NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – May 3, 2026
The Hurricanes defeat the Flyers in the opening game of their second-round series, the schedule for the second round is released, the latest on the Oilers, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL.COM: Carolina Hurricanes winger Logan Stankoven scored twice to lead his club over the Philadelphia Flyers 3-0 in Game 1 of their best-of-seven second-round playoff series. Frederik Andersen had a 19-save shutout, and Jackson Blake had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes. Dan Vladar stopped 20 shots for the Flyers.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Flyers played better in the third period, but it was all Hurricanes in the first period and most of the second. Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet admitted his team wasn’t mentally prepared for this contest. He believes they were still riding the emotional high of making the playoffs and winning their first-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins
Carolina Hurricanes forward Logan Stankoven (NHL Images)
Carolina’s second line of Stankoven, Blake, and Taylor Hall remains a scoring force in this postseason.
Stankoven is tied with Minnesota Wild winger Matt Boldy and Tampa Bay Lightning winger Brandon Hagel for this postseason’s goal-scoring lead with six goals. He’s also set a franchise record with a five-game playoff goal-scoring streak. Four of his six goals were series-openers.
Carolina winger Nikolaj Ehlers returned to action after a lower-body injury sidelined him from Game 4 of the Hurricanes’ first-round series with the Ottawa Senators. Defenseman Alexander Nikishin remained out of their roster as he continues to recover from a concussion.
Flyers forward Owen Tippett missed this contest with an undisclosed injury and is considered day-to-day.
NHL.COM: The schedule for the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs was released.
Game 1 of the series between the Hurricanes and Flyers began Saturday. Game 2 will be on Monday, May 4, in Carolina.
The opening game of the series between the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche will be on Sunday, May 3, in Colorado. Wild center Joel Eriksson Ek is questionable for Game 1 of this series with a lower-body injury.
Game 1 of the series between the Anaheim Ducks and the Vegas Golden Knights begins on Monday, May 4, in Las Vegas.
The Buffalo Sabres will face the Montreal Canadiens or the Tampa Bay Lightning. Game 1 of that series begins on Wednesday, May 6, in Buffalo. The Canadiens and Lightning face off in Game 7 in Tampa Bay on Sunday.
EDMONTON JOURNAL: Oilers center Leon Draisaitl was frank about his club’s performance and his concern about their future. Speaking with the media on Saturday, Draisaitl said he felt the Oilers “are not trending in the right direction,” adding that they’ve taken “big steps backward.” He warned that the Oilers must get a grip on this situation and return to the right direction.
Oilers captain Connor McDavid concurred with Draisaitl’s assessment of the club’s direction. Following their first-round elimination by the Anaheim Ducks, McDavid said he felt the Oilers were “an average team all year.” He said he still felt that way, adding that he and Draisaitl deserve their share of the blame, and that they can all be better and need to improve.
“There’s no doubt everybody knows what we’re trying to do here in Edmonton, and it’s no secret,” McDavid said, referring to their goal of winning the Stanley Cup. “We’re pressing pretty hard, so the patience is obviously worn pretty thin.”
McDavid also shot down trade speculation that surfaced during and after the series against the Ducks. “I want to win, and I want to win here in Edmonton. That’s my focus.”
However, McDavid declined to comment on whether he’ll play out his upcoming two-year contract with the Oilers. “I’m not going to get into all that,” he said. “The only thing that matters is competing for the big trophy. That’s all that matters. And if I feel that’s here, then yeah.”
McDavid also confirmed that he played with an injury during the Ducks series, suffering a fractured bone in his left foot in Game 2.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Oilers GM Stan Bowman acknowledged the club isn’t where they want to be while pointing to the positives from this season, such as the evolution of players Vasily Podkolzin, Matt Savoie, and Josh Samanski.
Nevertheless, the comments from McDavid and Draisaitl are a shot across Bowman’s bow. He’ll face a daunting task attempting to improve the Oilers. I’ll have more about that in the Sunday NHL Rumor Roundup.
SPORTSNET: The Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to hold a press conference on Monday to officially announce the hiring of former team captain Mats Sundin and former Arizona Coyotes general manager John Chayka to join their front office.
It’s been previously reported that the Leafs were interested in hiring Sundin as vice president of hockey operations and Chayka as general manager.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Reports of Sundin and Chayka being the frontrunners for those positions drew a nervous vibe from Leafs Nation. It will be interesting to see what those two have in store for the club during this offseason.
BOSTON HOCKEY NOW: Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy will have an in-person meeting with the league’s department of player safety for slashing Buffalo Sabres forward Zach Benson during Game 6 of their first-round series.
