Wilderness Walk: Boogie with The Noogie Edition

As I walk into this place, I look for the old visual queues once used to guide me to the light of day.  For winter has lifted it's heavy veil from this trail, and everything seems so warm and inviting; New, yet oddly familiar.  Is this the same place I once used to call home?  The long forgotten trail that once led me through the endless tasks to start each bone chilling day.  The very walk I've been on so many times before, that accompanies my morning cup of coffee like the misty haze that covers the trail?

Greetings Wilderness! It's been awhile since I've joined you on the trail so early in the morning. Or, if you're one of the lucky ones, sometime later in the afternoon because you have not a damn thing to do today but wake up, I hate you (not really).

So, there is this thing going on called the Stanley Cup Final right now.  As of this publication the Rangers have yet to throw in the towel or raise the white flag, so we are tentatively scheduled to proceed with game 4 tonight.  Game time says 7 pm central time, but with all the pomp and circumstance before these things the puck won't drop til closer to 7:30 pm.

At any rate, I hear music is a popular choice for these things nowadays.  The smile on my face that I get to indoctrinate you all with tunes of my choice! HA! HA! HA!

What!?!? They don't have to click play? Uhg ....

Well you should, expand your horizons! Or, if you're already a fan, enjoy!

Wild News

The Team of 18,001: 2013-14 Season In Review: Ilya Bryzgalov
Funny, now that the season is over we start seeing reports of bears roaming around the south metro. Maybe they are actually afraid of him?

Q & A With Nino Niederreiter - Minnesota Wild | Features
El Nino talks more than just the odd warming of water off the west coast of South America.

The Team of 18,001: 2013-14 Season In Review: Jason Pominville
Everyone gets an F! We didn't win the cup!!!!

Tending the Fields

The Sickle broke, come back after the draft.

Off the Trail

espnW -- Canadian Women's Hockey League planning to add second franchise in United States
Some potential big news on the horizon for ladies hockey here in the State of Hockey?

Joe Thornton willing to waive no-trade clause if Sharks fans want him to go | Puck Daddy - Yahoo Sports
You're always welcome here Joe! Wait, we'll have to give them something back? Never mind then.

Vlasic: ‘I should be 100 percent come training camp’ | ProHockeyTalk
He's being soaked in a vinegar bath for the next few months and will be good as new come training camp.

Sharks F Logan Couture has surgery on hand injured in playoff fight - The Hockey News
Just one of many reasons your mother always tells you to stop fighting. Unless less she's my mother in which case she threatens to lock you and your sister in a room to see which one would come out alive.

Florida Panthers to meet with Dan Bylsma for coaching position: report - NHL.com - News
Somebody should really tell Dan Bylsma that Florida is where people go to retire.

Oilers add Ramsay to coaching staff; Buchberger takes job in player personnel | ProHockeyTalk
I wonder sarcastically if this will help the Oilers get back on track.

Rule Changes the NHL Should Stop Ignoring
The trapezoid, just take care of that already because it's stupid!

BarDown: NHL Hell is Toronto | tsn.ca
Or Vancouver, really just depends on who's ox is being gored that particular day.

2014 NHL Draft Prospect: Tyler Nanne - SB Nation College Hockey
A closer look at the NHL Draft prospects of Ohio State recruit Tyler Nanne

2014 NHL Combine: Leon Draisaitl, Prince Albert Raiders - Hockey's Future
Just who is Leon Draisaitl and why should you care?

#BecauseItsTheCup

Conspiracy theory claims Jeff Carter goal might not have counted | Puck Daddy - Yahoo Sports
Not as good as Jesse "The Mind" Ventura's, but what playoff series would be complete without some sort of questionable behavior by the game officials?

With a possible Stanley sweep ahead, Rangers look to recover from 0-3 start | Star Tribune
The gravity of the situation was etched on the face of New York Rangers coach Alain Vigneault as well as a good friend of mine who was trying to explain the situation to her dog.  The dog in turn crapped in her bed which would only be more ironic if it was shaped like the Rangers logo.

Five things New York Rangers must do to avoid being swept - Kings vs Rangers - 2014 Stanley Cup Final
How do the Rangers extend the Stanley Cup Final and avoid being swept in the best-of-7 series? NHL.com has the speculative answers.

Luck Has Left the Building for the Rangers "

I don't know who this Luck guy is, but he better get back there and quick!

The Kings have been lucky and good this postseason. - Jewels From The Crown
As the players took the ice at Madison Square Garden last night, the raucous New York crowd erupted. It had been 20 years since the last Stanley Cup Final game at the Garden and New York seemed... tired?

2014 Stanley Cup Final: 12 Thoughts On Game Three And The Series So Far - Blueshirt Banter
12 thoughts on Rangers/Kings game three and the series as a whole

2014 Stanley Cup Final: Short on luck, the Rangers are now short on time - Blueshirt Banter
The Rangers may not have gotten the bounces in Game 3, but with only one loss separating them from elimination, the team is looking past luck.

New York's Stanley Cup dream is dying by the hands of Lady Luck - SBNation.com
It has been a series of bounces, and the New York Rangers have been on the wrong side of just about every one of them. The city's Stanley Cup dream is wilting away as a result.

One more for the road