NHL Rink Wrap: Oilers win ‘Battle of Alberta,’ Hurricanes still perfect at home

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There was some controversy, but the Oilers eliminated the Flames in Game 5, thus winning “The Battle of Alberta.”

• Annoyed by so many mentions of the Hurricanes winning at home, but losing on the road? Oops. The Hurricanes won again at home, pushing the Rangers to the brink of elimination.

• We’ve received some greybeard updates lately. Jaromir Jagr’s apparently leaning toward a 35th season, while Joe Thornton isn’t sure if he’ll retire or keep playing.

• Hard-hitting Capitals winger Tom Wilson recently underwent knee surgery, and is expected to need six-to-eight months to recover. If he falls in the low-end of that recovery window, he wouldn’t miss too much of next regular season.

Game 5: Edmonton Oilers 5, Calgary Flames 4 [OT] (EDM wins series 4-1)

For the first time in his career, Connor McDavid will appear in the Western Conference Final. While McDavid didn’t dominate Game 5 like he did most of the Oilers – Flames series (and playoffs), he scored the series-clinching goal in overtime.

It capped a wild game, and while many wanted more from “The Battle of Alberta,” they packed a lot of action into five games.

[More on McDavid’s unstoppable postseason]

During the first period, Game 5 of Oilers – Flames felt a bit like a replay of Hurricanes – Rangers. Both first periods were low on high-danger chances. With Andrew Mangiapane scoring the only goal of the opening frame, maybe that sort of pace was best for Calgary?

The second period seemed to argue that such a pace is almost certainly better for the Flames. Most stunningly, the Flames and Oilers combined for four goals (on four shots) in just 1:11 in game time. That’s the fastest four goals in NHL playoff history by 22 seconds.

As dizzying as those 71 seconds were, they don’t account for every second-period goal from Flames – Oilers Game 5.

Building on that Mangiapane goal from the first, Mikael Backlund made it 2-0 for Calgary. About two minutes later, a Jesse Puljujarvi goal made it 2-1. Following that, the two teams combined for those four goals.

During that span, the Oilers surged to a 3-2 lead, the Flames made it 4-3, and then Edmonton scored again to enter the third period with the game tied 4-4. Among the most staggering notes: Connor McDavid somehow didn’t collect a point during that frenetic frame.

[NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs 2022 Second Round schedule, TV info]

Ultimately, there were no goals in the third period. Of course, someone would say, “Well, that’s just your opinion …”

Read up here on the Blake Coleman disallowed goal controversy. If you’re not in the mood to click (tsk tsk), here’s the replay:

On the brink of elimination, the Flames showed fight, firing six shots on goal during the brief overtime stretch against the Oilers. Edmonton managed just two SOG, but that’s all they needed, as McDavid scored quickly from a high-danger area.

So, there you have it: McDavid and the Oilers await the winner of the Blues – Avalanche series. Not bad for a team that fired its coach mid-season.

Game 5: Carolina Hurricanes 3, New York Rangers 1 (CAR leads 3-2)

Now, let’s take a breath and switch gears. (Yes, it’s a much lower gear; really, it’s a much slower car.)

As you can read more about here, some Hurricanes – Rangers patterns continued in Game 5. The Hurricanes have still won every home game, and lost every playoff road game during these playoffs. Carolina once again hogged the puck. That’s something that’s been more of a pattern lately, but still worth noting.

Either the Rangers need to break the pattern of getting dominated at even-strength, or they need heroics from Igor Shesterkin plus more from their power play. Granted, that unit scored in Game 5, but it wasn’t enough.

If that home/road pattern continues, then we’ll see both the Hurricanes and Rangers engage in another Game 7. Jon Cooper may resist this notion, but that would be a nice deal for the Lightning.

Three Stars in NHL Playoffs (Game 5 of Hurricanes-Rangers and Flames-Oilers)

1. Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers

No doubt, Connor McDavid was the MVP of “The Battle of Alberta.” Leon Draisaitl might have been the greatest “battler,” though.

Draisaitl’s dealing with a lower-body injury (possibly injury-related), and there are moments where that shows. Yet, he keeps fighting through it. And, goodness, has he ever been producing.

To finish “The Battle of Alberta,” Leon Draisaitl collected four assists. That includes an assist on that overtime game-winner on that McDavid series-clincher. Through five games where he hasn’t been healthy, Draisaitl collected a ridiculous 17 points in the Flames – Oilers series.

