Deen’s Daily: Still Waiting on Landeskog; Lou Lamoriello Fired; Playoff Hockey at Ball Arena!

Is tonight the night Gabriel Landeskog finally returns? It sure seems like it. Also, after all four home teams won on Monday, the road team came away with two wins on Tuesday. And for the biggest news of the day: The Islanders fired Lou Lamoriello.

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — April 23.

Colorado Hockey Now

Tonight might be the biggest turning point of the series. The Avs are 3-7-0 at Ball Arena in the playoffs ever since dominating the Tampa Bay Lightning 7-0 in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final in 2022. Can they find a way to get ahead at home? And if so, will it be partly because of Landeskog returning to the lineup to give the team an added boost?

I think this is the game he plays. But then again, I felt the same way about Game 2.

Landeskog took part in the pre-game warmups ahead of Game 2 but didn’t play. We later learned from coach Bednar that this was the plan all along.

Stanley Cup Playoffs Recap

Carolina vs New Jersey: Jacob Markstrom and the Devils put up a fight, but it was once again the Carolina Hurricanes who came away with a win. They held New Jersey to a goal once again and won 3-1.

Toronto vs Ottawa: Another series that’s suddenly 2-0. The Maple Leafs were victorious thanks to an OT game-winner from Max Domi. The goal came after Ottawa fought back from down 2-0 to send it to OT.

Tampa Bay vs Florida: Coming into the series, it felt like the Tampa Bay Lightning were the team that was going to come out strong. Instead, Florida toyed with Andrei Vasilevskiy and rocked the Bolts in Game 1 by a final score of 6-2. You can thank Matthew Tkachuk for returning.

Vegas vs Minnesota: In Game 2 of this series, the Wild came to play. They jumped out to a three-goal lead in the first period and never looked back. It’s 1-1 heading back to Minnesota.

Tonight’s Schedule

• Game 2: Montreal Canadiens at Washington Capitals (5 pm MT on ESPN)
• Game 3:  Dallas Stars at Colorado Avalanche (7:30 pm MT on ESPN)
• Game 2: Edmonton Oilers at Los Angeles Kings (8 pm MT on TBS)

Around The NHL

NYI Hockey Now: The Islanders fired Lou Lamoriello after seven years at the helm. Here’s why it was the right time to make the move.

Montreal Hockey Now: Should the Habs consider playing Arber Xhekaj in Game 2? It’s up for debate.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: There’s a laundry list of things the Pens need to achieve this offseason. Here’s some of it.

Detroit Hockey Now: Five under-the-radar reasons why the Red Wings didn’t make the playoffs.