Quick Strikes for Thursday, May 28

The Syracuse Crunch were awarded the 2016 AHL All-Star Game. Not only that, but it’ll be during the AHL’s 80th season. So expect some extra-special stuff to go on there because of that. [Syracuse Post-Standard]
And if you’re interested in getting tickets for that, you might want to decide if you’re really going to go sooner rather than later. The Oncenter War Memorial Arena only seats 6,159 for hockey. So tickets will go fast. [Syracuse Post-Standard]
One more thing about the AHL is that the newly formed Pacific Division – that is, all five teams that have relocated to California – will be playing fewer games than the rest of the AHL. This was confirmed by the AHL commisioner during the press conference for the All-Star Game announcement. Presumably for the travel, but teams and fans outside of California aren’t thinking that’s going to be very fair. [Wrong Side of the Red Line]
We had the silly Steven Stamkos narrative of overcoming adversity, but there’s also the ridiculous “shaky” Ben Bishop narrative. The national hockey media doesn’t know what to do with the Tampa Bay Lightning, as usual. Just because you don’t like how a guy plays doesn’t make him a bad player. Or even a nervous one, as the case may be. [bleacher report]
As I’ve been saying since the end of Game 6, just because the New York Rangers have such a great record in Game 7s and elimination games doesn’t mean much. They still haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1994. And really, if you’re going to win an elimination game, then you should win the one that matters the most, right? Well, they haven’t. [ESPN]
And apparently Alex Killorn agrees – the odds are not necessarily in the Rangers’ favor. [ESPN]
If the Lightning – Rangers Game 7 matchup doesn’t thrill you, well, there’s one more to be had. The Chicago Blackhawks will be playing the Anaheim Ducks in Anaheim for Game 7 of the Western Conference Final on Saturday. So you might want to consider pacing yourself, otherwise, it might be a painfully long weekend. [Puck Daddy]
If you’re a music critic – and, frankly, who isn’t? – then you can take some pride in the thought that the NHL usually gets the pregame national anthem right. It might sometimes be painfully drawn out with too much vibrato or the occasional wrong note, but it could be worse. A lot worse, apparently. [SB Nation NHL]
Rumor has it that former New Jersey Devils head coach Peter DeBoer is heading to the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks are supposed to announce their new head coach today, at least. And, really, I guess it’s not much of a rumor if everyone is saying that it’s probably true. [Die By the Blade]
If you just can’t get enough of playoff hockey, and you’ll watch any hockey game so long as it’s hockey, then there’s still the Memorial Cup. Two Quebec Major Junior Hockey League teams will be facing off in a tiebreaker at 7:30 pm ET today. You can cheer on Jonathan Marchessault‘s and JP Cote‘s old team, the Quebec Remparts, or Vincent Lecavalier‘s and Brad Richards‘ old team, the Rimouski Oceanic. [Buzzing the Net]
And finally, if you are interested in potential NHL prospects, here are player rankings from the Western Hockey League by a scout. It’s not a matter of if these guy will get drafted by an NHL team, but who will draft them. Probably. [Dub from Above]

Talking Points