Photo Credit - Douglas R.Clifford/Times

Story by Bruce Nolte and Steve Erickson

The defending Stanley Cup Champions Tampa Bay Lightning took the opening game in this year’s Covid related season with a convincing 5-1 win. 

To some it might seem a surprise, given the way in which Montreal had been playing coming off the three previous series, but more so off the recent win over Vegas. 

This was the first meeting between the teams since March 5, 2020, after the league decided to implement division-only playing during this year’s regular season. 

Let’s not forget that Montreal is normally an Atlantic Division opponent but was moved to the Canada-only North Division due to restrictions put in place by both the US and Canadian Governments.

It is interesting to note that 28 years ago Montreal played the Los Angeles Kings in the 1993 Stanley Cup finals, winning the series in five games after losing the opening game.

The loss failed to deter them as they managed to refocus and rattle off four straight wins to capture their 24th Stanley Cup second only to the Yankees (MLB). 

Tampa opened the scoring on a goal at 6:19.  Erik Cernak took a cross-ice feed, splitting Montreal’s “D”  and scoring his first goal of this year’s Stanley playoffs, managing to beat Canadiens Price taking a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes. 

Lightning’s Yanni Gourde, (6) a Quebec native deflected a Blake Coleman shot from the top of the hash marks sending one in the top corner putting them up by a 2-0 margin by the 5:47 mark. 

It took a while but the Canadiens finally got on the scoreboard as Hamilton’s Ben Chairot ripped one past a somewhat screened Andrei Vasilevskiy who to this point had stopped anything directed his way.

Sicamous BC’s product Shea Weber continues to play solid on the backend taking and giving punishment to and from Lightning players. The Lightning then worked their magic after a give and go scoring with 2:20 remaining in the second.

Tampa forced the Habs into some costly turnovers that helped them extend their lead to 3-1 as Nikita Kucherov scored his first of two and 7th of the postseason. 

This came off a poor clearing play a short two minutes in as Montreal D-man Ben Chiarot tried to glove the puck away but Kucherov was there and managed to put it past Price.

Brandon Buck – Nephew

While I am on the topic of mentioning Chiarot, I for one find it interesting to note that he played with my Nephew Brandan Buck in the 2007-08 season them moved on to play with  Norfolk Admirals, Florida Everglades, Houston Aeros them went on to play in Europe recently retiring after completing two season’s with Nuemberg Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers.

Coming off another face-off, it was Kucherov who added his 8th of the playoffs and second of the period past a screened Price, after former Canmore Eagle player Brayden Point worked magic with a cross ice pass giving the Lightning the 4-1 lead. 

Tampa Bay added a final goal on the PP by Steven Stamkos with 70 seconds remaining that saw the long extended PK streak by the Habs of 32 consecutive kills in this year's post season dating back to game four against the Leaf’s in this years quarter final series. 

Playoff scoring leader Nikita Kucherov had two goals and an assist and Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 18 saves to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 5-1 victory.

While no call was made by the on-ice officials during the game the league acted on a slash by Montreal defenseman Shea Weber on Kucherov in the third period. 

For his actions he was fined the maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) on Tuesday for a non-call slash on Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov where he (Weber) who was assessed a $5,000 fine by the NHL’s department of player safety. 

Other news:

We are hearing that Alex Killorn will miss his first game of the 2021 postseason Wednesday after blocking a shot in the second period of Game 1 with his left leg, managing to make his way back to the bench.

Photo Credit Douglas R. Clifford/Times

He managed to play three shifts after the shot block, totaling 1:58 before the end of the period, and just one 23-second shift in the third. Coach Jon Cooper said he “couldn’t go down the stretch there.”

Photo Credit - Vancouver Canucks

Story by Steve Erickson

In the world of professional sport, it’s all about selling tickets for the fanbase and when the team begins to lose them, the ownership owner looks at making changes.

We have seen this happen with other sporting teams regardless if they are pro or amateur and when losing becomes prevalent changes are inevitable.

Not everyone can build a winning team and over the years we have witnessed this with all of the pro teams in the lower mainland regardless if it was the Lions, Whitecaps, Canucks, Canadians or the Giants.

Over the past while we have watched Trevor Linden step aside for whatever reason albeit everyone has a different take on why it happened, but it did!!

Let’s not forget that Linden was one of the most popular players in franchise history of the Canucks, even to this day. 

His role as Club President was shaky and was nearly as successful as he would have liked it to be.

He had plans on building a winning culture and team for the area, which  he did by making the playoffs in his first season but have taken a turn for the worse teams over the past three seasons.

The recent news from the Canucks wasn’t the best kept secret to many as this rumor had been swirling around since season end.

In a press release as well as a video conference call to the media we watched as Canucks GM Jim Benning made it official and announced that Daniel and Henrik Sedin will join the Hockey Operations department as Special Advisors to the General Manager.

Daniel and Henrik’s combined experience as players and team leaders will complement the Canucks Hockey Operations staff and fully support Jim Benning (gn) and Assistant General Managers John Weisbrod and Chris Gear in decision-making and organizational strategy.

While they are rookies to the new role, they are not strangers to the community and the lower mainland.

Their role will include player evaluation, development and communication from the amateur to NHL level given the fact that the Canucks have moved their practice fatality to Abbotsford at the  They will work collaboratively with Abbotsford’s AHL staff and coaches, participate in amateur and pro scouting meetings and participate in planning for the Draft, Free Agency and trade deadline.

Benning told the media “Henrik and Daniel’s hockey intellect and experience is exceptional and we’ve had an open line of communication since they retired.”

Benning continued “They are students of the game, eager to learn, who will make valuable contributions and strengthen our staff.”

Henrik mentioned “We are grateful and humbled by the opportunity to contribute to the team we care so much about.” 

Henrik continued to mention “The province and the fans care deeply about this team. As we’ve said, being part of the Canucks family has been the best time in our lives. It is an honour to be back, and we will do everything we can to learn and contribute to the success of this team.”

Daniel added “When we retired, we always thought we’d like to be involved in the business side of hockey one day and there’s a lot to learn, but we are excited and ready for the opportunity..

He continued to mention “The team has some of the best young players in the NHL and we want to do everything we can to support the group and achieve our goals.”

Daniel and Henrik Sedin retired in 2018 after 17 NHL seasons as Vancouver Canucks. Their jerseys were retired on Feb. 12, 2020.

Henrik leads the franchise in games played (1,330), assists (830), points (1,070) and plus minus (+165) while Daniel leads in goals (393), power play goals (138), game-winning goals (86) and shots on goal (3,474). 

Photo Credit Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review

Story by Bruce Nolte and Steve Erickson

If you’re a music buff you’ll remember the song by Elvis ever so appropriately called “Are You Lookin For Trouble” which after game five could be the theme song for the Vegas Golden Knights.

Montreal played the perfect road game Tuesday in Las Vegas that had the oddsmakers wondering if the dealer could have you double down while going all-in even when the odds are against you. 

