NHL Postseason First Round Match-Ups And Schedule Released
The NHL worked quickly after yesterday’s results, releasing the schedule for the first round of playoff action this morning, despite only two series being set in stone heading into Saturday’s final games. Per the league release, this is how the 16 teams who qualified for the postseason will match up over the next few weeks:
Eastern Conference
A1 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. WC2 Columbus Blue Jackets
Wednesday, April 10th @ 7pm ET
Friday, April 12th @ 7pm ET
Sunday, April 14th @ 7pm ET
Tuesday, April 16th @ 7pm ET
Friday, April 19th (if necessary)
Sunday, April 21st (if necessary)
Tuesday, April 23rd (if necessary)
M1 Washington Capitals vs. WC1 Carolina Hurricanes
Thursday, April 11th @ 7:30pm ET
Saturday, April 13th @ 3pm ET
Monday, April 15th @ 7pm ET
Thursday, April 18th @ 7pm ET
Saturday, April 20th (if necessary)
Monday, April 22nd (if necessary)
Wednesday, April 24th (if necessary)
A2 Boston Bruins vs. A3 Toronto Maple Leafs
Thursday, April 11th @ 7pm ET
Saturday, April 13th @ 8pm ET
Monday, April 15th @ 7pm ET
Wednesday, April 17th @ 7pm ET
Friday, April 19th (if necessary)
Sunday, April 21st (if necessary)
Tuesday, April 23rd (if necessary)
M2 New York Islanders vs. M3 Pittsburgh Penguins
Wednesday, April 10th @ 7:30pm ET
Friday, April 12th @ 7:30pm ET
Sunday, April 14th @ 12pm ET
Tuesday, April 16th @ 7:30pm ET
Thursday, April 18th (if necessary)
Saturday, April 20th (if necessary)
Monday, April 22nd (if necessary)
Western Conference
P1 Calgary Flames vs. WC2 Colorado Avalanche
Thursday, April 11th @ 10pm ET
Saturday, April 13th @ 10:30pm ET
Monday, April 15th @ 10pm ET
Wednesday, April 17th @ 10pm ET
Friday, April 19th (if necessary)
Sunday, April 21st (if necessary)
Tuesday, April 23rd (if necessary)
C1 Nashville Predators vs. WC1 Dallas Stars
Wednesday, April 10th @ 9:30pm ET
Saturday, April 13th @ 6pm ET
Monday, April 15th @ 9:30pm ET
Wednesday, April 17th @ 8pm ET
Saturday, April 20th (if necessary)
Monday, April 22nd (if necessary)
Wednesday, April 24th (if necessary)
P2 San Jose Sharks vs. P3 Vegas Golden Knights
Wednesday, April 10th @ 10:30pm ET
Friday, April 12th @ 10:30pm ET
Sunday, April 14th @ 10pm ET
Tuesday, April 16th @ 10:30pm ET
Thursday, April 18th (if necessary)
Sunday, April 21st (if necessary)
Tuesday, April 23rd (if necessary)
C2 Winnipeg Jets vs. C3 St. Louis Blues
Wednesday, April 10th @ 8pm ET
Friday, April 12th @ 9:30pm ET
Sunday, April 14th @ 7:30pm ET
Tuesday, April 16th @ 9:30pm ET
Thursday, April 18th (if necessary)
Saturday, April 20th (if necessary)
Monday, April 22nd (if necessary)
A reminder that NHL playoff series are a 2-2-1-1-1 format wherein the higher seed hosts the first two games, the lower seed hosts the second two games, and the teams switch off the final three games if necessary. The NHL also uses a best-of-seven format, so it will take four wins for any team to move on to the next round.
While today begins a three-day stretch without any hockey, the league is ready to kick off the postseason in style with five games on Wednesday night. The first round can stretch on for two whole weeks potentially, with the final games scheduled for Wednesday, April 24th. Put these dates in your calendar and get ready for playoff hockey.
