NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – May 9, 2025
The Oilers take a two-game lead over the Golden Knights, the Capitals tie their series with the Hurricanes, the first six players of the Quarter-Century Team are announced, the Ducks name Joel Quenneville as their new coach, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
RECAPS OF THURSDAY’S PLAYOFF GAMES
NHL.COM: An overtime goal by Leon Draisaitl lifted the Edmonton Oilers to a 5-4 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 2 of their best-of-seven second-round series.
Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl (NHL Images).
The Oilers held a 4-2 lead early in the third period, but the Golden Knights got goals from Victor Olofsson and Alex Pietrangelo to force the extra frame. Connor McDavid collected the assist on Draisaitl’s winning goal while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Viktor Arvidsson and Vasily Podkolzin each collected two points. Olofsson finished with two goals and an assist and Jack Eichel had three helpers for the Golden Knights.
This series moves to Edmonton for the next two games, with the Oilers holding a 2-0 series lead. Game 3 is on Saturday, May 10, at 9 pm ET.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Edmonton’s depth made the difference in this game, getting goals from Podkolzin, Jake Walman, Darnell Nurse and Evander Kane.
The Oilers have won six straight playoff games, all of them comeback victories. Those wins came with goaltender Calvin Pickard between the pipes. He’s 6-0 in this postseason.
Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy was upset that Arvidsson wasn’t penalized for shoving Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb into the boards moments before Draisaitl’s goal, leaving McNabb with an injured left arm.
Earlier in the period, Golden Knights forward Nicolas Roy received a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for cross-checking Oilers forward Trent Frederic in the face. The Oilers failed to score on the ensuing power play.
Vegas winger Pavel Dorofeyev missed his second straight game in this series with an undisclosed injury. He also missed his club’s series-clinching victory against the Minnesota Wild.
Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson stopped 27 shots (including 16 in the third period) in a 3-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, tying their second-round series at a game apiece.
Connor McMichael, John Carlson and Tom Wilson scored for the Capitals, with Wilson collecting an assist on Carlson’s goal. Shayne Gostisbehere replied for the Hurricanes.
The series shifts to Carolina for the next two games, with Game 3 on Saturday at 6 pm ET.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: A better team effort by the Capitals in this game, though at times they were hanging on for dear life in the third period. Thompson was solid again for the Capitals and has been their most valuable player thus far in this postseason.
HEADLINES
NHL.COM: The first six skaters named to the league’s Quarter-Century Team were unveiled on Thursday. The group was made up of players who debuted before 2000.
They are defenseman Zdeno Chara, winger Jarome Iginla, defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom, center Joe Sakic, winger Teemu Selanne, and center Joe Thornton.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Four of them (Iginla, Lidstrom, Sakic and Selanne) are in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Chara and Thornton will be joining them soon.
The next seven skaters will be revealed on Friday, May 9, and will be comprised of players who debuted between 2000 and 2010. It’s safe to assume Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby and Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin will be on that list.
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER: The Ducks named Joel Quenneville their new head coach.
Quenneville is second in career wins by an NHL coach (969) and won three Stanley Cups as head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks. However, he stepped down as head coach of the Florida Panthers in 2021 for his role in failing to adequately address sexual allegations by Chicago player Kyle Beach against the Blackhawks’ video coach in 2010. The league banned Quenneville from coaching for three years.
Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek told reporters that the club had conducted its due diligence into the efforts Quenneville made during his banishment to atone for his actions, which included working with groups that deal with sexual assault and helping survivors. Quenneville expressed remorse for his actions and took full responsibility.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Some observers believe Quenneville should never coach in the NHL again. Others think he’s paid the price for his actions and should be given a second chance.
It was inevitable that Quenneville would land another NHL coaching job after former Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman (who also received a three-year ban from the league for his role in the coverup) was named GM of the Oilers last summer.
I’m curious about Beach’s reaction to this news. When the Oilers hired Bowman, he said he contacted Beach beforehand, claiming he had an “encouraging conversation” with the former player.
Time will tell if Quenneville can coach the rebuilding Ducks into becoming a playoff contender. Despite his impressive coaching resume, it’s been four years since he was last behind an NHL bench.
TORONTO SUN: Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz did not travel with his teammates to Florida for Games 3 and 4 of their second-round series with the Panthers. Stolarz suffered a head injury following a Game 1 collision with Panthers center Sam Bennett. The Leafs hold a 2-0 series lead.
TSN: On Thursday, Winnipeg Jets defensemen Josh Morrissey and Logan Stanley participated in the club’s optional skate. They are game-time decisions for Game 2 on Friday against the Dallas Stars, who hold a 1-0 lead in their second-round series.
STLTODAY.COM: Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington and center Brayden Schenn have joined Canada’s roster for the upcoming IIHF World Championship in Sweden and Denmark.
