Author: Dose

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Series wrap-up: Jets tie game in final seconds, win second overtime

The final game of the first round was played last night.

The Jets and Blues crossed swords in game seven of their series.

St. Louis seemed headed for victory, but Winnipeg rallied to win in the second overtime.

The Jets win the series and the match 4-3.

The visitors led 3-1 with less than two minutes to play.

First, Vladislav Namestnikov closed the gap.

And with less than three seconds left in the game, Cole Perfetti sent everyone into overtime with his second goal of the game.

Wow!

All seven games in this series have been won by the home team.

As for the Jets, they’ll face the Stars in the second round. Dallas had qualified 24 hours earlier.

We’ll have to keep an eye on Josh Morrissey’s health. He left the game and never returned. Neal Pionk played a lot.

As for Connor Hellebuyck, he was much criticized in the series, but in overtime he stood up, stopping all shots aimed at him.

The American finished the game with 26 saves on 29 shots.

In bursts

– Luke is happy. Brayden isn’t.

– Perfetti’s first goal was all about it.

– What a first round! And more importantly, what a weekend with game #7 of the Stars and Avalanche.

– Scorers of the game.

(Credit: NHL.com)

– The second round begins today with Game 1 of the Leafs-Panthers series.

(Credit: NHL.com)
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Spencer Knight expects to see Jacob Fowler in the NHL soon

Since joining the Rocket, Jacob Fowler has been shining.

In two playoff games with Laval, he’s almost perfect. That didn’t stop Pascal Vincent from putting Cayden Primeau in front of his team’s net today…

He lost. Will Vincent be back with Fowler next game? The question remains. In any case, while Samuel Montembeault and Jakub Dobes are doing well in the NHL, Fowler looks like the goalie of the future for the CH.

And Blackhawks goalie Spencer Knight sees him in the NHL very soon.

Sooner than expected, anyway.

Knight and Fowler are good friends.

Since the beginning of the year, the two have been exchanging text messages. Fowler has asked the Hawks’ (formerly Panthers’) ace for advice on the process to the NHL.

His dream is to play with the CH, and he’s giving himself every chance of getting there.

I can’t wait to see him with Montreal, but I think another season in Laval is necessary. It’s no secret: it always takes longer for a goalie to develop. And even if Fowler seems ready for the show, we don’t want to send him into the lion’s den too quickly.

In any case, his presence in the Tricolore uniform is not pressing: Monty is still under contract and he’s doing a great job.

The CH prospect must continue to dominate in the AHL and is one injury away from promotion before time runs out.

In gusto

– Incredible!

– Will he sign?

– It’s not going well.

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World Cup: Sidney Crosby to play for Canada for first time since 2015

When your team is eliminated from the NHL, it’s time to turn to the other teams still alive, yes, but also to your country.

The Men’s Worlds will begin soon (May 9, in Sweden and Denmark), and Canada will be on the lookout, as it is at every international competition.

For the first time since 2015, Sidney Crosby will represent his country at the competition. Nathan MacKinnon, who was eliminated yesterday, is also expected to take part in the tournament.

Both are used to winning with Unifolié.

A few months ago, the two friends were major factors in Canada’s victory over the USA in the final of the Four Nations Tournament.

They’ll be aiming for a second conquest in 2025.

I’m sure that MacKinnon would have liked to continue his season with the Avalanche, but doing it with Canada isn’t bad either… This season, he collected 116 points in 76 games.

As for Crosby, his NHL team, the Penguins, almost always made the playoffs. That’s one of the reasons he never played in the World Series. This year, with Pittsburgh one of the worst teams in the East, he’ll have plenty of opportunity to don the red bibs.

This season, the Pens captain collected 91 points in 80 games. He’s notorious for missing All-Star events. But he wouldn’t miss a competition representing his country for the world.

In bursts

– Ah well.

– Craig Berube doesn’t think the Panthers are “mean”. [HF]

– Quite a player!

– The new Jeff Skinner.

– Here’s hoping.

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Cayden Primeau was unable to eliminate the Monsters

On this Sunday afternoon, the Laval Rocket faced the Cleveland Monsters in game #3 of the series.

Laval won the first two games and could end the series three out of five and move on to the next round. Jacob Fowler was excellent in the first two games of the series, even recording his first career pro shutout.

