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Red Wings fans will like Lucas Raymond’s outlook for next season

PlayPicks

Detroit Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond is looking to recapture some of the swagger that earned him considerable attention in the 2022 Calder Trophy race that ultimately went to teammate Moritz Seider. 

His stats would dip in his second NHL season to 45, 12 less than the 57 he scored as a rookie. While he did miss eight games with injury, the Red Wings would like to see him continue his development and turn into a more reliable offensive producer.

And according to Raymond, he plans on continuing to put in work in the gym to get better on the ice. 

“Coming up in the Frolunda program, that’s always been a big focus, to get stronger and bigger and get to that level,” Raymond said. “I’m young, my body is still developing. The gym is going to be a big part for me this summer to get bigger and stronger but don’t lose my agility on the ice. I think that combination is huge.”

Head coach Derek Lalonde didn’t outright say that Raymond experienced the “sophomore slump”, but instead focused on the fact that there is still ample room for growth as he gets ready for his third NHL campaign. 

“The fact that he’s never seen the American Hockey League — he jumped right into the National Hockey League — I don’t think people respect how hard that is,” Lalonde said. “You can’t think it’s just going to keep growing steadily. He probably went through some bumps and bruises. He went through some sicknesses this year. That’s just part of being a young kid in this league.

“He’s still so fresh and raw in his development. There’s still a ton of growth for his ceiling and this summer will be another step toward it.”

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Kevin Bieksa mocks the Bruins on Sportsnet set

NHL.com

Former Vancouver Canucks defenseman and current Sportsnet analyst Kevin Bieksa is on the panel to follow the postseason action. While the broadcast team covered Game 3 of the first round series between the Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins, Bieksa couldn’t help but take a shot at the projected Stanley Cup winners.

Bieksa and the 2011 Canucks were beaten by the Bruins in a seven-game series of the Stanley Cup final.

The wound may still be too fresh for Bieksa, who posed in front of an image of Bruins’ Brad Marchand and the Stanley and posted the image in his Instagram stories with the caption «so much wrong in this picture.»

The post was made a couple of hours before Game 3 puck drop as Bieksa stared into his camera wearing a hoodie.


Bieksa remains as entertaining on the Sportsnet’s panel as he was on the ice throughout his career. He played his last NHL game with the Anaheim Ducks in the 2017–18 season. The 2001 fifth-round pick played a total of 808 NHL games with the Canucks and Ducks starting in 2005–06, scoring 63 goals and 278 points; he also logged 86 playoff games with the two teams.

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Minnesota Wild to get major boost ahead of Game 3

B105

The Minnesota Wild are looking to get back on track tonight when they bring in the rival Dallas Stars for Game 3 of their opening round Stanley Cup Playoffs series into the friendly confines of Xcel Energy Center. 

And while it was thought that the team would continue to be shorthanded as they had been through the first two games, there’s some good news to be shared. Forwards Joel Eriksson-Ek, who has been absent since April 6, along with Ryan Hartman, who missed Game 2 with a lower body injury, are both on the ice for the pre-game warmup.

Additionally, former Stars defenseman John Klingberg, who has yet to play so far in the postseason, is taking part in the warmup as well.

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Referee TJ Luxmore takes flying skate to the leg in scary scene in New York

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It’s not only hockey players that can get hurt during a game in the NHL. Officials are also at risk. On Friday night during Game 3 of the first round series between the Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Islanders, referee TJ Luxmore took a flying skate to the leg as Brady Skjei tumbled into the boards.

Luxmore was slow to get back to his feet and left the game, clearly in pain. It was assumed that Wes McCauley, who was on standby at the arena, would come in for the rest of the contest, but Luxmore, like a trooper came back into the game.

Hockey players AND refs are a different breed.

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Shocking Bruins’ lineup change minutes before Game 3

NHL

The Boston Bruins have listed forward David Krejci has a scratch for Game 3 of their first round series against the Florida Panthers on Friday night.


