"I hadn’t had a great series, but it was big for me and even bigger for the boys," Yamamoto said, per TSN's Jason Gregor.
Edmonton's win sets up a second-round clash with the Vegas Golden Knights. The Oilers finished two points behind the first-place Golden Knights in the regular season standings, and the highly anticipated matchup will be headlined by a head-to-head matchup between the top two picks of the 2015 draft: Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel.
Saturday's affair was high-octane from the jump, as McDavid opened the scoring 1:25 in. The clubs scored two goals apiece in the second period, and the Oilers' 4-3 lead evaporated midway through the final frame after a critical blunder from goaltender Stuart Skinner gifted Phillip Danault the equalizer.
Aside from the unlucky mistake, Skinner's 40-save performance was a key factor in Edmonton's clincher.
"Just so impressive," McDavid said to TNT regarding his goalie. "To give up a goal like that - a bad bounce there - and then shut it down after, it's a credit to him and how mentally strong he is."
The Oilers have now eliminated the Kings in back-to-back years. Edmonton defeated Los Angeles in seven games last season, the first step of a playoff run that ended in the Western Conference Final.
At long last, the Toronto Maple Leafs won a playoff round.
The Maple Leafs beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in overtime in Game 6 on Saturday night to advance to the second round for the first time since 2004.
Captain John Tavares buried the game-winner, ending an abysmal streak of six straight opening-series exits for Toronto since 2017.
Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews broke the stalemate late in the second period with a one-time blast that went up top past Andrei Vasilevskiy, but Lightning captain Steven Stamkos had the answer for the Bolts in the final 20 minutes to force the extra frame.
Toronto netminder Ilya Samsonov enjoyed his best game of the series, stopping 31 of 32 shots in the victory. On the other end of the ice, Vasilevskiy made 20 saves.
The Toronto Maple Leafs went with a wildly different look as they took their second crack at eliminating the Tampa Bay Lightning during Saturday night's Game 6.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe rolled with 11 forwards and seven defensemen following his team's 4-2 Game 5 loss Thursday, with winger Michael Bunting and rearguards Timothy Liljegren and Erik Gustafsson entering the fold.
Sheldon Keefe is making big changes to the Leafs lineup for Game 6:
The Maple Leafs have been outscored 14-2 with Holl on the ice in all situations during the first-round clash, and he was on for three of the Lightning's four goals during Game 5.
Keefe defended Holl after the contest, pointing out that the beleaguered blue-liner was "not out there by himself."
Liljegren and Gustafsson both made their series debuts. Liljegren, 23, put up 18 points and was a plus-24 in 67 regular-season contests in 2022-23.
Gustafsson, meanwhile, had 42 points in 70 games as a member of the Washington Capitals and Maple Leafs this campaign. Toronto acquired him prior to the trade deadline, but he only got into nine contests with his new team.
Prior to Game 6, Bunting hadn't played since earning a three-game suspension for his hit on Bolts defenseman Erik Cernak during the series opener on April 18. Bunting was available to return in Game 5 but was made a healthy scratch as Keefe selected the same lineup that fired off three straight victories to put Tampa Bay on the brink of elimination.
The Scarborough nativelogged 23 goals and 26 assists in 82 games during the regular season.
Lafferty recorded one helper through five games and is a minus-three in the series, while Aston-Reese scored one goal in the Maple Leafs' Game 2 blowout.
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights (@HockeyDaily365) April 29, 2023
Eberle received a two-minute minor and escaped supplemental discipline for the hit, while Cogliano returned for the third period of Colorado's victory.
Cogliano appeared in 79 games for the Avalanche this season, registering 19 points while averaging 12:37 per contest. He was acquired by Colorado at the 2022 trade deadline and helped the club win the Stanley Cup last spring before signing a one-year extension in the offseason.
The 35-year-old is an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
Game 7 between the Avalanche and Kraken is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.
The Winnipeg Jets forward didn't appreciatehead coach Rick Bowness' comments to the media following the club's elimination from the playoffs Thursday.
"I thought Rick had an opportunity to address us as a team. Now we have to answer that question, right? He could've been honest with us. We could've had those discussions behind closed doors," Wheeler said Saturday, per Sportsnet. "I didn't agree with how he handled himself after the game."
Bowness said Thursday that he was "disappointed and disgusted" after the club lost Game 5 to the Vegas Golden Knights.
On Saturday, he said he regrets using the word "disgusted."
"One of my many faults is I'm too emotional and wear my heart on my sleeve," Bowness added, per the Winnipeg News' Mike McIntyre.
Wheeler clarified that Bowness did express his disappointment with the team after Game 5's second period,but the veteran said he wished the coach didn't publicly air his grievances.