However, Fowler didn’t get the start in this game, with Cayden Primeau back in net.

The Rocket could also count on Oliver Kapanen, who got his baptism of fire with Laval.

The Finn took Brandon Gignac’s place in the line-up and played on the third line.

Here’s the complete line-up Pascal Vincent presented for the game:

The game got off to a fierce start, with plenty of bickering in the opening moments.

We also saw Logan Mailloux take a solid swing at Denton Mateychuk (possibly the Monsters’ best player), who retreated to the dressing room.

What’s more, Florian Xhekaj lit up Place Bell by throwing down the gloves with Joseph LaBate, who isn’t the softest.

The fight ended quickly when Xhekaj capsized his opponent.

After 20 minutes of play, there were still no goals and Primeau made a few key saves.

The Rocket enjoyed two power plays in the first half of the game, and the quintet deployed was very young, much like the CH’s first wave.

Kapanen, Owen Beck, Joshua Roy, Adam Engstrom and David Reinbacher are all under the age of 22. Incredible!

As much as Primeau had a solid game, Jet Greaves, the Monsters’ goaltender who finished the regular season with the Blue Jackets, kept his club in the game.

He delivered excellent performances with Columbus, recording two shutouts in just 11 starts (!!!) and continued to be excellent with the Monsters.

As Anthony Marcotte says in his tweet above, Kapanen is having a solid LAH debut.

Cleveland got a breakaway late in the second period and we saw Reinbacher make a very nice defensive tuck to prevent Roman Ahcan from capitalizing. However, as Ahcan rounded the net, he put the ball back in front of the net and Dylan Gambrell opened the scoring.

Both clubs retired to the locker room with the score 1-0 in favor of the visitors.

In contrast to the last game, when the Monsters had only registered 19 shots, they fired much more often, having 12 shots after 20 minutes and totaling 21 after 40 minutes of play.

Primeau may have conceded on Gambrell’s shot, but there wasn’t much he could do about the sequence and he tried his best to make the save.

With 15 minutes left in the game, the Rocket thought they had tied the game when there was a scrum in front of the net, but the goal was eventually disallowed.

Moments later, Cleveland doubled their lead with Gambrell’s second of the game.

On the sequence, Reinbacher made the wrong decision and looked bad, but there was a bad defensive shift, which created an overhang.

With just under nine minutes to play in the final twenty, the Rocket were able to take advantage of a power play and it was Cleveland who capitalized to give themselves a 3-0 lead in the game.

Roman Ahcan recovered with another breakaway after a bad play by Joshua Roy.

Everything seemed to be falling apart for Primeau, who had enjoyed an excellent first half. The third period was much more difficult for the American goaltender, as he allowed two goals on four small shots…

Fans must be missing Fowler, but Primeau hasn’t played in a while and was showing signs of rust.

Fortunately for the Rocket, hope was rekindled by a Laurent Dauphin goal.

Let’s just say he was lucky, as the Quebecer hooked the ball past goalkeeper Jet Greaves, who (finally) gave way for the first time.

It was Stanislav Svozil (Connor Bedard’s former junior teammate) who tried to clear, but shot at his teammate and the puck snuck behind Greaves.

The goal re-energized Pascal Vincent’s troupe, who knocked on the door on a few occasions shortly after Dauphin’s goal.

Unfortunately, the Rocket were unable to get back into the game.

The final score: 3-1 to the Monsters.

Game #4 of the series takes place Tuesday night, again at Place Bell.

Overtime

– Interestingly, Jakub Dobes (wearing a Logan Mailloux jersey) and Arber Xhekaj were present for the game.

– Once again, David Reinbacher was solid in the game. He generated some offense, but was especially indispensable in his own zone. The Austrian won several battles in front of the net and didn’t hesitate to use his stick to make the job much harder for his opponents.

Even though Gambrell scored while he was on the ice, he still pulled off quite a save to deny Roman Ahcan on the breakaway. However, on Cleveland’s second goal, Reinbacher looked bad for a rare occasion.

– The Rocket gave it their all in the third period, registering no less than 19 shots in the final 20 minutes. Jet Greaves was the Monsters’ hero in the win, stopping 36 of 37 shots.

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It’s amazing how Cam Fowler has revived his career in St. Louis

Acquisitions can not only help a club achieve greater success, they can also help the player traded to revive his career.

