Tag: 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs

The NHL has no choice but to suspend Evander Kane after reckless cross-check to Alex Pietrangelo’s face

Evander Kane has made yet another undisciplined play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Evander Kane is once again in hot water after yet another undisciplined play and the NHL has no choice but to act this time.

On Monday, during Game 3 of the Edmonton Oilers’ second round playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights, Kane took a run at Alex Pietrangelo at the end of the first period. After the horn blew to signal time, Kane finished his check into Pietrangelo, cross-checking the Golden Knights’ defenseman in the face with this stick.

Kane was assessed a two-minute minor for cross-checking to give the Golden Knights a power play to start the second, as the play was as unnecessary as it comes.

While the officials on the ice gave Kane a minor penalty for the infraction, the Oilers’ forward has been stirring the pot all series long for Edmonton. In Game 2, Kane received a double minor and a 10-minute misconduct for roughing after this brutal scrum where he landed multiple body blows to a defenseless player on the ice.

Kane’s response to the Game 2 kerfuffle?

“When you want to [expletive] around, sometimes you gotta find out.”

Well, considering Kane has been at the center of two reckless plays in two games, surely now is when he finds out about consequences? Yes, the referees on the ice penalized Kane for the dangerous cross-check, but enough should be enough for him at this point.

Here’s how NHL fans reacted to Kane’s dangerous cross-check to the head of Pietrangelo.

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2023 Stanley Cup Playoff power rankings: How major upsets (Panthers!) shake things up ahead of Round 2

The massive upsets in the Stanley Cup Playoffs will impact the second round in a big way.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs never disappoint and this year is no exception.

The first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs has come to an end, with the second round set for Tuesday evening as the NHL postseason continues on into May. The opening set of 16 teams has been cut in half, with just eight teams remaining in the hunt for the Stanley Cup.

And folks, the remaining field is pretty fresh with new blood for the first time in a long time. The reigning Stanley Cup champions in the Colorado Avalanche were ousted in a Game 7 stunner. The Boston Bruins, the NHL’s best regular season team in history, also were handed a stunning Game 7 defeat. Even the stalwart Tampa Bay Lightning were felled in the opening round, meaning we’re set to get a totally new Stanley Cup champion for the first time since the mid-2000s.

That’s playoff hockey for you!

With all these major upsets now behind us, the field is set for an exciting second round. Here’s how we rank the eight teams remaining in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, with one final eulogy for the teams we left behind.

Jacob Trouba blasted Timo Meier with a high hit and NHL fans couldn’t believe it wasn’t a penalty

Jacob Trouba’s hard hit was legal by NHL standards, but fans weren’t happy.

Jacob Trouba is no stranger to borderline hits in big-time playoff games.

On Monday’s Game 7 between the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils, Trouba rocked Timo Meier with a hit up high in the opening minutes of the third period. With the Rangers down 2-0 in the opening round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs with their season on the line, Trouba looked to light a spark in New York with the heavy hit.

Unfortunately, Trouba’s hit was quite the violent one, as Meier was down on the ice in pain after taking a shoulder to the face. Meier did end up returning to the Devils’ bench later in the third, but Trouba absolutely lit him up with a brutal hit.

Yeah, that’s as hard of a hit as you’ll see in the NHL. Trouba wasn’t penalized for the play, as that kind of hit is technically legal according to the NHL rule book. Because Meier was leaning over in a vulnerable position on the play, Trouba’s hit was deemed legal by the referees on the ice.

NHL fans, however, were stunned that that type of hit still remains a legal one given how violent and devastating it is. While Trouba may not have been penalized for the hit due to its legality, hockey fans were quite upset all the same.

NHL fans believed the Boston Bruins got struck by the Presidents’ Trophy curse after Game 7 loss

The Presidents’ Trophy Curse has struck again. This time, it hits the Boston Bruins.

The Boston Bruins are officially eliminated from the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Falling victim to the dreaded Presidents’ Trophy curse, Boston lost to the Florida Panthers in Game 7 on Sunday night, 4-3.

The loss came after a last-minute goal from Florida in the third period that sent the game into overtime, where Panthers center Carter Verhaeghe scored the game winner to send the Bruins packing. 

Boston was the clear favorite to contend for the Stanley Cup this year after its dominant regular season, but taking home the Presidents’ Trophy has tripped up plenty of hockey teams in the past.

It’s been since 2013 when the Chicago Blackhawks took home the Presidents’ Trophy and the Stanley Cup that a team has been able to win both.

The TNT scorebug predicted the Panthers-Bruins game-tying goal right before it happened

The TNT scorebug for Bruins-Panthers predicted a game-tying goal before it even happened.

During Sunday night’s Game 7 between the Boston Bruins and the Florida Panthers, the TNT scorebug predicted a major moment right before it happened.

As Boston led Florida at home with just a minute and a half to go, the TNT scorebug announced that the Panthers had scored a goal even though Florida was still down by a point.

Well, about half a minute later, Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour knocked in the dramatic equalizer to send the game into overtime.

In what was just likely a technical glitch, the TNT scorebug actually spoiled the seismic game-tying goal before it even happened.

The TNT scorebug really called it. The 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs have had plenty of intrigue so far, but it’s going to be fascinating to see all the reasoning for what exactly the scorebug knew that we didn’t.