Overall in the playoffs, Draisaitl’s collected 26 points in 17 games.

Via Sportsnet, Leon Draisaitl reached 50 career playoff points at the fourth-fastest rate in NHL history. Draisaitl needed just 33 games, behind only Wayne Gretzky (23), Barry Pederson (28), and Mario Lemieux (29).

In case you’re wondering, Connor McDavid won’t beat Draisaitl, but he’s not far behind. McDavid’s generated 48 points in 33 career playoff games. (Such a slacker!)

2. Zach Hyman, Edmonton Oilers

Personally, two strong playoff performers inspired similar reactions to their offseason signings. With both Zach Hyman and Phillip Danault, I thought “great players … not sure how those contracts will age, but they should deliver early on.”

Maybe both will indeed slow over time. Yet, with the way they’ve performed during certain playoff stretches, they’re over-delivering.

In the case of Zach Hyman, he’s really heating up lately. Hyman scored a goal and two assists in Game 5, helping the Oilers surge back into Game 5 during that zany second period. He was everywhere, earning a +4 rating and firing a lofty seven shots on goal.

Remarkably, Hyman scored a goal in every game of the Flames – Oilers series (finishing with six goals and two assists for eight points in those five contests). Overall, he’s generated exactly a point-per-game (12 in 12) in his first Oilers playoff run.

No doubt, the Oilers are powered by McDavid and Draisaitl. Whether they face the star-studded Avalanche or the remarkably deep Blues, the Oilers may really lean on secondary scoring. Depending upon where Hyman lines up, a lot could fall to him.

3. Seth Jarvis, Carolina Hurricanes

Feels unfair to exclude Game 5 of Rangers – Hurricanes altogether, right? In proud Hurricanes tradition, this was something of a team effort, including strong depth work from unusual suspects like Ian Cole and Brendan Smith.

Seth Jarvis gets the slight not, but your mileage will vary.

  • He did great full-ice work to eventually set up Teuvo Teravainen for the Hurricanes’ first power-play goal of this series against the Rangers.
  • Jarvis showed toughness in coming back quickly after being bloodied.
  • At 5-on-5, Seth Jarvis was on the ice for six high-danger chances for, and a mere two against.

Strong night of work, even if Jarvis wasn’t lighting up the scoreboard nearly as much.

FRIDAY’S NHL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

Game 5: St. Louis Blues vs. Colorado Avalanche (COL Leads Series 3-2), 8 p.m. ET — (TNT, Sportsnet, CBC, TVA Sports)

PHT’s 2022 Stanley Cup previews
Avalanche vs. Blues

Makar, McDavid lead Conn Smythe watch after First Round
NHL Second Round predictions
Storylines for the NHL’s Second Round

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    Blackhawks’ Jonathan Toews returns to ice, hints at retirement

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    CHICAGO — Longtime Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews returned to the ice but hinted his stellar NHL career could be winding down after 15 years.

    Toews, 34, skated with teammates prior to Chicago’s game with the Dallas Stars. It was his first time practicing with them since a game in Edmonton on Jan. 28.

    He made a statement through the team on Feb. 19 saying he would be stepping away because of the effects of Chronic Immune Response Syndrome and “long COVID.”

    In meeting with reporters, Toews stopped short of saying he hoped to play in any of last-place Chicago’s nine remaining games. His eight-year, $84 million contract is set to expire at the end of the season.

    Toews said he’s feeling stronger, but isn’t sure if he’ll be able to play again for the Blackhawks or another team.

    “Both if I’m being fully honest,” Toews said. “I feel like I’ve said it already, that I’ve gotten to the point where my health is more important.

    “When you’re young and you’re playing for a Stanley Cup and everyone’s playing through something, that means something and it’s worthwhile. But I’m at that point where it feels like more damage is being done than is a good thing.”

    Toews, the Blackhawks’ first-round draft pick (third overall) in 2006, joined the team in 2007 and was a pillar of Stanley Cup championship clubs in 2010, 2013 and 2015.

    At the peak of his career, he was one of the NHL’s top two-way centers, winning the Selke Trophy as the league’s top defensive forward in 2013.

    In 1,060 regular-season games, Toews has 371 goals and 509 assists. In 139 playoff games, he’s posted 45 goals and 74 assists, and he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2010.

    Toews missed the entire 2020-21 season with Chronic Immune Response System, which caused debilitating inflammation and fatigue.

