#the leafs are playing the bruins in the first round of the playoffs
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mitski wrote I Bet on Losing Dogs about the leafs actually
#i bet on losing dogs#I KNOW THEYRE LOSING AND ILL PAY FOR MY PLACE#BY THE RING#WHERE ILL BE LOOKING IN THEIR EYES WHEN THEYRE DOWN#ILL BE THERE ON THEIR SIDE#LOSING ON THEIR SIDE#so anyway#the leafs are playing the bruins in the first round of the playoffs#I have no feelings about this#soph talks hockey#toronto maple leafs
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Matthew Tkachuk, the Panthers’ goalie-goading throwback, delivers hits — and wins — when it counts
by Hailey Salvian and Jeremy Rutherford
Matthew Tkachuk put his father in “timeout.”
That’s why Keith Tkachuk, an 18-year veteran of the NHL and one of the league’s best American-born players, wasn’t available to talk about his son’s remarkable run that has taken the Panthers from “biggest disappointment” to one win from the Eastern Conference finals.
On a Toronto radio station in March, the elder Tkachuk called the Panthers “soft.” By many accounts, that assessment was accurate at the time, and the words seemed to light a fire under the team — as did Paul Maurice’s tirade on the bench the same day during a game against the Maple Leafs.
Florida won its next six games and went 6-1-1 down the stretch to qualify for the playoffs.
Now, there’s no time for distractions, and Matthew wants to keep a lid on his pops, who informed The Athletic of his “timeout” via text.
After upsetting the 65-win Bruins in the first round, the Panthers are the betting favorites to win the Stanley Cup, leading 3-0 in their second-round series against Toronto with a chance at a sweep Wednesday at FLA Live Arena.
And the 25-year-old Tkachuk — in the midst of another career year that would have been MVP-worthy had it not been for Connor McDavid’s otherworldly season — has led the way, from scoring game-winning goals and delivering rousing speeches in the room, to delivering cross checks and goading goaltenders into fights.
He’s the player people love to hate, and he’s building a following of haters as he pushes the Panthers along in the postseason.
And even though the person who’s been most influential in Matthew’s career isn’t talking, others are. The Athletic spoke with a dozen people who for years have tracked Tkachuk’s brand of hockey — he’s a highly skilled agitator (a modest 6-2, 201 pounds) who opponents hate to play against.
Keith — known as ‘Walt,’ a nickname given to him by Winnipeg Jets teammate Eddie Olczyk because his surname was so similar to former Ranger Walter Tkaczuk — was traded to the Blues in 2001. Matthew, only 3 years old at the time, would start playing hockey with a youth program in St. Louis. Let’s just say he wasn’t a phenom.
Chantal Tkachuk, Matthew’s mom: They thought they were getting this ringer of a kid. We went to his first game and he was terrible. He was by far the worst player on the ice.
But that wouldn’t last long. Tkachuk improved steadily, adding a diverse skillset, and working through minor hockey, the U.S. national team program and the Ontario Hockey League.
Jimmy O’Brien, longtime family friend, owns OB Clark’s bar in St. Louis: They had a goal in their backyard, and 50 pucks would be lying in the driveway. Anytime you pulled up to the back of the house, you had to watch from running over the pucks because the driveway was littered with them.
Jon Benne, longtime family friend and strength trainer: I used to take wrist shots at him, and he’d knock them into the net. So when I see him tip a goal in now, I’ve seen that a million times.
Jordan Janes, St. Louis Junior Blues coach (2009-10): Matthew would do some of these between-the-legs (moves) before anybody was doing that. I would always look over at Keith and smile because in my mind I’m thinking, “Holy s— ,” like this is incredible that a 14-year-old is doing this. But you could tell that Keith, who was a “go to the net hard” type of guy, it drove him crazy.
O’Brien: His father told him, “If you ever do that stuff in a game and it doesn’t work, you won’t get off the bench.”
Taryn Tkachuk, sister: He’s not going to do that stuff just to do it. The through-the-legs goal against Nashville, he was like, “There was no way I could’ve shot that regularly.” He practiced that all growing up, so he knows he’s going to be able to do it.
Rob Simpson, assistant general manager of the London Knights: He would try new things all the time. It speaks to how smart a player he is. He was always trying to be creative in different ways to produce or make plays based on what he is seeing against defenders or what they’ve done against him before. He’s always been a creative, out-of-the-box thinker.
There are elements of Tkachuk’s game that can be traced back to the fact that he is Keith Tkachuk’s son.
Don Granato, Tkachuk’s coach with the U.S. National Team Development Program (2013-15): I think you can give some credit to — if not genetics, then just being around his father over the years.
Chantal Tkachuk: When Keith was still playing, they got to go down to the rink, skate after practice. Some of the players would play around with them.
O’Brien: He was a rink rat. He was always hanging around his dad, always going to his practices.
Barret Jackman, Blues defenseman (2002-15): I remember the coaches would have to come by and say, “Hey Walt, practice was supposed to start 10 minutes ago. Can you get Matthew off the ice?”
Benne: Matthew would be sitting on the bench the whole practice, and Keith would come over and say, “Watch T.J. Oshie. Watch how he goes into that corner and comes out.” Matthew would just be sitting there with a helmet on, just absorbing it all.
O’Brien: It’s hard to get a better education in the hockey world than sitting there with professionals and watching them at a young age.
Chantal Tkachuk: Every night, we always watched hockey. The boys would get up before school and the first thing they would do is turn on NHL Network.
Taryn Tkachuk: That was the only thing we really watched on TV. We never really watched other shows on Disney channel.
Chantal Tkachuk: Keith retired in 2010 and stepped away from his career and took almost five years off. In that time, he totally devoted all his time to youth hockey. That happened to align with the most important developmental years of the boys’ lives.
Janes: Keith knew what it took to get there. He demanded a work ethic out of his boys. Goals or not, assists or not, he just wanted to see you work. If you worked, Keith was happy. He knew if you did that, everything else would come.
O’Brien: One of Walt’s favorite things to say is, “Hey, you didn’t win? Play better!”
Taryn Tkachuk: Oh, he says it all the time. If someone didn’t play as well and maybe they’re complaining, like, “The ref did this or that,” or, “The other team wasn’t letting me do this,” my dad is just like, “Play better!” Nothing else. It’s just “Play better!”
Janes: That quote is the most Keith quote I’ve ever heard.
Growing up, Matthew was always competing with his brother Brady (23), and sister Taryn (20). Whether it was roller hockey, basketball or a made-up game they called “trampoline football.”
Benne: Matthew, Brady and Taryn would be on the trampoline, which was enclosed, and I would throw the football in the air as high as I could into the trampoline. It became an MMA wrestling match to see who got the football.
Taryn Tkachuk: I don’t even know how the game got made up. I just remember it being very physical. Literally whoever had the ball, you were about to get decked.
O’Brien: We were playing a two-on-two basketball game, and there were some of the most violent fouls you’ll ever see in your life. I had a bloody nose when we were done.
Taryn Tkachuk: If we were playing basketball, Matthew would never let me just go in for an easy layup. Of course he was going to foul me.
Jackman: I remember during one of the lockouts, Matthew was 15 at the time, and he skated with some of the NHL guys. I went into the corner with him, thinking I was going to play him hard. He tried to reverse hit me, and then he came out of the corner with the puck on his stick. He didn’t back down, even at 15, and I was in my early 30s.
Chantal Tkachuk: The most somebody hates to lose, that would be him.
Tkachuk committed to play at the USA Hockey National Team Development Program a few years before his first season there. But, at 16 years old, there was a learning curve playing with the national team and in the USHL, an under-20 league. In his first USHL season, he scored only 17 points in 33 games. He would double that production one year later in fewer games.
