Where Do The Oilers Go From Here?

By : Mike Rifkin

The Edmonton Oilers were swept in the Western Conference Finals by the Colorado Avalanche, losing 6-5 in overtime in game four. For the Oilers it was their first Western Conference Finals since 2006, where they defeated the Anaheim Ducks in five games before losing to the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games in the Stanley Cup Finals. 

The Oilers led by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl both were in the top five in scoring during the regular season, including McDavid winning his second consecutive Art Ross Trophy and fourth overall. McDavid and Draisaitl combined for 55 points in 32 games played. What makes it even more impressive was Draisaitl was playing with a high ankle sprain according to General Manager Ken Holland, the injury occurred during the first round against the Kings. 

Ken Holland also said on head coach Jay Woodcroft “I think he did a fabulous job, the team responded to him and I told him we would meet early next week and have a discussion. I am interested in bringing him back, I think he did a great job and was a big part of what the team accomplished.” Woodcroft went 26-9-3 after being promoted from Bakersfield after Dave Tippett was fired. I don’t know why Woodcroft wouldn’t want to come back, but if he doesn’t there are a lot of big name coaches the Oilers could look at on the open market. But I would expect Woodcroft back

Another return in question for the Oilers is Evander Kane. Kane who was released by the Sharks, was picked up by the Oilers for one million dollars. Kane once he arrived in Edmonton was a points machine picking up 39 points (22 goals) in 43 games during the regular season and 17 points (13 goals) in 15 playoff games. Kane has always been a goal scorer but his numbers definitely increased by playing with McDavid. Holland said of Kane “I don’t expect him to play on a two million dollar cap hit next season.” Kane plays with an edge and it cost him in the Western Conference Finals. During the first period of game three Kane hit Avalanche Center Nazem Kadri from behind and got a 5 minute major penalty and was then suspended for game four. Something to watch with Kane whether it is the Oilers or another team I would give him a lesser term deal, probably nothing over three years. 

The other position the Oilers NEED to upgrade is their goaltending. They cannot go into another season with Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen as their goalies. Smith is signed for next year at 2.2 million dollars at 40 years old and Koskinen is a free agent. Smith during the playoffs had a 3.37 Goals Against Average and .913 save percentage. Against Colorado during the Western Conference Finals Smith posted a 5.53 GAA and a .872 save percentage. Whether it’s a trade or free agency the Oilers need to address the goalie position.

MOVE OVER PGA CAUSE LVI MOVING IN

By Mark Halpern

       Over the last six months, we have been hearing about a Saudi-based professional golf tour, which has finally come to fruition. The LVI Golf Tour will get its official TEE OFF in London on June 9th, right before the U.S. Open. The commissioner of the PGA has been very open and critical of a new tour and, after much debate, has said, “If you want to play on that tour, you can not play in the PGA tour.” We can only guess whether this statement will hold for a year from now. When I first heard about another Golf tour being formed, I didn’t have feelings against it or for it, funny enough. When it was announced on ESPN that the LVI tour was going ahead, I thought of a quote from Happy Gilmore “Gold Jacket, Green Jacket, who cares.” We don’t know the color of the Jacket that is like the Masters (It’s Green), but time will tell.

    The league was formed with two tremendous PGA tour players backing it. Greg Norman and Phil Mickelson have been all for another league/tour globally. Mickelson has taken much flack because of his views towards another league and has lost sponsorships. He has been uninvited to play in any PGA courses or tournaments since he has been publicly favored in the other league. Mickelson is one of the greatest golfers ever to play the sport. He has won countless tournaments and has been active in charities and other humanitarian efforts in the golf world and the medical field. Mickelson was not doing any harm by speaking for the idea of another league, but, to some people, actions speak more than words.

   Since the idea of another tour has been tossed around and with players like Norman and Mickelson recruiting, there have been a lot of players wanting to move from PGA to LVI. The list of players is now up to 46, with some substantial noticeable names already committing to leave the PGA tour to Join the LVI tour. I will not name everyone but give you a sample of who has committed to playing in the newly formed LVI tour. The players joining are Dustin Johnson, Chase Kopeka, Kevin Na, Martin Kaymer, Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen, Andy Ogletree, Phil Mickelson, and Bryson DeChambeau are just some of the notable names. Rory Mcllory has said to be interested but has not committed to moving leagues yet. 