2019 NHL Draft Lottery Odds
The regular season has ended, but for those 15 teams who missed the playoffs the wait won’t be long for the first exciting event of the off-season. The 2019 NHL Entry Draft may be more than ten weeks away, but the league has moved this year’s NHL Draft Lottery up several weeks to this coming Tuesday, April 9th, before the postseason even begins. With the final league standings in place after yesterday’s results and the teams with ping pong balls to be selected now set, here are the odds for the No. 1 overall pick in this years draft:
31st – Colorado Avalanche (from Ottawa Senators): 18.5%
30th – Los Angeles Kings: 13.5%
29th – New Jersey Devils: 11.5%
28th – Detroit Red Wings: 9.5%
27th – Buffalo Sabres: 8.5%
26th – New York Rangers: 7.5%
25th – Edmonton Oilers: 6.5%
24th – Anaheim Ducks: 6.0%
23rd – Vancouver Canucks: 5.0%
22nd – Philadelphia Flyers: 3.5%
21st – Minnesota Wild: 3.0%
20th – Chicago Blackhawks: 2.5%
19th – Florida Panthers: 2.0%
18th – Arizona Coyotes: 1.5%
17th* – Montreal Canadiens: 1.0%
It’s important to note that while the odds at winning the first overall pick are listed, there are lottery selections for each of the first three picks in the draft with each team’s odds increasing proportionally after each selection starting with first overall. The prize this year for Tuesday night’s lucky winner is expected to be U.S. National Team Development Program center Jack Hughes, an elite play-making pivot who has been wowing scouts for years. The consolation prize of picking second is not too shabby either; Finnish scoring winger Kaapo Kakko has closed the gap on Hughes and is also considered an elite talent. The No. 3 pick is finally where there will be some intrigue in June. Many feel Russian winger Vasili Podkolzin will be the pick, but a team may opt for a different style of forward like Canadians Dylan Cozens and Kirby Dach or Hughes’ teammate Alex Turcotte, while a D-needy club could reach for promising defender Bowen Byram.
The NHL Draft Lottery will be nationally televised by NBC Sports, Sportsnet, and TVA beginning at 8pm ET on Tuesday. As opposed to last year, when the lottery took place over two separate sessions during playoff game intermissions, the event will return to being an independent hour-long show. Tune in to see who the big winner could be this year and how the top of the first round will look in this year’s draft.
Evening Notes: East Playoff Race, Rantanen, Dumoulin, Parayko
The Eastern Playoff race has been decided. The Carolina Hurricanes have drawn the first wildcard spot and will face the Metropolitan Division-leading Washington Capitals in the first round of the playoffs. The New York Islanders will be the second seed in the Metro and will have to square off against the Pittsburgh Penguins. In the Atlantic Division, the Columbus Blue Jackets end up with a tough match-up as they will face the Tampa Bay Lightning, while the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs will meet once again, as everyone has known about for quite some time. The final results of the night will determine how the Western Conference Shakes out.
- The Colorado Avalanche’s Mikko Rantanen was spotted on the ice Saturday in San Jose wearing a non-contact jersey, according to The Athletic’s Ryan S. Clark. The injured forward, who hasn’t seen action since March 21st with an undisclosed injury, traveled with the team but will sit out once again. While that doesn’t sound like great news, considering the playoffs are right around the corner it is better to have him skating than not. If Colorado has any chance of advancing out of the first round, they will need their young scorer. The 22-year-old will have played eight less games than last year, but has a career high 31 goals and 87 points in his sophomore season. Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said later today that he is hopeful that Rantanen will be available for the playoffs, according to BSN’s Adrian Dater.
- Speaking of injuries, the Pittsburgh Penguins got some good news as defenseman Brian Dumoulin skated on his own after missing the past three games with a lower-body injury, according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Dumoulin, who normally skates alongside Kris Letang, would make a big impact on a lineup that is preparing for the playoffs and could use the player tied for fifth in the NHL with a +31 rating. “The fact that Dumo is on the ice is really encouraging from our standpoint,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. He added that the injury isn’t considered major and Doumolin remains day-to-day.
