Avs, Flames are the ever-unpredictable NHL West’s top seeds

Associated PressMay 2, 2022, 9:30 AM EDT

In assessing the status of his Pacific Division champion Calgary Flames, coach Darryl Sutter may have at the same time aptly captured the unpredictable state of the entire Western Conference once the playoffs open on Monday.

“We’re good. We’ve been consistent all year,” Sutter said. “The key is being healthy and know what we’re up against. There’s a big storm coming here this week.”

Sutter’s point was for the Flames to not take for granted their first-round opponent, the Dallas Stars, who made the jump from ninth to seventh during a frantic final week in becoming the NHL’s final team to clinch a playoff berth.

As storm warnings go, the playoffs have traditionally stirred up havoc for the top seeds in the West, in which only one division champ — Vegas in its first season of existence, 2018 — reached the Stanley Cup Final since the top-seeded Chicago Blackhawks won the title in 2013. The Blues finished fifth in the West when they won the Cup in 2019, the 2014 Cup-wining Los Angeles Kings were sixth, while Nashville was eighth when losing the championship to Pittsburgh in 2017.

This year’s field doesn’t include Vegas for the first time in franchise history, while Calgary and Colorado are the top two seeds, but with a recent history of early round playoff collapses. The Kings return to the playoff for the first time in four years.

And brace yourselves for Central Division rivals Minnesota and St. Louis meeting in a first-round matchup which has the makings of being a bruiser.

In Denver, the Central-Division champion Avalanche are seeking to put past frustrations behind a year after the Presidents’ Trophy-winning team was knocked out in the second round by Vegas. Colorado, which hasn’t advanced past the second round since losing the Western Conference final to Detroit in 2002, will open against eighth-seeded Nashville.

“It’s not something that I’m thinking about anymore. It’s a new group this year. We have new opportunities and a new challenge,” defenseman Cale Makar said. “Obviously we know what’s happened these past few years and we’re driven to overcome the challenges that have hindered us in the past.”

The Flames’ playoff history is just as checkered. They’ve won just two of 10 playoff series since losing the Cup Final to Tampa Bay in 2004.

And it’s no different for Edmonton, where the second-seeded Oilers advanced to the playoffs for just the fourth time since Connor McDavid’s arrival in 2015, and coming off a four-game first-round dud against Winnipeg a year ago. Edmonton opens against the Kings.

“I think we’ve grown as a team and learned from that and found ways to get around that a little bit better this year,” center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said of how high-scoring Oilers managed just eight goals against Winnipeg. “Obviously, this is going to be a tough series, a tight-checking series, but we’ve got to find a way to get that extra one or just push a little harder.”

CENTRAL DIVISION

1 COLORADO vs. 4 NASHVILLE

The Avalanche finished 22 points ahead of the Predators in the standings, and could have an even more distinct edge if Nashville starter Juuse Sarros is unable to return after missing the final two regular season games with an undisclosed injury.

The Avalanche stumbled down the stretch in going 1-5-1, following a 9-0 win streak. Nashville dropped from seventh to eighth in the standings by blowing a 4-0 lead in a 5-4 loss to Arizona in its season finale.

“I’m proud of this team of how we fought, of how we battled down the stretch,” Predators defenseman said Roman Josi said, following the loss. “This loss is disappointing, but we’ve got to turn the page, get some rest and get excited for the playoffs.”

The matchup pits two of the NHL’s top-scoring defensemen in Josi, who led all blueliners with 96 points, and Makar, who finished second with 86.

2 MINNESOTA vs. 3 ST. LOUIS

Home-ice advantage could prove the difference in a series that was essentially set a month ago.

The Wild set a franchise record with 53 wins and 113 points, while finishing third in the NHL with a 31-8-2 home record. The Blues, who closed their season on a 14-2-2 run, won 23 road games ranked tied for ninth in the NHL.

St. Louis has had the edge over Minnesota by going 12-1-1 in its last 14 meetings, including a 6-4 win at Target Field in this year’s Winter Classic. Seven of those wins, however, were decided by one goal, including five in overtime.

“You get overtime, it can kind of go either way,” Wild defenseman Matt Dumba said. “Yeah we got some things to go over, and we’ll be more than ready.”

