All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — August 30.

Colorado Hockey Now

The additions of Victor Olofsson and Joel Kiviranta in August means the Avs now have 12 NHL regular veterans under contract for the 2025-26 season. But the expectation is that Logan O’Connor will start the season injured.

That means at least one non-regular should crack the opening roster. Will it be Ivan Ivan for the second year in a row? Or will a new trade acquisition and two rookies give him a run for his money?

READ MORE: 4 Prospects That Could Earn a Permanent Roster Spot With Avalanche

Around The NHL

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Assessing the power rankings for the Metropolitan Division. Where will the Pens finish? 

Montreal Hockey Now: The Habs upgraded their defense with Noah Dobson. Is it enough? 

Philly Hockey Now: Penn State is hosting Michigan State in an outdoor game on Jan. 31.

Florida Hockey Now: The Panthers have mostly the same roster as the one that won the Stanley Cup in June. But three new names means new numbers.

Vegas Hockey Now: More on the Mitch Marner exit from Toronto, and how it landed him in Vegas.

New Jersey Hockey Now: Luke Hughes still doesn’t have a contract for this season. Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald talks about the standoff.

The post Deen’s Daily: Avalanche’s Opening Night Roster Spot; Penn State Outdoor Game; Is Dobson Enough For Habs? appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — August 29.

Colorado Hockey Now

Brent Burns and Gabe Landeskog are becoming staples of the Avalanche’s informal skates at Ball Arena. But so are a handful of AHL guys looking to make an impression at training camp. Guys like Nikita Prishchepov, Maros Jedlicka, Matthew Stienburg, Chase Bradley, Sean Behrens, Gavin Brindley and many more.

I suspect we’ll see a ton more veterans trickle into town soon. Things are kicking off in less than three weeks.

READ MORE: Landeskog, Burns, Among Avalanche Participants In Recent Skates 

Around The NHL

Marner Chats with Mark Masters: Mitch Marner say down with TSN’s Mark Masters at the Hockey Canada orientation camp to discuss what ended up being a sad ending for the local kid from his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs. Among the things Marner talked about was how safety started becoming an issue. Someone in the city posted his address online following the Game 7 loss and Marner had to spend his last few weeks at home under heavy security. You can read more about his interview here. Pretty crazy stuff.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Connor McDavid is the best hockey player in the world, but he’s not captain Canada. Not while Sidney Crosby is still around. Even at the age of 38.

Detroit Hockey Now: One of Detroit’s former highly touted prospects is facing a four-year doping ban from the IIHF after testing positive for a whopping six banned substances.

Boston Hockey Now: Can the Bruins be a landing spot for McDavid if he actually tests the market next summer? I still believe he’ll stay in Edmonton and probably sign soon. And even if not, it’s hard to imagine Boston would be his top choice.

San Jose Hockey Now: What Dmitry Orlov can bring to the Sharks.

The post Deen’s Daily: Avalanche Skating in Colorado; Marner Talks Unceremonious Departure From Toronto appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — August 28.

Colorado Hockey Now

The Avalanche are going to be in the national spotlight this season. For good reason.

Along with the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings, Colorado will have the second most nationally broadcasted games on the calendar this year, appearing on TNT, ABC, or ESPN a combined 17 times. Only Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals (18) will have more games featured. This is potentially Ovechkin’s last year in the NHL, so it makes sense.

Catch the Avs’ full national broadcast schedule below.

READ MORE: Avalanche Will Be Spotlighted on National Broadcasts 17 Times in 2025-26

If you haven’t seen it already, Barrie’s Instagram post that announced his retirement on Tuesday was hilarious.

Also, the Carolina Hurricanes are throwing professional tryouts around ahead of training camp. They’ve added two former Avalanche skaters from last season as invites. Will either of them land a contract? I have my doubts.

READ MORE: Carolina Hurricanes Sign Two Former Avs to PTOs

Around The NHL

McDavid Talks Contract: At the opening day of the Hockey Canada orientation camp, McDavid was asked about his pending contract extension with the Edmonton Oilers right away. Like, it was the first question. At a camp meant for the Olympics. And I don’t blame the reporter at all, this is the biggest story in the league and will be until he signs.

Sportsnet had a write up on the situation. Ultimately, McDavid’s comments on Wednesday made it clear that there is a possibility he won’t sign an extension before opening night. That’s not something anyone would’ve predicted three months ago.

