First Period

Things began with a miserable sequence that ended up with Alex Tuch being left all alone, and that had the Bruins down 1-0 early.

Then, late in the period, the Bruins were hemmed into their own end, and the Sabres moved in just the right way to give Mattias Samuelsson a perfect screen to beat Jeremy Swayman.2-0 Sabres.

Mercifully, the Bruins were able to prevent any further scoring, and the period ended.

Onto the second.

Second Period

Hey did you know David Pastrnak is a Boston Bruin? Sabres defense sure struggles with that concept!

Can’t ask for much better than that! 2-1 Sabres.

Unfortunately, that was all the scoring in the period for Boston, but Buffalo didn’t score, so things worked out!

Third Period

The goal that killed the season is almost preposterously stupid to describe. Hampus Lindholm forced a pass to David Pastrnak, who could not receive it and had him and McAvoy racing against Josh Doan for the puck, and finding out way too late that they’d unintentionally given Zach Benson unrestricted access to the net-front. 3-1 Sabres.

The Bruins did their best to attempt to keep up with the Sabres, but at that point it was too late. Even pulling the goalie didn’t help.

Game, Series and Season Over. Buffalo eliminates Boston in Six Games.

Game (and Series) Recap:

• Your TOI Leader for tonight’s game was Charlie McAvoy, who played 25:09
• The Boston Bruins lost this game the same way they’ve lost nearly every game they played this year. The only difference is that it counted for something. They let the other team have the puck for far too long, they completely bailed on their defensive structure; ESPECIALLY in front of their net, they puck watched, they absolutely could not win a puck battle to save their lives, and they needed Pasta and Swayman to try and get some hope back into their game. That’s not new. The difference is that they ran headlong into the Buffalo Sabres in an elimination game. Their X-Factors failed. Their usual weaknesses were exploited, and the Sabres eliminated them. Didn’t even seem to phase them that much. There was just not enough across the lineup. The Boston Bruins do not have enough.
• The Sabres weren’t even really all that physically inclined; they were just faster on every single puck, they just had better position on just about every single play, and their best are built like super mutants when they did get hit. If I knew I could conjure their kind of scoring from anywhere like they had, I don’t think I’d be super worried about getting clipped from a hit or being down a goal either. What does it matter if you beat me up when Tage Thompson’s coming over the boards next? Yeah I’ll be a bit sore, but you’ll still be down where it matters.
  • If there’s anything about this series that I want Don Sweeney to understand, it’s this. Let’s just hope he recognizes what that actually means.
• Speaking of which! There are a lot of players who absolutely did not show up for this series with a good amount of it that were needed. Morgan Geekie tapered off after some time. Victor Arvidsson got hurt and that forced Marco Sturm’s hand. A lot of this roster spent this playoff series in first gear and it ended badly. Do not listen to people who said “the Fourth line was great!”. Outside of a very specific group of players, the forwards were hot swamp ass for six games. Not even close to enough. There were players who I thought earned second looks, or maybe some temporary plaudits, but eventually results matter. This roster is slow and their forwards are hopelessly dependent on a handful of players to get anything done. That’s not a recipe for success.
• Please politely remind your friends that would like to trade off someone like David Pastrnak that, despite what self-described fairweather fans running the morning radio shows will tell you, that he absolutely showed up for this series. Led it in goals, led it in points, for like two days was leading the league in that category. The problem is that there is a power gap after his name on the statsheet. The problem is that after getting some of that hope that I brought up earlier? The guy who did a “rah-rah we’re coming back” thing with the team? Absolutely nobody else met that moment. Not the rookie. Not the vets. Not the so-called tough guys and definitely not the defense. He showed, and Swayman showed. The few times they didn’t? They got absolutely murdered. Got blown the hell out.
• During the preview, I noted that the Bruins defense needed to lock all the way down in order to keep competitive in this series, and they were able to do it…a grand total of once. Maybe twice. Meanwhile everything else came apart at the seams. Charlie McAvoy played his worst game of the series at the worst possible time and Hampus Lindholm pissed this game away for Boston on a play so bad it gave me stomach cramps just thinking about it again. This defense needs an overhaul and badly.
  • I’m not gonna sugarcoat it. If your coach isn’t playing your so-called “defender of the future” because he can’t trust him even though he’s big as a horse? Trade him. There’s no future for this player on this team. I don’t wanna hear about his f!#king tools if he doesn’t have the head to use them correctly more than once in the most important games of the year.
• I think we have this understanding that the Buffalo Sabres are bad and have had it so reinforced from years of disappointment and incompetence that we still don’t quite “get” that they are good now. Maybe we don’t want to; I sure as hell don’t. They’ve got the best xGF% of any team left in the Eastern Conference and they get to wait out Tampa and Montreal killing each other. It’s a slim margin against the Hurricanes to be sure, but they are genuinely, all the way good for the first time since they wore those stupid navy blue sweaters. Their fans are gonna be unbearable twerps about this, and frankly after putting up with organizational malfeasance that would have Bruins fans melting like the wicked witch if it happened for more than a season, I think they have earned at least 24 hours of shit talking. Hats off to them; the better team won.
  • That said, once that 24 hours is over? Go turn that energy towards beating whoever comes out of Montreal/Tampa.
• Jeremy actual Swayman, dude. I am so happy this player finally figured himself out and came back into this season poised to bounce back. The Bruins would not be in this position without his work, and we are fortunate to have him. Still walked away from this one with an .880 SV%.
  • A .906 SV% through six games however? Not bad! It’s not Frederik Anderson (lol. lmao.) or Scott Wedgewood (?!?!?!?!), but hey; this is the mid-nu-20’s NHL: that’s pretty decent.
• The Good news is that while the playoffs are kind of tearing through at a breakneck pace, the Draft Lottery is also due in the upcoming week! We’ll get to see if Boston gets a high draft pick once and for all!
• Balls in your court now, Donnie. Let’s hope you learned something.

