FHN Today: Game 3s and a Buffalo Chicken Milkshake Review

It was a busy weekend for hockey and college baseball. Not only do we get into the hockey, but I went down to Coral Gables for the first day of the regional and gave the now-famous Buffalo chicken milkshake a go.

The review is below.

On the ice, the Colorado Avalanche took a commanding 3-0 series lead over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.

The following day, the Tampa Bay Lightning jumped right back into its series with a comeback victory over the New York Rangers.

New York found itself up 2-0 midway through the game, but Nikita Kucherov cut that lead in half at the 10:50 mark of the second period.

Steven Stamkos then tied it 1:22 into the third.

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Ondrej Palat got the game-winner with just 42 seconds to go to win the game 3-2.

Meanwhile, the Avalanche skated their way to a 4-2 victory over the Oilers, but they did so without Nazem Kadri.

Evander Kane checked Kadri from behind and sent him flying into the boards (reminiscent of Brandon Hagel’s hit on Eetu Luostarinen in Game 3 of the Florida Panthers’ second-round series against the Lightning) and was assessed a five-minute major.

Kadri has been ruled out for the series and Kane was given a one-game suspension by the NHL.

Whether that means the end of Kane’s season will be determined tonight as Colorado looks to finish off Edmonton in Game 4.

Here are some storylines to watch for in each series:

Oilers V. Avalanche

The last time the Avalanche were playing playoff hockey in Edmonton, they were ousted in seven games by the overtime heroics of Joel Kiviranta and the Dallas Stars in the COVID-19 bubble.

This year is different, writes Colorado Hockey Now’s Adrian Dater.

The Avalanche now find themselves one game away from the Stanley Cup Final.

Rangers V. Lightning

For late-game hero Ondrej Palat, his heroics were a long time coming.

The pending unrestricted free agent has seen it all (including two Stanley Cups) in his 10 years in Tampa Bay and heralds his goal with 42 seconds left ‘a moment to remember.’

— Nikita Kucherov became the first player in Tampa Bay Lightning history to reach 50 postseason goals. He became the 63rd player in NHL history to reach that mark.

— The Rangers are facing injury concerns after losing Ryan Strome to a lower-body injury in the second period of Game 3. Barclay Goodrow also appeared to be shaken up, but he returned to the game.

PANTHERLAND

Yesterday, we started our ‘Florida Roll Call’ series, predicting what we thought Mason Marchment‘s future would look like in Florida.

After last season, it seems like he is on a good trajectory after finishing it off with a second-place and two fourth-place votes for the Selke Trophy.

Panthers captain Sasha Barkov finished second in the voting while Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron was hailed the league’s best defensive forward for the fifth time in his career.

— After the most successful regular season in franchise history, we handed out our Florida Panthers awards for the 2021-22 season.

— Anton Lundell learned a lot in his rookie campaign after taking a larger role than was previously expected.

— The Panthers only have about $4 million under the salary cap so GM Bill Zito will be busy this offseason.

CAFECITO CORNER

Yes, I tried that Buffalo chicken milkshake they were selling at Mark Light Field for the Coral Gables regional.

It did not look like the photo posted on social media and it did not taste great either.

The Buffalo taste along with the texture of a milkshake was so weird considering Buffalo wings are supposed to be … hot?

I give it a 3/10.

I will give it credit for actually tasting like something, unlike that cinnamon roll chicken sandwich in D.C. that tasted like cardboard.

The creative folks making those shakes had one for each team in the regional — including a Hotty Toddy creation for Mississippi and prickly pear for the Wildcats.

George likes the JayRo shake and says he’ll stick with that.

Buffalo chicken milkshake… should be interesting. pic.twitter.com/DiyXRtDBV7

— Colby Guy (@ColbyDGuy) June 4, 2022

Anyways, the Canes came from behind to beat Canisius 11-6 in the regional opener on Saturday.

The Canes then saw their season end in a sudden Sunday sweep. First, Miami lost 2-1 to Mississippi in the afternoon and then lost with a ninth-inning collapse to Arizona in the elimination game.

The Coral Gables Regional is now without its host.

— The Miami Marlins came back from being down four runs to beat the San Francisco Giants 5-4 in walk-off fashion on Saturday. Miami wrapped up the series with a 5-1 loss.

National Hockey Now

— Boston Hockey Now: Selke Trophy-winner Patrice Bergeron is still unsure about his future after receiving shoulder surgery. The 36-year-old is set to be an unrestricted free agent.

— Washington Hockey Now: Injuries and a wishy-washy goaltending tandem are just a couple of factors that will contribute to the Washington Capitals‘ offseason plans.

— Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Pittsburgh Penguins face a decision of if they should make room for a key piece of the trade that sent Phil Kessel to Arizona.

— Detroit Hockey Now: The Detroit Red Wings struck gold when they selected Dylan Larkin with the 15th pick in the 2014 NHL Draft.