Marner Answers Questions: Mitch Marner was also courted by media on Day 1. As you’d expect, he answered questions that were Leafs related.

The camp continues on Thursday, and I wonder if either of Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, or Devon Toews will eventually be made available. I’m curious what they have to say about a wide range of topics after nearly four months since the Game 7 loss. As you can probably tell, I’m excited to get going with media day here in Denver in a few weeks.

San Hockey Now: The Sharks new arena deal includes all kinds of big updates to their home. You can learn more about what’s coming here.

Detroit Hockey Now: The Red Wings have high hopes for Axel Sandin Pellikka. And as you’d imagine, the young Swedish prospect is pretty excited to get going at training camp. I envision he’ll be a huge piece alongside Simon Edvinsson on the second pair for years to come. (That’s if the Wings don’t dangle him as trade bait to get Mason McTavish).

The post Deen’s Daily: McDavid Might Not Sign Before Opening Night; PTOs Abound; Avalanche in National Spotlight appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — July 1.

Colorado Hockey Now

That wasn’t quite the July 1 we thought it would be. But it seems like it’s setting up for a summer of trades. At least that’s how I’m reading the market.

The Avs have cap space to use and spots in the lineup to fill, and they’re reportedly eyeing the last remaining big fish on the market. And if they don’t get him? The trades will begin. As is usually the case.

Read More: With Ehlers Reportedly in Sight, Avalanche Smartly Play the Waiting Game

The Avs lost two of their own, who both departed via free agency on Tuesday.

Jonathan Drouin landed a two-year deal with the Islanders, and Ryan Lindgren is off to Seattle for four years. Both signed for salaries that wouldn’t have worked for Avs, especially in the roles they would’ve played.

Read More: Jonathan Drouin Lands Big Two-Year Contract With Islanders

Read More: Ryan Lindgren Departs Avalanche For New Deal in Seattle

As for the one thing the Avs did do.

If you’re a fan of Parker Kelly, you’re going to like the four-year deal he signed a year out from the start of the extension.

When we spoke to Chris MacFarland over the weekend, I asked about the status of Martin Necas. MacFarland responded by saying he wouldn’t comment on any of the potential deals for their guys. Which instantly made me think about Kelly, and the idea of locking him up a year in advance, like they did with Logan O’Connor. That ended up being the case.

Now we wait on Necas. Sign? Trade? Let it ride?

Read More: Avalanche Extend Parker Kelly For Four Years — Deal Begins in 2026-27

Around The NHL

I was updating the article below all throughout the day with my thoughts on notable signings around the league. I figured I would plug that before digging into the stories around the National Hockey Now Network.

Read More: UFA Day: Who Signed Where? Instant Analysis — Rangers Sign Gavrikov, Canucks Keep Boeser, Granlund Gets Paid

Given the massive move they made, I think it’s best we start in Vegas.

Vegas Hockey Now: I’m one of those people that hated to see things end the way they did between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Marner. It should’ve never gotten to this, but a change was necessary for both sides. Seeing him look happier was a nice change. Marner admitted that this was where he wanted to be.

GM Kelly McCrimmon was also very complimentary of his new superstar forward.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: One of the depth forwards on my UFA wishlist for the Avs was Justin Brazeau. He ended up landing in Pittsburgh for more than what I would’ve wanted in Colorado.

Montreal Hockey Now: I have no idea what the Blues were thinking, shipping Zach Bolduc to Montreal for Logan Mailloux. Is that the price for right-shot defensemen that haven’t even gained a permanent role in the NHL? Or is this a sign of desperation? Methinks it’s the latter.

New Jersey Hockey Now: The Devils shored up their depth with additions of Connor Brown and Evgenii Dadonov. They also got the best bargain deal on the market, re-signing their own UFA Jake Allen to a five-year deal.

NYI Hockey Now: I really hope things go well for Drouin on Long Island. That’s a team that has struggled to score in the past. I’m not sure if it’s the best landing spot for him.

Boston Hockey Now: Among the handful of moves the Bruins made, they gave an insane amount of money and term to Tanner Jeannot. But before that, they also made a deal with Edmonton to acquire another depth forward.

Florida Hockey Now: The Panthers took a chance on Oliver Ekman-Larsson two years ago and it worked. Then they went a bit older with Nate Schmidt last year and that worked, too. Now, Jeff Petry gets his turn on their third pair.

