#Puck Daddy Countdown

[titsoutforkapanen]

I do love you Pt 13

YOOO Shout out to @segsnbacoon she helped me with the TK idea! Hope you like it!!

__________________________________________

“Mom! I’m getting married!” I cried hoping for a better answer than I had been given.

“I don’t approve Hazy, you’re barely 20 years old and have already had a baby” she stated again.

“Mommy please! I’m your baby! Please just come” I cried feeling tears roll down my cheeks. I heard my mom take a deep breath on the other end.

“No Hazy, I can’t” she breathed before hanging up the phone. I took a deep breath looking towards the ceiling trying to stop my tears. I couldn’t stop the sobs that escaped my lips.

“Oh, Hazy it’s going to be okay” Steph said pulling me into a hug. I kept crying till there wasn’t any more tears coming out of my eyes. I wanted my mother to come to my wedding, I wanted all the mother daughter bonding moments that came with getting married.

TIME SKIP

2 WEEKS

It was the beginning of December and I was so so busy. Auston and I were planning a wedding, trying to get our christmas shopping done and trying to take care of a 4 month old baby. We were both exhausted but were having the time of our lives. Tonight was a home game against the Flyers. Auston was still lowkey salty at Travis but I made sure he wasn’t going to actually do anything to him. I was getting ready when Auston walked out of our closet in his suit.

“Parker, baby, look at how good daddy looks” I smiled holding Parker up to look at Auston.

“Not as good looking as you” he said kissing my lips and Parker’s head. “I have to head out, see you there?”

“Of course”

The Leafs had won 5-3 and Auston got a hatty. I walked down to the locker room and let Auston and Mitch take Parker. Auston said it was because he wanted pictures with Parker. I smiled as they set Parker on the floor in the center of the room letting him play with a puck and Auston’s gloves. I walked out to take a breath since it was so stuffy in the locker room. I was on my phone when I heard two familiar voices. I looked up to see Nolan and Travis just walking out of the locker room.

“Hey, Hazy!” Nolan laughed walking over to hug me. I hugged him back enjoying the familiar feeling of him. “We’ve missed you” he said as he pulled away from the hug.

“I’ve miss you guys too” I smiled. Travis coughed looking at me and Nolan.

“Well, I guess I’ll leave you two alone” Nolan walked away leaving just Travis and I in the hallway.

“Hey, Teeks. I’ve missed you” I said pulling him into a hug. Travis wrapped his arms around my waist pulling me in close. The hug was getting borderline too long when I pulled away and looked up at Travis. “I missed you, but I’m engaged T”

“Yeah, sorry” he muttered looking down at the ground. But before I could say anything else I heard crying fill the hallway. Mitch ran up to me holding a crying Parker.

“Auston needed to talk to the media and P won’t stop crying” he rushed as I took Parker out of his arms.

“Sorry, T.” I said bouncing Parker in my arms. I looked over at Travis and he had a worried look on his face.

“Is he yours?”

“Yeah, he is” I answered turning Parker around so Travis could see his face.

“Is he.. Uh.. Austons?” He stuttered. But before I could answer he started talking again. “I know his eyes are blue but I know baby’s eyes can change and I had really blonde hair when I was a baby and I just don’t understand why you wouldn’t tell me” he ranted on.

“Stop worrying Konecny, he’s mine” Kappy muttered standing beside me playing with Parkers fingers.

“Wait, what? He’s Kappy’s? So he isn’t mine? You slept with both of us?” I was embarrassed. I just assumed that Travis knew about me and Kappy or at least had an idea.

“Uh yeah… sorry about that” I muttered instinctively pulling Parker closer to me.

“Can I be uncle Teeks?” He laughed reaching for Parker.

“Well, yeah everyone needs an uncle Teeks” I smiled about to hand Parker to Travis but I was stopped by a hand on my elbow.

“I don’t think so. Let me see him” Kappy said trying to take Parker out of my arms. I turned my body so my back was facing Kappy handing Parker to Travis before turning back to Kappy.

“You don’t get a say Kasperi. If you don’t remember you took me to court and tried to take him away from me. But when you lost that meant you don’t get a say on who’s in his life” I said pushing him away. Kappy roughly pushed my shoulder causing me to stumble back.

“Kapanen, what the fuck don’t touch my wife” Auston shouted as he walked up to us.

“You aren’t married but whatever” Kappy muttered walking away. I looked back at Travis and Parker and they were both so content with each other. I tapped Auston on the arm pointing towards the two boys.

“He wants to be uncle Teeks” I smiled up at Auston.

“I’m only letting that happen because I know you’re mine and nobody is taking you away from me.” Auston said bending down to kiss me.

