Fast Shifts: How Senators can set off nightmare for Maple Leafs

A fast mixture of the issues we gleaned from the week of hockey, severe and fewer so, and rolling 4 strains deep. That is your favorite staff’s 12 months.

1. My pal Sam McKee invited me into the Actual Kyper & Bourne studio for a full hour Thursday to preview the Battle of Ontario. Enjoyable to additional hype the already-well-hyped Maple Leafs–Senators showdown with McKee and Justin Bourne. (Regardless of pinch-hitting for Nick Kypreos, this was not an official callup. Sadly, I didn’t get Kyper’s day charge.)

Sammy posed a splendidly devilish query: What could be the nightmare Spherical 1 situation for Toronto?

Justin equipped one of the best reply: The Senators might detonate the core, as soon as and for all.

The Leafs are already skating with bundles of TNT strapped round their ankles this spring. All of the wily Sens must do is press down on the dynamite blaster.

Absolutely, a first-round exit for the No. 1 seed and a extra proficient, extra skilled and deeper Ontario staff — a 1-9 post-season collection document — could be the ultimate blow.

Mitch Marner wouldn’t come again. Possibly they’d transfer on from John Tavares, too. President Brendan Shanahan is likely to be blissful to relocate. Fireplace up the Morgan Rielly commerce rumours.

Give it some thought: The Sens might break the Leafs.

What’s loopy is there may be intra-provincial precedent right here — and Leafs GM Brad Treliving lived that nightmare.

Within the aftermath of the Edmonton Oilers’ 4-1 defeat of Treliving’s Calgary Flames within the second spherical of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Elliotte Friedman reported a vindictive rallying cry from inside Oilers HQ.

The Oilers knew in the event that they eradicated their bitter rival in convincing vogue, the Flames would by no means be the identical. They leaned into that for inspiration.

They squeezed the set off.

Certain sufficient, Treliving traded heartbeat Matthew Tkachuk to Florida just a few weeks later.

Centrepiece Sean Monahan was dealt (with draft choose sweeteners!) to Montreal for nothing.

Prized pending free agent Johnny Gaudreau bolted to Columbus, regardless of Treliving’s finest pitch.

The Oilers ignited a summer season of upheaval a brief drive south, and it wouldn’t be all that for much longer earlier than coach Darryl Sutter, stars Jacob Markstrom and Elias Lindholm, and Treliving himself relocated.

Now, think about you’re Travis Inexperienced or Brady Tkachuk: Do you preach the opportunity of ruining the Leafs as further motivation?

That’s some next-level spite.

However what went down in Alberta three springs in the past planted a seed.

All that mentioned, I do imagine the Maple Leafs handle enterprise.

They’re the higher staff, proper?

2. First-round picks, fast verse
Haiku previews, you’re busy
Please don’t hold receipts …

MVP goalie
Lastly figures it out
Winnipeg in 5.

Large D with out its
Greatest D and no Robo?!
Avs win in seven.

Rod the Bod at all times
Hoists his gamers previous Spherical 1
Canes whisk by in six.

Yours to find
Meet Playoff Brady Tkachuk
Leafs want all seven.

Marc-Andre Fleury
We are going to miss you, candy Flower
Golden Knights in six.

Habs again within the dance
Sing, “Olé, olé, olé!”
Capitals in 5.

Mattias Ekholm’s
Ghost looms too massive for Skinner
Kings take Sport 7.

Further hockey takes
A toll on the champions
Lightning in seven.

3. Some wonky quirks to the playoff schedule.

The Colorado Avalanche — who had been capable of relaxation their stars anyway and can grow to be a feel-good favorite the second Gabriel Landeskog’s blades contact the ice — have been given 5 days off earlier than Sport 1 in Dallas on Saturday. (The Stars solely obtained two days between video games.)

And with the Battle of Florida not starting till Tuesday night time, 4 collection may have wrapped two video games earlier than the Lightning and Panthers start their first.

Tampa will get 4 days’ relaxation. Banged-up Florida will get six. Either side ought to come out ablaze.

“There’s nobody like him … properly, his brother.” —Aleksander Barkov on Matthew Tkachuk, who will go well with up for Sport 1.