The Bruins then announced the reason why Krejci was out, with an upper-body injury. 

Krejci suited up for both Games 1 and 2 in Boston for the Bruins and traveled with the team for both contests in Florida. The veteran posted just an assist for far in the series.

An update is likely to be given after Game 3 with a possible hint at whether Krejci will be able to take part in Game 4 on Sunday.

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Bruins will face penalty for breaking the rules

The Boston Globe

One of the key questions pressing the Boston Bruins last summer was whether or not longtime veteran forward Patrice Bergeron would return for another season wearing the black and yellow, the only NHL colors that he’s ever worn. He would eventually make the call to return to the team, but that wasn’t the only valuable veteran presence on the roster electing to come back for one last go of it.

Forward David Krejci, who didn’t play in the NHL last season after opting to instead return home to play in his native Czechia, announced his return to the Bruins with a one year contract. 

But thanks to both players being on Boston’s roster this season, the Bruins will be facing a financial penalty to the tune of $4.5 million.

The reasoning, viaPuck Empire: 

“This is due to the performance bonus overages stemming from their contracts. With Bergeron and Krejci eligible to sign particular types of contracts reserved for players 35 or older, they’re also eligible to receive performance bonuses in their contract that are not incorporated into the cap hit of the deal. It operates in the same way as an entry-level contract, where rookies can earn millions of dollars per season based on their performance despite a six-figure cap hit.

That’s exactly what they did, with Bergeron’s contract entitling him to up to $2.5MM in bonuses, while Krejčí was eligible for up to $2MM. Thanks to Boston’s record-breaking season and subsequent playoff appearance, both players hit every benchmark required to receive all of their bonuses.

Unfortunately, since Boston used long-term injured reserve to stay cap compliant, they weren’t able to accommodate Bergeron and Krejci’s performance bonuses under the cap at the end of the regular season. It means Boston, along with 14 other NHL teams (albeit with much smaller amounts), will have a cap charge next season equivalent to the amount of performance bonuses earned that the team couldn’t fit under the cap at the end of the season.” 

Well, live and learn.

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Jay Woodcroft sounds off the NHL’s controversial goal call.

The Stanley Cup playoffs were marred by controversy on Friday night, and although the final decision has already been made and there will be no changing the past now, we probably aren’t done hearing about this particular call for a while.

On Friday night, the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings clashed in Game 3 of their first round Stanley Cup playoff series and the game would end in controversy after an overtime goal courtesy of the Kings’ Trevor Moore. There was no doubt that Moore scored the goal, but several slow motion and close up replays appear to indicate that a stoppage in play had been warranted prior to him scoring the goal.

The end result though was the NHL ruling this a good goal, something the Oilers obviously do not agree with. Following the conclusion of the game, Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft was asked to share his thoughts on the controversy and he made it pretty clear how he felt. Although not one to ever stir the pot, Woodcroft made it clear that he felt the league had made the wrong call.

“It’s a play where the greatest player in the world is two feet away,” said Woodcroft. “His arm comes straight up in the air because he knows it hit the stick, otherwise he wouldn’t put his arm up in the air… he would keep playing.”

Woodcroft also pointed to the slow motion replays that appear to indicate that there was indeed a high stick that should have stopped the play.

“It appears to me in the video that the puck is going straight up in a trajectory and deadens, in the end I’m going to go with the greatest player in the world who was three feet away,” concluded Woodcroft

The player being referenced here is of course Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid and judging by Woodcroft’s comments it would stand to reason that McDavid himself, and likely the rest of the Oilers lock room. isn’t too happy about this call either. 

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Major officiating controversy in the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday night.

The National Hockey League has a major controversy on their hands stemming from a call made during Friday night’s game between the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers, and it is one that could potentially play a pivotal role in determining who advances in the first round of that series.

On Friday night, the Oilers and Kings, who were already tied up at 1-1 on the series coming into this one, battled it out in a hard fought game that needed overtime to determine a winner. The game winning goal would come on a Kings powerplay just minutes into the overtime frame when Trevor Moore managed to beat Jeff Skinner to give the Kings a 2-1 lead in the series.

