Toronto Maple Leafs forward Michael Bunting was suspended three games for an illegal check to the head of Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak, the league announced Wednesday.
Bunting received a match penalty during Tuesday's series-opening contest after catching Cernak up high in the second period.
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Michael Bunting was given a match penalty for an illegal check to the head of Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak during Tuesday's Game 1.
Bunting caught Cernak up high with under five minutes remaining in the second period. The Lightning defenseman left the game after the collision and didn't return.
Bunting will have a hearing with the Department of Player Safety on Wednesday.
Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said Bunting's hit seems to "check a lot of boxes" to warrant supplemental discipline, according to Sportsnet's Luke Fox.
Star blue-liner Victor Hedman and forward Mikey Eyssimont also exited Tuesday's contest early for Tampa Bay due to injuries.
Corey Perry scored on the ensuing five-minute power play to put the Lightning up 5-2. After a failed challenge for goaltender interference from the Maple Leafs, Brayden Point added another goal on the five-on-three man advantage to extend Tampa's lead to four.
Star defenseman Victor Hedman exited the Tampa Bay Lightning's opening game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Tuesday with an undisclosed issue.
Hedman played 6:35 in the first period but was late to join the bench to begin the second frame. He went back to the locker room without playing a shift and didn't return to the contest.
Defenseman Erik Cernak and forward Mikey Eyssimont also exited the game early for the Lightning due to apparent injuries. Cernak was injured on an illegal check to the head from Michael Bunting, while Eyssimont left after a collision with Jake McCabe.
Canada and the U.S. took care of business Saturday at the IIHF Women's World Championship to set up another gold-medal clash between the rivals.
The Americans dismantled Czechia 9-1 in the first semifinal. Tessa Janecke, Amanda Kessel, and Hilary Knight each tallied two goals in the contest. Defender Caroline Harvey registered four points to match Finland's Petra Nieminen atop the tournament's scoring leaderboard. Aerin Frankel made 14 saves in the win.
Canada had a closer outing, defeating Switzerland 5-1 in the other semifinal. Despite dominating the shot tally, the Canadians didn't find the back of the net until Sarah Fillier finally solved netminder Andrea Braendli at the game's midway point.
Fillier added another two goals to complete her first hat trick at the world championship and put the game out of reach. Natalie Spooner tallied three assists in the victory, while Ann-Renee Desbiens made eight saves en route to the win.
Canada defeated the U.S. 4-3 in the shootout during the tournament's preliminary round. Knight and Kessel scored for the Americans in the final minute of regulation to send the game into overtime.
Canada edged the United States 2-1 in the 2022 gold-medal game in September. Brianne Jenner scored both goals for the Canadians.
The gold-medal matchup commences Sunday at 7 pm ET.
Every NHL season has its own unique storylines we never saw coming.
The unexpected breakout performances, trades, and storylines are what make for the most interesting aspects of any given year. Whether it's a team setting records, a player we had written off finding his past form, or plenty of other scenarios, the unforeseen elements of a season are why we love sports.
Here are five of the biggest surprises from the 2022-23 NHL campaign.
Bruins' historic dominance
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Remember when there were concerns over the Boston Bruins entering the season thanks to various injuries? That was adorable.
An NHL-record 65 wins. An NHL-record 135 points. The fastest team ever to 50 wins and 100 points. The Bruins were as close to unbeatable as we've ever seen from a regular season squad.
Coming in, the Bruins were on a path of regression. They exited in the first round last season for the first time since 2017 and subsequently fired Bruce Cassidy. Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy, and Matt Grzelcyk were all slated to miss significant time. Boston was supposed to be closer to a bubble team than a President Trophy winner.
How did the Bruins exceed expectations by such a massive margin? David Pastrnak's spectacular 61-goal, 113-point campaign is a good place to start. Leading the team in scoring by 47 points, Pastrnak's offensive prowess was vital to Boston's success.
Jim Montgomery took over behind the bench and made the Bruins the league's best defensive team, led by Mr. Selke Trophy, Patrice Bergeron. Couple it with Linus Ullmark's Vezina-caliber campaign, and that's a recipe for lots of wins.
Hampus Lindholm shouldn't be overlooked, either. The 29-year-old was a massive part of the Bruins' early season success while McAvoy was out of the lineup. He doesn't have the eye-catching power-play production of other Norris Trophy candidates, but Lindholm's dominant five-on-five play is worthy of votes for the award.
Nobody saw a historic season of this magnitude coming from the Bruins.
