Latest news with #MackieSamoskevich
New York Times
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Panthers punch ticket to Stanley Cup Final — is Connor McDavid next?
Red Light newsletter 🏒 | This is The Athletic's hockey newsletter. Sign up here to receive Red Light directly in your inbox. Happy Thursday! Today marks Day 41 of the NHL playoffs, and the Stanley Cup Final will (likely) start Wednesday. It's sure looking like we're in for a rare rematch, too … The Carolina Hurricanes looked like they might make things interesting after winning Game 4 3-0 and then putting up an early 2-0 lead in Game 5 last night. Then the Florida Panthers did what they do — i.e., ending hopes and dreams — in what became a heartbreaking 5-3 win to eliminate Carolina in Round 3 (yes, again). Advertisement The story of this Panthers run has really become one of balance. Again, they had goals from five different scorers last night, with Evan Rodrigues becoming their 19th different goal-getter of the postseason. Only eight teams in NHL history have ever had more than that, but there's still another round for Tomas Nosek and Mackie Samoskevich to get on the board and help them match the record (21, held by the 2019 Bruins and 1987 Flyers). Florida also became the ninth team in league history to make three consecutive finals, which is ridiculously hard to do in a 32-team, hard-capped league. The Lightning (2020-22) are the only other club to pull it off since the 1985 Oilers (!). In fact, in all of the Big Four North American men's pro sports, the Panthers are just the 11th team in the last 30 years to play for a 'ship three years in a row. This team is special. So special we might have to pull out the D word if they win again. (No, not that D word.) This was a weird season for Carolina. The Hurricanes lost quite a bit of talent to free agency a year ago, then stunned the hockey world by acquiring Mikko Rantanen, only to stun everyone again by trading him 13 games later. They again dominated the ol' shot attempts in the regular season (a heady 59.5 percent), but this wasn't a close series, with Florida outscoring them 15-5 at five-on-five and outclassing them on special teams and in goal. This has happened often enough that the Hurricanes are going to have to find a way to adapt in the offseason. Winning the Meh-tropolitan Division isn't the goal at this point. The good news is they have their core signed, some strong young players coming and nearly $30 million in cap space. (Not a typo.) They're obviously going to take another run at Mitch Marner, but upgrading in goal and on the blue line — where Brent Burns and Dmitry Orlov's age has been showing — are vital, too. But the best still appears to be coming. My apologies to Stars fans, who are hoping they can claw back into this series while down 3-1 with Game 5 in Dallas tonight (8 p.m. ET puck drop). But all you hear when you talk to folks around the league right now is how a finals rematch will be the only good thing to come out of a blah Round 3. Oilers-Panthers didn't disappoint a year ago, with a crazy Edmonton comeback from down 0-3 ending with Game 7 dramatics going Florida's way. Advertisement The clash of styles between the take-no-prisoners Panthers and the Connor McDavid Show is fun to watch, too. (Really too bad about Zach Hyman, though.) Plus, we almost never get a championship rematch in this league. This one would, again, be only the second time since the 1984 final. The recent Cup final double shots (The first two, the teams split, with the upstart Oilers and Pens getting the better of the dynastic Isles and Wings. The second two, the Habs won all four as part of a stretch of 10 Cup wins in 15 years.) We'll have to wait and see if Dallas mounts an unlikely comeback, but right now, everyone seems to be looking forward to moving on from these conference finals. And getting this thing over with by mid-June, for once. The 1968 and 1969 Blues and 1977 and 1978 Bruins were the last two teams to lose back-to-back Cup finals to the same team. Which big names were they coached by? 