Monday's hockey: Macomb's Hawkins named ECHL MVP; McDavid has five assists
Macomb's Brandon Hawkins of the Toledo Walleye was named the ECHL most valuable player for 2023-24, as determined in a vote by ECHL coaches, broadcasters, media relations directors and media members.
Hawkins, a first-team all-star for the second consecutive year, led the ECHL with 40 goals, 93 points, 34 power-play points and 346 shots on goal.
The 5-foot-10, 198-pound right winger was tied for the league lead with 15 power-play goals, tied for sixth with 54 assists and tied for 10th with six game-winning goals.
The 29-year-old Hawkins played for the Little Caesars U18 team in 2012 and played for two years for Bowling Green State and two years for Northeastern University.
Patrick Curry of Kansas City finished second followed by Wheeling's Taylor Gauthier, Erik Bradford of Kalamazoo and Maine's Alex Kile.
Monday's NHL playoffs
Toronto 3, (at) Boston 2: Max Domi held the puck inside the Toronto defensive zone, waiting for Auston Matthews to make his move. Like a quarterback spotting an open receiver, Domi sent the puck sailing over the neutral zone and hit Matthews in stride.
In one motion, the NHL's goal-scoring leader gloved the puck with his left hand and dropped it in front of his stick, then skated in on Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark and beat him to snap a third-period tie.
“Great pass to find Auston in the manner that he did,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said on Monday night after the Maple Leafs rallied from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to beat Boston 3-2 and knot their first-round playoff series at one game apiece. “That's big-time stuff the way those guys connected.”
Matthews had a goal and two assists and Domi also scored for Toronto, which snapped an eight-game losing streak against Boston over 534 days dating to November 2022. Ilya Samsonov stopped 27 shots and John Tavares also scored for the Maple Leafs, who haven’t beaten the Bruins in a playoff series since 1959.
Now they have home-ice advantage heading into Games 3 and 4 on Wednesday and Saturday in Toronto.
“We were able to even things up, but obviously there’s a long way to go here,” said Tavares, who was a member of the Maple Leafs team that blew a 3-2 lead to the Bruins in the 2019 playoffs. “You know they’re going to want to respond as well, so we’ve got to keep elevating.”
Matthews scored 10 goals in an eight-game span down the stretch to reach 69, with two games left to try to hit 70 – a milestone only eight players in NHL history have reached. He was shut out in the final two regular season games and the first in the playoffs – no assists, either – matching his longest streak of the season without a point.
That ended on Monday, when he had a part in all three Toronto goals – none more important than his tiebreaking breakaway with eight minutes left that gave the Leafs their first lead of the series.
“It’s happening so fast, you don’t really have time to think,” Matthews said. "It’s honestly just instincts, and trying to make the right play.
Morgan Geekie and David Pastrnak scored for Boston. Linus Ullmark, starting as part of a goalie rotation even though Jeremy Swayman won Game 1 on Saturday, made 30 saves.
“No second guesses. He was terrific. He made multiple, big-time saves,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “It’s a strength of our team. Both of them played really well. We only scored two goals.”
(At) Carolina 5, N.Y. Islanders 3: Sebastian Aho and Jordan Martinook scored 9 seconds apart late in the third period to help Carolina complete a comeback from three goals down to beat New York Islanders, taking a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series in improbable fashion.
Aho struck first by redirecting Andrei Svechnikov’s shot at the right post behind Semyon Varlamov with 2:15 remaining to tie the game at 3. After an Islanders giveaway on the ensuing faceoff, Martinook raced down to beat Noah Dobson to the puck along the boards and then pushed it toward the same post from behind the net.
The puck banged off Varlamov’s left skate and slipped into the net for the 4-3 lead with 2:06 to go, sending the Hurricanes players mobbing a jumping Martinook amid a roof-blowing roar from a shocked home crowd.
Jake Guentzel added an empty-net score in the final minute to seal this one, which ended with frustrations flaring for the Islanders, several scrums between the teams and multiple players taking early walks to the locker room.
The series shifts north for the next two games, with Game 3 set for Thursday night.
Kyle Palmieri, Bo Horvat and Anders Lee scored as the New York Islanders built a 3-0 lead early in the second period.
Vegas 4, (at) Dallas 3: Vegas captain Mark Stone scored quickly after missing two months, Tomas Hertl had a nifty goal in his playoff debut for Las Vegas and the reigning Stanley Cup champions opened defense of their title with a win over top-seeded Dallas.
Jonathan Marchessault got his franchise-record 36th postseason goal for Vegas, while Brayden McNabb scored on a 50-foot sniper shot from against the boards in the second period. Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin, a trade-deadline acquisition like Hertl, both had two assists.