---

The offseason means that Boston is now in a position to potentially get a Top 10 pick! So that means we’re waiting for Tuesday evening!

We’ll see you there.

And as always; from all of us…Thank you. Lets have a fun offseason.

Go B’s!

If the Vegas Golden Knights were the slightest bit nervous before a potential series-clinching Game 6 against the Utah Mammoth, they didn’t let it show. The locker room was loose after Friday’s morning skate– Rasmus Andersson cracked jokes with Noah Hanifin, while Mitch Marner looked cool as a cucumber. In fact, you might have thought they were preparing for a game they already knew they were going to win.

That’s how they played, too. The Golden Knights were all over the Mammoth right from puck drop, and they didn’t relent until the final horn. Even their celebrations were business as usual following a 5-1 victory to send them into Round Two.

“We’ve been here before,” said Mark Stone following the blowout win. “We don’t have the panic. Maybe some teams do, but we calm ourselves pretty quickly.”

The Golden Knights came out swinging and outshot the Mammoth 10-6 in the first. They didn’t press for offense; they simply waited for the Mammoth to make a mistake. They finally capitalized on one at 15:02 into the period.

Lawson Crouse misread a play as the Mammoth tried to exit the zone, and Mitch Marner took it back the other way. He played catch with Mark Stone, moved into the slot, and fired a shot that went wide of the net. The puck bounced off the end boards right onto the stick of Brett Howden, who chipped it in for his fourth goal in three games.

Total misread by Crouse as the Mammoth tried to exit the zone, and the Golden Knights capitalize! Brett Howden has four goals in his last three games.

1-0, Golden Knights

pic.twitter.com/O9es7dr09V

— Hannah Kirkell (@h_kirk6) May 2, 2026

The Mammoth came flying out of the gate in the second period and generated four high-danger scoring chances in the first few minutes. However, they simply couldn’t sustain enough offensive pressure to make it count; the Golden Knights had no such problem.

The Golden Knights capped off a 2-minute, 42-second shift in the offensive zone with a goal at 19:15 in the first. With five tired Mammoth on the ice, Ivan Barbashev made a great play to find Mitch Marner fresh from the bench in the high slot. Marner took advantage of Utah’s tired players, blew by Michael Carcone, and beat Karel Vejmelka with a clapper from the right dot.

Mitch. Marner. Caps off over a minute of extended pressure with a smaller from the right circle.

2-0, Golden Knights

pic.twitter.com/w2dG1T0UEI

— Hannah Kirkell (@h_kirk6) May 2, 2026

The Mammoth got on the board at 7:41 in the third. Mikhail Sergachev sent a stretch-pass to Kailer Yamamoto, who entered the zone with speed and beat Carter Hart with a snipe from the right dot.

Colton Sissons restores the two-goal lead!

