NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcast Len Shapiro: Hurricanes advance to next round defeat Caps; Jets live another day defeat Stars force game 6

Washington Capitals left winger Alex Ovechkin (8) and teammates are dejected after getting eliminated by the Carolina Hurricane in the second round of the NHL Stanley Cup Eastern semifinals in game 5 at the Capital Center in DC (AP News photo)

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcast Len Shapiro:

#1 The Carolina Hurricanes eliminated the Washington Capitals with a 3-1 win in game 5 taking the second round series 4-1.

#2 The Hurricanes Jordan Staal scored first and Andre Svechnikov score the go ahead insurance goal as the Hurricanes head to the Eastern Conference final for the second season out of the last three.

#3 The Hurricanes are now 10-5 in elimination games and have made seven post season appearances under head coach Ron Brind’Amour. With the win the Hurricanes could face either Florida or Toronto.

#4 The Winnipeg Jets avoided elimination with a 4-0 shutout over the Dallas Stars. The Jets had home ice the Stars with their backs to the wall down 3-1 but got a some scoring and great defense from their goaltender Connor Hellebuyck who stopped 22 shots to help the Jets cut the series deficit 3-2.

#5 Jets still under pressure as game six will be played in Dallas. The Jets need to win big or go home and the Stars need to win big to advance to the next round. Dallas has home ice are the Jets trapped or confident?

Join Len Shapiro for the NHL podcasts Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcast Len Shapiro Fri May 2, 2025: Leafs eliminate Sens in six games with 4-2 win; Knights edge Wild 3-2 to advance to next round; plus more NHL news

Toronto Maple Leafs William Nylander (right) and Matthew Knies (23) as Autin Matthews scores on the Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) in game six of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Canadian Tire Centre on Thu May 1, 2025 (AP News photo)

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcast Len Shapiro:

#1 In the Eastern Conference first round Max Pacioretty ended a 2-2 deadlock for the Toronto Maple Leafs at 5:39 in the third period and eliminated the Ottawa Senators 4-2 and in the series by the same score in game six at Canadian Tire Centre Thursday night. Senators goalie Linus Ullmark was beat by Pacioretty glove side with a wrist shot from the left face off circle.

#2 The Vegas Golden Knights Jack Eichel scored his first goal in the playoffs and also added an assist as the Knights eliminated the Minnesota Wild 3-2 in game six in the First Round of the Western Conference playoffs at the Xcel Energy Center Thursday night.

#3 Colorado Avalanche Valeri Nichushkin led with two goals to help prevent the Avalanche from being eliminated in game 6 on Thursday night with a 7-4 win at Ball Arena in Denver. The series is now tied up 3-3 with game seven in Dallas on Saturday. The Aves Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and two assists, Martin Necas scored a goal and got an assist.

#4 The Edmonton Oilers eliminated the Los Angeles Kings in game six four games to two. The Oilers got a two goal win 6-4 and got goals from Connor Brown, Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent Hopkins, Darnell Nurse, Trent Frederic, and Adam Hendrique. Plenty of help in putting this first round to bed on Thursday night.

#5 Friday night the Winnipeg Jets who hold a 3-2 lead over the St Louis Blues play game six at the Enterprise Center. It’s been a grind of a series with the Jets winning the last game 5-3 on Wednesday night in Winnipeg. The Blues have home ice and tie this series up in game 6.

Len Shapiro does the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcast Mary Lisa Sun Apr 20, 2025: Jets jump to a early 1-0 lead on Blues; Aves leave no doubt in 5-1 win over Stars

Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) is thrilled after scoring a power play goal against the Dallas Stars during game one of the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Sat Apr 19, 2025 (AP News photo)

On the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcast Mary Lisa:

#1 On Saturday night in game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs the Canada Life Center in Winnipeg was a house of blues for the St Louis Blues who were on the wrong end of the 5-3 score against the Winnipeg Jets. The Jets Kyle Conner score at 1:36 left in the game to give the Jets the lead and never looking back.

