Tonight begins the opening round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Find the latest on Patrice Bergeron from the Bruins, Jack Eichel from the Golden Knights, Nikolaj Ehlers from the Jets and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee headlines.
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NHL.COM: The opening round of the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs kicks off tonight with the Florida Panthers taking on the Bruins in Boston, the New York Islanders traveling to the Carolinas to take on the Hurricanes, and the Minnesota Wild against the Stars in Dallas, and Los Angeles. The Angeles Kings travel to Edmonton to take on the Oilers.
Boston hockey now: Bruins coach Jim Montgomery admitted that captain Patrice Bergeron will likely miss Game 1 against the Panthers tonight. Bergeron sustained an upper body injury during the last game of the regular season and missed practice due to precautionary reasons.
Bystander note: The Bruins better not rush Bergeron into the lineup and worsen his condition. They have enough depth to skate without him so he’s ready to come back later in the series.
Hockey Vegas Now: Golden Knights player Jack Eichel is looking forward to playing in his first playoff series in his eight-year NHL career. He spent six seasons rebuilding the Buffalo Sabers before he was traded to the Golden Knights last season.
SPECTATOR NOTE: Eshel was in a difficult position during his tenure with the Sabers due to the haphazard way the club was managed and coached during those years. He missed more than half of last season recovering from neck surgery before making his debut for the struggling Golden Knights and ending up playing due to a wrist injury that hampered his performance.
TSN: One day after announcing he was ready to go, Nikolai Eilers (upper body injury) missed Sunday practice with his Winnipeg Jets teammates. He skated before practice but it’s on the menu day in and day out.
CBS Sports: It’s unclear if Minnesota Wild defenseman John Klingberg is up for tonight’s game against the Stars due to a lower-body injury. He missed training yesterday after sustaining an injury during training on Saturday.
Bystander note: Klingberg played most of his NHL career with the Stars before leaving for the Anaheim Ducks this past summer as a free agent. It was acquired by the Wild at the trade deadline.
Hockey news: New York Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov will miss tonight’s first game against the Hurricanes with an upper body injury. He’s been listed day in and day out and will be replaced tonight by Samuel Bolduc.
Colorado hockey now: Avalanche general manager Chris McFarland expects sideline defensemen Cal McCarr and Josh Manson to return in their upcoming series with the Seattle Kraken. Manson participated in the optional skating on Sunday.
In other news…
WGR 550: Buffalo Sabers captain Kyle Okposo has not made any plans yet regarding his future after 16 seasons in the National Hockey League. The 35-year-old forward is an unrestricted free agent on July 1. He indicated that if he continued his career, he would like to do so with the Saber.
Fans’ note: Okposo has scored 11 goals and 17 assists in 75 games this season as the No. 6 striker. He’s out of a seven-year, $42 million contract and will never get anything like that again if he intends to continue playing in the NHL.
With more than $19 million in cap space and 20 regulars under contract for 2023-24, the Sabers have plenty of room to bring him back if they want an affordable short-term deal.
daily faceSan Jose Sharks linebacker Marcos Notivara has been sidelined for the entire season with a career-ending groin injury. He was injured prior to the 2021-22 season while with the Florida Panthers. He had surgery and has been recovering ever since.
Notifara, 28, signed with a team that participated last summer as the Football Association and played some matches before the start of the season, but the injury still bothered him, and he was unable to fully recover, and he remained on the injury reserve for a long time for this season. He played 275 games over six seasons with the Panthers and Columbus Blue Jackets.
Hockey News: Washington Capitals winger Carl Hagelin remains hopeful of resuming his NHL career after an eye injury and four groin surgeries in 12 months that kept him out of the entire 2022-23 season. The 34-year-old winger is an unrestricted free agent in July.
daily faceThe Nashville Predators have signed forward Michael McCarron to a one-year, $775,000 contract extension.
Detroit hockey now: The Detroit Red Wings rocked the coaching staff of their AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids after the club missed the Calder Cup playoffs for the second year in a row. Coach Ben Simon, assistants Matt McDonald and Todd Krieger, and goalkeeper development coach Brian Mahoney Wilson will not have their contracts renewed for next season.