NEWSLETTER
We had three games on the schedule last night to varying results. The Vegas Golden Knights became the first team in this year’s postseason to advance, easily knocking off the Winnipeg Jets. In fact, it was so easy that Winnipeg head coach Rick Bowness had an incredibly candid postgame presser in which he ripped his team’s (lack of) effort.
Before we chat about the other games last night, here’s tonight’s schedule. Boston, Carolina, Dallas and Seattle can advance with wins.
- The Lightning survived for at least one more game with a win in Toronto. Losing games in which they could advance has become a thing for the Leafs — to the point that they’re losing them at a historic rate currently.
- In the other game last night, the Devils blanked the Rangers 4-0. It was the second shutout of the entire playoffs, and we now need to spend a moment talking about the performance of Akira Schmid. The rookie netminder jumped into the lineup after New Jersey lost the first two games and has been nothing short of magnificent since taking over the crease. He’s stopped 80 of 82 shots in his three starts for a ridiculous .976 save percentage against a Rangers’ offense that was supposed to be unstoppable. Now, the Devils can advance at Madison Square Garden with a Game Six win.
- Speaking of playoffs — and including the Blackhawks at this point — Chicago has five (count em, 5) prospects still alive in their respective CHL playoff series. Those series get going tonight and tomorrow. We’ve got the whole slate for you.
- The IceHogs also begin their best-of-five second-round series with the Texas Stars tonight in Rockford. With a handful of players with experience playing for the Blackhawks this season, they’re looking to make a deep run in the postseason. If you haven’t read it yet, check out my interview with defenseman Isaak Phillips.
- If you’re watching the Cubs game on Sunday night on Peacock, you’ll hear a familiar voice handling the broadcast. Blackhawks play-by-play television voice Chris Vosters will handle the duties of the game.
- I cannot even begin to tell you how much this excites me as a hockey fan. A report out of Ottawa is that May 15 is the deadline for final binding bids to buy the Ottawa Senators, and the group including Ryan Reynolds is going all-in. The “Deadpool” star being an active owner would be such a huge win for the NHL. And, based on this report, it sounds like he’s also looking to make the Sens a much bigger part of the Ottawa landscape as well.
As part of the proposal, we’re led to believe Reynolds and [real estate magnate Christopher] Bratty are committed to building a new rink close to downtown Ottawa that will be surrounded by an entertainment district.
- Finally, I really, really hope you’re following our coverage of the NFL Draft right now. Because our guys are crushing it! And the Bears did very well last night (in my humble opinion).
