Lightning are the team to beat in the NHL

Expect Stanley Cup to reside in Tampa Bay once again

A Victor Hedman card.

All players and staffers with the Tampa Bay Lightning can do the Ric Flair strut followed by the trademark, “Woo!”

Of course, the Lightning players and staffers handle things in more of a classic humble manner traditionally expected winners in professional hockey that is without bravado and swagger. Flair does attend Lightning games, so maybe that is the team’s way of bringing in bravado and swagger.

Still when it comes to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, to be the team you have to beat the team.

As the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, the Lightning are the team. It feels like it is going to take a supernatural effort to pry the Stanley Cup away from Tampa Bay’s grasp.

On Wednesday, the best-of-seven Stanley Cup final starts in Denver, Colorado, with Game 1 (6 p.m., CBC). The host Colorado Avalanche, who finished second overall in NHL’s regular season standings with a 56-19-7 record, face the Lightning, who finished eighth overall with a solid 51-23-8 mark.

The Avalanche won the NHL’s Western Conference title, and they are the team on the rise that has seemingly arrived.

The Lightning won the NHL’s Eastern Conference crown, and they are chasing history as the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions.

A Steven Stamkos card.

Tampa Bay is trying to win the Stanley Cup for a third consecutive year, which is something that hasn’t happened since the New York Islanders won the Stanley Cup four straight years from 1980 to 1983. Those storied Islanders squads were going for a fifth straight title before grudgingly giving way to the revered Edmonton Oilers in 1984 and the start of their dynasty run.

The Lightning are still in their prime. They have a dependable core of players who are used to willing their club to victory in Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov, Alex Killorn, Brayden Point, Ondrej Palat, Anthony Cirelli, Mikhail Sergachev, Patrick Maroon, Ryan McDouagh and Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Through three rounds of the playoffs, the Lightning made seemingly all the extra effort plays when it comes to blocking shots or winning one-on-one battles for the puck. Those extra effort plays are added in addition to the fact they play the game on a systems front seamlessly and often flawlessly.

On top of that, the Lightning have gotten Hockey Hall of Fame level goaltending from Vasilevskiy.

Teams that get all those things inevitably win Stanley Cups.

In the Lightning’s case, the fact they’ve won the last two Stanley Cup titles, and they go all out in the shot blocking department and winning one-on-one puck battles can create “shock and awe” doubt in opponents.

An Andrei Vasilevskiy card.

When opponents see the effort the Lightning still put out after having won the Stanley Cup in each of the past two years, opposing teams have to question themselves in where they are in the “how bad do you want it” department.

You begin to see why the Lightning are the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions and the other 31 teams in the NHL are not.

Veteran Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois and long time head coach Jon Cooper have built a team for sustained success and not to be a one-year wonder club.

If the Lightning knock off the Avalanche to win a third straight Stanley Cup, BriseBois and Cooper have to be locks for the Hockey Hall of Fame.

If the Lightning capture a third straight Stanley Cup title, the debate begins on which players from their team will be locks for the Hockey Hall of Fame. Stamkos, Hedman and Vasilevskiy have to be the non-debatable locks for the Hockey Hall of Fame, if the Lightning win a third straight Stanley Cup.

Had Stamkos, Hedman and Vasilevskiy played on a NHL Canadian team their entire careers, they would be talked about like hockey royalty.

Put it this way, Avalanche 23-year-old star Cale Makar has been mentioned quite a bit among Canadian mainstream media as the best all-around defenceman in the NHL. The graduate of the junior A Alberta-based powerhouse Brooks Bandits is deserving of big praise.

A Nikita Kucherov card.

The best all-around defenceman praise came after the Avalanche swept away Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Championship Series.

However, it can be argued the 31-year-old Hedman is a better all-around defenceman than Makar. To be honest, Hedman might be the best all-around defenceman in the NHL.

With Hedman playing his entire NHL career dating back to his first season in 2009-10 with the Lightning, he hasn’t received much attention from Canadian mainstream media outlets until the Lightning reach the Stanley Cup final.

When the Lightning play in the Stanley Cup Final, an acknowledgement is made of, “Wow! I didn’t realize Victor Hedman was that good.”

Actually had Hedman played his entire career for the Toronto Maple Leafs, you could almost see Toronto media outlets making the case that Hedman was the greatest defenceman to ever play in the NHL.

That leads to another intangible the Lightning have. They don’t get phased when things go south for a game or adversity rises up.

Back in the first round of the current NHL Playoffs, the Lightning lost Game 1 of their best-of-seven series to the Maple Leafs 5-0 in Toronto. There was talk that the Lightning were finished and the Maple Leafs would be Stanley Cup champions.