“I have to go, but let me know if you ever come to Philly with them” Travis said handing Parker to Auston. “Good game, man” he said lightly slapping Auston’s shoulder.

INSTAGRAM

Hazy_Dawn: Look at the LOVE OF MY LIFE. He is so fine y’all 😉🤤 but I wanted to say congratulations on your first hatty of the season! P and I are so proud of you, Daddy! 🏒

Auston finally had a day off so we had let Steph and Mitch watch Parker while we went cake tasting. We had made an appointment with a local bakery and were told that we needed to decide on the flavor and how we wanted it decorated.

When we got to the bakery we were sat in a small corner of the shop. The owner came out and told us what we were going to be tasting and gave us each a cup of coffee and a glass of water. We were finally done tasting all of the cakes and were trying to decide which one we wanted.

“Red Velvet?” I asked

“To rich” I rolled my eyes at his response but kept naming off cakes.

“Carrot?”

“To healthy”

“Lemon?”

“Gross”

“Ugh Aus, you’re being too picky”

“I don’t think so”

“Anyways, chocolate?”

“Strong contender”

“Vanilla?”

“Too stereotypical”

“That was the last one Auston”

“What about Vanilla with the chocolate filling?” I smiled at him for remembering.

“That isn’t an option”

“Bet” Auston rang the little bell signaling that we were done.

“Did you guys decide?” the owner asked smiling down at us.

“I was wondering if we could get the vanilla cake but with the chocolate filling?” Auston asked setting his fork down on the table.

“I think we could figure something out” the owner answered with a wink. “So, why don’t you two follow me so we can decide on the design?” we followed her to a different part of the shop and all I could think about was how excited I was to soon be Mrs. Matthews.

INSTAGRAM

Hazy_Dawn: Who knew eating cake would be so tiring?? #HappilyEverMatthews 💍😴

Marner_93: You know I had to get my nephew the dino jammies 

Auston_Matthews: Countdown to the Wedding. #HappilyEverMatthews 💍💍

[yahoo-puck-daddy-blog]

Fanboys, Freddie Hockey and Justin Bieber's sports take (Puck Daddy Countdown)

NASHVILLE, TN – JUNE 03: Frederick Gaudreau #32 of the Nashville Predators celebrates after scoring a second period goal against Matt Murray #30 of the Pittsburgh Penguins (not pictured) in Game Three of the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Final at the Bridgestone Arena on June 3, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

(In which Ryan Lambert takes a look at some of the biggest issues and stories in the NHL, and counts them down.)

8. The Rinne Haters!!! (again)

Well gang, this time last week we were all saying, “As long as Rinne doesn’t completely crap his pants in Game 2, the Preds should be fine.” And wouldn’t you know it, he crapped his pants like a hundred times, to the point that incredibly smart, cool people who are so handsome were saying, “Well I think you probably gotta go to Juuse Saros in Game 3.”

But then Rinne did a crazy thing: He allowed two goals on 52 shots (.962) and the series is even and everything is fine again. No more controversy! He’s still only .886 in the Cup Final, but Matt Murray is .902, and went .862 in Nashville. So who’s laughing now?

7. Miserable fanboys

And speaking of the whole “Murray looked bad in Nashville” thing, well, it takes a certain kind of psychopathy to start screaming like the sky is falling because the series is…… tied?

See, I understand, the Penguins have not looked good at any point except for those two stretches of three-ish minutes where they scored the bulk of their goals in the series. And even then, those were, as the soccer-likers say, against the run of play. They’re still getting caved in. And if you don’t think injuries are a big reason why, you haven’t been paying attention.

To that end, the Cup Final is progressing more or less how I expected: Predators absolutely raking, but the series is tied because it’s hard to shut down all that talent.

People in Pittsburgh cannot, however, accept this. They want Murray benched. They want a miracle comeback from Letang. They want Mario to come out of retirement (probably). They want Sullivan fired.

Now it’s a best-of-three instead of best-of-seven. And the Penguins are at home twice. It’s not like this is some sort of Horror From The Mind Of Clive Barker.

The hottest take of all is that Crosby and Malkin’s legacies will be tarnished if they somehow don’t drag this banged-up team kicking and screaming to another Cup against a team that’s been perhaps the deadliest in the league since February.

[Follow Puck Daddy on social media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Tumblr]

Man, imagine if Pittsburgh got the results they actually deserved in this series? It’s a sweep. At best it’s 3-1. It would be impossible to talk all those fanboys off all those bridges. 

6. Not today with the trade rumors, alright?

A lot of teams have been out of the playoffs for at least a month at this point, and you can see people getting restless. That means we’re dealing with a lot of trade rumors. And I gotta tell ya, folks: Not a fan.

