The Lightning
Andrei Vasilevskiy and Louis Domingue of the Tampa Bay Lightning are both up for an NHL Fan Choice Award!
Our goalies are up in the #NHLFanChoice Awards!
Louis’ #HockeyFightsCancer mask designed by our friends at @dailyccc is up for Best Feel Good Moment and Vasy’s epic toe save against Marleau is up for Save of the Year ⬇️ https://t.co/1Up6xZosjX
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) May 15, 2019
Our newest entry in our player grades series took a look at a forgettable season for forward Ondrej Palat.
Injuries have been the biggest concern over his career. He has never played all 82 games of a season with the closest being the 2013-14 season, when he played 81 games.
Looking just at points, this was his weakest season, despite playing on the top line for part of it. For the first time in his career, he didn’t reach the 10-goal mark and had just 34 points, which is one point fewer than in 2017-2018, when he played only 56 games.
Mathieu Darche, a former Lightning player (and Crunch player from another era) has landed his dream job with Tampa. How did it happen? Good question! I dunno because of a pay-wall, but if you have an account with The Athletic, you can find out!
The Crunch
With the off season in full swing, the Syracuse Crunch’s front office has taken to staying together despite the downtime.
The @SyracuseCrunch staff is excited for the permanent Dino Zone at @MOSTSyracuse!
Congrats, @laurenkochian! pic.twitter.com/m6vWMGqC0u
— Andrea Marino (@anmarino46) May 15, 2019
The Others
The Sharks beat the Blues 5-4 in overtime to take a controversial 2-1 series lead in the Western Conference Final. Just what these playoffs needed, another missed call by the officials. Fear the Fin has the recap.
Well, that was … interesting. Let’s cut right to the chase. Meier took a shot, then hit the puck with his glove, which bounced off his chest, into open ice, and onto Nyquist’s stick blade. He passed it to his countryman Karlsson who put it in the back of the net. The play was a hand pass and should’ve been ruled dead.
Sean McIndoe wonders: Which of the 15 draft lottery teams should consider trading their picks? (pay-walled, so I have no idea which 15 he picked)
There are two annual traditions when it comes to the lottery picks in the NHL draft. The first is that fans and media get very excited about the possibility of at least a few of those picks being traded, either in the weeks leading up to the big day or (even better) in dramatic draft floor blockbusters. Trade rumors are catnip for all of us, so we come up with all sorts of scenarios and possibilities and argue back and forth over which ones are the most likely to turn into reality.
The second tradition is that just about none of those rumored trades ever actually happen.
Charles Glenn is the anthem singer for the St. Louis Blues. The soulful performer isn’t letting his battle with MS get in the way of his job.
“You’re the person who sets the energy. You’re setting the mood and the atmosphere for what’s about to happen,” said Glenn, 64, who has been singing the national anthems at Blues games for 19 years.
Mike McKenna was on the airwaves in St. Louis yesterday, discussing his storied career.
Very cool to have NHL goaltender and St. Louis native @MikeMcKenna56 sit in this morning with the @RizzShow – talking about his career, the playoffs, and much more! If you missed it, check out video from this morning’s #RizzShow here: https://t.co/OxSw7ZsGOF pic.twitter.com/Fn5mtstqyJ
— 105.7 The Point (@1057thePoint) May 15, 2019
The Manchester Monarchs seemed to survive the transition from the AHL to the ECHL a few years ago, but unfortunately news broke yesterday that the once-dominant minor league team is closing its doors for good.
The Kings moved the Monarchs to the lower-level East Coast Hockey League in 2015, relocating their AHL team closer to the West Coast. The team has experienced a drop in attendance in recent years. The New Hampshire Union Leader reported earlier this year that the team was up for sale.The letter posted this morning doesn’t make clear when the team will officially fold.
The Other Others
This has absolutely nothing to do with anything, but…it’s the off season, and I like Bruce Willis.
Actor Bruce Willis moonlighting as a pitcher for the Phillies. pic.twitter.com/VzFWduNDT3
— Dan Gelston (@APgelston) May 15, 2019
