from Bruce McGurdy of the Edmonton Journal,

Five days into the Conference Finals, hockey fans have been treated to a pair of intense playoff series involving the four best teams in the National Hockey League. Of the five games to this point, three have been decided in overtime, the other two by scores of 3-0 and 3-1 including an empty net goal in each case. Of the 340 minutes of hockey played, the score has been within a single goal for 325 of them. That’s over 95%.

Here in the West, the Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars have been within a goal for all but 4 of the 140 minutes played to this point, over 97%. As colleague Kurt Leavins put it in his Sunday column 9 Things, “the margins in this series so far are razor thin”. To that I would add, the margin for error is essentially nothing at all.

Alas, the Oilers made a massive sequence of blunders towards the end of Saturday night’s game at Dallas that sealed their fate in what was to become a 3-1 loss. To be sure, they were already behind the 8-ball, having yielded the go-ahead goal in the early minutes of the third period when winger Jamie Langenbrunner got a piece of Richard Matvichuk’s outside wrister and tipped it past Oilers netminder Tommy Salo… no wait, it was Mason Marchment, Ryan Suter and Stuart Skinner, but in the exact manner that the Stars used to take down the Oilers back in the day. Timely scoring followed by fierce checking and the occasional big stop when most needed. I recognize the formula all too well....

With 2:53 to play and a faceoff in Dallas territory, Edmonton’s big guns took a rest following a 72-second shift. A makeshift line of Evander Kane, Dylan Holloway and Warren Foegele took to the ice along with the experienced defence pair of Darneel Nurse and Cody Ceci. Obviously their objective was to score, but just as plainly they were temporary placeholders for the top guys to regain their wind for the inevitable goalie pull in the last two minutes.

But that’s when things went sideways. Kane won the draw to Holloway, but his shot was blocked. The Stars broke out with the puck which spent the next 30 or so seconds under their control and/or in Edmonton’s end of the ice, the backchecking Oilers expending plenty of energy trying to regain possession. Finally with under 2:20 to play the Oil recovered the puck and broke out of their end.

Let’s follow along by screen grab, using the TNT feed for reasons which will become clear:

read on, this was a lot of work by McGurdy...

from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

’m not sure how the Rangers did this and I am not sure this is sustainable but despite being mauled physically while playing nearly the entirety of Sunday’s Game 3 in their own end below the hash marks, the Blueshirts somehow persevered to record a 5-4 overtime victory over the Panthers to grab a 2-1 lead in the conference final.

But perhaps this serves as a perfect illustration of this team’s greatest asset. That is their mentality. That is their mindset. They can bend like a gold medal-winning gymnast. But they do not break. They do not lose their composure. Much like the 2011-12 Black-and-Blueshirts, they seem comfortable taking punches on the ropes....

Igor Shesterkin sure did make some huge saves to deny the Panthers after they had scored twice within a span of 1:54 to tie the score at 4-4 by the 6:58 mark of the third period, after trailing 4-2 despite a 54-25 advantage in attempts that swelled to 95-36 after regulation. Scoring chances in the third period were 21-4 against.

In the end, after Alex Wennberg’s deflection in front won it at 5:35 of OT, the Rangers had blocked 37 shots, led by Jacob Trouba’s nine, as they were out-attempted 108-44 overall.

I said, they were out-attempted 108-44.

And they won the game....

The Rangers were shorthanded six times, three times in the first period while allowing a pair of Puddy Tat PPGs. They were crushed repeatedly on the walls. They iced the puck over and over. They were hurried into turnovers by Florida’s ferocious forecheck.

They seemed dead on their feet one shift after another even though they managed to survive. This was one where Laviolette’s reluctance to play Matt Rempe — one 22-second shift after the second period — came back to bite the team. It would not be a surprise if he’s a scratch on Tuesday....

This is hard hockey. This is heavy hockey. But the Rangers need to get production from Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider, none of whom have scored in the series. They always seem to be defending.

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* With the help of a winner by Alex Wennberg in the extra frame, the Rangers thwarted a Panthers rally and matched their franchise record for the most overtime wins in a single postseason.

* The Rangers established an NHL record for most comeback victories in the regular season and playoffs combined as they earned their 34th of 2023-24 on Sunday.

* Leon Draisaitl and the Oilers host Jake Oettinger and the Stars as the Western Conference Final shifts to Alberta, where both the Edmonton forward and Dallas goaltender have had some notable playoff performances.

* When a best-of-seven Stanley Cup Playoffs series is tied 1-1, the victor in Game 3 goes on to win the series nearly two-thirds of the time (240-121; .665). That includes a 59-18 record (.766) during the round before the Final.

from Michael Russo of The Athletic,

The end of regulation couldn’t get there fast enough for the New York Rangers on Sunday.

