Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is eligible to sign a contract extension this summer, but don't expect to hear much buzz about it."The key for us is, because of the importance of it and how much Sid means to the organization and the city, we want to keep that as quiet as possible and go through it," general manager Kyle Dubas told NHL.com's Adam Kimelman. "And then, hopefully, as we get through this summer, get a sense where everybody's at and then let everybody know at the right time."Crosby is set to enter the final season of a 12-year, $104.4-million contract, which pays him $8.7 million annually. The soon-to-be 37-year-old was Pittsburgh's best player by a landslide in 2023-24, leading the club with 94 points while averaging 20 minutes per night over 82 games.Despite Crosby's excellence - and Dubas pulling off a blockbuster trade to bring in Erik Karlsson - the Penguins missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season and the third time in Crosby's 19-year career.Following the disappointing campaign, Dubas made it clear he hopes Crosby finishes his career in Pittsburgh. After dealing Crosby's longtime linemate Jake Guentzel before the trade deadline, Dubas stated he intends to make the Penguins contenders again for Crosby's final years rather than embark on a full rebuild with the three-time Stanley Cup champion still in the fold.The Penguins will enter the offseason with approximately $13.2 million in financial wiggle room, according to CapFriendly. Dubas said the mission for the club over the summer is to find young talent."The major focus for us is on right now acquiring as many young players, as many prospects, and as many draft picks as we can to try to infuse the team with really good young talent ... and then have that stocked up for the future as well and attempt to get us back into contention as quickly as we can," Dubas said.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Superstar Connor McDavid believes the Edmonton Oilers' 3-0 loss to the Florida Panthers on Saturday may have been due in part to some karma."Maybe it was the hockey gods getting us back for that Game 6 where we probably didn't deserve to win," McDavid quipped.The Oilers won Game 6 against the Dallas Stars 2-1 with only 10 shots on goal to advance to the Stanley Cup Final. Stuart Skinner made 33 saves in that contest.Edmonton dropped Game 1 of the final on Saturday despite outshooting the Panthers 32-18."Tonight, maybe we deserved at least one goal or maybe two goals, and we don't find a way to get them," McDavid said. "This group will stick with it, bounce back. That's what we take a lot of pride in doing. We'll gear up for a big one on Monday."Zach Hyman believes the Oilers will be just fine if they continue to play like they did in Game 1."We had our looks. I thought we played pretty well, overall," Hyman said. "(Sergei Bobrovsky's) a good goalie over there. He made some good saves. But I liked our game."Hyman added: "I think we're right there. We're very confident in our group, we've been in positions like this before. They're a good team. We're a really good team."The Oilers had 18 high-danger chances, according to Natural Stat Trick, more than double Florida's six. It's only the third time the Panthers have been outshot this postseason.Game 2 is Monday at 8 p.m. ET.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 32 saves as the Florida Panthers shut out the Edmonton Oilers 3-0 on Saturday in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.The Panthers fired 18 shots on goal. It's only the third time Florida has been outshot in the postseason.This is the first time in franchise history that the Panthers have held a series lead in the final.Bobrovsky, 35, is the oldest goalie to post a shutout in the Stanley Cup Final since Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas in 2011. It's also the first Game 1 shutout in a final since 2011, when the Vancouver Canucks' Roberto Luongo blanked the Bruins.

The NHL and NHLPA announced an $88-million salary cap for the 2024-25 season Saturday.The new ceiling is a $4.5-million increase from last year's $83.5-million salary cap. It's the biggest jump in one offseason since the cap rose by $4.5 million before the 2019-20 campaign.Commissioner Gary Bettman said in December that the cap was expected to rise to $87.7 million.The cap had increased by $1 million before each of the past two seasons. It was at a stagnant $81.5 million in 2020 and 2021.The new cap floor is $65 million. Eleven teams are currently under that limit, according to CapFriendly. Utah has to spend over $20 million to reach the minimum payroll.Top pending unrestricted free agents include Sam Reinhart, Jake Guentzel, and Steven Stamkos. Restricted free agents such as Lucas Raymond and Seth Jarvis are also in need of new contracts.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

It's been seven years since Edmonton Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm last appeared in the Stanley Cup Final, and the 34-year-old veteran is more than ready to make his return to the NHL's biggest stage."Definitely not taking it for granted at this point in my career, but super happy to be back and excited," Ekholm told reporters ahead of Saturday's Game 1. "I wouldn't say I have any regrets with the (2017) final, but at the same time, you're trying to make everything out of this one because you never know if it's your last one. I'm not getting any younger."Ekholm was key to the Nashville Predators' deepest playoff run in franchise history, chipping in with one goal and 11 points in 22 games while averaging over 25 minutes of ice time per contest. However, he came two wins short from hoisting the Stanley Cup, with the Pittsburgh Penguins beating the Predators in six games to clinch back-to-back championships.The Swedish blue-liner has been similarly important to the Oilers' pursuits this year, amassing seven points in 18 games and seeing almost 22 minutes of ice time while forming an elite pair alongside Evan Bouchard. Edmonton has outscored opponents 18-9 and controlled 59.5% of the expected goals with the duo on the ice at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick.Based on his past experience, Ekholm said he's aware that this spring's final will come down to "margins that are probably so small."One of the deciding factors will likely be special teams, which is all well and good to Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch. Edmonton owns the top power play (37.3%) and best penalty kill (93.9%) of these playoffs, and the Panthers have taken a league-leading 207 penalty minutes."We'll have our opportunities to be on the power play," Knoblauch said. "I know Florida is one of the most penalized teams throughout the playoffs. For us to be looking for them or embellishing, we've never done that, we're not that type of team."The more we possess the puck, the more we're moving our feet and making plays, we're putting them in a position to take a penalty against us, and ultimately that's all that we can control."The Panthers are no slouches on the penalty kill, either. They own the second-best unit of these playoffs with an 88.2% success rate.The Puck drops for Game 1 at 8 p.m. ET.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Florida Panthers are set to play for the Stanley Cup for the second year in a row, and there's no more arguing whether they deserve their spot among the NHL's elite.The Cats faced some criticism in 2023 for an improbable Cinderella run to the final but followed that up with an Atlantic Division crown and a dominant first three rounds of the playoffs. Not to mention, they won the Presidents' Trophy in 2022, further cementing their status as the class of the Eastern Conference.Florida had been a basement-dwelling team for much of its existence, but hiring Bill Zito as general manager in 2020 changed the trajectory of the franchise. The executive has proven he possesses a remarkable knack for winning trades and has hit on his free-agent signings as well.Zito inherited very little homegrown talent but has managed to create a powerhouse primarily through bold acquisitions. Below, we break down how the Panthers were built as they face another chance at their first championship in franchise history.MethodPlayersHomegrown5Trade8Free agency/waivers16Note: All players played at least one game for Panthers during the regular seasonHomegrown China Wong / National Hockey League / GettyAleksander Barkov (June 30, 2013): Barkov was a surprise pick at No. 2 overall 11 years ago, and he's seen the Panthers transform from laughing stock to powerhouse since entering the league at 18 years old. He's blossomed into the league's top two-way player, and a Stanley Cup would bolster an already strong Hall of Fame case.Aaron Ekblad (June 27, 2014): One year after selecting Barkov, Florida drafted Ekblad first overall for a cornerstone on defense. He may not go No. 1 if we were to redraft that prospect pool now, but he's still a top-pairing blue-liner and an important leader for the Panthers.Anton Lundell (Oct. 6, 2020): The Panthers struck gold when selecting Lundell 12th overall in 2020. He occupies an important role as the third-line center and sits sixth among his draft class in both games played and points.Justin Sourdif (Oct. 7, 2020): Sourdif's been a minor part of Florida's campaign, appearing in only three regular-season games. He chipped in 38 points in 58 AHL contests and could be a bigger part of the Panthers' future as they face lots of potential roster turnover this summer with seven unrestricted free-agent forwards.Mackie Samoskevich (July 23, 2021): He made his NHL debut this season, and the former first-round pick went pointless in seven games. The 21-year-old has been promising in the minors, though, and still has plenty of time to grow.Trade Matthew Stockman / Getty Images Sport / GettyEetu Luostarinen (Feb. 24, 2020): Luostarinen was part of a four-player return in the trade that sent Vincent Trocheck to the Carolina Hurricanes, and he's the only one still with the organization. He's appeared in all of Florida's playoff games this spring, chipping in six points.Brandon Montour (April 10, 2021): Zito pried Montour from the Buffalo Sabres for only a third-round pick three years ago and has watched the defenseman grow into a monumental role for the club. The rearguard quarterbacks Florida's first power-play unit and is logging nearly 24 minutes per contest in the playoffs.Sam Bennett (April 12, 2021): Many believed Bennett needed a change of scenery when he was dealt from the Flames, and that couldn't have turned out to be more accurate. His points per game have jumped from 0.35 to 0.68 since moving south, and he's one of the most physically imposing forwards in the league.Sam Reinhart (July 24, 2021): Reinhart eclipsed the 30-goal mark in each of his first two seasons with the Panthers, then exploded for 57 this year. He has defensive prowess to match his offensive skill and is one of the league's most dangerous finishers.Matthew Tkachuk (July 22, 2022): The Panthers landing Tkachuk was one of the biggest trades in recent history, and he's quickly become the heartbeat of the organization. He's a pain to play against on account of his antics and his All-Star-level production.Steven Lorentz (July 1, 2023): Lorentz is a depth piece but offers decent versatility in the Panthers' bottom six. He's chipped in a pair of goals so far in the playoffs.Vladimir Tarasenko (March 6, 2024): Tarasenko isn't the star producer he used to be, but he serves as a quality depth-scoring threat. He only has three goals in the postseason, but his experience as a past Stanley Cup champion has shown for a Panthers squad looking to erase last year's heartbreak.Kyle Okposo (March 8, 2024): Okposo has been in and out of the Panthers' playoff lineup and hasn't produced a goal in 11 games. However, it would be a tremendous feel-good story if he captured a Cup in his 17th season after serious injury concerns derailed his career a few years back.Free agency and waivers Josh Lavallee / National Hockey League / GettySergei Bobrovsky (July 1, 2019): Bobrovsky's seven-year, $70-million deal with the Panthers was met with immediate scrutiny, which was quickly justified after his poor play early in the contract. However, the two-time Vezina winner has regained his form since last playoffs, re-emerging as one of the league's top netminders.Gustav Forsling (Jan. 9, 2021): The Panthers snagged Forsling on waivers from the Hurricanes three years ago, and what a find it turned out to be. He's grown into Florida's top left-side blue-liner and a rock defensively. He signed an eight-year extension this season, and after eliminating the Boston Bruins in Round 2, head coach Paul Maurice said Forsling is the best in the world at his steady style of defense.Carter Verhaeghe (July 28, 2021): Something about the Panthers lately seems to bring out the best in new players. After modest numbers in his rookie season with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Verhaeghe has since developed into one of Florida's best producers. His 76 goals over the past two seasons rank 14th among all NHL skaters. He also has 24 playoff tallies - nine game-winners - in 54 games since joining the Cats in 2021.Ryan Lomberg (Nov. 25, 2021): Lomberg has played sparingly in these playoffs and is a fourth-liner when in the lineup. He brings energy and physicality when dressed and ranked first among Panthers forwards with 179 hits this season.Nick Cousins (July 13, 2022): The Panthers are Cousins' sixth team since entering the league 10 years ago, and his role has diminished in the playoffs after suiting up in 69 games this season. Cousins is known to be an agitator for opponents and was involved in numerous controversial plays in 2023-24.Josh Mahura (Oct. 10, 2022): A depth defense option claimed from the Anaheim Ducks two seasons ago, Mahura was limited to 30 games this season and hasn't played in the playoffs. He's up for a new contract this summer as an RFA.Uvis Balinskis (April 18, 2023): Balinskis joined the Panthers last year after time in the KHL and Czech league. He hasn't been used in the playoffs this spring but showed enough promise in the minors to earn a two-year extension in January.Kevin Stenlund (July 1, 2023): Stenlund signed a one-year deal with Florida last summer and has carved out a fourth-line role. He hasn't registered a point in the playoffs but has featured in all 17 games while averaging over 11 minutes per night.Anthony Stolarz (July 1, 2023): "Stolie the Goalie" had a terrific season as Bobrovsky's backup, posting a .925 save percentage in 27 appearances. He'll be a hot commodity as a reliable No. 2 netminder this offseason if he doesn't re-up with the Cats.Niko Mikkola (July 1, 2023): Mikkola's finishing the first season of a three-year contract with the Panthers and has proven to be a reliable option on the second defensive pairing. The 28-year-old set career highs in games played, points, plus-minus, and average ice time in his debut year in Sunrise.Oliver Ekman-Larsson (July 1, 2023): The veteran blue-liner was unfairly mocked for being bought out of a lucrative eight-year contract, but he's landed on his feet with the Panthers and provided good value at a modest $2.25-million cap hit.Dmitry Kulikov (July 1, 2023): Kulikov returned to the Panthers last summer after starting his career with the organization as a first-round pick in 2009. He plays limited minutes at this stage in his career but was an impressive plus-15 in the regular season.Evan Rodrigues (July 2, 2023): Rodrigues has bounced around in his nine-year career, but he landed some security in the form of a four-year pact with the Panthers. He's a versatile forward with strong underlying numbers, and he's chipped in eight points this postseason.William Lockwood (July 2, 2023): Lockwood regularly bounced between the AHL and NHL this season and didn't make enough of an impact during his time with the Panthers to earn a shot in the playoffs.Jonah Gadjovich (Oct. 16, 2023): Gadjovich is a physical winger who logged 104 penalty minutes in only 39 NHL games this season. His lack of offensive impact has kept him out of the lineup during the Cats' Cup chase.Tobias Bjornfot (March 8, 2024): The Panthers claimed Bjornfot, a first-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2019, before the trade deadline. He only made one appearance with the club in the regular season but could still have untapped potential as a former highly-touted defensive prospect.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

