Morning Skate - Friday, June 10

Morning Skate - U18 Women's Worlds & Expecting a Raise

June 10, 2022

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Yesterday's NHL Score

Last Night's News 📰

AMERICANS CRUSH CANADIANS: The 20th meeting between the United States and Team Canada at the 2022 International Ice Hocke Federation (IIHF) U18 Women's World Championship ended in the most lopsided American win over their rivals. USA finished first in Group A with a 7-0 win over the Canadians, led by Laila Edwards with two points (goal and assist) and Annalies Bergmann with 25 saves.

THANKS... AND GOODBYE?: Evander Kane showed gratitude to the Edmonton Oilers organization, posting a message of thanks on social media to his Oilers teammates, team staff, and fans. It's not sure if that will also serve as the pending unrestricted free agent's farewell address to the club.

LIGHTNING STRIKES NEW YORK: The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Rangers 3-1 on Thursday night to take a 3-2 series lead in the Eastern Conference Final. Before the loss in New York last night, the Rangers were 8-1 at home to start the playoffs, with their only blemish coming in the first game of Round 1 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, a triple-overtime defeat.

Friday Favorites

Let's look back at our favorite moments of the week.

Colorado Avalanche Advance

The Colorado Avalanche advanced to the

for the first time since 2001. Nathan MacKinnon and company swept the injury-plagued Edmonton Oilers on Monday in exciting fashion, as

scored the game-winning goal in overtime. Avalanche executive vice president and general manager

was the captain of the 2001 team that won the Stanley Cup while also winning the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league’s MVP that season.

Heartwarming Moment of the Week

Humboldt crash survivors Brayden Camrud, Graysen Cameron, Ryan Straschnitzki, Tyler Smith, and Derek Patter attended Game 4 of the Western Conference Final,

to offset the 6-year-old's medical costs. Stelter was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer, and has already undergone 30 sessions of radiation to remove it. He won the hearts of fans this season, similar to Laila Anderson when the St. Louis Blues raised the Stanley Cup in 2019.

Subban Finally Wins King Clancy Memorial Trophy

Regardless of your opinion of P.K. Subban's on-ice performance, you can't deny his charitable contributions away from the rink. Whether pledging $10 million to the Montreal Children's Hospital or founding Blueline Buddies in 2017, Subban always gives back to his community. He has been named a finalist for the

four times in his career, and this week he finally won the award, beating out Ryan Getzlaf and Darnell Nurse. Congrats P.K.!

By the Numbers: U18 Women's Group Play

Round-robin group play of the

concluded last night, with the United States smashing Canada 7-0 to finish first in Group A with a 3-0 record. The tournament moves on to the elimination rounds, which begin today with Canada facing off against Slovakia and Sweden taking on Czechia. Finland and the Americans earned a bye to the semifinals, which will take place on Sunday, with the medal round on Monday. Here are some notable numbers from the round-robin portion of the event.

2 -

Total goals the U.S. and Czechia gave up in their three group play games. The Americans had a goal differential of +15 (17 goals scored, two goals allowed). Czechia, who won Group B with a 3-0 record, had the second-best goal differential, finishing group play with 12 goals scored and two goals allowed.

7 -

Points scored by Americans Laila Edwards and Sydney Morrow in group play, tied for the most among all players. Edwards had four goals and three assists, and Morrow had seven assists.

97.92 -

Save percentage (SV%) of Czechia goaltender Michaela Hesova. She was one of two goalies to play all three games of group play (the other being Swiss netminder Margaux Favre) and stopped 47 of the 48 total shots she faced.

20 -

Penalties amassed by Canada during group play, most of any team. Canada struggled on the penalty kill, giving up five goals in 18 opportunities (72.22%) which was only better than Finland and Slovakia.

128 -

Total shots on goal—with 18 going in the net—for the United States in its three games, both were the most in the tournament. Canada was second in shots on goal with 121, but only three of those shots went in, which tied with Switzerland for the fewest.

Who's Cashing In This Offseason?

We all know the Stanley Cup Playoffs are all about one prize. But for all that is grand and revered and hallowed about the best trophy in sports, there can be other perks to performing well in the postseason apart from hoisting the Cup.

These players on this list are likely about to learn that this summer. Although their focus rests on the task at hand, it doesn't hurt when they elevate their stock by a strong performance. Here are the pending free agents who have strengthened their negotiating power this summer with clutch playoff showings.

Evander Kane

Evander Kane, Edmonton Oilers (

/ The Hockey Writers)

No matter how you feel about Evander Kane and

, it's hard to argue that he didn't improve his free agency outlook considerably during the Edmonton Oilers' playoff run. Released by the

, Kane potted 13 goals in 15 games, although a one-game suspension for a dirty hit on Nazem Kadri kept him out of their final contest. Edmonton would

but they'll likely have competition.

Ondřej Palát

Ondřej Palát, Tampa Bay Lightning (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

You'd have to think that every Ondřej Palát goal brings a

for the Tampa Bay Lightning front office these days. Palát now has eight goals and six assists while playing alongside Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos. Suitors may get a bit wary over the Czech winger's age (31), but you won't find many free agents with more big-game experience.

Andrew Copp

Andrew Copp, New York Rangers (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

There are probably some NHL executives out there who were hoping to land Andrew Copp on a value deal this summer back when he was toiling in relative obscurity with the Winnipeg Jets. Those execs are out of luck now. With six goals and 13 points, Copp now sits among the New York Rangers' postseason scoring leaders—and he's still just 27! Fellow deadline acquisition Frank Vatrano could also be looking at a fatter paycheck thanks to his playoff performance.

Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket

Stanley Cup Playoffs Leading Scorers