    He appeared in 71 games in 2021-22, then started this season with renewed energy before slowing and eventually shutting himself down.

    Entering this season, it looked as if Chicago might deal him, as it did fellow star Patrick Kane, before the March trade deadline. But Kane went to the New York Rangers and Toews to injured reserve.

    Toews believed he was progressing before a relapse in January left him so sore and tired that he could barely “put on my skates or roll out of bed to come to the rink.”

    Toews said his progress over the past month has been “pretty encouraging” and he’s delighted to be back among his teammates. He has no timetable beyond that.

    “We’re just going to go day by day here,” Chicago coach Luke Richardson said. He deserves anything he wants to try to achieve here.”

    Richardson hoped Toews “can take that next step later in the week and hopefully (he) gives us the green light to go in a game.”

    But Toews emphasized his long-term health and ability to lead a “normal life” is most important. He wants to go out on a positive note and not hit the ice for a game playing through excessive pain and dysfunction.

    “It’s definitely on my mind that this could be my last few weeks here as a Blackhawk in Chicago,” Toews said. “It’s definitely very important for me to go out there and enjoy the game and just kind of soak it in and just really appreciate everything I’ve been able to be part of here in Chicago.”

    Budding Wild star Matt Boldy more willing to shoot, and it shows

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    ST. PAUL, Minn. — Matt Boldy was unable to resist a smile in the aftermath of his second hat trick in five games for the Minnesota Wild, a young right wing and reluctant star trying to make sense of a remarkable hot streak.

    Does the puck feel as if it’s automatically going in the net these days each time he shoots?

    “Yeah, it does,” Boldy said in the locker room after leading the first-place Wild to a 5-1 win over Seattle. “My linemates are playing great. Hopefully you guys are giving them a lot of credit. You look at some of those goals – just putting it on a tee for me.”

    This non-attention-seeker has found himself squarely in the NHL spotlight. Boldy has 11 goals in nine games since Wild superstar Kirill Kaprizov was sidelined with a lower-body injury to raise his goal total to 28, in part because he’s been more willing to shoot. With vision and stickhandling as strengths and the humility of being a second-year player, it’s easy to be in a pass-first mindset.

    “Everybody kind of took turns talking to him. But it’s not that he didn’t want to. A lot of times a situation like that where a guy’s got that skillset, it’s a real unselfish quality, right?” coach Dean Evason said. “But I think he gets now that he helps the team a lot when he scores goals.”

    The Wild were confident enough in Boldy’s scoring ability to commit a seven-year, $49 million contract extension to him earlier this winter, after all.

    “I think I’ve always had that mentality, but sometimes you just get into spots and it comes off your stick good,” Boldy said. “When things are going well, the puck goes in the net.”’

    The Wild are 6-1-2 without Kaprizov. Boldy is a big reason why.

    “You go through the slumps, you learn what you need to do to score. I think he’s found a good way to be in the right spot and shoot the puck when he had a good opportunity,” center Joel Eriksson Ek said.

    The Wild have only won one division title in 22 years, the five-team Northwest Division in 2007-08. They’re leading the eight-team Central Division with eight games to go, with both Colorado and Dallas too close for comfort. They haven’t won a playoff series since 2015.

    With Kaprizov due back before the postseason and Boldy on this heater, a Wild team that ranks just 23rd in the league in goals per game (2.93) ought to have a better chance to advance. Eriksson Ek and Marcus Johansson have been ideal linemates for the Boston College product and Massachusetts native.

    Since the Wild entered the league in the 2000-01 season, only five NHL players have had more hat tricks at age 21 or younger than Boldy with three: Patrik Laine (eight), Marian Gaborik (five), Steven Stamkos (five), Alex DeBrincat (four) and Connor McDavid (four). Boldy turns 22 next week, so there’s still time for one or two more.

    “He’s big. He controls the puck a lot. He’s got a good shot, good release. He’s smart. He switches it up. He’s got good moves on breakaways. He’s a total player,” goalie Marc-Andre Fleury said. ”Fun to watch him grow this year.”

    Pezzetta scores shootout winner; Canadiens beat Sabres 4-3

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    Timothy T. Ludwig/USA TODAY Sports
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    BUFFALO, N.Y. ⁠— Brendan Gallagher and the Montreal Canadiens rallied back to avoid playoff elimination with less than three weeks left in their season. The Buffalo Sabres, meanwhile, are running out of chances to stay in the Eastern Conference wild-card hunt.