That’s what happened to Cam Fowler, the former Anaheim Ducks defenseman who has been with the St. Louis Blues since December 2024.

Fowler was traded with a 4th-round pick in return for a 2nd-round pick and Jeremie Biakabutuka.

The veteran defenseman will finish his $6.5 M per year contract in 2026, and the price for his acquisition is relatively low. He amassed 36 points in 51 games with the Blues, compared with four in 17 games in Anaheim.

In the playoffs, Fowler plays like an elite defenseman, plain and simple.

He’s the top scorer among defensemen in the spring dance, with 10 points in six games.

He’s even three points ahead of his nearest pursuer, Evan Bouchard.

Fowler has often been injured during his career, with only four seasons of at least 80 games.

This season marked his fourth season of 40 points or more.

He’s never been a stud, but he’s always brought his A-game with his mobility and offensive contribution.

His defensive stats don’t look incredible, but you have to keep in mind that it’s been a while since the Ducks were a good team. Fowler’s last playoff appearance was in 2017…

With the Blues, he’s obviously better surrounded and plays on the first defensive pair with Colton Parayko. Parayko has five points in six playoff games and is one of the NHL’s best defensive players.

In short, the Blues must be very happy to have him on their roster, especially since they only paid for a second-round pick in bulk.

Proof that a change of scenery can be very beneficial for a player (and his new team).

In bursts

– Indeed.

– MacKinnon seemed shaken by being eliminated by the Stars without Heiskanen or Robertson. “I don’t know what we’re going to do”.

– Read on.

– One more time.

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Cayden Primeau: the CH must not submit a qualifying offer this summer

Cayden Primeau didn’t get the NHL exposure he wanted this season.

He started the season in Montreal, but the Canadiens decided to send him back to Laval after seeing him struggle.

And in fact, in terms of numbers, Primeau was one of the worst goaltenders in the National League before being traded to the Rocket…

What we do know is that Primeau was EXCELLENT with the Rocket this season.

He helped his club finish the season in 1st place overall in the AHL with some simply sublime performances.

The goalie allowed just 50 goals in 26 games… which is pretty impressive, thanks.

And that’s why there’s currently a debate as to whether the Rocket should trust him in the playoffs, even though Jacob Fowler had two good first starts against the Cleveland Monsters.

But whether Primeau plays in the playoffs or not, the result will be the same this summer.

The goalie’s contract will expire at the end of the season, and the Habs will have the option of making him a qualifying offer.

I don’t see that happening, for a couple of reasons.

The first is that next year, Fowler must play the majority of games in Laval. The net will be his because we want to see him progress within the organization. We know he’s talented and has the potential to become #1 in Montreal one day, but he needs ice time to develop.

And with Primeau… that could be more difficult and create distractions. Especially if he plays like he has this season.

The second: Primeau deserves the chance to prove himself elsewhere. I’m not saying the Habs would give up on him, but it’s been five years since Primeau made the jump to the pros… and it’s been five years since we’ve been waiting to see him blossom in the National Hockey League.

At some point, you have to move on.

The Canadiens have given him chances and opportunities to do himself justice in Montreal, but it’s never really been a success.

Third: We’ve also seen that Jakub Dobes can be solid. With Monty, Dobes and Fowler, it’s starting to get crowded in the goalie department…

Let’s not forget that, without making him a qualifying offer, the Habs would allow Primeau to test the free agent market on July 1.

And with his success in the AHL, he’ll clearly have a chance to play elsewhere.

In gusto

– One of the best series in NHL history.

– Well done.

– It’s not going as planned so far…

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Without Scheifele for match #7: If Hellebuyck doesn’t have a big outing…

The series between the Jets and Blues has been pushed to the extreme. Tonight, the two clubs go head-to-head in Game #7… and it could be the biggest game in the history of the Winnipeg organization.

Because in reality, the Jets – after an exceptional season – can’t escape this game.

They have no right to be eliminated in the first round for the third year in a row.

But clearly, it won’t be easy.

And I say that in the context that the Jets will have to get by without Mark Scheifele, who collected 87 points in the regular season.

The big Winnipeg forward was injured in Game 5 of the series and was also forced to miss Game 6.

The Jets will have to find a way to shine without him…

The Jets will have to find a way to shine without him and that leads me to say this.

