Colorado College announced yesterday that the parents of Scott Winkler have established a charitable site in honor of their late son, to benefit Norges Toppidrettsgymnas, a Norwegian athletic academy for which Scott had a great fondness.
Winkler, a Dallas Stars draft pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, passed away last week unexpectedly at his parent’s home. No cause of death has been determined, but suicide and foul play have been ruled out, per law enforcement sources in his home town of Asker.
For more information on the Winkler’s charitable efforts, follow this link to [Colorado College Athletics].
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The Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks played another overtime thriller last night, albeit a relatively short one. In one of the most entertaining and high scoring games of the playoffs, each goaltender looked pedestrian and mortal for the first time in this series.
Each team traded blows to a 5-5 stalemate after sixty minutes, but Chicago’s Brent Seabrook would break the tie and win the game halfway into the first overtime period. The series is now tied two games apiece, and will head back to Chicago for Game Five on Saturday night. [TSN]
The Boston Globe isn’t overly hard on Tuukka Rask, still considered to be the front runner for the Conn Smythe Trophy, after allowing six goals in the loss to Chicago on Wednesday night. Rask allowed as many goals in that single game than he had in the four previous tilts combined. [Boston.com]
Marian Hossa, who missed Game Three with an undisclosed upper-body injury sustained during warm-ups, has come under some fire from former Blackhawks star Tony Amonte, who said that Hossa’s pain threshold isn’t among the sport’s best. Hossa isn’t fazed by the criticism, and came back strong in Game Four. [Sporting News]
Mike Heika threw the idea out there that the Dallas Stars might be interested in adding former Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas to the roster, just for competition’s sake. The always outspoken Thomas, who sat out the last season to focus on “faith and family,” is looking to make a comeback to the league next season at the age of 39. [Dallas Morning News]
Former Dallas Star Mark Fistric might once again be on the move. The Edmonton Oilers are trying to decide if they should retain his services beyond this year, perhaps realizing his strengths as a power-hitter can’t always mask his deficiencies elsewhere, much like the Stars did last season. [Oil on Whyte]
Miikka Kiprusoff, who declined to be traded at the trade deadline, so he could remain in Calgary, is leaning towards hanging up his pads this summer. The Flames appear ready to move on without him, while Kiprusoff is reluctant to start over with a new team at this stage of his career. [NHL.com]
The Tampa Bay Lightning appear to be ready to cut ties with the player they once described as the Michael Jordan of hockey, Vincent Lecavalier. Lecavalier was drafted first overall by the Lightning in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, and has served as the face of the franchise for much of his career. As his numbers have declined, he simply isn’t worth the contract awarded to him at this stage of his career, and is expected to be a buy-out casualty once the Finals conclude. [RotoWorld]
The NHL appears ready to outlaw the spin-o-rama move in shootouts next season, which makes very little sense to me. It’s as if they think the already gimmicky solution to tied games will be more legitimatized if they take away some of the entertainment value. If you ask me, it’s the worst of both worlds. Keep the gimmick, take away the flair? [CBS Sports]
If you’re a Stars fan down in Austin, you missed the ending to one of the best games of the season last night. Austin’s NBC affiliate made a technical mistake during the overtime period, at the worst possible time. Mid-play, they cut away from the game to play a pair of commercials. When they decided to return to the action, viewers were greeted by a scene of Chicago Blackhawks celebrating their victory, with no idea how they got to that point.
What a way to end the night.