Quick Strikes for Sunday, May 3

Editors Note: While we try to get you these morning reads daily, circumstances sometimes prevent it. The past few days have been a case of exactly that. Our apologies for the lapse in coverage.

• Game two of the Lightning / Canadiens series will be this evening at Bell Centre in Montréal, but with the tight contest that was game 1, it still seems like an opportune time to look at (bold, biased, tainted, hyperbole, extravagant) predictions from the Montreal side of the fence for the series. [All Habs]
• Another biased opinion from the same source, but this one more grounded and not looking squarely from the Habs end. [All Habs]
• From our side of the fence, Bill Philp voices his own predictions for the Lightning/Habs series. [Lightning Shout!]
• Still an issue to be dealt with after game 1 is getting team captain Steven Stamkos going again, offensively. [The Hockey Writers]
• Underdog, it’s a title that seems to be tossed around needlessly in the Bolts / Habs series (or at least before it). Our friend Clare Austin gives a stat based look at things… The Canadiens are indeed underdogs, but it’s not that straightforward. [Puckology]
• Now, moving on to the fact game 1 is already in the books: I’ve seen Nikita Kucherov’s goal in double overtime described as “justice” and as “karma”, his second controversial goal of the night (the first being waved off) was one thing for sure: Clutch. [enlightening]
• “We’ve just got to continue to bring it right back. We have a great opportunity now. We won a game on the road and have a chance to win Game 2. We put ourselves in a really good position and we have to come out and take advantage of it.” –Ryan Callahan [Tampa Bay Times]
• Why would Ben Bishop get rattled by thousands of jeering Montreal fans? He equates it to what he went through in college, there’s nothing to it but good fun. [Tampa Bay Times]
• Every September during preseason, the question is passed around if the Tampa Bay Lightning preseason game tonight will be televised. Fans want to see the games… and are always told “no”. This year, that answer changes as the Lightning will play a nationally televised game in Johnstown, Pennsylvania against the Pittsburgh Penguins. [NHL.com]
• The funeral has been held already but we do encourage you to mourn the Detroit Red Wings. [Puck Daddy]
• Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock has an expiring contract with the winged wheel. There’s been speculation out there in the press and among the blogs for a few months already about where he ends up… Yet, here’s a question that I haven’t seen addressed: Do the Red Wings even want him back? [Winging it in Motown]
• You know, Babcock could always end up in New York. [NYI Point Blank]
• And then there’s the goalie situation in Motown; Petr Mzarek and Jimmy Howard will be in competition for the starting job in the crease for the Red Wings come the fall. [Mlive.com]
• Trying to start a fire in a packed arena, in the seating bowl, is no joke. Some journalists believe it is:
  

  So this is the kind of people you employ @detroitnews ? He thinks it’s funny that people could have gotten hurt. pic.twitter.com/pyhuFMNt3R

  — Trouble (@TroubleInTampa) May 1, 2015

• There was only one playoff game yesterday and it was an afternoon affair where the New York Rangers tied up their series with the Washington Capitals. [Blueshirt Banter]
• Readers likely already heard about this one but the 2015 Hart Trophy finalists were announced: Alex Ovechkin, Carey Price and John Tavares. [The Pink Puck]
• In another candidate-revealing, Henrik Lundqvist, Mark Giordano and Brent Burns were named finalists for the NHL Foundation Player Award which represents… Well, click to find out. [The Pink Puck]
• The Masterton Award finalists also came out during the week and two of the three candidates I can understand outright: Devan Dubynk and Kris Letang (the Masterton tends to reflect dedication to the game and players overcoming adversity tend to become nominees). The third makes me scratch my head, though the kid surely deserves credit somewhere: Andrew Hammond? [In Goal Magazine]
• With the New York Islanders eliminated from the NHL Playoffs, the end of their tenure as tenants at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum truly begins. The club started packing up to leave during the week. [NYI Point Blank]
• Now, what comes next for the Coliseum? There’s talk of an AHL team replacing the Islanders, and maybe not the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (the Isles affiliate). [Lighthouse Hockey]
• As the Edmonton Oilers begin a front office realignment under Peter Chiarelli, what about Craig MacTavish? Oh, Mac is still in town… He answers to Chiarelli though. [The Copper and Blue]
• Right now, Las Vegas thoughts are tied to the results of Mayweather / Pacquino, but what about NHL Expansion? Things could be voted on before the start of the 2015-16 season. [ESPN]

Who will win the Tampa Bay Lightning / Montreal Canadiens Atlantic Division Final series?