The Edmonton Oilers turned back to goaltender Stuart Skinner with their season on the line Saturday night against the Vancouver Canucks.
"I'm excited to get back in the net. I'm excited to get to do my job again," Skinner said pregame, per NHL.com's Mike Zeisberger.
Calvin Pickard started the previous two tilts for Edmonton after Skinner managed a .793 save percentage over the first three games of the series.
Pickard shined in a Game 4 victory but allowed three goals on 35 shots in a Game 5 loss that gave the Canucks a 3-2 series lead.
Skinner had a strong showing in the opening round against the Los Angeles Kings, going 4-1 with one shutout and a .910 save percentage. The 25-year-old was 36-16-5 over 59 regular-season appearances.
Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery pointed to a lack of offense as the primary reason the Florida Panthers eliminated his club Friday night.
"I didn't sense frustration, but a lack of our ability to score in the playoffs in general. You can't win every game 2-1," Montgomery said after the Game 6 loss, per NBC Sports Boston.
"We didn't finish. Outside of Game 1, did we score more than two goals?"
Boston opened the second-round series with a 5-1 victory but failed to score more than two goals in each of the next five games - four of those losses. The Bruins were also limited to two goals or less in the final three contests of their first-round matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs but advanced to face Florida with a 2-1 overtime victory in Game 7.
The Bruins finished the regular season ranked 14th in the NHL with 3.21 goals per contest, a mark that fell to 2.38 in 13 playoff games this spring.
However, Montgomery conceded other reasons than a lack of goals for why the Panthers got the best of his squad.
"It's not the only thing, there's several other elements of the series," Montgomery said. "The territorial zone time they had over us, it has compounding effects."
The Panthers have eliminated the Bruins in back-to-back playoffs. In 2023, Florida ended Boston's historically successful season by erasing a 3-1 series deficit in the first round.
Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan will run the United States' bench at next year's 4 Nations Face-Off and the 2026 Olympics in Italy, USA Hockey announced Saturday.
The 4 Nations Face-Off takes place next February and will include Canada, USA, Sweden, and Finland. It's the start of a revamped international event calendar that's scheduled to stage a best-on-best tournament every two years.
The NHL confirmed it will return to the 2026 Olympics in February after missing the previous two tournaments. The league hasn't participated in a best-on-best event since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Sullivan has coached USA in some capacity four separate times. He was tabbed to lead the Stars and Stripes at the 2022 winter games in Beijing before the NHL pulled out due to COVID-19 complications.
The 56-year-old led the Penguins to championships in 2016 and 2017, becoming the first American-born head coach to win the Stanley Cup twice. Sullivan's 375 regular-season wins since taking over in Pittsburgh are the fourth-most in the NHL.
Matt Duchene became an instant hero in Dallas early Saturday morning, as his double overtime goal in Game 6 eliminated the Colorado Avalanche and sent the Stars to the Western Conference Final.
Duchene let out an emotional celebration after depositing a loose puck with eight minutes left in the game's fifth period but had difficulty putting the moment into words.
"I don't even know what (I did)," Duchene said, per NHL.com's Ryan Boulding. "I know I ended up on my knees like last time I got one in overtime, but I have no idea, to be honest with you. It's just elation, right?"
"It just popped out to me, shot it in, and then blacked out, pretty much," he told the NHL on TNT crew after the win.
Duchene's tally is the third playoff overtime winner of his career, but he described this one as extra special.
"This is only the second time I've been past the first round in my career," he said, according to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun. "Now we're going to the conference finals. At 33, I think there's a certain level of appreciation that you have that you wouldn't have had as a young player."
Duchene last reached the second round in 2019 as a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets. He joined the Stars last summer on a one-year, $3-million deal after the Nashville Predators bought him out with three years remaining on his contract.
"(Duchene) came in, and he really changed our team," general manager Jim Nill said. "Just a different dimension. Another element of offense for us. And he's bought into how we've got to play, too. He had to change his game. So, it's been a good fit."
Duchene registered 65 points in the 2023-24 regular season and has added six points in the playoffs.
The Boston Bruins got captain Brad Marchand back in the lineup for Friday's Game 6 against the Florida Panthers after he missed the previous two contests with an upper-body injury.
Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery inserted Marchand into the starting lineup alongside Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic.
Marchand was injured by a hit from Panthers forward Sam Bennett in Game 3. The collision sparked plenty of controversy, as Bennett appeared to sneakily punch Marchand in the head as he braced for contact. But the Bruins veteran said he would have done the same thing if roles were reversed.
The Bruins need a win Friday to force a Game 7 as they attempt to overturn a 3-1 deficit in the series.
Marchand came into Friday's tilt tied for Boston's scoring lead this postseason and boasts 10 points in 10 games.