It wouldn't have been a surprise to say in training camp that this season's Edmonton Oilers would be in the Stanley Cup Final. After finishing the 2022-23 season with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl sitting first and second in scoring and the roster's core returning, the team expected to build on last year's Round 2 playoff exit.But the reality was much different. The Oilers opened the campaign disastrously, losing 10 of their first 13 games. A particularly humiliating 3-2 loss to the cellar-dwelling San Jose Sharks tied them for last in the league. Even hitting rock bottom didn't change much."You go into the year with the expectation that you're one of the best teams in the league, and you're going to go to the Stanley Cup Final and have a chance to win," forward Zach Hyman said this week."All of a sudden, 15 games into the season, you're second-last. It's like, what happened? What's going on?"The loss to San Jose was the second-last game of coach Jay Woodcroft's tenure. After compiling a 3-9-1 record, the team needed a new plan and a different voice to implement it.Enter Kris Knoblauch.Calm in chaosIn the fall of 2023, while the Oilers were chaotically trying to stop the bleeding, Knoblauch was settling into his fifth season behind the bench for the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack, the New York Rangers' top affiliate."At the time, I was hoping to get my American League team into the playoffs, and we'll see what happens from there," Knoblauch said this week.His position with the Wolf Pack was the natural extension of a long-time dream he nurtured as a young boy growing up in the Prairie town of Imperial, Saskatchewan. The New York Islanders drafted him in the seventh round in 1997 while he was playing junior hockey, but his playing career culminated with five seasons as a star for the University of Alberta men's team."When I was kid, thinking about getting to the NHL, having the opportunity to play, win a Stanley Cup, I always wanted to do it as a player," Knoblauch said. "Eventually, you realize you're not going to be able to compete as a player, maybe you can do it as a coach."Knoblauch coaches the Eerie Otters in November 2014 Vaughn Ridley / Getty ImagesSo Knoblauch started the grind. He began as an assistant coach for the Prince Albert Raiders and Kootenay Ice in the WHL. After Kootenay elevated him to the top job in 2010, he took the junior club to the Memorial Cup in his first season. Two campaigns later, Knoblauch landed in Erie, Pennsylvania, as the head coach of the Otters in the OHL."I just think about the sacrifices (my wife) made. ... How many times we moved, how many jobs she's given up," Knoblauch said. "If I was to go back - we probably made some poor decisions for her to quit the good, quality jobs that she had for me to chase some low-paying, below-poverty wages just to see what happens."Those early days would prove fateful. Knoblauch first crossed paths with McDavid in 2012-13, the star's first year in Erie. In his three seasons with the Otters, McDavid amassed 285 points."Connor still does astonish me," Knoblauch said. "I think he won't be able to do it, and he does it again."Following McDavid's departure to the NHL, Knoblauch led an Otters team featuring Alex DeBrincat to the Memorial Cup in 2017.Despite various interviews for NHL coaching positions over the years - including one with current Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice - Knoblauch's NHL resume only consisted of working as an assistant with the Philadelphia Flyers from 2017-19. He'd been with the Wolfpack for four seasons before the Oilers called."He came in when we were at rock bottom," Hyman said. "I think he just instilled a wave of calmness and confidence."Edmonton won Knoblauch's first two contests but then gave up 17 goals in a three-game losing streak to start a road trip. But that was the end of the misery. Edmonton won 24 of its next 27, including a 16-game winning streak - the second longest in NHL history.By mid-November, around the time of Knoblauch's arrival, McDavid had dropped to 126th in scoring despite coming off a 153-point MVP campaign.McDavid finished the regular season third overall in the points race with 132, just 12 back of leader Nikita Kucherov. Hyman also benefited, becoming the seventh player in franchise history to score 50 goals on his way to a career-high 54. He leads all playoff scorers with 14 through three rounds.Knoblauch draws up a play during morning skate in November 2023 Andy Devlin / National Hockey League / Getty"He helped some of our best players. We were all struggling. I think that's why our team was where we were. And he came in just with a calming presence, the process-based plan," Hyman said.The Oilers compiled a dominating 46-18-5 record under Knoblauch to rise to second in the Pacific Division behind the Vancouver Canucks."He just brought such a calming and relaxing presence," goalie Stuart Skinner said. "He's so stoic and so calm. I think that was just his attitude about coming in. It was massive for us. Because obviously, being an Oiler can be a stressful, stressful thing, especially with outside noise and outside pressure. He was just a rock for us, and he's been a rock for us for this whole entire year."Cool and collectedAs the Oilers head into Saturday's Game 1 of the finals, Knoblauch is looking to maintain the calmness he instituted when he took the helm in November."The Stanley Cup Finals are different," he said. "There are more media requests, more interviews, there's just more attention, more things in the papers. ... It's just settling everything down and making it feel like just a regular game. We just want our players to be able to play our game and, when they're on the ice, just be able to focus on playing. You can get too caught up in everything else that's going on often easily. Guys get distracted."On that point, he's already leading by example.Reaching the finals was a lifelong dream for Knoblauch, and he achieved it on June 2 with a 2-1 win over the Dallas Stars, propelling the Oilers to their first finals appearance since 2006. Instead of letting his excitement show through with over-the-top verbosity, Knoblauch maintained the calmness he's become known for."I don't have any words," he said after the victory. "This is remarkable."Jolene Latimer is a features writer at theScore.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Forward Zach Hyman reflected on his decision to sign with the Edmonton Oilers in 2021 on Friday."It's easy when it's not really your decision," Hyman said of leaving the Toronto Maple Leafs, according to TSN's Chris Johnston.Hyman played for Toronto from 2015-21. He tallied 15 goals and 33 points in 43 games in his final campaign with the Maple Leafs. He signed a seven-year contract in Edmonton with a cap hit of $5.5 million that summer."It wasn't about money," Hyman said, according to NHL.com's Mike Zeisberger. "I'd have loved to be a Maple Leaf for life. I was from there, our families were from there. But when that door closed and Edmonton had shown interest all along, it was the place I wanted to come."Hyman added: "Coming (to Edmonton) was the best decision of my life."Oilers general manager Ken Holland, a Hockey Hall of Famer and the GM of three Stanley Cup-winning teams with the Detroit Red Wings, praised Hyman as one of the best free-agent moves of his career."When we signed him as a free agent ... we hoped we were getting, at best, a guy who would score 20-30 goals per year," Holland said."He has way, way, way exceeded our wildest expectations."Hyman eclipsed the 50-goal mark for the first time this season. He paces the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 14 goals in 18 contests.The 31-year-old's production has far exceeded what he accomplished in his final three seasons in Toronto:TeamSeasonsGPGPTSGoals per gameMaple Leafs2018-2116557111.345Oilers2021-24235117214.498The difference is even more stark in the postseason:TeamSeasonsGPGPTSGoals per gameMaple Leafs2018-211935.158Oilers2021-24462845.609"Every year, I've tried to just develop and tried to grow my game," Hyman told ESPN's Emily Kaplan. "I remember when I signed, everybody was kinda like, 'You only get better when you're in your 20s. You can't get better as you get older.' And I've always thought that you can get better every year, no matter how you are. You can always improve, and that's always been my mindset."Hyman makes his Stanley Cup Final debut Saturday at 8 p.m. ET against the Florida Panthers.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

New York Rangers general manager and president Chris Drury appears to be keeping his options open after his club again fell short of lifting Lord Stanley's Mug."I do believe in our players individually. ... A lot of players had great seasons," Drury said Friday, according to the New York Post's Larry Brooks. "A number of them have been very good Rangers for a long time. Now it's the part of the job to figure out whether this group collectively can get us to where we want to be."Nothing is off the table," he added, according to Newsday's Colin Stephenson.The Rangers won the Presidents' Trophy as the league's best regular-season team after posting a 55-23-4 record and a franchise-record 114 points in 2023-24. They made it to the conference finals for the second time in three years but were dispatched by the Florida Panthers in six games.Star forwards Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin were particularly quiet in the Eastern Conference Final. Zibanejad mustered two assists against Florida, both coming in the Rangers' Game 5 loss, while Panarin had just one goal and three helpers.When asked if he thought the pair needed more help to ease the offensive pressure or if they should find other ways to score in the postseason, Drury said, "It's a little bit of both," per USA Today's Vince Z. Mercogliano.The player at the center of most of the trade speculation is Kaapo Kakko, who has yet to live up to his status as the 2019 second overall pick. The 23-year-old forward posted 13 goals and 19 points in 61 contests in the regular season - his fifth in the NHL - before adding two points in 15 playoff games.Drury defended the pending restricted free agent Friday."We were talking about (Alexis Lafreniere) at this time last year and refuting rumors that I was trying to trade him. ... Kaapo Kakko is still a young player. ... We're going to continue to try and find everything we can do to help him reach his potential," Drury said.Kakko spent the bulk of his ice time in the regular season on a line with Zibanejad and Chris Kreider, though the Finn never gelled with the star duo. Drury said he's looking at internal and external options to fill that right-wing slot alongside Zibanejad and Kreider.Drury also stood up for much-maligned defenseman Jacob Trouba, who was recently criticized for his play and antics during the playoffs."Jacob's been an excellent captain and leader for us," he said, according to Stephenson. "Comes to play hard every night. ... He gives us everything he can every single night."Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Carolina Hurricanes are open to trading the negotiating rights to pending unrestricted free agent Jake Guentzel, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman said on the "32 Thoughts" podcast.The asking price is a mid-round pick, Friedman notes.Any team that acquires Guentzel's rights before free agency opens July 1 has the exclusive ability to sign him for eight years. If the star winger hits the open market without being moved, he can only ink a maximum seven-year deal.The Hurricanes made a huge splash in acquiring Guentzel from the Pittsburgh Penguins prior to March's trade deadline. He was an instant fit, notching 25 points in 17 regular-season games. Guentzel added five goals and four assists in the playoffs as Carolina was eliminated in the second round.Guentzel's price tag will likely be too high for the Hurricanes. The club has approximately $26.5 million in projected cap space, according to Cap Friendly, but only has 18 players signed for next season. It has eight UFAs and five restricted free agents unaccounted for.Guentzel is arguably this summer's top free agent. The Stanley Cup champion is a two-time 40-goal scorer and has racked up 491 points in 520 games over eight seasons.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

