Edmonton Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft rued a critical three-goal second period after his side went 4-0 down to the Colorado Avalanche in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals on Thursday.
Nazem Kadri had three assists within the space of 2:04 as the Avalanche broke the game open and took a commanding 2-0 series lead, in a departure from Game 1's 14 goals and 84 shots.
The free-scoring Oilers were reduced to 24 shots for the night, with the two points leaders for this year's Stanley Cup playoffs in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl kept quiet by the Avalanche.
Despite the second period, Woodcroft believes there is still cause for encouragement as the series heads to Canada.
"I thought it was a really competitive first period," he said post-game. "I thought we laid it on the line, especially finding ourselves down short-handed six minutes or so into the first period.
"We pushed back, we generated some offence, and that little span in the second period really hurt us. It took the wind out of our sails and we weren't able to generate what we wanted to as the game wore on.
"I think we've had some chances – not as much as we'd like – but we're in the final four and the other team does some good stuff too. There's more to be had there. We can do a better job of shooting the puck and shooting through structure."
Kadri tied GM Joe Sakic's franchise record from 1996 for most assists in a period, setting up Artturi Lehkonen and Josh Manson in the space of 15 seconds, before providing the pass for Mikko Rantanen.
Nathan McKinnon scored his sixth goal of the playoffs late in the third period, moving to a team-high 16 points over the Avalanche's three series.
Golden Knights rout Panthers to take 2-0 lead in Stanley Cup Final
Jonathan Marchessault had two goals and an assist and the Vegas Golden Knights put on another dominant performance en route to a 7-2 rout of the Florida Panthers in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday.
Brett Howden also scored two goals as Vegas took a commanding 2-0 series lead and moved within two victories of the franchise's first Stanley Cup title. Four other Golden Knights players finished with two points as the Western Conference regular-season champions recorded at least five goals in a third straight game, a stretch in which they've outscored their opponents by a whopping 18-4 margin.
Vegas also cooled off one of the NHL's hottest goaltenders of this postseason for a second consecutive game, as Florida's Sergei Bobrovsky was pulled 7:10 into the second period after yielding four goals on 13 shots.
Bobrovsky entered this series having won 11 of his last 12 starts while compiling a stellar 1.95 goals-against average and .942 save percentage over that time frame.
The Knights got to Bobrovsky early in Game 2 as Marchessault scored on a power play 7:05 in. The forward picked up an assist later in the period on Alec Martinez's goal that staked Vegas to a 2-0 lead entering the first intermission.
Nicolas Roy extended the margin to 3-0 when he beat Bobrovsky less than three minutes into the second period. Howden then scored his first of the night just over four minutes later to chase the Panthers netminder.
Anton Lundell got Florida on the board just 14 seconds into the third period, but Marchessault answered with his 12th goal of this postseason - a Vegas franchise record - to push the lead to 5-1 with just over two minutes elapsed in the session.
Michael Amadio put Vegas up by five goals midway through the third. Florida's Matthew Tkachuk responded with his team-leading 10th goal of the postseason just over two minutes later before Howden closed out the scoring with a power-play goal with 2:08 remaining.
Adin Hill finished with 29 saves for Vegas, which will try to maintain its momentum when the series shifts to Florida for Thursday's Game 3.
Ducks hire Greg Cronin as new head coach
The Anaheim Ducks have a new man behind the bench, hiring veteran assistant Greg Cronin as head coach on Monday.
The 60-year-old Cronin will serve as an NHL head coach for the first time and comes to the Ducks with 36 years of prior experience as a coach and in player development.
He will be the 11th coach in franchise history.
"While we did cast a wide net in searching for the next head coach, it became clear to me that Greg would be the ideal fit for the position," Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said.
Cronin has 12 years of experience in the NHL as an assistant, working with the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Islanders, and spent the past five seasons as head coach of the Colorado Eagles of the AHL.
He joins an Anaheim team that is in the midst of one of the worst stretches in franchise history, having finished sixth or worst in the division each of the last five years, and had the NHL's worst record this season at 23-47-12.
The Ducks were abysmal on defense, allowing a franchise-worst 335 goals - the most by any NHL team since the 1995-96 San Jose Sharks permitted 357.
Having missed the playoffs each of the last five seasons - the longest such stretch in franchise history - Verbeek believes Cronin has the coaching qualities necessary for a rebuilding team.
"Being a young team, I felt we needed a teacher of the finer points of the game, and someone who has worked extensively over time with talented young players, helping them develop into successful NHL players," he said. "Greg has done all that and more, and we are excited to name him head coach of the Anaheim Ducks."
Cronin replaces Dallas Eakins, who served as head coach the last four years, and inherits a team that will have the No. 2 overall pick in this year's draft.
"I'm excited and honoured to be named head coach of the Anaheim Ducks," Cronin said. "This team has a fantastic future ahead, and I'm very grateful to the Samueli family and Pat Verbeek for entrusting me with this amazing opportunity."
Canadiens give Caufield eight-year, $62.8million extension
The Montreal Canadiens are showing plenty of faith in one of their youngest players, signing the 22-year-old Cole Caufield to an eight-year, $62.8million extension.
The deal, which was announced Monday, will pay the left wing an average salary of $7.85million a year through the 2030-31 season.
After leading the Canadiens with 23 goals in 2021-22, Caufield was tied with captain Nick Suzuki for the team lead in goals in 2022-23 with 26 despite missing nearly half the season after undergoing shoulder surgery.
At the time of his injury through 46 games played, Caufield's goal total was tied for 11th in the NHL.
The 15th overall pick of the 2019 draft, Caufield also notched 10 assists before his season-ending surgery and has 53 goals and 84 points in 123 career games.
Among all players selected in the 2019 draft, his goal total trails only the 87 by New Jersey Devils centre Jack Hughes, who was picked first overall.
Prior to joining the Canadiens, Caufield won the Hobey Baker Award in 2020-21 – the trophy given annually to the top NCAA men’s hockey player – while playing for the University of Wisconsin.
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