Montreal skated away with a 4-1 taking a three games to two lead as the Habs head home to play in front of a somewhat smaller size crowd at the Bell Centre. In the process to take a 3 games to 2 lead in their semi-final series.

The win gives them a strong chance to wrap up the series allowing them to advance to their first Stanley Cup final since 1993, which given the pandemic is a remarkable feat unto itself. 

Vegas was blanked through two periods in game five and by the time Vegas got on the scoreboard the deficit was too much to overcome in a game that the sell-out crowd expected a win now trailing 3-2 in the series.

The Habs were led by Nick Suzuki, the former Vegas player traded to Montreal in a deal between the clubs which seems to have turned the card in the Canadiens advantage also leading the Habs are a couple of other young kids in this incredible playoff run in 2021. 

The Canadiens opened the scoring that saw Jesperi Kotkaniemi (5) take an impressive cross-ice pass at 8:45 from Byron (3) and Anderson (1) who was robbed by  Marc Andre-Fleury who had no idea of the rebound after the original save. 

The first was as magical as one might expect in Vegas, leaving everyone hanging on their seats wondering what magic the Knights could pull off which had the shots tied at six after 20 minutes.

This game was iced in the second when Staal jumped off the bench, getting into open ice in the high slot after Suzuki delivered a tape to tape pass putting the Canadiens up 2-0 at the 6:32.

As if this wasn’t enough for the fans back home in Montreal, it was followed up as Cole Caulfield took a Corey Perry back pass that somehow slid under the stick of the Vegas D-man. This allowed Cole to send a low shot 15 inches off the ice from the right faceoff circle hashmark at 9:49 giving them a commanding 3-0 lead after two.

Also helping the Habs in this years run are Jeperi Kotkaniemi and Cole Caufield contributing to take the Montreal Canadiens on their deepest run in 28 years in the Stanley Cup run and the play of veteran Carey Price between the pipes has been superb with an incredible save percentage and goals against in the current playoff run. 

Back to the game on Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas which was loud with a full house over 18,000 in attendance.

It was the Canadiens that took over from there as they opened the scoring on a great goal by Jeperi Kotkaniemi buried a Josh Anderson rebound after he was robbed by Marc Andre-Fleury who had no idea of the rebound after the original save of Anderson and Kotkaniemi slid the puck in the vacated Vegas net at 8:45 to give them a 1-0 lead.

Photo Credit Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review

Vegas had their chances to get the game tying goal but Montreal played a solid period shutting the vaunted Las Vegas offence as the Canadiens defenseman allowed goalkeeper Price to see the shots clear making the saves to keep them off the scoreboard as they went to the first intermission. 

Montreal opened the game up in the second period capitalizing on Vegas turnovers 3 minutes and 17 seconds apart on goals by Eric Stall getting things started by taking a Suzuki cross and ripping it past Fleury to give them a 2-0 lead at 6:32. 

It was followed up as they opened Cole Caufield took a Corey Perry back pass that got under the stick of the Vegas defenseman and Cole ripped a a shot 15 inches off the ice from the right faceoff circle hashmark past Fleury at 9:49 as they took command in the game opening a 3-0 lead going in the second intermission. 

Vegas Started the final period down 3-0 to the Habs and tried to break down the Montreal game plan which was successful as they continued to give Carey Price clear view of the Knights shots and when tested came up with huge saves to preserve their lead. 

The Golden Knights finally broke Price’s shutout that saw Max Pacioretty beat Price 4 minutes into the third after he had originally fanned on his first shot; but quickly pulled it back managing to find the top corner making it 3-1. 

 All due to tenacious play of the Canadiens “youth movement” they were able to add a clinching goal into a Vegas empty net when former Vegas player Nick Suzuki scored into the empty net with 56 seconds left in the game giving them a 4-1 win. 

Ironically this was Nick Suzuki’s first goal against his former Vegas teammates that saw him traded for Max Pacioretty which shocked many in the hockey circles.

Ironically Vegas despite the loss managed to outshoot the Canadiens by a 27-26 margin that saw Carey Price stop 26 sending them home with a 3-2 series lead in the best of seven series.

Game six is set for Thursday June 23rd at the Bell Centre with the face-off set for 4:30 pm on the west coast. 

It’s interesting to note that Pacioretty was drafted by the Canadiens and played 10 years with the team as Montreal’s Captain for three seasons.,

We should also remember that he (Pacioretty) nixed a deal that would have sent him to the Kings at the 2018 draft. 

This was followed up when GM Marc Bergevin announced at the Canadiens’ Annual Golf Tournament in September he had traded him to Vegas for Tomas Tatar, Nick Suzuki and a 2019 second-round pick. 

Following his arrival in Sin City he inked a four-year, $28-million contract which his first comments revealed what it meant he could leave all issues behind.

Canadiens forward and Delta resident Brendan Gallagher, Pacioretty’s former teammate, was quick to mention that “Patch went through a lot in Montreal.”

While Montreal are one game from advancing to the 2-21 Stanley Cup final the question remains – how many fans will be allowed in the Bell Centre for game 6?

Photo Credit Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal

Photo Credit - https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports

Story by Steve Erickson

Rolling the dice is something that often happens in Vegas for the “high rollers” at a crap table – but at a hockey game?

Yours truly wasn’t the only one that questioned the goaltending change that bench boss Peter DeBoer made when the Knights took to the ice; it was a shock even to the broadcast crew.

Craps is a game of chance and that is what we would see given the fact that Marc-Andre Fleury, the Vezina Trophy finalist on the bench for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Semi-Final match-up.

Instead DeBoer put Robin Lehner between the pipes and obviously had confidence in Lehner who had played only once in these playoffs which never went as well as he wanted. 

While  the idea of benching Fleury doesn’t always work; to coin a phrase “it’s all or nothing” and if you’re brave enough the change was a case of going all-in and benching your star goalie always has backfire potential, but starting Lehner was a diamond in the rough that came up a Full House.

To the surprise of many Lehner turned in a solid 27-save performance allowing only one goal that somehow kept them in the game until their offense eventually arrived on the double-decker bus.

Photo Credit https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/

Better late than never and for anyone to say this was an  easy game, think twice as the officiating left a lot to be desired.

Confusion arose near the dying seconds of the second when “bedlam” broke out when you could see the game referee instruct the timekeeper to run the clock down to zero.

No penalties were assessed to either team which had everyone totally confused wondering where the consistency level is at these days?

Some have mentioned that it went the route of the dodo bird heading off to another casino to gamble and see if any calls would indeed be made.

If you were a youngster, growing up in a suburb or near Montreal, you only dreamed of playing on Canadiens' ice.

Well dreams do indeed come true and such was the case Sunday night at the Bell Centre as Nicolas Roy got the O/T winner at 1:18 tying the best of seven series at two.

The moment was extra special for Roy who comes from Amos Quebec as his family was in attendance for the game.

After the game Vegas forward Max Pacioretty told the media “He’s been the No. 1 cheerleader on the team when he wasn’t playing, his positivity has rubbed off on us.”