The Blues’ feature a lineup that includes an NHL-leading nine 20-goal-scorers. The Wild addressed their goaltending at the trade deadline by acquiring playoff veteran Marc-Andre Fleury to accompany Max Talbot. Fleury has a 9-2 record since joining Minnesota, while Talbot is 13-0-3 in his past 17 appearances.

PACIFIC DIVISION

1 CALGARY vs. 4 DALLAS

The teams meet in the playoff for second time in three years.

The Stars opened their run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020 — which they lost to Tampa Bay — by defeating the Flames in six games of a first-round series played in the Edmonton COVID-19 bubble. This time, the Flames will have the support of their fans and home-ice advantage.

“I only played a game and a half that series, so personally, I try and forget about it,” said Matthew Tkachuk, who finished second on the Flames with a career-best 104 points this season.

While Dallas reached the postseason for a fifth-straight year, Calgary is making just its fifth appearance since 2010.

“Going into this series, they’ve done it, we haven’t, so that puts them at a big advantage,” Tkachuk said of the Stars being playoff tested. “We’ve got to prove it.”

The Stars are a veteran-laden team led by Joe Pavelski, who became just the 16th player 37 years or older to top 80 points. He finished with 81 points, including 27 goals.

2 EDMONTON vs. 3 LOS ANGELES

Kings coach Todd McLellan faces his former team in the playoffs for the first time since being fired by Edmonton during the 2018-19. season And the Oilers are now coached by McLellan’s former assistant, Jay Woodcroft, who took over after Dave Tippett was fired in February.

The Oilers have surged by going 26-9-3 under Woodcroft to finish with 49 wins, their most since winning 50 in 1986-87.

Oilers forward Derek Ryan credits Woodcroft for his ability to enact problem-solving solutions.

“I think we were searching for that earlier in the year where things weren’t going our way and it just felt like we were being told to work harder and be better,” Ryan said. “We were just searching for more answers and I think Woody has done a good job of bringing those answers in.”

The Kings’ lineup features three healthy remaining members from their 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cup championship teams, including forward Dustin Brown, who announced he will retire after this season.

NHL top prospect Connor Bedard draws comparisons to Connor McDavid as draft approaches

Associated PressJun 9, 2023, 10:51 PM EDT

Anne-Marie Sorvin/USA TODAY Sports

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The NHL is going to have another Connor to contend with very shortly.

For everything two-time NHL MVP Connor McDavid has accomplished in Edmonton since being selected No. 1 in the 2015 draft, Connor Bedard is on the same trajectory in being pegged as this year’s top eligible draft prospect, Central Scouting director Dan Marr said Friday.

“He’s right up there with Connor McDavid, it’s just the next generation,” Marr said in touting Bedard’s quickness, shot and ability to read and adapt. “So Connor McDavid started that trend, and Connor Bedard is going to lead it into the next trend.”

The annual NHL pre-draft combine in Buffalo, New York, is resembling more of a coronation for the 17-year-old Bedard, who has spent the past two years putting up generational numbers with the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League while also shining against his peers on the international stage.

“I think you can use a lot of adjectives to describe it,” Regina coach John Paddock told The Associated Press recently in comparing Bedard’s production at the same age level to McDavid and Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.

“That’s quite a high ceiling,” said Paddock, a former NHL coach and player. “But there’s no indication he’s not going to do that based on what he’s done to date.”

The Chicago Blackhawks own the No. 1 pick, and are highly anticipated to use it on Bedard when the draft opens in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 28.

Bedard held his latest meeting with the Blackhawks at the combine in a relationship that began at a top-prospects camp in Toronto last summer.

Bedard’s arrival would coincide with the franchise in transition, with Chicago moving on from its aging core after trading 2007 No. 1 pick, Patrick Kane, and with captain Jonathan Toews’ future uncertain.

“Yeah, it’d be awesome,” Bedard said of the possibility of being selected by the Blackhawks. “The history of that organization, that city with sports would be unbelievable. We’ll see what happens, but to be selected, that would be a huge honor.”

Bedard said he’s following McDavid’s advice to stay in the moment and not peak too far ahead. He added, his dream to play in the NHL began no different than those of his colleagues: the moment he picked up a hockey stick growing up in North Vancouver, British Columbia.

