf jerseys in their wills. Leafs long time radio voice, Joe Bowen is more impartial in his broadcasts than these two. If I could somehow synch up Dean n Gord to the tv broadcast that would be ideal. Terrestrial radio is too fast and ahead of the play and internet radio feed is too slow. Tricky to pause live tv and synch up the radio. I’ve tried.
Also. Interesting timing of that world junior trial, right when the NHL is showcasing it’s playoffs.
Not ideal for the NHL Dark G, but the courts really don’t give a crap about that, which is the way it should be.
You guys sound like me when Danny Gallivan did Montreal vs Boston games. Drove me crazy. Boston losing to them year after year didn’t help either I suppose.
Dark G, a couple of days ago, in reference to the goaltending woes of Hellebuyck, I brought up what used to be a much-used – and, to me, unnecessarily derogatory – term to describe a team, or an individual, seemingly incapable of maintaining an otherwise excellent performance in games that really count: choke, choker or choked. I also provided a link describing how and why its use fell out of favour to the point where you just don’t see it used any longer. Until today, that is, in Warmington’s column in the Toronto Sun where he writes “But now the pressure is on. They don’t want to choke. Lose the next game and that will be the city’s biggest fear.”
https://torontosun.com/news/local-news/warmington-maple-leafs-loss-means-another-rough-night-for-team-wearing-blue
Perhaps he only dredged it up in the hope of angering the players and galvanizing them for Thursday night, but I just don’t see where it can possibly help a largely young team already feeling enough immense pressure from a too often overbearing media too quick to resort to the Chicken Little routine.
Marner imparted what I’m sure is the general team feeling about the series “no one said it was going to be easy …”
Dark, Harry Neale is still alive. So no ones gotten his Leafs jersey yet.
Yep, George, the Toronto media absolutely is a big reason that there is much disdain for the Leafs. But that is just the manifestation of what many places outside feel about Ontario’s self importance and Toronto as a manifestation of that.
Canadian history past and present is filled with protest movements from unfavourable freight rates to political dominance, east and west.
But then look at the media comments about the Leafs not being able to close out series. The are ahead in this series, one would think they had lost again.
The 1-14 close-out rate in elimination games is the real reason. If they were 14-1 over that period, you wouldn’t hear a peep about the Leafs blowing two games while holding the series lead over the Senators.
Ya the media needs to report it, and they need to ask the players about. 1-14 is a crazy stat for a good team like that, can’t just ignore it.
I thought Marner handled it well post game.
I suppose they could just win and it would stop.
Every now and then I catch myself kinda rooting for them because I felt empathy for the Leaf players who have been there for a while. It’s gotta be tough.
Then I snap out of it, and remember it’s the Leafs and their local fans who won’t shut up about them if they win.
I do get that Lyle. And that’s certainly fair ball. It happens here as well.
But why, at the same time, do they feel it necessary to often belittle the opposition in print and on TV, as if beating them was a foregone conclusion.
Ottawa, while admittedly lacking the scoring power of the Leafs over an 82-game season, still came within an ace of 100 points and, defensively, were every bit as good as Toronto.
And the Leafs players know that. It was no fluke that Ottawa beat them in the season series and, in the first 3 game of the playoffs, the Senators lost 2 in OT before winning the 4th themselves in OT.
Ottawa does have quality checkers to concentrate on negating the effectiveness of the Core 4, but in their subjective approach to the results of each game, the Toronto media always seems to avoid being objective about it.
Matthews, Marner, Nylander and Tavares are dominant in seasonal games overall, therefore it follows – in their reasoning – that they must dominate in the playoffs. Every time out.
That sort of pressure simply does not work. Like Ray, if and when they eliminate Ottawa, I will be rooting for them to go all the way to a Cup. The fan base deserves it, including a long-suffering daughter-in-law and grandson. I just won’t watch the talking heads on the so-called – and allegedly impartial – “national” TV sports outlets.
Wow already 1-14…reality it’s 1-13 but I guess it’s a premonition since what you unfortunately missed George was a classic Leafs choke job. And you’re so right regarding talking heads getting things wrong like saying they are 1-14 but regardless the underlying note is CHOKE.
I’m not sure but Matthews sure got that choke chain on. God when people ask him to elevate he literally helps the opposition win. Terrible puck play and management.
As far as I’m concerned, Ottawa deserves to move on. They were always a quality team that’s still young and if they didn’t make some terrible trades in the past, I’m sure they would have tasted success sooner than they have.
The Leafs need to go back and play that simple north south Berube game and not their typical crap that doesn’t work. For a guy that only scored TWO playoff goals in how many playoff games, he really needs to finally step up or else go away.
If the Leafs can get back to playing a simplified game like in games one and two, they’ll pull it off. If they play like the last three, it will be a fun series watching the brothers playing against each other.
Matthews doesn’t seem like himself. It wouldn’t surprise me if we hear about an off season surgery when the Leafs are done. I’ll go with back or neck. But just me guessing.
Not an excuse for the cheese burger that led to the shorthanded goal, but when you can’t move like you’re used to, sometimes decisions or reaction plays happen that wouldn’t otherwise.
In the above paragraph beginning “Ottawa does have quality checkers …: I meant to add, at the end of the paragraph “And they’d do that if the Leafs were 14-1 in a close-out rate.”