And then there were seven. The NHL playoffs trim teams quickly, and the Florida Panthers are the first to fall in the second round. The President’s Trophy winners are out, falling for the second consecutive year to the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Kinda know the feeling.
Somewhat Islanders News
- Islanders Mailbag with Kevin Kurtz: How do the players feel about the “new voice” firing/hiring? (Unknown, they’re away and silent.) Who is the core? What will Lane Lambert do with the inconsistent young forwards? [Athletic]
- Old friend Miroslav Satan has found success as GM of Team Slovakia with Craig Ramsey as coach. [Athletic]
- Flyers Mailbag: Should Barry Trotz top their coaching search list? [Athletic]
Elsewhere
Last night in the playoffs was disappointing, as both series got farther apart (or finished, in one instance) rather than tighter. Tonight the Oilers and Hurricanes have the chance to take 3-1 series lead. The part of me that wishes for long series hopes one of them does not succeed.
- The Lightning survived a Panthers barrage to finish the sweep, win their 10th consecutive playoff series and advance to the conference final. What should’ve been a great series was a dud. [NHL]
- Joe Thornton made his 2022 playoff debut with just a handful of minutes, in what could be his last ride. [NHL]
- Nazim Kadri trolled the Blues, got them to lose their cool, and scored a hat trick as the Avalanche mostly dominated to take a commanding 3-1 lead. Colorado is a win away from their first conference final since — this is hard to believe — 2002. [NHL]
- Beforehand, St. Louis police investigated the foul and sadly predictable racist social media threats directed at Kadri and the Avalanche. [TSN]
- The Penguins, who’ve signed Bryan Rust to a long extension, swear they really want Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang to finish their careers in Pittsburgh. [NHL | Sportsnet]
- Mark Giordano re-signs for two years and a “tremendous sacrifice” (read: discount) with Toronto in hopes of a Cup with the Leafs. [NHL | Sportsnet]
- His old team, the Flames, will pull their AHL affiliate out of beautiful Stockton, California, to relocate them to Calgary. [TSN]
- At the Worlds, Frans Nielsen’s Denmark beat Mathew Barzal’s Canada for the first time ever, 3-2. [Sportsnet | IIHF]