What separates Bedard, however, is his exceptional skating ability and a hard shot, which is even more lethal given his quick release.

With Bedard the likely top pick, the intrigue at the draft is likely to revolve around who rounds out the remainder of the top five selections.

University of Michigan’s Adam Fantilli is second among North American skaters on Central Scouting’s final list, followed by top American prospect, William Smith, who played for USA Hockey’s developmental program. The top two European skaters are also considered in the mix with Sweden’s Leo Carlsson and Russia’s Matvei Michkov.

Anaheim is scheduled to pick second followed by Columbus, San Jose and Montreal.

Marr gives the edge to Bedard while also being impressed with Fantilli – just the third freshman to win the Hobey Baker Trophy awarded to college hockey’s top players – in a draft class considered very deep with offensive-minded forwards.

“You’re going to win with both,” Marr said. “And whoever gets these two players they’re going to help define a franchise.”

What distinguishes Bedard, who doesn’t turn 18 until next month, has been his consistency.

Last season, his 71 goals in just 57 games were the most in the WHL since Pavel Brendl scored 73 in 1998-99. Bedard’s 143 points were the most in the CHL since three players topped that mark in 1995-96. And it was a season in which he enjoyed 10 games with five or more points, and just five games in which he failed to register a point.

In 2020-21, Bedard became just the third WHL 16-year-old to reach 100 points, and was the youngest to score 50 goals in finishing with 51.

He’s also made a splash on the international stage. Bedard led Canada with nine goals and 23 points at the world juniors last winter, and his combined production of 17 goals and 36 points in just 16 games ranks fourth on the career tournament list.

Bedard has honed his talent by spending countless hours practicing shots in his backyard, which he referred to as his “Happy Place.” He was so dedicated to work on his shot that he preferred practicing than joining his family for a vacation to Disneyland, and eventually vacationed in Hawaii but only after he was allowed to bring his inline skates and sticks to practice.

Noted for being soft-spoken, Bedard said he’s not yet allowed himself to envision being drafted or making his NHL debut yet.

“It’s hard kind of think of that. But of course, I’ll work as hard as I can to try to achieve that goal,” he said. “And hopefully I do.”

Blue Jackets acquire D Damon Severson from Devils after he signs 8-year deal

Associated PressJun 9, 2023, 1:53 PM EDT

Kirk Irwin/Getty Images

The Columbus Blue Jackets acquired Damon Severson from the New Jersey Devils on Friday after the veteran defenseman and soon-to-be free agent signed an eight-year $50 million contract.

Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen sent a third-round pick, 80th overall, in this month’s draft to the Devils for Severson, who will be under contract through the 2030-31 NHL season.

Severson had 58 goals and 205 assists in 647 career appearances with the Devils since making his NHL debut in 2014-15. He scored seven game-winning goals and averaged more than 21 minutes of playing time during his nine seasons. The 28-year-old had seven goals and 26 assists this season, including two game-winning goals, in 81 games.

“Damon is a versatile defenseman who has great vision, moves the puck extremely well, has good size and can play heavy minutes at both ends of the ice,” Kekalainen said.

The Canadian was selected in the second round in the 2012 draft. He has collected 30 or more points five times in his career and twice notched 11 or more goals. He played in every game in three straight seasons from 2018-21 and has played 80 or more contests four times in his career.

With the addition of the third-round pick, New Jersey now has six selections in the draft, including its own picks in rounds two, four, five, six and seven.

Matthew Tkachuk returns from big hit in Stanley Cup Final, adds more playoff heroics

Associated PressJun 9, 2023, 9:59 AM EDT

James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

Matthew Tkachuk was down, out briefly and then back with plenty of time to make a difference.

The Florida Panthers star left early in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final after a big hit from Vegas Golden Knights forward Keegan Kolesar, and he missed most of the first period and didn’t return immediately following intermission while being evaluated for a concussion. After looking as if he might be lost for the night, Tkachuk returned in the second and then came through with more of his now trademark playoff heroics.

Tkachuk scored the tying goal with 2:13 left in regulation, forcing overtime and giving the Panthers new life. He then provided the screen on Carter Verhaeghe‘s OT goal for a 3-2 victory that cut Florida’s series deficit to 2-1.

