Five Minute Major

*Photo from MrShadesMedia*     The NHL Awards 2021 ceremony was on Tuesday night, and we got the presentations of major awards, such as the Norris trophy, Vezina trophy, Calder trophy, and more. Without further ado, let's see who won those awards.  *Photo from Bleacher Report* Ted Lindsay award: Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers McDavid has won the 2021 Ted Lindsay award, which is given to the most outstanding player in the NHL, which is voted on by fellow NHL players. It's the 3rd season that McDavid has brought home the award. The other finalists for the award were Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs.  *Photo from the Pioneer Press* Calder trophy: Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild Kaprizov wins the Calder trophy, given annually to the rookie of the year in the NHL. Kaprizov received 99 first place votes, finishing one first place vote shy of a unanimous vote. Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson received the other fi...

*Photo from TheScore*     Don't worry, Oilers fans, because one of the best players on the team isn't going anywhere. The Edmonton Oilers have signed F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to an 8 year, $41 million deal, according to Ryan Rishaug of TSN. The deal has a $5.125 million average annual value(AAV). The Oilers have confirmed the signing.    Nugent-Hopkins said "It's a huge deal to me. It's always been my goal to be able to stay in Edmonton. That's just what I've wanted. I've loved my time in Edmonton so far. The team is progressing the way we want it to, and I want to be a part of that, and obviously the biggest reason I want to say is that I want to win in Edmonton. We have lots of connections there. Fans have treated me so well. The organization has been great, so it was the easy decision to want to say and I'm just happy to be able to make it work."    Nugent-Hopkins also has a full no trade clause in his deal with the Oilers. Nugent-Hopkins was a...

*Photo from The Athletic* Tampa Bay leads series 1-0     The Tampa Bay Lightning are a buzzsaw that does not stop cutting until there is nothing left to cut. Just ask the Montreal Canadiens. Nikita Kucherov scored two goals, Yanni Gourde scored the game winning goal, and the Lightning defeated the Canadiens 5-1 on Monday night to kick off the Stanley cup finals.    Kucherov said of his first goal that "Not much I had to do there, I was just trying to throw it on the net and see what happens. Fortunately, it was a lucky bounce for us. I thought it was Pally's(Ondrej Palat) goal. I hope he scores that goal. That was just something we need to do more, just throw something at the net and make some traffic there."    The series opening goal came from Erik Cernak, who gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead 6:19 into the first period, scoring his first goal of the playoffs. Gourde's goal 5:47 into the second made it 2-0 Lightning. In the 3rd, Kucherov scored two goal...

*Photo from Yard Barker* UPDATE: Armia has been cleared by the NHL and will join the team in Tampa Bay     A day before puck drop on game one of the Stanley cup finals, the Montreal Canadiens got some tough news. Winger Joel Armia has entered the NHL's Covid-19 protocol and will not travel with the Canadiens to Tampa Bay, according to Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin and Arpon Basu of The Athletic.     Armia not traveling to Tampa Bay with the Canadiens means he will miss the first two games at the very least, with his status for the rest of the series unclear. Whether or not Armia actually tested positive for Covid-19 will determine how long he stays in the Covid-19 protocols and how long he has to be away from the team for.     Montreal defensemen Ben Chiarot said of losing Armia that "It's not ideal. It's something we've kind of been dealing with all year, with guys going out to the COVID protocol. Army's obviously an important player for us. It's ju...

*Photo from The Athletic*     If anyone thinks that there is a goalie controversy in Vegas, you can forget about it. Because both goalies put that down when asked about it. Marc-Andre Fleury and Robin Lehner like playing together, as both said during their exit interviews on Saturday.    Lehner said of playing with Fleury that "I’ve played with some really good goaltenders in my career and playing with Marc-Andre is a privilege. We’ve grown a lot closer to each other and it’s been a pretty special couple of seasons here."    The goalies are once again the topic of conversation in Vegas, as last season after they were eliminated, there was speculation that Fleury would be moved in order to get under the salary cap, especially with Lehner having just signed a 5 year extension. They decided to keep both and get under the cap in other ways.    The decision to keep both Fleury and Lehner worked out better than Vegas imagined, as when Lehner went d...