All we’re saying is that the next time a scorebug predicts a score before it happens, we really need to keep score at home.

Star Wars actor Hayden Christensen had a thrilled on-stage reaction after learning the Maple Leafs won

The Force is strong with this Maple Leafs reaction from Toronto fan Hayden Christensen.

Star Wars and Shattered Glass actor Hayden Christensen got the most welcomed surprise during an appearance at the Calgary Expo on Saturday.

Christensen, who earned global notoriety for his portrayal of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader in the Star Wars prequels, is from Canada and has been a Toronto Maple Leafs fan for quite some time.

As the Leafs made history by advancing in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in nearly 20 years, a fan shouted out the result to Christensen while he was on stage doing a Q-&-A.

Sporting a Maple Leafs cap, he promptly stood up and looked absolutely delighted as he cheered for the news.

Toronto hasn’t advanced in a playoff series since 2004, back when Christensen was still actively playing Anakin Skywalker.

As you can imagine, Maple Leafs fans are jubilant for their historic series victory, and Christensen joins his fellow Canadians in celebrating the massive achievement.

The radio call of John Tavares’ game-winning goal for the Maple Leafs will give you goosebumps

The radio call for the Toronto Maple Leafs’ seismic series win on Saturday is everything.

The Toronto Maple Leafs made history on Saturday night as the team advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2004.

Leafs forward John Tavares knocked in the series-winning goal in overtime against the Tampa Bay Lightning on the road, which naturally sent the Toronto bench and players into a celebratory frenzy.

It’s just the best thing in the world to see a long-suffering team like the Maple Leafs finally get over the playoff hump after such a drought. The call on Maple Leafs radio exclaimed those extremely joyous feelings as good as anyone.

Like, how can you not love that? The thrill of hard-fought victory is exciting enough in the playoffs of any sport, but this radio call sums up the nearly two decades it’s taken for the Maple Leafs to get back into hockey’s good graces.

While Toronto still has a formidable road ahead of it to advance to the Stanley Cup finals, the Leafs are going to soak in this franchise-altering series win for quite some time.

The 9 most electric photos from the Maple Leafs’ cathartic first round victory celebrations

A celebration 19 years in the making for the Maple Leafs and fans!

You can forgive the Toronto Maple Leafs and their fans for these rambunctious celebrations, considering it’s been nearly two decades since their last playoff series win.

In Game 6 on Saturday, the Maple Leafs bested the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in overtime on John Tavares’ series-winning goal. The Maple Leafs last advanced to the second round of the playoffs in 2004 and now, after years of heartbreak and disappointments, the dream has come true.

Seriously, the scenes coming out of Toronto right now are something else. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think the Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup! But no, this is what nearly two decades of back-breaking playoff losses do to a franchise and let me tell you, it’s glorious to see the catharsis.

All that celebrating from players and fans alike definitely have made for an unforgettable moment. Here are the nine best photos from the Maple Leafs incredible first round victory celebrations.

NHL referees missed a blatant high stick on Brandon Hagel and the Lightning were furious

Brandon Hagel and the Lightning had every right to be mad here.

Officiating in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs has been rocky, to say the least.

As the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrate their first playoff series victory in 19 seasons, the Tampa Bay Lightning are headed home early from the postseason for the first time in a long time. The series was an incredibly close one, and it took overtime to decide Saturday night’s Game 6 after a tightly-contested game.

Before overtime began, however, there was quite a bit of officiating controversy after a pretty big missed call. In the dying seconds of the third period, with the score tied 1-1, Brandon Hagel was clipped with a high stick from T. J. Brodie while racing for the puck down the middle of the ice.

Hagel came up clutching his face, but no call was made. After the period ended, Hagel and the Lightning were seething over the non-call, which would have put Tampa Bay on a power play for nearly a full two minutes to start overtime.

Talk about a rough way to end the season. Who knows if the Lightning would have scored to force a Game 7 if Brodie was called for a high stick, but it’s just another example of the inconsistent officiating in these playoffs.

Here’s how fans reacted to the non-call high stick on Hagel.

The Maple Leafs won their first playoff series in 19 years and fans went absolutely wild

The curse is finally broken, Toronto!

This is a day Toronto Maple Leafs fans have been waiting to see for nearly two decades.

On Saturday, the Maple Leafs bested the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in overtime in Game 6 to advance to the second round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. John Tavares scored the overtime winner for the Maple Leafs after Tampa Bay tied the game up early on in the third period.

After going up 3-1 in the series, the Maple Leafs allowed the Lightning to bring the series back to Tampa Bay for one more game. Thankfully for Maple Leafs fans, the team finally closed out a playoff series with a gritty victory for the first time in 19 years thanks to Tavares’ stunning overtime winner.

Talk about a moment many, many years of playoff disappointments in the making! For years, the Maple Leafs have failed to make it out of the first round of the playoffs, with many a Game 7 loss to their name. Now, however, the team gets to play a new slate of playoff hockey with the weight of the world off their shoulders.

And clearly, it meant a lot to the team, as here’s how general manager Kyle Dubas reacted to the victory.

Plus, Maple Leafs radio went wild, as expected.

Here’s how Maple Leafs fans reacted on Twitter after the historic and cathartic victory.