Kings’ Targets for First Round Pick in 2025 NHL Draft
As we enter the halfway mark of the Conference Finals, the shift to the offseason and everything that comes with that is right around the corner. One of those things…
Monthly Archives: May 2025
Former AHL All-Star Erik Brannstrom Signs With Lausanne HC In Swiss National League
Rochester Americans defenseman Erik Brannstrom has signed a three-year contract with Lausanne HC of the Swiss National League (NL) the club announced on Monday.
Brannstrom split his playing time between the Vancouver Canucks, Abbotsford Canucks, Hartford Wolf Pack, and Rochester Americans. He recorded eight points in 23 NHL games and 23 points in 27 AHL games.
The 25-year-old had a turbulent season where he was traded from Colorado to Vancouver in October, placed on waivers, traded from Vancouver to New York in the J.T. Miller deal in January, and traded from New York to Buffalo in March.
The Eksjo, Swe., native was an AHL All-Star in the 2018-19 season while a member of the Chicago Wolves and Belleville Senators.
Abbotsford Canucks Eliminate Colorado Eagles, Advance To Western Conference Finals After a dominant 5-0 game five win on Monday the Abbotsford Canucks have defeated the Colorado Eagles and advanced to the AHL's Western Western Conference Finals.
Brannstrom was a consistent point producer in the AHL but could not quite replicate the results at the NHL level. In 117 career AHL games with the Chicago Wolves, Belleville Senators, Hartford Wolf Pack, and Rochester Americans he recorded 19 goals and 86 points.
Originally a first round selection of the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017, Brannstrom has 10 goals and 77 points in his 294 game NHL career split between the Ottawa Senators and Vancouver Canucks.
The Hockey News' Derek O'Brien also covered this move here.
Make sure you bookmark The Hockey News' AHL Page for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more.
Count On Rantanen, Duchene Lifting Stars in Must-Win Game 4 Over Oilers
Oilers Look to Build on Blowout Wins as Stars Aim to Regroup in Crucial Game 4
The Western Conference Final has taken a sharp turn, and the Edmonton Oilers are suddenly in full control of the narrative.
After dropping Game 1 in Dallas, a game they gave up five unanswered goals after leading led 3-1 entering the third, the Oilers have bounced back with a vengeance, outscoring the Stars 9-1 over the last two games, including a dominant 6-1 win in Game 3 at Rogers Place.
Now, as the puck drops for Game 4 in Edmonton, the question for bettors isn’t just who will win, it’s whether Dallas can stop the bleeding before this series slips away.
For bettors, this matchup provides a chance to capitalize on some of our recent strong trends, like our perfect 3-0 night during Game 4 of the Panthers-Hurricanes Eastern Conference Finals.
All betting lines are from FanDuel Sportsbook and are subject to change. Hockey is a difficult sport to predict so please gamble responsibly.
More NHL: Maple Leafs' Mitch Marner Next Team Betting Odds Revealed
Edmonton Oilers vs Dallas Stars Game 4 Best Bets:
- Stars Over 2.5 goals (-148)
- Stars ML (+126)
- Mikko Rantanen anytime goal (+170)
- Matt Duchene Over 0.5 points (+108)
- Over 5.5 goals (-160)
Same Game Parlay (5-Leg): +693 ($10 Bet Pays $69)
The Stars have been tossed to the side for two straight games and have been outworked in every aspect of the game.
They must start rattling the cage of Oilers netminder Stuart Skinner as Dallas have been leading in quality scoring chances, according to Stars beat reporter Owen Newkirk, with 33 compared to Edmonton's 22 in Game 2 followed by 35 to Edmonton's 27 in Game 3 despite being blown out.
They'll need to start capitalizing and it should start Tuesday as they are going to do everything in their power to even up this series. The Stars have proven they can win in tough environments, taking Game 3 on the road in Colorado during round one and opening the second round with a road win in Winnipeg.
More NHL: To Touch or Not to Touch: Betting On If the Prince of Wales Trophy Tradition Will Carry On
We have seen what the Stars can do when they get on a roll and they've gotten to this point with most of their top end guys having gone completely cold.
Mikko Rantanen has gone six straight games without a goal, Wyatt Johnston has just one point in his last nine, Matt Duchene has one in his last five, and Jason Robertson has only three points in nine playoff games.
This group will need to find their game and it should get started with Rantanen, who should snap his scoring drought and start to pierce through the Oilers defence and get to Skinner.
The rest of the offence should follow suit, starting with Duchene, who got a big game-winning goal in Game 1 but has gone on another scoring drought with no points over the last two games.
Rantanen and Duchene also spear-head the Stars first powerplay unit that will see it's chances after failing to convert on six straight opportunities heading into Tuesday.