DAILY FACEOFF: New Jersey Devils defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic underwent knee surgery on Thursday and won’t be ready for training camp in September.
Former Vancouver Canucks goaltender Frank Caprice died on Thursday at age 63. He spent six seasons with the Canucks from 1982-83 to 1987-88, with a record of 31 wins, 46 losses and 11 ties in 102 games with a 4.20 goals-against average, a save percentage of .859, and one shutout.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: My condolences to Caprice’s family, friends, former teammates and the Canucks organization.
What a juggernaut of a team we are sending to the Worlds. I expect no less than a near flawless run to the championship.
Stolarz is done. And that might be more of a done for next year too. I’m pretty sure it was the slapshot–kept playing–that did him in too. Certainly the bump/elbow sent his brain into a fight-or-flight shock. Poor kid. He was playing well.
Quennville. I’ll walk this back if he suddenly looks other worldly, but I feel like the game has passed him by. I don’t particularly like the fact that the league reinstated him, sort of like how…nothing short of of jailtime will keep the world junior lads from being reinstated. Both situations are similar. Guilt. Maybe not complete guilt, but guilty by being associated to an ugly event your “right and wrong” meter should have kept you out of in the first place–and didn’t.
Dark G, I don’t know what makes you confident that it was the puck off his mask the root to his injury… a puck that weighs about 5-6oz is highly unlikely to snap the head in a way to cause the brain to collide in the skull. At the rate it’s traveling, it’s highly unlikely to do that. There’s a mathematical formula that proves that. It was Bennett’s forearm or elbow. An illegal hit injury or not.
You’re right, it is a shame.
I’m certainly no physicist but I can use AI a little.
A 6oz (maximum a puck weighs) at 90mph has a force of 137 Newtons, while an object weighing 200 lbs and travelling 10 mph has a force of 405 Newtons. Even at 5mph the force is 202 Newtons.
Football considers forces of between 5000 and 9000 Newtons to be a concussion risk, Boxing says from 2500 to 4200 is a risk.
I am a Jets fan and have seen my share of Bennett from the Calgary days – this was far from his worst behaviour. The force of his contact was almost certainly more powerful than the puck impact, however, these are not simple calculations and sometime sh*t happens.
Hopefully headed for an all-Canad a Western Conference final (Edmonton-Winnipeg) and the Leafs polishing off Florida to meet either Carolina or Washington in the Eastern final.
And watching for reports out of the NHL head office that Bettman is under medical surveillance.
It’s long been suspected he has been battling parkinsons or parkinsons related tremors. My mother in law is going through the same. It’s sad to watch. She’s mentally still pretty sharp, but her body is failing.
I’m pretty indifferent on Gary. I don’t think he’s failed. You can certainly say he’s grown the game in the USA (and some would say at the expense of teams in Canada) It’s another raw canadian resource, sold to the usa, refined and manufactured and sold back to us. It’s just the state of our relationship with our southern neighbors. Bill Daly will be an acceptable new commish.
Dark G, I think George’s comment on Bettman was sarcasm based on the possibility of 3 Canadian team s in the semi finals vs Bettman’s perceived hatred of Canada. I’m sorry to hear about your mother in law best wishes to your family.
I also agree that whatever Bettman”s faults may be there is no denying he has grown the game and made huge improvements in availability of games on tv. I remember when watching the playoffs was a weekly thing and now, and for many years prior, I can watch every playoff game. He does get dinged however for going back to ESPN because they suck at everything especially hockey which is the step child to the NBA.
I didn’t mean it to sound like I think he’s done a bad job overall, Dark G. In fact, hockey is booming in North America, with more wanting in, thanks to his stewardship.
Just that his preference for an all-U.S. final to boost TV audiences is well-known and since, in that regard, he could obviously care less about ever seeing a Canada-based team in the finals again, a Winnipeg-Toronto final would likely shove his nose badly out of joint.
But to be fair, the rise of popularity of hockey in the U.S. no longer leads to the old joke about hockey coming somewhere distantly back of bowling when it comes to TV interest. And that has led to a rise to just over 3% (roughly 43) Black players in the NHL while, at the same time, the % of Blacks in MLB has fallen to 7% – https://getpocket.com/explore/item/few-black-americans-play-baseball-mlb-doesn-t-seem-to-care?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
I’m hoping for an all Canadian final…hopefully that will happen. For that to happen, these Canadian teams have to keep things going and it’s a long and hard road ahead of them, especially for the Leafs who are heavily unfavored in their series.
In any case, these playoffs have been great again and maybe all these rule changes and dreaded cap have done what we were sold on doing in bringing parity to the league. I feel any of these playoff series this round can go either way.
