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Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
SIMMONS: Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube not intimidated by Cup champion Florida Panthers
Craig Berube has been scratching, clawing and fighting his way through the many levels of professional hockey for most of the past 38 years, so you can excuse him if he's not intimidated by the Florida Panthers. When asked how his Maple Leafs will fare in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the defending-champion Panthers, who play a particularly nasty brand of hockey, Berube amused himself with his rhetorical answer. 'Are they mean?' he said, then smiled rather widely. 'They play a hard game, I agree,' said the coach. 'They forecheck hard, they're physical, they're in your face the whole game. 'I don't necessarily think it's mean … We're a physical team too. And we have to be physical ourselves. We have to initiate as much as possible. You're going to get banged around and they're going to come at you and they're going to hit you, and that's just part of it.' And so it begins, the back and forth of a playoff series on the day before the second round between the Maple Leafs and the champion Panthers begins Monday night. What will this series be? How will it play out? Which team will be able to dictate the style of play against the other? There are a couple of boxing analogies that come to mind here. First, styles make fights. Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier fought classics. George Foreman battered Frazier. Ali outsmarted Foreman. It can be the same in hockey. The second boxing analogy: Everyone has a game plan, Mike Tyson used to say, until they get punched in the face. You can have a sound game plan against the Panthers and then you eat a stick from Matthew Tkachuk, take a crosscheck from Sam Bennett or a face wash from Brad Marchand and it changes the way you approach the game. Or, it doesn't. We know pretty much what the Panthers will try to do to the Maple Leafs. What we don't know is how the Leafs will respond. They have some training about dealing with tight spaces, living here in Toronto. All you have to is drive around downtown Toronto on any given day and it equates in some way to this hockey series. You know you have to go somewhere. You know it's not easy to get there. You know there's all kinds of traffic and construction. But you still have to find a way to get it done. That's what it will be like for Auston Matthews and the rest of the Maple Leafs in this series. Space will be limited. Time will be limited. On most shifts in most playoff games, nothing happens. But then you have to take advantage of that one shift or two shifts when something opens your way. Berube has been talking to the team a lot about playing in tight spaces. About playing with little room on the ice. The Leafs are uber-talented up front with Matthews, new dad Mitch Marner and the wayward son, William Nylander, all of whom were part of the 4-Nations tournament a few months back. But the rather stacked Panthers had nine players in that tournament, including captain Sasha Barkov, Team USA leader Tkachuk, sound defensive players such as Gustav Forsling on defence and third-liners Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen. The biggest advantage on paper in this series is the difference between third lines: Lundell centres hugely underrated Luostarinen and Marchand. The Leafs third line has been a work in progress all year long. Look for the Leafs to continue to treat the Scott Laughton-centred fourth unit like more of a third line in this series. Berube may have to find the right match against Lundell, with Barkov centring one line and Bennett another. This is really new territory for Matthews and Marner. They have struggled to produce in playoff series in the past. They have struggled to succeed when there is little open ice. But in the first round, in particular Matthews, he might have been the best player in the series when all 200 feet of the game are taken into account. He was doing the Barkov thing and now must do it head-to-head against Barkov. The challenge for Berube in the games at home is to take advantage of last change. That would keep Barkov and Forsling away from Matthews and Marner. But it would still wind up with Lundell and a defenceman such as Aaron Ekblad against the Leafs' first line. That's not easy, either. The wild card for the Leafs is always Nylander. He doesn't fit any regular descriptions. He is capable of scoring at almost any time or giving up something similar in the wrong end. Florida has no one similar to him. Most NHL teams don't. Berube needs the Leafs to be composed against the Panthers. There was a lot of talk of composure on Sunday. Staying composed against Florida's supposed meanness. Composed against its physical play. Composed dealing with the Panthers crossing the line, if and when they do so. 'Talk about composure,' Berube said, referring to Nylander. 'He's pretty composed, maybe sometimes too much.' Then he laughed again. Everybody did. You can laugh now. The not-so-funny part begins on Monday night. ssimmons@ X: @simmonssteve Maple Leafs' Stolarz ready to face Bobrovsky, Panthers head-on Maple Leafs' Matthews on eve of second round: 'We're ready to go'
New York Times