The Knights entered this postseason as the No. 8 seed and a first-round opener in Dallas, where last year they wrapped up the West final with a Game 6 victory after having won the first three games. Game 2 of this series is Wednesday night.
The Stars got goals from captain Jamie Benn, Jason Robertson and Marchment, who scored with 8:14 left.
(At) Edmonton 7, L.A. Kings 4: Zach Hyman (Michigan) had three goals and an assist in his first postseason hat trick, Connor McDavid had five assists and Edmonton beat Los Angeles in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.
Adam Henrique, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Leon Draisaitl and Warren Foegele also scored and Evan Bouchard chipped in with four assists for the Oilers, who had lost the first game of their last seven playoff series and had not won Game 1 of a series on home ice since 1990.
Stuart Skinner finished with 33 saves.
Mikey Anderson, Adrian Kempe, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Trevor Moore scored for the Kings, who were eliminated in the opening round by the Oilers in each of the previous two seasons. Cam Talbot had 38 saves.
Game 2 of the best-of-7 series is Wednesday night.
Eastern Conference playoff matchups
Rangers vs. Capitals
(Rangers lead 1-0)
▶ Game 1: Rangers 4-1
▶ Game 2: Tuesday @ N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.
▶ Game 3: Friday @ Washington, 7 p.m.
▶ Game 4: Sunday @ Washington, 8 p.m.
Bruins vs. Maple Leafs
(Series tied 1-1)
▶ Game 1: Bruins 5-1
▶ Game 2: Leafs 3-2
▶ Game 3: Wednesday @ Toronto, 7 p.m.
▶ Game 4: Saturday @ Toronto, 8 p.m.
Panthers vs. Lightning
(Panthers lead 1-0)
▶ Game 1: Panthers 3-2
▶ Game 2: Tuesday @ Florida, 7:30 p.m.
▶ Game 3: Thursday @ Tampa Bay, 7 p.m.
▶ Game 4: Saturday @ Tampa Bay, 5 p.m.
Hurricanes vs. Islanders
(Hurricanes lead 2-0)
▶ Game 1: Hurricanes 3-1
▶ Game 2: Hurricanes 5-3
▶ Game 3: Thursday @ N.Y. Islanders, 7:30 p.m.
▶ Game 4: Saturday @ N.Y. Islanders, 2 p.m.
Western Conference playoff matchups
Dallas vs. Vegas
(Golden Knights lead 1-0)
▶ Game 1: Vegas 4-3
▶ Game 2: Wednesday @ Dallas, 9:30 p.m.
▶ Game 3: Saturday @ Vegas, 10:30 p.m.
▶ Game 4: Monday @ Vegas, TBD
Winnipeg vs. Colorado
(Jets lead 1-0)
▶ Game 1: Jets 7-6
▶ Game 2: Tuesday @ Winnipeg, 9:30 p.m.
▶ Game 3: Friday @ Colorado, 10 p.m.
▶ Game 4: Sunday @ Colorado, 2:30 p.m.
Vancouver vs. Nashville
(Canucks lead 1-0)
▶ Game 1: Canucks 4-2
▶ Game 2: Tuesday @ Vancouver, 10 p.m.
▶ Game 3: Friday @ Nashville, 7:30 p.m.
▶ Game 4: Sunday @ Nashville, 5 p.m.
Edmonton vs. Los Angeles
(Oilers lead 1-0)
▶ Game 1: Oilers 7-4
▶ Game 2: Wednesday @ Edmonton, 10 p.m.
▶ Game 3: Friday @ Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.
▶ Game 4: Sunday @ Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.
Sabres bring back Ruff as coach
The Buffalo Sabres are bringing back Lindy Ruff as coach.
Ruff previously was head coach of the Sabres between 1997-98 and 2012-13.
Buffalo has missed the playoffs 13 seasons in a row and fired former head coach Dan Granato last week after four seasons with the organization.
Ruff's most recent stint was with the New Jersey Devils, where he spent almost four full seasons, helping the team make the playoffs in 2022-23 but was fired on March 4 and replaced with Travis Green on an interim basis.
The 64-year-old Ruff is the fifth-winningest coach in NHL history with 864 career regular-season wins for the Sabres, Dallas Stars and Devils.
Kraken's Francis open to changes
Seattle Kraken general manager Ron Francis said Monday evaluations are still ongoing about whether there will be changes with head coach Dave Hakstol or any of the coaching staff after the third-year franchise missed the playoffs.
Francis said the team is still in the middle of examining what happened this season and he would not confirm whether Hakstol would return for a fourth year.
“There’s a lot of things we have to look at and factor in, and we’ll continue to do that in the next few weeks,” Francis said.
Asked specifically about Hakstol’s status, Francis said, “Well, you’re going to read into that one way or the other, but this is the process we do every year and that’s what we’re in right now.”
