It was only a few months when the Tkachuk brothers were on the ice at the same time, with the same team. It was when U.S.A. hockey took the gold medal in the Winter Olympics. Which broke a 46 year drought for U.S. Hockey. Now the Tkachuk brothers will rule the NHL together playing on the same team starting next season with the Florida Panthers. Brady will be with his brother Matt down in Florida as the Panthers and Ottawa Senators pull off a blockbuster trade before the NHL draft. The Senators send a former number 1 pick in Brady to Florida for three number 1 draft picks and a future number two pick. The Senators will get the Panthers number 9 overall pick along with the 25th overall pick in the first round of the 2026 NHL draft. The Panthers did not make it to the post-season last season so they made out like bandits to get a top ten pick. Before this blockbuster trade went down with Brady. The Panthers sent winger Mackie Samoskevich to the Seattle Kraken for the other first round pick which is the 25th overall pick. The Senators will also get the Panthers first round pick in 2027. Then in 2030 the trade will conclude with the Panthers 2nd round pick. The Senators made the post-season last year, and will take a step back and reload with stock of younger talent. Meanwhile the Panthers will look for their 3rd Stanley Cup title after winning back to back titles in ’24 & ’25.
Brady Tkachuk is Matt’s younger brother as he is 26 years of age. He has played all 8 seasons with the team he was drafted by, the Ottawa Senators. Brady was out of Boston College and went 4th in the 1st round of the 2018 NHL draft. Last season he played in 60 games and scored 22 goals while dishing out 37 assists for 59 points. Brady has had three seasons where he scored 30 or more goals in one year. He actually achieved it three seasons straight from 2021 through 2024. Brady has 572 games under his belt in the NHL. He has tallied up 213 goals with 250 assists for 463 points in his NHL career so far. Brady goes by the nickname, Chucky. I’m guessing the doll in the horror movies that kills all those people. They do have similar looks.
Then big brother Matt Tkachuk is the blood of the Florida Panthers. He was also a first round pick back in 2016 by the Calgary Flames where he was selected 6th overall. He played six seasons in Calgary before he came over to Florida in a blockbuster trade in 2022 that started this franchise dynasty. In 4 seasons Matt has been to three Stanley Cup finals including winning two back-to-back titles. Matt is a 2 x All-Star. Last year he only played in 31 games due to injuries. He had 13 goals with 21 assists for 34 points. In 10 seasons Matt has 253 goals and 417 assists with 670 points. Matt is 28 years of age and is nicknamed the Rat King. The Rat King will be going into the prime of his career at 28 years old.
Opposing teams hate playing one Tkachuk on the ice & now they will have to deal with two of them. In the old sitcom Happy Days, the Fonz had to go up against two brothers called the Malachi brothers. Crash up car derby is the game they played as they perfected the Malachi crunch. When both brothers would take their cars and smash you inside your car from both sides where you become the smash burger patty on the bun. The Tkachuk brothers are the two most intimidating forwards in the NHL. They have physicality as they will come after you. Like the Malachi crunch, they may have their own version on the ice smashing a player from both sides. Both of these guys have leadership skills. On the U.S. team that won the goal, it was Brady scoring three goals in the Olympics while Matt was happy to make some assists as he had 5 of them. Both of them have great net presence getting the biscuit in the basket. Florida last year did not make the post-season because of all the injuries. Then Brady said he would not sign a long term deal with the Senators and now the trade has been made to benefit both sides. With these two brothers playing for the Panthers, it should elevate both of their games. They were great without each other. They played well together at the Olympics. Plus the Panthers have a solid roster in place and the Panthers GM said he is not done after this big splashy move he just made. The Panthers are looking at another post-season run and going for that 3rd championship in the last 5 seasons.
We are down to two teams in the chase for the Lord Stanley Cup, the most prestigious trophy in sports. Remember like the Blarney Stone. do not kiss or lick it because you really don’t know where it’s been. The conference finals were a big snooze fest. I picked Avalanche and Hurricanes in the conference finals games. I went 1-2 in the conference finals match ups. For the entire post-season, predicting each series has given me a 6-8 record to this point. Even if I get the Stanley Cup final prediction right, I will still come away with a losing record. Even though I will get back up off the ground from being thrown off the back of the horse. I will dust myself off and roll the dice on my Stanley Cup pick with all the fixings. Make sure you bet the opposite.
Both teams are (1-1) all-time in the Stanley Cup finals. This will be the 3rd time for both these teams making it to the Stanley Cup finals. The Golden Knights won theirs a few years ago in 2023. While the Hurricanes you have to go back to 2006 when they hoisted the Cup.
TEAM HISTORY
The Golden Knights became an expansion team in the NHL and their first season was the 2017-18 season. Since the birth of the Golden Knights, they have missed the post-season 1 time. They have made post-season 8-9 years in the league. Add three Stanley Cup finals to the equation which is pretty impressive. If you are a fan of another team, it just sickens you reading those stats.
The Carolina Hurricanes were originally the Whalers of New England playing in a different league than the NHL. The Whalers played in the WHA (World Hockey Association.) In 1974 they relocated to the state of Connecticut and became the Hartford Whalers. The WHA ceased operations and the Whalers went to the NHL in 1979. In 1997, the Whalers relocated to North Carolina and changed their name to the Hurricanes.
THE SKINNY
After the first three rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Carolina Hurricanes have lost 1 game in the post-season so far. The Hurricanes are 12-1 and have been playing solid defense in each series. You have to be impressed by the Las Vegas Golden Knights who swept away the Colorado Avalanche in the conference championship. The Avalanche came in as Cup favorites to win it all. The roster is loaded with talent. To lose all 4 games and get swept, you have to think Vegas is doing something right.
GOALIES
We know both the Hurricanes and Golden Knights can play solid defense. Both teams have proven that in the first three rounds. Up to this point, both goalies have been solid. Frederik Andersen for the Hurricanes has had a solid track record in the Stanley Cup post-season and he has lost only 1 game between the pipes this NHL post-season. Andersen has played in way more post-season games than the Golden Knights goalie, Carter Hall. Hall has started 11 games this post-season and has only lost two of those matches. In the 11 starts, the Vegas goaltender has a save percentage of .940 which is remarkable. He has allowed only 1.82 goals against average. Hart has only started 18 games in regular season for the Golden Knights. Andersen has played more games during regular season than Carter and has played deep into the post-season the last few years.
The Golden Knights were very happy to have Mitch Marner in the Avalanche series as he was questionable due to an injury for the conference finals. Marner is a two way play-maker on the ice and has tallied up 21 points so far this post-season. You could say that the Golden Knights have the three best players from both teams. Starting with Marner & then let’s not forget about Jack Eichel and Mark Stone. Then the Golden Knights have some unsung heroes as well in Brett Howden and Pavel Dorofeyev who have tallied ten goals each during this post-season. Can Vegas light the lamp against a great defense like the Hurricanes? They really dismantled Colorado. It is possible.
The Hurricanes can get you with 4 different lines they have. It’s the second line the Canes have that they have done the most Van Damage with. Line number two features Jackson Blake, Taylor Hall, and Logan Stankoven. This line for the Canes has tallied 43 points this post-season. Nineteen goals and 24 assists. The Canes can score goals. They have the snipers. They may have the experienced goal tender in post-season. They cleared their hurdle in the conference championship by finally prevailing after a few years of going home short of the finals. Can the Canes light the lamp versus a great defense like the Golden Knights have?
