The Oilers have avoided another existential collapse — for now, at least — by getting past the upstart Canucks in Game 7, setting up a Western Conference final meeting with the Dallas Stars. Should be excellent.
But today is our first “no games tonight” day, a sad sign that the NHL season is winding down. Thank goodness though — that means all oxygen can be sucked up by Toronto, where they’ll introduce Craig Berube as coach.
Things resume tomorrow with Game 1 of the Eastern final, which should be great, if agonizing. Go Panthers. Go Okie. Go Panthers. Die Smurfs.
Islanders News
- Old friend Shane Prince, now a KHL regular, has nice things to say about former teammate and new Isles signing Maxim Tsyplakov, who’s game is “built for North America.” [Athletic]
- Kyle Okposo is “loving every minute” in Florida, and Paul Maurice says “he’s heavy, he’s smart, he can hit on the walls.” As he aged and declined, Okposo watched Patrice Bergeron for tips on the defensive side: “I just tried to incorporate the fact that he has no cheat in his game. And that’s something that I always had in my game, to be honest. I always had a little bit of cheat because I want to go score.” [Athletic]
I have to say, I do NOT understand offensive players who act like the “200-foot game” doesn’t apply to them. The “outscore them” ledger includes goals for AND goals against, you simpletons!
Elsewhere
- It was a crushing ending for the Canucks, who enjoyed such a turnaround season under Rick Tocchet. [Sportsnet] They love their fans, even if much of Canada does not. [Sportsnet]
- Unfortunately, the Eastern goalie matchup means we have to believe in Sergei Bobrovsky. He has his moments, good and bad. [NHL]
- But after losing in the final last year, Aleksandar Barkov feels the Panthers are “really close” to the prize. They better be. [NHL]
- They will need to solve the Rangers’ persistently annoying special teams success, however. [TSN]
- Peter DeBoer is no stranger to the third round. That’s another way of saying he is a stranger to the Cup. [AP]
- The Hurricanes hope to sign Jake Guentzel, who was the missing piece they needed to finally…lose again in the second round. [NHL]
- The current Rangers are embracing “the spirit of 1994,” which is odd to me, because that was a tragic year where a horrific meteor wiped out the entirety of the NHL playoffs as payback for Ron Hextall being a washed-up, stand-up goalie in a butterfly age. One of the few years in history where the Stanley Cup was not awarded, sadly. [NHL]
- Former NHL assistant coach Bob Woods says NHL assistant coaches are important. [NHL]
- Ondřej Kaše got his career and health back on track with a season in Czechia, so he hopes to return to the NHL. [Athletic]