Granato: We knew of his talent, but in his first year, his production wasn’t there.
Nick Fohr, U.S. NTDP associate coach (2013-15): He wouldn’t shoot it. He literally wanted to show off those hands all the time.
Granato: I would tease him a bit. I’d say, “Hey Matthew, do you like to score?” And he’d say, “Yeah.” And I’d say, “No, you like to stickhandle.” He was so good at it, but I needed him to see that he wasn’t going to be that up-and-down-the-rink player.
Fohr: He wanted to have that agitator piece to him because it was kind of ingrained into him at that point, but he wasn’t big enough or strong enough to do any of that stuff at 16 years old.
Chantal Tkachuk: It was the second year in the program. That was the point where we thought he could make it.
Fohr: He played most of his second year with Auston Matthews and Jack Roslovic, which was an unreal line. Auston was the marked man, and Matthew — after being around his dad — was like, well, “Auston is my center, nobody is touching him.” And he started to become that guy. Any little scrum, he was right in the middle of it to make sure that his teammates were taken care of.
Granato: By the midpoint of the second year, he was playing just like he plays in the NHL right now. He was great in the same areas of the ice, great in the same ways.
In the 2016 Memorial Cup Final, the London Knights were in overtime against the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. Tkachuk, in his first (and only) season in the OHL, took the puck up the left side, toe-dragged around a defender and scored the game-winning goal.
Aaron Berisha, London Knights teammate: At first, it looked like he was on a harmless rush.
Simpson: Matthew could always elevate at the right times.
Robert Thomas, Knights teammate (2015-16), and family friend: We always joked that Christian Dvorak actually tipped it, but obviously Matthew got all the credit for it. Just a big-time player making a big-time play.
Simpson: It’s not just by coincidence that he’s big in the right moments. He puts in the work.
Fohr: He’s in those moments because it’s just who he is. You saw it on the overtime goal against Boston. He knows somebody’s got to go in there and get the puck, somebody’s got to go screen the goalie.
Simpson: He wasn’t the one who shot it in the net, but if he didn’t have the sense and savvy to pop out and screen the goalie, it doesn’t go in.
Fohr: It’s no surprise that you see him do it in overtime in Game 7 because he does it every shift, every game.
Janes: The way Matthew was (growing up) and the way he is today, he will do what it takes for his team to win a hockey game. Period.
Because of his ability to stir up drama on the ice and (at times) cross the line, Tkachuk is one of the most polarizing players in the league.
Fohr: He’s that guy that everybody hates unless he’s on your team.
Benne: I don’t think Matthew came into the league fearing anybody. He just played with that edge, like, “I’m here, I’ve arrived, and look out!”
Granato: He could stoke a situation and get it stoked and get everybody’s emotions running on overdrive. And then, even in a highly emotional state that he stirred up, he will execute where many, many skilled players cannot.
Fohr: If he’s agitated somebody somehow, now a little bit of their focus is on Matthew and it takes just a little bit of focus off what they’re good at and impacts so much of the game.
Granato: It’s like a diversionary tactic, and a highly effective skill that he brings. He’s always ready to score the goal after he disrupts the situation, where other guys just want to take his head off. He never loses sight of, OK, while you’re trying to do that, I’m going to be scoring a goal.
Benne: He’s just going to play hard. He’s going to hit you, and he expects to get hit himself. If you watch that game against Toronto, he hammered two guys, and then he got hammered. Not whining, that’s the way the game goes. That’s the way he plays. He’s pretty fearless out there, but I think he plays right on the line. That’s where he wants to be.
Thomas: It was in full force in London. He’d always find himself mixing it up. He’s feisty and he’s got all the skill in the world. Some people just have it, and he definitely has it.
Berisha: It’s funny when people play against him and say, “Man, I hate playing against him, he seems terrible.” He’s actually one of the best guys ever.
Taryn Tkachuk: Matthew has this switch. Off the ice, he’s a completely different person: super nice, super fun. Once he steps on the ice, the switch just goes off and he puts on these different goggles and just has this compete level that you don’t even know how to explain.
The most common ways to describe Tkachuk: He’s a throwback. He’s a unicorn. He’s just like Keith … and maybe better.
Eddie Olczyk, TNT analyst, former teammate of Keith (1991-96): You see (Matthew) and it’s like turning back the clock 25, 30 years to when we played with each other in Winnipeg.
O’Brien: Walt played in an extremely physical era, and the way Matthew plays is refreshing because it’s a throwback to how it was all the time.
Janes: One thing Keith taught these boys at a young age was, if you want to score, you’ve got to be around the net. They got that right from Keith. They just took it a step further as far as their skillset goes.
Fohr: It’s just a place he’s not afraid to go to. Some players are. They don’t want to go there because it’s a hard area to play in because the D are big and strong. There’s an art to getting there and doing it the right way and Matthew has mastered it.
O’Brien: When Walt was playing, you’d see a big guy out there and you wouldn’t think a guy like that has deft hands. But Walt had sick hands, especially tipping pucks. And that’s one of Matthew’s strengths, too.
Olczyk: Matthew will make a play and you go, “Well, there’s Walt.” It’s eerie, but it’s not surprising that the boys are a chip off the old block.
Chantal Tkachuk: To this day, they tease me because skating has always been Matthew’s deficiency, so they make fun of the fact that I taught him how to skate. Keith will take credit for everything else.
Granato: Matthew plays the same kind of style as his dad. He just does it with more talent.
Fohr: To be a thorn in the side of the opponents and then have that elite ability on top of it, that’s pretty special.
Simpson: It’s very hard to find hockey sense that is that elite but also comes with the poise to make the play when it matters most.
Taryn Tkachuk: He’s literally doing every single aspect of what different players bring in a hockey game. It just makes him so unique.
Benne: Matthew doesn’t care what the media writes about him. Matthew doesn’t care if the fans boo him. Boston is going to hate him now, and Toronto is going to hate him after this series. But that’s what drives him. He wants to perform. He wants to put on a show. But more important than anything, he just wants to win.
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who's in a playoff spot?
as of October 15, 2022
Welcome back. The average team has played 2 games. If the playoffs started today, these would be the first-round matchups:
Eastern conference:
Bruins - Rangers (A1-WC2)
Maple Leafs - Canadiens (A2-A3)
Hurricanes - Islanders (M1-WC1)
Penguins - Devils (M2-M3)
Western conference:
Avalanche - Stars (C1-WC1)
Blues - Coyotes (C2-C3)
Golden Knights - Jets (P1-WC2)
Canucks - Flames (P2-P3)
I love small sample sizes. That Atlantic matchup looks fun, though.
