Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper owned up Wednesday for remarks he made following the club's elimination from the playoffs.

In the wake of Monday's 6-1 loss in which the Lightning had two goals called back for goaltender interference, Cooper expressed his frustration using phrasing he later regretted.

Less than 48 hours later, the NHL's longest-tenured active bench boss offered a mea culpa.

"I made an inappropriate analogy about goalies in skirts," Cooper said. "It's one of those moments where if you could just reach (out) and grab the words back, I would have. As a father of two (and) especially a massive supporter of women's hockey - and I have girls that play sports - quite frankly, it was wrong, and I (had) to go explain myself to my girls.

"I sincerely apologize to all I offended," Cooper added. "It's pained me more than the actual series loss itself. It's one of those moments (when) I don't think my actions of the past have led me to ... I guess just judge me more on those maybe than the emotional, quite frankly dumb words that came out of my mouth the other night. So for that, I'm sorry."

Cooper has guided the Lightning since March 2013. He helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021 and was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award (given out annually to the NHL's top head coach) in 2014 and 2019. The 56-year-old won the AHL's Calder Cup and USHL's Clark Cup as a bench boss before jumping to the NHL.

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The Vegas Golden Knights turned to Adin Hill for Game 5 of their first-round playoff series against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night.

He made 22 saves on 25 shots during the defending champs' 3-2 defeat.

Hill hadn't played since the regular-season finale on April 18, when he gave up three goals in a 4-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks.

Last spring, he took over the Vegas crease midway through the championship run and ultimately went 11-4 with a .932 save percentage across 16 games en route to lifting the Stanley Cup.

Logan Thompson started the first four games of the series, authoring a .921 save percentage. Vegas lost the last two contests after taking a 2-0 series lead, but Thompson can hardly be blamed for the defeats. He made 43 saves during a 3-2 overtime loss in Game 3 and then turned aside all but three of the 31 shots he faced in Game 4.

The Golden Knights defeated the Florida Panthers 9-3 in Game 5 of the final to secure the trophy last June. Hill made 32 saves in the win.

The Stars hold a 3-2 series lead. Game 6 is scheduled for Friday in Vegas.

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Josh Morrissey wants the Winnipeg Jets' series loss to the Colorado Avalanche to resonate with his teammates and inspire them going forward.

"Right now it's just disappointing, it's frustrating, it feels like a missed opportunity ... but the only way that there's any good from this is that we learn from it," the Jets defenseman said following a 6-3 defeat in Game 5 of their first-round matchup that ended Winnipeg's season Tuesday night.

"They brought the Stanley Cup-winning class to this series, and we didn't return it for three or four of those games," Morrissey added. "So we have levels that we need to find this offseason, and I hope it stings for all of us into the summer, and we use it as motivation."

The Avalanche outscored the Jets 28-15 in the series, including 5-2, 6-2, and 5-1 wins alongside the aforementioned 6-3 victory over the final four contests.

Vezina Trophy finalist and favorite Connor Hellebuyck struggled mightily throughout the five games, finishing with a .864 save percentage and 24 goals allowed. However, Hellebuyck has also faced the most shots and made the most saves among all netminders in these playoffs, so Morrissey wasn't interested in singling him out for the team's fate.

"I'm not going to put any blame on Helly, that's for sure," the blue-liner said. "We wouldn't be where we're at right now if it weren't for him, the way he's played all year. Go through a lot of those goals and tell me if he could've stopped them."

Morrissey notched three goals and an assist while averaging 24:35 of ice time in the series. He collected 10 tallies and 59 helpers while averaging 24:11 over 81 regular-season games.

The 29-year-old has worn an "A" for Winnipeg for the last five campaigns. He's spent nine seasons with the Jets, who drafted him 13th overall in 2013.

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Josh Morrissey wants the Winnipeg Jets' series loss to the Colorado Avalanche to resonate with his teammates and inspire them going forward.

"Right now it's just disappointing, it's frustrating, it feels like a missed opportunity ... but the only way that there's any good from this is that we learn from it," the Jets defenseman said following a 6-3 defeat in Game 5 of their first-round matchup that ended Winnipeg's season Tuesday night.

"They brought the Stanley Cup-winning class to this series, and we didn't return it for three or four of those games," Morrissey added. "So we have levels that we need to find this offseason, and I hope it stings for all of us into the summer, and we use it as motivation."

The Avalanche outscored the Jets 28-15 in the series, including 5-2, 6-2, and 5-1 wins alongside the aforementioned 6-3 victory over the final four contests.

Vezina Trophy finalist and favorite Connor Hellebuyck struggled mightily throughout the five games, finishing with a .864 save percentage and 24 goals allowed. However, Hellebuyck has also faced the most shots and made the most saves among all netminders in these playoffs, so Morrissey wasn't interested in singling him out for the team's fate.

"I'm not going to put any blame on Helly, that's for sure," the blue-liner said. "We wouldn't be where we're at right now if it weren't for him, the way he's played all year. Go through a lot of those goals and tell me if he could've stopped them."

Morrissey notched three goals and an assist while averaging 24:35 of ice time in the series. He collected 10 tallies and 59 helpers while averaging 24:11 over 81 regular-season games.

The 29-year-old has worn an "A" for Winnipeg for the last five campaigns. He's spent nine seasons with the Jets, who drafted him 13th overall in 2013.

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Josh Morrissey wants the Winnipeg Jets' series loss to the Colorado Avalanche to resonate with his teammates and inspire them going forward.

"Right now it's just disappointing, it's frustrating, it feels like a missed opportunity ... but the only way that there's any good from this is that we learn from it," the Jets defenseman said following a 6-3 defeat in Game 5 of their first-round matchup that ended Winnipeg's season Tuesday night.

"They brought the Stanley Cup-winning class to this series, and we didn't return it for three or four of those games," Morrissey added. "So we have levels that we need to find this offseason, and I hope it stings for all of us into the summer, and we use it as motivation."

The Avalanche outscored the Jets 28-15 in the series, including 5-2, 6-2, and 5-1 wins alongside the aforementioned 6-3 victory over the final four contests.

Vezina Trophy finalist and favorite Connor Hellebuyck struggled mightily throughout the five games, finishing with a .864 save percentage and 24 goals allowed. However, Hellebuyck has also faced the most shots and made the most saves among all netminders in these playoffs, so Morrissey wasn't interested in singling him out for the team's fate.

"I'm not going to put any blame on Helly, that's for sure," the blue-liner said. "We wouldn't be where we're at right now if it weren't for him, the way he's played all year. Go through a lot of those goals and tell me if he could've stopped them."

Morrissey notched three goals and an assist while averaging 24:35 of ice time in the series. He collected 10 tallies and 59 helpers while averaging 24:11 over 81 regular-season games.

The 29-year-old has worn an "A" for Winnipeg for the last five campaigns. He's spent nine seasons with the Jets, who drafted him 13th overall in 2013.

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Arturs Silovs will get the opportunity to clinch a series win for the Vancouver Canucks.

The rookie is in net for Game 5 of their first-round playoff series against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night. Silovs was Vancouver's surprise starter in Game 4 on Sunday in the wake of injuries to Thatcher Demko and Casey DeSmith.

Both Silovs and DeSmith got the standard "starter's chat" from goaltending coach Ian Clark at Tuesday's morning skate, according to The Athletic's Thomas Drance. After practice, Silovs left the ice first - a ritual usually carried out by the starting netminder - but head coach Rick Tocchet later said it would be a game-time decision.

Silovs made 27 saves en route to the Canucks' 4-3 victory in Game 4, which Vancouver forward Elias Lindholm ended in overtime to give his team a 3-1 series lead. It was Silovs' playoff debut.

The 23-year-old Latvian played only nine regular-season NHL games over the last two campaigns, which he spent primarily with the Canucks' AHL affiliate in Abbotsford.

DeSmith allowed three goals on 15 shots during a 4-1 loss in Game 2, then bounced back with a 29-save performance in a 2-1 victory in Game 3.

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Auston Matthews isn't in the Toronto Maple Leafs' lineup for Game 5 of their first-round series against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night.

The 69-goal-scorer missed the third period of Toronto's Game 4 defeat due to illness. He's believed to be battling injury too, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe noted Sunday that it's been a lingering, atypical illness that's gotten worse when Matthews has been on the ice.

Matthews won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy by 12 goals over Florida Panthers forward Sam Reinhart this season, claiming the hardware for the third time in four years.

Meanwhile, Joseph Woll is starting in goal for the Leafs on Tuesday over Ilya Samsonov. Woll relieved Samsonov for the final frame in the aforementioned 3-1 loss on Saturday that gave the Bruins a 3-1 series lead.

