Cousins, Senators Fined For Warm-Up Incident
The NHL Department of Player Safety issued fines against Ottawa forward Nick Cousins for a pre-game incident that occurred prior to Thursday night’s game three against the Maple Leafs, per a department statement. The Senators were also fined for the incident.
During warm-ups, Cousins wristed a shot at Toronto goalie Anthony Stolarz as he stretched in the neutral zone. The action will cost Cousins $2,083.33, the maximum allowable amount under the CBA for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Senators were also fined $25,000. Cousins, who was activated from LTIR on April 13 after missing months with a knee injury, has appeared in two of three games in the series, averaging just 9:34 of ice time per game.
Being pegged as “Warm-up Gate,” TSN insider Chris Johnston believes the league is taking the event so seriously to avoid an additional pre-game incident from taking place in the series, which could cause emotions to boil over. Toronto head coach Craig Berube laughed off the incident (and even shared a story of his playing days when Tie Domi and Ron Hextall got into it over a similar situation), while Sens coach Travis Green also made light of the situation.
With the Sens one game away from being swept by Toronto, Green did take a serious tone when noting how “disheartening” the series has been up to this point, per The Athletic’s Julian McKenzie. While games two and three went to overtime, Toronto came out on top in both contests, essentially dashing Ottawa’s hopes of a series win. After an eight-year playoff drought, the Senators are just one loss away from elimination.
With that said, Green noted his team won’t go down without a fight.
“It’s disheartening, to say the least. Sometimes playoff hockey comes down to little inches or bounces, and we were on the wrong end of it tonight,” he said. “The one thing I know about our team is, we’re not going to lie down, we’re not going to go away, we’re going to be ready to play,”
Canadiens’ Patrik Laine To Miss Game 3
The Montreal Canadiens have announced that winger Patrik Laine will be a last-minute scratch for Friday’s Game 3 due to an upper-body injury. Laine appeared to sustain the injury at some point during Game 2. He played in just 10 minutes of the losing effort, over four minutes fewer than he averaged during the regular season.
Laine was noticeably quiet during Game 2. He failed to generate much action after being on the ice for plenty of action in Game 1. Laine generated a team-high five shots on net, and recorded one assist and a minus-two, in the first game of Montreal’s postseason. The score was Laine’s first postseason point since 2019. His years in between took the Finn through campaigns with the snake-bitten Columbus Blue Jackets – but he found stronger standing with the Canadiens this year. Even despite missing 30 games to injury, Laine still managed 20 goals and 33 points in 52 games with Montreal this season.
With Laine out of the lineup, Montreal will turn towards rookie Oliver Kapanen to step into a bottom-six role. Kapanen played in the first 18 games of his NHL career earlier this season. He recorded two assists and a minus-five. The quiet start prompted the Canadiens to loan Kapanen to the SHL’s Timra IK. He made the most of the role with 35 points in 36 games – the second-highest scoring pace on Timra. Kapanen also scored three points in six SHL playoff games. He’ll now fight to carry that footing over to the NHL as Montreal looks to record their first win of the series.
Snapshots: Protas, DeMelo, Lightning, Miettinen
5:30 PM: Protas will not play in Game 3 on Friday, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. He will target a Game 4 return, while the Capitals will continue forward with Taylor Raddysh in the lineup.
4:00 PM: The Washington Capitals could be in store for a major addition to their postseason lineup, as top forward Aliaksei Protas continues to work his way back from a foot injury. Protas returned to full-contact practice on Friday morning and could step back into the lineup in Game 3, per Sammi Silber of The Hockey News. He has missed Washington’s last eight games after being cut by a skate on April 4th.