This will be a great series to finish off the hockey year and the 2025-26 season. It will be better than both conference championships that were just played as those series were one sided. How does an expansion team win their second Cup in such a short history? The Golden Knights have to be Vegas lucky. It’s not even the same head coach who took the expansion team to the finals in the very first year. John Tortorella has been some kind of hockey whisperer to his team as he only managed 8 games in regular season with this bunch. My heart wants the Hurricanes to win it all. My gut feeling is Golden Knights will win this series. It will go the distance. I’ve bet against the Golden Knights in each round and lost. Maybe picking them will reverse their fortune.
The hockey world has lost one of their best post-season players in the history of the game in Claude Lemieux, who was a 4x Stanley Cup winner. On May 28th, Claude’s son found his body in back of the family’s furniture store in Florida around 3 AM. Claude has been battling depression most of his life and took his own by hanging himself. No one would have guessed that as he made a public appearance in Montreal while serving as a torch bearer at the Canadiens’ Eastern Conference finals game vs the Hurricanes. He is survived by his wife Deborah and 4 children. His son Brendan played in the NHL. His own brother, Jocelyn, also played professional hockey and he was in the NHL for 12 seasons. On the ice Claude was a beast. Off the ice he was a gentle giant teddy bear. He was a solid regular season player his entire 21 year career. When it came to the post-season, he was a money player. A hired hit man type that would get the job done each and every night on the ice. He was the Reggie Jackson of the hockey world.
Claude Lemieux was only 60 years of age. He was born on July 16th of 1965 in Buckingham, Quebec. The Montreal Canadiens selected him in the 2nd round of the 1983 NHL draft, 26th overall. He made his NHL debut in the 1983-84 season with the Canadiens. He skated for six different franchises. The three hockey franchises he stayed with the longest was Montreal, New Jersey, and Colorado where he helped them all win at least one Stanley Cup. He also skated three seasons in the desert with the Coyotes. Did one season with the Stars and concluded his career with the Sharks in 2008-09 season where he only played in 18 games. In 21 seasons, Claude played in 1,215 regular season games. Add another 234 playoff games to his hockey resume. In regular season he tallied up 379 goals and dished out 407 assists for a total of 786 points.
Claude Lemieux was that guy you hated if he did not play for your team. If he did wear your team’s jersey, you instantly fell in love with his style of play, especially in post-season. You can ask any Red Wings fan. Claude in a post-season game in the finals laid out Detroit’s Kris Draper which was a game six of the series when he wore a Devils uniform. Draper’s face hit the boards and the hit caused serious facial injuries. Claude became known as a Red Wing killer as it sparked a rivalry that played out with the Devils and lingered into his Colorado days. Claude’s nickname was Pepe.
He was named after that cartoon skunk, Pepe La Pew. The name fits because of his style of play. Claude was an agitator on the ice along with being an enforcer. He also skated well and can put the puck in the net. He elevated his level of play in the post-season like flipping a light switch. When he won his first cup in Montreal for the Canadiens back in the 1985-’86 season, he scored 10 goals with 16 points during that post-season run. He helped the New Jersey Devils win their first cup ever in the 1994-95 season. That was the year Claude became MVP of the cup finals and won the Smythe award. His third cup came the following year wearing the Avalanche sweater in the 1995-96 season.Then Claude would find his way back to Jersey and won another cup during the 1999-’00 season. In 234 games he played in post-season, he scored 80 goals and dished out 78 assists for a total of 158 points. He ranks number 9 all-time on the NHL’s post-season goals list.
After getting the best of the Red Wings in two different uniforms, Detroit got their revenge on their home ice versus Claude Lemieux who was still skating with the Avalanche. Red Wings fans were wanting blood in a regular season game in hockey town with their Wings and the visiting Avalanche. Late in the first period, pretty much a brawl broke out between the two teams. In an epic fight between Claude and Darren McCarthy, the Red Wings fan got their revenge. McCarthy beat the daylights out of Claude that day in that game. They would have a rematch months later. Claude was able to cross that line in post-season play doing the dirty things as he racked up over 500 penalty minutes in post-season play. Claude was a vilian to the Red Wings which made them better as they created their own dynasty after those epic 1990’s clashes between the Devils and Avalanche. McCarthy after hearing about the passing of Claude, called him a brother as they became friends later on in life & he expressed his condolences to the Lemieux family.
Everyone wishes they had that easy button in life. Nothing is ever easy in life. Sure many people make things look that easy. Claude Lemieux probably found hockey was easier than family life in general. I can imagine hockey was his outlet in life. To play the game he has played since he was kid. Push away all those feelings inside that come pimping up in the mindset. Claude has been retired from the game for over a decade. The mind starts to race with too many thoughts. Maybe some regrets in life. Depression is a real thing that many people back in the day would poke fun at. Hockey players beat the shit out of each other on the ice & then shake hands after the match. Whatever happens on the ice stays on the ice. In the real world feelings don’t go away as they linger. Why do people get hooked on drugs and drinking? Trying to force those lingering feelings away. Claude was happy being the torchbearer at the Canadiens game not too long ago. The family could not see it as he obviously had something bothering him to take his own life that way. Leaving his kids and wife. Which is a shame. Most of the world has mental issues. Some may not even know they do. I hope the Lemieux family can cope with this tragedy. Certain deaths of loved ones can linger for a very long time. It’s definitely a sad day in the sports world losing a great player along with a person that way. Hopefully a death like that can prevent someone else down the road from ending their own lives. RIP PEPE!!!
In 12 post-season games in round 1 & 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs, I have a losing record. I went 3-5 in the first round. In the second round I went even Steven with a 2-2 record. The overall losing record is 5-7 in all 12 games played so far. Now I will see what I can do with the conference finals. I need 2 wins to get to the .500 mark before the Stanley Cup finals happen. If I can predict the winner in Lord Stanley’s game, I could pull out a winning record. Don’t count on it. I’ve done some research on my two series winners in the conference finals. I did a little more than just asking the hockey know-it-all who was sitting next to me at the bar. I’m confident I can go 2-0 in these two conference series. I may have to do another set of rosary beads in the process to get the hockey gods to give my picks at least a look. Maybe you will agree with who I picked or go opposite and win big bucks. I’m going to let them ride. I hope I come out on top this round.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
LAS VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS VS COLORADO AVALANCHE
HOW THEY GOT HERE
Avalanche eliminated the Kings in the first round & then the Wild in the second round.
Golden Knights eliminated the Mammoth in the first round & then the Ducks in the second round.
STANLEY CUP FINALS RECORD
Golden Knights will be looking for their 3rd Stanley Cup appearance. The Knights are (1-1) in their franchise history.
The Avalanche will be looking for their 4th Stanley Cup appearance. The Avalanche are a perfect (3-0) in their franchise history.