04-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Why Jets' Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Cole Perfetti are more playoff-ready this season
If I told you this season's Winnipeg Jets are better than last season's model, would you believe me? What if it became clear that Winnipeg is playing at a higher level right now than it did last season, even when compared only to the Jets' season-ending eight-game win streak? That might be an easier sell now that the Jets shut out Vegas, but it's been true since Winnipeg beat Dallas 4-1 on March 14. Winnipeg has won the territorial battle in a way that it didn't down the stretch last season. Advertisement That was a good team, too, but the underlying numbers of this Jets team are better than the one that fell to Colorado in five playoff games. Recently, they've been better than anyone else in the NHL in a lot of cases. No team has a better expected goals percentage over its last 10 games than Winnipeg. No team has given up fewer shots per minute while short-handed since the 4-Nations break. No team has given up fewer goals per minute at five-on-five. The goaltending has remained great, while the penalty kill has improved enough to make up for Gabriel Vilardi's absence from the top power play. Now that Winnipeg has put its original lines back together, there are a lot of signs under the hood that suggest these Jets are more legitimate Cup contenders than they were last season. 'You may have those analytics or those stats,' head coach Scott Arniel said. 'I just think that we're a confident group.' We do have the stats. Winnipeg is controlling the play at a higher level now than it did last season, including its season-ending eight-game win streak. Here's how: Scheifele and Connor are each on track to set new career high point totals. Given where they started from — Connor set the Jets 2.0 record with 93 points in 2021-22, while Scheifele has cleared 80 points three times, including this season — that's an incredible achievement. Connor has already scored 91 points, needing only three more in Winnipeg's six remaining games to surpass his own Jets 2.0 record. Scheifele has 82 points, which brings him within one of 800 on his career and two points shy of his single-season best (84). These kinds of numbers make it possible that we miss the point when we look back at their 2024-25 seasons: yes, Connor and Scheifele have stepped up their game this season, but their biggest leaps forward have come in terms of their defensive impact. Who had AI getting an assist off his face on their bingo card? 🤪 — Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) April 4, 2025 Do you remember 2021-22, when Connor scored 93 points and the Jets missed the playoffs? His defensive impact was so poor that season that the Jets got outscored (by three) when he was on the ice during five-on-five sessions. This season, the Jets are winning Connor's five-on-five minutes by 18 goals, which is the single best number of his NHL career. He and Scheifele are grading out as stars — second and third among healthy Central Division forwards — and their star turn is about ramping up their defensive game. Advertisement There are still occasional moments of fear. One of Vegas' best chances against goaltender Eric Comrie on Thursday came when Jack Eichel stole a puck from Scheifele and centred it. However, the overall trend has been of much better defence without sacrificing any of the scoring that makes them great. It's the improvements they've made during five-on-five that bode well for the playoffs — improvements that have helped the Jets win games with or without Vilardi on their wing. There are still areas of Connor and Scheifele's game that could stand to improve. Their five-on-five shift length continues to lead the team, and it's rare to see them go off for a change when an offensive opportunity is available. This reduces the Jets' potential for 'hand-off' shifts, where multiple lines hem opponents in their zone for extended periods to the point of exhaustion and dramatically increase scoring odds. To be clear, this is a nitpick, not the driving story. I would worry about the tendency to extend shifts against Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche in a way I wouldn't against Marco Rossi in Minnesota. But the overall arc is ascent: Even if you limit the duo's performance to the Jets' eight-game win streak to end last season, you find them outscored 3-2 while earning 43.1 percent of shot attempts and 39.7 percent of expected goals. Here's Connor's defensive zone heat map from last season, courtesy of Hockey Viz. Red indicates areas of the ice where teams got more shots against Winnipeg than average; blue indicates fewer shots against Winnipeg than average: And here it is this season: Last season's defensive zone results brought Connor dangerously close to being an empty-calorie scorer. This season's results make him one of the top forwards in the best division in the NHL. No, that doesn't guarantee playoff success, but Winnipeg can beat anybody in seven games if Connor and Scheifele control play. Advertisement They're doing a better job of it right now — and throughout this season — than they did during the eight games at the end of last season that put visions of playoff glory in fans' minds. What a difference a couple of months has made to Winnipeg's second line. Perfetti has been at the heart of it, learning to initiate contact on his way into corners, playing faster in all three zones and delivering the NHL's goal of the week: Cole Perfetti did that. 