Avalanche assistant Hakstol takes over as Arizona State head coach - TSN

According to Elliotte Friedman, Avalanche assistant coach Dave Hakstol will take over as the new head coach at Arizona State. Colorado has permitted Hakstol to negotiate with the program and should be behind the bench as soon as the Sun Devils’ next game, which is at UMass Lowell this Friday. The Sun Devils made the announcement official on Thursday morning. Hakstol coached with the Avalanche on Wednesday night. Notably, his title carries no interim tag. Arizona State has also, officially, parted ways with Greg Powers per Katie Strang of The Athletic. Hakstol’s staff will retain assistant coach Jimmy Mullin per Strang.

Connor Hellebuyck's suspension will come to an end on Friday. Elliotte Friedman has the story.

The Edmonton Oilers have only surrendered nine goals in the last five games, which speaks to their quality goaltending, structured five-on-five play, and consistent forecheck. The issue with that number is that five of those nine goals are against the Oilers’ penalty kill, which was a point of emphasis for new associate coach DJ Smith after the whipping that PK took in the postseason. That category has been tough sledding overall for the team, which sits at 68.2 per cent for the season, fifth worst in the NHL. The opposition has scored on the power play in five of seven games, and the Utah Mammoth made it happen twice, punishing Josh Samanski’s double-minor for high-sticking and the team’s bench minor on Thursday. The Mammoth PP bumped up to first in the league at 37.5 per cent, and have scored multiple goals on the man advantage in a game a league-best five times. “I think we’re just attacking,” said Barrett Hayton on the power play’s success. He extended his point streak to five games. “Obviously that first unit’s been so good snapping around, they’re so dangerous, and I think they’ve done a great job kind of keeping that mindset.

How can I not go with Auston Matthews after he's cashed this play for us in two straight games? He's clearly on another level now that he's healthy, and his shooting percentage (40%) is among the league's best on the man advantage. When Matthews is shooting, he's hitting twine - he has four goals across his last three games as a result. Let's pot one more against this stingy Islanders defense. I'm loving William Nylander's shot volume right now, as the Leafs winger has registered at least three shots on goal in four consecutive games. He's averaging 6.5 shot attempts per contest, the 23rd-highest mark in the NHL, giving us plenty of reason to believe his hot streak can continue. With the Islanders playing an undisciplined brand of hockey, watch for Willy on the power play to drive us over the line.