Some believe that the Montreal Canadiens are as good as buried down 2-0 against the Washington Capitals in their first-round series. Others believe that you’re not in trouble in the Stanley Cup playoffs until you’ve lost a game at home, and then there’s John Scott.

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Former NHL enforcer and one-time Canadiens player John Scott had this to say on X this morning:

Big game in Montreal tonight. I could honestly see the Habs taking the next two games at home and tying the series. They've been right there. I believe #GoHabsGo

— John Scott (@johnscott_32) April 25, 2025

While Scott only suited up for one game with the Habs, he did skate in 286 NHL games, most of which were with the Buffalo Sabres. The tough guy racked up 544 penalty minutes in his career and was elected to the All-Star Game during the 2015-16 season when a “Vote John Scott in the All-Star Game campaign took social media by storm.

He played for the Arizona Coyotes then but was traded to the Canadiens along with Victor Bartley in return for Jared Tinordi and Stefan Fournier. The Habs immediately sent him down to the St. John’s Ice Caps. Some believed the trade aimed to keep him out of the All-Star Game, but he did participate. He was even named the MVP of the game, thanks to scoring two goals and another social media campaign.

After the event, the NHL amended its rule book to make players demoted to the AHL ineligible to play in its All-Star Game. Whichever way you look at it, Scott was liked by the fans, and after that post, he must have conquered a few new fans in Montreal.

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The Stanley Cup Playoffs are off and running, and The Hockey Show is all over it!

We’re one week into the best postseason in all of professional sports and there has been no shortage of great storylines, exciting moments and controversial topics to discuss.

Joining hosts Roy Bellamy and David Dwork this week was friend of the show Adnan Virk from NHL on Prime.

Among the topics discussed with Adnan were the Los Angeles Kings possibly, finally getting out of the first round against the Edmonton Oilers, the New York Islanders parting ways with Lou Lamoriello, the surprising starts to the playoffs by the Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars, and the disappointing start by the New Jersey Devils.

Adnan also stuck around for the weekly Florida Panthers segment, where they got into the Cats taking a surprising (to some) 2-0 series lead on the Tampa Bay Lightning after picking up a pair of victories on the road.

A big topic of discussion was the hit on Panthers Captain Sasha Barkov by Tampa’s Brandon Hagel, and the reaction by some in the media following the dangerous hit.

You can check out the full episode in the video below:

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In a series where Ottawa Senators winger Ridly Greig and Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz have both been accused of trading some serious cheap shots, it was almost comical on Friday when the NHL stepped in with swift justice for some harmless warm-up antics.

The league has fined the Senators $25,000 and fined Nick Cousins $2,083, both for unsportsmanlike conduct just before Game 3 on Thursday. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman posted a grainy video of the “incident” on social media. 

Here’s what NHL is looking at from last night. “Friend of Bieksa” Nick Cousins shoots puck at Stolarz. NHL not crazy about pre-game stuff…also clamped down on funny Scheifele/Hofer standoff in Blues/Jets series pic.twitter.com/ZF08AZwdO4

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) April 25, 2025

The clip shows Cousins either passing the puck toward Stolarz or, at worst, taking the lightest of shots toward him. Cousins and Stolarz, it’s worth noting, won a Stanley Cup together with the Florida Panthers last season. 

When head coach Travis Green was asked on Friday by TSN's Mark Masters about the so-called incident, he leaned into the nonsense with a deadpan response that got a big laugh from the media room.

"Well Mark, it's an active investigation," Green said. "I don't know if I should be commenting."

Green gave the “story” the exact amount of seriousness it deserved, sarcastically treating it like a major crime.

"I'm kidding. Yeah, I saw the video. Cousins and Stolarz have played together. I don't know, yeah, he's probably trying to either laugh at him or make a joke or get him off his game, and it is what it is."

After back-to-back overtime losses, Green’s levity struck just the right tone on Friday, a nice respite before the Senators try to climb out of a deep hole in this series.

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News

Senators Fall To Leafs Again 3-2 In Overtime Thursday, Now Trail Series 3-0The Ottawa Senators' first playoff run in eight years has barely started, but they're already on the brink of elimination following another 3-2 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.

The Buffalo Sabres' off-season has many priorities, includng getting the team's seven RFAs signed to contract extensions. But the overarching change for the franchise is clear: there has to be an extensive culture change, one that charts a new course for an organization that has flailed often as it tries to end what is now a 14-year stretch without any Stanley Cup playoff action. 

Without a change of culture, you can expect the Sabres to once again be on the outside of the playoff picture looking in at this time next year. Without an altered approach that creates a fundamentally-different prism for the franchise to operate wth, Buffalo is almost assuredly going to be at or near the bottom of the Atlantic Division -- a place that has been home for them for nearly a decade-and-a-half.

This is why so many people are calling for Kevyn Adams and Lindy Ruff to be dismissed from their respective roles as Sabres GM and coach this summer. We're not suggesting either Adams or Ruff are solely responsible for Buffalo's struggles, but there's a reason why teams just as bad or worse than the Sabres have fired their coach and/or GM already this off-season-- it's because the players and fan bases of losing teams often revolt in the wake of constant letdowns, and teams have to move quickly to try and make them happy.

To that end, what do you suppose will happen if Buffalo comes out of the gate next fall and suffers a slew of losses? You have to know Sabres players and fans will be irate, and demand change at that time. But by then, Sabres ownership will no longer have a large pool of replacements for Ruff and Adams. Most, if not all of the best of the best will have been hired by other organizations. And once again, the Sabres will be seen as a consolation prize franchise.

