Latest news with #VezinaTrophy-winning
Indianapolis Star
04-05-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
NHL Playoffs: St. Louis Blues at Winnipeg Jets odds, picks and predictions
The St. Louis Blues take on the Winnipeg Jets in Game 7 of this best-of-7 series in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs Sunday. Puck drop from Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is set for 7 p.m. ET (TBS). Let's analyze BetMGM Sportsbook's NHL odds around the Blues vs. Jets odds and make our expert NHL picks and predictions. Series: Tied 3-3, with the home team winning every game After looking like a shell of themselves in Winnipeg in Game 5, the Blues demoralized the Jets and chased likely Vezina Trophy-winning G Connor Hellebuyck for the third straight road game in a 5-2 finish in Game 6 Friday. From a stats perspective, the Blues really didn't dominate the way the score says. The Jets won 59% of the faceoffs, went 2-for-6 on the power play (the Blues were 0-for-6), the Jets outhit them 40-36, and the shots were close at 27-23 St. Louis. The difference was the Blues' toughness, the blue line and their fourth line. The Blues' fourth line, affectionately known as the "WTF" line for the last names of RW Nathan Walker, LW Alexei Toropchenko and C Radek Faksa, scored 5 points in Game 6. Walker and Toropchenko each had a goal, blue-liners Philip Broberg and Cam Fowler also had a goal, and captain C Brayden Schenn had the fifth score. G Jordan Binnington made some acrobatic saves while his counterpart shrunk in net yet again on the road. The Jets were missing C Mark Scheifele, but got RW Nikolaj Ehlers back, and he looked good with 3 shots on goal. Scheifele's absence was noticeable as the team got nothing at 5-on-5. LW Kyle Connor and C Cole Perfetti both scored on the power play. Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. It really comes down to Hellebuyck, though, who was chased after 5 goals beat him on 23 shots in 2 periods. He is last in a lot of categories among goalies at 5-on-5. He has given up 18 goals at 5-on-5, which is 3 more than anyone else in the league. Yes, they've played 6 games in this series, but Hellebuyck has seen 30 minutes less of action than his counterpart due to being yanked 3 times. Hellebuyck's SV% at 5-on-5 is a paltry .814. He has stopped 16 of 26 high-danger chances at 5-on-5, which is an NHL-worst .615 SV%. Now he has been a different player at home, but in Game 7, all bets are off because the heat is on. Blues at Jets odds Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 10:34 a.m. ET. Blues at Jets projected goalies Jordan Binnington (28-22-5, 2.69 GAA, .900 SV%, 3 SO in regular season) vs. Connor Hellebuyck (47-12-3, 2.01 GAA, .925 SV%, 8 SO in regular season) Binner stopped 21 of 23 shots in Game 6. He has allowed 11 goals on 108 shots at 5-on-5 in this series, which is about middle of the pack. It's his work on high-danger chances that makes the difference. He has saved 26 of 34 high-danger chances at 5-on-5, and he's 12-for-14 on those in the last 2 games. All the talk is about the run he inspired this team to get on in 2019 when he was an unflappable rookie. And he has been the backbone of this squad. I outlined Hellebuyck's trials and tribulations already, but look. He's going to win the Vezina Trophy for the third time, and he's going to be in heavy consideration for the Hart Trophy. He has been OK at home in this series, stopping 51 of 58. That's still an .879 SV%, and when you factor in his disastrous games in The Lou, he has an .815 SV% these playoffs. If the defense can suffocate in front of him one more time, he will settle in. Blues at Jets picks and predictions Prediction Blues 4, Jets 2 Moneyline Scheifele is a game-time decision for this one, and that is a big factor here. But both of these teams are banged up. The Blues have been without 26-goal-scoring winger Dylan Holloway all series, and they lost another cog with D Tyler Tucker going out with a knee injury. I look for Scheifele to go, and I look for a heated game. So much heat that it gets the best of Winnipeg, who have been emotional all series in the media. The Blues have been playing with their backs against the wall for 2 1/2 months, and they seem to thrive on it. I look for them to punch Winnipeg in the mouth en route to punching their ticket to face Dallas. I'm taking the BLUES (+150). This has already gone up from +135 Sunday morning. Puck line/Against the spread Blues D Cam Fowler is tied for fourth in the NHL in points these playoffs and has a point in every game. Take CAM FOWLER OVER 0.5 POINTS (+105). I actually can't believe it's still at plus-money. Over/Under This series has gone Over every game except Game 2. Hellebuyck has given us no reason to expect a 2-1, 3-1 type of game. I could see a 3-2 final, but I'm expecting an empty-netter to find its way in with the desperation of a team keeping its season alive. I'll take the OVER 5 (-120). For more sports betting picks and tips, check out and BetFTW.
New York Times
19-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
It's time to believe: Why not the Winnipeg Jets? Why not now?