An Alex Killorn card.

The Lightning seemingly had the collective confidence and calm knowing that was only one game and the Stanley Cup is not won in the first game of an opening round series. The Lightning took out the Maple Leafs in seven games claiming Game 6 by a 4-3 score in overtime in Tampa Bay and prevailing 2-1 in Game 7 in Toronto.

During the Game 7 win over the Maple Leafs, the Lightning lost Point to a lower-body injury. Without their high-scoring centre, who plays a strong two-way game, the Lightning swept the Florida Panthers, who finished first overall in the NHL regular season standings with a 58-18-6 record, in a second round series and took out the New York Rangers in six games in the Eastern Conference Championship Series.

In Game 1 against the Rangers in New York, the Lightning fell 6-2. The Rangers followed up by posting a 3-2 victory in Game 2 to take a 2-0 lead in the series to once again start banter that the Lightning were dead.

Four straight wins later by Tampa Bay, and the Rangers were making plans for which golf courses they would hit in the off-season. 

After the Lightning took Game 5 in New York by a 3-1 score, numerous Rangers fans were waving white flags on social media channels.

Regarding Point, the Lightning say they expect him to return to action in the Stanley Cup final.

A Brayden Point card.

The Avalanche will provide a stiff challenge to the Lightning. With players like Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Andre Burakovsky, Gabriel Landeskog, Devon Toews, Valeri Nichushkin, Erik Johnson, Josh Manson, Darren Helm, Pavel Francouz and Darcy Kuemper, maybe the Avalanche will be the answer to the Lightning like the Oilers were to the Islanders back in 1984. If the injured Nazem Kadri makes it back, the Avalanche will be even more of a challenge to deal with.

In this round between the Lightning and Avalanche, it feels like experience is going to matter, and it will play out like the 1983 Stanley Cup final where the Islanders swept the Oilers providing a big learning experience for the Edmonton side.

If the Lightning did sweep the Avalanche, that would be a surprise. At the moment, the Lightning are the two-time defending champs, and it is hard to envision them getting knocked off. They are far from being old and done.

The Lightning will be the favourites to win the Stanley Cup until someone indeed knocks them off. Look out Avalanche, because the champs are here.

Oilers playoff run was fun entertainment, other notes

A Connor McDavid card.

For the casual hockey fan, nothing beat the Edmonton Oilers running it back to the fire wagon days of the 1980s in the NHL Playoffs.

The Oilers finished 11^th overall in the NHL’s regular season standings with a 49-27-6 record, and in the post-season, they attempted to emulate their all-time great clubs from the 1980s by piling up the goals. They went on a run that saw them make the Western Conference Championship Series for the first time since 2006, when the Oilers advanced to the Stanley Cup final and fell to the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games.

Edmonton’s venture through the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs came to an end on June 6 with a 6-5 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche that was highly entertaining. While the Avalanche to the Western Conference Championship Series in a sweep, the Oilers legitimately could have won Games 1, 3 or 4 of the series.

The Oilers run had lots of nostalgia points too.

With the Oilers being blessed with two of hockey’s best players in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, it was easy to follow the team’s exploits. In 16 post-season games, McDavid piled up 33 points coming off 10 goals and 23 assists to go with a plus-15 rating in the plus-minus department.

Draisaitl also appeared in all of the Oilers 16 post-season outings piling up 32 points coming off seven goals and 25 assists to go with a plus-four rating.

That allowed fans to dream back to the 1980s, when Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and company were putting up insane offensive numbers for the Oilers.

The Oilers took out the Los Angeles Kings in a first round series that went the distance to seven games, where the Oilers took the deciding contest 2-0. That brought memories of the playoff encounters the two sides had in the 1980s and early 1990s.

In the second round, we had Battle of Alberta for the first time since 1991 between the Oilers and Calgary Flames. The Oilers took the series in five games with storylines jumping around all over the place as much as the offence.

The rivalry had a bit of snark in it too. The Flames took the first game in Calgary 9-6, before the Oilers rolled off four straight wins. Edmonton’s victories in Games 2 and 4 of the series came by respective 5-3 final scores.

The Oilers clinched the series with a 5-4 win in Game 5 in overtime with Draisaitl setting up McDavid for the winner.

A lot of nostalgia surfaced during that series between the Oilers and Flames as fans recalled their playoff meetings in 1983, 1984, 1986, 1988 and 1991.

A Leon Draisaitl card.

In the Western Conference Championship Series, the Oilers weren’t able to outgun an Avalanche team that also has lots of offensive talent in Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Nazem Kadri.

The series began with an 8-6 victory by the Avalanche in Game 1 in Denver before Colorado closed things out with their 6-5 overtime win in Game 4.