The 6-foot-5 winger has been with the franchise for 13 seasons. Wheeler was acquired in a trade with the Boston Bruins in 2011 while the club was still in Atlanta as the Thrashers, making him a Day 1 Jet.
But it might not have been that way. Wheeler, who inked a five-year $41.25-million extension with Winnipeg in September 2018, said he wouldn't have agreed to the pact if the club hadn't succeeded in 2017-18 when it made it to the Western Conference Final before falling to the Golden Knights.
"If 2018 didn't happen, I wouldn't have re-signed here," Wheeler said, according to Postmedia's Scott Billeck.
Wheeler, the Jets' highest-paid player with an $8.25-million cap hit, is set to enter the final year of his contract. If this is it for him in Winnipeg, he said he can accept that he left everything on the ice.
"I gave it everything I had, and I hope that's good enough," Wheeler said, per TSN's Jon Lu. "There wasn't a day I took off. I guess that's the best you can do."
Wheeler served as Winnipeg's captain for six seasons before he was stripped of his "C" after the club hired Bowness prior to the 2022-23 campaign.
And the veteran core clearly isn't keen on any sort of rebuild.
"I'm not interested in a rebuild," Hellebuyck said. "I just want to compete. … I enjoyed myself more in five (playoff) games than I did all year. It's like a high you gotta chase. You can't replicate that anywhere else except in the playoffs."
The Winnipeg Jets have boasted an immensely talented core for the last seven-plus years, but aside from a trip to the 2018 Western Conference Final, they've failed to accomplish much. And after squeaking into the 2023 playoffs as the Western Conference's No. 8 seed before getting bounced by the Vegas Golden Knights in five games, the club needs to clarify its direction this offseason.
With several key players set to become unrestricted free agents after the 2023-24 campaign, general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, de facto owner Mark Chipman, and the rest of the club's front office needs to ask themselves a serious question: Is this core worth keeping together? The answer should be no.
Even a new coach this season in Rick Bowness couldn't get much more out of the Jets, offering further evidence that this roster simply isn't good enough to contend for a Stanley Cup. Sure, injuries hindered Winnipeg in the playoffs - Josh Morrissey went down in Game 3, Mark Scheifele got hurt in Game 4, and Nikolaj Ehlers didn't suit up until Game 5. But this team isn't young enough to believe that it could be good enough to win a Cup in a few years. The Jets aren't just a couple moves away.
Should Cheveldayoff himself be under scrutiny? He's held his GM title since the franchise relocated from Atlanta to Winnipeg in 2011. Given his strong history of amateur scouting and asset management, he deserves to remain in charge of the club's hockey operations - as long as he's willing to shake things up.
A change behind the bench would be sensible, though. Bowness was visibly "disappointed and disgusted" after the Jets were eliminated from the postseason Thursday. And while Bowness is a good defensive-minded coach, the 68-year-old is best suited to lead a team in win-now mode. He might not be interested in guiding a club that's set for a rebuild, and a mutual agreement to part ways would be logical.
Because whether you call it a rebuild, a retool, or a transition period, the Jets need an overhaul. They need to get worse before they can become better.
Of those seven players, Dubois is the only sensible long-term extension candidate given his age, but he reportedly told the club he plans to test free agency in 2024.
Scheifele is due for a major raise from his current $6.125-million cap hit, but a lucrative long-term extension for him carries ample risk. After all, he's entering the back nine of his career and he was moved from center to wing late in the season because of his defensive struggles.
Hellebuyck is still a world-class goaltender, but he's also in line for a sizable raise from his current $6.16-million cap hit. And if history tells us anything, it's that pricey long-term deals for goalies in their 30s don't seem to age well (see Carey Price, Sergei Bobrovsky). Hellebuyck's consistency warrants a similarly lucrative contract - likely six years, $8 million per season at the very minimum.
Wheeler, Niederreiter, Dillon, or DeMelo likely don't require anything too rich to retain their services, but signing aging role players to extensions makes no sense if you don't keep the core players. Furthermore, would they even want to come back if the core players are traded away?
If the Jets' front office enters the offseason thinking the team can compete for a Cup in 2024, it will lead to one of the following outcomes:
The Jets put themselves on track for the playoffs again, making it tough to sell the fan base on trading players on expiring contracts as the deadline approaches. Following another early playoff exit, Winnipeg loses its key UFAs without recouping any assets.
The Jets are in line to miss the playoffs as the deadline approaches, but the combination of the time crunch and the difficulty of making multiple big midseason moves in a hard-cap league means they fail to get full value for the pending UFAs.