The Western conference finals consist of two power houses in the NHL world. You could say both rosters are stacked with talent up and down the rosters. The Avalanche have more firepower as the Golden Knights may have the deeper team. The Golden Knights on any given night have been able to light the lamp with the best of any team that has made it to post-season. On even ground of five on five hockey, the Avalanche have outscored opponents this post-season 23-13.
The best of the best for each team is of course Nathan Mackinnon for the Avalanche and for Vegas is Mitch Marner. These guys will be unstoppable and will get their points no matter what. Mackinnon in the last series scored a goal in each game as if he has put himself into the overdrive setting as he scored 5 goals versus the Wild. For Vegas, Marner leads the post-season with 18 points.
Both teams have the other guy and more that you can potentially pick out of a hat who will be the X-factor. Cale Makal is another superstar on the Avs. However 17 different players have scored a goal for the Avalanche in 9 games in post-season so far. The Golden Knights also have Jack Eichel and Thomas Hertl that can light up the lamp. Will Vegas have Mark Stone which his status right now is unknown due to an injury he had versus the Ducks in the last series? Stone can make his presence on both sides of the ice. Offense and defense.
This will be a very entertaining series. To me, the Golden Knights, an expansion team that started in 2017 and became a fixture in post-season is unfair. Especially the franchise I root for. I have whiffed both times picking against the Golden Knights the first two series. I really like the Golden Knights defensive style which will make this an exciting series. Nathan Mackinnon after playing for team Canada looked like a sore loser to many after that loss to USA in the Winter Olympics. He seems like he is on a mission with Colorado to get the job done in winning the Stanley Cup since he could not help his country achieve the gold in those Olympics. The Avalanche I have been perfect picking them to win each series so far. I’m riding them to the Stanley Cup finals.
OUR PREDICTION: AVALANCHE WINS IT IN SIX GAMES
EASTERN CONFERENCE
CAROLINA HURRICANES VS MONTREAL CANADIENS
HOW THEY GOT HERE
Canadiens eliminated the Lightning in the first round & then the Sabres in the second round.
Hurricanes eliminated the Senators in the first round & then the Flyers in the second round.
STANLEY CUP FINALS RECORD:
The Hurricanes will be looking for their 3rd Stanley Cup appearance. The Canes are (1-1) in their franchise history.
The Canadiens being a original six team in the NHL will be looking for their 35th Stanley Cup appearance. The Canadiens are (24-10) in their franchise history.
The Carolina Hurricanes come into the conference finals a perfect 8-0 after two sweeps in the first 2 rounds. The Canadiens have taken a different path than the Hurricanes to get to this point. Montreal has lived on the edge and have won each round in a pair of game sevens to conclude each series. The Hurricanes are on an 11 day rest since they last saw game action. This is the 3rd Eastern conference finals in the last 4 seasons that the Hurricanes have been involved in. Will the Canadiens be the 3rd team to send home the Hurricanes in the last 4 seasons?
Some say the Canadiens were outplayed in both rounds of post-season so far. Here they are advancing to the conference finals. What I noticed is Montreal’s goalie who has a pair of game 7 wins in the net for the Canadiens. Jakub Dobes came up big versus the Sabres in a game 7 that went to overtime. The Canadiens will bring the best offensive the Hurricanes have faced so far in the post-season. With guys like Cole Caufield, Lane Hutson, and Nick Suzuki giving Montreal the big three that is needed for an all out attack on the opponent’s goalie. Montreal has had unsung heroes in this tournament so far. Like former Colorado Avalanche Alex Newhook who came up big in game 7. Newhook was the guy that put the fatality on a magical season played by the Buffalo Sabres with the overtime tally.
The Hurricanes have a stout defense. They have a solid goaltender between the pipes. Montreal should be worried about 1 line in particular the Hurricanes have. In 8 games, this line has tallied 14 goals. Logan Stankoven has 7 goals on that line. Jackson Blake has added 4. Along with Taylor Hall adding three goals. The Hurricanes can get enough offense to win games. The Hurricanes defense is the best unit left standing in these conference finals. They also have a penalty kill unit on special teams that just snuffs out the other team’s power play.
I think the Hurricanes could be rusty to start the series. Montreal could start the series off fast living off the momentum of that thrilling game 7 victory days ago. I thought the Hurricanes would be out in round which I must have been high when I went with that crazy idea. I picked them to win last round. The Canadiens I had losing in both rounds. I think this series will go at least six games. I think the Canadiens will be gassed by the end of it which will be better for the Hurricanes who finally get over the hurdle of the conference finals.
First round victims: Flyers eliminated Penguins while Hurricanes eliminated the Senators.
The Flyers pulled off the biggest upset in round 1. The Flyers knocked off their state rival the Pittsburgh Penguins. After going up 3 games to zip, they eventually closed out Chilly Willy and the gang in game six. The Hurricanes swept the Ottawa Senators out of the first round in a sweep. The Hurricanes have now reached the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs six straight seasons.
The Flyers vs the Hurricanes will come down to which goaltender stays hot for their team in the second round of action. By far the Flyers goalie Dan Vladar, a veteran in this league for years getting his first taste of the post-season, was the MVP versus the Penguins. Vladar had 1.61 goals against average in six post season games. He concluded the series with 42 saves shut out. Then we have Frederik Andersen of the Hurricanes who has been a staple the last few seasons in the post-season. He led all goalies in the first round with 1.10 goals against average along with a .955save %. One of these goalies will have to continue to dominate the net for their team if they want to reach the conference finals.
I did not pick either of these teams in round 1. The Hurricanes I was at least leaning towards. They both proved me wrong. The Flyers are a young and upcoming team, making strides that were unexpected to this point. The Hurricanes are a complete team along with having a roster filled with post-season experience. The Young-en’s will be schooled this round. While Dan Vladar’s deal with the devil selling his soul to the guy with the pointy tail will come to an end. I like Flyers stealing two games in this series to make it interesting.
OUR PREDICTION: HURRICANES IN SIX GAMES
MONTREAL CANADIENS VS BUFFALO SABRES
First round victims: Canadiens eliminated Lightning while Sabres eliminated the Bruins.
It took Montreal the full 7 games of the series to knock off the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Canadiens were the last team to qualify for round two action. The Sabres were playing their first post-season action since 2011. They rolled over the Bruins in six games and won their first post-season series since 2007.
This series between the Sabres and Canadiens is an example why the Stanley Cup post-season is one of the best if not the best in sports. The Montreal Canadiens top line is one of the best in the NHL which features Nick Suzuki, & Cole Caufield along with Juraj Slafkovsky. This line was very quiet in the first round of the post-season. Too quiet as the Lightning did a great job holding them in check. The Canadiens ended up winning the series. Meanwhile the Sabres top line features Peyton Krebs, Alex Tuch, and Tage Thompson who were all skating on all cylinders as they created kaos for the Boston Bruins defense. This series Montreal can’t repeat the performance of their top line going cold, especially against a Sabres team that had some big dudes on defense who can skate well. All the games should be very close in this series. I think Sabres have the edge overall in skating and the faster team. Alex Lyon, who replaced Ukko Pekka in the Sabres net, is the X-factor of this series. I think Lyon will stay hot and the Sabres topline will get it done in this round to dispatch the Canadians out of the tournament.
