Marc-Andre Fleury's agent, Allan Walsh, tweeted a photo Saturday of his client being stabbed in the back by a sword inscribed with Vegas Golden Knights head coach Peter DeBoer's name.
Walsh is apparently not happy the team relegated Fleury to backup duties (he's started two of Vegas' eight playoff games) in favor of trade-deadline acquisition Robin Lehner.
Fleury faced the music regarding the since-deleted tweet Sunday, and he declined questions about whether he had prior knowledge that Walsh would post the photo, according to the Las Vegas Sun's Justin Emerson.
"I really appreciated (Walsh’s) passion for the game that he has, and this was a way to defend me in this situation," Fleury said. "I’m here to win with my team, to have success. That’s what matters. I asked him to take that picture down."
Fleury also reiterated that he and Lehner have a good relationship.
"We all want to win, that's why we're here," Fleury added. "I really like Robin. We have a good friendship, and I think he's a really good goalie also. There are no hard feelings."
Vegas expects Lehner to start Game 1 against the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday.
The Washington Capitals fired bench boss Todd Reirden after just two seasons on the job, the team announced Sunday.
"We have higher expectations for our team, and we felt a fresh approach in leadership was necessary," general manager Brian MacLellan said. "We would like to thank Todd for all of his hard work and efforts with our organization. Todd has been a big part of our team for more than half a decade, including our Stanley Cup run in 2018, and we wish him and his family all the best moving forward."
Reirden was an assistant coach with the Caps for four seasons. He was promoted to head coach following Barry Trotz's departure after the club's 2018 Stanley Cup triumph. Trotz resigned when the Capitals were unwilling to meet his contract demands, and he was hired shortly thereafter by the New York Islanders, who beat the Capitals in Round 1 this year.
The 49-year-old Reirden guided the team to an 89-46-16 record during the regular season but failed to advance past the first round of the playoffs in each of his two years at the helm.
Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar wasn't happy with how his team performed in a 5-3 loss to the Dallas Stars in Game 1 on Saturday night.
"The biggest thing was we had half our team not show up to play," Bednar said postgame, according to NHL.com's Dan Rosen.
Bednar didn't mention anyone by name but made it clear to whom he was referencing.
"Obviously, our big guys had a good night," he said. "They were here to compete, play to win the hockey game, and we had a lot of guys that weren't. When I say a lot, I'm talking half the team."
The top line of Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, and Mikko Rantanen - who combined for six points - had a strong outing. Second-line center Nazem Kadri - who's tied for the playoff lead with six goals and picked up an assist in the game - also appeared to be excused from Bednar's comments.
"I did not like our D-corps tonight. I did not like our middle-six wingers," Bednar added, according to The Athletic's Ryan Clark.
"We had a couple workers in the bottom six, but we did not have enough people playing," Bednar said. "You might be able to get away with one or two passengers this time of year, but you're not getting away with any more than that. Not against a team like Dallas. So, that's on us. That's on me as the head coach."
Perhaps nobody had a rougher night than blue-liner Nikita Zadorov. The 6-foot-6 rearguard was on the ice for zero high-danger scoring chances at five-on-five compared to nine against.
With the second round of the playoffs set to begin Saturday night, we outline one key storyline for each series.
Eastern Conference
Philadelphia Flyers (1) vs. New York Islanders (6)
Mike Stobe / National Hockey League / Getty
If you love goals, this series isn't for you - this will be a defensive battle for the ages.
The Isles (1.67) and Flyers (1.78) are allowing the second- and third-fewest goals per game, respectively, in the postseason so far. Philadelphia (.937) ranks second in save percentage, with the Islanders (.934) in third.
New York has a substantial advantage in the underlying numbers, though, ranking fourth in expected goals against per 60 minutes at five-on-five, while the Flyers rank 20th out of 24 teams.
With goals at a premium, the obvious X-factors are netminders Carter Hart and Semyon Varlamov. But what could actually make or break this series is special teams. The Islanders' penalty kill (75%) ranks 22nd after struggling against potent Florida and Washington units. The Flyers' power play (10.3%) has been equally poor, ranking 22nd in the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Isles' power play and Flyers' PK have both been average.
Tampa Bay Lightning (2) vs. Boston Bruins (4)
Mark Blinch / National Hockey League / Getty
Despite reverting back to the old 1 vs. 8 reseeding playoff format for a year, we still get an Eastern Conference Final-caliber matchup a round earlier than we should. This is a powerhouse meeting between the two best teams in the conference and the past two Presidents' Trophy winners. Tampa and Boston rank first and second in points, respectively, in the NHL over the past three regular seasons.
These two teams last met in the playoffs in 2018, when the Bolts won four straight contests after dropping Game 1 to take the series in five games. Much has changed since, though. Not only did each squad add numerous different role players to fill out the lineup, but each is missing a star player.
Steven Stamkos (undisclosed) has yet to appear in the postseason and his status for Round 2 is unclear. His return would be massive considering the Lightning haven't generated consistent offense from anyone other than Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point.