The Jets extend their core, locking in several more years of mediocrity with no end in sight.
Jonathan Kozub / National Hockey League / Getty
Cheveldayoff should be aggressively working the phones to find suitors for his upcoming UFAs. All seven of those players should be traded between now and the 2024 deadline. The more that can be shipped out this offseason, the better. Dubois, Scheifele, and Hellebuyck, in particular, would net massive hauls on the trade market.
Even Ehlers, Neal Pionk, Nate Schmidt (all 2025 UFAs), and Kyle Connor (2026 UFA) should be available for the right price. Ehlers, Pionk, and Connor are conceivably parts of the future since they're all 27 or younger, but it's hard to imagine they'd be eager to re-sign to be part of a retool. Nobody from the current team should be completely off the table except the true youngsters like 21-year-old Cole Perfetti.
Given all the draft picks, prospects, and young players the Jets could get in all these trades, turning things around in a few years' time isn't out of the question given the Jets' track record of drafting and player development under Cheveldayoff. They've got a solid prospect pool with players like Chaz Lucius, Rutger McGroarty, Brad Lambert, and Ville Heinola already in the system.
The Jets have always had difficulty luring free agents to frigid Winnipeg, so homegrown talent is the organization's only hope of building a winner. Cheveldayoff has done it once before, too; Scheifele, Ehlers, Connor, and Hellebuyck were all Jets draft picks. It's unfortunate that this current group was never able to get over the hump, but that happens in sports.
While it may be bittersweet to say goodbye to an era of Jets hockey that was once so promising, it's by far the best direction for the franchise.
The Boston Bruins are staying positive despite facing the prospect of getting bounced from the playoffs in the first round following a historically dominant regular season.
Boston forward Jake DeBrusk lamented losing 7-5 to the Florida Panthers in Game 6 of their opening-round series Friday night but said he believes there's reason for optimism heading into Sunday's Game 7.
"(It's) disappointing, obviously," he said. "But ... we work all year to get home-ice advantage, and it comes down to a Game 7 where we're up for elimination now. It's one of those things where we have the home crowd behind us, and you just look forward.
"You've got to stay even keel and in the moment and take what you can from (Game 6), flush it, and just do what you can to win (Game 7)."
Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery noticed some areas to improve in the decisive contest that hindered his club in Game 6.
"We do have to clean up a couple things, like we didn't protect the slot like we usually do," he said. "(The Panthers) got three goals minimum from there that I can think (of), and I'm talking (about) five-on-five, not the power-play goals they scored."
Montgomery tipped his cap to the Panthers for their unexpected resilience.
"You've got to give credit to Florida. What a determined group, forced a Game 7 here," he said.
The Bruins bench boss also allayed any concerns about goaltender Linus Ullmark experiencing wear and tear. The Vezina Trophy favorite gave up six goals on 32 shots amid his longest stretch of consecutive starts all season Friday.
"I think Linus is fine," Montgomery said. "I looked at him in the eyes a few times when he came back to the bench, and I liked the way his eyes were looking. He looked intense, and he looked keen."
The Bruins handily won the Presidents' Trophy for their regular-season exploits. Boston set NHL records for wins and points in a campaign, though that included shootout victories and points gained from overtime or shootout losses. Florida had the league's best regular-season record in 2021-22.
A week after the free-agent frenzy last summer, the Florida Panthers and Calgary Flames finalized a trade wholly deserving of the blockbuster label.
In case you forgot the particulars: Calgary sent star forward Matthew Tkachuk and a fourth-round draft pick to Florida for winger Jonathan Huberdeau, defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, prospect Cole Schwindt, and a first-rounder. The July 22 deal included an eight-year, $76-million extension for Tkachuk.
Eliot J. Schechter / Getty Images
At the time, many journalists and analysts - myself included - liked the deal for the Flames. Tkachuk had told then-general manager Brad Treliving he wouldn't sign a long-term contract, and another cornerstone player, Johnny Gaudreau, had just left for the Columbus Blue Jackets. The consensus reaction was essentially: Gotta hand it to Treliving, he made the best of a crappy situation!
I liked it for the Panthers, too, but with one important caveat - that they'd be in turmoil if the gamble didn't pay off. GM Bill Zito shipped out a lot of premium parts for one guy and a mid-round pick not long after the Panthers claimed the 2021-22 Presidents' Trophy (and then lost in the second round of the playoffs).
A season later, with Calgary missing the postseason and Florida pushing the juggernaut Boston Bruins to seven games in the first round, the trade can be viewed only as a victory for the Panthers. Tkachuk turned in a 109-point, Hart Trophy-caliber regular season to solidify his status as one of the league's true superstars. He's been the ultimate all-situations X-factor against the Bruins. Put another way, the Panthers don't clinch a postseason berth without Tkachuk, and they aren't playing Sunday without Tkachuk.
