Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb limped off the ice in the first period of Game 2 after a check.
McNabb delivered a hit to Colorado Avalanche defenseman Sam Malinski, whose skate came up and appeared to catch the Vegas player in the leg.
ESPN cameras caught McNabb limping toward the dressing room and unable to put weight on his right leg.
McNabb was not on the bench in the second period, leaving the Golden Knights with five defensemen during the second game of the Western Conference finals. But he was able to return for the beginning of the third period.
Brayden McNabb has yet to return to Game 2 after leaving in the first period following this hit pic.twitter.com/cZkhtOpaIJ
McNabb wasn't the only defenseman to leave the game. Colorado's Josh Manson went to the dressing room after he tried to check Barbashev and went face first into the boards during the second period.
Josh Manson has left the Avs' bench after going face-first into the boards while laying a hit on Ivan Barbashev 😵🤕 pic.twitter.com/eDu0EbqcP1
The Philadelphia Flyers should be on the hunt for another goalie this off-season. Samuel Ersson struggled this campaign as the team's backup, so it would not hurt for the Flyers to bring in some more competition.
When looking at trade candidates around the NHL, Detroit Red Wings goalie prospect Sebastian Cossa stands out as a very fascinating potential option.
Questions about Cossa's future in Detroit have been coming up now that the Red Wings' season is over. This is mainly because the Red Wings have two other exciting goalie prospects in Michal Postava and Trey Augustine. If the Red Wings do make him available, the Flyers would be wise to kick tires on the 23-year-old goalie.
While Cossa has just one NHL appearance on his resume, he still has the potential to blossom into a very good goaltender. There is a reason why he was selected by the Red Wings with the 15th overall pick of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, after all.
Cossa spent all of this in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins and had a strong campaign. In 39 games with the AHL club this season, the 6-foot-7 goaltender posted a 26-8-4 record, a .915 save percentage, a 2.33 goals-against average, and five shutouts. With numbers like these, he certainly has the potential to make the jump to the NHL next season and could be a nice backup option for the Flyers because of it.
Ultimately, with the Flyers needing goalie depth, Cossa would be a very good prospect for them to take a chance on if he is made available. Let's see if they target him from here.
The start of the game was just as exciting as one would expect as both teams traded waves of momentum. Nathan MacKinnon took a hit against the boards and still found a way to get his hands on the puck and fed a pass to Artturi Lehkonen in the slot, but his shot was blocked.
Vegas also had their opportunities as Mitch Marner tried to deke his way around Scott Wedgewood, but the William M. Jennings Trophy winner stood tall and stuffed Marner's shot between his pads.
And yes, the physicality also showed up, but it was the Golden Knights who delivered the first strike as Ivan Barbashev dished out a heavy hit on Logan O'Connor against the boards. Barbashev is built like a bear. He's the same player that broke Sam Girard's sternum during round two of the 2022 playoffs en route to the Stanley Cup when he played for the St. Louis Blues.
Brent Burns and Josh Manson you could say were the modern version of the Bath Brothers in the early stages as well as they dished solid hits on William Karlsson and Brett Howden, respectively, with the latter tapping Manson on the leg after taking a hit from behind.
With under six minutes to go in the opening period, Vegas got a massive chance that fell right into their laps when Marner took off on a breakaway as Manson got caught napping, but Scott Wedgewood turned away a slap shot and the immediate rebound to keep the game tied at 0.
Ross Colton gave the Avalanche a 1-0 lead with 3:01 remaining, ripping a scintillating wrist shot top shelf over the glove of Carter Hart off a rebound generated by a point blast from Brent Burns. Nazem Kadri also picked up an assist after feeding Burns a pass from just behind the net to ignite the sequence.
At the end of the first, Colorado lead 1-0 and shots on goal were even at 12 shots on net apiece.
Second Period
The second period kicked off with penalties. Martin Necas earned a double minor after slashing and subsequently tripping Barbashev. However, early into the extended power play, Jack Eichel was called for interference. Following some 4-on-4 action, Colorado killed off the remainder of Necas' four-minute penalty to return to 5-on-5.
About seven minutes into the period, Nathan MacKinnon brought his muscle into the mix as he dropped a charging Kolesar at the blue line.