You've heard of football's Puppy Bowl; now get ready for hockey's version: the Stanley Pup. It seems the play on words was just too hard to resist for the NHL, which will host its version of a rescue dog competition featuring not only canine stars but players like Nick Suzuki and Anze Kopitar and coach John Tortorella."It's really entertaining, there are lots of puns, but it's a great show, and I think people will enjoy the entertainment," said Matt Nicholson, the NHL's vice president of production and creative development.The executive admitted there were a few natural stars among the 16 dogs representing NHL clubs, saying, "All the pups are great, but I think everyone might find Roman Yorkie super, super cute."Nicholson added: "Nikita Poocherov also put on a show. And we'll see if people think Connor McDoodle has good stuff."The move is more than just a gimmick by the NHL and fits into its fan-development strategy. Recent polling suggests at least one in three members of Gen Z - defined as between the ages of 13 and 25 - don't watch live sports and consume the game "through a different lens," as NHL chief marketing officer Heidi Browning previously told theScore.The Stanley Pup broadcast will try to deliver on the idea of letting fans learn more about the league's players off the ice. "If (a player is) holding a 10-week puppy, they obviously let their guard down and get to talk about something that they're passionate about," Nicholson said.The Stanley Pup isn't the only initiative launched with fan engagement in mind. The league also announced it's airing alternative Stanley Cup Final broadcasts in American Sign Language, a first for a major North American sport. Deaf play-by-play and color commentators will call the games as they see them rather than providing translations of the spoken calls. The broadcasts will be available through ESPN+ and Sportsnet+."There's a little bit of strategy there. And there's a little bit of ... let's make our fans happy across all spectrums," Nicholson said. Jess Rapfogel / NHL ImagesThe Stanley Pup airs Friday at 8 p.m. ET on NHL Network and ESPN+ in the U.S. and Saturday at 6 p.m. ET on Sportsnet in Canada.theScore caught up with Nicholson to ask about the strategy behind the Stanley Pup and the art of working with puppies.This interview has been edited for length and clarity.theScore: What inspired the idea to host a Stanley Pup competition? Did you watch the Puppy Bowl and want to do something similar?Nicholson: It was an idea we had a couple of years ago. ... The league has done a lot of work with rescue organizations, the teams do a lot of work with dogs, whether it's seeing-eye dogs or team dog calendars, and it just made sense. Subconsciously, possibly (the NFL's Puppy Bowl factored in), but we didn't want to copy them. You know - Stanley Cup, Stanley Pup, it kind of just works.How does this fit into the league's efforts to remain relevant in an increasingly competitive North American professional sports landscape?Nicholson: The Stanley Cup is certainly the greatest trophy in sports. And whenever we can do something to get our players in front of different fans, we take the opportunity. We've learned that there are hockey fans out there, whether they're also baseball fans or WWE or NASCAR fans. When we get an opportunity to get a show on ESPN+ or Sportsnet that's not only doing good but can build us some fans right before an amazing final with these two teams, it's something that's a no-brainer for us.Fans are always asking for more personality from hockey players, how does this achieve that?Nicholson: It's just tough not to show personality when you have players holding puppies. There are plenty of other sports where their players are not as outgoing as maybe the league would hope, but I think our players do a great job. They're starting to build their social media platforms, and the players we asked, especially from the (Washington) Capitals, were generous in giving their time. Jess Rapfogel / NHL ImagesTell me about the process of putting the show together.Nicholson: It's a show with puppies, and you can only direct them so much. Puppies operate on their own schedule. They sleep when they want, they go to the bathroom when they want. That's the joy of it. It's unscripted. The true competition is the puppies having fun, and you just see what you get from that. We created presentations for how they enter the ice or the rink. We did puppy cards for all of them. So yeah, you operate on their schedule. It's not like a Hollywood production - we're going to take a lunch break when they want.A lot of it is just the enjoyment, seeing what the puppies can do. And then you create the program around it, and you do some features showcasing all the pups. There's something satisfying about getting a rescue and saving that life. There's a line in the show that says, "When you adopt a rescue dog, you actually save two dogs because there is another dog that's going to take his spot in a second."I know that Tortorella makes a special appearance on the show. He has a special passion for rescue dogs, doesn't he?Nicholson: He has his own foundation. He tells the story in the show, and I'm not going to ruin it. His family went to a rescue organization, and it impacted him greatly because he didn't really know what was going on with rescue dogs prior to that. Then, all of a sudden, realizing that these dogs are being put down, it just became a passion project of his.Do you think this will become an annual NHL tradition?Nicholson: I don't want to say we're completely looking ahead to next season, but we hope this is something that continues. We have ideas on how to make it bigger and better next year. We already had some teams reach out and ask, 'How can we participate in this?' It would be amazing if this becomes a franchise for us.Jolene Latimer is a features writer at theScore.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice is under no illusions that his team will be able to completely shut down Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in the Stanley Cup Final.It's going to be about minimizing the damage."You're not going to," the bench boss told Bally Sports' Katie Engleson when asked about the key to containing the two Edmonton Oilers superstars. "Everybody's had a plan since the day these guys stepped in the league and nobody's got it. So what you need to do is try not to become the story of the game, not let it happen so many times that you can't control it."They're two of the most elite players in the world. Rarely do you see them on the same team, and each one of them is a series breaker, he's a series winner. ... Every single guy in that room is gonna have to play to his fullest potential to be able to keep them off the board - to a degree. We're just not gonna close them down."Unsurprisingly, the Oilers' dynamic duo has been dangerous in these playoffs while propelling Edmonton to its first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 2006.McDavid leads the league with 31 points (five goals, 26 assists) this spring, while Draisaitl ranks second with 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists) in 18 contests. The former has only been held without a point four times, while the latter has been kept off the scoresheet twice.Luckily for the Panthers, they're doing a solid job of limiting opponents during their second straight run to the final.Despite facing other offensively gifted squads in the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, and New York Rangers, Florida ranks second among all teams in the playoffs in goals against per game (2.29) and shots against per contest (24.5).The Cardiac Cats have also been able to stymie star players. The likes of Nikita Kucherov, Mika Zibanejad, and David Pastrnak were held without an even-strength goal in their series against Florida.Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling doesn't see a need to switch up the team's game plan now."We do not want to change too much, we want to play the way that got us here," he told NHL Network's E.J. Hradek.He added: "We know how hard it is to get here and we're really going to take care of this opportunity."Puck drops on Game 1 Saturday in Florida at 8 p.m. ET.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Bettors are putting their money on Connor McDavid to win the Conn Smythe Trophy but remain split on who will hoist the Stanley Cup.The Oilers captain is garnering 15.08% of all bets on the playoff MVP market at theScore Bet and ESPN Bet, nearly twice as much as Sergei Bobrovsky, who comes in second. McDavid also accounts for 22.96% of the market's handle (money wagered), substantially more than Matthew Tkachuk's 9.77%.McDavid - with his playoff-leading 31 points - is +200 (33.3% implied probability) to win the Conn Smythe, while Edmonton remains the underdog at +115 (46.5% implied probability).The Panthers opened at -130 over the Oilers once the series was set, odds that shifted slightly in their favor to -135.The small move is not a result of one-sided action. The Panthers are receiving 44.72% of the bets compared to the Oilers' 55.28% when it comes to who will win the Cup. The handle splits are even tighter, with the Panthers amassing 49.94% of the money wagered.However, Florida is getting some love to win the series opener as -140 home favorite. It accumulated 61.1% of the game's moneyline handle.Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final begins Saturday at 8:00 p.m. ET.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Edmonton Oilers are back in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in nearly two decades. It's been almost 18 full years since the Carolina Hurricanes defeated them in Game 7 to win the championship in 2006. So how did Edmonton get back to the final?The Oilers have developed more than a dozen players from within, and their numerous draft lottery wins over the years are well-documented. It would be irresponsible not to mention the No. 1 picks as a factor in Edmonton's roster construction, and the team wouldn't be where it is without the one they landed in 2015.However, this season's Oilers also featured 17 players they brought in from outside the organization. The challenge for president of hockey operations and general manager Ken Holland (who's had the job since 2019) has been surrounding his two superstars with a championship-caliber supporting cast.Steve Tambellini (2008-13), Craig MacTavish (2013-15), Peter Chiarelli (2015-19) and Keith Gretzky (interim in 2019) preceded Holland in building this Oilers roster. Here's how the current GM and his predecessors assembled the squad that has a chance to become the first Canadian team to win the Cup since the Montreal Canadiens in 1993:MethodPlayersHomegrown13Trade6Free agency11Note: All players played at least one game for Oilers during the regular seasonHomegrown Andy Devlin / National Hockey League / GettyRyan Nugent-Hopkins (June 24, 2011): Nugent-Hopkins has endured many years of ups and downs (mostly the latter) in Edmonton, and he's the longest-tenured player among both teams in the Cup Final. The skilled forward has played all 13 seasons with the club that drafted him first overall. And yet, he's still only 31 years old.Darnell Nurse (June 30, 2013): The Oilers drafted another mainstay a couple of years later, selecting Nurse seventh overall. The defenseman has had a rough go of it in these playoffs, and his average ice time in the regular season was his lowest since 2016-17. But Nurse still plays in all situations.Leon Draisaitl (June 27, 2014): The Oilers landed the first half of their two-headed megastar monster when they chose Draisaitl with the third pick - coincidentally sandwiched between a trio of players (after Aaron Ekblad and Sam Reinhart, and right before Sam Bennett) he'll face in the Cup Final. Draisaitl has blossomed into one of the NHL's absolute best, with three seasons of at least 50 goals and five of at least 100 points. He also won the Hart and Art Ross trophies in 2020.Connor McDavid (June 26, 2015): Edmonton's fortunes took a monumental step forward when it won the 2015 draft lottery. The term "generational player" gets thrown around a lot these days, but McDavid was rightfully considered one from an early age, and he's more than lived up to the hype. The three-time MVP is a finalist again for the sixth time in nine seasons, and he's clearly the biggest reason the Oilers have made it this far.Vincent Desharnais (June 25, 2016): Desharnais overcame the odds to become one of the best stories on the team. Edmonton didn't pick him until the seventh round - 183rd overall - but the 6-foot-7, 226-pound rearguard emerged as a physical force in 2023-24. He racked up 135 hits and 122 blocked shots during the regular season, but he's been replaced by another homegrown blue-liner in the lineup lately.Philip Kemp (June 24, 2017): Another seventh-rounder (picked 208th) hasn't panned out as well, to say the least. Kemp played just one game for the Oilers during the regular season (his NHL debut), spending his other 64 with their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. In fairness to Kemp, the American defenseman is only 25. Desharnais didn't debut in the NHL until he was 26.Stuart Skinner (June 24, 2017): The Oilers made a far more consequential selection the same day they drafted Kemp, choosing Skinner 130 picks earlier in the third round. The Edmonton-born netminder took over as the primary man in the crease last season and followed up those 50 games with 59 in 2023-24. He's had trouble in both of his postseasons, but as McDavid said, Skinner "absolutely stole" the series clincher Sunday.Evan Bouchard (June 22, 2018): Bouchard already had a couple of solid campaigns under his belt, but he enjoyed a true breakout this season. The 24-year-old ranked fifth in the league among defensemen in goals (18), third in assists (64), and fourth in points while averaging exactly 23 minutes of ice time. Bouchard is now a fixture on the Oilers' top power-play unit, on which his bomb of a shot is a major asset.Ryan McLeod (June 23, 2018): McLeod was a depth player at the start of his career after Edmonton took him 40th overall. But lately, he's been lining up on Draisaitl's wing, helping the German dynamo rank second in playoff scoring leaguewide behind McDavid this spring. McLeod doesn't pile up points himself, but his contributions are largely unquantifiable.Philip Broberg (June 21, 2019): Broberg is the aforementioned rearguard who's taken Desharnais' job of late. The Oilers chose Broberg eighth overall five years ago. The Swede, who'll turn 23 on June 25, scored his first-ever playoff goal in Game 5 of the conference final against the Dallas Stars.Raphael Lavoie (June 22, 2019): The Oilers drafted Lavoie 38th overall, so expectations weren't as high for him. But the 23-year-old forward was held pointless in all seven NHL games he played this season - his first taste of action at the highest level. Lavoie hasn't gotten into a playoff game this spring, but he remains part of Edmonton's future.James Hamblin (April 30, 2020): Hamblin finished his season in Bakersfield, but he did play 31 contests for the Oilers in 2023-24. The Edmonton-born winger managed two goals and an assist in that span, and the 25-year-old appears to be nothing more than organizational depth at this point.Dylan Holloway (Oct. 6, 2020): It's too early to call Holloway a bust, especially considering 2020 first overall pick Alexis Lafreniere didn't erupt for the New York Rangers until these playoffs. However, Holloway has yet to live up to the potential that inspired the Oilers to draft him 13 picks later. The 22-year-old has three goals and an assist over 18 games in this postseason.TradeMattias Ekholm Andy Devlin / National Hockey League / GettyWarren Foegele (July 28, 2021): Foegele has been a healthy scratch for the last few games, but he hasn't always been in the doghouse. Edmonton landed him in a one-for-one swap with the Carolina Hurricanes for blue-liner Ethan Bear. Foegele set career highs in goals (20), assists (21), and points during the 2023-24 regular season, his third campaign with the Oilers.Brett Kulak (March 21, 2022): They reeled in Kulak - another Edmonton-born player - in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens, who then used the conditional second-rounder they got in the deal on star college blue-liner Lane Hutson. While that's not the best look for the Oilers, Kulak has been a reliable top-four rearguard.Mattias Ekholm (Feb. 28, 2023): Ekholm has been a dream fit since the Oilers acquired him in a trade with the Nashville Predators. The Swede's known for steady defensive play, but he also established career highs with 11 goals and 45 points while boasting elite underlying numbers in 2023-24.Sam Carrick (March 6, 2024): Edmonton acquired Carrick two days before the deadline as part of a deal with the Anaheim Ducks. The 32-year-old depth forward has played in nine of the Oilers' 18 playoff games this spring.Adam Henrique (March 6, 2024): Henrique was the bigger add in that trade with the Ducks, as he was still playing effectively for Anaheim at 34 years old. The veteran notched six goals and three assists over 22 games for Edmonton down the stretch, and he's added two tallies and two helpers in 10 playoff contests so far.Troy Stecher (March 7, 2024): The Oilers acquired Stecher and a seventh-round pick from the Arizona Coyotes for a 2027 fourth-rounder. The defenseman, who turned 30 about a month later, played seven games for Edmonton before an infected ankle cyst sidelined him and eventually required surgery in late May.Free agencyZach Hyman Derek Cain / Getty ImagesCody Ceci (July 28, 2021): Ceci was often maligned during his tenures with the Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Pittsburgh Penguins, but he's largely flown under the radar with the Oilers. He drove possession in 2023-24, providing surprising stability on Edmonton's third pairing.Zach Hyman (July 28, 2021): The Oilers made their most impactful free-agent signing - and one of their most important moves period - on the opening day of the frenzy a few years ago. Hyman fit in seamlessly in Edmonton, and he exploded for 54 goals over 80 games this season. His cap hit of $5.5 million through 2027-28 is a bargain given the numerous ways he contributes.Derek Ryan (July 28, 2021): Ryan is in his third season with the Oilers after playing three with the rival Calgary Flames and his first three with the Hurricanes. The 37-year-old fourth-liner is the second-oldest player in this Cup Final and the second-oldest Oiler. He joined Edmonton on a two-year, $2.5-million deal and then inked another for the same term and a total of $1.8 million last June.Evander Kane (Jan. 27, 2022): Undeterred by Kane's numerous indiscretions, Holland took a chance on the mercurial winger less than three weeks after the San Jose Sharks released him. Kane inked a one-year, $1.375-million deal that January, and he made an immediate on-ice impact. In July 2022, the Oilers signed him to a four-year, $20.5-million pact. Kane, who'll turn 33 in August, scored 24 goals in this regular season with his lowest average ice time since his rookie year with the Atlanta Thrashers.Jack Campbell (July 13, 2022): Giving Campbell a five-year, $25-million contract turned out horribly for Holland. The ex-Toronto Maple Leaf wasn't the solution in the crease the organization thought he would be, and he's still under contract through 2026-27 with the right to submit a 10-team no-trade list.Calvin Pickard (July 13, 2022): Pickard joined Edmonton on a two-year, two-way contract. Skinner obviously benefited the most from Campbell's woes, but Pickard earned the backup job in the regular season, and he's been an important piece in these playoffs. Pickard relieved Skinner in Game 3 against the Vancouver Canucks and started the next two for a .915 save percentage in that span before Skinner got back in the crease.Mattias Janmark (July 17, 2022): Janmark signed for one year and $1.25 million, then re-upped for another year and $1 million. The 31-year-old depth forward doesn't light up the scoresheet, but he can still contribute. He scored the eventual winner in Game 4 against the Stars.Connor Brown (July 1, 2023): The Oilers inked Brown to a one-year deal for $4 million, but with just $775,000 counting against the cap. He ultimately got the rest by playing 10 games. Brown tore his ACL four contests into his 2022-23 season, but he suited up for 71 games with Edmonton and then another 12 so far in these playoffs, chipping in a goal and three assists alongside Janmark and Henrique on the third line in the postseason.Adam Erne (Oct. 13, 2023): Erne has played sparingly since he signed a one-year deal for the league minimum (the same cap hit as Brown but without the incentive). The 29-year-old forward hasn't appeared in a playoff game this spring and last got into the lineup on April 18 - his first appearance since January. Erne played 24 contests in the regular season.Sam Gagner (Oct. 31, 2023): Gagner truly had to earn a roster spot to ensure a third stint with the Oilers. They brought in the journeyman - who'll turn 35 this August - on an AHL tryout, and he eventually signed a one-year pact with the Condors. Eight days later, Gagner inked a one-year, two-way contract with Edmonton. He hasn't played in this postseason, but he did post 10 points in 28-regular season games for the Oilers.Corey Perry (Jan. 21, 2024): Despite the inappropriate conduct that led the Chicago Blackhawks to terminate his contract, the Oilers gave Perry a one-year deal at the minimum with bonuses totaling $325,000, all of which he's now hit. At 39 years old, Perry has become the first player ever to reach the final with five different teams, and he's seeking his second Cup win 17 years after his first.(Salary source: CapFriendly)Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

