Links, News, and Notes: Latvia Mania, Gold for Canada, Stars Still Alive, and more

The Dallas Stars are hanging onto a thread but keeping their playoff hopes alive. The last LNN before we head into the final round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs!

• Latvia won a thrilling game against the United States in the World Championships, 4-3 in overtime. The win gave Latvia their first-ever medal (bronze) at any international hockey tournament. The scenes in Tampere, Finland were incredible, as Latvian fans were so proud of their country defeating a hockey behemoth. This is why international hockey matters, as smaller countries like Latvia have these amazing moments and they really build interest. Of course, we are still missing a true best-on-best tournament in hockey.
• In what was hilariously less interesting news, Canada and head coach DJ Smith won gold on Sunday as they defeated Germany 5-2. Sammy Blais scored twice in the final, including the game-winner early in the third period to make it 3-2. Blais finished tied for first (with Lawson Crouse) on the team with 6 goals, and Mackenzie Weegar was first (tied for fourth overall) in points with 11 in 10 games. Just like with Latvia, it's great to see a team like Germany get silver because let's face it: besides the players themselves, it means 1000 times more to Germans than it does to Canadians.
• As previously mentioned, the Dallas Stars have now won two in a row and are halfway to completing an incredible comeback. Ty Dellandrea was the hero as he scored twice in a 1:27 span in the third period. They're still down 3-2 in the series, but Game Six will be in Dallas, and all of a sudden it seems possible for them to beat Vegas. We've only seen four teams ever come back from 3-0 down in a series, although two of them have happened in the past 14 seasons: Philadelphia over Boston in 2010, and Los Angeles over San Jose in 2014. It's possible!
• Despite the Conference Finals not being completed, the NHL has announced the Cup Finals schedule, with it starting on Saturday, June 3rd, and finishing as late as Monday, June 19th.
• Elliotte Friedman reports that the New York Rangers could be announcing Peter Laviolette as their new head coach this week. The Sportsnet staff also has other coaching updates for Calgary, Nashville, Washington, and Columbus, with the Blue Jackets being connected to a fascinating name...Patrick Roy.
• I'm sure every Ottawa Senators fan is incredibly sick and tired of how long this ownership saga has gone on. Every update says something to the effect of "it could be announced later this week or next week," and next week comes, then...nothing. Ian Mendes shared some thoughts on Friday about where things sit, although it's still a guessing game for many people involved. Bruce Garrioch also noted that the sale should be announced (you guessed it!) at the end of this week, as Anna and Olivia Melnyk have been meeting with the prospective owners. Garrioch notes that Neko Sparks might be out.
• Three games have been completed at the CHL Memorial Cup, although they haven't exactly been interesting affairs. The Quebec Remparts beat the Kamloops Blazers 8-3 on Friday, the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Peterborough Petes 6-3 on Saturday, and the Blazers beat the Petes 10-2 on Sunday. That means the Petes are hanging on for dear life, while the Remparts and Thunderbirds are in the driver's seat for the top position and a bye to the final. The 2nd and 3rd seeds will face off in a semi-final battle with the winner playing the top seed this coming Sunday at 7:00 EST.
• The Blazers' Logan Stankoven already has 8 points in 2 Memorial Cup games. The Stars took him 47th overall in 2021 and has since put up 262 points in 138 regular season/playoff games in the WHL. Talk about a steal.
• Every year, there are many drafted players who have their team rights expire on June 1st if they have not signed an ELC, thus becoming free agents (or they can re-enter the draft in certain circumstances). Here is a list of all the players who are at risk of losing their team affiliation, with the Senators having three: Ben Roger (2nd, 2021), Carson Latimer (4th, 2021), and Chandler Romeo (7th, 2021). It's a pretty big miss to have three players on this list, especially all from the same draft including a 2nd rounder and a player they traded up for (Latimer). I'm going to pretend the 2021 draft never happened.
• Michael Russo of the Athletic details how Matthew Tkachuk's legend keeps growing throughout these playoffs ($). He seems like the perfect marketable hockey star, just like his brother Brady is. Every year, I feel more and more blessed to have Brady around, and I am confident he can be just as impactful as Matthew is this year. It was great to see Matthew talking with the NBA on TNT panel too, because if NBA fans are going to turn into hockey fans, it'll be due to players and personalities like him, not someone like Connor McDavid—who, no offense, doesn't ever show much personality.