Last night the Marlies defeated the Rochester American's 3-1. This afternoon at 3 PM they will face them again, in the final game of the regular season. There are still a small number of tickets available, but they are going fast. Today's game is also fan appreciation day, so I expect there will be some freebies given away.

The Calder Cup Playoffs will start as early as this coming week. Stay tuned for details.

Marlies win second last game of season 3-1 over Americans - PPP
The AHL leading Toronto Marlies defeated the Rochester Americans at Ricoh Coliseum yesterday evening.

Elsewhere in the AHL, this happened.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs

Stars 2 - Wild 0

The highlight of last night was the bizarre goal awarded to Antoine Roussel in the second period. To describe it is like describing a goal in a game of HORSE. Roussel was behind the net. The puck deflected off his skate up in the air over the net, hit Devan Dubnyk in the back of the head, then slowly rolled down his back and crossed the goal line.

Now while all this was happening, Dubnyk was panicking. He backed up and dislodged the net, which caused the play to be blown dead and the referee to immediately wave it off and declare no goal.

However, after the play was reviewed, it was declared to be a good goal! Why? Here's what the NHL has to say.

Video review determined that the puck crossed the Minnesota goal line in a legal fashion prior to the net being displaced. According to Rule 78.4 "The goal frame shall be considered in its proper position when at least a portion of the flexible peg(s) are still inside both the goal post and the hole in the ice".

My favourite part is how both the Stars and Wild start smashing their sticks on Dubnyk's back, trying to get it in/out.

Capitals 4 - Flyers 1

Flyers' goaltenders never disappoint.

Rangers 4 - Penguins 2

Phil the Thrill scored both of the Penguins goals.

Sharks 2 - Kings 1

I didn't stay up to watch this game, despite the advice of the Globe and Mail, who came up with this fantastic insider joke headline!

The Battle of California is worth staying up for - The Globe and Mail
San Jose and Los Angeles are two teams with very different playoff histories who always find a way to put on a compelling show

This highlight looks like a clip from a 1992 episode of Electric Circus where the mushrooms were bad.

Other News

World U18 Championships: Canada Beats Czech Republic 3-1 - SBN College Hockey
Evan Fitzpatrick made 38 saves to lead Canada to a win.

Top 100 NHL Prospects Update - SB Nation College Hockey
Who has signed, who is still a free agent, and who has announced they will go back for another year of school? Find out here.

Clayton Keller deserves to be in fourth overall conversation - PPP
In recent drafts, some pretty good American-bred prospects have turned into steals in the first round. This year, Clayton Keller might join Brock Boeser, Dylan Larkin and Kyle Connor in that conversation.

Update on the Deke the Deuce charity campaign - Raw Charge
Please consider making a donation to the drive, or perhaps at least share word on the charity campaign.

Seen & Heard – Weekend Edition Toronto Sports Media Blog
Here's the weekly Toronto media round up from TSM Blog.

From The Branches