SUNRISE, Fla. — The Florida Panthers are heading to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where they’ll face off against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The National Hockey League announced that the series will open on Monday, May 5, in Toronto, with puck drop scheduled for 8 p.m. EST. The Panthers advanced after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round, winning the series 4-1.

The Carolina Hurricanes are set to open their second-round series against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, May 6, in Washington. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

Meanwhile, the St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets are still battling for a spot in the next round. Their decisive Game 7 in the first round is scheduled for Sunday, May 4, at 7 p.m. ET. The winner will move on to face the top-seeded team in their conference.

As of now, the National Hockey League has not released the complete second-round schedule, with several matchups still to be finalized.

**Colorado College Sports Information contributed to this recap

EAU CLAIRE, Wis.

–Colorado College won its second straight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Women’s Lacrosse Tournament (presented by Culver’s) with a 21-9 victory over UW-Eau Claire at the Sonnentag Fieldhouse.

 

The Tigers (18-3 overall) tied the program record for wins in a season and extended their WIAC winning streak to 19 straight games. Colorado College won 18 games for the first time in program history in 2019, finishing 18-2 with a program winning percentage of 90 percent. 

 

Against UW-Eau Claire (11-7), sophomore Sofia Mancino scored a career-high five goals on only five shots on goal. Charlotte Iler and Peyton Murphy each scored four goals. It’s Iler’s sixth and Muphy’s third four-goal game this season.

Grace Bean racked up her fourth hat trick of the season and finished with an assist, a ground ball, and five shots on goal. 

 

Eight Tigers scored in total, including Oliv Janerico, who finished with two, and Ella Roe, Meilani Molina, and Tobin Lonergan, who scored once.

 

Iler scored first 37 seconds after the initial draw control to give Colorado College an early lead. However, UW-Eau Claire responded two minutes later to tie it up at 1-1.

 

The Tigers countered with a five-goal run, including four unassisted goals, to go up 6-1 with 3:47 remaining. The Blugolds ended the run to cut the lead down to 6-2, but Janerico and Bean found the back of the net a minute apart to close out the first, and CC led 8-2 by the start of the second quarter. 

 

UW-Eau Claire scored first out of the half; consequently, Iler scored consecutive goals, bumping the lead back up to 10-3 with 7:58 remaining. 

 

Colorado College scored twice more to take a 12-4 lead into the halftime break. The Tigers outshot the Blugolds 28-13 in the first half. 

 

The third quarter consisted of back-and-forth scoring. Colorado College outscored UW-Eau Claire 5-4 and kept the lead at 10 after goals from Iler, Murphy, Bean, Janerico, and Mancino. 

 

Murphy earned her hat trick in the fourth quarter, scoring two more goals, as Colorado College added four more to cruise to the eventual 21-9 victory. 

Samantha Burns, Alexie Romanelli and Ellie Fisher each had two goals for UW-Eau Claire.

 

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LOS ANGELES – The No. 6-ranked UCLA softball team fell to Northwestern, 8-0, in six innings in a Big Ten Conference series-opener at Easton Stadium Friday afternoon.
 
The loss marked the second time this season the Bruins (46-8, 16-4 Big Ten) fell in mercy-rule fashion and was shut out. UCLA committed a season-high four errors in the contest. Senior Savannah Pola, freshman Rylee Slimp and sophomore Kaitlyn Terry accounted for the Bruins’ three hits.
 
All eight of the Wildcats’ (28-16-1, 15-5 Big Ten) runs were unearned and came with two outs.
 
Northwestern scored its first three runs in the second inning after a fielding error with two outs by shortstop Kaniya Bragg extended the inning. Bragg, tracking a ball twirling towards shallow left field, collided with Slimp and the ball dropped between them. The next batter, No. 9 hitter Avery Garden, took advantage of the extra life with a towering two-run homer into the right field trees off UCLA starter Taylor Tinsley. On an 0-2 count to the Wildcats’ next hitter Grace Nieto, Tinsley surrendered a second straight homer for a third unearned run.
 
Nieto finished the game 3-for-3 and a longball. Garden and right fielder Kelsey Nader joined Nieto with multiple hits.
 
Tinsley finished the second inning before being pulled for right-handed reliever Addisen Fisher. Tinsley was dealt her fourth loss of the year despite not allowing an earned run.
 
