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Rather quietly and without much fanfare, the NHL recently announced several rule changes for the upcoming 2019/20 season. The major alterations come to the existing coach’s challenge and video-review system with the league’s general managers, competition committee and board of governors approving them earlier this summer. Commissioner Gary Bettman said the video technology is in place so it may as well be put to good use.

Last season, NHL coaches were allowed a video challenge for offside and goalie interference after a goal was scored. They will also be able to challenge a missed stoppage of play if it results in a goal. For example, this could include an illegal hand pass or high stick or if the puck leaves the area of play and hits the protective netting above the glass. As long as the puck stays inside the blue line before a goal is scored, coaches will be able to make a challenge regardless of how much time has ticked off the clock. However, if the puck leaves the zone and re-enters it before a goal is scored a challenge isn’t possible.

These are basically plays that are black and white in nature and don’t include discretionary or opinion calls such as missed penalties etc. In addition, a coach’s challenge which fails will result in a two-minute penalty for delay of game for the first one and any failed challenge in the same game after that will result in a four-minute double minor. Last season, minor penalties were only handed out for failed offside challenges.

Bettman stated that the league doesn’t allow coaches to challenge alleged missed penalties such as tripping and hooking etc. since they are called at the discretion and opinion of the on-ice officials and are often debatable in nature. However, referees will be asked to quickly review any double-minor high-sticking and five-minute major and match penalties which don’t involve fighting on a monitor to make sure they have made the right call.

When it comes to major and match penalties, the referee will then have the option of sticking to the original call or change it to a minor penalty. For a double-minor high sticking call the official may cancel the penalty altogether. Bettman said it’s often difficult for referees to tell how players have been injured with a high stick and sometimes they may be injured by their own stick or that of a teammate’s.

Like last season, the league’s video replay situation room, which is located in Toronto, will be able to initiate reviews during the last minute of regulation time as well as in overtime and will also have the final say on all coach’s challenges during a game.

One rule changes has to do with player safety and will also be implemented in 2019/20. Any player who loses his helmet while on the ice will either have to leave the playing surface or immediately retrieve the helmet and place it on his head. However, if he has the puck at the time he will be allowed to finish making a play before retrieving the helmet or leaving the ice. Any player who doesn’t replace the helmet or leave the ice will receive a minor penalty and any player who removes the helmet of an opponent intentionally will receive a two-minute penalty for roughing.

A defensive team will not be allowed to change lines if its goaltender freezes the puck from a shot which came from the other side of the centre-ice red line. Also, a line change won’t be allowed if the defensive team accidentally knocks the net from its moorings and the attacking team can choose which circle the faceoff will take place in. The attacking team can also choose the faceoff dot when the defensive team is called for icing or a penalty.

The NHL announced that a goal will be awarded automatically if a goaltender intentionally knocks the net off its moorings during a breakaway. In addition, if the attacking team knocks the puck out of play inside the other team’s blue line, the faceoff will remain in the same zone.

The Florida Panthers missed the playoffs by a dozen points last season even though they scored the fifth most goals in the Eastern Conference with 267. The main problem was their goals against as they allowed the third-most at 280. It was obvious the team needed better goaltending from veterans Roberto Luongo and James Reimer but the 40-year-old Luongo was once again battling injuries. However, the Montreal native officially hung up his skates recently after 19 seasons in the NHL and Reimer was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes.

With no established goaltenders on the roster, Florida general manager Dale Tallon made a major free-agent move by signing Sergei Bobrovsky from the Columbus Blue Jackets for seven years at $70 million. Tallon had created some additional salary cap space by trading Reimer and his annual $3.4 million contract and Luongo’s retirement freed up some money even though it will cost Florida $1,094,128 against the salary cap in each of the next three seasons. In addition, because of the goalie’s complicated 12-year, $64 million contract signed with the Vancouver Canucks in 2009, Vancouver will have to pay just over $3 million for the next three seasons.

