Stanley Cup Playoffs Review June 17, 2021

CANADIENS HOLD OFF GOLDEN KNIGHTS RALLY AND BREAK EVEN IN VEGAS

Joel Armia, Tyler Toffoli and Paul Byron each scored to propel Montreal to a 3-0 lead and Carey Price (29 saves) withstood a multi-goal game by Alex Pietrangelo to help the Canadiens head home to Bell Centre with their Stanley Cup Semifinal series tied at one game apiece. The final was 3-2 Montreal.

Toffoli and Cole Caufield (0-1—1) have combined on the same goal in each of Montreal’s last four contests, including Caufield’s first career playoff tally in Game 1 of this Stanley Cup Semifinal series. Wednesday’s performance extended Toffoli’s point streak to eight games, the longest by any player in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs and lengthiest by any Canadiens skater since Vincent Damphousse in 1993 (8 GP).

Caufield became just the second player in Canadiens history to post a playoff point streak of at least four games before his 21st birthday, joining Shayne Corson (6 GP in 1987). In fact, Caufield is the NHL’s second player in as many postseasons to achieve the feat (also 20-year-old Quinn Hughes in 2020: 6 GP w/ VAN).

Montreal’s victory guaranteed that each 2021 Stanley Cup Semifinals series will require at least five games. In 10 postseasons since 2012, only two of 20 series in the Conference Finals/Semifinals have been sweeps – with 12 of those 18 completed series requiring at least six games (67%).

This marks the fourth time in seven years that both Conference Finals/Semifinals series have been tied at 1-1 through two games (also 2015, 2016 and 2017) – equaling the total over the prior 16 postseasons before that (from 1998 to 2014).

KEVIN HODGSON RECEIVES WILLIE O’REE COMMUNITY HERO AWARD

Kevin Hodgson (HEROS) is the recipient of the 2020-21 Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award presented by MassMutual, given “to an individual who – through the sport of hockey – has positively impacted his or her community, culture or society.” Hodgson is the executive director of HEROS (Hockey Education Reaching Out Society) which empowers at-risk youth, and SuperHEROS, which provides boys and girls living with physical and cognitive challenges with a safe and inclusive environment as well as an adapted on-ice curriculum.

SERIES LEAD UP FOR GRABS ON LONG ISLAND

The Stanley Cup Semifinals shift to Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum where the Islanders and Lightning will battle for a series lead. New York is 84-43 (.661) in all-time playoff games at the Coliseum, including a 4-2 mark this postseason.

Kyle Palmieri has one point in each of his last four games at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (3-1—4) and sits tied with Brock Nelson for the team lead in total goals during the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs (7). Only five Islanders players have scored more goals than Palmieri in their first postseason with the club: Ray Ferraro (13 in 1993), Steve Thomas (9 in 1993), Patrick Flatley (9 in 1984), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (8 in 2020) and J.P. Parise (8 in 1975).

Brayden Point, who led all players with a franchise-record 14 goals in the postseason last year, paces the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs with 10 goals and is one of two Lightning players with multiple 10-goal playoff years in his career (also Nikita Kucherov: 10 in 2015 & 11 in 2016). Only two other active NHL players have had double-digit goal counts in consecutive postseasons: Jake Guentzel (13 in 2017 & 10 in 2018) and Evgeni Malkin (10 in 2008 & 14 in 2009).

Point has scored in seven of his last eight games and enters Game 3 with an active five-game goal streak. Should he score again tonight, Point would join elite company by netting a goal in six straight playoff games – a feat achieved by only 14 different players in NHL history and most recently by Martin Havlat (6 GP in 2006 w/ OTT) 15 years ago.

Bergevin, Lamoriello and Zito Voted Finalists for Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award

Marc Bergevin of the Montreal Canadiens, Lou Lamoriello of the New York Islanders and Bill Zito of the Florida Panthers are the three finalists for the 2020-21 Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award, the National Hockey League announced today.