*Photo from the Los Angeles Daily News* Tampa Bay wins series 4-3     The defending Stanley cup champions will have a shot to stay on top of the hockey world. And this time, it won't be in a bubble, it'll be in front of their own fans in Tampa Bay. The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the New York Islanders 1-0 on Friday night, clinching their second straight Stanley cup finals appearance.     The game's lone goal came from Yanni Gourde, who scored 1:49 into the second period on a shorthanded goal, giving the Lightning a 1-0 lead at the time, which they were able to hold on to in order to advance to the cup finals.    Lightning coach Jon Cooper said "We've come such a long way, I've been with this group for a while. It's so darn hard to win in this league, but last year, I just found we could win in different ways, but in the end, just the warrior mentality this group had, and it was prevalent tonight. After a really tough loss the other night, y...

*Photo from CTV News Montreal* Montreal wins series 4-2     Celebrate Montreal, you've earned it. The great cinderella story of the playoffs is going to the Stanley cup final. Cole Caufield scored, Artturi Lehkonen scored the winning goal, and the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 in overtime on Thursday night.    With the win, the Canadiens have clinched their first Stanley cup finals appearance since 1993, when they won their 24th Stanley cup. They are also the last Canadian hockey team to win the Stanley Cup, with that drought now being 28 years long. They are also the first Canadian team to even make the cup finals since 2011, when the Vancouver Canucks were defeated by the Boston Bruins in 7 games.     Canadiens center Phillip Danault said of moving on to the cup finals that "It's special. I had a feeling something big was going to happen today. It's amazing. I'm speechless. It's tough to process everything that's happened. ...

*Photo from the Boston Globe* Series tied 3-3     When it appeared that the New York Islanders season was at it's end, they leveled up. Scott Mayfield scored the tying goal, Anthony Beauvillier scored the winning goal, and the Islanders defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 in overtime on Wednesday night.     Beauvillier said "I honestly kind of blacked out a little bit. They turned the puck over, I think, and then I saw it go in and kind of blacked out. I was just so happy, I was screaming, and everyone kind of jumped on me. Obviously, an amazing feeling and I couldn't be more happy."    It was the Lightning who jumped out in front first, with Brayden Point scoring 16:02 into the first period, scoring in his 9th straight game, and his 14th goal of the playoffs. 12:36 into the second period, it became 2-0 Lightning when Anthony Cirelli scored his 4th goal of the playoffs.    Then, the Islanders got back in the game. 14:22 into the second ...

*Photo from The Athletic* Montreal leads series 3-2     One more win. If the Montreal Canadiens can win one more game, they will continue their cinderella playoff run with a Stanley cup final appearance. Cole Caufield scored, Eric Staal scored, and the Canadiens defeated the Vegas Golden Knights with a 4-1 win in game 5 on Tuesday night.    Nick Suzuki, who was the primary assist on Staal's goal, broke it down, saying "I thought I had some good speed down the wall, and that drew two guys toward me. I thought when I got down the corner, if I turned up, someone would come up late. Staal was in a great spot, and it was a great shot."    Before Staal scored, it was Jesperi Kotkaniemi who scored his 5th goal of the playoffs 8:45 into the first period, giving Montreal a 1-0 lead. Staal then scored 6:32 into the second to up the lead to 2-0, and then Caufield scored just over 3 minutes later, and it was 3-0 Canadiens at the end of two periods. After Max ...

*Photo from The Athletic* Tampa Bay leads series 3-2     The early goal by Steven Stamkos just seemed like a precursor for how this game was going to go. For the New York Islanders, that was very poorly. Stamkos scored two goals, Alex Killorn scored two goals, and the Tampa Bay Lightning flew right past the Islanders for a commanding 8-0 win in game 5 on Monday night.    Stamkos said "It's certainly a response and a mindset, and it starts with our goalie. Vasy just has an amazing ability to bounce back, whether he plays great or he doesn't play great. Most of the time he plays great, but if we lose, he takes that personally. He was outstanding tonight. He made some big saves early, settles us into a game, we get some goals, we get some confidence."    Stamkos got the Lightning on the board with his 6th goal of the playoffs 45 seconds into the game. After Yanni Gourde and Killorn scored, it was 3-0 Lightning after the first period. In the second, Stamko...

*Photo from KSL Sports* Series tied 2-2     The Montreal Canadiens were in control for a lot of game 4 against the Vegas Golden Knights. Once again, that doesn't always mean you'll win. Brayden McNabb scored the tying goal, Nicolas Roy scored the winning goal, and the Golden Knights defeated the Canadiens with a 2-1 overtime win on Sunday night.     Roy said "That's unbelievable. I always dreamed about scoring at the Bell Centre. Doing it in overtime in the series, the semifinals, it's even better."    McNabb scored the tying goal for the Golden Knights, tying the game 1-1 with his first goal of the playoffs, coming 10:37 into the 3rd period, a shot that snuck through Carey Price and into the net. Roy then scored 1:18 into overtime to seal the win for Vegas.     In a surprising move for Vegas coach Pete Deboer, he turned to Robin Lehner as the starting goalie for game 4, looking to change things up after losing two games in a row. I...

