The Monday Morning Goalie For SUDS

Truth & Rumours For SUDS Car Wash

1 – THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT: The story of these Stanley Cup Playoffs – so far – is that playoff experience has largely meant absolutely nothing. The upstart Philadelphia Flyers, Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres and Utah Mammoth all have series leads over the much older, more experienced Penguins, Oilers, Bruins & Golden Knights, respectively, entering Monday’s play. How could anyone have predicted that?? … After a glorious 10 hours of hockey on Sunday, it’s just a two game slate on Monday as Philadelphia visits Pittsburgh in Game 5 (Flyers lead 2-1) and Vegas visits Utah in Game 4 (Mammoth leads 2-1). … The talk of hockey today of course will be the controversial game-winning goal for Anaheim in a 4-3 OT victory over Edmonton, which pushed the Oilers to the brink of elimination. Scruffy and I will debate it lustily today on the RP Show and Oiler fans like Scruffy will be decrying the fact there’s no proof the puck was completely over the goalline, as camera views were obstructed by Tristan Jarry’s skate over the puck. If they were able to bring out curling-like calipers, you’d see the puck crossed the line completely. Just to play devil’s advocate, could you imagine the outcry if they ruled it not a goal? (Psst: The truth is if it’s inconclusive, it shouldn’t have been called a goal. The Oilers were screwed.)

2 – FIRSTS: The Ottawa Senators were the first team bounced from the tournament, as the Carolina Hurricanes completed the sweep with a 4-2 victory on Saturday. Critics are howling that the Sens’ Brady Tkachuk was ineffective in the series, going pointless, but I know a lot of teams who’d take him off Ottawa’s hands. And pundits are criticizing Sens star Ridley Greig for sucker punching a defenseless Carolina player in a scrum. Meh, this stuff used to happen all the time. A fine will suffice. … The Penguins were the first team to avoid elimination, beating Philadelphia 4-2 to force a Game 5. In the process, Sidney Crosby (204 points) surpassed Jari Kurri for the third-most playoff points with the same team in Stanley Cup Playoff history. Wayne Gretzky (251) is #1 followed by Mark Messier (215).

3 – FEEL THE TUSK?: Methinks the youthful exuberance will only get a team so far but it’s been a trip watching Utah build this thing. NHL alum Jeff Chychrun was on the RP Show this week and explained, in detail, how the Mammoth were built going back to the Arizona Coyotes days. “It was the most painful rebuild of all-time!” Chychrun said, whose son Jakob was drafted by Arizona and spent the first seven years of his career in the Valley of the Sun. Mammoth owner Ryan Smith in Salt Lake City is getting a ton of credit for the turnaround, and rightfully so. He held a contest this week to invite eight fans into his suite for Game 3! I told Chychrun that if anyone wrote a book on Coyotes ownership, I’d buy it. “I saw it firsthand for seven years,” Chych offered. What I saw myself was wild, hosting those many Riderville events in Glendale, AZ with the ‘Yotes.

4 – BOBBERY: Given the goaltending foibles of Edmonton, Pittsburgh and, at times, Vegas in these playoffs, one could say they should’ve tried harder to pry Sergei Bobrovsky off of Florida for a rental. Bob’s still the best goalie on the planet despite a down year statistically, but the whole team was down as the Panthers missed the playoffs. Now the biggest talk around here in South Florida is how much of a haircut Bob will have to take as he enters free agency, is coming off a 7-year/$70-million deal, and will be 38. That is, that’s the talk amongst anyone still following hockey. Most of my friends have checked out on the NHL and turned their attention to the Marlins, NFL Draft, etc. That’s weird to me!

5 – JUNIOR LOOP: There’s plenty of drama going on in the WHL Playoffs as they’ve reached the Final Four stage. The Eastern Conference final opened with PA thumping Medicine Hat 8-3 on Friday before the Tigers turned the tables with a 5-0 victory in Game 2 at AHC. I’m getting the best coverage from Darren Steinke and James Tubb! Out West, Everett has a 2-0 lead on Penticton. The 2026 Memorial Cup will be held in Kelowna. … Meanwhile the Flin Flon Bombers won their first SJHL title in 33 years after completing a sweep of the Yorkton Terriers in the final this week. Mike Reagan’s crew is off to the Centennial Cup in Summerside, PEI. That is one of my favourite tournaments in hockey.

6 – NFL DRAFT: The 2026 draft derby is behind us and it provided plenty of spills and chills. Every team is happy with their selections and my Dallas Cowboys received a B- from USA Today’s NFL coverage. The NY Jets received the highest grade at A+. … An NFL-record 320,000 fans turned out in Pittsburgh for Round 1 and over 800,000 were on hand throughout the weekend as the league continues to boost numbers higher and higher. The 2027 NFL Draft will be held in Washington and the #1 prospect is Texas QB Arch Manning. … Meanwhile Jerry Jones caved. I was told at Super Bowl a few years ago that Jerry would never allow his Dallas Cowboys to play a game outside North America, and they haven’t, but this week the NFL announced the Cowboys will face the Baltimore Ravens in Brazil on September 27. My guess is a very large cheque was waved in front of Jerry’s face.

7 – CFL DRAFT: To much less fanfare, yet I’d argue with nearly as much importance, the CFL will hold its Draft this Tuesday with the first two rounds being televised in prime time on TSN. Miami Hurricanes DL Akheem Mesidor has been listed all season as the #1 prospect but he went in Round 1 of the NFL Draft to the LA Chargers. I saw film of his pro day at the U and he looked part machine/part animal. It’s unlikely he’ll ever play a down in the CFL but that’s what makes the CFL Draft fun! How many thought Christian Covington would ever come north? … The CFL Draft is also a life-changing day for the U-Sports prospects – like Regina’s Charlie Parks, DL for the U of S Huskies – and it’s so much fun to watch how that unfolds. … Safe to say, I’ll be following closely Tuesday night.

8 – RUSH: The Saskatchewan Rush’s NLL season came to an end Saturday night with a 16-13 loss to the Toronto Rock in the Quarterfinals at SaskTel Centre. Austin Shanks led the way with 7 points (3 goals, 4 assists) on the night. Frank Scigliano moved into 10^th all-time in playoff minutes played for a goaltender. With the result, the Rush moves into the offseason, with the team’s next major event being the NLL Draft in September. (SaskRush.com/Chris Currie).

9 – M.T.P.G.A.: Everybody’s talking about it so I’ll through my stick into the middle — Regina Pats owner and Brandt Industries czar Shaun Semple has made a play to purchase the Brandt Centre arena from the Regina Exhibition Association Limited. Frankly, I’m surprised it’s taken this long since Semple’s been in on Pats ownership for well over a decade. Hey – anything that supports the long-term viability of the world’s oldest junior hockey franchise is a win in my books, and this is a step towards that. Also, anything that would bring ticket prices down is a bonus too. That place needs to be filled again … Make The Pats Great Again!

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: They laughed at Noah as he was building the arc. … They divulged on NHL On TNT Saturday night that there are no more Bizzy Bets (Paul Bissonette best bets) because he was always wrong and bettors were losing too much money! 😀 That’s the biggest reason why I don’t do it. … Two hour Datelines are heaven sent. … What would you do for a Klondike bar? … A tiger leapt into the audience during a circus performance in Russia this week after a safety barrier collapsed. The incident, involving the Dovgaluk Dynasty Circus, saw the animal roam the seating area before being guided back, causing panic but no injuries. A criminal investigation into safety breaches has been launched. … AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK??

Y’er welcome,