The Monday Morning Goalie

Taking shots …

1 – MAKING HISTORY: Entering the weekend only three teams in NHL history had posted multi-goal comeback victories in a Game 7. Coming out of the weekend, you can add the Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets to that list. Dallas rallied from being down 2-0 to Colorado in the third period Saturday night to win 4-2 and advance to Round 2. Meanwhile the Jets erased a 3-1 third period deficit against St. Louis at Canada Life Centre Sunday night and won 4-3 in overtime. In doing so, they dispatched the pesky Blues and scanned their ticket to Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. (I’m updating the phrase “punched their ticket” to reflect modern times). Winnipeg goaltender Connor Hellebuyck allowed two shaky goals in Game 7 but recovered in time to slam the door in OT. Both late Winnipeg goals came with Hellebuyck on the bench, prompting former NHL PR wag David Salter to Tweet, “Jets should’ve played without a goalie all game!” Hellebuyck earned his money when it counted, and thankfully now won’t go down in history as the biggest playoff bust. The Stars and Jets meet in Round 2 beginning Wednesday.

2 – PAY THE MAN: Mikko Rantanen left Colorado mid-season because the team didn’t buckle to his contract demands. The story goes that he and the Avalanche were playing a high-priced game of chicken, and he lost. But did he? On Saturday night Rantanen became the first player in NHL history to record four points in a period in back-to-back games as he notched a third period hattrick, and an assist, to propel the Stars over his former team, the Avalanche. The lesson? PAY YOUR STARS! (See: Toronto Blue Jays, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.)

3 – FREEZE: Wyatt Johnston’s game-winner for the Stars on Saturday, with 3:56 remaining in the third period, is the eighth-latest Game Winning Goal to be scored in a Game 7 in NHL history. Carolina’s Eric Staal holds the record, netting the winner with 32 seconds to go in a 2009 first round series. Former Regina Pat Jeff Friesen is #3 all-time, scoring a series clincher for New Jersey with 2:14 to go in Game 7 of Round 3 in 2003. I came to the Regina Pats as broadcaster in 1995, one season after Friesen departed the Queen City, but the stories were legendary! A beloved figure in Pats lore.

4 – QUIRKY STAT: The Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs open their Round 2 series Monday night at Scotiabank Arena. The Panthers lineup features the biggest Leaf Killer of ’em all, Brad Marchand, who did his damage as a member of the Boston Bruins. Marchand has faced the Leafs a whopping 28 times in the playoffs which is the fourth-most all-time for active players facing a single opponent in the postseason. Who’s #1? Alexander Ovechkin, who’s faced the New York Rangers an NHL-leading 37 times. I’d have lost a bet on that one.

5 – PICKS & PREDICTIONS: Your friendly neighborhood blogger/commenter/pundit correctly picked 7/8 first round Stanley Cup Playoff series. The only one we whiffed on was Oilers/Kings which, incidentally, was one of two upsets (the lower seed advancing). The other? Florida over Tampa Bay. Here are our Round 2 picks: Carolina over Washington in 6, Florida over Toronto in 7, Dallas over Winnipeg in 6, Vegas over Edmonton in 7. Remember our pre-playoff Stanley Cup Final prediction was Stars-Panthers.

6 – DRAFT LOTTERY: The NHL will hold its annual Draft Lottery at 7 pm ET Monday live on ESPN & Sportsnet. Here are the teams with the best odds: San Jose (18.5%), Chicago (13.5%), Nashville (11.5%), Philadelphia (9.5%), Boston (8.5%). Who’s the top prospect? Erie Otters defenceman Matthew Schaefer. NEXT year is the year you want to have the #1 pick, as it’ll be Medicine Hat Tigers star Gavin McKenna.

7 – SPEAKING OF: Gavin McKenna’s Medicine Hat Tigers are set to face Brad Lauer’s Spokane Chiefs in the 2024-25 Western Hockey League championship series. Med Hat swept Lethbridge in the Eastern Conference Final while Spokane swept Portland in the West. Rich Sutter watched those games live and says McKenna’s been otherworldly for the Tigers, and our WHL writer Glen Erickson says these Tigers are the best Dub team he’s seen since the 1989 Swift Current Broncos. (Where have you gone, Tim Tisdale?) Meanwhile how about those Chiefs under Brad Lauer, the former Regina Pat from Humboldt, SK and 2020 WHL Coach of the Year? All he does is win. This should will be a helluva series! 

8 – CENTENNIAL CUP: The 10 teams are set for the 2025 Centennial Cup which will be played in Calgary, AB May 8-18. They are the: Melfort Mustangs, Northern Manitoba Blizzard, Grande Prairie Storm, Kam River Fighting Walleye, Edmunston Blizzard, Braves de Valleyfield, Rockland Nationals, Greater Sudbury Cubs, Trenton Golden Hawks, and host Calgary Canucks. They’ll meet at the Max Bell Arena and I’m SOOOOOO jealous! The 2021 Centennial Cup in Estevan was one of the best times of my life by far. Single game tickets are just $20 and full event passes are $350 and are available at HockeyCanada.ca. GO! You won’t be disappointed. Thank me later.

9 – FOOTBALL NOTES: Repeating – for those in the back who didn’t hear – CFL rookie camps open on Wednesday. Please enjoy our full 2025 CFL preview which we posted on Sunday here. … The biggest news out of the NFL this weekend? Cleveland Browns rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders squabbling over who should get #2 in training camp. Oh lawd! Locker room culture suggests Gabriel will get it, since he was drafted hired than Shedeur. … I’m hoping to get into the UFL season before it ends. So far, it has failed to engage me. … ProFootballTalk.com founder Mike Florio said last week the most traffic his website enjoyed since its inception in 2001 was during the 2025 NFL Draft weekend. “Don’t talk to be about Instagram and Twitter!” Florio spat. “At the end of the day, people still go to websites for info.” … This site’s inception was 2006 and has attracted over 40-million all-time hits. The busiest weekend for web traffic? The Eric Tillman story in 2008. At the peak of Rider Pride around 2013, we were doing 4-million hits per year. And you’re still here! … If you’re new to this site, welcome.

10 – RANDOMS: The Blue Jays lost 5-4 to Cleveland on Sunday at Rogers Centre, and dropped two of three on the weekend. They split a 6-game homestand and now go on the road beginning with a Tuesday date at the LA Angels. At 16-18, the Jays have dropped to fourth in the AL East. … On Tuesday I’ll get to take in my first regular season MLB game of the year as the LA Dodgers visit the Miami Marlins. The Marlins have a deal for Army/Navy/Air Force veterans where they get a pair of free tickets per month, and a Veteran buddy of mine has asked me to go. Can’t wait! … Don’t forget, the 2025 Western Canadian Baseball League season opens May 28 with league champion Okotoks at Medicine Hat. For the full schedule, visit here … The National Lacrosse League’s Saskatchewan Rush have a chance to sweep the Halifax Thunderbirds on Saturday night in Game 2 of that semifinal at SaskTel Centre. It’s nice to see the province has caught Rush Fever! There are media Tweeting about the team whom I’ve never seen at a game. Better late than never I suppose! … I was always imploring the former Rush owners – the Urban Family – to hold a training camp in Regina but they never felt the need. Hey – SaskTel Centre was bursting at the seams so I’m sure they were right. But last week’s news that the CEBL’s Saskatchewan Rattlers are bringing camp to Regina warmed my heart. Read up on it here.

Have a fantabulous week …

RP
@rodpedersen