You wanna make a trade, go for it. By all means. But I can’t be bothered to pay attention to whether the Kings might trade a third liner or something. The whole expansion draft is coming up a week or two after the Cup Final ends. We’re gonna have a lot to talk about. Give it a week!!!

5. Freddie Hockey

I feel weirdly bad for Frederick Gaudreau, who has three goals in this Cup Final and had literally never scored in the NHL before that.

My man was just in the ECHL last season and now he’s the big Stanley Cup Hero to date (sorry, Jake Guentzel). But here’s the thing. He has a total of 15 NHL games under his belt. He has 3-1-4 in those 15 games. He’ll probably make the big club next season — or at least get a long look — and that might be when his trouble starts.

He was undrafted. His career high in the QMJHL was only 71 points (believe me, in the Q that’s not exactly a ton). The reason I am nervous for him is that he is building himself a reputation to which he is unlikely to ever live up. We’re talkin’ Dave Bolland status. Ville Leino, maybe. And I feel bad because he is a pure and beautiful boy.

He modestly lit up the AHL the past two years, yes. He had 40 goals and 90 points in 141 games, which is pretty good.

But man, three pretty damn big goals to start your career is a great way to convince everyone you’re the next true genius of the sport. He isn’t.

Hockey great Wayne Gretzky, right, greets former NBA player Charles Barkley, left, during a news conference before Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals between the Nashville Predators and the Pittsburgh Penguins Monday, June 5, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

4. The Round Mound of Watchable Intermission Segments

I said during Game 4 that it’s amazing what a talking head with an actual personality does to make an NHL intermission report engaging and fun. I was wrong to say it. I think Mike Milbury and Jeremy Roenick have personalities. “Dumb old grump” is a personality, right? (Keith Jones is a flat-out boring guy who’s only wrong 60 percent of the time, which makes him the best analyst NBC has.)

But if you watch basketball games, Charles Barkley is a dumb old grump on the NBA intermission shows, too. But he’s a gregarious dumb old grump, and I think that’s the difference. Say what you want about Sir Charles, but he’s always been a Personality first and foremost.

Try as poor Liam McHugh or Kathryn Tappen might, they cannot wring blood (entertainment) from stones (chronically wrong people). How many times do you watch an NBA halftime segment and it’s just Kenny Smith and Shaq making fun of Charles Barkley for being a fat, grumpy dope? More than you’d ever think, that’s for sure.

We remember the times Tappen or, like, Bob McKenzie make fun of Mike Milbury for being a horrible GM, because it’s both funny and true. They are basically winking to the audience: “This man is not qualified to give you even vague platitudes about what teams should or shouldn’t be doing.” And yet they persist on television, turning every segment they touch into grim, skippable affairs that are also occasionally tinged with Cold War-era xenophobia.

There’s a lesson in this. Neither NBC nor the NHL will learn it.

Let’s note here that Carrie Underwood did the segment on the first intermission, and it was also just fine and nice. But the fact that Eddie Olczyk kept calling her “Mrs. Mike Fisher” is some pathetic stuff. Mike Fisher is, what, the 80th-best center in hockey? He’s been in the league since 1999 and still doesn’t have anything close to 300 goals. Meanwhile, Carrie Underwood has 65 million records worldwide since 2007. Mike Fisher’s career high in points is only 53. He’s Mr. Carrie Underwood, and to pretend otherwise is to grossly overrate him in any way, shape, or form.

ON THE OTHER HAND: All this shows you what a sad organization the NHL is. Are you, like, a Q-list celebrity? You will be invited to present at the NHL Awards, guaranteed. The annoying neighbor kid from Small Wonder will be presenting the Vezina this year. And if you’re actually famous, like Charles Barkley is, you will be given a platform to say literally whatever you want about hockey. Barkley could have gone up there and said Sidney Crosby is a vampire (a popular theory that is impossible to disprove) and everyone would have chuckled straight through it.

And how did Barkley get to Game 4? How did he end up on a panel with Wayne Gretzky? Because he said on a national basketball broadcast — something lots of people actually watch — that hockey is good. Man, this is a thirsty-ass league when it comes to literally any amount of attention.

Can you imagine if Tom Cruise or someone like that were a hockey fan? They’d just give him the goddamn Jets.

3. Sticking with it

Hey whaddaya know: If you continually out-attempt, outshoot, and out-chance your opponent — and you also get the benefit of last change and a few bounces to finally go your way — you’re gonna pick up some easy Ws.

And because the Preds haven’t really deviated from their approach, they’ve also made all four of these games pretty fun.

I’m a big fan of this Final. Up-and-down hockey. The league could use more of this.