Protas was on the tail end of a loud breakout season at the time of his injury. He ranked third on the Capitals in scoring at the time, with 30 goals and 66 points in 75 games. He’s confidently lapped the six goals and 29 points he scored in 78 games last season. That rise in scoring has been largely helped along by Protas’ shooting percentage rising from 5.3 percent to 21.1 percent this season. But despite the inflated shooting percentage, Protas looked perfectly at home in the Capitals’ top-six and should return to a major role as soon as he’s back to full health. Protas recorded two assists in four playoff games last season – and will look to carry his booming shooting percentage into must-win games.
Other quick notes from around the league:
- It has been revealed that Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dylan DeMelo missed Game 3 due to illness per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The Jets were bullied by the St. Louis Blues in DeMelo’s absence, dropping their first game of the postseason with a 7-3 loss. DeMelo was a major part of the Jets gameplan through Game 1 and 2. He averaged over 20 minutes of ice time between the two games and recorded one assist and a plus-two. DeMelo appeared in all 82 games of the Jets’ regular season. He scored 19 points and averaged 21:31 in ice time. Veteran defenseman Colin Miller stepped into the lineup for DeMelo and recorded one assist. But the Jets weren’t able to make up for the booming physical presence DeMelo brings. They’ll hope for a quick return to health before Game 4 on Sunday.
- Tampa Bay Lightning fans can breathe a sigh of relief after head coach Jon Cooper shared that both Yanni Gourde and Anthony Cirelli are expected to stay in the lineup, per NHL.com’s Benjamin Pierce. Both players missed Friday morning’s practice for undisclosed reasons. Neither player has found any scoring through two playoff games so far, though they’ve continued to serve physical roles from the team’s second-line. The band could be without their third in Tampa Bay’s next matchup, with left-winger Brandon Hagel facing a suspension after a dirty hit on Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov.
- Seattle Kraken prospect Julius Miettinen has signed an amateur try-out with the Coachella Valley Firebirds for the remainder of the season per the AHL Transactions Log. Miettinen sustained a lower-body injury at the World Junior Championship that held him out of a handful of games. Even through the injury, he managed a strong 11 goals and 39 points in 36 WHL game this season – a 0.06 point-per-game increase over his 67 points in 66 games last season. The six-foot-three Finn will bring a boost of heft and instinctive offense to the Firebirds lineup as they prepare for a series against the Calgary Wranglers.
Alexander Nikishin’s Camp Unhappy With Delay In Registering Contract
5:00 PM: Nikishin’s North American-based agent, Ryan Barnes, downplayed Demidov’s comments per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Per Friedman, Barnes shared that Nikishin’s camp continues to work on a deal with the Hurricanes – and chalked Demidov’s comments up to Nikishin’s Russian representation being eager to see him at the top flight. The additional comments may not totally alleviate the tension between Nikishin and a lineup role, but they will ease fans’ worries of a star prospect being traded.
11:30 AM: The relationship between the Hurricanes and star defense prospect Alexander Nikishin is off to a rocky start. While they announced they agreed to terms on an entry-level contract two weeks ago and Nikishin said he was “thrilled” to have the opportunity to join Carolina in the playoffs, general manager Eric Tulsky said Wednesday they’ve yet to register Nikishin’s contract with the league.
There was a fairly simple explanation for that – there’s no rush to insert Nikishin into a lineup that’s dominated through two games against the Devils, and leaving the contract unsigned makes Nikishin eligible to get some AHL postseason action in with their affiliate in Chicago. Nonetheless, the delay in signing has been frustrating to Nikishin and his representation.
“Carolina is behaving incomprehensibly, and not only for us, but for scouts and representatives of other NHL clubs,” agent Alexander Chernykh told Olesya Usova of RB Sport (translated from Russian). “Everyone is shocked and outraged. But, as I was told, this never surprises, because Carolina always behaves like this and with everyone. At the moment, we cannot comment on the situation, because the club’s actions defy common sense. If this continues, Alexander will either go back, or we will ask for a trade.”