Chicago Hockey Now: The Blackhawks handed out big money and term to depth pieces on July 1 in each of the last two years. Not this time.

The post Deen’s Daily: Quiet July 1 For the Avalanche; Marner Happy in Vegas; Blues Make Desperation Deal appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — June 30.

Colorado Hockey Now

There were so many things announced around the league after Sam Malinski re-signed that it’s become a mere footnote. Even for Avs fans.

Malinski locked in a one-year deal that will walk him to unrestricted free agency in 2026. He’s basically a sure bet No. 3 right-shot defenseman on the Avalanche’s blueline next year. Hopefully this time he’ll have a better partner than Calvin de Haan and gets a chance to take another big step.

Read More: Avalanche Sign Sam Malinski To One-Year Deal

In other news, I released an Avalanche UFA board earlier this morning and highlighted some of the players the Avs can target in free agency. The first name on my list was Ivan Provorov, but he’s since signed a seven-year deal to remain with the Columbus Blue Jackets. His new AAV is a whopping $8.5 million.

It’s a bit high for my liking, but I’m happy for the Blue Jackets and their fan base. They don’t have to watch another key piece of their lineup walk in free agency like in years past.

Anyway, my UFA targets board is below. Keep in mind when going through the list that the Avalanche haven’t signed a UFA to a contract worth more than $4 million AAV since 2018. They don’t often get the big names.

Read More: Avalanche UFA Board: Finding the Right Fits on July 1 — Defense Options Available

Around The NHL

Florida Hockey Now: The Panthers are keeping the band back together. When you win a Stanley Cup(s), and you have something that works, you need to do what ever you can to keep those guys together. Florida has the tax advantage, and I do believe it matters in some scenarios (like this one).

Like I've said time and time again. The no-state tax advantage only works if you're already good. And once you're good, your top guys stay for less and it prolongsyour window.

So yes, it's absolutely a factor. But you have to build a good team for it to matter. https://t.co/QuutCNpRLs

— Aarif Deen (@runwriteAarif) June 30, 2025

Not only did Aaron Ekblad take a stunningly discounted contract for the max term, but Brad Marchand, who will turn 38 next season, signed a six(!!!) year deal to keep the AAV down. It’s a clever way to circumvent the cap in a way, but it’s a reminder that teams that win do what they need to do to keep their guys.

I honestly have no idea how anyone in the East is going to get through Florida next year. They’re better than they were to start the 2024-25 season.

Gotta find a way to keep your guys.

Your… 'dawgs,' as Nazem Kadri once said (remember him?) https://t.co/xCQ3LQ3MMO

— Aarif Deen (@runwriteAarif) June 30, 2025

Vegas Hockey Now: The Golden Knights did it. They are trading for Mitch Marner and signing him to the same contract Mikko Rantanen got. It’s yet another example of a great team getting better. You can’t sit back and wait for deals to come to you. Being aggressive is the only way.

I hate to beat a dead horse but if you told me 12 months ago Avs wouldn't have Rantanen or Marner and they'd be playing for Dallas and Vegas I'd have laughed and told you you're crazy.

Both those guys make $12M for max term now. Keep that in mind if or when Avs sign Necas

— Aarif Deen (@runwriteAarif) June 30, 2025

By the way, I do subscribe to the theory that the Knights made this deal to avoid being investigated for tampering. It feels like they’ve been after Marner for a long time, and the rumors were starting to get a little too suspicious for the NHL’s liking. The Leafs are going to get Nic Roy as part of the deal for Marner’s sign-and-trade.

Before dealing him, they also got a really solid return for Nic Hague from the Nashville Predators. I love that trade for the Knights, too.

NYI Hockey Now: Alex Romanov also locked in a max-term contract extension with the Islanders at a number that, quite frankly, isn’t all that bad.

Detroit Hockey Now: The Red Wings made a cap-clearing trade with Minnesota, and then signed a couple of young RFA’s. What else do they have brewing, and is K’Andre Miller part of those plans?

Boston Hockey Now: Boston Signed Morgan Geekie yesterday, and followed it up with three more contracts on Monday.

The post Deen’s Daily: Avs UFA Board; Florida Runs it Back; Vegas Getting Marner; Everything is Happening! appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — June 29.

Colorado Hockey Now

Jonathan Drouin is heading to unrestricted free agency. That was finally confirmed on Sunday by his agent.