Luongo leaves some pretty big skates for Bobrovsky to fill since he’ll undoubtedly end up in the Hockey Hall of Fame some day. He ranks third in NHL history with 489 wins and second behind Martin Brodeur in games played and saves made by a goaltender. He also ranks 10^th all time in save percentage at 91.9. Luongo appeared in 1,044 regular-season contests with a 2.52 goals-against average and 77 shutouts. He posted a 489-392-124 record and went 34-35 in 70 playoff outings with a save percentage of 91.8 and a GAA of 2.49. Luongo was named to the NHL’s Second All Star Team twice and led the Vancouver Canucks to the Stanley Cup final in 2010/11 where they fell to the Boston Bruins in seven games.

Internationally, Luongo won gold medals with Canada at the Olympic Games in both 2010 and 2014 as well as at the 2003 and 2004 IIHF World Championships. He also played on the winning team at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. As far as individual silverware goes, he shared the William Jennings Trophy in 2010/11 with Cory Schneider of the Canucks as the duo combined to allow the fewest goals against in the league. Luongo was originally drafted into the NHL with the fourth overall pick in 1997 by the New York Islanders. He made his big league debut two years later and was then traded to the Panthers after his rookie year. He spent five years in the crease in Florida and was traded to the Canucks in 2006. Luongo was then traded back to the Panthers in 2014.

While the Luongo era has just ended in Florida the Bobrovsky era is just beginning. The 30-year-old will likely join Luongo in the Hall of Fame one day as he has already won the Vezina Trophy twice as the NHL’s best goaltender. The native of Russia captured the honours for his work in 2012/13 and again in 2016/17 while playing with Columbus. Bobrovsky’s pro career kicked off in his homeland with Metallurg Novokuznetsk of the KHL and was then signed by the Philadelphia Flyers as a free agent in 2010. The Flyers made a huge mistake by trading him to Columbus in June of 2012 for draft picks. Once in Columbus, he took over as the team’s number one goalie.

Bobrovsky was named to the league’s First All-Star Team in 2012/13 and 2016/17 and as mentioned won a pair of Vezina Trophies with the club the same seasons. He set several franchise records with the Blue Jackets and his current NHL regular-season record reads 255-153-37 in 455 games played with 33 shutouts, a GAA of 2.46 and a 91.9 save percentage. He’s 11-18 in 34 playoff outings with a 3.14 GAA and 90.2 save percentage. He’s also won a gold, silver and two bronze medals with Russia at the World Championships. With Bobrovsky between the posts for Florida in 2019/20 there’s an excellent chance the team will make the playoffs for just the sixth time since joining the league in 1993/94.

Last week was one of the busiest in the NHL season as the league handed out its annual awards and then followed up with the entry draft the very next night. The awards ceremony took place in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 20^th with the draft being held in Vancouver over the next two days. Thirteen different awards were handed out and we’ll recap the major ones. Please take note that the award winners were ranked on their performances in the regular season only and not the postseason.

Nikita Kucherov, the Russian sniper from the Tampa Bay Lightning who led the league in scoring this year, was the winner of the Hart Memorial Trophy as the player deemed the most valuable to his team. He also took home the Ted Lindsay Award  as the MVP as voted on by the league’s players. The 25-year-old captured the Art Ross Trophy for scoring 128 points this year on 41 goals and 87 assists. He set a new record for scoring in a season for a Russian-born player as Alexander Mogilny posted 127 points while playing for the Buffalo Sabres in 1992/93.

Kucherov’s 128 points were the most in the league since 1995 when Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr racked up 161 and 149 respectively. Kucherov took 164 of the possible 171 first-place Hart Trophy votes with Penguins’ captain Sidney Crosby coming second in the voting followed by Edmonton Oilers’ skipper Connor McDavid, both previous Hart Trophy winners. Tampa Bay went 54-5-3 this season when Kucherov registered a point and he earned at least one point in 62 of his 82 games played. When he didn’t manage a point the Lightning’s record was 8-11-1.

The Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender was awarded to Andrei Vasilevskiy of Tampa Bay. He led the league with 39 wins, registered six shutouts and had a 92.5 save percentage with a 2.40 goals-against average in 53 games played. The league’s 31 general managers voted on the award and Vasilevskiy garnered  28 of the first-place votes. Ben bishop of the Dallas Stars and the New York Islanders’ Robin Lehner were also finalists.