😮💨 Electric Goal of the Week presented by @HyundaiCanada — NHL (@NHL) April 3, 2025 Nikolaj Ehlers has been flying, too, and just in time for what could be the most important stretch run of the pending unrestricted free agent's career. It doesn't seem like Ehlers will miss time despite leaving Thursday's game hurt, based on Arniel's postgame comments to reporters in Las Vegas. That's phenomenal news for the Jets, because few secondary scoring lines beat their opposition quite this badly. Winnipeg will need more from this line than it got from the Tyler Toffoli version last season. It will need more production than Ehlers has put together in any playoffs of his career. To watch Perfetti and Vladislav Namestnikov play a feisty, puck-hounding game in all three zones is to believe they have more to give when the games get even tougher. It was encouraging that Perfetti was one of the Jets' most dangerous players against Los Angeles and Vegas, which are teams that make space tough to come by. This line doesn't get the same heavy run against opposing top lines and top pairs that Scheifele's line gets. They need to be a strength for Winnipeg as a result and they're doing that. One simple, but telling frame of comparison: Toffoli had five points during the Jets' eight-game win streak to end last season. Perfetti has seven points in his last eight games right now. Advertisement When I asked Arniel about Perfetti's year-over-year improvement, the Jets head coach pointed to Perfetti's resilience. 'I think what we've talked about is the mental part of it,' Arniel said. 'He recognizes that he's going to have highs and lows. He's going to have slumps; he's going to be in situations where he's going to have a bad game or a bad shift or a bad period. 'He's been able to get himself out of it this year faster than he's ever been able to (before).' When Lowry's line runs hot, the Jets' middle six becomes the biggest non-Connor Hellebuyck strength of the team. When it runs cold, as it did for parts of February and March, you have to appreciate a good backcheck or board battle to get the most out of your viewing time. Lowry's line has not dominated on the scoresheet the way it does in terms of flow of play, but there have been recent signs of life. Nino Niederreiter scored two points in four games with two groups of Swiss fans in attendance last week — a group connected to EHC Chur, Niederreiter's hometown team, and a group of his oldest friends. Neither group was aware the other had planned their trip, but it made for a lively atmosphere at Canada Life Centre, perhaps sparking Niederreiter's recent offensive push. Mason Appleton scored twice on that homestand, and Lowry scored the insurance goal in Winnipeg's 4-0 win against Vegas on Thursday. I've opined before, wondering if this group needs a break from one of the hardest jobs in hockey. Even among shutdown lines, it's rare for players to get such a steady diet of tough matchups, and I suspect it's exhausting to need to play 'perfect' hockey to achieve success. Lowry's line commits to every backcheck, board battle and contested puck in a way that's tough to match. While they lost the flow of play battle against Vegas, Lowry's line got on the scoresheet again. If they're rejuvenated in any way, then the sum of all parts in Winnipeg's top-nine forward group should be more impressive come playoff time than it was a year ago. A healthy Vilardi would work wonders, too. (Photo of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Josh Morrissey: Darcy Finley / NHLI via Getty Images)
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
NHL Analyst Has Theory for Maple Leafs Star's Drop in Production
Auston Matthews set an extraordinary benchmark last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, scoring 69 goals to capture his third Rocket Richard Trophy in four years. This season, however, his offensive numbers have dipped noticeably; Matthews has tallied just 29 goals through 59 games. NHL insider Mike Kelly appeared on NHL's "Coast to Coast" on Amazon Prime on Thursday and provided his theory for Matthews' scoring decline. Advertisement The analyst believes the Maple Leafs captain might be dealing with fatigue or his early-season injury not being completely healed. "Mid-range, right around the hashmarks, he had 22 goals last year," Kelly said. "He only has five this year, from an area he usually scores a ton from. His shot volume isn't down much, his shot quality isn't down much ... . "I wonder if maybe some fatigue (from the) 4-Nations (Face-Off), or an injury he's been dealing with is factoring into his mid-range shot not being as deadly." According to data cited by Kelly, Matthews' average shot speed from the mid-range area has dropped. In Kelly's eyes, that is evidence that Matthews might not be fully healthy. Advertisement Earlier in the season, Matthews traveled to Germany to visit a specialist but decided against undergoing surgery as it wasn't deemed necessary. Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving explained the trip was for a "routine checkup," but concerns have lingered, especially with the playoffs approaching and Toronto alternating wins and losses in four of their last five games. Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) celebrates after scoring a goal at Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images Toronto head coach Craig Berube has managed Matthews' minutes carefully, allowing extra rest in hopes of keeping him fresh for the postseason and announcing load-management plans for his star forward ahead of the weekend. Matthews, who narrowly avoided a serious injury Sunday against the Anaheim Ducks when Cutter Gauthier's skate blade nearly struck his face, recorded an assist in Toronto's 3–2 victory. Advertisement The captain has scored six goals in his past nine games, which certainly marks an uptick in production (0.66 goals per game) compared to his first 50 games of the season (0.46). Toronto (45–25–4) continues its push atop the Atlantic Division, now sitting first and three points ahead of both the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers, each with 91 points and one fewer game played than the Maple Leafs. Related: Maple Leafs Player Reacts to Exchanging Blows with UFC Fighter's Brother Related: Maple Leafs' Coach Reveals Load-Management Plan for Auston Matthews & Mitch Marner
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Clayton Keller Named NHLPA Player of The Week
Coming off a career-high 5-point performance in Utah's dominant 6-1 win over Minnesota, Clayton Keller has been named the NHLPA Player of the Week. Keller coming in hot 🔥Coming off his first career 5-point night to lead the league in points & assists has Clayton Keller securing his spot as NHLPA Player of the Week! — NHLPA (@NHLPA) February 28, 2025 Along with having a career-high outing against the Wild, Keller has a great stretch ever since coming back from the 4-Nations break. In the four games since coming back, Keller has totaled 9 total points with two goals and seven assists across four games. Utah has gone 3-1 in those games with its only loss coming against the LA Kings on the road. Not only does Keller's 9 points over the last four game lead the team, but it also is the highest total in all of the NHL. There is no sign of Keller slowing down either, especially as it fights for the final Wild Card spot in the Western conference. So, if anything, Keller is likely to keep getting points and adding to this already impressive stretch. Along with that, there is also a chance for Utah to finish its homestretch 4-0 if it can win its upcoming game against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, March. 1. So expect Keller to keep up his impressive play against the Devils. Utah HC's Jack McBain & Wild's Jacob Middleton Drop Gloves In HeavyWeight Tilt Last night in the Utah Hockey Club vs. Minnesota Wild game, there was more action than just goals being scored.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Three Takeaways From Flyers OT Loss vs. Penguins
The Flyers had the perfect start. They jumped out to a 3-0 lead on the road against their biggest rival, with their most dangerous offensive line leading the charge. Matvei Michkov dazzled again, Owen Tippett was flying, and Sam Ersson stood tall in net. But hockey is a 60-minute game, and the Penguins took advantage of a lapse in the Flyers' structure, clawing their way back into the contest before ultimately winning in overtime. It was a game that had everything—offensive fireworks, strong goaltending, and moments of physical nastiness, punctuated by a dangerous hit on Garnet Hathaway that left the Flyers down a key depth piece. Despite coming away with just a single point, the Flyers remain firmly in the playoff hunt, and there were plenty of positives to take from this one. 1. The Michkov-Tippett-Couturier Line Is Thriving It's been clear for weeks now that the Flyers have found something special with this trio, and Thursday night's performance only reinforced that. They were dominant from the opening puck drop, setting the tone for the Flyers' explosive start. Michkov finished the night with two goals and an assist, making him the current leader among NHL rookies in both goals and points. Tippett added a goal of his own, using his speed to create problems for the Penguins' defense, while Couturier was, as always, a steadying presence in all three zones. Michkov's impact, in particular, continues to grow. His hockey IQ is off the charts, and his ability to find soft areas of the ice was on full display once again. The grind of the NHL season was starting affect him (as it does with many players at this point in the year), but he's been able to bounce back with a vengeance since the 4-Nations break. Matvei Michkov rips home his second of the game! 🚀📺: @ESPNPlus ➡️ — NHL (@NHL) February 28, 2025 What's even more encouraging is how quickly he's developed chemistry with Tippett and Couturier. Tippett's north-south speed complements Michkov's creativity, while Couturier's two-way reliability allows them to take offensive risks without sacrificing structure. At this point, it's not just a hot streak—it's a legitimate force to be reckoned with. And for a Flyers team fighting for every possible point, having a group that can take over a game is invaluable. To make things even better, while this line has been clearly clicking, all of the Flyers' lines have been displaying noticeable synergy. 