There was once a Winnipeg Jets team that had put together a tremendous regular season, finishing much higher than anyone expected when the season began. It had the world's best goaltender, Josh Morrissey as a Norris Trophy-contending No. 1 defenceman, a captain named Adam Lowry who everyone believed in, and star scorers like Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor who boasted all-world offensive ability. Its coach was widely respected, its team defence had taken great strides and, despite the great quality of its opponent, the consensus in the Jets dressing room when the playoffs began was 'Why shouldn't this be our year?' Advertisement That was Morrissey's rhetorical question, standing in the hallway outside the Jets' workout room, in a one-on-one conversation last April. He'd spoken with Stanley Cup champions, good friends, and rivals around the league. He had tough conversations and been told that no one knows with certainty that the Stanley Cup will belong to them when any given playoffs begin. The key, he'd been told, was to make it to the Round of 16 as many times as possible, understand the opportunity might never come again each time, and play your heart out while you had the chance. 'You don't go into the playoffs, 'This is the year we're going to win,'' he said. 'But the more opportunities you give yourself, if you do it the right way and have good teams, you never know when it might come. Why couldn't it be our year?' It took 10 days for Morrissey's dream to end. For Scheifele and Connor to be outscored by Valeri Nichushkin and Artturi Lehkonen. For Adam Lowry to be left behind Nathan MacKinnon. For Connor Hellebuyck's Vezina Trophy-winning season to turn into 24 goals against in five devastating games. And for Morrissey, still seething from his Game 5 loss, to name his next hope. 'I hope this stings,' he said. This year's version of the Winnipeg Jets were even better than the one that came before them. They put together a historic start, winning 14 out of their first 15 games. They demanded relentlessness from one another, asking new head coach Scott Arniel to challenge them — to hold them to the standards of elite teams. Connor scored a career high 96 points while his defensive game soared. Scheifele took a Team Canada snub so personally he went on a midseason offensive tear and set a new career high in points. None of it matters now. This year's version of Lowry, Nino Niederreiter, and Mason Appleton re-established themselves as one of the hardest matchup lines to play against, taking on the opposition's best players and winning, while Cole Perfetti emerged as a top six scorer and Dylan Samberg developed into a force inside the top four. Hellebuyck wrote chapters' worth of goaltending history, leading all starters in wins, shutouts, save percentage, goals against average, and goals saved above expected. None of that matters now, either. Advertisement Gabriel Vilardi and Nikolaj Ehlers teamed up for some of the most beautiful goals in Jets 2.0 history. None of those matter — and now Vilardi and Ehlers are hurt. Both power play units excelled. The penalty kill came on late, partly due to Samberg's return to health, partly due to adjustments made by Arniel and his staff during the 4 Nations break. For most of the season, the team stayed remarkably healthy — and remarkably consistent — and ultimately finished the season in historic fashion, too. They set a new franchise record with 116 points. They won their first-ever Presidents' Trophy, Western Conference, and Central Division titles. They won their second straight Jennings Trophy, giving up the fewest goals in the league. None of these matter — not now, anyway. We can reflect on them when the playoffs are done, whether that's two months from now or 10 days as it was when another great Jets team got picked apart. The 2024-25 Jets were always going to be judged by what they accomplished in the Stanley Cup playoffs — by what they learned from the pain of last year's easy defeat. Winnipeg's playoffs start today. The impetus for this season's success may have come in Morrissey's (and so many Jets players') call to arms. Its results may have depended on habits built in the offseason, renewed at training camp, and refined through 82 games and a league-best 116 points. That's only prologue. What matters now is the Jets' ability to dictate the game against an excellent opponent when the games get harder than they've been all season. 'Regardless of how well your regular season goes, you're generally judged on performance in the playoffs,' Lowry said. 'The Blues are one of the hottest teams in the league and had an incredible run down the stretch to get in. We're looking forward to the challenge … That atmosphere. The emotion. The pressure. We're really excited about this group.' Advertisement 'This is why you work all year — to get a chance in the playoffs,' Morrissey said. 'This is what you're preparing for. For us, being at home here Games 1 and 2 and to be in front of our fans, it's incredible. You can feel the energy in the city whenever we're in the playoffs this time of year.' Why should this season be any different for Winnipeg? I spoke to several NHL sources throughout the week — agents, a scout, and player on opposing teams who were granted anonymity — to ask them what makes this Jets team different. We all remember the Spittin' Chiclets podcast calling last year's Jets 'frauds.' Are these ones destined to go down to St. Louis the same way Colorado beat Winnipeg — or are the Jets legitimate Stanley Cup contenders? It turns out, there's a consensus. 'I think the Jets are built to make a run this year,' said an agent. 'Lowry's line has got to be the best third line in hockey right now,' said the scout. 'Don't doubt Hellebuyck with a chip on his shoulder,' said an Eastern Conference player. The consensus is that these Jets are for real. The scout called it a testament to Winnipeg's ability to retain key players, starting with Hellebuyck and Scheifele. He said there's value to continuity and praised GM Kevin Cheveldayoff for making smart decisions about his core players. 'I think some of what you're seeing is the fruits of Winnipeg's labour, keeping the group together,' he said. 'You can see that with the Pionk and Iafallo extensions. There are times when you talk to professional hockey players and they sound like mercenaries. When I check in on the Jets, it always sounds like they know they're playing for something bigger than themselves.' That concept came up more than once. An agent (who has players in Winnipeg) spoke to the idea that the Jets appear to love playing for each other. Advertisement 'The guys love playing for Arniel,' he said. 'When I check in, I don't get a sense they're feeling the pressure. It's a focused group that's very 'together.' There's just a belief that they should win every game.' Good vibes don't necessarily win championships but the consensus is that yes, these Winnipeg Jets are different. Some sources thought it was sensible to doubt last season's model; others praised Colorado for elevating its game to an incredible level. An amusing disagreement was who should get the credit for the Jets' success, with some sources pointing to Connor, Scheifele, Hellebuyck, and Morrissey as top-end talent that the Blues can't match and others pointing to Winnipeg's depth. 'Winnipeg's X-factor is that they've developed from within,' said a player agent without any Jets players. 'If anyone outside of Winnipeg isn't aware of how dominant Dylan Samberg has become, that's about to be showcased. Cole Perfetti is running hot, too, giving them great secondary scoring.' I asked if Winnipeg did enough at the trade deadline. A rival player pointed to Colorado's success adding players and wondered if the Avalanche would be a tough out in Round 2. Mostly, I was told that Cheveldayoff has the hardest job in hockey. 'I think they have a lot of great cap hits and savvy additions by trade. I heard Luke Schenn has been unbelievable in the room. He's calm but he's been there (to the Cup) and he knows how to lead guys there … Every time I reflect on (Cheveldayoff's) tenure in Winnipeg I think he's done a great job of making difficult decisions and finding opportunities.' So there's this Winnipeg Jets team that's put together a tremendous regular season, finishing much higher than anyone had expected when the season began. It has the world's best goaltender, Morrissey as a Norris Trophy contending No. 1 defenceman, Lowry as captain, and star scorers like Scheifele and Connor who have elevated their all-around game. Its coach is becoming widely respected, its team defence was the best in the league and, despite the great quality of its opponent, the Jets consensus is, 'Why shouldn't this be our year?' Advertisement The Blues are a formidable opponent. Vilardi, Ehlers, and Rasmus Kupari will all miss Game 1. The playoffs upon which everything Winnipeg has done this year will be judged could end in 10 days or two months. But the Jets believe. League sources who have been critical of the Jets believe. It has to start somewhere. Why not Winnipeg? Why not now?