DENVER, COLORADO - MAY 20: Gabriel Landeskog #92 of the Colorado Avalanche faces off against Jack Eichel #9 of the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period in Game One of the Western Conference Final of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Ball Arena on May 20, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
After a frustrating Game 1 loss against the Vegas Golden Knights, the Colorado Avalanche are back in action again tonight, as they look to bounce back and even this series up in Game 2.
Colorado Avalanche
Game 1 was, in a word, frustrating for Colorado. Yes, Vegas is a good hockey team and they were incredibly opportunistic with their goals, but the Avs made it super easy for them to actually benefit from those opportunities, as they made a lot of mistakes defensively in that game, giving the Golden Knights maybe a bit of an easier time than they would’ve had otherwise. Tonight, they’ll have to clean up those defensive mistakes to even this series.
There’s no greater storyline for Colorado than what’s the status of Cale Makar. He was a participant at morning skate, which is fostering some optimism that he can return to the lineup tonight. In net it still looks to be Scott Wedgewood despite the loss.
Projected Lineup
Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Gabriel Landeskog Valeri Nichushkin – Brock Nelson – Martin Necas Ross Colton – Nazem Kadri – Nic Roy Parker Kelly – Jack Drury – Logan O’Connor
Devon Toews – Sam Malinski Brett Kulak – Brent Burns Jack Achan – Josh Manson
Scott Wedgewood Mackenzie Blackwood
Vegas Golden Knights
As previously mentioned, the Golden Knights were very opportunistic in Game 1, and capitalized on the opportunities they got throughout the game. They were as advertised in this game, being strong defensively and overall frustrating to play against. Colorado did make a late push in Game 1 and showed that they’re capable of hanging with this team, they’ll just need to capitalize the way Vegas did to even this series.
No lineup changes are expected for Vegas, though Mark Stone did make the trip to Colorado but he’s still out indefinitely.
Projected Lineup
Ivan Barbashev – Jack Eichel – Pavel Dorofeyev Brett Howden – William Karlsson – Mitch Marner Brandon Saad – Tomas Hertl – Colton Sissons Cole Smith – Nic Dowd – Keegan Kolessar
The teams last met on Wednesday for Game 1. The Avalanche came out hard and fast, but the Golden Knights weathered the storm and escaped the first period with a 0-0 tie. They got the ever-important first goal and scored twice more to take a 3-0 lead early in the third period. The Avalanche roared back, but the Golden Knights held on for a 4-2 win.
Carter Hart starts in goal for the Golden Knights. Hart has a record of 9-4 and an average save percentage of .920 in 13 games this postseason.
Scott Wedgewood starts in goal for the Avalanche. Wedgewood has a record of 7-2 and an average save percentage of .911 in eight games this postseason.
Mark Stone was on the ice for morning skate, but remains OUT for Game 2 per head coach John Tortorella.
Golden Knights Lines
Ivan Barbashev — Jack Eichel — Pavel Dorofeyev
Brett Howden — William Karlsson — Mitch Marner
Brandon Saad — Tomáš Hertl — Colton Sissons
Cole Smith — Nic Dowd — Keegan Kolesar
Defense
Brayden McNabb — Shea Theodore
Noah Hanifin — Rasmus Andersson
Kaedan Korczak — Dylan Coghlan
Goaltenders: Carter Hart / Adin Hill
Avalanche Lines
Gabriel Landeskog — Nathan MacKinnon — Martin Nečas
Artturi Lehkonen — Brock Nelson — Nicolas Roy
Ross Colton — Nazem Kadri — Valeri Nichushkin
Parker Kelly — Jack Drury — Logan O’Connor
Defense
Devon Toews — Sam Malinski
Brett Kulak — Josh Manson
Brent Burns — Jack Ahcan
Goaltenders: Scott Wedgewood / Mackenzie Blackwood
Special Teams
VGK power play: 27.0%, 4th
VGK penalty kill: 85.4%, T6th
Avalanche power play: 25.9%, 5th
Avalanche penalty kill: 77.4%, 11th
Game Notes
The Golden Knights are 10-10 in Game 2s in franchise history, and have lost the past four Game 2s
Historically, teams that take a 2-0 series lead go on to win 87.6% of the time.
Mitch Marner is the postseason leader in scoring with 19 points (7G, 12A).
Pavel Dorofeyev leads the league with ten postseason goals. He is the fifth player in Golden Knights franchise history to record double-digit goals in one postseason.
Jack Eichel leads the league in assists this postseason with 15.