2. Nashville

Folks, I don’t know if it’s ever gonna work as a hockey market. Not like Winnipeg, where they struggle to sell out a 15,000-seat arena now that the novelty’s worn off and the team still sucks. These Nashville people are all going to go away in like seven or eight years when this team stops being competitive!

I’m from Canada, by the way.

1. The Justin Bieber sports take

Not specifically hockey-related but apparently people were all over Justin Bieber for wearing a hockey jersey that was not his “home team” Toronto Maple Leafs. So Bieber went on this mini-rant on Twitter about it. And it is the purest and rightest sports take I have ever experienced:

I support all sports I'll put ANY jersey from ANY pro team if I'm whack for wearing jerseys they give me out of love then I'm Whack

— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) June 5, 2017

Leafs above all but other than that u give me ANY JERSEY THAT LOOKS COOL ILL THROW IT ON

— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) June 5, 2017

I also don't know enough about sports to Really have valid opinion but I do enjoy sports!! And enjoy any high level sports game. Any team

— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) June 5, 2017

Hell yeah, dude. Hell yeah. Doesn’t matter to me who it is doing the cool stuff in sports, as long as the stuff is cool.

We can all learn a lesson from this. If you don’t like Sidney Crosby because you’re a fan of another team in the same division, you have to ask yourself how being a Flyers/Rangers/Islanders/Devils fan has broken your brain. Because it definitely has.

This goes for any sport. You don’t have to like the fact that the Warriors are running the Cavs out of the Finals, but damn do you gotta respect how ruthlessly they’re operating here. I don’t like the Patriots for their politics, but let’s not act like Tom Brady isn’t the best to ever put a helmet on.

Basically in sports I just want to see elite athletes do amazing stuff I have never seen before. That’s the real thing worth rooting for.

Thank you, Justin Bieber, for saying what needed to be said. Purpose was a perfectly good album. Thanks everyone. Have a nice week.

(Not ranked this week: The bad breath controversy, which I refuse to call Breathgate.

As a means of highlighting just how humorless the NHL is, generally speaking, we literally turned what was a very, very obvious joke from P.K. Subban into a three-day controversy. This league, man. Dumbest in the world.)

Ryan Lambert is a Puck Daddy columnist. His email is here and his Twitter is here.

(All statistics via Corsica unless otherwise noted.)

MORE FROM YAHOO HOCKEY:

[carey-pricemas]

I’d like to pause and take a moment...

Ok so I have the best fucking friends on this website and tis the season so I wanted to thank them and let you all know how much they mean to me!!! I get obsessed with things rather quickly and tend to move from one to the other but hockey is something I’ve stuck with for quite awhile and I’ve met some amazing people here.

@filip-chytil - This boo was my first friend on this website! I had some random contest when I hit 100 followers I think and she won and so I got her this Rangers shirtsey and Idk she felt obliged to talk to me I guess XD She showed me this awesome ice cream place in Philly when I came to visit her and did stupid shit with me purely because I wanted to (she’s too cool for that.... ZEPH YOU KNOW WE DID IT FOR THE LANYARD! XD) She’s the best and I love her!!! (Rangers fan and all.... she also told me she had Avs merch and it was lies I tell you.... but she didn’t let me get jumped so....)

@baercheese- Like my real life BFF who eats all the time and I swear to god she has a list of places we’re going to eat when I get there... she’s my Blackhawks boo who I befriended when she asked for life advice (I’m a terrible person to have as an advisor but she was depserate)... got me into a Canucks group chat that didn’t end well but it’s the thought that counts XD Problematic cause she hates the Leafs... apparently its a Western Canadian thing... we have a countdown to when Im going to visit her and we’re gonna get a puck (it’s not going to be a Leafs game though so no worries)

@thewanderingdreamer- IT STILL DOESNT LET ME TAG YOU YOSHI.... Anyway this boo is fabulous... she lets me rant and sends me pictures and gifs of puppehs and kittehs and hot guys... My Insta is truly blessed because of her influence. When I was writing she encouraged me and helped me with prompts and she’s just the best ok? She got me into the Bolts all the way (cause somehow she has the best pictures to make those guys look hot). She’s just like... I have no words except “Who’s your Vladdy”.... What a shirt.... we’re both getting that shirt at some point in our lives...

@captainhauntedcat or @weakforhockeygods- LIZZZZZZzzz.... My weak anon who finally after like... 3 months came off anon and messaged me XD Who likes the CBJ and tries to not seem too excited when they destroy my Leafs.... Who laughed herself silly cause it took me forever to figure out his name is JOSH Anderson and he made up the J in the PBJ line... who makes poop cookies and sends ME pictures because that’s how juvenile I am... I’m still laughing over the melted snowman poop pile bruh XD She encouraged my writing and makes me laugh with silly stories. Who I’m currently corrupting with gay AO3 stories and whenever a new hockey player comes up I send her more pics to corrupt her!

