Good morning Toronto Maple Leafs fans!

Ish. I guess.

The Leafs jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the Nashville Predators last night, but couldn't keep the cats at bay, and Nashville came back to score give straight led by former Leaf Michael Bunting and Marlie Keiffer Bellows.

Recap: Leafs lose to Nashville
One of those low-quality offence games.
PPP LeafsCathy Squires

After seeing the division rivals lose, the Leafs had the chance to take the top spot all for themselves, but this loss keeps them back yet again.

Capitals vs. Panthers Recap: Caps Outlast Cats in 6-3 Win
The Caps put up six against the reigning champs.
Japers' RinkBecca
Lightning drop middle game of road trip, 6-4 to Utah
They lost, but hey at least Brayden Point started scoring again.
Raw ChargeJustin G.

So for now the Maple Leafs remain tied with the Panthers at 87 points, and the Lightning are right there with 85.

12 more games to go.

So, what's the good news? The prospects are doing well.

Two Underrated Leafs Prospects Highlight the Next Wave of Graduates to the Lineup
Though the Toronto Maple Leafs may not have the deepest prospect pool, but thanks to the play of two youngsters, they could have a big injection of youth next year.
YardbarkerChris Gerics

The NHL pays the players in USD, but Canadian teams are facing a 30%+ difference in money coming in compared to US teams as the fans pay in CDN.

How might the Trump tariff battle affect the Edmonton Oilers, NHL?
As the Edmonton Oilers eye the playoffs on the horizon, their front-end office might be feeling the weight of tariffs in the shadows.
Edmonton JournalZac Delaney

Playoffs? Playoffs!

Houston is the largest market in North America without an NHL team. Will that change?

Sources: U.S. billionaire eyes Houston NHL team
American billionaire Dan Friedkin has emerged as a strong ownership option to bring the NHL to Houston, sources told ESPN.
ESPNEmily Kaplan

Good. They don't need to be longer.

NHL Notebook: League not considering change to playoff format
There aren’t going to be changes to the NHL’s playoff format any time…
OilersNationCam Lewis

The NCAA playoffs are starting. 16 teams will compete for the chance to get to St. Louis.

Frozen Four: Here Are The 16 Teams That Made The 2025 NCAA Men’s Tournament - FloHockey
The field for the 2025 NCAA Men’s Hockey Tournament is set following the conference championships across college hockey.
FloSportsChris Peters

Rocanville, SK is celebrating one of their own, honouring Jessica Campbell with a sign on the highway proclaiming the first woman to coach on the NHL bench their hometown hero.

The CBC has the story.

The University of Waterloo has made it to the Women's USports hockey championships and will be facing off against either University of Toronto or Bishop's University.

University of Waterloo women’s hockey team advances to finals in USports Championship
The Waterloo Warriors women’s hockey team advanced to the U Sports Championship finals, as they moved past the Concordia Stingers in Saturday evening’s semifinal game.
CTVNewsSidra Jafri

Finally, in the PWHL yesterday, New York Sirens Abby Roque scored the first Michigan goal in league history.

Enjoy your day everyone!

From The Branches