#2 In front of 15,225 fans in Winnipeg Connor added two assists and Jets team captain Adam Lowry scored an empty netter with 53 seconds left for the two goal 5-3 win.

#3 The Jets are the Presidents Cup winner and led the Western Conference for most the season. The Jets are a favorite to get to the Finals. What impresses you most from what you saw of them on Saturday night?

#4 The Colorado Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon was pretty busy all night long against the Dallas Stars in the Aves 5-1 win in game 1 of this edition of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. MacKinnon took a stick to the face. He scored two of Colorado’s goals and scored an empty netter that was his 50th career playoff goal.

#5 Mary Lisa you might remember MacKenzie Blackwood who you used to see in San Jose back in the day. Blackwood stopped 23 shots and allowed just one goal for the Aves to win the first game of the playoffs series.

Join Mary Lisa throughout the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs for coverage of the playoff podcasts Saturdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcast Len Shapiro Fri Apr 18, 2025: Playoffs begin Saturday night; Eight games in total

The Winnipeg Jets Dylan Samberg (54), Neil Pionk (4), Cole Perfetti (91), Nino Niederreiter (62), celebrate Pionk’s goal against the Anaheim Ducks in the second period on Wed Apr 16, 2025 during the final regular season game in Winnipeg. The Jets are the favorites in the Stanley Cup Playoffs to make the finals as they face off against the St Louis Blues on Sat Apr 19, 2025. (Canadian Press photo via AP)

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcast Len Shapiro Fri Apr 18, 2025:

#1 Len, lets take a run down of the the NHL Playoff series. Starting with the St Louis Blues (44-30-8) and Winnipeg Jets (56-22-4). The Jets are the winner of this year’s presidents cup do you see them as the favorites in the Stanley Cup on Saturday night?

#2 The Ottawa Senators (45-35-7) going against the Toronto Maple Leafs (52-26-4) on Sun Apr 20th.

#3 The battle of the Florida teams it’s a real rivalry going on with the Florida Panthers ((47-31-4) they’ll take on the Tampa Bay Lightning (47-27-8) starting Tue Apr 22.

#4 Mon Apr 21 it’s the Montreal Canadiens (40-31-11) going up against Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals (51-22-9) at the Capital Center on Mon Apr 21st.

#5 New Jersey Devils (42-33-7) against the Carolina Hurricanes (47-30-5) this Sun Apr 20th.

#6 Sat Apr 19 it’ll be the Colorado Avalanche (49-29-4) at the Dallas Stars (50-26-6).

#7 Sun Apr 20 Minnesota Wild (45-30-7) at the Las Vegas Golden Knights (50-22-10)

#8 The Edmonton Oilers (48-29-5) will be facing off against the Los Angeles Kings (48-24-9) on Monday Apr 21st at Crypto.com Arena.

Len Shapiro does the NHL Stanley Cup Playoff podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro Fri Apr 4, 2025: Caps Ovechkin 3 goals away to catch the Great One: Canadiens push to make post season since 2021 win 3rd straight game; Senators Ullmark saves 31 shots in 3-1 win over Lightning; plus more news

Montreal Canadiens left wing Juraj Slafkovsky (20) and the Boston Bruins defenceman Ian Mitchell (14) push each other as linesman Jonathan Deschamps (80) intervenes in the first period at the Belle Centre in Montreal on Thu Apr 3, 2025 (Canadian Press via AP photo)

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro Fri Apr 4, 2025

#1 It’s been a long time coming for the Montreal Canadiens as their push for a Stanley Cup Playoff birth continues. The last time the Habs were in the post season was in 2021. The Canadiens defeated the Boston Bruins 4-1 for their third straight win at the Belle Centre on Thursday night. Brendan Gallagher and Nick Suzuki scored a goal a piece and an assist. Sam Montembeault had 18 saves. The win gives Montreal a two point lead over the New York Rangers for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.

#2  Linus Ullmark stopped 31 shots for the Ottawa Senators and put an end to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s four game win streak. The Senators came up with a 3-1 win on Thursday night at the Canadian Tire Centre. The Lightning’s Brandon Hagel tried to score on a short handed break away but Ullmark stopped the shot at 5:58 in the third period to keep the score at the time to 2-1.