Does it mean he’s for sure not coming back? Not quite. More than likely, Drouin will be playing else where next season, but the Avs aren’t entirely closing the door on a return. It would likely take another low-cost control from Drouin to make it work — something he’s accepted for each of the past two seasons.

General manager Chris MacFarland spoke about Drouin and several other things on Saturday at Ball Arena after the draft. I was sure to ask him about the Martin Necas contract negotiations, too. Necas is eligible for an extension on Tuesday and is already signed for next season.

You can read about that, and all the key points of MacFarland’s presser, below.

Read More: Chris MacFarland Ahead of Free Agency: ‘We’ll Look At Every Avenue’ to Improve Roster

The Avs also released their development camp roster, which starts on Tuesday right before free agency.

Each of their three draft picks from yesterday will be present, albeit only two are skating. One of the notable absences from camp is goalie Ilya Nabokov and I was asked why he wasn’t coming.

I don’t have this confirmed, but it doesn’t make much sense for him to make the long trek from Russia and deal with jet lag for a development camp in a reason where he’s going to play in the KHL.

The Avs are still very high on him. That was reiterated on Saturday by MacFarland.

Read More: Avalanche Select UMass Defenseman Francesco Dell’Elce, Two Others in 2025 NHL Entry Draft

All three of yesterday's draft picks will be present. Roed will not skate https://t.co/c4VGx1ZB3T

— Aarif Deen (@runwriteAarif) June 29, 2025

Around The NHL

Toronto Locks up Knies: Stick taps to the Toronto Maple Leafs for locking up a key piece of their future for a contract that, honestly, looks pretty team friendly. Coming off a 58-point season, Knies signed a six-year deal carrying a $7.75 million AAV.

Given where the cap is going, that deal is going to look really, really nice for the majority of the term. And given the loss of Mitch Marner, which elevates Knies’ role, there is a chance he’s already putting up 70+ points next year while playing with a physical game, and would be an instant bargain.

Ottawa Hockey Now: The Sens also made a notable signing, locking in veteran Claude Giroux for one more year. The veteran wanted to stay home and signed a bonus-laden contract to make it happen.

NYI Hockey Now: Alex Romanov is a defenseman that I wonder about for the Avs (before the Isles traded Dobson). But it looks like he might be close to signing an extension.

Detroit Hockey Now: The Wings are still confident that Patrick Kane is going to re-sign and stay in Hockeytown. I’d still love to see him play for the Leafs.

Vegas Hockey Now: The Leafs and Golden Knights are still discussing a Mitch Marner sign-and-trade. The teams have been discussing this star player for a year now, according to Elliotte Friedman.

The post Deen’s Daily: Avs Won’t Comment on Necas Contract Talks; Development Camp Roster; Leafs Lock up Knies appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — June 28.

Colorado Hockey Now

The decentralized draft means the Avs’ front office is set up in the locker room at Ball Arena. I and other local media were invited to come watch the draft from the rink, and general manager Chris MacFarland met with us to specifically talk about the trade that sent Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood to Columbus.

He’ll meet with us again at the conclusion of Day 2 to talk about everything else.

Read More: Avs Still Have Work to Do After Coyle, Wood, and Brindley Trade

MacFarland mentioned something about goaltending being the only position that’s figured out so far. I expect quite a bit of movement on the blueline and in the bottom six. Should be a fun few days ahead.

Here are my thoughts on the deal, and what should come next.

Read More: Deen’s View: With Coyle and Wood Gone, Avalanche’s Main Focus Should Shift to Defense (+)

The Avs have made two selections in the draft through the first four rounds. They took overage defenseman Francesco Dell’Elce No. 77 overall before selecting another blueliner, Linus Funck (what a name), at No. 118. The only remaining pick they have is in the seventh round (assuming they don’t trade for another pick).

And now for the funny stuff. There were some pretty ridiculous rumors flying around about Sidney Crosby again. My general rule of thumb is, unless they’re coming from the main insiders, it’s probably not going to happen. Especially with a name as highly regarded as Crosby.

Anyway, there’s been some chatter online that MacKinnon and Crosby were together when Kevin Weekes tiptoed around the idea on live television during the draft. After Spittin’ Chiclets posted it on Instagram, MacKinnon responded, “fake news.”

The Avalanche’s top star has had enough.