As the Ottawa Senators consider how to proceed with their backup goaltending position for next season, a new name has entered the fray.
According to NHL analyst and former Ottawa 67's goalie Kevin Weekes, Buffalo Sabres farmhand Devon Levi is a player several teams are interested in, including the Senators.
Ottawa started last season with Leevi Merilainen as their backup, so this may be the first Leevi to Levi goalie transition in NHL history.
Levi was a dominant goalie for the CCHL's Carleton Place Canadians in 2019-20, posting phenomenal numbers. He had a 34-2-1 record, a 1.47 goals-against average, a .941 save percentage, and 8 shutouts. Levi also won just about every award in Canadian Junior A hockey that year.
The following season, as he continued to dominate at the NCAA level (Northeastern), his numbers for Canada at the World Juniors were also out of this world. He went 6-1 with a 0.75 goals-against average, a .964 save percentage and three shutouts.
Levi saw quite a bit of action in the 2023-24 NHL season, appearing in 23 games, but has spent much of the past two-and-a-half seasons with the AHL's Rochester Americans. He’s still just 24 years old and currently appears crease-blocked in Buffalo behind Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Alex Lyon and Colton Ellis.
Still only 24, he’d certainly come at the right price, contract-wise.
Last summer, Levi signed a two-year, $1.625 million contract with the Sabres at an average annual value of $812,500. So he still has another year left on his contract and will remain under club control as he hits restricted free agency next summer, although he is arbitration-eligible.
Levi was originally drafted by the Florida Panthers in the seventh round of the 2020 NHL Draft, but was part of the 2021 trade that sent Sam Reinhart to the Panthers.
The Senators have not ruled out leaning on their internal goaltending options, whether it’s Merilainen (RFA), Mads Sogaard (UFA-G6) or veteran James Reimer (UFA), but strong arguments can be made against all those options, and all three need new contracts.
By Steve Warne The Hockey News
This story was originally published at The Hockey News Ottawa Senators site. Click on the latest headlines below to read the latest stories there:
The Montreal Canadiens aim to back up their dominant Game 1 statement win by taking a 2-0 series stranglehold tonight in Carolina.
If you're looking for action on this high-stakes matchup, our best NHL picks and Canadiens vs. Hurricanes predictions for Saturday, May 23 feature a heavy dose of rising star Juraj Slafkovsky.
UPDATE: Added goal scorer pick.
Canadiens vs Hurricanes Game 2 prediction today
Canadiens vs Hurricanes best bet: Juraj Slafkovsky Over 0.5 points (-150)
Not only did the budding star rack up three points, but he and linemates Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield were also the only Montreal trio to drive five-on-five possession, producing a 63.3 Corsi For percentage.
The Carolina Hurricanes are going to push back Saturday, but I’m still expecting the Habs to generate offense. Slafkovsky has posted an elite 4.06 points per 60 minutes across the past six games, making this prop playable up to -160.
Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen was never going to maintain his .950 save percentage across the first two rounds moving forward, so Game 1 stands as a potential sign of things to come in the Carolina crease.
Canadiens vs Hurricanes Game 2 same-game parlay
In addition to Andersen looking shaky in the series opener, Habs No. 1 Jakub Dobes has had his own spells of inconsistency this postseason, allowing at least three goals in seven games.
I also fully expect the Hurricanes to generate more high-quality scoring chances in Game 2. Carolina produced just 2.87 expected goals in the series opener after averaging 3.72 per 60 minutes through the first two rounds of the playoffs.
Returning to Slafkovsky, he’s recorded three or more shots in five games while posting a high-end 18.78 shot attempts per 60 minutes during the highlighted six-game heater.
Meanwhile, Blake and linemates Logan Stankoven and Taylor Hall posted an impressive 67.7 CF% at five-on-five.
I price this prop in the +240 range, so the +290 odds have my full attention.
Canadiens vs Hurricanes odds for Game 2 today
Moneyline: Montreal +165 | Carolina -200
Puck Line: Montreal +1.5 (-150) | Carolina -1.5 (+130)
Over/Under: Over 5.5 (-125) | Under 5.5 (+105)
Canadiens vs Hurricanes trend
Carolina has won 19 of its last 25 games (+11.30 Units / 28% ROI). Find more NHL betting trends for Canadiens vs. Hurricanes.
