Golden Knights head coach Gerard Gallant had some choice words for Sharks bench boss Peter DeBoer. After DeBoer called out Gallant for 'chattering' at Sharks players earlier in the series, the 55-year-old fired back during a press conference ahead of Tuesday's Game 7.
"I really don't want to talk about that but I think I'm going to have to a little bit because for that clown to say that in the paper yesterday it's not right," Gallant said.
The 2018 Jack Adams Award winner then went on to address each event.
"There might have been two incidents that happened and I'll tell you both of the incidents," Gallant said. "Logan Couture I thought it was an embellishment so I was yelling at the referee, not yelling at Logan Couture.
"The other one, Game 2, Evander Kane's yelling at Ryan Reaves between the bench and Evander yells at me 'hey coach, when are you going to send your big guy out on the ice and play him more than four minutes?' I said 'he's played 10 minutes every game and he's going to play a lot more.'"
Gallant then defended himself further before expressing more disapproval of DeBoer's behavior.
"If I'm going to be a chirper and a loudmouth, I think people know me as a coach and respect me as a coach and if he's going to yap about that, that's a little non-classy for me," Gallant said.
The Sharks clawed back from a 3-1 deficit to force Game 7. San Jose will look to avenge its six-game defeat at the hands of the Golden Knights in 2018.
Dreger added that the Vegas Golden Knights and the Chicago Blackhawks are also in the mix for Mikheyev, who is expected to make his decision this weekend.
The 24-year-old has spent the last four full seasons playing for Omsk Avangard and has recorded 62 goals and 120 points in 224 career contests.
This season, the Russian posted 23 goals and 45 points in 62 games, adding 11 points in 13 playoff tilts.
Mikheyev also represented Russia at the World Hockey Championship last spring, contributing three goals and one assist in eight games.
The Maple Leafs dipped into the KHL player pool to sign defenseman Igor Ozhiganov from CSKA Moscow last summer.
Dreger added that the Vegas Golden Knights and the Chicago Blackhawks are also in the mix for Mikheyev, who is expected to make his decision this weekend.
The 24-year-old has spent the last four full seasons playing for Omsk Avangard and has recorded 62 goals and 120 points in 224 career contests.
This season, the Russian posted 23 goals and 45 points in 62 games, adding 11 points in 13 playoff tilts.
Mikheyev also represented Russia at the World Hockey Championship last spring, contributing three goals and one assist in eight games.
The Maple Leafs dipped into the KHL player pool to sign defenseman Igor Ozhiganov from CSKA Moscow last summer.
The Sharks will look to complete a 3-1 series comeback and avenge their six-game defeat at the hands of the Golden Knights last postseason with a huge win on their home ice. For Vegas, it'll be the expansion club's first-ever Game 7.
The Maple Leafs and Bruins have pushed their series to the limit for a third time in as many playoff matchups, with Boston coming out on top in Game 7 in both 2013 and 2018. Toronto will have to dig deep to pull out the victory and capture its first playoff series victory in 15 years.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Boston Bruins
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty
Special teams battle
If the Maple Leafs are to have any hope of keeping their season alive in front of a raucous Bruins crowd at TD Garden, they'll need to flip the script when it comes to special teams. Since Boston scored on the man advantage nine minutes into the series, the power play has been at the crux of its success through six games.
Boston has converted seven of 16 power-play opportunities (43.8 percent) in the series, including two critical tallies in the first period of Game 6. The Maple Leafs' penalty kill has been glaringly poor, and their inability to respond on power plays of their own has made matters worse. Toronto's man advantage has been held off the scoresheet in four of the six contests, converting just three times.
Mike Babcock's club seems to hold a slight advantage if it can keep the game at even strength. The Leafs have outscored the Bruins 11-8 at five-on-five and own 52.63 percent of high-danger scoring chances thus far.
More from Maple Leafs' top line
The Maple Leafs' top line of Zach Hyman, John Tavares, and Mitch Marner needs to step up offensively. The trio has done a good job on the defensive side of the puck, and Tavares' presence alone has helped allow Auston Matthews enjoy a breakout postseason, but when the lights shine the brightest, Toronto needs its stars to sparkle.
The line combined for 94 goals in the regular season but has managed just four so far against the Bruins, with three of them coming in the opening contest. Tavares, whose 47 goals during the campaign led the team, never went longer than five games without a goal. With his only goal of the series coming in Game 1 ... well, you can do the math.
Leading after 40 minutes
During the regular season, the Leafs posted 36-0-1 record when leading after two periods, and the Bruins went 31-3-3. These defensive trends have continued through six games as neither team has faltered this series when carrying a lead into the third period.