The post-season run seemed to take heat off Oilers standout general manager Ken Holland, who faced criticism because his Oilers teams hadn’t made a long playoff run like his old Detroit Red Wings teams used to do including four Stanley Cup title wins.

Midway through the 2021-22 campaign, the Oilers made a coaching change, which seemed to spark their run to making the playoffs. Dave Tippett was out as head coach and Jim Playfair was out as associate coach, and Jay Woodcroft was in as head coach and Dave Manson became an assistant coach.

Obviously, Woodcroft and Manson have done enough that they need to be retained.

The Oilers need to get a little bit better on defence and find a way to improve their goaltending situation. In goal, the Oilers got all they could get from 40-year-old Mike Smith, but he had way too many shaky and error prone moments.

The Oilers other goaltender in Mikko Koskinen signed a two-year contract with play with Switzerland’s Hockey Club Lugano on Monday.

Edmonton has to decide if 23-year-old local product Stuart Skinner, who was a WHL star with the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Swift Current Broncos, is their goaltender of the present or do they have to acquire another puck stopper.

Unfortunately across the NHL, there aren’t many goalies to go after that would be an upgrade and are sure things. Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers aren’t going anywhere any time soon.

Sure thing upgrades are left to desperate measures like sending five first round draft selections to the Winnipeg Jets for Connor Hellebuyck.

Despite what the Oilers need to do to more forward, it was refreshing to see them make a long playoff run once again.

• On Monday, Sage Watson, who is a star 400-metre hurdler on Canada’s National Women’s Track and Field Team, announced she is taking the upcoming season off to allow her body to recover from various lingering injuries. The 27-year-old from Seven Persons, Alberta, which is just southwest of Medicine Hat, has represented Canada at the last two Summer Olympics.
• On Monday, the Saskatoon Blades announced they signed 15-year-old forward Hudson Kibblewhite to a WHL Standard Player Agreement. The Blades selected the Vernon, B.C., product in the second round and 35^th overall in the WHL Prospects Draft held this past May 19. Last season with Rink Hockey Academy Kelowna’s under-15 prep team, Kibblewhite piled up 61 points coming off 19 goals and 42 assists.
• On Monday, Softball Canada announced 19-year-old right-handed pitcher Jorde Chartrand, who is from Weyburn, Sask., was one of 20 athletes named to the Women’s National Team roster for the organization’s 2022 Celebration Tour and the Canada Cup International Softball Championship, which runs June 20-26 in Surrey, B.C. The Celebration Tour helps commemorate the bronze medal win by Canada’s women’s team at the 2020 Olympics, which were actually held last year in Tokyo, Japan. The tour includes a stop at Bob Van Impe Stadium on July 1 for a doubleheader against Czechia starting at 1 p.m. Chartrand, who has played and trained in Saskatoon, is coming off her first season playing for the University of Central Arkansas Bears women’s team in the NCAA Division I ranks.
• On Monday in Madison, Wisconsin, Canada downed the United States 3-2 in the gold medal game of the International Ice Hockey Federation’s Women’s World Championship tournament. Canada built a 3-0 lead and held on for the one-goal win at the LaBahn Arena. Ava Murphy had a goal and an assist for Canada, while Jocelyn Amos scored the winner. Mari Pietersen made 29 saves to pick up the win in goal for Canada.
• A hidden gem in Saskatchewan might be the action in the Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League. The play at all levels in that league is strong. The action in the under-18 AAA division is stellar. On Wednesday in the under-18 AAA division, the Saskatoon Cubs (10-2) will face the Saskatoon Diamondbacks (8-4) on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Cairns Field in what should be a really good game. If you want to check out a contest from a curiosity standpoint, that would be a great contest to check out.
• Last Thursday, I had new content appear on the Howe Happenings blog that supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I put together a feature story on track and field stars Michelle Harrison and Nicole Ostertag taking on busy outdoor seasons. The piece on Harrison and Ostertag can be found by clicking right here. I also created a new photo roundup that can be found by clicking right here.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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The Dach is in – Blades star goes third overall in NHL Entry Draft

Kirby Dach was selected third overall by the Blackhawks.

    Kirby Dach looked like a child who received a desperately wanted gift from Santa Claus at Christmas.

    On Friday at the NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver, B.C., Dach was selected in the first round and third overall by the Chicago Blackhawks. The draft’s first round was held Friday and rounds two through seven are slated for Saturday.

    Dach, who is a star centre with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades, gave the look of being caught off guard in a good way in front of the national television cameras.

    The combination of surprise and joy in the Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., product’s face showed he got something he really wanted.