    Each day, we learn about other PGA golfers who are committing to playing on this new tour. Seasoned PGA tour member Tiger Woods has not spoken on the fact if he has been invited and would he even consider leaving. Considering where he ranks in the PGA all-time records, I don’t see him jumping ship. With the first event from LVI to debut today, tee times pairings will be released first in the morning and begin around 10 am. We will all get a first-hand look at what this relativity new Business Venture was to create an opportunity for other players on that side of the world. 

    This creation of a new Tour has a lot of new incomers moving on, but as I always say, a fresh start can get you into the right frame of mind, claim a spot, and get started with a fresh start, and that is how the old man sees it 

Something Bruin In Boston

By : Mike Rifkin

On Monday night the Boston Bruins announced they had fired head coach Bruce Cassidy. Cassidy had a record of 245-108-46 and led the Bruins to the playoffs every year in his six seasons, including going to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2019. This year the Bruins fell to the Carolina Hurricanes in seven game in the first round. The Bruins have made the playoffs every year since 2016

Now there are a lot of interesting candidates out on the market right now. Barry Trotz, Peter Deboer, John Tortorella and Paul Maurice are good coaches but so is Cassidy. Under Cassidy the Bruins averaged 3.14 goals per game and allowed 2.53 goals per game. This season the Bruins averaged 3.09 goals per game and allowed 2.66. Under Cassidy the Bruins power play connected at near 24 percent, this year it was down to 21.2 percent. The Bruins penalty kill was 82.8 percent under Cassidy and 81.3 percent this year.  

After last season second line Center David Krejci left the team to go play in his home country of the Czech Republic. Replacing Krejci was hard because he was so important to the Bruins at even strength, power play and penalty kill. In 962 games for the Bruins Krejci had 730 points. Second line center was a hole in the Bruins lineup the bulk of the season. They needed to spread out their scoring that Cassidy had to break up the “Perfection Line” of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak. Those three guys combined for 97 goals and 222 points. Goalie Tuukka Rask attempted to comeback from hip surgery and appeared in four games before getting injured again and eventually announced his retirement. Rookie Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark who they signed from the Buffalo Sabres both first time starters had a goals against average under 3 and save percentage of .914 and .917 respectively. Swayman went 3-2 with a 2.63 goals against average and .911 save percentage against the Hurricanes. 

Bergeron broke the record by winning his fifth Selke Trophy. At 36 years old Bergeron is an unrestricted free agent has not decided what his future holds. I don’t know if Cassidys firing sways him one way or the other. Marchand is signed through 2025-26 season but will miss the start of next season due to surgery on both hips. Pastrnak has one more year on his contract at 6.6 Million dollars. With Marchand, and defensemen Charlie Mcavoy and Matt Grzelyck who both underwent shoulder surgery missing the start of next season it will be interesting what the Bruins do with Pastrnak.

They have three options when it comes to Pastrnak. Option one is extending one of the premier goal scorers in the NHL. Option two would be explore a trade for him right now and they could get a haul. Option three and is they hold onto him until the trade deadline next year and see where they are before making a determination. If I was Don Sweeny I would extend Pastrnak. But I also wouldn’t have fired Cassidy with what he dealt with injury wise this year. Even if rebuilding you center the rebuild around Pastrnak and Mcavoy. Either way there might be some changes Bruin in Boston.

Split Decision

By : Mike Rifkin

In what was one of the biggest series of the first half of the Major League Baseball season the Mets and Dodgers series lived up to they hype this weekend. The two best teams in the National League split a great four game series in Los Angeles. 

On Thursday Tony Gonsolin threw six shutout innings, lowering his ERA to 1.59 and the Dodgers got RBI base hits from Mookie Betts and Justin Turner in the 2-0 LA win. It was the first time the Mets were shutout this season and offensively they only had three hits. Taijuan Walker suffered his first loss of the season after giving up two runs in 5.2 innings pitched. 

