Canadiens coach home after heart procedure
Montreal Canadiens coach Claude Julien is returning home to Montreal a day after a stent was placed in a coronary artery. The team said doctors expect a full recovery.
Julien was rushed to St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto overnight Wednesday with chest pain. He had surgery Thursday and will miss the rest of the playoff series against the Philadelpha Flyers.
Since Julien left the NHL bubble in Toronto, he will have to follow quarantine protocol if he wishes to re-enter it.
Team members wanting to return to the bubble must provide four consecutive negative COVID-19 tests carried out over four days. They will be quarantined for at least that time period, and possibly up to 14 days depending on risk of exposure while outside the bubble.
Kirk Muller will serve as interim head coach for the rest of the current series.
Hurricanes 3, Bruins 2: Dougie Hamilton slapped in the go-ahead goal with 11:30 left in the third period and No. 2 goalie James Reimer stopped 33 shots to lead Carolina over Boston on Thursday in Toronto. The best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round series is now tied 1-1.
One day after Boston won the delayed, double-overtime opener, the Hurricanes also got goals from Teuvo Teravainen and Andrei Svechnikov to beat the Presidents' Trophy winners.
Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'amour opted to go with Reimer in net instead of Game 1 starter Petr Mrazek
Brind'amour was so unhappy after the opening loss that he called the league a joke, telling the Raleigh News & Observer: "This one's a crime scene." The league fined him $25,000.
He had something else to complain about in Game 2, when the referee waved off a go-ahead goal with 16:34 left in the third period because Teravainen interfered with Tuukka Rask before the Bruins goalie kicked the puck into the net. The Hurricanes challenged, but the call was confirmed.
Golden Knights 4, Blackhawks 3: Reilly Smith scored in overtime, Robin Lehner made 22 saves and Vegas beat Chicago on Thursday to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference first-round series in Edmonton. Patrick Kane assisted on all three Blackhawks goals in the second period to erase a 2-0 deficit.
Stars 5, Flames 4: Jamie Oleksiak scored with 40 seconds left in regulation for Dallas, which evened the Western Conference series with Calgary at a game apiece despite blowing a two-goal lead in the third period. Defenseman Miro Heiskanen added two goals for the Stars.