1 day agoWinnipeg Jets head coach Rick Bowness has decided to retire from the NHL. His decision comes after Bowness failed to get the Jets past the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, losing to Colorado in five games. Bowness, who turned 69 in January, worked 38 years behind different benches in the NHL. He held seven head-coaching positions, leading the Dallas Stars to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2020. The Jets appointed him as head coach ahead of the 2022-23 campaign. Bowness, one of three finalists for the Jack Adams Award this season, bows out with a 310-408-48-37 career record as a head coach in the NHL.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
1 day agoFlorida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has been confirmed as the team's starter for Game 1 against Boston on Monday. He'll be looking to get rid of some demons on Monday night after going 0-2-2 against the Bruins during the regular season. Bobrovsky's form wasn't great in the first round against the Lightning, as the Russian netminder allowed 2.78 goals with a .896 save percentage, but he's benefiting from playing behind a red-hot offense. The Panthers produced 4.00 goals per game against their neighbors in Round 1. Bobrovsky would no doubt love to get the same level of goal support against Boston.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Colby Guy
1 day agoBoston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman is expected to make his sixth consecutive start in Monday's Game 1 against the Panthers. Swayman provided rock-solid play during the first round against Toronto and will be trusted to make a difference again versus Florida. The 25-year-old netminder boasts four wins from six starts this postseason and has allowed 1.49 goals with a .950 save percentage. His form gets a huge test in the second round after Florida averaged 4.00 goals in its first-round series against Tampa Bay. Swayman won his lone regular-season decision against the Panthers 4-3 with an 18-save effort.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Steve Conroy
1 day agoBoston Bruins left wing Danton Heinen (undisclosed) will miss a third straight game on Monday against Florida. The 28-year-old appears close to returning to the lineup and was even considered a game-time call for Saturday's Game 7 against Toronto. However, his comeback won't happen in the second-round opener. Heinen made five appearances in Round 1, picking up one point via an assist. He couldn't score with 11 shots on goal. Justin Brazeau is seeing third-line minutes in his stead. The 26-year-old rookie had one point in three games with four shots on goal against the Maple Leafs in the first round.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Boston Bruins
1 day agoBoston Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo (personal) will be a game-time decision for Monday's series opener against Florida. Carlo and his wife, Mayson, welcomed their second child in the early hours of Monday morning. He's traveling to join the team in Sunrise, but it's not fully clear if Carlo will be in the lineup. "We're very hopeful. I don't have a determination on that yet," Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters after Monday's morning skate. Carlo has averaged over 21 minutes a night in the 2024 postseason, picking up two points (one goal, one assist) in seven games with 11 shots on goal, 16 hits, and 16 blocks. Derek Forbort could see his first action since March 2 if Carlo isn't good to go.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Jimmy Murphy
2 days agoCarolina Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho finished Sunday's 4-3 loss in Game 1 against the Rangers with two assists. He helped Jaccob Slavin get an equalizer early in the game and collected his second assist when Seth Jarvis scored the final goal late in the third. The Hurricanes star broke a mini-slump with the effort, having gone scoreless in the final two games of the first-round series against the Islanders. Aho also celebrated a franchise record on Sunday, passing Ron Francis for the most points in series-opening games in Hurricanes/Whalers history. He's on two goals and five points through his first six postseason appearances in 2024.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
2 days agoNew York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad led the charge as the team opened its second-round series against Carolina with a 4-3 victory at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. Zibanejad needed less than three minutes of action at the start of the game to open the scoring and totaled two goals and an assist in the contest. He had all of his points in the first period, collecting two with the man advantage. This was Zibanejad's second career three-point playoff game. After picking up only four points (one goal, three assists) in seven postseason appearances a year ago, Zibanejad has been a changed man in the 2024 playoffs with a team-high 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in five games.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
2 days agoDallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger played his part in Sunday's 2-1 victory in Game 7 against Vegas with 22 saves. Brett Howden found a way past him late in the second period, but Oettinger played a rock-solid game from start to finish. The Stars' No. 1 had a big role in the team's comeback from a 2-0 deficit in the series, allowing only eight goals across the final five games. He finished the series with a 1.95 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage. Oettinger will need to tame the Avalanche's fierce offense in Round 2. He was 1-2-0 in the matchup during the regular season, giving up nearly five goals per game (4.74).
