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Stars media staff humiliates Wild fan during Game 5 shoutout

Stars jumbo Tron, via Twitter

The Dallas Stars came out strong on Tuesday night, taking advantage earlier on road to a 4-0 victory over the Minnesota Wild. The Stars were better across the board, and that includes what the media team pulled off during the game on the Jumbo Tron.

As the Stars led 3-0 on route to take advantage in the first round series, the media team had some fun putting up live images of Wild fans attending the game in Dallas.

Then, they poked fun at some poor Wild fan who sported many piercing on his face and body, and added some caption to completely humiliated him.

This is what fans saw on the Jumbo Tron as the Stars’ media staff made fun of the Wild’s fan with the captions: “I’ve got a piercing for every time the Wild has disappointed me.”

And the question: “so what are you going to pierce next?”

Brutal. I can’t say if the insult hurt him as much as Marcus Foligno’s knee-on-knee hit with Radek Faksa during the first period. Faksa remained facedown on the ice after the collision near the blue line and had to be helped off the ice, which appeared to inspire Dallas to get the win for their fallen teammate.

Faksa did return to the game, Foligno was ejected and could face additional discipline, and that poor fan become famous for his piercings, some questionable jokes about a Prince Albert addition…

You have to admit that the Stars are playing a great game on the ice – and on the Jumbo Tron in Dallas!

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Oilers’ fans called out for total lack of class during Game 5

FOX

The Edmonton Oilers came out on top on Tuesday night, getting the 6-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings to take a 3-2 lead in their first round series, with a quirky goal from Game 4 overtime hero Zach Hyman’s face.

The Oilers are a win away from advancing to the second round and fans at Rogers Place were loud and excited, but they started trending for all the wrong reasons during the game on social media.

In the second period, the Oilers look to prevent the Kings from making a comeback and captain Connor McDavid fired a slap shot at the net, only for the puck to crush against Kings defenseman Drew Doughty’s kneecap in the process.

Doughty quickly reacted in pain to the block shot and struggled to make it back to the Kings’ bench. The Oilers’ crowd loved it and cheered as the blue liner was hurting.

Right away, the local fans’ reactions was called out on Twitter as viewers across the league couldn’t understand how you can cheer for someone getting hurt on NHL ice. Even if it’s a rival player.

The Twittersphere sounded off on the Oilers’ fans’ total lack of class and some even hinted at some bad karma for the rest of the series, despite Edmonton winning the first lopsided game of the matchup.

HyperEmbed: Twitter – Cheryl Cullen on Twitter

Doughty is a warrior and went back to the bench before jumping right back into the mix on the ice. He is not expected to miss more time for the block shot that trigger some nasty reactions from Oilers’ fans.

Edmonton now has the chance in this series to close it out on the road on Saturday.

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Pierre-Luc Dubois lands back in monster trade chatter amidst Jets’ playoff struggles…

NHL.com

The ongoing speculation on the Montreal Canadiens attempting to acquire Jets star forward Pierre-Luc Dubois is still strong despite Winnipeg battling to stay alive in the postseason. However that does not stop the Habs from being interested in making a pitch to land Dubois this summer, as Sportsnet’s Eric Engels points out, provided the asking price isn’t too high.

Dubois is scheduled become a restricted free agent for the last time in his career in July, and the Canadiens would be able to sign him to an extension if they acquire him this summer. Montreal has more salary-cap flexibility this off-season compared to last summer, with $9.66 million in projected cap space for 2023-24 with 20 roster players under contract per Cap Friendly. On top of that, the Canadiens could benefit from an added $10.5 million by placing permanently-sidelined goalie Carey Price on long-term injury reserve.

It remains to be seen if Canadiens GM Kent Hughes will look to make a splash on the free agent market this summer or keep his focus on Dubois. Recently, a hypothesis emerged in which, if Dubois remains unsigned after July 1st, the Canadiens would have a four-day window to submit an offer sheet to Dubois. Seeing that Dubois will become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2024, this means he only has one more season to complete in order to attain full autonomy.

For now, Dubois remains focused on the postseason as the Jets need to stay alive on Thursday night when facing the Golden Knights in Game 5. Vegas could close the series at home as it leads the first round 3-1.

But then Dubois, what will you choose to do if the Canadiens keep asking to have you in Montreal?

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Verdict on Michael Bunting’s return in limbo per head coach Keefe

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Toronto Maple Leafs forward Michael Bunting is eligible to return from his three-game suspension on Thursday and fans still don’t know if he will be slotted back into the lineup for pivotal Game 5 against the Tampa Bay Lightning after his three-game suspension is served.

“It’s not as easy or as simple a decision as it may have been earlier in the series,” said Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe about slotting Bunting back in on Tuesday.

“We will take our time and sort through it. We have a group of guys who have played real hard.”