He continued “For him to go in there tonight and be the player that we know he is, was huge for our team, and just so happy to see a guy like that get rewarded. He truly deserves it.”

 It couldn’t have been easy for Lehner, considering not only the stakes of the game or how his last appearance went, but also just how little he’s played over the last month. 

Game 4 was his second outing in only 41 days with his last game 21 days ago, in a 7-1 drubbing in the second round to the Av’s in Game 1. 

Photo Credit https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/

We hear that he (Lehner) has been very supportive of his team and skated on the off days so as not to lose the rhythm for the series he might be thrown in knowing he only wants what’s best for the team.

Following the game Lehner told the media “It doesn’t matter for me and truly, in my heart, I don’t care if I’m on the bench or in the net, I’ll do my best for the team.  I don’t care. I couldn’t care less. (Fleury) has been absolutely outstanding. He’s the reason why we’re here, along with a lot of the other guys. When you get a chance to come in and help, it’s great. You just do what you can for the team, no matter what position you’re in.”

Vegas coach Pete DeBoer said “getting Fleury rest was the biggest reason for starting Lehner, and that Fleury’s misplay in the third period of Game 3 played no role in the decision.” 

Prior to the game, Fleury had started more games than any goalie other than Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy which DeBoer pointed out, Fleury is 10 years older than Vasilevskiy, but age is only a number

The Golden Knights are a team built from the ground up and are planning on playing a while longer, considering that the series is now tied at two.

Vegas has the luxury of giving Fleury a break in game four, which obviously worked well as they head home for game five.

Lehner made 27 saves in the victory, but two sequences keep the game within reach with the first coming in the opening period when he slid across the crease getting his pad on an Eric Staal tip-in attempt and the second was when when he gloved down Joel Armia’s rebound shot. 

He said the latter was so close that he worried it crossed the red line.  

Two periods later, Montreal had a 1-0 lead off of a Paul Byron breakaway and the Vegas offense was stuck in neutral. 

The Knights finished with 18 shots through regulation, which tied a franchise-low for fewest shots through three periods in a playoff game, and zero high-danger scoring chances by Natural Stat Trick’s model, the first time that had ever happened.

The biggest save of the night came with 12:44 remaining in regulation when Canadiens' rookie Cole Caufield worked a breakaway and could have ended the game only to be denied a five-hole attempt.

The save kept the game within a goal only to have Brayden McNabb tie it three minutes later where he mentioned after the game “There were multiple times he made big saves, especially in the first period.”

 The Golden Knights made sure Lehner didn’t have to work in overtime, not allowing a Montreal shot and ending it 1:18 after the period started.

It added a storybook element that it was Roy, who was playing in his first postseason series in his home province of Quebec against the team he grew up watching. 

His parents, sister and in-laws were among the 3,500 in the crowd to see his first career playoff game-winning goal

 “I always dreamed about scoring at the Bell Centre,” Roy said. “Doing it in overtime, in the series there in the semifinals, it’s even better.”

 The Golden Knights evened the series, surviving what some were calling it one of the worst ever offensive performances in team history thanks to no one other than their goalie. 

Lehner said he took his own bus to arrive at the game four hours early to scroll through Twitter and use the negative messages as pregame fuel.

Lehner told the media after the game “Me and (Fleury) have gotten really close this year supporting each other and we don’t care about the noise.”

One can only think that the loss provides a template for game five in Vegas considering the fact the Canadians had 19 blocked shots as well as the 40 hits, they managed to deliver against the explosive team from “Sin-City.”

c

Photo Credit - Dirk Shadd/Times

Story by Bruce Nolte and Steve Erickson

The Islanders D-man Ryan Pulock made what will be seen on sports highlight stations made the save of the game giving the Islanders a 3-2 win.

With the Lightning pressing Islanders “tender” Semyon Varlamov at the top of the crease when the puck came loose and shot toward the open net only to have Ryan McDonagh make a dive  across the crease clearing the puck with no time left on the clock. 

The save allowed the Isles to even their best of seven series at two games that will see both teams travel to Tampa Bay for game five Monday, June 21st with the Islanders ready to continue where they left off. 

The Lightning had an outstanding opening period that saw them create several great scoring chances outshooting the Isles 11-4 after twenty minutes in a scoreless first period that saw only one minor assessed.

The Islanders Josh Bailey opened the scoring at 5:22 after an impressive set up with assists going to Nelson and Anthony Beauvillier. 

Coquitlam’s Mathew Barzal was left alone on the left side of the crease after a point shot giving him one of the easiest goals he’ll ever get into the gaping net at 13:46 with assists going to Clutterbuck and Pelech giving them a 2-0 lead.

Photo Credit Dirk Shadd /Times

With momentum on their side it was Islander’s Mathew Martin who gave them a 3-0 lead 4:11 later set-up by Clutterbuck and Pelech after 40 minutes reversing the shots outshooting them 17-9 after 40 minutes.

As we all know the game’s not over until the final whistle and this game was a prime example of the old cliché “never give up” and  the third was one that was dominated by the Lightning.

Brayden Point got them on the board scoring in his 7th straight game at 3:45 getting past Islanders D-man after being set-up on a cross-ice pass from Palat and Cernak rifling one past Semyon Varlamov making it a 3-1 contest. 

Less than two minutes when Tyler Johnson hammered one from the right hash mark after taking an impressive pass from Nikita Kucherov (19) and Ryam McDonagh (5) cutting the Islanders lead to 3-2.

Immediately after the goal Islanders Coach Barry Trotz called a key time out to settle his team which apparently worked playing the remaining time back to the style they are used to play. that got them the lead. 

The Islanders allowed the Lightning only one stretch in which Semyon Varlamov was forced to make several outstanding saves to maintain the lead. 

Victor Hedman was assessed the only minor in the third for tripping Clutterbuck at 18:48 that gave the Islanders a 5 on 4 advantage forcing Andrei Vasilevskiy to make some impressive saves.

Shots in the third saw the Lightning narrowly outshoot the Islanders by a 10-9 margin in a game that saw the shots tied after sixty minutes.

Game five hits the ice June 21st in Tampa that will see both teams play an aggressive, but disciplined style game, hopefully staying out of the sin-bin that otherwise could prove costly.

For a complete recap of the game tonight you can check out the recap at www.nhl.com 

The Stanley Cup playoffs resume Sunday night in Montreal as the Canadiens look to take a 3-1 series lead as both teams head back to Vegas Tuesday June 22nd.

The Islanders have scored 41 goals at even strength this postseason, compared to 29 for the Lightning, while playing one more game (16 to 15). 

The teams are tied 7-7 at even strength in their semifinal series.

Game 4 marked the first time since June 5 (Game 4 against Carolina) that Tampa Bay allowed three or more goals in a game.

This is the first time since the 2018 Eastern Conference final that Tampa Bay is in a 2-2 in a postseason series.

Lightning forward Tyler Johnson said after Game 4, it’s a best-of-three series now.

