Luke Schenn is having one Hell of a game tonight in his return to Tampa Bay.
The Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman who was recently re-acquired by the Leafs in a deadline trade with the Vancouver Canucks not only has a goal this evening, but he also had a fighting major to go with it. He’s just one assist away from registering the always popular Gordie Howe Hat-Trick.
First up, Schenn scored a beauty of a goal, his first for the Leafs since 2012!
Not bad for a 7th D man!
And if that weren’t enough he ended up going toe to toe with Pat Maroon and dropping his former teammate in the corner!
Great goal! Great fight! Great showing from #2 in white!
Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos recently played in his 1,000th NHL game, all with the Lightning franchise, and well… that’s worth celebrating.
The man they call Stammer has 515 goals, 1055 points, a Rocket Richard Trophy and two Stanley Cups on his resume, but the cherry on top of it all has to be this inspiring, emotional message from his mother:
Oh man… who’s cutting onions in here? I’m gettin’ all misty eyed!
The Detroit Red Wings are on the road for their final two games of the 2022-23 NHL regular season, and minutes before tonight’s game against the postseason-bound Carolina Hurricanes, the team announced that their most important player won’t be hitting the ice.
Minutes ago, the Red Wings official Twitter feed announced that captain Dylan Larkin will not be playing tonight due to a lower body injury.
Earlier this afternoon, the Red Wings recalled forward Danny O’Regan from the American Hockey League Grand Rapids Griffins. Due to Larkin’s absence from the lineup, don’t be surprised to see him slotted in. With 32 goals and 47 assists this year, the Red Wings captain established a new career high in points.
The Red Wings and Hurricanes will get underway from PNC Arena tonight starting at 7:00 PM EST.
The Boston Bruins are currently the toast of the NHL.
The Bruins have set an NHL record with 63 wins on the season, but let’s get real… if they fall on their faces in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs none of it matters. I mean, remember when the Tampa Bay Lightning won 62 games only to get swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round of the playoffs? If the Bruins repeat the Lightning’s playoff showing then there won’t be much fanfare coming out of Beantown, I don’t think.
Personally though, I don’t think the Bruins will have too much trouble with whoever their first round opponent ends up being. They may run into trouble in the second or third round though when they have to face the likes of the Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes or Toronto Maple Leafs though.
In fact, Leafs legend Wendel Clark is banking on his Leafs to take out the Bruins. Clark made a spicy prediction yesterday that the Leafs are the “one team” who can upset the Bruins in the post-season.
Check it out:
I know that people will laugh at Clark for making this tradition given the Leafs’ playoff futility, but the fact of the matter is that it’s time for the Leafs to step up and break through. They may not be the odds on favorite, but frankly I won’t be terribly surprised if the Leafs manage to pull things together for a lengthy run this post-season. Stay tuned.
The Washington Capitals might not want to do it, but after the subpar season they just pulled off, failing to reach the postseason, they might not have another choice.
The disappointing results in 2022-23 have brought on rumours that three key players from the Capitals’ roster could be on the move this summer. Dan Rosen of NHL.com believes that forwards Tom Wilson, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Anthony Mantha could be traded during the offseason.
Rosen recently answered questions on the Capitals’ future and the reporter hinted at some “surgery” coming to Washington, despite management promising captain Alex Ovechkin that a full rebuild won’t take place until after he breaks Wayne Gretzky’s record for most goals in NHL history. However, the Capitals might have to start somewhere, and it could be this summer.
“Maybe Mantha gets traded. Maybe Wilson does. I don’t think you can rule it out because his contract expires after next season,” wrote Rosen.
As for Kuznetsov, there were ongoing chatter throughout the campaign that he was seeking a trade out of Washington. Though the Russian forward denied the rumours, there is rarely smoke without fire. However, Rosen fears that Kuznetsov might not bring back enough to the Capitals in a transaction this summer.