THE SPORTING NEWS: Speaking of the Bruins, forward James Hagens is reportedly joining Team USA for the upcoming IIHF World Championship.
OTTAWA SUN: Senators forward Ridly Greig will have a virtual hearing with the department of player safety on Monday for his sucker punch to the head of Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Sean Walker during Game 4 of their first-round series.
FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW: Panthers owner Vinnie Viola got his second Kentucky Derby win on Saturday. Viola is a co-owner of Golden Tempo, a 23-1 long shot that won the 152nd running of the Derby at Churchill Downs.
NEW YORK POST: The Rangers promoted assistant director of player development Tanner Glass as their new director of player development.
With all due respect to Philly,it looks like Carolina has an easy trip to the Eastern Conference finals. However when Carolina gets there they have to improve drastically on their ECF record!The Montreal/ TB first round series has been awesome.
Philadelphia is about to discover – as will whoever they meet later – what the Ottawa scorers discovered … the Hurricanes weren’t the best defensive team in a number of key areas by accident. They effectively neutralize almost every opposition’s favorite approach – whether run-and-gun, dump-and-chase/forecheck, East-West play, Possession/Rush Hockey.
Forget what happened in the past – Florida ain’t involved and besides, there’s NO team still in the hunt that play anywhere near like the Panthers at their peak.
George,
As you know head to head in any sport is about more than talent and desire, it’s also about style matchup. Styles make the fight and often determine the win.
Sens were 1-2 with Carolina
Flyers were 1-3
Tampa was 1-2
Habs were 3-0
The Habs will have to get through Buffalo first if they advance. And if they do, that should be another barn-burner.
At this writing it’s 2:19 into the second, tied 1-1 with Dobes having stopped 20 of 21 shots, while Vasilevsky has faced all of 4!
If the Habs wind up pulling this one out of a hat they should erect an immediate statue of Dobes outside the arena.
At least Vinnie of the Panthers won something big for the third straight year!
Is Edmonton re-signing Connor Murphy or is he going UFA and hopefully becomes a Hab.
What a difference he’d have made in the Tampa series.
habfan30: It remains to be seen if the Oilers re-sign Murphy, but if they don’t, it’s unlikely the Habs will sign him. He’s 33, which means he doesn’t fit within the age demographic of the players they’re trying to acquire. He’d also take up cap dollars that they need for a more important addition, such as a second-line center or a scoring winger. The Canadiens also have a lot of promising young blueliners close to cracking the roster, including David Reinbacher, a right-shot d-man like Murphy who will likely be in the lineup next season.
Some will point at the Habs acquiring the 33-year-old Danault, but that was an outlier. They desperately needed depth at center at the time, and he previously played in Montreal and was going to be a good fit as a result.
habfan30, if he goes the full UFA process there will be several teams prepared to offer him a 3-year deal (he IS 33 y/o so that’ll likely be the limit) at something in the neighborhood of his expiring cap hit ($4.4 mil).
If the Oilers don’t re-up him I’d bet that Columbus would be one of several teams pursuing him. Kind of fitting that, being of Irish descent, he hails from Dublin, Ohio!
HabFan, Murphy would be a good pick up for the Habs for a year, maybe two at most. Would give Reinbacher more time to develop and hopefully stay healthy in the AHL. But he’ll likely want three or more years in which case Hughes will look elsewhere.
Again, signing another right-shot defenseman (something the Canadiens don’t need) takes away valuable cap space that will be required to address their more pressing needs, like a second-line center. They have plenty of young right-shot d-men. They don’t need a 33-year-old Murphy.
You know who the Canadiens could’ve used on their blueline against the Lightning? Noah Dobson, who was sidelined from this series with an injured thumb. So why would the Habs trade for someone like Murphy?
Last year the Habs needed a top pairing RD, which they hadn’t had since Shea Weber went on LTIR. They went out and got one. Now they still need some depth at the position. If Reinbacher is ready to go next year the problem is solved. If he needs another year in the AHL they’ll need a depth RD for a year or so to bridge the gap.
I wanted Murphy for the Habs at TDL, as I said he’d have been a big help in these playoffs.
I’d be surprised if Oilers don’t sign him as he’s a 2 for 1 considering how good he made Nurse look since they got him.
Totally different type of player but he reminds me of Markov in the sense of making his partner look and play so much better.
Oiler fans are welcome to weigh in.
You know who would’ve been a bigger help in these playoffs? Noah Dobson. They didn’t pursue Murphy because they didn’t need him, just as they won’t need him next season.
Lyle,
You ignore the fact that the Habs are short on RD from any angle.
The ratio of D on the Habs without Dobson is 1RD:5LD.