Tampa Bay has 45 giveaways to the Islanders 38, while the Lightning’s 20 in Game 4 were three more than the Islanders managed.

Three Stars:

1st    Matt Martin

2nd   Josh Bailey

  3rd    Semyon Varlamov

Photo Credit - PQB News File photo

Story by Steve Erickson

Junior B hockey isn’t only played on the mainland under the umbrella of the Pacific Junior Hockey League, but also on Vancouver Island known as the VIJHL as well as the interior operating as the KIJHL.

All three Junior B leagues have sent various talented players to move on to play in the BCHL as well as the NHL, which shocks many.

Teams have a way in which they operate for the betterment of the community they play out of and if this wasn’t the case, they might not be in operation due to the community turning their back on the team with no support.

Giving is one manner in which to attract fans to “small town’ Canada and we are hearing about a young man from Nanaimo who played four seasons with the Oceanside Generals  and was one of the club’s top snipers. 

Max Creighton (24) eventually advanced his career to play for the Vancouver Island University Mariners’ hockey team, playing two seasons with them.

As a dedicated athlete who strives to always be in peak physical shape, it came as a huge surprise to Creighton and his family when he was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis, a progressive, genetic disease that causes persistent lung infections and limits the ability to breathe over time.

“I had it all my life and I didn’t know anything about it,” said Creighton, now an assistant coach with the Generals. “It’s just been like an underlying thing that I’ve had.”

Over the years, Creighton said he had chronic lung problems, suffered from bronchitis and had difficulty breathing.

Doctors initially believed Creighton was simply asthmatic. 

But that diagnosis changed when he was hospitalized in the summer of 2019. After a series of tests, doctors found out Creighton has CF.

With the month of May being Cystic Fibrosis month, Creighton has decided to raise awareness and funds for Cystic Fibrosis Canada, in the search for a cure.

Creighton planned to ride 200 kilometres on his mountain bike, with the goal of raising $2,500 though a GoFundMe account that he has set up. What happened next surprised him and I hit that goal just on the first day.” 

He continued saying “this might be bigger than I think so I made it $5,000 but I hit that in a day or two then I moved it up to $7,500 and hit it again so I made it $10,000.” 

Who really knew how high this would go when it was first started so as he mentioned “I moved it up again to $12,500. I got another $1,500 so I made it $15,000. I think GoFundMe shuts down the goal once you reach it and that’s why I kept on adjusting it. I just didn’t want it to end. I want it to keep on going.”

He is ever so grateful for the on-going support that he has received from family, friends and former teammates.

Creighton mentioned “I am definitely surprised with the support coming from my former teachers, teammates and old acquaintances that I haven’t talked to over the years reaching out, some of whom I don’t even know.”

Creighton currently works at Arbutus Financial as an intern while he completes his Bachelor’s degree in business with a major in finance at VIU having a goal to eventually become a certified financial planner.

He will no longer be playing but intends to continue to coach with the Generals in the VIJHL

Anyone wishing to support Creighton can go to his GoFundMe account.

Photo Credit - The Hockey Writers

Story by Bruce Nolte and Steve Erickson

The cross-border rivals is anyone’s bet given the fact that Montreal defeated Toronto in addition to having Winnipeg defeat the Oilers in the first round which amounted to nothing more than “Jokers Wild” if you’re a betting man.

Watching both advance in the full seven games pulling out wins in the last three games had so-called hockey fanatics calling for firings of the Toronto brass, naturally by those who think they know the game better than management.

Truth be known; they didn’t and the win by the Canadians showed that they had a stronger work ethic as well as a desire to advance to the semi-final round against the winner of Vegas and Colorado.

The win saw Montreal book their flight to “Sin-City” which has odds-makers wondering who to place their bets on considering the talent of both “tenders” who carried their team to the third round series.

Montreal was trailing 3-1 in the series against the Leaf’s that saw them win the remaining three games with game seven in Toronto in front of a sparse crowd of just over 500 Health Care Workers.

Montreal was somewhat different due to Covid numbers in which the City and the Province allowed around 2,500 to attend the game, which were some family members as well as Health Care Workers

Photo Credit Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports)

Both series should be entertaining with many Canadians fans watching to see if they can solve the “Mystery of Fleury” that will have a sold-out crowd in attendance.

Looking at the series stats Fleury has played in 158 games with 89 wins, 67 losses with a GAA of 2.53 and a SV% of .912 and 15 SO while playing 9,560 minutes.

Carey Price on the other hand has played 81 games with 38 wins, 39 losses followed this up with a GAA of 2.36 and SV% of .920 with 8 SO playing 4,851 minutes.

The 2007-08 season was Price’s rookie season, which saw him manage a record of 24-12-3, with a .920 SV% also winning his first playoff series in a close seven-game series. 

They were however ousted by the Flyers in Round 2 in five games after pulling off the lone win in Game 1.

The other series featured last year’s Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay fired up by Stephen Samkos leading the charge who were taking on the New York Islanders which many counted out to not reach the third round.

Photo Credit (Marc DesRosiers – USA TODAY Sports)

Looking at the series, one interesting fact that features both teams is that there are five players who reside in BC play, three of whom are on the Habs team, while two from are on Vegas.

D-man Shea Weber calls Sicamous home, Goalkeeper Carey Price calls Anahim Lake home while Brendan Gallagher calls Delta home in the off-season, while Tampa Bay has two; Langley’s D-man Shea Theodore and Duncan’s Dylan Coghlan 

When we look at the overall depth, the Canadiens lead the league with 29 goals in six games, while the next-highest team is the Philadelphia Flyers who has 20. 

If you think it sounds strange, it’s not as the third-highest team are the Canucks with 19, that lost to the Canadiens by a 2-0-1 record over a three-game series.

Vegas are coming off a come-from-behind win in the quarter final series against the Avalanche being down 2-0, but managing to win four straight advance to the third round getting past Minnesota in 6 game’s. 

Vegas has managed to reach the third round semi-finals for the third time in the four years since they entered the NHL in 2017-18 as an expansion team having won seven playoff series in that time for the Knights. 

Regardless of whom you place your bets on, this series has all the makings of a full seven game series as both continue their journey for Lord Stanley’s Trophy. 

On an outside chance that Montreal will win the Cup it will mark the first time that a Canadian team brings the Cup back to Canada for the first time since 1993 when Montreal defeated the Los Angeles Kings.

Sportswave supports “Every Child Matters”

Photo Credit - https://www.reviewjournal.com

Story by Bruce Nolte and Steve Erickson

What are the odds of Vegas upsetting Colorado in game six as they return home in hopes of wrapping up a series that even the “odds makers” had them written off even after eliminating the Wild.

A bounce here and a hope there saw the Knights drop the first two in the series being outscored by a 10-3 margin, rebounding in game three and four pulling out their ace outworking and outscoring the Av’s by 8-3.

Game five saw Vegas capitalize mistakes in all areas of the ice forcing O/T pulling out an impressive 3-2 win a short 50 seconds in as Captain Mark Stone sent them home leading the series.