That’s certainly a troubling statement regarding the 23-year-old Nikishin, who’s expected to be a key part of Carolina’s defense core next season with Brent Burns and Dmitry Orlov slated to become unrestricted free agents. The 6’4″, 216-lb lefty was a third-round pick in 2020 and has been widely regarded as the top defenseman outside of the NHL over the past couple of years. He dominated his native Russia since his breakout 2022-23 campaign, recording 157 points in 193 games with a +70 rating over the last three years for SKA St. Petersburg.
Tulsky said that there wouldn’t be an issue in registering the contract if Nikishin’s services were needed in short order, but waiting to register the deal delays the payout of his $92.5K signing bonus and, obviously, impedes his ability to earn the $1.038MM performance bonus in his deal for winning playoff MVP honors, however unlikely that would have been.
Kings Assign Liam Greentree To AHL
The Los Angeles Kings have reassigned top prospect Liam Greentree to the AHL after the end of his OHL season. Greentree ranked third in OHL scoring this season with a dazzling 49 goals and 119 points in 64 games. He also ranked second in playoff scoring with 14 goals and 24 points in 11 games, before his Windsor Spitfires were eliminated by the Kitchener Rangers in a seven-game series.
The Kings drafted Greentree with the 26th overall pick in the 2024 draft. Many pundits expected him to go much earlier, after he scored 36 goals and 90 points in 64 games of his draft season. Greentree was revered for his ability to control possession and tempo through the neutral zone, boosted by a strong drive towards the net and a physical six-foot-two frame. Those attributes shined even brighter this season, after Greentree was paired with star Washington Capitals prospect Ilya Protas at center.
Protas’ ability to spark plays up the ice and crash into the low-slot complimented Greentree beautifully, and actually led to the former earning five more points than his winger this season. The two were inseparable for much of the year – and the experience with a burly, puck-hogging center could be a nice setup as Greentree sets his sights on a lineup already featuring Quinton Byfield.
For now, Greentree will look to carry his tremendous scoring into the pro flight. He will join the Ontario Reign ahead of their first games of the Calder Cup Playoff matchup against the San Jose Barracuda this weekend. The turnaround might be too quick for Greentree to play his pro debut on Saturday, though it’ll be tough to not consider the star scorer in what could be a must-win game on Monday.
Devils’ Matyas Melovsky Signs AHL Contract
Devils prospect Matyas Melovsky will turn pro in 2025-26, just not under an NHL deal. He’s beginning his journey in the organization on a minor-league deal with AHL Utica, the club announced.
A sixth-round pick last year, Melovsky was an overage selection who’d spent the last two seasons with the Baie-Comeau Drakkar of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. He returned to the Drakkar for his age-20 season in 2024-25, exploding to lead the team with a 26-57–83 scoring line in 57 games. The versatile 6’1″, 190-lb forward added a +40 rating, hitting the mark for the second year in a row, and tied for seventh overall in QMJHL scoring.
While passed over in the 2022 and 2023 drafts, the Czech forward has been a high-end offensive producer for Baie-Comeau since coming stateside from the HC Vítkovice organization for the 2022-23 campaign. He led the QMJHL in assists by a rookie (52) in 2022-23 and was a key producer for Czechia at the 2024 World Juniors, helping the team to a bronze medal with a tournament-leading 10 assists in seven games. He was over a point per game in the Czech top junior league in his draft year, too, so he’s got a track record of offensive success.
That makes Melovsky a definite sleeper pick in New Jersey’s system. Scott Wheeler of The Athletic ranked him as the Devils’ No. 7 prospect in January. It’s a tad surprising not to see them reward him with an NHL entry-level contract out of the gate, but since they’re not at risk of losing his exclusive signing rights until June 2026, they can afford to have him play out a year on an AHL deal without taking up a contract slot.
It’s worth noting that while Melovsky is eligible for a three-year ELC if he signs before Jan. 1, 2026, he’ll only be eligible for a two-year rookie deal if New Jersey signs him after. He turns 21 next month, so that’s his signing age for 2025.