Lehner didn’t go home empty handed though as he won the Bill Masterton Trophy for dedication to the sport as well as perseverance and sportsmanship. His record was 25-13-5 with a save percentage of 93.0, six shutouts and a 2.13 goals-against average. He also won the William M. Jennings Trophy this year with his Islanders’ teammate Thomas Greiss for allowing the fewest goals against over the campaign. The other finalists were Joe Thornton of the San Jose sharks and the Columbus Blue Jackets’ Nick Foligno.

The coach of the year award (Jack Adams Trophy) was won by Barry Trotz of the New York Islanders. His squad improved by 23 points over last season and also went from worst to first in the entire league when it came to goals-against per game. Trotz won the award in 2015/16 as well when he was bench boss of the Washington Capitals. Jon Cooper of Tampa and Craig Berube of the St. Louis Blues were also finalists this year. The general manger of the year award went the the Boston Bruins’ Don Sweeney with Doug Armstrong of the Blues and Don Waddell of the Carolina Hurricanes being the other finalists.

St. Louis center Ryan O’Reilly captured the Frank Selke Trophy for being recognized as the top defensive forward in the league. O’Reilly also took home the Conn Smythe Trophy this season as the MVP of the playoffs as he co-led the league in postseason scoring as the Blues won their first Stanley Cup. Fellow forwards Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins and Mark Stone of the Vegas Golden Knights were the other finalists. O’Reilly also enjoyed his fair share of offence this season with 28 goals and 77 points in 82 contests.

Calgary Flames’ captain Mark Giordano won the James Norris Trophy as the best defenceman. The 35-year-old notched 17 goals and 74 points this season to rank second in the league for blue liners and led the league in plus/minus at plus-39. Victor Hedman of Tampa and Brent Burns of San Jose were the other finalists. Forward Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers won the Lady Byng Trophy for his sportsmanship and gentlemanly play. The 23-year-old also scored 35 goals and 61 assists to set a franchise record with his 96 points. Sean Monahan of Calgary and O’Reilly of St. Louis were also finalists.

Forward Elias Pettersson of the Vancouver Canucks took home the rookie of the year award (Calder Memorial Trophy). The 20-year-old scored 28 goals and 38 assists to set a new club record of 66 points in 71 games. The other finalists were netminder Jordan Binnington of St. Louis and defenceman Rasmus Dahlin of Buffalo.Nashville Predators’ Wayne Simmonds won the Mark Messier Leadership Award for leadership on and off the ice as well as community service with the other finalists being Mark Giordano of the Calgary Flames and Justin Williams of the Carolina Hurricanes.

With the St. Louis Blues edging the Boston Bruins in seven games on June 12^th the 2018/19 NHL season went the distance. The Blues hoisted the cup for the first time since 1967/68 when they entered the league as they rode the hot hand of center Ryan O’Reilly and the goaltending of Jordan Binnington. O’Reilly netted eight goals and 15 assists for 23 points in the playoffs to tie Brad Marchand of the Bruins for the scoring lead.

O’Reilly also took home the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the postseason for his efforts and put together a six-game streak in the series against Boston with five goals and four assists, including goals in four straight games. As for Binnington, the 25-year-old rookie who was called up mid-season from the minors, set a new NHL record for first-year goaltenders by winning 16 games in a playoff season. He’s could also win the Calder Trophy this year as the league’s rookie of the year as he’s one of three finalists for the award.

And speaking of the annual NHL Awards, they are next up on the league’s agenda as they take place in Las Vegas, Nevada  this Thursday, June 20^th.  In fact, even though the on-ice action has come to a conclusion, the NHL is entering one of the busiest times of the year. The NHL Draft will be held on Friday, June 21^st to Saturday, June 22^nd at Rogers Arena in Vancouver with the New Jersey Devils selecting first overall. Shortly after that, the league’s free agency market opens and this is often a frenzied time of the calendar with numerous players switching uniforms for enormous amounts of money.

