The lasting memory of Buffalo Sabres Coach Lindy Ruff from their Game 7 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers was an in-game interview with VERSUS while his team was being dominated.

Ruff was exasperated, watching an injury-depleted team get worked and wondering how the game would have turned out had the Sabres' manpower situation been different.

There have been many seasons in Ruff's reign behind the bench in which the Sabres simply haven't had the pieces on the ice in critical games, due to injury or the budgetary frugality that left the roster thin. The latter condition will change now that Terry Pegula owns the team and enthusiastically intends on spending to win. And Ruff will be his guy to lead them.

Bucky Gleason of the Buffalo News reports that Ruff's contract extension, terms yetto be disclosed, will be announced today:

Ruff has been behind the bench since the 1997-98 season and is the winningest coach in team history. He has reached the Stanley Cup playoffs eight times in his 13 seasons, including four trips to the conference finals and one to the finals. He has long stated his desire to bring the first Stanley Cup to Buffalo.

Die By The Blade praised Ruff as the catalyst for the Sabres' playoff push this season:

Lindy Ruff reflected on the gratitude he felt towards his players, proclaiming that they gave him everything they had for almost four months. As modest as those comments were, the coach deserves praise because it also comes down to him getting the forwards, defensemen, and goaltenders to perform with a purpose. Players won't compete with full heart for anyone behind a bench, but Ruff believed in these men and they in turn believed in him as a coordinator.

And that's why he's been employed by the same organization for 13 years running.

And a few more, according to the Buffalo News.

Wild guess: You've never heard of the Blessed Sacrament Bruins, a team of 11- and 12-year-old players, or the North York Knights of Columbus Hockey Association in Toronto. But their debate over an unorthodox coaching tactic in a playoff game is a memorable, and controversial, one.

The situation, according to Robert Cribbs of the Toronto Star: When the Blessed Sacrament Bruins, with a losing record, faced the Blessed Trinity Hawks in a March 6 playoff game, the Bruins coaches decided to pull a stunt. Goalie Julia McDonald, 12 and one of the team's best skaters, played the entire game in regular skater gear rather than goalie gear.

She was the sixth skater, and a roving goalie that wasn't dressed the part. The result: An upset win for the Bruins and Coach Grant McDonald, Julia's father.

Well, at least until the league ruled on the stunt and deemed it a forfeiture for the Bruins. From the Toronto Star:

Michael Wren, a Toronto lawyer and association executive member, provided the Star with a copy of the decision which states McDonald "played the entire game with an illegal stick and without the minimum required goalie equipment."

The decision cited two specific association rules: one deals with illegal player substitutions and the other states a goaltender "may be removed for an additional skater only during the last three minutes of the play in a game."

Team coaches Wayne Wilbur and McDonald filed a written protest saying the rule about player substitutions is intended to target "ringers" brought in for a few games.

"There was no one on our bench that wasn't there from day one," said coach McDonald. And he argues removing a goaltender for a skater was never penalized by officials, and even if it had been only warrants a two-minute minor penalty, not a forfeit.

The coaches said the game referee gave them the green light to play McDoanld without goalie gear. Ironically, the Bruins won their next game with a goalie in gear, but since the forfeiture is officially a 5-0 loss they were eliminated based on goal differential in the series.

The best argument against this tactic would be one of safety; McDonald was still tending goal during the game, without "the minimum required goalie equipment" as the League said. But the team certainly has a point that a forfeiture -- for what should have been, at most, a minor penalty during the game -- is complete overkill.

Give the Star story a look, and tell us: Illegal or impressive?

(Ed. Note: As the Stanley Cup Playoffs continue, we're bound to lose some friends along the journey. We've asked for these losers, gone but not forgotten, to be eulogized by the people who knew the teams best: The fans who hated them the most. Here are Washington Capitals bloggers Russian Machine Never Breaks, fondly recalling the 2010-11 Pittsburgh Penguins. Again, this was not written by us. Also: This is a roast and you will be offended by it, so don't take it so seriously.)

By Russian Machine Never Breaks

We come to bury the Penguins, not to praise them.

It's fitting that we Capitals fans have been given the honor to speak on this grim occasion. Fitting because we wake up every morning eagerly awaiting the latest Post-Gazette update on Sidney Crosby's concussion status. Fitting because we treasure every point taken from the Penguins (15 of the last 16, but who's counting?) as if they were shards of the Cup itself. And fitting because we know what it's like to see your team vanish from the postseason due to a flaccid power play.