Vegas Golden Knights vs. San Jose Sharks
Brandon Magnus / National Hockey League / Getty
Sharks need the good Martin Jones
Jones' uninspiring regular season was one of the major talking points heading into this series after the netminder posted a 36-19-5 record with a 2.94 goals-against average and .896 save percentage on the campaign. Among the 26 goalies who played at least 45 games, his save percentage ranked second last.
The Sharks have lived and died by their goaltender so far this postseason. Jones failed to play past the first period in two of the losses against the Golden Knights, allowing a combined five goals on 14 shots. While facing a 3-1 series deficit, however, Jones stopped 88 of 91 shots en route to two straight wins, including a 58-save overtime performance in Game 6.
Scoring first
The team that has scored first has won each time. Both squads will need to be ready from the get-go, as that all-important opening tally has been potted within the first 90 seconds in four of the six games.
Stone line can make or break
The Sharks did an excellent job in their previous two victories keeping the Golden Knights' most dangerous line of Mark Stone, Paul Stastny, and Max Pacioretty in check. After terrorizing San Jose with a combined 28 points through the first four contests, the trio was held pointless in Games 5 and 6.
It will be critical for the Sharks to stay out of the penalty box. The Stone line has been just average at five-on-five in the playoffs, posting a Corsi For rating of 51.18.
The veteran trio is packed with playoff experience, too. Stone, Pacioretty, and Stastny have suited up for a combined 155 postseason contests, including six Game 7s.
Victor Hedman is taking full responsibility for his role in the Tampa Bay Lightning's shocking first-round exit despite battling injury.
The 28-year-old blue-liner suited up for the first two contests of his team's series against the Columbus Blue Jackets and played significant minutes in both, logging 25:18 in Game 1 and 21:10 in Game 2. Despite the valiant effort, Hedman was unable to continue past those tilts.
"I was cleared to play in the first two games but I just wasn't good enough to keep going," the 6-foot-6 rearguard told reporters at the team's exit interviews Monday.
Hedman missed the final four games of the regular season with an upper-body injury after colliding awkwardly with Washington Capitals forward Carl Hagelin on March 30. Hedman said he was dealing with an upper-body ailment during the playoffs but added it wasn't related to that regular-season issue.
"I'm obviously not happy with how I played in those two games and I'm not going to sit here and (make) any excuses that it was because of (the injury)," he said. "It was all on me. I'm not happy with the way I played and that's obviously a tough one to swallow."
The Lightning became the first team in the modern era to win the Presidents' Trophy as the league's top regular-season squad and then be swept in four games in the first round of the playoffs.
Hedman is a finalist for the Norris Trophy for a third consecutive season and looks to defend his title as the league's top defenseman after capturing the award for the first time in his career in 2018.
The Finnish sniper said Monday that he was dealing with a back issue during the year and a "small" groin injury during the playoffs, according to The Athletic's Murat Ates.
Laine captured MVP honors at the 2016 World Championship after leading Finland to a silver medal with seven goals and 12 points in 10 games.
Scheifele has suited up for Canada at the World Championship on three occasions and captured a gold medal at the tournament in 2016. The Kitchener, Ontario, native last played at the event in 2017, tallying three goals and eight points in 10 games en route to a silver medal.
The 32-year-old Wheeler, born in Plymouth, Minn., last represented the United States at the World Cup of Hockey in 2016. He hasn't played at the World Championship since 2011. At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, he recorded one assist in six contests for the Americans.
The Jets were eliminated from the NHL postseason in six games by the St. Louis Blues in their opening-round series.
Oshie will almost certainly miss the rest of the playoffs, Svrluga added.
The incident occurred with just over five minutes remaining in Game 4 when Foegele hit Oshie from behind, sending him tumbling into the boards at an awkward angle. Oshie didn't return to the game, and Foegele was assessed a two-minute minor for boarding. The rookie didn't receive further discipline.
Oshie was a key contributor throughout the Capitals' Stanley Cup run last spring, recording eight goals and 21 points in 24 contests. He notched one goal and one assist in four games against the Hurricanes this postseason before the injury.
The Winnipeg Jets were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs in six games after a 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.
Following the defeat, Jets head coach Paul Maurice was openly despondent about his team's season coming to an end.
"It's painful as hell because you think you're right there but you were beat by a team that thinks the same thing," Maurice said following the loss, according to the Winnipeg Sun's Scott Billeck.
The Jets and Blues battled through five tightly-contested games before St. Louis laid down the hammer. Although the scoreboard reflected a one-goal contest, the Blues were in complete control and held a shot advantage of 27-6 after two periods.
"I don't think tonight's game was indicative of the way the first five went ... such an incredibly tight series, shots are almost identical, chances the same, zone time the same. The margin for error was very slim," Maurice told reporters, according to FOX Sports Midwest.
Despite the Jets battling through several injuries this postseason, Maurice was quick to shoot down the notion that poor health played a role in the team's shortcomings.
"Careful with excuses - we got beat," Maurice said.
