The Tampa Bay Lightning are the second team to advance to the third round, after dispatching the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0 in Game 5 of their Central Division series last night. I was writing an article about what the Lightning have that the Leafs don’t but it turned into its own feature that will come out soon. Back to the Lightning, after getting swept in shocking fashion by the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Lightning have won six straight playoff series and might face the New York Islanders for the second time in the Conference Finals. Sadly, Dallas won’t be able to make it a repeat of last year.

Tampa Bay Lightning advance to Conference Finals with Game 5 victory over Hurricanes

Also last night was Game 5 between the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights. After winning the first two games in the series, many believed the Avs were going to roll right into the third round. Alas, the Golden Knights have since won three straight, including last night’s three-goal overtime comeback after falling behind 0-2. The Avs still believe they’ve been the better team, but it’s hard not to see the trend.

Golden Knights 3, Avalanche 2: Vegas completes late comeback in OT to capture 3-2 series lead

Mark Stone has admittedly been losing his minutes recently against the Avs second line, but he made up for it last night, scoring the game winning goal in overtime. The Karlsson line has been going up against MacKinnon and has been out-shooting them.

After last night’s events, Tampa Bay is back at the top of the Playoff Probabilities and poised to repeat. The Avs will need to win two games against a very good Vegas team if they want to re-claim that spot.

Various Leafs and Branches

Why is the salary cap projected to stay flat when revenues should rise soon? | by: Katya

We all saw the tweet right? So I can just put this here and everyone will get the joke?

The LA Kings are making it known that they want a big fish. Would I accept trading Marner for the last year of Dustin Brown if it meant I could have my pick of the amazing litter the Kings have assembled, especially up front? Yeah, I would definitely have a close look.

Matt Dumba, Oskar Lindblom, and Patrick Marleau have been nominated for the Bill Masterton award. One of these things is not like the other, and the second is very much not like the third. These awards are dumb, but I hope the NHL sends a lot of money to the causes that these three people can owe a lot to: cancer research, Black Lives Matter, and steel bathtubs. No offense to Patty, he didn’t ask for this, the awards process is just dumb.

Don’t forget to vote for Renee Hess, founder of the Black Girl Hockey Club, for the Willie O’Ree Award!

Two Victoriaville Tigres players are being investigated following sexual assault allegations by a teenager from the night following the team’s QMJHL finals win. There is a partial story on Sportsnet right now, but there is a more detailed account of the situation at Le Journal de Montreal written in french. The names of the suspects have not been released.

Enquête pour agression sexuelle: deux joueurs des Tigres de Victoriaville arrêtés
Two QMJHL players under investigation for sexual-assault allegations - Sportsnet.ca

From The Branches