“I’m hoping for an all Canadian final”…so is Bettman!
I second that hope for the Canadian teams…
I’m still rooting for a Canadian vs us finals. That’s some must watch tv drama.
I don’t think it’s that big a deal Chrisms as far as dramatic or emotional. While I want a Canadian team to win this year, more because of the streak/jinx or whatever you want to call it, it isn’t that big a deal.
Not like the 4 Nations, where it was Canadians vs Americans, and the politics of it due to the annexation BS and starting a trade war.
For me that doesn’t transfer to the NHL. Canadians out number Americans on every US based team that is still playing.
If Florida gets to the final I will be rooting against them because they’re A-holes, no other reason. I like a lot of the Canes, and appreciate how they play. Rod the Bod was a great player and rooted for him back then. Still kinda do.
F those Florida guys.
I dunno. I could see it getting feisty. I know at least one prominent politician who will absolutely be incapable of restraint when it comes to social media posts if it’s can vs us.
Chrisms, I think you folks pay more attention to his tweets than most Canadians as he is your leader not ours. We pay attention more to what he does than what he says. The only social media I am on is Spector’s Hockey. Is this considered social media? I dunno, kinda is I guess.
Maybe Carney (grew up in Edmonton) and Trump will bet if it’s Edmonton vs Washington/Florida?
To me it’s more about rivalries and the teams I root for – Boston and Edmonton. Hard to cheer for the Leafs or Habs when they are 2 of Boston’s biggest rivals and have been forever. Hard thing to shake.
So hopefully a Canadian team wins this year and I don’t have to root for either of them anymore.
Hate to burst your bubble Chrisms, if you look at the rosters of the past few Cup winners. It`s made up of mostly Canadian players and a number of European players. So the Can vs US really there in that sense, rivalries makes it fun, but that`s where Bettman has totally failed. Bettman`s the worst case scenario when it comes to developing rivalries. For that the NHL would have F the playoff format and go back to the 1 vs 16
Feisty, how about a Calgary vs Edmonton for a cup final. That would give feisty a whole new meaning
Dunno. Rivalries seem to be going just fine to me. Bettman hasn’t made Philly any less crappy.
That would be great but I can’t see us at all winning vs. that loaded team.
Fingers crossed that we don’t meet Sid et al before the finals; forcing us to play for Bronze (at best!).
Oilers were lucky to get out of Vegas with a win last night. Take it and run.
Hill had a tough night, let in 2 from long range he would likely want back. Difference in the game IMO. That and the non call on McNab. He didn’t look good getting off the ice.
Eichel was playing great and then gets turnstiled by McDavid in OT. It looked like he could have tripped him and decided in a split second not to. He should have. Now he gets to watch that highlight for a while.
Oilers need to fix their PK, or stay out of the box, which is impossible. So fix the PK. After last night their PK % is 59.3. That’s brutal. Worse than brutal actually. Last year they finished the playoffs with a PK % of 94.3, which wasn’t going to happen again, but jeez.
Since I am always blasting him re his persistent/constant head hunting; I will now laud praise on him.
Probably the best game; and definitely the cleanest; I’ve ever seen Wilson play.
Great on the forecheck, great on the back check; blocking shots; rescuing golden scoring opportunities.
So Kudos to Wilson
That was very hard to type; and I don’t think I could realistically say it out loud;
but Kudos Wilson
And the coincidences just keep rolling along … Wilson was also a semi-regular target of Pengy’s rants as well. Amazing.
Oiler/Knights tilt was very exciting.
I thought Oil had it in the bag; up by 3-1, then 4-2
But Knights came back strong and dominated play to tie and send to OT.
Killing off a 5 min PP; and shutting down the big two; I thought it was inevitable 1-1 going into Edmonton.
Oilers prevailed ; just!
Great GWG… Bouchard-Perry-McDavid-Draisitl
But, fully agree with Ray; Oil PK did not do well. Definitely needs fixing.
Oil PP not so great either. Knights shutting down lanes; but 7,8,9 passes before a shot needs to change; if not only to keep Knights guessing
Just a guess; but methinks Rogers Place just might be a wee bit frenzied on Sat. night.
George
Despite our differences
I’d like to wish you a Happy 87th Birthday
Great number that 87
Big intake to blow out those 87 candles
Hoping 87 things go your way today
8787
👍👍👍👍😊
George, is 8787 having us on? 87 really? You feisty old boy, good on you.
Yeah, thanks guys, been out most of the day with a clutch of family filling up on Guinness … and yep, it’s 87 … be a lot happier if those digits were reversed.
One of my cars reads “So you’re another year older, look at the bright side …” then you open it and it says “Okay, there is no bright side … There’s a bright light, but you’re gonna want to stay away from that!”
Ha!