The call will be made by Keefe, who knows Bunting professionally better than anyone else. He has coached him for two years both in Toronto and during their junior days with the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. But based on the head coach’s comments, Bunting may remain out of the lineup until an issue comes up with the current group that has won three consecutive games against the Lightning and could reach the second round of the postseason for the first time since 2004 on Thursday.

I am not debating whether or not Bunting is a good hockey player : he is an affordable 20-goal guy who brings a lot of physicality to the Maple Leafs, an element that was missed in the three games Bunting was banned. But as Mike Stephens of The Hockey News puts it: “it would have almost been preferable from Toronto’s point of view for their winger to have earned a four-game sentence and spared them from the situation they are currently in.”

Because Keefe made it clear : rookie Matthew Knies isn’t going anywhere. And so if Bunting returns, who comes out?
The Maple Leafs return for practice today ahead of Thursday’s Game 5 at Scotiabank Arena and the lineup projection will certainly give us the answer on whether or not Bunting draws back in…

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Evander Kane gets Kings’ fan fired following hostile encounter in LA

NHL.com

You may have heard about the disturbing incident Edmonton forward Evander Kane brought to public attention after Game 4 in Los Angeles when he claimed that young Oilers fan named Cecily Eklund, who is battling brain cancer, was spit and sworn at when she attended the fourth contest of the first round series.

“There was a fight just two rows in front of Cecily, she was spit on, sworn at,” said her mother.

Kane took to social media to call out the fans that took part in the unacceptable incident and when he did so, the Oilers’ forward was insulted and abused. He shared screenshots of a vulgar direct message he says he received.

“Maybe you should be kind and not be such a f—–g scum bag,” the message stated. “We Kings fans literally hate you. You made us spit on kids for being a dirty mother f—-r. Listen to your own words and be kind. You f—-n scum bag.”


When digging, it was reported that the fan who posted the hateful message work at Mercedes-Benz of Escondido, a car dealership north of San Diego. Global News inquired with the company, which confirms an employee with the same name no longer works for the company.

The person’s Instagram account also seems to have been deleted.

What should be noted from this disturbing story is that no all fans are alike and some Kings’ faithfuls chose to support Cecily and her fight against cancer by posting Cecily’s Stollery donation page online and encouraged others to donate.

“Let’s show her what real Kings fan are like,” posted Twitter user ZachtheKingsFan.

By Tuesday afternoon, Cecily’s mother has noticed that Kings fans had donated more than $7,000 to her daughter’s donation page.

“Real Kings fans are rooting for you,” said a supporter that donated $25.

That’s the ending we wanted.

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Tage Thompson gets dragged through mud by former teammate

NHL / Press conference

Buffalo Sabres giant forward Tage Thompson has been described as flawless and perfect on the ice. However, a former teammate of his used other – more unflattering – words to describe the young player.

When former NHLer Patrik Berglund was a guest on the Cam and Strick podcast earlier this week, he revealed what he thought of Thompson when he first came into the league and how he never imagined the kid would turn into a NHL superstar. The two were traded together from the St. Louis Blues to Buffalo back in 2018 amongst others pieces for Ryan O’Reilly, and Berglund couldn’t stand the rookie.

“I hated Tage Thompson. He was a little arrogant, came here right away and thought he was a big deal.”

But now, Thompson IS a big deal, Berglund…

The 25-year-old center finished the 2022-23 season with 47 goals and 94 points, which gave him one of the greatest individual seasons in Sabres history. At 6-foot-7, Thompson became the tallest player to ever score 40 goals and record 80 points in a season.

Berglund wasn’t kind to Thompson in his interview and wondered how the young rookie could be so confident, but if you dig a little further, it makes sense. Being the son of a former professional hockey player who is also the head coach of the Islanders’ AHL affiliate you probably receive a different level of tutelage.

And Thompson has now proven to everyone, including Berglund, that he is a big deal in the NHL.

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Michael Bunting reveals more of what happened after his hit on Erik Cernak

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Head coach Sheldon Keefe has confirmed that the Toronto Maple Leafs will not insert forward Michael Bunting back into the lineup for Game 5 of their first round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. On Wednesday during practice, Bunting was the odd man out and will be a healthy scratch for Game 5 despite being eligible to return from his three-game suspension for his hit on Bolts defenseman Erik Cernak.

“He will get back in. It’s just not going to be tomorrow,” said Keefe after practice.

However, Bunting was available for media after practice and explained how he got in contact with Cernak after Game 1 and the hit that has taken the blue liner out of the series. The forward told reporters he texted Cernak to check on his after the contest, per Kristen Shilton. 

“We’ve butted heads a few times. But it’s very unfortunate what happened; obviously I never want to see someone get hurt in this game.”

When asked about being a possible healthy scratch for Game 5, in which the Maple Leafs could move to the second round with a win, Bunting isn’t afraid of having to fight for his spot back into the lineup.

“I want to be impactful, I want to play my game and do things that help our team. There’s a little adversity for me here, but you know what, I’ve gone through adversity my whole life and I made it here.”

