Sunrise, Fla. — Sergei Bobrovsky made 31 saves, Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaege each had two goals and an assist, and the Florida Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-1 in Game 5 on Monday night to clinch their first-round series and advance in the NHL playoffs.
Niko Mikkola had a goal and an assist, Evan Rodrigues also scored and Matthew Tkachuk had two assists for the Panthers, who won a playoff series against Tampa Bay for the first time in franchise history and clinched a postseason series at home for only the fourth time.
Florida bested Boston and Philadelphia on home ice in the first two rounds of the 1996 playoffs, then eliminated Carolina at home in last season’s Eastern Conference finals en route to their second Stanley Cup Final appearance.
Victor Hedman scored for the Lightning, which was eliminated in the first round for the second straight year after reaching the Final three straight years. Andrei Vasilevsky stopped 33 shots.
Barkov gave Florida a 2-0 lead when he pounced on a rebound for a short-handed goal – his first of the playoffs – at 7:22 of the second period. He added another at 8:54 of a four-goal third to restore the Panthers’ two-goal cushion after Hedman got the Lightning on the board 59 seconds after Barkov’s first score.
The Panthers had 22 shots on goal in the second, which is the second-most in a single period of a playoff game in franchise history. Florida had 23 shots in the third period of a playoff win against Pittsburgh in 1996.
Verhaeghe opened scoring for the Panthers with a four-on-four goal just 45 seconds into the second period. Verhaeghe grabbed his own rebound and wristed a shot past Vasilevsky.
Rodrigues added a score for good measure with less than six minutes left to play on a wrist shot that was his first goal of the playoffs, and Verhaeghe scored an empty-netter with just under four minutes to play to stretch his franchise-record goals total to 20. Mikkola added another empty-netter nearly three minutes later.
Anthony Cirelli appeared to have scored Tampa Bay’s first goal when he tapped a loose puck past Bobrovsky with seven minutes left in the first period. The goal was overturned, however, after the Panthers challenged for goaltender interference. Former Panther Anthony Duclair’s right skate made contact with Bobrovsky as he was trying to make the save.
The Lightning had another goal waved off in the second period when Mikhail Sergachev appeared to tie it on a long-range shot from the blue line. The goal was immediately waved off because of goaltender interference by Cirelli, and upheld after a failed Tampa Bay challenge.
The Lightning’s NHL-best power play during the regular season was inconsistent in this first round. Tampa Bay had two man-advantages in the first 10 minutes of the opening period – Florida killed them both off – and finished the game 0 for 3.
Saginaw 6, London 2
The Saginaw Spirit scored five unanswered goals to beat the London Knights, 6-2, in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final at the Dow Event Center on Monday in Saginaw.
London leads the best-of-seven series, 2-1, with Game 4 on Wednesday in Saginaw.
Hunter Haight scored two goals and added an assist, Rodwin Dionicio had three assists and Michael Misa scored the game-winner for the Spirit.
Saginaw goalie Nolan Lalonde stopped 18-of-20 shots.
Ex-Wing Namestnikov suffers injury
Former Red Wings forward Vladislav Namestnikov suffered a fractured cheekbone when a puck hit him on the left side of his face in Game 4 against Colorado, the team said Monday.
Jets coach Rick Bowness said that Namestnikov stayed overnight in Denver and was returning to Winnipeg on Monday. Bowness added there was no orbital damage to Namestnikov’s eye. His availability for Game 5 on Tuesday was uncertain.
“I sent him a text last night and he answered this morning and said he’s feeling better,” said Bowness, whose team lost 5-1 on Sunday and trails the Avalanche 3-1 in the first-round series. “It could have been a lot worse.”
Bowness wasn’t ruling out Namestnikov possibly wearing a helmet with a protective cage.
“Listen, nothing would surprise me with Vladdy,” Bowness said. “Again, he’s a tough kid. That’s why we keep picking him up. He does a lot of good things. He’s a great teammate. His versatility helps, but it’s just toughness, mental toughness. I’ll never rule anything out.”
Namestnikov was trying to jump out of the way of a shot from teammate Nate Schmidt when the puck hit a stick and struck him. Namestnikov stayed down on the ice as trainers rushed out. He skated off with help and exited through the Avalanche bench in the third period. The 31-year-old Namestnikov had a towel pressed to his face.
“It’s scary,” Winnipeg teammate Mark Scheifele said. “You never want to see that much blood, no matter what, no matter who it is. Especially a guy on our squad. That sucks. All you can do is hope and pray that he’s OK. That’s a scary one. Just got to pray for him.”
Playoffs are off to an odd start
The greatest goal-scorer of his generation was held without a point for the first time in a series in his nearly two-decade NHL career.
