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Sheldon Keefe sounds off on Stamkos, the Lightning and an NHL referee!

Saturday night’s Game 3 between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Toronto Maple Leafs was the site of something that has never before been seen in the history of the National Hockey League, a fight between a pair of 60 goal scorers.

It wasn’t very much of a fight at all though and in fact you could probably argue that it was more of an assault on the part of Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, who used a chaotic situation during the game to take a few shots at Toronto Maple Leafs star forward Auston Matthews.

The two men clashed after a scary-looking hit from Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly sent Lightning forward Brayden Point crashing head and shoulders first into the boards, with Stamkos delivering several unanswered punches to the face of Matthews while being restrained by the officials.

Following the conclusion of the game, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe was asked about the incident and he used the opportunity to sound off on Stamkos, the Lightning, and even NHL referee Jake Brenk.

“The fight itself, that’s a classic example of a veteran championship team like Tampa Bay manipulating the officials and taking advantage of a situation, right?” said Keefe following Game 3. “I mean they know that we’re basically already going on the power play because of the Kucherov situation so it’s a free-for-all. They can do whatever they want and they just know that the way the games get called they’re not going to get another penalty. I mean you watch that sequence back and say that we shouldn’t get a 5-on-3. The officials literally holding Steven Stamkos with one arm and his other hand with no glove on is punching Auston Matthews. Not the linesman, the referee who calls the penalty was holding Stamkos while this was happening. Credit to Tampa for recognizing that situation, it’s a free pass to do what you want. Not only do they get out of it unscathed, but they take Matthews and O’Reilly with them to the box. Brilliant play by the Lightning there.”

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Jared Bednar shares a shocking update on Valeri Nichushkin.

The Colorado Avalanche picked up a big win in Game 3 of their opening round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Seattle Kraken, but perhaps the biggest news of the night would come following the conclusion of the game itself.

During his post-game comments, Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar would drop a bombshell as it pertains to veteran forward Valeri Nichushkin. Nichushkin, who was notably absent from Game 3 on Saturday night, sounds like he will be absent from the team for some time with Bednar revealing that he has left due to “personal reasons.”

Those comments on their own would come as a shock during a time like the Stanley Cup playoffs, but they were amplified several times over when Bednar revealed that he had no idea when the 28 year old winger might return. Bednar confirmed that Nichushkin is no longer in Seattle, but when asked about whether or not this could be a long term situation the Avalanche coach appeared to be at a loss.

“I have no idea,” admitted Bednar in his post-game comments.

Nichushkin has been a staple of the Avalanche’s forward group for several seasons now and appeared in 53 regular season games this season, recording 17 goals and adding 30 assists for a total of 47 points. This will be a huge loss for the Avalanche moving forward, especially if this does prove to be a long term absence from the Russian forward.

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Auston Matthews and Steven Stamkos trade punches in Game 3!

Things have turned ugly in Game 3 between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

A heated exchange in the third period has resulted in several penalties, an injury to Lightning forward Brayden Point, and even something of a scrap between two superstars in Lightning captain Steven Stamkos and Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews.

It was a hit from Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly that would draw the ire of the Lightning but, since he couldn’t get his hands on Rielly, Stamkos would go for the next best thing and instead targeted Auston Matthews.

Here’s a longer clip of what led to the exchange:

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Jon Cooper furious over disallowed goal in Game 3.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are furious heading into the second intermission, this in spite of the fact that they currently boast a 3-2 lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs after 40 minutes of play.

Lightning head coach Jon Cooper nearly blew a gasket on the Lightning bench after a mistake from the National Hockey League’s officials cost his team what would otherwise have been a sure goal.

In fact it appeared as though Lightning forward Brayden Point had scored a goal after Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov lost sight of the puck, but one of the officials on the ice prematurely blew his whistle. This resulted in the play being blown dead prior to the puck crossing the goal line, and even upon review the officials were forced to deprive both Point and the Lightning of a goal.

This resulted in Cooper snapping on the bench, launching a tirade at the officials that had just cost his team so dearly.

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Rick Bowness shares a devastating update on Josh Morrissey.

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The Winnipeg Jets have just confirmed the worst.

According to an official update from Jets head coach Rick Bowness, veteran defenseman Josh Morrissey will miss the remainder of the first round due to a “lower body injury” that he suffered in the opening moments of Game 3.

Morrissey was on the ice only briefly, less than a minute and a half of total ice time, before an awkward collision with Las Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud appeared to cause the injury. Morrissey could be seen struggling to get off the ice, but he would make it back to the Jets bench before eventually leaving the game for good.

It’s hard to oversell how devastating of a loss this is for the Jets on the blue line, especially considering the length of time that Morrissey is likely to be out with the team already ruling him out for the entire first round.

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Leafs GM Kyle Dubas caught chirping at Lightning fans in Game 3.

The first round series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Toronto Maple Leafs appeared to reach a boiling point on Saturday night at Amalie Arena, with the physicality between both teams taking a serious step up in intensity.

The game would feature a fight between a pair of 60 goal scorers in Leafs star forward Auston Matthews and Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, which itself was part of a larger scrum that ensued off the back of a hit from Morgan Rielly that left Lightning forward Brayden Point in considerable pain.

Things weren’t just intense on the ice though with the fans in the crowd also getting into the mix, even clashing with Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas at one point during the evening. 

A Lightning fan has published a video on social media that he captured during Game 3 at Amalie Arena, one that shows Dubas getting into it with members of the crowd. Presumably Dubas is going back and forth with opposing fans during the course of the game, although it’s hard to tell exactly when this interaction occurred.

