Atlantic Notes: Matthews, McCann, Peeke, Heinen, Cederqvist
The status of Auston Matthews’ availability for tonight’s game seven against Boston won’t be known until closer to puck drop. However, speaking with reporters today including Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic (Twitter link), head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated that they are proceeding as they have been which suggests the league’s top goalscorer is on the iffy side when it comes to playing. Matthews has missed the last seven periods in the series due to illness although the Maple Leafs have managed to win the last two games to force a deciding match.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- Still with Toronto, winger Bobby McMann took part in practice today for the first time as he works his way back from a lower-body injury, relays David Alter of The Hockey News (Twitter link). However, he will not play tonight. McMann was a bright spot for the Maple Leafs this season when it came to their secondary scoring as he picked up 15 goals in 56 games despite averaging less than 12 minutes a game of ice time.
- While Bruins defenseman Andrew Peeke skated today with the team, he has been ruled out for tonight, notes Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic (Twitter link). Earlier this week, it was suggested that he’d be out for multiple weeks yet but the fact he was on the ice today suggests that he could be back a little earlier than that should Boston advance to the second round.
- Bruins winger Danton Heinen is uncertain to play in tonight’s contest, per a team announcement (Twitter link). The 28-year-old missed Thursday’s game with an undisclosed injury. Heinen, who had 17 goals and 19 assists in 74 games this season, did see some time during power play drills during the morning skate.
- Pending Canadiens RFA forward Filip Cederqvist has signed a three-year deal with SHL Frolunda, per a team announcement. Montreal acquired the 23-year-old back in January from Buffalo for future considerations. Cederqvist split the season between AHL Rochester and Laval, combining for five goals and six assists in 53 games. A strong non-tender candidate before this announcement, Cederqvist signing this early actually increases the chance of a qualifying offer. He’s four years away from UFA eligibility so the Canadiens could actually now issue his qualifier to retain his rights in case he has a breakout showing over the next three years in Sweden.
NHL Announces Finalists For 2024 Lady Byng Trophy
The NHL continues to announce the finalists for their end-of-season awards. Today, they revealed the three contenders for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, given annually to “the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability”. The finalists are Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews, Canucks center Elias Pettersson, and Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin.
This is the third time that Matthews is up for the award, having finished second in voting in 2019-20 and third in 2020-21. The 26-year-old led the NHL in goals for the third time in four years this season, notching a career-best 69 along with 107 points, also a new personal best, helping lead Toronto to their eighth straight playoff appearance. He had 20 penalty minutes this season despite having the seventh-most ice time among all NHL forwards; that PIM total was the lowest among the NHL’s top-15 scorers.
Pettersson, meanwhile, is up for the award for the first time and is the first Canucks nominee in franchise history. While the 25-year-old saw his numbers dip this year compared to last season, he still managed to finish third on Vancouver in goals (34), assists (55), and points (89). Pettersson took just six minor penalties this season and finished 19th in total ice time for forwards.
As for Slavin, he’s a finalist for the Lady Byng for the third time. He won in 2020-21 and finished second in voting the following year. The 30-year-old has yet to reach the 20-PIM mark in a single season in his nine-year career and was assessed just four minors this season for the second straight year. Slavin logged just shy of 21 minutes a night on the back end for the Hurricanes, one of the top defensive units in the NHL this season. His penalty minute total is the lowest among players who logged at least 1,600 minutes of ice time this season.
The award was voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association at the end of the regular season. The winner will be revealed next month.
Evening Notes: Penguins, Henrique, Matthews
The Pittsburgh Penguins could be set for a flashy end to an era, with NHL insider Kevin Weekes sharing that the team’s departure from head coach Mike Sullivan could come via a coach-trade (Twitter link). Pittsburgh hasn’t yet granted Sullivan, who is set to begin a three-year extension next season, permission to talk with any other clubs. That control is invaluable in the current NHL, with four teams currently without a coach and plenty more questioning their bench-leader. Pittsburgh has been no stranger to coaching drama in the early offseason, recently relieving two AHL coaches and one NHL assistant of their duties. These moves came despite Sullivan being “vehemently opposed” to changing his staff, says Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli (Twitter link).
Sullivan took over Pittsburgh’s head coach role midway through the 2015-16 season and quickly carried the team to back-to-back Stanley Cup wins. He’s held onto the role despite three changes in general manager and one change in ownership – ultimately becoming the second-longest tenured active coach in the NHL, behind Tampa’s Jon Cooper.