    Gallagher forced overtime by scoring his 200th career goal, and Michael Pezzetta scored the decisive shootout goal in a 4-3 win over the Sabres on Monday night.

    “It’s one of those things I think we earned that chance. We weren’t fantastic but we did enough on the road tonight to get a win,” Gallagher said. “Smiles all around.”

    The Canadiens could laugh, especially after Pezzetta celebrated his goal by putting his stick between his legs and riding it like a wooden horse — much like former NHL tough guy Dave “Tiger” Williams did during his 14-year NHL career spanning the 1970s and 80s.

    “I’m not sure we’ll see that again. One of a kind,” said Gallagher. “I’d be worried about falling over.”

    Pezzetta scored by driving in from the right circle to beat Eric Comrie inside the far post. Buffalo’s Jack Quinn scored in the fourth shootout round, but was matched by Montreal’s Jesse Ylonen, whose shot from in tight managed to trickle in through Comrie.

    Jordan Harris and Alex Belzile also scored for Montreal, and Jake Allen stopped 30 shots through overtime, while allowing one goal on six shootout attempts.

    Montreal would have been eliminated from playoff contention for a second straight season – and two years removed from reaching the Stanley Cup Final – with any type of loss.

    The Sabres squandered a 3-2 third-period lead to drop to 3-6-3 in their past 12. Buffalo also blew a chance to move to within four points of idle Pittsburgh, which holds the eighth and final playoff spot.

    “Just a little hesitation,” forward JJ Peterka said of the Sabres third-period lapse. “We didn’t play with much energy and we didn’t play that aggressive as we played the two periods before. I think that was the difference.”

    Buffalo’s Lukas Rousek scored a goal and added an assist while filling in for leading scorer Tage Thompson, who did not play due to an upper body injury. Peterka and defenseman Riley Stillman also scored, and Comrie stopped 38 shots through overtime, and allowed two goals on six shootout attempts.

    Montreal blew two one-goal leads to fall behind 3-2 on Stillman’s goal at the 8:31 mark of the second period.

    Gallagher scored on the fly by using Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin as a screen to snap in a shot inside the far left post. With the goal, Gallagher tied Bobby Rousseau for 24th on the Canadiens career scoring list.

    “I liked the way we corrected ourselves, it’s a sign of maturity, in the way we stayed on task,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said, in recalling how the Canadiens recently unraveled in an 8-4 loss two weeks ago to Colorado, which plays a similar up-tempo style as Buffalo.

    PRIDE NIGHT

    The Sabres hosted their third Pride Night, with Russian D Ilya Lyubushkin electing not to participate in warmups by citing an anti-gay Kremlin law and fears of retribution at home in Moscow, where he has family and visits in the offseason. The remainder of the team wore dark blue jerseys with the Sabres logo on the front encircled by a rainbow-colored outline.

    During the first intermission, the Sabres broadcast a video in which GM Kevyn Adams said: “This is about recognizing someone’s humanity and true identity. We know there are people out there struggling with who they are, and we want them to know that they have an ally in the Buffalo Sabres.”

    UP NEXT

    Canadiens: At the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night.

    Sabres: Host the New York Rangers on Friday night.

    Flyers chairman Scott to retire; Hilferty becomes successor

    Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
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    PHILADELPHIA — Dave Scott will retire as chairman of the Philadelphia Flyers’ parent company Comcast Spectacor and be replaced by Dan Hilferty.

    Hilferty, who was recently named CEO of Comcast Spectacor, will succeed Scott as chairman of the company on April 17 and as the team’s governor on July 1.

    Scott joined Comcast Spectacor in December 2013 and the Flyers have struggled under his reign. They will miss the playoffs for a third straight season and haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1975.

    “Our number one goal for the Flyers will be to consistently compete for the Stanley Cup,” Hilferty said. “It is going to be a process that will take time to get on that path, but I’m confident we are headed in the right direction with Danny Briere as interim GM, Coach Tortorella, and our hiring of a President of Hockey Operations soon. Our leadership team will be fully focused to deliver on this for our fans while also continuing to make the sports complex the best location for sports and entertainment in the nation.”

    As Chairman and CEO of Comcast Spectacor, Hilferty will lead the company’s entire portfolio, including the Philadelphia Flyers. Spectacor Sports and Entertainment CEO Valerie Camillo will continue to work directly with Hilferty, overseeing the Wells Fargo Center, including its continued transformation, and lead the Flyers’ business operations.