With two outs in the third inning, junior third baseman Jordan Woolery was slow moving to her left and booted a ground ball hit by Lauren Sciborski with two on to load the bases. Once again, Northwestern took advantage of the opportunity with a bases-clearing triple into the left field corner by Ayana Lindsey to double the lead to 6-0. Lyndsey was brought home shortly after on a single by Garden into center field.
 
In the top of the sixth inning, Wildcats shortstop Kaylie Avvisato put the Bruins on run-rule notice by stealing second base and advancing to third on an errant throw down by UCLA catcher Sofia Mujica. Avvisato scored easily on a sacrifice fly by Nader to left-center.
 
NEXT UP
UCLA looks to even the series against Northwestern tomorrow at noon (PT) at Easton Stadium. Tickets are available to purchase at the LINK. The remainder of the series will be nationally televised on the Big Ten Network.
 

BRIGHTON, Mass. – With the game tied 2-2 headed to the bottom of the sixth, Boston College (23-25, 10-16 ACC) scored one in the sixth and three more in the seventh to defeat Stanford (23-20, 8-18 ACC) 6-2 on Sunday to even a three-game ACC series.

Stanford jumped out to the early 1-0 lead in the second as Charlie Saum blooped a two-out single into center field to chase home Rintaro Sasaki. Sasaki had reached with a leadoff double to start the inning.

One of the best baserunning teams in the ACC, Boston College managed to plate a pair of runs to take a 2-1 lead on a productive out to third base in the third inning. With runners at second and third and one out, Gunnar Johnson chopped a ball to Trevor Haskins at third that was charged and thrown on the run to first. The throw skipped off the turf and was picked out by Sasaki for the out, but trail runner Patrick Roche spun third on the play and scored well ahead of the throw to the plate.

The Cardinal immediately answered to tie the game in the top of the fourth as freshman JJ Moran laced a line drive out to left field for his first career home run. The homer was the first of two hits for Moran on Saturday afternoon.

The 2-2 game held until the bottom of the sixth when Vince Cimini shot a two-out single up the middle and past the diving effort of Jimmy Nati to chase home the go-ahead run and reclaim the Boston College lead.

The run was charged to Stanford reliever Ryan Speshyock, as the right-hander was eventually saddled with the loss and dropped to 1-1 on the season. Speshyock, the first of three relievers used on Saturday, allowed the one run on three hits and a walk while striking out three over two innings.

Senior Ty Uber made an emergency start for the Cardinal after junior Matt Scott was scratched just prior to first pitch. Uber was good in the spot start, allowing two runs over four innings.

Batting against reliever Toran O’Harran in the seventh, the Eagles managed to score three runs on two hits – including a two-RBI double from Kyle Wolff – to stretch their lead to 6-2. All the offense came with two outs, as O’Harran issued a pair of walks after retiring the first two batters faced to work himself into a jam.

Freshman Liam Golden recorded the final three outs on the hill for Stanford in his second collegiate appearance, striking out the side in the bottom of the eighth.

The two teams will decide the series on Sunday at 10 a.m. PT.

It did not take former Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan long to land on his feet. Less than a week after he was politely walked to the door, the New York Rangers snapped him up, but the Penguins’ coaching search has at least a few weeks, if not most of the next couple of months, still ahead.

Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas, who ultimately took responsibility for the “mutual parting” with Sullivan, is currently Team Canada’s GM at the World Championships in Sweden. While that might make some interviews more difficult, some interesting candidates will be close by.

Dubas promised that the coaching search would be exhaustive, with coaches from all backgrounds, including Europe. While New York thirstily leaped at Sullivan, tossing an industry-leading contract at him, the Penguins don’t have a locked-in candidate or an immediate short list.

Read More: Penguins Coaching Search: 5 Preliminary Favorites; 3 New Names to Watch

We certainly like the backgrounds of potential candidates Mitch Love, Drew Bannister, who lost his job in St. Louis only because Jim Montgomery became available, and former Ottawa coach D.J. Smith. Dubas’s connection to Smith from their time together in Toronto shouldn’t be overlooked. Nor should the overwhelming support Smith received on his way out of Ottawa be glossed over. A lot of people in the Ottawa organization, including core players, thought very highly of him, personally and professionally.

However, that “wide net” that Dubas is casting over the hockey world will extend beyond former NHL coaches looking for a second bite at the apple.

There are some under-the-radar names, including one that should get a lot more consideration than he has previously.

5 Under-the-Radar Penguins Candidates

1. Nate Leaman, Providence College

Leaman has built a hockey blue blood in the shadow of Harvard, Northeastern, Boston College, and Boston U. It has been a while since the Penguins selected one of Leaman’s players, the last being Kasper Bjorkvist in 2016, but there is a line of his products in the NHL, including Brandon Tanev and Noel Acciari.