*Photo from Fox 16* Series tied 2-2     Needing a win to avoid falling behind 3-1 in their series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the New York Islanders used a lot of skill, and just a little bit of luck. Josh Bailey scored, Matt Martin scored the winning goal, and the Islanders defeated the Lightning 3-2 on Saturday night, evening the series at 2-2.     They used their little bit of luck late in the game, which actually is what gave them the win. After goalie Semyon Varlamov was caught out of position after a save, Ryan McDonagh of the Lightning scooped up the rebound and had a wide open net to shoot on. He shot it, but all of a sudden, defenseman Ryan Pulock briefly played goalie, making a diving save on the puck with 2.7 seconds left, keeping New York in front.    Pulock said "He made a heck of a play with the spin-o-rama, and the net was open. I just tried to make myself big and take it away and I was able to get it. Obviously you hear the so...

*Photo from Flipboard* Montreal leads series 2-1     The Montreal Canadiens were not supposed to win game 3. Sometimes, that's just how Hockey works. Cole Caufield scored, Josh Anderson scored the tying and winning goals, and the Canadiens defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 in overtime in game 3 on Friday night.    Anderson said "We had a press late in the third period there, and obviously we got a fortunate bounce on the tying goal. And then in OT it looked like we had a lot more energy than them. We came out hard and found a way, in a huge game that we needed to win."    Carey Price was another big contributor for the Canadiens, and a big reason why they were even in the game to begin with, never mind win. Price stopped a whopping 43 out of 45 shots, for a .956 save percentage in game 3, giving Montreal a 2-1 series lead against Vegas.     Canadiens captain Shea Weber said of Price that "He was unbelievable. He's a huge reason why w...

*Photo from Lighthouse Hockey* Tampa Bay leads series 2-1     The Tampa Bay Lightning take mistakes made by their opposition and punish them on the scoreboard for it. The New York Islanders know this all too well, but that doesn't mean they can stop it. Yanni Gourde scored, Brayden Point scored, and the Lightning defeated the Islanders 2-1 on Thursday night.    Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said "This group is comfortable in these situations. It's the conference finals or semifinals, whatever you want to call it. This time of the year, it's guys doing whatever it takes to win, that's the most important thing. When you have a complete buy-in, you're getting results like we're getting right now."    Gourde kicked off the scoring 10:15 into the first period, giving Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead with his 3rd goal of the playoffs. After the Islanders managed to tie it at 1-1 thanks to Cal Clutterbuck, Point scored with 20 seconds remaining in the second period, g...

*Photo from the Toronto Star* Series tied 1-1     The Montreal Canadiens knew they couldn't afford falling behind in the series 2-0 before heading back home. So they went out and did something about it. Tyler Toffoli scored, Paul Byron scored the game winning goal, and the Canadiens defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 on Wednesday night, evening up the series 1-1.    Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme said "It's a huge win for us. At the same time, though, we want to be more consistent. We started to play on our heels when we took the lead. That's something we want to fix. We need to be more consistent for 60 minutes. We want to play like we did in the first part of the game."    Joel Armia got the scoring started 6:12 into the first period, giving Montreal a 1-0 lead with his 5th goal of the playoffs. Toffoli extended the lead to 2-0 with 3:30 left in the first, on his 5th goal of the playoffs as well. With 2:15 remaining in the second period, Byron...

*Photo from Sportsnet*     Rod Brind'Amour isn't going anywhere. The Carolina Hurricanes and Brind'Amour have agreed to a 3 year contract extension, according to a press release by the team. Brind'Amour took over the team at the conclusion of the 2017-2018 season, and has played a big role in their turnaround.    Hurricanes president and general manager Don Waddell said that "Rod has been the driving force behind the culture change we've undergone here. He keeps our players motivated, demands accountability, and has our team ready to compete every night. He has truly raised the bar for our organization, and we're thrilled to have him continue as our coach for years to come."    In 3 seasons, Brind'Amour has compiled a 120-66-20 record, and has led the Hurricanes to the playoffs every season he has coached. In his first season, they made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Final. In the years following, they have been eliminated in the first an...