The NHL hasn’t seen a coach-for-coach trade, though there have been coach-for-picks trades. This includes the Quebec Nordiques’ trading of head coach Michel Bergeron to the New York Rangers in 1987. Quebec received what would end up as the fifth-overall pick in 1988 in return, using it to select winger Daniel Dore. The Toronto Maple Leafs also traded Quebec exclusive rights to negotiate with then-AHL head coach Marc Crawford as a part of the 1994 trade that sent Mats Sundin to Toronto. Crawford went on to serve four seasons as Quebec/Colorado’s head coach, even leading the Avalanche to the 1996 Stanley Cup.
While it’s hard to imagine what a coach-trade would look like in modern day, there’s no doubting that Mike Sullivan would carry significant value on the open market. He’s been an NHL head coach for parts of 11 seasons, and has Stanley Cup pedigree on his resume. He becomes one of the many talented, and long-tenured, coaches to monitor as NHL teams shake things up this summer.
Other notes from around the NHL:
- Edmonton Oilers forward Adam Henrique has suffered an lower-body injury but isn’t expected to miss time, shares Sports 1440’s Jason Gregor (Twitter link). Gregor adds that the injury was suffered in Game 5 and forced Henrique out of practice on Friday. The Oilers won’t begin the Second Round until early next week, giving injured players a chance to heal up. Henrique has served in a top-six role since being acquired at the Deadline, recording two points in five games this postseason and nine points in 22 regular-season games with Edmonton.
- Superstar forward Auston Matthews was present at the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Friday practice after missing the last two games with an undisclosed ailment, shares Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press (Twitter link). Head coach Sheldon Keefe told Whyno that Matthews is progressing, though the team still isn’t sure if he’ll be available for Game 7. The Maple Leafs have come back from the brink of elimination in Matthews’ absence, forcing a Game 7 after being down 3-1 in the series. They’ll look to finish the comeback on Saturday, with or without their historical scorer.
Bruins/Maple Leafs Notes: Matthews, McMann, Toronto Black Aces, Heinen
Unlike Game 5, we won’t have to wait until warmups of tonight’s Game 6 to know whether star Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews will be available. He’s already been ruled out of the lineup as Toronto aims to push the series back to Boston for a Game 7, head coach Sheldon Keefe said this morning (via The Toronto Sun’s Lance Hornby).
Matthews hasn’t played since the second period of Toronto’s Game 4 loss, missing Game 5 with what multiple reports indicate is a combination of an illness and an undisclosed injury. The Leafs responded well to keep their season alive without him on Tuesday, outshooting Boston 33-28 en route to an overtime win off the stick of rookie Matthew Knies.
After scoring a franchise-record 69 goals in the regular season, Matthews was held without a point in three of his four appearances in the series thus far. He did have a dominant performance in Game 2, though, factoring in on every goal Toronto scored in a 3-2 win.
His line with Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi has been the most high-event trio Toronto has iced, leading them in both expected goals for (4.68) and expected goals against (4.83) per 60 minutes, per MoneyPuck. Domi shifted to center between Bertuzzi and Mitch Marner for Game 5, controlling 65.7% of shot attempts and factoring in on defenseman Jake McCabe‘s game-opening goal. That trio projects to stay together tonight.
Other updates ahead of Game 6, tonight at 7 p.m. CT:
- Leafs depth forward Bobby McMann is “progressing” in his recovery from a lower-body injury that’s kept him from making his playoff debut, but Keefe said today he isn’t close to returning and shouldn’t be expected back tonight or for a potential Game 7. McMann, 27, had 15 goals and 24 points with a +13 rating in a career-high 56 appearances in the regular season but hasn’t been a full participant in practice since sustaining the injury on April 10 against the Red Wings.
- Toronto’s AHL club was eliminated by the Belleville Senators in a best-of-three First Round series in the Calder Cup Playoffs earlier this week. With Marlies players’ seasons done, the Leafs added nine players to their playoff roster, per CapFriendly. Forwards Nicholas Abruzzese, Kyle Clifford, Dylan Gambrell and Alex Steeves; defensemen Mikko Kokkonen, Maxime Lajoie, Topi Niemelä and Marshall Rifai; and goaltender Dennis Hildeby are now available to dress for Stanley Cup Playoff games for the Leafs if needed.