In other words, Providence has produced some gritty hockey players.

His track record is solid. First, Leaman built Union College into a hockey power. Then he did the same at Providence, where he’s been since 2011. He won the 2015 National Championship and guided Team USA to the 2021 World Juniors gold medal.

He’s now 52 years old. Industry sources said he’s been very selective when speaking to NHL teams, but it might be now or never.

Leaman self-describes his preferred style as hard, physical play with a mix of speed and skill. That’s not necessarily the Penguins’ DNA, but that’s winning hockey.

2. Nolan Pratt, Assistant Colorado Avalanche

The immediate drawback to Pratt is that he’s never been a head coach. He went from player to AHL assistant to NHL assistant in short order.

Pratt, 49, oversees the Colorado Avalanche defensemen, which hasn’t always been an easy task. The team hired the assistant in 2016 with new head coach Jared Bednar, and he’s been there ever since, keeping some sketchy bluelines intact.

Read More (Colorado Hockey Now): How Pratt Helped Turn Defense Into an Organizational Strength (+)

Not every coach needs to be a rock-jawed, rah-rah type or a task master. Perhaps Pratt is a lifer on the side of the bench, or perhaps it’s his time to shine. Every head coach needs a first job, and Pratt has paid his dues.

3. Rikard Gronborg

While in Sweden, Gronborg is worth a serious conversation. Coach Francis Anzalone (who coaches internationally and runs the prestigious Total Package hockey school) quickly brought up Gronborg’s name on our recent Penguins Live Chat.

Gronborg is currently with Tappara in the Finnish Liiga and is formerly the head coach of Sweden’s National team, where he guided Sweden to the 2012 World Juniors gold medal (a huge upset) and a few silver medals. Gronborg also earned three World Championship gold medals and the 2024 Liiga championship and was named Liiga coach of the year.

Gronborg played college hockey at St. Cloud State and is a U.S. citizen, so the adjustment from there to here wouldn’t be as great as one might initially fear.

4. Alain Nasreddine

You may very well remember his name. He was an assistant coach with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins from 2010 to 2015. Thus far, his only NHL head coaching experience was a half season as the interim boss with the New Jersey Devils in the short-circuited 2019-20 season.

After a 20-year playing career, which includes five seasons with the Penguins and WBS Penguins, Nasreddine has been an assistant coach for 10 years under Jon Hynes and Lindy Ruff in New Jersey, and now Pete DeBoer in Dallas.

In 2020, NHL coach Mike Yeo told the USA Today, “There are certain players that you coach that you know if that’s the path that they choose down the road, that they have the tools for it. He was one of them,” said Yeo who coached Nasreddine at the WBS Penguins. “He was a natural leader. I say that in respect to this, he knew what to do and when to do it, but he also had the presence and commanded the respect of his teammates.”

Nasreddine is old enough (49) to lead the veterans and young enough to relate to youngsters. With Dallas, Nasreddine is overseeing the defensemen and the penalty kill.

A commanding presence with the Penguins seems to be a must, and that certainly describes Nasreddine.

5. Jeff Blashil

The former Detroit Red Wings coach hung on through the worst of the Detroit rebuild. GM Steve Yzerman was quite high on Blashill and, as a result, probably kept him a year or more too long.

That much losing takes a toll on the room, and the depleted Red Wings, who were rebuilding after Nicklas Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk, and Henrik Zetterberg, did a lot of losing.

Yet Yzerman was always a supporter of his coach.

“Blashil is a (Spencer) Carbery-like person. He coached college hockey, he worked in the American League, and he worked as an NHL assistant,” Anzalone told PHN. “He’s gone to relearn his craft under Jon Cooper (Tampa Bay), who is one of the best coaches to work under because he’s ‘got the stuff’ and he lets his assistant coaches coach.”

Blashill’s resume has plenty of entries. He spent 10 years as an assistant in college hockey, first at Ferris State, then Miami of Ohio. His first head coaching job was the GM/head coach of the Indiana Ice of the USHL from 2009-2010. He went back to the college ranks to coach Western Michigan for a year before getting the call to be the assistant coach of the Red Wings in 2011 under Mike Babcock.

He spent three years as the coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL, then replaced Babcock in 2015. Blashill has assisted under Cooper for the last three seasons, but is only 51 years old.