#3  Cale Makar had himself an evening for the Colorado Avalanche scoring his 30th goal and picking up two assists in a 7-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena in Columbus Thursday. Makar became the ninth defenseman to score 30 goals in a season since the Washington Capitals defenseman Mike Green had 31 in 2008-09.

#4  The red hot St Louis Blues tied a franchise record with their 5-4 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Enterprise Center on Thursday night. Robert Thomas scored at 2:12 in the overtime stanza for the winning goal. The win ties the Blues with the Stanley Cup Champions Blues who won 11 in a row between Jan 23-Feb 19 2019.

#5 The Dallas Stars Wyatt Johnson got a goal in his sixth game in a row and the Stars won their seventh game in a row with a 5-1 win over the Nashville Predators at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Thursday. In the NHL Johnson’s streak is the longest active run. The Stars Jake Oettinger saved 28 shots in the win.

Join Len Shapiro for the NHL podcasts Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks try to rebound after rough first half against Flames Sunday

San Jose Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov (30) makes a save against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second period at SAP Center in San Jose on Mon Jan 27, 2025. Askarov is out for three weeks due to a lower body injury (AP News photo)

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 Maybe the Four Nation Face Off came at a right time for the San Jose Sharks the Sharks were in the middle of a four game funk that saw them in their last game get absolutely hammered in San Jose on Sat Feb 8 to the Dallas Stars 8-3.

#2 One of the things the Sharks have had problems with is allowing their opponents to get the early lead and the game against the Stars was not an exception allowing three goals in the first period.

#3 Their third periods have been troublesome too in that same game against the Stars the Sharks allowed three goals against and were whipped by the Stars in a five goal advantage.

#4 Goaltending is a concern for San Jose as top goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov is out three weeks with a lower body injury while playing for the San Jose Barracuda on Wednesday. He faced 14 shots in the first period of the game but had to come out and did not return. How critical is Askarov’s loss going to be with two months left of the season?

#5 The Sharks return to action opening up a seven game road trip starting this Sunday in Calgary at the Scotiabank Saddledome against a Flames team that is fifth in the Pacific Division having lost five of their last ten games and lost three in a row. The Sharks need to snap their four game skid and will have a real test starting this seven game road trip.

Join Mary Lisa for the San Jose Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks take on Stars tonight in effort to end three game skid

San Jose Sharks goaltender Vitek Vanecek (41) puts a stop on the Vancouver Canucks left wing Drew O’Connor (left) in the second period at SAP Center in San Jose on Thu Feb 6, 2025 (AP News photo)

San Jose podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The Vancouver Canucks Drew O’Connor scored on a penalty shot 33 seconds into the overtime stanza as the Canucks got by the San Jose Sharks 2-1 on Thursday night. O’Connor got to make the penalty shot after the Sharks Macklin Celebrini got called for a hooking penalty.

#2 The Canucks Dakota Joshua scored at 8:04 on a power play to get the Canucks on the scoreboard with the lead 1-0.

#3 The Sharks were behind 1-0 in the third period when Tyler Toffoli tied up the game at 1-1 with his 20th goal of the season at 18:32.

#4 Vancouver goaltender Thatcher Demko was looking for his second shutout in a row but will settle for the win and 33 saves. The Sharks Vitek Vanecek stopped 22 Vancouver shots.

#5 Dallas Stars are second in the central division this is a team that is on a roll with a 38-18-1 with 69 points only behind the mighty Winnipeg Jets. They’re in San Jose tonight how do you see the Sharks chances?

Join Mary Lisa for Sharks podcasts each Saturdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Fell Short Again in OT Loss Against the Canucks

Drew O’Connor shot on goal on Vitek Vanecek during overtime at SAP Center in San Jose on Feb 6 (Vancouver Canucks Archive.)

After a painful loss against the Habs, the Sharks have to find a way to get back on track… It did not come Thursday night against the Vancouver Canucks.