New York Times
19-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Wild vs. Golden Knights: 5 burning questions for the first-round playoff series
By Michael Russo, Joe Smith and Jesse Granger LAS VEGAS — Marc-Andre Fleury's first big prank as a member of the Minnesota Wild was to white-out one of the pucks the Wild managed to get behind him when he backstopped the Vegas Golden Knights to a seven-game, first-round series victory over them in 2021. Advertisement After arriving in Minnesota from Chicago less than a year after ousting the Wild during his Vezina Trophy-winning season, Fleury couldn't believe that one of the giant framed pictures hanging from a wall just inside the players' entrance at the team's practice rink was of Joel Eriksson Ek celebrating his Game 1 overtime winner, the only goal Fleury allowed in a 1-0 loss. It took a while for his new teammates to notice, but one day Marcus Foligno walked into the practice facility, looked at the picture and realized 'the puck was gone!' 'Yeah, every time I walked in I had to see Ek celebrating with the puck in the net,' Fleury said. 'So I put (white) tape over it.' Is the picture still hanging at the facility? 'No, it's gone. I stole it,' Fleury said, jokingly … we think. Four years after the Wild rallied from a 3-1 series deficit before losing in Game 7, the Wild return to Las Vegas to meet up with the Pacific Division champs in the first round starting Sunday. The Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup two years ago. Seventeen players remain. They've won eight playoff series over the past five years, not including Fleury helping lead them to the Stanley Cup Final in their first year of existence in 2017-18. 'They're one of the best teams the last couple years,' Wild star Kirill Kaprizov said. 'You can see standings. This team play good every year. Should be a nice series.' The Wild? While they've made the playoffs 11 times in the past 13 years — the most in the Western Conference in that span and tied for the most in the NHL — they haven't advanced past the first round since 2015. Despite having a series lead in each of their past four playoff appearances, they are the kings of the first-round exit, and this season they made the playoffs by the skin of their teeth. Had Eriksson Ek not scored with 22 seconds left in regulation in Minnesota's finale against Anaheim, they would have missed the playoffs thanks to Calgary winning its last two games. TK Vegas went 50-22-10 for the third-most points in the NHL and were a dominant 29-9-3 at home. The Wild went 45-30-7 and were a pedestrian 21-17-2 at home. They were once the league's best road team and they definitely play better on the road, going 23-13-5 (Vegas went 21-13-7). The well-balanced Golden Knights averaged 3.34 goals per game, which ranked fifth in the NHL, and allowed just 2.61 goals per game – third-fewest in the league. The Wild were tied for 15th defensively at 2.88 goals per game, while offensively they averaged 2.74 goals per game — eighth-fewest in the NHL. But from Jan. 9 on, they were the league's lowest-scoring team at 2.44 per game. Advertisement Of course, that was with a long list of injuries, including Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek being out of their lineup. They returned to play the season's final four games and combined for seven goals. Vegas also had the NHL's second-best power play at 28.3 percent, while the Wild were 20th at 20.9 percent. Both team's penalty kills left a lot to be desired, with Vegas finishing 26th at 75.7 percent and the Wild 30th at 72.4. BetMGM has set the series odds for the Wild at +200, making them tied for the second-biggest underdogs in the first round with Montreal (vs. Washington). The biggest underdog is New Jersey, which is +230 to beat Carolina. The Golden Knights also have won nine of the past 11 meetings against the Wild, including all three games this season, by a 12-4 combined score. In the last meeting, Jack Eichel lit up the Wild with a hat trick. Of course, in an oddity, the Wild were playing on the back half of back-to-back games in each of the meetings, and Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek only played one game each. In the first meeting, Kaprizov scored both of the Wild's goals, and he has 10 goals and 15 points in 16 regular-season meetings against Vegas. This will be a very different series than in 2021. One big difference? 'More people,' Kaprizov said. The 2021 series came at the end of a pandemic-shortened season in which the Wild and Golden Knights were aligned in the same division during a very weird year. The Golden Knights were allowed a T-Mobile Arena capacity of 8,683 for games 1 and 2, and 12,156 for games 5 and 7. The Wild were only allowed 4,500 inside Xcel Energy Center for games 3, 4 and 6. 'I just remember that series was physical,' Wild heavy hitter Marcus Foligno said. 'We won Game 1, lost three, then climbed back with two, and then lost in Game 7. I think (Jonas Brodin) went down early. … They had Flower and now we've got Flower, so maybe that's the lucky charm that we got this time. But, yeah, that was an intense series, and it was a lot of fun.' Advertisement One key to every series in Vegas is the atmosphere. 'It gets loud. Music's loud, building's loud,' Fleury said. 'Lots of energy in the building. Sometimes you have to just breathe to stay relaxed a little bit and don't be like going 100 mph everywhere. Be smart with energy and go at the right time and stay calm and try to play your regular game.' Here are five burning questions heading into the series. Wild: There are not many players in the world better than Kaprizov, but Eichel is also a top-10 player. He's one of the best two-way centers, and a Selke candidate. And the biggest matchup will likely involve how to stop Eichel and the top line (which could include Mark Stone). Expect a heavy dose of the defense pair of Brodin and Brock Faber. Eriksson Ek is the Wild's Selke Trophy-caliber counterpart, though it'll be interesting to see how much he and Eichel are matched up, especially on the road with Eriksson Ek centering the Wild's top line with Kaprizov and Matt Boldy. Faber has struggled this season against Eichel, with the Wild out-attempted 20-9 in the 21:25 ice time he saw against Eichel at five-on-five in the three meetings (31.03 Corsi For) per Natural Stat Trick. Brodin had a better number at 48.72 Corsi-For, out-attempted 20-19 in 20:40 TOI at five-on-five. 