New York Rangers enforcer Matt Rempe wants to be more than a viral fighting sensation next season, vowing to reinvent his game to make a more well-rounded impact at the NHL level."I want to bring more to the table," Rempe told USA Today's Vince Z. Mercogliano. "I want to be a guy that can play 8-12 minutes every single night in a role. I grew up as a centerman. I want to play center or wing. I think I can play both positions. I want to be really good defensively. I want to eventually be a penalty killer, but I've just got to earn all these things."Rempe debuted in the Rangers' lineup in February's Stadium Series. He instantly made a name for himself by fighting New York Islanders veteran Matt Martin before dropping the gloves three more times over his next six games.The 6-foot-7 21-year-old also courted controversy in his first NHL season for numerous hits, including a four-game suspension for elbowing New Jersey Devils blue-liner Jonas Siegenthaler's head.Rempe averaged 5:38 of ice time in 17 regular-season games and made 11 playoff appearances as the Rangers reached the Eastern Conference Final. He last suited up for New York in Game 5 of the conference championship versus the Florida Panthers, playing only four shifts."I want to work on my skating, work my skill set, work on making plays with the puck, passing - every part of my game," Rempe said. "I also want to work on the fighting. I want to be a guy. I really enjoy that side of the game, and I want to continue to work on that. And then it's getting stronger, filling into my body more, my mobility - everything. I've got a lot of work to do, and I've always done that. I think as a sixth-round pick, I've kind of always exceeded expectations. Outwork, outwork, outwork."The Rangers drafted Rempe in the sixth round in 2020.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The dust has settled on the first three rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers are left standing.There are plenty of heavyweights on both sides, but only one can be named postseason MVP. Here are our top five Conn Smythe Trophy contenders as we enter the final round of the postseason. 5. Sergei Bobrovsky Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyGPRecordSV%GSAxGSAA1712-5.9087.71.36Bobrovsky has once again excelled as Florida's last line of defense this spring. He ranks third in GSAx among all goalies in these playoffs, trailing only Jeremy Swayman and Igor Shesterkin, who he and the Panthers outdueled en route to their second straight Stanley Cup Final appearance. Oh, and Bobrovsky also outshined 2021 Conn Smythe Trophy winner and two-time Stanley Cup champion Andrei Vasilevskiy in the first round.The 35-year-old veteran's toughest test awaits, though. The Cardiac Cats' ability to win the Cup will be contingent on Bobrovsky's ability to stop the Oilers' plethora of top dogs. Luckily for Florida, he's been able to deliver in clutch moments. The Panthers have won 17 one-goal games over the past two postseasons - including seven this spring - and the Russian has been in net for all of them.It's that poise that could lead Bobrovsky to being crowned playoff MVP if Florida wins it all.4. Leon Draisaitl Andy Devlin / National Hockey League / GettyGPGAATOIxGF%18101821:2451The first of three Oilers on this list, Draisaitl keeps on cementing his case as a bonafide Playoff PerformerTM. He's tied for second-most goals in these playoffs and has put up the second-most points, behind only the No. 1 player in these rankings.Draisaitl has also taken over sixth place on Edmonton's all-time playoff goals list with 41 in a mere 67 contests, and his 0.61 goal-per-game rate is higher than three of the players above him in those history books.What's keeping the German superstar outside of the top three in this exercise are his underlying numbers, which simply aren't as strong as those of his peers. Draisaitl may not be the front-runner for the Conn Smythe Trophy right now, but we'd be silly to discount his ability to launch himself to the forefront of the conversation with an explosive final-round performance.3. Evan Bouchard Andy Devlin / National Hockey League / GettyGPGAATOIxGF%1862124:3361.2Bouchard has put the league on notice with his dominant performance through the first three rounds of these playoffs. He leads all rearguards and ranks third among all skaters with 27 points. And before you start filling up the comment section, no, Bouchard isn't just a "power-play merchant." Fifteen of his points have been at even strength.The rearguard's underlying numbers have been outstanding as well, with Edmonton dictating 58.4% of the shot attempts and 60.8% of the scoring chances while outscoring opponents 25-11 with Bouchard on the ice at five-on-five. And before you start filling up our comment section again, no, this is not just the Connor McDavid effect. Bouchard spends a lot of his ice time with McDavid, but his possession stats are still strong when he's away from the superstar.The Oilers are likely going to need a few Bouch bombs to beat the Panthers (he's already got three game-winners under his belt, tied for second most in the NHL). Depending on how many he gets, we could see more than a few Conn Smythe Trophy votes going Bouchard's way later this month.2. Aleksander Barkov Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyGPGAATOIxGF%1761121:4660.7Sure, Barkov's point total doesn't really jump off the page compared to the other skaters on this list. But the reigning Selke Trophy winner is high in these rankings because of his two-way play.Behold, a list of star players who couldn't buy themselves an even-strength goal during their series against the Panthers this spring: Brad Marchand, Chris Kreider, Nikita Kucherov, Mika Zibanejad, and David Pastrnak. The Panthers are a wagon, but it's Barkov who is getting a ton of the tough assignments, and he's consistently able to tilt the ice in his team's favor. Florida has dictated 56.9% of the shot attempts, 62% of the scoring chances, and 57.6% of the high-danger chances while outshooting opponents 140-90 and outscoring them 9-8 with Barkov on the ice at five-on-five.Like his teammate Bobrovsky, Barkov is about to face his hardest challenge. The captain will be tasked with limiting Draisaitl and McDavid, which is an absolute must for the Panthers' Cup aspirations.1. Connor McDavid Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyGPGAATOIxGF%1852622:5557.2At long last, McDavid is finally in the Stanley Cup Final. This is the biggest stage he's ever been on, and he'll be given the chance to truly cement his undeniable legacy as one of the best players the NHL has ever seen.Now, what's he going to do about it?McDavid has been doing McDavid things up until this point in the playoffs. He leads all skaters with 31 points in what is the second 30-point postseason of his career. Exactly half of his games this spring have been multi-point outings, and he's only been held off the scoresheet four times despite having to contend with opposing teams' top shutdown guys. If McDavid were to hit the 40-point mark, he'd become the third player to ever do so, joining Mario Lemieux (1991) and Wayne Gretzky (1985, 1988, 1993).Of course, the Oilers are going to need their depth to step up against the Panthers, but McDavid must be at his full game-breaking potential to win it all. Make no mistake: If Edmonton brings the Stanley Cup north of the border for the first time in 31 years, it'll be McDavid who takes home the mantle as MVP.Honorable mentions: Gustav Forsling, Zach Hyman, Stuart Skinner, Matthew Tkachuk, Carter Verhaeghe.xGF% = Expected goals for percentage at five-on-five

The Los Angeles Kings signed pending restricted free-agent forward Akil Thomas to a two-year extension with an average annual value of $775,000, the team announced Thursday.The first year of the deal is two-way, while the second season is one-way.Thomas made his NHL debut on April 1 and chipped in with three goals and four points in seven regular-season games. Despite his scoring touch, he didn't suit up for the Kings' first-round matchup against the Edmonton Oilers.After running into some injury trouble over his three previous campaigns, the 24-year-old broke out in a big way in 2023-24, spending the bulk of his time with the AHL's Ontario Reign.Thomas amassed 22 goals - including nine game-winners - and 46 points in 64 outings before adding five points in eight postseason contests during the Calder Cup Playoffs.The Kings selected Thomas in the second round of the 2018 NHL Draft.The Toronto native scored the golden goal for Canada at the 2020 World Junior Championship.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

NHL Utah's hunt for a nickname continues.The club narrowed down its options to six finalists Thursday after totaling more than 520,000 votes from fans.Here are the names still in the running:

Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch fired a stray at the Buffalo Bills on Tuesday when asked if the Florida Panthers had an advantage due to reaching the Stanley Cup Final in consecutive seasons."Yeah, experience is good," Knoblauch said, per Sportsnet. "I don't know how much experience is beneficial. You can ask the Buffalo Bills how important Super Bowl experience is. But I think the biggest thing is just having confidence in playing. When our guys are playing their best, they should have a lot of confidence."The Bills went to four consecutive Super Bowls in the 1990s but lost each time. The Panthers fell short of hockey's ultimate prize last spring, losing to the Vegas Golden Knights.The Oilers are back in the final for the first time since 2006. Their roster is short on championship pedigree, with veteran Corey Perry the only player to have a Stanley Cup ring. Mattias Ekholm and Adam Henrique have each reached the final but came away empty-handed.Florida is the first runner-up to reach the Stanley Cup Final the following year since the 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins. After eliminating the New York Rangers to close out Round 3 last week, the Panthers made it clear a shot at redemption was their primary goal from the start of training camp."We wanted to get back to this moment, and we're here," said winger Matthew Tkachuk after the series-clinching win. "Hopefully, we can keep this thing going."Game 1 is scheduled for Saturday in Sunrise.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Here is a list of Canadian NHL teams that have won the Stanley Cup since 1993: __Here is a list of Canadian winners of the Conn Smythe Trophy over that same period: Cale Makar, Ryan O'Reilly, Sidney Crosby (twice), Duncan Keith, Justin Williams, Jonathan Toews, Scott Niedermayer, Cam Ward, Brad Richards, J.S. Giguere, Scott Stevens, Patrick Roy, Joe Nieuwendyk, Steve Yzerman, Mike Vernon, Joe Sakic, and Claude Lemieux.There have been 15 Canadian Hart Trophy winners in that time. Nine world championships for the Canadian men's team. Three Olympic gold medals.Canada, despite the lengthy Cup drought for teams based north of the border, is unquestionably still pretty good at hockey.And yet, every spring, there is an attempt to give greater meaning to the collective playoff disappointments of Canada's NHL teams, as though they somehow create a nationwide melancholy and the country as a whole would be boosted if the drought could be broken.To which I say: Bah. Canadian NHL fans outside Edmonton might want to see Connor McDavid lead the Oilers to the Cup because he's an incredible talent, and it is fun to watch great players succeed. But it doesn't make you a bad Canadian if you would rather watch the Oilers suffer, especially if you're a Calgary Flames fan. It's also not an indictment of your patriotism if you don't care either way. An Ottawa Senators fan is allowed to feel total indifference at this point of the season. (If we're honest, they've probably felt that way since about January.)This playoff season, the question of Canada's Cup drought was placed in our collective laps quite early thanks to a couple of advertising campaigns that have been prominent on Rogers hockey broadcasts. In one, Chris Cuthbert narrates a Boston Pizza advertisement that recounts past playoff failures and exhorts Canadian fans to cheer for other Canadian teams. Maybe the drought was our fault all along?A Co-operators insurance commercial, meanwhile, depicts Maple Leafs fans - sorry, fans of Generic Toronto Hockey Team for licensing reasons - removing their jerseys to support Edmonton and Vancouver as backup plans. (Let's hope they had alternative versions ready; otherwise, it seems like an indictment of Leafs management that the Co-operators marketing department wasn't worried about how this ad would play if Toronto was in the middle of a lengthy playoff run.)The commercials suggest that a Canadian hockey fan's second-choice team should be another Canadian team. And if that team loses, they should pick the next Canadian team. Andy Devlin / NHL / Getty ImagesThis is just weird. Should Los Angeles Lakers fans be expected to root for the Sacramento Kings because they are also based in California? Do Pittsburgh Steelers fans have the Philadelphia Eagles as their second-choice team for Pennsylvania reasons? Are Tampa Bay Lightning fans supposed to show pride in their state by supporting the Florida Panthers against the Oilers? This seems like the exact opposite of how fandom generally works, where a team's biggest rivals are geographically nearby. Senators fans hate the Leafs, as they should. And it's called the Battle of Alberta, not the Pleasant Renewal of Acquaintances of Alberta.In many parts of the world, a person could be disowned for deciding to throw their support behind the team from the adjoining neighbourhood. Do you like Liverpool now, or would you like to remain in the will?It's tempting to say this is all a media narrative; that the idea of rooting for Canadian teams just because they are Canadian is cooked up by people who aren't hockey fans in the first place. But stories about the Canadian NHL drought always find a few people who say that, yes, they hope that another Canadian team wins it. Which is, obviously, fine. Cheer for who you want! Maybe you just find Chris Cuthbert very persuasive!There is actually a good reason for Canadian hockey fans to hope that Edmonton can manage the four wins needed to lift the Cup: We would finally be done with drought stories. No more questions about whether the pressure of trying to win playoff hockey in a passionate Canadian market is too much for the teams to bear. No more stories about how it's too hard to sign free agents in Canadian cities, or how hockey players don't get enough privacy in Canada and would rather just walk around anonymously, like a CFL player in Toronto. No more arguments about whether the weather is too cold, or the media too cruel, or the currency too colorful.Edmonton could disprove a lot of those hoary theories in one fell swoop: It's a small market, the weather is not exactly ideal, and the fan base is wildly passionate. The Oilers even have free-agent signings playing significant roles, like Zach Hyman and Jack Campbell. OK, scratch that last one.But just think of all the narratives that would be buried if McDavid, Leon Draisatl, and friends could beat the Panthers. It would take at least another five years without a Canadian team winning the Cup before anyone would dare to call it a drought again. Ten years? Five would at least be a start.I guess what I'm saying is: Go Oilers.Scott Stinson is a contributing writer for theScore.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Connor McDavid has led the Oilers to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2006.He tops all playoff scorers with 31 points in 18 games, making him the favorite at +200 (33.3% implied probability) to win the Conn Smythe Trophy even though the Oilers are slight underdogs to the Panthers.Having the Conn Smythe favorite on the underdog team proves how important the betting market believes McDavid is to the Oilers' success, and it also accounts for the rare possibility that McDavid can still win the award if Edmonton falls short in the final.Oddsmakers at theScore Bet priced McDavid's chances of winning the playoff MVP on a losing Oilers side at +1000 (9.1% implied probability).If he pulls off that feat, it would be the first time the award went to someone on the losing team since Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who lost to the Devils as a member of the 2003 Ducks.McDavid can strengthen his Conn Smythe case with another series of elite point production. He's averaging 1.72 points per game but will need to increase that to break Wayne Gretzky's single-playoff record.It's a long shot, but the odds for McDavid to eclipse Gretzky's 47-point single-postseason record are set at +2500 (3.8% implied probability).McDavid would likely need the series to go to seven games - odds are +200 it will go the distance - and he would need to record nearly 2.5 points per game against a stout Panthers team.However, McDavid is only six points away from breaking Evgeni Malkin's mark for most playoff points since 2000, so his heroic effort during this playoff run shouldn't go unrecognized.Perhaps a more obtainable record for McDavid is most points in a Stanley Cup Final. The current mark is 13, also held by Gretzky, and oddsmakers at theScore Bet are giving McDavid a 15.4% chance (+550 odds) of recording 14 or more points against Florida.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The stage is set for an epic Stanley Cup Final between the Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers and East champion Florida Panthers. Here are seven questions to ponder ahead of Saturday's Game 1 in Sunrise, Florida.Can McDavid escape Barkov, Forsling? Andy Devlin / Getty ImagesThe Kings, Canucks, and Stars all attempted to slow down Connor McDavid, but the best player on the planet prevailed series after series. With 31 points in 18 games, he enters the Cup Final as the Conn Smythe Trophy favorite.Staring back at him starting Saturday is the shutdown duo of center Aleksander Barkov and defenseman Gustav Forsling, who have owned offensive dynamos throughout the playoffs.Barkov and Forsling's most common opponents in the first three rounds were Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov, Boston's David Pastrnak, and New York's Mika Zibanejad. In other words, no easy shifts. Yet, in the 112 five-on-five minutes Barkov shared the ice with those players, Florida managed to outshoot the opposition 64-31 and tie 3-3 in goals. Forsling's 156 minutes against them yielded even better results: 95-54 in shots and 6-4 in goals. Bruce Bennett / Getty ImagesThose are eye-popping numbers considering the sample size and quality of opponents. That said, McDavid's line with Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins presents a more complex and taxing challenge. If Barkov and Forsling can tie the McDavid line on the scoreboard, Florida likely wins the Cup.Neither Panther will try to intimidate McDavid with brute physicality. However, Barkov and Forsling can keep up with the Oilers captain through strong skating and stick work. Barkov is elite at knocking pucks out of the air and off opponents' sticks, while Forsling is phenomenal at closing gaps with his feet.On the flip side, McDavid is capable of making anybody look human.Will Panthers showcase offensive versatility? Rich Graessle / Icon Sportswire / Getty ImagesPanthers scorers use many methods to burn teams. They were the only squad to rank in the top three this season in chances generated off forechecks, cycles, and rebounds, per Sportlogiq. Through Round 3, they led all conference finalists in rush chances, displaying yet another strength.Florida's best forwards are tenacious, rambunctious, and savvy. Smart passes that Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, and Anton Lundell slung toward the net set up big goals in the East final. Sam Reinhart buries all kinds of chances because he hounds the puck and stays ready to fire it.The Oilers' heightened defensive commitment has led to good results. Compared to the 2023 playoffs, they're surrendering fewer five-on-five goals (2.51 per 60 minutes, down from 2.67), shots on net (24, down from 29.2), and dangerous chances (10.2, down from 11.9), per Natural Stat Trick.Florida will aim to expose two weak links. Defensemen Cody Ceci and Darnell Nurse struggled mightily together and have been outplayed when paired with other partners.Can Edmonton overcome disadvantage in net? Paul Swanson / NHL / Getty ImagesIf you were to poll 10 scouts about the two starting goalies, most would likely say they'd rather have Sergei Bobrovsky on their team.Bobrovsky is a two-time Vezina Trophy winner with a .906 save percentage in 87 career playoff games. This is his second straight final appearance. Stuart Skinner has significantly less experience and a blah .891 save percentage in 28 playoff games.Nevertheless, there's a decent chance Skinner - who's fresh off an impressive third round - outshines Bobrovsky in this best-of-seven set. Bobrovsky will be facing an attack that could very well exploit his biggest weakness. The league-average save percentage on shots off the rush is .871. Bobrovsky's mark is .789, having allowed 12 goals off the rush. Edmonton's terrifying in transition.Will Oilers PP, PK both dominate? Curtis Comeau / Icon Sportswire / Getty ImagesThe Oilers' special teams are unreal. Among clubs that won a round, crossing a minimum threshold for games played, they rank in the top five in both categories going back nearly 50 years.On the power play, Edmonton's preferred combination scores from every angle and distance. McDavid, Hyman, Nugent-Hopkins, Leon Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard are responsible for 18 of 19 Oilers PP goals. In Game 6 against Dallas, McDavid's dangling set up his own brilliant backhand tally and Hyman's snipe to the top shelf.Suddenly impenetrable, Edmonton's penalty kill is 46-for-49. It blanked the Kings and Stars and hasn't been beaten since Game 3 of the Canucks matchup. The Oilers are the third playoff team since the dawn of the Original Six era to compile a 10-game kill streak, per Stathead. Dallas was frazzled by the puck pressure Edmonton forwards applied.The Panthers have two reasons to be hopeful. Their own stellar PK has tied opponents 2-2 in Barkov's shifts (he scored shorthanded in Round 1 and assisted on another in Round 2). They're also adept at drawing penalties - Barkov, Tkachuk, and Lundell all rank in the top 10 league-wide - and could stockpile enough PP opportunities to finally beat Skinner.Will Verhaeghe come through again? Eliot J. Schechter / Getty ImagesCarter Verhaeghe is one of the top stories of the final. A 2013 third-round pick of the Maple Leafs, he spent the first four seasons of his pro career in the ECHL and AHL. He found stability after signing a two-year, $2-million deal with Florida in 2020 - and he's been dynamite in the postseason ever since.Through 17 games this year, Verhaeghe leads the club with nine goals and is second with 17 points. He's third among all playoff skaters with 42 slot shots, according to Sportlogiq. A good chunk of those have featured the speedster unleashing his patented wrist shot from the left faceoff circle.Verhaeghe, 28, scored the overtime goal in Game 3 of last year's Cup Final. It was his lone goal in five games against Vegas and the Panthers' sole victory. Florida needs its not-so-secret weapon to lead the charge against the Oilers.Will Bouchard control games? Codie McLachlan / Getty ImagesOver four NHL seasons, Bouchard's evolved from frequent scratch to supplemental piece to scoring weapon to two-way force. The young defenseman's growth, stimulated by his partnership with Mattias Ekholm, differentiates these Oilers from versions of the squad that fell in earlier rounds.Bouchard and Ekholm have crushed stiff opposition all spring. Edmonton has outscored foes 18-9 and owned 63% of dangerous scoring chances in their 298 joint five-on-five minutes, the NHL high. No top pair spends more time buzzing in the offensive zone and less time chasing the puck.Bouchard's 30th point (he enters the final with 27) will set a new high for defensemen this century. He's no longer a power-play merchant, though his confident quarterbacking and heavy slap shot boost Edmonton's main unit. His even-strength output in these playoffs puts him in prime company.Is Florida's forward depth untouchable? Jared Silber / NHL / Getty ImagesFlorida's talented third line, which combines grit, vision, and a killer finishing instinct, united against the Rangers to net the series clincher. Lundell's shot block led to a clearance, Eetu Luostarinen forechecked to force a giveaway, and Vladimir Tarasenko accelerated to the crease to bury Lundell's feed.Swapping two mid-round draft picks for Tarasenko enhanced Florida's depth. The veteran sniper was the seventh Panthers forward to score a postseason game-winner. Lower in the lineup, the Panthers have more stingy or energetic wingers - Steven Lorentz and Kyle Okposo displaced mainstays Nick Cousins and Ryan Lomberg - than can fit on the fourth line.Much of Edmonton's supporting cast (Ryan McLeod, Warren Foegele, Derek Ryan, Corey Perry) has been absent offensively in the playoffs. Only two depth forwards (Connor Brown and Adam Henrique) chipped in multiple points against the Stars. The murky injury status of Evander Kane, who's stuck in a seven-game goal drought, doesn't inspire confidence that he can solve this outage.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The NHL is getting the "Drive to Survive" treatment.

Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk is excited to renew hostilities with the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final but conceded he doesn't hate the club like he used to as a member of the Calgary Flames."I don't know. I wouldn't say that," Tkachuk told NHL.com's Tom Gulitti in response to whether he sustained the same level of disdain for the Oilers. "But anytime you're playing any opponent in the Stanley Cup Final, you don't even have to have a team rivalry or any rivalry with them. Right when the puck drops, it's going to be very intense like you've had that rivalry a few years.""It's the Stanley Cup Final, so much on the line, so I'm sure the teams will go after it pretty good early, and I'm sure both teams really, really want this."Tkachuk was front and center in the Battle of Alberta during his six years in Calgary, and the two clubs engaged in a memorable second-round playoff series months before he was dealt to the Panthers.As former public enemy No. 1 in Edmonton, Tkachuk recognizes how big the stage will be north of the border as the Oilers return to the Cup Final for the first time since 2006."It's a great environment to play in up there. They're all into it," he said. "It's really probably the biggest thing to happen in Canada in 30 years or whatever. ... They've been waiting for it for 20 years, so I'm sure it's going to be a great atmosphere."Tkachuk has been a vital part of Florida's success this postseason, leading the club with 19 points in 17 games.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Philadelphia Flyers president of hockey operations Keith Jones has heard the rumors suggesting highly touted prospect Matvei Michkov may be able to join the organization this summer - but the executive couldn't offer more details."When we drafted him, the expectation was he would finish his contract with (the KHL's SKA Saint Petersburg)," Jones said Wednesday. "So, we are listening. We are reading many of your articles and kind of following along. But we have no update on it. We would welcome him with open arms."The Flyers selected Michkov with the seventh overall pick at the 2023 NHL Draft. The Russian winger had three more seasons remaining on his KHL contract at the time, meaning he wouldn't be able to hit the NHL until at least the 2026-27 campaign.However, Russian news outlet SportExpress reported in May that Michkov's current deal is being terminated, which would allow the Flyers to sign him sooner than expected. That information hasn't been corroborated by a North American outlet, though."We absolutely love what he is going to bring to the Flyers," Jones said. "If that timeline is sped up, that would be wonderful. But we don't know. ... When he arrives, our fan base is going to be pretty excited about getting a highly talented player that is different than what we have right now."After drafting Michkov last June, Flyers general manager Danny Briere said he was "blown away by his personality."Briere added that he thought Michkov would get scooped up before Philadelphia was on the clock. He even tried to trade up for him, but the price was too high.SKA Saint Petersburg loaned Michkov to HC Sochi in September, and the 19-year-old went on to pot 19 goals and 41 points in 47 outings.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

New Toronto Maple Leafs bench boss Craig Berube is starting to build his staff and added Lane Lambert as an associate coach on Wednesday.Toronto also announced that Dean Chynoweth won't be returning as an assistant coach following three years at his post.Lambert was head coach of the New York Islanders for the past two seasons, amassing a 61-46-20 record before being fired and replaced by Hall of Famer Patrick Roy in January.New York made the playoffs in Lambert's only full season at the helm but was eliminated in the first round by the Carolina Hurricanes.He served as the Islanders' associate coach for four seasons prior to his promotion.The 59-year-old was an assistant coach for the Nashville Predators from 2011-14 before jumping to the Washington Capitals' bench for four years. He won the Stanley Cup with the club in 2018.The Maple Leafs hired Berube in May after parting ways with Sheldon Keefe, who manned the bench for five seasons. Toronto has won just one playoff series in the last eight years.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Stanley Cup Final can make or break how a player goes down in history. "He could never win the big one" or "this guy was a winner" can sometimes be the difference between being remembered as a great player and a legendary one.So, what's on the line from an individual legacy standpoint in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers?McDavid can enter GOAT conversation Paul Swanson / NHL / Getty ImagesWe're not crowning Connor McDavid as the best player ever if the Oilers win the Stanley Cup, just to be clear. But winning a ring would, at the very least, get McDavid a seat at the table with all-time greats Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Bobby Orr, Gordie Howe, and Sidney Crosby. There's a case to be made McDavid should already be there, but he needs a ring to be a serious threat.It's infinitely harder to win a Stanley Cup in today's 32-team, salary-capped NHL than it was in Orr's 12-team NHL, or Gretzky's 21-team NHL. Hockey is also not an individual sport. But if McDavid never wins a ring, it'll always hang over him. That's the reality - whether it's fair or not.It's easy to think the 27-year-old will have further chances to win Stanley Cups, but you just never know. This opportunity cannot be taken for granted.It may be impossible for a player in today's game to dominate the way Gretzky, Lemieux, and Orr did in their eras against plumbers and construction workers. The playing field is just so deep now, and everyone has elite conditioning. But McDavid is about as dominant as it gets.He's already led the league in points five times in his nine NHL campaigns. Among players with at least 500 points, McDavid ranks third behind Gretzky and Lemieux in points per game despite playing in a lower-scoring era. He's also delivered in the postseason, ranking third behind Gretzky and Lemieux in playoff points per game.McDavid is arguably the most electrifying player the game has ever seen. All that's missing is a Stanley Cup ring - and maybe a Conn Smythe Trophy to put the icing on the cake.Bobrovsky can lock up 1st-ballot HOF status Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyThis would've sounded crazy three years ago. Sergei Bobrovsky looked to be on the decline in his first two seasons with the Panthers, and his contract was viewed as one of the NHL's worst. But he's completely flipped the script on his career since. He posted excellent regular seasons in 2021-22 and 2023-24, and he carried the Panthers to the Stanley Cup Final in 2023.The Panthers haven't needed Bobrovsky to be as spectacular this postseason, but he's still been solid, recording a .908 save percentage and a 2.20 goals against average.A Stanley Cup ring is the only thing missing on the 35-year-old's resume. We've seen how crucial that is for a goalie to get into the Hall of Fame, as evidenced by the recent inductions for Tom Barrasso and Mike Vernon over the likes of Curtis Joseph.Bobrovsky is already a safe bet to make the Hall of Fame. He's earned two Vezina Trophies, and 28 more game wins will move him into sole possession of 10th place on the all-time wins list. He's only 64 victories shy of passing Henrik Lundqvist for sole possession of sixth all time, too. But getting that Cup ring would all but guarantee Bobrovsky's inducted on his first try.Skinner can become favorite to start for Canada Gary A. Vasquez / National Hockey League / GettyLast offseason, Adin Hill was the sexy pick to be Canada's No. 1 goalie at the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off and the 2026 Olympics after backing the Vegas Golden Knights to a Stanley Cup. If the Oilers prevail, Stuart Skinner will undoubtedly find himself in that same position.This speaks more to the current state of Canadian goaltending than it does to Skinner. His competition for Canada's crease includes Hill, Logan Thompson, Jordan Binnington, Tristan Jarry, and perhaps a few others - not exactly a star-studded bunch for hockey's most storied nation. Whoever's playing the best leading up to the tournaments will most likely get the nod. But if Skinner helps Edmonton win the Cup, he'll certainly have a leg up on the competition - at least for the 4 Nations.Skinner was abysmal in his first eight games of the 2024 playoffs, posting an .877 save percentage before he was benched for a couple games in favor of journeyman Calvin Pickard. But he's bounced back nicely with a .919 save percentage in eight games since his return.If Skinner starts for Canada at the 4 Nations, he'd join some pretty elite company. The list of best-on-best tournament primary starters for Canada over the last 30 years includes Joseph ('96 World Cup), Patrick Roy ('98 Olympics), Martin Brodeur ('02 Olympics, '04 World Cup, '06 Olympics), Roberto Luongo ('10 Olympics), and Carey Price ('14 Olympics, '16 World Cup).Barkov can join 2-way forward lore Steve Babineau / National Hockey League / GettyPatrice Bergeron is widely considered the best defensive forward of all time with his record six Selke Trophies. But as far as the greatest two-way centers in league history go, Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov can match Bergeron's trophy pace through their age-28 seasons - with a sizable offensive edge.StatBergeronBarkovGP659737G183266A312445P/GP0.750.96Selkes22Cups1?Bergeron aged like a fine wine, winning five more Selke Trophies between the ages of 29 and 37. Barkov could do the same thing - especially now that Bergeron is retired. Barkov will surely enter 2024-25 season as the favorite to win the award again.Barkov is also in the midst of cementing his legacy during what's been an incredible playoff run. He ranks second on the Panthers with 17 points in as many games and leads the team with a 60.8% five-on-five expected goals share, per Evolving-Hockey. That mark also leads all remaining postseason skaters.The Finnish center has played an integral role in shutting down the opposition. Florida has faced three of the league's best offensive players through three rounds - Nikita Kucherov, David Pastrnak, and Artemi Panarin - but Barkov and the Panthers have limited them to two goals combined. If Barkov can help contain McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, he's a safe bet to win the Conn Smythe.Barkov can become just the ninth player in NHL history with multiple Selkes and a Stanley Cup. Only Hall of Famer Bob Gainey was won multiple Selkes, a Stanley Cup, and a Conn Smythe.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Martin Necas' market is starting to heat up.Half the teams in the NHL have inquired about the Carolina Hurricanes forward, including the Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers, sources told The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun.Necas is a pending restricted free agent who can become an unrestricted free agent in 2026.The Hurricanes have several pending free agents, including Jake Guentzel, Teuvo Teravainen, Brady Skjei, and Brett Pesce (UFAs) and Seth Jarvis (RFA).Necas recorded 24 goals and 29 assists in 77 games this past season as a winger. He produced a career-high 71 points in 82 games in 2022-23 while splitting time between center and wing.Necas also helped Czechia win gold at the 2024 World Championship, contributing seven points in five games as a late addition.He's projected to earn $8.8 million annually on an eight-year contract, per Evolving-Hockey.Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes said he intends to be aggressive this offseason."If we can get a player, if we can trade up in the draft, we have to look at any way that we can improve this team," Hughes told LeBrun. "We won't be limited to something that has to make us better next season. But if it does, call that icing on the cake."Montreal has also reconnected with the Anaheim Ducks about Trevor Zegras, LeBrun notes. The Ducks are reportedly listening to offers for the 2022 Calder Trophy runner-up.Philadelphia, meanwhile, doesn't appear to be as aggressive as Montreal, but general manager Daniel Briere is keeping an open mind."Don't expect much movement from us, as far as free agency," Briere said. "But we're always open to hockey trades if there's something that makes sense to help our team, both in the future but also in the short term if it fits our timeline."Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Anaheim Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek is listening to trade offers for star forward Trevor Zegras, sources told The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun.Verbeek reportedly brought up Zegras in trade talks this season, and discussions have resurfaced with the offseason around the corner, LeBrun notes.Zegras notched 15 points in just 31 games this campaign. The supremely skilled 23-year-old is under contract for two more seasons at a cap hit of $5.75 million before hitting restricted free agency for a second time.Although he wasn't specifically talking about a potential return for Zegras, Verbeek recently revealed he's looking to add experience to a young Ducks team next campaign."I'd like to add a couple more veteran pieces to the group," Verbeek said. "I'd like to find a top-six winger, and I'd like to find a top-four defenseman. You know, 31 other teams could say the same thing, right?"Verbeek added: "I'm trying to make our lineup deeper while having the younger kids gain more experience, learn from veteran players, and not have to bear the burden of producing offensively."The Ducks finished 30th in the league standings this season with 59 points and missed the playoffs for a sixth consecutive year.Zegras has been considered a cornerstone of Anaheim's rebuild since being drafted ninth overall in 2019. The New York native has 154 points in 211 games with the Ducks and placed runner-up for the Calder Trophy in his rookie season before notching a career-high 65 points in 2022-23.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Though Dallas Stars veteran Joe Pavelski stopped short of calling it a career, he said that this past season was likely his last."This was it for me. It was known for a while, probably," he said during Tuesday's end-of-season media availability. "The plan is not to play next year. ... I don't want to say this is official, but the plan is not to be coming back. There'll be more to come on that. Everything's so raw. ... I'm gonna need a little bit of time to really put it together and figure it out that way, but most likely that was it."Couldn't have asked for a better opportunity, a better group of guys to be around. I'm getting through this (scrum) fairly good, but there's been a lot of different emotions down the stretch."Pavelski was still effective in his 18th NHL campaign, totaling 27 goals and 67 points in 82 regular-season games while spending the bulk of his ice time on the top line with Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz.The 39-year-old's production dried up in these playoffs, though. The longtime NHL forward chipped in one goal and four points in 19 contests before the Stars were bounced from the Western Conference Final in six games."It still stings, it's gonna sting for a while," Pavelski said. "It's disappointing in the sense that we believe we should still be playing."Despite his recent dry spell, Pavelski remains the league's active leader in playoff goals (74) and ranks among the top active players in postseason points.RankPlayerPGPP/GP1Sidney Crosby2011801.122Evgeni Malkin1801771.023Nikita Kucherov1671471.144Joe Pavelski1432010.715Alex Ovechkin1411510.93The Wisconsin native hasn't lifted Lord Stanley's Mug, though he advanced to the Stanley Cup Final in 2016 and 2020 and made the conference finals on five other occasions, including in back-to-back years with the Stars.Pavelski became the 25th player to appear in 200 playoff games this spring, but he's the only NHLer without a ring in that group.Selected by the San Jose Sharks in the seventh round of the 2003 NHL Draft, Pavelski racked up 476 goals and 1,068 points in 1,332 regular-season games. He enjoyed his best statistical season in 2021-22, when he amassed 81 points in 82 games.Pavelski will turn 40 in July.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Vincent Trocheck opened up Tuesday about how it felt when the Florida Panthers eliminated his New York Rangers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final."It was a pretty empty feeling," the forward told the media, including SNY. "(To) go as far as we did, put in as much effort, invest so much into the season, make it to the Eastern Conference Final ... and to come up short is just, it sucks. It's not fun."Trocheck was seen consoling Igor Shesterkin in the immediate aftermath of the season-ending 2-1 defeat, and he revealed that he was offering some words of encouragement to the star goaltender.

