[dannibalcorpse]

The playoffs this year were a wild ride - upsets and new contenders emerging from each round up through the Stanley Cup Final itself! In the first round, we saw the lower seeded Senators sweep the Hurricanes, and the wild-card Washington Capitals start their quest for a second Stanley Cup by beating the Sabres in 5 games. Tampa beat Montreal in 5, and the Rangers dispatched the Flyers in 6 games. In the West, Chicago made easy work of St. Louis in a four game sweep, the Coyotes pull a surprising sweep of the Sharks, the Predators closing out the Stars in 5 games, and Edmonton needing the full 7 games to eliminate Anaheim.

The Conference Semifinals saw several big upsets - the Senators continued a strong run by beating out the Rangers in 7, while the Lightning pushed out the Capitals in 5. Over in the West, Arizona continued their hot streak by sweeping the Oilers, while Nashville pulled out a minor upset by beating the reigning champions Chicago in Game 7 at the United Center. Leading into the Conference Finals, everything was up in the air - no division winners had made it through to the final four! Nashville finally put a stop to the bulldozing Coyotes, closing them out in a 6 game series, while Tampa prevailed in 7 against the Senators.

The Stanley Cup Final was here - with the upstart Tampa Bay Lightning riding a strong team game into the matchup with Nashville, being led by Art Ross & Rocket Richard Trophy winner Filip Forsberg and the hot goaltending of Antti Raanta. The Final went the full 7, with Tampa lifting the Cup after a 6-3 win in the final game. Victor Hedman won the Conn Smythe Trophy, scoring 3 goals and 10 assists in 21 playoff games, and being an intimidating defensive presence leading the Lightning to their second Stanley Cup in team history!

In the midst of all this were the IIHF World Championships, inviting the best available players to the Ondrej Nepala Arena in Slovakia for international supremacy. The Golden Knights were proud to send 9 players to the Worlds: Mikko Koskinen and Julius Honka represented Finland, Dennis Seidenberg played for Germany, Ondrej Palat skated with the Czech Republic, Oliver Bjorkstrand went over with Denmark, and Adam Ruzicka played with the hometown Slovakian team. Lastly, there were three Knights on Team USA: Kevin Shattenkirk, Jordan Greenway, and Tyler Johnson. Sweden beat the Czech Republic in the championship game, while the US prevailed in the 3rd-place game. Palat had a splendid time in the Worlds, scoring 2 goals and 8 assists in 10 games played; Kevin Shattenkirk also excelled with a 2-7-9 line in 9 games played, and an impressive +12 in that short sample size.

With the playoffs now done, the league handed out its awards for the best of the best in the 2018-19 season. In addition to those already reported, there were some surprises: Erik Karlsson took home the Hart Trophy on the back of an impressive 21-54-75 line for the resurgent Senators. With Karlsson getting the Hart, it was a shock to many to learn that Aaron Ekblad had scored his first Norris Trophy win - Ekblad (9-43-52) was regarded as one of the best two-way defenders this year, but many felt it odd that Karlsson didn’t win both. The Calder went to 23 year old Artur Lauta, fresh from the KHL, for his impressive 32-26-58 line for the Stars. The Selke was one of the tightest votes of the year, with Jonathan Toews narrowly beating out Patrice Bergeron to win it this year. Corey Crawford, as pretty much expected, took home the Vezina and Jennings Trophies, with Robin Lehner getting the Saving Grace Award and keeping Crawford from sweeping the goalie awards. Lastly, GM John Tucker became the second rookie GM to take home GM Of The Year honors, stepping in for the retired David Poile and helping the Predators to within a game of their first Stanley Cup.

With all the trophies handed out, Tucker and his fellow GMs will turn their attention to the draft next week, and free agency after that. July 1st is just around the corner, with all the hoopla it brings, and it’s sure to be another crazy offseason in the NHL!