The 25-year-old said he knew he was coming back when he left the game, pulled by concussion spotters. That absence felt like a long time ago in the aftermath of another big win he was largely responsible for.

“I felt great – I feel great,” Tkachuk said. “I’m ready to go. Everybody’s excited that we’re in this position right now.”

Florida is in this position rather than facing elimination in Game 4 on Saturday thanks in large part to Tkachuk, who also set up Brandon Montour‘s goal that opened the scoring less than five minutes in.

Not long after, Tkachuk stumbled getting up after the hit from Kolesar and skated to the bench. He took a shift on Florida’s power play before going down the tunnel at the demand of concussion spotters mandated by NHL protocol.

At that point, there was zero clarity, even on the Florida bench.

“You’re not informed at all: It’s a complete shutdown,” coach Paul Maurice said. “You are completely in the dark on those. You don’t know when the player’s coming back. There’s not an update.”

Players insist they were not worried. Montour called it a no-brainer.

“He’s going to come back no matter what,” captain Aleksander Barkov said. “He’s really tough guy, and he’s going to battle through everything.”

Tkachuk rejoined his teammates on the bench a few minutes into the second. When he stepped back onto the ice for his first shift since leaving, fans cheered and chanted, “Chucky! Chucky!”

The crowd was even louder and threw rats when Tkachuk scored his biggest goal of many during this run to tie it. He didn’t get an assist on Verhaeghe’s goal but made it happen with a tape-to-tape pass in the neutral zone and was in front of Adin Hill when it happened.

Asked if he was happy Tkachuk returned, Maurice joked that it was after midnight.

“It was fine,” he quipped.

Panthers rally, top Golden Knights 3-2 in OT of Game 3 of Stanley Cup final

Associated PressJun 8, 2023, 11:48 PM EDT

Sam Navarro/USA TODAY Sports

SUNRISE, Fla. — Carter Verhaeghe scored 4:27 into overtime and the Florida Panthers pulled off some more postseason dramatics to beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday night.

Matthew Tkachuk tied it with 2:13 left in the third period for the Panthers, who got the franchise’s first title-series game win in seven tries. Florida had to fend off a power play to start overtime, and Verhaeghe got the winner from the slot to get the Panthers within 2-1 in the series.

Game 4 is Saturday night.

Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 25 shots for Florida. Adin Hill made 20 saves for Vegas, but got beat on the only shot that came his way in overtime.

Brandon Montour also scored for Florida, which pulled Bobrovsky down 2-1 late in the third for the extra attacker and Tkachuk — who left for parts of the first and second periods after taking a big hit — made that move pay off when he tied the game.

His goal breathed life into a very nervous building. But the Panthers were furious — and replays showed they had a case — when Gustav Forsling was sent to the box with 11.2 seconds remaining for tripping. Florida survived that scare, and a few minutes later, had life in the series again.

The odds are still long, but the Panthers at least have a bit more statistical hope now. Of the previous 55 teams to trail 2-1 at this point of the Stanley Cup Final, 11 have actually rallied to hoist the trophy.

It’s improbable, sure. So are the Panthers, who were the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, were down 3-1 to Boston in Round 1, were 133 seconds away from trailing this series 3-0 — and now have tons of reasons for optimism.

Jonathan Marchessault and Mark Stone each had power-play goals for Vegas.

Marchessault’s goal was his 13th in his last 13 playoff games, his fourth of this series and his third with the man advantage.

As if all that wasn’t enough, there was a little history in there as well. Vegas joined the 1980 New York Islanders as the only team with at least two power-play goals in three consecutive games in the Cup final. And Marchessault became the third player in the last 35 years to score in each of the first three games of a title series — joining Steve Yzerman in 1997 with Detroit and Jake Guentzel with Pittsburgh in 2017.

But it wasn’t enough to give Vegas a 3-0 lead in the series.

AROUND THE RINK

Before Thursday, Florida’s last home game in the title series was June 10, 1996, when Uwe Krupp scored in the third overtime for a 1-0 win as Colorado finished off a four-game sweep of the Panthers for the Cup. … Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was in the crowd, as was NBA great Charles Barkley, and former Dolphins star Dan Marino was the celebrity drummer to welcome the Panthers onto the ice.