NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – May 29, 2024

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – May 29, 2024

The Panthers defeat the Rangers to tie the Eastern Conference Final at two games apiece, the latest on the Oilers and Stars, the Blue Jackets formally hire Don Waddell as president and GM, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAP

NHL.COM: Sam Reinhart’s power-play goal in overtime lifted the Florida Panthers to a 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers, squaring the Eastern Conference Final at two games apiece.

Florida Panthers winger Sam Reinhart (NHL Images).

The Rangers opened the scoring in the first period on a goal by Vincent Trocheck. However, Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe scored to give the Panthers the lead in the second period. Alexis Lafreniere tied it for the Rangers in the third period.

This series returns to New York for Game 5 on Thursday, May 30 at 8 pm EDT.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Like Game 3, the Panthers controlled the play for most of this contest. They outshot the Rangers 40-23, out-attempted them 88-44, and had more high-danger scoring chances (16-6). They also went two-for-six on the power play while the Rangers were one-for-three.

Blueshirts goaltender Igor Shesterkin stole Game 3 for his club. He nearly did it again in Game 4. Meanwhile, his teammates Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider have yet to pick up any points in this series. Zibanejad’s careless pass to Blake Wheeler led to the latter’s penalty that set the stage for Reinhart’s game-winning goal.

Both clubs made changes to their lineups for this contest. The Panthers replaced forwards Nick Cousins and Ryan Lomberg with Kyle Okposo and Steve Lorentz while Wheeler replaced Filip Chytil for the Rangers.

PLAYOFF NOTEBOOK

THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Roope Hintz’s return to the Stars’ lineup in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final provided a big boost to his teammates. Sidelined by an upper-body injury during their last four playoff games, Hintz collected two assists in their 5-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers to take a 2-1 series lead.

EDMONTON JOURNAL: Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse has been struggling during this postseason. His plus-minus is a playoff-worst minus-12. Head coach Kris Knoblauch doesn’t put much stock in plus-minus but he believes Nurse can play better.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Oilers need Nurse at his best if they hope to defeat the Stars and advance to the Stanley Cup Final.

Meanwhile, Oilers defenseman Troy Stecher’s postseason is over. He will be undergoing surgery soon for an injured ankle.

IN OTHER NEWS…

TSN: The Columbus Blue Jackets officially named Don Waddell as their new general manager and president of hockey operations. Waddell resigned last Friday as GM of the Carolina Hurricanes. He replaced Jarmo Kekalainen, who was fired by the Blue Jackets in February.

Former Blue Jackets president John Davidson will remain with the club in an advisory role. He served as interim GM following Kekalainen’s firing.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Blue Jackets hope Waddell will have the same success as he did with the Hurricanes. He played a key role in turning them into one of the NHL’s best clubs. During his tenure, the Hurricanes drafted Andrei Svechnikov, Seth Jarvis and Pyotr Kochetkov and brought in Brent Burns, Jake Guentzel, Brady Skjei, Frederik Andersen, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Dmitry Orlov through trades and free agency.

THE SEATTLE TIMES: The Kraken named Dan Bylsma as their new head coach on Tuesday. He’s currently the bench boss of their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds. They’re currently playing against the Milwaukee Admirals in the AHL playoffs.

Bylsma is considering Jessica Campbell for a role on the Kraken coaching staff. She currently serves as an assistant coach for Bylsma with the Firebirds.

Campbell is a former Canadian women’s professional player and national team member who began her coaching career in 2017. She was an assistant coach for the Nuremberg Ice Tigers of Germany’s top pro men’s league and with the German Men’s National Team in the 2022 IIHF World Championships.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Campbell is also a trailblazer, becoming the first woman on the coaching staff of a men’s national team and the first woman to become a full-time AHL coach. If she joins the Kraken’s staff, she’ll become the first woman to coach in the NHL.

NHL.COM: New York Islanders captain Anders Lee is this season’s winner of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy. The award honors the NHL player “who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.”

THE PROVINCE: The Vancouver Canucks and assistant coach Mike Yeo have parted ways. Yeo was part of their coaching staff for the past two seasons and was largely responsible for the team’s penalty kill. He was offered a one-year contract extension by the Canucks but he decide to explore other options.

SAN JOSE HOCKEY NOW: The Sharks signed highly-touted prospect Will Smith to an entry-level contract.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – May 28, 2024

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – May 28, 2024

The Stars rally to defeat the Oilers in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final, Rangers captain Jacob Trouba fined for elbowing, Dan Bylsma returns to the NHL coaching ranks, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAP

NHL.COM: A hat trick by Jason Robertson powered the Dallas Stars to a 5-3 comeback victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 of the 2024 Western Conference Final.

The Oilers dominated the first period jumping to a 2-0 lead on goals by Zach Hyman and Connor McDavid. However, the Stars bounced back in the second with Robertson scoring twice and Wyatt Johnston giving them the lead.

Dallas Stars winger Jason Robertson (NHL Images).

Edmonton forward Adam Henrique tied the game late in the second but Robertson tallied the game-winner at 11:54 of the third period. Miro Heiskanen added the insurance goal into an empty net.

Roope Hintz, Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin had two assists each and Jake Oettinger stopped 28 shots for the win. McDavid had a goal and an assist to become the fourth-fastest player in NHL history to record 100 playoff points, reaching that milestone in 64 games.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Edmonton appeared on the verge of a rout in the first period, outshooting the Stars 10-3 and controlling most of the play. However, the Stars maintained their poise, received solid goaltending from Oettinger, and overwhelmed the Oilers in the second, outshooting them 16-7 and holding their opponent without a shot on net through the first half of the period.

The Oilers caught a break on Henrique’s goal to end the second period with a tie. They outshot the Stars 13-3 in the third but Oettinger shut the door and Robertson sank the dagger with his third goal of the game.

Following the Oilers’ second-round series against Vancouver, McDavid said he and his teammates don’t make it easy for themselves. This game was another example of the inconsistency that could prove their undoing against a deep, talented, confident club like the Stars.

Henrique and Hintz debuted in this series after being sidelined by injuries suffered earlier in this postseason.

HEADLINES

NHL.COM: New York Rangers captain Jacob Trouba received the maximum fine ($5,000.00) for elbowing Florida Panthers forward Evans Rodrigues during Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final. Trouba was assessed a minor penalty on the play.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: This is Trouba’s fourth fine and he’s been suspended twice. I detect a pattern here…

THE SEATTLE TIMES: Geoff Baker reports a source confirmed the Kraken will hire Dan Bylsma as their new head coach. Bylsma is currently the head coach of their AHL affiliate in Coachella Valley.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Bylsma coached the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2008-09 to 2013-14, guiding them to the Stanley Cup in 2009 and winning the Jack Adam Award in 2010-11. He also coached the Buffalo Sabres from 2015 to 2017.

Promoting Bylsma brings a degree of familiarity behind the Kraken bench. Joey Daccord, Shane Wright, and Tye Kartye are among a handful of their players who skated for their new head coach during their tenures in Coachella Valley.

SAN JOSE HOCKEY NOW: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports the Sharks’ search for a new head coach has progressed to the second interview stage.

Sharks assistant coach Ryan Warsofsky has had two interviews and former Detroit Red Wings bench boss Jeff Blashill will have his second this week. Ontario Reign coach Marco Sturm has had one but there’s no indication if he’ll get a second.