Karlsson turns back the clock
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Not long ago, Erik Karlsson's massive $11.5-million cap hit was viewed as one of the biggest anchor contracts in the league. Now, he's the favorite to capture the Norris Trophy.
There simply isn't enough you can say about Karlsson's remarkable season. If tallying over 100 points as a defenseman isn't crazy enough, how about finishing second in the entire league in five-on-five scoring?
Many had resigned themselves to appreciating Karlsson's heyday with Ottawa as he played out his monster contract in San Jose. Nobody imagined he could turn back the clock the way he did this season considering his significant injury history.
It's important to remember the context of Karlsson's tenure with the Sharks coming into 2022-23. He'd never played more than 56 games in a season with San Jose over his four years there. In 211 games with the Sharks, he'd tallied 27 goals and 142 points - a 10-goal, 55-point pace over 82 games.
Karlsson scored 25 goals this season alone and added 101 points. His totals in 2022-23 exceed both his goal output and point production from the previous three seasons combined.
As unexpected as the Bruins' historical season was, Karlsson's resurgence is the biggest shock of the year.
Devils go bottom-five to top-five
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The New Jersey Devils were an intriguing team coming into the campaign. Sunk by abysmal goaltending in 2021-22, the Devils had a new starting goaltender and an exciting blend of talent ready to take the next step.
In a competitive Metropolitan Division, some anticipated New Jersey to be in the hunt for a wild-card spot. Instead, the team went bottom five to top five league-wide and made a significant push for the division title.
Everything came together for the Devils. Jack Hughes stayed healthy for the vast majority of the season and emerged as one of the premier dual threats in the league. Nico Hischier found another level offensively to put himself in the conversation for the Selke Trophy. Vitek Vanecek proved he could be a quality starting goaltender.
Dougie Hamilton didn't just return to form, he set career highs. Jesper Bratt proved his breakout in 2021-22 wasn't a fluke, while Dawson Mercer continued on his exciting upward trajectory.
We knew the Devils' future was incredibly bright with their young talent and prospects on the way. Realizing that potential this quickly - going from 63 points a year ago to 112 - makes for an easy pick as one of the biggest surprises of the season.
Flames miss playoffs after blockbuster summer
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No team featured in as many major headlines last summer as the Calgary Flames.
Whether it was Johnny Gaudreau leaving town, the Matthew Tkachuk blockbuster, the free-agent signing of Nazem Kadri, or the massive extension handed out to Jonathan Huberdeau, the Flames were constantly in the news heading into the 2022-23 campaign.
Even with two-thirds of the dominant top-line departing, expectations were high for Calgary. Many considered the team to be better thanks to its improved depth, elite defense group, and potential Vezina goaltending.
It simply never materialized. Jacob Markstrom and Dan Vladar struggled mightily. Huberdeau's production cratered and the rest of the team was unable to make up for the high-end scoring lost in the offseason.
Despite being among the league's best possession teams, the Flames frustratingly couldn't break through when it mattered most. Calgary led the league in one-goal losses and set the all-time mark for losses when outshooting the opponent by 10 or more shots.
Of the 16 teams to miss the postseason, none are as big of a surprise as the Flames.
Chychrun yields only one 1st-round pick
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After a seemingly never-ending saga of rumors and reports, the hype for an eventual Jakob Chychrun trade was significant. Whether it was the destination or the acquisition cost, every aspect of the inevitable deal was tantalizing.
The Ottawa Senators were always a dark horse in the Chychrun sweepstakes, so Pierre Dorion being the general manager to land the perceived top defenseman on the market wasn't a massive surprise. What was, however, is the price he had to pay.
The Arizona Coyotes received a package of three draft selections for Chychrun: a 2023 first-round pick, a 2024 second-round pick, and a 2026 second-round pick.
Considering the massive haul the Coyotes were anticipated to receive for Chychrun's services, it was a stunning outcome to see Arizona land just one first-round pick for the 25-year-old.
In the end, Bill Armstrong coveted a quality first-round pick over multiple first-round selections in choosing the Senators' package. No contending team that was in the market for Chychrun could match Ottawa's ability to offer a top-15 pick in the anticipated 2023 NHL draft.
Even so, the shock of the Senators needing to give up only one first-round pick for the most talked-about trade chip over a year's span makes for among the most surprising transactions of the campaign.
The Minnesota Wild signed forward Frederick Gaudreau to a five-year contract extension with an average annual value of $2.1 million, the team announced Thursday.
