Your savory breakfast links:
- The Bears once again failed to close things out, this time via an ugly 5-1 loss in Game 5 that sends them back to Hershey up 3-2 in the series. [TheAHL, PennLive, Fox43, Cleveland.com, THN]
- Hershey has suffered some injuries in this series, putting the tight-knit team’s depth to the test. [The AHL]
- Gary Bettman gave his annual “State of the League” update ahead of last night’s Stanley Cup Final opener in Florida, and here were some of the big hitters:
- The 4 Nations Face-Off is officially a go, with games between the US, Canada, Sweden, and Finland to be held in Montreal and Boston next February. [NHL]
- The salary cap is going up by $4.5 million next season, to $88 million. [NHL]
- The NHL is partnering with the V Foundation to donate $2.9 million to cancer research. [NHL]
- The NHL scouting combine took place this weekend in Buffalo, and here are some takeaways from the first look at this year’s draft class. [NHL]
- Taking a peek at another option for the Caps at #17. [THW]
- The hockey world may be obsessed with Alex Ovechkin’s chase for Gretzky’s record, but the Caps’ captain would happily take another Cup over catching the Great One. [THN]
- Does Ovechkin have another 50-goal campaign in him? [S&S]
- Two moves the Capitals have to make this offseason. [CP]