Under siege, it was almost like they were content to ice their way to overtime, sending the puck the length of the ice, 200 feet, five times in the last two minutes.

The Florida Panthers’ pressure was that relentless. Not only did they rally from two goals down to tie the score at 4-4 in a span of 1:54 to detonate their home arena, they out-attempted the Rangers 40-10 in the third period — 29-9 at five-on-five. The even-strength scoring chances were 14-3, the high-danger chances were 7-1. They kept making fast, aggressive plays below the hashmarks over and over and over, and Igor Shesterkin had to be a one-man show during those final hold-on-for-dear life five minutes, including a game-saver on Matthew Tkachuk with 39 seconds left.

But then the buzzer sounded, and the Rangers could breathe.

And the Panthers had to feel sick to their stomachs.

The Panthers couldn’t put the Rangers away, and now, as Peter Laviolette said a half-hour after Alex Wennberg delivered New York its fourth overtime win of the playoffs by a 5-4 score, that 17-minute third intermission gave the Rangers a chance to reset.

“We needed to go back to work,” the Rangers coach said. “We needed to go back on the attack, back on the forecheck. We were taking on a lot of heat in the third period and I don’t necessarily think one period leads to the next period. Our second period didn’t lead to the third. Their first period didn’t lead to the second.”

The Panthers said all the right things after this one, that they didn’t feel a sag in the locker room after letting the Rangers off the hook, that they were still pumped up and full of adrenaline and feeling excited about the prospect of coming out in overtime and finishing what they couldn’t complete in about as one-sided a third period as you’ll ever see.

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Puck drop just after 6pm ET in Milwaukee. Winner moves on to play the Coachella Valley Firebirds, loser is done for the season.

Listen here and follow the GRG X.

I am attending a neighborhood party as soon as game 3 of the ECF is over. I'll try to pop in but the significant other has a leash around my neck so who knows.

Your comments are appreciated and any other places to follow would be welcomed.

from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

Here’s the issue going forward: Malevolence is in the Panthers’ blood. They come in high; they come in hard; they come in with a purpose. They’re big. If Dmitry Kulikov and Ryan Lomberg were not aiming for Alex Wennberg’s and Jimmy Vesey’s head, respectively, they could have fooled a lot of folks. There is Nick Cousins, always on the prowl. There is the specter of Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk. Their defensemen don’t let up.

This is who they are.

I’m not sure this is who the Rangers are, though I know they will try to adopt the physical pose they brought onto the ice and sustained for the 74:01 it took to decide Game 2. This is not a question about heart or commitment. I just wonder if they are built for this kind of hockey combat against a formidable foe that thrives on it.

There is Goodrow, sneaky mean during the season and not so sneaky now, who is made for this. Jacob Trouba, who fittingly sprung the rush that decided the match on a spectacular outlet with Lomberg racing at him on the forecheck, is a mean one who is made for this. Ryan Lindgren always plays with an edge and is made for this. We know what Matt Rempe is about, and we have seen that Will Cuylle will never turn away from a hit. There is a reason Braden Schneider has been known as “Baby Troubs.”...

Maybe the Rangers can go toe-to-toe with the Big Bad Puddy Tats. But it would sure help if they could get their power play working. I give them enormous credit for gutting out Friday and for their marquee guys strapping on their hard hats when things were not exactly clicking and the Blueshirts seemed as though they were hanging on for dear life during large portions of the match.

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Remember the puck drop is just after 3pm ET today.

from Nicholas J. Cotsonika of the NHL's website,

This is what the Dallas Stars can do, and this is what they will have to do to defeat the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Final.

After a poor first period at American Airlines Center on Saturday, the Stars shut down the Oilers’ star-studded offense over the final two periods and won 3-1, tying the best-of-7 series 1-1.

Shots for Edmonton: 16 in the first period, eight in the second and five in the third.

Goals for Edmonton forwards Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman: zero, after each scored in Game 1.

“I think the first period, for whatever reason, we were tentative,” Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said. “We had talked about playing with a Game 7 mindset, and I think our intentions were in the right place, but we looked like we were just …

“We were waiting. We were waiting for something to happen. I thought we kind of regrouped at the end of the first and decided to get to our game. I loved the second and third. I thought we were excellent.”

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Game highlights are below.

from Bob Duff of Detroit Hockey Now,

When his day of reckoning came in both his life and in his career with the Detroit Red Wings, Jakub Vrana recollects most vividly the fear and trepidation he felt after making the decision to share his problem with Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman.

It was in October of 2022 when the stunning news came that star forward Vrana was taking a leave from the Red Wings to enter the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.