The 29-year-old has a career-high 17 goals in 81 games this season. His 36 points rank sixth on the Wild, while his 52 blocked shots are second. He paces the NHL in shootout goals with eight, and his four shorthanded goals are tied for third league-wide.
Gaudreau has blossomed into an NHL regular with Minnesota over the past two seasons. He tallied a career-high 44 points in 2021-22 after scoring a combined 18 points in 103 previous games with the Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Quebec native inked a two-year contract worth $1.2 million per season with Minnesota in July 2021. He was set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Connor McDavid became the first player since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96 to reach the 150-point mark Saturday against the San Jose Sharks.
The Edmonton Oilers star buried his 63rd goal of the campaign to hit the plateau. It was his second point of the game after tallying an assist earlier in the contest.
— x - Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) April 8, 2023
McDavid is the sixth different player in league history to notch 150 points. Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky, Phil Esposito, Steve Yzerman, and Bernie Nicholls previously accomplished the feat.
The 26-year-old hadn't been born when Lemieux tallied 161 points in 1995-96.
The Minnesota Wild announced Friday that forward Joel Eriksson Ek is week-to-week due to a lower-body injury.
Eriksson Ek exited Thursday's contest against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second period after blocking a shot.
The 26-year-old has tallied a career-high 61 points in 78 games this season. He's averaged 19:00 of ice time per contest as Minnesota's most used center. His 49.4% faceoff percentage is tops among Wild players with more than 100 draws.
However, the impact of Eriksson Ek's loss may be lessened with the return of star forward Kirill Kaprizov.
Minnesota announced its leading scorer will feature in the lineup Saturday against the St. Louis Blues. Kaprizov has missed 13 games with a lower-body injury sustained against the Winnipeg Jets. The 25-year-old has 39 goals and 74 points in 65 contests.
The Wild also announced forward Oskar Sundqvist is day-to-day with a lower-body ailment. The trade-deadline acquisition has three goals and seven points in 15 games with the team.
Minnesota sits third in the Central but is just two points behind the Colorado Avalanche for the division lead.
The 2023 Frozen Four tournament for the NCAA men's hockey national championship is shaping up to be an all-time classic.
Four star-studded programs in Minnesota, Michigan, Quinnipiac, and Boston University head to Tampa Bay's Amalie Arena to complete this year's bracket.
Minnesota faces Boston University in one semifinal, while Quinnipiac takes on Michigan in the other. Both contests are Thursday evening, with the national championship game commencing Saturday night.
Here are 12 prospects to keep an eye on as the 2022-23 NCAA men's hockey season comes to a close.
Potential playoff reinforcements
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A duo of stars at the Frozen Four could jump from the national championship to the Stanley Cup playoffs in a two-week span.
Luke Hughes, the New Jersey Devils' 2021 fourth overall pick, has been among the most electrifying NCAA players over the past two seasons. After scoring the most goals ever by a freshman defenseman in 2021-22 with 17, he backed it up with a monster 47 points this campaign.
Hughes' production as a U20 NCAA defenseman is historic. His 86 points are the most scored by a junior-aged blue-liner across two seasons since the 1970s. Only New York Rangers star Adam Fox has come close over the past 20 years to Hughes' 1.09 points per game as a U20 defenseman in the NCAA.
The youngest Hughes brother will almost certainly sign with the Devils after this weekend. And he'll have a legitimate chance to usurp Kevin Bahl and Brendan Smith for a spot in New Jersey's playoff lineup.
Meanwhile, Matthew Knies might as well get comfortable in Florida. Following the Tampa Bay-hosted Frozen Four, Knies will likely join the Toronto Maple Leafs for a back-to-back against the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Much has been made about the Maple Leafs' top prospect and his potential impact in a playoff series. While it's far from guaranteed that Knies will play in the postseason for Toronto, his blend of size, physicality, and scoring prowess makes for a tantalizing late-season addition.
After a quiet showing in the regional bracket, the pressure is on Knies to perform as Minnesota looks to capture its first national title since 2003.
BU's dynamo on the back end
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The U20 scoring of Hughes is historic over a two-year span, but it's been exceeded in a single season by Montreal Canadiens prospect Lane Hutson this year.
Hutson's a phenomenon with Boston University. He has a team-high 48 points and plus-28 rating, while his 15 goals are one back of the lead on the Terriers. Remember, this is a freshman defenseman we're talking about, and not one who was a high first-round pick, either. This is a player the Canadiens selected at the end of the second round.