OUR PREDICTION: SABRES IN SIX GAMES
WESTERN CONFERENCE
MINNESOTA WILD VS COLORADO AVALANCHE
First round victims: Wild eliminated the Stars while Avalanche eliminated the Kings.
The Wild break an ugly streak of 8 first round losses in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Wild advance to the second for the first time since 2015. Meanwhile it was business like for the Avalanche who swept the Kings out of the post-season only allowing 5 goals in the 4 games.
The Wild went with rookie goaltender Jesper Wallstedt in the first round versus the Stars and it paid off for Minnesota. The Stars to some were their pick to win the Stanley Cup this season. Can Wallstedt become the Berlin wall with this Avalanche team that has a roster it seems without any kinks in their armor? The Wild last year relied heavily on defense. This year they built an offensive presence that included six goals from Matt Boldy in the first round. How does the Wild deal with all the talented centers the Avalanche have on each line? Nathan MacKinnon is one of the best players in the league.
Jack Drury, former Hurricane, is now playing center on one of Colorado’s deadly assassin lines. The Avalanche also have Nazem Kadri and Brock Nelson. The Wild penalty kill closed out 60% of the Stars penalties. The Avalanche power play has all kinds of bells and whistles and I don’t see the Wild penalty kill unit closing at that kind of percentage. This is the Wild best team they have getting this far after experiencing the early exit. The wind will come out of the Wild sails. I think the Avalanche prevails in a good hard fought series which they really did not get from the Kings in the first round. Colorado is rested and will be ready to move on.
OUR PREDICTION: AVALANCHE IN SIX GAMES
LAS VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS VS ANAHEIM MIGHTY DUCKS
First round victims: Golden Knights eliminated Mammoth while Ducks eliminated the Oilers
The Anaheim Ducks knocked out the Oilers in the first round who went back to back years to the Stanley Cup finals representing the Western Conference. The Oilers are not the same juggernaut they once were but they still have the best hockey player on the planet right now in Connor McDavid. The Golden Knights were down 2 games to 1 at one point versus Utah in the first round. Vegas stormed back winning three straight games to find themselves once again in the second round for the 3rd time in 4 years. Vegas won back to back overtime games which included one that went into double OT.
The Golden Knights will give the Ducks another pair of hockey assassin goal scorers in Mitch Marner and Jack Eichel. The Ducks have dealt with the best in what the Oilers drilled at them in first round. However the Ducks will have to contend with a slew of defenders the Golden Knights have that can prevent solid shot going at their net. Plus Carter Hart played well between the pipes for Vegas against a talented Mammoth team. The Ducks may want to try to turn this series into a track meet to ruffle some feathers.
The Ducks have their younger stars like the Mammoth who Vegas dealt with. However the Ducks veteran leadership was all over the stat sheets in the first series vs the Oilers. Such as two time Stanley Cup champion Alex Killoran, who you remember had plenty of great years with Tampa Bay. Then Chris Krieder who has skated in 129 post-season games. I like the Ducks having Joel Quenneville as the team’s head coach. I feel his leadership alone can help this Ducks team along with the talent they have to get past the Golden Knights. It will be a series that goes the distance. At the end it will be something Ducky. Vegas will have to head back to the drawing board to play the old Nintendo game of Duck Hunt, a tad better.
I think the NHL post-season is one of the best in sports. The Lord Stanley Cup is the best trophy in all of sports. The first round features some epic match ups. This season will not have a repeat of the Panthers and Oilers in the finals. Florida did not make post-season play while the Oilers are not that same team they were the last few seasons. We have selected a winner out of each series. We have thrown in some intel on each series. We even threw in a guess like a dart throw on how many games it take the team to win the first round series. We have some guesses. We have some educated guesses. We have some hunches that may be just a bit outside. I would not bet any money on our predictions. Maybe go the opposite. We may dazzle. We may sink like all the teams that did not make it into Lord Stanley’s post-season. We will predict each round. After the conclusion of each round. Our early thoughts have us getting behind the Buffalo Sabres. We may get ducky about Anaheim especially because we have them knocking off the Oilers of Edmonton. Read it. Enjoy it. That’s all we got.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
(WC 1) BOSTON BRUINS (45-27-10) 100 POINTS VS (D1) BUFFALO SABRES (50-23-9) 109 POINTS
The Boston Bruins have been a regular staple in these Lord Stanley Cup playoffs for years. The Buffalo Sabres broke a 14 year drought as they finally get back to the playoffs. Both teams have played well in the last several months. The Sabres have had one of the best records in the league since the month of December and grabbed the top spot in the Eastern conference. The Bruins have played well since January and have had one of the better records in the league since that time.
In the NHL, a goalie could certainly cool off the other team and help your team get deep into the post-season. The Bruins goaltender needs to get hot as Jeremy Swayman is coming off a career year where he won 30 games.
Everything is a mission for one of the Sabres leaders in Alex Tuch, who has tallied up 33 goals and 33 assists in this magical season for Buffalo. He may be the team’s rally along with being the backbone of this Sabres team.
The Sabres come into the post-season with a lack of playoff experience. The Bruins rookie head coach Marco Sturm will get a taste of his first post-season experience as the man. The Sabres have an elite group of skaters. They have a solid defense and solid goal tending. The Bruins have created a stronger second line by moving Casey Mittelstadt from center to wing. He has played alongside Pavel Zacha and this line has created some noise for the Bruins. I like the Sabres’ Tage Thompson who has at least one point a game this season. He has played in 81 games and has tallied 40 goals while dishing out 40 assists. With the other young skaters the Sabres have and the confidence this team has had, I like them moving on from the first round.
OUR PREDICTION: SABRES IN 5 GAMES
(D3) MONTREAL CANADIENS (48-24-10) 106 POINTS VS (D2) TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (50-26-6) 106 POINTS
The Canadiens and the Lightning are very good at putting the biscuit in the basket. Both teams finished with the same amount of points in the standings. The Lightning average 3.52 points per game. The Canadiens had a monster year from Nick Suzuki who went over the 100 point mark for the season.
Suzuki had 29 goals while dishing out 72 assists for 101 points. You have to go back 40 years since a Montreal player eclipsed 100 points. The Lightning have the Russian Rifle Nikita Kucheron who had 130 points this season. He had 44 goals and 86 assists.
Is 40 year old Corey Perry the lucky rabbit foot to get the Lightning back to finals? The only problem is he has been in the finals 5 out of the last 6 years and his teams have lost them all like the Edmonton Oilers last year. Perry has won a cup in 2007 with the Ducks. Last year he was valuable for the Oilers scoring 10 goals in 22 games in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Let’s not forget the Canadiens have Cole Caufield who scored 50 goals in the regular season. Montreal is a top 10 scoring team on the power play. The Lightning’s weakness is their power play. The experience goes to the Lightning. The goal tending goes to the Lightning as Andrei Vasilevskiy has been here before and has done very well. I like a long series as Lightning strikes in game seven to end Montreal.
When are the Hurricanes going to get over the hump in these Stanley Cup playoffs? Carolina is probably the team that experiences the most heartbreak losses in the Stanley Cup post-season the last few seasons. They say defense is a great recipe to win in the post-season as the Ottawa Senators have one of the best defensive squads in the tournament. The Hurricanes have the second best overall offense in the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs. The Hurricanes have talent on defense as well with a few guys that can shut down some of the bigger parts of your opponent’s offense.