New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald isn't opposed to parting with his first-round draft pick later this month - as long as the return is hefty enough."If we feel it helps us now and in the foreseeable future, then, yes, I'm listening," Fitzgerald told NHL.com's Mike G. Morreale on Monday. "I haven't gotten anything yet, but the more I talk to teams, I say 'Listen, I'm open to moving No. 10, but it's going to have to be something (significant).'"The Devils have six picks in the draft, including a pair of third-rounders and two more in the fifth, but they sent their second-rounder to the San Jose Sharks as part of the Timo Meier trade in February 2023. New Jersey is also without a fourth-rounder and a seventh-rounder this year, thanks to the Curtis Lazar and Meier deals, respectively.The Devils missed the playoffs this season following a trip to the second round in 2023, but Fitzgerald explained that their approach has changed."We're in a position now versus two years ago when we drafted (defenseman) Simon Nemec (second overall), where if we can find the right piece to help us get to where we want to go today, tomorrow and wherever the controllable future is for that player, great," the GM said. "That's the mindset versus 'Great, we have a top-10 pick and this kid is going to be fantastic when he's 25 years old'."It's no secret that the Devils need a goaltending upgrade and have been exploring ways to do so. They reportedly tried to acquire Jacob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames before this season's trade deadline and, shortly thereafter, it was reported that New Jersey planned to pursue the netminder as well as Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators this summer."I'm in the goalie market talking to teams, but there's a 'but' and the 'but' is how do we want to build our team?" Fitzgerald said. "We'd like to add up front, we'd like to add on the back end, so what are those pieces going to cost us. With the goaltending, what's that going to cost us?"Does the No. 10 pick get you that type of player that you can add to the group? It's easy to say, 'Go get so-and-so and then you build from there.' But there are some guys who have different contracts, so how are those players going to re-price at? There's a lot to it, but, yes, the focus is on finding that goaltender."The Devils' .885 team save percentage was the NHL's third-worst in the regular season. Jake Allen, who they landed in a deadline-day trade with the Montreal Canadiens, is New Jersey's only netminder with an NHL contract next season.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Sam Reinhart and the Florida Panthers have immediate business to take care of against the Edmonton Oilers, but the two sides continue to have a "strong mutual desire" to get an extension done after the Stanley Cup Final, reports The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun.Reinhart is considered the top unrestricted free agent to potentially hit the open market on July 1. He's coming off his best season, racking up a career-high 57 goals and 94 points, buoyed by an NHL-best 24.5 shooting percentage. Reinhart also has eight goals and four assists in 17 playoff games.The 28-year-old posted his previous career high of 33 goals in 2021-22. Reinhart averaged 76 points per 82 games in his first two seasons with Florida, recording a 15.5 shooting percentage.Evolving-Hockey projects Reinhart to sign an eight-year deal with a $11.13-million cap hit if he stays with Florida. That would make him the Panthers' highest-paid player over captain Aleksander Barkov and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who each make $10 million annually.The Panthers have several other notable pending UFAs, including Brandon Montour and Vladimir Tarasenko.Reinhart said in April that he was "not losing sleep" over his looming contract status.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

It's May 10, late in Game 3 of the tied Florida-Boston series. The Panthers lead 4-2, but the Bruins are pressing with an extra attacker on the ice. Boston calls a timeout to rest its top players and draw up a play for the next faceoff.The reset is all for nothing.Florida wins the draw and rims the puck up the left side of the zone. Winger Matthew Tkachuk gains possession above the hash marks. Facing the wall and on his backhand, Tkachuk rotates his body, briefly handles the puck, then slides it through an outstretched defender and onto a familiar stick. Teammate Sam Reinhart hustles down the ice and deposits the puck into the empty net. Your browser does not support the video tag. SportsnetMargins are razor-thin in the NHL postseason, and Reinhart's victory-sealing goal doesn't materialize without exemplary "wall play" from Tkachuk.Wall play (also known as board play) is a catch-all term for the many split-second decisions a forward makes when he and the puck are near or on the half-wall. What transpires in those quick, easy-to-miss sequences tends to be the difference between a successful defensive-zone exit and a botched one.Wall play is often overlooked because it's the unglamorous, connecting piece of a typical breakout - first pass, wall play, zone exit. In detail-oriented team environments, though, strong wall play can help a player earn a coaching staff's trust. It impacts ice time and role, especially among wingers."The guys who master it are the ones who stay in the league," Maple Leafs winger Matthew Knies said in an interview late in the regular season.Cole Perfetti of the Jets added: "A lot of the game is spent on the walls. More than you'd ever imagine or ever think coming into this league." Icon Sportswire / Getty ImagesFormer NHL head coach Dallas Eakins noted last May that "80% of the puck time" in an average game "is within three feet of the wall." Eakins encouraged coaches everywhere to prioritize wall-play drills in practice. So much value is waiting to be unlocked, he said.Jon Goyens, a longtime minor and junior hockey coach now analyzing the NHL from a bench boss' perspective for Daily Faceoff, works with pro players every summer. Last year, a young NHLer showed him the homework his team assigned for the offseason. "Improve wall play" was high on the to-do list.Goyens uses a sticky acronym to teach wall play: LSD - look, skate, decision.With that acronym and other insights from Goyens and a handful of NHL forwards as our guide, let's dig into the nuances of defensive-zone wall play.Step 1: Look Jared Silber / Getty ImagesEffective wall play begins with a calculation.As the puck enters the winger's orbit, he must scan the ice to take a mental picture of the environment. The aim is to accurately predict what will happen next."You have to be shoulder-checking to see where your teammates are and where the pressure's coming from," Winnipeg's Kyle Connor said. "I find the degree of difficulty with wall play really increases as the pressure increases."That pressure tends to be applied by two players: a defenseman skating down the wall from the blue line and a forward skating to the wall from the middle. Pressure can lead to physical contact, and the winger's in a vulnerable spot."You have to process so much," Toronto's Bobby McMann said. "You have to process the speed of the puck, where it is on the wall. Where your guys are, especially the center. Where their guys are, if the D-man is pinching, if you can get body positioning on him. You're processing all of these things in, like, half a second. If it's a really hard rim around the boards, that's a lot for the brain." SportsnetThe screenshot above is from Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final. It shows Tkachuk (bottom right) checking on the point while he chases down a loose puck. He scans so early in the sequence - the puck's below the goal line and he's in the slot - because he wants time and space to devise a plan.Tkachuk glances at the puck, looks at the blue line again, shoulder-checks, then finally makes his retrieval. A chip up the wall leads to an exit by Sam Bennett, who sidesteps a defender and sends the puck into an empty net.Unsexy, blue-collar work from Tkachuk. Mission accomplished for Florida.Step 2: Skate Grant Halverson / Getty ImagesTkachuk's scanning is useless if he doesn't efficiently move toward the puck.There's a difference between approaching the wall with speed and crashing into it with speed. "The best wall-play guys will skate very quickly to within three, four, maybe five feet of the wall. That way they're there nice and early," Goyens said. "Then they'll use that gained time and space to maneuver."Another important variable: where the winger meets the puck. Meeting it at the hash marks or lower invites complications like extra bodies and sticks and more ice to cover. Ideally, the winger meets the puck above the faceoff circle.Here's Wyatt Johnston, a brilliant young player for Dallas, meeting the puck close to the blue line to set up the opening goal in Game 2 of the West Final: Your browser does not support the video tag. SportsnetIt's important to be in sync with the center during this "skate" step."You have to listen for your center and act on what he's calling for," Knies said. "They need to talk a lot: 'Bump low!' 'Chip out!' That kind of thing. From there, you can make a more confident read on the play, right? Whether it's to corral the puck and pass it to the middle where the center is, or you see that their D-man is coming down hard and you have to just chip it right by him."Knies finds Auston Matthews especially helpful with callouts and support near the wall. "It's almost to the point where I have eyes in the back of my head," said Knies, who skates with Matthews each summer.Veteran winger Kyle Okposo had a similar experience with the Islanders in the early 2010s. Frans Nielsen, his longtime center, was in the right place at the right time on most breakouts, and the predictability made Okposo's job easier."Back then, when I'd get a rimmed puck, I'd angle my blade to the middle," Okposo said. "So, if the D-man was on me, I'd just pop it out - boom - right to Frans. He would have speed, so he would pretty much always exit the zone right away."Step 3: Decision Darcy Finley / Getty ImagesOnce the winger's looked and skated, it's go time.The first part of the "decision" step is to handle the puck with care. Fumbling it can lead to a turnover - a nightmare outcome, where the opposing team's suddenly attacking downhill, generating a deadly scoring chance."Sometimes it's hard and fast," Perfetti said of rimmed pucks. "Sometimes it's laying nicely on the yellow part of the boards - easy. Sometimes the puck's really spinny, which makes it difficult. Sometimes it's bouncing a bit. Sometimes the D-man is all over you. So, there's just a lot of variables."If a direct pass to the center (like Okposo to Nielsen) isn't available, the winger has a few options. He can fire the puck to a weak-side winger or defenseman; chip it into the neutral zone; poke it back to a teammate lower in the zone; or "eat it." That last one is hockey speak for jamming the puck against the wall. Icon Sportswire / Getty Images"If you can't get it over or out, just eat it," Connor said. "Hold on to it, wait for support. Get control of the situation. The alternative is having the puck pop off your stick and (go) right into the middle of the ice. That's not a good outcome."As Goyens put it: "Sometimes you're living to fight another day. It's as simple as that. Eating it can be the right call, given what's happening around you."Eating it can reroute the breakout, too. When the puck is wedged against the wall, a new, safer puck battle ensues. "At that point," Okposo said, "everyone comes to the puck and most of the time you'll have a D-man supporting you. You can always kick it back to them and they can go out the weak side."Like anything in a fast-paced, chaotic sport with many player types, there's no one-size-fits-all approach to mastering wall play. But the forward must possess a certain mixture of smarts, strength, and puck skills.The clip below shows Leon Draisaitl schooling a forechecker ahead of an Oilers goal in Game 4 against Dallas. Draisaitl excels at positioning and protection, composure in tight spaces, and passing ability. Your browser does not support the video tag. SportsnetSince wall play is so engrained in the flow of play, it's nearly impossible to quantify. Advanced stats websites don't have "best wall play" leaderboards.However, analytics company Sportlogiq does track an "exit assist success rate" metric. It isn't a perfect measure of effective wall play but does capture a part of the process. Here are the top 20 forwards from the regular season:Kucherov and the O-zoneTampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov barely missed the cut on that top-20 list, which isn't a surprise. Every person interviewed for this piece, on and off the record, mentioned him as the north star of wall play, especially in the offensive zone.The left-shooting right winger is a wizard on skates. He knows exactly what he's going to do before approaching the puck; he switches from backhand to forehand better than anyone on the planet; and chooses the perfect times to one-touch the puck to teammates. His superpower: He rarely overhandles it.A lot of the principles for defensive-zone wall play are inverted in the offensive zone. The winger wants to get the puck into prime scoring areas. Eating it is a way to extend possessions, wear down defenders, and potentially draw a penalty. Overall, though, no matter the zone, wall play is an integral part of being a winger in the modern NHL - and nobody becomes a master overnight.If a winger's ineffective on the walls, his teammates spend all their time in the defensive zone. If he's effective, the game opens up for the entire squad."It's one of the hardest skills in the game," Ducks winger Frank Vatrano said."Everyone always says centers are the most important people on the team. Defensemen and goalies get the same kind of love. They're praised all the time. But, if you have good wall play from your wingers, you can create a lot of offense. It's really how you become reliable as a winger in today's game."John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Panthers are favored to win the Stanley Cup over the Oilers after Edmonton punched its ticket to the finals Sunday night.Florida is -130 at theScore Bet to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup (56.5% implied probability), while Edmonton sits at +110 (47.6% chance).The Panthers decisively won both regular-season meetings between these two teams, but Stuart Skinner didn't start either game for the Oilers. Backup netminder Calvin Pickard allowed a combined nine goals.The Oilers' second trip to Florida came on December 16, and they began their 16-game winning streak two games later. Despite that epic run, the Oilers are still the underdogs. The Panthers won the President's Trophy in 2021-22, made the 2023 Stanley Cup Final, and haven't needed a seventh game on this postseason run.But the Panthers don't have three-time Hart Trophy and five-time Art Ross Trophy winner Connor McDavid.Despite not playing for the favored side, McDavid sits atop the oddsboard for the Conn Smythe Trophy at +200. The next three players with the shortest odds are all Panthers: Aleksander Barkov (+400), Sergei Bobrovsky (+400), and Matthew Tkachuk (+600).Conn Smythe oddsPLAYERODDSConnor McDavid+200Aleksander Barkov+400Sergei Bobrovsky+400Matthew Tkachuk+600Leon Draisaitl+650Evan Bouchard+700Carter Verhaeghe+2000Sam Reinhart+4000Sam Bennett+6000Gustav Forsling+6000Stuart Skinner+6000Zach Hyman+7500McDavid leads the Stanley Cup Playoffs in points, notably scoring a critical overtime winner in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final alongside a highlight-reel tally to open the scoring in Edmonton's series-clinching Game 6 win.