With Dobson it would be 2RD: 4LD
Signing Murphy at TDL would have helped the Habs on the way into and during the playoffs.
He is one year older than Matheson, who just inked a 4 yr contract that kicks in next year.
Worst case scenario the Habs would have an over supply of RD in a year or two meaning trading from a position of strength.
The Canadiens have Dobson and Carrier as natural right-side defensemen, with Reinbacher knocking on the door and likely to make the team next season. They also have Bryce Peckford in their system, and he could be roster-ready within the next two seasons.
They’re using Hutson (a left shot) at right defense, which has worked very well.
Murphy is 33 and has never been part of the organization. Matheson was 28 when the Canadiens acquire him in the summer of 2022 and was in his fourth seasons with the Canadiens when they signed him to that contract. He’d been with the team for some time and is one of their reliable top-four defensemen. They knew what they were getting when they re-signed him.
If you look at the Canadiens trade history under Kent Hughes, almost all of their acquisitions are for players in the their 20s. Murphy will be 34 next March. His shelf life would be short. The Habs seek players in, or approaching, their prime, who will be productive for several years. Murphy doesn’t tick those boxes.
It’s obvious that the Canadiens’ biggest need is a reliable second-line center. Failing that, they could use a top-six power forward (hence their rumored interest in Matthew Knies), Adding a right-shot defenseman is far down that list, and doing so would take away valuable cap space to bring in a second-line center or a top-six scoring winger.
Murphy has expressed his desire to re-sign in Edmonton. As has Dickinson, Kapanen and Ingram.
I would sign all 4 if reasonable, with Ingram being the only question mark as there will likely be changes in net.
And that’s a fair point as well, Ray. Just because we look at a player on a rival club eligible for UFA status or available in the trade market, doesn’t mean that he’ll want to join your team. Murphy had a 10-team no-trade list this season. For all we know, he might not have been available even if the Habs had been interested, which they clearly weren’t given their rumored interest in Knies. If Murphy hits the open market, the Canadiens might not be on his list of preferred destinations.
Now, to be fair to habfan30, if Hughes was interested in adding another right-shot defenseman, based on his trade history, I’d say it would have to be someone in their 20s with term left on their contracts who is approaching or in their playing prime. Hughes is building for the long-term here, and wants players who will be a good fit in that future.
Thanks for taking some of the weight off my shoulders, Lyle.
Murphy reminds you of Markov HF30? Good grief.
Congrats on beating Tampa. A lot of people on here complain about the Panthers, but to me, Tampa is worse, sneakier and dirtier than Panthers. No rooting interest either way; glad to see that Gorton can do a rebuild without Dolan in the background. But Buffalo will be a tough out!
Carolina’s 2nd Line: at 1st, I thought Carolina trade for Rantanen was a disaster. Stankoven proving to be a good pick up. Another small player coming up big in playoffs. Hall was part of the trade with Avs. K Miller acquired from Rangers with the Dallas pick received in that trade. Still have a future 1st as well. Right now, looks like good chance Avs face Canes in final. Rantanen home after1 round. So much for team getting best player always winning trades?
Stankoven also signed long term for half the cap hit of Rantanen.
He’s starting to get into that “who?” surprise winner of the Conn Smythe territory.
Despite the bruins being out I’ll watch occasionally it’s not the same though. Bs have to pick up a good d with speed and a quick centre that can score in the off season. Looking forward to this years draft lottery hope the hockey gods favour the bruins Tuesday sixth pick could be someone who can step right in. I ‘m actually looking more forward to the draft lottery now than this years playoffs now that the bruins are out. My prediction for this years playoff winner, okay it’s bit of a protection cop out but it’s either going to be The Avs or the canes.
JA,add a top 6 wing with sandpaper
Stankoven is the Canes leading goal scorer. Yet the player leading the Canes in points in the post season is Taylor Hall. Very quietly having a very good post season so far.
The Oilers are a mess: no cap to work with, a pipeline ranked 31st (out of 32), overly generous contracts (Nurse & Jarry) that will be almost impossible to unload, bad trades and poor team building.
Oiler fans that believe the current front office can turn things around are truly delusional. Both Jeff Jackson, President, former McDavid Agent and the guy who appointed the incompetent Stan Bowman as GM are not cut out in the least to turn the Oilers in the right direction before Connor rightfully loses patience and also rightfully heads for greener pastures where he will get a legitimate shot at his elusive Stanley Cup.
Constantly re-arranging the deck chairs on a sinking ship is not conducive to long term success. In this case however, team owner Daryl Katz needs to stem the hemorrhage by taking drastic steps and get rid of both Jackson and Bowman. If not, the Oilers are done like toast.