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hello party people! the stanley cup playoffs start right now, so in an attempt to tempt y’all to watch, i have compiled a list of playoff moments that altered my brain chemistry (as someone who has watched the playoffs every year since 2010)! even if you don’t want to watch hockey, the sport is pretty ridiculous so here is just a small sample of the extent of the craziness!
washington capitals vs. pittsburgh penguins 2009 (round 2 game 2): hockey’s messi and ronaldo, sidney crosby and alex ovechkin put on a show for the washington crowd as they each score hattys in the same game. the capitals would go on to win the game, but the penguins would win the series (and later the cup), but this game has some of the best highlights as the two best players in hockey at their peaks showed off their skills for sexy, sexy hockey!
chicago blackhawks vs. philadelphia flyers 2010 (round 4 game 6): in overtime of game 6 of the stanley cup finals, a chicago player scored the game winner to win the hawks the cup. the weird part? nobody saw it go in except the player and his teammates. the crowd, flyers, and broadcasters didn’t see it go in. known as the “phantom goal” this goal won the hawks their first cup in almost 50 years.
vancouver canucks vs. chicago blackhawks 2011 (round 1 game 7): this is the game that made me fall in love with hockey. little 7-year-old me was glued to my television screen all night watching this game. the blackhawks and canucks had matched up in the playoffs for three years in a row, and the blackhawks (at the time the reigning cup champions) had beat the canucks every time. this series had gone the full 7 games, with the canucks winning the first 3 and the blackhawks coming from behind to win the next 3. earlier in game 7, hero alex burrows had opened the scoring then missed a penalty shot. with the game tied at 1, just over 5 minutes into overtime, burrows gets the puck and scores, defeating the blackhawks to send the canucks to the next round. they would go on to lose the cup in the final, but this was the golden generation of canucks games and the vibe in vancouver? unmatched. it gave birth to two of the most iconic radio calls: “they slayed the dragon” by john shorthouse, and “its a wonderful day for an exorcism” from jim hughston. this defined my childhood fr
boston bruins vs. toronto maple leafs 2013 (round 1 game 7): mere weeks after the tragedy at the boston marathon, the bruins were down 4-1 with just over 14 minutes to play in the 3rd period. they were down 4-2 with 9 minutes left. with two goals in 30 seconds, with less than 90 seconds remaining, the bruins tied the game and patrice bergeron won the game for the bruins in overtime. the maple leafs, having blown a 3 goal lead, ended their season. as of right now, they have not won a round of the playoffs since 2004.
tampa bay lightning vs. boston bruins 2018 (round 2 game 4): the playoffs can get quite scrappy! in order to get an advantage over his opponent after a little scrum, noted league rat brad marchand licked a man. yes fully licked. previously in the playoffs he had kissed and licked another man, and this caused the league to outlaw licking. the bruins would go on to lose the series, even though marchand continued his ridiculous antics
vegas golden knights vs. vancouver canucks 2020 (round 2 games 5-7): in 2020, the playoffs were played in a bubble at one arena with no spectators. after game 4, that the knights won, it was discovered that the canucks goalie jacob markstrom had an injury. with the knights leading the series 3-1, the canucks needed to win 3 games in a row to move on to the next round. enter thatcher demko, a rookie goalie who had never played a playoff game before. over games 5, 6 and 7, demko made 123 saves, including a 48 save shutout in game 6, to keep the canucks in until game 7. he stood on his head, he was incredible, and he went over 100 minutes without the knights scoring a goal. unfortunately, with a knights shutout in game 7, the canucks wouldn’t move on, but “bubble demko” would live in infamy as thatcher demko’s intro to playoff hockey. hes my favourite goalie
pittsburgh penguins vs. new york rangers 2022 (round 1 game 1): as both teams were ready to fight it out in the playoffs, this game was tied at the end of three periods. in the playoffs, overtime lasts 20 minutes with 15 minute breaks between them. in the 3rd period of overtime, and the 6th period of hockey evgeni malkin scored for the penguins after over 90 minutes of hockey. it was midnight at madison square garden. the rangers goalie, igor shesterkin, made 79 saves in the loss, and the penguins goalie louis domingue, who came on in the second overtime to replace an injured casey desmith, went viral for reports that he ate spicy pork and broccoli between periods to keep up his energy. this is one of the longest games in nhl history, and the rangers would go on to win the series in 7 games.
edmonton oilers vs. calgary flames 2022 (round 2 game 1): the battle of alberta is one of the classic rivalries of the nhl, and the first game of last year’s round 2 delivered. the goalies seemed to be unable to keep the puck out of the net, and flames and oilers fans both watched as the two teams combined for 15 goals, with the flames winning 9-6. the oilers would go on to win the series, but the sloppy, goal-heavy hockey has stuck in my mind ever since last may
these are some of my highlights! i hope you all enjoy the playoffs (because i know i will), and all the beard-growing and towel-twirling that comes along with them. happy stanley cup season everyone!
#k talks hockey#k the hockey prof???#stanley cup playoffs#k converts her footie friends to hockey friends!#the ridiculous shenanigans of nhl playoff hockey#happy hockey hunger games besties!#k talks stanley cup playoffs
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i present to you, a very unserious post in which i insult every NHL team!
(this is all exaggerated so don’t get mad at me)
anaheim ducks - why is it that 1/3 of the way through the season you remember how to play hockey? like at this point it’s useless since you’re not making the playoffs and if you keep up like this you sure aren’t getting bedard
arizona coyotes - i do not like your jerseys. you would be forgettable but you suck too much for it
boston bruins - the only thing your team has going for you are your goalies and i hope next season you end up where the ducks are rn: not good enough for the playoffs and not bad enough for the draft lottery. sorry garnet hathaway (please come back)
buffalo sabres - i can define your entire team in one word: disappointment
calgary flames - anything good about you died when matthew tkachuk decided to go to florida. sorry!
carolina hurricanes - something about the “canes” nickname annoys the shit out of me. i hope you get a first round exit purely so the fans enjoying their team being good for once can be upset about it
chicago blackhawks - do i even have to say anything? because ew
colorado avalanche - literally how did you win the cup last year? thanks for the cup winning goalie btw <3 kuemper is better as a cap
columbus blue jackets - you don’t deserve bedard and i hope you lose the lottery since you’re clearly not pulling yourself out of the tank like the ducks
dallas stars - your jerseys are fucking ugly and the only stars player i can think of is tyler seguin (seriously… why that green…)
detroit red wings - you have the most obnoxious fan base i have ever had the displeasure of being in the same stadium with. LET GO OF THE 90s!!! PLEASE
edmonton oilers - how do you have two of the best players in the league and still manage to fail to get a cup every single playoffs
florida panthers - honestly if it weren’t for matthew tkachuk trade and the all stars game you’d be a dying, forgettable team
los angeles kings - i literally cant think of anything to put here. that’s how little you matter.
minnesota wild - one time in like 2019 the wild squished the caps at a game i was at so i decided that the wild suck. other than that y’all are so forgettable that i don’t have anything else to say
montreal canadiens - how is it that you keep managing to get beaten so so badly by teams that suck?
nashville predators - uuuugly ass jerseys and stuuuupid ass name
new jersey devils - jack hughes isn’t as hot as y’all think he is both in terms of attraction and skill
new york islanders - i hold a deep seated hatred for all new york city teams. you and your fanbases are so goddamn annoying
new york rangers - same with the islanders except 10x worse purely because of the little rivalry the caps hage with you (hope tom wilson squishes you tonight <3)
ottawa senators - really says something about your team that you had to name brady tkachuk of all people captain
philadelphia flyers - literally what is your logo i hate it. the only thing you have going for you is gritty and even that gets tiring REAL fast
pittsburgh penguins - i don’t care if the caps/pens rivalry doesn’t exist anymore it’s ingrained into me i hate you all and especially sidney crosby. you’re an aging team. retire already. ovechkin is better and malkin is overhyped
san jose sharks - wasted a sick ass team name on a depressing team
seattle kraken - y’all were doing so good at the start of the season what the hell happened. now it’s just disappointment…
st. louis blues - you’re one of those teams that i forget isn’t fake sometimes. like you’re not forgettable you’re just not… real
tampa bay lightning - i don’t get the hype the fanbase has for vasilevsky and your gray/yellow jerseys are way better than the normal ones
toronto maple leafs - auston matthews is not hot even slightly y’all just have competency kinks and it’s sad
vancouver canucks - quinn hughes looks so haunted and depressed all the time for a reason
vegas golden knights - did y’all think you were being funny when you decided to match with the kings?
washington capitals - jesus fuck just retire the entire goddamn team at this point. stop sending your prospects to the ahl and fucking play them if you want to give your roster some “youth” (i’m looking at you gmbm & laviolette)
winnipeg jets - if it weren’t for the fact that i used a website to make this list alphabetical order i would’ve forgotten you
#if you take this seriously i will bite you#arizona coyotes#boston bruins#buffalo sabres#calgary flames#carolina hurricanes#chicago blackhawks#colorado avalanche#columbus blue jackets#dallas stars#detroit red wings#edmonton oilers#florida panthers#los angeles kings#minnesota wild#montreal canadiens#nashville predators#new jersey devils#new york islanders#new york rangers#ottawa senators#philadephia flyers#pittsburgh penguins#san jose sharks#seattle kraken#tampa bay lightning#toronto maple leafs#washington capitals#st louis blues#vancouver canucks
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Hey it’s the Stanley Cup Playoffs!