🙂↕️ Trade SZN is almost here, and that means a big ol' trade board from Christopher E. Johnston to get us ready for the fury. Spoiler: Chris Kreider takes the top spot. With free agency looking kind of tame, this might be our best hope for fireworks this offseason. 🏒 Harman Dayal has an interesting feature today about the mental health challenges that slumping NHL players face during hard times. (Wyatt Johnston came to mind for me, given he's staring at a record low minus-18 right now.) 📑 The PWHL is about to hold a big expansion draft to bring Seattle and Vancouver — its seventh and eighth teams — into the league, and the terms are pretty favorable for the newcomers. Hailey Salvian has a good breakdown of the latest here. 🤔 Jonas Siegel digs into the question everyone in Toronto wants to know: Is there a way the Leafs can be ready to try and pry McDavid out of Edmonton when his contract is up in 2026? (Hey, they're looking for hope these days.) 🎙️ On 'The Athletic Hockey Show,' the gang explores how Corey Perry found the fountain of youth with the Oilers, plus much more. With Round 3 winding down, it's time for our weekly Conn Smythe ranking. As always, direct all complaints to Sean McIndoe on social media: If you missed it: DGB handicapped the uncoveted Conned Smythe award, looking for 'the team that had the biggest impact on the playoffs by making the worst trade with a contending club.' I don't know how he comes up with all this stuff either. But at some point, they should study his brain for science. Advertisement Some key upcoming dates Who doesn't love a good stat? The NHL's official data squad has been coming up with all kinds of good numbers of late. Here are a few that caught my attention this week: 1. 'The home team has won 49 games during the 2025 playoffs, which is tied with 1993 and 1992 for the third most through this stage of a postseason (78 GP). Only 2013 (54) and 1990 (52) have seen more.' That was prior to last night in Raleigh, so it's now 49 in 79 games played. Home teams winning 62 percent of the time, however, is domination by NHL standards. This follows a regular season where teams had surprisingly good home records, a trend I'm afraid I don't have a great explanation for. No matter who advances from the West, the Panthers will be the road team in the final. Given they're 23-10 away from the Elbo Room the last three postseasons, however, I'm not sure they're all that worried about it. 2. 'Connor McDavid recorded the 45th multi-point game of his playoff career (in Game 4 on Tuesday). McDavid has recorded a multi-point outing in more than 50 percent of his postseason games (45 of 89).' And… 'McDavid (89 GP) can become the second-fastest player in NHL history to record 100 playoff assists behind only Wayne Gretzky (70 GP). No other player has reached the mark in fewer than 125 games.' Hot tip: Someone should really cover that guy. In NHL history, only Gretzky and Mario Lemieux have a better career playoff points per game than McDavid, who is up to 1.58. Talk about thriving under the pressure of being a star in a hockey-crazed Canadian market. If McDavid's not on hockey's Mount Rushmore yet, he will be with a Cup win. 3. 'A Hurricanes win (in Monday's Game 4) guaranteed there will be no sweeps through the first three rounds in a postseason for the fifth time since the Division Semifinals changed from best-of-five to best-of-seven in 1987.' It still kind of felt like a sweep though, didn't it? 🧹 A couple of bench bosses you may have heard of … one was Scotty Bowman, who started his coaching journey in his early 30s with the expansion Blues. The other? Don Cherry.