Big picture, there's still work to do in Florida. In a transition year of sorts, the Panthers didn't exactly flourish in the regular season under new coach Paul Maurice. Maybe they learned to play a brand of hockey more conducive to winning in the playoffs - I'll give them that. But Florida sorely missed Weegar on the blue line, and the combination of being capped out and not having a first-round pick until 2026 hamstrung Zito from making any midseason adjustments to the roster that ended up being the lowest-ranked qualifier for the playoffs in the East.
Norm Hall / Getty Images
The Flames, meanwhile, are at another crossroads, with Treliving and the organization parting ways. (His replacement has yet to be hired.) Darryl Sutter remains employed, though reports suggest the old-school coach and Calgary's core may not be on the same page. This relates directly to the trade, seeing as Huberdeau's production dropped by 60 points. He's said he lost his swagger during his first year in Calgary. Better find it sooner than later: Huberdeau's eight-year, $84-million extension doesn't start until the fall.
There were other factors at work. Goalie Jacob Markstrom performed well below his standard. Another offseason acquisition, Nazem Kadri, had an up-and-down year. It took Weegar half a season to get going. Still, in the short term, it circles back to Huberdeau versus Tkachuk, and the Panthers at this point employ the better hockey player, who's nearly five years younger and $1 million less expensive per year on average.
Since Tkachuk wasn't interested in staying in Calgary, the Flames likely wouldn't want to travel back in time for a do-over. Treliving's hands were tied. Through a season, though, the Panthers have the upper hand. The next question is: How does Year 2 shake out? Does a taste of playoff success launch Florida to new heights? Or does Calgary rebound under new leadership?
Early playoff trends
Steph Chambers / Getty Images
As the first round winds down, let's look at a few league-wide playoff trends. (All statistics current through Thursday's games.)
Heavy hockey: We hear that term a lot this time of year - and for good reason. Our eyes tell us the style of play is drastically different in the playoffs, and the early Sportlogiq data definitely supports the assertion.
Teams have generated fewer scoring chances off the rush (11.5 per game in the postseason versus 11.8 in the regular season). The same goes for chances generated off the cycle (18.2 per game versus 19.1). Meanwhile, chances off the forecheck - which require serious grit - have risen to 5.1 per game from 4.6. What's more, the number of puck-battle wins and screen shots have jumped to 55.6and12.9 per game in the playoffs from 50.2 and 10.5 in the regular season, confirming that spring hockey's filled with all kinds of conflict.
Interestingly, the prevalence of major penalties is unique to this postseason. There have been 0.48 majors per game this year compared to 0.24 in last year's playoffs, 0.21 in 2020-21, and 0.28 in 2019-20. Most of this can be attributed to the uptick in fights. (HockeyFights.com counts nine.)
Darcy Finley / Getty Images
Goals off faceoffs: Grabbing a drink from the fridge during a stoppage in play has been a poor choice of late. In just 40 playoff games, a whopping 28 goals have been scored within 10 seconds of an offensive-zone faceoff win.
Among these well-executed set plays: game-winning goals by Toronto's Morgan Rielly, Vegas' Chandler Stephenson, and New Jersey's Ondrej Palat.
As Mike Kelly of NHL Network and Sportlogiq predicted last week, this trend has tapered off over the past week or so due to coaching adjustments. The overall numbers are still staggering, though, as this year's first-round per-game rate (0.70 faceoff goals) far exceeds 2021-22 (0.43) and 2020-21 (0.38).
Power-play goals: Since the NHL started tracking power-play success rate in 1963-64, there's been no equal to the 1980-81 playoffs, when teams combined for a league-wide power-play percentage of 25.1. Well, no equal until now, that is - power plays are clicking at 25.2% so far this postseason.
The high-octane Edmonton Oilers, who set an NHL record for power-play prowess in the regular season, lead the charge in the playoffs, scoring eight goals in only 14 opportunities. The Winnipeg Jets, Dallas Stars, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Bruins are also all above 30%.
Tuch's game-day routine
Rich Gagnon / Getty Images
During the NHL regular season, there are roughly 730 rostered players at any given time. Each of them has a unique game-day routine, with age, home life, temperament, tendency toward superstition, and other factors affecting how they go about their preparation prior to puck drop. Ever wonder what a routine looks like?
Here's Alex Tuch's game-day routine when the Sabres are playing in Buffalo.