Finally my main squeeze @mystupidlovesongs.... We haven’t been friends long (like a year but still...) I love this bitch so much.... she lets me rant and vent when I need to and in return she tells me all about the sugar daddies she collects on here (omg its so funny like not even the porn bots guys). Like legit... I’m totally bi for her... but I also love her and her short stature... (I have a picture of her looking like a little kid next to a big tire saved on my phone). We have the best convos and she always is willing to kill my work partner for me (or help me do it or marry me so I can have Spanish citizenship). We have #TeamMally and she has the same opinions as me and you know the thing about those who judge together stay together? That’s us...

Anyway I want you all to know how much these 4 have helped me over the year and change Ive been on this hell site. I LOVE THEM ALL SO MUCH!!! Whether depression or shitty coworkers or hockey boys these four love me (and understand I’m petty AS FUCK AND STILL LOVE ME)... I have others I talk with often on here and I love all of you! Imma go cry in the club.... again....

[ktheunready]

It’s the fact that the best player in that first-round Penguins series was in fact Evgeni Malkin. My man very quietly put together a 2-9-11 line in five goddamn games. The media will not cover this. Even in the game the Penguins lost, he had two assists. He had 0-3-3 in the series clincher, just humiliating the opposition while Crosby ate the only tough competition the Blue Jackets could put over the boards. This freakin’ guy! He now has 140 career playoff points in 129 games. That’s almost incomprehensible. It puts him fourth among active players, only four behind Crosby for second, and nine back of Hossa for second. Probably tough to run down Jagr’s current record of 201, but come on. This guy has absolutely shredded defenders in the playoffs his entire career. Few talk about this. If he were Canadian or American, he’d be one of the top 100 players of all time before you could say, “Jonathan Toews.”

https://sports.yahoo.com/news/malkins-impact-chicagos-changes-maple-leafs-puck-daddy-countdown-190040371.html

[fatmouthsports]

Marc Bergevin, George Parros and NHL’s dumb ideas (Puck Daddy Countdown) The good thing about the NHL’s brewing designs on raising the draft age to 19 is that everyone, regardless of where they stand on the issue, seems to see it for exactly what it is: A naked attempt by teams to make sure their GMs whiff on slightly fewer draft picks. The NBA and NFL have already done Comprehensive National Hockey League news, scores, standings, fantasy games, rumors, and more Go to Source

[olympicgames-en]

The Olympics, Jaromir Jagr and the Pittsburgh Penguins (Puck Daddy Countdown)

#OlympicGames [YAHOO Sports](In which Ryan Lambert takes a look at some of the biggest issues and stories in the NHL, and counts them down.) 7. You maniacs! Well the Olympics thing isn’t happening, and I obviously get why. The NHL hates shutting down the schedule for three weeks ...

[yahoo-puck-daddy-blog]

Sore losers, Shea Weber and Preds pride (Puck Daddy Countdown)

(In which Ryan Lambert takes a look at some of the biggest issues and stories in the NHL, and counts them down.)

7 – Sore losers

Seems to me, and I don’t have data to back it up, that there has been a lot more “message-sending” in these playoffs than I remember from before. Guys trying to set the tone for the next game by trying to murder someone at the end of contests that are already out of reach.

How the NHL didn’t see fit to suspend Tommy Wingels for the straight-up elbow he threw at Scott Wilson’s chin, away from the play, down a touchdown and an extra point, is damn mystifying? One imagines the decision was made in much the same way a different part of the league’s disciplinary functions refused to suspend Ryan Getzlaf for calling what was allegedly no-one-in-particular a homophobic slur: “Their team has an important game coming up!!!”

[Follow Puck Daddy on social media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Tumblr]

Things got kinda ugly even at the end of the Ducks/Preds series, which was silly but to be expected given the number of dirtbags on the Anaheim roster.

The NHL doesn’t take this stuff seriously, but fans should. Cheap shots at the end of games need to be punished harshly.

6 – Shea Weber

Imagine you’re Shea Weber. Yeah you’ve got the millions of dollars every year and a ton of job security, but you gotta be feeling pretty low these days.

First, Ryan Suter leaves town and Weber starts to look like a lesser defenseman than he had before. Then several years later he gets traded, having a greatly diminished value, and has the hopes of a better chance of winning a Cup and finally getting some individual success.