    Before being picked by the Blackhawks, Dach watched the first two selections of the NHL Entry Draft go down as expected.

    With the first overall pick, the New Jersey Devils took centre Jack Hughes from the United States National Team Development Program. Following that selection, the New York Rangers picked right-winger Kaapo Kakko second overall from the TPS program in Finland.
    At the third selection, various prognosticators had a glut of players who could potentially be selected at that spot including Dach, centre Alex Turcotte of the United States National Team Development Program, defenceman Bowan Byram from the Vancouver Giants, centre Dylan Cozens of the Lethbridge Hurricanes and centre Trevor Zegras of the United States National Team Development Program.

Kirby Dach put up 73 points with the Blades last season.

    Byram impressed as an offensive defenceman helping the Vancouver Giants advance to the WHL final, where the Giants fell 3-2 in overtime in a series-deciding Game 7 to the Prince Albert Raiders.

    Dach seemed to be ready mentally for a longer sit, but as it turned out, those preparations weren’t needed.

    When the Blackhawks announced their selection of Dach, the 18-year-old seemed to be floating on air.

    While you could split hairs on who could be picked third overall, Dach is deserving of that high selection. The skilled centre has only scratched the surface of how could he can be.

    Add in the fact Dach stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 200 pounds, a team couldn’t turn away from a player that has the combination of size and skill that Dach has.

    He works extremely hard in his off-season workouts and is one of those players you never have to worry about. You know he will make the right decisions in life and in the game almost all the time.
    When the day comes Dach’s body physically matures allowing him to hold more muscle increasing his power and strength, you have to wonder how good he will be on the ice as the increased power and strength will lead to some extra confidence.

    Last season, Dach piled up 25 goals, 48 assists and a plus-15 rating in the plus-minus department in 62 regular season games. He added another five goals and three assists in the Blades 10 playoff games.

    Saskatoon swept the Moose Jaw Warriors 4-0 in a best-of-seven first round series before falling 4-2 to the Raiders.

Kirby Dach scored a highlight reel playoff goal against the Raiders.

    Of course, Dach turned heads with a highlight reel goal in Game 2 of the series against the Raiders that was shown on national television.
    Throughout his hockey career, Dach has consistently made highlight reel plays. He closed off his time in the bantam AAA ranks netting 29 goals and 71 assists in 33 regular season games with his hometown Fort Saskatchewan Boston Pizza Rangers in 2014-15.

    He went to the Fort Saskatchewan Boston Pizza Rangers midget AAA team as an underage 14-year-old player and netted 14 goals and 21 assists in 34 regular season games in 2015-16.

    Thanks to those efforts, the Blades selected Dach in the first round and second overall in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft.

    Due to injuries, the Blades received special permission late in the 2016-17 campaign to allow Dach to play for an extended stay during his 15-year-old season. He appeared in 19 regular season games posting six goals, four assists and a plus-three rating.

    On Feb. 20, 2017, Dach scored his first two career WHL regular season goals in spectacular fashion in a 4-2 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors at the SaskTel Centre.

Kirby Dach has been a high-end offensive player his whole hockey career.

    Being one of the few that skates in a full-time role on the top two lines with a major junior team as a 16-year-old rookie, Dach recorded seven goals and 39 assists in 52 regular season games in the 2017-18 campaign.
    That set the stage for Dach to play for Canada’s under-18 at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup last August in Edmonton and Red Deer. He had a goal and six assists in five games helping Canada to a gold medal finish.

    From there, Dach went on to a solid campaign for the Blades, where he earned the role of being one of the team’s assistant captains in January.

    Besides his scoring, Dach turned heads early on with his strong two-way play. Even during his 16-year-old season, he was committed to working hard in the defensive zone.
    One Dach’s best games last season came on Dec. 9, 2018, when the Blades blanked the Raiders 1-0 at the SaskTel Centre. Dach didn’t have any points in that game, but he was a visible force at both ends of the ice.
    In the history of the Blades franchise, Dach becomes the 19^th player to be selected in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft. The last time a Blades player was selected as high as he was came back in 1988, when defenceman Curtis Leschyshyn was selected third overall by the Quebec Nordiques.

Kirby Dach will get a chance to make Canada’s world junior team.

    On Friday night, Dach got to rightfully celebrate a huge milestone for all the hard work he put into his hockey career.

    The draft selection caps a highlight week. On Wednesday, Hockey Canada announced Dach was invited to the national junior team summer development camp that starts July 27 and runs through to Aug. 4 in Plymouth, Mich.

    He will be highly-touted for a spot on Canada’s squad that will play at the upcoming world juniors that run from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5, 2020 in Ostrava and Trinic in the Czech Republic.