Hakstol was a Jack Adams Award finalist for coach of the year after last season and received a two-year contract extension following the first playoff appearance for the Kraken that included a first-round upset of the then-defending champion Colorado Avalanche.
Hakstol has gone 107-112-27 in his three seasons in charge of the Kraken.
But Seattle took a significant dip in its third season after that surprising postseason run in Year 2 when it finished with 100 points. The Kraken finished this season 34-35-13 with 81 points and were officially eliminated from playoff contention in the first week of April.
While injuries to key players like Andre Burakovsky, Philipp Grubauer and Vince Dunn played a role in Seattle’s record, the biggest reason was a big dip in scoring. The Kraken were 29th in the league in goals scored, 29th in shooting percentage and 18th on the power play.
Francis noted that Seattle was the only team in the league to rank in the top 10 in most defensive metrics and not make the playoffs. That only emphasizes that boosting the offense will be the focus of the offseason.
Francis said the combination of salary cap space and a plethora of draft picks opens up a bunch of options that Seattle can explore to try to spark more scoring.
“We’ll look at everything that we have to look at to try and make our team better. It’s important for us to get back on the winning track,” Francis said.
Seattle started this season 8-14-7, including an eight-game losing streak, before a big turnaround in late December and January that pushed the Kraken back into the playoff conversation. But the Kraken lost at lowly San Jose in the final game before the All-Star break, and that loss seemed to set the tone that a playoff push wouldn’t materialize.
The Kraken went just 13-16-3 after the All-Star break, and a painful overtime loss at home to Vegas on March 12 brought an end to any reasonable playoff aspirations.
Vegas going with Thompson in net
Logan Thompson will be in net for the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights in Game 1 of their opening-round series against the Dallas Stars on Monday night, marking the postseason debut for the 27-year-old goalie.
Coach Bruce Cassidy is going with Thompson over Adin Hill, who had a 1.99 goals-against-average and two shutouts when Vegas beat the Stars in a six-game Western Conference Final last year.
Thompson had a .926 save percentage and 2.14 GAA in his past 11 games. He split starts down the stretch with Hill, who has struggled this season with injuries and inconsistent play.
Cassidy also said captain Mark Stone will play in the series opener after missing 26 games since he lacerated his spleen on Feb. 20. So will defenseman Alex Pietrangelo (appendicitis) and left wing William Carrier, who missed the final 11 games with an upper-body injury. Carrier is one of the five original Golden Knights players who has appeared in all of the franchise's six playoff runs before this year.
When Thompson missed last year's postseason with a lower-body injury, and Laurent Brossoit got injured in the second round, Hill went 11-4 with a .932 save percentage the rest of the playoffs.
Hill started this season 10-2-2 with a .935 save percentage and 1.87 GAA before a lower-body injury. He won his first four starts after returning in mid-January but has been inconsistent and dealt with more injuries since. He is 5-9 with an .876 save percentage and 3.76 GAA since Feb. 12.
Michigan-area hockey
Tuesday
▶ Sault Ste. Marie at Saginaw, 7
Wednesday
▶ Toledo at Kalamazoo, 7
Thursday
▶ NTDP U18s vs. Slovakia, 7 a.m. (Hockey Network)
Friday
▶ Toledo at Kalamazoo, 7
Saturday
▶ Rockford @ Grand Rapids, 7 (AHL)
▶ NTDP U18s vs. Norway, 10:30 a.m. (Hockey Network)
▶ Toledo at Kalamazoo, 7:15
Sunday
▶ NTDP U18s vs. Latvia, 11 a.m. (Hockey Network)
▶ Grand Rapids vs. Rockford
American Hockey League playoffs
Central Division semifinal
(Best-of-five series)
▶ Game 1: Saturday @ Grand Rapids, 7
▶ Game 2: Wednesday @ Rockford, 7
▶ Game 3: Friday @ Rockford, 7
▶ Game 4: Sunday, May 5 @ Grand Rapids, 4
▶ Game 5: Friday, May 10 @ Rockford, 7
Central Division semifinal
(Best-of-five series)
▶ Milwaukee vs. winner of Texas-Manitoba
ECHL
Central Division Semifinal
(Best-of-seven series)
▶ Game 1: Toledo 3-2 (OT)
▶ Game 2: Toledo 5-2
▶ Game 3: Wednesday @ Kalamazoo, 7
▶ Game 4: Friday @ Kalamazoo, 7
▶ Game 5: Saturday @ Toledo, 7:15 *
▶ Game 6: Tuesday @ Kalamazoo, 7 *
▶ Game 7: Wednesday May 1 @ Toledo, 7:15 *
* if necessary
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. winner of Saginaw-Sault Ste. Marie
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
▶ Baie-Comeau Drakkar vs. Cape Breton Eagles
▶ Drummondville Voltigeurs vs. Victoriaville Tigres