As the series unfolds we continue to watch the on-ice talent shown by two key players who call British Columbia home and ironically both are playing for Vegas paying dividends to the team’s success. 

Regardless of who you cheer for, be sure to double down and bankroll your bets on Vegas to hit the jackpot without tapping out.

Dylan Coghlan’s NHL debut probably went differently than he dreamed of mainly due to playing with no fans at T-Mobile Arena. 

He took his solo lap against the Los Angeles Kings with his family proudly watching from Duncan rather than in the stands in a game that saw him play 13:15 in his first game in a game that his team won 5-2.

Dylan Coghlan (23, 6’2”) is a RH D-man who shoots right, was born in Duncan February 19,1998 and played his minor hockey for the U-15 and U-18 development program and the North Island Silvertips of the BC Major Midget program in the 2013-14 season.

He played 39 games at that level finishing off the season playing two games for the Clippers in the BCHL which was followed by a move to Tri-City in the WHL playing four seasons.

While there he played 265 games scoring 38 goals, 107 assists along with 146 PIM’s, which does not include playoff action that quickly saw him make the jump to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves.

There he played two short seasons that elevated his game to play for the Golden Knights in the 2020-21 season for 29 games adding 3 goals and 3 assists where he remains as a solid contributor in the line-up.

Photo Credit https://lasvegassun.com

The other local BC player who is a main-stay in the line-up for Vegas is D-man Shea Theodore (25, 6’2”) and  was born August 3rd, 1995 who calls Langley home in the off-season

He played minor hockey for the Aldergrove Bruins U-15 team (2009-10) minor hockey and the following year he played for the Fraser Valley Bruins, Yale Secondary as well as the Seattle Thunderbirds.  

The 2011-12 season saw him as a main-stay with Seattle playing 140 games, scoring 23 goals while adding 62 assists along with 62 PIM”s in a season that saw him elevated to play for the Canada U-18 team along with Connor McDavid and Sam Reimhart.

The 2013-14 season saw him play 70 games with the T-Birds then was called up to play for the Norfolk Admirals, a team he started the following season with before bring bumped down to finish the season in Seattle.

The 2015-16 season saw him play with Anaheim in 19 games before being moved to play for the Gulls in San Diego finishing the season playing in 50 games adding 9 goals along with 28 assists.

Expansion saw his career get a “kick-start” with the addition of the NHL Vegas Golden Knights of the (NHL) when the league expansion (June 22, 2016) was approved by a unanimous vote that saw them play their first league game October 10, 2017.

The 2018-19 saw him stick with Vegas which is a move he hasn’t regretted and is a fan favorite delivering huge hits from the back-end while also contributing in the goal department as well.

Playing in local rinks in small-town BC shows that you simply don’t have to live in “Big City Canada” to make it to the pro ranks.

Anyone you ask will tell you making it to the pro rank in any sport requires a strong work ethic, the desire to achieve success as well as having a “no-quit” attitude as well as listening to your Coach.

Regardless of who you cheer for, be sure to double down and bankroll your bets on Vegas to hit the jackpot without tapping out.

Photo Credits - Canadian Ball Hockey Association

Story by Steve Erickson

 Can changes in any and all sports are made for the better of the sport and while some might not like them it’s important that they are put in place for the betterment of the game.

We all know and understand that sport and the world has been on hold for the betterment of 15 months and everyone I have spoken with is eager to return to play or just get out and visit with Family and Friends.

Locally, ball hockey both Minor, Men’s and Women’s are eagerly waiting for the “green light” to book floor time if and when they have confirmation to play and while this might only be a “dream” we might see it happen!

Such is the case I am hearing about with  Play On Canada with the recent change announced by Scott Hill, Chairman for Play On! Canada.

As a member of the Canada Board of Directors, Scott mentioned “We are delighted to welcome Kevin Lowe to the Play On! Canada Board of Directors and Kevin is a highly-regarded leader in the hockey industry. His knowledge, experience, and character will help pave the way for the future of this organization.”

Lowe replied in a press release “I am excited by the message and the vision for the future of Play On! in Canada. I want to help others realize the program’s true benefits.”

Lowe continued “Once we get through this pandemic, this national event will help Canada recover, it will help hockey recover, it will help all of sport recover, it will help all of us recover. I have committed to being actively involved and look forward to working with the other members of the Board to achieve these outcomes.”

Kevin Lowe’s decision to join the board comes at a time as Play On! Canada prepares to relaunch the largest mass participation event of any kind in Canada’s history, once it is safe to do so following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The the largest mass participation event of any kind in Canada’s history, once it is safe to do so following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kevin will be joined by other Canadian hockey stars Theo Fleury, Paul Coffey, Hayley Wickenheiser, Connor McDavid and others as featured speakers at the upcoming Play On! Canada national town hall meeting was held April 9, 2021 via zoom and while it’s long past we’ll keep you posted. 

While this is put on by Play On, lets not forget that in Canada there are two Associations that offer a high level of ball hockey.

The first and in no particular order is the National Ball Hockey Association of Canada and the other being the Canadian Ball Hockey Association.

I know in British Columbia, BC Ball Hockey in the past have undertaken various steps to quash the National Ball Hockey Association from getting off the ground, which is sad to hear about.

Locally, there is one Minor Ball Hockey League that does not belong to BC Ball, the CBHA or the NBHA and are doing well, with the exception of the Covid-19 Pandemic which shut the White Rock Ball Hockey League down.

This alone tells everyone what the state of sport is about, which is sad to have a governing body of sport want to control various leagues in the area.

Here’s hoping that one day, but in the foreseeable future that sports can ride the game of politics!!!  

All Photo Credits - IIHF

Story by Brucce Nolte and Steve Erickson

After a slow start at the 2021 IIHF World Hockey Championships Team Canada completed an incredible game comeback winning the World Championship tournament in Riga Latvia with a 3-2 win over Finland. 

The incredible comeback saw them get the winning goal playing three on three Sudden Death (Sudden Victory) O/T winner as Ottawa Senators Nick Paul got the winner at 6:26 completing the comeback. 

This marked an amazing tournament turnaround after dropping their first three game’s of round robin play winning their last four games making the playoffs. 

The remarkable finish ended with a 3-1-0-3 record qualifying for the playoffs in fourth place in Group B.

Following the early losses they found their skating legs and confidence winning key game’s gaining momentum knocking off Russia 2-1 in the quarter finals.

This was followed up in a game against the United States which they pulled off an impressive 4-2 win moving on to play Sunday in the final.

Finland finished Second in Group A with a record of 4-2-0-1 for 17 points, while Canadian finished fourth in Group B with a record of 3-0-1-3 for 10 points. 

The Gold medal game saw Finland open the scoring at 8:57 with Ruohomma Mikael putting one past Coyotes “tender” Darcy Kuemper giving them the 1-0 lead after twenty.

