Your savory breakfast links:
- Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Dmitry Orlov will look to shake off their disappointment by representing Russia at the World Championships. [WaPo, AP]
- As for the Swedes, Nicklas Backstrom and an injured (oh?) Marcus Johansson will sit out the tournament, but Andre Burakovsky is a tentative addition for the Tre Kronor. [Expressen]
- A few final notes on the final game of the season. [Dump ‘n Chase, CSNMA, Post-Gazette, Pensblog]
- If you can stomach it, feel free to relive the overtime winner… or just shove glass under your fingernails. Same effect. [Pensburgh]
- This loss means that Ovechkin is once again left to ponder what could have been. [Reuters, Philly.com]
- But everyone should probably stop pitting him against Sidney Crosby. Not because Crosby won – because it’s dumb. Hear, hear! [Vice]
- In Ovi we trust. Always. [FiCP]
- Oh the Ovechkin narratives. [THW]
- He actually showed up against Pittsburgh, but this series was a good example overall of how star players – on both sides – get shut down come playoff time. [CBS Sports]
- Predicting the future for Michael Latta, who becomes a restricted free agent this summer. [NoVa Caps]
- Why were they eliminated? Let us count the ways. Fun. [WaPo, CSNMA, NHL.com, The Score]
- It may not have been the biggest reason, but the loss of Karl Alzner to injury certainly didn’t help matters in Game 6. [WaPo]
- Neither did the series-long disappearing act performed by Kuznetsov, one of a handful of budding stars to have a less than impressive postseason. [THW]
- New year, same questions. [NHL.com, WaPo]
- But don’t call it a choke job. [WaPo, StarsandSticks]
- Earlier this year, GM Brian MacLellan stated that he felt the team had a two-year window. It’s down to one. [CSNMA]
- Another second-round exit might mean that there’s something in need of fixing – in this case, though, there’s not a whole lot to fix. [WaPo (and again)]
- In fact, there’s hope. Hope, damn it! [THN, SI, NBC4]
- The ending was another heartbreaker, but that was still a hell of a season. Don’t overlook that. [FtF, THW]
- That it ended in Round 2 against the #2 seed is, once again, that stupid – and unfair? – playoff format. [CSNMA]
- Also a reminder (not that anyone needed one) that winning the Stanley Cup is not easy. [WashTimes]
- In fact, some of the best regular-season teams in recent memory have bowed out before doing so. [AP]
- Craig Laughlin took time to hang out with some fans and raise money for charity on Tuesday night. Good man. [Caps Outsider]
- The Hershey Bears have taken a 3-2 series lead over the WBS Penguins thanks to a feisty 5-3 win last night. [ABC27, Sentinel, LD News, Times-Tribune, Lancaster Online]
- And congrats to the Stingrays, who defeated Adirondack in double OT last night to advance to the Eastern Conference Final… against, amazingly, the Penguins’ ECHL affiliate. [ECHL, CBS6]
WATCH:@Joedev_22‘s OT heroics earned us a Game 7 win and a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals! #BACK4MORE pic.twitter.com/mEmyVap8nI
— SC Stingrays (@SCStingrays) May 12, 2016
- Finally, happy 57th birthday to Dave Christian.