A pandemic first: Habs, Leafs battle in Game 6 in front of Canadian fans

At the Toronto Maple Leafs-Montreal Canadiens game Saturday night, there are fans in the building for the first time in Canada since March 2020. It’s not a full building, but it’s a start for all the Canadian hockey fans who have been forced to watch their favorite team from home the last 14 months.

One question still remains about the playoffs, however, as it is not immediately clear how the league will go about a third-round series between the North Division winner and a U.S.-based team. There had been talk of a potential hub city plan, with the Canadian team moving south of the border, but Darren Dreger of TSN reports that a travel exemption is expected at some point that would allow games to be played in both home cities. As with anything these days, nothing can be taken for granted until it is official, which Dreger reiterates is not the case just yet.

• The Minnesota Wild have some time to decompress and deal with any ailments now that they have been eliminated from the playoffs, but at least one injured player will avoid surgery. Jonas Brodin suffered an AC join injury in his left shoulder Friday night, but according to Michael Russo of The Athletic, he will not require surgery.
• However, the focus for the Wild is how they tweak the roster after a strong but ultimately unsuccessful first round against the Vegas Golden Knights. Zach Parise talked to reporters including Sarah McLellan of the Star-Tribune, but couldn’t really explain what’s going to happen to him after a trying season. Parise ended up as a healthy scratch in the playoffs but still has four years left on his 13-year, $98 million contract. “We’ll see where it goes. I don’t know. I don’t know,” Parise told McLellan. “We’ll have to figure that out in the coming summer what’s going to happen, but I don’t really have an answer on that right now”