How to watch Canadiens vs Hurricanes Game 2
Location
Lenovo Center, Raleigh, NC
Date
Saturday, May 23, 2026
Puck drop
7:00 p.m. ET
TV
Sportsnet, TNT
Canadiens vs Hurricanes latest injuries
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
Golden Knights vs Avalanche goal scorer predictions for Game 2
Player to score
Odds
Nathan MacKinnon
-110
Nazem Kadri
+265
Jack Eichel
+215
💲Goal scorer parlay: Nathan MacKinnon, Nazem Kadri, Jack Eichel
+1200
Goal scorer pick: Nathan MacKinnon (-110)
Nathan MacKinnon posted a game-high nine shot attempts in the series opener while logging more ice time than any other Colorado Avalanche forward.
Head coach Jared Bednar did his best to make life easier on MacKinnon, starting 10 of his shifts in the offensive zone (compared to two in the defensive zone) and keeping him on for 18 offensive zone draws. No forward on the team had more.
The Avalanche can't afford to go down 0-2 heading back to Vegas, so I expect this will be a "kitchen sink" game. MacKinnon could flirt with 24-25 minutes in regulation alone.
For reference, MacKinnon has averaged 5.4 shots on 10.3 attempts over his last 10 playoff games when playing 24+ minutes.
Given the remarkably strong volume he's likely heading for, MacKinnon has a strong chance of finding the net.
Goal scorer pick: Nazem Kadri (+265)
Nazem Kadri was a force in the series opener. The Avalanche generated more shot attempts, scoring chances, and expected goals with him on the ice than any other forward on the roster. He lived in the offensive zone, and tested Carter Hart often as a result.
Kadri had five shot attempts, four shots on goal, and a couple rebound looks during his 5-on-5 minutes. He was also credited with Colorado's only Grade A chance on the power play.
He was a thorn in the side of the Vegas Golden Knights, and the Avalanche will be able to chase the same matchups again in Game 2 with last change on home ice.
Not to mention, Kadri ranks first on the Avalanche in shots on goal, scoring chances, and high-danger looks over their past four home games.
Goal scorer pick: Jack Eichel (+215)
The Golden Knights led for the majority of Game 1, and never trailed, so Jack Eichel wasn't ever under much pressure to force the issue offensively and take chances.
Even so, he still led the team in 5-on-5 scoring chances. They just didn't find the net.
Eichel leads the team in attempts (70), shots (38), and has generated 5.03 expected goals yet scored only one goal. He's getting looks consistently but has been held back by a 2.63% finishing rate.
He scores on more than 10% of his shots year after year so this is a string of bad luck more than anything performance related. The tide is going to turn sooner rather than later, and a better performance from the Avalanche in Game 2 would force Eichel to shoot more frequently.
Golden Knights vs Avalanche anytime goal parlay (+1200)
Nathan MacKinnon
Nazem Kadri
Jack Eichel
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
The Vancouver Canucks were the first NHL team eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention in 2026. Some of their former players, however, are continuing to make a big difference in their new teams’ playoff pushes — with the ex-Canucks specifically being big factors in the Vegas Golden Knights and Montréal Canadiens’ Game 1 wins on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.
The first big performance came from ex-Canuck Nic Dowd during Vegas’ 4–2 Game 1 win against the Colorado Avalanche. Though he only ended up playing 13:18 minutes during this game, the seventh-most among forwards on Vegas, Dowd’s difference-making moment came when he beat out two members of the Avalanche on a non-icing call to slap the puck into the empty net and seal the win for the Golden Knights. Easing up on the play would have likely been detrimental to Vegas, who’d faced an onslaught of offence from Colorado during those final couple of minutes.
Dowd also won 62.5% of his faceoffs during this game, including the one that led to his empty-net goal.
The next day saw another former Canuck make a big difference in his team’s victory, though his performance came off-the-ice rather than on it. Montréal took a surprising 6–2 win against a Carolina Hurricanes team that had not surrendered more than five goals in a single series throughout this year’s playoffs up until that point. Post-game, Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis gave a shout-out to one particular ex-Canuck’s work in helping them prepare for this series.
“We knew for a long time that if we got through Buffalo, we were playing Carolina. Obviously, our analytics people, but Alex Burrows does a lot of that grunt work for us, and he worked hard while we were trying to close out the series against Buffalo,” St. Louis explained to reporters.
