The Hurricanes sweep their second straight series, the Wild bounce back against the Avalanche, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
RECAPS OF SATURDAY’S PLAYOFF GAMES
NHL.COM: The Carolina Hurricanes swept their second straight series by defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 in Game 4 of their best-of-seven second-round series.
Jackson Blake tallied two goals (including the winner in overtime) and an assist, Logan Stankoven netted his seventh of this postseason, and Taylor Hall collected three assists for the Hurricanes, who await the winner of the Buffalo Sabres-Montreal Canadiens series in the Eastern Conference Final. Tyson Foerster and Alex Bump scored, and goaltender Dan Vladar stopped 37 shots for the Flyers.
Carolina Hurricanes forward Jackson Blake (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Philadelphia put up a good fight in this series, but this rebuilding club was no match against Carolina’s deep, experienced roster. The Flyers shook up their lineup for Game 4 by replacing forward Matvei Michkov and defensemen Emil Andrae with forward Jett Luchanko and blueliner Oliver Bonk, but it didn’t prevent the inevitable.
The Hurricanes are the fifth team in league history to begin their postseason with eight straight wins, and the first to do so since the full best-of-seven format was introduced in 1987. Once again, it was the second line of Hall, Stankoven, and Blake doing the damage. Hall and Blake lead the Canes with 12 and 11 points respectively, while Stankoven is their leading goal scorer.
Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov had a goal and two assists to lead his club to a 5-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 3 of their second-round series, handing the latter its first loss of this postseason.
Brock Faber also had a goal and two assists, Quinn Hughes had a goal and an assist, and Jesper Wallstedt returned to the net with a 35-save performance. Nathan MacKinnon had the lone goal for the Avalanche, who pulled netminder Scott Wedgewood after he gave up three goals on 12 shots. Game 4 of this series is Monday in Minnesota at 8 pm ET.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kaprizov opened the scoring on a 4-on-4 situation, which became a 4-on-3 soon afterward when Devon Toews took a hooking penalty, opening the door for Hughes’ goal. Wallstedt had a solid bounce-back effort after giving up eight goals in Game 1.
Wild center Joel Eriksson Ek missed his third straight game with a lower-body injury, but he could return to the lineup for Game 4 on Monday.
HEADLINES
SPORTSNET: Vegas Golden Knights head coach John Tortorella ripped into critics of winger Mitch Marner after he tallied his first NHL postseason hat trick in his club’s 6-2 win in Game 3 of their second-round series with the Anaheim Ducks.
“You guys don’t see the stuff he does,” Tortorella told reporters on Saturday. “People here, people in Toronto, all the people that talk about the guy, they don’t see any of the things that he brings to a game, even if he doesn’t score a goal. I’ve known that coaching against him.” He went on to call the narrative that Marner struggles in the playoffs “a bunch of bulls**t.”
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Toronto Maple Leafs fans will disagree, but there’s no question that Marner has been productive for the Golden Knights in this postseason thus far. He faced plenty of pressure during his tenure with the Maple Leafs, including what he put on himself. Marner seems more relaxed since moving to Vegas.
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL: Tortorella provided no update on the status of Golden Knight captain Mark Stone, who was injured during Game 3. It’s uncertain if he’ll be in the lineup for Game 4.
DAILY FACEOFF: Buffalo Sabres center Sam Carrick is available for Game 3 against the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday. He’d missed the last 15 games with an injured arm.
THE MONTREAL GAZETTE: Former Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban has completed his landmark $10 million pledge he made to Montreal’s Children’s Hospital a decade ago. It was the largest philanthropic commitment by a professional athlete in Canada and helped about 100,000 children.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Now an NHL analyst with ESPN, Subban admitted that there had been some difficulties along the way in meeting that pledge. However, he said there was no doubt in his mind, because he was going to follow through on his commitment. Subban emphasized that all the money his foundation raised went directly to Montreal’s Children’s Hospital.
NEW YORK POST: Long-time Rangers goaltending coach Benoit Allaire has announced his retirement. He filled that role from 2004 to 2024 before scaling back his duties over the past two years. Allaire played a significant role in the development of Rangers goaltenders Henrik Lundqvist and Igor Shesterkin.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Before joining the Rangers, Allaire was a goalie coach with the Montreal Canadiens and Phoenix Coyotes. During that period, he helped develop such notable netminders as Jocelyn Thibault, Tomas Vokoun, Jose Theodore, Nikolai Khabibulin, Brian Boucher, and Brent Johnson.
CHICAGO HOCKEY NOW: Blackhawks top prospect Roman Kantserov is expected to sign his NHL entry-level contract after his KHL contract was terminated, enabling him to come to North America.
RATINGS.ORG: Marco D’Amico profiled Quebec Remparts forward Maddox Dagenais, whose physical offensive play could put him into the mix as a first-round pick for clubs seeking a power forward. Dagenais is the son of former NHL forward Pierre Dagenais.