Several Seattle Kraken prospects made their mark on Friday night as the Western Hockey League playoff semi-finals continued with high-stakes battles and standout performances.

Lethbridge at Calgary – Game 5 - Hurricanes Lead Series 3-2

Caden Price and the Lethbridge Hurricanes were on the verge of a clean sweep, heading into Game 5 with a 3-1 series lead over the Calgary Hitmen. But Calgary had other plans. In a thrilling overtime finish, the Hitmen edged out the Hurricanes 6-5, extending the series. Game 6 is set for Saturday, April 19th in Lethbridge, where Price and the Hurricanes will look to close it out on home ice.

Spokane at Victoria – Game 4 - Series Tied 2-2

Spokane Chiefs captain Berkly Catton delivered a statement performance in a wild 9-6 win over the Victoria Royals. Catton notched three points with two assists and a goal—his sixth of the postseason—helping his team even the series. Game 5 shifts to Victoria on Saturday. Catton, the 8th overall pick by Seattle in 2024, is Spokane’s highest NHL draft pick since Pat Falloon went 2nd in 1991. He was also recently named WHL Player of the Week for the week ending April 6, 2025.

Portland at Everett – Game 5 - Winterhawks Lead Series 3-2

It was a battle of wills between the top-seeded Everett Silvertips and the red-hot Portland Winterhawks. Kaden Hammell scored his fourth playoff goal, tying the game 2-2 late in the second. Teammate Julius Miettinen followed suit with his fifth goal of the postseason, once again leveling the score at 3-3 in the third. But Portland’s Hudson Darby broke the deadlock late, securing a 4-3 win and giving the Winterhawks their third straight victory in the series. Game 6 will take place Saturday in Portland, with Everett needing a win to force a decisive Game 7.

Related

67 WHLers Featured On NHL Central Scouting's Final Rankings For The 2025 NHL Entry DraftNHL Central Scouting has released its final rankings for the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. As projected, the list features plenty of WHLers, with 67 players currently in the 'Dub listed. Below are the 67 players and their final rankings
Kraken Will Have Sixth-Best Odds In 2025 Draft LotteryThe Seattle Kraken will have the sixth-best odds (7.5%) of landing the first overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. 

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The day has arrived.

Saturday is the official start of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

It’s a bit of a slow open, as only four of the 16 teams that qualified for the postseason will begin their respective quests for the Cup on day one.

First, the Presidents’ Trophy winning Winnipeg Jets will host the St. Louis Blues at 6 p.m. ET before the Dallas Stars host the Colorado Avalanche at 8:30 p.m. in the nightcap.

Both games will air on TNT, with full studio coverage for pregame, intermission and postgame discussions.

Six teams will get started on Sunday, and four more on Monday before the Florida Panthers will finally get to play their playoff opener on Tuesday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

It’ll be the fourth time in the past five postseasons that the Cats and Bolts will face off in a best-of-7.

Tampa Bay won the first two series’ back in 2020-21 and 2021-22 while the Panthers took down the Lightning in five games last season.

This year’s series should be an extremely entertaining spectacle as both teams are loaded with talent, very well coached and full of experience.

Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice said he expects the Panthers to have everyone on the active roster healthy and available for Game 1 on Tuesday.

Whether or not that ends up including injured forward Matthew Tkachuk remains to be seen.

That’s actually an area where Florida’s late series start could benefit them, as it gives Tkachuk more time to ramp up his workload and eventually rejoin the lineup.

The Panthers will be back on the ice Saturday. We’ll see whether Tkachuk is out there with his teammates, or whether he skates on his own.

Stay tuned.

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It has been a whirlwind year for Pittsburgh Penguins' prospect Vasily Ponomarev.

The 23-year-old Russian forward was brought to Pittsburgh from the Carolina Hurricanes at the 2024 trade deadline as part of the blockbuster Jake Guentzel trade, and it hasn't all been smooth-sailing since.

"There’s a huge difference between Carolina hockey and here," Ponomarev said. 

And he struggled with that transition a bit, especially in the earlygoing this season. Carolina's man-to-man, defense-heavy system lies in stark contrast to Pittsburgh's offense-oriented, zone-style defensive system, and it's something that even Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) assistant general manager Amanda Kessel acknowledged that Ponomarev has needed some time to fully grasp.