Here’s a replay of Moore’s game winning goal:

If you’re thinking that Moore’s goal doesn’t look all that controversial you would be right, there’s no doubt that the puck crossed the goal line and there’s not much of a case to be made for goaltender interference. The issue isn’t with the goal itself but with a high stick that occurred only moments before, one that the Oilers feel should have resulted in a stoppage of play.

The alleged high stick in question came from the Kings’ Gabe Vilardi, and here’s a look at the replay as shown on the broadcast last night:

The NHL’s situation room in Toronto would take several looks at the play but, according to several NHL insiders, the league would determine that there were no camera angles that showed Vilardi had conclusively touched the puck.

The league’s ruling has been called into question with some arguing that the replay does show conclusive contact between stick and puck, arguing that the momentum of both shifted at the moment of contact. When viewed in slow motion, Vilardi does appear to look up after the puck makes contact with his stick. If the player felt that contact and reacted by looking up, it would lend credence to the argument that contact was made.

A close up of this same replay also appears to show the shift in momentum from both puck and stick.

Whether the NHL got this one right or wrong won’t change anything now for either the Kings or the Oilers, but it will certainly be discussed at great length should the Kings emerge victorious in this series.

Did the NHL make the right call on Friday night? Or could this prove to be a series defining mistake from the league?

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Bruins announce David Krejci’s status for Game 4

NESN

The bad news for the Boston Bruins, who were already skating in tonight’s game without captain and veteran leader Patrice Bergeron, found out right before tonight’s Game 3 matchup against the Florida Panthers that fellow veteran David Krejci would not be suiting up. He was announced as a last-minute scratch due to an upper-body injury; he was replaced in the lineup by Nick Foligno. 

The good news is that the Bruins took care of business, regaining their series advantage by defeating the Panthers by a 4-2 final score. And for those wondering what Krejci’s status for Sunday’s critical Game 4 is, it’s still not 100% known. According to head coach Jim Montgomery, Krejci is “50-50” to play.

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Devils make a radical goaltending change, down 2-0 in the series.

Jim McIsaac/NHLI/Getty

The New Jersey Devils aren’t out of the Stanley Cup playoffs just yet, but they have dug themselves into a major hole by allowing the New York Rangers to take a commanding 2-0 lead in their first round playoff series.

It isn’t just that the Rangers took the first two games of the series though, it’s also the manner in which they claimed those victories that have the Devils reeling and on the ropes. The Rangers won both Game 1 and Game 2 by a score of 5-1, prompting what appears to be a desperation move from Devils head coach Lindy Ruff.

Although it has not as of yet officially been confirmed, it appears as though Ruff will be injecting rookie goaltender Akira Schmid in the hopes that Schmid can be the difference maker and claw his team back into this series. Our first sign that Schmid would be getting the start came this morning when Schmid was in his own net during the Devils’ morning skate, while both Mackenzie Blackwood and Game 1 and Game 2 starter Vitek Vanacek shared a net.

Schmid would also be the last goaltender to leave the ice on Saturday which further led many to believe that he would be getting the start tonight, and National Hockey League insider Frank Seravalli has now confirmed his belief that Schmid will start while Vanecek will play the backup role.

You can hardly blame Ruff for trying to find an answer here, and given the lackluster performances the Devils received from Blackwood during the regular season he likely isn’t a realistic option here. Furthermore Vanecek has struggled in this series allowing 4 goals on just 22 shots in Game 1 for an .818 save percentage and 5 goals on just 30 shots in Game 2 for an .833 save percentage.

Schmid is a rookie and one with only 24 games of NHL experience under his belt, but to his credit he did have a solid showing in the regular season for the Devils. In his 18 appearances during the 2022-23 season. Schmid would record a 2.13 goals against average and a .922 save percentage, so you can start to see why Ruff is turning to him at such a pivotal moment in the series.