So, the World Championship semifinals didn’t go the way lots of fans on our continent hoped. Canada lost in a shootout, sending Philipp Kurashev and Switzerland to the championship game against the hosts from Czechia (including Petr Mrazek), who hung a seven-spot on the previously undefeated Swedes. Of course Mrazek hasn’t been playing for Czechia and Kurashev has been a scratch for the Swiss, so we might not see a single Blackhawk in the gold medal game.
Connor Bedard made an impact in the semifinals. He set up John Tavares for the game-tying goal inside the final three minutes of regulation, and then was the only Canadian to convert in the shootout. He skated 13:04 in the game.
Ben Pope at the Chicago Sun-Times is the latest to offer his breakdown of the Blackhawks’ apparent choice at No. 2 between Russian forward Ivan Demidov and Michigan State defenseman Artyom Levhshunov.
Travis Kelce, Dirk Nowitzki and Cole Hamels were among the celebs in the house for the Stars hosting the Oilers in Game Two of their Western Conference final series last night. Apologies for not making any weakly attempted references to a Taylor Swift song here. The folks on the Turner broadcast had enough for last night and today.
Did you watch any of the DataCast on the alternate channels last night? It was okay. If you wanted to know that Connor McDavid could break the speed limit in a school zone, they confirmed it.
The guys at The Athletic offered a few thoughts on why the Blackhawks and Islanders made their trade involving draft picks now instead of closer to/during the draft. Powers reminds us the Blackhawks have two early picks in the third round, so moving out a pick in the late-second to move up in the first and second isn’t an enormous price to pay.
A few interesting nuggets from David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period here, including another note about Martin Nečas wanting out of Carolina. I’m fascinated that he, like the guys at The Athletic, wonders out loud if the Islanders are stockpiling picks to use in packages to dump contracts this summer. I’m more interested in the thought that the Isles might be a player if Winnipeg puts Nikolaj Ehlers out there.
Finally, this got my attention. I do enjoy a good trade rumor and some well-placed speculation.
NEWSLETTER