But the Pittsburgh Penguins really died a few months back-- when Evgeni Malkin's MCL and ACL snapped like rubber bands left out in the sun, and Sidney Crosby became yet another victim in "Dirty" Dave Steckel's career of hockey violence. Without their twin stars (who, by the way, are the only players we Washington fans can pick out of a lineup), Pittsburgh's fate should have been sealed. Inexplicably, it wasn't.

The Penguins deserved a swift death from the Tampa Bay Lightning, but they didn't get it. The mercy killing was strung out over seven taut games, in which the Pens could muster up only one sad goal out of 35 power-play opportunities.

But let's not reduce the Penguins' season to one miserable, disinterested, and utterly ineffectual series. This whole season has been a hellacious pity party for the Pens, and we owe it to the departed and ourselves to pore over every detail.

The loss of Sergei Gonchar and the fragility of Marc-Andre Fleury in net had the Pens struggling in those opening weeks, but Dan Bylsma seemed to have everything sorted out by December. For that one glorious month, the Penguins were a juggernaut: stringing together a 12-game win streak. HBO's "24/7" captures the team at its cockiest, swaggering at the peak of hubris. We Caps fans just wanted to down a bottle of Merlot, draw a bath, put on an Elliott Smith record, and open a vein.

At the same time, Sidney Crosby scored at least a point in 25 consecutive games -- racking up 25 goals, 50 points, two hat tricks and one middle-school-caliber moustache. That streak ended on Dec. 29 in a game against the Islanders (who always manage to piss off the Pens). And that's when everything went wrong.

New Year's Day found the Penguins hosting the Capitals for a hyped-but-sloppy game in which Sidney Crosby wandered aimlessly into the razor-sharp shoulder of that malicious bastard David Steckel. (The Capitals won that game thanks to a superior, reactive coaching strategy and a glorious two-spot from Eric Fehr, but that's a topic for another time.)

Dazed by Steckel's unprovoked assault, Crosby shook it off like a car-struck deer bolting from the freeway only to take another hit -- this time from Tampa's Victor Hedman-- just a few days later.

Bam. Concussion. Season over.

Just one month later, the already beleaguered Evgeni Malkin ended his season with a torn MCL and ACL.

Their season should've been a lost cause right then, but that fedora-wearing yobbo, Dan Bylsma, kept an even head. Simplifying his team's play and relying on one of the league's deepest defenses, he kept the Penguins competing long after they had any business doing so.

Pittsburgh fought to close out their season with poise and dignity. Yeah, right. No team took more standings points from the skills competition (OK, they're tied with the Kings, but we Caps fans don't know anything about the Western Conference). There's this haughty myth out there that the Pens' late-season success came hard-won and in the face of adversity, but that's nonsense. Without those 20 points purloined from shootout coin tosses, the Pens might not have even made the playoffs.

And what if Crosby hadn't been Steckel'd? Every blowhard up to and including Damien Cox's Sidney Crosby hairdoll predicted "the Kid" could reach the fabled 50-goals-in-50-games milestone. That probably wouldn't have happened (0.00040 percent), but Crosby did have a 34.86 percent chance of reaching Alex Ovechkin's post-lockout NHL record of 66 goals and a 18.55 percent chance of hitting Joe Thornton's 125 points. He even had a sporting 6.47 percent chance at besting Super Mario's 191-point season, which would have made Sunday dinner at his former landlord's house kinda awkward.

Without Crosby in the lineup, the Penguins got into trouble. Following a goalie fight that was so bad-ass even we cannot mock it, the Islanders were out for blood at the Feb. 11 rematch. The Pens didn't see it coming. Filling their ranks with scuzzy AHL players, the Isles treated the Penguins the way Brent Johnson treated Rick DiPietro's orbital bones. We Caps fans are a bunch of deranged and Pens-fixated cretins, but even we didn't enjoy watching that beatdown. It was an embarrassment, but so was the righteous indignation that spewed out of the Penguins organization afterwards.

This is, after all, the same team that employs the pre-eminent troll of the NHL, Matt Cooke.

