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Quick Strikes: Leafs and Bruins going to game 7 while Tampa Bay Lightning rest

Posted on by Hardev

The Bolts

The Tampa Bay Lightning have selected Ryan Callahan as their nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy. This award goes “to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community…” [NHL dot com]

Dan Gitzler is taking a Lightning Humboldt jersey as far and wide as he can go to honor the people we lost in Humboldt. [Discover Estevan]

The military-themed Tampa Bay Lightning jersey adorned with the number 16 and the name bar reading “Humboldt” has become somewhat famous on social media as Dan Gitzler attempts to send it everywhere Tampa Bay travels on their playoff run.

“At the end of the journey, when the jersey is given to the Humboldt Broncos, the players from these two teams will be part of that history. And that’s really what hockey is about.”

One of my favorite things rinks can do now is when they’re able to turn the ice surface into a big projector screen. The Lightning have taken video of all the animations that they did in the first round and compiled it into one video for your viewing pleasure. [NHL dot com]

Casey Yates + AMALIE Arena on a Saturday + a GoPro = one really cool experience for all to share.

The Prospects

Taylor Raddysh and Boris Katchcouk are still chugging along with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Alex Barré-Boulet returns and provides an immediate impsct for his Armada. And Cole Guttman is our for the season with a hip injury. [NHL dot com]

With 10 points in the seven-game series with Owen Sound, Katchouk now leads all OHL skaters with 23 points in 13 games. He scored twice and added an assist in the Soo’s 4-2 win in Game 2 and has four points through the two games so far in the third round series.

Through the two games vs. Kitchener, Raddysh also has four points, including an assist on Katchouk’s first goal in Game 2. He posted 11 points in their second round series with Owen Sound for 21 points so far, good for second on the Soo and third among all OHL skaters.

The Adirondack Thunder are movingo n to the second round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs where they will play the Manchester Monarchs. [Troy Record]

“We just played one of the biggest, heaviest, hard-working teams,” Tapper said. “Manchester is big and heavy as well. They’ve got speed, skill and goaltending so it’s not going to get any easier that’s for sure. Our guys have been resilient all year. If a goal is scored against we know to be composed, be ready and play with structure after a bad situation.”

Oleg Sosunov is tall. Like, really tall. [How tall? – Acha] [Syracuse]

Yet again, more than any other player, Sosunov easily stood out among the rest. That’s what happens when you are 6-foot-8. That makes Sosunov, 20, the tallest player in team history, one inch taller than defenseman Andrej Sustr. Sosunov is an inch shorter than Boston blueliner Zdeno Chara, the tallest player to ever skate in the NHL.

Cal Foote is turning heads as a rookie in the AHL. The composure he shows for someone his age with his experiene is just off the charts, and it’s helped him grow and succeed in the AHL to degrees well past expectations. [Trentonian]

“It’s a little bit more physical, but the speed is pretty similar. It’s a big step up, and the coaches and the guys helped me out so much in the week before the games actually started, so that helped out a ton for me. It’s been a good adjustment. When I can, I want to play physical and make sure I’m on the right side of the puck. Good things will happen,” said Foote.

The Game

The Toronto Maple Leafs have won two in a row and have forced a Game 7 date on Wednesday night in Boston. This is the only game 7 in the first round this year and with the Lightning finishing off the New Jersey Devils in a mere five games, it gives the bolts a whole week to rest and prepare for their opponent (whoever they will me) for Friday night’s game 1. Here’s how game 6 in Toronto went from both sides of the rink.

[Pension Plan Puppets]

Mike Babcock stacked his lineup with young and fast players and he played them hard. He demoted the expiring UFAs, and he went with the Leafs of the future. This was a hell of a gamble, but it paid off. It was like riding a roller coaster while sucking on a helium tank, but it was a hell of a ride.

Leafs are going to game seven. Let’s take the brakes off the coaster for that one.

[Stanley Cup of Chowder]

Tomas Plekanec (THE WORST) ices it with an empty-netter. A terribly disappointing effort from the Bruins. 3-1 Leafs.

And that’s it! The Bruins laid another egg with a chance to win the series.

Are they egged out, or should we expect another disappointment Wednesday? At this point, it’s hard to tell.

There were lots of intense moments in that game. I would recommend going to The Flintor’s twitter account and watching all it’s GIFs.

Brad Marchand wrote a story of his life in The Players Tribune. Frank Pastor of TBT sort of regurgitates that same story and comments of the moments that made Marchand into what he is. [Tampa Bay Times] [The Players Tribune]

“All the heat I feel from fans in Vancouver and Toronto and Montreal means nothing compared to the love I feel from Boston,” Marchand writes. “I’ll never forget after we beat Vancouver in Game 7 to win the Cup, we flew back to Boston with the Cup, and as we stepped off the plane all the fans were lined up waiting for us, going crazy. One of the police officers came up to us and said, “The city is yours. Enjoy it.”

Speaking of Marchand, the Lightning, and the playoffs. This? This.

Let’s not forget the other game 6 last night. The Washington Capitals defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets, eliminating them from the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs. [RMNB]

The Washington Capitals have defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets in six games to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Ha, what a ridiculous-ass opening sentence that was. Seems fake. But it’s not. Lemme tell you about it. You’re gonna like the part where the Caps win and it’s not in overtime.

Now the Caps will get to face the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round! Wonder if we’ve ever seen that before. [RMNB]

“You said after the second game, when your team trailed, that’d you’d go back to Washington tied 2-2,” Micheletti said. “What made you think that?”

Ovechkin smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t know. Probably believe in each other, believe in this group of guys,” Ovechkin said. “We do pretty good job handle the pressure, stay the course. It was a pretty fun series.

Highlight of the Night: Do a barrel roll, Bob!

Editor’s Note: Several of our staff members at Raw Charge are from Toronto or the Greater Toronto Area. Yesterday there was a tragic incident that happened right in the middle of the city. Everyone at Raw Charge grieves with Toronto today, and we will hold the city in our hearts as we watch and celebrate the sport that unites us all.

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Talking Points