Meanwhile, it's Jaroslav Halak's crease for the Bruins after Tuukka Rask opted out and departed the bubble. Halak was sharp against the Hurricanes, but he owns an .893 save percentage and a 2.93 goals-against average in 10 career games against the Lightning.
Western Conference
Vegas Golden Knights (1) vs. Vancouver Canucks (5)
Jeff Vinnick / National Hockey League / Getty
These teams are built similarly. Both employ a high-powered top-six forward group and a distinctly different bottom-six group, the latter intended to bring grit and simply not be scored upon. Each team also has stellar goaltending, and both Jacob Markstrom and Robin Lehner happen to be unrestricted free agents at season's end.
Vancouver's already beat two of the league's best blue lines, though. It dispatched Minnesota in the qualifier and then took down defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis in Round 1. Neither of those teams received strong goaltending, though, and Vegas has two capable netminders.
The Canucks will have to work extremely hard to generate their chances against one of the best puck-possession teams in the league, and Elias Pettersson, Bo Horvat, and company will have to continue to capitalize on their opportunities, especially on the power play, as they did against St. Louis. Easier said than done, though.
Colorado Avalanche (2) vs. Dallas Stars (3)
Andy Devlin / National Hockey League / Getty
This series showcases a head-to-head matchup between two of the best players in the NHL. One of these players - Nathan MacKinnon - is obvious. The other - Miro Heiskanen - doesn't garner the same attention.
MacKinnon's abilities are well known. He has blazing speed, soft hands, and a lethal shot - a nightmare combination for any defenseman. But if there's one blue-liner left in the playoffs who might have the best chance of slowing him down (other than Victor Hedman, perhaps), it's Heiskanen.
The 21-year-old is a sensational skater, and always seems to be in the right position to break up scoring chances. The Stars have outshot their opponents 99-72 and generated 57.3% of expected goals when Heiskanen's been on the ice at five-on-five in the playoffs. He also leads the team offensively with 12 points in nine games.
If Heiskanen can contain MacKinnon - and maybe even outshine him, though that's a big ask - not only will the Dallas defender start to receive the national recognition he deserves, but the Stars will have a chance to upset the Avalanche. If MacKinnon runs wild, Dallas has no chance.
The NHL is ready to drop the puck for the second round and unveiled the schedule for the eight remaining playoff teams Saturday.
Round 2 will begin Saturday evening, three days ahead of schedule, so the Stanley Cup is likely to be awarded before Oct. 1, according to TSN's Frank Seravalli.
All times ET
Philadelphia Flyers (1) vs. New York Islanders (6)
Game
Date
Time
1
Aug. 24
7 p.m.
2
Aug. 26
3 p.m.
3
Aug. 27
7 p.m.
4
Aug. 29
Noon
*5
Aug. 31
TBD
*6
Sept. 2
TBD
*7
Sept. 3
TBD
*If necessary
Tampa Bay Lightning (2) vs. Boston Bruins (4)
Game
Date
Time
1
Aug. 23
8 p.m.
2
Aug. 25
7 p.m.
3
Aug. 26
8 p.m.
4
Aug. 28
7:30 p.m.
*5
Aug. 30
TBD
*6
Sept. 1
TBD
*7
Sept. 2
TBD
Vegas Golden Knights (1) vs. Vancouver Canucks (5)
After 10 seasons and only 14 games of NHL postseason experience, Taylor Hall wants to spend the next chapter of his career in the playoffs on a more regular basis.
"I think, honestly, it's probably all winning," the Arizona Coyotes forward said Friday when asked what's most important as he heads to unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career, according to NHL.com's Nick Cotsonika.
"Any player at this stage in their career that has had the career that I've had, 10 seasons, only make the playoffs twice, that's really what I'm after," the 28-year-old said. "So we'll see what happens there."
The Coyotes have made the playoffs just once in the last eight years, but Hall isn't ruling out a return to the desert.
"I think the Coyotes have a bright future," he said. "They have some great guys, some good young players. When I get around to crossing that bridge and I kind of come to what I want to do, we'll see."
Hall understands he likely won't get paid as much due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused the league to institute a flat salary cap - rather than a rising one - for multiple years. That's placed a premium on winning.
"But yeah, I'd say it's pretty much all winning," he said. "I don't think the money's going to be what it was maybe before COVID or before the season, but that's fine. I think we get paid a lot of money to play a game, and we'll see what happens."
Hall recorded 16 goals and 52 points in 65 regular-season games. He added six more points in nine playoff contests. He and St. Louis Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo are expected to headline this offseason's free-agent class.
The teams' current off-ice spat began Thursday when Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault downplayed the injury Brendan Gallagher suffered - which was later diagnosed as a broken jaw - after Matt Niskanencross-checked him during Game 5.
"In my estimation, Gallagher got up and seemed fine, he was talking to the referees, the whole time that he was on the bench he was talking to our players for the rest of the game," Vigneault said, according to The Athletic's Arpon Basu.
