Full schedule:

Game 1: Vegas at Carolina, 8 p.m. ET, Tuesday, June 2 (ABC, SN, CBC, TVAS)
Game 2: Vegas at Carolina, 8 p.m. ET, Thursday, June 4 (ABC, SN, CBC, TVAS)
Game 3: Carolina at Vegas, 8 p.m. ET, Saturday, June 6 (ABC, SN, CBC, TVAS)
Game 4: Carolina at Vegas, 8 p.m. ET, Tuesday, June 9 (ABC, SN, CBC, TVAS)
*Game 5: Vegas at Carolina, 8 p.m. ET, Thursday, June 11 (ABC, SN, CBC, TVAS)
*Game 6: Carolina at Vegas, 8 p.m. ET, Sunday, June 14 (ABC, SN, CBC, TVAS)
*Game 7: Vegas at Carolina, 8 p.m. ET, Wednesday, June 17 (ABC, SN, CBC, TVAS)​

In terms of other former Jackets in addition to Torts, Vegas of course still has William Karlsson and former farmhand Keegan Kolesar. Also, since the last time they won the Cup, in 2023, they added Brandon Saad. Carolina has Eric Robinson and former CBJ draftee (and Mike-Sillingeresque journeyman) Mike Reilly.

The most important reason to pay attention to Carolina is that a significant chunk of this roster was built when Don Waddell was GM down there. So, can he do the same thing here? Or was current GM Eric Tulsky the brains of the operation the whole time?

Another interesting thing to note is this post comparing how the two finalists were built. There are plenty of high draft picks on both sides, but few that were drafted high by those teams. The lesson of recent years is you can build a winner by taking big swings on the trade market.

How the Stanley Cup Final teams were built. Only two players selected by either team in the first round. Only one top-5 pick (Svechnikov at No. 2… and oddly enough, Carolina only had the 11th-worst record that year. Big lottery luck).

[image or embed]

— Adam Gretz (@adamgretz.bsky.social) May 30, 2026 at 1:13 PM

Here is how the Jackets (not counting pending UFAs) stack up:

Top-5 pick: Adam Fantilli, Kent Johnson

6-32 first round pick: Denton Mateychuk, Cole Sillinger, Zach Werenski

Non-first round pick: Dmitri Voronkov, Kirill Marchenko, Elvis Merzlikins

Trade: Charlie Coyle, Conor Garland, Mathieu Olivier, Miles Wood, Ivan Provorov, Damon Severson

Free Agent: Isac Lundestrom, Sean Monahan, Egor Zamula

Undrafted Free Agent: Jake Christiansen, Jet Greaves

Waivers: Dante Fabbro

How do you think that compares to the Cup finalists? Which team are you rooting for?

… Carolina has more blocked shots in this series that [sic] Montreal has SOG.

Specifically, Montreal has 43 shots on goal and 129 shot attempts in their last three games, according to the NHL.com stats page. 27 of those shot attempts were off target (MsS in the NHL’s weird lingo). Carolina is credited with 56 blocked shots (showing up on the website under the column “A/B” for attempts blocked, which is uncharacteristically concise and accurate for the NHL). 

And, of course, the implication of those facts together is not that Montreal is tired, or that minor injuries are having a toll on Montreal’s offensive game. This may be true; but it’s not actually what the statistics are showing. 

What the statistics are showing is that Carolina is defending the H-E-🏒-🏒 out of their own DZ. Montreal is not losing so much as Carolina is winning. Carolina are imposing their will on Montreal in Carolina’s defensive zone, and Montreal does not seem to have an answer for them. 

Weeeelllll…

Well, technically, Montreal does (potentially) have an answer to Carolina’s stifling play, but we’re not going to see it. Him. We’re not going to see him. 

They still have Laine on their roster. 

You want someone who can create something out of nothing? 

That’s him. 

You want someone who can somehow get shots through a stifling defence, shots that have no business getting through to the goalie? 

That’s what he does. 

You want someone who can take a zero-danger shot from the perimeter that an ECHL goalie could save, and yet somehow he scores on the best goalies in the world?

Yeah, that’s actually a specialty of his. 

Could he stop a sweep? Could he turn the series around? 

Only if Montreal plays him. 

And I don’t think they will. They have invested too much time implying, if not stating publicly, that he can’t play Montreal hockey. There’s not enough corbeau in the province of Quebec for the Habs to let him play. 

But wouldn’t that be just fun.

Y’know, that thing that hockey is ostensibly supposed to be? 

Well, we’ll see soon enough. 

Nichushkin is probably done for the season now. He is currently being driven back to Denver, as it is unlawful to transport him on an airplane without a hazardous materials certification, just in case he starts bleeding. 

Makar is fully recovered and will play in Game 4, according to his personal physician, Dr. Viktor Frankenstein, who has treated Makar at his secretive clinic in the Swiss Alps.

His clinic, just outside the city of Geneva, has had numerous medical successes, including full spinal replacement surgery for Austen Matthews. No word yet on whether the Leafs have contacted Dr. Frankenstein about surgically installing backbones into the rest of Matthews’ teammates.

