From the Branches: Marlies on the brink of elimination

The big Maple Leafs related news from last night is that the Marlies dropped game 5 of their series against the Syracuse Crunch. They lost the game 5-1, and the Crunch now lead the series 3-2. The series moves back to Toronto for game 6 on Monday night.

Species bused all the way to Syracuse to catch the game. His recap is here.

Leafs links

Expansion draft timeline and other key dates in the off-season for the Maple Leafs | Pension Plan Puppets

WATCH: Mitch Marner is on fire at the World Championships | Pension Plan Puppets

Draft links

2017 NHL draft profiles | Pension Plan Puppets
If you want a comprehensive list of good draft profiles, elseldo has you covered.

Playoffs

Ottawa @ Pittsburgh, ECF Game 1

Ottawa 2 : Pittsburgh 1 (OT)
Pensburgh recap

Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf reunite in Eastern Conference Final after six years together with Maple Leafs - PensBurgh
Though they’ve faced each other in the regular season, the two former teammates will share the ice in the Eastern Conference Final.

Game 2 of the WCF happens tonight at 7:30.

World championships

The big news from yesterday’s Worlds action is, of course, Switzerland’s big upset of Canada. The other games went pretty much how you’d expect them to.

There are four games on the docket today. When you factor in the WCF game, it should make for a nice day of hockey.
At 10:15: Czech vs France and USA vs Slovakia.
At 2:15: Finland vs Switzerland and Sweden vs Denmark.

How Swede it is to have both Lundqvists at the World Championship | Blueshirt Banter

Other news

Should the Calgary Flames Look at Jordan Eberle? - Matchsticks and Gasoline
Trading for Eberle is something that the Leafs might want to look into, too.