🌟 WHAT A MONTH FOR JACK EICHEL 🌟 👉 NHL-best 23 points in March (8G, 15A)👉 13 points in the last six games (6G, 7A)👉 Hat trick against Minnesota on March 25👉 Seven multi-point games in March👉 NHL's 1st Star of the Month #VegasBorn — y-Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) April 1, 2025 But that doesn't mean coach John Hynes will go away from Faber vs. Eichel. Faber averaged a career-high 25:32 and logged 27-plus minutes in each of the past three games. Will Faber keep getting that heavy load? 'I think it will depend,' Hynes said. 'When you come into these things, you play every game to win. You've got to try to do what's required to win. No different than I think the players on the ice, when they're playing the game, they've got to play the game that's required to win — it's about that game and nothing else. I think the same thing from a coaching perspective. You're coaching to win that game. Those are decisions you've got to make.' Advertisement Golden Knights: William Karlsson has been a matchup weapon for the Golden Knights for the last eight seasons, and he should be again in this series. At his best, he's the type of defensive centerman who can completely neutralize opposing stars. He did it against Connor McDavid in the second round in 2023, holding the Oilers scoreless in more than 28 minutes of even strength ice time against McDavid. In the only meeting between Vegas and Minnesota this season with Kaprizov in the lineup (Dec. 15), Eichel saw more of Kaprizov's line. That was in Minnesota, where coach Bruce Cassidy didn't have last change, but based on Vegas' current lineup, he will probably want to get Karlsson on the ice more often against the Wild's top unit. The last time Reilly Smith and William Karlsson played together at T-Mobile Arena: — Danny Webster (@DannyWebster21) March 20, 2025 Karlsson is playing with reacquired Reilly Smith and Victor Olofsson, and Cassidy raves about the defensive abilities of both. Meanwhile, Eichel will be centering the top line with Stone and Ivan Barbashev. That line will be counted on to score more goals, so giving Karlsson's line more defensive matchups would make sense. Wild: When they try to play too much east-west hockey. There's a good amount of skill on the Wild, from Kaprizov to Matt Boldy and Mats Zuccarello to Marco Rossi. But there's a reason why the Wild may not open the series with Kaprizov and Zuccarello on the same line. The Wild don't play north enough to Hynes' liking when they try to get too creative. Of course, Kaprizov and Zuccarello also read off each other like few others in the NHL. KAPRIZOV WINS IT IN OT IN HIS RETURN!! 🤯 The FIFTEENTH goal of the game is Kirill Kaprizov's @Energizer overtime winner! — NHL (@NHL) April 10, 2025 The Wild are not the kind of team that can finesse and skate around opponents. They've been built on a certain commitment level and simplified game during the year, and it'll have to carry them through. They absolutely have to get to the inside against the Golden Knights' sizable blueliners. 'It'll be big, to be able to get to the inside is where you have to score this time of year, unless there's a major breakdown,' Hynes said. 'We've got to skate. We've got to play fast in the offensive zone. I think it starts with a shot mentality, what we worked on (Thursday). You've got to have strong puck retrievals. You have to play direct. You have to deliver pucks to the net. You've got to have shots, shot attempts, rebounds, check it off sprays. Now they've got to come out of their structure, and then you have to attack quick.' Advertisement Golden Knights: It's a similar story for Vegas. The rare stretches of poor hockey by the Golden Knights this season were almost always a product of mismanaging the puck through the neutral zone. Vegas' zone defense is incredibly strong, so the easiest way to beat them is in transition off turnovers before the defense gets set up. Both of these teams have good defensive structure and are stingy in transition, which means this series will likely become a waiting game, with the more patient team coming out on top. The team that blinks first, and tries to force plays that aren't there, will end up making the mistakes that lose them the game. 'I think against this team, it's going to be key to not turn the puck over and feed into their transition game,' Stone said. 'We have to be patient. They play in a lot of low-scoring games, so you can't force things. You have to just take what comes to you.' Vegas scores a lot off the rush, so it won't be easy to continually chip pucks behind defensemen and work on the forecheck, but that's the game plan. They must trust that if they play a direct style of hockey, eventually the rush chances will present themselves. 'I think the only way we're going to get our rush chances in this series is off of turnovers,' Stone said. 'If it's not there, we have to put the work boots on and go behind them.' Filip Gustavsson This was a strong year for Filip Gustavsson. He started the season red-hot, garnering some Vezina attention over the first few months. That slowed down over the second half, which obviously coincided with the Wild losing some key players due to injury. Overall, the Wild should be happy with his form entering the playoffs, though. He's about as technically sound of a goalie as you'll find, rarely breaking structure even when plays break down right in front of the net. He's not the fastest goalie but he makes up for that with good reads and smooth footwork. Advertisement One of Gustavsson's biggest strengths is his ability to track pucks through traffic and control rebounds by either absorbing the puck for a whistle, or directing it out of harm's way. Considering how goals are typically scored in the playoffs, these are great traits for a goalie to have. This save against Anaheim in the regular-season finale is a good example of a potentially dangerous play that Gustavsson extinguishes before it ever begins. Anaheim had a player right in Gustavsson's face to screen him on the initial shot and to be there for a dangerous put-back on the rebound. Not only did Gustavsson fight through traffic to track the puck, but he used his pad angle and momentum to turn it into a routine play with little danger. The exact same situation played with poor rebound control would've looked very different. Gustavsson is a big reason Minnesota gave up the fifth-fewest rebound shots this season, and the fewest rebounds above expected according to MoneyPuck. His strong positioning helps him stick with pucks off his body. The