On Tuesday, it was reported the Coyotes gave permission for other clubs to talk to Kirk. Arizona had his rights for one more season before signing him.
The 21-year-old forward scored seven times in as many games for Great Britain to tie for the goal-scoring lead at the recently concluded World Championship in Latvia.
Kirk became the first British-trained player to be drafted by an NHL team when the Coyotes selected him in the seventh round in 2018.
He played two seasons with the OHL's Peterborough Petes after starting his career with the Sheffield Steelers in England. When the OHL canceled its 2021 campaign, he returned to Europe, collecting five goals and as many assists in 12 games with Hanhals at Sweden's third-tier pro level. Kirk then reunited with the Steelers, posting 10 markers and as many helpers in 14 contests to wrap up the season.
Just about everybody has counted out the Montreal Canadiens at some point or another during the 2021 postseason. It could have been in the opening round versus the Toronto Maple Leafs, the second round against the Winnipeg Jets, or, over the past few days, Round 3 opposite the Vegas Golden Knights.
But Montreal is still kicking and enters Friday's Game 3 at the Bell Centre in decent shape after splitting the first two games of its series against a heavily favored Vegas team. Let's look at this with the glass half-full, shall we? Here are three reasons for optimism.
'Playoff Price' in full form
Let's start with some Carey Price stats.
Ahead of Game 3, Price owns a postseason save percentage of .930. Among the six goalies who have appeared in 10 games or more this postseason, he is bested in that regard by only Vezina Trophy finalist Andrei Vasilevskiy. Price has recorded a "quality start" - a game in which his save percentage is greater than the league average for the year - in eight of 13 playoff games, according to Hockey-Reference.com. Pretty good. What's more impressive is that Price has avoided a "really bad start" (posting single-game save percentage below .850). Each of his peers, including Vasilevskiy, has recorded at least one poor outing.
Put another way, the 33-year-old has been masterfully consistent, particularly since the Habs fell behind 3-1 against Toronto. Named the league's third-best goalie in a recent poll of NHLPA members, Price has been so technically sound and mentally sharp between the pipes that his teammates should have nothing but the utmost confidence in his abilities. That's huge; not having to worry about goaltending can do wonders for a team's psyche.
Ethan Miller / Getty Images
Speaking of psyches … Price is clearly in the heads of Vegas' triggermen. Golden Knights captain Mark Stone looked rather frustrated following a huge glove save in Game 1. Same for Jonathan Marchessault, whom Price also stoned in the opener, and Alec Martinez, whose incredible backdoor chance in Game 2 became yet another clip for Price's postseason highlight reel.
The Habs are now 9-1 when scoring the first goal of the game. Half of that equation is the goal; the other half is Price. From Vegas' perspective, slow starts have set the wrong tone. The Golden Knights conceded seven high-danger shot attempts in the first 20 minutes of Game 1, and they allowed a pair of goals in Game 2's opening period. Then, of course, they were faced with trying to solve Price.
"Chasing the game is not an easy task against anybody, but these guys play a good team game when they get the lead," Stone told reporters. "We've got to do a better job with our starts, and we've got to find our preparation."
Vegas' nagging scoring problem
From a roster-construction standpoint, Vegas is an imposing squad: a top-tier goalie tandem, a stacked defense corps, and depth up front. Fan bases across the league would kill to cheer for such a well-rounded, entertaining outfit.
Really, the only glaring weaknesses are the absence of a true No. 1 center (more on that later) and a lack of world-class finishers. The latter deficiency has been on full display against the Habs, with just one of the Golden Knights' six goals thus far in the series credited to a forward.
Jeff Bottari / Getty Images
While Price and Montreal's defensive structure deserve kudos, there's some historical precedent for Vegas' struggles. Failing to capitalize on a boatload of scoring chances was a key reason the Golden Knights were bounced by the Dallas Stars in the 2020 Western Conference Final. The forward group, which features one pure goal-scorer in Max Pacioretty, bagged only five goals in that five-game series.
It's not as if Vegas' centers and wingers have contributed nothing in these playoffs. Marchessault leads the team with six goals in 15 games. Stone has five tallies, and four others have four each. Finding a way to convert on a higher percentage of opportunities from Game 3 onward is the challenge. (And perhaps a run of bad bounces has something to do with it? The Golden Knights' forwards have combined for 10 posts and crossbars during their run.)
That said, does it actually matter who scores? It matters how many and when; a goal is a goal - right? But it can also be true that relying on defensemen to carry the attack this deep into the playoffs is risky business.It feels like an unsustainable way to try to win another best-of-seven series.
Interestingly, three of Vegas' six goals have been the result of a well-executed sequence immediately after a faceoff win. One can assume the Habs have been trying their best to adjust to this development between Games 2 and 3 and, at the very least, identified a way to stop losing defensive-zone draws cleanly.
