Evan’s NHL Daily: Tkachuk Sends Hurricanes Home, Benn Only Gets Two Games

One NHL team has punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup final, and it’s the team that entered the playoffs with the lowest point total. They have Matthew Tkachuk and Sergei Bobrovsky to thank for that.

Jamie Benn received punishment for his dirty cross-check on Mark Stone, but was it enough? I don’t think so. His recollection of the play was…something.

For the Colorado Avalanche, we took a deep dive into the game of top prospect Nikolai Kovalenko.

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

Colorado Hockey Now

Nikolai Kovalenko is one of the top prospects for the Colorado Avalanche. However, outside of some highlights here and there, very few have seen him play. In part one of a three part deep dive, we focused on Kovalenko’s fearlessness, which may remind you a bit of Artturi Lehkonen…

A recent study showed that Ball Arena (yes, Ball Arena) is the best NHL arena for fans. The criteria they used is important, as they were looking at it more in terms of the experience, as opposed to the actual arena itself.

On Thursday, look for a big deep dive into what a potential Devon Toews extension with the Avalanche could look like. It will be one tricky negotiation.

NHL Playoffs

Just as we all predicted a month ago, the Florida Panthers are headed to the Stanley Cup Final. Matthew Tkachuk scored three of the four game-winners in the series, and he does not believe in jinxes.

For his ridiculous cross-check on Mark Stone, Jamie Benn was given a whopping two game suspension. Light, in my opinion, but what would you expect from the NHL Department of Player Safety? Stone got up, and that’s all they really care about. It sure looked like there was an intent to injure on Benn’s end, and no one is buying his absurd excuse.

On talking with Player Safety, if he'll use the "I fell on him" defense:

“We'll probably go through the whole play starting from our end and I'll try and tell them how I was feeling and what was going on in that situation," said Jamie Benn of @DallasStars

— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) May 24, 2023

National Hockey Now

BHN: Can the Bruins find a way to keep Dmitri Orlov? Seems doubtful, but he was a great pickup for them.

SJHN: The Sharks have cap space to give, so what buy-low candidates can they take on, in hopes of picking up an asset?

WHN: The Capitals local TV network is actually picking up their AHL teams playoff games.

Calgary: New GM Craig Conroy has to hire a coach, and he wants to be on the same page as them.

MHN: Much like the Sharks, the Canadiens have room to spare that they can use to pick up some players and gain assets.

LAHN: Could the Kings pursue Connor Hellebuyck?

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