- Switching over to the Bruins’ side, forward Danton Heinen will not be in the lineup for Game 6 due to an undisclosed injury, The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa reports. He’s listed as day-to-day, and while he hasn’t missed any game action yet in the series, he’s missed some practices over the last few days. Now in his second stint in Boston, the 28-year-old has been riding shotgun on the first line with Pavel Zacha and David Pastrňák for most of the series but has been moved down the lineup after managing a lone assist and a -1 rating in five games. Rookie John Beecher is expected to re-enter the Boston lineup in a fourth-line role alongside Jesper Boqvist and Pat Maroon after being scratched in Game 5.
Morning Notes: Johnson, Zavragin, Matthews
The Philadelphia Flyers have reportedly expressed an interest in bringing back veteran defenseman Erik Johnson for next season. The news comes from Kevin Kurz of The Athletic who writes that, “The Flyers have not closed the door on the veteran defenseman’s return.”
Johnson was acquired from the Buffalo Sabres at the NHL trade deadline for a fourth-round pick in the 2024 draft. He dressed in 17 games for Philadelphia down the stretch, chipping in two goals and an assist. The native of Bloomington, Minnesota played last season on a one-year $3.25MM contract that he’d signed with the Sabres on July 1st, 2023 and it’s hard to envision him doing much better on his next contract given his lack of offense and poor possession numbers.
In other morning notes:
- Flyers goaltending prospect Yegor Zavragin has reportedly agreed to a three-year contract with SKA Saint Petersburg. The 18-year-old netminder was drafted by the Flyers in the third round of the 2023 NHL entry draft (87th overall) and has yet to sign an NHL contract or play in the KHL. Zavragin has spent the past three seasons splitting time between the MHL and VHL in Russia and has posted stellar numbers in both leagues. He posted a save percentage above .940 in both leagues this year and has been above .920 in the previous two seasons.
- TSN insider Chris Johnston is reporting that Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews did skate earlier this morning with Bobby McMann at Scotiabank Arena but is not taking part in the Maple Leafs’ formal team skate. Matthews did not play in Toronto’s game 5 victory over the Boston Bruins and early indications today suggest he will not be able to dress tonight when the Maple Leafs once again face elimination. Matthews has just a goal and two assists in four playoff games and has been dealing with an ailment or illness for the better part of a week now. He was pulled from a game 4 loss and did not return, however, he has skated on several occasions this week but hasn’t been able to ramp up his workouts.
Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews Ruled Out Of Game 5
6:00 PM: Matthews has officially been ruled out of Game 5, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link). Friedman added that the issue may not solely be his illness anymore, hinting that the star forward could be dealing with nagging injury as well.
3:30 PM: The Toronto Maple Leafs could be without superstar Auston Matthews in tonight’s Game 5, reports Jonas Siegel and Chris Johnston of The Athletic. Matthews has played through an unknown illness in the team’s last two games, though he left before the third period of Game 4, getting pulled by team doctors who assessed that his symptoms were too severe. Matthews has since been recovering, and joined Toronto’s optional morning skate earlier today for all of eight minutes, working on simple motions and not exerting himself. Head coach Sheldon Keefe told The Athletic that Matthews’ availability would be up to the team doctors.
Matthews is on a shortlist of the toughest players in the league to replace when they’re injured. He made history this season, becoming the first player to reach the 69-goal mark since Mario Lemieux in the 1995-96 season. Matthews is a generational scoring talent, with the potential to take over games for his team, even in a hobbled state. He’s so far struggled this postseason, with just three points in four games but the Leafs need all of the help that they can get – facing yet another First Round elimination game and coming off the heels of a 3-1 loss.
Max Domi is expected to take over duties as the team’s top center in Matthews’ absence, while Connor Dewar will return to the fourth line after losing his spot to William Nylander‘s return. Dewar is one of just 12 Leafs skaters to record a point in this series, notching an assist in Game 1. Meanwhile, Domi is tied with linemate Tyler Bertuzzi and Matthews for the team lead in playoff scoring, with three points. The Leafs will hope that the shifts in the lineup, and Nylander’s return, will generate a big spark, as they face elimination without their star.
Atlantic Notes: Matthews, Lomberg, Brazeau
Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews is traveling with the club back to Boston after missing the third period of Game 4 due to illness, but head coach Sheldon Keefe still won’t commit to him being available in a must-win Game 5. Speaking to reporters today, including ESPN’s Kristen Shilton, Keefe said the team is “hopeful he’s available and feeling good and back to himself.”