The first ended with Justin Danforth assessed a Misconduct at 4:15 with the shots tied at eight after 20 minutes. 

Canada rebounded in the second with Anaheim’s Comtois Maxime scoring at 4:30 with Connor Brown and Sean Walker giving Finland all they could handle.

The second ended with Finland outshooting Canada by a narrow 9-8 margin, leading 17-16 after two.

Finland regained the lead at 5:47 of the third on a goal by Lindbohm Petteri and Kim Nouslainen and Mikael Ruohomaa getting assists with time alone working against Canada.

Canadian continued to press only to see Sean Walker assessed a Misconduct at 48:38 taking him out of the line-up for the remainder of the game.

Finland’s Mikael Ruohomaa was assessed a minor for tripping at 52:19 putting Canada on the PP that saw them get the equalizer at 52:37 with Ducks Adam Henrique with Comtois and Brown getting assists on the play as time was winding down.

The third saw Finland outshoot Canada by a 11-7 tally for a three period shot total of 28-25 for Finland after sixty minutes of play.

Overtime at this level of play continues to be controversial, but regardless of our thoughts they continue to play three on three rather than the five on five which makes more sense to everyone else.

Canada won the draw in their own end that saw both Nick Paul and Connor Brown have a 2 on 1 entering Finland’s zone which saw the two work a give and go play.

The play seemed to dazzle both the “D” as well as Finish “tender” Jussi Olkinuora at 66:26 giving Canada GOLD!!

In addition to Canada pulling off a shocking win in the final championship game, being from the west coast we want to mention that Vancouver Giants Head Coach Michael Dyck added another International medal to his collection. 

Let’s also remember that he captured a Silver medal with Canada at the 2021 IIHF World Juniors this past January and yet another Silver medal with Canada at the 2019 Hlinka/Gretzky Cup. 

During his three seasons as bench boss with the Giants, he has led the team to an overall regular season record of 92-49-11. 

Impressive – yes indeed and when you reflect on his entire WHL coaching career, he is 224-169-27 as a head coach.

His success takes him back to his day’s with Giants first Head Coach Don Hay and entering the 2016-17 season has spent 1,216 games behind the bench; amassing an impressive record of 675-442-99 and is first in all-time playoff wins with 106.

Canada’s journey to the championship game was an adventurous one, as they began the tournament with three straight losses before finishing 3-3-1 in the preliminary round. 

Were it not for a 2-1 regulation victory for Germany over Latvia on June 1st, Canada would not have advanced to the quarterfinals.

From there, Canada caught fire, earning a 2-1 overtime victory over Russia in the quarterfinals on June 3rd, and then a 4-2 victory over the United States yesterday in the semi-finals, before clinching their gold medal today.  

Today’s Gold medal marks the 27th in Canada’s history at the IIHF World Hockey Championship tournament.

Rosters can be found at the IIHF.

The game officials were Referees Martin Frano, Yevgeni Romasko 

Linseman Gleb Lazarevand Nikita Shalagin

Photo Credit: www.notinthehallofffame.com

Story by Steve Erickson

One has to assume that the series between Tampa Bay and Carolina is unique having a twist to the Province of British Columbia where we are watching two BC coaches facing off against each other.

In our previous feature we focused on Prince George’s Jon Cooper who is facing off against Campbell River’s Rod Brind’Amour in round two in search for Lord Stanley’s Coveted Cup.

This year’s postseason NHL has two coaches with a connection to British Columbia home with Jon Cooper and Rod Brind’Amour was born in Ottawa; but grew up on Vancouver Island in Campbell River since the age of two.

Brind’Amour was selected in the first round of the NHL Entry draft (1988) by St. Louis and following the 1988-89 season he graduated from Central Collegiate Hockey Association when he immediately joined the St. Louis in the 1989 Stanley Cup playoffs in game 5 of their Division Semifinals against Minnesota that saw him score on his first shot.

While playing at Michigan State he was given the nickname or “Rod the Bod” for his fitness and conditioning routine during his playing years that saw him go from the game to the weight room staying and not leaving until the lights were turned out.

He began his first season with the Blues playing only 24 games scoring 26 goals finishing third in the team’s scoring which saw him named to the 1989-90 NHL All–Rookie team.

Photo Credit - NHL

Following his short stint with St. Louis he was traded to Philadelphia after the 90-91 season along with teammate Dan Quinn for Murray Baron, and Ron Sutter, which was somewhat of a surprise to him.

When Flyers Captain Eric Lindros was injured and unable to play, Rod along with Kevin Dineen filled in as co-captains which saw him get the reputation as being one of the best shutdown centers when he was awarded the Frank Selke Trophy in 2005-06 and 2006-07 when he was a member of Carolina.

From this point on he built on his reputation as being one of the best shutdown centers in the league culminating with his abilities as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes was awarded the Frank Selke Trophy in 2006 and repeated the selection in 2007. 

For those who are unfamiliar Campbell River is situated on the eastern coast of Vancouver Island and notably known as the ‘Salmon Capital of Canada’. 

Following the Cup win it was brought from Vancouver to Campbell River where it arrived around noon June 25. 

There it was met there by two of the many individuals who worked on the Rod Brind’Amour Cystic Fibrosis Golf Classic, the day prior.

The Cup was then  driven to the hotel where Rod and teammate Mike Commodore were waiting along with family and friends, where they were the centre of attention in a celebratory parade through the centre of Campbell River. 

As one might expect living in small town Canada there were close to 6,000 plus residents lined up in Shoppers Row who cheered Brind’Amour and Commodore.

Photo Credit -Gerry Broome / AP

The parade ended at the Tyree Plaza, where acting mayor Roy Grant welcomed Campbell River’s favourite citizen by announcing that there would be a street named in his honour, which he was shocked to hear. 

The street, named Brind’Amour Road, is located in a newly-constructed subdivision, at the corners of Jubilee Parkway and Highway 19A. 

Following the ceremony Rod and Mike Commodore took the Stanley Cup and went back to the Brind’Amour family home where Rod’s father Bob, mother Linda and brother Michel, a Toronto police officer, were all waiting.

It’s always great to hear about athletes from “small town Canada” achieving success which in part should be credited to what I call “The Unsung Heroes” or the “Volunteer’s” in the community that donate many hours to help today’s youth.

Rod (45) officially retired June 30th, 2010 after playing in 1484 games over 20 seasons in the NHL!!

Photo Credit - D. Laird Allan

Photo Credit - AP Photo

Story by Steve Erickson and Bruve Nolte

What many hockey fans fail to realize in this year’s postseason NHL is that two coaches call British Columbia home having roots in two distinct regions. 

John Cooper was born August 23rd, 1967 and grew up in Prince George, while Rod Brind’Amour was born in Ottawa but grew up on Vancouver Island in Campbell River since the age of two.

Photo Credit (via Bolts TV)

Cooper attended and played hockey at Notre Dame in Wilcox Saskatchewan and went on to attend Hofstra University getting his Bachelor of Business Administration in 1989.