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Projected Lineups for Oilers vs Stars – 5/27/25
The Edmonton Oilers take on the Dallas Stars today. Here are the projected/expected lineups sourced from NHL.com staff writers, independent correspondents, and others. (C2) STARS at (P3) OILERS Western Conference Final, Game 4…
Czech Sabres Prospect Signs Multi-Year Contract In Sweden
Czech forward Lukáš Rousek, 26, has signed a two-year contract with HV71, the SHL club announced on Tuesday. Rousek had played the last five seasons in North America in the Buffalo Sabres organization.
“It will be a lot of fun and is an exciting challenge,” said Rousek. “I know how high the Swedish Hockey League is and that Jönköping is a hockey-crazy city, and I look forward to being part of HV71.”
“Lukáš’s greatest quality is his passing game,” said HV71 GM Björn Liljander. “He is a real playmaker who sees the game very well and always finds an open space – a player you can use both as a center and a winger.”
Born in the small town of Ostrov but raised in Prague, Rousek turned pro with local club Sparta, recording 90 points in 176 Extraliga regular-season and playoff games. He was somewhat of a late bloomer, never representing Czechia at the U-18 or U-20 levels.
Buffalo drafted Rousek at age 20 in the sixth round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Between 2021 and 2025, Rousek played primarily for the AHL’s Rochester Americans but also played 17 NHL games for the Sabres, scoring one goal and adding three assists.
HV71 was SHL champion a recently as 2016-17 but fell on hard times soon after and was relegated. Since returning to the top Swedish league in 2022, the club has not made the playoffs and the last two seasons barely avoided relegation.
Photos © Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images
Jiří Kulich: “I Immediately Messaged My Family & Friends” After Hearing He Would Play After not playing in the season opener on Friday, 20-year-old Jiří Kulich played his second career NHL game for the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday in Prague. Lightning Fans Should Be Optimistic For Oliver Bjorkstrand’s Return
The Tampa Bay Lightning paid a premium for Oliver Bjorkstrand and his linemate Yanni Gourde at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline. The trade package included two first-round picks (2026 and…
An excellent playoff team under Paul Maurice, Panthers show how difficult it is to complete sweep
They say the fourth win in a best-of-seven series is the most difficult to obtain.
It would seem the Florida Panthers can attest to that adage.
Florida had an opportunity to sweep the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night when they hosted Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final.
All the momentum appeared to be in the Panthers’ favor. Not only had they just won three straight against Carolina, including two in the Canes home barn, but Florida had done so by a combined score of 16-4.
But alas, the fightin’ Hurricanes showed up in Sunrise with their best effort of the series and came away with a resounding 3-0 victory.
“They had their best game of the series,” said Panthers Captain Sasha Barkov. “They deserved to win. It’s okay. We’ll learn, we’ll recover from this and we’ll move on.”
Under Paul Maurice, Florida has played 11 playoff series. They have taken a 3-0 lead in five of them.
While the Panthers have won every one of those series, they were only able to complete the four-game sweep once: the 2023 conference final against Carolina.
We all remember what happened during last season’s Stanley Cup Final, when Florida went up 3-0 only to see the series get pushed all the way to a deciding seventh game.
The other two times the Panthers opened a series with three consecutive wins were the second round in 2023 against the Toronto Maple Leafs and the 2024 first round against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
In both of those instances, Florida dropped Game 4 but turned right back around and closed out each series in five games.
It’s that bounce-back mindset that has helped the Panthers avoid any extended periods of losing, whether it’s the regular season or the playoffs.
“It’s not frustrating, that’s hockey,” said Panthers forward Sam Bennet. “That’s the way it goes sometimes. Sometimes you get bounces, sometimes you don’t. (In Game 4) we didn’t get many bounces, but we also didn’t play our best, so I don’t think we deserved the bounces.”
Florida will board a plane to Raleigh on Tuesday and prepare for their second opportunity to close out the series.
The Panthers surely enjoyed their first visits to Lenovo center, winning Games 1 and 2 handily.
They will likely draw more from those two victories than from Monday’s loss, but this is a veteran team that will be expected Carolina’s best once again.
Perhaps this time they’ll be better prepared to push back.
“We sat back, that's not the norm for us,” said Bennett. “I'm sure it's a pretty easy fix to turn that around.”
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Photo caption: May 26, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) moves the puck during the third period against the Carolina Hurricanes in game four of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Bruins Coaching Search Snag, Plus Stars and Oilers Rumors
In today’s NHL rumors rundown, Roope Hintz is a game-time decision for the Dallas Stars. He’s working hard to get back in, but is he ready? Meanwhile, Mattias Ekholm might…
Maple Leafs Fans’ Biggest Concern: Is the Core Cracked Beyond Repair?
Despite a seven-game war with the Florida Panthers, the Toronto Maple Leafs once again ended their playoff run in familiar fashion—full of promise but ultimately falling short. Some fans insist…
Devils’ Tomas Tatar Signs in Switzerland
As a pending free agent from the New Jersey Devils, Slovak forward Tomas Tatar inked a two-year deal with EV Zug of the Swiss National League, the team reported on…