Friday night the Dodgers got two run home runs from Cody Bellinger and Zach McKinstry off of Chris Bassitt in their 6-1 victory. Tyler Anderson threw six shutout innings to improve his record to 7-0. Bassit gave up four runs (three earned) in six innings striking out eight in the loss. 

Saturday the Mets got off to a good start with a Francisco Lindor home run in the first inning. The Dodgers responded with four in the second including three on a Mookie Betts double. But as the Mets have done all year they responded right away Marte and Lindor drove in runs before Pete Alonso hit his first of two home runs in the game. Eduardo Escobar added a home run in the Mets 9-4 win. Dodgers ace Walker Buehler got knocked around for five runs in 2.1 innings pitched. With two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning Mets starter David Peterson was facing Mookie Betts with a runner on second base and two outs, and after a foul ball Mets manager Buck Showalter pulled Peterson in favor of rookie Colin Holderman who wound up striking Betts out and was credited with the win. 

Sunday was another back and forth affair and is one of the best games of the first half of the season. The Dodgers got a Trea Turner two run home run in the first inning for the quick lead. The Mets got three runs in the eight inning to take a 4-2 lead. The Dodgers got a home run from Will Smith and a RBI single form Eddy Alvarez off of Seth Lugo to tie the game at four. In the tenth inning JD Davis hit an RBI Double to give the Mets the lead. In the bottom of the Tenth Adonis Medina a pitcher the Mets acquired from the Pirates in April was given the difficult task of going up against the top of the Dodgers lineup. He got Mookie Betts to fly out, Freddie Freeman to ground out, Trea Turner reached on catcher’s interference and he struck out Will Smith to secure the split. 

The resilience the Mets have shown to start this season cannot be understated. They could have folded after Lugo blew the save in the ninth inning but they just keep grinding and find ways to compete. And they competed with one of the best teams in baseball. 

In the series the Dodgers outscored the Mets 16-15. Pete Alonso hit .278 with three home runs and seven RBI.Mookie Betts hit.278 and drove in four runs for the Dodgers in the series. These two teams will play again at Citi Field August 30th – September 1st.

TWIW – This Week In Wrestling – 5/30/22 – 6/3/22

By Jeff Knapp

This biggest news story coming out of the world of wrestling must be the Sasha Banks and Naomi situation with the WWE. There are 3 sides to every story, side A, Side B and then the actual truth. As of this writing I haven’t seen any post from either Naomi or Sasha stating their sides of the story. We’ve seen releases from the WWE stating in a nutshell that both wrestlers were unhappy with the direction of their tag team story line and decided to leave the WWE Women’s tag belts with Johnny Laurinaitis and left the arena. I’m stating that from Side A and will wait on Side B’s end of the story. I refuse to pass judgment until the facts are in. 

Speaking of walking away, there are also rumors about MJF not being happy with AEW. This amazing performer lives his gimmick, so nobody really knows what’s happening, but if it has to do with money, all I can say is pay the man. There are only a handful of wrestlers that have my complete attention whenever they have a mic in their hand, and MJF is one of them. He has earned and deserves ever dollar he makes and wants.

Congratulation to Jeff Jarrett on his new role at Sr VP of WWE Live Events

Congratulations to NJPW wrestler, Okada, whose wife is expecting their 1st child. I wish them all the best and a happy and healthy baby.

According to reports, W. Morrissey is finished with Impact Wrestling after the 6/2 episode. Will he decide to resign, try his luck back with the WWE, sign with AEW / ROH or maybe Bill Corgan can actually sign him to the NWA? Hopefully we will find out sooner than later. This is the stuff that just drives me nuts with Impact. They get a name and they stay no longer than a year (Good Brothers and Moose are the exception)

After AEW’s Double or Nothing, one time Diamond Mine manager Stokely Hathaway and The Fallen Goddess, Athena (fka Ember Moon) are now All Elite. 

Andrade’s new business partner is former ROH World Champion, RUSH

Congratulations to CM Punk in becoming the new AEW World Champion over the weekend.

It looks as if Ace Austin of Impact Wrestling is the newest member of The Bullet Club. 

