Hockey Wiretap

Montreal Canadiens winger Cole Caufield has won the 2025-26 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, awarded annually to the player best combining sportsmanship, conduct, and playing ability.

Caufield, who ranked second in the league with 51 goals this season, received first-place votes on 45 ballots from the Professional Hockey Writers Association. Los Angeles Kings captain Anze Kopitar finished second, followed by Ottawa Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson.

Caufield accumulated just 14 penalty minutes during the regular season, a key factor in Lady Byng voting. His previous best finish for the award was 34th the prior season.

Kopitar, who retired after the season, recorded 12 goals and 38 points in 67 games while taking only five minor penalties. The three-time Lady Byng winner missed becoming the fifth player to claim the award four or more times, joining Frank Boucher (seven), Wayne Gretzky (five), Pavel Datsyuk (four), and Red Kelly (four).

Sanderson averaged 24 minutes, 50 seconds of ice time per game for Ottawa, posted 54 points in 67 games, and totaled only eight penalty minutes. The Senators lost in a first-round sweep to Carolina for the second straight postseason.

Caufield and Montreal advanced to the Eastern Conference finals before falling to Carolina in five games. Canadiens center Nick Suzuki also claimed the Selke Trophy on Friday as the league's top defensive forward.

"Four players each received 20-plus first-place votes," the NHL noted, reflecting how competitive the ballot was across the top candidates this season.

The Carolina Hurricanes overcame a two-goal third-period deficit to defeat the Vegas Golden Knights in overtime in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals, with Seth Jarvis scoring the winner to even the series at 1-1 and return Carolina to the series lead on Polymarket at 56 percent.

Logan Stankoven got Carolina on the board with 9:40 remaining in regulation, stripping the puck from Rasmus Andersson, driving to the net and banking a shot off Jeremy Lauzon. Mark Jankowski then beat Carter Hart less than three minutes later to tie the game, and Jarvis finished the comeback in overtime.

The rally was a carbon copy of what Vegas had done in Game 1, when the Golden Knights erased a multi-goal Hurricanes lead to win. This marks the first time in Cup Finals history that each of the opening two games featured a team trailing by more than one goal and winning.

Polymarket odds tell a vivid story of the series' volatility. Vegas climbed to 75 percent series favorites while holding a 2-0 lead midway through the third period of Game 2, only to see that figure collapse as Carolina scored twice to force overtime.

The Hurricanes now sit at 56 percent, nearly identical to the 59 percent advantage they held entering Game 1. Both clubs started the season at roughly 10 percent to win the Cup. The series shifts to Vegas for Games 3 and 4, and market bettors appear to view the teams as nearly even.

The underlying numbers support Carolina's confidence. The Hurricanes held a 2.28-to-2.05 edge in expected goals for in Game 2, per Natural Stat Trick. Across both games, Carolina leads the series in that metric 4.47 to 4.16, despite the split result, a sign the Hurricanes are generating slightly better shot quality even when the scoreboard has not reflected it.

For much of the game, Carolina generated very little. Vegas controlled play for the first 45 minutes, limiting the Hurricanes to minimal zone time and capitalizing on a handful of scoring opportunities while defending tightly. A pair of strong offensive-zone shifts shortly before the midpoint of the third changed the tone, and Carolina's crowd responded as the Hurricanes began to press before they surged to tie the game.

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Seth Jarvis scored a power-play goal 3:56 into overtime Thursday night, lifting the Carolina Hurricanes to a 4-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. The series is now tied 1-1, with Game 3 scheduled for Saturday at 8 p.m. ET in Las Vegas.

The winning goal came after a chaotic third period featuring four scores, a disallowed Golden Knights goal, and a failed coach's challenge that handed Carolina a decisive power play.

Vegas held a two-goal lead through much of the contest before Logan Stankoven cut the deficit with 9:40 remaining, stripping the puck and banking a shot in off Jeremy Lauzon. Mark Jankowski followed with a tying goal less than three minutes later.

Vegas coach John Tortorella then challenged a waved-off Ivan Barbashev goal with five minutes remaining, ruling referee Jean Hebert had correctly called goaltender interference on Frederik Andersen. The failed challenge resulted in a two-minute penalty, and Jordan Staal converted Shayne Gostisbehere's point shot on the ensuing power play with 4:35 left.

Mark Stone tied the game at 6-on-5 with 1:21 remaining, with Carolina defenseman Jaccob Slavin deflecting the puck into his own net. Early in overtime, Tomas Hertl tripped Staal, sending the Hurricanes back to the power play and setting up Jarvis for the winner.

"It was a lot," said Jarvis. "We did a great job controlling our emotions. We never got too high, never got too low. Just kept responding, and that's what I love about this group is we always bounce back."

This marks the first Cup Final in which each of the opening two games featured a team overcoming a multi-goal deficit to win.

Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb was taken to the hospital in the middle of Game 2 of the Stanley cup finals after he was hit in the face by an 87 mph puck.

McNabb was defending in front of Vegas goalie Carter Hart when Carolina Hurricanes forward Nikolaj Ehlers fired a shot from inside the blue line.

McNabb was holding his nose as he left the ice.

Defenseman Jeremy Lauzon moved up to take McNabb's place next to Shea Theodore on the Golden Knights' top pairing.

Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin has requested a trade, a development that carries significant implications for the franchise, a league source told The Athletic. Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman first reported the news.

Larkin, who will turn 30 in late July, has spent his entire 11-season NHL career in Detroit, his hometown market. He has recorded 643 points in 808 games and has served as team captain since 2021. He is the only active Red Wing who appeared in the franchise's last playoff appearance in 2016.

The request arrives after Detroit missed the postseason for the tenth straight year, the longest active drought in the league.

Tension between Larkin and general manager Steve Yzerman became public a year ago following Larkin's pointed remarks about the club's inactivity at the 2025 trade deadline. Despite that friction, Larkin had spoken optimistically about his future in Detroit as recently as this past spring.

"I knew that we had work to do, and I knew that we weren't going to win the Stanley Cup the next day," said Larkin, "but I wanted to be here, and I want to be here, to help this team in any way I can to win a Stanley Cup."

The situation is further complicated by Larkin's full no-trade clause, which grants him significant control over any potential destination and narrows Detroit's options considerably. Larkin signed an eight-year contract extension in 2023.

The Vegas Golden Knights rallied from an early deficit to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-4 on the road in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals, with Tomas Hertl scoring the decisive goal in what became a dramatic series opener.

Carolina held a 59 percent series-win probability on Polymarket entering the game, a figure that climbed to 69 percent after the Hurricanes took an early lead. Vegas then scored twice in the second period and twice more in the third to complete the comeback.

Hertl provided the winning margin with his third-period goal. Mitch Marner and Jack Eichel each added an assist, extending their league-leading playoff point totals to 22 and 19, respectively. Brett Howden, the NHL's top goal-scorer this postseason, pushed his tally to 11 with a third-period marker of his own.

The outcome produced a sharp reversal in Polymarket's Stanley Cup odds. Vegas entered Game 2 as 58.5 percent series favorites with a 17-percentage-point swing from where Carolina stood at the start of the game. That movement mirrors the NBA Finals, where the New York Knicks generated a comparable 16-point swing after winning Game 1 on the road. The pattern suggests prediction markets are pricing road wins in Finals play as highly decisive momentum shifts, regardless of regular-season credentials.

Carolina posted a 22-7-0 record following any type of loss during the regular season, good for a .759 points percentage, which was the highest mark in the NHL. The Hurricanes are historically difficult to beat twice in a row.

Meanwhile, Marner leads the Conn Smythe Trophy race on Polymarket at 40 percent, ahead of goaltender Fredrik Andersen at 21 percent.

Game 2 is scheduled for Thursday at 8:00 PM ET at Lenovo Center in Raleigh.

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Minnesota Wild forward Marcus Foligno has received this season's King Clancy Memorial Trophy for leadership and service, the NHL announced Thursday.

Foligno was recently presented the trophy in a surprise appearance at the Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota by his older brother and current teammate, Nick Foligno, who won the award in 2017. They established the Janis Foligno Foundation in memory of their mother, who died of breast cancer in 2009, and have been active in fundraising for breast cancer research.

The Carolina Hurricanes remain confident in goaltender Frederik Andersen despite his numbers declining dramatically over the past six games.

Andersen gave up five goals on 23 shots in Carolina's Game 1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday, a continuation of a statistical decline that began in the Eastern Conference finals. But coach Rod Brind'Amour said he doesn't have concerns with Andersen.

"I think a couple of those games, we weren't giving up a lot of shots. So the save percentage count is a tough one for our team," Brind'Amour said. "We don't give up a lot. There's still quality chances. There's just not a lot of fluff. So yeah, I'm not concerned about it."

Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning has finally won the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year.

Cooper, 58, completed his 14th NHL season as the Lightning's head coach. He led Tampa Bay to third in the Eastern Conference (106 points) during a season that saw them play through significant lineup absences from stars like defensemen Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh, as well as top center Brayden Point. The league's longest-tenured coach helped the Lightning to a ninth consecutive playoff berth, before they lost in the first round to the Montreal Canadiens.

The Dallas Stars announced Tuesday they have signed a letter of intent for a potential new arena in the suburb of Plano.

They are proposing building a new arena at The Shops of Willow Bend as part of a potential new mixed-use development that would make it a sports and entertainment district.

The Stars said in their statement they have signed a nonbinding LOI that was submitted to the City of Plano and will go before the Plano City Council next Monday.