It's a truly historic freshman campaign for the Boston University blue-liner. His 48 points are the most by a U19 defenseman since 1983 and exceed totals from the likes of Hall of Famer Brian Leetch and Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox.
How did this breathtaking prospect fall so far in the draft? Hutson is listed at 5-foot-10 and 155 pounds on Boston University's website, and that's probably generous.
Hutson will have hurdles to overcome once he turns pro due to his lack of size. But there's no denying the incredible skill and skating that makes him among the highest potential players participating in the Frozen Four. There are few prospects as exciting to watch as Hutson right now. Expect him to put on a show in Tampa Bay.
Fab freshmen forwards
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The 2023 class of freshmen forwards have made a massive impact this season.
Adam Fantilli and Logan Cooley are leading the way, with both starring for their respective teams en route to Hobey Baker nominations.
Fantilli is the projected second overall pick this summer after Connor Bedard, and he's put together a remarkable campaign with Michigan. Leading the NCAA with 64 points in 35 games, Fantilli's scoring rate as a draft-eligible player exceeds Jack Eichel's dominant 2014-15 campaign with Boston University.
Fantilli is also two goals away from matching Craig Simpson's NCAA draft-eligible record of 31 goals set in 1985.
Cooley - the Arizona Coyotes' third overall pick last summer - has been as advertised with Minnesota. Centering the best line in the country, Cooley leads the NCAA with a plus-37 rating and is second to Fantilli in scoring with 57 points. Only a few NHL-affiliated prospects match his dynamic, game-breaking ability.
But the freshmen forwards starring in prominent roles aren't limited to Fantilli and Cooley. The Wolverines feature projected 2023 first-round pick Gavin Brindley and Rutger McGroarty, the Winnipeg Jets' 14th overall pick. St. Louis Blues first-rounder Jimmy Snuggerud has been among the biggest surprises this season as a running mate with Cooley on the Golden Gophers. And Quinnipiac rookie Sam Lipkin shouldn't be overlooked, despite playing on an experienced squad.
Trio of touted free agents
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Minnesota has 14 NHL-drafted players. Boston University and Michigan have 12 a piece. Quinnipiac has just three, and one is the team's backup goaltender.
With a lack of NHL-affiliated players and a massively successful season, multiple Bobcats are in line to land entry-level contracts as free agents.
The most notable of the group is forward Collin Graf. After a freshman season at Union College, Graf transferred to Quinnipiac and has flourished as a sophomore. He leads the Bobcats in scoring with 56 points, 17 clear of second-most on the team.
Graf's breakout play has made him one of the top NCAA free agents on the market this season. Not only does his scoring make him an appealing target, but so does his age. Graf is still only 20 years old and is among the youngest free agents in addition to the highest scoring.
At the other end of the rink, netminder Yaniv Perets took over the Bobcats' crease in 2021 and hasn't looked back. The 23-year-old has posted an astonishing 54-9-5 record with 21 shutouts over the past two campaigns, and only Buffalo Sabres prospect Devon Levi has a higher save percentage than Perets' .935 mark over that span.
While Graf and Perets have NCAA eligibility remaining that could see them stay at Quinnipiac in 2023-24, defenseman Zach Metsa will close out his five-year stay with the Bobcats this weekend.
The undersized right-shot blue-liner has been Quinnipiac's top player on the back end for three years but has taken a big step over the past two. Metsa led the team in scoring in 2021-22 and has an eye-watering plus-68 rating since 2021. The 24-year-old will have many suitors vying for his services after his collegiate career ends.
Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Matt Murray is day-to-day with a head injury and "other stuff," Sheldon Keefe said Tuesday, according to TSN's Chris Johnston.
"It'd be difficult to put any real timeline on it until we give it more time to settle," the head coach said, according to The Hockey News' David Alter.
Murray exited Saturday's contest against the Detroit Red Wings after an accidental collision with forward Lucas Raymond.
The injury marks the third time Murray has been unavailable this season. He missed just over a month of action after sustaining an adductor injury Oct. 15. The 28-year-old spent a second stint on long-term injured reserve in February after sustaining an ankle injury that kept him out of the lineup for 17 games.
Murray has a 14-8-3 record with a .903 save percentage in 26 appearances this season.
Forward Noel Acciari will return to the Maple Leafs' lineup against the Columbus Blue Jackets after a three-game absence. Rookie netminder Joseph Woll is projected to start.
Toronto has six games remaining in the regular season before it faces Tampa Bay in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