By: Fernando Abarca

SAN JOSE –– Thursday night action at the tank and once again the Sharks hosted a Canadian neighbor, the Vancouver Canucks the Sharks wound up losing by another one goal game this time 2-1. Last time at the Tank, the Sharks lost against the Montreal Canadiens with a 4-3 score, with the Habs scoring the goal that gave them the victory in the final minutes of the third, leaving no time for the Sharks to recover last Tuesday night.

The Canucks won their last game against the Avalanche going through a long stretch of winless games since Jan 18, when the Canucks played the Edmonton Oilers. The Sharks added another loss and have gone winless since Jan 14, when the Teal played Detroit.

During the first two periods of the game, the game remained scoreless. Worth mentioning that the first 40 minutes of the game were full of penalties

Both teams were very balanced and even throughout the match. It is worth noting that San Jose was more aggressive during the second period, showing heart and attitude.
Vancouver was under pressure, but Vitek Vanecek had a great performance after being absent from the team since Dec 14.

The action began to be seen in the third period with a goal at 14:40 with a goal by the visitors at 14:40 when Dakota Joshua, with a tip-in shot on a PowerPlay, took the lead 1-0 assisted by Pius Suter and Tyler Myers.

The game looked like it wasn’t going to end 1-0, and just as it looked, it ended up being that way, with Tyler Toffoli scoring with 1.28 left in regulation to give San Jose some life and a chance.

The chance for the long-awaited victory fell short, and this time, the star, Macklin Celebrini, was marked with a penalty for hooking against Drew O’Connor. O’Connor scored an unassisted scored his second goal for Vancouver, and the game winner to call it a night.

With this loss, San Jose is on the verge of going a full month with no victories. The Sharks will host a final game at home against Dallas, with the possible homecoming of former Sharks of Cody Ceci and Mikael Grandlund before the 4 Nations break.

Stars Snap Utah HC Eight Game Points Streak In 3-2 Victory 

Utah Hockey Club’s Ian Cole (28) take a shot at the net in the first period against the Dallas Stars at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Mon Dec 23, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Utah came within a goal late in the game, but could not overcome second period difficulties.

The Utah Hockey Club welcomed the Dallas Stars to Delta Center on Monday for their second faceoff in Salt Lake City this month, the first ending in Utah’s only regulation loss over the past 12 games during which they posted a record of 8-1-3, earning 19 points and re-emerging in the Wild Card hunt.

Dallas winger Colin Blackwell kicked off the scoring eleven minutes into the game with his 4th goal of the season, assisted by Oskar Back. Utah responded less than two minutes later as defenseman Ian Cole ripped a fierce shot from the blue line which was tipped in by Kevin Stenlund for his sixth of the season, with an additional assist given to Michael Carcone.

The Stars owned the second period as center Roope Hintz netted his 15th goal of the season followed by winger Jamie Benn with his 7th.

With just over eight minutes remaining in the third period, Utah center Barrett Hayton, while being pushed down to the ice by Dallas defenseman Miro Heiskanen, tipped in a shot by Nick Schmaltz to get Utah back to within one, but that’s where the game ended up 3-2.

After the game, Hayton, whose goals in back-to-back games have given him 100 career points, commented on the loss. “I think that second period is a learning lesson, obviously. We knew coming into this game, it’s a four point game, a division game. Obviously those matchups are huge. I thought we did a great job in the first period. We were urgent, we were intense, we were on the ball, playing the right way, and you just can’t afford those lapses against good teams. That was what our second period was. It’s gonna be something we have to take as a learning experience right now. We’re all pissed off about it and disappointed and frustrated in ourselves, and yeah, that’s a big game, and sucks for it to go that way.”

Utah Hockey Club head coach André Tourigny, when asked whether the second period decided the outcome, said, “I agree, I think we had 12, 15 or eight minutes where we were not aggressive enough defensively, which led to them possessing the puck a lot, and we could not change from there. But I think we were successful when we are aggressive defensively, when we play with pace and we cut possession, which leads to our own offense and being able to have good chances and having energy out there. So when we stopped doing that, the game turned around.”