I know a lot of y’all have recently gotten or are currently getting into hockey and it’s the most exciting time of the year for fans, the Stanley Cup playoffs! Round 1 is almost over - three rounds to go. So I thought I’d do a lil catch-up, and hit me up with any hockey or playoff questions!
So how does this circus work?
The NHL playoffs are generally considered the hardest playoffs in sports. It is a four-round, best-of-seven tournament with the winning team playing as many as 28 games past the end of the 82 game regular season.
Seeding is determined as follows: sixteen teams (out of 32 in the NHL) make the playoffs. Standings are determined largely by point totals (in hockey a team gets 2 points for a win in regular, 1 point for a loss in overtime and zero points for a loss in regulation). Top three teams in each of the four divisions, and then each conference sends two wild card teams which can be from either of its two divisions. The #1 seed in the conference plays the #2 wild card team, the #2 seed plays the #1 wild card teams, and then each division’s #2 and #3 teams play each other. Home ice advantage goes to the higher point total. They play A-AA-BB-A-B-A, where A are games played in the higher seeded team’s arena, and B are games played in the other team’s arena.
Best out of seven wins the round and advances.
So what’s happened so far?
Kind of a lot. Even before round 1 began these playoffs were weird, because for the first time in 17 years, the Penguins were not in them. They missed a wild card spot by one (1) point. They had the longest active post-season streak not just in hockey but in any major north american sport. So much for that. Also the Capitals didn’t make it, and it’s been awhile since we haven’t seen Ovechkin in the playoffs.
And then round 1 has been kind of chaotic. Three of the heavy hitters have already been eliminated: the Boston Bruins, who just had the best regular season literally in NHL history, were defeated by the lowest seeded Eastern team, the Florida Panthers, in game 7 in overtime. It was a stunning upset. In another upset, the two-year-old franchise Seattle Kraken defeated the defending Cup champions, the Colorado Avalanche, in game 7 last night. The other big news is that the Toronto Maple Leafs are advancing to round two for the first since 2004, defeating the recently two-time cup winning Tampa Bay Lightning. There’s only one matchup undecided, the Rangers vs the Devils, and game 7 is tonight (May 1). Second round will begin tomorrow.
So that’s what’s going on so far! I’m low-key rooting for the Rangers because I love Chris Kreider but I also hate Patrick Kane so the struggle is real. Also a former much-beloved Columbus player, Oliver Bjorkstrand, now plays for the Kraken and is ON FIRE in the playoffs so I’m rooting for him too.
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GOT AN IDEA
tell me whos gonna get the cup next year. like who would u say will get it. ik u cant say but who you do think it will be, lets make predictions
Hmmmmm. I did do a bit of an analysis on that a bit ago, but with Free Agency Frenzy almost fully in the rearview mirror, things have changed...
Here are my WAY too early predictions for the playoffs.
Metro -
1. Devils - Conference Leaders
2. Hurricanes
3. Rangers
4(WC2). Penguins
Atlantic -
1. Maple Leafs
2. Panthers
3. Bruins
4(WC1). Senators
Central -
1. Stars
2. Avalanche
3. Predators
4(WC1). Wild
Pacific -
1. Golden Knights - Conference Leaders
2. Oilers
3. Kraken
4(WC2). Kings
This would give us a bracket as follows:
Devils v Penguins
Hurricanes v Rangers
Maple Leafs v Senators
Panthers v Bruins
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Stars v Wild
Avalanche v Predators
Golden Knights v Kings
Oilers v Kraken
My picks to win?
Devs v Pens - Devs. Even though I give the Pens a playoff berth (which they really could blow) because of some of the good short-term moves Dubas has made to solidify the team, I really doubt they can beat the Devils in a seven-game series. Devs v Pens games always have the aura of "our grandparents threw a party and we were the only ones that came". They're just too old to make a serious Cup run. And Jarry is more often injured than not.
Canes v Rags - Rags. The top three teams in the Metro last year have what could be described as a rock-paper-scissors relationship. Devils overpower Rangers through offense, Canes stifle that offense with good defense, Rangers goaltending blocks Canes volume shooting. Plus, Shesty's mad.
Leafs v Sens - Sens. That's a hot take, but let me justify it. Despite the Leafs breaking the curse this year, they have many glaring issues - most notably, they've gotten way worse over this offseason and are even more cap-strapped than usual. They can't really acquire at the trade deadline even if they want to. On the flipside, the Senators' main issue was goaltending. They got a good goalie in Koorpisalo. I do see this going six or seven, but I honestly believe the Sens can upset the Leafs.
Cats v Bruins - Cats. The Cats already beat the Bruins last year. Arguably better Cats versus clearly worse Bruins? Not even a contest.
Stars v Wild - Stars. The Wild can't seem to crack the first round and they're dealing with $14.7m in dead cap. Contrast with the Stars, who are able to make deep runs for the Cup and don't have $14.7m less to play with. Easy choice here.
Avs v Preds - Preds. The Preds made some really good moves in free agency, adding Ryan O'Reilly and Luke Schenn, among others. The Avs lost their captain for another year and coped by signing Miles Wood to a 6x2.5. Holy overpay. It's almost like they're trying not to contend.
Knights v Kings - Knights. The Kings are an aging husk of a team that managed to lose the PLD trade where Winnipeg was begging for anyone to take him. The Knights just won the Cup. How is this a contest?
Oilers v Kraken - Kraken. The Kraken have depth and have four solid lines of players. The Oilers shipped off Yamamoto and Kostin to the Red Wings for literal table scraps. Darnell Nurse is on one of The contracts in history. Campbell is massively underperforming. C'mon, further the tragedy of the Edmonton Oilers. I know you want to.
Round 2 becomes:
Devils v Rangers
Panthers v Senators
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Stars v Predators
Knights v Kraken
Predictions:
Devs v Rags - Devs. Shesty probably gets a panic attack when he sees Timo's smiling face. The Devils have learned that the speed game is paramount for them (which is what they use to beat the Penguins as well) and they can track meet the Rangers seven days a week. This really becomes Devils Offense versus Shesterkin. I think the Devils win this one.
Cats v Sens - Cats. This one's gonna set some penalty minute records. The Tkachuks are going to kill each other and their teams' penalty kills. While the Sens upsetting the Cats would be ironic and further a Senators Cinderella Run, I think the Cats win here. I mean, one solid hit on Stützle and half the offense is gone.
Stars v Preds - Stars. The Predators have a Saros, the Stars have an Oettinger. What the Stars have is their top point scorer NOT being a defenseman. That's right - the Preds' top point scorer last year was a defenseman (Roman Josi). I put the Preds above the Avs because the Avs are seemingly trying to be bad now, but I can't put them above the Stars.
Knights v Kraken - Kraken. I just want to see a battle of the expansion teams in the playoffs. Giving the edge to the Kraken only because of Knights playoff fatigue, but it can go either way. Just make it happen, Bettman. That's all I want.
So the Conference Finals become:
Devils v Panthers
Stars v Kraken
My predictions here?