Tonight… Connor Hellebuyck must conquer his demons to have a big game.

The goaltender – who is sure to win the Vézina trophy after a stellar season – has been pulled three times (in six games) since the start of the series against the Blues.

And his statistics are atrocious, with a goals-against average of 4.42 and an efficiency rate of .815…

We know that the American has always had trouble performing well in the playoffs for X reason. And we know he’s let his club down several times in the past: it’s not for nothing that the Jets haven’t reached the conference finals since 2018, despite the good teams we’ve seen in Winnipeg.

At least the game will take place at the Jets’ home. Had it been on the road, the club’s fans would have had every right to be concerned…

Clearly, it will be interesting to see if Connor Hellebuyck can respond to the adversity tonight when his club (really) needs him.

But if his performance in the playoffs over the last few years is anything to go by, we’d agree that it’s not a foregone conclusion.

The time is right for him to stand up… at last.

In a gust

– Oh. Great news for the Leafs player.

– Come on, boys!

– Series in the AHL look like this:

– It’s going to be a bumpy ride.

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Fowler or Primeau for match #3: we won’t know until the warm-up period

Now that the Montreal Canadiens have been eliminated, all eyes are on the Laval Rocket’s playoff run.

Everyone wants to see the club’s best young players go far and gain as much experience as possible.

The Rocket have a very good team, and they could very well go all the way, even without Jakub Dobes.

The attack is going great, the defense is solid, and Laval has two excellent goalkeepers.

And on that subject, now that Cayden Primeau is back in Laval, there’s a dilemma as to who should get the playoff starts.

Jacob Fowler got the first two starts in Primeau’s absence, and while he did very well, including a shutout in Game #2, one wonders if Primeau will get his net back, given that he’s the one who took the team to the playoffs.

In short, there’s plenty to speculate and wonder about ahead of game #3.

Pascal Vincent won’t reveal his starting goaltender for this game until the warm-up period.

So we won’t know if it’s Fowler or Primeau who’ll be in net for the first home playoff game at Place Bell.

Personally, I’d stick with Fowler for now, given how well he’s done so far, but I wouldn’t give him much room to maneuver.

If he gets any, I’d give the net to Primeau.

So it’s a nice problem for the Rocket to have two very good goalies, but it’s a tricky one all the same.

We clearly don’t want to frustrate Cayden Primeau, who has carried the team all the way to the playoffs, but we also don’t want to take the net away from the promising young goaltender who represents the future of the Montreal Canadiens.

In short, it’s a difficult situation, and I can’t wait to see which goaltender Pascal Vincent chooses.

We’ll find out at 2:30 p.m., when the Rocket take to the ice for their warm-up period for Game #3, scheduled for 3 p.m. at Place Bell against the Cleveland Monsters.

As a reminder, the Rocket could end the series tonight and move on to the next round, given that it’s 3 of 5.

In a flurry

– Tough break for the Jets ahead of tonight’s game #7.

– Indeed.

– Of note.

– Listen now.

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Panthers: Brady Tkachuk won’t be following his brother Matthew closely

For the fourth year in a row, Matthew Tkachuk has made the playoffs, advancing to the second round of the spring tournament.

Last season, he won the Stanley Cup, and this year, the Florida Panthers still have a very good team that can go far.

Of course, Matthew Tkachuk can count on the undeniable support of his entire family, except for one very important member.

For the first time in four years, Matthew’s brother Brady Tkachuk will not be cheering him on.

It’s a tradition that’s come to an end, as Brady used to follow his brother from game to game to offer his support.

Yesterday, during the Ottawa Senators’ end-of-season review, Brady Tkachuk explained that he would be following his brother’s performance from afar this time around.

He confessed that he wouldn’t be there with his brother at every game, and would instead be watching from home.

Honestly, it’s understandable that this year is different for Brady, given that for the first time in his career, he has made the playoffs.

In recent years, the Ottawa Senators didn’t make the playoffs, so it was easier for Tkachuk to cheer on his brother, since he wasn’t anywhere near where he was in the season.

But this year, Brady made the playoffs, but lost in the first round to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who will be his brother Matthew’s opponents in the second round.

Brady Tkachuk clearly hasn’t yet swallowed that heartbreaking elimination in six games, so he’d rather take some time for himself.