- The St. Louis Blues expect to get back defenseman Colton Parayko, who has sat out the past two games with an undisclosed injury. The 25-year-old defender is expected to play in the playoffs, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jim Thomas. Thomas added that Tyler Bozak was just held out for precautionary reasons Saturday after he was in a car accident getting to the game. The veteran center was rear-ended, but wasn’t seriously hurt. He too is expected back for the playoff opener.
Arizona Coyotes Expected To Sign Erik Kallgren
The Arizona Coyotes have received phenomenal goaltending from Darcy Kuemper this season and have both he and injured starter Antti Raanta under contract next season, with AHLers Adin Hill and Hunter Miska likely to stick around as well as impending restricted free agents. However, it never hurts to have redundancies in net and Arizona is about to add another goalie to the system. Reports out of Swedish news source Sport Bladet indicate that 2015 Coyotes draft pick Erik Kallgren is on his way to the U.S. to sign his entry-level contract. The team has yet to confirm a deal with the young keeper.
Kallgren, 22, was a seventh-round selection by Arizona four years ago out of the Allsvenskan, Sweden’s version of the AHL where most top young players develop before moving to the top-level Swedish Hockey League. While Kallgren had yet to graduate from the Allsvenskan, he has improved each year including a very impressive 2018-19 campaign to cap it off. Kallgren started 32 games for AIK, recording a .920 save percentage and an impeccable 2.02 GAA that ranked in the top five in the league. At 6’3″ and nearly 200 lbs., Kallgren has good size and has actually grown significantly in the years since he was drafted. Yet, it is his athleticism that has been highlighted thus far in his career. With great variation in the size and style of the goaltenders in the Coyotes’ system, it will be interesting to see if Arizona’s coaches push Kallgren to adopt a style more similar to the smaller, quicker Raanta or the bigger, sturdier Kuemper.
Kallgren tells Sport Bladet that he has signed a two-year ELC, likely starting next season. However, as he is currently on his way to Arizona, he is probably set to join the AHL’s Tuscon Roadrunners on an amateur tryout to end the year. The Roadrunners have eight games left in the regular season, but have a lot of work to do to make the playoffs and more likely than not will miss the postseason. Kallgren stands a better chance of making his North American debut this season if Tuscon falls out of the playoff race sooner rather than later, removing meaning from some of their final regular season games. As for next year, Kallgren states that his goal is to see NHL action in the upcoming season, but he knows that there is a long way to go before that can happen. He seems far more certain that he can win the starting job in the AHL though, which would mean supplanting established third-stringer Hill. The Coyotes were under pressure to sign Kallgren, whose draft rights would have expired on June 1st of this year, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t see him as a legitimate AHL option. It will be interesting to see how the young Swede performs next year and where he fits into the ‘Yotes long-term plans.
Boston Bruins Sign Paul Carey To Two-Year Extension
The Boston Bruins have decided to keep Paul Carey around for a while, signing the minor league forward to a two-year, two-way contract extension. The deal will carry an annual average value of $700K in the NHL. The team also announced that Victor Berglund will join the Providence Bruins on an amateur tryout. Berglund was a seventh-round pick of the Bruins in 2017.
Carey, 30, was acquired from the Ottawa Senators earlier this year in exchange for Cody Goloubef and immediately made an impact for Providence. The versatile forward has 16 goals and 23 points through 23 games for the P-Bruins, and will likely continue to drive their offense for the next few seasons. He has also served as injury insurance for Boston, suiting up twice since the trade. An excellent player at the AHL level, Carey has rarely received a lengthy opportunity at the NHL and thus has just 16 points in 99 games across his near decade of professional experience.
The veteran forward will need to clear waivers before next season in order to be assigned to Providence, but has done so many times in the past. The Bruins obviously believe he can be a big part of their AHL group going forward, while still providing some versatility for the NHL club if necessary.
NHL Reinstates Nashville Predators’ Austin Watson
The NHL today announced, in cooperation with the NHLPA, that Nashville Predators forward Austin Watson has been reinstated from his suspension and has been “returned to available status”. Watson was suspended from play indefinitely in late January after an “alcohol-related relapse” and entered Stage Two of the joint Substance Abuse and Behavioral Program. Watson was cleared to return to action by officials from the league and players’ association, but will remain under supervision by the guidelines of the program.