During his tenure there he was also a box lacrosse letterman in each of his four years tenure as John Danowski’s head coach of the Varsity program located in Hempstead NY, while also playing one year of club hockey while at Hofstra.

During his playing days he changed to play midfield scoring 74 goals, 25 assists (99 points) and was also a member of East Coast Conference teams both in his Junior and Senior years.

He went on to graduate from Law School in  Lansing Michigan at Thomas M. Cooley served as a public defender for 11 years while again playing hockey at Lansing Catholic Central High.

Jon Cooper continued his junior hockey coaching career as an assistant with the Capital Centre Pride of the North American Hockey League working closely with the Metro Jets of the Central States Hockey League which is now the North American 3 Hockey League. 

The Jets owner and Governor, Butch Wolfe gave Cooper the first chance as a head coach within the Jets organization in the 2001-02 season and he led the Jets to the Silver Cup – USA Hockey National Junior B Championship. 

In 2003 Jon returned to the North American Hockey League (NAHL) coaching the expansion Texarkana Bandits in 2004-05 and was named “Coach of the year.”

Jon stayed with the Bandits franchise on the relocation to St. Louis in 2006-07 season leading the Bandits to the league championship. 

The following year the Bandits won the title again in 2007-08 which saw him (Cooper) capture his second Coach of the year award.

Following his five years in the NAHL he moved on to coach the Green Bay Gamblers of the United States Hockey League (2008-09 and 2009-10) leading the team to an impressive record of 84-27-9 winning the Clark Cup for the League Championship. 

In 2010 Copper was hired by the Lightning to coach the Norfolk Admirals, their American Hockey League Affiliate and in 2013 was promoted as the Lightning’s 9th Head Coach.

He eventually got his first job with the St. Louis Bandits of the North American Hockey League allowing him to climb the ladder of success.

Cooper’s patience, ability and knowledge have allowed him to climb the ladder of success where he currently coaches Tampa Bay leading 3-1 looking to wrap up the series advancing to round three. 

Tomorrow we’ll focus on the climb of success by Campbell River’s Rod Brind’Amour!!

Photo Credit - Kevin King/Winnipeg Sun

Story by Steve Erickson

Montreal continued their strong play on route to Lord Stanley’s coveted trophy managing an amazing comeback over the top team in the North Division. 

The Leaf’s were defeated in game seven on home ice in front of over 500 healthcare workers in what many are calling a dismal finish to what was an otherwise remarkable season.

The Canadians win sees them advance to the second round taking on the Winnipeg Jets, their fourth straight postseason win pulling off an impressive 5-3 victory which was marred by an act of stupidity near the end of the game.

 Montreal started strong, scoring twice within a minute and forty seconds with goals by Jesperi Kotkaniemi at 3:30 and Eric’s Stall goal at 5:10 jumping into a 2-0 lead over the well rested Winnipeg Jets who swept the Oilers in their opening series. 

Winnipeg’s Adam Lowry got them on the scoreboard at 11:52 when he stole the puck off a Habs D-man at the Jets blueline blocking a shot going one on one beating Carey Price making it a 2-1 game. 

Montreal restored the two goal lead with 2:46 remaining in the first when Joel Edmundson and Cole Caulfield set up  Nick Suzuki who beat Jets Connor Hellebuyck after one.

The second was scoreless but featured great saves at both ends of the ice between Montreal’s Carey Price and Jet's Connor Hellebuyck after 40 minutes. 

 Derek Forbort pulled the Jets to within one at 9:22 but Delta’s Brendan Gallagher fired a Shea Weber rebound past Connor Hellebuyck of the Jets at 11:04 making it a 4-2 Habs lead. 

The Jets continued to press, getting within one making it 4-3 that saw Kyle Connor beat Carey Price from the face off circle at 10:38 giving the Jet’s the much needed aggressive play to close out the game.

The Jet’s pulled Hellebuyck for a sixth attacker in hopes of getting the equalizer with a minute left in regulation time, dumping the puck in the Canadians zone in hopes of capitalizing but it seemed too little, too late.

Habs Jake Evans got the insurance empty net goal on a rush play going deep rounding the net sliding it in the open net on the wrap-around for the 5-3 win.

Long before Evans (25) who was celebrating his 25th birthday was unable to look up, Scheifele hammered him with a crushing hit at 19:03 rendering him unconscious when medical personnel rendered medical attention.

Call it frustration or sheer stupidity Jets forward Mark Scheifele skated directly at Evans delivering what many are calling it senseless, late and the hit of a loser who is unable to control his emotions.

Delta’s Gallagher mentioned in a post-game with Scott Oake “We’ve all played this game long enough. (Scheifele) knows better than that. I know him, and I don’t want to comment too much, we were told to let the league handle it. We trust that we will, but I don’t know and it’s brutal. Didn’t need to happen, wrong play. He knows better.”

Photo Credit -  Kevin King  /Winnipeg Sun

Joel Edmundson was less diplomatic and less forgiving saying “It was a dirty hit, but the league’s going to take care of it. If he gets back in the series, we’re going to make life miserable for him,” 

Being honest and of course Jets fans won’t understand, which is no different from when the Canucks were ousted from the Stanley Cup that saw the group of low-life’s riot causing major damage that came with a cause.

Simply put there isn’t any hockey rationale to the hit to which he (Scheifele) received a Major for Charging plus a Game Misconduct which saw Evans taken off on a stretcher.

As the Officials moved the players that players that gathered away behind the net and sorted out penalties A major scuffle between the teams as Evans teammates and Winnipeg player Nikolaj Ehlers protected the injured Montreal player from being injured further while the Medical staff attended to him and received a standing ovation as he was getting taken off the ice and by the players on both teams. 

The league is holding a phone interview with Scheifele on what his rationale was for the hit and since it’s a phone call, It’s going to be extremely difficult for him to convince anyone, pointedly that he was making a clean hockey play.

Photo Credit - John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)

Automatic suspensions are independent of Supplemental Discipline imposed by the Department of Player Safety. A Player can receive Supplemental Discipline for a game misconduct; however, that particular game misconduct would not count towards his total for the relevant category. Players are automatically suspended if they incur multiple game misconducts in these categories:

• General Category
• Abuse of Officials Category
• Stick Infractions Category
• Physical Fouls

Separate from the categories above, these infractions carry automatic suspensions without the accumulation of game misconducts:

• Three Instigator penalties in one Regular season
• Two Instigator penalties in the Playoffs
• A Player who receives an Instigator penalty in the final five minutes of regulation time or at any time in overtime
• Physical Abuse of Officials
• Leaving the Bench for the purpose of starting an altercation.

Photo Credit - Kevin King/Winnigeg Sun

Story by Steve Erickson

The elimination of the “heavy favorites” in Canada’s hockey domination for the 2020-21 hockey season saw both Edmonton and Toronto get ousted from further playoff action.

The shock has the hockey world in an upheaval not knowing why or how this could happen, but truth be told the above two mentioned teams were simply outplayed.