The best goaltender in the league this season has given up a first round-high 19 goals. Vancouver has lost a Vezina Trophy finalist, used three different guys in net and taken a 3-1 series lead anyway; the Canucks, in fact, won Game 3 at Nashville 2-1 while putting the puck on net just 12 times. Edmonton, with all of its scorers, won a gamewith just 13 shots – a 1-0 shutout behind the goalie everyone thought was their biggest liability to make a run at the Stanley Cup.
The start of the playoffs has been anything but predictable, which is exactly what hockey fans have come to expect this time of year.
Bucking the trend of recent Presidents’ Trophy winners bowing out early, the New York Rangers swept Washington in the first round by keeping Alex Ovechkin off the scoresheet for the first time in his 15 trips to the postseason.
How did they do it? “It’s a secret,” MVP candidate and fellow Russian winger Artemi Panarin said.
Whatever secret sauce the Canucks are using, everyone in the league would take it. They lost Vezina Trophy finalist Thatcher Demko to injury after he won Game 1 against Nashville but Casey DeSmith bounced back from a loss to beat the Predators in Game 3. When he was unavailable, it was Arturs Silovs to the rescue in his playoff debut, backstopping a comeback overtime victory to put the Predators one loss from elimination.
“I don’t think the moment’s too big for him,” coach Rick Tocchet said. “I’m proud of the goaltenders. It’s a next-man-up mentality. Those guys know it’s the next man up.”
Connor Hellebuyck (Commerce Township) is unquestionably the man for Winnipeg, and he’s the front-runner to win the Vezina after being the best goalie in the league during the regular season. In four playoff games against Colorado, Hellebuyck has allowed 19 goals for a save percentage of .870 – a far cry from his .921 over 60 starts from before the series began.
Hellebuyck allowed four goals to the Avalanche on 30 shots in a blowout loss Sunday that pushed the Jets to the brink of elimination. Coach Rick Bowness pulled him after two periods because he was under pressure the entire time he was in net.
“I don’t think those goals are his fault,” center Mark Scheifele said. “He’s our backbone. He’s our heart and soul. Just a change of scenery, I’m sure. He’s our backbone.”
The Edmonton Oilers didn’t expect goalie Stuart Skinner to be their backbone, especially having reigning MVP Connor McDavid and longtime running mate Leon Draisaitl around to score a bunch of goals. So, naturally, they beat the Los Angeles Kings 1-0 in Game 4 thanks to one goal set up by McDavid and Draisaitl, and Skinner stopping every shot he faced.
“He was great for us,” said defenseman Evan Bouchard, who scored. “He was the rock. When we made mistakes he was there to support us. When you’re not letting in any goals, you’re going to win the game.”
Kraken fire coach Hakstol
A year removed from being honored as one of the top coaches in the NHL, Dave Hakstol ended up taking the fall for the underachievement of the Seattle Kraken.
Hakstol was fired Monday as the head coach of the Kraken after the third-year franchise took a significant step back following a playoff appearance in their second season.
Hakstol was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year last season as Seattle finished with 100 points and reached the Western Conference semifinals in its second year.
But the Kraken failed to match expectations this season and spent most of the year trying to climb back into playoff contention after a terrible start. Seattle failed to build on the success of that playoff run and stunted the momentum the young franchise was trying to build in the league’s newest hockey market.
“It’s never an easy day. It’s never an easy decision. We let a guy who is a good coach and a really good person go and it’s not easy,” Seattle general manager Ron Francis said. “But looking at our organization and just looking at the season, I thought we were a little more inconsistent than we had been, a few too many losing streaks and losing streaks of significant numbers and so we just felt it was time to try a new voice.”
Seattle finished tied for fifth in the Pacific Division after going 34-35-13 with 81 points, and was officially eliminated from playoff contention with two weeks left in the regular season.
Hakstol went 107-112-27 in his three seasons in charge of the Kraken. He was rewarded with a two-year extension after last season when Seattle reached the second round of the playoffs and kept Hakstol under contract through the 2025-26 season.
“We had a real good season last year, went probably better than we expected and our staff did a good job and they got rewarded for it,” Francis said. “This season didn’t go as well as we had hoped and then you got to look at things and try and make decisions at the end of the season. That’s where we ended up at this point today.”