Devs v Cats - Cats. This one could REALLY go either way. I'm giving it to the Panthers because they're a more physical team that the Devils have historically struggled with. Expect this to go to six or seven if nobody's injured.
Stars v Kraken - Stars. I think the Stars beat the Kraken seven days a week. There's no real reason for this (maybe outside of Oetter>Grubi) but just a general vibe that the Stars are just the better team in that matchup.
So your Stanley Cup Final is:
Cats v Stars.
And my winner?
Stars. Anything can happen in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This one can go either way (damn, I've said that before). I'm calling Stars in six or seven because I think they can be slightly more consistent over the Cats, who can be notorious for being hot and cold. Once again, injuries will play a big role here - if Robertson, for example, is out of commission, the scales tip drastically towards the Cats. If Benn is injured it might be better for the Stars...
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Before puck drop on the conference finals… group chat wellness check? Especially the Oilers and Maple Leafs. I don’t think there are any Bruins in the gc but watching them hug Bergeron as they left the ice was rough
YOU COME HERE? INTO MY HOUSE BLOG and ask me about the FEELINGS OF THE BRUINS????
No fr fr tho I did see that handshake line and it was very sad.
BUT a wellness check... and a couple of lil spoilers for upcoming gc
Gabe's in surgery - he's recovering, poor Baberiel.
EJ's down in Cali with Paul, holed up and trying not to think about the future.
JT is feeling like the WORLDS WORST CAPTAIN because obviously if he were a BETTER CAPTAIN the leafs would have made it further (he's wrong. It wasn't on him)
Freddie is stressed. Because he NEEDS to prove that he can make it in the postseason but he's not getting as many starts as he WANTS, but also he's won way more games than he's lost. So overall. He's ok
Auston is in carolina, hiding in Fred's apartment. Being his biggest cheerleader and being secretly grateful that they never had to play 5OT
Jacky is mourning the loss of his tooth. Also playoffs are HARD why did nobody tell him that playoff hockey was hard? I mean, obviously he figured it out pretty quickly, but yeah, that's so fucking different to regular season hockey... why did nobody mention it? (spoiler alert, they did)
JSoup is very happy about Jacky's lil tooth gap which he thinks is the cutest thing ever. He lowkey doesn't care about not making it any further because honestly, he wasn't getting the starts and he wasn't expecting the starts and he never knows where he's gonna be, maybe it'll be a cup contender, maybe it won't, he's just along for the ride.
Leon and Connor are fighting, because one of them thinks that they should head down to Florida to support Matthew even though they've only just been kicked out of the playoffs themselves, and the other one thinks they should give themselves a couple of weeks together to lick their metaphorical wounds and just be with each other. It is not the way round we expect.
Jeff is cheering on Carolina like he's never cheered any team on before and if you ask him he'll say it's just because they're his old teammates but truly it's because he just wants the panthers to lose...
Sid and Nate had a brief moment of "should we just go to worlds?" and then decided they were far too old and are on holiday in the sunshine working on their golf
Dylan and Alex are in Toronto chilling with the fam and generally enjoying the off season
Tyler is playing his lil socks off
Matthew is....... Matthew is pretty convinced he's walking around in a dream because none of this actually feels REAL right now. Oh, and also he learnt to advocate for himself a little bit, with some help from his boyfriend
Ritter - is in florida, enjoying "the sun" ;)
Willy and Latts are holed up in their cabin
Jeff and Richie are holed up in THEIR cabin
Danny and Claude would LOVE to be holed up in the cabin, except, well... there are children to look after and they're working hard to give Ryanne a break
Cale is... struggling. Because OK he could feel the team was different from last year but, but, they were the fucking reigning champs, and they lost? In the first round? And he needs to TALK about it, but... he doesn't feel he can talk to Carter because, well, it's a bit shitty to COMPLAIN about losing IN THE PLAYOFFS to someone who's not MADE the playoffs for the past few years
Bobby Lu is having the time of his life
Kaner is sulking. This year did NOT go to plan. Also he's now a UFA... what's with that, he could play ANYWHERE? That's not how hockey's supposed to work... he's a hockey GOD... he's supposed to STILL BE IN THE PLAYOFFS and also he'd very much like to stay in NY please, but he doesn't think that's likely to happen and he really REALLY wants to blame Vladi Tarasenko, if only the fucker wasn't so nice....
Jonny is... dealing with Sulky Peeks. And Baby Pat. And he's still sick, because chronic illness doesn't just Go Away and he's having to make tough decisions and if Peeks could stop trying to make himself the centre of the universe for just one minute... you'd think he'd be used to that by now
Key is having Big Confusing Feelings... nothing new there then. He's in his research era. We stan a man with footnotes.
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Apr 15, 2019; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) is congratulated by center John Tavares (91) and right wing Mitchell Marner (16) and defenseman Morgan Rielly (44) after scoring a power play goal in the second period against the Boston Bruins in game three of the first round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
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if the playoffs started today.... what would be the first-round matchups?
The average team has played 68.5 games.
Eastern conference:
Bruins - Red Wings (A1-WC2)
Panthers - Maple Leafs (A2-A3)
Rangers - Lightning (M1-WC1)
Hurricanes - Flyers (M2-M3)
Western conference:
Jets - Predators (C1-WC1)
Avalanche - Stars (C2-C3)
Canucks - Golden Knights (P1-WC2)
Oilers - Kings (P2-P3)
Kings doomed to face the Oilers for a third straight year, looks like. The top of the Central will get shuffled and shuffled until game 82, I think. Meanwhile in the East, the only two interesting fights are a) Panthers versus Bruins for A1 (Bruins have a three-point lead; Panthers have games in hand) and b) of course, the fight of the Council of Idiots for WC2 (Flyers, Red Wings, Capitals, Islanders, and hell, Sabres are all solidly In The Fight).
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The Complicated Nature of Goaltending in Edmonton
In Edmonton, the position of full-time, reliable starting goaltending has long stood vacant. Since the departure of Grant Fuhr in 1991, there’s been a revolving door of goaltenders, none of whom have truly established themselves as a reliable number one option consistently.
This is a retrospective of Oilers Goaltending since 1991.
The Fuhr Trade
On September 19th, 1991 the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers finalized a blockbuster trade that involved 7 players, two of which later were inducted into the hall of fame. The Oilers sent Grant Fuhr, Glen Anderson, and Craig Berube to Toronto in exchange for Vincent Damphuis, Scott Thornton, Luke Richardson, and Goaltender Peter Ing.
It was Fuhr who backstopped the Oilers to five Stanley Cups throughout the franchise's golden years, providing above-league-average goaltending for an entire decade.
This marked the beginning of the post-Gretzky struggles for the Oilers franchise, as they saw another star of their ‘80s dynasty traded away for younger players and draft picks.
It would be a long and uncertain chapter in the Oilers' history, and the situation in goal would be even more challenging.
The Ranford Years
Fuhr wasn't the only high-profile trade the Oilers would make that season, as a deal with the Rangers would send long-time captain Mark Messier packing just a month later as the Oilers continued to dismantle the dynasty that once was. For the 91-92 season, the Oilers were backstopped by a duo of Bill Ranford and Peter Ing. (with brief appearances by Norm Foster and Ron Tugnett) Ranford was the bonafide starter who played 63 regular-season games and posted a 3.58 GAA and a .884 SV% while the league average at the time was 3.37 GAA and .888 SV%. The Oilers finished with a 37-37-6 record in 3rd place in the Smythe Division and 11th in the league overall.
As for the following season, it didn't get much better. In fact, it was the worst season in Oilers franchise history.
