NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – April 24, 2025
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – April 24, 2025
Recaps of Wednesday’s playoff action, the Rangers sign GM Chris Drury to a contract extension, no front-office shakeup for the Bruins, the fallout from the Islanders firing Lou Lamoriello, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
RECAPPING WEDNESDAY’S PLAYOFF GAMES
NHL.COM: An overtime goal by Tyler Seguin lifted the Dallas Stars to a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 3 of their best-of-seven first-round series. Valeri Nichushkin opened the scoring for the Avalanche early in the first period but Stars captain Jamie Benn tied it in the third period, setting the stage for Seguin’s game-winner. The Stars hold a 2-1 lead in the series with Game 4 on Saturday, Apr. 26, at 9:30 pm ET.

Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Stars’ win spoiled the return to action of Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog after nearly three years sidelined by knee surgeries. He saw 13:16 of ice time and led the Avs with six hits.
The Los Angeles Kings got four-point performances from Adrian Kempe (two goals, two assists) and Anze Kopitar (one goal, three assists) to beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-2 in Game 2 of their opening-round series. Oilers forwards Leon Draisaitl and Viktor Arvidsson narrowed the Kings’ early 3-0 lead to 3-2 before the latter pulled away with three unanswered third-period goals, two of them from Kempe. The Kings hold a 2-0 lead in the series, which shifts to Edmonton with Game 3 on Friday, Apr. 25, starting at 9:30 pm ET.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Oilers winger Evander Kane and defenseman John Klingberg returned to action after missing time this season due to injuries. It was Kane’s first game after being sidelined for the entire regular season, while Klingberg played only 11 games.
However, their return couldn’t save the Oilers from being soundly beaten in this contest. Starting goalie Stuart Skinner gave way to backup Calvin Pickard after giving up five goals on 23 shots while the Kings went 3-for-5 on the power play.
Washington Capitals forward Connor McMichael tallied twice in a 3-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 2 of their series. Logan Thompson stopped 25 shots as the Capitals overcame a 1-0 deficit in the second period with two quick goals by McMichael and Dylan Strome. Josh Anderson scored for the Canadiens, who got a 29-save performance from Sam Montembeault. The series moves to Montreal for Game 3 on Friday, starting at 7 pm ET.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Game 2 was nearly identical to the opening contest, with the Capitals dominating the first two periods before the Canadiens rallied back in the third. The Habs pushed back hard for the equalizer in the final frame, but Thompson shut the door before McMichael sealed it with an empty-netter with two seconds left.
Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis sent an unsubtle message to underperforming forwards Patrik Laine and Joel Armia. Laine was benched for the third period while Armia saw only one shift in that frame.
HEADLINES
NEW YORK POST: The Rangers announced that general manager Chris Drury signed a multi-year contract extension. This move comes after the Blueshirts missed the playoffs a year after winning the Presidents’ Trophy as the top regular-season team in 2023-24.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Some Rangers fans didn’t receive this news well, taking to social media to voice their displeasure. Nevertheless, Drury’s extension is ownership’s stamp of approval on his somewhat heavy-handed efforts to retool the roster since last summer.
BOSTON HOCKEY NOW: It appears Don Sweeney will return as general manager of the Bruins. Despite missing the playoffs this season, CEO and team chairman Charlie Jacobs praised Sweeney’s management of the club, citing their impressive winning percentage under his stewardship, including eight straight postseason appearances before 2024-25.
NYI HOCKEY NOW: Russ Macias cited Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reporting the Islanders nearly fired Lou Lamoriello in December before finally relieving him of his duties as GM and team president earlier this week.
Friedman claimed Lamoriello was clashing with team minority owner and Business Operations Director John Collins. There was also friction between Lamoriello and head coach Patrick Roy, and unhappiness over the historically bad season for their AHL affiliate in Bridgeport. A late-season blowout loss to the Rangers appeared to be the final straw.
Meanwhile, the Islanders also parted ways with long-time radio broadcasters Chris King and Greg Picker.
NEW YORK POST: Former Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck announced his retirement on social media yesterday. Clutterbuck spent 17 seasons in the NHL, beginning with the Minnesota Wild from 2007-08 to 2012-13 before being traded to the Isles, where he spent the remainder of his career to 2023-24.
A gritty checking-line forward, Clutterbuck played 1,065 NHL regular-season games, finishing with 143 goals and 150 assists for 293 points. He also had 12 goals and 20 points in 81 playoff contests.
STLTODAY.COM: Blues center Robert Thomas missed practice for maintenance reasons, but he will be ready for Game 3 against the Jets on Thursday.
SPORTSNET: Speaking of the Jets, sidelined forward Gabriel Vilardi (upper-body injury) traveled with the team to St. Louis. Meanwhile, winger Nikolaj Ehlers (lower body) remained in Winnipeg. The Jets hold a 2-0 lead in their series with the Blues.
PHILLY HOCKEY NOW: The Flyers announced they are moving on from assistant coaches Rocky Thompson, Darryl Williams, and assistant/skills coach Angelo Ricci.
TSN: Czechia leaders are condemning apparent threats by former Russian prime minister and president Dmitry Medvedev against Hall-of-Fame goaltender Dominik Hasek for his critical comments about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.