Didn’t work out. Instead, the Preds are through to a Cup Final, Weber is sitting at home again — he’s still never made it out of the second round — with his chances for winning a Cup dwindling each year as Carey Price ages out of his prime years.

Meanwhile, the Preds have Subban (unequivocally the best player in the trade) and a young core that’s likely to have tons of success even in a much tougher division than the Atlantic, for years to come.

They have about $19 million to spend this summer, and while the expansion draft complicates their situation (they’re guaranteed to lose a middle-six forward, like Colin Wilson or Calle Jarnkrok) they really only have to re-sign Ryan Johansen and Viktor Arvidsson for pretty big money. Call it $6 million a year each. Get a Mike Fisher replacement, somewhere. Make a couple of RFA contracts happen, maybe hit the open market for some bottom-six forwards. Then you’re bringing back pretty much every major player in the Cup run.

Man, this Nashville defense is so good. People still act like Subban isn’t the reason they took a huge step forward. Look at the numbers in this postseason. He’s been a huge force. And for those still inexplicably on the “Subban’s Not A No. 1” train, here’s a definitive and correct ranking of the Nashville top-four by quality: Subban, Ekholm, Ellis, Josi.

Honestly, I doubt they get to this point with Weber as their clear No. 1. With the top-four being deployed as-is — pretty much equally and as-needed — Peter Laviolette has so much flexibility with this roster as it’s currently constituted.

Probably none of it would have been possible with Weber on the roster.

Ouch.

5 – Sens attendance (Att-sens-ance? I don’t know. Probably not.)

The idea that this team was even close to not selling out a Conference Final Game 6 — regardless of how Games 4 or 5 went — tells you everything you need to know about how people should feel about them. Bad team, bad ownership, bad arena situation.

Have we considered moving the Senators to a real hockey market, like Nashville?

4 – “But the schedule!!!”

I had a good idea for what the Ducks could have done if they didn’t to play seven games in 13 days or whatever they were all crying about after getting beat (albeit “unfairly,” if you want to call it that) in Game 6 on Monday night.

It’s a little off-kilter but here goes: If you don’t take all seven games to put down a mediocre team like the Oilers, you probably get a little extra time off.

The reason I think this is a plausible idea is that I seem to recall the Preds put down the Blues in fewer than seven games and then got a bunch of days off. I bet they all went to the mall and maybe got in some quality time with the family. Impossible to know for sure!

This is just a theory I’m testing. Curious to see what happens with it.

3 – Naming your son after Phil Kessel

I don’t want to go in too hard on a newborn baby here but “Kessel” is a very bad name. This is like when Game of Thrones got popular and people started naming their daughters “Khaleesi.” Khaleesi is a title, not a name, and similarly Kessel is a last name not a first name. This poor kid.

2 – Power moves

It is very cool that Ralph Krueger had the opportunity — not once but twice — to get a head coaching gig in the NHL. And it’s even cooler that he turned them both down flat.

My man got a raw deal with the Oilers a few years ago, catches on with a soccer team and has a pretty decent amount of success. Comes back to North America to coach the Euro team everyone thought was a joke and suffer a pair of narrow defeats to a juggernaut Canada team.

[Fantasy Football is open! Sign up now and start winning season early]

So when some NHL teams can their coaches, they say, “Hey Ralph, want a job?” And he goes, “I’m good, dudes. Thanks though.”

Strong stuff!

1 – Preds Pride

Oh yeah baby we’re just a little more than a week from Garth Brooks and Dolly Parton doing the anthems in Games 3 and 4. What a team. What a market. Wowie zowie!!!

(Not ranked this week: Injuries.

The problem with this year’s Cup Final is that both teams in it are going to be operating at like 80 percent. The Sens and Ducks really took their tolls on both clubs in the Conference Finals. It’s ugly. But that’s hockey I guess. Oh well.)

—

Ryan Lambert is a Puck Daddy columnist. His email is here and his Twitter is here.

(All statistics via Corsica unless otherwise noted.)

[ontapsportsapp]

Golden Knights owner would've kept Raiders in Oakland; NHL says otherwise - CBSSports.com

CBSSports.com

Golden Knights owner would've kept Raiders in Oakland; NHL says otherwise CBSSports.com The NHL might have embraced transparency (for a change) on Wednesday by announcing it will publicize teams' protected-player lists for this summer's impending expansion draft. But it might have backtracked on that transparency in the same day. The big ... Stories of the Week; Interview with Shawn SpiethComcast SportsNet New England NFL in Vegas, Crosby's slash and the Jack Adams race (Puck Daddy Countdown)Yahoo Sports Golden Knights Owner Wishes Las Vegas Didn't Spend $750 Million On The RaidersDeadspin FOXSports.com -WEEI.com (blog) -Hockeybuzz.com (blog) -The Mercury News all 51 news articles »