AEW – Double or Nothing PPV

This was an exciting wrestling show from start to finish. My only complaint is that it did go a bit long for my liking. It’s hard to stay up that late when you have to get up early the next morning for work, but other than that, top notch show.

Wardlow is now technically All Elite after defeating MFJ pretty easily and is no longer under contract to MJF.

Adam Cole & Britt Baker both won the Owen Hart Foundation men’s and women’s tournament by defeating Samoa Joe and Ruby Soho

Julia Hart joins the House of Black. She gets involved in the 6-man tag by spitting black mist in the eyes of PAC, allowing Malakai to get the 1-2-3.

In a 6-person mixed tag match Scorpio Sky, Ethan Page & Paige Van Zant defeated Sammy Guevara, Frankie Kazarian & Tay Conti. With this victory, neither Sammy or Kazarian can ever challenge Scorpio Sky for the TNT Championship ever again.

AEW Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa had her hardest fought victory on Sunday by defeating Serena Deeb. I’m a huge Thunder Rosa fan, so I’m pulling for her to keep the title for a long time.

In a wild match that was all over the arena, The Jericho Appreciation Society defeated Eddie Kingston, Santana, Ortiz & Blackpool Combat Club in the Anarchy In The Arena match when Jericho & Hager choked out Danielson to the point of ref stoppage when Brian passed out.

Finally in the main event, in a very emotional match, CM Punk defeated Adam Page to become the NEW AEW World Champion. I’m so excited for the next chapter for AEW with Punk as champion. 

All I can say is that next Sunday is the WWE Hell in a Cell PPV / Premium Live Event, and good luck with trying to out do what I just watched.

WWE – RAW

After getting attacked by Theory, Mustafa Ali gets the DQ win over Ciampa and becomes the #1 contender to the US Championship. Theory starts the match and quickly defeats the already hurt Ali. After the match, Pearce comes out and announces the Mr. McMahon has decided to make a rematch between the 2 men at Hell in a Cell this Sunday. 

Riddle & Shinsuke Nakamura became the new #1 contenders to the Tag Team Titles when they picked up a DQ victory over the current champions, The Uso, when Jimmy nailed Riddle with his scooter and got caught.

Yet another DQ finish.

Tozawa pins his ex-wife Tamina to become the new 24/7 champion. Horrible title, but the comedy of it can be entertaining at times, especially with R-Truth is involved.

After Liv Morgan gets an upset pinfall victory over Rhea Ripley, we find out that at Hell in a Cell, The Judgment Day will take on AJ Styles, Finn Bálor & Liv Morgan.

NXT

The NXT Tag Team Champions, Pretty Deadly continue to keep winning and retain their titles by defeating the Creed Brothers. Although they dress alike, just like tag teams should, I just can’t take them seriously. 

Speaking of the Creeds, if they don’t win the tag titles at IYH, they are out of Diamond Mine

Speaking of Champions, North American Champion Cameron Grimes narrowly defeated newcomer to NXT, Nathan Frazer.

During a sit-down meeting on Escobar’s yacht, there was a match made for “In Your House” LDF vs The Goombas (or whatever the faction is called) and with the winning team taking over and absorbing the other faction into their own. 

With Nakita Lyons out of action, we are still lucky enough to witness Electra Lopez

AEW – DYNAMITE

The action started off hot this week….again, with a 6 man tag between the NEW AEW World Champion, CM Punk and FTR vs The Ass Boys and Max Caster. 

Punk & FTR get the pinfall victory and after the match Punk talks about the AEW & NJPW Forbidden Door PPV that’s coming up on June 26th. He wants to know who he’s going to wrestle. Out comes the Ace, Hiroshi Tanahashi. Outside of Okada, this was the only other person from NJPW I wanted to see him face. 

After the break we get one of the greatest promos in a long time from MJF, who says this is Max Friedman talking, not MJF. In a nutshell, he is over performing and underpaid and underappreciated. Talks about how Khan needs to pay all the ex-WWE guys he’s bringing in. He is eventually censored, and his mic is cut off. 

