The Bolts
Thai 5 is a local Tampa area Thai food restaurant that Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman apparently is a loyal customer to. Yesterday, he met the head chef and gave him a signed jersey as a show of gratitude for all the great food he’s eaten over the years. It really doesn’t get any better than that.
Chef Khim wearing his autographed TBL jersey given by longtime customer (and super cool guy 😎) Anton Strålman from @TBLightning. Thanks, Anton! 😄 pic.twitter.com/SetGMJaMUp
— THAI 5 FAST FOOD (@Thai5FastFood) May 28, 2019
JustinG. made some pretty bold predictions back in September. He dusted off that old piece of parchment and gave his predictions a nice review you can find here. [Raw Charge]
I’m not sure if our favorite moody Russian winger read this and used it for motivation, but man did he make me look bad. Not only did he reach the century mark, he blew by it in February. In just 62 games he tallied 100 points, becoming the fastest player to reach that mark since 1996-97. He finished with 128 points, setting career highs in goals, assists, points, penalty minutes, shooting percentage, and ice time.
THIS A VOTE! YOU SHOULD DO IT! HELP LOUIS DOMINGUE AND HIS FRIENDS!
One of our favorite moments EVER. 💜
Help us make Louis and our friends at @dailyccc this year’s #NHLFanChoice winners!
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) May 28, 2019
And lastly, happy birthday Erik Cernak!
HBD, kid!! 🎉 pic.twitter.com/pUmTW2hjhg
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) May 28, 2019
The Prospects
In Syracuse, we got official news that Karl Goehring has left the team to pursue an assistant coaching job with the University of North Dakota. This is a promotion for him that hopefully helps him achieve his dream. All the best, Karl, and thanks for the saves on and off the ice.
Thank you @kgoehring1 for everything you’ve done for our organization. First as a player, then as a coach, we’re proud to have you as a member of the #CrunchFamily.
We wish you the best! https://t.co/MERAoWOwxK
— Syracuse Crunch (@SyracuseCrunch) May 28, 2019
Thank you the Tampa Bay Lightning/Syracuse Crunch organizations for the opportunity these past two seasons. First class in everything they do, I am grateful for all the lessons learned and friendships made! #TampaCuse
— Karl Goehring (@kgoehring1) May 28, 2019
Best of luck to @kgoehring1 as he returns to North Dakota after two tremendous seasons with the #SyrCrunch. Crunch goalies ranked second and first in goals-against average in his two seasons, with Eddie Pasquale winning the organization’s first Harry “Hap” Holmes Memorial Award https://t.co/vASle81xP4
— Lukas Favale (@LukasFavale) May 28, 2019
And just to remind you, Alex has episode 2 of her podcast out. [Raw Charge]
This week, Alex starts off by recapping last week’s episode and addressing the departure of Jonne Tammela from the organization. She says a heartfelt goodbye to Crunch goaltending and video coach Karl Goehring, as reports say he is headed back to the University of North Dakota. Alex also addresses the Tampa Bay Lightning’s pending summer off season, and ponders how their moves could affect Syracuse.
ICYM – I said my goodbye to Karl in this week’s Syracuse Speaks. He will be missed 💙. https://t.co/AUvOwgwjWM
— Alexandra (@Allovimo) May 28, 2019
Days after getting his contract terminated by the Tampa Bay Lightning, Jonne Tammela has found a home in Finland with Lukko.
Confirmed: Jonne Tammela (F) | Tampa Bay Lightning -> Lukko | https://t.co/SfXyZkF9yT #Liiga
— EP Transfers (@ep_transfers) May 28, 2019
The Game
Scott Darling’s AHL Charlotte Checkers are in the Calder Cup Final, but that’s probably the last thing he’s thinking about at this time as he and his family just lost Scott Darling Sr. at the young age of 56 in a tragic accident. The thoughts of the hockey world are with the Darling family. [Canes Country]
The father of Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Scott Darling died last week in what the local sheriff’s department called an accidental drowning outside of Memphis, Tenn., the team confirmed to Canes Country today.
We had a pair of head coaches hired yesterday. First, the Edmonton Oilers announced Dave Tippett as their newest victim head coach in a press conference at 11:00am ET.
Three-year deal for Dave Tippett in EDM
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) May 28, 2019
At 11:10am, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced that they have extended AHL Marlies head coach Sheldon Keefe for two more years. It was an hilariously petty move from Kyle Dubas to overshadow the Oilers attempt to rejuvenate their image with a minor move that took over the airwaves in Canada. [Pension Plan Puppets]
With the Toronto Maple Leafs parting ways with assistant coaches DJ Smith (now Senators head coach) and Jim Hillier (politely told to go get a new job elsewhere), people have been speculating on what Sheldon Keefe’s role with the organization will be in the future.
Now, we know.
NEWS: The @MapleLeafs have signed @TorontoMarlies head coach Sheldon Keefe to a two-year contract extension.
Details >> https://t.co/tj683YU9FZ#LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/wXmB4iGA7R
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) May 28, 2019
The SB Nation NHL mock draft is well underway with #4 being selected by the Colorado Avalanche’s Mile High Hockey blog. Take a look at who they picked. [Mile High Hockey]
I recently re-watched one of my favorite movies, Interstellar by Christopher Nolan, director of the Batman trilogy, Inception and Memento (And coming in 2020 Tenet, his version of James Bond!) All of his movies have great music to accompany it. Like the great filmmakers of our age, Quentin Tarantino for example, their movies are always linked to a great score or soundtrack. Take out the music, and the film is nowhere near as good. Interstellar has a great theme song, composed by Hans Zimmer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDsCtDRV2uA which really sets the tone of the movie, it happens to be a song I listen to as part of my pre-game playlist, and it also helps in putting my 5-week-old baby girl to sleep.
If you interested in seeing the prospects go to the gym (SBN has three reporters heading to this), the NHL Scouting Combine is coming up soon and the list of players attending has been announced.
103 Draft-eligible players will attend the 2019 NHL Scouting Combine presented by adidas in Buffalo this week.
The following invited players will not attend: Semyon Chystyakov, Vladislav Firstov, Daniil Gutik, Kaapo Kakko, Danil Misyul and Kirill Slepets. #NHLCombine pic.twitter.com/I5a7DyTcKo
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) May 28, 2019
Former Crunch goaltender, Mike McKenna, has done an amazing job as a goalie analyst on Twitter and his podcast. He took his talents to the NHL website to share his thoughts on Game 1. [NHL dot com]
In his most recent column, McKenna talks about what he saw in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final between the St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Monday, particularly the play of Blues goalie Jordan Binnington during a 4-2 loss. Boston leads the best-of-7 series 1-0.
In a media availability, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters that the NHL is considering expanding video review technology. [USA Today]
“The ability to review and parse plays down to the millisecond has become both a blessing and a curse,” Bettman said. “If we are to extend video replay, and we will be looking at that possibility, we must find the right balance when it comes to how much more to use and when to use it without affecting the flow, pace and excitement of our game.
Cara at Arctic Ice Hockey gave her thoughts on why expanding video review is a stupid idea. [Arctic Ice Hockey]
The NHL is going to look into expanding video review in light of a couple controversial missed calls in the playoffs. This would be a gross overreaction to human error and one step closer to robot referees which is what some people clearly want for the league. Human error is what happens in the game frequently and yet we expect perfection from our on-ice officials. That unrealistic expectation is leading the NHL to explore expanding video replay after this postseason.