"I think that he's grown a ton," Kessel said. "At the beginning of the year, some of his, kind of, coming from a different organization and playing lots of man-on-man... some of the d-zone was, at times, a bit challenging.

"But, he's responded super well and come up with huge goals for us. His two-way game is really developing. He's somebody that gives it everything he has every single night."

And Ponomarev realized he needed to make some adjustments, too. Some of it involved tweaking his playing style in relation to learning the new system, and some of it involved the mental side of the game.

 “I think right now it’s much better than it was earlier in the year," Ponomarev said. "I changed my mind mentally more, and I felt like I’ve become stronger. But my game mentality became a little bit different, and I don’t want to talk about it too much. It’s very personal.

"Nothing crazy, but I just understood that I have to play a little bit different way than I did earlier in the year. And, right now, I feel perfectly on the ice when I’m at the NHL level... and I think it’s a good point to start growing up.”

'I Have No Doubt This Thing's Going To Be Turned Around Quickly': After Lost Season, Penguins Optimistic About FutureFor one final time this season, the Pittsburgh Penguins gathered at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry, Pa. - this, time, for locker cleanout day.

Ponomarev mentioned some areas of that growth in his game - and in the system - during locker cleanout day on Friday. He feels that his three NHL games at the end of the season were good ones, and he will look to build off of it as the WBS Penguins head into the Calder Cup playoffs. 

He has played a huge role on that team, registering 15 goals and 40 points in 54 games. He plays a large role on both special teams units, and he had found chemistry on a line with Avery Hayes - who recently signed his entry-level contract - and Rutger McGroarty, who will likely miss the beginning of the AHL playoffs with a lower-body injury sustained at the NHL level. 

The trio has mostly been kept intact since the Prospects Challenge in August, and a lot of that chemistry has been built because of their off-ice relationship.

“I think we found our game in the middle half of this year around December," Ponomarev said. "And those are great dudes. I love them not only on the ice... off the ice, we are huge friends. I think I’m going to be missing 'Rut' in the first round, and I hope he’s joining us in the future rounds to go help us win a Calder Cup because it’s the most important achievement in our league right now.

"And that’s what we want. I think the whole team is passionate about the Calder Cup right now.”

And a Calder Cup run is something Ponomarev believes the team can achieve. He mentioned that the team's second half and more recent play has given them a lot of confidence heading into the playoffs, but - just like many others - the closeness of the team is perhaps the biggest factor.

 “I think one of the most important things is that we are really close as a team," Ponomarev said. "Together we are like a family inside the room and outside as well, because I know we love each other and I feel that everyone’s got the same passion."

And passion is certainly something that shows in Ponomarev's own game, too. His effort and energy are things that have earned him the respect of the coaching staff, and his contributions aren't going unnoticed.

WBS Penguins Fall 3-2 To Bruins, Slip In StandingsThe Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (39-23-7-1) played their 70th game of the season on Wednesday night, dropping a tightly contested 3-2 affair to the Providence Bruins, who broke a tie in the standings between the two clubs.

"I think he's an effort-driven guy," Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said. "I think he's a guy who can bring energy and help us gain momentum. He's a conscientious player defensively, he can help us on the penalty kill with his conscientious play there... but he's a momentum guy, he's an energy guy, and I think he's one of those guys who can make us harder to play against with his tenacity."

Effort is always the biggest part of the equation for Ponomarev, who is a pending-restricted free agent this summer. While signing a new contract is his top priority, he knows he needs to be both physically and mentally prepared to take a run at an NHL roster spot if given the chance with Pittsburgh next season. 

He plans to work as hard as he ever has to make that happen. But he knows he needs to make time for some other passions, too.

"I know we’ll spend some time on our go-karts this summer," Ponomarev said. "We’ll drive every day as fast as possible.”

Which RFAs Should The Penguins Keep?It should be quite the summer for the Pittsburgh Penguins in the free agent market.

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LAS VEGAS -- The Golden Knights are set to face the Minnesota Wild in the opening round of the Western Conference playoffs, continuing what's been an awfully close series since Vegas entered the league in 2017.

In the 35 meetings, both in the regular season and the playoffs, Vegas has won 20 times, with a 20-14-1 mark to show for it.

This will mark the second playoff series after the teams met during the postseason of the abbreviated campaign in 2021.

