Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning goes tonight in Tampa, with the series tied at 2-2.
Anything could still happen—especially with the uncertainty surrounding Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop, who is taking today's morning skate.
Ex-Canuck defenseman Jason Garrison, cast aside last summer (because he didn't have a no-trade clause?) is now two games away from joining ex-Canuck defenseman Willie Mitchell as a Stanley Cup winner.
Garrison has been blogging his Cup experience for NHL.com. In his
latest post, he talks about having his family from Vancouver come in for today's game and how he may not be able to acquire enough tickets to go around.
Though Garrison says he often likes to switch off from hockey when he's away from the rink, he doesn't mind discussing the game and answering questions from family members.
And yes, they talk to me about my beard. I don't think I go a day now without talking about my beard.
They're great. They're fans of the game and they want to be involved. They love it and they're having a ton of fun now. It's exciting for me to see them have that fun and be a part of it. It's a pretty cool experience.
Game 5 goes at 5 p.m. PT today—on CBC and back on the NBC national network from the U.S.
An hour earlier, the Utica Comets will start their fight to stay alive in the Calder Cup Finals after dropping a 6-3 decision to Manchester on Friday night.
It was a rough night all around for Utica. Once again, they were badly outshot in the first period—this time 16-9, and got in an early 2-0 hole after two bad giveaways led to unassisted goals by Manchester's Sean Backman and Nic Dowd.
The Comets got those goals back—on a point blast from Frank Corrado for his first of the playoffs and a power-play goal from Sven Baertschi—and escaped the opening frame feeling fortunate to be tied 2-2. But Manchester cranked up the intensity in the middle frame with three unanswered goals, two of them on the power play and the third with just 11 seconds to go in the period.
As great as he has been for most of the playoffs, Jacob Markstrom was pulled when Adrian Kempe made the score 6-2 at the 6:27 mark of the third period. Markstrom allowed six goals on 33 shots, outduelled by Manchester's rookie backup Patrik Bartosak, and was pulled for just the second time in the playoffs. Joacim Ericsson has played a grand total of 31 minutes in the entire postseason, and faced just seven shots.
Looking forward, Comets play-by-play man Brendan Burke has found a reason for hope. Throughout the playoffs, the Comets have been terrible in Game 4s, but perfect in Game 5s:
Hopefully they'll scare up a win tonight to end their run in front of their home fans on a positive note.
The game doesn't start until 7 p.m. local time (4 p.m. Pacific) but the tailgate party was underway in Utica first thing this morning!
Though Jake Virtanen missed his second straight game on Friday due to illness, he did get a nice feature story on NHL.com.
No word yet on whether or not Virtanen will suit up tonight.
This could be our last chance this year to watch the Canucks prospects. Go to
AHLlive.com to watch the livestream for free today, starting at 4 p.m.
To wrap up today, a quick note about Kevin Bieksa.
There was some discussion yesterday about this Tweet:
This is interesting because it comes from a St. Louis-based reporter, who's currently at the Stanley Cup Final. Andy Strickland would likely have heard something from the Blues camp or from someone else around the playoffs to have bothered Tweeting this out.
Would Bieksa waive for St. Louis? The Blues are a perennial top team that can't get it done in the playoffs. It would make some sense from a hockey standpoint.
I was tempted to dismiss David Staples'
article in the
Edmonton Journal, suggesting that Bieksa could be a good fit on their blue line, but maybe the idea's not so crazy.
I haven't quite adjusted to the idea that the Oilers should be a team on the upswing with the arrival of Todd McLellan and Connor McDavid. Bieksa could have a chance to play a similar role to what Willie Mitchell did in Florida this season, bringing some grit and experience to back up a group of youngsters looking to grow. Additionally, we have the pre-existing relationship between former co-workers Jim Benning and Peter Chiarelli, which could help to grease the wheels on a deal.
If it's true that Bieksa wants a contract extension, I imagine that'd mean that the details of a new deal with his new club would be hashed out before the trade is made. If he is willing to move once, I bet he wants assurance that he won't be on the move again in six months.
Hopefully this is a concrete sign that there is interest in Bieksa in the marketplace. If that's the case, it drastically increases the chances that the player will be offered a situation that he's comfortable accepting, and that the Canucks will receive a decent return.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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