Matthews, 26, has been dealing with an illness for most of the last week, keeping him from being a full participant in practice with the club ahead of their losses in Games 3 and 4. He’s tied for the team lead in scoring in the series with a goal and two assists, all of which came in their Game 2 win in Boston. They now trail the Bruins 3-1 and need to win three straight to make it to the second round in back-to-back years for the first time since a four-year run between 1999 and 2002.
If Matthews is unable to go, Max Domi will slide over from the wing to center the first line, flanked by Tyler Bertuzzi and Mitch Marner, as suggested by today’s line rushes in practice. Connor Dewar projects to return to the lineup in a fourth-line role after being scratched in Game 4.
Other updates from the Atlantic’s contingent of postseason teams:
- Panthers enforcer Ryan Lomberg has been cleared to return from an illness but will remain scratched for Game 5 against the Lightning tonight, the team’s Jameson Olive indicates. Head coach Paul Maurice said yesterday that Lomberg was “down pretty hard” and will need a few more days to return to a game-ready conditioning level. The 29-year-old last played in Florida’s 3-2 Game 1 win, recording one shot in 6:32 of ice time. He had five goals and two assists in 75 games of regular-season action, as well as 80 PIMs.
- Bruins winger Justin Brazeau is an option to make his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut in tomorrow’s Game 5, head coach Jim Montgomery said (via The Boston Globe’s Conor Ryan). The 26-year-old rookie practiced without any non-contact designation today, a quicker recovery than expected after previously being ruled out for the entirety of the first round. He’s been out since the beginning of the month with an upper-body injury, causing him to miss the final six games of the regular season. After spending most of the season on a minor-league contract with AHL Providence, he has five goals and seven points while averaging 11:07 in 19 games with Boston since signing a two-year, two-way deal in mid-February.
Atlantic Notes: Raddysh, Fleury, Matthews
Tampa Bay Lightning reporter Chris Krenn tweeted that Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said defenseman Darren Raddysh is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. The 28-year-old missed game 4 of Tampa Bay’s first-round series last night after he’d averaged over 17 minutes of ice time in the first three games.
The native of Toronto, Ontario spent nearly five seasons toiling in the AHL before emerging this season as a solid depth option for the Lightning. In 82 games this year, Raddysh posted six goals and 27 assists while playing over 19 minutes a game. A late bloomer, Raddysh set career highs in almost every offensive category this season, while still providing the Lightning with solid work in the defensive zone.
In other Atlantic Division notes:
- Jon Cooper also told Chris Krenn that defenseman Haydn Fleury is healthy and available to play for the Lightning. The former seventh-overall pick hasn’t played since colliding with an official back on April 6th in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins and did take warm-ups last night with the team. While he is available for game 5, Fleury may serve as a healthy scratch given the depth Tampa Bay has on their back end. Fleury has never lived up to his top-10 draft status but remains a decent depth option for the Lightning should a defenseman go down to injury.
- TSN’s Chris Johnston tweeted that Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe spoke about superstar Auston Matthews saying that the illness he’s been suffering from has lingered and worsens when he gets on the ice and begins to push himself. Matthews left last night’s game early as the Maple Leafs fell into a deep hole and now trail the Boston Bruins 3-1 in their first-round matchup. The 26-year-old played just 14:16 yesterday, registering a single shot on goal and has just a goal and two assists in four playoff games thus far. Toronto will face elimination tomorrow night in Boston.
Morning Snapshots: Matthews, Team Canada, Capitals
The Toronto Maple Leafs pulled star Auston Matthews ahead of Game Four’s third period last night. When asked about it postgame, head coach Sheldon Keefe said it was the team doctor’s that made the decision, pulling Matthews because of illness. Toronto went on to lose the game 3-1, a scorecard that also matches Boston’s lead on the series. Matthews has played through the illness for the last two games, taking maintenance days at Toronto’s practices in between to try and regain energy. No indication has been made about his availability for Game Five, though it could be dependent on how he’s feeling each day moving forward.
