Czechia eliminated the United States from the 2024 World Championship with a 1-0 victory in Thursday's quarterfinals.
Pavel Zacha put the host nation ahead with a power-play goal in the second period, and goaltender Lukas Dostal stood on his head for a 36-save shutout.
Many expected the United States to compete for gold this spring, as the deep American roster features Brady Tkachuk, Cole Caufield, Matt Boldy, and Johnny Gaudreau, among others. Instead, the country's tournament championship drought is now up to 92 years.
Czechia hasn't won the event since 2010. The 2022 team was the last to finish on the podium, collecting a bronze medal.
Canada, Switzerland, and Sweden also advanced Thursday and will join the host country in the next round. Both semifinal games will take place on Saturday.
Vancouver Canucks bench boss Rick Tocchet was named the 2023-24 Jack Adams Award winner on Wednesday, beating out finalists Andrew Brunette of the Nashville Predators and Rick Bowness of the Winnipeg Jets as coach of the year.
Tocchet guided the Canucks to a 50-23-9 record in his first full season behind the bench, good enough to earn the Pacific Division title and return to the playoffs for the first time since 2020. He's the third Vancouver coach to win the Jack Adams, joining Pat Quinn (1992) and Alain Vigneault (2007).
"A lot of buy-in (from the players), right from Day 1," Tocchet answered when asked about the Canucks' success this season. "They believed in the staff, and we believed in them."
Final ballots favored Tocchet in a landslide, as he earned 82 of 114 first-place votes.
Brunette, the runner-up for the honor, led the Predators back to the playoffs this spring after the organization had an eight-year streak snapped in 2022-23. Nashville's season turned around on the strength of a 16-0-2 run from mid-February to late March, a span in which the club led the league in goals for and against per game. Brunette was also nominated for the Jack Adams in 2022 when he helped the Florida Panthers capture the Presidents' Trophy.
Bowness, who retired this month after nearly 40 years behind NHL benches, oversaw a 110-point campaign with Winnipeg, the second-highest total in Jets franchise history. The nomination was the first of Bowness' career.
The Toronto Maple Leafs haven't reached out to any teams about potentially trading All-Star winger Mitch Marner this offseason, The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun reports.
Marner's been involved in trade rumors since the Leafs flamed out of the playoffs against the Boston Bruins in the first round, while president Brendan Shanahan said in the wake of the defeat that the front office will "consider everything" this summer.
Marner, 27, is approaching the final season of a six-year contract signed in 2019. He has a full no-trade clause, and he and agent Darren Ferris haven't made a list of teams the player would accept a trade to, LeBrun notes.
The Maple Leafs and Marner can come to an agreement on a contract extension as of July 1. Toronto signed winger William Nylander to an eight-year, $92-million extension in January, which is likely comparable to what Marner is seeking on his next deal.
Marner has been one of the league's top producers since signing his current contract, ranking eighth among all players with 509 points in 417 games over that span. He's added 37 points in 44 playoff contests but has taken plenty of heat since registering only a goal and two assists in Toronto's seven-game defeat to the Bruins this spring.
The Leafs drafted Marner fourth overall in 2015. The club has reached the playoffs each year since his rookie campaign in 2016-17 but has only won one series in that time.
After Edmonton's thrilling Game 7 win Monday, the conference finals of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs are set, and they should be doozies.
The Oilers will face the Dallas Stars in the West, while the New York Rangers will battle the Florida Panthers in the East. Unlike many other seasons, no Cinderella stories are taking place in 2024. This year's third round features three of four division winners and an Oilers squad that led the NHL in points after hiring Kris Knoblauch as head coach in mid-November.
We're also destined to end a lengthy Stanley Cup drought, as the Oilers (1990), Rangers (1994), Stars (1999), and Panthers (none since entering the league in 1993) have all paid their dues while waiting for a championship.
There's no shortage of eye-catching storylines for each team left, but we've already broken down each squad heading into the final four. We'll skip ahead and rank the best possible Stanley Cup Final matchups.
4. Panthers vs. Stars
Joel Auerbach / Getty Images Sport / Getty
The Stars and Panthers would likely offer fun-to-watch, fast-paced hockey if they met with a championship on the line, but this clash lacks the pizzazz of the other possibilities. We aren't knocking either squad, but unless you're a hardcore hockey fan, chances are you probably aren't well aware of what these teams have to offer.
Both Dallas and Florida are deep with quality players and play a sturdy defensive game. That could create a tight-checking brand of hockey that doesn't always bring fans out of their seats. There's some notable star power on both teams - Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, and Miro Heiskanen, among others - who could change that narrative and drive an offensive game. Still, the Stars and Panthers are the top two teams remaining in terms of goals against.