Miami Herald
22-04-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
After watching for two years, Mackie Samoskevich is ready to be part of a Panthers playoff run
Mackie Samoskevich had an up-close-and-personal view of the Florida Panthers' past two Stanley Cup playoff runs. He joined the team both postseasons as a Black Ace, an extra practice player called up from the minor leagues during the playoffs, and got to see first-hand what it takes to win it all. But not playing in those games also fueled him to want to get on the ice in the big moments. 'I've been able to watch a lot of our hockey here,' Samoskevich said. 'You're sitting up there just thinking about how bad you want to be out there.' On Tuesday, Samoskevich will have his moment. The rookie forward, who has evolved into a key contributor for the Panthers, will suit up for his first Stanley Cup playoff game when the Panthers begin their first-round series against their in-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena. While there is no substitute for experience, Samoskevich plans to take what he learned watching those past two playoff runs — the first ending in a Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2023, the second with Florida winning it all in 2024 — as he tries to make an impact this postseason. 'The energy level and compete just goes up 10 times,' Samoskevich said. 'You've got to be ready. You've got to be dialed in on everything, every little thing. Every inch matter.' The Panthers believe Samoskevich is ready. They've seen him blossom over his first full NHL season. Samoskevich's role has evolved since making the opening night roster. He began on Florida's fourth line, which plays fewer minutes and has less opportunities for players to showcase themselves but gets them on the ice. That role helped him add a physical element to his game and made him hone in on his defense to complement his lethal shot and swift skating. As the season progressed, Samoskevich's responsibilities increased. He joined Florida's second line centered by Sam Bennett and worked his way onto the top power-play unit. The results came with it. Samoskevich finished the regular season with 15 goals and 16 assists to go along with 134 hits and 32 blocked shots. He is just the sixth rookie in franchise history to record at least 15 goals and 15 assists in his first full season. The other five: Anton Lundell (18 goals, 26 assists in 2021-22), Nick Bjugstad (16 goals, 22 assists in 2013-14), Michael Frolik (21 goals, 24 assists in 2008-09), Kristian Huselius (23 goals, 22 assists in 2001-02) and Jesse Belanger (17 goals, 33 assists in 1993-94). His 15 goals ranked tied for eighth among all NHL rookies, while his five game-winning goals tied with Carter Verhaeghe for the team lead and were tied for second among all rookies. 'He's gotten himself to a point where I don't have to be careful with him anymore. He understands what we're doing,' coach Paul Maurice said. 'I'm excited for him because it feels like he's been with us because he was with us last year in that run. Then he comes in, and to his credit, he's handled every situation like a great pro. ... He kind of just slowly worked his way up.' Maurice said Samoskevich being around over the past two playoffs runs despite not playing was a benefit for the rookie for two reasons. First, it gave Samoskevich an opportunity to understand the playoff grind. For a Black Ace, the routine of being on the ice every other day only to not play can become mundane. Samoskevich thrived in it and took the routine into the offseason. 'He used that time, and he physically looked considerably different at the end of the two months than at the start,' Maurice said. 'You put on some mass, you lift every day, you're training every day. He changed his body type. It's a really good sign for us.' Second, it helped him find comfort in the team before he had his defined role. It made training camp a little easier for him because he didn't have the extra pressure of making a first impression on his teammates because they had already seen what he can provide. 'Young players come into training came and they burn an awful lot of anxiety energy,' Maurice said. 'We hoped that he got through that without as much anxiety and could just play. We think that's what happened and that gave him a chance to be where he is today.' Where he is today is the Stanley Cup playoffs, with a chance to play a role in the Panthers repeating as champions in his first NHL season. Now, Samoskevich does have playoff experience, just not at the NHL level. He made the NCAA tournament in both of his seasons at Michigan, advancing to the Frozen Four as a sophomore before turning pro. Samoskevich also appeared in 10 playoff games with AHL and logged four assists during that span. He hopes to draw on that experience. 'Last year, the playoffs in the American League, it's another level,' Samoskevich said. 'I learned that, and it's going to be another level here.'
