Carey Price knows he's going to have his hands full when the Montreal Canadiens take on the Penguins in the qualifying round, and joked about what his team will need to do to stop some of Pittsburgh's biggest stars.
"We can ask them nicely to stay at the hotel for the games," Price said on how to shut down Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and the Penguins' lethal power play, per TSN. "Or we can work as a group and take their time and space away."
The Penguins' power play wasn't as good this season as it's been in years past. While it only clicked at a 19.9% rate - which was good for 16th in the league - the unit did have to deal with injuries throughout the campaign.
Over the past three years, Pittsburgh's power play ranks third in the league with a 23.8% success rate. With the team fully rested and ready to go, Montreal may have its hands full while on the penalty kill.
Price acknowledged that the Canadiens are clearly the underdogs in the series, but he still believes they have a chance to win.
"At the end of the day we're going to win and lose as a team, it's always been like that," Price said. "I can sway the odds obviously with outstanding play but at the end of the day we're all going to need to play over our heads to win."
The Canadiens will take on the Penguins in the best-of-five qualifying play-in round on Aug. 1. Montreal finished the season with the 24th-best record in the league while the Penguins finished seventh.
The Department of Player Safety already held a hearing with Lemieux on March 13, but a verdict was never announced due to the uncertainty regarding the league returning to play.
While Lemieux will miss the first two games of New York's qualifying-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes, he'll be eligible to participate in the Rangers' exhibition contest on July 29.
The 24-year-old has been suspended once before in his career.
"He's on board. Obviously he's back," Montreal Canadiens head coach Claude Julien told reporters, including Sportsnet's Eric Engels, after practice. "But we know that, in his case, if there's ever anything that happens that would put him at risk, he could leave."
The Canadiens announced on July 12 that Domi, who has Type 1 diabetes, would have 7-to-10 days to decide whether to take part in the third phase of the NHL's return-to-play plan. Training camps opened across the league one day later.
Montreal said at the time that Domi and the club had "agreed to take this responsible approach and to take this time to evaluate the ongoing situation in order to make the best decision for Max's health at the end of this period."
Domi was the Canadiens' third-ranked scorer this season, notching 17 goals and 44 points in 71 games. The 25-year-old posted the fourth-highest average ice time among Montreal forwards at 17:06.
The Canadiens are scheduled to face the Toronto Maple Leafs in an exhibition contest on July 28 before beginning their play-in series against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Aug. 1.
Find line reports, best bets, and subscribe to push notifications in the Betting News section.
A popular Cinderella pick to make waves in the postseason, the New York Rangers face perhaps the toughest test of the qualifying round against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Can the Rangers flourish in the underdog role, or will the Hurricanes rain on New York's playoff chances?
TEAM
ODDS
Carolina Hurricanes
-135
New York Rangers
+115
The case for Carolina
The Hurricanes arguably have the NHL's best defensive core thanks to an embarrassment of riches on the back end. Brady Skjei and Sami Vatanen were acquired at the deadline, Dougie Hamilton has recovered from his injury, and Brett Pesce is targeting a mid-August return. Add Jaccob Slavin, Joel Edmundson, Jake Gardiner, Trevor van Riemsdyk, and Haydn Fleury to the mix, and the Canes will have to scratch a pair of defensemen that would be top-six locks on most other teams. That's a good recipe to quell a Rangers offense that ranked fifth in the NHL in goals scored this season.
Coaching is also a real strength for Carolina. Rod Brind'Amour developed a successful game plan to stifle a high-powered Washington Capitals offense in the team's first-round upset last season, and with an improved roster, you have to feel confident he can do so again versus New York.
Offensively, there's every reason to believe the Hurricanes can keep up with the Rangers. Carolina - led by dynamic youngsters Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen, and Andrei Svechnikov - has both the star power and the forward depth to provide plenty of support for its loaded blue line. And while New York scored a bunch of goals this season, the team allowed a ton as well, becoming one of just nine clubs to concede more than 220 tallies.
The case for New York
Those who firmly believe that good goaltending leads to playoff success will be strong advocates of the Rangers in this series. New York's depth in goal is equal to Carolina's on the back end, as either Alexander Georgiev, Igor Shesterkin, or Henrik Lundqvist could get the nod between the pipes. All three inspire more confidence than the Hurricanes' Petr Mrazek or James Reimer, who combined for a miserable .836 save percentage against the Rangers this season.