Peter DeBoer had one word to describe his feelings after the Edmonton Oilers eliminated his Dallas Stars with a 2-1 victory in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final on Sunday night."'Gutted' is the only word I can feel when you lose a game like that," DeBoer told reporters postgame. "(I'm) proud of our group, proud of our fight, proud of our battle, (but) you're just gutted. They did leave everything out there, (we) should be going to play a Game 7, (but) we're not."DeBoer tipped his cap to the Oilers, who are heading back to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since they lost it in 2006."You have to give Edmonton credit," the Dallas bench boss said. "Their power play particularly over the last two games was good, and their goaltender was good. It's fine lines (when) you get to this point of the year."The Stars kept the Oilers' power play - which ranked fourth in the NHL at 26.3% during the regular season - off the scoresheet over the first four games. But Edmonton's Ryan Nugent-Hopkins struck twice with the man advantage in Game 5, and the Oilers converted both of their chances with the man advantage in Game 6. Dallas went 0-for-14 on the power play in the series.Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner posted a .900 save percentage over the first four contests but then stopped all but two of 55 shots over the final two tilts for a mark of .964. Connor McDavid said Skinner "absolutely stole" the series-clinching win for Edmonton on Sunday.DeBoer added that the Stars' elimination was "tough to swallow" considering Dallas hit the post in overtime of Game 1 and ultimately lost on McDavid's goal in the second extra frame.Veteran Stars forward Tyler Seguin also lamented the end result."Hockey's hard," he said. "You need a lot of things to go right. You need to have that opportunity, we had that opportunity. We went through the gauntlet and beat some really good teams (and) knew we had something special. (We) lost to a team we thought we could beat."Seguin emphasized how slim the margin for error is in the playoffs."Sometimes it's that one bounce ... one goal, one save, that's why we all love it," he said. "That's why this is the hardest damn trophy in the world to win."The Stars lost in the Western Conference Final for the second straight year after the Vegas Golden Knights defeated them in six games en route to a Cup win last June. Dallas got to the championship round in the bubble in 2020, but the Tampa Bay Lightning prevailed in six that year.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch pointed to Connor McDavid as the best player on the ice following Edmonton's Western Conference Final-clinching victory in Game 6 Sunday, but it appears the captain would disagree.Despite McDavid leading the postseason in scoring with 31 points, the Oilers superstar credited goaltender Stuart Skinner for sending Edmonton to its first Stanley Cup Final since 2006."Can't say enough good things. I think (Skinner) learned a lot from last year's playoffs, and he's putting it to good use," McDavid said postgame. "A lot of people doubt him, a lot of people say things about him. He's an elite goaltender - he really is. He was so good for us all series long, gave us a chance every single night. Tonight, he absolutely stole one for us."Skinner made 34 saves in Sunday's 2-1 victory, securing the win for the Oilers even though the Dallas Stars outshot them 35-10 in the contest."He was unbelievable tonight," McDavid added. "We're not sitting up here talking about a win if it wasn't for him. We're on a plane to Dallas if it wasn't for Stu."Skinner finished the Western Conference Final series with a .923 save percentage. However, it hasn't been the smoothest playoffs for the netminder, who Edmonton benched in favor of Calvin Pickard for two games in Round 2 against the Vancouver Canucks. Skinner has compiled a .897 save percentage in 16 postseason games this year.Ups and downs also filled Skinner's 2023-24 regular season. He was partially to blame for the Oilers' slow start, posting an abysmal .854 save percentage in the campaign's first eight games. Skinner recorded a .913 mark over his final 51 contests.For Skinner, an Edmonton native, stepping up and leading the Oilers to a Stanley Cup Final is a dream come true."Moments like this, it's really hard to say. It's very cool. It's a lot more than cool, but it's very exciting," Skinner said, adding he idolized Dwayne Roloson growing up.Skinner has been a critical piece to Edmonton's play while down a man. The Oilers have killed 28 straight penalties - six back of tying the St. Louis Blues' Stanley Cup Playoff record. Dallas didn't score a power-play goal all series.Skinner acknowledged his teammates for the club's success."The commitment to blocking shots at the right times, guys are doing absolutely everything that we possibly can to get the puck out," Skinner said. "Being able to grind in the corners. It truly is just the little things that the guys really focused on. That was a huge difference."Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Edmonton Oilers knocked off the Dallas Stars 2-1 in Sunday's Game 6 to win the Western Conference Final.The Oilers advance to face the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final. It's Edmonton's first trip to the Cup Final since 2006.Connor McDavid scored a highlight-reel goal to open the scoring before assisting on Zach Hyman's tally later in the first period. Stuart Skinner made 34 saves."It feels like a dream, honestly," McDavid told Sportsnet's Kyle Bukauskas. "It was a crazy one tonight. Not our best effort, but we hung in there. Found a way to get a win. (Skinner) was great, everybody played great."Edmonton recorded 10 shots on goal, the fewest in a conference final-clinching win ever. The Boston Bruins held the previous record, with 17 against the Washington Capitals in 1990.The Oilers' minus-25 shot differential in Game 6 is also the lowest by a team that won to advance to the Cup Final. The previous mark was minus-23 by the Nashville Predators in 2017 against the Anaheim Ducks.The Panthers haven't won the Stanley Cup in their franchise history, while Edmonton looks to win its first since 1990 and snap Canada's 30-year drought."It feels good to maybe unite the country a little bit and have something to bring people together," McDavid said. "That's what sports is all about, is bringing people together. Hopefully, we're doing that for Canadians across the country."Zach Hyman joked that one Canadian city won't want to see the Oilers win."I don't know if Toronto is cheering for us," Hyman said. "Hockey means so much to Canada and to Canadians, and it's been a long time since a Canadian team has won the Cup. It would mean a lot to Canadians, whether they're Oilers fans or not, I'm sure."Edmonton kept its hands off the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl, matching what the Florida Panthers did Saturday with the Prince of Wales Trophy.

The schedule for the 2024 Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers is now in place.Here's how it'll all unfold beginning Saturday at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida.GameDateHome1June 8Panthers2June 10Panthers3June 13Oilers4June 15Oilers5*June 18Panthers6*June 21Oilers7*June 24Panthers*If necessaryEvery game will be played at 8 p.m. ET. Each will be broadcast on CBC, Sportsnet, and TVA Sports in Canada, along with ABC and ESPN+ in the United States.The distance between Sunrise and Edmonton of 2,541 miles (4,089 kilometers) is the furthest ever between opponents in a Stanley Cup Final.

Dallas Stars head coach Peter DeBoer injected some youth into his lineup for Sunday's must-win Game 6 against the Edmonton Oilers.Forward Mavrik Bourque entered the lineup for Ty Dellandrea, with DeBoer citing the former's "offensive potential" as the reason for the swap, per The Athletic's Daniel Nugent-Bowman."I feel excited," Bourque said, according to The Athletic's Mark Lazerus. "I've been waiting for that for a while. My game's ready, I'm ready to go."Bourque has one game of NHL experience - his April 6 debut against the Chicago Blackhawks. He registered two shots on goal in just under 11 minutes of ice time.The 22-year-old was voted AHL MVP in April after leading the league with 77 points (26 goals, 51 assists) in 71 games with the Texas Stars. He added 11 points in seven contests before his team was eliminated from the Calder Cup playoffs.Dallas selected Bourque with the 30th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Panthers head coach Paul Maurice had nothing but good things to say about Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin after Florida eliminated New York in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final on Saturday.Maurice called Shesterkin's goaltending performance the best he had witnessed in over 20 years."I haven't seen a series by a goaltender like that since Jose Theodore in 2002," Maurice said postgame. "He won the Hart Trophy that year. We had a very similar experience until the last game where he was just lights out."Maurice added: "(Shesterkin) was brilliant in this series."Theodore posted a .931 save percentage in the 2001-02 campaign to earn the NHL's MVP award. He led the Montreal Canadiens to a major upset over the Boston Bruins in Round 1 that year but lost to the Maurice-led Carolina Hurricanes in Round 2. Theodore sported a .966 save percentage in the first three games of that series against Carolina before coming down to earth. Maurice's Canes lost in the 2002 Stanley Cup Final.Shesterkin was undoubtedly the Rangers' best player of the 2024 postseason. He recorded a .926 save percentage in the playoffs, including a .930 mark in the Eastern Conference Final.

The Florida Panthers aren't taking any chances this year.After touching the Prince of Wales Trophy when they won the Eastern Conference in 2023 - ahead of losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final - the Panthers avoided doing so in 2024.

The Florida Panthers defeated the New York Rangers 2-1 in Game 6 on Saturday to close out their third-round series and advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the second consecutive season.Florida will play the winner of the Edmonton Oilers-Dallas Stars series with a chance to win its first championship in franchise history. The Oilers are currently ahead 3-2."It's amazing, it's tough to describe right now," captain Aleksander Barkov told Sportsnet. "So proud of the guys, but we all know the job is not finished. We still want to get that big prize and work really hard for it."The Panthers' Sam Bennett opened the scoring Saturday in the final minute of the first period. Vladimir Tarasenko added an insurance marker midway through the final frame before Artemi Panarin notched his first goal of the series to bring the Rangers within a goal.Game 6 was the fifth consecutive one-goal contest between the teams, but Florida was the superior team over the series by most metrics. The Panthers controlled 57.23% of shot attempts, 60.85% of scoring chances, and 62.21% of expected goals at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.Igor Shesterkin was the primary reason New York put up a fight, as the 2022 Vezina Trophy winner posted a .930 save percentage in the series. The Rangers won the Presidents' Trophy with 114 points, but the league's top regular-season team hasn't won the Stanley Cup since the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013.The Panthers are the first team to return to the Stanley Cup Final the year after losing since the 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins, who won in their second attempt."It's so special. It's just so much buy-in, so much hard work. So much commitment to playing the right way," winger Matthew Tkachuk told Sportsnet."Everybody who's new this year has been awesome, and the returning guys really, really came back with this on their mind. We wanted to get back to this moment, and we're here. Hopefully, we can keep this thing going."Florida will now have a week off, with Game 1 of the final scheduled for June 8. The Panthers will have home-ice advantage if Edmonton advances but will start on the road if Dallas prevails.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Warning: Story contains coarse languageDallas Stars head coach Peter DeBoer owned up Saturday to letting his emotions get the better of him after Friday night's loss to the Edmonton Oilers.DeBoer got into a heated exchange with Dallas Morning News columnist and ESPN personality Tim Cowlishaw after the Stars' 3-1 loss in Game 5. DeBoer took offense to a question from Cowlishaw that the bench boss perceived to be criticizing his team's character."You can sit here and question our character if you want," DeBoer said Friday. "You haven't been around all year, I haven't seen you here all year."DeBoer wasn't having it when Cowlishaw insisted he wasn't questioning the Stars' character."You are, that's what you're doing," DeBoer said. "I'm not gonna do it. You go ahead and write whatever the fuck you want."

Edmonton Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard has been a force of nature in these playoffs, and his leaderboard-climbing performance hasn't been lost on his teammates."He's just good," Leon Draisaitl said Saturday with a laugh. "He's so calm. He makes the right play seemingly every time with the puck on his stick, and he defends well, too. ... He's just elevated his game to another level. Just no stress in his game."Bouchard registered two assists during Edmonton's 3-1 Game 5 victory Friday night to become the third-fastest defenseman to reach 50 playoff points (45 games) in NHL history, trailing only Bobby Orr (39 games) and Brian Leetch (41 games).The 24-year-old is in the midst of his third career postseason run, and he already sits fifth all time in playoff points by a rearguard in franchise history:RankPlayerPointsGPP/GP1Paul Coffey103941.102Charlie Huddy771380.56T-3Kevin Lowe521720.30T-3Randy Gregg521300.405Evan Bouchard51451.13Bouchard is only two points away from taking sole possession of third place in the Oilers' history books, and with Edmonton up 3-2 in the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars, he'll have at least two more games to work with.Edmonton forward Zach Hyman couldn't settle on just one thing when asked what stands out the most about Bouchard's game."Everything," he said. "He's been pretty special, obviously. ... Any time he's on the ice, it feels like we have the puck. If you find him, he's going to make a play, and you're excited. ... Fun to be a part of."Bouchard leads all defensemen with 25 points (six goals, 19 assists) in 17 games this spring. That offensive output is good for the second-most points by a blue-liner in a single postseason in Oilers history, behind only Paul Coffey's 37-point outburst in 1985.He's also tied for the sixth-most points in one playoff run among all rearguards and third among active defensemen:RankPlayerYearPointsGP1Paul Coffey198537182Brian Leetch199434233Al MacInnis198931224Cale Makar202229205Miro Heiskanen20202627T-6Evan Bouchard20242517T-6Denis Potvin19812518T-6Ray Bourque19912519Bouchard enjoyed a career year, setting new highs in goals (18) and points (82) in the regular season while skating in all but one contest.The Oilers will look to eliminate the Stars in Game 6 on Sunday to advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2006 when they lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Warning: Story contains coarse languageIf Paul Maurice hadn't spent the better part of his life in hockey, he might've had a career as a comedian.The Florida Panthers bench boss poked fun at his propensity for profanity when asked Saturday about Dallas Stars head coach Peter DeBoer's postgame outburst Friday night."I would never use that kind of language," Maurice quipped, according to The Associated Press' Colby Guy.DeBoer got upset with Tim Cowlishaw of ESPN and the Dallas Morning News following the Stars' 3-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final on Friday. DeBoer told Cowlishaw he can "go ahead and write whatever the fuck" he wants after the columnist and pundit called the Stars' second-period effort "lifeless" and said they "kind of put no pressure on (the Oilers) at all" after falling behind."You can sit here and question our character if you want," DeBoer said before dropping the F-bomb. "You haven't been around all year; I haven't seen you here all year."Maurice, of course, has a long history of making bleep-inducing remarks, both during and after games. Just over two weeks ago, he was seen on a broadcast shouting at his team on the bench and then explained it postgame by saying the players "just needed some profanity in their life, and I brought some.""I don't excel at a lot of things in life, but fuck me, am I good at that," he added at the time.Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour said Saturday that he welcomes Maurice's ability to inject levity into situations or drive home a more straitlaced message, depending on what's called for in the moment."I think he's got a great sense of humor," the blue-liner told reporters, including Bally Sports Florida's Katie Engleson. "(When) he comes in the (dressing) room, he's the same way with us. Obviously, serious when he needs to be, but ... this is a time, especially with our group, (when) we keep it light."It's not just us players. It's the coaches, it's the management, the whole organization keeps it light. In stressful times, you kind of experience how easy-going not just us players but the rest of the group is, and, obviously, he does a good job and, obviously, he's pretty funny."The fact that the Panthers are one win away from reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight season could be why they're in a joking mood. Florida leads the New York Rangers 3-2 in the Eastern Conference Final. The Cats will get their first crack at qualifying for this year's championship round in Game 6 on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET in Sunrise.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