speed in which he tracks pucks off his body and rotates to square himself to them is impressive. His eyes and shoulders are glued to every puck as it comes off his pads. If the Golden Knights are going to beat Gustavsson in this series, it'll be easiest off the rush. Vegas is one of the most dangerous rush teams in the league, and will need to use speed in transition and lateral passes to get Gustavsson out of position. Once the puck is established in the zone, he reads the play so well that you'll rarely catch him out, but when the play is coming at him quickly, he can struggle to stay ahead of it. Adin Hill This was Hill's best season yet, with new career-highs in starts, wins and shutouts. He was particularly good following the 4 Nations Face off, as he went 12-3-1 with a .920 save percentage down the stretch. One of Hill's biggest problems in his NHL career has been a lack of durability, but after working hard in the summer and changing his strength program, he stayed healthy for the entire season for the first time. The more he played, the more confident he looked, and that's the biggest takeaway from his current form. Hill is a big goalie at 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, and he maximizes that frame with a confident playing style in which he isn't afraid to stand his ground and challenge shooters. This save on Nashville defenseman Justin Barron is a good example of how Hill uses layers to cut off shooting angles. Hill gets across quickly and sets his feet at the top of his crease. With the shooter approaching with this kind of speed, it would be easy for the goalie to flow with the play and back into his net, but Hill digs his edges in, stays on his toes and keeps a forward lean with his body to make himself bigger. Equally important, he keeps his gloves out in front of his body to crowd the puck, and give Barron layers of pads to beat for the goal. It makes the save look easy. Hill has been outstanding in his limited playoff experience, with a .932 save percentage in 17 games. If the Wild are looking for a weakness, Hill's rebound control has been pedestrian this season, and the Golden Knights have allowed the sixth-most rebound goals this season. It won't be easy getting to the inside ice against Vegas' hefty blueliners, but if the Wild can do it, there are goals to be had. Advertisement Wild: After a terrific rookie season last year with 21 goals and 40 points, 23-year-old Marco Rossi followed it up with 24 goals and 60 points this year in a second straight 82-game season. He spent a large part of the year on the top line, but of late he has been playing on the third line with Foligno and Gustav Nyquist, and when the going gets tough, he hasn't played a lot of five-on-five late in games. Power play, six-on-five, overtime, he gets on the ice. But it was interesting how Hynes essentially benched him during large spurts of the third period recently in Vancouver. THAT'S A WILD OT WIN! 🤩 Marco Rossi wins it for the @mnwild in @Energizer overtime! — NHL (@NHL) April 6, 2025 This is going to be a big playoff debut for Rossi to prove that he can perform in intense, physical games and continue to go to the dirty areas and play with the pace needed. He's a pending restricted free agent who is going to command a lot of money this offseason, so if his future isn't going to be on the No. 1 power play or in the top-six, it's very possible the Wild look to trade him this offseason. There's no doubt Rossi hasn't been the same player since the 4 Nations Face-Off. Asked what Rossi has to get back to, Hynes said, 'I think his competitive nature on the puck, to get over pucks, win puck battles offensively, be an elusive player, second and third effort on pucks, to allow him and his line to be able to play in the offensive zone. And there's gotta be a willingness to get into the net front. That's what this time of year requires from everyone.' Golden Knights: It was an impressive breakout season for Pavel Dorofeyev. The 24-year-old winger led Vegas with 35 goals, up from 13 in 2023-24. He has one of the trickiest releases for goalies to read in all of the NHL and became a major weapon on the weak side of the Golden Knights' second-ranked power-play unit. The question is: Can he do it in the playoffs? In each of the last two postseasons, Cassidy has been reluctant to play Dorofeyev. In 2022-23, Dorofeyev became a regular in the Golden Knights' lineup down the stretch of the regular season, playing in 15 of the last 16 games. When the playoffs arrived, he was a healthy scratch for all 22 games. In 2023-24, Dorofeyev became an even bigger part of Vegas' lineup, playing in 47 games, including 14 straight to end the regular season. When the playoffs arrived, Cassidy scratched him for six of the seven games against Dallas. In the only game he did play — a Game 5 loss — Dorofeyev saw only seven minutes of ice time. What a year it has been for Pavel Dorofeyev. A team needing to replace the production that Marchessault provided, now has founded a forward with 34 goals this season @SportingTrib | #VegasBorn — James Newell (@JamesNewell96) April 16, 2025 All of this is to say, it's clear Cassidy didn't believe Dorofeyev's overall game was quite ready for playoff hockey. This season, Dorofeyev will be playing in every playoff game, and the Golden Knights are counting on him to score. 'He's had a great year, so there's no reason why he can't continue doing what he does,' Cassidy said Friday. 'He just might not do it at the same numbers level, because it's hard. He might do more. Who knows? I'm not putting a ceiling on the guy.' Advertisement Wild: The Wild need some pizzazz in the lineup, a guy who can get the puck on the attack, a power-play dynamo. That's not Jon Merrill. So enter 19-year-old Zeev Buium, fresh off his Frozen Four semifinal loss in St. Louis with the University of Denver. The 2024 first-round pick, 2024 NCAA champion and two-time World Juniors gold medalist with the United States looks like he'll be a generational talent from the back end. It also looks like he'll become the first Wild player in history to make his NHL debut in the playoffs. The Wild took Friday off, but on Thursday in St. Paul, he quarterbacked the No. 1 power-play unit with Kaprizov, Eriksson Ek, Zuccarello, and Boldy and took Merrill's spot on the third defense pair with Zach Bogosian. Hynes says he'll officially announce Saturday whether Buium will debut, but it's clear he'll get in at some point even if it's not Game 1. Golden Knights: With Vegas' lineup as healthy as it has been all season, Cassidy's toughest decision was who to sit. It came down to a choice between veteran Tanner Pearson and Olofsson on the wing, and Cassidy is going to play Olofsson — at least for Game 1. Pearson has been a steady presence for Vegas all season after joining on a PTO in preseason and eventually signing a one-year contract. The former Cup champion with the Kings pitched in 12 goals and 15 assists playing mostly in the bottom-six. He will likely find his way into the lineup at some point but will start the playoffs as a healthy scratch. Olofsson missed a big chunk of the season with a leg injury, but when he was healthy, he was a relatively consistent scoring threat for Vegas. He scored 15 goals in 56 games and has already shown good chemistry with Karlsson and Smith, with whom he'll play to start. Cassidy is clearly looking for offense with this decision. (Top photo from the 2021 playoffs: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
Fox Sports
17-04-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
What to know about the first-round matchups in the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs
Associated Press A month before NHL's playoff openers this weekend, Commissioner Gary Bettman was more than happy to defend the decision to not expand the bracket like other professional leagues around North America have done in recent years. 'If you look at the races that we're having for the regular season, playoffs have started already,' Bettman said then. "We're in our play-in tournament, and I think it's terrific. What can be more compelling and exciting and entertaining than that?' It took until the penultimate night of the season to lock in all 16 playoff teams and the eight first-round series. The defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers open against the cross-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators face off in the first Battle of Ontario in more than two decades. The Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche collide in a matchup of two of the top three betting favorites to win it all. And Connor McDavid's Edmonton Oilers open the postseason against the Los Angeles Kings for a fourth year in a row. A look at the matchups, first in the East and then the West with division and seeding noted: Toronto (Atlantic 1) vs. Ottawa (wild card 1) The Maple Leafs and Senators last met in a playoff series in 2004. That was before the salary cap and rule changes designed to generate more offense. Along came Auston Matthews, Toronto's captain who reached 400 career goals and teammate William Nylander, who scored 45 this season. Goaltender Anthony Stolarz has won his past eight starts, three of the past four with a shutout, and the Leafs look capable of making a run if Matthews, Nylander and Mitch Marner can keep scoring. The pesky Senators are led by hard-nosed captain Brady Tkachuk. Retired Norris Trophy-winning defenseman P.K. Subban, who now works for ESPN, said the playoffs "are tailor-made for Brady Tkachuk and his game and his mentality.' Toronto is a slight series favorite, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. Ottawa has 2023 Vezina Trophy-winning goalie Linus Ullmark, and a rivalry like this has its ways of evening the scales. Tampa Bay (Atlantic 2) vs. Florida (Atlantic 3) The Panthers have won seven of their past eight playoff series since trading for Brady's brother, Matthew Tkachuk, and hiring Paul Maurice as coach. Their only loss came to Vegas in the 2023 final when injuries took their toll, and Florida beat Edmonton last year in seven games to capture the first title in franchise history. The Lightning beating the Panthers in the second round in '22 led to that series of changes, and this will be the fourth Sunshine State Showdown in the past five years. Tampa Bay went through Florida in '21 on the way to its second of back-to-back Cup championships. Each team loaded up at the trade deadline. Florida added top-four defenseman Seth Jones and in-your-face winger Brad Marchand, while Tampa Bay picked up Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand, who is week to week with an injury. The difference-makers could be in net. Russian goalies Sergei Bobrovsky for the Panthers and Andrei Vasilevskiy for the Lightning have already backstopped their team to the Cup before. Washington (Metropolitan 1) vs. Montreal (wild card 2) A rematch of the 2010 first round, when the Canadiens shocked the then-Presidents' Trophy-winning Capitals and made a surprise run to the Eastern Conference final. Washington did finish first in the East after a season that saw captain Alex Ovechkin set the career goals record. The Capitals were on cruise control much of the second half of the season but they lost starting goaltender Logan Thompson and forward Aliaksei Protas to injuries. They have not won a playoff series since hoisting the Cup in 2018. The Canadiens clinched a playoff spot in their 82nd and final game of the season. The underdogs have been red hot and can count on full and frenzied playoff crowds at the Bell Centre in Montreal for the first time since 2017. Carolina (Metropolitan 2) vs. New Jersey (Metropolitan 3) Carolina is a heavy favorite in large part because New Jersey is missing its best player, No. 1 center Jack Hughes, who underwent season-ending shoulder surgery last month. The Devils' biggest strength is their goaltending, with Jacob Markstrom filling a void in net that hasn't quite been the same since Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur. They also are expected to have top defenseman Dougie Hamilton back from his extended injury absence. Carolina does a lot of things right and defends incredibly well. The Hurricanes after some disappointing playoff exits hope they can put together a long run, though their biggest question might be in goal between Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov. 'It's been, I'm sure they would agree, up and down throughout the year for the goalies,' captain Jordan Staal said. 'But the playoffs, you just ride whoever's playing well and we're very confident with both of them. We know both can win games for us and even steal games.' Winnipeg (Central 1) vs. St. Louis (wild card 2) The Presidents' Trophy-winning Jets have been, in hockey terms, a wagon all season. They have the likely Vezina winner in goal in Connor Hellebuyck, a near-100-point producer in Kyle Connor and the kind of big, heavy game that wins this time of year. 