The latest on the Golden Knights and Hurricanes ahead of Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, the league is moving ahead with an investigation into former coach Mike Babcock, takeaways from Peter Laviolette’s introduction as the new Kings coach, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
SPORTSNET: Eric Francis believes the Vegas Golden Knights need more from their top line if they’re going to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Final.
The line of center Jack Eichel, “whether it featured Pavel Dorofeyev or the newly assembled combination with Mark Stone and Ivan Barbashev”, has struggled against the Hurricanes in this series.
Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (NHL Images).
After four games, Eichel, Stone, and Barbashev each have two points in this series. Dorofeyev hasn’t collected any points since Game 2 of the Western Conference Final.
Meanwhile, the second line of Mitch Marner, William Karlsson, and Brett Howden has combined for nine of Vegas’ 16 goals in this series.
Francis noted that Eichel, the franchise center, has played well in this series at both ends of the ice. Given how close this series has been, Vegas needs more offense from Eichel and his linemates.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Hurricanes’ first line of Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, and Seth Jarvis has also had its difficulties generating offense in this postseason. Aho has done a little better than Eichel with four assists, but Jarvis and Svechnikov each have two points in this series.
Like the Golden Knights, the Hurricanes’ second line (Logan Stankoven, Taylor Hall, and Jackson Blake) has stepped up, though not at the same level as the Marner line.
Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal has had a bigger impact on this series. He has five goals and an assist through those four games, including the series-tying game-winner in Game 4.
THE SCORE: cited a report by The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, who indicated that the Hurricanes talked to the Florida Panthers about goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky at the trade deadline. However, they balked at the Panthers’ asking price of a first-round pick.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Hurricanes made do with Frederik Andersen until Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. He was replaced in that game with Brandon Bussi, who got the loss in that contest, but went on to win Game 4 in his first NHL playoff start.
TSN: The NHL is moving ahead with an investigation of former head coach Mike Babcock at the request of the NHL Players’ Association. The investigation is regarding allegations that Babcock invaded players’ privacy during his brief tenure as coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2023.
This investigation began after the Edmonton Oilers consulted with the NHLPA to determine whether any objections needed to be resolved before they could potentially hire Babcock.
DAILY FACEOFF: cited NHL insider Frank Seravalli claiming the PA is in receipt of “significant” additional claims from their own investigation with players that were not publicly reported in 2023. Those claims were presented to the league before Babcock resigned from the Blue Jackets.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The league was looking into the allegations against Babcock, but reportedly stopped when he stepped down as the Blue Jackets’ coach. The PA requested the league continue its inquiry after being contacted by the Oilers about their intention to hire him.
MAYOR’S MANOR: Alexander Legget has seven takeaways from Peter Laviolette’s introduction press conference as the new head coach of the Los Angeles Kings.
The most notable is Laviolette’s intention to implement a more offensive-minded system while ensuring they don’t sacrifice their defensive play. He also wants to see his defensemen join the offensive rush more often.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Kings have played a defensive-oriented style for years, going back to their Stanley Cup championship runs in 2012 and 2014. As Laviolette pointed out, it is now a more attack-oriented game, and they have the players who could make it happen. They include forwards Artemi Panarin, Adrian Kempe, Kevin Fiala, Alex Laferriere, and Quinton Byfield, and puck-moving defenseman Brandt Clarke.
THE SCORE: Former Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy said he’s interested in coaching the Toronto Maple Leafs if granted permission to be interviewed by the Leafs.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Golden Knights have prevented Cassidy from speaking with the Oilers and the Kings about their coaching jobs. Some observers believe it’s because they don’t want him becoming the bench boss of a division rival. It’ll be interesting to see what their reaction would be regarding his desire to apply for the Leafs job, assuming they’re interested in hiring him.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Steve Ott signed a contract extension to remain the head coach of the St. Louis Blues’ AHL affiliate in Springfield, Massachusetts.