The American stopped all five shots he faced in that game while making his first playoff appearance of this spring. Woll went 1-2 with a .915 save percentage over four postseason contests in 2023.

Woll posted a 12-11-1 record with a .907 save percentage during the regular season. Samsonov got pulled after allowing all three goals on just 17 shots. The Russian is 1-3 with a mark of .883 in the four playoff games he's played this year

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The NHL draft lottery will be conducted on May 7, the league announced Friday.

The San Jose Sharks will have the highest odds of winning the first overall pick and the right to select Boston University standout Macklin Celebrini, while the Chicago Blackhawks have the second-highest odds just one year after drafting Connor Bedard with the top pick.

Here are the teams' odds of being chosen in the lottery:

A team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins one of the lottery draws as part of changes the NHL made to the process in 2021 for the following year's event. This means only the top 11 seeds are eligible to nab the first overall pick.

So the Sharks actually have a 25.5% chance of winning the first overall pick because the bottom-four teams can't move up that high.

The Pittsburgh Penguins must deal a first-rounder in either 2024 or 2025 to the Sharks to complete the Erik Karlsson trade from last August. If the Penguins move into the top 10 in this lottery, Pittsburgh will have the option to send San Jose its 2025 first-rounder instead.

The Sharks finished last in the NHL with 47 points at 19-54-9. They chose Will Smith at No. 4 last year. Bedard and the Blackhawks had five more points than San Jose with a record of 23-53-6. Anaheim wrapped up the regular season with seven more points than Chicago at 27-50-5.

The Ducks took Leo Carlsson second overall in 2023, and the Blue Jackets picked Adam Fantilli third overall. The Canadiens selected David Reinbacher with the fifth selection.

The 2024 NHL Draft will be held at The Sphere in Las Vegas on June 28 and 29.

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The NHL draft lottery will be conducted on May 7, the league announced Friday.

The San Jose Sharks will have the highest odds of winning the first overall pick and the right to select Boston University standout Macklin Celebrini, while the Chicago Blackhawks have the second-highest odds just one year after drafting Connor Bedard with the top pick.

Here are the teams' odds of being chosen in the lottery:

A team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins one of the lottery draws as part of changes the NHL made to the process in 2021 for the following year's event. This means only the top 11 seeds are eligible to nab the first overall pick.

So the Sharks actually have a 25.5% chance of winning the first overall pick because the bottom-four teams can't move up that high.

The Pittsburgh Penguins must deal a first-rounder in either 2024 or 2025 to the Sharks to complete the Erik Karlsson trade from last August. If the Penguins move into the top 10 in this lottery, Pittsburgh will have the option to send San Jose its 2025 first-rounder instead.

The Sharks finished last in the NHL with 47 points at 19-54-9. They chose Will Smith at No. 4 last year. Bedard and the Blackhawks had five more points than San Jose with a record of 23-53-6. Anaheim wrapped up the regular season with seven more points than Chicago at 27-50-5.

The Ducks took Leo Carlsson second overall in 2023, and the Blue Jackets picked Adam Fantilli third overall. The Canadiens selected David Reinbacher with the fifth selection.

The 2024 NHL Draft will be held at The Sphere in Las Vegas on June 28 and 29.

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The New York Islanders are turning to Semyon Varlamov once again, and this time with their backs against the wall.

Varlamov is starting Game 4 on Saturday, Islanders head coach Patrick Roy said Friday, according to Newsday's Andrew Gross.

New York trails the Carolina Hurricanes 3-0 in the series. Varlamov started the first two games and allowed six goals on 63 shots for a .905 save percentage in the losses. Sorokin got the nod in Game 3 but was pulled after giving up three goals on 14 shots.

Varlamov stopped all eight shots he faced after relieving Sorokin on Thursday.

The veteran goaltender, who'll turn 36 on the day of Game 4, was excellent down the stretch of the regular season. He helped the Islanders make the playoffs by going 8-1-1 with a .930 save percentage in his final 10 appearances and concluded the campaign with a 5-0-0 run, during which time he registered a mark of .946.

New York signed Sorokin to an eight-year, $66-million contract extension last July after he was voted the Vezina Trophy runner-up. The 28-year-old led the NHL in goals saved above expected at five-on-five (34.26) in 2022-23, according to Evolving Hockey. That figure dipped to 10.14 this season.

Game 4 is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET on Saturday.

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