'They don't give up much,' Blues captain Brayden Schenn said. "They're a good defensive hockey team with a good goalie. It's going to be an exciting series, and we're looking forward to the challenge.' St. Louis, like Montreal, got in by winning its final game of the season. The Blues were eight points out when play resumed in late February out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break, and they won 19 of 26 to qualify. Coach Jim Montgomery, hired in November to replace Drew Bannister fresh off being fired by Boston, turned things around even faster than he expected. The Blues with big-game goaltender Jordan Binnington, won't be an easy out. Dallas (Central 2) vs. Colorado (Central 3) Under the old 1 to 8 conference playoff format, this easily could have been a West final. Instead, the Stars and Avalanche meet right away with one of them guaranteed to be going home early. 'Looking forward to the matchup,' Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. 'You've got to get out of the gate, you've got to play well right away and you're going to have to play your best hockey for two weeks in order to win.' Both teams made significant trades this winter. Dallas acquired defenseman Cody Ceci and forward Mikael Granlund, then went even bigger by getting former Avalanche standout Mikko Rantanen from Carolina at the deadline. Colorado had traded Rantanen to the Hurricanes in January, flipping the pending free agent for younger forwards Martin Necas and Jack Drury. The Avs also added centers Brock Nelson and Charlie Coyle and brought back veteran defenseman Erik Johnson. Whoever wins this series likely becomes the Cup favorite. Vegas (Pacific 1) vs. Minnesota (wild card 1) The Golden Knights were nearly as dominant as Winnipeg but somehow flew under the radar. Jack Eichel surpassed 90 points and showed off his defensive prowess as part of the best, most well-rounded season of his career. Vegas is only two years removed from winning the Cup. Adin Hill has grown into the starting role since, earning a long-term contract as the organization's goaltender of the present and future, and has valuable experience from 2023. Minnesota clinched the eighth and final spot in the West by tying its last game of the season with 20.9 seconds left. The Wild struggled in recent months but have scoring winger Kirill Kaprizov back healthy and might get a spark from newly signed prospect Zeev Buium. 'It was up and down like crazy," defenseman Jake Middleton said. "There was times we thought the world was ending. There was times we thought that we'd already won the league.' Los Angeles (Pacific 2) vs. Edmonton (Pacific 3) Yes, again. Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the Oilers won this series each of the past three years, but the defending West champs are banged up and won't have defenseman Mattias Ekholm at least for the first round because of injury. Edmonton let young Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg go to St. Louis on offer sheets last summer and has missed that kind of play. 'I'm sure LA and Edmonton are sick of seeing each other," said retired forward Paul Bissonnette, now a TNT analyst. 'It's going to be tough sledding for Edmonton, especially with all that turnover they've had, so we'll see what they've got.' Los Angeles is one of the hottest teams in the NHL since the trade deadline and has five 20-plus-goal scorers: Kevin Fiala, Adrian Kempe, Warren Foegele, Quinton Byfield and Anze Kopitar. Darcy Kuemper's bounce-back season gives the Kings a legit presence in net, and they have the offense to supplement a suffocating defensive system. ___ AP Sports Writers Pat Graham in Denver and Dave Campbell in Minneapolis and AP freelance writer Joe Harris in St. Louis contributed. ___ AP NHL: recommended
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
What to know about the first-round matchups in the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs
A month before NHL's playoff openers this weekend, Commissioner Gary Bettman was more than happy to defend the decision to not expand the bracket like other professional leagues around North America have done in recent years. 'If you look at the races that we're having for the regular season, playoffs have started already,' Bettman said then. "We're in our play-in tournament, and I think it's terrific. What can be more compelling and exciting and entertaining than that?' It took until the penultimate night of the season to lock in all 16 playoff teams and the eight first-round series. The defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers open against the cross-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators face off in the first Battle of Ontario in more than two decades. The Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche collide in a matchup of two of the top three betting favorites to win it all. And Connor McDavid's Edmonton Oilers open the postseason against the Los Angeles Kings for a fourth year in a row. A look at the matchups, first in the East and then the West with division and seeding noted: Toronto (Atlantic 1) vs. Ottawa (wild card 1) The Maple Leafs and Senators last met in a playoff series in 2004. That was before the salary cap and rule changes designed to generate more offense. Along came Auston Matthews, Toronto's captain who reached 400 career goals and teammate William Nylander, who scored 45 this season. Goaltender Anthony Stolarz has won his past eight starts, three of the past four with a shutout, and the Leafs look capable of making a run if Matthews, Nylander and Mitch Marner can keep scoring. The pesky Senators are led by hard-nosed captain Brady Tkachuk. Retired Norris Trophy-winning defenseman P.K. Subban, who now works for ESPN, said the playoffs "are tailor-made for Brady Tkachuk and his game and his mentality.' Toronto is a slight series favorite, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. Ottawa has 2023 Vezina Trophy-winning goalie Linus Ullmark, and a rivalry like this has its ways of evening the scales. Tampa Bay (Atlantic 2) vs. Florida (Atlantic 3) The Panthers have won seven of their past eight playoff series since trading for Brady's brother, Matthew Tkachuk, and hiring Paul Maurice as coach. Their only loss came to Vegas in the 2023 final when injuries took their toll, and Florida beat Edmonton last year in seven games to capture the first title in franchise history. The Lightning beating the Panthers in the second round in '22 led to that series of changes, and