The Oilers advance to the second round, the Stars push the Golden Knights to the brink of elimination, the latest on Rod Brind’Amour’s contract talks with the Hurricanes, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
GAME RECAPS
NHL.COM: The Edmonton Oilers advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings in Game 5 of their best-of-seven first-round series. Leon Draisaitl scored twice and Evan Bouchard collected three assists for the Oilers, who will face the winner of the Vancouver Canucks – Nashville Predators series.
Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Oilers’ special teams made the difference in this series. They were a playoff-leading 45.0 percent on the power play while their penalty kill was a perfect 100 percent. This series ends with Connor McDavid leading all postseason scorers with 12 points, Draisaitl second (10 points) and Bouchard third with nine points.
This is the third straight year that the Oilers have eliminated the Kings from the opening round of the playoffs. That could set the stage for some changes in Los Angeles during the offseason. I’ll have more about that in today’s Rumors update.
The Dallas Stars pushed the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights to the brink of elimination with a 3-2 victory in Game 5 of their first-round series. Jason Robertson snapped a 2-2 tie with a third-period power-play goal and Jake Oettinger made 25 saves as the Stars took a 3-2 series lead. Mark Stone and William Carrier scored for the Golden Knights. Game 6 is Friday, May 3 at 10 PM EDT in Las Vegas.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Stars overcame a 2-0 deficit in this series to reach the verge of advancing to the second round. Their power-play made the difference in Game 5, going two-for-four with the man advantage.
The Golden Knights were their worst enemies with their undisciplined play in Game 5. Head coach Bruce Cassidy criticized defenseman Alex Pietrangelo for taking a costly roughing penalty for the second straight game. His swat to the head of Stars forward Tyler Seguin led to Robertson’s game-winning goal. “Veteran guy should know better,” he told reporters following the game.
HEADLINES
THE ATHLETIC: Carolina Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell remains confident he’ll soon reach an agreement on a contract extension with head coach Rod Brind’Amour. His comments came as reports emerged claiming the Hurricanes had pulled a contract offer from the table, leaving Brind’Amour uncertain about his future in Carolina.
“We’re going to get it done,” said Waddell. “I’m not worried about it. He wants to be a Hurricane for life.”
Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon also believes the two sides are close to an agreement. “I think it’s all but done. Don and him are working on it. I don’t think there’s anything there,” Dundon said. “They’re just getting through the last little stuff.”
SPORTSNET: During an appearance Wednesday on ESPN’s “The Point”, Brind’Amour said he wants to stay with the Hurricanes. “Everybody knows this is where I want to be,” he said. “I think everyone knows me to be reasonable and fair. When two parties – listen, on any kind of deal – if they want to work it out, it’s going to work out.”
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Everyone seems to be singing from the same hymn book amid rumors about Brind’Amour’s future in Carolina. This has become an unnecessary distraction for the Hurricanes as they prepare for their upcoming second-round series with the New York Rangers.
The possibility of Brind’Amour becoming a free agent this summer set the rumor mill ablaze yesterday. He would become the most popular candidate among the six teams (Los Angeles, New Jersey, Ottawa, San Jose, Seattle, and St. Louis) with head-coaching positions to fill.
TAMPA BAY TIMES: Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois said he’s spoken to the agents for Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman regarding new contracts. Stamkos is slated to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 while Hedman can become a UFA next July.
BriseBois said he remains “very hopeful” of getting Stamkos signed before July 1. “Obviously, it’s our priority to see if we can get this done,” he said.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Stamkos wants to stay and it’s obvious that the Lightning want to keep him. The question is how much he’ll seek on his next contract and for how long. The Lightning have limited salary-cap space for next season which will complicate efforts to sign their captain.
NHL.COM: The Vancouver Canucks’ Quinn Hughes, the Nashville Predators’ Roman Josi, and the Colorado Avalanche’s Cale Makar are finalists for the James Norris Memorial Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL’s top defenseman.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Congratulations to the three finalists. Josi and Makar are former Norris winners but Hughes is the favorite this year.
THE PROVINCE: Questions are being raised about Elias Pettersson’s performance. The Canucks center hasn’t scored a goal through the first five games of his team’s first-round playoff series with the Predators. Some observers believe he’s struggling with a lack of confidence or playoff pressure while others think he’s nursing a wrist injury.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Pettersson has two assists in this series. Whatever the reason, it’s affected his production since early February. His goal-scoring woes stretch back to the regular season with one goal in his final 13 regular-season games. He also had an 11-game stretch from Feb. 11 to March 3 with just one goal.
FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW: Panthers forward Sam Bennett could rejoin his teammates in the second round as they await the winner of the Boston Bruins – Toronto Maple Leafs series. Bennett suffered an injured hand during Game 2 of their first-round series against the Lightning.
PITTSBURGH HOCKEY NOW: The Penguins intend to cut personnel from their business operations. It is not expected to involve anyone from their hockey operations department.