Tag Archives: Hockey
Panthers claim 1st Presidents’ Trophy in franchise history
The Florida Panthers secured the Presidents' Trophy as the league's top regular-season team on Thursday night thanks to a win over the Ottawa Senators and the Colorado Avalanche's loss to the Nashville Predators.
Florida has 122 points with one game remaining. The Panthers' mark is the most in franchise history and the third-highest total for any NHL team since the award was introduced in 1986. The 1996 Detroit Red Wings hold the record at 131.
The Panthers will have home-ice advantage throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which begin May 2. Florida hasn't advanced past the first round since it reached the final in 1996.
This postseason, the Panthers are set to play either the Washington Capitals or Pittsburgh Penguins. The Metropolitan Division rivals are separated by one point heading into the final game on their respective schedules.
Florida's dominant campaign has come on the strength of a near-unstoppable offense. The club recently set a salary-cap era benchmark with 322 goals and currently sits at 338 and counting with a plus-102 goal differential.
Winger Jonathan Huberdeau has led the charge up front with 115 points in an MVP-caliber season, and he's one of four 30-goal scorers on the Panthers' roster.
Florida caps its record-setting regular season Friday against the Montreal Canadiens.
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Report: Oilers, Rangers to push hard to bring back Kane, Copp
A pair of playoff-bound teams are hoping to keep their highly successful midseason acquisitions beyond 2021-22.
The Edmonton Oilers and New York Rangers will make concerted efforts to re-sign Evander Kane and Andrew Copp, respectively, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.
"I'm told the New York Rangers are going to push hard, hard to extend Andrew Copp; we can understand why," Dreger reported on Thursday's "Insider Trading" segment. "Likewise for Evander Kane and the Oilers."
Edmonton signed Kane to a one-year, $1.375-million deal in January after the San Jose Sharks terminated his previous contract. The 30-year-old power forward has recorded 22 goals and 17 assists in 41 games this season while riding shotgun with Connor McDavid.
Dreger speculated that contract length could potentially be problematic in negotiations.
"You wonder about the term between Kane and the Oilers," he said. "Is three years too much? We have to find out."
Edmonton projects to have roughly $12 million in cap space this summer with a roster of 14 skaters and one goalie, per CapFriendly. Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto are its most prominent pending restricted free agents.
The Rangers acquired Copp and a sixth-round pick from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for a pair of conditional second-rounders, a fifth-round pick, and prospect Morgan Barron.
The versatile forward has found a home at right wing on the team's second line alongside Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome. He's tallied eight goals and 10 assists in 16 games with New York.
The Rangers project to have nearly $11 million in cap space with a roster of 16 skaters and one goalie. Strome is their biggest pending UFA, while Kaapo Kakko and Alexandar Georgiev are their most notable pending RFAs.
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NHL Rumor Mill – April 28, 2022
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – April 28, 2022
NHL Rumor Mill – April 27, 2022
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – April 27, 2022
Predators, Kings clinch playoff spots with Stars’ SO win over Golden Knights
The Western Conference playoff picture has come down to one last spot.
The Nashville Predators and Los Angeles Kings punched their postseason tickets Tuesday with the Dallas Stars' shootout victory over the Vegas Golden Knights. Miro Heiskanen netted the only goal of the shootout in the seventh round.
The Stars would've locked up the final spot had they defeated the Knights in regulation. Dallas is now four points ahead of Vegas with just two games remaining, but the Golden Knights hold the tiebreaker. The Stars can clinch Wednesday if they pick up a point against the Arizona Coyotes or if Vegas loses to the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Kings secured third place in the Pacific Division and will play the Edmonton Oilers in Round 1. It's the first time since 2017-18 that L.A. has made the playoffs, and six players remain from that squad: Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, Drew Doughty, Jonathan Quick, Adrian Kempe, and Alex Iafallo.
The Predators have now made the postseason in eight consecutive campaigns. They'll either play the Colorado Avalanche or Calgary Flames in the opening round.
Additionally, the Vancouver Canucks were officially eliminated from playoff contention.
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Maple Leafs’ Muzzin in lineup vs. Red Wings after 6-game absence
The Toronto Maple Leafs are getting Jake Muzzin back before the start of the playoffs.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe said Muzzin is in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Detroit Red Wings, according to TSN's Mark Masters.
The defenseman missed the last six games for an undisclosed reason.
Muzzin has been limited to 45 contests this season. He's sustained two concussions - one in January and then another in February, only six games after he recovered from the first one.
The 33-year-old is averaging 20:48 of ice time in 2021-22. He's collected three goals and 11 assists while authoring an expected goals for percentage of 53.25 at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Toronto acquired Muzzin in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings in January 2019.
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