From old guys chasing the Stanley Cup to new players breaking in, what to watch in the NHL playoffs
From old guys chasing the Stanley Cup to new players breaking in, what to watch in the NHL playoffs
The puck drops on the first round of the NHL playoffs Saturday when Winnipeg hosts St. Louis followed by the must-see matchup of Colorado and Dallas.
The other six series get going next week, from the Toronto-Ottawa Battle of Ontario to Tuesday’s opener of another cross-state showdown between Tampa Bay and defending champion Florida.
An infusion of young talent fresh to the league in recent weeks, a handful of veterans in their mid-to-late 30s chasing the Stanley Cup and the best goaltender in the league this season looking to change his reputation are among the things to watch as the playoffs unfold.
“There’s a million different storylines that I love,” retired tough guy Paul Bissonnette said.
New guys
Just like Chris Kreider did for the New York Rangers in 2012, Tom Wilson for Washington in 2013 and Cale Makar for Colorado in 2019, a handful of teams have added top prospects just in time to make a difference at the most important time of year.
The class of 2025 is headlined by Montreal’s Ivan Demidov, St. Louis’ Jimmy Snuggerud, Minnesota’s Zeev Buium and Washington’s Ryan Leonard. The hype around Demidov — one podcast even had a livestream of him arriving off his flight into Canada — has been the hottest because the 19-year-old Russian winger was considered the best young player not in the NHL.
“There’s a 19-year-old kid that played his first game (Monday night), Ivan Demidov,” longtime forward-turned-ESPN color analyst Ray Ferraro said. “He scored a goal and an assist. The building almost fell over in Montreal. It was amazing to watch.”
Snuggerud got his first goal for the Blues on Tuesday night. Leonard slid his into an empty net the same night Alex Ovechkin tied Wayne Gretzky’s record. Buium could make his debut early in the playoffs.
“Not only Demidov but also Ryan Leonard coming in, Buium, it just seems like this young wave of players (are) getting to come in and potentially make an impact,” said Bissonnette, now an NHL analyst on TNT.
Demidov and Leonard will face off in the Canadiens-Capitals first-round series.
Older guys
Blues defenseman Ryan Suter is 39 and has played 1,526 regular-season games — the most of anyone currently in the NHL who has not won the Stanley Cup. Carolina’s Brent Burns, also 39, is next at 1,496.
Suter’s team is a long shot to win it all. Burns’ team has a better shot at getting through the East to have a chance at the Cup. There’s also Ottawa’s Claude Giroux at 36 and 1,262 games played and Dallas’ Jamie Benn at 35 and 1,192 games hoping to finally reach hockey’s mountaintop.
“One that I’d love to see win is Jamie Benn,” said 2003 Cup champion Mike Rupp, who now works for NHL Network. “He’s had some really good years. He’s had some years where he’s been in question and he’s been through some stuff as far as just, ‘Is that a good contract? Does he still have anything left in the tank?’ And I thought he’s really answered that the last few years.”
Want some other greybeards without a ring? Toronto’s Max Pacioretty, Minnesota’s Mats Zuccarello and Tampa Bay’s Luke Glendening and Cam Atkinson all fit the bill.
‘Helly’ in the spotlight
Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck just finished a second consecutive season that should win him the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s best goaltender, which would be his third. He went 47-12-3 with a league-best 2.00 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage that’s the highest of any netminder with more than 35 starts.
He also might win the Hart Trophy as MVP. But now his play is really in the spotlight after developing a recent reputation for turning into a different (worse) goalie in April.
Hellebuyck over the past two playoffs has a 4.28 GAA and an .875 save percentage, which is the worst of anyone in that time with at least 10 appearances.
“I think the book is still out,” Bissonnette said. “If he’s able to get past that first round, it’ll do a lot for his psyche and his confidence, so if I’m a betting man, I’m betting on Hellebuyck this playoffs.”
Injury concerns
Even before the grinding toll of the playoffs gets underway, the wear and tear of the regular season and some bad luck has caused some injuries that could tip the balance of series.
The Stars won’t have No. 1 defenseman Miro Heiskanen for at least the start of their series against the Avalanche, more than two months since he had knee surgery. There’s also concern about scorer Jason Robertson, who left the regular-season finale with an apparent right leg or knee injury.
“Heiskanen makes such a huge difference on that back end.” TNT’s Anson Carter said. “When you have to go against (Nathan) MacKinnon every single night and have (Cale) Makar coming down the other way, you want to have someone that could equalize that. … You can’t replace a Heiskanen.”
The Capitals have their own questions, since starting goaltender Logan Thompson and 30-goal-scoring forward Aliaksei Protas were injured in early April. Edmonton won’t have top defenseman Mattias Ekholm for at least the first round, the Oilers’ fourth consecutive year opening the playoffs against Los Angeles.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
By STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Hockey Writer