Morning
Wake up at 7:50 a.m., take golden retriever Teddy outside
Arrive at KeyBank Center at 8:30 a.m., eat the usual breakfast in the cafeteria ("ham, pepper, onion, scrambled, with breakfast potatoes; coffee; water")
Check on equipment for any issues (i.e. torn skate laces, ripped gloves)
Solve the latest USA Today crossword puzzle in the trainer's room
Attend a team meeting, stretch, get dressed for morning skate
Skate, shower, grab a pre-game meal from the cafeteria on the way out of KeyBank ("penne alla vodka with chicken and broccoli")
Ben Green / Getty Images
Afternoon
Eat meal, take Teddy for a walk around the neighborhood with wife Kylie
Relax at home, nap from 1:30-3 p.m., shower, suit up
Stop for coffee en route to KeyBank, tip Starbucks barista well
"I changed from a venti to a grande with light ice this year. Big move!"
"The manager at Starbucks is like, 'Alex, same order?' I'm like, 'Yup. Thank you!' Not only do I do a mobile order, but she actually puts me ahead of the line. She's a super sweet lady. She takes good care of me."
Arrive at the rink at 3:50 p.m., 4 if there's traffic or a long line at Starbucks
Change out of suit, eat two English muffins (one with butter and jelly, the other with peanut butter and honey) while sipping on coffee
Make drinks: two for hydration, one for energy, two are plain water
Eat a "little waffle thing for energy" before taping three hockey sticks
Solve the LA Times crossword puzzle with the team's athletic trainers
"Early in the week, we can usually do the crossword alone. Thursday to Saturday, we start alone and then usually come together to finish. Sunday, we just come together right away. It's too hard. It's really hard."
Attend a second team meeting, get stretched out by trainer Bob Mowry
Play sewer ball with teammates (the game where players stand in a circle and kick a soccer ball), finish warmup with dynamic exercises
Settle into stall, put on equipment precisely 26 and a half minutes ahead of puck drop
Michael Mooney / Getty Images
And that's basically it.
Tuch, who posted a career-high 79 points this season, says he doesn't get hung up on the exact timing of his rituals. If, for instance, he's putting on his equipment with 25 minutes on the clock instead of 26 and a half, he knows not to panic.
"It's fine. It's OK. I move on," the veteran of 379 games says with a smile.
The busyness of the routine keeps Tuch in a positive headspace on game day.
"It allows me to focus on simple tasks instead of thinking about the game all day," Tuch says. Then, with a short chuckle, he adds: "Like this interview right now. It's throwing me off a little bit. But it's not going to affect me or my day."
Parting shots
Leon Draisaitl: The hockey world doesn't appreciate Draisaitl as much as it should. The Oilers superstar is in the mix for second-best player in the world, but we still probably underrate his brilliance. He's a four-time 100-point guy. Last year, with one functional leg, he posted 32 points in 16 playoff games. He's recorded 69 points in 42 career playoff games - an absurd rate of production that he's padded with a monstrous performance during Edmonton's first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings. Draisaitl was on the ice for each of the Oilers' first 14 goals, and he's now tied for third in scoring with 10 points infive games. Bonkers stuff.
Derek Lalonde: The Detroit Red Wings head coach has been fantastic on Sportsnet broadcasts. His insight on Andrei Vasilevskiy, the goalie for his former team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, even went viral. Lalonde's set to coach the U.S. at the world championship in Finland and Latvia, which starts May 12, so he won't be in the studio much longer. It's surprising Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman allowed Lalonde's foray into TV to happen at all. Yzerman's known to be a very tight-lipped executive. Maybe Lalonde's contract includes a broadcasting clause? Otherwise, his mere presence on Sportsnet doesn't add up, given his main gig and who he reports to in Detroit.
Incredible info from Derek Lalonde (fmr TBL asst coach) on Vasilevskiy's weakness:
"We did a study...he was one of the lower-percentage goalies in finding pucks from the point...we changed our entire Dzone (coverage)." pic.twitter.com/xNOE1TbiYB
Brock Faber: Matthew Knies is getting plenty of love for his seamless transition from the University of Minnesota to the Maple Leafs - and rightfully so. But I've been even more impressed by Knies' former college teammate Brock Faber. In the Minnesota Wild's final eightgames (two in the regular season and six in the playoffs), Faber wasn't on the ice for a goal against. That's zero goals surrendered in 127 minutes of action for a 20-year-old rookie who was mainly paired with the offensively-minded John Klingberg. Faber, who's a sturdy 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, has such a steadying presence, and his entry-level contract ($925,000 through 2024-25) is a boon for a Wild team that's in salary-cap hell. Check out his diving save in Game 1 overtime:
