NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – April 22, 2023
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – April 22, 2023
The Islanders set a playoff record against the Hurricanes, the Kings down the Oilers in overtime again and the Bruins and Wild take the lead in their respective series. Details and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
GAME RECAPS
NHL.COM: The New York Islanders got four goals within a span of 2:18 in the third period to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-1. Kyle Palmieri, Matt Martin, Scott Mayfield and Anders Lee were the goal scorers in an exciting finish to what had been a close-checking game up to that point. Ilya Sorokin made 30 saves for the Islanders. The Hurricanes lead the best-of-seven opening-round series 2-1.

New York Islanders forward Kyle Palmieri (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Islanders set an NHL record for the fastest four goals in a playoff game. This was the first postseason contest ever played at the Isles’ home arena UBS Arena.
Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov returned to action after missing the first two games of this series with an upper-body injury.
An overtime goal by Trevor Moore lifted the Los Angeles Kings over the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round series. Adrian Kempe scored the game-tying goal on a power play 18 seconds after the Oilers took a 2-1 lead on Connor McDavid’s second goal of the game. Joonas Korpisalo kicked out 38 shots for the Kings for their second overtime win in this series.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Leon Draisaitl was critical of the officiating after being called for unsportsmanlike conduct for a light slash on Kings defenseman Drew Doughty following McDavid’s second goal.
Draisaitl accepted responsibility for taking a bad penalty but noted the officials ignored Doughty’s earlier knee-on-knee hit on McDavid, who was uninjured on the play. “I just really don’t know what the standard is right now,” he said.
Kings forward Blake Lizotte missed Game 3 with a lower-body injury. Winger Kevin Fiala remains sidelined with an undisclosed injury.
The Boston Bruins doubled up the Florida Panthers 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their opening-round series. Taylor Hall had a goal and an assist, David Pastrnak tallied what proved to be the game-winning goal and Linus Ullmark stopped 29 shots for the Bruins.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Bruins got the win with their two top centers out of the lineup. Patrice Bergeron (upper-body injury) missed his third straight game and will be out for Game 4 but could make his return when this series shifts back to Boston for Game 5. David Krejci, meanwhile, was scratched from Game 3 with an upper-body injury.
Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad missed the third period following a hit from Bruins blueliner Charlie McAvoy, who also leveled Panthers forward Anton Lundell later in the game. Lundell said he was fine after the game. There was no postgame update on Ekblad, who will be evaluated today.
Speaking of the Bruins, they topped the list of 15 NHL teams incurring performance bonus overages this season which will count against their salary cap for next season. The Bruins lead the way with $4.5 million due to the bonus-laden one-year contracts of Bergeron and Krejci.
Minnesota Wild winger Mats Zuccarello scored twice and teammate Ryan Hartman had a goal and two assists in a 5-1 victory over the Dallas Stars. Filip Gustavsson returned to the Wild net and made 23 saves as his club took a 2-1 series lead.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Wild dominated the Stars with their physical play in this contest. It’ll be interesting to see how they respond in Game 4 on Sunday.
IN OTHER NEWS…
WINNIPEG FREE PRESS: Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Head coach Rick Bowness is hopeful he’ll return to the lineup for Game 3.
CALGARY SUN: Flames prospect Dustin Wolf is the winner of the Les Cunningham Award as the most valuable player in the American Hockey League.
DAILY FACEOFF: There could be a potential conflict of interest regarding the Philadelphia Flyers’ search for their next president of hockey operations and general manager.
The Flyers are reportedly at least the second team to hire Neil Glasberg of PBI Sports as a consultant to aid in the search. However, he’s also an agent for several team executives and head coaches who could become candidates for open positions.