The Monday Morning Goalie For SUDS
Truth & Rumours For SUDS Car Wash
1 – CLINCHING SATURDAY: Four more teams clinched Stanley Cup Playoff berths on Saturday – Edmonton, Vegas, Boston & Ottawa – and you can bet there was a huge sigh of relief in all those dressing rooms. What a race it’s been! The postseason begins next Saturday and there are three spots still up for grabs; two in the West and one in the East. There won’t be as many Canadian teams in the playoffs this year as last, but three’s better than two (Montreal, Ottawa, Edmonton) and it increases the chances of the “1993 Drought” ending. But my guess is it won’t …
2 – #VEGASBORN: Don’t look now but Carter Hart is 4-0 in the Golden Knights crease since returning from injury including a 3-2 OT win at Colorado on Saturday. … Head coach John Tortorella is 5-1 since taking over from Bruce Cassidy. … NHL Radio’s Gord Stellick pointed out this week that the best seasons the Philadelphia Flyers have had over the past 30 years were with Tortorella and Hart as coach and goaltender. Ya think Kelly McCrimmon hadn’t noticed that? … I can see a Vegas-Tampa Bay Stanley Cup Final. … How’d they get Torts into a suit?
3 – INDIVIDUALLY: Nashville’s Steven Stamkos hit 40 goals for the eighth-time in his career. That’s tied for the 7th-most 40 goal campaigns in a career and ties him with Phil Esposito, Bobby Hull, Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille. … On Saturday, Washington’s Ilya Protas became the first teenager to score three points in a Capitals uniform since Scott Stevens in 1984. … You may be surprised to know Vegas’s Jack Eichel has the third-highest points per game stat (1.08) among U.S.-born players in history. Who’s higher? Brady Tkachuk (1.17) and Joe Micheletti (1.09). … I get why the NHL and media were hyping up Sunday’s Pittsburgh-Washington game as the final match-up between Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin but according to my insiders with both teams, the way both of those guys are playing, they’ll both be back next year for more head-to-head matches.
4 – CANADA’S TEAM: We asked RP Show viewers this week if your team can’t win the Stanley Cup, who would you like to win it the most? For me, it’s the Edmonton Oilers solely because of Connor McDavid. Obviously they’re going to lose that kid if they don’t win it soon. … Edmonton was the favorite amongst our viewers but a close #2 was the Winnipeg Jets, primarily because of their long-suffering fans. … There were several write-in ballots for the Buffalo Sabres, who snapped a 14-year playoff drought this spring. … Analyst Jared Dumba says he DOESN’T want to see Montreal win the Cup this year because they’re primed to be a favorite for years to come. … There is no wrong answer to this!
5 – ELSEWHERE: No shocks to me so far in the WHL Eastern Conference semifinals. PA is up 2-0 on Saskatoon and outscored them 9-1 in the process. Funny how Curtis Hunt always has the Raiders in the “hunt”. … Medicine Hat is up 2-0 on Calgary in the other after a pair of 1-goal victories in the Coop. … Meanwhile the SJHL league semifinals are going to at least a Game 6 after Saturday night’s action. Flin Flon is up 3-2 on Weyburn and Battlefords is up 3-2 on Yorkton. … The NCAA’s Frozen Four was mesmerizing at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Did you watch it? I did. The Denver Pioneers won it all Saturday with a 2-1 victory over the Wisconsin Badgers at a soldout Fortress. Denver’s goals were scored by Rieger Lorenz (Calgary) and Kyle Chyzowski (Surrey). In fact Chyzowski’s game-winner was set up by Boston Buckberger of Saskatoon. … Tickets for the game in Sin City ranged in price from $400USD to $2,500USD.
6 – TIGER’S HOUSE: The SoFi Centre in Palm Beach Gardens, FL is owned jointly by Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Mike McCarley and is the world’s most innovative, high-tech golf facility. I had the good fortune to be invited to a Masters Watch Party on Saturday by Mark Gundry, founder of The Hole Life clothing brand (they do apparel for the RP Show & Cats N Bolts Podcast) and it was jaw-dropping. Imagine a movie screen-sized golf simulator and rotating putting green with 700 hydraulic jacks underneath to adjust the terrain! The event was a fundraiser for the Trustbridge Hospice Foundation and I was fortunate enough to be invited by Mark Gundry of the Hole Life clothing/marketing brand out of Florida. SoFi Center is looking for teams, leagues, corporations, groups and tourists to come try out their year-old facility and asked me to help get the word out. So there ya go!