He mentions that he’s a generational talent and I 100% believe that. Under no circumstance can Tony Khan let this man leave for the WWE in 2024 or even in 2034. I’m already cringing on how Vince would handcuff his mic work.

After that we follow things up with Johnny Elite issue an open challenge to anybody. This brings out the finally returning Miro “The Redeemer” who submits Johnny Elite.

We will get an Anarchy in the Arena rematch at Blood and Guts, but 1st there will be a hair vs hair match between Jericho and Ortiz

Dante Martin will face Scorpio Sky for the TNT Title this Friday on Rampage. Dante is an amazing talent, but that title looks great on Scorpio Sky

This week we also saw Toni Storm & Ruby Soho defeat Dr. Britt Baker & Jamie Hayter, who attacked Storm and Ruby after the match

Wardlow got served papers for a lawsuit

And in the main event, Jon Moxley defeated Daniel Garcia

IMPACT

June 19th is the next Impact PPV, Slammiversary and one of the biggest matches of the evening will be the Ultimate X match. This week we saw Kenny King defeat Blake Christian to secure his spot in the match

Rich Swann is back in championship gold, minus the stolen belt as the new Digital Media Champion and his 1st match as champion was against Matthew Rehwoldt. Some wrestlers are known as game changers, but Rehwoldt is known as a channel changer. This was the quietest I heard the crowd the entire night.

It’s revealed that The Good Brothers will challenge the Briscoe Brothers at Slammiversary for the Impact World Tag Team titles.

The main event of the evening saw Moose and Steve Maclin defeat W. Morrissey and PCO in what will be Morrissey’s last match in Impact. After the match Sami Callihan appeared and took out Moose. At Slammiversary, Moose will take on the Sami in his in ring return.

WWE – SMACKDOWN

Although the trio of Sheamus, Ridge Holland and Butch make a great team, the name the “Brawling Brutes” ranked up there with the worst names those in WWE “creative” can come up with. I don’t mind the idea of Butch being this loose cannon, almost like Yosemity Sam rootin’ tootin’ fighter.

Next week will be the first client of Maximum Male Clients with Max Dupree. I’ve always enjoyed Eli Drake / LA Knight / Max Dupree in the ring and if his in ring career isn’t going anywhere on the main roster, then please continue to give him the mic. He’s one of those who can hold my attention, and that’s what we need.

 Raquel Rodriguez, Shayna Baszler, Aliyah, Shotzi, Natalya, and Xia Li all fought to determine the new #1 contender to Ronda Rousey’s Smackdown Women’s championship. It now appears that Natalya will face Ronda at Hell in a Cell. All roads lead to Raquel being champion sooner than later, but in the meantime, we will see a very sound match between the queen of harts and the baddest woman on the planet. 

After a brief Corbin vs Moss match in which Corbin won via a DQ, but will get his hands on him one more time at HIAC in a No Holds Barred Match.

It’s also announced that next week that IC champion Ricochet will face Gunther. This will be interesting to see what the future plans for Gunther are. I’m sure that he will get the title next week or at the next “premium event” that face off against. It boggles my mind that the WWE has an amazing talent like Ricochet and they can’t get anything long term for him. 

Riddle and Nakamura get a tag team title shot only to have Nakamura get injured by the Usos. Riddle with a great comeback, but only to get distracted by Sami Zayn who had Roman’s music play. I love the fact they are putting obstacle after obstacle in front of Riddle. Will he and Shinsuke finally get the titles at HIAC, at a later date or will Riddle find a partner to reach the tag team mountain top, or will he have to wait for Randy to return? I’m leaning towards a returning Randy Orton. Possibly wait until Summer Slam.

AEW – RAMPAGE

AEW starts out once again with a ball of fire when we see the Young Bucks vs the Lucha Brothers. This was non-stop excitement, and as true heels, the bucks removed the mask from Penta, which in Lucha Libra is the ultimate act of disrespect.

Athena (FKA Ember Moon) has her 1st AEW match against Kiera Hogan. I’ll be honest, I was distracted by Kiera’s ring attire, which parts of it left little to the imagination, which I’m not complaining about. Since she left Impact, I want to see her get better week after week. 