It was a full tank year, as the Oilers continued to dismantle the dynasty of the ’80s trading away names like Kevin Lowe, Bernie Nicholls, Craig Muni, and Essa Tikkanen
The 1992-93 Oilers once again relied on Bill Ranford as the starter, this time backed up by Ron Tugnutt. The season was a complete disaster with a 26-50-8 record and a goal differential of -95. Ranford was once again below league average with a 3.84 GAA and a .884 SV% and Tugnutt was even worse with a 4.17 GAA and a .879.
The Oilers would continue to struggle throughout the ’90s and wouldn't make the playoffs again until 96-97. During that drought, Edmonton went through 5 different goaltenders in Fred Braithwaite, Wayne Cowley, Joaquin Gage, and Bob Essensa before GM Glen Sather made a blockbuster that would finally remedy the atrocious goaltending issues of the past decade. On August 4th, 1995 Sather pulled the trigger on another blockbuster goalie deal, acquiring Curtis Joseph from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for two first-round picks.
The Joseph Years
The following year Sather would trade Bill Ranford back to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Mariusz Czerkawski, Sean Brown and a first-round draft pick to recoup one of the ones he had given up in the Joseph deal.
Two months into the season, with his rights owned by the Edmonton Oilers but no contract, Joseph joined the Las Vegas Thunder, of the IHL, in order to stay in shape. Halfway through the season, he signed a three-year contract with the Edmonton Oilers for $2.3M per year and joined the team.
Cujo had an immediate impact on the Oilers roster, guiding the team back to the playoffs for the first time in four seasons with an impressive .900 SV% and a 3.00 GAA, finishing just 5th in Vezina voting in 96-97 and 20th in Hart voting the following season.
Joseph was a breath of fresh air for the Oilers, yet he wouldn't resign in Edmonton at the end of his contract, opting to sign a four-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs for $24M in 1998.
The end of the Joseph years marked the beginning of the goaltending turmoil the Edmonton Oilers still find themselves in to this day, as the very next year in 1998-99, the former backup to Curtis Joseph Bob Essensa was relied on to play 33 games alongside Mikhail Shtalenkov whom the Oilers acquired in a trade from the expansion Nashville Predators.
Shtalenkov and Essensa had a combined .899 SV% and a 2.76 GAA, while the league average for the two categories was .908 SV% and 2.56 GAA.
Not a great start to the post-Cujo era.
From 1999 to 2010 the Edmonton Oilers shuffled through goalies at breakneck speed, with a total of fifteen different netminders playing games for them in just ten years.
The most consistent throughout those years, however, was young Finnish goaltender Jussi Markkanen who the Oilers drafted in the 5th round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, and promptly threw into an NHL crease 101 days later.
Markkanen and Roloson
How’d that go? About as well as you’d expect. In the five seasons Markkanen played more than 20 games for Edmonton he put up a .902 SV% and a 2.76 GAA while the league average during that stretch was .907 SV% and 2.64 GAA.
Despite the subpar play of the early 2000s, the Oilers did manage to make it all the way to game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in 2006 despite being the #8 seed in the western conference, all thanks to the unbelievable play of Dwayne Roloson.
During that cup run, it was Roloson who took the reigns as the Oilers’ starting goalie. He had an incredible run through the first three rounds posting a career-best sustained .925 SV% including a 24-save shutout in game six of the second round against the San Jose Sharks, sending the Oilers to the Conference finals and beyond where they would face off against the Carolina Hurricanes.
It was late in the third period of game one when Andrew Ladd gathered the puck in the offensive zone and drove hard to the net, and with Oilers defenseman, Marc-Andre Bergeron draped all over him, he collided hard with Roloson resulting in a series-ending knee injury.
This is where Jussi Markkanen had to come in. Throughout the next six games, Markkanen posted a 924 SV% and a 2.16 GAA with a 16-save shutout in game 6, but it wasn't enough to will the Oilers to a win in game seven, as they lost 2-1.
To this day many fans swear that if Roloson hadn't sustained that injury, the Oilers would have another Stanley Cup banner in the rafters.
After such an incredible run to the finals, Roloson could have tested the unrestricted free agency market in the summer of 2006 but opted to re-sign with the Oilers on July 1, 2006, on a three-year contract.
The next season Roloson and Markkanen were back in as a starter/backup duo. The 37-year-old Roloson continued his success posting a .909 SV% and 2.75 GAA while Markkanen had a less impressive .886 SV% and a 3.14 GAA. The Oilers would not make the playoffs for the next 10 years until 2017.
In that time, the Oilers would go through goaltenders such as Mathieu Garon, Nikolai Khabibulin, Devan Dubnyk, Jeff Deslauriers, Martin Gerber, Yann Danis, Ilya Bryzgalov, Ben Scrivens, Viktor Fasth, Jason Labarbera, Richard Bachman, Laurent Brossoit, Anders Nilsson, and eventually, Cam Talbot.
At the 2015 NHL draft the Oilers, in a desperate attempt to bring some stability to their constantly revolving goaltending carousel, paid the Rangers a second, third, and seventh-round pick for career backup Cam Talbot.
The Cam Talbot Campaign
Talbot was perhaps the biggest name on the goaltending market that offseason, coming off an impressive 23-game stretch in which Talbot took the starting role in New York after Henrik Lundquist was out of the lineup with a serious neck injury. Throughout that stretch, Talbot played 23 out of 25 games and posted a fantastic .929 SV% and a 2.21 GAA.
Looking at those numbers, it’s easy to see why the Oilers would be interested in Talbot. He put up solid numbers in his first three years as the Oilers’ starter. Through 196 games he posted a .914 SV% and a 2.65 GAA with 11 shutouts and was able to bring the Oilers back to the playoffs for the first time in 11 years in 2017 and finished 4th in Vezina voting.
So it seemed the Oilers had finally found their answer in goal as in addition to the Talbot trade, the Oilers had just signed a promising goaltender in Mikko Koskinen out of the KHL. That was until February 2019 when for some reason the Oilers traded Cam Talbot to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for goaltender Anthony Stolarz.
Stolarz, a career backup, would only ever play six games with the franchise.
Smith And Koskinen
This brings us to the 2019-20 season when the Oilers signed Mike Smith to a one-year deal, presumably to back up their new star goaltender Mikko Koskinen. Little did they know Smith would prove to be the far better of the two options over the next three seasons posting a .913 SV% and a 2.17 GAA to Koskinen’s .907 SV% and 2.98 GAA.
In summary, let's take a look at the current state of goaltending. Mike Smith has one season left on his two-year extension he signed at the beginning of the season but has hinted that he may consider retirement this offseason. Alternatively, Smith's contract could remain on LTIR for the entire season if retirement isn't the case.
It appears that Mikko Koskinen has parted ways with the Oilers and the NHL, having recently signed a deal to play in the DEL in Switzerland next season.
It’s safe to say that the Oilers have an uncertain situation in net for the coming years.
For the next upcoming piece, we'll take an in-depth look at what the Oilers can do next in the goaltending department, as after a long and exciting playoff run, what happens next may be the difference between prolonged playoff success and championship contention, and fading into mediocrity.
- Dave
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The 2022-23 Season and Stanley Cup Playoffs
After being plagued by injuries during more than half of the season, the Panthers finished with 92 points, the same as when they made the Stanley Cup Finals in 1996.
Since they finished as the 8th seed, they were to play the Boston Bruins, who were the President's Trophy winners that season. In a 7 game upset, the Panthers beat the Boston Bruins and moved on to the 2nd round.
In the 2nd round, the Panthers played the Toronto Maple Leafs, led by star player Auston Matthews. They beat them 4-1.
In the 3rd round, the Panthers faced the Carolina Hurricanes. The first game of the series was a thriller that led to 4 overtimes where Matthew Tkachuk scored the game-winner. The momentum from the game led to a Panthers sweep of the Hurricanes 4-0.