    It is possible Dach might not be available for world juniors or even return to the Blades. He could potentially sign an NHL entry-level contract with the Blackhawks, and being the third overall pick in the NHL Entry Draft, his odds of making the NHL club next season increased.

    If Dach does return to the Blades, he will have an opportunity to play major junior on the same team with his younger brother, Colton, who will be a 16-year-old rookie for Saskatoon next season. The Blades selected Colton in the first round and sixth overall in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft.
    Kirby Dach will face extra scrutiny for the rest of his hockey career due to his high NHL Entry Draft selection. 

Kirby Dach (#77) celebrates scoring a goal for the Blades.

    He will likely find Jeremy Colliton, who is the Blackhawks young 34-year-old head coach, will be a great resource in navigating those waters.

    Colliton, who is a two-time member of Canada’s world junior team and a former member of the Raiders, is extremely intelligent and is familiar with all sorts of pressure situations in the game.

    For the moment, Dach gets to enjoy one of the most memorable moments of his life.

    The decisions regarding his hockey future will unfold in the days and weeks to come.

    In the present, he should be allowed to soak in a great day.

Byram heads rest of WHL field in NHL Draft first round

Bowen Byram was selected fourth overall by the Avalanche.

    Bowen Byram was the defenceman you had to take in this year’s NHL Entry Draft.

    The star of the WHL’s Vancouver Giants didn’t have to wait long before being selected at this year’s NHL Entry in Vancouver, B.C.

    The Colorado Avalanche selected Byram fourth overall in the first round that was held on Friday. The draft concludes with rounds two to seven on Saturday.

    Byram was the first rearguard to be selected in the draft and the second player from the WHL to have his name called following centre Kirby Dach of the Saskatoon Blades, who went third overall to the Chicago Blackhawks.

    Byram, who turned 18-years-old earlier this month, had a sensational season in 2018-19. He piled up 26 goals, 45 assists and a plus-33 rating in the plus-minus department in 67 regular season games with the Giants.

    He helped the Giants advance to the WHL final, there they fell 3-2 in overtime in a series deciding Game 7 to the Prince Albert Raiders.

    In 22 post-season games, Byram, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 195 pounds, had eight goals, 18 assists and a plus-10 rating.

    A total of seven WHL players were taking in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft.

Dylan Cozens was selected seventh overall by the Sabres.

    Lethbridge Hurricanes centre Dylan Cozens was selected seventh overall by the Buffalo Sabres. Playing in all of the Hurricanes 68 regular season games, Cozens had 34 goals, 50 assists and a plus-32 rating.

    Cozens rounded out the WHL players that were taken with the top 10 selections in the draft.

    The other first round NHL Entry Draft selections from the WHL included centre Peyton Krebs of the Winnipeg Ice, who are formerly the Kootenay Ice, going 17^th overall to the Vegas Golden Knights.

    Defenceman Lassi Thomson of the Kelowna Rockets went 19^th overall to the Ottawa Senators, and Rockets left-winger Nolan Foote went 27^th overall to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

    Moose Jaw Warriors left-winger Brayden Tracey was the final WHL player taken in the first round going 29^th overall to the Anaheim Ducks.

    The United States National Team Development Program had eight players selected in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft. That included centre Jack Hughes going first overall to the New Jersey Devils, centre Alex Turcotte going fifth overall to the Los Angeles Kings and centre Trevor Zegras going ninth overall to the Ducks.

    Right-winger Brett Leason and left-winger Aliaksei Protas of the Raiders are still eligible to be selected in the NHL Entry Draft.

WWCFL semifinals hit the field this weekend

Katie Hungle (#99) and the Riot are set for their WWCFL semifinal game.

    The road to the Western Women’s Canadian Football League championship game has narrowed to two semifinal contests that will be played this weekend.

    On Saturday in Edmonton, the host Storm host the two-time defending champion Regina Riot. The Storm enter this match having won four games in a row, and they are 4-1 including action in the regular season and playoffs.

    The Riot are trying to win a second straight road game in order to return home and be the host team for the WWCFL title game for a second straight year. The Riot have a 2-3 record including play in the regular season and playoffs.

    The other WWCFL semifinal is slated for Sunday at 1 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field in Saskatoon featuring the host Valkyries taking on the Lethbridge Steel.

    The Valkyries are 5-0 including action in the regular season and playoffs and are 6-0 overall including action in the pre-season. The Steel are 3-2 including action in the regular season and playoffs.

    The winners of the two semifinal advance to the WWCFL championship game slated for June 29 at 4 p.m. at Mosaic Stadium in Regina.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.