Unrestricted free agents have the power to sign with whoever they choose while restricted free agents are open game for offer sheets from pother teams with their own club having the right to match.

Offer sheets are quite rare in the NHL these days, but that could change this year with restricted free agents such as Mitch Marner of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Brayden Point of the Tampa Bay Lightning being possible targets for competing teams. And with the draft and free agency heading our way shortly fans should expect to see several trades made over the summer.

General managers typically fine tune their squads during the offseason to prepare themselves for the next gruelling campaign. The Los Angeles Kings have wasted no time in trying to rebuild as GM Rob Blake got the ball rolling just after the season ended by buying out the contract of 34-year-old veteran defenceman Dion Phaneuf. Blake triggered the Kings’ option and bought out the remaining two years of the blue liner’s deal which was a mammoth contract worth $49 million over seven years.

Phaneuf signed the deal while a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, but has been traded to the Ottawa Senators and the Kings since then. Los Angeles acquired him in February of 2018 and he played 93 regular-season games with the club. However, he managed to post just 16 points on the west coast and occasionally found himself watching his teammates from the press box as a healthy scratch. The Kings finished in eighth place in the Pacific Division this season with the league’s worst record and Blake is trying to turn his side into a playoff contender as quickly as possible.

 

The Boston Bruins will host the St. Louis Blues in game seven of the Stanley Cup Final on Wed., June 12^th in a winner-take-all battle to be crowned 2018/19 NHL champions. The Bruins forced a seventh and deciding contest with a 5-1 triumph at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis on June 9^th. The Bruins are seeking their seventh cup win in club history while St. Louis is hunting for their first since making their NHL debut back in 1967/68. That was the year the the league originally doubled in size from six to 12 franchises.

This is the 17^th time in history that a Stanley Cup Final series has gone the full seven games. The Bruins earned home-ice advantage after finishing with the second-best record in the Atlantic Division, Eastern Conference and the league this season behind the Tampa Bay Lightning. The last time Boston went the full seven games in a Stanley Cup final was in the 2010/11 season when they downed the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 on the road at Rogers Arena. This is the first time a seventh game of a final series will take place in Boston in the 95 years since the club was formed.

Overall, the home team has won 12 times in the seventh game of a final while the visitors have been successful on four occasions. However, the last two game sevens were won by the road team as the Bruins beat the Canucks in 2010/11 and the Pittsburgh Penguins took care of the Detroit Red Wings in the 2008/09 campaign. The Bruins own the league record for the most game-sevens in history with 27 as well as wins at 15 and have gone 14-8 in Boston. The Blues have played 17 game-sevens with a record of 9-8 including 4-6 as the away team.

Both clubs have won a seventh game in the playoffs this season as the Bruins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-1 in the first round after trailing 3-2 in the series and The Blues also fought back from 3-2 down to squeak past the Dallas Stars 2-1 in double overtime at home in the second round. Boston captain Zdeno Chara is expected to make NHL history on Wednesday night when he skates in his 14^th game-seven. The game will feature a goaltending battle between the Bruins’ 32-year old veteran Tuukka Rask and the Blues’ Jordan Binnington, who’s a 25-year-old rookie.

Rask’s record in this year’s postseason is 3-0 when facing elimination with a 95.3 save percentage and a  1.34 goals-against average. He also leads the league in the playoffs with a 93.8 save percentage. The Blues will need to stay out of the penalty box if possible since the Bruins possess the best power-play in the league in the playoffs with a success rate of 32.9 per cent. Meanwhile, the Blues have killed off just 75 per cent of their penalties while their power-play is struggling at 16.3 per cent with just one goal in the series while having the man advantage.

On paper, it looks like all of the advantages are leaning Boston’s way but anything can happen in a game seven. History also points to the home team having the upper hand but St. Louis have been warriors on the road during this year’s playoffs with an excellent record of 9-3.