The main event saw Scorpio Sky narrowly defeat the amazing high flying Dante Martin, who usually lands a day after he jumps. When it comes to the high flying, risk taking wrestlers he has to be at the top of most people’s list.

Although this show was solid from start to finish, it didn’t end without some heartbreaking news. AEW World Champion CM Punk came out and announced that he was injured and had to step away for a bit. I’m a huge Punk fan and after waiting 7 years for him to not only come back, but win a major championship, to then have this happen was a real blow to all his fans.

Next week on Dynamite there will be a battle royal where the winner will face Jon Moxley at the Forbidden Door PPV to crown an Interim AEW World Champion. 

The next question is, with Punk out, will there be somebody in AEW who will face Hiroshi Tanahashi?

Heavyweight Battle

By : Mike Rifkin

On Thursday night the two best teams in the National League will begin a four game series as the New York Mets will travel to Los Angeles to play the Dodgers. In 2021 The Dodgers took six of the seven meetings. 

The Mets are coming into LA hot, after sweeping a six game homestand against the Phillies and the Nationals. There aren’t many players on a better streak then Francisco Lindor. The reigning National League Player Of the Week has driven in a run in 10 consecutive game, making him only the second Met ever to do the feat along with Hall Of Famer Mike Piazza. Mets first baseman Pete Alonso is hitting .288 with four home runs and nine RBIs in his career against the Dodgers. . The Mets aren’t too reliant on the home run, they are more aggressive on the bases, stuff we have seen from the Dodgers in years past. 

The Dodgers are coming off getting swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Dodgers have been the best team in the National League over the years. Prior to last season they had won the NL West eight consecutive seasons. This offseason the Dodgers made a massive splash by signing First baseman Freddie Freeman from the Braves. Freeman is hitting .295 with four home runs and 30 RBIs. In his career against the Mets Freeman has a .305 batting average with 28 home runs and 115 RBIs. Shortstop Trea Turner who was traded from the Nationals at the trade deadline last season along with Max Scherzer who is now a Met has hit in 24 straight games. Turner is hitting .297 with 12 home runs and 36 RBI and 32 stolen bases against the Mets. For the season is hitting .297 with five home runs and 41 RBIs. Then there is Mookie Betts who has been red hot recently. Betts for the season is hitting .306 with 16 home runs and 35 RBIs. 

These two teams are in the top 15 in major league baseball in Batting Average and ERA. This series should still be solid even though three of the best pitchers in baseball will miss it. Jacob DeGrom and Max Scherzer for the Mets and Clayton Kershaw for the Dodgers. 

Pitching Matchups

Thursday : Taijuan Walker (3-0 2.83 ERA) vs Tony Gonsolin ( 5-0 1.80 ERA)

Friday : Chris Bassitt ( 4-2 3.66 ERA) vs Tyler Anderson (6-0 2.90 ERA)

Saturday : David Peterson (2-0 3.03 ERA) vs Walker Buehler (6-1 3.22 ERA)

Sunday : Trevor Williams (1-3 3.58 ERA) vs Julio Urias (3-5 2.89 ERA)

Rangers Vs Lightning : Eastern Conference Finals Preview

By: Mike Rifkin

On Wednesday night the New York Rangers will host the two time defending Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning in Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals. It will be the second time these two teams have played in the Eastern Conference Finals, the first being in 2015 which saw the Lightning win in seven games. Now the roles are reversed as the Rangers are the young, upstart team and the Lightning are looking to win their third consecutive Cup. 

During the regular season these two teams met three times and the Rangers won all three. The first meeting was on New Year’s Eve and saw the Rangers win 4-3 in a shootout with two goals from former Lightning player Barclay Goodrow. The second meeting was January second and Mika Zibanejad had a hat trick to lead the Rangers in a 4-0 win and Igor Shesterkin made 38 saves for the shutout. The third and final meeting was on March nineteenth and with 16 seconds left in the third period Zibanejad scored on a pass from Artemi Panarin on the power play to give the Rangers a 2-1 victory. Shesterkin made 28 saves on 29 shots. 