Matthews, like the rest of the Maple Leafs lineup, hasn’t had a particularly strong first round – managing one goal and three points in four games and adding one penalty. It’s a tremendous step down from a historic regular-season that saw Matthews become the first player to score 69 goals since Mario Lemieux, who pulled off the feat in just 70 games in 1996. Matthews wasn’t able to crack the illustrious 70-goal mark, but still managed unprecedented scoring in this day-and-age. Unfortunately, something about that scoring hasn’t translated to the playoffs, and Matthews now finds his Leafs on the brink of elimination. While his illness has clearly not improved much, it’s hard to imagine Matthews will sit out of a chance to save Toronto’s season.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- Top 2025 NHL Draft prospect Roger McQueen will miss the remaining U18 World Championship with an injury suffered in the first period of Canada’s latest game against Team Czechia, shares FloHockey’s Chris Peters (Twitter link). McQueen managed one point across three games this tournament, including his early exit against Czechia. Canada has added fellow 2025 prospect Caleb Desnoyers to the roster in McQueen’s absences. Desnoyers is one of the draft’s top names out of the eastern Canada and posted 20 goals and 56 points in 60 games as a QMJHL rookie this season. He also scored three goals and five points in eight games during the World U-17 Hockey Challenge. Desnoyers will now get to run with the big dogs in U18s, and is expected to draw in right away, with Canadian forward Carson Wetsch receiving a one-game suspension for a hit-from-behind. Wetsch, a 2024 Draft prospect, has scored two goals in two tournament games.
- The Washington Capitals saw three defensemen progress from injury at Sunday morning’s practice. Most notably, defenders Rasmus Sandin and Nick Jensen both returned to full contact, with Sandin even taking reps on the team’s power-play, shares The Hockey News (Twitter link). At least one of them is expected to return to the lineup ahead of Game Four, with Trevor van Riemsdyk ruled out with an upper-body injury, per Ben Raby of Capitals Radio (Twitter link). Lucas Johansen also skated as a healthy scratch, opening up room should both Sandin and Jensen be ready. Rookie defender Vincent Iorio also returned to the team’s practice in a no-contact jersey after suffering an upper-body injury in Game One. These moves should give Washington a new-look on defense, after they’ve allowed the New York Rangers to average 3.67 goals through Round One’s first three games.
Maple Leafs Notes: Nylander, Lyubushkin, Brodie, Matthews
Star winger William Nylander has finally received some positive momentum in his return from injury, with head coach Sheldon Keefe telling The Athletic’s Luke Fox that Nylander will be a game-time decision ahead of Game Four (Twitter link). He has missed the first three games of the series with a migraine issue, though his exact diagnosis hasn’t been confirmed. When asked about it earlier, Nylander said, “Look, that’s just personal so I’m not going to get into that … but anything else you guys want to discuss [I’ll comment on].”
There’s no arguing that Toronto is simply better with Nylander in the lineup. The 27-year-old forward just wrapped up his second consecutive season with 40 goals and set a career-high 98 points along the way. He’s now missing his first games of the season, after playing in all 82 regular-season games for the second year in a row. Migraines have plagued Nylander for years now, even pushing him to switch to a tinted visor ahead of last season. He’s now overcoming those challenges once again and could be poised to make a big impact in a series that Toronto is trailing 2-1.
Other notes from Toronto:
- Defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin welcomed the birth of his first daughter, and third child, on Friday morning. He traveled home to be with his wife during the process, missing Toronto’s Friday morning skate. Despite that, Keefe says he’ll still be an option in Saturday’s Game Three, shares the Toronto Sun’s Terry Koshan (Twitter link). Lyubushkin has so far appeared in all three games this series, recording one assist, one penalty, and one shot on net. He’s a part of a rotation of Leafs defensemen vying for a lineup spot, competing with Joel Edmundson, Simon Benoit, and Conor Timmins.
- Speaking of that competition, veteran T.J. Brodie is expected to step into the lineup over Timothy Liljegren, per Fox (Twitter link). Liljegren has yet to record a point through three playoff games, with his only stat change coming in the form of a -2. That’s despite averaging over 19 minutes of ice time through the start of the series. He’ll be replaced by Brodie, who’s managed 55 games of postseason experience over his 14-year NHL career. This includes 11 games with Toronto last season, with Brodie managing three assists, a -3, and 12 penalty minutes.
- Superstar Auston Matthews also missed the team’s Friday skate with an illness that NHL insider Chris Johnston says he played through on Wednesday (Twitter link). Per Johnston, Keefe dubbed Matthews’ absence as a maintenance day, and didn’t make it seem like the historic goal-scorer was at risk of missing time. Toronto will certainly hope that’s the case, as Matthews is currently tied for the team-lead in playoff scoring with three points in as many games. His scoring has been matched by linemate Max Domi.