"Gallagher's a very competitive player, but I don't think it's Nisky's fault he might not be as tall as the other guys, but he competes as big if not bigger than anybody else," Vigneault continued. "It just seemed (like) a hockey play that unfortunately cut him a little bit."
Niskanen later received a one-game suspension for the incident while Gallagher was ruled out for the remainder of the series. Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin didn't like how Vigneault downplayed Gallagher's injury before knowing the severity of the ailment.
"I was expecting more and I was extremely disappointed that AV would make a comment about a player's injuries without knowing the extent of it," Bergevin said Friday, per Sportsnet's Eric Engels. "Brendan Gallagher will be missing an extended period of time and will be eating his meals out of a straw, and I don't wish that on anybody, and that includes the Flyers' players."
If the Canadiens win Game 6 to force a Game 7, Niskanen will be back in the lineup for the winner-take-all tilt. Gallagher, meanwhile, may have surgery Friday and will be "out a while," Bergevin added.
"The authority of the NHL has made their decision and we'll live with it. We'll respect the decision," Bergevin said. "It's unfortunate that our player, Brendan, is going to miss an undetermined amount of time while their player will miss one game. I don't have more comments on it."
As part of the NHL's explanation for why the suspension is not more than one game, the league said, "the sudden and significant movement by Gallagher contributes to the fact that this blow lands on his head, rather than somewhere else on his body."
Bergevin was not a fan of that assessment.
"We agreed to disagree," he said, according to Basu.
Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford raised some eyebrows when he signed defenseman Jack Johnson to a five-year contract carrying a $3.25-million cap hit on July 1, 2018. To this day, Rutherford remains adamant it's a good deal for the team.
"His contract is not a problem for us," Rutherford The Athletic's Josh Yohe on Thursday. "His contract isn't going to impact anything that we do in terms of the cap."
Rutherford believes Johnson's critics are too harsh.
"Here's my summary of this situation," the GM said. "Maybe Jack Johnson isn't as good as I think he is. Maybe. But he's not as bad as all of the anti-Jack Johnson people think he is. I'll tell you what he is: He's a solid, third-pairing defenseman if he's playing with the right guy. He's a player that I happen to really like and I think he's a better player than a lot of people want to give him credit for."
Johnson finished fifth among Penguins defensemen in average time on ice during the season, but he played most of his five-on-five minutes with Pittsburgh's top defenseman, Kris Letang.
Here's a look at his isolated offensive impact at five-on-five (red - more shots - is better) from HockeyViz:
hockeyviz.com
Johnson is not known for his offensive abilities, however. He's supposed to be strong in his own end, but his isolated defensive impact at five-on-five doesn't do him any favors, either (blue - fewer shots - is better):
hockeyviz.com
Johnson had a poor showing in the postseason, where he was paired predominately with Justin Schultz. In Pittsburgh's four-game series loss to the Montreal Canadiens, he was on the ice for one goal for and five against, as well as 16 scoring chances for and 21 against, according to Natural Stat Trick.
"I think Jack was pretty good this season," Rutherford said. "He changed up his training regimen before the season started and you could see the difference. He gained half a step. He's one of those guys, he plays a very heavy game. He's very hard to play against down low because he's so big and strong. He's also a very good penalty killer."
Rutherford drafted Johnson third overall in 2005 as GM of the Carolina Hurricanes.
Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask opted out of the NHL's postseason last week in order to deal with a "family emergency," team president Cam Neely told reporters Thursday, including NHL.com's Amalie Benjamin.
Rask cited the importance of family when he opted out, but he did not reveal any further details.
The veteran netminder received the support of his teammates, including forward Chris Wagner, who said "family comes before everything."
The Bruins have been left in good hands between the pipes since Rask left the bubble. Backup Jaroslav Halak won all three games since taking over with a .932 save percentage, helping Boston eliminate the Carolina Hurricanes.
It's safe to say Quinn Hughes is feeling it right now.
The Vancouver Canucks phenom matched the longest playoff point streak by a rookie defenseman in NHL history with an assist during Game 3 against the St. Louis Blues on Sunday night, according to NHL Public Relations.
Player
Team
Year
Games
Quinn Hughes
VAN
2020
6
Al MacInnis
CGY
1984
6
Zarley Zalapski
PIT
1989
6
Additionally, Hughes is the third rookie defenseman with at least nine points through his first seven playoff games, per Sportsnet Stats. He joins Hall of Famer Ray Bourque, who accomplished the feat with the Boston Bruins in 1980, and the legendary Gary Suter, who reached the mark in 1986 with the Calgary Flames.
Furthermore, Hughes has tied Henrik Sedin for a Canucks franchise record with six consecutive postseason games with an assist, according to Sportsnet's Joey Kenward.
Hughes is considered the frontrunner for the Calder Trophy after recording 53 points in 68 contests during the regular season, but it's clear his game has taken an additional step forward since the pause.