The Hurricanes used a tandem unit in the net with Frederik Anderson and Brandon Bussi. Anderson has done a nice job over the last few seasons in the post-season for the Canes. Bussi had 31 wins for the Hurricanes during regular season. He could certainly become a factor.
The Senators have a pair of skaters that have lit the lamp with 30 goals this season. Tim Stutzle and Drake Batherson makes up the Senators’ two-headed monster on offense for Ottawa.
The Hurricanes have the post-season experience. The Senators come in with a lethal power play. The Hurricanes’ special teams on the penalty kill is a top 10 unit. The Hurricanes have some great skaters in Sebastin Aho who lit the lamp 27 times during regular season. Seth Jarvis can cause problems for the Senators. How will the Senators goalie Linus Ullmark do during this post-season with a legit offense the Hurricanes have? I like defense that could help the Senators goalie play better. My X-factor is the younger Tkachuk Brady, who played for the USA team during the Olympics. His brother is a big deal with the Florida Panthers. I think Brady will come up big in this tournament. This is a series destined to go the full tilt.
OUR PREDICTION: SENATORS WIN IT IN 7 GAMES
(D3) PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (43-27-12) 98 POINTS VS (D2) PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (41-25-16) 98 POINTS
It’s the battle of Pennsylvania in the first round between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. You have to always think the Pittsburgh Penguins are a threat in the Stanley Cup playoffs. It’s the first time the Flyers have been in the post-season since 2020. The Flyers were 9 points out of the second wild card spot on March 10th. The Flyers finished the season strong with a 13-4-1 record to get into the tournament. The Penguins head coach Dan Muse has done a solid job in his first year. Muse was never a head coach before and has his team playing the game without free flowing and not a care in the world. The Flyers are a young team & their star have overachieved this season. The Flyers veteran goalie is coming off his best NHL season as well.
Dan Vladar is 28 years of age and has played for three franchises in the NHL. In his 6th season between the pipes, Vladar’s first season as a Flyer won a career high of 29 games as the starting goalie.
The three time Stanley cup winner Sid the Kid Crosby for the Penguins can still light up the lamp as he had 29 goals this regular season.
The Penguins season was on the brink with some injuries. The Penguins General manager made some nice savvy moves to keep this team afloat. The Penguins acquired Egor Chinahov along with Elmer Soderblom. Two guys that helped this team in the second half of the season. The Flyers younger stars get their taste of the post-season which could be a building process for the future. The Flyers have 3 upcoming stars in Porter Martowe, Tyson Foerster and Matvei Michkov could really make a name for themselves in these playoffs. The Penguins have the experience and super powers like Evgeni Malkin who can be dangerous for Vlader, who is inexperienced in post-season play. The Penguins’ highly paid defensemen former Shark Erik Karlsson can do some damage on the offensive side of the ice. I like the experience as a whole for Pittsburgh. I think the Flyers will steal a few games as the Penguins’ goal tending is not very special. The Penguins will be able to dispatch the Flyers rather easily.
OUR PREDICTION: PENGUINS IN 6 GAMES
WESTERN CONFERENCE
(W2) LA KINGS (35-27-20) 90 POINTS VS (D1) COLORADO AVALANCHE (55-16-11) 121 POINTS
It seems like the LA Kings always have to face the best team in round 1. The Colorado Avalanche roster has plenty of depth. Last year the Kings got off to 2-0 over the Edmonton Oilers & then hit the big slide in the game of Chutes and Ladders.
This is the last post-season for the Kings’ long time captain, Anze Kopitar, who is hanging up the skates after one more chance at Lord Stanley’s Cup. He has won two Cups with the Kings.
The Avalanche goalie Scott Wedgewood this regular season achieved his first 30 win season between the pipes.
The Avalanche have 4 lines that are solid. They have three defensive pairings that can get the job done on defense. They have two solid goalies. They average 3.65 goals per game while allowing the fewest at 2.43 per game. The Kings traded for Artemi Panarin who came over from the Rangers & helped LA playoff push down the threat. Panarin, who played for the three biggest market in the states now, in Chicago, New York and LA, will have to come up big if they can find a way to upset the Avalanche juggernaut. The Avalanche superstar Nathan Mackinnon, unlike in the Olympics, will come up huge in this series to prevent an LA upset.
This match up you have to call it the North Stars series.
How does a hockey team move away from the state of Minnesota where hockey and ice fishing is everything, to the state of Texas? The Minnesota North Stars moved to Dallas and dropped the North in their nickname, becoming just the Stars. The Wild would replace the North Stars as an expansion team later on. The Stars of Dallas made it to the Western Conference finals last year and lost to the Edmonton Oilers. The Wild were ousted in the first round by the Golden Knights. Both teams you have to believe improved from last year.
The Wild relied heavily on their defense last year. This year they improved their scoring as they are one of the strongest teams in the offensive zones at lighting the lamp. The team still has a great defense and a tandem of goalies that can get the job done on any night. Or ride the hotter hand. The Wild have two studs between the pipes in Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt. They are 4th in the league with 2.87 goals against per games.
The Dallas Stars have finished the regular season with over 100 points in the standings 4 straight years. After the loss to the Oilers, the Stars thought they needed a new direction at head coach and fired Pete DeBoer during the summer. The new hire has already paid off what Pete did last regular season as the new face and head coach is Glen Gulutzan who worked with the Oilers coaching staff. The team that knocked out the Stars. The Stars are hoping with a new face and different post-season adjustments and knowledge of one of the best teams in the conference, it will pay off this go around. Many questioned the move DeBoer made in game versus the Oilers benching their franchise goalie Jake Oettinger.
I think this series may be one of the hardest ones to determine a winner. The Wild are better than last year and could give these Stars an early exit. The Stars are just so talented and have survived plenty of first rounds in post-season and went deep in the playoffs. I see the Stars aligning in survival and somehow coming through in a series that goes the distance like Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed’s epic bout.
OUR PREDICTION: STARS WIN IT IN 7 GAMES
(WC1) UTAH MAMMOTH (43-32-6) 92 POINTS VS (D1) LAS VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS (39-26-17) 95 POINTS
This is the first time the Utah Mammoth have made the post-season since the Arizona Coyotes franchise moved to Mormon territory. The Las Vegas Golden Knights have been a staple in post-season since they arrived in the league as an expansion team. The Golden Knights won it all in 2023 and fired the head coach of that team in Bruce Cassidy only weeks ago. They gave the job to John Tortorella, who won 7 out of 8 games down the stretch for Vegas.
The captain of the Mammoth, a guy who played several years with the Coyotes the team that drafted him, had another good year. In year two with Utah he scored 26 goals and dished out 62 assists for 88 points. His leadership with some additional veterans this team added this off-season means they hope can go beyond the first round.
When it comes to the post-season, Mitch Marner does it all for the Golden Knights. He plays heavy minutes. He helps on defense. He averages at least 1 point per contest in the last 3 post-seasons. He scored 24 goals and dished out 56 assists this regular season.
The Mammoth can light the lamp and have many guys that can get the puck in the net. The Mammoth have 6 players that have 20 or more goals this season. They have 10 players that have double figures in goals scored.