“There’s that disappointment of not playing again that justifies it. For me, it’s just a matter of taking care of things individually over the next few weeks. He knows I’ve always been there for him, but it’s just different this year because we should still be playing.” – Brady Tkachuk

In short, the Senators captain is still as big a fan of his brother as ever, but this time he’ll only be from a distance.

Seeing the team that eliminated him up close, and therefore seeing up close what it would have been like if the Senators had won, hurts too much for Tkachuk.

Still, he’ll certainly be hoping that his brother and the Panthers eliminate the Toronto Maple Leafs.

On the move

– To be followed closely.

– This is a record for DeBoer, and he holds it with a perfect record.

– Another big game to watch tonight. Who will be the Mikko Rantanen?

– Montreal CF is one game away from the record for most games without a win.

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The Avalanche made a mistake trading Mikko Rantanen

Any defeat in a #7 match is extremely painful, especially when the match is so close and so close.

Losing a #7 game feels like you were so close to advancing to the next round, but so far away at the same time.

In short, it hurts, and the Colorado Avalanche know this all too well.

The Avalanche are the first team in NHL, MLB and NBA history to lose seven consecutive #7 games.

Ouch… Really not the kind of stat you want to see for your team.

In short, each of his seven losses must have hurt the Avalanche players and fans very much, but absolutely none of them hurt as much as the most recent one, last night’s.

Why did it hurt?

Because it was provoked by a former teammate who was much loved in the dressing room, and who left the team that same season under rather adverse conditions.

Mikko Rantanen took matters into his own hands last night, virtually single-handedly eliminating his former team with a hat trick and four total points in the third period.

In short, Rantanen hurt his former team very badly, and he clearly made the Avalanche management regret trading him rather than re-signing him.

Because it’s clear after yesterday’s game that the Avalanche made a big mistake in trading Mikko Rantanen.

The Finnish star was the best player of the series with 12 points in seven games, and he proved to the whole field hockey world that he wasn’t dependent on Nathan MacKinnon to perform at the highest level.

His 12 points represent the NHL’s best harvest to date, with Rantanen sitting atop the playoff scoring charts, one point ahead of Connor McDavid and a certain Nathan MacKinnon.

Rantanen clearly made the difference in this series, and would surely have enabled the Avalanche to win had he still been with the team.

It’s also worth noting that Rantanen was much better than Martin Necas in this series, while the man who joined the Avalanche in return for Mikko had five points, including just one goal, in seven games.

Add to this the fact that the other player the Avalanche got in the Rantanen deal in Carolina, Jack Drury, was responsible for the horrendous late-game penalty that allowed Wyatt Johnston to score the winning goal.

This was huge karma for the Avalanche, who had a front-row seat to witness their mistake.

The Avalanche really should have kept Rantanen at his asking price, or at least taken the time to negotiate with him before trading him without warning.

The Stars forward really didn’t appreciate the way he was treated, and neither did Nathan MacKinnon, who was very frustrated and disappointed to see Rantanen leave the Avalanche.

With last night’s performance, and his 11 points in the last three games of the series, Rantanen proved that he doesn’t depend on MacKinnon to perform in this league, and more importantly, he proved once again that he’s a playoff guy.

He’s 7th in NHL history for average points per game in the playoffs.

In short, the Avalanche once again lost a game #7, and let’s just say that since their Stanley Cup in 2022, it’s been very difficult for Colorado, who have only won one series in three years, in 2023 against the Winnipeg Jets.

The same goes for the Avalanche’s opponent in the 2022 Stanley Cup Final, as the Tampa Bay Lightning have lost three straight first-round games since that final.

It just goes to show that the playoff format is a tough one, with teams facing off against each other in the first round.

As I’ve said before, for me, this series between the Avalanche and Stars was the final before the final.

In the end, it was the Stars who came out on top, thanks to a certain Mikko Rantanen, who clearly made up for the absence of Miro Heiskanen and Jason Robertson, the Stars’ best defenseman and best forward respectively.

In fact, MacKinnon can’t believe his team couldn’t beat the Stars without Heiskanen and Robertson.

In a flurry

– Here’s the schedule for the second round.

– Read more.

– A young clutch prodigy.

– Johnston makes history alongside some very big names.

– Of note.

– Incredible.