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NHL Announces Conference Final Schedule Scenarios

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After one-half of the conference finalists have been set, the NHL has released the potential schedule matrix for the 2022 Eastern and Western Conference Finals.

No matter what, the Eastern Conference Final will start June 1, whether it be in Raleigh or Manhattan. The Tampa Bay Lightning will be the visitor after sweeping the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Florida Panthers in the Second Round. The Lightning actually finished with the same point total as the New York Rangers (110), but surrender the tiebreaker, so it’s impossible for them to start the series at home. They would also start on the road against the Metropolitan Division champion Carolina Hurricanes. The Eastern Conference Final will be televised on ESPN in the United States.

For the Western Conference, the schedule depends on the result of tonight’s Game 6 between the Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues. If Colorado is victorious tonight, the series will start on May 31st in Denver. If it goes to a Game 7, the Edmonton Oilers will travel to either Denver or St. Louis for Game 1 on June 2. In the United States, the Western Conference Final will be on TNT.

The last possible day for Conference Final action is June 15, with a potential Western Conference Final Game 7 between the Oilers and either the Avalanche or Blues.

Barclay Goodrow Resumes Skating

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  • There was some good news on the injury front for the Rangers today as Vince Z. Mercogliano of USA Today relays (Twitter link) that winger Barclay Goodrow has resumed skating. He has been out since being suffering a lower-body injury in the opening game of the playoffs.  Considering he has missed a few weeks now, it seems unlikely Goodrow will be available for Thursday’s fifth game against Carolina but he might have a chance to return by the end of the series.

2022 Jack Adams Finalists Announced

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The NHL continues to release the finalists for their major regular season award, this time naming the three men that are in contention for the Jack Adams Award, presented to the coach who has “contributed the most to his team’s success” and voted on by the NHL Broadcasters Association. Last year’s winner was Rod Brind’Amour of the Carolina Hurricanes, but we’ll have a new name engraved this season.

The finalists for the 2021-22 season are Andrew Brunette of the Florida Panthers, Gerard Gallant of the New York Rangers, and Darryl Sutter of the Calgary Flames.

Brunette could win the award without actually even having any job security, as he is still technically only an interim head coach. Taking over from Joel Quenneville, when the Panthers were in first place, he didn’t miss a beat and took the team to an incredible 51-18-6 record under his watch, winning the Presidents’ Trophy. A huge number of Florida players experienced career-best seasons under the rookie head coach, as his high-flying style led to almost unstoppable offensive pressure.

Often, this award goes to the coach who takes a team to the largest gap between expectation and result. That might be the case for Gallant, whose young Rangers were expected to challenge for the playoffs but have become so much more than that. With a 52-24-6 record on the year, New York finished eighth in the entire NHL, their best season since 2014-15. It shouldn’t surprise anyone at this point that Gallant can get outstanding results out of an overlooked roster, after taking the Vegas Golden Knights all the way to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season. Even in that year–when Gallant won the Jack Adams–the Golden Knights had a worse winning percentage than these Rangers.

For all the success that Sutter has had behind the bench, this trophy has eluded him over the years. The two-time Stanley Cup-winning coach has nearly 800 total wins under his belt but has only ever been a finalist for the award once before, way back in 2004 during his first go-round in Calgary. The Flames experienced a huge turnaround under his watch, going from a .491 winning percentage last season, to a .677 and first place in the division this year. Despite having some high-flying offensive talent, it was the buy-in on the defensive end that Sutter is so known for, and resulted in the Flames allowing just 206 goals against, third best in the league.

Tomorrow, the league will continue their announcements with the three finalists for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy.

New York Rangers Expected To Sign Gustav Rydahl

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Despite clinching their place in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last night with a series-clinching overtime goal from Artemi Panarin, the New York Rangers have already begun their offseason work, adding to their forward group for next season. According to CapFriendly, the organization has signed forward Gustav Rydahl to a one-year, one-way contract for the 2022-23 season (link). The contract is worth $750K and will leave Rydahl a UFA after next season.

Unlike many signings this time of year, Rydahl is not a young prospect in the Rangers system; instead, he is a veteran of parts of nine SHL seasons, spending the previous four seasons with Farjestads. Rydahl, who will be 28 at the start of next season, has proven to be a reliable center for his SHL teams, though never being much of a point-producer until 2018-19, when he began to breakout. After accumulating just 20 points over 191 SHL games from 2013-14 through 2017-18, Rydahl had 12 goals and seven assists in 47 games in 2018-19. He would take another step forward in 2019-20, scoring 19 goals to go along with 16 assists in 49 games. The veteran would play in just nine games in 2020-21, tallying two assists, but rebounded strong this past season, where he had 15 goals and 15 assists in 44 games.

