The epic battle to win the Stanley Cup begins tonight. And I do mean epic.

Look at this promo by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

It’s like art on the cover box of a 1980’s Nintendo game that you would find in a bargain bin at your local Jumbo Video. Within five minutes of gamplay you realise why it was there; the game is super-buggy, probably impossible to win, and, like, where are the giant eagles, and what do they have to do with this plot about vampires anyway?

The Capitals face-off against the Golden Knights for Game 1 at 8:00 p.m. EDT. Expect the game to have one of those fancy long introductions that they do in Vegas, which, to be fair, are usually pretty entertaining.

Meanwhile, there is no NHL News. This is reportedly because a Papal bull from Commissioner Bettman reportedly went out informing teams there are to be no announcements during the Stanley Cup Final, and likely why the Leafs rushed out as much as much news as they could about changes to the front office  before today.

Maple Leafs name Laurence Gilman their newest AGM
Who is Laurence Gilman?

The Marlies are still waiting to find out who will be their next opponent in the Calder Cup Final. The Texas Stars had a 3-0 series lead, but now the Rockford IceHogs have made a come back, and won two in a row. They will play again tonight at 7:00 p.m. In any case, it will be settled no later than tomorrow night.

We do know the first two games this coming Saturday and Sunday at 4:00 p.m. at Ricoh Coliseum.

Memorial Cup

The Acadie-Bathurst Titan defeated the Regina Pats last night to win the Memorial Cup with a score of 3-0. Sam Steele of the Pats was named the tournament MVP.

This is where I would embed a video of the trophy presentation but there appears to be no official version of it out there, despite the game being broadcast on Sportsnet.

Instead, I’ll embed this item of particular interest to ElSeldo.

Other Hockey News

Sundin says Matthews not a shoo-in for Captain - CBC
"It has to be a player and a person that also wants to carry that responsibility and actually plays better wearing the C

Las Vegas refusing to use capital letters during Stanley Cup Final - NHL.com
It's no longer the city of Las Vegas. For the Stanley Cup Final, it will strictly be "las vegas."

New Canadian rivalry is an opportunity for the ECHL - Eyes On The Prize
The Brampton Beast look forward a dog fight against the Newfoundland Growlers.

REPORT: Ryan Kesler May Not Play Next Season - Anaheim Calling
[Species: What a terrible loss for the league.]

An emotional week - Franzen Residence
"First day when we came was a great day, so nice to see each other again. Second day – terrible and we got in to a huge fight. Probably normal in most relationships, but when you have an brain injury it adds up, and it becomes SO not rational. The brain just can’t pause and take a break when it’s overloaded and can’t recover. He bounced back to a very dark and sad place." - On Johan Franzen by his wife.

From The Branches