Capitals capping the Bolts
Columnist looks at NHL playoffs, Maple Leafs’ new GM
The Tampa Bay Lightning made quick work of the New Jersey Devils and Boston Bruins in the first two rounds of the 2018 NHL playoffs. They weren’t expected to have much trouble with the Washington Capitals in the Eastern Conference Final.
Instead, Washington shocked Tampa Bay with lopsided victories in the opening two games. The Capitals’ best players - forwards Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov, defenceman John Carlson and goaltender Braden Holtby - dominated the Lightning. They also got plenty of support from secondary scorers such as Lars Eller, Jakub Vrana and Tom Wilson.
While the Capitals outhustled and outplayed the Lightning, the latter looked nothing like a Stanley Cup contender. They had difficulty containing Washington’s forecheck, starting goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy looked shaky and they struggled on the penalty kill and in the faceoff circle.
The Lightning now face adversity for the first time in the 2018 playoffs. As the series shifts to Washington for Games 3 and 4, their championship dreams are in danger of derailment.
A Knightly conundrum
The Vegas Golden Knights got off to a sputtering start against the Winnipeg Jets in their Western Conference Final, dropping Game 1 by a score of 4-2.
A lengthy layoff between series contributed to their opening game defeat. While the Jets had dispatched the Nashville Predators from the second round only two days prior, the Golden Knights had waited a week to meet their next opponent.
Golden Knights head coach Gerard Gallant and his staff also have some problem areas to address. They’re the lowest-scoring team among the conference finalists and the second-most penalized. Their faceoff percentage (46.6) is among this postseason’s worst.
It shouldn’t take long for the Golden Knights to shake off the rust from their long layoff. But if they don’t fix those weak points, their amazing inaugural season could quickly come to an end.
Dubas, Dubas, he’s our man….
The Toronto Maple Leafs last week announced Kyle Dubas would take over as their new general manager. He spent the past four seasons as one of the Leafs assistant general managers.
In a league dominated by former players in management roles, the 32-year-old Dubas is the rare executive who never played the game at any professional level. He takes over a promising roster in the world’s largest hockey market with a fan base impatiently awaiting an end to their five-decade championship drought.
Already there’s speculation Dubas might target New York Islanders superstar John Tavares with a one-year contract worth a league maximum $16 million. Perhaps he’ll target other teams’ top restricted free agents with offer sheets. Maybe he’ll swing a blockbuster trade to shore up the Leafs’ porous defence.
Dubas will face pressure from fans and pundits to make a big splash this summer. But after spending four seasons in the Leafs front office getting the feel of management at the bigleague level, he could for now stick to more conventional, affordable moves.