Daily Nuggets: Golden Knights Crush Oilers, Chicago Wins Bedard

The Vegas Golden Knights have home advantage again as they earned a dominant 5-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3. Why were some fans insistent the 2023 NHL Draft lottery was rigged? The NHL trade rumors might hit big names in Calgary. The Chicago Blackhawks sold thousands of season tickets in two hours after the hockey gods gifted them Connor Bedard in the NHL Draft Lottery and full coverage of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs.

The latest VHN Daily Nuggets:

Vegas Golden Knights

Vegas Hockey Now: An injured goalie and raucous Rogers Arena didn’t matter in a 5-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers for the Vegas Golden Knights.

Watch: Starting goalie Laurent Brossoit leaves Game 3 just five minutes into the first period. Golden Knights injury.

Want to have some fun? Full analysis and player grades from the Golden Knights beatdown of Edmonton. Golden Knights analysis.

NHL News & National Hockey Now:

Chicago Hockey Now: The Anaheim Ducks won the rights to the second overall pick, and the rights to draft generational superstar prospect Connor Bedard were awarded to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Some passionate NHL fans have always wondered whether or not the NHL Draft lottery is rigged, and the 2023 edition will only fuel that speculation. Lottery Draft show host Kevin Weekes prematurely announced that the Columbus Blue Jackets will pick third at the 2023 NHL Draft as ESPN cut to break. When the show returned, the Blue Jackets did indeed get the third pick overall for the 2023 NHL Draft, but why did Weekes have a pre-written script to read?

Answer: The lottery was held before airtime, and the show was merely for TV drama.

Quite the snafu here during ESPN's Draft Lottery broadcast. Host Kevin Weekes announces that the Columbus Blue Jackets are drafting third. pic.twitter.com/yLpJoautLo

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 9, 2023

TSN: So, who will likely be drafted after Connor Bedard in the first round of the 2023 NHL Draft?

National Hockey Now & NHL Trade Talk

Calgary Hockey Now: Could the Calgary Flames put winger Tyler Toffoli on the NHL trade block?

Colorado Hockey Now: Which potential unrestricted free agents will remain with the Colorado Avalanche?

LA Hockey Now: There could be some interesting NHL trade chips to use for the LA Kings.

Montreal Hockey Now: Unless they trade the pick, there will be another Top 5 pick in the NHL Draft for the Montreal Canadiens.

Boston Hockey Now: Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney will have to find a way to give a pay raise to restricted free-agent goalie Jeremy Swayman.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Penguins kept the 14th overall pick. Based on recent history, here’s what that pick will look like for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Washington Hockey Now: Unless they trade the pick, the eighth overall pick at the NHL Draft will go to the Washington Capitals.

San Jose Hockey Now: The Golden Knights’ rival Sharks have the fourth overall pick. They have three choices, who should the San Jose Sharks select?

Stanley Cup Playoffs

ESPN: How will rookie defenseman Luke Hughes follow up a brilliant Stanley Cup Playoffs debut in Game 4 for the New Jersey Devils?

Florida Hockey Now: After an injury-riddled regular season, forward Anthony Duclair has been a tone-setter for the Florida Panthers.

TSN: Down 3-0 and facing a do-or-die Game 4 in their Stanley Cup Playoffs second-round series with the Panthers, it’s a ‘win one game’ mentality for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Seattle Times: So far, in the Seattle Kraken-Dallas Stars Stanley Cup Playoffs second-round series, likely Vezina Trophy candidate Jake Oettinger has been outshined by Philipp Grubauer.