FISHHEAD

45-1 CIRCA NOW

QUALIFYING DAY TOMORROW

Can the defending champs hold their own? The Golden Knights started off the 2023–24 season right where they left off, but started falling flat thanks to a long string of injuries and now enter the playoffs as the second wild card in the West. Thankfully for Vegas, the injury bug seems to finally be running its course, most notably captain Mark Stone has returned to practice and could come back from a lacerated spleen soon. Many of the weapons that took them all the way last year—Jonathan Marchessault, Jack Eichel, Alex Pietrangelo and Adin Hill—are still around. Plus they made major pick ups at the deadline with winger Anthony Mantha, defenseman Noah Hanifin and another top forward Tomáš Hertl. The Knights enter the playoffs with a question of how to handle goaltending—both Hill and Logan Thompson have been splitting duties in net down the stretch. Thompson has been the more consistent goalie of late, but Hill was crucial to Vegas winning the Cup last year.

Will Canada finally end its Stanley Cup drought? Until a Canadian team can break the 31-year (and counting?) drought to bring Lord Stanley back to its place of origin, this will be a talking point heading into every NHL postseason. This year’s bracket has four of the seven Canadian teams in the running: the Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks. Let's start with the Leafs, who, despite having a storied franchise, have not won the Stanley Cup in 57 years. And they haven’t really come close in the decades since. But Toronto got to exorcise some of those demons last year when they finally escaped the first round of the playoffs (a feat the Leafs hadn’t accomplished since before the 2004–05 NHL lockout). But a first-round matchup with postseason rival Boston Bruins won’t be easy. There's a reason for Toronto to have hope and its name is Auston Matthews. With a mind-boggling 69 goals this season, Matthews was reliable whenever his team hit a rough patch. And the Leafs seem to have found their groove heading into the playoffs with consistent scoring and a renewed confidence in goaltender Ilya Samsonov, who had a rough first half of the season but has been playing some of his best hockey since being waived in January. Not far behind Toronto in the drought watch is Vancouver, which has never won a Cup in its 52 seasons in the NHL. This Canucks team surprised many with a Pacific Division–winning season thanks to a young core that is coming into its own. Quinn Hughes led all NHL defensemen in points this season with 92, J.T. Miller had 100 points of his own, Brock Boeser had a 40-goal campaign, and Thatcher Demko, who has the third-best save percentage in the league, returned from injury just in time for the playoffs. Vancouver is looking to make it past the first round for just the second time in 13 years against an experienced Nashville Predators team. Edmonton, which last won a Cup in 1990, has had massive expectations this season—that’s been clear since the Oilers fired coach Jay Woodcroft just 13 games into the season. Since Kris Knoblauch took over behind the bench, they have become a scary group that’s tough to score on. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are in their prime, and with Draisaitl due for an extension this summer, these playoffs could be crucial in deciding if this dynamic duo’s era is nearing an end in Edmonton. The two have the playoff experience to lock in, but they will likely need the secondary scoring to step up and support them if the Oilers are to make a deep playoff push. This Jets franchise has only been in Winnipeg since 2011 but has been pretty consistent at making the playoffs in the last decade or so. The Jets are riding an eight-game winning streak into their first-round series against the Colorado Avalanche and had the best five-on-five defense in the Western Conference this season. Of note: The Jets won all of their games this season against the Avs, who have been struggling down the stretch.

POLL up at the TANK

My guess lesbo with the male gene..........will make good husband for some gal.

Thought you owed?

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LOL

CONGRATS TY! TY YOUNG coming to the CHI SKY as assistant coach.

LOL

You walk around a grocery and some items are mindboggling the price..

Drink for the thirst and taste.....................the very small high is small gravy.