Josh Gold-Smith

Hill making 1st playoff start since Cup-clinching win

Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper owned up Wednesday for remarks he made following the club's elimination from the playoffs.In the wake of Monday's 6-1 loss in which the Lightning had two goals called back for goaltender interference, Cooper expressed his frustration using phrasing he later regretted. Lightning head coach Jon Cooper on goaltender interference calls: "We might as well put skirts on them then, if that's how it's going to be. [Goalies] have to battle through stuff too... I think we're letting the goalies off the hook." https://t.co/ELZOdqRjO6 pic.twitter/3EGwEVbMwF— Scouting The Refs (@ScoutingTheRefs) April 30, 2024 Less than 48 hours later, the NHL's longest-tenured active bench boss offered a mea culpa."I made an inappropriate analogy about goalies in skirts," Cooper said. "It's one of those moments where if you could just reach (out) and grab the words back, I would have. As a father of two (and) especially a massive supporter of women's hockey - and I have girls that play sports - quite frankly, it was wrong, and I (had) to go explain myself to my girls."I sincerely apologize to all I offended," Cooper added. "It's pained me more than the actual series loss itself. It's one of those moments (when) I don't think my actions of the past have led me to ... I guess just judge me more on those maybe than the emotional, quite frankly dumb words that came out of my mouth the other night. So for that, I'm sorry."Cooper has guided the Lightning since March 2013. He helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021 and was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award (given out annually to the NHL's top head coach) in 2014 and 2019. The 56-year-old won the AHL's Calder Cup and USHL's Clark Cup as a bench boss before jumping to the NHL.

The Vegas Golden Knights turned to Adin Hill for Game 5 of their first-round playoff series against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night.

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Tocchet, Brunette, Bowness voted Jack Adams Award finalists

Arizona Coyotes goaltender Connor Ingram, Calgary Flames defenseman Oliver Kylington, and Carolina Hurricanes netminder Frederik Andersen are the 2023-24 finalists for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.

The Toronto Maple Leafs went out of their way to conceal any possible signs that would've indicated whether Auston Matthews will be in the lineup for Game 7 against the Boston Bruins on Saturday night.The Leafs took some unusual steps at morning skate. The Leafs did all they could this morning to keep some mystery about their Game 7 lineup — namely, whether Auston Matthews plays.•They dressed all the forwards in one colour•They didn’t run lines•They kept the skate to 15 minutes — at which point, Matthews left— Jonas Siegel (@jonassiegel) May 4, 2024 Matthews has missed the last two games of the first-round series, as well as the third period of Game 4. He was initially dealing with an illness but reportedly also has an undisclosed injury.Toronto won both tilts with Matthews out of action by 2-1 margins, including an overtime victory in Game 5. The Leafs rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to force Game 7.Matthews led the NHL with 69 goals this season, claiming the "Rocket" Richard Trophy for the third time in four years. He's also a finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy.The 26-year-old sniper netted the game-winner in Game 2 and assisted on the Leafs' other two goals in the 3-2 victory but has been held entirely off the scoresheet in his other appearances in the series.Game 7 is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on Saturday in Boston.

The Toronto Maple Leafs went out of their way to conceal any possible signs that would've indicated whether Auston Matthews will be in the lineup for Game 7 against the Boston Bruins on Saturday night.

Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews returned to the lineup for Saturday's do-or-die Game 7 against the Boston Bruins.

We're only through one round of these Stanley Cup Playoffs, but it's not too early to take stock of who's already asserted themselves with play that's been at or near a playoff MVP level.Even though the second round has begun, we're focusing entirely on the players' Round 1 output, so we didn't factor Game 1 of the New York Rangers/Carolina Hurricanes second-round series into these rankings.These are our top five contenders for the honor:xGF% = five-on-five expected goals shareGSAx = goals saved above expected5. Igor Shesterkin, Rangers Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyRecord GAA SV% GSAx4-0 1.75 .931 3.16Shesterkin would likely be higher on this list if it weren't for a cupcake Round 1 matchup against a Washington Capitals team that had no business in the playoffs.The Rangers netminder wasn't overly busy, facing more than 25 shots in just one game. Still, Shesterkin was sharp when called upon, and it wouldn't be fair to keep him off this list because of his opponent. He was the key piece in the only Round 1 sweep. Another strong series against a Hurricanes squad known to throw everything on net could push Shesterkin up these rankings if New York can prevail in Round 2.4. Cale Makar, Avalanche Michael Martin / National Hockey League / GettyGP G A ATOI xGF%5 2 7 24:47 48.3Makar, the 2022 Conn Smythe Trophy winner, has shown he has another gear in the playoffs. The Colorado Avalanche star is tied with Evan Bouchard for the playoff points lead among defensemen, and he's tied with forwards Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen for a team high in points. Makar notched multi-point games in three of the five contests against the Winnipeg Jets and logged over 27 minutes of ice time in two matchups.While Makar's underlying numbers aren't exactly off the charts, it's hard to deny him a spot on this list with the impactful splash plays he made from the back end.3. Jeremy Swayman, Bruins China Wong / National Hockey League / GettyRecord GAA SV% GSAx4-2 1.49 .950 8.59The Boston Bruins alternated goalies for almost the entire regular season and continued the trend for the first three games of the playoffs. But Swayman impressed head coach Jim Montgomery so much in a Game 3 win that he earned consecutive starts and ultimately got five in a row, including stopping 30 of 31 shots in Saturday's Game 7 overtime victory.The Alaska-born netminder leads all playoff goalies in GAA, save percentage, and GSAx. Swayman allowed only nine goals in six games while saving 1.4 goals above expected per contest against a Toronto Maple Leafs squad that boasted the NHL's No. 2 offense in the regular season. In a series decided by the slimmest of margins, Swayman is the primary reason the Bruins are heading to Round 2.2. Leon Draisaitl, Oilers Christian Petersen / Getty Images Sport / GettyGP G A ATOI xGF%5 5 5 20:16 42.51. Connor McDavid, Oilers Andy Devlin / National Hockey League / GettyGP G A ATOI xGF%5 1 11 21:03 69.2We grouped the two Oilers superstars together for obvious reasons. They could easily be co-MVPs of Round 1, as both dominated in Edmonton's five-game series victory over the Los Angeles Kings. However, we lean toward McDavid for a few reasons.While goals are harder to come by than assists, McDavid earned the primary helper on four of Draisaitl's tallies in Round 1. And these weren't cases where McDavid touched the puck before Draisaitl went end-to-end, either. McDavid was constantly zooming around the ice and finding passing lanes, putting the puck on a tee for Draisaitl to unleash his lethal sharp-angle one-timer.McDavid was the more dominant player at even strength when the duo was mostly separated, as evidenced by the captain's superior underlying numbers. McDavid's line also drew the tougher assignments from the Kings, seeing a heavier dose of future Hall of Famers Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty.While there are cases for both sides, it's hard to argue against the consensus best player in the world.Honorable mentions: Nathan MacKinnon, Valeri Nichushkin, Matthew Tkachuk, Carter Verhaeghe, Zach Hyman, Wyatt Johnston, Seth Jarvis(Analytics source: Evolving-Hockey)