Category: Ice Hockey

It’s been a long time since the Carolina Hurricanes played hockey, and they have to wait even longer. The Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres play in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference Semi-Finals on Monday night, with Carolina waiting for the winner to kick off the next series on Thursday.

The winner of that Game 7 will have two days of rest before beginning the Eastern Conference Finals — the Hurricanes will have had 12.

A bizarre, problematic twist to the NHL Playoff schedule has led to the greatest rest disparity in the history of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Nobody has had 12 games of rest before, and it happened because of the bracket’s construction. The NHL has long operated on the idea that nobody should be able to easily sweep a series, let along two back-to-back. What the Canes are doing hasn’t been seen since the 1980s, and it just so happens at the time where the other side of the Eastern conference draw has been a total crapshoot. It took seven games for the Canadiens to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Sabres needed six to beat the Bruins in the opening round — now they have gone to seven against each other in this series. Meanwhile the Hurricanes wen 4-0 against the Senators, then 4-0 against the Flyers to reach this spot.

The result is that Carolina has played nearly half less games as anyone left in the East, and the fewest in the playoffs. It’s a blessing in terms of getting healthy, being rested, and entering the Eastern Conference Finals at 100-percent, but it remains to be seen if the rest could come back to bite the team by interrupting their rhythm. That’s a significant worry, and as dominant as the Canes have seemed, there are also some very real worries.

Thus far the team hasn’t seen a lot of production out of its top line. Svechnikov/Aho/Jarvis have been solid, but once again seem to be falling into that all-too-common Carolina trope of stars disappearing in the playoffs. The Hurricanes’ power play has been atrocious as well, 5-for-27 these playoffs after being 24.9% on the season. They’re won on the back of speed, power, and their forecheck — but have yet to be tested in a multi-goal deficit, and still have significant questions in net with Freddie Andersen playing phenomentally well, but being far from a safe bet after a down season in Raleigh.

That makes this upcoming Eastern Conference Final an each way bet, and a litmus test on the NHL’s scheduling. There’s no good result to what will happen next. If Carolina comes out and dominates then opposing fans will cry foul of the amount of rest the Canes got in the lead up to this series, if Carolina gets bodied early in the series it will be an indictment on them having too much rest to stay hot in the playoffs. Sprinkle in the drama of this destined to be another Southern hockey vs. legacy cold-weather city matchup and there will be plenty of angst in the ECF.

Embrace chaos, because it’s coming on Thursday night.

The Chicago Blackhawks have now had two good seasons of Ilya Mikheyev in their lineup. He played 80 games in 2024-25 and 77 games in 2025-26, meaning he was available for almost every match on the schedule. 

In those games, he had a total of 38 goals, 32 assists, and 70 points as a bottom-six forward who was awarded almost no power-play time. 0 of those 70 points came with the man advantage. 

With that said, 4 of those goals and 2 of those assists have come shorthanded. As a defensive player, Mikheyev has established himself as one of the best penalty killers in the entire NHL. Chicago's overall PK has been great, and he's a huge part of it. He defends well and creates a decent amount of offense at even strength as well. 

Mikheyev is a pending unrestricted free agent. He was the only one that Kyle Davidson didn't trade away at the deadline. There was no can't-miss deal presented to him, and he does like the idea of returning Mikheyev to help the rebuild take the next step. At 31 years old, he has some really good NHL years ahead. 

The report around the deadline was that they did try to get an extension, but it never happened. 

On Monday, NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman had an update on "32 Thoughts: The Podcast". According to Friedman's report, Mikheyev's negotiating rights have been placed on the trade block. 

"I guess it was let known across the league that Chicago probably isn't going to be able to sign Ilya Mikheyev," Friedman said. "His rights are available if any team wants to talk to him in advance of free agency."

Once Mikheyev is traded, that team can sign him ahead of him hitting free agency on July 1st, which is the advantage to acquiring him now instead of waiting. He is probably not getting the max amount of years from anyone, but being the only team that can negotiate with him for a few months may be worth it to someone. 