Dealing with substance abuse issues, it was Vrana who sought out Yzerman to share his problem with his boss.

“I actually went (to see) Steve Yzerman,” Vrana shared with Zimakpodcast.cz in his native Czechia. “I completely walked up the stairs to his office. And I was completely at a loss as to how I was going to tell him.”

continued plus more topics...

from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,

- This is unusual: GM Don Waddell is leaving a great Carolina team for a not-so-great team in Columbus. That doesn’t happen often. But is he going alone? He may not be. Some NHL GMs believe Edmonton boss Ken Holland could be heading to Columbus along with Waddell and Holland’s son, Brad. Waddell was assistant GM to Holland on the ’98 Stanley Cup-champion Red Wings. The two have been close ever since. If it happens, Waddell and Holland would be in senior hockey positions and Brad Holland would be learning the GM’s job alongside two experienced successful mentors.

- Should Marner choose to leave Toronto and the Leafs need to replace some offence, a wise hockey man suggests they consider signing Patrick Kane, who had 47 points in 50 games in Detroit. Kane still has some offensive juice in his game and would love the idea of playing this close to his home in Buffalo.

more hockey talk, much of it surrounding Mitch Marner...

* Mason Marchment scored the game winner 3:41 into the third period to help the Stars even their series before heading to Edmonton. Teams that win Game 3 when a best-of-seven series is tied 1-1 in a Conference Final/Semifinal own an all-time record of 59-18.

* Following a Dallas victory, both series in the penultimate round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs are even through two games for the fifth time in the past decade (also 2021, 2017, 2016 & 2015).

* The 2024 Eastern Conference Final resumes with a matinee Sunday as the Rangers look to become the first club this postseason to earn consecutive wins against the Panthers.

Will Edmonton head home up 2-0 or will it be a best of 5 series? We are about to find out.

from Mark Spector of Sportsnet,

This is a story about No. 1 defencemen and a franchise that has developed exactly two of them in its 45 National Hockey League seasons.

Today, the first one, assistant coach Paul Coffey, counsels the next one, 24-year-old Evan Bouchard, to the point where the latter may start breaking the former’s records, with an NHL record 20 points by a defenceman in the first two rounds of these playoffs.

“My first conversation with him,” began Coffey, now in charge of Edmonton’s defence, “on that first (November) road trip into Tampa and Florida, was, “Bouch, you play a risk/reward game. If the risk outweighs the reward, we're going have trouble here.'

“I’m still going to play you, but I just need you to figure that part out. And I’m here to help you.”

It is perhaps most exposing role in our sport, the last man back who has the courage to make plays and create offence. They used to call Latvian chance-taker Sandis Ozolinsh an “offenceman” back in the day, but you can’t win with that level of risk in your leader on the blue-line.

Today, in a game that has never been conducted at a faster pace, a true No. 1 must make the smart, quick and accurate retrieval plays in his own zone so that the offensive zone time can exist for his team.

“That's a big part of the growth I've taken this year, the risk/reward factor,” Bouchard admits. “Especially at this point in the season. Where the smallest mistakes end up back in your net, or with a momentum swing.

“Having a coach like Paul definitely helps. He wants you to make plays, which is great for myself and everyone else. And having (Mattias) Ekholm as a partner, he’s smart with the puck, strong defensively, strong offensively, can make a first pass…. He kind of does it all.”

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from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

The team that majors in hugs had two of them at the Garden on Friday and they might have been two of the most meaningful hugs — I mean huddles, no I mean hugs — of the season.

For there was the hug at center ice with the Blueshirts enveloping Barclay Goodrow, who became a particular hero of the night by beating Sergei Bobrovsky from 30 feet at 14:01 of overtime to give his team a 2-1 Game 2 victory over the Panthers that squared the conference final at one-apiece before the next two in Florida.

Then, there was the belated hug behind Igor Shesterkin’s net, about 100 feet from the first celebration. The goaltender, you see, did not allow himself to party until he saw an official signal a good goal after checking with the Toronto situation room.

I was so happy, but I wait until the ref show that [it counts],” Shesterkin said, making the “good goal” motion with his right hand. “Sometimes you can lose a lot of emotion after [a goal is disallowed] so I wanted to wait.”

The Rangers were so much better in this one after Wednesday’s nothingburger of a 3-0 Game 1 defeat and not all the credit should go to Matt Rempe, who recorded nine hits in 10:06 of ice time that included five shifts in the third period and one in overtime, should it?

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from Jameson Olive of the Panthers website,

We have ourselves a series.