In Rydhal, the Rangers will look for a responsible two -way center who can contribute on offense from time to time. Notably, the Rangers do have some salary cap considerations this offseason, with Adam Fox and Mika Zibanejad both due significant raises and forwards Ryan Strome Andrew Copp, and Frank Vatrano as important pending UFAs. The team has also failed to get consistent, strong production out of bottom-six center Filip Chytil, and while Chytil has not been bad either, they could look to move on from him and his $2.3MM cap hit for next season, replacing it with Rydahl’s $750K hit.

East Notes: Point, Boyle, Goodrow

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It looks like the Battle of Florida will be missing one of its biggest stars, at least for Game 1. After falling awkwardly in their Game 7 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brayden Point is doubtful for Game 1 of their Second Round series against the Florida Panthers, according to head coach Jon Cooper. Cooper notes that Point’s availability remains day-to-day, however.

Point’s injury didn’t look good, to say the least. Toe-picking along the wall with not much time remaining in the first period, Point’s leg went into the boards and he immediately winced in pain, grabbing his right leg near his hip. Point attempted to return for a shift in the second period and did not return after, although he did stay on the bench. The Leafs did a decent job of limiting Point in that series, holding him to just four points in seven games (and a -6 rating), although he did score the overtime winner in Game 6 to tie the series. Nonetheless, he remains an extremely important piece for the Lightning if they hope to get past their Presidents’ Trophy-winning Floridian counterparts and keep the three-peat dream alive.

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins announced today that veteran forward Brian Boyle underwent successful knee surgery today with an expected recovery time of six weeks. Boyle was injured in the team’s Game 6 loss to the New York Rangers. The 37-year-old was a pleasant surprise this season for Pittsburgh, notching 21 points in 66 games and two assists in six playoff games. The cancer survivor signed a PTO with the Penguins during training camp after not playing professionally in 2020-21 and carved out a regular spot in the lineup. It remains to be seen whether Boyle will return to the NHL next season.
  • Rangers forward Barclay Goodrow won’t be available for Games 1 and 2 of their Second Round series against the Carolina Hurricanes, but he still has a chance to return from injury during the series according to head coach Gerard Gallant. Goodrow was injured in Game 1 against the Penguins and hasn’t played since. He remains week-to-week with an undisclosed injury.

New York Rangers To Sign Olof Lindbom

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Another talented young goaltender is set to join the New York Rangers. CapFriendly has reported the terms of a to-be-announced entry-level contract between New York and 2018 second-round pick Olof Lindbom. The Swedish netminder is set to sign a two-year deal worth an AAV of $925K. The NHL salary in 2022-23 will be $750K and in 2023-24 will be $775K, with an AHL salary of $70K for both years. The contract also includes a $185K signing bonus, split evenly between each season, and games played bonuses of $82.5K in year one and $57.5K in year two.

Lindbom, 21, was the first goalie off the board at No. 39 overall in the 2018 NHL Draft. Lindbom had dominated the U-18 World Juniors that year, recording a .949 save percentage and 1.66 GAA in six games, and the Rangers didn’t want to miss out on his potential. However, Lindbom’s development has not been straight-line. In the four years since he was drafted, Lindbom has only played in Sweden’s U-20 SuperElit league and second-tier pro Allsvenskan league, finding varying levels of success and not earning any SHL appearances. With that being said, 2021-22 was Lindbom’s best pro season as he posted a career-high .900 save percentage in a career-high 27 games for Kristianstads IK. While that .900 number may not seem elite, it ranked 17th in the Allsvenskan and 10th among goalies who played in at least half of their team’s games; it’s not a bad mark for such a young goalie.

While the signing of Lindbom was inevitable and the timing is not surprising, as the Rangers likely want to play a more direct role in his development, the addition of another young goalie adds to the logjam in New York. The Rangers have long dealt with a two-headed monster at the NHL level in Igor Shesterkin, who at 26 is already the Vezina Trophy favorite, and talented backup Alexandar Georgiev, who is also just 26. In the minors, a pair of former NCAA standouts are awaiting their chances for more opportunity. Adam Huska, who just turned 25, was the backup to Keith Kinkaid for the AHL’s Hartford Wolfpack despite outplaying the veteran. Meanwhile, 24-year-old Tyler Wall only played in five AHL games due to the organizational net depth. There’s also Dylan Garand, a 2020 fourth-round pick who has already signed his ELC, played in a couple AHL games last year, and has been stellar in each of the past two seasons with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers. The 19-year-old is ready for the next level. Lindbom will not be handed anything in New York; he will have to fight for his place on the depth chart like everyone else.