The Blackhawks wouldn't get a significant return for his rights, but anything would be better than losing him for nothing after keeping him at the regular-season trade deadline. 

32 Thoughts Monday morning playoff preview, news & interview pod. Not reported in it, but heard this morning: Oilers have permission to talk to Craig Berube.

Today's guest is Henrik Sedin. Great answers to terrible questions.

Links to your preferred platform, here:…

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) May 18, 2026

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay up to date on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

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The Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres meet in a winner-take-all Game 7 in the second round of the NHL playoffs. The Sabres forced Game 7 with an 8-3 victory in Game 6. The winner will advance to face the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference finals.

How to watch Montreal Canadiens vs. Buffalo Sabres

• Date: Monday, May 18

• Time: 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT

• Where: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, NY

• TV Channels: ESPN, Spor, CBC, TVAS

• Live Stream:ESPN+ | Follow on Yahoo Sports

Odds

• Spread: Buffalo Sabres -1.5

• Moneyline: Buffalo Sabres -122 (52.6%) / Montreal Canadiens +102 (47.4%)

• Over/Under: 5.5

The Islanders will have two prospects participating in the Memorial Cup after Luca Romano’s Kitchener [expletives] swept the OHL final.

Romano will join Tomas Poletin, whose ticket was already secured since Kelowna is the host of this year’s four-team tournament. The fun kicks off Friday.

Other Islanders items:

• Matthew Schaefer thanked the fans for his incredible Calder-winning season and Long Island love story. [NHL]
• And he celebrated by visiting kids at Cohen’s Medical Center, because he’s Matthew Schaefer. [Isles]
• Gross: Schaefer loves the Island, and the feeling is mutual. [Newsday]
• Islanders Anxiety: On the Calder, surgery for Ryan Pulock, Josh Bailey HOF, and overdue Selke consideration for Brock Nelson. [LHH]
• Simon Holmstrom and Emil Heineman discuss their growing bond…for the Islanders and for Team Sweden. [Isles]
• Here’s a running list of how those two are doing at the Worlds, as well as Danny “The Next” Nelson. [Isles]
• Nelson isn’t signed yet, as he’s returning to Notre Dame for one more year and the chance to play with two brothers. The Isles invited the elder, Henry, to development camp. [THN]

Elsewhere

Monday night playoff action: Game 7 for a pair of upstarts, Canadiens vs. Sabres. Buffalo dominated Montreal while coming back (and switching goalies again) in Game 6. Now the pressure’s on…whomever.

• The Canadiens hope they don’t lay an egg again. [NHL]
• The Sabres claim to be unphased by the goalie carousel. [Sportsnet]
• The Avalanche are healthy and rested as they prepare to meet the Knights Who Say We Don’t Talk To The Press. [NHL]
• The Oilers have permission to speak with former Leafs coach Craig Berube. [Sportsnet]
• The Leafs have also parted with long time cap guru Brandon Pridham. [Sportsnet]
• The NHL got tired of John Tortorella and Vegas skirting media commitments, fined him $100,000 and made them forfeit a second-round pick. [Yahoo]

With the final four teams set, the matchups become even more magnified. As the Colorado Avalanche are set to take on the Vegas Golden Knights to earn a ticket into the Stanley Cup finals, here is a closer look at whose defense is stout enough to win a championship.

To end the regular season head coach Jared Bednar experimented with his defense testing out Brett Kulak on the top pair with Cale Makar and then Devon Toews on the second pair. That’s mostly been reversed as the trusty duo of Toews-Makar has played an extraordinary amount of minutes this postseason and have had great success at 61.50% of the expected goals together. Toews leads the Avalanche defense core with eight points and Makar hasn’t been quite as productive with five points, though four are goals.