Read more at http://ift.tt/2mTvgF8 Support us through http://ift.tt/S7ofg3

[fxviralnews-blog]

The Sabres, coach's challenge and Nicklas Backstrom (Puck Daddy Countdown)

[fatmouthsports]

Puck Daddy Countdown: Just trade Duchene already

Puck Daddy Countdown: Just trade Duchene already

The Matt Duchene situation is just getting silly at this point, which is exactly what you would expect from the Avalanche. Comprehensive National Hockey League news, scores, standings, fantasy games, rumors, and more Go to Source

[yahoo-puck-daddy-blog]

NHL TV ratings, Ryan Kesler and Phil Kessel (Puck Daddy Countdown)

(In which Ryan Lambert takes a look at some of the biggest issues and stories in the NHL, and counts them down.)

7 – THE RATINGS!!!!!

One of the things that has been pervasive in hockey over the past few weeks has been the smug chortling from Canadians like, “Oh ho, the ratings for NBC will be really bad if it’s a Ducks/Senators final, haha,” as though: a) anyone outside of an NHL or NBC boardroom should give a rat’s ass, and b) the real loser wouldn’t be the hockey fans who have to sit through up to seven games of the stultifying, ugly hockey both teams are capable of playing.

Like honestly, this is one of those things I cared about when I was 14 and wrestling ratings were a thing. The Monday Night Wars. I was a WWF guy, myself (though I also watched Nitro!) and so to see my preferred brand of pro wrestling pull ahead was something of a personal vindication. In retrospect, it was dumb to feel this way.

Again, I was 14.

So why does Canada care? As though they have some sort of provenance over Hockey Caring, after the Senators didn’t sell out a home playoff game, and after ratings for Sportsnet’s coverage are repeatedly abysmal. (Apparently they’re just fine from these playoffs, but guess what: It’s because the Leafs and Oilers made it for the first time in a million years.)

Point being: Who cares however many million people? If you’re the only one in the United States watching a game, what’s the big deal?

Go back to worrying about whether the Senators are Hashtag Canada’s Team.

(They’re not, by the way.)

6 – Battle of the Ryans

Not that I’m choosing sides here because their names are both so so good, but Ryans Johansen and Kesler are in a bit of a feud.

It’s not hard to see who has the moral high ground, though. Kesler chicken-wing elbowed Johansen right in the chin — and shocker: he didn’t get a call from DOPS about it — and Johansen was steamed. Understandably so.

Of course, Johansen did a dumbass thing by complaining about it, because when you tell a goalie “cut it outttttt!” and there’s no discipline forthcoming from someone in a position of authority, the bully is only gonna turn up the heat on you. Perhaps Kesler will resort to the “I’m not touching you” trick in future meetings. I hope so.

[Follow Puck Daddy on social media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Tumblr]

To be clear: Kesler should have been suspended for last night’s Game 3. Johansen is right that the stuff Kesler gets away with — and in fact, gets praised for on every broadcast and every article from a non-Nashville outlet about this series — is beyond the pale. There’s no way it should happen in today’s game.

But it’s the playoffs so it’s going to. Peter Laviolette would be wise to use last change to free Johansen from his tormentor as much as possible, not just because Kesler might try to pants him during the national anthem, but also because he’s very clearly leasing space in Johansen’s head at this point. Which is, of course, the plan.

Why play into it?

5 – The Stars goaltending situation

“Hmm,” thought Jim Nill as his team’s season prematurely smoldered, “I have two goalies who are very bad and over-30 and quite expensive. It’s a real problem. What to do, what to do?

“Ah, I know. As a GM who people used to think was very smart but who let two middle-pairing UFA defensemen walk for nothing in the offseason because of how expensive my two bad, old goalies are, I will sign a bad, old goalie for a lot of money. And a lot of years. And I will be sure to give up an asset to do it!

“And sure, I could wait until the playoffs are over and see if I can get, say, Marc-Andre Fleury, or maybe one of Detroit’s goalies. But what’s the fun in that?

“So who can I get who fits the bill? Has to be a UFA. And preferably he’d already be pretty close to 31. And he’d have to be coming off a career-worst season. And if possible, it would be ideal to get someone who was also plagued by lower-body injuries, which are particularly bad for goalies because they aren’t easy to recover from. Especially if they’re really tall!

“And what, if — and maybe I’m being crazy here — what if we also didn’t really have a good plan for how to deal with the two other old, bad goalies I still have on the roster?

“Jimmy, that just might work!”

