Evan’s Daily: Makar Suspended, Wild and Kings on Brink of Elimination From NHL Playoffs

It’s do or die time for a few Western Conference teams in the NHL playoffs, as the Wild and Kings have been pushed to the brink of elimination in both of their series.

Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar didn’t seem terribly happy that Cale Makar was suspended for Game Five, and can you blame him?

All that and more in this Wednesday edition of Evan’s Daily.

Colorado Hockey Now

The NHL announced the Cale Makar has been suspended for Game Five against the Kraken because of his late hit on Jared McCann. I didn’t like the hit, but I was surprised Makar was suspended, to be honest. Jared Bednar wasn’t in the mood to talk about it after the team landed at DIA on Tuesday. After my flight landed, I got over just in time for the quick press conference.

Bednar on the Makar suspension:“Disappointed, but I really don’t have any thoughts on it besides that.”

He said he was given no explanation from the refs last night on why it looked like no call wad made, then the major penalty, and then reduced to a minor penalty.

— Evan Rawal (@evanrawal) April 25, 2023

The hit wasn’t the only ugly part of the game. The Avalanche were outplayed from the drop of the puck and never found their footing. Quite frankly, the game could have been over a lot earlier if not for Alexandar Georgiev.

NHL Playoffs

The Minnesota Wild were shut out by the Dallas Stars in Game Five of their series on Tuesday night. The game could not have started more poorly for the Wild, as Marcus Foligno was given a five-minute major for kneeing just a few minutes into the game. Is supplemental discipline now headed his way? What do you think?

It changed the ENTIRE complexion of the game.

So the @NHL_On_TNT crew broke down the Marcus Foligno kneeing major from every angle 🕵️‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/QKksAJk2EO

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 26, 2023

With the series shifted back to Edmonton, the Oilers took it to the Kings in game five of their series, and are now just one win away from ending the Kings season for the second straight year. Zach Hyman scoring a goal off his face is a highlight.

THAT’S USING YOUR FACE!!! Off Zach Hyman’s face and in! 😮
•••
(🎥: @espn) pic.twitter.com/8xMp80NqDH

— JayOnSC (@JayOnSC) April 26, 2023

The Islanders somehow managed to stay alive in their series, as they went into Carolina and took care of business to extend the series. The Hurricanes are running out of forwards at this point with all the injuries they’re dealing with.

If you are enjoying the content at CHN, please consider subscribing. If you use code “evan10”, you can get a year subscription and ad-free experience for just $19.99! Students can subscribe for just $14.99.