Since John Tortorella took over, the Golden Knights save percentage went up. Carter Hart had .887 save percentage for the Golden Knights. Then he made six starts with the new head coach down the stretch & he was stellar in the net with .930 save %.
The Mammoth additions of veterans equals out to 4 Cups and 59 post-season games. The Mammoth are in the top 10 allowing the few shots on net and scoring chances. I feel like the Mammoth will make some noise in this first round by dispatching this Golden Knight team even though they are playing better with the new coach.
The Edmonton Oilers have lost in back to back Stanley Cup finals two straight seasons. The bright side is they will not have to worry about the Florida Panthers because they did not make the Stanley Cup post-season this year.
It did not take Joel Quenneville very long to get the Anaheim Ducks into the post-season. This is the first post-season action for the former Blackhawks head coach since he was banned from the league. He helped Chicago win three Stanley Cups. Then went to Florida & had to step away from the game because he helped cover up a sexual assault investigation back in his Chicago days.
The Oilers have the best hockey player in the league in Connor McDavid. The supporting cast is in question for this year’s Oilers squad. McDavid is Batman and Leon Draisaitl is a better Robin. However Leon may not be available for this playoff run due to an injury.
Meanwhile the Ducks have built around the youth players like Leo Carlsson who notched 29 goals and dished out 38 assists this season. The Ducks brought in veterans like John Carlson who has done wonders for that Ducky defense. Others they brought in that have made a difference are Mikael Granlund, Radko Gudas, Alex Killorn, Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba.
The supporting cast around the Oilers super heroes is different this season. They have lost veterans like Connor Brown, Evander Kane, Brett Kulak, John Klingberg, and Corey Perry who are all playing elsewhere. The Oilers have dug themselves in holes the last few seasons and others on the roster would step up and help the superstars get back on track. Edmonton may not be so lucky this year. I think the Oilers time is up this season like the Panthers. Joel Q is a mad scientist. His game plan will help the Ducks get by the power of McDavid. They will move on to the second round because they have more depth on their entire roster than Edmonton has to offer.
The San Jose Sharks have been around since 1991 and have been a staple most of their existence in the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs. In 34 seasons the Sharks have made the post-season 21 times. The last seven years the Sharks have not been swimming close to beaches as they’ve been hanging out in deeper waters instead. Last time the Sharks made post-season play was back in the 2018-19 season. This season suddenly the youth have gone wild. The Sharks have added some nice veterans to the mix. This year’s team finds themselves one point behind the Seattle Kraken & LA Kings for the second wild spot in the Western Conference. Last year the Sharks sank deep into the depth of the NHL standings and tallied up only 44 points. This season they have a winning record at 32-28-6 which is good for 70 points. One of the biggest reasons why the Sharks are swimming closer to the coast line this season is because of the rise of Macklin Celebrini. He’s a 19 year old in his 2nd NHL season making an early statement being one of the league’s up-and-coming Superstars.
Macklin Celebrini was drafted number 1 overall in the NHL draft in 2024. In his rookie season Celebrini tallied 25 goals while racking up 38 assists for a total of 63 points. In year two of his NHL career, Celebrini is 5th in the NHL in points. This season the Sharks’ young forward has lit the lamp 35 times which is already 10 goals more than his rookie season. He has dished out 60 assists which is good for 95 points. In two seasons Celebrini has tallied up 60 goals along with dishing out 98 assists for 158 points. He has helped the Sharks franchise speed up the process. He is getting his team to the level of playing meaningful hockey this quickly in his career. The next Connor McDavid was going to be the number 1 draft pick in the 2023 NHL draft from the Blackhawks in Connor Bedard. Bedard has been around 3 seasons in Chicago. In those 3 seasons he has lit the lamp 72 times while racking up 120 assists for 192 total points. Bedard has had some injuries he has dealt with so far in his first three seasons. Celebrini looks closer to McDavid than Bedard. The Blackhawks have tried to add pieces around their young superstar with veterans and trying to develop young draft picks to play alongside Bedard, but it has not worked out. It’s the same ole story for Chicago as they are once again at the bottom of the barrel in the hockey world. While Celebrini was skating with the top line with McDavid for Canada at the recent Winter Olympics. Bedard did not play in the Olympics.
Connor Bedard was drafted by the Blackhawks number 1 overall in 2023. In the same year, the San Jose Sharks selected center Will Smith at number 4 overall in the 2023 NHL draft. Smith came one season earlier than Macklin Celebrini. In two seasons hockey experts compare Smith and Celebrini as that young pair of superstars the last Blackhawks dynasty had in Jonathan Toews along with Patrick Kane. Let’s remember Kane and Toews hoisted three Stanley Cups for the Blackhawks and took that franchise out of the ark ages. In the first few seasons before they hoisted their first one in 2010, they were on the brink taking their team to the post-season. Then the Chicago dynamic duo finally made the Stanley Cup playoffs and shone. Then Chicago added more talent around them and the rest is history with that dynasty. Smith this season has 19 goals along with assists which is good for 45 points and he is only 21 years of age. These two Sharks are growing into Great Whites as we speak.
The Sharks record after the Olympic break in the action of the NHL are 5-4-2 which counts that loss last night to Connor McDavid’s Oilers. The Sharks have added some nice veterans to this squad. The last two years Tyler Toffoli has contributed to the Sharks. He’s a 14 year veteran in the NHL and has 18 goals this season. The Sharks do not have a true captain on this team. As they have multiple alternates which includes Toffoli and Macklin Celebrini. Other players on the Sharks that have authority on the team on and off the ice include veteran Barclay Goodrow. Goodrow started his career with the Sharks in the 2014-15 season. The 32 year old winger has been back wearing the teal in his second stint with the team for last two seasons. He comes back to San Jose after winning two Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Sharks roster also features some younger players which are starting to develop. The Sharks have only made it to one Stanley Cup with all those post-season appearances which was in 2016. Goodrow was on that Sharks team with stars they had like Joe Thornton, Logan Culture, Patrick Marleau, and Brent Burns. That 2016 team did not win the Cup that year as the Penguins knocked out San Jose that season. With a young dynamic duo in place with Smith and Celebrini, the Sharks could be better than those old teams they used to have. If the Sharks make it to post-season this year earlier than projected with all those young guys, it will be a good thing just with the experience they can get.These guys are growing together. Most of the veterans they have now will be gone when this team gets really good. New veteran pieces will be added along with these solid younger pieces they assembled who continue to take another step each season. Celebrini looks legit and will be the one of the next superstars in the NHL for years and years. I hope the Sharks make it to the post-season to see these kids experience their first taste in the Lord Stanley Cup post-season.