For the rest of Colorado’s defense pairings it has been pretty mix-and-match especially due to the injuries. First to Josh Manson and then when he returned in Game 4 of the Wild series suddenly Sam Malinski was a surprise scratch with an upper-body injury. Brent Burns and Josh Manson played a lot together in the regular season and Brett Kulak saw the most time with Sam Malinski through the first seven playoff games, which are seemingly the ideal pairings.

With practice resuming ahead of the Vegas series, all eyes have been on the collection of Avalanche defensemen at practice, or lack thereof. Cale Makar only skates in games at this point, as expected. Now Brent Burns is suddenly absent and both Josh Manson and Sam Malinski have been limited in skates. Most, if not all four, should be available for Game 1 of the Western Conference finals according to Bednar. Still, there appears to be plans in case one of the aforementioned defenseman can’t suit up as Jack Ahcan was never sent back to the AHL and Colorado Eagles rookie Alex Gagne was a recent practice participant despite never having played in the NHL. This Avalanche defense core has already been stretched thin with just one absence the dominoes are set to tumble.

The big story on defense for the Golden Knights was the one-game suspension to Brayden McNabb but he’s expected back in the lineup for round three. Colorado fans know well of McNabb’s physical reputation and ill-advised hits but he’s grown into a large role with Vegas as part of their top pairing. He is also the top penalty killer for Vegas and scored shorthanded in the Anaheim series.

As the other portion of Vegas’ top pairing, Shea Theodore is also their leader on defense with nine points and four goals. He is the top power play quarterback and has scored a goal and three assists on the man advantage. Together with McNabb expect to see Theodore play a lot against Colorado’s top forwards.

On the second pair for Vegas is a due of defensemen for Vegas both acquired in trades from the Calgary Flames, first Noah Hanifin in 2024 and Rasmus Andersson just recently in January of this year. Hanifin has been the more productive one with six assists but both chip in on occasion. Even as a second pair these two play well over 20 minutes a night and figure to do so in this upcoming series with Colorado.

Veterans Dylan Coghlan and Ben Hutton round out the depth with 25-year-old graduated former prospect Kaedan Korczak filling in as needed. Another depth option, Jeremy Lauzon has been sidelined since early May after taking a puck to the head. All will have their hands full containing Colorado moving forward.

The 2025-26 season came to an end for the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, in Game 6 of the second round, at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Ducks defeated the defending, back-to-back Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers in the first round. It was a series in which the Ducks and their coaching staff baited the Oilers into playing the Ducks’ preferred brand of hockey, and a series where the Ducks’ coaches played the right cards and made the right adjustments at the proper times.

Takeaways from the Ducks' 5-1 Loss to the Golden Knights, Vegas wins Series 4-2

Takeaways from the Ducks' 3-2 Overtime Loss to the Golden Knights, Vegas Leads Series 3-2

In the first round, Anaheim had a clear and direct game plan against two of the world’s top centermen, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Specifically, against McDavid, the coaching staff hard-matched defense pair, Jackson LaCombe and Jacob Trouba, and as a five-man unit, pressured him the entire 200-foot ice surface, focusing on the backcheck and eliminating his ability to attack laterally.

After dropping Game 1 of the series, a game the Ducks felt was winnable, head coach Joel Quenneville made a sneaky last-minute lineup adjustment, swapping Chris Kreider and Cutter Gauthier on their respective lines just before puck drop. He went on to swap the two again at the last minute, after a Game 5 loss, going on to secure a Game 6 victory.

Every time now-former Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch made an adjustment of his own, Quenneville was there to match and eclipse. As the series progressed, Anaheim became more stingy defensively, doing well to keep Edmonton to the perimeter in the defensive zone and simplifying their breakout approach, electing to high-flip a higher percentage of pucks to the neutral zone, where forwards could win puck battles against retreating Edmonton defensemen.

The Ducks series against the Golden Knights played out nearly identically early on, but it was John Tortorella and the Vegas coaching staff that got the better of the Ducks as the series wore on.

After dropping Game 1, a tight affair where the Ducks could have easily been seen as the better team, both by eye test and underlying numbers, Quenneville made another cheeky surprise lineup change just before Game 2 puck drop, but this time, the adjustment was far more dramatic.