“I think the Capitals would trade Kuznetsov if they can get good value in return for the 30-year-old forward, but he’s having a disappointing season by his standards with 54 points (12 goals, 42 assists) in 76 games. He could have the fewest points in a season he played at least 70 games since he had 37 in 80 games as a rookie in 2014-15, so it might not be the best time to try to trade him.”
I’m not sure if these trade rumours will materialized in the summer, but if I were GM Brian MacLellan, I’d probably check in with Ovi first, especially if I promised him no significant changes before he makes NHL history…
There was unfortunate news on Tuesday that Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Matt Murray was suffering from a concussion and that no timeline was given for his return. Despite the bad news on his health, and potentially his future in the NHL, it hasn’t stopped chatter from emerging, stating that the Maple Leafs could try to trade him or buy him out this summer due to his frequent absences from the lineup.
When Murray was brought in from the Ottawa Senators last summer, Toronto thought it had fixed their issues in between the pipes. But they kept coming back as Murray kept missing action, sparking speculation that he could be changing teams again this offseason, according to Sportsnet’s Luxe Fox.
When Fox was asked if the Maple Leafs could move on to a Ilya Samsonov-Joseph Woll tandem for 2023-24, the reporter explained that they could, but it would all depend on how both goalies do for the last stretch and during the playoffs. Fox suggested the Leafs could trade Murray to a team looking to reach next season’s cap floor as the veteran netminder’s full annual average value is $6.25 million through 2023-24. However, Toronto only carried $4.687 million, with the Senators retaining the rest.
However, I feel like a contract buyout might be the easiest route. The Maple Leafs could also buy him out before the two-week buyout window opens in mid-June, at a reasonable cap hit. It would come at $687,500 for 2023-24 and $2 million in 2024-25, when the salary cap is projected to spike.
It sounds like a move could come for Murray, but which one?
Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand had fallen into a bit of a slump as of late as he was trying to break it before the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs.
He finally did it on Tuesday night against the Washington Capitals, snapping his 17-game scoring drought when beating goalie Charlie Lindgren. The funny thing is that barely no one noticed Marchand’s struggles since the Bruins have been so good.
Marchand had scored his last goal on March 9 against the Edmonton Oilers. He had previously gone 20 games without one in his rookie season in 2009-10, 15 games in the 2014-15 season, but went all the way up to 17 games during this stretch.
The 2022-23 season was not a great one for Marchand, who did not produce at his normal rate over the last month. However, he is expected to put up better numbers once the postseason rolls around.
Marchand has been the Bruins’ leading playoff goal scorer in each of the team’s last four seasons. Last spring, he led the Bruins in playoff goals (4), assists (7) and points (11) through the team’s seven-game series against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The end of this unnoticed 17-game scoring drought might be what Marchand needed to start the playoffs with a bang!
It’s too bad the Winnipeg Jets and the Minnesota Wild don’t face off in the first round of the playoffs. Because Tuesday night’s matchup had everything a good hockey game needs.
With Winnipeg locking the final playoff spot in the West, things got chipy in Minnesota. Ryan Hartman levelled Nikolaj Ehlers with an open-ice, after the Jets’ forward went after superstar Kirill Kaprizov, and Hartman drew a double minor for roughing and interference. Neal Pionk also drew a five-minute penalty for cross-checking.
A scrum erupted in the last minutes of the third frame after ugly hits were delivered, and Wild head coach Dean Evason sent out enforcer Ryan Reaves to provoke a fight on the following shift. Reaches dropped the gloves with Jets’ Adam Lowry and his coach Rick Bowness was not happy about it. He called out Evason and even appeared to mock his height and challenge him to a fight.
Evason responded by waving Bowness over in a fight well never get to see.
Settle down, grumpy old men! You have more important things to focus on. The Jets will face the No. 1 overall seed in the first round starting next week, with the Vegas Golden Knights, Edmonton Oilers, Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars are still competing for the top spot. Minnesota will either play Colorado or Dallas in the first round.