3-1, Golden Knights

pic.twitter.com/w565ruFJvi

— Hannah Kirkell (@h_kirk6) May 2, 2026

Yamamoto’s goal energized the crowd, and the Mammoth fed off of it. But as Stone said, the Golden Knights simply ‘don’t have the panic,’ and they snuffed Utah’s surge out as quickly as it started.

The Golden Knights restored their two-goal lead less than two minutes after Yamamoto’s goal. Nic Dowd won an offensive zone draw, and Colton Sissons banged in Brayden McNabb’s rebound.

Colton Sissons restores the two-goal lead!

3-1, Golden Knights

pic.twitter.com/w565ruFJvi

— Hannah Kirkell (@h_kirk6) May 2, 2026

“There was no panic on the bench,” said head coach John Tortorella postgame. “We just settled ourselves down…. For us to come back, and just taking a shot on goal, looking for a rebound, playing in the blue… The third goal was a pretty big one for us.”

From there, the Mammoth had nothing; the Golden Knights were home free. Mitch Marner scored his second of the game on the power play at 12:09 in the third to cap off a three-point night.

PPG. Mitch Marner from the bumper.

4-1, Golden Knights

pic.twitter.com/HIdLl4W8a4

— Hannah Kirkell (@h_kirk6) May 2, 2026

The Mammoth pulled Vejmelka for the extra attacker with over four minutes remaining in regulation, but weren’t able to generate any offense. Cole Smith hit the empty net at 16:24 in the third, and the Golden Knights cruised through the final three minutes of regulation.

Three Takeaways of the Knight

1. There’s no way Mitch Marner wasn’t feeling the pressure heading into Game 6. Despite playing well and doing the little things right all series, the production wasn’t there. But when his team needed him, he answered the call. He scored two goals, including the game-winner, and recorded a team-leading seven shots on net.

“I’ve had a couple of opportunities in that same area that I just have missed on, and that’s why I kind of just decided to quickly wind one up and see if I can get a clapper through. Lucky enough, it went through and found a hole and found the net,” said Marner following the win. “Yeah, just trust yourself. Trust yourself in those moments.”

2. Carter Hart didn’t have the best stats in Games 2-5, but John Tortorella’s confidence in him never wavered.

“I don’t look at the numbers,” said Tortorella on Friday morning. “Carter made three or four huge saves at key times. That’s what playoffs are… I look at momentum swings in the game, and what he’s done for us to keep us in it if we’re not playing well.”

Tortorella’s confidence paid off in a big way. Hart finished the night with 21 saves and a 1.37GSAx.

3. When the Golden Knights are on their game defensively, they frustrate their opponents to no end. That’s exactly what happened tonight, and there was a moment in the second period when Mammoth captain Clayton Keller smashed his stick against the glass after a failed scoring chance.

The Mammoth are brimming with young talent, but that youth also equates to inexperience. The Golden Knights’ veteran maturity matters, and they’ll be facing another young and inexperienced opponent in Round Two in the Anaheim Ducks.

Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy could draw the attention of NHL Player Safety after being ejected for slashing in Game 6 against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday, May 1.

So could the Sabres' Zach Benson, whose dangerous play led to McAvoy's retaliation.

The incident happened during the final minutes of the Sabres' series-clinching win against the Bruins.

Benson tripped McAvoy with a slew foot, receiving a two-minute penalty. That type of play is dangerous because the recipient of a slew foot is unable to brace himself as he falls.

McAvoy, who has dealt with a broken jaw and lost teeth this season, got up and went after Benson with a baseball-swing slash. He received five minutes and a game misconduct.

BENSON SLEW-FOOTS MCAVOY… AND HE RETALIATES WITH A BASEBALL SWING 😳 pic.twitter.com/oZpf9tm4U9

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) May 2, 2026

Generally, a slew foot leads to a fine rather than a suspension. The slash will be a judgment call based on the perceived severity. Islanders star Mathew Barzal was fined $5,000 for a slash this season.

If McAvoy is suspended, he would serve it next season

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Charlie McAvoy ejected for slash on Zach Benson after slew foot

The Ducks now know their second round opponent. They'll be heading to Sin City to face the Vegas Golden Knights after dispatching the Edmonton Oilers in six games. The Golden Knights eliminated the Utah Mammoth in six games, winning 5-1 in Game 6 on Friday night.