*Photo from WFLA* Series tied 1-1     The Tampa Bay Lightning are just too talented a team to stay down for long. So, after they lost the opening game to the New York Islanders, they got up and started throwing haymakers. Brayden Point scored, Victor Hedman scored, and the Lightning defeated the Islanders 4-2 on Tuesday night.    Between last year's run to the Stanley cup and this postseason, the Lightning have not been kept down for long. After they lose a game in the playoffs, they have always come back to win the following game. They have not lost back to back playoff games since the first round of the 2018-2019 playoffs, when they were swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets.    Point said "We've got good leadership in our room, and they keep our team from getting too high or too low. I don't know, it's tough to put a finger on it really. It's gone good so far, but we can't be happy with just this one. It's going to be a hard, long series. We've got ...

*Photo from the Las Vegas Sun* Vegas leads series 1-0     If there was any rust at all, from either the Vegas Golden Knights or the Montreal Canadiens, it certainly didn't show. These two came out firing in game one. Shea Theodore scored, Nick Holden scored, and the Golden Knights defeated the Canadiens 4-1 on Monday night, taking a 1-0 series lead in the 3rd round.    Vegas coach Pete Deboer said "We talked in our prescout meetings that they would be uncomfortable in their structure playing from behind. No one made them play from behind for a while. The goal was huge and at the right time with how we were playing."    The Canadiens were greeted in Vegas by a full arena, the first time they have played in the U.S. since March 7, 2020, and the first time they played in front of a capacity crowd since around that time as well. They played in front of 2,500 fans at their home playoff games, and 500 in Winnipeg for their second round matchup.    ...

*Photo from the Las Vegas Review Journal*     The New York Rangers have their guy. The Rangers have hired Gerard Gallant to be their next head coach, according to Larry Brooks of the New York Post. The deal is for 4 years, expiring at the end of the 2024-2025 season. The Rangers have confirmed the hiring.    Gallant will be replacing David Quinn, who was fired by the Rangers at the end of the regular season, on May 12. The Rangers went 27-23-6 in the short 56 game season in 2020, finishing in 5th place in the East Division, just missing out on the playoffs. Former Arizona Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet also interviewed for the job.    In an interview on June 7, Gallant told The Athletic that "Obviously, it's been 16 months. I'm waiting for the next opportunity and I hope it comes soon. Not sure what's it going to be. I'm having conversations with some teams and hopefully something happens."    Gallant has previously coached the Columbus Blue...

*Photo from RawCharge* New York leads series 1-0     After John Tavares left the New York Islanders after the 2017-2018 season, forward Mathew Barzal had to step into a larger leadership role in the locker room, alongside captain Anders Lee. Entering their rematch with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Barzal stepped up. Barzal scored, Ryan Pulock scored, and the Islanders defeated the Lightning 2-1 on Sunday night.    After a slow start to the playoffs in the first round, Barzal has turned it up a notch since the second round began. He was instrumental in the Islanders eliminating the Boston Bruins in 6 games, with several important goals and assists, and he's off to a hot start in the 3rd round, when he scored, and was on the ice for Pulock's goal.     This is also a rematch of last year's eastern conference final in the playoff bubble, where the Lightning eliminated the Islanders in 6 games while on their way to winning the Stanley Cup, which included an 8-2...

*Photo from the Seattle Times*     The NHL has released the finalists for this year's Jack Adams award, given annually to the best coach in the NHL. This year, Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour, Minnesota Wild head coach Dean Evason, and Florida Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville are the 3 finalists for the award.    This year's group of finalists ensures there will not be a repeat champion, as Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy was the recipient of the award for the 2019-2020 season. The last 5 years, Cassidy, Barry Trotz twice, Gerard Gallant, and John Tortorella have all won the award. Trotz won it in 2016 as head coach of the Washington Captials, and in 2019 as head coach of the New York Islanders.    Brind'Amour has been a fresh face to lead the Hurricanes since he was hired, and this season was among the team's best years. Brind'Amour has led Carolina to 3 straight playoff appearances, plus this season's Central Division title,...

*Photo from the Hockey Writers*     After not renewing John Tortorella's contract at the end of the season, the Columbus Blue Jackets began a search for their next head coach. Now, they have their guy. Brad Larsen has been named head coach of the Blue Jackets, according to GM Jarmo Kekalainen.    Kekalainen said "We underwent an exhaustive process in which we looked very closely at a number of outstanding candidates to be the next coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets and the one individual we kept coming back to throughout was Brad Larsen. Brad was one of the top young coaches in the American Hockey League when he joined our club as an assistant coach and over the past seven years has earned the respect of our players, staff and organization with his work ethic, hockey acumen and the way he treats people, and we couldn't be more pleased to introduce him as our next head coach."    Larsen was an assistant under Tortorella for the last 7 seasons, and,...