According to multiple online reports, former Dallas Stars forward Raymond Sawada has passed away from a heart attack at just 38 years old.
Sawada was reportedly playing rec-league hockey just outside of his native Vancouver, BC when he suffered a cardiac episode.
The former 2nd round pick (52nd overall in 2004) played just 11 total NHL games, picking up one goal. He had an extensive career in the AHL and overseas though, retiring from professional hockey in 2016.
His family left the following announcement:
It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we share the devastating news of the sudden passing of Ray Sawada. At age 38, Ray passed away on the evening of Monday April 10, 2023, while playing the game he loved. He leaves behind his loving wife, Nicole, his two young and incredibly amazing daughters, Victoria (9) and Charlotte (6), and his supportive, devoted, and dedicated family and friends.
Ray grew up and lived in the City of Richmond. He was a hard-working firefighter for the City of Burnaby. He joined Burnaby Fire in 2017 and has been an integral part of the department where he served with distinction and honor.
Ray was such a bright light in the lives he touched. He enjoyed traveling with Nicole, the girls, and family and friends. He was a talented hockey player and a dedicated coach for his girls. Ray was passionately driven and motivated in everything he did, and the surrounding community will be left with a void.
For the girls and Nicole, losing their dad and husband is going to leave a sad mark on their hearts and make for a long road ahead. From the family, we are truly grateful for the love and support that we have already received. We appreciate every single message and act of kindness. We feel the love. It gives us reassurance that throughout this sad and difficult time, there are so many who love and care for the family.
If you wish to support Nicole as she grieves during this time, while she takes unpaid time off work, to a brighter future for Nicole and the girls. We thank you in advance and feel so fortunate for the love and kindness that people have shared since his passing.
We will honor his life with memories of joy and love and make sure that his bright light continues.
Like all teams at the bottom of the NHL standings, the Montreal Canadiens are again in the running to win the draft lottery and this year’s winner will undoubtedly select generational talent Connor Bedard.
At the moment, the Canadiens are 28th in the league’s standings, giving them an 8.5% chance to select first overall and an 8.8% chance to pick second. However, if they failed to win the lottery on May 8, a Montreal radio station suggested a controversial blockbuster trade to make sure they get the franchise-changing player.
BPM Sports took to Twitter to asked Habs’ fans if they would consider trading Canadiens’ captain Nick Suzuki and star forward Cole Caufield to land the first overall pick and select Bedard for a rebuild in Montreal.
The radio station got close to 7000 votes and reactions on the poll, with fans refusing to part with Suzuki and Caufield if the Canadiens cannot win the lottery.
Prior to the deadline, there were a multitude of trades involving first-round picks at the 2023 trade deadline. As a result, the Canadiens, Columbus Blue Jackets, Arizona Coyotes, Detroit Red Wings, Nashville Predators, Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks all have two selections in the first round, and the St. Louis Blues own three. The Ottawa Senators, New York Islanders, Edmonton Oilers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Los Angeles Kings, New Jersey Devils, Dallas Stars and Boston Bruins all traded away their first-round draft picks and don’t have a selection within the first 32 picks.
However, trading the two faces of the franchise in Montreal to land Bedard might not be the right call.
But also, Bedard is a beast, and one and a lifetime saviour for any club at the bottom of the standings. He racked up 71 goals and 72 assists in just 57 games for the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League this season. Bedard was the first player to earn exceptional status in the WHL after scoring 43 goals and 84 points in 36 games for West Van Academy Prep’s U18 team, leading the Canadian Sports School Hockey League (CSSHL) in scoring and earning MVP honours as a 14 year old. Bedard’s dream season with the Pats is now over, and he shifts his focus to the NHL Draft lottery. Like most hockey fans whose teams are out of the postseason.
When it comes to the poll by BPM Sports, it’s a tough call, but really, the fans in Montreal seemed to have may the right one.