It remains to be seen what the Maple Leafs’ lineup will look like for Game 5, but it has to be reassuring for them to know that Bunting was remorseful to the point of contacting Cernak after Game 1.

However, the stats are undeniable in Games 2, 3 and 4 for the Leafs in their first round series as they average 5.33 goals without Bunting in the series. And in Bunting’s absence, the Maple Leafs shown some rare composure, which has benefited them and could finally lead them to Round 2 of the postseason.

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Four teams chosen to play in Europe for Global Series

CBS Sports

The NHL is once again taking things international next season, and earlier today unveiled the teams who will be taking on one another in Sweden. 

The NHL announced that the Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators, and Minnesota Wild all will be doing battle in Stockholm from November16-19. The Red Wings and Senators will kick things off on November 16, followed by the Red Wings and Maple Leafs on November 17. Subsequently, the Wild and Senators will play on November 18, and capped off by the Maple Leafs facing the Wild on November 19.

For the Red Wings, this will be their first international games since they began the 2009-10 season with two straight matchups against the St. Louis Blues in Sweden. 

Swedish natives include Minnesota’s Jonas Brodin, Joel Eriksson Ek and Filip Gustavsson, Ottawa’s Erik Brannstrom and Anton Forsberg, Detroit’s Lucas Raymond and Jonatan Berggren, and Toronto’s William Nylander. 

“A lot of the people that may go to this for the first time in Australia are going because it’s an event — a North American professional sport is playing in Australia — and what we need to do is convince them that this is a sport worth following, that it’s fun, it’s interesting, it’s the kind of sport they can get involved in,” explained the NHL’s senior executive VP of media and international strategy David Proper said. “In a place like Sweden, you’re really dealing at a different level. You’re not trying to explain the sport. You’re trying to polish the sport and the brand to the fanbase there and get casual fans to become avid fans.”

Sweden isn’t the only international destination the NHL is headed for next season, as Los Angeles Kings and Arizona Coyotes are going to be playing a pair of exhibition games in Melbourne, Australia, in September.

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Further controversy unfolds from Marcus Foligno’s knee-on-knee hit

Broadcast via Hockey Daily

Some fans are calling for Minnesota Wild forward Marcus Foligno to be suspend, others want the NHL to leave him alone and slow down all the penalties he’s been assessed in the first round series against the Dallas Stars.

Well, you’ll get none of the above.

According to insider Michael Russo of the Athletic, “The chance of Foligno being further disciplined by the league is miniscule.”

There are reportedly little chances that the NHL Player Safety department calls Foligno in for a hearing after he was assessed a major penalty after he caught Stars forward Radek Faksa with a knee-on-knee hit in Game 5 last night.

Faksa was able to avoid what could have been a significant knee injury and returned to the game, which might have helped Foligno’s case. When asked about the hit, the Wild forward wasn’t as vocal as he’s previously been on the officiating but wondered why he was ejected from the contest.

“A major, I don’t know,” Foligno said. “I don’t agree with it obviously. I’m keeping my lane, and it’s unfortunate we both hit in that leg area. I wouldn’t say it’s a knee-on-knee. I hit him on the upper area. He’s rotating out of the way. I don’t move my leg at all. I stay my course. That’s how I see it.

“If you want to give me a penalty, for sure, but a five-minute and a game misconduct to throw us out of here, yeah, I just don’t agree with that.”

Through five games, Foligno has collected 35 penalty minutes, including two misconducts. Dallas has scored four PPGs on Foligno penalties.

While it may be good news for some fans that Foligno will not get further discipline from the NHL for the hit, it was definitely the turning point in the game. The Stars got the 4-0 win and could not close out the series in Minnesota on Friday.

Unless Foligno stays composed and disciplined and can help his team push the series to an ultimate Game 7.

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Unexpected update emerges on Joe Pavelski ahead of Game 6

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The Dallas Stars got a shoutout win over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday, winning 4-0 and getting the edge 3-2 in the series ahead of Friday’s Game 6. They’re travelling to Minnesota with the chance to close out the series and move on to Round 2.

On Wednesday just after the statement win over the Wild, the Stars may a statement on their own with head coach Pete DeBoer providing a stunning update on Joe Pavelski, per Brien Rea. 

The veteran forward left Game 1 after he was taken out by a massive hit in the series-opening loss, landed in concussion protocol and hasn’t played since.

But it could all change for Game 6 as DeBoer announced that Pavelski would travel with the Stars and was a game-time decision.

This is exciting, but also concerning for the veteran, who has a bit of a concussion history. We mostly remember when he was bloodied and shaken up after a scary fall following a 2019 collision with then-Vegas Golden Knights forward Cody Eakin. DeBoer was his coach then and we can only hope he knows how Pavelski will recover from this.

It sounds good, but let’s stay tuned as this story develops ahead of Friday’s contest.

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