Miami Herald
11-04-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
How the Florida Panthers can still get home-ice advantage in first round of playoffs
The Florida Panthers did their part Thursday to keep their thin hopes for home-ice advantage in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs alive with their 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings. But for it to become reality, they're going to need some help from their in-state rival and most likely first-round opponent. Entering Friday, the Panthers are 46-29-4. Their 96 points are one shy of the Tampa Bay Lightning (45-26-7, 97 points) for second place in the Atlantic Division and three behind the Toronto Maple Leafs (48-26-4, 100 points) for the division lead. Florida has three games to play, while Tampa Bay and Toronto each has four games left on its respective schedule. Barring a nearly perfect run by Florida and a complete collapse by Toronto, winning the division seems unlikely. Second place, however, is still up for grabs. Since the Lightning currently owns the tiebreaker over the Panthers by virtue of having more regulation wins (39 for Tampa Bay, 37 for Florida), Florida would need to finish with more points than Tampa Bay to get into second place in the division and start the playoffs at home. A tie in the standings would keep them in third. For that to happen, in simplest terms, Florida needs to pick up one more point than Tampa Bay (which, again, has a game in hand) down the stretch. That would happen with any of the following scenarios... 1). Florida finishes the season 3-0-0, picking up six points in the process, and Tampa Bay gets no more than four points in its final four games. 2). Florida finishes 2-0-1, picking up five points, and Tampa Bay gets no more than three points in its final four games. 3). Florida finishes 2-1-0 or 1-0-2, picking up four points, and Tampa Bay gets no more than two points in its final four games. 4). Florida finishes 1-1-1, picking up three points, and Tampa Bay gets no more than one points in its final four games. 5). Florida finishes 1-2-0 or 0-1-2, picking up two points, and Tampa Bay loses each of its final four games in regulation. The Panthers close the season by hosting the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday and New York Rangers on Monday before traveling to play the Lightning on Tuesday. Tampa Bay hosts Detroit on Friday, Buffalo on Sunday and Florida on Tuesday before playing the Rangers on the road on Thursday. ▪ What a rookie season it has been for forward Mackie Samoskevich. He opened the season on Florida's fourth line and worked his way up to proving that he can be a legitimate middle-six forward with his lethal shot and his improved physicality and defense. His go-ahead goal in Florida's win against Detroit on Thursday was his 15th goal of the season and fifth game-winner. Add on his 16 assists this season and Samoskevich is just the sixth rookie in franchise history to record 15 goals and 15 assists in his first full season. The other five: Anton Lundell (18 goals, 26 assists in 2021-22), Nick Bjugstad (16 goals, 22 assists in 2013-14), Michael Frolik (21 goals, 24 assists in 2008-09), Kristian Huselius (23 goals, 22 assists in 2001-02) and Jesse Belanger (17 goals, 33 assists in 1993-94). Samoskevich's 15 goals this season are eighth among all rookies. His five game-winners are tied for second among rookies. ▪ The Panthers' top three forward lines when the team is at full strength in the playoffs appear to be set. The top line would be Aleksander Barkov centering Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Reinhart. The second line would be Sam Bennett centering Matthew Tkachuk and Samoskevich. And the third line would be Lundell centering Eetu Luostarinen and Brad Marchand. How coach Paul Maurice handles selecting the fourth line will be interesting to watch. He essentially has seven players — Evan Rodrigues, Jesper Boqvist, Nico Sturm, A.J. Greer, Jonah Gadjovich, Tomas Nosek and Jesse Puljujarvi — for three spots. Maurice has liked what he has seen from the line of Greer, Nosek and Gadjovich lately and for good reason. Over the past five games, they have held opponents scoreless in their 14:16 on the ice together at five-on-five while holding a 55-28 edge in shot attempts on their opponents and allowing just nine total scoring chances. However, Sturm is an integral piece of Florida's penalty kill, and Rodrigues has been part of Florida's second power-play unit all season. One would think one of Greer or Gadjovich makes the lineup as the physical tone setter who can provide an energy boost with a hit or fight without compromising star power from the lineup. Maurice mixed and matched the wingers on his fourth line during the playoff run last season, with Nick Cousins, Steven Lorentz, Kyle Okposo and Ryan Lomberg going in and out depending on matchups and availability. That of course is an option as