this will be the fourth Sunshine State Showdown in the past five years. Tampa Bay went through Florida in '21 on the way to its second of back-to-back Cup championships. Each team loaded up at the trade deadline. Florida added top-four defenseman Seth Jones and in-your-face winger Brad Marchand, while Tampa Bay picked up Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand, who is week to week with an injury. The difference-makers could be in net. Russian goalies Sergei Bobrovsky for the Panthers and Andrei Vasilevskiy for the Lightning have already backstopped their team to the Cup before. Washington (Metropolitan 1) vs. Montreal (wild card 2) A rematch of the 2010 first round, when the Canadiens shocked the then-Presidents' Trophy-winning Capitals and made a surprise run to the Eastern Conference final. Washington did finish first in the East after a season that saw captain Alex Ovechkin set the career goals record. The Capitals were on cruise control much of the second half of the season but they lost starting goaltender Logan Thompson and forward Aliaksei Protas to injuries. They have not won a playoff series since hoisting the Cup in 2018. The Canadiens clinched a playoff spot in their 82nd and final game of the season. The underdogs have been red hot and can count on full and frenzied playoff crowds at the Bell Centre in Montreal for the first time since 2017. Carolina (Metropolitan 2) vs. New Jersey (Metropolitan 3) Carolina is a heavy favorite in large part because New Jersey is missing its best player, No. 1 center Jack Hughes, who underwent season-ending shoulder surgery last month. The Devils' biggest strength is their goaltending, with Jacob Markstrom filling a void in net that hasn't quite been the same since Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur. They also are expected to have top defenseman Dougie Hamilton back from his extended injury absence. Carolina does a lot of things right and defends incredibly well. The Hurricanes after some disappointing playoff exits hope they can put together a long run, though their biggest question might be in goal between Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov. 'It's been, I'm sure they would agree, up and down throughout the year for the goalies,' captain Jordan Staal said. 'But the playoffs, you just ride whoever's playing well and we're very confident with both of them. We know both can win games for us and even steal games.' Winnipeg (Central 1) vs. St. Louis (wild card 2) The Presidents' Trophy-winning Jets have been, in hockey terms, a wagon all season. They have the likely Vezina winner in goal in Connor Hellebuyck, a near-100-point producer in Kyle Connor and the kind of big, heavy game that wins this time of year. 'They don't give up much,' Blues captain Brayden Schenn said. "They're a good defensive hockey team with a good goalie. It's going to be an exciting series, and we're looking forward to the challenge.' St. Louis, like Montreal, got in by winning its final game of the season. The Blues were eight points out when play resumed in late February out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break, and they won 19 of 26 to qualify. Coach Jim Montgomery, hired in November to replace Drew Bannister fresh off being fired by Boston, turned things around even faster than he expected. The Blues with big-game goaltender Jordan Binnington, won't be an easy out. Dallas (Central 2) vs. Colorado (Central 3) Under the old 1 to 8 conference playoff format, this easily could have been a West final. Instead, the Stars and Avalanche meet right away with one of them guaranteed to be going home early. 'Looking forward to the matchup,' Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. 'You've got to get out of the gate, you've got to play well right away and you're going to have to play your best hockey for two weeks in order to win.' Both teams made significant trades this winter. Dallas acquired defenseman Cody Ceci and forward Mikael Granlund, then went even bigger by getting former Avalanche standout Mikko Rantanen from Carolina at the deadline. Colorado had traded Rantanen to the Hurricanes in January, flipping the pending free agent for younger forwards Martin Necas and Jack Drury. The Avs also added centers Brock Nelson and Charlie Coyle and brought back veteran defenseman Erik Johnson. Whoever wins this series likely becomes the Cup favorite. Vegas (Pacific 1) vs. Minnesota (wild card 1) The Golden Knights were nearly as dominant as Winnipeg but somehow flew under the radar. Jack Eichel surpassed 90 points and showed off his defensive prowess as part of the best, most well-rounded season of his career. Vegas is only two years removed from winning the Cup. Adin Hill has grown into the starting role since, earning a long-term contract as the organization's goaltender of the present and future, and has valuable experience from 2023. Minnesota clinched the eighth and final spot in the West by tying its last game of the season with 20.9 seconds left. The Wild struggled in recent months but have scoring winger Kirill Kaprizov back healthy and might get a spark from newly signed prospect Zeev Buium. 'It was up and down like crazy," defenseman Jake Middleton said. "There was times we thought the world was ending. There was times we thought that we'd already won the league.' Los Angeles (Pacific 2) vs. Edmonton (Pacific 3) Yes, again. Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the Oilers won this series each of the past three years, but the defending West champs are banged up and won't have defenseman Mattias Ekholm at least for the first round because of injury. Edmonton let young Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg go to St. Louis on offer sheets last summer and has missed that kind of play. 'I'm sure LA and Edmonton are sick of seeing each other," said retired forward Paul Bissonnette, now a TNT analyst. 'It's going to be tough sledding for Edmonton, especially with all that turnover they've had, so we'll see what they've got.' Los Angeles is one of the hottest teams in the NHL since the trade deadline and has five 20-plus-goal scorers: Kevin Fiala, Adrian Kempe, Warren Foegele, Quinton Byfield and Anze Kopitar. Darcy Kuemper's bounce-back season gives the Kings a legit presence in net, and they have the offense to supplement a suffocating defensive system. ___ AP Sports Writers Pat Graham in Denver and Dave Campbell in Minneapolis and AP freelance writer Joe Harris in St. Louis contributed. ___ AP NHL:
