Barkov's status was in doubt after he took a high hit from Edmonton Oilers star Leon Draisaitl midway through the third period of the Panthers' 4-1 Game 2 victory Monday.
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"I think it shows to the character of (Barkov) and how bad he wants it as well to get back," Panthers forward Sam Reinhart said, per team beat reporter Jameson Olive.
Draisaitl received a two-minute penalty for roughing on the play, though he dodged supplemental discipline.
"I think we all know that I'm not a player that plays with an intent to injure anybody by any means," Draisaitl said Thursday, according to Sportsnet. "I have no track record of that. I'm not a player that enjoys that part of the game. ... I caught him in an unfortunate spot."
The reigning Selke Trophy winner, Barkov has been key to the Panthers' Cup pursuit, amassing a team-leading 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) in 19 contests prior to Thursday's clash.
Maurice added that Vladimir Tarasenko will also play in Game 3. The winger missed Wednesday's practice with what the bench boss deemed "a minor thing," per NHL.com's Tom Gulitti.
The Panthers currently hold a 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Final as the series shifts to Edmonton.
Alexander Steen will succeed Doug Armstrong as general manager of the St. Louis Blues in 2026, the team announced Thursday.
Steen signed a five-year deal with the Blues beginning in the upcoming campaign. He'll serve as special assistant to Armstrong for the first two years of the pact. Armstrong, meanwhile, had two more years remaining on his contract as GM but signed a three-year extension to stay on as president of hockey operations until 2028-29.
"We are beyond excited about naming Alex our future GM," Blues chairman Tom Stillman said. "We're excited about his intelligence, his work ethic, his knowledge of the game, feel for the game, his leadership abilities, his communication skills, the tremendous respect that players, coaches, and fans have for him."
Stillman revealed that Armstrong approached him earlier this year to begin making the case for a new GM. The latter has held the position for the past 14 seasons, leading the franchise to 10 playoff berths.
"At some point, change is good. ... I love to manage," Armstrong said. "I'm gonna miss it, I guarantee I'm gonna miss it. I love the work, but I love the Blues more. It's my responsibility to do what's best for the Blues, and what's best for the Blues is to support Alex in two years."
Steen won the Stanley Cup as a forward with the Blues in 2019, and he amassed 195 goals and 496 points in 765 career regular-season games across 12 years with the franchise.
"I've always had a passion for St. Louis, and my passion for this sport is so high," Steen said. "This is what I was meant to do, was be around hockey. ... I feel like this is a great opportunity for me."
The 40-year-old served as a team consultant and development coach for the Blues in 2023-24.
It's been seven years since Edmonton Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm last appeared in the Stanley Cup Final, and the 34-year-old veteran is more than ready to make his return to the NHL's biggest stage.
"Definitely not taking it for granted at this point in my career, but super happy to be back and excited," Ekholm told reporters ahead of Saturday's Game 1. "I wouldn't say I have any regrets with the (2017) final, but at the same time, you're trying to make everything out of this one because you never know if it's your last one. I'm not getting any younger."
Ekholm was key to the Nashville Predators' deepest playoff run in franchise history, chipping in with one goal and 11 points in 22 games while averaging over 25 minutes of ice time per contest. However, he came two wins short from hoisting the Stanley Cup, with the Pittsburgh Penguins beating the Predators in six games to clinch back-to-back championships.
The Swedish blue-liner has been similarly important to the Oilers' pursuits this year, amassing seven points in 18 games and seeing almost 22 minutes of ice time while forming an elite pair alongside Evan Bouchard. Edmonton has outscored opponents 18-9 and controlled 59.5% of the expected goals with the duo on the ice at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick.
Based on his past experience, Ekholm said he's aware that this spring's final will come down to "margins that are probably so small."
One of the deciding factors will likely be special teams, which is all well and good to Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch. Edmonton owns the top power play (37.3%) and best penalty kill (93.9%) of these playoffs, and the Panthers have taken a league-leading 207 penalty minutes.
"We'll have our opportunities to be on the power play," Knoblauch said. "I know Florida is one of the most penalized teams throughout the playoffs. For us to be looking for them or embellishing, we've never done that, we're not that type of team.
"The more we possess the puck, the more we're moving our feet and making plays, we're putting them in a position to take a penalty against us, and ultimately that's all that we can control."
The Panthers are no slouches on the penalty kill, either. They own the second-best unit of these playoffs with an 88.2% success rate.
It's been seven years since Edmonton Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm last appeared in the Stanley Cup Final, and the 34-year-old veteran is more than ready to make his return to the NHL's biggest stage.
"Definitely not taking it for granted at this point in my career, but super happy to be back and excited," Ekholm told reporters ahead of Saturday's Game 1. "I wouldn't say I have any regrets with the (2017) final, but at the same time, you're trying to make everything out of this one because you never know if it's your last one. I'm not getting any younger."
Ekholm was key to the Nashville Predators' deepest playoff run in franchise history, chipping in with one goal and 11 points in 22 games while averaging over 25 minutes of ice time per contest. However, he came two wins short from hoisting the Stanley Cup, with the Pittsburgh Penguins beating the Predators in six games to clinch back-to-back championships.
The Swedish blue-liner has been similarly important to the Oilers' pursuits this year, amassing seven points in 18 games and seeing almost 22 minutes of ice time while forming an elite pair alongside Evan Bouchard. Edmonton has outscored opponents 18-9 and controlled 59.5% of the expected goals with the duo on the ice at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick.
Based on his past experience, Ekholm said he's aware that this spring's final will come down to "margins that are probably so small."
One of the deciding factors will likely be special teams, which is all well and good to Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch. Edmonton owns the top power play (37.3%) and best penalty kill (93.9%) of these playoffs, and the Panthers have taken a league-leading 207 penalty minutes.
"We'll have our opportunities to be on the power play," Knoblauch said. "I know Florida is one of the most penalized teams throughout the playoffs. For us to be looking for them or embellishing, we've never done that, we're not that type of team.
"The more we possess the puck, the more we're moving our feet and making plays, we're putting them in a position to take a penalty against us, and ultimately that's all that we can control."
The Panthers are no slouches on the penalty kill, either. They own the second-best unit of these playoffs with an 88.2% success rate.
It's been seven years since Edmonton Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm last appeared in the Stanley Cup Final, and the 34-year-old veteran is more than ready to make his return to the NHL's biggest stage.
"Definitely not taking it for granted at this point in my career, but super happy to be back and excited," Ekholm told reporters ahead of Saturday's Game 1. "I wouldn't say I have any regrets with the (2017) final, but at the same time, you're trying to make everything out of this one because you never know if it's your last one. I'm not getting any younger."
Ekholm was key to the Nashville Predators' deepest playoff run in franchise history, chipping in with one goal and 11 points in 22 games while averaging over 25 minutes of ice time per contest. However, he came two wins short from hoisting the Stanley Cup, with the Pittsburgh Penguins beating the Predators in six games to clinch back-to-back championships.
The Swedish blue-liner has been similarly important to the Oilers' pursuits this year, amassing seven points in 18 games and seeing almost 22 minutes of ice time while forming an elite pair alongside Evan Bouchard. Edmonton has outscored opponents 18-9 and controlled 59.5% of the expected goals with the duo on the ice at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick.
Based on his past experience, Ekholm said he's aware that this spring's final will come down to "margins that are probably so small."
One of the deciding factors will likely be special teams, which is all well and good to Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch. Edmonton owns the top power play (37.3%) and best penalty kill (93.9%) of these playoffs, and the Panthers have taken a league-leading 207 penalty minutes.
"We'll have our opportunities to be on the power play," Knoblauch said. "I know Florida is one of the most penalized teams throughout the playoffs. For us to be looking for them or embellishing, we've never done that, we're not that type of team.
"The more we possess the puck, the more we're moving our feet and making plays, we're putting them in a position to take a penalty against us, and ultimately that's all that we can control."
The Panthers are no slouches on the penalty kill, either. They own the second-best unit of these playoffs with an 88.2% success rate.
New York Rangers general manager and president Chris Drury appears to be keeping his options open after his club again fell short of lifting Lord Stanley's Mug.
"I do believe in our players individually. ... A lot of players had great seasons," Drury said Friday, according to the New York Post's Larry Brooks. "A number of them have been very good Rangers for a long time. Now it's the part of the job to figure out whether this group collectively can get us to where we want to be.
The Rangers won the Presidents' Trophy as the league's best regular-season team after posting a 55-23-4 record and a franchise-record 114 points in 2023-24. They made it to the conference finals for the second time in three years but were dispatched by the Florida Panthers in six games.
Star forwards Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin were particularly quiet in the Eastern Conference Final. Zibanejad mustered two assists against Florida, both coming in the Rangers' Game 5 loss, while Panarin had just one goal and three helpers.
When asked if he thought the pair needed more help to ease the offensive pressure or if they should find other ways to score in the postseason, Drury said, "It's a little bit of both," per USA Today's Vince Z. Mercogliano.
The player at the center of most of the trade speculation is Kaapo Kakko, who has yet to live up to his status as the 2019 second overall pick. The 23-year-old forward posted 13 goals and 19 points in 61 contests in the regular season - his fifth in the NHL - before adding two points in 15 playoff games.
Drury defended the pending restricted free agent Friday.
"We were talking about (Alexis Lafreniere) at this time last year and refuting rumors that I was trying to trade him. … Kaapo Kakko is still a young player. … We're going to continue to try and find everything we can do to help him reach his potential," Drury said.