Anaheim defeated Vegas in all three regular season games, with two of those matchups going to overtime. All three games finished 4-3, too. It was just the second time since Vegas entered the league in 2017 that Anaheim had won the season series.

Like their Round one opponent, the Golden Knights have a wealth of playoff experience on their roster. Many of the players from the 2023 Cup-winning team are still on the roster, led by forwards Jack Eichel and Mark Stone. Eichel's eight points in the first round were tied for the third-most among all skaters.

Jackson LaCombe took on the assignment of matching up against Connor McDavid, one of––if not the––best players in the world, and did it with aplomb. LaCombe also collected nine points in his first Stanley Cup Playoffs series, tied for second among all skaters in the first round. He and Jacob Trouba will likely take on the responsibility of matching up against the top line of Eichel, Ivan Barbashev and Pavel Dorofeyev. Dorofeyev scored in the final minute of Game 5, tying the game and grabbing his third goal of the game.

The biggest factor in this series will be goaltending. Lukáš Dostál was not at his best for Anaheim, displaying a .874 SV% and a 3.87 GAA. He was chased from Game 5 after allowing three goals on nine shots, but bounced back in Game 6 with 25 saves on 27 shots against. "I feel like I kind of got that day and a half," Dostál said after Game 6. "And that I have the time to recover physically and mentally."

Three different goaltenders started a portion of the regular season for the Golden Knights, with Carter Hart taking the reins in the final stretch. Hart won his last six games of the regular season, but wasn't much better in the first round than Dostál, carrying an .876 SV% through six games.

"We're gonna have a couple of days now, so I think it's gonna be important, physically and mentally," Dostál said. "We're gonna make sure that we're gonna be ready for the next one because it might be a completely different opponent than Edmonton is. That's what's so magical about the playoffs. When you keep advancing, you get to play different teams with different styles."

The first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs still has time left, with one Game 7 scheduled for Sunday, May 3.

But the NHL is giving the second round an early start.

The Carolina Hurricanes will host the Philadelphia Flyers at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 2 on ABC. The Hurricanes swept the Ottawa Senators and the Flyers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.

The Colorado Avalanche will open their second-round series at home at 9 p.m. ET Sunday against the Minnesota Wild. The Avalanche swept the Los Angeles Kings and the Wild beat the Dallas Stars in six games.

The Buffalo Sabres also advanced to the second round after a 4-1 victory against the Boston Bruins on Friday, but they're waiting for Sunday's Tampa Bay Lightning-Montreal Canadiens game at 6 p.m. ET to determine their opponent. The Lightning beat the Canadiens 1-0 in overtime Friday to stay alive.

The Vegas Golden Knights beat the Utah Mammoth on Friday and will face the Anaheim Ducks in the second round. No starting date has been announced.

Sunday's NHL playoff games

All times p.m. ET

• Montreal at Tampa Bay, 6, TNT, truTV. Game 7 of first round
• Minnesota at Colorado, 9, TNT, truTV. Game 1 of second round

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NHL playoff schedule: When does the second round begin?

During the Pittsburgh Penguins' locker cleanout day on Friday, one of their longtime stars addressed some of the uncertainty concerning his future with the organization.

Evgeni Malkin, 40, is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, and as of now, he does not have a new contract for next season. He and GM/POHO Kyle Dubas plan to meet before Malkin heads home to Russia for the summer, but in the meantime, he addressed the Pittsburgh media Friday for what could be his final time in a Penguins' uniform. 

Malkin - drafted second overall in 2004 - has spent all 20 of his NHL seasons with the Penguins, and, for the first time, there seems to be some uncertainty about his future in Pittsburgh. With the direction the Penguins are headed in terms of getting younger - and him turning 40 this summer - it remains unclear whether or not Dubas will re-sign Malkin, who has amassed 533 goals and 1,407 points in his NHL career and was above point-per-game for the first time in three years this season.

Even if Dubas and the Penguins have not yet come to a decision regarding Malkin, it's clear what Malkin wants, as it has been for a long time and after 20 years of playing with Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang. 

"Now I want more, you know?" Malkin said. "It's different emotion when you play playoffs. Fans are crazy. First game against Philly, in warmup, it's probably, like, 18,000 already here. Again, yeah, I want to play again, for sure. It’s special two guys for me. Love to play together. And yeah, we're not happy we lost, but we try to fight every game. But sometimes, you're losing.

"But again, these are two special guys. I hope we play together one more year. But if not, I have great 20 years together. And never forget."

Penguins Head Coach Dan Muse Named Finalist For Jack Adams AwardDan Muse has been nominated for the Jack Adams Award.

Malkin also made it clear that he wants to remain in Pittsburgh - and would accept a role change if he stays - but he would be willing to sign elsewhere if Dubas and the Penguins decide to go in a different direction.

"It's fine if I start wing next year. It’s coach wants me, and I help second line to play wing, it's fine. Nothing changes (for) me like crazy. Just, like, a little bit," Malkin said. "But I think it worked this year. I play not bad. I think it's play with Tommy [Tommy Novak] and Chinny [Egor Chinakhov]. But we see what coach wants (from) me. And it's always, like, you talk to individual, like with coach, and he tell you what role he wants to see (from you on) team. But for me, it's not been a problem."

He added: "I mean, I want to play NHL, for sure. But again, I know it's not easy for Kyle. Maybe he wants new blood here. I understand it's business, and I understand he wants maybe new team, see new faces here. But for me, I want to play one more year in the NHL. I'm not looking back to KHL, play in Russia.

"But if not Pittsburgh, I hope some team."

'There's A Lot To Build On': Penguins Confident 2025-26 Season Is Just The Starting Point For ContentionAfter being eliminated from the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs by the Philadelphia Flyers, the Pittsburgh Penguins are confident that they'll be back in the post-season in the years to come.

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Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!    

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Because the Buffalo Sabres managed to finally return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2011, it ended what was the longest active postseason drought in the NHL.

Unfortunately, it means that the Detroit Red Wings, who haven't qualified since 2016, now own that distinction. 

Adding insult to injury for the current Red Wings is that so many players, some of whom played in Detroit as recently as this and last season, have played key roles in their new respective club's playoff success.

Not only did Vladimir Tarasenko, who managed just 11 goals with the Red Wings last season, more than double his total this year with the Minnesota Wild and help them secure their first playoff series win in 11 years, but another former Red Wing has also helped his new club advance for the first time in nearly twice as long.

Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features. 

Goaltender Alex Lyon, now with the Sabres after playing two seasons in Detroit, made 25 saves to help Buffalo clinch their playoff series over the Boston Bruins. In doing so, the Sabres are on to the second round for the first time since 2007. 

Lyon was signed as an unrestricted free agent by the Red Wings in 2023 after he'd served as the backup to Sergei Bobrovsky during what would be their first of three straight trips to the Stanley Cup Final. During his time with the Red Wings, Lyon went 35-27-6 with a 2.96 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage.

Following Detroit's acquisition of John Gibson from the Anaheim Ducks last offseason, and with Cam Talbot still under contract for another year, Lyon was deemed expendable. 

He joined the Sabres, signing a two-year, $3 million contract with a $1.5 million cap hit.

And so far, the move has paid off in spades for the Sabres. 

Lyon overtook former Sabres (and Red Wings) goaltender Dominik Hasek in the club record books for most consecutive victories, and is now the first Sabres goaltender since former Michigan State Spartan Ryan Miller 19 years ago to win a playoff series. 

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MONTREAL (AP) — Gage Goncalves scored off his own rebound at 9:02 overtime and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 on Friday night to force a Game 7 in the first-round series.

Goncalves scored soon after the Lightning killed scoring star Nikita Kucherov’s penalty for tripping Alexandre Carrier.

Game 7 is Sunday in Tampa. The Lightning are trying to avoid a fourth consecutive first-round exit, while the Canadiens are chasing their first series victory in five years.

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 30 saves for Tampa Bay, and Jakub Dobes stopped 32 shots for Montreal. The first three games of the series also went to overtime.

SABRES 4, BRUINS 1

BOSTON (AP) — Alex Tuch and Mattias Samuelsson scored in the first period, Zach Benson added another early in the third and Buffalo beat Boston in Game 6 to advance to the second round of the NHL playoffs for the first time since 2007.

Josh Norris added an empty-netter. Alex Lyon finished with 25 saves.

The 4-2 series victory is the latest milestone for Buffalo, which saw the end of its 14-year playoff drought by capturing its first Atlantic Division title. The 2007 season was also the last time the Sabres advanced to the second round. They lost in the conference finals that year.

David Pastrnak scored the lone goal for the Bruins. Jeremy Swayman made 22 stops.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS 5, MAMMOTH 1

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Mitch Marner had two goals and an assist, Carter Hart made 21 saves and Vegas beat Utah Mammoth in Game 6 to wrap up the first-round series.

Vegas will face Anaheim in the second round. The Ducks advanced Thursday night with a 5-2 home victory over Edmonton in Game 6.

Vegas has surged since John Tortorella took over as coach from the fired Bruce Cassidy, closing the regular season 7-0-1 after the change.

Marner had two goals and five assists in the series.

Karel Vejmelka made 21 saves for Utah. The Mammoth led in the third period in each of the first five games.

Three former Vancouver Canucks had their dreams of lifting the 2026 Stanley Cup come to a close. On Friday, the Buffalo Sabres defeated the Boston Bruins 4-1, which secured a series win for Vancouver's expansion cousin. The victory was Buffalo's first series win since 2006-07, when they went to the Conference Final. 

The three players on the Bruins with ties to Canucks are Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm and Lukas Reichel. Zadorov and Lindholm both left Vancouver as free agents during the 2024 off-season, while Reichel was traded at the 2026 trade deadline. Of the three, Lindholm led the way with two goals, while Zadorov finished the series with one assist. 

There are also two players on the Sabres' roster with ties to Vancouver. Luke Schenn and Tanner Pearson were among the scratches for Game 6. Neither played a game in the series. 

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.

Latest From THN’s Vancouver Canucks Site:

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Dylan Holloway got his money on Friday. Signing a sizeable contract extension with the St. Louis Blues, the former 14th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in 2020, is going to earn a hefty paycheck over the next five seasons.

Holloway left Edmonton via offer sheet in August 2024 alongside defenseman Philip Broberg. The Oilers elected not to match the deals, a move that didn't sit well with several Oilers fans.

Just starting to come into his own as an NHLer, Holloway, an Alberta native, later revealed that contract negotiations with Edmonton “rubbed me the wrong way.” He felt there was a lack of respect during the process and felt unwanted, given that his choice would have been to remain with the club that drafted him.

In St. Louis, Holloway has flourished. He posted career-high numbers and said in a recent interview he would love to get an extension done and stay with the Blues. He was confident the two sides could find a way to make things work, and he was right. The Blues gave him five years by $7.75 million per season. 

HOLLO-STAY

Dylan Holloway has agreed to terms on a five-year contract extension. #stlbluespic.twitter.com/ySkwk3lcmb

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) May 1, 2026

ca.sports.yahoo.com

For Oilers fans, the signing brings some hard feelings. One day after being eliminated from the 2025-26 playoffs, several fans are looking for reasons the Oilers seemed so disjointed this year. A player like Holloway on the roster certainly would have helped. 

Many view the loss of the promising young winger for only mid-round draft picks as a missed opportunity. The Blues seized their opportunity to get that deal done. 

While some see the hefty new contract as a potential risk if his production plateaus or he continues to have injury issues, it's a solid bet if Holloway can remain in the lineup. 

Bookmark The Hockey News Edmonton Oilers team site to never miss the latest news, game-day coverage, and more. Add us to your Google News favourites, and never miss a story.

The NHL Coach of the Year finalists were announced on Friday.

Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Dan Muse of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Lindy Ruff of the Buffalo Sabres are the three men who are up for the Jack Adams Award, presented to the head coach “adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success.

There was no shortage of analysts who believed that Ottawa's Travis Green should get some love for the award, and for the record, playoff performance has no bearing on the voting.

The award is voted on by members of the NHL Broadcasters’ Association at the end of the regular season, so the Senators' disappointing sweep at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes had no bearing on anything.

Green surely got some votes after leading the Senators into the postseason with a 21-6-3 finish to the season, all while dealing with a rough first half, shaky goaltending, off-ice drama and one injury after another down the stretch, especially on his blue line.

The 55-year-old Creston, B.C. native consistently urged the Senators to ignore those outside distractions, which he billed as white noise, and to stick to the process, whether they win or lose. There was nothing particularly innovative about his message. The impressive part was Green being able to get what appeared to be complete buy-in from his players.

Green was probably never going to beat out Cooper, who, remarkably, has never won the award, or Ruff, who helped snap the Sabres' NHL record playoff drought by winning the Division.

But Muse, the rookie head coach of the Penguins, actually finished one point behind Green's Senators. Jack has a soft spot for rookies, though. Muse is the 19th first-year head coach to be voted as a Jack Adams Award finalist.

