Let’s talk about how god damned infuriating hockey can be at times. The Leafs and Bruins game Saturday night was a trash heap on top of a pile of shit. Between the abysmal reffing, the poor play by the Leafs, and a whole pile of dirty ass shit I don’t want to see in a hockey game, let alone in the playoffs, it was bad enough.

But then there was the commentary.

From the media’s coverage, to Don “please retire already you racist old man” Cherry’s very typical rant, to the fan’s warring on twitter over entirely the wrong things, it was not a fun weekend.

And, yet, somehow, that wound up being overshadowed by the gold medal game in the Women’s World Hockey Championship in Finland yesterday. Finland upset Canada to make it in to the gold medal game where they faced the USA. It went to overtime, and the Finns scored the gold medal winning goal... only it wound up being reviewed and overturned. Here’s the goal:

I’m going to quote Annie’s recap of the game to describe how bizarre it was.

To only add confusion, Team USA also apparently took a penalty on that play, although at first nobody knows why or when—eventually turns out it was on Alex Rigsby for tripping, which is utterly bewildering in every way. If the goal wasn’t good due to goalie interference, Finland should be getting the penalty, but if it was a tripping call on Rigsby I’m genuinely bewildered at what the rationale is for waving off a game-winning goal. The Finns are absolutely livid, and understandably so—I am too.

What could have been an upset for the ages wound up being a shootout win for USA for the gold medal. After the game, there was additional confusion about Finland having filed an official protest, but some were saying they could not do so? Just an absolute mess that overshadowed an incredible performance by Finland.

ONTO THE LINKS!

Espoo 2019: Canada shuts out Russia for bronze 7-0 | by nafio

Marlies lose to Senators in “playoff dress rehearsal” | by Species

Sigh.... alright let’s talk about it again.

Toronto Maple Leafs Nazem Kadri to have in-person hearing with Player Safety | by elseldo

Back to Excited: Game 2 Thoughts | by Arvind and Fulemin

NHL Playoffs

Columbus beat Tampa 3-1 to take a commanding 3-0 series lead that even they couldn’t choke away.... right?

Game #3 QuickCap: Blue Jackets put Lightning on the brink; Lead series 3-0 | Jackets Cannon

Blue Jackets put stranglehold on Lightning with 3-1 win, lead series 3-0 | Raw Charge

Meanwhile, the Islanders beat the Penguins 4-1 to also take a commanding 3-0 series lead and I think it is clear after this weekend that there is no god only pain and injustice.

Islanders 4, Penguins 1 (EN): Isles take 3-0 series lead | Lighthouse Hockey

Game 3 Penguins/Islanders Recap: Another poor Pens effort puts on verge of elimination | Pensburgh

Winnipeg won 6-3 on the road to avoid the same fate as Tampa and Pittsburgh, but are still behind in the series 2-1.

As of writing this, Vegas are up 2-1 over the San Jose Sharks. They also got confirmation that Nikita Gusev will join them for the playoffs at some point.

CHL Playoffs

On Saturday, Guelph beat London 5-3 to claw all the way back from a 3-0 series deficit to forcing a game 7. Gordeev lives to fight another day!

Mac Hollowell and the Greyhounds were not as lucky, being eliminated in game 6 after losing to Saginaw 5-0. Hollowell ended his playoffs at a PPG — 11 points in 11 games, after putting up 77 points in 64 games during the regular season. Expect to see him join the professional ranks next year after signing an ELC back in March.

Ian Scott and Filip Kral had more luck. Both their teams in the WHL advanced to the conference finals, with Prince Albert set to take on Edmonton and Spokane set to face Vancouver.

Have a great Monday everyone!

From The Branches