Some professional athletes that play their game in your town for so many ‘X’ amount of years then linger around after their career is over. You feel like they are part of the city. They are a citizen of your town. Many athletes come to your town, get paid for what they do, and leave for another city. Many don’t even stay during the off-season. Like Dorothy said in the Wizard of Oz, there is no place like home. For 12 seasons, Troy Murray skated for the Blackhawks in the NHL and was the team that drafted him in the 3rd round in the 1980 draft. When Murray finished his NHL career, he was not done playing hockey. He suited up 1 more season for the minor league hockey team in Chicago, the Wolves, who played at the time for the IHL (International Hockey League.) After 16 years of professional hockey, Troy, nicknamed “Muzz,” took another job with the Blackhawks as one of the team’s broadcasters. He was a hockey analyst giving the Blackhawks fan base the insight of the game from 1998 until he recently as he passed away after battling cancer the last 5 years. Troy Murray was part of Chicago and the sports landscape for 45 years. He is also a guy we lost way too early at the age of 63.
Troy Murray started his NHL career during the 1981-’82 season making his debut for only 1 game. His NHL career ended playing his final year for the Colorado Avalanche where he helped them win a cup. That is a nice way to ride off into the sunset because that was the only Cup he would ever hoist in his professional hockey career. Murray played hockey before the Blackhawks at University of North Dakota, where he helped the Fighting Hawks win the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey National Championship in 1982. From 1980-82 he played in 80 games for the Fighting Hawks scoring 55 goals while dishing out 74 assists for 129 points. He then would go from the Fighting Hawks to the Blackhawks. Murray was from Calgary, Alberta in Canada where most hockey players are factory-made. In 15 seasons in the NHL, he suited up for 5 different franchise which also included the Jets, Senators, and the Penguins. He had two stints with the Blackhawks. He missed playing with the Blackhawks team that made it to the Stanley Cup with the Penguins by one season which was the 1991-’92 season. The first time he left the Blackhawks organization as a player, his last season was 1990-’91. He was a center by trade. He was awarded the Frank J Selke award being the top defensive forward for his play in the 1985-’86 season. That season was by far the best season he had in the NHL. That year he scored 45 goals and had 99 points for the Blackhawks. During his career he did hit 20 or more goals in a season a total of 5 times. With the Blackhawks points-wise he did the most damage on the back of his hockey card with 197 tallies, dishing out 291 passes for goals, and accumulating 488 total points. For his career in played in 915 NHL games. Lit the lamp 230 times while dishing out 354 assists which tallies up to 584 points.
During the 1980’s and early 90’s the Blackhawks were always a fixture in the post-season it seemed. Back then the Blackhawks owner was Bill Wirtz and he was a terrible owner. The only way to watch the Blackhawks on television were only their road games and they were on cable, not regular TV. The home games were blacked out. Only way to see them play was going to the game. They were a hard ticket to buy back then. Especially for someone like my father, who was raised during the Great Depression. Troy Murray played with many great players during his time on the ice in Chicago. Like Dennis Savard, Eddie Belfour, Steve Larmer, Bob Murray, and the great Doug Wilson to name some of them. I think if the Blackhawks had a halfway decent owner at the time, his management may have went out and added to this core of players to make them Stanley Cup worthy. After being swept by the Penguins in the 1992 Stanley Cup finals, the Blackhawks went into the dark ages of one of the worst franchises in sports. It would be Bill Wirtz’s son after the passing of his father that helped get this original six franchise out of the dark ages in 2008 and 2009 when things started getting exciting again. They won the cup in 2010. That was the Blackhawks dynasty with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane which Troy Murray was part of because he was an analyst for the team. He would end up being around the Blackhawks hoisting more than one Cup during his time with the organization. Murray was also the President of the Blackhawks Alumni Association after his playing days came to an end. During the dark ages of the Blackhawks, the Wolves arrived at the perfect time. You saw Murray as the captain of the team. You saw former Murray’s teammates like Al Secord and Chris Chelios suit up for the Wolves who are still around today. The IHL folded up shop. The Wolves moved into the AHL which is the American Hockey League. The Wolves games were cheaper to go to than the Blackhawks. Many years it was well worth it seeing better hockey being played by the Wolves over the Blackhawks who were playing in front of crickets than actual fans.
In 2021, Troy Murray told everyone he was diagnosed with cancer. He still worked as a broadcaster for the Blackhawks in the last 5 seasons. He did not have the full tilt schedule he had so many years doing all the games. It’s far too young to pass away at the age of 63. Cancer has gotten many people in this world, which sucks. He will be missed on the airwaves. He had terrific insight in every game he called. He will never be forgotten wearing the Indian-head sweater and the Wolves. He was a solid player who gave it his best every game he played. Being from Canada, but always a Chicagoan in my book spending most of his life in this town for so many months a year. It counts. We lost a neighbor and I’m sure a friend at the same time. You may watch a game on the ice this weekend with a cold one. Make sure you raise a glass, can, or bottle to good ole number 19, Troy Murray. May he rest in peace and our prayers go out to his family.
I have never really watched any women’s sports. Yes, occasionally I watch what’s going on in the Olympic games with women’s sports. Perhaps some college softball on ESPN. The WNBA is on another planet with the NBA. Professional basketball is not very good in my opinion. Over the Winter Olympics, watching women’s hockey was must see television. I tune in because the town where I grew up is where Abbey Murphy is from. She is a big part of the women’s hockey team. The month of February is the worst sports month of the year starting after the Superbowl. The Winter Olympics in Milan brought me to some new horizons. Last Thursday USA hockey had a close affair with their arch rival Canada and won their 3rd gold medal in a come from behind victory. The Women’s hockey team versus Canada is a different story than the Men’s. The Women’s hockey team is like the Dodgers, Yankees, or Patriots. A well-oiled machine that has massacred the competition for a long period of time. While the Men’s hockey did prevail this season over Canada to win the gold, but over the years the Maple Leafs have owned the red, white and blue.
When it comes to women’s hockey, the U.S. team owns Canada. The U.S women’s hockey team has now beaten their arch rival Canadians 8 times in a row including two victories against them in Italy. They faced Canada before the medal round and shut them out 5-0 in the first meeting. In the second meeting, Canada came to play battling USA for the gold and held on to a 1-0 lead late in the game. It took the U.S. team late in the 3rd period in the last few minutes of the game to notch things at one and send the game to overtime. The Americans had to take out their goalie to get the extra skater and the captain of the team, Hillary Knight, tied the game with her goal with 2:04 on the clock.
Hillary Knight has set the record in the Olympics for most goals & points by either a female or male player. She has played in 29 career Olympian games, has scored 15 goals, and dished out 18 assists for 33 points which is impressive. The U.S women’s hockey run before the gold medal game with Canada they were blowing up the competition. They won six straight games only allowing one freaking goal. Canada scored one goal in the 7th and final game. They only gave up two goals in Milan. The team had 5 shut outs in Milan. In those 7 games they outscored the competition 33-2 which is tournament records.
Aerin Frankel was a wall in front of the net for the U.S. team. She had 30 saves versus Canada which included the overtime in the Gold medal game. She is the first Olympian goalie with 4 wins, 0.39 goals against average, .979 save percentage while recording 3 of those shut outs in 5 games played. This team had it all and were rolling like a well-oiled machine on all phases of the game of hockey. This team found a way to fight back when the script was suddenly flipped on them. In OT they quickly found the killer instinct which was a pass from Taylor Heise to Megan Keller who lit the lamp for the game winner. It was their first Gold since 2018 when they beat Canada for the Gold in a shoot out at the Pyeong Chang Games. It’s the first team since 1998 at the Nagano games to go undefeated like they did in the Olympics tournament. That was the first ever Gold any U.S Women’s Hockey team has ever won in Olympics history.