A second consecutive all-Sunbelt Stanley Cup Final (Florida lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023) may result in lower TV ratings and draw the ire of Cup-starved fans of bigger markets, but the NHL would likely be happy about continuing to grow the game down South.
3. Rangers vs. Stars
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At first glance, this matchup feels like a solid weeknight feature in the regular season, but hockey fans can't ask for much more than the top seed in each conference competing for the title. The Rangers and Stars were the NHL's two best teams this season by points and project to match up fairly evenly. The X-factor for both squads comes between the pipes, as Igor Shesterkin and Jake Oettinger have been the two best goalies in the playoffs.
Both netminders are firmly in the Conn Smythe race, but not everyone loves a goalie duel - especially on the biggest stage. Beyond the stars in the crease, there's not an overflow of compelling storylines between clubs that lack a shared history. There are some veterans on each side - Joe Pavelski and Ryan Suter for Dallas, Blake Wheeler and Chris Kreider for New York - whose first championship would make for a feel-good story, but that's not enough for a top-two spot in our rankings.
2. Panthers vs. Oilers
Andy Devlin / National Hockey League / Getty
With all due respect to the Stars, we picked the Oilers as the Western representative in each of our top two matchups. The sport benefits from showcasing the best players, and Connor McDavid competing for the Stanley Cup for the first time is easily the most captivating outcome the NHL has to offer.
Edmonton has been must-see TV this spring, pouring in nearly four goals per game and converting 37.5% of its power-play opportunities. The Oilers boast the top four scorers in these playoffs - Leon Draisaitl, McDavid, Evan Bouchard, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - as well as leading goal-getter Zach Hyman. The club's core labeled this season "Stanley Cup or bust," and they've stayed true to their word so far as the team aims to snap Canada's championship drought at 31 years.
As fun as the Oilers are to watch, the Panthers would offer a significant test. Florida may have the antidote to Edmonton's attack in Barkov, who ran away with the Selke Trophy as the league's top defensive forward this season. Watching the captains go toe to toe in a series-long chess match would produce remarkable theater for Xs and Os aficionados and casual fans alike.
Another fun aspect of this series would be Tkachuk renewing hostilities with the Oilers. The Panthers winger sparked some unforgettable drama in the Battle of Alberta during his years with the Calgary Flames, and you can guarantee he'd be in the thick of things again.
1. Rangers vs. Oilers
Bruce Bennett / Getty Images Sport / Getty
The Panthers might offer better storylines against the Oilers on the ice, but McDavid and Co. competing for the Cup against the league's biggest American market is a dream scenario for the NHL. The best player in the world aiming to cement his legacy as an all-time great in the World's Most Famous Arena is storybook stuff.
The Rangers don't have a matchup to slow down McDavid but can rely on all-world defenseman Adam Fox and Shesterkin as the last line of defense. New York's best bet might be trying to match Edmonton offensively with a top six as good as any in the league. The Oilers and Rangers engaging in a track meet would make for a breathtaking series, enhanced by two of the best crowds in the sport.
Matthew Tkachuk believes this year's Florida Panthers are better equipped to win the Stanley Cup than last year's Cinderella squad that defied the odds to reach the final.
"Last year, I think we were just kind of riding the wave going into it, much like this year," Tkachuk said, per team reporter Jameson Olive. "But going into this, we know what it's going to take to ultimately come out on top."
The Panthers are set to take on the Presidents' Trophy-winning New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Final, which begins Wednesday at Madison Square Garden. Florida finished only four points behind the Rangers in the regular-season standings and won the Atlantic Division one year after sneaking into the second wild-card spot on the final day of the 2023 season.
Last year's Panthers erased a 3-1 series deficit to the Boston Bruins in the opening round and then went 8-1 over their next two series before losing in the Stanley Cup Final to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Like Tkachuk, captain Aleksander Barkov said his squad has grown since falling short last spring.
"Sometimes when you go all the way to the finals and you're this close and you don't win it, you're just like, 'you're never going to win it,'" he said, according to NHL.com's Tom Gulitti. "I think after it happened to us last year, every single guy in the room, we just knew we needed to work a little harder, and everyone did. Everyone came to camp better than ever before, and it just carried into the season.
"We knew that we can do it, we're close, and everyone got better. And here we are again, we are really close."
Tkachuk and Barkov have been Florida's top two producers in these playoffs, logging 14 and 13 points, respectively, in 11 games.
The Panthers played the Rangers three times in the regular season, going 2-0-1.
Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet believes his club can enter the offseason with their heads high despite their playoff run ending with a Game 7 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on home ice Monday night.
"They put respect back in this city and this jersey, let's face it," Tocchet said after the loss, per Sportsnet. "The fans got something to be proud about, and it's all because of the players."
Vancouver fans gave the players a standing ovation after Monday's loss, a 3-2 final in which the Canucks made a push for overtime.