In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Panthers faced the powerhouse Vegas Golden Knights, who unfortunately beat the Panthers 4-1.
This last season was a special one which reignited the hockey flame in South Florida and many fans are excited for what comes next.
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'A long time to wait': Maritime Leafs' fans have Stanley Cup dreams after playoff series win
When John Tavares scored in overtime to eliminate the Tampa Bay Lightning Saturday night and clinch the Toronto Maple Leafs’ first playoff series win since 2004, it was a moment for fans nearly 20 years in the making.
"19 years just to see that one round," said Leafs super-fan Donnie Rideout of Glace Bay, N.S. "That's a long time to wait.”
He's been a life-long Leafs fanatic.
Inside his home, he has a “fan cave” to prove it.
Rideout was 11 years old when the team last won it all -- in 1967.
"It meant the Stanley Cup, and watching my idol Dave Keon hold that. I still remember it now,” Rideout said.
"It just proves the old theory in life that just because you win in the regular season, doesn't mean you're going to win in the playoffs,” said Nicky Bonnar, Rideout’s neighbour across the street.
Look no further than Bonnar’s Boston Bruins, who after a record-setting regular season are out following a stunning first-round loss to the Florida Panthers.
"It's pretty wide open,” Bonnar said. “I guess if you were a wishing man you would like to see Toronto playing Edmonton — all-Canadian. I don't really care one way or the other."
It's been 30 years since a Canadian team lifted Lord Stanley — when the 1993 Montreal Canadiens defeated the Los Angeles Kings to win that year’s Cup.
With the Bruins and defending champion Colorado Avalanche eliminated, some are already wondering whether the Leafs — or Edmonton Oilers — can break the Canadian curse.
"I think that's the year Patrick Roy won ten games in overtime,” Bonnar said. “If that's the case, there's no Patrick Roy's left in this one."
The Leafs can't look too far ahead.
The team’s second round was set to start Tuesday night against the same Panthers team that beat the Bruins.
Still, diehard fans like Rideout can't help but hope.
"To know all these people that have never, ever seen a cup all these years and have been rooting for Toronto all these years — it would be unreal to see it,” Rideout said.
With the 2023 cup now truly up for grabs, maybe this is the year Toronto finally holds that parade.
from CTV News - Atlantic https://ift.tt/K9ZyIOe
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The Florida Panthers did the unthinkable against the Boston Bruins, and the local fans, as possible, join them at FLA Live Arena. The Panthers stunned the Bruins 4-3 in Game 7 on Sunday night, setting up a second-round matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs 1 & 2 will be played at Scotiabank Arena. The Panthers will host Games 3, 4, and 6 if necessary. Tickets for the games in Florida go on sale Monday morning starting at 11 A.M. eastern. Those tickets should sell out if a contingent of Maple Leafs’ fans barrages the website. Except for one tiny little detail. The Panthers limit all ticket sales to folks in the United States based on the credit card billing address. Anyone buying tickets outside the United States will have their order canceled without notice and a refund given. This is similar to what the Tampa Bay Lightning has done. It’s no secret that games in Florida (quite anywhere will have scores of fans at the rink attendance issues with the Panthers are well documented. But in Round 1 against the Bruins, they averaged over 19,500 per game. The Panthers are doing whatever they can to limit how many Maple Leaf fans door at FLA Live Arena. While this move might limit some fans from getting in, it won’t completely stop them. The first and most are the resale market fans can easily find a third-party broker site to purchase tickets and will buy tickets for the sole purpose of flipping them to the highest bidder demand is expected to be should have no trouble selling these tickets. The other thing to consider is how many Maple Leaf fans who live in Florida pay using their credit card attached to the American “snowbird” effect will be in full force invasion in South Florida will be interesting to see how many can get in the door. Playoff success is what the Panthers need to ultimately get to where they want to go as a team while maximizing their fan base crowds have shown up in full force in the playoffs is still work to do in the regular season. The Panthers averaged 16,682 fans per home date is 86.7% of FLA Live Arena’s capacity rate in the NHL has room to improve. The Panthers will have no issue selling out their building in this series, and we understand the intent of Panthers’ fans to get first access to excluding other fans does feel a little petty at the end of the day. Having an element of the opposition fan base in the crowd would provide an atmosphere and should motivate the home team; even better ways of handling this, limit sales for the first few days, and open it up to everyone. Or you could block off a section of tickets for those outside the United States. In time though, the Panthers are on the right track. While they have to overcome some challenges in South Florida, like the weather, the beaches, and other related activities, it’s clear the team led by Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov will have them competing for the Stanley Cup in the foreseeable future. That should bring more fans in to watch them. This series should be a good one regardless of how many Maple Leaf fans can get into the door in South Florida. The passion is too great to completely stop them.
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Iturn 26 in december
The Chicago Blackhawks were one of the worst defensive teams in the league last season no one allowed more high danger chances against. But if that door to the top six ever opens, Kase could bust right through and be a pleasant surprise for Leafs Nation. Bunting, at least, is also off to a fast start with the Leafs. "I think he's going to challenge some of our guys in the top six," Keefe said.įor that to happen, you'd think Kase would need to move to the left wing and bump either Ritchie or Bunting from their top-six roles. This follows an interesting quote in the pre-season about the player. When Keefe was asked about Pierre Engvall's impact - Toronto's first goal scorer of the season - after the Leafs' first game, the coach also mentioned Kase, unprompted, as a standout performer. And he's done that with only third-line minutes. But after two games, who is Toronto's leader in 5-on-5 shots and scoring chances? Why, Kase, of course. As a right winger, he has to play behind Marner and William Nylander. Kase has started on Toronto's third line. Now with the Leafs, he has another opportunity to break out and, as long as he's healthy, the conditions might be perfect. Injuries have slowed Kase, though, and a concussion limited him to just three games for the Bruins last season. Kase played six games for them until the pandemic forced a pause - in the playoffs he suited up 11 times and led the Bruins with four primary assists at 5-on-5. In 2019-20, the Boston Bruins recognized this potential and evaluated it was worth spending a first-round pick on to acquire at the trade deadline. In Kase's first three years in the league, he wasn't getting top-line minutes with the Anaheim Ducks, but his 5-on-5 goal production indicated the potential to be an impact player with an expanded role. Turning 26 next month, Kase has been around as long as Ritchie, and flashed the same breakout potential (or more) as Bunting. Ritchie is the seemingly perfect big-body complement to those two who will replace Zach Hyman's sandpaper and, perhaps, has 20-goal upside (he scored 15 times in 56 games with the Bruins last season).īut it's Ondrej Kase who could possibly have the greatest upside here. Auston Matthews will slide in there when he returns. He'll turn 26 in December and starts with the cushy spot on Line 1 with Mitch Marner and (for now) John Tavares. Nick Ritchie has much more of a track record, with six NHL seasons under his belt. Bunting has played so few games that he's actually still a rookie now and potential Calder candidate. Michael Bunting is a 26-year-old breakout candidate after we saw him put up 10 goals in a 21-game "rookie" season with the Arizona Coyotes in 2020-21. The Toronto Maple Leafs spent the summer at the bargain bin, searching for affordable talent to surround their big-money stars with.
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Stanley Cup Playoffs 2022: Schedule and TV times for first round in NHL postseason
Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images
The Florida Panthers and Colorado Avalanche are the betting favorites as the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs begin.
The 2022 NHL playoffs are set to begin with the Tampa Bay Lightning looking to three-peat. The Lightning draw the Toronto Maple Leafs in round one after finishing the regular season tied for the fifth-most points in the Eastern Conference. The NHL hasn’t seen a franchise win the Stanley Cup in three consecutive seasons since the New York Islanders won four titles in a row in the early ‘80s.