Here is our top five all-time meetings between the Wild and Golden Knights:

5. Feb. 9, 2023: Vegas 5, Minnesota 1 - Though Marc-Andre Fleury had already faced the Golden Knights as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks, this would be the first time Vegas would see its former netminder as a member of the Wild. The Knights arrived in St. Paul at the right time, as the Wild had lost two straight and five of seven. It was the start of a seven-game homestand for Minnesota, while Vegas was looking to build momentum at the end of a six-game road trip that saw them lose four of the first five. Vegas opened a 2-0 lead before Kirill Kaprizov scored a power-play goal in the second period to cut the Knights' lead in half. But Vegas would respond later in the period with three goals over a span of 2:26 to provide the final margin.

4. March 25, 2025: Vegas 5, Minnesota 1 - After the Knights struggled through a rough patch in January and early February, they muddled their way into late March, having lost 16 of 27 (11-11-5). But a three-game homestand sweep sent them on the road for three games, beginning in St. Paul. Vegas would maintain its momentum thanks to Jack Eichel's hat trick - all three coming against former Knight Marc-Andre Fleury. Just like two years earlier against Fleury, in the same arena, the Knights took a 2-0 lead before the Wild cut the deficit in half. But three late third-period goals in a span of 2:31 gave the Knights a four-goal advantage and extended their win streak to four games. Vegas would go on to win its next two on the road and return home with a six-game win streak.

absolutely beautiful 🎩🎩🎩 pic.twitter.com/58BWxf5D7k

— y-Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) March 26, 2025

3. Oct. 6, 2018: Vegas 2, Minnesota 1 - The Knights lost their first three meetings with the Wild, all in an inaugural season that saw Vegas land in the Stanley Cup Final. Minnesota was one of only two teams in the NHL that the Knights didn't beat in their first-ever season. After opening their second-ever season with a home loss to Philadelphia, the Knights started a five-game road trip in St. Paul, and the teams would end up in overtime. And after a combined five unsuccessful attempts from both teams, Erik Haula beat Devan Dubnyk in the sixth overall attempt of the shootout to give Vegas its first win of the season and first-ever victory over the Wild.

Walking off with our first win of the season 🤗 pic.twitter.com/12DEjQTy8N

— y-Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) October 7, 2018

2. May 26, 2021: Minnesota 3, Vegas 0 - The Knights took a 3-1 series lead in the opening round of their seven-game series, which featured partially filled arenas due to the pandemic that shut down America a year prior. But after losing Game 5 at home, 4-2, the Knights hoped to close things out in St. Paul and avoid their third-ever Game 7. The Wild had other plans, however. Ryan Hartman, Kevin Fiala and Nick Bjugstad scored third-period goals on Fleury, while Cam Talbot would stop all 23 shots he faced to record his second shutout of the series to force a decisive Game 7.

1. May 28, 2021: Vegas 6, Minnesota 2 - After blowing their 3-1 series lead, the last thing the Knights wanted to do was lose Game 7 at home. The teams fought to a 1-1 tie after one period. Nic Hague gave the Knights a 2-1 lead just 2:05 into the second period, but Kaprizov's power-play goal at the 4:35 mark tied the game again. Unfortunately for the Wild, it would be their last goal of the season. Vegas got goals from Max Pacioretty and Zach Whitecloud to close the second, while Mattias Janmark scored two more in the third to complete the hat trick and give the Knights a 6-2 win and the series.

What. A. BARN!!!! #KnightUppic.twitter.com/nu7LQ82IOb

— y-Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) May 29, 2021

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The Stanley Cup Playoffs are upon us!

This week on The Hockey Show, hosts Roy Bellamy and David Dwork got into the end of the playoff chases and the upcoming fun of the first round.

Joining the show were the co-hosts of the What Chaos show, DJ Bean and Pete Blackburn, who are apparently bigger fans of THS producer Rose than they are of Roy and Dave.

The boys all got into the Mikko Rantanen Bowl between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche, whether the Washington Capitals can build on their amazing regular season during the playoffs, the latest edition of the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers and why the Kings can possibly pull off the victory this time.

Roy and Dave also got into the upcoming series between the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning, which could end up being one of the best of the first round.

Additionally, this week’s wins and fails included a couple ridiculous goals from top NHL prospect Gavin McKenna that he scored during the WHL Playoffs, a historic trio of playoff misses, another cell phone ending up on the ice and the amazing comeback of Gabriel Landeskog.

You can check out the full show in the video below: 

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