"There was no quit. I'm really proud of the guys," Tocchet said, according to team reporter Kate Pettersen. "They made a good push there. I'm really proud."
The Canucks won the Pacific Division with 109 points this season after missing the playoffs three years in a row. Vancouver has posted a 70-35-15 record since Tocchet replaced Bruce Boudreau behind the bench in January 2023 - good for the seventh-most points in the NHL.
Tocchet's hand in leading the Canucks to the postseason earned him a Jack Adams Award nomination.
Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet believes his club can enter the offseason with their heads high despite their playoff run ending with a Game 7 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on home ice Monday night.
"They put respect back in this city and this jersey, let's face it," Tocchet said after the loss, per Sportsnet. "The fans got something to be proud about, and it's all because of the players."
Vancouver fans gave the players a standing ovation after Monday's loss, a 3-2 final in which the Canucks made a push for overtime.
"There was no quit. I'm really proud of the guys," Tocchet said, according to team reporter Kate Pettersen. "They made a good push there. I'm really proud."
The Canucks won the Pacific Division with 109 points this season after missing the playoffs three years in a row. Vancouver has posted a 70-35-15 record since Tocchet replaced Bruce Boudreau behind the bench in January 2023 - good for the seventh-most points in the NHL.
Tocchet's hand in leading the Canucks to the postseason earned him a Jack Adams Award nomination.
The Edmonton Oilers staved off a furious third-period comeback attempt by the Vancouver Canucks on Monday to win Game 7 of their second-round series 3-2 and set up a clash with the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final.
The Edmonton Oilers staved off a third-period comeback attempt by the Vancouver Canucks to win 3-2 in Monday's Game 7 of their second-round series and set up a clash with the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final.
The Oilers appeared to be in cruise control after three consecutive second-period goals, but the Canucks struck twice in four minutes midway through the final frame to set up a frenetic finish.
McDavid, who was held off the scoresheet Monday but had nine points in the previous six games, credited his teammates' perseverance after trailing 3-2 in the series.
"I thought we defended well," McDavid said. "We played two really good games. Backs were against the wall, and we responded. Really proud of the group."
Edmonton shined in its own zone in Game 7 before Vancouver broke through with Conor Garland's goal, limiting the Canucks to 12 shots through 40 minutes. The Oilers blocked 22 shots in the contest and started generating momentum after a four-minute penalty kill in the first period in which Vancouver failed to register an attempt on goal.
Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner had to make only 15 saves but expressed his gratitude toward being between the pipes again after sitting out Games 4 and 5 following poor performances.
"It's everything, being able to have the support of your teammates," Skinner said. "You're with them for potentially years on end, and you're with them every single day throughout the season. They're your best friends, they're your brothers, right? So, being able to hear that from them and have that support from them means the world."
The Canucks have now lost three consecutive Game 7s dating back to the 2011 Stanley Cup Final. Vancouver took a huge leap forward this season, winning the Pacific Division with 109 points after missing the playoffs three straight years.
Rick Tocchet's crew ran into major injury trouble as the playoffs progressed, with first- and second-string netminders Thatcher Demko and Casey DeSmith getting hurt in the first round. Vancouver ruled leading goal-scorer Brock Boeser out of Game 7 on Sunday night due to a blood clotting issue.
The Oilers are in the conference final for the second time in three years. The Colorado Avalanche swept them in the third round in 2022.
Edmonton and Dallas met three times in the regular season, with the Stars winning twice.
Blake Wheeler is available to play in the Eastern Conference Final against the Florida Panthers should the New York Rangers find a spot for him in the lineup.
Wheeler was placed on injured reserve in February with a season-ending leg injury but recently shed his no-contact jersey in practice and hopes to return to game action.
"I think once you get rid of the red jersey, and the fact they take me off of the injured reserve, I think that's been my goal the whole time since I got hurt: to be an option and be available again. And that's where we're at," Wheeler said, per ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. "It's going to be in the coach's hands from there, but I'm ready in any capacity I can to help out."
New York signed Wheeler last summer after he was bought out by the Winnipeg Jets. The 37-year-old registered 21 points in 54 games as a Ranger before his injury.
It's unclear who the red-hot Rangers will pull out of the lineup if Wheeler slots in. New York is 8-2 so far in the playoffs while averaging 3.50 goals per game.
Wheeler began the season in a top-six role but will take any ice time he can get as he chases the first Stanley Cup of his 16-year career.
"You sit on the couch watching these guys play ... I just want to be back with the guys, with the group on the ice with them, in any capacity I can," Wheeler said. "They're a heck of a group in here. I've had just a blast playing with these guys all year. And then certainly the run they've been on, just like I said, that's the motivation right there."
The Eastern Conference Final is scheduled to begin Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers last reached the third round in 2022 and haven't been to the Stanley Cup Final since 2014.