well. ▪ Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has been rounding into form during the second half of the season. In 22 starts since Jan. 21, Bobrovsky is 15-7-0 with a .926 save percentage. He has allowed more than three goals just once in that span. ▪ Another decision Maurice is still trying to finalize for the short term is the makings of his defense pairings until Aaron Ekblad returns from his suspension, which runs through the first two games of the opening round of the playoffs. With Ekblad suspended and Dmitry Kulikov out the past 11 games with an upper-body injury, Maurice's defense pairings have been a revolving door. He hopes the first wave of stability comes when Kulikov returns to the lineup, which could be as early as Saturday when Florida hosts the Sabres. When Kulikov returns, he will be paired with one of Gustav Forsling or Niko Mikkola. Seth Jones will be paired with whoever isn't with Kulikov. That leaves the third pairing to likely be Nate Schmidt and Uvis Balinskis, a duo that has played together most of the season. When Ekblad returns for Game 3 of the playoffs, he'll slide back to his usual spot with Forsling, Mikkola and Jones will be paired together and Schmidt and Kulikov will most likely occupy the third pairing. ▪ With Florida's win on Thursday, Maurice now has 915 for his career, surpassing Barry Trotz for the third-most wins in NHL history. He now trails only Joel Quenneville (969) and Scotty Bowman (1,244). But Maurice, as has been the case his entire stint at Florida, brushed the individual accomplishment to the side when asked about it postgame. Now, he says, isn't the time and place for it. 'My appreciation for things [is] the whole group here,' Maurice said. 'How much I enjoy sitting in the coaches office, with [president of hockey operations] Bill [Zito], as well; the equipment guys, the medical guys and the players. For sure, this has been a wholly and completely unexpected level of joy that I find in my job. ... If I was asked today what the memory is, it's this group. It's the fun that we've had. They work hard. I'm not pulling teeth here to get these guys to play hard or work hard and that makes life really easy.'
Miami Herald
07-04-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Wherever they finish in standings, the Panthers know ‘there's no weak link' in playoffs
The Florida Panthers still have a remotely outside chance of winning the Atlantic Division for a second consecutive season and having home-ice advantage for at least the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs. They also have a chance of slipping outside of the top three in the division, entering the playoffs as a wild card team and opening potentially every postseason series on the road. Anything is possible as the Panthers enter their final five-game stretch of the regular season almost limping to the finish. Florida (44-29-4, 92 points) enters its home game Tuesday against the division-leading Toronto Maple Leafs (47-25-4, 98 points) six points out of first place and having lost five consecutive games for the first time since Feb. 26-March 7, 2019, when the Panthers dropped six consecutive games. But the Panthers aren't particularly concerned about where they end up in the standings. They care that they already have a playoff spot secured and have the chance to defend their Stanley Cup championship. They showed two years ago that anything is possible. In 2023, they went from the final team to get into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference to going all the way to the Stanley Cup Final. They built on that experience last year and won it all. So whoever Florida ends up playing and whatever the scenario is, the Panthers are going to make sure they're ready for it. 'I wouldn't say it matters where we end up,' rookie forward Mackie Samoskevich said. 'You've got to beat everybody if you're going to win it all. I think it's just not opening up our game, staying tight and working on our forecheck. That's what works in the playoffs.' If the season ended today, the Panthers would face their in-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning in the best-of-7 opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, with the series starting in Tampa because the Lightning (44-26-6, 94 points) are in second place in the division and Florida is third. However, the Ottawa Senators (42-29-6, 90 points) are just two points behind Florida for third place in the division. If the Senators were to jump the Panthers before the season ends, then Florida would drop to the top wild card spot. That would have Florida opening the playoffs against Toronto. Regardless of how it shakes out, the winners of the playoff series featuring Atlantic Division teams would face each other in the second round. 'I think the math says the path is you're gonna probably have to hit an Ontario team and a Florida team at some point,' Panthers coach Paul Maurice said last month about how the standings could shake out. 