Wild Sign Riley Mercer To Entry-Level Deal
The Wild announced they’ve signed undrafted free agent goaltender Riley Mercer to a three-year entry-level contract beginning in 2025-26. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Mercer, 21, turns pro after five seasons with the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The 6’2″, 203-lb netminder won a QMJHL championship with the club in 2023-24, posting a 1.89 GAA, .934 SV%, and two shutouts in 19 playoff games. He proceeded to lead the league with a .925 SV% in 46 appearances in 2024-25, although he was injured in the postseason as Drummondville was upset by the Halifax Mooseheads in seven games in the first round.
Minnesota and Mercer aren’t new to each other. The Wild invited him to rookie camp last year, so he’s been on their radar for a while. He opted to return to Drummondville for his overage season instead of signing a professional deal, but he’ll now get an NHL contract out of the gate to give him call-up opportunities as soon as next season.
He’ll presumably report to AHL Iowa out of the gate to join a Wild goaltending group that’s in a bit of flux. Top prospect Jesper Wallstedt is expected to move to a full-time NHL role next year after signing a two-year, $4.4MM extension last October, but he’s coming off a disastrous season that saw him post a 3.59 GAA and .879 SV% in 27 AHL games. But beyond him and Filip Gustavsson, 23-year-old Slovak Samuel Hlavaj was the only other goaltender under contract or team control for 2025-26. He could be in line for the AHL starting job next year after outperforming Wallstedt with a 2.85 GAA, .904 SV%, one shutout, and a 14-14-4 record in 36 AHL appearances this season.
The younger brother of Devils forward Dawson Mercer should be at least ticketed for an AHL backup role out of the gate as a result, although they could also sign a veteran backup for Hlavaj and demote Mercer to ECHL Iowa for more playing time. That’s a common path for goalies, especially undrafted ones making the jump from junior hockey.
Mercer’s contract will run through the 2027-28 season. He’ll be a restricted free agent upon expiry and will be eligible for arbitration if he plays at least 10 games in each season of the deal.
Jonas Siegenthaler Likely Returning For Devils In Game 3
Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler is expected to make an ahead-of-schedule return for the team in tonight’s Game 3 against the Hurricanes (via Peter Baugh of The Athletic).
Siegenthaler was a full participant in this morning’s skate in third-pairing duties alongside Simon Nemec, per the team’s Amanda Stein, but head coach Sheldon Keefe said he’ll have reduced minutes with his conditioning understandably not in playoff form. We noted just yesterday that Siegenthaler practiced for the first time since undergoing lower-body surgery in February.
“He’s feeling good and we’re optimistic that he’ll play,” Keefe said of Siegenthaler (from Mike Morreale of NHL.com). “We’ll give him the day and every opportunity to just feel as comfortable as possible but he’s had the appropriate appointments and his leg, the bone, is healed and that’s [not] a concern at all. The only thing he needed more time with was the conditioning side of it but we’re not able to provide him with that time given our circumstances here so we intend to play him today but it’ll be in a reduced role with reduced minutes and those sorts of things.”
In 55 games this season, the stay-at-home defenseman posted a 2-7–9 scoring line with a plus-nine rating, 92 blocks, and 75 hits while averaging 19:36 per game. Siegenthaler hasn’t played since Feb. 4 against the Penguins but didn’t miss a game all year before going under the knife.
Down 0-2 to the Hurricanes and without fellow rearguards Brenden Dillon and Luke Hughes for a second straight game, Keefe confirmed, the Devils are banking on a boost from the reliable defensive blue-liner, even if his even-strength deployment is limited and he’s mostly dropped in a penalty-killing role. He’ll also look to improve on his only previous playoff showing for New Jersey, when he posted three points and a minus-three rating in 11 games in the 2023 playoffs.
The Devils have been outscored 7-2 in their two playoff games thus far despite receiving expert goaltending from Jacob Markström, who has a .930 SV% and has saved 3.9 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck. New Jersey has been the league’s worst defensive team at 5-on-5 so far these playoffs, allowing 3.78 expected goals against per 60 minutes and 36.5 shots against per game in all situations.