Historically, playing fewer games in the first two rounds serves as an advantage at this point. So while Vegas or Montreal may carry some momentum into the first couple of games, as those series go on the fresh legs for Colorado and Carolina will win out.

At the AHL level, the Cleveland Monsters are tied 1-1 in their North Division Final series against the Toronto Marlies. Game 3 is tonight in The Six.

The IIHF World Championships are also happening now, with Mathieu Olivier wearing an “A” for Team USA (despite being raised in Quebec, he was born in Mississippi, to date the only NHLer of that distinction) and Jet Greaves and Denton Mateychuk playing for Canada.

In front office moves, don’t expect much until Don Waddell returns from attending the worlds. He extended Charlie Coyle last week, and Aaron Portzline makes it sound like Boone Jenner could end up squeezed out.

Coyle was acquired from Colorado last offseason, along with Miles Wood, to play the role of a lock-down third line center, while giving the Jackets right-handed center for some strategic flexibility. To say he delivered would be an understatement; 20 goals, 58 points, over 18 minutes of ice time per game, and playing all 82-games for the fifth consecutive year. He flourished on a line with Cole Sillinger and Mathieu Olivier until the latter got injured; that line was essentially the Jackets’ second line through most of their spring resurgence.

Coyle is 34 years old, so this contract will take him (barely) into his 40s. A bit long, but that’s the UFA market for ya. The $6M cap hit on a $104M cap is the same as a $4.7M hit pre-Covid for those concerned about price tag.

What’s your thoughts on the signing? Let us know down below!

/slaps lid “Oh yeah, you can fit so many hot takes in this baby.”

But first,

Jackets updates

The Monsters are still alive! For whatever reason, this five-game series can possibly stretch over three weekends. OK! They split the first two games in Cleveland last weekend, and now will remain in Syracuse for the remaining two or three games.

In Columbus, assistant coaches Mike Haviland and Scott Ford were let go, as was video coach Aron Augustitus. Jared Boll apparently has the longevity of a cockroach, as he will return (as will goalie coach Niklas Backstrom). This will allow Rick Bowness to pick two assistants of his own. Ones who can help the defense and the special teams will be especially important.

Playoff updates

Tonight, we get three possible series-clinchers: Montreal at home against the Lightning, the Sabres on the road at the Bruins, and the Golden Knights at the Mammoth.

The winners of those two Eastern series will face each other. If either goes to Game 7, that will be on Sunday.

The Metro starts the second round on Saturday night, with the Flyers visiting the Hurricanes. Once more, let’s point and laugh at the Penguins losing.

The other set series is the highly anticipated Central showdown of Minnesota and Colorado, after the Wild eliminated the Stars last night.

Anaheim finished off Edmonton last night as well, and await the Vegas/Utah winner. The vibes in Edmonton are not good. They have two years remaining of Connor McDavid, but how do they fix all the holes on the roster, with so many difficult-to-move contracts?

Tonight’s game at 7 PM will be broadcast on Rock Sports, which is available on a number of cable systems in Ohio (check here for availability). The rest of the series will be streamed on FloHockey. Full broadcast details here.

Full Schedule

Friday, 4/24, 7 PM: SYR at CLE
Sunday, 4/26, 4 PM: SYR at CLE
Friday, 5/1, 7 PM: CLE at SYR
Sunday, 5/3, 3 PM: CLE at SYR (if necessary)
Saturday, 5/9, 5 PM: CLE at SYR (if necessary)

Monsters Leaders

Games Played: Jack Williams, 72
Goals: Luca Del Bel Belluz, 22
Goals (Defensemen): Corson Ceulemans, 8
Assists: LDBB, 36
Assists (Defensemen): Dysin Mayo, 26
Points: LDBB, 58
Points (Defensemen): Mayo, 29
Plus/Minus: Guillaume Richard, D, +20
PIM: James Malatesta, 87
PPG: LDBB, 9
SHG: Mikael Pyyhtia, 3
GWG: Williams, 6
SOG: Ceulemans, 151

This is your post for discussing this news and anything else of interest coming out of that presser. I also want to pose this question: are you in favor or opposed to Bowness coming back, and did your position change at all after his postgame comments on Tuesday?

I admit I had some concerns about the team’s skid and Bowness’s inability to stop it. But I do feel like he identified a real problem, and I am willing to give him a chance to turn things around with a full off-season and training camp. What I also hope is that he gets to bring in some new assistants. I don’t see a need to retain any of Mike Haviland, Scott Ford, and Jared Boll. Maybe bring up Trent Vogelhuber from Cleveland and have him train as a possible successor?

Washington Capitals (42-30-9, 93 points, 4th Metro, 9th East)

at

Columbus Blue Jackets (40-29-12, 92 points, 5th Metro, 11th East)

With the Flyers’ victory over the Hurricanes last night, the field for the Eastern Conference playoffs is set. There is nothing to play for tonight except for pride, and a slightly higher spot in the Metro Division standings.