The Predators have also announced that “consistent with the recommendations” of the program, Watson has returned to active status for the team. The only additional comment the team makes is that he will continue with the “follow-up phase” of the program while returning to play. Due to the “personal nature” of Watson’s suspension and ongoing cooperation with the program, Nashville will not comment any further on the topic.
Nashville will be happy to have the 27-year-old forward back in the lineup, though. Watson missed the first 18 games of the season due to a suspension related to off-season domestic assault charges, a stretch that was reduced from the original 27-game sentence. He then missed another 21 games in his latest absence. This has left him with just 34 games and 13 points to show for the season, just one year removed from a career high in production. The Predators hope that Watson can get back to full speed quickly, as they look to solidify their spot in the Western Conference playoff picture. The Tennessean’s Paul Skrbina reports that Watson is expected to re-join the team immediately for morning skate on Tuesday, but there is no time table for his return to game action.
2019 NHL Draft Lottery Date And Odds Revealed
The date of the NHL Draft Lottery, what fans of the 15 teams who don’t make the playoffs wait for, has been announced and those fans won’t have to wait very long this season. The NHL has revealed that the lottery will be held on Tuesday, April 9th this season. The lottery has typically taken place much later in the month, but instead will come just three days after the end of the regular season this year.
As usual, the league notes that the lottery will take place in Toronto and will be nationally televised by NBC Sports, Sportsnet, and TVA. As opposed to last year, when the lottery took place over two separate sessions during playoff game intermissions, the event will return to being an independent hour-long show, beginning at 8pm ET.
As for the lottery odds, the league has opted not to change the odds that they used for last season’s draft lottery. The odds have frequently changed from year-to-year in the past, sometimes as a reaction to the results of the draw or, in last year’s case, to accommodate the addition of an added lottery team. However, after a draw last season that saw both the team with the worst record – the Buffalo Sabres – hold on to the top pick, as well as an exciting leap up the board by the Carolina Hurricanes, it seems the NHL is content to stick with it’s current format. Below are the odds at winning the first overall pick for each of the final spots in the league standings:
31st: 18.5%
30th: 13.5%
29th: 11.5%
28th: 9.5%
27th: 8.5%
26th: 7.5%
25th: 6.5%
24th: 6.0%
23rd: 5.0%
22nd: 3.5%
21st: 3.0%
20th: 2.5%
19th: 2.0%
18th: 1.5%
17th: 1.0%
Each team’s odds at the No. 2 and No. 3 pick increase marginally after the first ping pong ball is selected. To explore these odds further or to run some simulations, check out this Lottery Simulator from Tankathon.com. As for draft lottery story lines to keep an eye on, the Colorado Avalanche continue to be the team to watch. As holder’s of the Ottawa Senators’ first-round pick, the Avs are likely to have the best odds at picking first. However, they themselves may also be a lottery team, which would only further increase their odds at the top pick and may even land them two top-four picks in the coming draft. The specific player “won” by the lottery winner is also becoming a more intriguing discussion; initially believed to be USNTDP standout center Jack Hughes beyond a doubt, there are now some rumblings that Finnish winger Kaapo Kakko could be the preference instead, mirroring the Nico Hischier–Nolan Patrick debate from two years ago. Only the team whose ping pong ball is lucky on April 9th will have to make that call, but it’s a tough decision that any club would gladly take.
Cooper Zech Signs With Providence Bruins
The Boston Bruins organization has signed an undrafted college free agent, but not to an NHL contract. Cooper Zech has agreed to a two-year AHL contract that will kick in next season according to Mark Divver of the Providence Journal. Zech will join the Providence Bruins for the rest of this year on a tryout contract.
