Blackhawks Daily: Craig Berube Hired By Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs finally made their coaching hire. Just a couple of weeks after firing Sheldon Keefe, they hired Craig Berube to be the 41st coach in franchise history. He will try and bring his tough-guy attitude to a Maple Leafs team that is often referred to as soft and underachieving.

Berube resurrected a St. Louis Blues team to guide them to its first Stanley Cup back in 2019. Can he do the same with a Maple Leafs team with just one series win since 2004?

The second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs are just about wrapped up, too.  On Thursday, the New York Rangers advanced by beating the Carolina Hurricanes.

In Game Six last night, the Boston Bruins had a chance to force Game Seven against the Florida Panthers. They took a 1-0 lead in the game but Florida scored twice to come back and take the game and the series.

Later, the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche played Game Six as well. Colorado went up 1-0 when Mikko Rantanen scored on a perfect power-play shot. In the third period, however, Jamie Benn tied it up at one.

Eventually, the game went to overtime. Tensions were high as a Dallas goal would send them onto the Western Conference Finals while a Colorado goal would force a winner-take-all game seven.

One overtime wasn’t enough. It took double overtime for the Dallas Stars to finally win the series. Matt Duchene scored the winner after he was in the middle of a bad no-goal call due to goaltender interference.

Now, we know that the New York Rangers will face the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Stars await the winner of the Vancouver Canucks vs Edmonton Oilers series which will have Game Six on Saturday night. Vancouver leads it 3-2 going in.

This isn’t the only exciting stuff going on in the world of hockey. The PWHL Finals are officially set. Hilary Knight and PWHL Boston are going to take on Kendall Coyne Schofield and PWHL Minnesota. The two biggest hockey markets in the USA are coming together for a chance at history in this series. Who will be the first-ever PWHL champion?

Blackhawks In Case You Missed It

A look at the full 82-game comparison between the Blackhawks and Sidney Crosby’s 2005-06 Pittsburgh Penguins. The results are similar and now, what can Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks learn from it?

 Would the Chicago Blackhawks trade out of pick 20 if it means Mitch Marner is coming to town? 

The Chicago Blackhawks have another lawsuit being filed against them.  

The Chicago Blackhawks may have another good player to keep around in Landon Slaggert. 

Hockey Now Network

Boston Hockey Now: The Boston Bruins have been eliminated from postseason contention.

Florida Hockey Now: The Florida Panthers are headed back to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second year in a row.

Philly Hockey Now: The Philadelphia Flyers might see their top goalie prospect return to the KHL