It would become one of the most iconic statements ever made in hockey.Thirty years ago, such news wasn't delivered by social media or push alert, but the old-fashioned way: newspaper. That's how Nick Kypreos remembers reading it. The Rangers' bus had just pulled up to Brendan Byrne Arena in New Jersey to deliver the team to its date with destiny: a win-or-go-home Game 6 showdown against the Devils in the 1994 Eastern Conference Final. The Rangers, who finished the regular season atop the standings, just endured back-to-back losses to the underdog Devils and were now facing elimination on the road.Kypreos sat beside defenseman Brian Leetch on the drive to New Jersey and the two were the last off the bus. "One of the seats in the front of the bus had a copy of the New York Post," says Kypreos, and on the back pages were the words that would go down in hockey history: "We'll win tonight," a bold prediction issued by captain Mark Messier."Brian stopped, looked at the paper, then turned around, looked at me, and said, 'I guess we're going to win tonight,'" says Kypreos. Those three words went viral, the momentum propelling the Rangers to a pivotal win that paved the way for the franchise's first Stanley Cup in 54 years."At the time I thought, 'That's something Mark would seldom do,'" remembers former Rangers forward Craig MacTavish. But there it was in black and white, read all about it. "He felt so strongly in the team's ability to bounce back and win Game 6, and not only the team's ability, but his own. It was a pretty courageous, ballsy thing to do."Thirty years later, the Rangers again face a tough road Game 6 in Round 3 of the playoffs. They're down 3-2 to the Panthers, and remain two wins from the Cup Final for the first time since 2014, in their quest to bring New York its first title since 1994. While there will never be another Messier, captain Jacob Trouba is flanked by Igor Shesterkin, Vincent Trocheck, Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider, and Mika Zibanejad, who lead today's squad. These Rangers have a chance to create their own iconic postseason moment - if they can rise to the occasion like their predecessors. Josh Lavallee / National Hockey League / GettyPaving the way for a storylineBy the time Messier's Rangers faced the Devils in 1994, the fan base was desperate for a championship - but it wasn't always that way. When the Rangers joined the league as an expansion team in the 1926-27 season, they immediately established themselves as one of the era's most dominant squads, winning the Stanley Cup over the Montreal Maroons in their second season and again in 1933 and 1940.But those heady times didn't last, and the team's subsequent poor performance was so incredulous that it led some to consider the franchise cursed.One of the more superstitious theories claims that in the 1939-40 season, the mortgage on Madison Square Garden was repaid and its papers burned in the Stanley Cup. In retribution for desecrating the sport's holy grail, the Rangers were sentenced by the hockey gods to indefinite bad luck. Others agree the curse was real but cite Red Dutton as the cause. The disgruntled former coach and general manager of the New York Americans, which folded during World War II, was said to hold a grudge against the Rangers for their staying power.Whether the cause was mystical or pragmatic, the Rangers after 1940 endured one of the longest championship droughts in NHL history. Tantalizing near misses in 1950 and 1979 added insult to injury.Legendary Rangers forward Jean Ratelle in 1974 B Bennett / Bruce Bennett / Getty"The Rangers' theme was that they were losers," says Jerry Eskenazi, who covered the team in the late 1960s and early 1970s for The New York Times. Back then, the club was essentially irrelevant in the New York sports landscape. Eskenazi remembers his first assignment covering the team: "The sports editor looks up the date book, what was going on that day, and he says, 'This is something interesting: the Rangers open the season today.'" The Times' sports desk didn't know the local hockey team's season was starting, nor had it scheduled a reporter to attend the opener.Occasional flashes of promise in the following decades weren't enough to erase the impact of the Rangers' continued failure to win another championship. "Even though they might have won games and were competitive, there was always that harking back to 1940," says Eskenazi.1940 wasn't just a theme; it became a chant. Opposing fans would use it to taunt each generation of Rangers players and fans through the 1970s, 80s, and into the 1990s as the team kept falling short."They got close in the early 1970s," says John Kreiser, whose book, "The Wait Is Over: The New York Rangers and the 1994 Stanley Cup," chronicles the legendary Cup run. "They had some good teams in the 80s, but the Islanders were always better, or the Oilers were always better."In 1989, the Rangers hired general manager Neil Smith. "He was running Detroit's minor-league system after he left the Islanders. They hired him as much because they couldn't get somebody who was a bigger name to take the job," Kreiser says. But Smith made an immediate impact. "In his first year they won the division title, which was the first time they'd finished first, at any level, since 1942," Kreiser says.The tides turned in earnest in 1991 when the Rangers acquired star center Messier in a blockbuster trade with the Oilers for Bernie Nicholls, Steven Rice, and Louie DeBrusk. Messier was subsequently joined by ex-Oilers teammates Jeff Beukeboom (included in the trade), Glenn Anderson, Kevin Lowe, MacTavish, Adam Graves, and Esa Tikkanen - a sizeable portion of the Oilers' Cup dynasty."One of the things that I remember Neil telling me was that he really felt there was value, because when he looked at that roster there were, like, seven guys from the Oilers dynasty on there. He was very adamant that was important because you needed guys who knew how to win," Kreiser says. "He wanted Messier and Lowe and MacTavish to pump some winning life in there."The move didn't go unnoticed among rivals. "We scoffed at the fact they were basically raiding the Oilers for these guys," says legendary Devils broadcaster and hockey historian Stan Fischler. "Gretzky was the ultimate artist, but Messier, for his time, was the most menacing," he says. Steve Crandall / Getty Images Sport / GettyThe Devils were about to see just how menacing "Moose" could be.Rising to the occasionAnyone watching Game 4 of the 1990 Campbell Conference Final between Chicago, which was leading the series 2-1, and Edmonton knew Messier was not to be trifled with. The Oilers narrowly escaped the first round, clawing their way back from a 3-1 deficit. Now, they were in a similar situation, in a must-win game against the Blackhawks."To me, that was the best game (Messier) ever played," MacTavish says. "He had a hat trick, and he was just a man possessed. We knew we couldn't go down 3-1 again. He single-handedly broke the spirit of that whole organization in Game 4."A 4-2 routing helped the Oilers gain the momentum necessary to win three straight and eliminate the Blackhawks. They beat the Bruins in the Cup Final in five games - without Wayne Gretzky."For me, 1990 was pretty special to win without Wayne, which is no small accomplishment," MacTavish says.As for Messier: "He reached another level of superpower there," says MacTavish.It was a superpower he'd call upon again four years later, this time as Rangers captain. John Biever / Sports Illustrated / GettyIn 1994, the Rangers went 52-24-8 - the best record in the NHL. If there was a year to break the curse, this was it. "The moment you became a New York Ranger, you inherited that heartache," says Kypreos, who now co-hosts Sportsnet's podcast, "Real Kyper and Bourne.""The sense of urgency for us to win that particular year was never lost on us," he adds. "I got traded at the beginning of the season and it took all of 30 seconds for me walking down Fifth Avenue for people to come up to me and say, 'You know, we got this drought since the 1940s.'"Capitalizing on that urgency, the Rangers swept the Islanders in the first round and then ousted the Capitals in five games. Waiting for them in the conference finals were the Devils, who finished second overall in the league at 47-25-12. The Devils might have finished first overall - if they weren't swept by the Rangers in six regular-season games."The Devils were a younger team," Fischler says. "Marty Brodeur was in his second year in goal. They surprised a lot of people. They started the series as the underdogs."The best-of-seven opened with a 4-3 double-overtime Devils win, but the Rangers fought back to take a 2-1 series lead. Then, the Devils answered with some firepower of their own, handing the Rangers back-to-back losses, limiting them to one goal in each game, to take a 3-2 lead back to New Jersey."They looked like they might pull off an upset," Fischler says.The nervousness rippled throughout the fan base. "The fans came into Game 6 looking at, 'Well, if we lose, we're done. We've wasted another really good chance to end 54 years of misery,'" says Kreiser.The players felt the pressure, too. "The stakes were extremely high," says MacTavish.And that's when Messier guaranteed the win.Some say his words were overblown by the New York press. "Did Mess really guarantee a win or did the writer set it up for him?" asked Fischler. Steve Babineau / National Hockey League / GettyMessier's exact words were: "We can win and will win." But he was savvy enough to know what the press would do with that quote. "He knew they were going to run with it pretty hard, and he agreed to it," says MacTavish."Mark told me 20 years later that part of the reason he did it was to keep his guys' spirits up," says Kreiser.Making a claim is one thing; backing it up is something else entirely. When the puck dropped to start Game 6 on May 25, 1994, it looked like Messier might be stymied. The Devils overwhelmed the Rangers within the first five minutes with three two-on-one chances and notched eight of the game's first nine shots. New York managed just nine shots on goal in the first, none of them finding the back of the net. "They were taking it to us pretty good, I remember," says MacTavish."The Devils just totally dominated the first two periods," says Kreiser. "They were up 2-0. And the only reason it wasn't 6-0 was (goaltender) Mike Richter."Ultimately, Richter faced 26 shots in the first two periods, letting in two. Decent numbers, but it was hardly guaranteed he'd stay in net. Coach Mike Keenan pulled him in Game 4 under similar circumstances, opting for backup Glenn Healy."Everybody in the building and throughout Manhattan was probably thinking, 'When's he going to pull Richter?'" Keenan later told his autobiography writer Scott Morrison. Their book, "Iron Mike: My Life Behind the Bench," releases in October. But according to Morrison, Keenan wasn't even considering pulling Richter."'(Richter) kept us in that game, he kept us in that period, we could have been down easily by four or five goals. So, I stuck with him and hoped that the team would feed off of that kind of response and react accordingly,'" Morrison remembers Keenan saying.That turned out to be prescient. "Without Richter, that game wouldn't have been what it was," says Healy."That's what goaltending means at this point in the season," says Kypreos. "Goalies are the only ones who play the entire game on the ice.""His outstanding performance is what kept us in the game and allowed (Messier) to do what he did in the third period," says Healy. "Richter's goaltending in Game 6 was an exquisite performance."It wasn't until late in the second period when the Rangers got on the board, on a goal by Alex Kovalev assisted by Messier. It didn't just change the momentum; it changed everything."It was that Kovalev goal," says Fischler. "Everything was nice and then suddenly this guy is coming down the right side and he beats Brodeur."I did interviews between periods. And I had Bernie Nicholls on for the Devils. Not only myself but others who heard the interview were convinced by his body language and things he said that the Devils were fading, they were tiring, they were going to lose the lead. He seemed resigned to the fact the third period was not going to favor the Devils. Nicholls was a very savvy guy, he knew that things weren't going to be too good up ahead."That's when Messier found his other superpower level - the one he accessed in Chicago in 1990. Early in the third period, he snuck a backhander by Brodeur, tying the score at 2-2. Messier secured the go-ahead goal, too, in the middle of the frame, off a rebound. He bagged the insurance goal late, shorthanded into an empty net."I was ecstatic for the win," MacTavish says. "Secondly, I was in awe of the prediction - and then to back it up with a hat trick?""I don't think anybody in New York had ever seen something like that, where a guy puts his neck in a noose and then delivers like that," Kreiser says. "People were shaking their heads - happily."The series went back to MSG for Game 7, which the Rangers won 2-1. They'd play one final Game 7 in the next round, beating the Vancouver Canucks at home to secure their first Stanley Cup in 54 years.The guarantee's legacy"You know, over my career, I can isolate specific games that are never, never forgotten," says Fischler, who speaks as if Game 6 was played a week ago. Speaking with him, it's clear: this is one of those games."There were a lot of storylines going. And it was very, very emotional," he says.Perhaps it's the Rangers-Devils rivalry that'll live the longest - even after the legend of the Guarantee Game fades into history. "The rivalry is now part of the fabric of that area," Kypreos says. "It stands the test of time." Bruce Bennett / Getty ImagesSo far, no cohort of the Rangers has been able to top - or even match - what Messier's squad did in 1994. "They haven't won since then," Kreiser says. "That's one of the things that stretches out the story of the Guarantee Game."It's unlikely we're getting a Game 6 guarantee from this year's Rangers, and their task remains formidable. "What Messier did is what separates the good from the iconic - absolutely iconic," says MacTavish. "They make it happen when it needs to happen."But these Rangers can take solace: It's not impossible. Messier proved that.Jolene Latimer is a features writer at theScore.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Edmonton Oilers defeated the Dallas Stars 3-1 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final on Friday night to take a 3-2 series lead.The Oilers can advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2006 with a win on home ice Sunday night.Edmonton was in control of Friday's contest, with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scoring a power-play goal in each of the opening two periods before Philip Broberg notched his first-ever NHL playoff marker."I've tried to round out my game as my career's gone on," Nugent-Hopkins told the NHL on TNT crew postgame. "I still got lots of room for improvement, so I try to be a coachable player and just do what I can to help out."Leon Draisaitl praised Nugent-Hopkins prior to Game 5, joking about his veteran teammate being coach Kris Knoblauch's favorite player. Following Friday's performance, it seems Draisaitl may have been right."I saw Ryan and told him tonight he's my favorite," Knoblauch said, per The Athletic's Daniel Nugent-Bowman.Wyatt Johnston scored the Stars' only goal with five minutes remaining in the third period.Edmonton limited Dallas to only 10 shots through the first two periods and commanded 60% of the scoring chances and 56.2% of the expected goals at five-on-five for the contest, according to Natural Stat Trick.The Oilers have flipped the series script since losing Game 3. The Stars looked to be in control after jumping out to an early 2-0 lead in Game 4, but Edmonton has outscored the top-seeded Stars 8-1 since.The puck drops for Game 6 at 8 p.m. ET Sunday."It's going to be buzzing," Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner told Sportsnet.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Dallas Stars defenseman Chris Tanev was in the lineup for the Game 5 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Friday.Tanev departed the Stars' 5-2 Game 4 loss Wednesday after blocking a shot in the second period. Dallas listed him as questionable to return with a lower-body injury, but he didn't take another shift. He was considered a game-time decision for Game 5.

Leon Draisaitl is confident that his Edmonton Oilers are better than any opponent when they play at their peak - as long as they can sustain it."I truly believe that our best beats anyone's best, it's just a matter of consistently playing that way and that's ... a hard thing to do," the superstar told reporters Friday, hours before Game 5 of the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars in Texas.Draisaitl has been largely satisfied with the Oilers' performance in the series against a versatile Stars squad."They obviously defend well. They're a deep team," the German forward said. "They've got threats on every line. I think for the most part, we've done a pretty good job, maybe giving up a couple too many odd-man looks headed our way, but I think we've adjusted well and (we're) looking to take another step (Friday night)."Draisaitl ranks second in playoff scoring this spring with 10 goals (behind teammate Zach Hyman's 13) and 26 points (behind Connor McDavid's 28) in 16 contests. Six of Draisaitl's tallies came on the power play, but neither Edmonton nor Dallas has produced a goal with the man advantage over four games in this matchup.The series is tied 2-2, with Game 5 scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.