Burrows, a longtime Canuck, was formerly an assistant coach for Montréal but stepped down from the role in July of 2024. Since then, he has remained with the Canadiens organization as a player development coach. He has been with the organization for eight seasons, working both with the AHL’s Laval Rocket as well as the Canadiens during that span of time.
The Conference Finals of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs resume tonight at 5:00 pm PT, as the Avalanche will host the Golden Knights in Colorado for Game 2 of their series. Montréal and Carolina will face each other on Saturday at 4:00 pm PT.
May 20, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Vegas Golden Knights centerNicDowd(26) celebrates after scoring during the third period against the Colorado Avalanche in game one of the Western Conference Final of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
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.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
May 3, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar (8) celebrates his goal scored against the Minnesota Wild during the third period in game one of the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Avalanche will be without standout defenseman Cale Makar for Game 2 of the Western Conference Final on Friday night because of an upper-body injury.
Makar, who also sat out Game 1, went through different skating and shooting drills Friday morning ahead of the game against Vegas before coach Jared Bednar ruled him out. The Golden Knights lead the series 1-0 after a 4-2 win.
“It hurts when you don't have Makar, but every team is going through (injuries),” Bednar said, pointing out that Vegas has been missing captain Mark Stone. “Our goal is to be the best version of ourselves we can be tonight, and that’s without Cale, and so be it. I still think we’re capable of winning the hockey game if we’re better than we were the other night.”
Makar appeared to be banged up in Game 5 last week as the Avalanche closed out their second-round series with Minnesota. He left the ice holding his right arm but later returned. He also briefly departed Game 1 after taking a hit along the boards, with his right leg flying into the air before he fell to the ice.
Bednar declined to say who would fill in for Makar. It could be Jack Ahcan again or possibly Nick Blankenburg, who was acquired from Nashville in March. Alex Gagne also remains a possibility.
Makar has four goals and an assist while averaging nearly 25 minutes of ice time through the opening two rounds. The Norris Trophy finalist also factors heavily into the Avalanche's special teams.
Any mental aspects to not having Makar on the ice for a crucial game?
“I don't think when you're playing you can think about it. I think that's a hindrance," Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson said. "Going into it, obviously, you hope he's playing. I don't think anybody can ever stand up here and say, ‘Oh, I hope he’s not playing.'
"I mean, he's a generational player. I don't think you want to think about it. I think you've just got to keep playing.”
The Montreal Canadiens’ top line might not have been firing on all cylinders in the first two rounds, but captain Nick Suzuki still managed to get his fair share of points. While most of them came on the power play before Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes, they still count.
In Thursday’s game, Suzuki had a hand in three of the Canadiens’ six goals, all scored at even strength. He assisted on Cole Caufield’s game-tying goal in the first period and on both of Juraj Slafkovsky’s tallies in the final period, playing a big role in the Habs’ rout of the Hurricanes.
After 15 playoff games, the 26-year-old now has 16 points, which is not a record in Canadiens’ history. However, the fact that 14 of those points came on the road is. The four goals he has scored have all come away from the Bell Centre, helping the Canadiens earn the nickname of Road Warriors. With Thursday night’s effort, he took the team lead in scoring, two points ahead of defenseman Lane Hutson.
The first game of the third round was quite promising for the Canadiens, who finally saw their top line erupt at even strength. While the Habs did manage to make it all the way to the conference final, their odds of eliminating Carolina would be greatly increased if their top line could contribute just like it did in Game 1 for the rest of the series.
The Canadiens will take on the Hurricanes in Game 2 on Saturday night in Raleigh, and a second road win would give them a stronghold in the series. Over recent years, Carolina has been a regular in the conference final but has struggled to win any game in that round. In their last four appearances, including this one, they are now 1-13, and one can wonder if the Habs didn’t plant the seed of doubt in the Canes’ heads with their dominant win.
When NHL teams are searching for a new head coach, just like the Toronto Maple Leafs are after firing Craig Berube, there's a common theme of a range of candidates coming from a coaching carousel.
Typically, veteran coaches who get relieved land on their feet with another team in short order. It happened to Peter DeBoer when he was fired by the Dallas Stars last off-season, and hired by the New York Islanders at the tail-end of the past regular season.
Jay Woodcroft spent this past season as an assistant coach of the Anaheim Ducks. He has played a role in the young Ducks having a breakout season, especially offensively.
Woodcroft has looked after the Ducks' power play and is an offense-minded coach. That would explain the rapid and impressive growth of Anaheim's young star forwards, such as Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier and Beckett Sennecke.