Let's not do the Crosby thing again. pic.twitter.com/Di1Gb9ioqh

— Aarif Deen (@runwriteAarif) June 28, 2025

Around The NHL

Marner to Vegas?! — This is so fresh that we don’t have an article on Vegas Hockey Now yet. Hannah Kreh is our wonderful writer covering the Golden Knights and she’ll be all over this in no time. Anyway, Elliotte Friedman and Darren Dreger are both reporting that Vegas is working on a sign and trade for Mitch Marner from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The deal would involve center Nicolas Roy, who is signed for two more years carrying a $3 million AAV. Honestly, that would be a great get for the Leafs. They were going to lose Marner for nothing and instead would fill a massive need on the third line and fill out their center depth with Auston Matthews, John Tavares, and Scott Laughton.

Roy was a guy I was hoping the Avs could get after trading Coyle. It just doesn’t seem likely that Vegas would want to make a deal with Colorado.

Detroit Hockey Now: The Red Wings made the biggest move of the day (so far), acquiring goalie John Gibson from Anaheim. It’s actually a pretty solid trade for the Wings and a worthwhile risk for a player that has had quite a few injuries struggles in recent years.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Pens swapped defensemen with the Buffalo Sabres and acquired a second-round draft pick in the process.

Florida Hockey Now: Sam Bennett wants to be part of a dynasty in Florida. That’s why he locked up a max-term deal on Friday.

The post Deen’s Daily: MacKinnon Has Had Enough; MacFarland Talks Coyle, Wood Trade; Marner to Vegas?! appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — June 10.

Colorado Hockey Now

Ray Bennett was fired just over a month ago by the Avalanche, but he’s officially back in the game. Patrick Roy hired the former Avs assistant coach to join his staff on Long Island.

When Roy resigned in August 2016, Jared Bednar kept Nolan Pratt as a holdover from Roy’s staff and hired Bennett. Coincidentally, it’s Bennett now that’s heading over to work for Roy, along with former Avs defenseman and Roy’s former teammate, Bob Boughner.

A Clean Sheet: Gabe Landeskog

Last week I was invited by the wonderful team at Fresh Tape Media to attend a pre-screening event for the finale of Gabe Landeskog’s documentary. The episode was released ahead of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday, but this event took place the night before.

My wife and I both attended, and it was honestly one of the nicest NHL-related events I’ve attended. The episode was great — as were the stories Landeskog told afterward. (The one about his son pretending to be Cale Makar was hilarious).

Landeskog and I spent some time catching up before the screening, and he was very nice to my wife and chatted with her for a bit, too.

The entire event brought me back. Back to 2011 when I was a young fan excited for the Avs to draft this Swedish kid that was, at the time, highly regarded as a future NHL captain. It brought me back to the professional relationship I built with him from 2019-2022, leading up to the Stanley Cup championship.

It brought me back to congratulating him on the ice in Tampa Bay and how much he enjoyed soaking in the moment of that successful Cup run. It brought me back to the many, many pressers we’ve had with him over the past three years, often to announce a surgery, a setback, anything but his return.

And it brought me back to the Colorado Eagles conditioning assignment and his eventual return in the playoffs.

At that event on Sunday, Landeskog was just another guy who loved hockey. But over the past three years, he’s been so much more. He mentioned many times how he’s excited to spend the offseason improving his game rather than trying to get healthy. It truly does feel like a reborn career — one that hopefully isn’t anywhere close to being over.

They say when you do the job I, and many others do, as credentialed NHL media, you no longer cheer for teams. You cheer for players. For individual stories. For people.

You’ll never find me anywhere but in Landeskog’s corner. I’ll always root for that guy.

If you haven’t yet, you should absolutely take the time to catch the entire six-part documentary. The team at Fresh Tape Media did an excellent job. Good people run that company.

Use promo code Deen10 for 25% off an annual subscription to this article and ALL future CHN+ content.

Read More: Deen’s View: Nelson Deal Sets the Table — Now the Real Work Begins for the Avalanche (+)

Stanley Cup Final Recap

Game 3: The Panthers absolutely mugged the Oilers in Game 3 on Monday. It was the first home game in Florida of the series and they took complete control. Florida won 6-1, thanks largely to a handful of irresponsible penalties taken by Edmonton (before things got ugly). I don’t want to say Game 4 is a must win for Connor McDavid and the Oilers given how last year went. But it’s getting pretty close to that.