Kakko spent the bulk of his ice time in the regular season on a line with Zibanejad and Chris Kreider, though the Finn never gelled with the star duo. Drury said he's looking at internal and external options to fill that right-wing slot alongside Zibanejad and Kreider.
Drury also stood up for much-maligned defenseman Jacob Trouba, who was recently criticized for his play and antics during the playoffs.
"Jacob's been an excellent captain and leader for us," he said, according to Stephenson. "Comes to play hard every night. ... He gives us everything he can every single night."
Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice is under no illusions that his team will be able to completely shut down Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in the Stanley Cup Final.
It's going to be about minimizing the damage.
"You're not going to," the bench boss told Bally Sports' Katie Engleson when asked about the key to containing the two Edmonton Oilers superstars. "Everybody's had a plan since the day these guys stepped in the league and nobody's got it. So what you need to do is try not to become the story of the game, not let it happen so many times that you can't control it.
"They're two of the most elite players in the world. Rarely do you see them on the same team, and each one of them is a series breaker, he's a series winner. ... Every single guy in that room is gonna have to play to his fullest potential to be able to keep them off the board - to a degree. We're just not gonna close them down."
Unsurprisingly, the Oilers' dynamic duo has been dangerous in these playoffs while propelling Edmonton to its first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 2006.
McDavid leads the league with 31 points (five goals, 26 assists) this spring, while Draisaitl ranks second with 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists) in 18 contests. The former has only been held without a point four times, while the latter has been kept off the scoresheet twice.
Luckily for the Panthers, they're doing a solid job of limiting opponents during their second straight run to the final.
Despite facing other offensively gifted squads in the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, and New York Rangers, Florida ranks second among all teams in the playoffs in goals against per game (2.29) and shots against per contest (24.5).
The Cardiac Cats have also been able to stymie star players. The likes of Nikita Kucherov, Mika Zibanejad, and David Pastrnak were held without an even-strength goal in their series against Florida.
Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling doesn't see a need to switch up the team's game plan now.
"We do not want to change too much, we want to play the way that got us here," he told NHL Network's E.J. Hradek.
He added: "We know how hard it is to get here and we're really going to take care of this opportunity."
Puck drops on Game 1 Saturday in Florida at 8 p.m. ET.
The dust has settled on the first three rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers are left standing.
There are plenty of heavyweights on both sides, but only one can be named postseason MVP. Here are our top five Conn Smythe Trophy contenders as we enter the final round of the postseason.
5. Sergei Bobrovsky
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty
GP
Record
SV%
GSAx
GSAA
17
12-5
.908
7.7
1.36
Bobrovsky has once again excelled as Florida's last line of defense this spring. He ranks third in GSAx among all goalies in these playoffs, trailing only Jeremy Swayman and Igor Shesterkin, who he and the Panthers outdueled en route to their second straight Stanley Cup Final appearance. Oh, and Bobrovsky also outshined 2021 Conn Smythe Trophy winner and two-time Stanley Cup champion Andrei Vasilevskiy in the first round.
The 35-year-old veteran's toughest test awaits, though. The Cardiac Cats' ability to win the Cup will be contingent on Bobrovsky's ability to stop the Oilers' plethora of top dogs. Luckily for Florida, he's been able to deliver in clutch moments. The Panthers have won 17 one-goal games over the past two postseasons - including seven this spring - and the Russian has been in net for all of them.
It's that poise that could lead Bobrovsky to being crowned playoff MVP if Florida wins it all.
4. Leon Draisaitl
Andy Devlin / National Hockey League / Getty
GP
G
A
ATOI
xGF%
18
10
18
21:24
51
The first of three Oilers on this list, Draisaitl keeps on cementing his case as a bonafide Playoff Performer™. He's tied for second-most goals in these playoffs and has put up the second-most points, behind only the No. 1 player in these rankings.
Draisaitl has also taken over sixth place on Edmonton's all-time playoff goals list with 41 in a mere 67 contests, and his 0.61 goal-per-game rate is higher than three of the players above him in those history books.
What's keeping the German superstar outside of the top three in this exercise are his underlying numbers, which simply aren't as strong as those of his peers. Draisaitl may not be the front-runner for the Conn Smythe Trophy right now, but we'd be silly to discount his ability to launch himself to the forefront of the conversation with an explosive final-round performance.
3. Evan Bouchard
Andy Devlin / National Hockey League / Getty
GP
G
A
ATOI
xGF%
18
6
21
24:33
61.2
Bouchard has put the league on notice with his dominant performance through the first three rounds of these playoffs. He leads all rearguards and ranks third among all skaters with 27 points. And before you start filling up the comment section, no, Bouchard isn't just a "power-play merchant." Fifteen of his points have been at even strength.
