Also, happy Mike Babcock day!

In honor of that day, I think it’s appropriate to laugh at Mike Harrington. You don’t need to give this clicks if you don’t want to:

From May 20, 2015: Woe is us? Woe, Sabres? No way. | Buffalo News
“A coach who comes here just to make a financial statement to his old boss and for coaches around the league is not my idea of what the Sabres are looking for right now. ... This is not a setback for the Sabres’ rebuild. Not for a second.”

Leafs

This is good. (And I apologize on behalf of the TBL organization for this shitty play.)

This is even better:

Seldo’s recap of the Memorial Cup game from the Tampa Bay Lightning side is over here, and Leafs side is over here.

Bracco leads Spitfires past Sea Dogs in Memorial Cup opener | TSN
"Jeremy Bracco has been told over and over again by his coach to shoot the puck more. He made Windsor bench boss Rocky Thompson look like a genius on Friday."

Toronto Maple Leafs: The centre problem | Tip of the Tower
...Is undoubtedly that y'all spell "center" wrong. "The Toronto Maple Leafs not only have a lack of right-handed defencemen in the system, but a lack of centremen as well, that will need to be addressed if they plan to match other teams in depth moving forward."

Playoffs

Stanley Cup Final dates are out:

Game 1 – Monday, May 29
Game 2 – Wednesday, May 31
Game 3 – Saturday, June 3
Game 4 – Monday, June 5
Game 5 – Thursday, June 8
Game 6 – Sunday, June 11
Game 7 – Wednesday, June 14

In praise of Randy Carlyle (and we’re as shocked as you are) | Puck Daddy
'Seeing Randy Carlyle succeed with the Ducks is like seeing a couple that broke up rekindle what they had. And you’re all like, “No, this is wrong, this didn’t work out and now they’re different people,” and your buddy’s like, “I don’t know, they look pretty happy,” and you’re like, “no, this is a mistake and it makes no sense,” and your buddy’s like, “[Expletive] man, it’s love.”'

Dumoulin's shot ricochets off Phaneuf and into net | NBC Sports
Video. Poor Dion. Also, Evgeny Malkin is a jerk.

Matt Murray was ‘solid’ for Penguins in return to starting role | NHL on NBC
I'm getting PTSD from the 2016 ECF. "The Sens looked outmatched through two periods but pushed for the equalizer in the third. Murray turned aside nine of 10 shots faced in the final 20 minutes."

Penguins Have Sullivan to Thank | THW
Could it be that Sullivan is a better coach than Mike Babcock? This guy thinks so. "How are the Penguins so close to another Stanley Cup Final? Mike Sullivan is the best coach in the NHL."

Predators' Ryan Johansen out for remainder of NHL playoffs | Tennessean
Video. The Preds are, how you say, f***ed. Also, here’s an article from On the Forecheck about it.

Worlds

Lundqvist and Lindberg face Finland in Semifinals | BSB
“Heading into the Semifinals Sweden is 6-1-1 including preliminary games. Sweden’s defeats came at the hands of Team Russia and Team USA. Sweden has yet to meet Finland at the Worlds.”

Canada, Russia renew hockey rivalry in worlds semifinal | TSN
"The hockey powerhouses will meet again in Saturday’s semifinal at the Lanxess Arena with Russia looking to eliminate any chance of its longtime foe winning gold for a third consecutive year."

Stuff

Remember Roman Lyashenko | BSB
"Lyashenko would have turned 38-years-old on May 2nd of this year. But he committed suicide while on vacation with his mother and sister in Turkey in the summer of 2003. He was 24-years-old."

After a Long Fight, FIBA Finally Lifts its Ban on Religious Headwear | Vice Sports
“For almost four years, Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir has been sidelined from doing what she loves most: playing basketball. A 5'5" point guard powerhouse from Springfield, Massachusetts, she holds the scoring record for high school players—male or female—in the state and went on to a successful college career at Indiana State and the University of Memphis.”

From The Branches