Quenneville scratched young $7 million AAV forward Mason McTavish and rookie defenseman Ian Moore, who had been slotted as a fourth-line forward for Game 2, in favor of energy fourth liners Ross Johnston and Jansen Harkins.

The Ducks won Game 2 handily, but dropped Game 3 decidedly. Quenneville reinserted Moore and McTavish for Game 4, along with Olen Zellweger, who made his NHL Playoff debut. Quenneville stuck with his Game 4 playing roster (minus Ryan Poehling, who exited Game 5 early with an upper-body injury) for Games 5 and 6, both of which the Ducks lost, ending their season.

The Knights saw the return of their long-time, middle-six, two-way center, William Karlsson, for this series against Anaheim. Tortorella tried him on the third line, but quickly found he was better suited for the second, and kept him there for the duration of the series.

Other than Karlsson’s return and fit, the only adjustments Vegas had to make were tinkering with their third defensive pair and navigating top-pair defenseman Brayden McNabb’s Game 5 ejection and Game 6 suspension.

Though Quennville’s lineup adjustments found some success in the second round against Vegas, they didn’t have quite the impact that they did in their opening series against Edmonton.

Tactically, Quenneville and the Ducks’ staff didn’t have an answer for the waves of the Knights’ offensive pressure and sound, stingy zone defensive structure.

Vegas was able to do to Anaheim what Anaheim did to Edmonton: force them to play their brand of hockey. Vegas is a cycle-heavy team on the offensive side of the puck, valuing possession time and using that time to break down opposing defensive structures and open dangerous lanes.

Defensively, Vegas plays contained. They keep opponents to the perimeter, block shots, and force mistakes, to which they aim to capitalize. The Ducks made those mistakes, and the Knights capitalized in abundance.

Anaheim failed to adjust, and their only answer offensively was to funnel more pucks and bodies toward Carter Hart and the Vegas crease. Those pucks were predictably blocked and cleared along with any semblance of traffic in front of Hart.

Hart showed vulnerability during Vegas’ first-round series against the Utah Mammoth when he was forced to defend rushes and when he was forced to move laterally. Anaheim wasn’t able to force him into doing either and made his job infinitely easier.

Vegas’ puck management negated Anaheim’s rush attack. Ducks’ defensemen were far less active and involved offensively than they had been during the season or their first-round series. Even if their ability to join rushes had been negated, activating defensemen down the halfwalls and having them jump to soft ice could have, in theory, been a factor in chipping away at Vegas’ seemingly impenetrable slot.

The Ducks have, for all intents and purposes, kicked their contention window open and will be aiming to at least return to the second round of the playoffs and contend for Stanley Cups for the foreseeable future.

These playoffs provided some unexpected success, and perhaps more valuable, offered a chance to learn what it takes to battle on a nightly basis and defeat the same opponent four times in seven games.

They also learned that each opponent offers vastly different styles from the previous, and they have to walk the tightrope of being willing to make tweaks to their approach without sacrificing their identity and what brought them to where they are.

The Ducks will have a long offseason of reflection. They will expect their young core pieces to take further leaps in their development and hit the ground running in October in a volatile Pacific Division.

Olen Zellweger Has Given Ducks A Boost

Ducks GM Pat Verbeek Finalist for General Manager of the Year

Samuel Ersson had a very rough 2025-26 season. Due to this, it would not necessarily be surprising if the Flyers looked to bring in another goalie this off-season to form a tandem with starter Dan Vladar.

Due to this, let's look at four goalies who the Flyers could consider targeting during the off-season. 

Joseph Woll, Toronto Maple Leafs 

If the Maple Leafs make Joseph Woll available for trade due to their surplus of NHL-caliber goalies, the Flyers would be wise to target him. The 27-year-old would have the potential to form a strong tandem with Vladar if acquired. In 117 career NHL games, he hasa 63-43-9 record, a .906 save percentage, and a 3.34 goals-against average.