New York will take solace from its 4-0 record against Carolina this season, as well as the fact that its superstar forwards feasted on the Hurricanes' shaky goaltending. Artemi Panarin, the Eastern Conference's leading scorer, had three goals and six assists in four games against Carolina this season, while Mika Zibanejad recorded four goals and three assists in three games.
Panarin is the best player in this series, and his burden is lightened by a dynamic second line of Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, and Pavel Buchnevich. That offensive firepower, combined with the Rangers' significant edge in net, makes them incredibly attractive at the current price.
The pick
Carolina Hurricanes (-135)
Mrazek and Reimer have both had up-and-down seasons, but goaltending can be streaky. Mrazek came through for the Canes last postseason, and with the quality of the team in front of him, he'll have all the support he needs to catch fire and help Carolina make a deep run. The Rangers' lack of a clear starter in net could prevent any of their goalies from getting into a groove, and in order to pull off the upset against a loaded Hurricanes roster, New York's margin for error is razor-thin.
Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.
Two tests out of 2,618 administered to more than 800 NHL players over the first five days of Phase 3 returned positive for COVID-19, the league announced Monday.
Both players who tested positive have entered self-isolation and are following the instructions of the CDC and Health Canada.
The figures from July 13-17 mark an improvement over last week's numbers. The league announced on July 13 that 43 out of 4,932 tests had returned positive during the second phase of its return-to-play plan beginning June 8.
The NHL added at the time that more than 600 players had been tested, and that it was aware of 13 players who tested positive while not reporting for informal on-ice workouts.
Makar left Saturday's practice early and was absent from Sunday's skate as well. Head coach Jared Bednar did not speak afterward, as coaches are prohibited from disclosing injuries and illnesses.
Makar is coming off an incredible rookie season in which he recorded 50 points in 57 games while averaging over 21 minutes per night. The 21-year-old's efforts recently earned him a Calder Trophy nomination.
The Avalanche finished the regular season as the second seed in the West so will participate in a round robin with the conference's other the top four teams rather than competing in a best-of-five playoff series. Colorado officially returns to action Aug. 2 in a matchup versus the top-seeded St. Louis Blues.
The James Norris Memorial Trophy is voted upon annually by the Professional Hockey Writers Association and awarded to the defenseman who "demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position."
Carlson, who led all blue-liners with 75 points in 69 games this season, is a first-time finalist. The 30-year-old is looking to become the first Capitals player to win it since Rod Langway did so in 1982-83 and 1983-84.
Hedman produced the third-most points among players at his position this season with 55 in 66 contests. The 29-year-old claimed this honor in 2017-18 and finished third in voting in both 2016-17 and 2018-19. He's the first player to be voted as a finalist in four straight years since fellow countryman Nicklas Lidstrom accomplished the feat from 2006-09.
Josi ranked second among rearguards with 65 points this season while logging the third-most ice time per game (25:47) among defensemen. The 30-year-old has never taken home the hardware, finishing as high as fifth in 2014-15 and 2015-16.
The Frank J. Selke Trophy is voted upon annually by the Professional Hockey Writers Association and awarded to the forward "who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game."
Bergeron is up for the award for a record ninth time, and if he wins, he'll be the only player in NHL history to win the Selke five times. The Bruins' pivot earned the honor in 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2017, and has a good shot to win it again after posting 56 points in 61 games this season while averaging nearly 19 minutes per night against top competition.
Couturier is a finalist for the second time in his career after being the runner-up to Anze Kopitar in 2018. The Flyers' star had 59 points in 69 games, winning 59.7% of his draws, and owning a sterling five-on-five Corsi For rating of 57.2%.
O'Reilly won the award last year, and followed up with another strong season at both ends. The Blues' top-line center had 61 points in 71 games, averaging over 20 minutes of ice time. O'Reilly also won 56.6% of faceoffs, and was seventh in the NHL with 69 takeaways.
A former NHL sniper is the KHL's newest bench boss.
Kunlun Red Star named Alexei Kovalev its new head coach, the club announced Monday.
Kovalev spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach with the Chinese club. Prior to joining Kunlun, he severed as general manager of Swiss team Visp.
The 47-year-old racked up 430 goals and 1,029 points in 1,316 NHL games, winning the Stanley Cup with the New York Rangers in 1994.
He spent parts of nine seasons with the Rangers, parts of six campaigns with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and five with the Montreal Canadiens, as well as shorter stints with the Ottawa Senators and Florida Panthers, with whom he finished his NHL career in 2012-13.
Kunlun joined the KHL in 2016-17. Red Star made the playoffs in their inaugural season - losing in the opening round in five games - but have failed to reach the postseason since then.