The rearguard's underlying numbers have been outstanding as well, with Edmonton dictating 58.4% of the shot attempts and 60.8% of the scoring chances while outscoring opponents 25-11 with Bouchard on the ice at five-on-five. And before you start filling up our comment section again, no, this is not just the Connor McDavid effect. Bouchard spends a lot of his ice time with McDavid, but his possession stats are still strong when he's away from the superstar.
The Oilers are likely going to need a few Bouch bombs to beat the Panthers (he's already got three game-winners under his belt, tied for second most in the NHL). Depending on how many he gets, we could see more than a few Conn Smythe Trophy votes going Bouchard's way later this month.
2. Aleksander Barkov
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty
GP
G
A
ATOI
xGF%
17
6
11
21:46
60.7
Sure, Barkov's point total doesn't really jump off the page compared to the other skaters on this list. But the reigning Selke Trophy winner is high in these rankings because of his two-way play.
Behold, a list of star players who couldn't buy themselves an even-strength goal during their series against the Panthers this spring: Brad Marchand, Chris Kreider, Nikita Kucherov, Mika Zibanejad, and David Pastrnak. The Panthers are a wagon, but it's Barkov who is getting a ton of the tough assignments, and he's consistently able to tilt the ice in his team's favor. Florida has dictated 56.9% of the shot attempts, 62% of the scoring chances, and 57.6% of the high-danger chances while outshooting opponents 140-90 and outscoring them 9-8 with Barkov on the ice at five-on-five.
Like his teammate Bobrovsky, Barkov is about to face his hardest challenge. The captain will be tasked with limiting Draisaitl and McDavid, which is an absolute must for the Panthers' Cup aspirations.
1. Connor McDavid
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty
GP
G
A
ATOI
xGF%
18
5
26
22:55
57.2
At long last, McDavid is finally in the Stanley Cup Final. This is the biggest stage he's ever been on, and he'll be given the chance to truly cement his undeniable legacy as one of the best players the NHL has ever seen.
Now, what's he going to do about it?
McDavid has been doing McDavid things up until this point in the playoffs. He leads all skaters with 31 points in what is the second 30-point postseason of his career. Exactly half of his games this spring have been multi-point outings, and he's only been held off the scoresheet four times despite having to contend with opposing teams' top shutdown guys. If McDavid were to hit the 40-point mark, he'd become the third player to ever do so, joining Mario Lemieux (1991) and Wayne Gretzky (1985, 1988, 1993).
Of course, the Oilers are going to need their depth to step up against the Panthers, but McDavid must be at his full game-breaking potential to win it all. Make no mistake: If Edmonton brings the Stanley Cup north of the border for the first time in 31 years, it'll be McDavid who takes home the mantle as MVP.
Honorable mentions: Gustav Forsling, Zach Hyman, Stuart Skinner, Matthew Tkachuk, Carter Verhaeghe.
xGF% = Expected goals for percentage at five-on-five GSAx = Goals saved above expected GSAA = Goals saved above average
The Los Angeles Kings signed pending restricted free-agent forward Akil Thomas to a two-year extension with an average annual value of $775,000, the team announced Thursday.
The first year of the deal is two-way, while the second season is one-way.
Thomas made his NHL debut on April 1 and chipped in with three goals and four points in seven regular-season games. Despite his scoring touch, he didn't suit up for the Kings' first-round matchup against the Edmonton Oilers.
After running into some injury trouble over his three previous campaigns, the 24-year-old broke out in a big way in 2023-24, spending the bulk of his time with the AHL's Ontario Reign.
Thomas amassed 22 goals - including nine game-winners - and 46 points in 64 outings before adding five points in eight postseason contests during the Calder Cup Playoffs.
The Kings selected Thomas in the second round of the 2018 NHL Draft.
The Toronto native scored the golden goal for Canada at the 2020 World Junior Championship.
The Los Angeles Kings signed pending restricted free-agent forward Akil Thomas to a two-year extension with an average annual value of $775,000, the team announced Thursday.
The first year of the deal is two-way, while the second season is one-way.
Thomas made his NHL debut on April 1 and chipped in with three goals and four points in seven regular-season games. Despite his scoring touch, he didn't suit up for the Kings' first-round matchup against the Edmonton Oilers.
After running into some injury trouble over his three previous campaigns, the 24-year-old broke out in a big way in 2023-24, spending the bulk of his time with the AHL's Ontario Reign.
Thomas amassed 22 goals - including nine game-winners - and 46 points in 64 outings before adding five points in eight postseason contests during the Calder Cup Playoffs.
The Kings selected Thomas in the second round of the 2018 NHL Draft.
The Toronto native scored the golden goal for Canada at the 2020 World Junior Championship.