Stuart Skinner, Pittsburgh Penguins

If the Flyers want to go the free agency route, Stuart Skinner stands out as a potential target. The 27-year-old has a ton of playoff experience and has shown in the past that he can make an impact when playing at his best. In 224 career NHL games, the former All-Star has a .902 save percentage and a 2.77 goals-against average. 

Connor Ingram, Edmonton Oilers 

If the Edmonton Oilers do not re-sign Connor Ingram, he could be an interesting backup option for the Flyers. The 29-year-old goalie had a solid bounce-back year with the Oilers this campaign, posting a 16-10-3 record and an .899 save percentage in 32 games. He also had a .907 save percentage in both 2022-23 and 2023-24, which adds to his appeal. 

Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida Panthers

Could the Flyers look to make up for a big past mistake and try to bring back Sergei Bobrovsky? The 37-year-old had an ugly 2025-26 season but also led the Florida Panthers to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2024 and 2025. The two-time Vezina Trophy winner is a star when playing at his best and would have the potential to be an excellent short-term addition for Philly in a tandem with Vladar. 

The Pittsburgh Penguins should be looking to add to their forward group this off-season. It is clear that they could use another skilled winger in their top nine, and this will only be more of the case if Anthony Mantha signs elsewhere this off-season.

When looking at trade candidates around the NHL, Vancouver Canucks winger Jake DeBrusk stands out as a very interesting potential target for the Penguins to consider. 

With the Canucks being in a rebuild, DeBrusk's name has been in the rumor mill since leading up to the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline. If he is made available by the Canucks this off-season, the Penguins would be wise to kick tires on him.

If the Penguins landed DeBrusk, he would have the potential to slot nicely in their top six. He would also give them another skilled forward on their power play. 

DeBrusk would be more than a rental for the Penguins if acquired, too, as he has a $5.5 million cap hit until the end of the 2030-31 season. 

In 81 games this season with the Canucks, DeBrusk scored a team-best 23 goals and recorded 42 points. This is after he scored a career-high 28 goals and posted 48 points in 82 games for Vancouver in 2024-25. With numbers like these, he would be a nice pickup for a Penguins club looking to continue to head into the right direction. 

The San Jose Sharks' American Hockey League affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda concluded their team award announcements earlier this week when they revealed their Rookies of the Year, Igor Chernyshov and Quentin Musty.

Chernyshov, the Sharks' second round pick during the 2024 NHL Draft, had some previous professional experience, as he spent some time playing in the Russian Kontinental Hockey League with Dynamo Moskva.

Chernyshov split his time between the Sharks and the Barracuda during the 2025-26 season, appearing in 41 games for the Barracuda. During that time, he scored 13 goals and 33 points. Despite having limited time in the AHL, he still finished ninth on the team in points. 

Chernyshov also 28 NHL games, where he was just as impressive. He scored nine goals and 19 points.

Musty, on the other hand, was a true first year professional having previously played with the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League. The Sharks' 26th overall selection in the 2023 NHL Draft, Musty also had an impressive first season at the AHL level. In 61 games, he scored 21 goals and 45 points. He was tied for the third-most goals on the team and had the fourth-most points on the Barracuda. 

Of the two, Musty is the most likely to return to the Barracuda for the 2026-27 season as we'll likely see Chernyshov make the jump to the NHL on a full-time basis next season. Regardless, they both made a major impact for the Barracuda during their rookie seasons. 

The Chicago Blackhawks haven’t made the playoffs in a non-COVID year in a long time. However, the rebuild, as it is known today, didn’t begin until 2022. No team with the accomplished version of Patrick Kane or Jonathan Toews on it was truly rebuilding. 

It wasn’t until they started moving off all their top players that the rebuild was in motion. The two franchise icons, along with players like Alex DeBrincat, Brandon Hagel, Kirby Dach, and Seth Jones, amongst others, were all traded away for assets that help build towards the future. 

