Blackhawks Daily: Masterton Nominees; Maple Leafs Survive

The National Hockey League announced the nominees for the Bill Masterton Trophy on Thursday. That award goes annually to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. In the playoffs, the Toronto Maple Leafs live to see another day.

This year’s nominees are Frederik Andersen of the Carolina Hurricanes, Connor Ingram of the Arizona Coyotes, and Oliver Kylington of the Calgary Flames.

All three were away from the game at one point because of different things but fought their way back into being impact players in the league. All of them deserve to win the award.

Meanwhile, the Stanley Cup Playoffs only featured one game on Thursday night. That, of course, was game six between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Bruins had a 3-1 series lead but then lost game five, forcing this game six. For the second straight game, the Leafs didn’t have Auston Matthews in the lineup. It was also the second straight game with Joseph Woll in the net.

It worked out well for the Leafs again as they won the game 2-1. William Nylander, who missed the first three games of this season despite playing in all 82 regular season games, scored twice in this game. He played the biggest role (amongst skaters) in the Leafs getting this win.

There will be yet another game seven between Boston and Toronto. It should be a must-see TV for all hockey fans as these old Original Six rivals are going to have an incredible game with everything on the line.

Either Boston is going to choke a 3-1 series lead for the second year in a row or Toronto is going to lose a 4th straight game seven in Boston (2013, 2018, 2019). Matchups like this are why hockey is the greatest sport in the world.

Blackhawks In Case You Missed It

• The Chicago Blackhawks could make some big moves during the off-season. Some trades could be made using draft picks.
• Jayson Megna helped this wounded Chicago Blackhawks team by eating some minutes throughout the season.
• Philipp Kurashev was incredible for the Chicago Blackhawks this season. He played a great bottom-six role for this team.

Hockey Now Playoff Focus

• Florida Hockey Now: The Florida Panthers have Spencer Knight back with them now after this latest recall.
• Vegas Hockey Now: The Vegas Golden Knights need Alex Pietrangelo to be a difference-maker in game six.
• Nashville Hockey Now: In the middle of their playoff run, Nashville Predators captain Roman Josi was nominated for the Norris Trophy.