The Bolts
Jon Cooper has been nominated for the Jack Adams Award. It’s his second nomination since the 2013-14 season when he lost to the Colorado Avalanche’s Patrick Roy.
Congrats, Coop!
He is one of three finalists for this year’s Jack Adams Award, alongside Barry Trotz and Craig Berube.
📝: https://t.co/ZhVpp0dUod pic.twitter.com/0U8Rv3kON1
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) April 26, 2019
The other finalists are Barry Trotz of the New York Islanders and Craig Berube of the St. Louis Blues.
The Prospects
The Orlando Solar Bears have won the first game of the South Division Finals against the Florida Everblades. Colby McAuley scored the game winning goal in overtime, Connor Ingram was named the first star of the game with 29 saves.
🚨SCORE!!!🚨 Colby McAuley banks in the overtime winner just 55 seconds into OT, and Orlando defeats Florida 2-1 to take a 1-0 lead in the South Division Finals!!! pic.twitter.com/pe4EB6LDjj
— Orlando Solar Bears (@OrlandoHockey) April 27, 2019
Former Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Filip Kuba has been named head coach of the Under-16 age team for the next season.
Filip Kuba, has accepted the @TBLEDP U16 Head Coach position for the 2019-2020 season pic.twitter.com/9vieLRwmHM
— Lightning Made Hockey (@LightningMade) April 26, 2019
The Syracuse Crunch thank their fans for their support over the last season.
You are there for us through the highs and push us through the lows. We genuinely appreciate that you always demand the highest level.
Thank you for being you and joining us at the War Memorial Arena year after year.
We’ll see you in October, ready to get after it again. 👊 pic.twitter.com/5XBqsQr6X0
— Syracuse Crunch (@SyracuseCrunch) April 26, 2019
The Game
The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the New York Islanders in the first game of their second round matchup. Jordan Staal scored the only goal of the night in overtime.
And that’s the game! Jordan Staal scores the overtime winner. pic.twitter.com/zrYmGzRUl4
— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) April 27, 2019
Petr Mrazek has become the third goalie in Canes history with two shutouts in a single postseason.
Of Mrazek’s nine career playoff wins, five have been shutouts 😂 https://t.co/D7pH226Nfp
— Sara Civ (@SaraCivian) April 27, 2019
The San Jose Sharks have taken a lead in their series against the Colorado Avalanches.
FINAL: @SanJoseSharks (5) – @Avalanche (2)@Discover recap: https://t.co/JKVZJ4h9vz
SJS leads 1-0 #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/Q2u1Uhbgyh— NHL (@NHL) April 27, 2019
Joe Thornton has become the 24th player in NHL history to reach 100th playoffs assists.
The man. The myth. The legend. #PlayoffMode pic.twitter.com/iNQ7tzdGOk
— x – San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) April 27, 2019
The Avalanche will try to tie the series on a Sunday night [Mile High Hockey]
The Avalanche got out to a great start, but there was no push-back when the Sharks came at them with their own energy. Mistakes piled upon each other and eventually the battle of attrition left the Avalanche without any momentum. They tried to start something in the dying minutes of the game, but there wasn’t much heart or effectiveness in their play. The only person who stood out in this time was Makar. The kid has unrelenting energy.
The Columbus Blue Jackets lost their first game of the second round after an eight day rest and Justin Bourne discusses what is more important in the playoffs: being the rested team or the ready team? [The Athletic, paid content]
Even though they were still playing games, Jon Cooper did note that his Lightning were the team trying to jump on to the treadmill heading into Round 1. They hadn’t played meaningful hockey in a month, while Columbus had been playing must-win playoff-important puck for nearly a month just to get to the Bolts. Their screaming hot treadmill ended up being too much for the Lightning – who got metaphorically “punched in the mouth” early while rusty – to handle.
The Blues vs. Stars second-round series has already started, but this prediction is still relevant [Sporting News]
This will be the 14th meeting between the Blues franchise and the Stars/North Stars franchise in the postseason. The Blues have the edge (7-6) and have won in the last two meetings; St. Louis swept Dallas in the Western Conference semifinals in 2001 and edged them out in a seven-game series in 2016.
The San Jose Sharks have signed 21-year-old Russian forward Danil Yurtaykin to a 2 year Entry Level deal. He spent last season in the KHL with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl and scored 19 (10+9) points in 40 games.
SJ #Sharks signed FA forward Danil Yurtaykin to a 2 year Entry Level contract starting in the 2019-20 season.
EL Max ($832,500 Base + $92,500 SB) in both seasons.
Yurtaykin played in the KHL for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl this past season.https://t.co/kwwClHZkqT pic.twitter.com/LKb2x7fIGo
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) April 26, 2019
And as a last bit of reading today, this is an important article about homophobia in hockey that you should make some time for. [Daily Xtra]
There were two things Brock McGillis knew from an early age: he loved being a hockey goalie, and he was gay. The Sudbury native started playing in net when he was seven years old and immediately felt he’d found his calling. He relished making a contribution to his team. “Every time a goalie makes a save, everyone cheers,” McGillis says.