Before joining the Ducks at the start of this past campaign, he was the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers for parts of three seasons.
He was hired by Edmonton midway through 2021-22 and was let go 13 games into the 2023-24 campaign. Therefore, Woodcroft only led the Oilers for one full year in 2022-23.
Nonetheless, he had a good year with the Oilers, leading that team to a 109-point finish and a 50-23-9 record.
He has experience in managing superstars in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, which would translate to coaching Auston Matthews and William Nylander. Woodcroft also got to work alongside a future Hall of Fame coach in Joel Quenneville this past year.
It's also worth noting that Toronto is Woodcroft's hometown.
Dean Evason has much more experience as an NHL head coach compared to Woodcroft, but the 61-year-old isn't exactly a veteran, as he's coached 378 regular-season games in his career.
Nonetheless, he's spent parts of seven seasons as a coach in the NHL, with his time shared between the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets.
Evason's first stint was with Minnesota, which lasted three full campaigns after leading the Wild bench for 12 games in 2019-20 as the successor to Bruce Boudreau. Since then, Evason led the Wild to the post-season in every campaign, except in 2023-24 when he was fired after a 5-10-4 start to the year.
In 2024-25, he joined the Blue Jackets and coached them to a very respectable fourth-place finish in the Metropolitan Division. Columbus missed the playoffs by just a pair of points in the standings, but the team's effort following the loss of Johnny Gaudreau was inspiring.
Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell felt that he needed to make a coaching change 45 games into the following season, and Rick Bowness came in to replace Evason.
Drew Bannister wasn't a head coach in the NHL for a very long time. In fact, he only coached the St. Louis Blues for 76 outings between 2023-24 and 2024-25.
Bannister's tenure as the head coach of the Blues started when he was named the interim bench boss when Berube was fired, and coached the final 54 games of that season. He ended that year with a respectable 30-19-5 record.
When the next season rolled around, Bannister stayed on board after inking a two-year contract extension, removing his interim tag. But just 22 games in with a 9-12-1 record, Jim Montgomery became available after losing his job with the Boston Bruins, and Blues GM Doug Armstrong jumped on the opportunity to bring him in.
That move came at the cost of Bannister's job, before he really had the chance to coach at the NHL level.
Before becoming the head coach in St. Louis, Bannister led from behind the bench for the AHL's Springfield Thunderbirds. In his stint with the Thunderbirds, he guided them to a Calder Cup final appearance in 2021-22.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
Vegas Golden Knightscaptain Mark Stone took the ice for morning skate ahead of Game 2 of the Western Conference Final. He has missed the last four postseason games with a lower-body injury.
Per Golden Knights head coach John Tortorella, he will miss a fifth straight game. Tortorella confirmed that Stone is OUT for Game 2.
All signs pointed to Stone missing Game 2. At morning skate, the team did not do line rushes, but Stone participated in drills. He stayed out on the ice with the scratches and hung back when they headed off. Once Stone was the only player on the ice, he skated laps around the rink with Golden Knights skills coach Sean Ferrell for several minutes.
Stone has been out since Game 3 of the Golden Knights’ Second Round series against the Anaheim Ducks. He played just 4:24 before suffering a non-contact injury in the first period. He returned to the bench during the second period, but after testing his legs during a TV timeout, slammed his stick down and headed down the tunnel.
This is the first time Stone has been on the ice with the full team since his injury, although he did skate with the scratchesprior to Game 1. This could be a positive development as the Golden Knights continue on in the Western Conference Final against the mighty Colorado Avalanche.
The Colorado Avalanche will try to even their Western Conference finals series against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 2. The Golden Knights won the opener 4-2. The Colorado Avalanche are favored with a -201 moneyline compared to the Vegas Golden Knights' +166. The over/under for this matchup is set at 6.5 goals.
How to watch Vegas Golden Knights vs Colorado Avalanche
The Anaheim Ducks are a week removed from an improbable run to the Western Conference semifinals, where they lost their second-round series to the Vegas Golden Knights in six games.
They achieved the goal they set out to achieve in the Spring of 2025: to make the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs. The road was a long and winding roller coaster, and at the finish line, the outlook of the organization moving forward may have been altered slightly.
The Ducks enter the offseason with a projected $40.5 million in cap space. They are expected to have expensive extensions due to RFA forwards Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier, along with some decisions to make involving RFAs in the subsequent tier, like Pavel Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger.