They’re also avoiding a further injury scare with defenseman Brett Pesce. He was absent from this morning’s skate but will be in the lineup tonight, per Stein.
Photo courtesy of Luther Schlaifer-Imagn Images.
Lightning’s Brandon Hagel Facing Suspension
Lightning winger Brandon Hagel will have a player safety hearing today for his major interference penalty against Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov in last night’s loss, the league announced.
Officials upheld the major for Hagel after reviewing the play, which occurred midway through the third period of Tampa’s eventual 2-0 loss in Game 2. While Hagel was forechecking on Barkov as the puck got dumped into the Tampa zone, he delivered a huge check as the two neared the corner. While there wasn’t a ton of head contact and the mechanics of the hit appeared rather clean, there was one problem – Barkov never had nor came close to having possession of the puck, resulting in a five-minute power play for the Cats (video via Sportsnet). Barkov didn’t return to the game after the collision, and the team has yet to issue an update on his status for Game 3 in Sunrise on Saturday.
Generally, supplemental discipline for interference doesn’t result in particularly long suspensions. That should hold true, especially considering the time of year, but Barkov leaving the game doesn’t bode well for Hagel’s case to walk away with just a fine. After scoring a career-high 35 goals in the regular season and setting the all-time record for goals in a season without a power-play marker, Hagel has no points and a minus-four rating through two games against Florida.
The 26-year-old isn’t the only one struggling to produce. Only Jake Guentzel and Brayden Point have scored for the Bolts thus far, and notable secondary names like Anthony Cirelli and Nick Paul have yet to record a point. Still, potentially missing him for Game 3 as the series shifts to South Florida will certainly make life harder for the higher-seeded Lightning as they try to avoid going down 3-0 in the series against the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Ontario Notes: Warmups, Green, Matthews
The Senators are facing potential league discipline for “pregame shenanigans” in warmups before last night’s Game 3 overtime loss, relays Darren Dreger of TSN. The NHL is investigating whether to assess fines or other penalties to the organization for shooting pucks at Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz at the opposing end of the rink. It’s hard to imagine that affecting Ottawa’s roster construction ability as they face a sweep in Game 4 on Saturday. Incidents of that nature usually only ever draw fines assessed to the organization at large, assuming any supplemental discipline is handed down at all. It’s still an unwelcome distraction for the Sens as they try to avoid going winless in their first postseason appearance in eight years.
Here’s more on the Battle of Ontario:
- As discouraging as a second straight overtime loss was, Senators head coach Travis Green remains quite pleased with how his team has fared in the series, writes Julian McKenzie of The Athletic. “I liked a lot — we were ready to play. I liked our start. I thought Toronto pushed like a good team does. I thought we hung in there. It was a pretty even game,” Green said. Goaltender Linus Ullmark added, “We’ve said it from the start it’s going to be a long one. It’s going to be a tight one and we’re going to do everything in our power to make it to seven (games) now.” The Senators have outshot the Leafs 81-65 during the series, but a disastrous 44.4% showing on the penalty kill and Ullmark’s -3.9 goals saved above expected (per MoneyPuck) have been enough to swing the series in Toronto’s favor.
- While Leafs captain Auston Matthews has continued an underwhelming season in the goal-scoring department with one snipe through three games against Ottawa, his all-around play has still made him one of the most dominant players in the postseason thus far, Michael Amato of Sportsnet opines. “He’s great at creating turnovers, and when you do that often enough, you’ll get plenty of opportunities to turn defense into offense on a quick counterattack,” Amato writes. “Matthews demonstrated that in Game 1 against the Ottawa Senators, breaking up a pass in the defensive zone and quickly threading a perfect feed to Marner for a breakaway, as the Leafs never looked back in claiming a dominant opening game victory.” Of course, Matthews is still tied for seventh in postseason scoring with an additional four assists.