The Lightning
-Here’s your reminder to vote for the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Andrei Vasilevskiy and Louis Domingue in the NHL Fan Choice Awards!
-Speaking of the Fan Choice Awards, the Lightning don’t have a pony in the animal race, so maybe vote for this very good pupper?
Barclay taking a victory lap around the @StLouisBlues office is precious! 💙 #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/cTK7lf3Xk2
— NHL (@NHL) June 4, 2019
-Bryan Burns feels that Nikita Kucherov should win both the Hart Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award. Why? Well….Most convincing is this little nugget:
And while his playoffs, like the team he played for, was certainly unexpected and disappointing, don’t let that cloud your vision of Kucherov’s remarkable season, particularly as it relates to these awards. Voting for both was conducted at the conclusion of the regular season, meaning postseason performances bear no weight.
-Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Lightning were one of the few teams in the league who barely used the 3F/2D power play formation:
Every team did spend at least some time in the 3F/2D formation on the power play, but ARI (66% of their minutes), NSH (57%), and MIN (52%) used it most. TB (4%), COL (7%), and TOR (8%) used it least.
— Meghan Hall (@MeghanMHall) June 4, 2019
-This kid is so happy! We need more of this unbridled joy.
this is how you properly tie your skates pic.twitter.com/hnjotMZxsv
— Lightning Made Hockey (@LightningMade) June 4, 2019
Syracuse Speaks
-Make sure to check out episode three of our newest podcast, Syracuse Speaks! In this episode, Alex recapped last week’s news, including the departure of assistant coach Ken Klee from the Syracuse Crunch organization. She then discussed Mike Angelidis for a bit too long before diving into recapping the 2018-19 season month-by-month, starting with October and November.
Ex-Syracuse Crunch player updates
The Florida Panthers have re-tooled their coaching staff, moves that included hiring newly-retired Derek MacKenzie as an assistant coach.
“We have assembled a talented coaching staff with unique perspectives and a wealth of hockey experience,” said Head Coach Quenneville. pic.twitter.com/qs564RIQdm
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) June 4, 2019
MacKenzie spent part of his career playing for the Syracuse Crunch when they were affiliated with the Columbus Blue Jackets:
Derek MacKenzie spent three seasons with the #SyrCrunch (2007-10) and ranks 13th in franchise history with 148 points in 173 games. He had a career-high 52 points in 2008-09 and was named captain in 2009-10. https://t.co/oFFvsdwS7Y
— Lukas Favale (@LukasFavale) June 4, 2019
-Mike McKenna’s podcast is still going strong. This week, he had Glenn Hall on, something that felt like a bit of a special occasion:
It was surreal talking with Glenn Hall, and I’m really happy with the episode of @6DegreesMM. There’s do much wisdom in his words. I can’t think of anyone in hockey that wouldn’t learn something from him. Please give it a listen!https://t.co/xE8YpPmDZF
— Mike McKenna (@MikeMcKenna56) June 4, 2019
If any @6DegreesMM podcasts have the ability to shine some light on those who came before us, the Glenn Hall episode is it. Goalies from his era had so much courage. He was such a captivating person to speak with. If you appreciate the history of our position, it’s a must-listen.
— Mike McKenna (@MikeMcKenna56) June 4, 2019
Speaking of McKenna, his latest column is up for the NHL.com. McKenna dishes on what he saw during game four of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Each goalie made big saves to keep the game low scoring, although there was a plethora of shots that missed the net. What really stood out about Game 4 was how each team, especially the Blues, generated scoring chances.
McKenna will also be live-tweeting game three of the Calder Cup finals tonight!
👀 Give McKenna a follow to keep up with tomorrow’s #CalderCup Finals game! #HockeyTwitter https://t.co/oI9Tu3ptoF
— AHL (@TheAHL) June 4, 2019
The Solar Bears
-The Orlando Solar Bears are hosting an equipment sale on Saturday, June 15.
Among the items available for sale are sticks, skates, gloves, helmets, pants, goaltender equipment, team apparel and a limited selection of game-worn jerseys. All items are available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
The Others
-Are you keeping track of SBNation’s NHL First Round Mock Draft? We have what you need!
Each day, we’ll update this post with the new selections made on that day. The first two picks in this year’s draft are pretty much locked in, even if the order is still up for debate. But after that, things will get interesting.
-This week on Bantering the Blueshirts, New York Rangers bloggers Joe and Mike were joined by The Athletic’s Alison Lukan. The trio talked about what John Davidson brought to the Blue Jackets and what he might bring to the Rangers, among other topics.
-You know that league rulebook that NHL fans seem to complain about a lot? The one that fans want officials to follow? Maybe we need to be careful about what we wish for, suggests Sean McIndoe of The Athletic. (pay-walled)