'We never talk about that and never think like that. There's no advantage. You're not winning [the Stanley Cup] without beating four great teams. There's no weak link.' So as the Panthers prepare for whoever they will end up playing when the playoffs begin in less than two weeks, they're doing what they can internally to set themselves up for success. Chief among that is getting the roster back to as close to full strength as possible. Florida has been without star winger Matthew Tkachuk since the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in mid-February as well as defensemen Aaron Ekblad (suspension) and Dmitry Kulikov (upper-body) since mid-March. Captain and top-line center Aleksander Barkov and fourth-line center Nico Sturm each has missed the past three games as well with upper-body injuries. And for good measure, Maurice opted to have three more key players — forwards Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart along with defenseman Gustav Forsling — sit out Sunday's 2-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings to give them a chance to rest. 'We've got to get our hockey team healthy,' Maurice said. Maurice has indicated that outside of potentially Tkachuk, who is on long-term injured reserve, everyone should be back for the start of the playoffs except for Ekblad, whose suspension will keep him out until Game 3 of the first round. 'Injuries happen throughout the playoffs,' Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues said. 'We might get some guys back, and then we might lose some guys, right? I think if you're looking forward to having a full lineup or waiting for that to happen, it's gonna bite you a little bit. Every game, we're going out there to win, no matter who's in our lineup and who we've got. When we're healthy, we're obviously going to be a dangerous group, but I don't think anyone's kind of waiting on that because we'll be waiting a long time. We're going to go with the group that's healthy, and if we do get healthy at one point, then we'll just have a dangerous group.' The final stretch After its game against Toronto on Tuesday (7 p.m., ESPN), Florida's final homestand includes games against the Red Wings on Thursday (7 p.m., Scripps), Buffalo Sabres on Saturday (6 p.m., Scripps) and New York Rangers on Monday (7 p.m., Scripps) before closing the regular season at Tampa Bay on April 15 (7 p.m., Scripps).
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Panthers host Senators in battle of Tkachuk brothers ahead of 4 Nations break
The Florida Panthers are gearing up for their final game before the NHL takes a break for the 4 Nations Face-Off. Florida is set to host the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night at Amerant Bank Arena in a matchup of a pair of Atlantic Division playoff hopefuls. Both teams will be off for two weeks afterwards and looking to enter the extended break on a high note. Ottawa has been hanging out in Florida for a while now after playing back-to-back games in Tampa Bay on Tuesday and Thursday. After winning five games in a row at the start of February, the Sens dropped both games against the Bolts this week. Much of the spotlight entering the game will be on superstar brothers Matthew and Brady Tkachuk. Brady is having a strong season, entering play Saturday with 20 goals and 43 points through 55 games, but only five of those points have come during his past 16 outings. Matthew, meanwhile, is one of the hottest players in the NHL right now. He's scored goals in five straight games, accumulating 10 points over that span, and has 13 points over his past seven games. Florida could be without rookie Mackie Samoskevich on Saturday against the Sens. Samoskevich is day-to-day after suffering an upper-body injury during Thursday's win in St. Louis, which was the youngster's first game back in the lineup after missing the previous three due to an illness. If he can't go, Jonah Gadjovich will likely slot back into the lineup and skate on Florida's fourth line with Tomas Nosek and A.J. Greer. Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Saturday's scrum with the Sens: Carter Verhaeghe– Sasha Barkov – Sam Reinhart Jesper Boqvist– Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Evan Rodrigues A.J. Greer – Tomas Nosek – Jonah Gadjovich Gus Forsling – Aaron Ekblad Niko Mikkola – Dmitry Kulikov Uvis Balinskis – Nate Schmidt Scratches: Mackie Samoskevich LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA The Hockey Show: Bill Lindsay talks 4 Nations, Panthers aiming at repeat, who's hot in the East Three takeaways: Matthew Tkachuk on fire, Florida finishing tough stretch strong Tkachuk goal with 11.8 left sends Panthers to 3-2 victory in St. Louis Anthony Duclair Foundation set to open synthetic ice rink at South Florida high school next week Quick road trip ends with Panthers only visit to St. Louis this season