Eastern Conference playoff matchups
Rangers vs. Capitals
(Rangers win 4-0)
▶ Game 1: Rangers 4-1
▶ Game 2: Rangers 4-3
▶ Game 3: Rangers 3-1
▶ Game 4: Rangers 4-2
Bruins vs. Maple Leafs
(Bruins lead 3-1)
▶ Game 1: Bruins 5-1
▶ Game 2: Leafs 3-2
▶ Game 3: Bruins 4-2
▶ Game 4: Bruins 3-1
▶ Game 5: Tuesday @ Boston, 7
▶ Game 6: Thursday @ Toronto, TBA*
▶ Game 7: Saturday @ Boston, TBA*
Panthers vs. Lightning
(Panthers win 4-1)
▶ Game 1: Panthers 3-2
▶ Game 2: Panthers 3-2 (OT)
▶ Game 3: Panthers 5-3
▶ Game 4: Lightning 6-3
▶ Game 5: Lightning 6-1
Hurricanes vs. Islanders
(Hurricanes lead 3-1)
▶ Game 1: Hurricanes 3-1
▶ Game 2: Hurricanes 5-3
▶ Game 3: Hurricanes 3-2
▶ Game 4: Islanders 3-2 (2OT)
▶ Game 5: Tuesday at Carolina, 7:30
▶ Game 6: Thursday @ Islanders, TBA
▶ Game 7: Saturday at Carolina, BA
Western Conference playoff matchups
Dallas vs. Vegas
(Golden Knights lead 2-1)
▶ Game 1: Vegas 4-3
▶ Game 2: Vegas 3-1
▶ Game 3: Dallas 3-2 (OT)
▶ Game 4: Monday @ Vegas, TBD
▶ Game 5: Wednesday at Dallas, TBD
▶ Game 6: Friday at Vegas, TBA
▶ Game 7: Sunday @ Dallas, TBA
Winnipeg vs. Colorado
(Avalanche lead 3-1)
▶ Game 1: Jets 7-6
▶ Game 2: Avalanche 5-2
▶ Game 3: Avalanche 6-2
▶ Game 4: Avalanche 5-1
▶ Game 5: Tuesday @ Winnipeg, 9:30
▶ Game 6: Thursday @ Colorado, TBA
▶ Game 7: Saturday @ Winnipeg, TBA
Vancouver vs. Nashville
(Canucks lead 3-1)
▶ Game 1: Canucks 4-2
▶ Game 2: Predators 4-1
▶ Game 3: Canucks 2-1
▶ Game 4: Canucks 4-3 (OT)
▶ Game 5: Tuesday @ Vancouver, 10
▶ Game 6: Friday @ Nashville, TBA
▶ Game 7: Sunday @ Vancouver, TBA
Edmonton vs. Los Angeles
(Oilers lead 3-1)
▶ Game 1: Oilers 7-4
▶ Game 2: Kings 5-4 (OT)
▶ Game 3: Oilers 6-1
▶ Game 4: Oilers 1-0
▶ Game 5: Wednesday @ Edmonton, TBA
▶ Game 6: Friday @ Los Angeles, TBA
▶ Game 7: Sunday @ Edmonton, TBA
Michigan-area hockey
Monday
▶ Saginaw 6, London 2
Tuesday
▶ NTDP U18s vs. Finland, 11 a.m. (Hockey Network)
Wednesday
▶ Rockford at Grand Rapids, 7 (AHL/96.1)
▶ London at Saginaw, 7
Friday
▶ Rockford at Grand Rapids, 7 (AHL/96.1)
▶ Saginaw at London, 7
Sunday
▶ Grand Rapids at Rockford, 5 (AHL/96.1)
▶ London at Saginaw, 2
American Hockey League playoffs
Central Division semifinal
(Grand Rapids leads 1-0)
▶ Game 1: Grand Rapids 3-2 (OT)
▶ Game 2: Wednesday @ Grand Rapids, 7
▶ Game 3: Friday @ Grand Rapids, 7
▶ Game 4: Sunday, May 5 @ Rockford, 4
▶ Game 5: Friday, May 10 @ Grand Rapids, 7
ECHL
Central Division Semifinal
(Best-of-seven series)
▶ Game 1: Toledo 3-2 (OT)
▶ Game 2: Toledo 5-2
▶ Game 3: Toledo 6-2
▶ Game 4: Toledo 4-2
Road to the Memorial Cup in Saginaw
(Saginaw hosts May 24-June 2)
▶ Friday, May 24: WHL vs. Saginaw, 7:30
▶ Saturday, May 25: OHL vs. QMJHL, 4
▶ Sunday, May 26: Saginaw vs. QMJHL, 7:30
▶ Monday, May 27: OHL vs. WHL, 7:30
▶ Tuesday, May 28: QMJHL vs. WHL, 7:30
▶ Wednesday, May 29: Saginaw vs. OHL, 7:30
▶ Thursday, May 30: Tie breaker (if necessary)
▶ Friday, May 31: Semifinal, 7:30
▶ Sunday, June 2: Final, 7:30
CHL playoffs in WHL, OHL, QMJHL
Western Hockey League
▶ Saskatoon Blades vs. Moose Jaw Warriors
▶ Prince George Cougars vs. Portland Winterhawks
Ontario Hockey League
▶ Oshawa Generals vs. North Bay Battalion
▶ London Knights vs. Saginaw
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
▶ Baie-Comeau Drakkar vs. Cape Breton Eagles
▶ Drummondville Voltigeurs vs. Victoriaville Tigres