For Washington, there has been growing speculation that Alex Ovechkin may retire after this season. Tonight is the last game of his current contract, and ESPN chose to broadcast this just in case.

We’re all understandably disappointed in the late season collapse by our beloved Blue Jackets, but let’s look at a few positive results:

Last season, the Jackets finished with 89 points. This year, they will finish 3-5 points ahead of that. We certainly hoped for more than incremental progress, but another 3-5 points next year should have us firmly in the playoffs. Heck, just reverse half of the blown third period leads and there you go. This team is good enough to GET those leads. Now they need to figure out how to keep them. That feels more like a psychological and coaching problem than a talent one.

This is the 25th season so let’s look at history. Among 82 game seasons, this is already tied with the 2008-09 playoff team for fifth most points. With a win tonight, they can pass the 2013-14 playoff team, who had 93 points. By points percentage, they currently trail the four playoff teams from the Torts era, plus the lockout shortened 2013 season. A win will tie that team in points percentage. Remember that group came out of nowhere to compete (largely thanks to Bob’s first Vezina campaign) but then broke through to the 7 seed in a new conference the very next season.

On the individual side, Zach Werenski has already had a great year and broke 80 points for the second consecutive season. His 81 points is third most in a season in Jackets history. One more ties last year’s Z plus 2018 Artemi Panarin. 2019 Panarin had 83 points. Z is also just one point away from 60 assists.

Kirill Marchenko is a hat trick away from 30 goals and 70 points. Adam Fantilli is a point away from 60 points. Charlie Coyle is just a point behind him.

Fifth in scoring is Boone Jenner at 37 and…that’s part of the problem. Not getting enough reliable depth scoring.

Last year, after the last game, I wrote about what the Jackets needed to do, and said they needed to be more like the Capitals of summer 2024 than the Red Wings of that same offseason. The Caps had some injury problems and took a small step back this year, but even without Ovi have a young core taking shape that should allow them to stay competitive. Detroit, meanwhile, has collapsed in the late season for three years in a row and now have the longest playoff drought in the league.

I also wrote this:

The lesson here is clear: while the Blue Jackets appear to have the right head coach, and have a strong, young core … this late season slide shows where the holes are on this roster. There definitely need to be changes on the blue line and in net. The assistant coaches could be shuffled further to give Dean Evason the staff he wants, with a full off-season to work with them. Special teams continues to be a struggle no matter who is coach. While this team scored a ton, there’s no harm in adding another forward who can contribute in the top 9.

Well, it turns out that Dean Evason was NOT the right coach, and this team played better under Rick Bowness. But, given the collapse, is Bowness the right option going forward? Does he even want to be? Compounding coaching hire blunders were Jarmo Kekalainen’s downfall here. Don Waddell can’t make the same mistake.

I also suggested that there should have been changes among the assistants. There were not, but finally Waddell realized that longtime defensive assistant Steve McCarthy deserved to be let go as well. Whether it’s Bowness or a different head coach, I’d want to see all new assistants (with the exception of goalie coach Niklas Backstrom). Not only do we need a good defensive coach (hey, what is Brad Shaw up to?), but new assistants could fix the PP and PK issues too.

Waddell did make some improvements to the top 9. The trade for Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood at the draft generated some shrugs, but Coyle ended up being one of the most important players on the team this season. Wood added a spark in the first few months, but the injuries caught up to him. Midseason acquisitions of Mason Marchment and Conor Garland also bolstered the top 9. Garland is locked into a new contract already, and Marchment is top of my list to re-sign among the UFAs. I wouldn’t mind keeping Coyle, but I wouldn’t want to give a long deal to someone who had a career year at age 33.

I still want one more true top line forward. Jason Robertson? Robert Thomas? Jordan Kyrou? What about players whose teams need to shake things up…Elias Pettersson? William Nylander? Dylan Larkin?

We’ll have a lot to speculate about over the coming months!

In the meantime, I’ll be there at NWA tonight and will hope for one more win. Hope to see some of you there.

Carolina Hurricanes (52-22-6, 110 points, 1st Metro, 1st East)
at
Philadelphia Flyers (41-27-12, 94 points, 3rd Metro, 8th East)

Well, it all comes down to this.

After being second in the division as late as March 25th, following an incredible 19-3-4 start under Rick Bowness, the Columbus Blue Jackets are on the brink of elimination. They’re a pitiful 2-7-1 in their last 10, and now their fate rests solely on the downfall of the Philadelphia Flyers. Sitting at 92 points, the Blue Jackets need to parlay a regulation victory over Washington tomorrow with two regulation losses by the Flyers to catch them at 94 for the third Metropolitan playoff spot.

The Flyers have had the opposite finale of the CBJ, going 7-3-0 in their last 10 to leapfrog both us and the Islanders. Meanwhile, the Hurricanes have been dominant all year, but will rest several key starters tonight including Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, and Jaccob Slavvin.

Even if this does break our way, the Capitals will come into Nationwide tomorrow with a chance to overtake the Flyers themselves. But we’ll burn that bridge when we get to it.

Feel free to discuss the game here. Let’s go Canes!