Everything's coming up Habs
No matter how well they've played over the past month, there's no denying the Canadiens have been the beneficiaries of a few random and unfortunate events.
All three of their opponents lost a top-six center early on. Toronto's John Tavares was hurt in Game 1 and never returned due to injury. Winnipeg's Mark Scheifele was ejected in Game 1 and never returned due to suspension. And, now, Vegas' Chandler Stephenson is at risk of missing consecutive games after getting hurt in Game 1 and sitting out the entirety of Game 2. (Yes, the player Scheifele hit, versatile Montreal forward Jake Evans, is sidelined with a concussion right now. It's not all good for the Habs.)
No offense to Keegan Kolesar - Stephenson's replacement on the Stone-Pacioretty line - but Vegas' depth chart thins out quickly after No. 2 man William Karlsson. All of a sudden, the Canadiens have an easy top-line matchup and can get creative with last change over the next two games.
Francois Lacasse / Getty Images
That's especially true with stud blue-liner Jeff Petry back in action for Montreal after missing the final game of the Winnipeg series and the Vegas opener. Petry may be dealing with a hand injury (and bloodshot eyes), but he was quite effective in Game 2, finishing with a 66% expected goals share during 20 minutes of five-on-five play alongside Joel Edmundson.
"He's an important player for us on both sides," Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme told reporters Wednesday. "The way he defends, the way he moves, the way he moves the puck is really good. And he's a gamer. Every time you get in the critical moments, the big games, you see him at his best."
Ducharme has seen players at their best throughout this run. Joel Armia has five goals after a seven-goal regular season; youngster Jesperi Kotkaniemi has blossomed into a star; veteran Corey Perry has found another gear as a grinder; rookie Cole Caufield has been flashing serious playmaking chops; captain Shea Weber looks locked in. To name just a few standouts.
Sometimes seemingly everyone hits at the same time. Sometimes everything comes up Habs for a stretch of time. For pessimists, the tidal wave is about to come crashing down. For optimists, the wave is still cresting.
John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. You can follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) and contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).
Although the 2020-21 season was an unconventional one, there's one aspect of the campaign players want to keep.
According to the results of the 2020-21 NHLPA Player Poll released on Thursday, 66.3% of players are in favor of keeping series-style schedules. The mini-series were added specifically for the condensed season, but players clearly enjoyed the benefits of less travel and more rest.
However, the biggest change of the 2020-21 season, the temporary realignment, did not go over well with the players. Among 447 votes, 68.2% said they didn't want to see regional divisions moving forward. Fortunately for the majority, the NHL is aiming to return to the normal Atlantic, Metro, Central, and Pacific Divisions next season.
Here are the rest of the results from the poll:
On-ice
Who is the best goal-scorer?
Claus Andersen / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Player
Vote %
Auston Matthews
46.27
Alex Ovechkin
33.82
David Pastrnak
6.02
Connor McDavid
4.56
Who is the best defenseman?
Player
Vote %
Victor Hedman
64.71
Roman Josi
7.35
Cale Makar
7.35
Drew Doughty
2.73
John Carlson
2.10
Who is the best goalie?
Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Player
Vote %
Andrei Vasilevskiy
54.12
Marc-Andre Fleury
8.88
Carey Price
8.25
Connor Hellebuyck
5.07
Tuukka Rask
4.02
Who is the most complete player?
Player
Vote %
Sidney Crosby
23.78
Patrice Bergeron
23.78
Aleksander Barkov
14.65
Connor McDavid
7.22
Nathan MacKinnon
5.52
Anze Kopitar
4.46
If you need to win one game, who is the one player (any position) you would want on your team?
The Isles' offseason was quiet, but Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac have been integral during the team's run to the final four after being added before the trade deadline. Lamoriello is the reigning winner of the award.
Zito led the Panthers to the best season in franchise history by points percentage during his first campaign on the job. Signing Carter Verhaeghe to a two-year contract worth $2 million was the steal of last summer. The deadline acquisition of Sam Bennett also paid immediate dividends, and he's still under team control.
The Carolina Hurricanes announced Thursday that they've signed their head coach to a three-year extension.
Brind'Amour has led the Hurricanes to three straight playoff berths, the first time the franchise has done so since relocating to Carolina in 1997. Before he arrived, the Canes had missed the postseason nine years in a row.
"Rod has been the driving force behind the culture change we've undergone here," general manager Don Waddell said. "He keeps our players motivated, demands accountability, and has our team ready to compete every night. He has truly raised the bar for our organization, and we're thrilled to have him continue as our coach for years to come."
Brind'Amour is a finalist for the 2020-21 Jack Adams Award, presented to the coach of the year, after leading Hurricanes to a Central Division title.
The 50-year-old's career .631 points percentage is the 10th-best all time among those to coach at least 100 NHL games, according to Hockey Reference.