The fan who published the video claims that Dubas was “yelling” at Lightning fans in the crowd after the aforementioned hit on Brayden Point, which would certainly be a bad look for the Leafs GM. That being said, Dubas’ body language and demeanor in this clip certainly doesn’t appear to convey any anger or mean-spiritedness, but we don’t have the benefit of hearing what was actually being said.

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Jim Montgomery names his goalie for Game 4

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The Boston Bruins are set to face off against the Florida Panthers on Sunday afternoon and based on the decision made by Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery it seems safe to suggest that he is hoping to see his team take a stranglehold on this series.

On Saturday, Montgomery hinted at the possibility that we could see backup goaltender Jeremy Swayman make an appearance in Game 4 but that will not be the case after all. Montgomery confirmed on Sunday that it will be Linus Ullmark who once again gets the start for the Bruins.

Here is the rest of your Boston Bruins lineup for Game 4:

Forwards:

Brad Marchand-Charlie Coyle-Jake DeBrusk
Tyler Bertuzzi-Pavel Zacha-David Pastrnak
Nick Foligno-Trent Frederic-Taylor Hall
Jakub Lauko–Tomas Nosek–Garnet Hathaway
Defensemen:

Matt Grzelcyk-Charlie McAvoy
Hampus Lindholm-Brandon Carlo
Derek Forbort-Dmitry Orlov

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NHL Player Safety comes down on Leafs forward Sam Lafferty.

Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports

Things got pretty rough between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Toronto Maple Leafs during Saturday night’s Game 3, but I doubt that many of you expected that it would be Maple Leafs forward Sam Lafferty that would be getting the call from the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety (DOPS) on Sunday.

There was plenty of physicality on both sides last night but the DOPS has chosen to single out Lafferty for a crosscheck that he delivered to the mouth and face of Lightning forward Ross Colton. As a result of his infraction, Lafferty will now be forced to forfeit $3,108.11, in salary which is the maximum allowable amount under the rules of the collective bargaining agreement.

Although Colton may have done a little selling on the play in the hopes of drawing a penalty, there’s no question that Lafferty got too loose with his stick and did in fact strike Colton in face. With that in mind the fine is perfectly warranted, but it is still somewhat surprising to see this particular infraction singled out given the number of dangerous plays that occurred on Saturday night.

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Jon Cooper fires back at Sheldon Keefe after Game 3.

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On Saturday, following the conclusion of Game 3 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning, Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe made some highly publicized comments regarding the way the Lightning conducted themselves during a scrum that occurred off the back of a big hit. That hit, one that came courtesy of Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly, would send Lightning forward Brayden Point crashing awkwardly into the end boards with his head and shoulder absorbing the brunt of the impact.

Keefe accused the Lightning of “manipulating the officials” during the scrum, suggesting that the Lightning took liberties knowing full well that the officials would not put them in a 5 on 3 situation. The Maple Leafs head coach also accused the Lightning of “taking advantage of a situation” adding that “they just know… they’re not going to get another penalty.”

On Sunday, Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper was asked to respond to the comments made by his counterpart in this series, and Cooper flat out denied any knowledge of Keefe’s accusations. Not only did Cooper deny any manipulation, but he also suggested that it was his squad that should have had the man advantage.

“Manipulated the referees. Alright, I’m not sure what that means, but I would say this. When that hit happened, I think everybody watching at home and everybody in the building, including us, thought we were going on the power play,” argued Cooper.

The Lightning head coach would go a step further by suggesting that none of his players did anything, or would do anything, that would have jeopardized that potential power play for the Lightning.

“Our two best power-play players, I don’t think they would ever sit there and take themselves off a power play unless they thought something unjust happened. Auston Matthews doesn’t kill penalties. That actually worked against us, to be honest. Now, we ended up being shorthanded after that, but I don’t think anybody thought that was going to happen at the time, so I don’t know, that one’s a little different for me.”

It seems clear both coaches have drastically different perspectives regarding what transpired last night.

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Second, close-up, video emerges of Kyle Dubas ‘yelling’ at fans.

Earlier today we brought you a report of a video that purports to show Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas ‘yelling’ at fans at Amalie Arena, and now a second video angle appears to corroborate those initial claims.

This second video was published on Tik Tok by user ‘buffyclements1972’ and it provides us with a much closer look at the action that we saw take place in the original video. In this video not only do we get a close up of Dubas himself, one that appears to show considerably more anger from Dubas, but it might even catch the Leafs GM launching a few expletives at the crowd.

We can clearly hear a few f-bombs go off during the clip, with Dubas appearing to mouth the words as well, and on top of that the user who published the video claims the following:

“[Kyle] Dubas with [the Maple Leafs] yelling at [Tampa Bay Lightning] fans at game 3 tonight. I’ve never seen a GM yell F*** off and f*** you at fans before. Great sportsmanship yall should be proud.”

Here’s a look at the second video angle:

@buffyclements1972 Keith Dubas with @mapleleafs yelling at @tblightning fans at game 3 tonight. Ive never seen a GM yell Fuck off and fuck you at fans before. Great sportsmanship yall should be proud #nhl #nhlplayoffs #tampabaylightning #torontomapleleafs #game3 #amaliaarena #hockey #nhlplayoffs2023 ♬ original sound – Buffy Clements

It was a very intense Game 3 on Saturday night and it seems emotions were running high all over Amalie Arena.