Sixteen players from the U.S. Women’s Hockey team play professionally in the new female league. The league is called the PWHL which is the Professional Women’s Hockey league. The league has six teams. The league is in their 3rd season.
Another Chicago player, Kendall Coyne Schofield, plays for the Minnesota franchise. Hillary Knight is with the Boston franchise. Taylor Heise is also on the Minnesota franchise. While Alex Carpenter is with the New York franchise to name the few of the 16 players from that U.S Women’s roster who are making money on the sport they love. With the USA Women’s hockey team winning the Gold this should give the PWHL a big time boost at the ticket window. The way these women played in the Olympics it should give this league roots of establishment. It may already have before these Olympic games were played in Milan, Italy. I always loved watching hockey. The Stanley Cup playoffs are one of the best post-seasons in sports. Nothing wrong with adding more hockey to the pallet on the weekends or weeknights. These women play the game the right way. They are fun to watch. They probably care about the game more than many of these cry baby professional athletes in both genders that make all the money and could care less about the fan base. When the pandemic in 2020 shut down sports, I missed even lumber jack Olympics. I would have paid to watch something that year. Women’s hockey should get in the regular queue of all your favorite sports each year we watch. I can’t wait until the next Winter Olympics to see what this team can do. You know they will not have all their women back from this year’s roster. You know they will have other additions on the roster. Young and hungry players looking to keep this dynasty rolling.
The U.S Men’s hockey team slayed their personal demons on Sunday in Milan, Italy as they beat the Canadians in the finals. The United States earned themselves the gold medal for the first time since 1980 when the Miracle on Ice took place in Lake Placid. In 1980 it was college players pulling off the major upset beating the Russian machine for the gold pulling off one of the biggest miracles in sports history. Then 46 years later a U.S team made up of NHL players beat the country that breeds and bleeds hockey, the Canadians, 2-1 in overtime. They pulled off an upset against a neighboring country that was loaded as well with NHL talent across the boards. The USA Olympic hockey team has formed a brotherhood of players built like a fraternity of close friends and family. The roster actually has two sets of brothers that are actually blood related. The Hughes and Tkachuk families who made a big dent in why the US. team went a perfect 6-0. They played for one of their fallen teammates as well, Johnny Hockey. Johnny Gaudreau had his life cut down short when he and his brother were mowed down by a drunken driver in New Jersey while cycling. The motivation and the comradery of this team pulled off something special that will go down in the history books on Sunday with this team pulling off the gold medal while many loaded NHL U.S. teams have failed miserably against the Maple Leafs.
It was Jack Hughes’ shot in the extra frame that ended the demons of the past that gave the United States their second goal of the game and the decider. It was a great pass by Zach Werenski that gave Jack the perfect shot and his biggest goal of his career. Jack plays for the Devils & he had 4 goals and 3 assists in the 2026 Olympics. His brother Quinn Hughes, who plays for the Minnesota Wild, had 1 goal and dished out 7 assists in the ’26 Olympics. It was Matt Boldy who got the U.S. team on the board in the first period in the gold round to give his country the 1-0 lead. In the second period it was Cale Makar with the equalizer that tied things up after two periods. The Tkachuks made their presence in every game of the Olympics that the USA played. Matthew Tkachuk is one of the biggest cogs in this USA wheel as he had 6 assists. His play is all over the ice doing the dirty work and the little things that don’t find their way on the stat sheet at the end of the night. He has now won two Stanley Cup championships in back to back years with the Panthers. Both championships were the last two years and he now adds a gold medal to the back of his hockey card. His brother Brady who plays for the Senators had 3 goals and 2 assists in the Olympics. Back to Jack Hughes who was playing with a bloody mouth and had some teeth that went missing in this big game. He still played through the pain and really came up big. After the game he commented on the brotherhood of this USA team which goes back to other teams that have lost to Canada in the past in these Olympic games.
In 2002 in Salt Lake City, the U.S. lost to Canada in the gold medal round 5-2. In 2010 in Vancouver it was Sid the Kid Crosby’s memorable goal that ended the USA in the gold round 3-2 in OT.
In the preliminary round of 2010, U.S. did beat Canada 5-3 but the Maple Leafs would get the last laugh in that one. Then in 2014 Canada shut out the United States at the Sochi Winter Olympics 1-0 in the semi-finals. The Canadians have been a thorn in the side for U.S teams for decades in these Olympic games.
This game between USA and Canada came down to solid goal tending by both countries. Jordan Binnington for Canada was amazing but came up short giving up the second goal in OT. Connor Hellebuyck was just better perhaps with a little help from the spirit of Johnny Gaudreau, especially how the hell he got his stick on a puck Devon Toews could have gotten in the net in his sleep. Devon got the rebound and tapped it into a practically wide open net. In the last second, Hellebuyck reached out with his stick to stop that shot. In second period he also snuffed out a breakaway from one of the NHL superstars in Connor McDavid. How many goalies could say that they stopped McDavid coming right at you by themself? He also stopped a breakaway from Macklin Celebrini that was a huge save in the game. Hellebuyck stopped 41 out of Canada’s 42 shots including overtime.
On August 29th of 2024, Johnny Gaudreau was in the prime of his hockey career when he was killed at 31 years of age. Johnny and brother Matthew were riding bikes near their home the night before their sister’s wedding. He played 11 seasons in the NHL which started with the Calgary Flames. He played 9 seasons in Calgary. The last two seasons of Johnny Hockey’s career he suited up for the Columbus Blue Jackets. He played in 763 NHL games & scored 243 goals while dishing out 500 assists for 743 total NHL points. He would have been a part of this gold medal team if he was not killed. The team honored him by having his number 13 jersey displayed in the locker room. They brought it out to the bench. They had a banner with both Gaudreau brothers in their hockey uniforms. Matthew was in his Boston College uniform. The Gaudreau family was in attendance. This includes his parents Jane and Guy Gaudreau. His wife Meredith and their two children, 3 year old daughter Noa and 2 year old Johnny Jr.. After the Americans won, for the celebratory picture on the ice with the team a few of the players brought Johnny’s kids out there. They ended up in the picture which really makes this win very special in many ways. We really have never seen USA Hockey win the gold medal because it’s been almost 50 years. To win it this icon medal for your country and give a player and his family a tribute is really something the world should take notice of. This is how humanity should be coming together after going through some kind of tragedy. Johnny would have been 32 years of age and you have to believe he would have made the USA team and contributed to this magical run they had this season. The family of Johnny needed that. These tributes celebrate the fallen like the Billy Joel song, “Only the Good Die Young.” All these athletes playing in the Olympics have their own stories. They had people they loved that have passed away. The motivation. How they got here. How they performed for those missing people who are watching from the heavens. The NHL players are professional players. Sometimes professionals need a little reminder that life can be good, bad, and ugly. It’s how you handle yourself. They handle it by achieving their goal winning the gold. Some day I hope Johnny Graudeau Jr. becomes a professional hockey player. Johnny Hockey II, sounds like an up and coming superstar in the NHL. Maybe he will help USA win another gold medal.
The Wild shamrock 