Evan’s NHL Daily: A Legend Passes Away, Get The Brooms Out

The NHL said goodbye to a legend on Thursday, as Bob Cole, the longtime play-by-play man on Hockey Night In Canada passed away surrounded by his family at the age of 90. Nathan MacKinnon and others shared their memories of Cole after word of his passing spread.

On the ice, the Eastern Conference was very top heavy during the regular season, and nothing has changed during the NHL playoffs, as two teams are already on the brink of elimination, including Patrick Roy’s Islanders.

In Colorado, MacKinnon talked about Mittelstadt’s impact, and two role players talked to me about how they’ve kept themselves ready during long stretches of sitting in the press box.

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

Colorado Hockey Now

Casey Mittelstadt came into the playoffs with zero games of playoff experience at the NHL level, but he’s not playing like it.

Both Caleb Jones and Joel Kiviranta talked to me about keeping their minds and bodies ready while they weren’t playing (+)

Bob Cole Passes Away

If you’ve watched Hockey Night In Canada at all, you’ve definitely heard one of Bob Cole’s legendary goal calls. Here’s one that might sound familiar to Avalanche fans…

"JOE SAKIC….SCORES!" RIP Bob Cole. pic.twitter.com/JFFk8OIzjy

— Michael Remis (@mremis) April 25, 2024

Sadly, Cole passed away on Thursday surrounded by his family at the age of 90. His daughter, Megan, said her father had been healthy “up until the very end.” The NHL community responded to the news of Cole’s passing, sharing some of their favorite moments.

“Really sad,” MacKinnon said after practice on Thursday. “I mean, he’s such a legend, such a great man and I’ve met him a few times over the years at charity golf tournaments in Halifax. He’d come out and support Atlantic Canadians. Amazing person, super funny. Just a great guy and obviously some of the best calls of all time, so super sad to hear that.”

“I think the hockey world, we lost a legend today,” Rick Bowness said. “We lost a wonderful human being. I spent a lot of time with Bob over the years. There’s not necessarily a specific story, but the most important thing is that all the coaches around the league and all the hockey people, they trusted him. He was a true pro. You could tell him anything and he called a great game. Very respectful, very professional. I had a good rapport with Bob. I’m from the Maritimes, he was from Newfoundland. He’s not a Maritimer, he was a Newfoundlander. But I always had a great rapport with Bob. I just had nothing but respect for him. The hockey world lost a really good human being today.”

Condolences to Cole and his family.

Around The Playoffs

Patrick Roy went back to his $8 million goaltender for Game Three and almost certainly regrets it. Ilya Sorokin gave up three goals on just 14 shots before getting yanked by Roy, and when Semyon Varlamov came in, the crowd gave him a huge cheer. I can’t imagine Roy goes back to Sorokin for Game Four.

That also might be the Islanders last game of the season. They lost Game Three by a score of 3-2 and are on the brink of elimination. None of this should surprise anyone, as the Hurricanes are clearly the better team, but Islanders summer will likely get started here real soon.

I thought the Lightning might put up a bit more of a fight, but the Panthers are now up 3-0 in that series, thanks to their depth. That’s how you win in the NHL, and Florida is a very deep team. Nikita Kucherov has just one goal in his last nine playoff games, and it’s no surprise that the Lightning have struggled in those nine games.

Don’t be surprised if there’s another potential sweep in the East, as the Capitals look outmatched in their series with the Rangers.

I picked the Predators to beat the Canucks in round one, and the Canucks losing one of the best goalies in the NHL isn’t going to do anything to change my mind. Thatcher Demko, according to reports, is out for the playoffs. That’s a tough one to come back from as the series shifts to Nashville.

.@sportsnetmurph shares when Demko likely got injured during Game 1. #Canucks pic.twitter.com/Q8Mmj31dcO

— Ryan Henderson (@RJHenderson7) April 24, 2024

National Hockey Now

Time to move Evgeni Malkin to wing?

Jeremy Swayman talks about the goalie rotation in Boston, something they should probably move away from in the NHL playoffs.

Who are Flyers fans rooting for?

Could the Devils try to lure David Carle away from DU?

The Blackhawks locked up a good, young defenseman on Thursday.