With that said, it should be obvious why Buffalo ownershp needs to get out in front of this potential problem, and be bold in their efforts to hire people with a better track record than that of Adams and Ruff.  Because every day that passes represents another potential brick in the wall that separates the Sabres from getting back into the playoff mix. And anyone running the team has to look seriously at trading just about anyone. There can be few, if any sacred cows for this team. Drastic change is absolutley necessary.

The Sabres have to be honest -- as in, what do they believe is going to happen next season in the Atlantic standings? You know the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers are basic locks to be playoff teams. The Ottawa Senators aren't going to take a step back, either. The Boston Bruins are aiming for a retool that assures them of a playoff spot. And the Detroit Red Wings will be pushing to get back into the post-season for the first time in a decade.

Kraken's Dismissal Of Coach Bylsma Is Another Reason Sabres Should Be Firing Bench Boss Lindy RuffThe NHL's coaching carousel continued spinning like crazy Monday, with the Seattle Kraken firing bench boss Dan Bylsma after only one year on the job. The Kraken/Bylsma news followed the news this past weekend that the New York Rangers dismissed Peter Laviolette, and that the Anaheim Ducks are moving on from Greg Cronin after only two years.

With all those teams jostling for a post-season berth, how realistic is it for Buffalo to presume they'll be a playoff team? Not very realistic, in our opinion. And if the Sabres can't be a playoff team, they need to be focused on adding generational talent through the NHL draft.

Of course, some will say the Sabres have been through multiple rebuilds, and those people are accurate. However, this current group of talent simply hasn't been able to get the job done, and that's why a radical change is so crucial for Buffalo. The longer the team waits to do it, the longer meaningful improvement will be delayed.

If this all sounds pessimistic, it should be understandable why. Sabres fans have seen and heard it all in a decade-and-a-half of dismay, and current Sabres brass haven't given people reason to be optimistic. Thus, foundational change is the only way to get the team back on the path to relevance and the satisfaction of the fans who pay the freight.

Buffalo ownership can gamble once again that Adams and Ruff can get the job done, but if that gamble fails, Sabres supporters will be incensed at another lost year. And Buffalo ownership will have no one to blame but itself.

The Chicago Blackhawks have a lot of great young defensemen in the organization. Some of them have higher ceilings than others, but the depth is there at the position. Lots of draft capital has been used on the blue line in recent years. 

One player that has a lot of mixed reviews is Kevin Korchinski. He was the 7th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft with the profile of being an offensive defenseman. 

Since turning pro, he has shown flashes of brilliance in the offensive zone, although his defending needs work. It usually does with young defensemen, but his offense hasn't outweighed his deficiencies yet. 

Korchinski spent his first full pro season (2023-24) in the NHL but has spent much of 2024-25 in the AHL outside of a handful of games. When he's down with the Rockford IceHogs, you can see the tools that made him a top-ten draft pick. 

On Wednesday, Korchinski played a big role in the team taking a 1-0 series lead over the Chicago Wolves in their first round of the Calder Cup Playoffs. In addition to being a part of a handful of offensive chances, he scored the goal that tied the game up for Rockford. Eventually, they won in overtime. 

Korchinski's goal was a bit of a lucky bounce as he threw one off the backboard, and it went in off of Wolves goaltender Spencer Martin. Sometimes, gifted players make their own luck by playing the right way. 

"A goal is a goal, right?" IceHogs interim head coach Mark Eaton said after the game. "Get pucks to the net at playoff time, it's never a bad recipe. And then his overall game was fantastic, skated well, blocked a big shot in the third, used his skating well, transitioned pucks, everything that makes him a special player."

Korchinski needs to be free while playing his game. He can change the outcome using his skills, but the right pieces need to be around him. With some of the players coming up in the organization at the same time as him, Chicago may be a good place for his future. 

The Blackhawks may want to be careful when it comes to trading a player like this. With the surplus of skilled defensemen that they have, it's easy to bring his name up in trade talks as the organization tries to get better in other areas. 

There is something to be said about a guy who loves playing in the organization, gets along with everyone, and is supremely talented. 

"Me and [Del Mastro], [Allan], all the guys, we go back," Korchinski said after the win over the Wolves when asked about playing with other good young defensemen in the organization. "World Juniors, Thunderbirds, just being able to play with them again, it's really cool. We know each other's games, compliment them, and we all want to keep playing with each other. It helps in the playoffs when you've got guys who want to stick around and keep playing with each other". 

Korchinski isn't alone in this journey through pro hockey as a young guy. He named guys like Ethan Del Mastro and Nolan Allan as he played with them before turning pro, but there are more there.

For one, you have Artyom Levshunov, who scored the overtime winner to defeat the Wolves that night. You've also got guys like Sam Rinzel, Alex Vlasic, Wyatt Kaiser, and Louis Crevier, amongst others, ready to make a long-term impact. 

Again, they won't all be able to be full-time contributors, but Korchinski has what he needs to be an impact player. With the right amount of development before too much is put on his shoulders, he could be better than great.

Both he and the organization need to remember that he's just 20 years old. It is way too early to tell if he's one of the guys worth letting go of. His attitude and skills should be very attractive to the executives in charge. 

Korchinski and the IceHogs will play game two against the Wolves on Friday night in Rockford. If they win, they advance to the next round to face the Milwaukee Admirals. 

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