As far as the Masters itself went, even with NHL, UFL & MLB going on, I parked my butt on the couch and watched Rory McIlroy battle up and down Sunday to win it all. It was a helluva story and I’m glad I did.
7 – DALEY & TIGER: It was weird being at Tiger’s House, but not having Tiger there. Mind you, Eldrick would have been at The Masters if he wasn’t currently in treatment for substance dependency at an undisclosed facility outside the US. Golfing great John Daley ripped apart Tiger’s management team (agents) and inner circle this weekend for enabling him and ripping him off in an article posted in Mens Journal. It’s a sad story which I don’t think we’ve heard the end of. Working in the Recovery field with athletes, entertainers and military members, I see it all the time.
Tiger is a very, very hurting guy. Praying for him.
8 – GRIDIRON NOTES: It’s the most wonderful time of year but I can see why not everyone agrees with that. There’s no NFL or CFL! … Next up on the NFL calendar is the Draft in two weeks in Pittsburgh and presumptive #1 pick Fernando Mendoza has informed the NFL he plans to skip the event, preferring to watch at home with his family and ailing mother. Opinions on this are on polar opposite ends of the spectrum. I think he should be there. … We’re in the midst of Week 3 of the UFL season. Columbus Aviators head coach Ted Ginn Jr. is missing this weekend’s game after being pick up for DUI in Houston. Yikes! … The 2026 CFL Draft is Tuesday, April 28. Ottawa has the #1 pick. Any guesses who they’ll take?
9 – CABLE’S WINNING: It takes time – years in most cases – but the pendulum always swings back the other way. Cord-cutting (ditching cable TV) was all the rage 10-15 years ago but it’s gotten entirely out of hand. How many times have you waited all day for a big game only to find out you don’t have the proper streaming service in which to watch it? It’s happened to me multiple times this winter, particularly with NHL games. I just won’t pay extra to watch a game on NHL Network (Sling) or the Blue Jays (ESPN+ or MLB-TV). And to pay more to LISTEN? Forget it. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got a few services (Netflix, Prime, etc) but I’ve had to draw the line. That’s how I enjoyed the Dodgers-Blue Jays last week on Fox with Kenny Albert calling the action; too bad it ended in a 14-1 LA rout. … As usual people, leagues and greed ruined it.
10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: Don’t wear headphones on a bike. … I can take a hint. … When did Hannah Montana grow up?? … You’re a fool if you think peoples’ lives are what you see on social media. … There’s a Dateline channel on Sirius/XM. … It’s a shame Oil Kings voice Mat Barrett is getting criticized for his Game 7 game-winning goal call against the Blades. They say he didn’t get “excited enough” for the other team. Folks, it happens in the big leagues all the time. I actually got criticized for years for getting TOO excited for opposition goals and touchdowns. What a gross time it is in society. Do you, and let the chips fall. … The future is an illusion. … Oh, snap. The unveiling of Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki’s statue had an unforced error on Friday — a broken bat. As Seattle broadcaster Rick Rizzs declared “we’re going to count down from 51!” (Suzuki’s jersey number) the curtain covering the bronze statue was pulled down, and so, too, went the bat. A snapping noise could be heard as the bronze bat flopped down and confetti sprouted up. The statue depicts Suzuki in his batting stance. He appeared to find the mishap to be hilarious, and joked through an interpreter that New York Yankees Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera got the best of him again. “I didn’t think Mariano would come out here,” Suzuki said with a smile, “and break the bat.” … AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?
Y’er welcome,
RP
1) I am all in with Vegas winning the Stanley Cup. For Carter Hart that will be a full redemption story for the ages. That kid is a winner already. Word to the wise kids. The knew term in NFL and manipulated men circles is “girl dad”. If you boys run into one of those. Give a wide birth. Absent a strong male role model or worse a manipulated father raising a woman with that theory. Those are the types that got those boys in trouble. Thankful they are innocent and Godspeed to Carter Hart. I hope he kept the… Read more »