Voting for this award was conducted among the NHL general managers and a panel of League executives, print and broadcast media at the conclusion of the Second Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The winner will be announced Monday, June 21, by NBC Sports, Sportsnet and TVA Sports during their pregame window for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Semifinals series between the Islanders and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The NHL General Manager of the Year Award was first presented in 2009-10. It was renamed in 2019-20 in honor of Jim Gregory, the 2007 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee who served as Toronto Maple Leafs general manager and a League executive for four decades.

Following are the finalists for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award, in alphabetical order:

Marc Bergevin, Montreal Canadiens

Bergevin’s several moves in the past year to strengthen the Canadiens roster have paid off in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs, as Montreal triumphed over Scotia NHL North Division rivals the Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets to reach the Stanley Cup Semifinals. Bergevin acquired six Stanley Cup champions via trade or free agency since September: goaltender Jake Allen; defenseman Joel Edmundson; and forwards Michael Frolik, Corey Perry, Eric Staal and Tyler Toffoli. He also added forward Josh Anderson in an offseason trade; signed defenseman Alexander Romanov, a 2018 2nd-round draft pick, last summer; and inked forward Cole Caufield, their 1st-rounder in 2019, in March. Under interim head coach Dominque Ducharme, whom Bergevin named to the post Feb. 24, the Canadiens ended the Second Round with an active streak of 437:53 without trailing in a game, the second-longest span in Stanley Cup Playoffs history. Bergevin, who has served as Canadiens GM since May 2, 2012, is a Jim Gregory finalist for the third time. He placed third in voting in 2012-13 and was second in 2013-14.

Lou Lamoriello, New York Islanders

Under Lamoriello’s management the Islanders have advanced to the Stanley Cup Semifinals round for the second consecutive year, achieving a feat last done by the franchise for six straight seasons from 1978-79 through 1983-84. The Islanders have recorded 26 playoff wins since Lamoriello was hired ahead of the 2018-19 season; the only franchise with more in that span is their current Stanley Cup Semifinals opponent, the Lightning (27). A year after obtaining forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau and defenseman Andy Greene prior to the trade deadline, Lamoriello added forwards Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac on April 7 to aid this year’s postseason push. A three-time Stanley Cup champion and Hockey Hall of Fame inductee in the Builders Category in 2009, Lamoriello is in his 33rd season as an NHL general manager. He became the first Islanders GM to capture Jim Gregory honors in 2019-20, is the first GM to earn back-to-back nominations since Anaheim’s Bob Murray (2012-13 through 2014-15) and is vying to become the first two-time winner since the award’s inception in 2009-10.

Bill Zito, Florida Panthers

Named Florida GM on Sept. 2, 2020, Zito oversaw a Panthers team (37-14-5, 79 points) that set several franchise highs en route to a second-place finish in the Discover NHL Central Division and fourth in the League overall. Florida set franchise records in categories including highest points percentage (.705), most goals-per-game (3.36) and most shots-per-game (34.9). Their 2020-21 team puck possession metric SAT was 321, indicating 321 more shot attempts than allowed at 5-on-5; the corresponding 2019-20 figure was -29 and their previous best in a season (since 2009-10) was 173 in 2014-15. Five of the Panthers’ top 10 goal-scorers during the regular season were Zito acquisitions via free agency or trade (Carter Verhaeghe, 18; Alex Wennberg, 17; Patric Hornqvist, 14; Anthony Duclair, 10; and trade deadline pickup Sam Bennett, who tallied 6-9–15 in 10 GP down the stretch). Zito is a first-time NHL Awards finalist and the second Panthers GM nominated for the Jim Gregory, following the second-place finish by Dale Tallon in 2011-12. He is the first finalist in his NHL debut season as GM since Ottawa’s Pierre Dorion (3rd in 2016-17) and is seeking to become the first rookie GM to capture the award.