NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – May 7, 2025
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – May 7, 2025
The Oilers and Hurricanes win the opening games of their second-round series, plus the latest on Sam Bennett, Mark Scheifele, Torey Krug and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
RECAPS OF TUESDAY’S STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS ACTION
NHL.COM: The Edmonton Oilers overcame a 2-0 deficit to double up the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 in Game 1 of their best-of-seven second-round series.
Corey Perry, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman and Connor Brown scored while Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard collected two assists apiece. Mark Stone scored both goals for the Golden Knights.
Game 2 is Thursday, May 8, in Las Vegas at 9:30 pm ET.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Oilers are the first team in Stanley Cup Playoffs history with five straight comeback wins in a single postseason. Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo missed this game with an illness and winger Pavel Dorofeyev was sidelined by an undisclosed injury.

Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin (NHL Images).
An overtime goal by Jaccob Slavin lifted the Carolina Hurricanes to a 2-1 victory over the Washington Capitals in the opening game of their second-round series.
The Capitals opened the scoring in the second period as Aliaksei Protas netted his first goal of this postseason. Hurricanes forward Logan Stankoven tied it in the third period.
Game 2 is Thursday in Washington at 7 pm ET.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Despite the close score, the Hurricanes controlled most of the play, outshooting Washington 33-14, out-hitting them 44-31 and winning 55.6 percent of the faceoffs. Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson kept his club in this one.
HEADLINES
TORONTO SUN: Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett avoided supplemental discipline for elbowing Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz in the head during Game 1 of their second-round series. Stolarz left the game and was hospitalized overnight for observation. He was released yesterday and the Leafs aren’t ruling him out for Game 2.
FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW: Bennett said he wasn’t attempting to injure Stolarz, claiming he was taking the puck to the net and inadvertently bumped the Leafs netminder. He cited his friendship with Stolarz, who played for the Panthers’ Stanley Cup-winning team last season, adding he reached out to the goalie after learning he’d been hospitalized.
THE ATHLETIC: The Leafs and Panthers are trying to dial down the heat from this incident. Panthers coach Paul Maurice attempted to downplay it while blaming the Toronto media for fanning the flames. Meanwhile, Leafs coach Craig Berube said he wants his players to focus on the game rather than retribution.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Bennett plays a hard, physical two-way style, but he has a history of questionable hits, with the most infamous among Leafs followers being his takedown of Matthew Knies during the second-round series between the two clubs in 2023.
Bennett isn’t the only Panther to draw the ire of opponents. Matthew Tkachuk has a well-deserved reputation as an agitator. Aaron Ekblad concussed Tampa Bay Lightning winger Brandon Hagel during their first-round series with a forearm to the head.
Every team has players who use such tactics to distract their opponents, but the Panthers have taken it to a higher level. It makes them the team you love to hate, but there’s no denying that it’s been successful for them.
Florida has taken a page from the Philadelphia Flyers of the mid-1970s, who combined talent with brawling to win back-to-back Stanley Cups. The mayhem of the “Broad Street Bullies” era has been long eradicated, but it’s been replaced with sneaky hits and chippy play that often goes uncalled in the postseason.
The Panthers are an undeniably talented team. However, their “in-your-face” style has garnered them a reputation around the league as cheap-shot artists, tarnishing their success since 2022-23.
TSN: Mark Scheifele, Josh Morrissey and Logan Stanley are all considered day-to-day after skating in non-contract jerseys during the Winnipeg Jets’ optional skate on Monday. They’re considered day-to-day and will be game-time decisions for Game 1 of their second-round series with the Dallas Stars.
The puck drops for that contest at 9:30 pm ET on Wednesday, May 7, in Winnipeg.
STLTODAY.COM: Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said sidelined defenseman Torey Krug’s playing career could be over. The 34-year-old Krug missed all of this season recovering from surgery to address pre-arthritic changes in his left ankle last September.
Krug is in the fifth season of a seven-year contract with an average annual value of $6.5 million.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Krug has not officially spoken about his condition or his future. He’s unlikely to retire if his playing career is over. Instead, he’ll go on long-term injury reserve for the remaining two years of his contract.
Armstrong also revealed that forward Dylan Holloway and defenseman Tyler Tucker suffered undisclosed season-ending injuries. Holloway was sidelined on Apr. 3 and underwent surgery, while Tucker appeared to injure a knee in Game 4 of the Blues’ first-round series with the Jets.
THE DENVER POST: Colorado Avalanche management indicated head coach Jared Bednar would return behind the bench next season. However, assistant coach Ray Bennett was relieved of his duties. Bennett ran their power play for eight seasons.
LOS ANGELES TIMES: Kings president Luc Robitaille expects head coach Jim Hiller to return next season. The Kings tied franchise records for wins (48) and points (105) this season but suffered their fourth-straight first-round exit at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers.
OTTAWA SUN: The Senators parted ways with associate GM Ryan Bowness. It’s expected that director of player personnel Rob DiMaio will move into that role.