Burn that jersey. Plus, worst Maple Leafs loss of the Core 4 era?

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Good morning to everyone except people who wear fluorescent jackets and sit right behind the goal.

Once you notice them, you cant unsee them for the rest of the game.

Oh, you were sleeping last night? Cool, I didnt know you played for the Maple Leafs.

Wakey wakey, lets find out if you missed anything important.

Oilers eliminate Golden Knights We have our first conference finalist, with Edmonton going into Vegas and ending the series with a 1-0 OT win .

Heres Kasperi Kapanens winner, which wont win any beauty contests but got the job done.

KASPARI KAPANEN CALLS GAME FOR THE OILERS pic.twitter.com/6wzdeGBASk Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 15, 2025 Its a win that doesnt follow the usual Oilers script.

There were no points from Connor McDavid, no power-play cash-ins and no highlight reels to be found.

But there was depth scoring when it mattered, tight team defense and a second consecutive shutout from the much-maligned Stuart Skinner.

The narrative of the one-dimensional Oilers is fading quickly.

Advertisement Its a tough exit for the Golden Knights, a team thats always in Cup-or-bust mode but could only muster one win against a team they handled two years ago.

Jesse Granger wonders if the window could be closing .

The front office probably is, too, although we know they have a well-earned reputation for being ruthless in the offseason.

Unfortunately for them, the offseason is here weeks earlier than they had planned.

Panthers have listless Leafs on the ropes For 72 hours leading up to Game 5, the talk in Toronto was that this was the biggest game of the Auston Matthews era.

It was a convincing case, but apparently the Leafs werent sold.

After mailing in the first period, the Leafs were chasing all night and never came close to catching up, dropping a 6-1 final that leaves them facing elimination in Florida on Friday.

Its a frustratingly familiar story for Leafs fans, who are watching their highest-paid players disappear right when the game gets toughest.

James thinks it might be their worst loss of the era .

CJ thinks it could be among the last .

The Panthers deserve credit here, of course.

The defending champs have looked the part over the last few games, and last night was a case of them imposing their game on an opponent that couldnt answer.

Theyre firmly in the drivers seat now.

And unlike Toronto, they have a history of knowing how to close .

Mark Lazerus on how players figure out where the line is in the playoffs and when to cross it.

Peter Baugh talked to family and friends of Mikko Rantanen about the Conn Smythe front-runner finding his A-game.

On that note: The Dallas Stars, up 3-1, might be unstoppable .

Corey Pronman on Roger McQueen, a name you should know for this years draft .

Meet the new boss (same as the old boss?) Its easy to miss offseason news when its not necessarily the offseason, so lets get you caught up on some recent hirings.

Some of the names will be, lets just say ...

familiar.

Hurricanes @ Capitals 7 p.m.

ET on TNT / Sportsnet Up 3-1 in the series, Carolina tries to close this out on the road and earn some extra rest.

Our pal Sean Gentille has been following the series, and he still thinks the Capitals have a chance, slim as it may be.

He outlines what they need to have happen here .

Most of the rest of us have closed the book on the Caps and moved on to arguing with Hurricanes fans over whether their team is boring.

(The answer: Theyre not not boring, but their fans shouldnt care.) Advertisement Stars @ Jets 9:30 p.m.

ET on TNT / Sportsnet / CBC Another road close-out attempt and another series its tempting to declare over.

Im a little more optimistic about the Jets, although maybe thats just because they were my Cup pick and Im trying to save face.

The good news for Winnipeg is that Bad Connor Hellebuyck has mostly been a road phenomenon, and hes been decent-to-good on home ice.

The bad news has to do with where the next game would be if they win this one, but well cross that bridge if they get to it.

Full NHL schedule here .

Try streaming games like these for free on Fubo .

We found the guy who ended the Lightning dynasty I only buy jerseys if my team wins a championship, and the second time the Bolts won I bought a Vasy jersey with the Stanley Cup patch from the NHL shop.

The only thing is, when the jersey arrived, it said his number was 8, not 88.

And its not like there was an 8 missing, it was square in the center, like thats what its supposed to be.

As you know, they havent won since.

So tell me: cursed, blessed, or get over it and wear the jersey anyway? Errol L.

When I came up with the idea for this section, I had one rule for myself: You cant tell people that they have to destroy or discard anything they paid money for just because its bad luck.

And then boom, along came Errol with his Vasilevskiy jersey to really test me, because man, my instinct is to burn this thing with fire.

First things first: Yes, he sent a photo: We all see the problem here, right? Its not just that that number is wrong, but that its an insult to the hockey gods.

While its true that 88 is a weird number for a goalie, its also true that 8 + 8 = 16, which of course is the number of wins it takes to capture a Stanley Cup.

To cut that in half, right after a Cup win no less, is just outright sacrilege.

And sure enough, the Lightning havent won so much as a round since then.

In fact, theyve won just four measly playoff games.

Out of how many games played, you ask? Out of 16, of course.

This year, Vasilevskiy was especially bad, giving up ...

yep, 16 goals.

Last year? He gave up 16 goals.

The hockey gods are sending a message, and theyre not being subtle.

Advertisement This isnt Errols fault.

He tried to order an 88, and the NHL screwed it up.

But it is Errols responsibility, and I dont see how the Lightning can win another Cup until this cursed item is repaired or destroyed .

If you work at the NHL and you want to make this right for a loyal customer, please reach out.

Or if you work at NASA and need something to launch into the center of the sun someday soon.

Either would work.

We have to go back a long way for the last all-Canadian conference final.

All the way back to 1994, when the Canucks beat the Maple Leafs in the Western Conference final.

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(Top photo: Claus Andersen / Getty Images).

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