Divver states that Zech “wanted out” of Ferris State University, where he played just one season. The 20-year old defenseman went undrafted despite putting up points at every level, likely because of his small frame. The 5’9″ Zech didn’t let his stature stop him from performing on the collegiate stage though, as he recorded 28 points in 36 games. The left-handed puck-mover is another lottery ticket, though Boston doesn’t actually own his rights given the AHL contract.
Still, Zech will jump into the organization’s player development system and could very well earn himself an NHL entry-level deal down the road. There might be quite a bit of time before that happens, but he’ll have the benefit of working with professional coaches while earning a minor league salary. At this point he will also not count towards Boston’s 50-contract limit.
Rangers’ Hall Of Famer Harry Howell Dies At Age 86
Hockey lost one of their greats Sunday when longtime New York Rangers defenseman Harry Howell passed away at the age of 86. The Hall of Famer, despite retiring from the NHL back in 1973, still holds the Rangers’ record for games played after playing 16 seasons in which he only missed 17 total games.
“The National Hockey League mourns the passing of legendary defenseman, consummate professional and Hockey Hall of Famer Harry Howell. He will be remembered not only for his consistency and leadership but with the ultimate class from with which he carried himself,” said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman from a statement.
Howell played 1,411 games at the NHL level, scoring 94 goals and 418 points throughout his career. He joined the New York Rangers in the 1952-53 season and immediately became an impact defense-first blueliner and while his 6-foot-1, 195-pound frame was considered big for that era, Howell did not use his size to be overly physical as he was a defenseman who built his level of play with proper positioning and a high hockey IQ. While he had 418 points throughout his career, he was not a big point producer over the first nine seasons as he never reached the 20-point plateau in all those year. His first big offensive year actually came in 1966-67, his 15th season, when he tallied 12 goals and 40 points. That was the year he won the Norris Trophy, as the NHL’s best defenseman.
After the 1968-69 season, Howell began to have back problems that eventually required surgery. Despite offering him a position with the team, Howell, 37 at the time, wanted to keep playing, so the Rangers traded Howell to the Oakland Seals for cash. He played with the Seals for a season and a half before the then California Golden Seals traded him to the Los Angeles Kings for another two and a half seasons. He later continued his career by playing with the WHA for three more seasons after that before retiring completely in 1976.
He was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1979 and had his number retired by the Rangers in 2009, and will no doubt be remembered as one of the great New York Rangers players ever.
Chicago, Philadelphia To Begin 2019-20 Season In Prague
The NHL has been very happy with their Global Series efforts in recent seasons and very motivated to continue their preseason and regular season ventures in countries throughout Europe and Asia. As early as November, Prague – the capital of the Czech Republic, a major supplier of hockey talent – emerged as a likely destination for a Global Series event next season. Per Sportsnet’s John Shannon, that has now been confirmed and the competitors have been chosen. The Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers will start the 2019-20 season in Prague.
If the 2018-19 format is to be followed , the Blackhawks and Flyers are likely to play just the regular season opener overseas. This season, the New Jersey Devils and Edmonton Oilers started the year with a game in Sweden, which was preceded by exhibition contests elsewhere in Europe. However, in November the Florida Panthers and Winnipeg Jets faced off in a pair of games in Finland, so it could be that the league opts to schedule two matches in the Czech Republic to open the season. All of the Global Series games had great success this year, which could encourage the league to expand on the total number of contests.
Also like the Global Series competitors this season, Chicago and Philadelphia have ties to the location. While the Blackhawks and Flyers are undoubtedly teams that the NHL likes to promote in league events, they also each have popular players among Czech fans. Jakub Voracek, long-time Flyers star forward, is one of the more popular Czech players in the NHL, while teammate Radko Gudas is a Prague native. Meanwhile, the ‘Hawks have several intriguing young players with Czech connections. Standout rookie Dominik Kahun has both Czech and German citizenship, second-year player David Kampf came over directly from the top Czech pro league, and NLA superstar and Czech native Dominik Kubalik was recently acquired from the Los Angeles Kings and Chicago could push to sign him this summer. The game would garner great attention in a great hockey country like the Czech Republic regardless, but with several locals to watch it should be a quite popular event.