Stanley Cup Final Series

Game 1: EDM 4-3 OT (Series: 1-0 EDM)
Game 2: FLA 5-4 OT (Series: 1-1 tied)
Game 3: FLA 6-1 (Series: 2-1 FLA)
Game 4: EDM at FLA (Thursday, June 12)
Game 5: FLA at EDM (Saturday, June 14)
Game 6: EDM at FLA (Tuesday, June 17)
Game 7: FLA at EDM (Friday, June 20)

Around The NHL

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Penguins are one of two teams rumored to be going hard after Vegas defenseman Nic Hague.

Montreal Hockey Now: The Habs are the other team. Is there a fit for Hague in Montreal?

NYI Hockey Now: How Roy’s staff is shaping up after these last two hires.

Vegas Hockey Now: This was a whopper on Monday. The Golden Knights reportedly spoke to Toronto and Carolina about a three-way trade around the deadline that would’ve landed Mitch Marner in Vegas. Guess who would’ve ended up in his place in Toronto?

The post Deen’s Daily: Landeskog Documentary Finale; Panthers Stomp Oilers; Bennett Hired in NY appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — May 27.

Stanley Cup Playoff Recap

• Game 3 — Edmonton Oilers at Dallas Stars: The Oilers have been the better team for the majority of the first three games of this series. In Game 3, they dominated Dallas, winning 6-1 to gain a 2-1 series lead. The Stars have had a lot of trouble generating offense aside from Mikko Rantanen’s hot streak, and that continued in this one. They’re struggling at 5-on-5. Wyatt Johnston, for example, has just eight points in 16 games and is a whopping -17.
• Game 4 — Florida Panthers at Carolina Hurricanes: For the first time in almost 19 years, the Carolina Hurricanes won a game in the Eastern Conference Final. They shut out the Florida Panthers 3-0 in Game 4 on Monday to avoid getting swept for the second time in three years. Freddie Andersen didn’t play in Game 3 but came back in and stopped all 21 shots he faced.

Tonight’s Schedule

• Game 4: Dallas Stars at Edmonton Oilers (6 pm MT on ESPN & ESPN+)

Around The NHL

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Three thoughts from Dan Kingerski as we continue to await a hire for the Pens’ next head coach.

Detroit Hockey Now: Five factors to consider about Red Wings’ offseason plans.

Florida Hockey Now: Brad Machand said he was eating a Dairy Queen Blizzard in the middle of Game 3. You’d be shocked to learn he was joking.

Vegas Hockey Now: Why Mitch Marner does and doesn’t make sense for the Golden Knights.

The post Deen’s Daily: Oilers Can Take Control Tonight; Hurricanes Avoid Sweep appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — May 25.

Stanley Cup Playoff Recap

• Game 2 — Edmonton Oilers at Dallas Stars: The Oilers are currently up by two in Game 3. But in Game 2, they won 3-0 and handed the Stars their first loss at home since the opening game of the first round against the Avs. For Edmonton, it’s the third shutout win in a row for Stuart Skinner. For the Stars, it’s their fourth shutout loss of the postseason. They really haven’t had much going offensively in the playoffs outside of the explosion of goals from Mikko Rantanen over a five-game stretch.
• Game 3 — Florida Panthers at Carolina Hurricanes: It looked like the Canes were going to find a way to make this a series. But then the third period happened, and the Florida Panthers dominated every aspect of the game. It was more of the same as what the reigning Stanley Cup champions have been doing all series. They won 6-2 and put the Canes on the brink of elimination. Florida could advance to its third straight Stanley Cup Final on Monday.

Tonight’s Schedule

• Game 3: Dallas Stars at Edmonton Oilers (1 pm MT on ABC & ESPN+)

Around The NHL

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Pens are one of the teams still without a head coach. Here are the pros and cons of the five top candidates for the job.

Philly Hockey Now: Like the Avalanche, the Flyers need center help. Can they find it in the form of a trade from a division rival?

NYI Hockey Now: Should Mathieu Darche extend Kyle Palmieri?

Florida Hockey Now: The injuries are starting to mount for the defending Cup champs. Here’s an update on three of their guys.

Vegas Hockey Now: There will be plenty of offers made to Mitch Marner on July 1. But could the Golden Knights be a team of interest for the superstar winger? Sure seems like it.

The post Deen’s Daily: Are We Headed To a 2024 Stanley Cup Final Rematch? appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.