In one of the strangest hockey seasons we can ever remember with the Canucks and Montreal getting hammered with COVID-19 that saw a stoppage of games throwing the game and the league in the “sin-bin” putting it on ice for a period of time.

The hardest hit team were the Canucks which thankfully was controlled by a team of professional medical personnel under the strictest guidelines.

We are left with two teams in Canada to which the Canadiens after being down 3-1 in the series were able to stage an incredible comeback against the top team in the NHL north down. 

The game seven 4-3 win in Toronto saw them knock out the top ranked Leaf’s moving on to face Winnipeg for the first time to who survives and advances in the postseason. 

The Winnipeg Jets finished third with a record of 30-23-3 through the 56 game schedule with 63 points scoring 170 GF while allowing 154 GA. 

Montreal finished fourth with a record of 24-21-11 with 59 points managing 159 GF goals and 168 GA being backstopped by Anaheim Lake’s Carey Price

Photo Credit - NHL

The season series of Covid-19 which at times was difficult for the Canadian North Division for the Canadian franchises saw the top four teams advance to the NHL postseason play. 

The fourth place Canadiens will play the Maple Leaf’s in this historic series which is the first time dating back to 1964 in which both teams have met in the postseason. 

In the original six teams in the NHL, Toronto won the first of three straight Stanley Cup finals in a playoff run between these two historic teams. 

As was the case in 1964 when Montreal trailed the Maple Leaf’s by a similar 3-1 game’s setback facing the same fate managed to fight back to eliminate the Leaf’s game 7 of the series. 

This past season saw Winnipeg finish third in the North Division that saw them face the high octane powered Edmonton Oilers led by the NHL the scoring leader Connor McDavid along with Mike Smith between the pipes. 

The series saw the Jet’s out work their rivals from Edmonton Oilers as a cohesive unit in a playoff series between the teams in NHL history. 

Oddsmakers had the Oilers as favorites having an explosive offence from all four lines coming off a great regular season seeing them advance in the seven game series. 

The Leaf’s strong offence paid off in the first four game’s which saw them take a 3-1 series lead, but the strong aggressive play of Montreal saw them rebound pulling off the series win led by veteran netminder Carey Price.

Montreal mounted an impressive comeback forcing their youngsters to press the Leaf’s into making mistakes allowing them to get timely scoring from all four lines to advance to the North Division final against Winnipeg. 

Throughout the seven game series they shut down the vaunted attack of the Leaf’s top line which featured Austin Mathews, Mitch Marner (who has  a contract through to the 2024-25 season) not giving them time or space allowing them to make any key plays in either zone.  

In the end it was veteran Carey Price who gave them the strength to complete the comeback win in Toronto in front of just over 550 front-line workers for the win also noting that Montreal also welcomed over 22,500 fans two nights prior.

Winnipeg won the regular season series taking 6 of the 9 game’s played between the teams and the stats between the squads in the 2020-21 season with the numbers between the teams for the fans in their best of seven match up to decide the winner to represent Canada. 

The Canadiens played an emotional seven games in 12 nights against Toronto having only one night off before heading to Winnipeg to play Games 1-4 over a six-day span; which includes one back-to-back.

As the playoffs race continues to see who will lift Lord Stanley’s Cup back to Canada for the first time since 1993 as the Habs were the last Canadian team to win the cup. 

ADVANCED STATS

Regular season 5-on-5 numbers via Natural Stat Trick

Winnipeg: 48.21 CF% (21st), 51.90 GF% (15th), .924 SV% (6th), 8.56 SH% (9th)

Montreal: 54.50 CF% (2nd), 50.72 GF% (17th), .914 SV% (21st), 7.50 SH% (25th)

REGULAR SEASON TEAM STATS

Winnipeg: 23.0 PP% (7th), 80.5 PK% (13th), 3.04 GF/G (12th), 2.71 GA/G (10th)

Montreal: 19.2 PP% (17th), 78.5 PK% (23rd), 2.82 GF/G (17th), 2.95 GA/G (18th)

HEAD TO HEAD RECORD

Winnipeg: 6-3-0

Montreal: 3-3-3

Series broadcast schedule

Game 1, Wed., June 2: 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT (SN / CBC)

Game 2, Fri., June 4: 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT (SN / CBC)

Game 3, Sun., June 6: 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT (SN)

Game 4, Mon., June 7: TBD (SN / CBC)

*Game 5, Wed., June 9: TBD (TBD)

*Game 6, Fri., June 11: TBD (TBD)

*Game 7, Sun., June 13: TBD (TBD)

Photo Credit - Kelowna Rockets

Story by Steve Erickson

Given the changes of late in the hockey world we are hearing that the Kelowna Rockets Assistant Coach Vernon Fiddler will not be returning behind the bench for the coming season. 

In a statement released by the Rockets, President and GM Bruce Hamilton mentioned “Vernon will not be returning for the 2021022 season as he wants to spend more time with his Family.”

The press release is below sent out by the Rockets.

“I want to offer a heartfelt thank you to the Hamilton’s for providing me with a home within the Kelowna Rockets family,” said Fiddler. “I am grateful for the early years and the guidance they gave me to develop into a hockey player, which in turn earned me a successful playing career.  When offered the opportunity to coach with this organization I was both honored and excited.”

He continued “During these two years as an assistant coach, I have developed and learned many valuable assets that will aid me in the future. But most importantly, I am so proud to have been a part of this group of players and staff that overcame the adversity of a pandemic to rise above.”

“At this time I am leaving my position with the Kelowna Rockets to take more time to be with my family. I wish the Kelowna Rockets and the Hamilton family all the best moving forward.”

Fiddler was named a Rockets assistant coach on July 3, 2019, after serving as an organizational coach with the Dallas and Texas Stars. 

His primary focus with Kelowna was the forward units and power play. The Rockets went 39-33-4-3 over the last two seasons.

Hamilton mentioned “We’re certainly disappointed that he’s leaving, but we fully understand that he and his family want to move back to Texas and we’re going to miss him and I know the players are really going to miss him, he has life experiences in the game that all of our players aspire to have. We were fortunate to have his upbeat and positive personality with us for two years.”

Fiddler, played 14 seasons as a forward in the NHL, played for the Rockets organization beginning in 1997-98 and ending in 2000-01.

Fiddler, was an alternate captain for the Stars. He also led the Stars penalty killing unit, playing a team-high 178 minutes of penalty killing time. 

His 120 shorthanded faceoff wins were the 8th most in the NHL, trailing names like Patrice Bergeron, Anze Kopitar and Ryan Kesler. 

Fiddler’s four shorthanded points (2g, 2a) were more than Bergeron, Kopitar and Kesler had last season. 

Photo Credit - Kelowna Rockets

Story by Steve Erickson

The Stars are missing Fiddler on the PK this season. They rank 27th in the league with a 76.7% PK rate.

The Rockets will look to fill the vacant assistant coaching position over the summer. Resumes can be emailed to bruceh@kelownarockets.com—no phone calls, please.