Jesperi Kotkaniemi OT Winner Sends Habs to Game 7 against Toronto

 

[Box Score]

There's something I really like about Montreal Canadiens center Jesperi Kotkaniemi. On this Saturday night Hockey Night in Montreal, he sent a tremendous hockey game to a game seven with a game-winning overtime wrist shot that gave Montreal an unlikely 3-2 win over the -190 Maple Leafs in a game that oddsmakers thought they should have won handily. 

It was his 7th career Stanley Cup Playoffs goal. While he hasn't recorded an assist, there's something to be said for his prowess to find the net in these crucial playoff games in 15 career games and not yet 21 years of age. 

Also in this game that I watched on NBC Sports, Tyler Toffoli and Corey Perry scored for the Habs. Surely they lose game 7 right? 

The Canadiens are nothing if not pesky, and now the Maple Leafs look to avoid a game seven choke with seemingly all the pressure on them against a team playing with house money. It will be a Monday night thriller on Memorial Day. 

Alexis Lafreniere and The New York Rangers

 

I've always been a fan of the Canadian teams in hockey. However, I think moving forward my USA team is going to be the New York Rangers led by Alexis Lafreniere. 

The first overall pick in the 2020 draft has caught my attention, being dubbed as something in between Connor McDavid and Taylor Hall. I think I like that comp quite well. 

Although the Rangers aren't part of this playoff field, I think a year from right now they certainly will be. I got caught up on their history and until today I wasn't aware of the rebuild letter from 2018.

I think that the NHL is going to take center stage in USA once again, as ESPN and TNT paid a lot of money to get the rights to their coverages this upcoming fall. 

Obviously it was a huge break for the Rangers to win the lottery in 2020 with just a 12.5% chance. Now, pairing Lafreniere with Kappo Kakko should prove to be a championship line for years to come. 

There have been a lot of comps made to John LeClair, and some say that Lafreniere will end up being a version of Jamie Benn. Others have speculated that he's Sidney Crosby as a winger. 

Nonetheless, I finally have a USA team that I will have some rooting interest in, one with a rich history and tradition that plays at Madison Square Garden.