Only two Senators head coaches have ever won the award. Paul MacLean in 2012–13 and Jacques Martin in 1998-99. Green won't join them this year, but still deserves a ton of credit for keeping Ottawa's weird season on the rails.

Steve Warne
The Hockey News

This article was first published at The Hockey News Ottawa. Check out more great Sens features from The Hockey News at the links below:  

Tkachuk Frustrated By "The Noise,” But Holds The Power To Silence It
Ottawa's Jake Sanderson One Of Three NHL Finalists For Lady Byng
Did The Senators Actually Improve This Season? And What Has To Happen Now?
Staios Admits Senators Goaltending Plan For This Season Was Flawed
Now Facing A Suspension, Ridly Greig Addresses His Game 4 Sucker Punch

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There was no shortage of great moments for the Detroit Red Wings during their run to the 2008 Stanley Cup, the franchise's 11th in club history and their most recent title to date. 

Along the way, the player that Steve Yzerman affectionately referred to as "Mule" during his first NHL Training Camp in 2005 emerged as a bona fide playoff assassin.

Forward Johan Franzen, who had broken out offensively in the second half of the 2007-08 regular season with a whopping 14 goals in March, continued his scoring prowess in Detroit's opening round playoff series win over the Nashville Predators. 

Not only did he open the scoring in the series, but would later score the overtime game-winning goal in Game 5, giving Detroit a three-games-to-two series advantage that they'd eventually cap off with a win in Game 6. 

Moving on to face the Colorado Avalanche for the first time since 2002, Franzen took the series by force. 

Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features. 

Not only did the Detroit Red Wings sweep the Colorado Avalanche, but Johan Franzen himself managed to outscore the entire Avalanche roster over the four games, lighting the lamp nine times.

He recorded two hat tricks, one in Game 2 and another in Game 4, the latter coming in an 8–2 win in Denver to complete the sweep.

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In their first playoff series since 2018, the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Edmonton Oilers in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs and earned their first series win since 2017, when they ironically defeated the Oilers.

The Ducks have an entirely different roster than that team from nine years ago. In 2017, their core consisted of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Ryan Kesler, Cam Fowler, etc., who were taking their final kicks at the can together. The new core, which consists of Leo Carlsson, Jackson LaCombe, Cutter Gauthier, Beckett Sennecke, etc., is on the completely opposite trajectory.

Takeaways from the Ducks 5-2 Win over the Oilers in Game 6, Ducks Win Series 4-2

Adjustments the Ducks Will Look to Counter to Avoid Game 7

At the beginning of the season, the 2025-26 Ducks set their seemingly lofty goal to make the playoffs and potentially make some noise once there. Well, they made the playoffs, and they made noise, eliminating the defending back-to-back Western Conference Champions, who employ (potentially) the two best hockey players on the planet, in six games.

Very few picked the Ducks to win the series, so here are three primary keys to the Ducks’ success in their opening round victory:

Author’s note: These are keys from the Ducks’ perspective. The Oilers had injuries to impact players like Leon Draisaitl (missed 14 games heading into the playoffs, lower body), Connor McDavid (appeared to have sustained an injury to his right leg/ankle in Game 2), Jason Dickinson (missed three games heading into the playoffs and missed games 2 and 3 of this series, lower body), and Adam Henrique (exited game 1, lower body), which were potentially their most significant factor in losing this series to Anaheim.

Jackson LaCombe

If the Conn Smythe were to be awarded after the first round, a relatively easy case could be made for Anaheim’s star defenseman Jackson LaCombe. As of Friday morning, he’s tied for second among all players in scoring with nine points (1-8=9) in six games and leads all defensemen. At 5v5, he played 138:24 TOI, and in those minutes, the Ducks accounted for 64.06% of the shots on goal, 60.81% of the shot attempts, and 65.63% of the expected goals.

More impressively, he was hard-matched against Connor McDavid as much as Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville could manage. When LaCombe was on the ice against McDavid (66:09) at 5v5, the Ducks won the shots on goal battle 42-19, the shot attempt battle 78-50, accounted for 67.3% of the expected goals, and outscored the Oilers 6-2.

LaCombe, forever calm and poised, defended rushes all series perfectly, dictated tempo, was efficient on breakouts, active along the blueline, and joined as many rushes as he could to generate offense for Anaheim. He broke out in the 2024-25 season, continued to turn heads during the 2025-26 season, and has now put the hockey world on notice, playing his best when it matters most.