In the three games against the Lightning Shesterkin went 3-0 with a 1.30 Goals Against Average and .958 save percentage and Zibanejad had four goals to lead the Rangers. For the Lightning Andrei Vasilevskiy was 0-2 with a 3.03 GAA and a .875 save percentage in the three meetings. But Vasilevskiy has been incredible lately going 5-0 with a 0.80 Goals Against Average, .978 save percentage and one shutout in his last five games after a rocky start to his playoffs. Igor Shesterkin also struggled early in the playoffs but is 7-3 with a 2.09 Goals Against Average and .939 save percentage his last 10 starts. 

This series might come down to which team’s trade deadline acquisitions will be better. For the Lightning Nick Paul who was acquired from the Ottawa Senators has six points in 11 games including two goals in game seven vs the Maple Leafs. Paul has stepped up in a big way defensively as well. Brandon Hagel who was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks has a goal and three assists in 11 games brings speed, and an aggressive forecheck to the bottom six of the Lightning. For the Rangers Andrew Copp who was acquired from the Winnipeg Jets is third on the team in scoring with 12 points in 14 games has also helped on Penalty Kill and is out there in defensive situations. Frank Vatrano who was acquired from the Florida Panthers has three goals in fourteen games, but he can shoot the puck with the best of them, if he gets hot it could help the Rangers offensively. 

The ultimate X factor for game one could be how the Lightning look. They haven’t played in nine days since sweeping the President’s Trophy winning and in state rival Florida Panthers. The Rangers are coming off another game seven win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday. If Tampa isn’t sharp early the Rangers need to take advantage.

WHY PLAYERS YOUNG AND OLD CAN TAKE A LESSON FROM BRANDON NIMMO

By Mark Halpern

Baseball is kind of like a game of chess. First, you move your pawns to set up your front and out-think your opponent to win the game. In Baseball, it is crucial to have this plan of attack, but, in today’s game, lately, more players than not try to think they are more significant than the game and try to be the all mighty piece the “Queen” (the most valueable piece in the game) and try and control the game themselves.

   A friend of mine sent me a video of Anthony Siegler of the Hudson Valley Renegades; he hit a long fly ball to left field and he thought it was out of the park and started his home run trot. When he realized the ball had hit the wall and bounced off it, he turned on the jets only to be thrown out at second and ended the game. I know where he ranks in the Yankee organization, but this Primadonna attitude of thinking, I’m a big man, look what I did, and now he made the Renegades coaching staff look dumb.

    Brandon Nimmo is the starting centerfielder for the New York Mets, and he has the biggest smile, whether he is in the field or at the plate. Whether it is a hit, a double, a triple, or even better, a home run or just a plain-out, Brandon Nimmo is running full speed. He has cemented himself into the Mets lineup not just by being a good ballplayer but, his intensity on the field and at the plate is the best in MLB.

     If coaches would teach Nimmo’s mentality (I am not saying other players don’t do the same), I think they will be more prepared for the major leagues. Yes, we see Major Leaguers when they hit a no doubter and throw the bat, and trot around the bases. However, these no doubters are 450ft or longer. Today’s minor leaguers need to be taught the Nimmo effect; I believe that runs will increase and more games will be won. That is how the old man sees it.

Lightning Vs Panthers : Inside The Series

By: Mike Rifkin

The Tampa Bay Lightning’s quest for a third consecutive Stanley Cup will continue after sweeping the President Trophy winning and in state rival Florida Panthers on Monday. Trophy winning and in state rival Florida Panthers in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

In Game One the story was special teams as the Lightning went 3-6 on the power play and the Panthers were 0-3. The other major story in game one and was a story throughout was the play of Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy who made 33 saves in a 4-1 Lightning win. 

In Game Two  Vasilevskiy made 35 saves and with less than four seconds left in regulation Ross Colton scored the game winning goal for Tampa to win 2-1. 

In Game Three the stars came to play for Tampa Bay. Vasilevskiy was sensational with 34 saves, Nikita Kucherov had a goal and three assists, and Captain Steven Stamkos had two goals in a 5-1 Lightning win. 

