Quick Strikes: And the ice is gone

The Bolts

One of the saddest sights I ever did see was a hockey arena without any ice:

See you in a little bit. 😭#GoBolts pic.twitter.com/aMi6QM1NIH

— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) June 1, 2018

However, don’t let yourself dwell for too long on the lack of ice until the fall. This past season for the Tampa Bay Lightning was just too good to mope! Here, watch this:

🔥 warning ahead!@caleychelios and @bburnsnhl break down the Top 10 Plays from this year’s #StanleyCup Playoffs: pic.twitter.com/sWH1VJcFSP

— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) June 1, 2018

It’s June, which means the 2018 NHL Draft is right around the corner! We’ve already started to get our coverage going, and Alan’s introduction piece isn’t one to miss. [Raw Charge]

Starting next week, we’ll be covering the players likely to go in the first round. Each day, we’ll follow along with the SBNation mock draft and profile three new players. We’ll be sure to highlight the spots where we see an opportunity for the Lightning to make a trade.

…

I’ll kick off draft season here at Raw Charge with a quick look (we’ll likely cover these players in more detail later) at five players I’m hopeful might slide to the Lightning at 59. The first three in this list are optimistic given their ranking but the last two are more reasonable

Bryan Burns’ Ask Burnsie column was posted yesterday. He talks the Draft, favorite NHL cities, beer, and prospects. [Tampa Bay Lightning]

Mathieu Joseph led Syracuse for scoring in 2017-18, putting up 53 points over 70 games. I could see him getting a long look in training camp and an opportunity as a mid-season callup.

I think 2015 second-round draft pick Mitchell Stephens (hey look, another quality 2nd-round selection) is at the point in his career where it’s time to see what he can do at the NHL level.

The Prospects

Hockey. Iced coffee. Reaching for content. Donuts. It all goes hand in hand, really.

It’s Friday and #NationalDonutDay. It doesn’t get much better than this.

Visit @DunkinCNY and start your weekend off right. 🍩 pic.twitter.com/UOpZAiB6Dc

— Syracuse Crunch (@SyracuseCrunch) June 1, 2018

The Adirondack Thunder, unofficial ECHL team of the Lightning, is holding a merchandise and equipment sale this weekend.

NEWS – THUNDER TO HOLD YEAR END MERCHANDISE AND EQUIPMENT SALE

Friday: 1:00 – 7:00 pm
Saturday: 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Most items up to 50% OFF!https://t.co/E91V1XV4AT pic.twitter.com/fVC4PrTN95

— Adirondack Thunder (@ECHLThunder) June 1, 2018

The game

Playoff hockey in Vegas is freaking expensive.

Your ticket update: pic.twitter.com/Q6lLkNMAcW

— Ted Starkey (@TedStarkey) June 1, 2018

Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuzentsov will be a “game-time decision” for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday in Washington. [SB Nation]

When Kuznetsov left Game 2, third-line center Lars Eller elevated his game to make up for it. Eller’s had a fine playoff, and the Capitals don’t need Kuznetsov to win this series. But it’d help a whole lot if Washington’s young superstar were on the ice and effective.

Goaltending coaches can have a big impact on the way a goalie plays…assuming the goalie can adjust to the way the coach teaches. [In Goal Mag]

In a lot of ways, Prior has brought back signs of the old Fleury: More aggressive positioning leaves Fleury relying a little more often on the incredible lateral explosiveness that too often defined him early in his career. The difference is he’s not relying on it as often now.

Veteran forward Brian Gionta, whose whirlwind season included a one-game stint in the AHL with the Rochester Americans before heading off to the 2018 Winter Olympics, will not be re-signed by the Boston Bruins. [NBC Sports]

This bit of news is hardly surprisingly. In Gionta’s case, he contributed two goals and five assists in 20 regular season games, which isn’t terrible considering he had been out of the league for most of the year.

In the playoffs, he served as a healthy scratch in all but one of Boston’s 12 games (he played in Game 4 of the second-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning).

Could this be the end of the line for the 16-year veteran?

Now, I know you wanted to know the officials for the Calder Cup final. I know it. You did. Well, great news! Here’s the list!

On-ice officials have been selected for the 2018 #CalderCup Finals

Referees:
Terry Koharski (11th Finals)
Pierre Lambert (1st)
Chris Schlenker (2nd)
Furman South (1st)
Corey Syvret (1st)

Linesmen:
Travis Gawryletz (1st)
Bevan Mills (2nd)
Libor Suchanek (1st)
Jamie Tobias (1st) pic.twitter.com/l9aQL1MHBs

— AHL Communications (@AHLPR) June 1, 2018

Speaking of, if you wanted to see the prospects of the Dallas Stars go up against the prospects of the Toronto Maple Leafs, there’s plenty of ways to do it:

If you can’t make it to the rink, there are still plenty of ways to catch all the action of the 2018 #CalderCup Finals.

→ https://t.co/sJLETFRoko pic.twitter.com/3yO1dSgux9

— AHL (@TheAHL) June 1, 2018

The Buffalo Beauts of the NWHL have re-signed 2018 Rookie of the Year Hayley Scamurra, [The Ice Garden]

Scamurra led the Beauts in scoring last season despite missing two games. She also led her team in goals (7) and shots on goal (63). Scamurra was one of two Team NWHL skaters to score a goal against Team USA in January and was the co-MVP of the 2018 NWHL All-Star Game in Minnesota.