Matt Cooke's Rap Sheet, 2010-2011 edition (video here)

●      Oct 11: three separate goalie interference calls for messing with Rick DiPietro
●      Nov 26: sending Erik Karlsson's head-first into the boards
●      Dec 1: stole a thing of Tabasco from Qdoba
●      Dec 21: elbowing Keith Yandle in the head
●      Dec 28: elbowing Evander Kane in the head (this was a big week even by Cookie's standards)
●      Jan 13: erased two episodes of "Cougar Town" from Maxim Talbot's DVR
●      Feb 4: dropping the hammer on Steve Montador as if he were Kevin freaking Nash
●      Feb 6: colliding knees with Alex Ovechkin (though Cooke got the worst of that one)
●      Feb 7: spa day; no offenses committed
●      Feb 8: sending an unaware Fedor Tyutin headfirst into the boards
●      Mar 20: flying elbow into Ryan McDonagh, earning him the suspension that ended his season.

No joke: The Penguin's name is "Cookie."

If the NHL is a "garage league" as Mario Lemieux says, it's only because of s#@&bums like Matt Cooke continue to be employed there. It's not like Lemieux's preening superiority is anything new, but at least his financial sponsorship of thuggery and hypocritical recriminations spiced up the part of the season we Caps fans usually sleep through.

Hey! Did you know that there are other players on the Pittsburgh Penguins? We didn't; had to Google it.

There's Mr. Hilary Duff himself, summer acquisition Mike Comrie, who missed most of the season with a hip injury, clocking most of his hours presumably inside Lizzie McGuire's... uh... trailer.

There's deadline pick-up and shootout expert, James Neal, whose production fell off dramatically when he wasn't the only skater on the ice.

There's returned hero Alex Kovalev, who came back just in time to provide nothing except a minus-2 rating and these weird gray hairs all over the team's bathroom.

And there are some other guys whose names and stats we can't be bothered to learn. A forgettable team for a forgettable season.

But there's still Dan Bylsma, who posed as god's gift to hockey throughout "24/7." Bylsma might have shot his mouth off when he called (future Conn Smyth winner?) Michal Neuvirth "shaky":

This goalie isn't that good. He will give us rebounds — he has — and he will give us cheesy ones on net.

That shaky goalie stopped 86 of 88 Pittsburgh pucks (.977 save percentage) and shut Bylsma's team out twice this season. Bruce Boudreau might have had barbecue sauce around his mouth, but Dan Bylsma had egg on his face. Yeah, we just made that joke. Deal with it.

So rot in hell, Pittsburgh Penguins. The lights are off in that garish Versailles you call a hockey barn. Your mewling army of yinzer fans can look forward to another electrifying summer from the Pirates and hope to contract something curable from Maxim Talbot.

If Sidney's hand-eye coordination is up for it, maybe he can level up his Blood Elf Shaman in World of Warcraft without getting a migraine.

While rehabbing, Evgeni Malkin can check Russian Machine Never Breaks to read about Alex Ovechkin partying on a yacht in the Mediterranean while wearing a Speedo.

Good night, sweet princes. And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.

And oh yeah. #$%& you, Geno.

Written by Washington Capitals bloggers Russian Machine Never Breaks. We can't stress this enough.

† All projections courtesy of Neil Greenberg's Monte Carlo Machine

Every season, the Jack Adams Award has a field of several coaches that all deserve consideration for best of the year. But the 2010-11 season produced a few candidates that were exceptional; and one of them, assumed to be a lock, didn't make the cut.

Dan Bylsma of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Barry Trotz of the Nashville Predators and Alain Vigneault of the Vancouver Canucks are the three finalists for the 2010-11 Jack Adams Award, presented to the head coach who has "contributed the most to his team's success."

Members of the NHL Broadcasters' Association submitted ballots for the Jack Adams Award at the conclusion of the regular season, with the top three vote-getters designated as finalists.

Our first reaction, as it probably was for many: Where the hell did Guy Boucher of the Tampa Bay Lightning go?

He was seen as a lock for a finalist spot, at least through the midway point of the season; taking a moribund Tampa Bay team, applying his 1-3-1 system to it and challenging for the Southeast Division title. But as the Lightning faded in the second half, apparently so did his candidacy, despite the obvious and tangible impact he had as a rookie coach -- like a 23-point turnaround in the standings.

Who wins the Adams, and who was your biggest snub?