They also have decisions to make along the periphery of their current and future roster with a slew of aging veterans who will soon see their current deals expire.
The Ducks roster has clear holes heading into the 2026-27 season, but an unexpected one appeared down the stretch of the regular season, into the playoffs, and eventually the 2026 offseason: second-line center.
After a long, arduous negotiation that lasted well into the team’s 2025 training camp, Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek signed then RFA Mason McTavish to a six-year contract extension that carries an AAV of $7 million.
McTavish (23) was coming off a career-high 52 points (22-30=52) in 76 games in 2024-25 and projected to be the club’s second-line center for the foreseeable future as they aimed to turn the corner on their rebuild and begin contending perennially for Stanley Cups.
Though he missed roughly the first half of Ducks training camp, under a brand new coaching staff and having to learn a brand new system, McTavish got off to a hot start, as did his team as a whole.
He opened his 2025-26 campaign by scoring 19 points (6-13=19) in his first 26 games before cooling off dramatically in the middle portion of the season. He was moved to the wing for the final quarter of the season and finished with seven points (3-4=7) in his final seven games, heading into the playoffs.
“It was a unique kind of situation to start, missing a little bit of camp at the start, obviously not ideal. I thought the start of my year was actually decent, pretty good,” McTavish said during his exit interview. “It kind of went up and down throughout the second half there and in playoffs too.”
McTavish scored four points (1-3=4) in the Ducks’ first-round series win against the Oilers, but was scratched for Games 2 and 3 in the second round against the Vegas Golden Knights. He finished the playoff run with six points (1-5=6) in ten games, only averaging 12:25 TOI per game, a sizable decrease from his season average of 15:19 and his career average of 15:51.
“I’m happy with the way I handled it,” McTavish said on those healthy scratches. “Obviously, you never plan on getting scratched, and it sucks. I think you just got to kind of put your head down and keep working and go about it in a positive way.”
Alan Poizner-Imagn Images
Reflective of every team he’s played on (he’s played for three different head coaches in his four-year NHL career), McTavish has struggled mightily on the defensive side of the puck, specifically deep in his own end.
He’s added the necessary size, puck skill, and motor to become a puck battle winner in the tight areas of the ice. However, that skill has been exclusive to protecting and winning pucks back in the offensive end, as he lacks the skating ability and/or defensive fundamentals to evade defenders in neutral ice, eliminate time and space, stay with assignments, or strip attackers of possession.
“Round out my defensive game,” McTavish said on what he needs to improve on over the summer. “I think that’s probably the big thing. I think it kind of got better towards the end. I think just foot speed, too. I think maybe come in a little lighter.”
Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville and the system he’s implemented in Anaheim requires his centers to be true, goal line to goal line, 200-foot centers. McTavish’s lack of straight-line speed, explosion, and deft edges has greatly limited his development as an NHL center through the first 304 games of his NHL career, and was glaring under Quenneville’s play style and system.
Due to his scratches in the playoffs, McTavish’s future in Anaheim has come into question for the second summer in a row. If intentions are for him to re-establish himself as the Ducks’ 2C of the present and future, significant strides (pun intended) need to be taken to adjust the mechanics of every aspect of his skating capabilities.
If the Ducks are questioning his fit down the middle for their club, he could become a useful winger due to his heavy shot, forechecking ability, and board battle skills. The club could also move on from the former third-overall pick and trade him to fill a hole in their lineup, as he appears to have maintained value across the league.
Mikael Granlund provided the Ducks with some quality minutes, filling in as their second-line center in the latter months of the season and playoffs. However, he isn’t getting faster, taller, or younger, so if they run into a deep team down the middle, as they did against Vegas in the playoffs, they’ll likely be at a disadvantage.
Roger McQueen (10th overall in 2025) will see his ELC kick in for the 2025-26 season, giving the Ducks a potential long-term option for their now-perceived need for a second-line center. At just 20 years old and with the team’s contending window suddenly open, the Ducks may view that option as a bit too daunting for him to handle to begin his professional career.
The expectation for the Ducks moving forward is that they take yet another step toward contending consistently for Stanley Cups. They have some internal options, but if they’re to achieve that goal, they’ll need to address a new need down the middle, behind franchise center Leo Carlsson.
Nathan MacKinnon
Jack Eichel