The St. Louis Blues are halfway to winning the first Stanley Cup in franchise history but the Boston Bruins are also just two games away from winning their seventh. The teams are tied at two games apiece with the series heading back to Boston for game five on June 6^th. It’s now a two-out-of-three series with Boston having home ice in games five and seven if necessary and the Blues hosting game six. This may not faze the Blues since they have fared much better away from home during the postseason at 8-3 while they are just 6-6 at the Enterprise Center.

The Bruins opened the series with a 4-2 home win but the Blues bounced back in game two with a 3-2 overtime victory. Boston then hammered the home side 7-2 in game three with St. Louis rebounding once again with a 4-2 triumph in game four. The Blues have won their first home and away Stanley Cup Final game in franchise history so far this year after losing their 12 previous Final contests. They were swept in four straight games in their three other Finals in 1967/68, 68/69 and 69/70. The Montreal Canadiens downed them the first two times with the Bruins sweeping them in 69/70.

Boston’s special teams have run rampant in the first four games with six power-play markers on 16 chances as well as a shorthanded goal. They went four-for-four with the man advantage in game three in St. Louis by scoring four times on four shots. It’s no surprise the Blues cut down on their penalty minutes in game four with just two minors. It was the only game Boston hasn’t scored on the power-play but St. Louis gave up the shorthanded goal in that outing. Blues’ rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington was pulled in game three after conceding five goals and then rebounded with the win in game four. He now owns a 7-2 record in this year’s playoffs after a loss along with a save percentage of 93.3 and a 1.86 goals-against average.

Forward Oskar Sundqvist of St. Louis was suspended for game three of the series after boarding Boston defenceman Matt Grzelcyk in the second game. Grzelcyk missed games three and four with a concussion and his roster spot was taken over by John Moore. Grzelcyk’s status for the rest of the series is unclear at the moment and the same goes for fellow rearguard Zdeno Chara. The Bruins’ 42-year-old veteran captain was struck in the face with the puck in game four and may be sidelined. If he’s unable to play and Grzelcyk doesn’t return the Bruins may dress Steven Kampfer, Jeremy Lauzon or Urho Vaakanainen in his place.

St. Louis is proving to be a physical match for Boston and have outhit the Big Bad Bruins in all four contests. With the series tied 2-2 it means the Stanley Cup Final will go to at least six games for the 10^th time in the past dozen seasons. It’s also the 26^th time to go at least six since 1939 when the best-of-seven format was introduced by the NHL. The team that won game four to tie the series has won on three of the last five occasions but just 10 out of 25 times overall. The game four win was huge for the Blues as teams that have trailed 3-1 in a Stanley Cup Final have lost 33 of 34 series. The Toronto Maple Leafs were the only team to fight back and they did if after falling behind 3-0 to the Detroit Red Wings in 1941/42.

The Stanley Cup Final faces off May 27^th and the St. Louis Blues have been waiting patiently for 49 years to exact some revenge on the Boston Bruins. The teams met in the Final back in 1969/70 when the Bruins swept the Blues quite easily in four contests. The fourth game was the closest with Boston’s Hall of Fame blue liner Bobby Orr scoring the winning goal and then celebrating by sailing through the air. The teams met two years after that historic moment with Boston once again winning in four games in the semifinals on their way to another Stanley Cup.

It’s taken the Blues 49 years to reach the Final again after making it in the franchise’s first three seasons from 1967/68 to 1969/70. They are still waiting to hoist their first Stanley Cup and are 0 for 12 in Final series games as they were swept in all three previous appearances. Boston has won two more Stanley Cups since 1970 as they also lifted the trophy in the 1971/72 and 2010/2011 seasons. The Bruins will be hunting their seventh championship overall in their 20^th Final appearance.

The Bruins went 49-24-9 during the regular season for 107 points and earned home ice advantage by posting the second-best record in the league, the Eastern Conference and the Atlantic Division. They have beaten the Toronto Maple Leafs, Columbus Blue Jackets and Carolina Hurricanes in this year’s playoffs in seven, six and four games respectively. They enter the Final with seven straight postseason victories to their name and have gone 8-0 in history against the Blues in the playoffs while outscoring them 48-15. The teams split the season series this year as Boston won at home 5-2 in January and the Blues were 2-1 winners in a shootout in February.

