Good morning, PPPeople. I remembered it was my FTB at er, midnight.  Fortunately, today’s gold medal battle of the Leafs rookies won’t be on until 2:45pm  Eastern, so I will likely be conscious again by that point, no matter how long this takes me. Mitch Marner needs at least three points in the game to tie William Nylander’s current points total for the tournament. Can he do it?

ICYMI

Who do you want the Leafs to draft at #17? - Pension Plan Puppets
Have you decided yet who you want to see drafted: vote in the poll.

Annie's coming to town! - Pension Plan Puppets
Meet members of the masthead and watch some hockey!

Western Conference Final

Nashville Predators 3, Anaheim Ducks 1: The Soup Game Part Deux - On the Forecheck
The Nashville Predators rallied despite missing their top two centermen to beat the Ducks in Anaheim.

Predators win away from Stanley Cup final berth | Toronto Star
Unsung Pontus Aberg scores eventual winner in Game 5 vs. Ducks in Anaheim. Game 6 Monday night in Nashville.

Ducks’ Getzlaf fined for apparent homophobic slur | Toronto Star
No NHL suspension for Anaheim captain after TV cameras pick up offensive remark during Game 4 vs. Predators.

The Verbal Culture of Hockey Must Change - Five For Howling
Ryan Getzlaf gets fined $10K for something that Andrew Shaw was suspended for. This part of hockey culture needs to change.

Men’s World Championships

Watch: William Nylander scores on a pass from Backstrom! - Pension Plan Puppets
Yes this is a new one.

Canada to play for gold after 4-2 semifinal win over Russia - The Globe and Mail
Canadian squad dominates third period, scoring four times

Memorial Cup

Seldo doing double-duty again.

Memorial Cup recap: Erie Otters out hustle the slow and steady Seattle Thunderbirds - Pension Plan Puppets
The Thunderbirds have the best story of the tournament in a rookie goalie, but the Otters fire power was too much.

2017 Memorial Cup recap: The Erie Otters open their fight with a win against Seattle - Raw Charge
Game highlights, thoughts, and an interview with Anthony Cirelli.

Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Strome lead Otters to victory in Memorial Cup opener | Toronto Star
Erie struck Thunderbirds with strong forecheck in 4-2 win.

They say it’s going to rain today, which means I’m going to have tiny baby bunny rabbits sheltering under my hostas again. One of these days I’m going to get proper pictures in decent lighting so I can share the cute.

From The Branches