If you didn't spend six hours last night following the Utica Comets 2-1 loss in quadruple overtime to the Oklahoma City Barons in Game 1 of their playoff series, here's the short version:
Jacob Markstrom made 65 saves before Curtis Hamilton finally put the winning goal past him, 16 seconds into the fourth overtime period. The game was the sixth-longest in AHL history—and the two teams play again tonight before flying to Oklahoma City for the next three games.
Click here for the Comets' playoff notebook, though there probably won't be many updates through the day. For obvious reasons, there will be no morning skate.
Writer Mark Caswell notes that winger Darren Archibald left Game 1 with an injury in the second period but did stay in the building, so his status for tonight is uncertain. Alexandre Grenier and Bobby Sanguinetti suffered from cramping due to the long game but should be fine to play tonight once they're properly rehydrated.
Do the back-to-backs mean some roster changes for the Comets? Will Joacim Ericsson get the nod in net after the busiest night of Markstrom's career?
Up front, Caswell says "I’m going to guess you’ll see Nicklas Jensen before you see Virtanen or LaBate. Other moves, who knows. Green could take the option to rotate in some fresh legs with Eriksson, Andersson, Pedan, Virtanen and McCann."
Ever the scout, guess who watched last night's game?
Puck drop tonight is once again at 4 p.m., with the live broadcast locally on TSN1410.
Cole Cassels Leads Oshawa Generals in OHL Final Tonight
Also out east tonight, captain Cole Cassels will lead his Oshawa Generals as the OHL Final gets underway against Connor McDavid's Erie Otters tonight.
McDavid was able to get the best of Canucks prospect Jared McCann and the Soo Greyhounds in the last round and leads the OHL playoffs with a jaw-dropping 42 points in 15 games, so it'll be a tough test for Cassels and his crew.
The Generals are led offensively by Michael Dal Colle, who has 25 points in 16 games. Cassels ranks fifth in OHL playoff scoring with 19 points.
Game time for Game 1 is at 4:35 p.m. tonight.
Penticton Vees to Compete for RBC Cup This Weekend
To conclude our trip around the playoff world today, a shout-out by request from VanHockeyGuy for the Junior A Penticton Vees of the BCHL. They're in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba competing for the national championship, the RBC Cup—which they won in 2012.
The Vees had the BCHL's best record this season and have already captured the Western Canada Cup.
Here's the lineup for the RBC Cup tournament:
Games get underway on Saturday.
Babcock Gets Permission to Talk
One other big bit of news this morning. Though his contract with the Red Wings doesn't expire until June 30th, coach Mike Babcock has been granted permission to talk to over teams over the next few weeks, according to
this story at NHL.com.
Babcock and Red Wings general manager Ken Holland are both headed to the World Championships in Prague separately this weekend.
It's a brave move by Holland, who's letting Babcock explore his options but hoping that he'll still choose to re-sign in Detroit. Will it make Babcock feel even more loyal to a team that has treated him very well over the years?
Also worth noting—Holland is *not* granting permission for teams to talk to Jeff Blashill, the head coach of the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins. Blashill is almost certainly first in line for the Red Wings job if Babcock does decide to leave.
It'll be interesting to see where the chips fall. As I've said before, Babcock will have to make a decision before the other vacant coaching positions get filled this summer.
Is Minnesota back in the coaching (and goaltending) market after being swept from the playoffs by Chicago last night?
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