2. The Flyers' Second Period Proved Costly John Tortorella put it bluntly postgame: 'seven or eight minutes' of play out of an otherwise encouraging performance was where the Penguins found their way back into the game. And while it's easy to point to the overtime winner, the reality is that the tides started to turn in the second period. After dominating the first 20 minutes, they got caught on their heels in the middle frame. The Penguins started finding pockets of space, taking advantage of breakdowns in defensive coverage. It wasn't a full-scale unraveling, but it was just enough to shift the momentum. Once Pittsburgh smelled blood, they kept pushing, and the Flyers struggled to reset. The good news? This wasn't a game where they got thoroughly outplayed for long stretches. For most of the night, they were the better team. But in a playoff race this tight, those brief lapses can be the difference between two points and one—or worse, none at all. One area where the Flyers will want to tighten up is their defensive zone exits. They got hemmed in their own end too often during that second period, and the Penguins were able to keep firing until a bounce eventually went their way. When the Flyers are at their best, they're aggressive in transition, using their speed to break out efficiently. They've shown that before in previous dominant performances over Pittsburgh this season, but Thursday night just wasn't their night. 3. Garnet Hathaway's Injury Casts a Shadow Over the Game No one on the Flyers plays a more selfless, grinding game than Garnet Hathaway. He's the kind of player who does all the little things that don't always show up on the scoresheet—winning puck battles, blocking shots, finishing every check, and providing the type of physical presence that wears teams down over the course of a season. That's what made the hit he took from Bokoji Imama so concerning. Torts is furious after Boko Imama is assessed a minor for interference on Garnet Hathaway, and Hathaway needed assistance off the ice — B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) February 28, 2025 To put it simply, it was an unbelievably scary moment. Hathaway went down hard and had to be helped off the ice, unable to move on his own strength. He did not return, and the Flyers have yet to provide an update on his status. Initially assessed as a five-minute major penalty, it was later reduced to a two-minute minor. Tortorella expressed his frustrations with the decision in his postgame comments, stating, "It's probably one of the dirtiest hits I've seen in quite a while. That's why [Hathaway] hits his head on the ice. We should be thinking about what really happened on the hit, not get glued on a hit to the head originally. That's a dangerous, cheap hit. "[Referee Frederick L'Ecuyer] gave me an explanation, and I understand the explanation, but I don't understand how you end up with two minutes on probably one of the dirtiest hits I've seen in quite a a blind hit. I'm not accusing [Imama] of trying to hurt him, but it's a dirty hit." "It was hard to refocus again," Michkov said postgame about where the team's heads were at after such a nerve-wracking sequence of events. "Garnet means a lot to the team and it's a big loss." Beyond just his physical presence, Hathaway is a key leader in the room. His absence would leave a significant hole in the Flyers' bottom six, especially with the team in the midst of a brutal playoff battle where depth contributions matter more than ever. If he's forced to miss time, it could open the door for a call-up from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, but there isn't anyone that can quite replicate all of the qualities Hathaway brings to the table. For a team that's prided itself on its next-man-up mentality, this will be another test of their resilience. Final Thoughts A 5-4 overtime loss stings, especially against a rival, especially with postseason ambitions burning bright. But the Flyers still came away with a point, and more importantly, they continue to show they can't be counted just yet. Their offensive lines are thriving. Sam Ersson delivered some huge stops—especially with his pads—to keep them in it when Pittsburgh was pressing. The effort was there, even if the execution wavered for a stretch. And while the Hathaway injury looms large, this team has shown time and time again that they won't fold under adversity. They've proven themselves to be adept at having short memories and being able to focus their sights at the next game on the schedule, and as long as they can tighten up the little details, they'll be in a good position moving forward. The playoffs are still within reach. And if Thursday night's game proved anything, it's that the Flyers aren't going down without a fight. The Flyers Charities Carnival: A Celebration Of Hockey, Community & Connection There's a moment—one that doesn't show up in official recaps or press releases—that perfectly captures what the Flyers Charities Carnival is all about. Andrei Kuzmenko's Opportunity With The Flyers Is A Proving Ground For Hiis Future Andrei Kuzmenko has landed in Philadelphia with something to prove. ICYMI: Sam Ersson Answers Some Fun Questions Before joining Team Sweden at the 4-Nations Face-Off, Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Sam Ersson sat down with The Hockey News to answer some burning questions.