5. The Painfully Shut Award goes to the Columbus Blue Jackets, who exceeded all outdoors expectations and wrapped the common season as the most popular staff in hockey.

Sadly, even a six-game win streak, through which third-string goalie Jet Greaves stood on his head and the Jackets outscored opponents 28-6, wasn’t sufficient.

Montreal secured the East’s remaining wild-card spot with a minus-20 purpose differential; Columbus got here up quick with a plus-5.

How’s this for a bittersweet conclusion?

Adam Fantilli flew again residence to Toronto and buried his grandfather earlier than the Jackets’ penultimate recreation Tuesday, when he went out and scored his thirtieth of the season in a win over the Flyers at Wells Fargo Heart.

The purpose, which bounced off his skate, appeared like a fluke.

Nah, it was a present from Grandpa.

“His favorite staff was Philly,” Fantilli mentioned. “It’s going to sound like I’m joking once I say that, however I swear his favorite staff was Philly. And coming again, I’m fairly certain that one was him simply giving me a fortunate bounce there.”

6. Of the tons of of NHLers I’ve spoken with over time, Matt Martin is likely one of the most trustworthy, appreciative, and down-to-earth.

The profession fourth-liner trended towards the fifth line this season, showing in simply 32 video games for his beloved Islanders and averaging a career-low 8:33 in ice time. Martin will flip 36 subsequent month.

This was the fifth-rounder’s sixteenth professional season.

He’s solely 13 video games away from a silver stick, however he’ll quickly be an unrestricted free agent. (One other magnificence, Kevin Shattenkirk, hung ’em up this winter, caught at 952 video games performed.)

This can be the tip of the highway for Martin, who performed the sport the laborious approach and made probably the most of his items and alternative.

So, this interview earlier than what could also be his remaining twirl on the Island is heartbreaking and exquisite:

7. Fully meaningless when it comes to standings and stats, this week’s Kings-Oilers recreation was integral to ramping the hate.

“I believe they simply have their B squad in attempting to harm us,” Phillip Danault informed the intermission host within the wake of Darnell Nurse’s tone-setting, egregious cross-check of Quinton Byfield’s head into the ice.

Nurse was suspended for one meaningless recreation and doubtless appreciated the remainder. That felt like a delicate resolution by the Division of Participant Security, which selected to not really punish Nurse and the Oilers, who made a giant stink over Connor McDavid’s suspension earlier this season.

By DoPS math, McDavid’s cross-check was thrice worse than Nurse’s. That’s a head-scratcher.

Byfield neatly selected to not pour gasoline on the hearth, however Edmonton’s return to L.A. might be must-see tv.

The ageless Sidney Crosby completed first in peer voting for “most full participant” for the sixth season. He additionally topped everybody as “smartest general participant” and was voted the more than likely to win an essential faceoff. He completed fourth within the “finest ahead” and fifth within the “finest playmaker” classes.

“These are the fellows that you simply compete in opposition to each night time,” Crosby acknowledged. “That’s among the best compliments you’ll be able to have, is from the individuals that you simply compete in opposition to each night time. So, meaning loads.”

Outdoors of Boston’s David Pastrnak, who’s 9 years youthful, Crosby was the one participant who completed top-10 in scoring and didn’t qualify for the playoffs.

So unbelievable, so wasteful.

Penguins GM Kyle Dubas is selecting Canada’s world championship roster. Crosby mentioned he needs to consider the chance earlier than he commits.

9. Two gamers scored extra objectives this season than Tage Thompson, and neither of them (Leon Draisaitl and William Nylander) are American.

Reflecting within the Buffalo Sabres dressing-room stall as his 44-goal marketing campaign wrapped, Thompson mentioned “it stings” to not be chosen for his nation’s 4 Nations squad. (He was on emergency discover as soon as Crew USA’s accidents mounted.)

“I wished to be on that staff,” mentioned Thompson, whose precedence was main Buffalo.

“You form of have that behind your thoughts — that you simply weren’t chosen. And also you wish to make an impression, an announcement. I form of approached each recreation with that angle,” Thompson mentioned.