Ben Bishop. Who will be 31 in November. Got six years and a little less than $5 million per. And all for the low, low price a fourth-round pick and a goaltending logjam that will be almost impossible to work out without dead cap space.

Beautiful.

4 – The Penguins goaltending situation

The good news for the Penguins, though, is that Marc-Andre Fleury continues to play some very good hockey in Matt Murray’s stead. That gives them approximately a million options for the next two seasons.

The question is whether teams will be willing to accommodate a team that has gone to two straight Conference Finals (and perhaps more before this postseason is all over) that might need some cap wiggle room. As I said in the mailbag yesterday, there really aren’t a lot of teams that need goaltending help, and a $5.75 million backup probably isn’t ideal as part of a going concern.

[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Hockey contest now]

But if Dallas is willing to give up all that to get Ben Bishop, imagine what a desperate team would give up for a goalie who only has two more years left and is coming off what will probably be, at worst, a .925 postseason save percentage.

Not ideal, but not terrible.

3 – Jason Botterill

First of all, you don’t get to all of a sudden decide to say, “My name is pronounced this other way,” after decades in hockey. This is Jason “It’s pronounced Kroag now” Krog and Brad “Marsh-AND” Marchand all over again. This isn’t on us, Jason!

But second of all, shoutout to a college hockey guy finally getting his shot to run a team. Of course, that team happens to be the Buffalo Sabres, at a time when their blue line is made up of a bunch of guys I wouldn’t trust to protect my computer at Starbucks while I went to the bathroom for a second. And also their owner is a huge fanboy who thinks he knows anything about hockey, when in fact he does not.

So congrats on the job and everything, but uhhh, good luck.

Phil Kessel of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

2 – Angry Phil Kessel

A million individual blessings to America’s most beautiful and kind hockey boy, Phil Kessel, who loves to shout at his teammates and score goals and be perfect in all ways.

Kessel’s goal on Monday night to win that horrid 1-0 game and even the series was his 29th in his playoff career. And despite playing in Toronto for a bunch of years, that puts him in fairly exclusive company.

Since Kessel’s career began, he’s one of only 20 guys to score at least 29 playoff goals. But again, because his teams were so bad, you have to keep in mind he’s only played 60 playoff games, compared to the 85-plus for literally everyone in front of or behind him.

So how’s this one for a stat: Out of the 231 players to appear in at least 50 playoff games since 2006-07, Phil Kessel — who plenty of people hated and called an out-of-shape loser right up until he won a Cup — is first in goals per game, at 0.48.

That’s ahead of playoff choker Alex Ovechkin, but also playoff Clutch Performer Daniel Briere.

So, y’know, stay angry, Phil. It’s working!

1 – Watching paint dry

Okay so an interesting lesson anyone on Twitter has learned in recent weeks is that you should not under any circumstances express your extremely correct opinion that the Ottawa Senators play boring-ass, defense-only-ass, Ambien-ass hockey.

They do. Everyone knows that it is boring and no one besides Senators fans should enjoy it. In general, you want to be scoring about one goal per period. Ottawa’s offense is well below that number, and it should come as no surprise that they’re last in the playoffs in goals for per 60.

This isn’t a value judgment, by the way. To say they are boring is not to say they don’t deserve to be in a conference final. When you have a minimally talented team and you’re trying to get wins, you use whatever tactics work. Obviously. Games 1 and 2 of the Eastern Conference Final are a great example: Ottawa scored three goals in six-plus periods and held the Penguins to two. Now, this is a badly banged-up Penguins team. And they’re still only 1-1 in the series.

But the best Ottawa can do is hope to make every game a coin flip, especially at this point of the postseason. The idea that you’re going to get reliable results in the form of really close games that go one way or the other is preferable to playing run-and-gun, because everyone on earth knows the Penguins would shred them playing run-and-gun.

Point is, of course Ottawa fans don’t think this is boring. Either playing to come back from a 2-1 deficit or protect a 1-0 lead is going to make you really goddamn nervous. That gets the adrenaline pumping, and if your heart is racing for the last 20 minutes of every game, you’re going to feel like, “Wow I just sweated my way through a really intense hockey game.”

But believe me when I say, if you don’t have skin in the game, you’re gonna find this hockey boring as hell. It’s by design and everything, but that doesn’t make it aesthetically pleasing. Try not to equate “unimaginably tense for you” with “enjoyable for everyone.”

(Not ranked this week: The Nashville anthem guy.

My man, this is like Harry Zolnierczyk complaining to the media that Filip Forsberg is getting the big minutes. Figure it out.)

 Ryan Lambert is a Puck Daddy columnist. His email is here and his Twitter is here.

(All statistics via Corsica unless otherwise noted.)

Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

MORE FROM YAHOO SPORTS