St. Louis earned 99 points in the regular season with a record of 45-28-9 and finished in third place in the Central Division and were the fifth seed in the Western Conference. They had the worst record in the league on January 3^rd but then caught fire the rest of the way. Head coach Mike Yeo was relieved of his duties on November 21^st and the team’s fortunes started to change about five weeks later under new bench boss Craig Berube, who has been nominated as a finalist for coach of the year this season. The Blues then beat the Winnipeg Jets, Dallas Stars and San Jose Sharks in the playoffs in six, seven and six games.

The Bruins have the edge in net, at least on paper as Tuukka Rask leads the league in the postseason in shutouts with two, goals-against average at 1.84 and save percentage at 94.2. The Blues will reply with Jordan Binnington, a 25-year-old rookie who was called up to the team midway through the regular season. His record stood at 24-5-1 in the regular season and he was named one of three finalists as the NHL’s rookie of then year. His numbers are still impressive in the playoffs but not quite as good as the regular season with a GAA of 2.36 to accompany a 91.4 save percentage and a shutout.

The Bruins home record in the postseason is 6-3 and they’re 6-2 on the road. The Blues are 5-5 at home and 7-2 on their travels. Boston’s goals-per game average stands at 3.35 in the postseason with a GAA of 1.94. St. Louis is scoring 3.00 goals per game on average with a 2.52 GAA. The Bruins’ power-play has been the best in the postseason at 34 per cent with an 86.3 per cent penalty-killing efficiency. The Blues are 19.3 per cent with the man advantage and have killed off 78 per cent of their penalties.

Individually, the Bruins’ top performers have been Brad Marchand (7 goals, 11 assists), David Pastrnak (7 goals, 8 assists), David Krejci (4 goals, 10 assists), Patrice Bergeron (5 goals, 8 assists), Charlie Coyle (6 goals, 6 assists) and defenseman Torey Krug (1 goal, 11 assists). Over in St. Louis, the top scorers are Jaden Schwartz (12 goals and 4 assists), Ryan O’Reilly (3 goals, 11 assists), Vladimir Tarasenko (8 goals, 5 assists), David Perron (six goals, 7 assists) and defensemen Alex Pietrangelo (2 goals, 11 assists) and Colton Parayko (1 goal, 10 assists).

They still don’t know who they’re going to play yet, either the St. Louis Blues or the San Jose Sharks, and it doesn’t really matter to the Boston Bruins as they aim for their seventh Stanley Cup this season. The Bruins have made it to the final series for the 20^th time after disposing of the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games in the opening series followed by a six-game victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets and a four-game sweep over the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference final.

Boston won the Prince of Wales Trophy as Eastern Conference champions but won’t be satisfied unless they hoist Lord Stanley’s cup. Whoever the Bruins end up playing they will have home ice advantage in the series due to finishing second overall in the NHL standings this season. This will be Boston’s third appearance in the Stanley Cup final in the past nine seasons. The last time they played for all the marbles was in the 2012/13 campaign when they lost in six outings to the Chicago Blackhawks. The last time they won the cup was 2010/11 when they beat the Vancouver Canucks in the seventh and deciding game.

The Bruins have captured the title six times in club history to rank in a fourth-place tie with Chicago for the most cups. They are also level with the Blackhawks for the most cups won by an American franchise, but quite a way behind the record of 11 which belongs to the Detroit Red Wings. However, the Bruins haven’t really had much luck in Stanley Cup final series as they have won six and lost 13. This translates into a winning percentage of just 31.6. They’ll now try to improve on that stat starting on May 27^th when the final series gets underway in Boston.

The Bruins have reached this year’s final mainly due to the depth of their squad as well as their successful power-play and the fine work of 32-year-old goaltender Tuukka Rask of Finland. Boston’s power play operated at a clip of 46.7 per cent in the Eastern Conference final against Carolina as they were seven for 15 and their penalty killing unit killed off 92.9 per cent of their penalties by going 13 for 14. The Bruins’ power-play has been successful a league-best 34 per cent of the time in the postseason while their penalty killing is an impressive 86.3 per cent.