In Game Four Vasilevskiy made 49 saves and Pat Maroon who is searching for his fourth consecutive Stanley Cup scored the game winning goal  in a 2-0 win. Vasilevskiy in his last seven clinching games Vasilevskiy has a .995 save percentage and 0.14 Goals Against Average with SIX shutouts. In Vasilevskiy’s last five games he has given up one goal or less and made at least 30 saves.

We can talk about how great  the other Lightning stars in Kucherov, Victor Hedman and Steven Stamkos and they are tremendous but this team has everyone step up. In game seven against the Leafs Nick Paul had two goals. Ross Colton, who scored the Cup clinching goal last season against the Canadiens scored a big goal in this series to give the Lightning a win. Corey Perry who the last two seasons has lost to the Lightning in the Stanley Cup Finals has five goals in the playoffs including three against the Panthers. 

The one thing more people need to talk about is the Lightning swept the Panthers without Brayden Point who got hurt in game seven vs the Leafs and didn’t play in this series. We don’t know his status going forward but the time off could help him recover in time for the Conference Finals where the Lightning will play either the Hurricanes or Rangers to see if they will play for a third consecutive Stanley Cup. 

Extending Brandon Nimmo

By Mark Halpern and Mike Rifkin

The New York Mets currently sit in first place in the National League East. One of the things the Mets had going for them going into the offseason was that they had figured out part of their core going forward However there is a player who has the greatest smile and not matter what the situation is he is busting it out of the box after a hit, charging hard from center field or after being walked doesn’t, walk, does not trot but, he runs to the bag. We are talking about Brandon NImmo. The burning question on the minds of Mets fans is when are they going to extend Nimmo? Nimmo didn’t want it to cause a distraction after the lockout and is committed to sitting with the Mets hierarchy and trying to work out a deal before the end of the season.

      Brandon Nimmo, who was the Mets first round pick in 2011 (13th overall). Nimmo will be a free agent after the season. In 38 games so far this year Nimmo has a slash line of .293/.390/.450. In his career Nimmo’s slash line is .269/.392/.446. Nimmo isn’t a power hitter, but he gets on base and in today’s game that is what’s important because small ball is still a big part of Showalter’s knowledge. Nimmo runs everything out which helped the Mets in their 2-0 win on Sunday in Colorado. On a base hit to right field the ball wasn’t handled by the right fielder and Nimmo wound up on third base and scored the go ahead run on a base hit by Francisco Lindor. Now if Nimmo wasn’t hustling he doesn’t get to third base and who knows what the outcome of the game would be.

Nimmo also has turned himself into an average to above average Center Fielder. Last season Nimmo had four defensive runs saved, and when the Mets signed Starling Marte to a four year 78 million dollar contract during the offseason everyone thought Marte would play Center and Nimmo would be bumped to a corner and that has not been the case. Starling Marte has had experience in right field and has had a good season and this has made it easy to leave Nimmo where he feels most comfortable.

. The question becomes what is he worth? As one of the best lead off hitters in the game and getting to be even better in the field I am thinking a 7 year 75mil (10.75 mil a year) could get it done but the number could be higher. Just because he isn’t a 30 Home Run, 100 RBI, or 30 stolen bases doesn’t mean he doesn’t make it up in other ways. Two elite center fielders signed massive contracts the last two offseasons. George Springer signed a six year 150 million dollar deal with the Blue Jays last offseason. Springer had been a big reason for the success of the Houston Astros over the past few seasons before signing with Toronto. Byron Buxton signed a seven year 100 million dollar deal with the Twins this offseason. Buxton, a former number one overall pick has had a hard time staying healthy throughout his career, but when healthy he is a very dynamic player. If the Mets want to re-sign Nimmo these are two contracts to look at because they could give him the Springer six years and Buxton’s 100 million. Brandon’s power numbers are not even close to what these two superstars are. Nimmo is loved not just by his teammate,  but by all the fans as well. Fans love Nimmo’s enthusiasm on the field and his hard work. 

    The Mets have a great thing going here and this team is committed to a “Never Quit” attitude. Nimmo is one of these players who can get a team hyped. His love of the game should make him a prominent Met for years to come.