Why Dan Bylsma Deserves the Jack Adams

From the NHL:

Bylsma, a first-time Adams finalist, helped the Penguins (49-25-8) gain home-ice advantage in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third consecutive season under his direction, securing the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. The Penguins earned the second-most points (106) and victories (49) in franchise history, overcoming a total of 350 man-games lost due to injury in the process. Most notable were the prolonged absences of star centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, who missed most of Pittsburgh's final 35 games. During that stretch Pittsburgh posted a 20-11-4 record for a .629 points percentage.

Not to mention the absence of Jordan Staal before the Sid and Geno injuries.

Simply put, it's the most impressive coaching job in the NHL this season, outside of Jacques Lemaire's run with the Devils that ended outside the playoffs. He changed tactics, managed personnel expertly and guided what could have been a team plummeting to the playoff bubble to home ice in the playoffs. The confident, emotionally balanced guy that we saw work the room during "HBO 24/7" wasn't an editor's creation — Disco Dan's got the goods.

Why Barry Trotz Deserves the Jack Adams

From the NHL:

Trotz guided the Predators (44-27-11) to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the sixth time in the past seven seasons, finishing fifth in the West after the most competitive Conference race in League history. The Predators again employed stingy defense and balanced scoring to finish in the West's top eight; they ranked third in the NHL in team goals-against (2.28) and had their four top scorers (Sergei Kostitsyn, Martin Erat, Patric Hornqvist and Shea Weber) separated by just two points. Trotz is an Adams nominee for the second consecutive season, finishing runner-up to Dave Tippett of the Phoenix Coyotes in 2010 voting.

Back-to-back nominations means his reputation for working magic in Music City is growing faster than the region where his neck should be. It wouldn't surprise us to see Trotz win, because frankly it's overdue; and this season, he managed to guide a team that, on paper, looked desperate for offense not only to the playoffs but to 213 goals, just four off of last season's pace.

Why Alain Vigneault Deserves the Jack Adams

From the NHL:

Under Vigneault, the Canucks set franchise records this season with 54 wins and 117 points en route to capturing the Presidents' Trophy as the League's top regular-season team. They ranked as the best offensive (3.15 goals per game) and defensive (2.20 goals-against average) club and also had the League's top power play (24.3 percent), while narrowly missing out on being the top penalty-killing squad as well (85.6 percent, tied for second). Since arriving in Vancouver for the 2006-07 season, Vigneault has led the Canucks to four Northwest Division titles and as many seasons of at least 100 points.

There was a moment this season when it looked like the Canucks might lead the league in goals for, against, power-play and penalty killing success. That hadn't been done in the expansion era -- and three out of four ain't bad -- and Vigneault deserves credit for organizing his admittedly deep roster to accomplish it.

There have only been two coaches in the last 15 years to win the Presidents' Trophy and the Jack Adams; will Vigneault join them?

Prediction

Bylsma. The guy who does the most with the least usually wins this award, and with due respect to what Trotz did in Nashville, taking Crosby and Malkin off the Penguins and going 20-11-4 is pretty damn miraculous.

Boucher was a total snub; not so Jacques Lemaire, who certainly deserved praise but, ultimately, didn't coach his team to the playoffs. And that's mandatory here.

It's a (gettin' down on) Friday edition of Puck Daddy Radio, and we're chatting about the following and much more:

• Special Guest Star: New York Rangers legend and U.S. Hockey Hall of Famer Mike Richter talks goaltending, the playoffs and hockey in New York.

• Dan Bylsma of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Barry Trotz of the Nashville Predators and Alain Vigneault of the Vancouver Canucks are the three finalists for the 2010-11 Jack Adams Award, presented to the head coach who has "contributed the most to his team's success," the National Hockey League announced today. Who wins?

• Complete reviews of last night's playoff game.

• Analyzing the rest of the second round matchups.

• Question of the day: After the first round, who is your Conn Smythe leader?

• Puck Previews.

Email your thoughts to puckdaddyradio@thescore.com.

Puck Daddy Radio is on Monday through Friday, from 1-2 p.m. ET/10-11 a.m. PT on The Score Radio Sirius Channel 98. Featuring Wyshynski and Rob Pizzo, it's your show: Calls, tweets, special guests and a ton of hockey goodness every day.