In between the posts, Rask’s record is 12-5 with two shutouts, a 1.84 goals-against average and a league-leading 94.2 save percentage. He’s been getting plenty of scoring help as the Bruins have received at least one goal in the playoffs from 19 different players to set a new league record. Brad Marchand leads the way with seven goals and 11 assists in 17 games followed by David Pastrnak with seven goals and eight assists, David Krejci at four goals and 10 helpers, Patrice Bergeron with eight goals and five assists. Charlie Coyle at six goals and six assists and defenceman Torey Krug with a goal and 11 assists.

That’s half a dozen players who have reached double digits in points so far and Marcus Johansson has nine points in 15 games on three goals and nine assists. General manager Don Sweeney deserves credit for the contributions of Coyle and Johansson as he acquired both players at the trade deadline in February. Coyle came over from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for for Ryan Donato and a conditional fifth-round draft choice while Johansson was landed from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a second and fourth-rounder.

Coyle and Johansson took some time to get used to their new surroundings in Boston as Coyle chipped in with just a pair of goals and six points in 21 regular-season contests and Johansson contributed a goal and three points in 10 games. However, they have both brought experience and size to the Bruins in the postseason as well as some much appreciated secondary scoring. Coyle is centering Johansson and Danton Heinen and Heinen has also helped the team out with two goals and five assists during the postseason. If Boston can continue to light up the lamp on the power-play, get good goaltending from Rask and receive contributions from the third and fourth line they should have a good shot at adding a seventh Stanley Cup banner to their rink.

The St. Louis Blues have been working towards winning a Stanley Cup ever since joining the NHL as an expansion team back in 1967/68. However, they have yet to realize their goal as their Stanley Cup drought is tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the longest in the league. The Leafs last hoisted the silverware in the spring of 1967 just months before the Blues played their first ever NHL game.

The Blues have made it as far as the Western Conference Final against the San Jose Sharks this season after downing the Winnipeg Jets in six games in the opening round and then going the full seven to take care of the pesky Dallas Stars. In fact, they didn’t eliminate Dallas until scoring in double overtime of the deciding contest at home to win the game 2-1. It was the first time the Blues have fought back to win a seven-game series after trailing 3-2 in games in 1998/99 when they beat the Phoenix Coyotes after trailing 3-1.

St. Louis has now gone 9-8 in their history in game-sevens in the playoffs. Their final game against Dallas also set a new NHL record as three series have been decided in overtime of game seven so far this season. The Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes went to a seventh-game overtime in the first round of the postseason as did the Vegas Golden Knights vs San Jose Sharks series. The Blues still have a lot of hard work ahead of them if they hope to snap their cup drought though since they lost the first game of the conference Final 6-3 in San Jose and the Sharks have home-ice advantage in the series.

The two teams also met in the 2015/16 Western Conference Final with San Jose winning in six games and in the five previous series between them the Sharks have a 3-2 edge. St. Louis may not be too concerned about where game seven will be played if the series against San Jose goes that far though since their playoff record on the road this year is an impressive 5-2. on the other hand, they need to improve at home as they are just 3-4 so far in St. Louis.

Even though the Blues and Leafs have gone without a Stanley Cup since 1967 the Leafs have never made it as far as the Stanley Cup Final since then while the Blues have reached three cup finals. In fact, the Blues made it to the Final the first three seasons they were in the league when the NHL expanded to 12 clubs from six. The expansion franchise didn’t fare too well however as they were swept in four straight games in all three final series. The Montreal Canadiens beat them in 1967/68 and 1968/69 while the Boston Bruins shut them out in the 1969/70 campaign.

