The Ditch part deux

Bolts beat Isles, 8-0... boring.

 

Will.........Habs are winning 3-0 in the 2nd period......if they win tonight they could take game 6 on Home Ice.

 

Habs win it, 4-1, wow. Talk about Cinderella. The Price IS right!

Isles, Bolts, tonight 8pm et...

 

LOL...........Price is right.

NY Isles.............can you imagine Will..........Montreal vs NYI for the "CUP"

 

Canadiens defeat Golden Knights in Game 6, advance to Stanley Cup Final
Lehkonen wins it at 1:39 of OT; Montreal to face Lightning or Islanders

 

Hakstol hired as coach of expansion Kraken

The 52-year-old was an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs the past two seasons. Prior to that, he coached the Philadelphia Flyers for parts of four seasons from 2015-18, getting fired 31 games into the 2018-19 season.

The Kraken will enter the NHL as its 32nd team for the 2021-22 season. The 2021 NHL Expansion Draft will be held July 21, and Seattle has the No. 2 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft on July 23.

"I view it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in order to be part of something that we have an opportunity to build from the ground up," Hakstol said.

 

This is a good hire for Seattle...........and now the Leafs want to hire Bruce Boudreau to replace him.

 

Canadiens versus Lightning begins Monday night, 8pm et

Im definitely rooting for the Habs.

 

Im definitely rooting for the Habs.


As much as I hate to say it...........so am I Will.

 

Canadiens at Lightning

8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS

Stanley Cup Final, Game 1

The Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens will play Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final at Amalie Arena on Monday.

The Lightning are trying to win the Stanley Cup for the second straight season after defeating the Dallas Stars in six games in the Final last season at Rogers Place in Edmonton, a neutral site with no fans in attendance due to the coronavirus pandemic. Montreal is attempting to win it for the first time since 1993.

"There's a different buzz knowing we're opening this in front of our home fans," Lightning forward Blake Coleman said. "We know the city is behind us. It's electric around here."

Tampa Bay is the fourth defending champion since 2000 to return to the Cup Final the following season, joining the Pittsburgh Penguins (2016, 2017), Detroit Red Wings (2008, 2009) and New Jersey Devils (2000, 2001).

The Penguins were the only one of those teams to repeat as champions.

"One of the first thoughts for a lot of guys when we had the Cup and were with the Cup and spending time with the Cup was, we can't wait to do this again because it's so amazing," Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said. "That has been the mindset all season long."

The Canadiens are standing in their way after finishing 18th in the regular season in points percentage (.527). Montreal has won 11 of its past 13 games in the playoffs.

"We're just going to stay in the moment, to be honest," Montreal captain Shea Weber said. "We're in the position we want to be, but we're not at the end result."

Teams that win Game 1 are 61-20 (.753) winning a best-of-7 Stanley Cup Final series. However, each of the past three Stanley Cup champions lost Game 1 before going on to win the series (Washington Capitals, 2018; St. Louis Blues, 2019; Lightning, 2020).

Here are 3 keys for Game 1:

1. Goaltending battle
Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy called it a "big personal challenge" to play against Canadiens goalie Carey Price in the Cup Final.

Price also gave credit to Vasilevskiy for how he's played and battled in the Lightning's return trip to the Final.

Each has won 12 games. Vasilevskiy has a 1.99 goals-against average, .936 save percentage and four shutouts. Price has a 2.02 GAA, .934 save percentage and one shutout.

"Goaltending is a big part of this series," Lightning forward Brayden Point said. "It's been a big part of the playoffs for both teams and I don't know if there is an edge one way or the other."

2. Armia's status, special teams
The Lightning are 37.7 percent on the power play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Canadiens haven't allowed a power-play goal in 13 straight games, going 30-for-30 on the penalty kill in that stretch. They're 93.5 percent on the PK in the playoffs.

A concern, however, is that Montreal may be without forward Joel Armia, who is a game-time decision after being placed in NHL COVID-19 protocol Sunday.

Montreal assistant Luke Richardson said after the morning skate that Armia was cleared from protocol and will fly to Tampa from Montreal.

Armia has played the second most shorthanded minutes among Montreal forwards (33:03) behind center Phillip Danault (44:14). He has scored two shorthanded goals.

Jake Evans, who hasn't played since June 2 because of a concussion, would replace Armia in the lineup.

3. Danault's next matchup
Danault has been a big reason why the Canadiens have been able to shut down some of the NHL's top forwards in the playoffs, including Auston Matthews and Mitchell Marner of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Nikolaj Ehlers and Blake Wheeler of the Winnipeg Jets, and Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone of the Vegas Golden Knights.

His next challenge with linemates Brendan Gallagher and Artturi Lehkonen might be the toughest, shutting down or at least limiting the Lightning's top line, of Point, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat.

Point is the leading goal scorer in the playoffs with 14. Kucherov leads the playoffs with 27 points (five goals, 22 assists).

"I know he's good in the face-off circle, he competes very hard and they're responsible," Point said of Danault. "[Montreal's top line is] good with the puck. They don't fuel your rush too much. They don't turn the puck over and they make you earn every inch. So, if that's the matchup, it's going to be a tough one."

NHL.com

 

Game # 4..........will it be a Sweep......I would like to see Montreal win tomorrow night and Tampa can win the Cup at Home.

...............HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY ALL.......enjoy your 4th with Family and Friends.

 

Seems like all they can do is prolong the inevitable. It was a great run for the Canadiens, but TB is too strong right now.

Price will start tonight... game at 8pm et.

 

Seems like all they can do is prolong the inevitable.


Habs win game 4 in OT...........it is Inevitable Will.....But it's also Yogi Time.

"It ain't over till it's over"

 

IF....(Biggest word in the English Dictionary) ....if the Habs win tonight they will win game # 6 on Home Ice and force a Game 7.

Tampa will be Locked and Loaded for tonight's game.....they do not want to go back too Montreal.

 

It's Over and the Lighting could 3-Peat.

 

This is interesting........

....Chicago Bears have the # 1 pick in next season NFL Draft.

Chicago Blackhawks are in a good position for the Lottery and the #1 Draft in the NHL.

If the Blackhawks get Connor Bedard watch out for them.

 

I jerked out a tear. First post here in over a year.

 

I jerked out a tear. First post here in over a year.


Nice rhyme Joe........lol

Your Leafs are playing well and good luck in the playoff's.

Now will they trade for Luke Scheen......

 

More hockey talk here would be nice. My Florida Panthers finally getting something right would be better.