Four teams have better odds than Tampa Bay to win the Stanley Cup entering the playoffs, according to DraftKings. The Colorado Avalanche are the betting favorites after finishing the regular season with 119 points, the most in the Western Conference. The Florida Panthers are the favorites in the East after finishing with a league-best 122 points. The Panthers are led by a dynamic offense featuring Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov, and Sam Reinhart.
We’ll lay out the format and schedule for the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs below.
2022 NHL Playoffs format
The Stanley Cup playoffs feature a best-of-7 series in each round with a 2–2–1–1–1 format. Here’s how the playoffs work, via NHL.com:
The top three teams in each division will make up the first 12 teams in the playoffs. The remaining four spots will be filled by the next two highest-placed finishers in each conference, based on regular-season record and regardless of division.
In the First Round, the division winner with the best record in each conference will be matched against the wild card with the lesser record; the wild card with the better record will play the other division winner.
The teams finishing second and third in each division will meet in the First Round within the bracket headed by their respective division winner. First-round winners within each bracket play one another in the Second Round to determine the four participants in the Conference Finals.
Home-ice advantage through the first two rounds goes to the team that placed higher in the regular-season standings. In the Conference Final and Stanley Cup Final, home-ice advantage goes to the team that had the better regular-season record, regardless of the teams’ final standing in their respective divisions.
2022 NHL Playoffs schedule
Boston Bruins vs. Carolina Hurricanes playoff schedule
Game 1: Monday, May 2 Boston at Carolina, 7:00 p.m., ESPN, SN360, TVA Sports
Game 2: Wednesday, May 4 Boston at Carolina, 7:00 p.m., ESPN, SN360, TVA Sports
Game 3: Friday, May 6 Carolina at Boston, 7:00 p.m., TNT, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Game 4: Sunday, May 8 Carolina at Boston, 12:30 p.m., ESPN, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Game 5: * Tuesday, May 10, Boston at Carolina TBD
Game 6: * Thursday, May 12, Carolina at Boston TBD
Game 7: * Saturday, May 14, Boston at Carolina TBD
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Toronto Maple Leafs playoffs schedule
Game 1: Monday, May 2, 7:30 p.m. Tampa Bay at Toronto, ESPN2, Sportsnet, CBC, TVA
Game 2: Wednesday, May 4, 7:30 p.m. Tampa Bay at Toronto ESPN2, Sportsnet, CBC, TVA Game 3: Friday, May 6, 7:30 p.m. Toronto at Tampa Bay TBS, Sportsnet, CBC, TVA
Game 4: Sunday, May 8, 7 p.m. Toronto at Tampa Bay TBS, Sportsnet, CBC, TVA
* Game 5: Tuesday, May 10 TBD Tampa Bay at Toronto TBD
* Game 6: Thursday, May 12 TBD Toronto at Tampa Bay TBD
* Game 7: Saturday, May 14 TBD Tampa Bay at Toronto TBD
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. New York Rangers playoffs schedule (all times ET)
Game 1: Tuesday, May 3: Pittsburgh vs. New York, 7:00 p.m., ESPN, SN360, TVA Sports
Game 2: Thursday, May 5: Pittsburgh vs. New York, 7:00 p.m., TNT, SN360, TVA Sports
Game 3: Saturday, May 7: New York vs. Pittsburgh, 7:00 p.m., TNT, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Game 4: Monday, May 9: New York vs. Pittsburgh, 7:00 p.m., ESPN, SN1, TVA Sports
* Game 5: Wednesday, May 11: Pittsburgh vs. New York TBD
* Game 6: Friday, May 13: New York vs. Pittsburgh TBD
* Game 7: Sunday, May 15: Pittsburgh vs. New York TBD
Washington Capitals vs. Florida Panthers playoffs schedule
Tuesday, May 3: Washington at Florida, 7:30 p.m., ESPN2, SN360, TVA Sports
Thursday, May 5: Washington at Florida, 7:30 p.m., TBS, SN360, TVA Sports
Saturday, May 7: Florida at Washington, 1 p.m., ESPN, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Monday, May 9: Florida at Washington, 7 p.m., TBS, SN1, TVA Sports
* Wednesday, May 11: Washington at Florida TBD
* Friday, May 13: Florida at Washington TBD
* Sunday, May 15: Washington at Florida TBD
St. Louis Blues vs. Minnesota Wild playoffs schedule (all times ET)
Game 1: Monday, May 2, 9:30 p.m. St. Louis vs. Minnesota, ESPN, SN360, TVA
Game 2: Wednesday, May 4, 9:30 p.m. St. Louis vs. Minnesota ESPN, SN360, TVA
Game 3: Friday, May 6, 9:30 p.m. Minnesota vs. St. Louis TNT, SN360, TVA
Game 4: Sunday, May 8, 4:30 p.m. Minnesota vs. St. Louis TBS, SN360, TVA
* Game 5: Tuesday, May 10 TBD St. Louis vs. Minnesota TBD
* Game 6: Thursday, May 12 TBD Minnesota vs. St. Louis TBD
* Game 7: Saturday, May 14 TBD St. Louis vs. Minnesota TBD
Los Angeles Kings vs. Edmonton Oilers playoffs schedule
Game 1: Monday, May 2, 10:00 p.m. Los Angeles at Edmonton, ESPN2, SN, CBC, TVA
Game 2: Wednesday, May 4, 10:00 p.m. Los Angeles at Edmonton ESPN2, SN, CBC, TVA Game 3: Friday, May 6, 10:00 p.m. Edmonton at Los Angeles TBS, SN, CBC, TVA
Game 4: Sunday, May 8, 10:00 p.m. Edmonton at Los Angeles TBS, SN, CBC, TVA
* Game 5: Tuesday, May 10 TBD Los Angeles at Edmonton TBD
* Game 6: Thursday, May 12 TBD Edmonton at Los Angeles TBD
* Game 7: Saturday, May 14 TBD Los Angeles at Edmonton TBD
Nashville Predators vs. Colorado Avalanche playoffs schedule
Game 1: Tuesday, May 3: Nashville vs. Colorado, 9:30 p.m., ESPN, SNE, SN360, TVA
Game 2: Thursday, May 5: Nashville vs. Colorado, 9:30 p.m., TNT, SNE, SN360, TVA
Game 3: Saturday, May 7: Colorado vs. Nashville, 4:30 p.m., TNT, Sportsnet, TVA
Game 4: Monday, May 9: Colorado vs. Nashville, 9:30 p.m., ESPN, SN1, TVA
* Game 5: Wednesday, May 11: Nashville vs. Colorado TBD
* Game 6: Friday, May 13: Colorado vs. Nashville TBD
* Game 7: Sunday, May 15: Nashville vs. Colorado TBD
Dallas Stars vs. Calgary Flames playoffs schedule (all times ET)
Game 1: Tuesday, May 3: Dallas vs. Calgary, 10:00 p.m., ESPN2, Sportsnet, CBC, TVA
Game 2: Thursday, May 5: Dallas vs. Calgary, 10:00 p.m., TBS, Sportsnet, CBC, TVA
Game 3: Saturday, May 7: Calgary vs. Dallas, 9:30 p.m., TNT, Sportsnet, CBC, TVA
Game 4: Monday, May 9: Calgary vs. Dallas, 9:30 p.m., TBS, Sportsnet, CBC, TVA
* Game 5: Wednesday, May 11: Dallas vs. Calgary TBD
* Game 6: Friday, May 13: Calgary vs. Dallas TBD
* Game 7: Sunday, May 15: Dallas vs. Calgary TBD
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