The St. Louis franchise has been quite consistent since joining the NHL as they have missed the playoffs just eight times in their 51-year history. They have also been crowned division champions on nine occasions and in 1999/2000 they had the league’s best regular-season record and took home the President’s Trophy for their efforts. For the Blues to finally win the Stanley Cup they’ll need 25-year-old rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington to continue his sharp play. He’s gone 8-6 in the playoffs with a goals-against average of 2.57 and a 90.8 save percentage. He may be tiring though since his GAA was 1.89 in the regular season while his save percentage was 92.7.

Jaden Schwartz is leading the offence with eight goals and four assists after scoring just 11 times in 69 regular-season contests. Captain Alex Pietrangelo is helping out from the blue line with two goals and nine assists while centre Ryan O’Reilly has three goals and 10 points. The team needs more production from winger Vladimir Tarasenko however as he’s chipped in with five goals and one assist but he’s a minus-8 and just one of his goals have come at even strength. St. Louis currently has a one-in-four chance of winning the Stanley Cup this season and those odds could be good enough to snap their half-century drought.

The Carolina Hurricanes don’t participate in the Stanley Cup playoffs that often, but when they do manage to reach the postseason they definitely make the best of the situation. The Hurricanes fought back from a 3-2 deficit to the Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals in the first round this season to win the series in seven games and then used the momentum to steamroll the New York Islanders in four straight in the second round. It was the first time the Carolina franchise had won a four-game series in four straight.

This is the club’s first playoff appearance since 2008/09 and just the fourth time they’ve played in the spring since 2001. However, in the previous three playoff appearances they managed to reach the Eastern Conference Final each time and in 2005/06 captured the Stanley Cup. The sweep over the Islanders puts them back in the Eastern Final for the fourth consecutive time when making the playoffs. Carolina outscored  The Islanders 13-5 in their series even though starting goaltender Petr Mrazek was injured during the second game.

With Mrazek on the sidelines head coach Rod Brind’Amour replaced him in the crease with 35-year-old journeyman Curtis McElhinney. When the veteran started game three of the series he became the oldest goalie to start his first playoff game. Les Binkley of the Pittsburgh Penguins set the previous record back in 1970, but McElhinney was 37 days older than Binkley when he got the nod for his first playoff start.

The Hurricanes didn’t lose a beat without Mrazek as McElhinney went 3-0 in the series and posted a goals-against average of 1.56 along with a save percentage of 94.7. Carolina will play the winner of the Columbus Blue Jackets vs Boston Bruins series for the Eastern Conference title and there’s a good chance Mrazek will be ready to return in that series. Carolina has been red hot at home in the postseason with a record of 5-0 and they’re getting some timely scoring from youngsters and veterans alike.

Nineteen-year-old rookie Andrei Svechnikov is back in the squad after suffering a concussion in the Washington series and has four points in five playoff games. Thirty-year-old Jordan Staal has chipped in with four goals and five assists and 37-year-old Justin Williams has three goals and three assists in 11 games each. Twenty-one-year-old year-old Sebastian Aho has four goals and five helpers and 24-year-old year-old Teuvo Teravainen has chipped in with six goals and three assists.

In addition, the Hurricanes are getting plenty of offence from their blue liners as Dougie Hamilton has three goals and seven points while Jaccob Slavin leads the team in assists and points with 11. Brett Pesce and Justin Faulk also have six points each. One of the biggest surprises though has been the play 23-year-old rookie Warren Foegele who has contributed five goals and four assists and is a plus-7. His nine playoff points place him in a tie with Erik Cole as the most in a postseason by a Carolina rookie. Cole set the original record in 2001/02 and also holds the rookie record for playoff goals in a season with six.

Foegele was chosen by Carolina in the third round of the 2014 draft with the 67^th overall pick and the 6-foot-2-inch, 190 lb power forward scored 10 goals and five assists in the regular season with a minus-17 rating. Foegele, of Markham, Ontario, is no stranger to playoff hockey though as he was named the most valuable player in the postseason for 2016/17 as a member of the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters when he scored 13 goals and 26 points in 22 games.

If Foegele can keep it up, the rest of the Hurricanes continue to play determined, physical hockey and the team’s goaltending holds out there’s a chance the team returns to the Stanley Cup final in just their second playoff appearance since winning the cup 13 years ago.