Utah concludes its three-game homestand at 7:30pm MST on Friday against the Colorado Avalanche before embarking upon a four-game trip to Seattle, Edmonton, Calgary, and Dallas.

Utah HC Falls To Division Rival Dallas Stars 2-1 

The Dallas Stars goaltender Casey DeSmith (1) makes a save against the Utah Hockey Club’s center Jack McBain (22) in the second period at the Delta Center on Mon Dec 2, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Following a 6-0 rout of the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday, Utah’s offense faltered at home against Dallas losing 2-1 at the Delta Center on Monday.

The Utah Hockey Club returned home from a successful one-game road trip in Las Vegas where rookie backup goaltender Jaxson Stauber recorded 29 saves in a 6-0 blowout of the Golden Knights in his Utah debut. The shutout is the first in Utah franchise history. The win gave André Tourigny his 99th career victory as a head coach.

On Monday night, Utah welcomed the Dallas Stars to Salt Lake City for a one-game homestand. Defenseman Mikhail Sergachev was recognized during the contest for competing in his 500th NHL game. Sergachev would not get on the scoresheet in his milestone effort in which his two minor penalties would not factor into any Dallas goals.

The same could not be said for Utah captain Clayton Keller who was whistled for holding against Mavrik Bourque at 5:46 of the second period, resulting in a power play goal for Dallas winger Evgenii Dadonov, his seventh of the season, assisted by Matt Duchene and Miro Heiskanen. With less than a minute remaining in the middle frame, Dallas winger Jamie Benn made it 2-0 on his sixth goal of the season, assisted by Sam Steel.

Utah forward Nick Schmaltz would finally cut the Dallas lead in half at 6:57 of the third period with his third goal of the season, assisted by Matias Maccelli and Nick Bjugstad, but that would turn out to be Utah’s lone score of the night. Despite Utah outshooting the Stars 35-21 with numerous Grade-A chances, Dallas goaltender Casey DeSmith outdueled Karel Vejmelka for the win.

Utah Hockey Club head coach André Tourigny, who was unable to register his 100th coaching win at home, complemented tonight’s opponent. “Dallas is, by any metrics you can find, a really tough team to get anything sustained against them in terms of O-zone time. They put a lot of pressure on you. They create a lot of O-zone time themselves. You look at their bread and butter, you look at what we did against them; I’m really proud of the guys. They fought, they played hard, they were focused. Obviously, we generated (offense) as well. If you look at our three games we played against Dallas last year, you put all the scoring chances we had together; I think that’s about the number (of chances) we had tonight. I’m not saying we had a million tonight. Last year we had seven, eight, nine per game. They were 2-1 games, but we didn’t have a lot of offense sustained. Today, we had a lot of offense sustained, a lot of shots from the slot, a lot of passes through the slot, a lot of opportunities to break the game down. Unfortunately, we didn’t finish. In those kinds of games, you need it because normally you don’t have quantity. So you need to bury your chances.”

Tourigny addressed the grind of the next series of games following the strange scheduling of home-away-home games over the past four nights. “We’ll have a day off tomorrow. We must not forget we’re starting…(a stretch of) five games in eight days. And we’re going across the country. Need to make sure, as a coach, that you’re not putting yourself ahead of the team and that you give all the opportunity to your players to have all the energy possible. As an organization, I think we do a good job managing those things. Our departure will be on Thursday for the game on Saturday, so that we have time to arrive in Buffalo and have a practice there. Then an afternoon game. Then we play (the next night) in Philly, and then we come back, we’ll arrive late and 36 hours later, we play against Minnesota here in our building. And then we’re going back on the road the very next day. All of that to say, energy’s really important. Tomorrow will be a day off. We’ll have a good practice on Wednesday, we’ll travel on Thursday, good practice on Friday.”

Utah’s next home game is against the Minnesota Wild at 7:30pm MST on Tuesday, December 10.