Across the NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2026 is proof that the Blackhawks can take their rebuild to new heights. On Monday night, two teams that are out of a long rebuild will face off in a winner-take-all game seven. This match will decide whether the Buffalo Sabres or Montreal Canadiens will meet the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final. 

For Buffalo, they haven’t been in the postseason since 2011, but their current success stems only from the rebuild that mostly began after they traded Jack Eichel. Their disagreements over how to handle his injury forced him out, which in turn forced them to change their organizational plans. 

Buffalo made some big-time additions to their lineup over the year via trade and free agency, like Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, Josh Doan, Bowen Byram, and Ryan McLeod. 

There were also a couple of number one picks to bolster their roster in Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power, who are two very different defensemen that bring an element of the game that the team needs. Other top-ten picks like Zach Benson and Jack Quinn make a difference as well. 

On the Montreal side of things, they had a similar path when it comes to the roster. Juraj Slafkovsky was the first overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, one year after Buffalo selected Power first. Other first-round talents like Cole Caufield and Ivan Demidov play a key role in their prolific play. 

Montreal has also made big trades for players like Kirby Dach, Noah Dobson, and Philip Danault, amongst others, who help them win. Even their captain, Nick Suzuki, was acquired via a trade before he became a star NHL player, and now he's one of their main catalysts. Like Buffalo, all of this talent acquisition was the result of a strong rebuild. 

When it comes to coaching, the two sides couldn't have taken a more opposite approach. The Sabres brought back their old coach and franchise icon, Lindy Ruff, while the Montreal Canadiens hired former NHL superstar Marty St. Louis. 

With Jeff Blashill, the Blackhawks have a strong-minded coach leading the way who takes a calculated approach to his handling of the team. 

In terms of the roster, you can see the similarities between these two game seven clubs and the Blackhawks. With Connor Bedard, Anton Frondell, Frank Nazar, Oliver Moore, Artyom Levshunov, and Sam Rinzel, amongst others, all developing, they could become a winning core as they gain experience.

There is also a 4th overall pick coming into the mix this summer, which could add another contributing piece if they select and develop wisely. 

For each of these teams, Buffalo and Montreal, it clicked at different rates. For Montreal, there was a slow and steady climb. For Buffalo, it went from being horrible to elite in the middle of the 2025-26 season. 

The Blackhawks seem to be emulating the former after an 11-point improvement this year. As long as they keep adding talent, developing it, and making smart hockey moves to supplement their roster, they will have a turnaround like this eventually.

Game seven between Montreal and Buffalo can be seen on ESPN at 6:30 PM CT. 

Buffalo Sabres - Montreal Canadiens Game 7 Preview: Lineups, Stats, How To WatchStanley Cup Playoffs - Eastern Conference Semi-Final Canadiens Must Put The Pedal To The MetalThe Montreal Canadiens and the Buffalo Sabres will face off for the last time in these playoffs in a do-or-die Game 7 in Buffalo at 7:30 PM.

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay up to date on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

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As Met Area fans enjoy the thrilling playoff matches, it also must give each and every one of us pause to reflect on this question:

Can any of you recall a hockey springtime like this one when the Rangers,  Islanders and Devils all were out of the postseason before it ever began?

It's weird because say – just for the sake of argument – that the Blueshirts did make it. 

At least Devils and Isles fans would have some emotional involvement – rooting for the Rangers TO LOSE!

But even that little bit of joy has been removed. Which means that we root for either Buffalo or Montreal in this do-or-die game tonight in Sabreland.

The Mave picks the Sabres to win at home and I'll be rooting hard for Lindy Ruff's amazing sextet.

After that we have more classic hockey ahead, starting Wednesday.

Who do you pick between the Avalanche and Vegas on Wednesday; and I grant you that that's a tough one to call which means that it looms as a gem of all gems.

The Maven imagines that Isles fans will support the Avs because of Brock Nelson.

I'm pulling for Vegas because of John Tortorella and – get this – the formerly much-maligned but now heroic. Mitch Marner.