The 27-year-old has turned his sights on Milano Cortina 2026.

“That’d be an superior factor to be chosen for, and one thing that’s positively a purpose of mine. I’d be mendacity if I say I wasn’t desirous about it fairly a bit,” Thompson mentioned.

“I’m going to worlds after the season’s over, and that’ll be one other good stepping stone to construct off an honest 12 months and develop that confidence and spherical out my recreation. And anytime you throw on that USA jersey, it’s an enormous honour. So, to have the ability to go over there and compete for one thing might be thrilling.”

Simply because USA Hockey snubbed Thompson doesn’t imply he’ll snub them again. A world junior gold medallist, Thompson has two bronze medals from the senior match (2018, 2021) however hasn’t made the journey in 4 years.

“Anytime somebody asks you to come back symbolize your nation, whatever the scenario, I take that as an enormous honour,” he mentioned. “You by no means actually wish to flip down these alternatives. You don’t know what number of of these you are going to get.

“Granted, it’s as a result of we’re not in playoffs — and that sucks. However on the similar time, you get to go over (to Sweden and Denmark) and play in opposition to plenty of nice gamers and play in some significant hockey video games. You have got an opportunity to win one thing.”

10. It was late January — which, it seems, was too late — when the Sabres held a brutally trustworthy staff assembly.

The youngest staff within the NHL completed one more lottery marketing campaign on a decent 18-13-2 run that captain Rasmus Dahlin credit to that assembly, which started to flip a mindset.

“We’re discovering a brand new kind of recreation, I might say,” Dahlin mentioned. “We’re taking part in the correct approach now. We’re not taking part in this younger, immature hockey anymore. We’re doing the correct issues, and we’re getting higher. I might say the final 30 video games we’ve taken steps.”

What does the proper approach appear like?

“Boring,” the dynamic 25-year-old replied. “Boring stuff on the market. Dump the puck in. Don’t drive stuff; don’t attempt to make performs at all times. Keep on the correct facet. Don’t cheat. Stuff like that it’s a must to be taught, and it takes years for younger guys to search out that kind of recreation.”

Dahlin believes it takes some time for graduates of junior hockey to wrap their brains across the model of hockey that results in NHL wins.

“It’s a must to (expletive) up,” he mentioned. “It’s a must to do all that stuff to be taught from it. And it takes time.”

Thompson does really feel inspired by the outcomes that adopted the stricter recreation plan that Lindy Ruff put in movement. By closing out some shut video games, the group’s confidence grew.

“Confidence is huge, particularly for a younger group like ourselves,” Thompson mentioned. “Simply studying that, not becoming bored taking part in the correct approach, you’re going to get outcomes, and never attempting to alter it when issues aren’t going your approach.”

So, will this late-season realization be carried via summer season coaching and set the woeful Sabres up for a robust begin in 2025-26? Will that be the case?

“Higher be,” Dahlin mentioned.

11. As soon as Jakub Chychrun re-upped in Washington, I had Winnipeg’s Neal Pionk slotted because the second-most invaluable pending UFA defenceman (behind solely Florida’s Aaron Ekblad).

Prefer it or not, in a market skinny on accessible top-four defencemen and about to endure an accelerated spike in cap house, $7 million per season for Pionk is sweet worth.

One other tidy little bit of enterprise by Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff, who has managed to retain loads of soon-to-be free brokers in a small, chilly, budget-conscious market with out going overboard on signing bonuses and no-move clauses.

Pionk was value each penny in his contract season, rating second to Josh Morrissey in ice time (22:03 minutes) and third in plus/minus (plus-21) whereas tying his profession excessive of 10 objectives regardless of damage.

Had Cheveldayoff let him stroll, one other staff would’ve snatched up the righty for the same worth.

12. Completely happy retirement, Patrick Maroon.

“Patty’s a winner,” mentioned Craig Berube, who coached the St. Louisan to the Blues’ solely championship.

“He’s a winner and he’s an ideal teammate. I texted him, and that’s the 2 issues I informed him. I don’t assume there’s an even bigger praise than these two issues, personally, as a hockey participant.”