Nash Daily: Admirals Land in Cali, Panthers take 3-0 lead in ECF

The Milwaukee Admirals took three separate planes to get the team to Palm Springs, California on Monday. The teams is halfway to a Calder Cup after a 3-2 series win over the Texas Stars in the Central Division Final.

Next up for the Admirals is the Coachella Valley Firebirds, who are set to host Games 1 and 2 of the AHL’s Western Conference Final on Thursday at 9 p.m. CT.

It’s the first time since 1997 that no AHL regular-season division champion will play in either of the conference final series.

The Admirals are tasked with shutting down five of the top 10 scorers in the postseason. However, they counter with two of their own top-10 postseason scorers in forward Luke Evangelista (13) and defenseman Jordan Gross (11).

Nashville Hockey Now

In the Western Hockey League, two Nashville Predators prospects — Luke Prokop and forward Reid Schaefer — helped lead the Seattle Thunderbirds over the Winnipeg Ice in five games to win the WHL Championship. Now, both players will be taking on the Peterborough Petes in the Memorial Cup.

Prokop won his second consecutive WHL championship after winning with the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2022. The Oil Kings fell in three games to the Hamilton Bulldogs in the opening round of the Memorial Cup tournament last year.

Game 1 for Seattle against the Petes is set for May 27 at 5 p.m. CT.

Predators Prospects in the postseason:

• Nolan Burke (Sarnia Sting) – 16 pts – 15 GP
• Graham Sward (Winnipeg Ice) – 12 pts – 19 GP
• Jack Matier (Ottawa 67s) – 6 pts – 11 GP
• Zachary L’Heureux (Halifax Mooseheads) – 26 pts – 20 GP
• Reid Schaefer (Seattle Thunderbirds) – 19 pts – 19 GP
• Luke Prokop (Seattle Thunderbirds) – 5 pts – 19 GP

Around the NHL and National Hockey Now

Flordia Hockey Now: The Florida Panthers took a 3-0 series lead over the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night winning 1-0. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky made 32 saves for his first career postseason shutout. He’s now stopped 112 of 113 shots since Game 1 of the series. George Richards breaks down how Game 3 went in Sunrise, Florida. (According to Money Puck, Bobrovsky now has 19 goals saved above expected in the postseason)

Vegas Hockey Now: One player has really stepped up for the Vegas Golden Knights in lieu of all of the goaltending issues this season. Dan Kingerski shares why goalie Adin Hill is the secret weapon that has changed his team’s odds in the playoffs.

Game 3 in Dallas, Texas is tonight at 7 p.m. CT and can be seen on ESPN. Forward Chandler Stephenson scored the game-winning goal on Sunday and subsequently gave it to his son for his birthday.

San Jose Hockey Now: The latest Locked on Sharks podcast discussed where defenseman Erik Karlsson could be traded and what some realistic landing spots are. Which seven teams make the most sense to land the former Norris Trophy-winning D-man?

IIHF: Predators forward Cody Glass centered Canada’s first line with Milan Lucic and Sammy Blais in Monday’s 3-2 shootout loss to Norway. Canada next plays the Czech Republic while the USA takes on Sweden. Today marks the conclusion of round-robin play before the quarterfinals are underway on Thursday.

Results can be seen here.

Follow Nick on Twitter: @KieserNick