Rickard Rakell Remains Out For Game Six

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Pittsburgh Penguins winger Rickard Rakell is not on the ice for pre-game warmups and will remain out with a concussion for Game 6.

Rakell played just 4:28 in Game 1 before leaving with the injury. He joins Sidney Crosby on the list of injured Penguins forwards as they try to finish off the New York Rangers tonight at home. Rakell has been skating and was a game-time decision for tonight’s game.

It’s still a sizeable loss for the Penguins. Rakell had performed extremely well down the stretch during the regular season, registering 13 points in 19 games with the Penguins. In his absence, the team’s current second line of Danton Heinen, Evan Rodrigues, and Kasperi Kapanen will continue to see elevated minutes. All three have performed well in this series.

It’s countered by some positive news for the Rangers, as trade deadline acquisition Tyler Motte is returning to the lineup tonight.

Gustav Rydahl Linked To New York Rangers

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While the New York Rangers continue their quest for playoff success, the front office might be looking ahead to the future. In Sweden, a report has emerged in SportExpressen that connects Gustav Rydahl to the Rangers.

Rydahl, 27, has been flirting with an NHL career for years, but to this point has been limited to playing in the Swedish Hockey League. The undrafted forward had 14 goals and 30 points for Farjestads BK this season, but it was his playoff performance that really stood out.

In 19 postseason contests, Rydahl had six goals and 12 points en route to an SHL championship. He also had 21 penalty minutes, a common theme for the physical forward, who has been known to get involved in plenty of extracurricular activity after the whistle.

It was actually the second title of his career, after winning one as a young player in 2015 with Vaxjo. At that point, the 6’3″ forward was an absolute black hole offensively, but things have changed in recent years. With an appearance at the Olympics also on his resume from earlier this year, and now two straight strong offensive seasons (split by one with only nine games played), it is as good a time as any to try his hand in North America.

Jacob Trouba Not Receiving Supplementary Discipline

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  • There is no supplementary discipline expected for New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba’s hit on Sidney Crosby last night, according to several reports including Larry Brooks of the New York Post. Crosby is being evaluated for an upper-body injury after missing the second half of the game, while Trouba will try to help even the series tomorrow night in Pittsburgh after scoring and recording two points yesterday.

2022 Hart Trophy Finalists Announced

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It’s time for the big one. The NHL has announced the finalists for the Hart Trophy, given annually to the “player judged most valuable to his team.” Last year’s award went to Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, his second win after taking it home in 2017 as well.

This year’s finalists are McDavid, Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers.

There’s not much to be said about the Oilers captain that hasn’t already been mentioned a million times. One of the most dynamic offensive players to ever grace the NHL, he reached new highs in goals and points this year with 44 and 123. It was the fourth time he has led the league in points, and this will be the fourth time he is a Hart finalist. With 697 points in his career already, he sits fourth in points/game among those who have played at least 450. Only Wayne Gretzky (1.92), Mario Lemieux (1.88), and the late Mike Bossy (1.50) sit ahead of McDavid’s 1.43 mark, an incredible accomplishment in this era.

Matthews, meanwhile, is a finalist for the second time after being the runner-up last season. Now the two-time Rocket Richard winner, the Maple Leafs forward is the best goal scorer in the league and reached a mark very rarely seen in today’s game. His 60 goals were the most since Steven Stamkos hit the same mark in 2011-12, and he became only the third player in the salary cap era to reach the mark (Alex Ovechkin has the top spot with 65 in 2007-08). More than just his goals though, it was Matthews’ overall production that skyrocketed this season, with the big center hitting 106 points in just 73 games.

Shesterkin is a first-time finalist, but if he continues to play at the level he established this season this certainly won’t be the last time he’s up for major awards. The 26-year-old netminder posted a .935 save percentage in 53 appearances and is the front-runner for the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best netminder. Moreover, the Rangers were routinely critiqued for their defensive zone breakdowns this season as a young team, breakdowns that Shesterkin regularly rescued them from with incredible saves. The Hart hasn’t been won by a goaltender since Carey Price in 2015, when he nearly swept the field, taking home the Jennings, Vezina, and Lindsay as well. Price’s save percentage that season was actually .933, just a few points below what Shesterkin did this year.

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