Chris Kreider's third-period natural hat trick in Game 6 against the Carolina Hurricanes etched his name in New York Rangers lore, and it's no surprise he drew nothing but praise from his peers after sending his club to the Eastern Conference Final.
"He put us on his back," head coach Peter Laviolette said, per The Athletic's Peter Baugh. "At the end of the day, we needed to score goals, and this is what he does. This is what he did tonight. It was a pretty unbelievable performance by him, especially for a guy who wasn't on the ice yesterday."
Laviolette continued: "He's one of the leaders on the team for a reason. He's the elder statesman on the team, one of them. We needed that from him."
Kreider missed practice Wednesday to take a maintenance day before he put in the performance of a lifetime Thursday. The 33-year-old scored three times in nine minutes to singlehandedly erase Carolina's 3-1 lead and end the series when it looked certain the Hurricanes would force a Game 7.
"We were a little down on ourselves after the second period," said Vincent Trocheck. "Whenever you're in a spot like that, you need your big players to come up big. Chris did that tonight."
Kreider is the Rangers' longest-tenured player. He was a first-round pick in 2009 and has been a regular in New York's lineup since 2013. Over 12 seasons, Kreider's notched 552 points in 815 games and 71 more in 116 playoff appearances.
Although he was the hero, Kreider was humble when asked to assess his performance.
"It means we get to play more hockey," he said.
The Rangers will play either the Florida Panthers or Boston Bruins in Round 3. Florida leads that series 3-2.
Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand is unavailable for Tuesday's Game 5 against the Florida Panthers, head coach Jim Montgomery confirmed.
Marchand participated in Boston's Tuesday morning skate but will miss a second consecutive contest after sustaining an upper-body injury from a hit by Sam Bennett in Game 3.
The Bruins trail 3-1 in the series. The Panthers grabbed a commanding lead with a comeback victory in Game 4, sparked by a controversial tying goal by Bennett. The tally stood after a goalie interference review, and Florida jumped ahead on the scoreboard in the third period.
The hotly debated goal prompted Bruins general manager Don Sweeney to suggest referees answer for controversial calls by making officials available to the media after games.
Marchand is Boston's top scorer this postseason, recording 10 points in 10 contests.
Edmonton Oilers goaltender Calvin Pickard confirmed he's starting Tuesday's critical Game 4 against the Vancouver Canucks, according to The Athletic's Daniel Nugent-Bowman.
Pickard's start will be his first of the playoffs. He relieved Stuart Skinner for the third period Edmonton's Game 3 loss, stopping all three shots he faced. The limited action was Pickard's first taste of the NHL postseason in his nine-year career.
Skinner has struggled during these playoffs, particularly since the start of the second round. He's allowed 12 goals in three games against the Canucks for a .793 save percentage after owning a .910 clip in five contests against the Los Angeles Kings in Round 1.
After Edmonton's Game 3 defeat, head coach Kris Knoblauch said the club "needs more saves." The Oilers outshot the Canucks 45-18 in the contest but lost 4-3.
Pickard made 23 appearances for the Oilers this season, going 12-7-1 with a .909 save percentage.
Puck drop is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET with Vancouver holding a 2-1 series lead.
After a Game 4 win over the Colorado Avalanche in which Wyatt Johnston was the primary difference-maker, Dallas Stars head coach Pete DeBoer couldn't stop gushing about his impact on the team.
"He was all over the rink," DeBoer said, per The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun. "Just fantastic. A fantastic, young hockey player that is going to be a cornerstone, and I have no doubt (he) will wear a letter probably sooner than later for this franchise. Just an incredible kid."
Johnston, who turned 21 Tuesday, is tied for second in the playoff goals race with seven and ranks second on Dallas with 11 points in 11 games. He logged two goals and an assist Monday to help the Stars grab a 3-1 series lead over the Avs.
Johnston is getting it done in all situations, too. He's the third-youngest player in NHL history to score a shorthanded and power-play goal in the same playoff game, behind Glen Wesley and Wayne Gretzky, according to Statscentre.
Additionally, Johnston is the eighth player ever to reach 10 or more playoff goals before turning 21, and he's only the third skater to have four postseason game-winners prior to turning the same age, per NHL public relations. Jaromir Jagr (five) is the only player to have more.
Johnston was drafted 23rd overall by the Stars in 2021. He's the draft class' leading scorer with 106 points in 164 regular-season games.
"It's been a pretty cool a couple of years," Johnston said, "And I'm just really thankful and just so happy to have met some amazing people on the way and just have a chance to be with the Stars and just kind of being around some amazing people."
Game 5 is scheduled for Wednesday in Dallas with the Stars on the verge of advancing to the Western Conference Final.