Heading back to Sunrise with the Eastern Conference Final tied 1-1, the Florida Panthers suffered a 2-1 overtime loss to the New York Rangers in Game 2 at Madison Square Garden on Friday.

Game 3 is set for Sunday at Amerant Bank Arena at 3 p.m. ET.

“It’s tough to lose in overtime, but [we went] 1-1 in their building,” Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. “They came out really, really explosive tonight, and that’s what we expected. We lost a really tight game. We’ll move on. We’ve got a quick turnaround.”

With the loss, the Panthers snapped an 11-game winning streak in overtime in the playoffs.

“I’m fine with tonight,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. “You shouldn’t come in and beat the Presidents’ Trophy team twice in their own building. You really shouldn’t. We got that one to overtime. We were in alone a bunch of times there, couldn’t get it to go. Two really good goaltenders at each end. This is an exciting series with exciting hockey.”

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Game highlights are below.

* Barclay Goodrow, one of two Stanley Cup winners on the Rangers’ roster, became the first New York player in nearly 10 years to score an overtime goal during the Conference Finals as the hosts evened the series.

* Igor Shesterkin outdueled fellow Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky to help the Rangers snap historic winning streaks by both Bobrovsky and the Panthers in playoff games which needed extra time.

* Two of the first three contests in the 2024 Conference Finals required overtime, and the Oilers and Stars can continue the trend when they contest Game 2 of their series tonight.

Game 5 will be played in Milwaukee on Sunday at 6pm. The winner will move on to play the Coachella Valley Firebirds

The Griffins scored four unanswered goals in the third tonight to win 4-2. Berggren had a hat trick.

Below watch the 1st, 3rd and 4th goals.

The Rangers can't afford losing tonight to go down 0-2 on home ice.

WINNIPEG, May 24, 2024 – The Jets announced today that Scott Arniel has been appointed as the ninth head coach in franchise history and the fourth since the club’s relocation to Winnipeg.

It's not often we see a trade of draft picks this early. Normally it would be made on the draft floor.

via the NYI,

The New York Islanders have acquired a first-round pick (#20) and two second-round picks (#54 and #61) in the 2024 NHL Draft from the Chicago Blackhawks, in exchange for the team’s first-round pick (#18) and second-round pick (#50).

RALEIGH, NC. - Tom Dundon, Owner and Governor of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that President and General Manager Don Waddell has resigned from his position with the organization. Additionally, Eric Tulsky has been named interim general manager, and a full search has begun for a permanent general manager. Darren Yorke will support Tulsky with managerial duties while continuing in his role as assistant general manager.

“This morning, I spoke with Tom and informed him that I have come to the decision that now is the time for me to move to the next chapter of my career,” said Waddell. “I have loved my experiences in the Triangle over the past 10 years, and together with a strong team, on and off the ice, we have accomplished many great victories. I am grateful for the support I have received from so many loyal Caniacs. This organization is in strong, capable and well-positioned for the future.”

Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic takes a look at 19 UFAs.

Patrick Kane, Detroit Red Wings

Kane rediscovered his form this season after recovering from hip resurfacing surgery and signing a one-year deal with the Red Wings.

Now what?

“Patrick had a fantastic season based on where he started after major surgery, hip resurfacing, and he was able to get back to his ‘A’ game,” his agent Pat Brisson of CAA Sports said Thursday.

But where it goes from here, Brisson wasn’t ready to add anything else for the moment. Detroit remains in the mix and I believe Brisson will speak with Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman over the coming few weeks.

One thing’s for sure: Brisson will want to find his 35-year-old client some term this time around.

more ($) intriguing names

These have been pretty good.

from Ansar Khan of Mlive,

The Detroit Red Wings have had no draft lottery luck the past eight years, but that hasn’t prevented them from assembling what one scouting magazine rated as the top collection of prospects in the NHL.

McKeen’s Hockey this week rated the Red Wings’ prospects pool as No. 1 in the league.

Defenseman Simon Edvinsson was rated as Detroit’s top prospect though he is a virtual lock to make the Red Wings roster at the start of next season.

Edvinsson is the lone player among McKeen’s top 10 Detroit prospects expected to make the season-opening NHL roster. Several others likely will be playing for the Grand Rapids Griffins – centers Nate Danielson (No. 2) and Marco Kasper (No. 3), goaltender Sebastian Cossa (No. 5), winger Carter Mazur (No. 7) and defensemen William Wallinder (No. 8) and Shai Buium (No. 9).

Rounding out the top 10 were defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka (No. 4), who is spending another season in Sweden with Skelleftea, goalie Trey Augustine (No. 6), who’ll be a sophomore at Michigan State, and winger Dmitri Buchelnikov (No. 10), who remains in the KHL.

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