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
2 days agoDallas Stars center Radek Faksa scored the decisive goal as the team took down Vegas 2-1 in Sunday's Game 7. After missing three games with an undisclosed injury and being a healthy scratch for Game 6 of the series, Faksa popped up with a memorable goal with 44 seconds played in the third period. Faksa's playoff goals don't come around too often, with this being only his ninth postseason marker in 74 appearances. Sunday's goal gave him 20 career postseason points.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
2 days agoFlorida Panthers center Sam Bennett (upper body) won't be available for the start of the second-round series against Boston. He was initially expected to be good to go for Monday's Game 1, but Panthers head coach Paul Maurice has officially ruled Bennett out, adding that he is considered day-to-day. The 27-year-old was sidelined for the final three games of the opening-round series against Tampa Bay. Before suffering an upper-body injury on April 23, Bennett notched a goal and an assist across the first two games of the series. Anton Lundell will continue to fill in for him as the second-line center on Monday.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: David Dwork
2 days agoVancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko (knee) has been ruled out for Game 1 of the second-round series against Edmonton. He was sidelined for the final five games against Nashville in the opening round and won't be ready for the start of the new series either. Game 1 is scheduled for Wednesday. Arturs Silovs is on track to make his fourth consecutive start between the sticks. The 23-year-old has filled in admirably for Demko, going 2-1-o against the Predators with one shutout and only five total goals allowed. But he faces a much tougher challenge in the second round against Connor McDavid & Co.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Brendan Bachelor
4 days agoNew York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello and head coach Patrick Roy will both be back with the team next season, according to Lamoriello himself during a season-ending press conference on Friday. The veteran executive hired Roy to take over behind the bench on Jan. 20 to replace Lane Lambert who was relieved of his duties with the team sitting sixth in the Metropolitan Division. Roy was last behind an NHL bench with the Colorado Avalanche in 2016 before he resigned from his post in August of that year. He won the Jack Adams Trophy as coach of the year in the 2013-2014 season. The Isles were bounced in five games by the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the 2024 postseason.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
4 days agoDallas Stars forward Mason Marchment (undisclosed) will not be in the lineup for Friday's Game 6 against the Vegas Golden Knights. The 28-year-old hasn't appeared in the series since getting injured during Game 2, when he skated just 10:22 during a 3-1 loss. The Stars have since rattled off three straight wins to lead the series 3-2 with an opportunity to clinch the series on Friday in Vegas. Marchment set new career-highs with 22 goals, 53 points, and 150 shots on goal across 81 games in the regular season, his second campaign with the Stars. Fellow injured forward Radek Faksa is an option for the team on Friday, although he, too, has not played since Game 2.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: Lia Assimakopoulos
4 days agoVancouver Canucks goaltender Arturs Silovs is the expected goaltender for Friday's Game 6 against the Nashville Predators. The 23-year-old has started the past two games for the Canucks in lieu of Casey DeSmith who originally took over for the injured Thatcher Demko. He has been solid in his two postseason contests, turning aside 47 of the 52 shots he has faced (.904 save percentage) and has gone 1-1-0 in that time. He appeared in just four regular-season contests for the Canucks, putting forth a 2.47 goals-against average and an .881 Sv% but managed to go 3-0-1 in the process. The Canucks can close out the series with a win on Friday night in Nashville.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: Thomas Drance
4 days agoVegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill will be between the pipes for Friday's must-win Game 6 against the Dallas Stars. Logan Thompson started the first four games of the series but Hill was in net for Wednesday's 3-2 loss in Game 5. Vegas won the first two games of the series in Dallas but have since dropped three straight and are on the ropes Friday night on home ice. Hill posted a 2.71 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage across 35 regular-season games and turned aside 22 of the 25 shots he faced (.880 Sv%) in Dallas in Game 5. The 27-year-old posted a stellar 2.17 GAA and .932 Sv% in 16 games (14 starts) en route to a Stanley Cup championship last season.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: Jesse Granger
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