“This guy (pointing to LaCombe) is really good,” Ducks forward Troy Terry said after Game 6 when asked about defeating McDavid. “That team had been to two cup finals, and we have a lot of respect for him and those players. He really is that good, and to watch the task that this guy and (Jacob) Trouba had. These guys were on him most of the time, but collectively, we all had to play him and we were all aware of it.”

Special Teams

In the 2025-26 regular season, the Ducks held the 23rd-ranked power play (18.6%) in the NHL and the 27th-ranked penalty kill (76.4%). The Oilers were the NHL’s top power play team (30.6%) and had the 20th-ranked penalty kill (77.8%). Logic would have suggested the Oilers had the advantage should the series be decided by special teams.

The Ducks were one of the NHL’s most penalized teams in the regular season, racking up 814 penalty minutes (6th in NHL). They flipped the script in the first round of the playoffs and averaged just 6.5 PIMs/Game, the lowest rate of any team in the first round. They didn’t kill at a spectacular rate in the playoffs (71.4%), but only allowing four power play goals to the Edmonton Oilers is a feat not to be ignored.

The deciding factor on special teams through the series was the Ducks’ power play. The Ducks converted on eight of their 16 opportunities with the man-advantage and deployed two equally potent units capable of scoring in a variety of ways. Ducks assistant coach Jay Woodcroft, former Oilers head coach, found the puzzle pieces he liked together on each unit and crafted several ways for each unit to execute clever in-zone sequences to generate optimal chances.

One of Woodcroft’s units featured John Carlson at the top of the umbrella and accounted for five power play goals, while the other featured Jackson LaCombe and accounted for three (all from Cutter Gauthier).

“The best part about it was that in the whole series, we didn’t take that many penalties,” Quenneville said. “That was one of the things that we had to do in order to have some success. As infrequent as they were on the power play, their top guys are going to have some confidence, and they can generate stuff off of that, and then everybody helps their team. That was a point of emphasis, and the guys did a good job of that.”

Joel Quenneville’s Adjustments (Tactical and Personnel)

This series was a six-game chess match between head coaches Joel Quenneville and Kris Knoblauch, along with their respective staffs. They each took turns adjusting and counteradjusting to personnel and tactical tweaks made by the other.

After losing Game 1 in Edmonton, Quenneville seemed to be deploying the exact same lineup for Game 2, but at the apparent last second, and keeping his cards close to the chest, he swapped his third and first-line left wingers, offering his club new looks and forcing his opponent to counter on the fly. He did the same thing between Games 5 and 6 in an attempt to disrupt any potential game plan Knoblauch had prepared.

Tactically, this series took on many forms despite high goal totals in every game. Edmonton took advantage of Anaheim’s wide eyes early in game one, controlling cycles and connecting plays at high speeds. From the first puck drop, Anaheim’s focus when it came to defending McDavid was to match him up against LaCombe when possible and hound him with backchecking pressure, creating a five-man unit with waves of defenders, and they were careful to keep a high F3 when 97 was on the ice.

Knoblauch tweaked his approach to a more streamlined, north-south game after Game 2, as the Oilers were turning a high number of pucks over in neutral ice when trying to manufacture connecting sequences. Ducks defenders were up to the task, evading heavy F1s and had supporting forwards low to help in precarious situations.

Ultimately, the Ducks and their coaching staff were able to draw the Oilers into playing their brand of hockey, trading chances, forcing neutral zone turnovers, and turning said turnovers into quick-strike offense.

“Jay (Woodcroft) was great. I think our coaching staff is outstanding. Gilly (Ryan McGill) with the penalty kill was outstanding as well,” Quenneville said after Game 6.

Quenneville and Co. will have a brand new set of challenges facing them in the second round, and a new chess match will present itself, whether they’ll face the Utah Mammoth or the Vegas Golden Knights. This series proved one thing: this coaching staff has the ability to manipulate their opponent to optimize the Ducks’ chances at advancing.

Takeaways from the Ducks 4-1 Loss to the Oilers in Game 5, Ducks Lead Series 3-2

The Anaheim Ducks Approach to Having the Edmonton Oilers on the Brink of Elimination

Takeaways from the Ducks 4-3 Overtime Win over the Oilers in Game 4, Ducks Lead Series 3-1