McKenna’s Musings: Dare to dream of Evander Kane vs. Ryan Reaves in the Stanley Cup final

Mike McKenna
Mike McKenna(MikeMcKenna56)
McKenna’s Musings: Dare to dream of Evander Kane vs. Ryan Reaves in the Stanley Cup final

Rest is a weapon – until it isn’t.

Call me naive, but I didn’t expect the Tampa Bay Lightning’s nine-day layoff to negatively affect the team in Game 1 of the conference final against the New York Rangers. After Tampa decimated the Florida Panthers in a second-round sweep, I thought some time off would actually be good for the Lightning. Rest is rare in playoffs.

Well, I was wrong. The Rangers won 6-2 in the opening game of the series. New York looked hungry and fresh, while Tampa Bay never seemed to find a groove.

I believe it was mental more than physical. The Lightning generated chances. But Tampa Bay made too many poor decisions with the puck, and at the worst times.

Allowing a goal early in a period is deflating. And it happened to the Lightning twice in Game 1. Ranger forward Chris Krieder scored just over a minute into the game to give New York an early lead. But the dagger was Artemi Panarin’s goal just 30 seconds into the third period, which stretched the Rangers’ lead to 5-2.

I think both of those goals negatively affected the psyche of Tampa Bay. Playing from behind isn’t easy on the road. And Panarin’s third-period goal took any wind out of the Lightning’s sails.

Even the expected goaltending matchup was a letdown. Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy allowed six goals – four high-blocker side – while New York goaltender Igor Shesterkin allowed just two goals on 39 shots.

It’s easy to point the finger at Vasilevskiy for a poor performance. But aside from Rangers forward Frank Vatrano beating him clean with a wrist shot from beyond the top of the circles, I have a hard time faulting ‘The Big Cat’ on the other five goals. The Rangers moved the puck through middle ice with ease and one-timed shots whenever possible. 

For Game 2, the Lightning will need to shut down passing lanes. And Vasilevskiy will have to get square faster than he did in the opening game of the series. I just hope he has another windmill two-pad stack in him like we saw in Game 1. What an awesome save.

New York had a killer instinct on Wednesday night that Tampa Bay was unable to match. And I get it. It’s really hard to flip the switch back into game mode after a long layoff. But the Lightning better get it together for Game 2.

I don’t like calling any game a must-win unless it actually is. I take things very literally. But Game 2 is a need-to-win scenario for Tampa Bay. The last time the Lightning lost two games to open a series was in 2019 when the Columbus Blue Jackets completed a sweep in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Imagine Ryan Reaves versus Evander Kane in the Stanley Cup final.

I had an epiphany last night watching Game 2 between the Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche: how amazing would it be to see these two rivals go head-to-head for the Stanley Cup?

The battle between Reaves and Kane was incredible when they were respectively members of the Vegas Golden Knights and San Jose Sharks. Every game was fireworks. And the quotes from each player were even better.

After they finally dropped the gloves in 2019, Kane had some choice words for the then-Golden Knights forward. “For the so-called toughest guy in the league, I don’t know if he landed a punch.” Kane said. “At times, I thought I was fighting the Muffin Man.”

Reaves responded by wearing a custom muffin mask during the 2020 Stanley Cup playoff bubble in Edmonton.

The Oilers might be down 2-0 to Colorado in the conference finals. And I think the way the Avalanche have played all season long, they should be playing for the Stanley Cup. But crazier things have happened. I don’t root for specific teams. I root for good, entertaining hockey. And I think Reaves and Kane going up against one another would be appointment viewing.

If Zack Kassian takes Bowen Byram to the box with him, that’s a win for the Oilers.

Quick story time: I played with a guy in college that we used to call ‘Big Greasy’ for a variety of reasons. By the end of our four years together at St. Lawrence University, the nickname had even been transferred vertically to his father, who became known as ‘Big Big Greasy.’ Silly, I know. But college was awesome. We had all kinds of ridiculous nicknames.

So midway through the third period of Game 2, Byram gets hit into the Edmonton bench and Kassian slyly pulls the Avalanche defefenseman’s helmet off. And all I could think about was Big Greasy. How the nickname would be absolutely perfect for Kassian if we were teammates.

I mean it with the highest respect possible. Kassian plays an unabashedly hard game that toes the line of decency – which I love. He pushes buttons. Kassian hits like a Mack truck. And he can chip in offensively.

Watching him rip Byram’s bucket off was such a throwback for me. Guys used to do it all the time in junior hockey. Grab the back of the helmet, pull it forward, and watch it fall. The move earned Kassian two minutes for interference and a $2,500 fine for Unsportsmanlike Conduct from the NHL Department of Player Safety.

I don’t blame Byram one bit for fighting back against Kassian. His quick jab to the chest of the Oilers forward was completely acceptable in the moment. I love that Byram stood his ground against a really tough player in Kassian – even if he was seated on the bench.

But I bet Edmonton coach Jay Woodcroft was happier about the outcome of the altercation than Colorado bench boss Jared Bednar. Byram has been chewing minutes for the Avalanche in a top-four role this postseason. I think he’s been amazing, especially considering how many games he missed during the regular season with lingering effects from a concussion.

Bryam is one of my favorite stories of the 2021-22 Stanley Cup playoffs. But there’s no doubt in my mind that every NHL coach would happily take Kassian in the penalty box if it meant Byram was going with him.

Kassian knew exactly what he was doing and the way he no-sold the entire sequence was a thing of beauty. Edmonton wasn’t able to make anything happen during the ensuing two minutes of 4-on-4 action. But I’ve got to give Kassian credit for his awareness and sandpaper. Big Greasy would have been proud.

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