The call in number is 1-888-942-7326 (1-888-9-HARDCORE). We'll also be reading emails to puckdaddyradio@thescore.com and tweets that you send to @wyshynski and @robpizzo.

We're all about interaction here; call in, email, tweet ... we'll discuss whatever you'd like. Listen here:

As I took another sip from my glass, I realized I was squeezing it so hard that it had a realistic chance of shattering in my hands. I was watching two hot goaltenders in the Vancouver Canucks/Nashville Predators game, and the offensive frustration had managed to seep all the way into my living room.

If you've ever played any form of hockey, you've faced a hot goalie or two -- there's nothing worse than knowing it's pointless to pull the trigger unless you're in the slot and have enough time to make and consume a PB&J.

And that's just one of the many ways hot goaltending grinds between the ears of players with designs on a goal. The decision-making of offensive players only gets worse as goaltending gets better; and for a team like the Canucks who need some of their studs to be more studly, that isn't a good thing.

Snipers de-rail in a number of different ways:

Don't fire until you see the whites of his eyes

Pekka Rinne and Roberto Luongo faced a combined 50 shots last night, 49 of which did not make the red light go-a-twirlin'.

When you realize you're playing a hot tender, it seems pointless to fire from a bad angle. Without a screen, it seems pointless to fire from any distance that wouldn't qualify as a "gimme" putt in golf, really.

At that point, the goaltender has already won half the battle. He's minimized the shots he has to face, essentially having made the saves without facing the shots. When you're shooting on some hack (as we all think of the same team left in playoffs, unfortunately), you'll hit the shoot button any time you cross the blueline -- and anything can happen with a puck on net.

Everybody becomes Wayne Gretzky

As we know from watching the various hockey recap shows like NHL on the Fly, or any of the dozen in Canada, hindsight is better than 20/20. It's like … 20/3. For further examples of this, you could read anything I've ever written ever.

Well, that attribute is not exclusively possessed by the media, and it only adds to the problem — coaches (often assistants) get frustrated at watching their players get robbed, then robbed again, and then after that, robbed.

"You should have gone upstairs there."

Thanks.

Coaches just aren't shy to get in players ears when the going gets tough.

"Get it up on this guy!"

"Fire it into his feet and dig out the rebounds!"

"Make him move!"

"JUST SHOOT IT."

I assure you, it doesn't help a shooter's mindset when he picks his head up to fire, sees an opening low, and suddenly remembers his coach has been yelling "shoot high" for a period and a half.

It's cutesy-wootsy time

When you become convinced the goalie you're shooting on is somehow the offspring of Jacques Plante playing in front of a force field, you subconsciously feel like you have to take the guy completely out of the net to score, so you try to pass it around him.

And everybody knows, the best way to score on a hot goalie is to pass up good looks, right?

… Unless you're a Sedin brother, not so much.

As a forward on the bench who just dished from the hashmarks, you get to have your "beaten man" moment. You have just lost, good sir.

You think you have to be perfect

A relaxed player snaps pucks at corners, having unwavering confidence in what they're trying to execute. The second you start getting desperate, you tense up. It's like having the scope on your rifle aligned slightly off, and suddenly you're shooting the puck like the waterbottles are filled with Jäger and red bull.

If I haven't described the mental meltdown that great goaltending can cause well enough, just know that it comes to this:

Okay, we need to eliminate this guy

You want the goalie to feel what you do: frustration. Also, you want him to not play your team ever again, and seeing him on crutches wouldn't make anybody tear up in your dressing room.

So to get under his skin, you start crashing the crease. On the way there, you may stop a second too late, you may catch an edge, you may spray him with snow. Maybe you fall on him. You may do whatever the heck you can to make him change the way he's playing. After all, it can't be fun knowing you're going to have guys crashing down on you after every whistle.

In the end, there's just nothing you can do. A hot goalie is the ultimate trump card in our sport, and in a series that boasts two of the best in the league, there's going to be a lot of players running through this set of frustrations.

You only hope, like water on a rock, that you can erode the goaltender into weakness so you can squeeze a puck behind him.

When you've got a rock in your own net, sometime one is enough to win.

Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.

• Germany shocks Russia at the IIHF World Championships, 2-0, having gone 32 games at Worlds without a win against them. Among the Russians on that squad: Ilya Kovalchuk. Boy, when it rains ... [Y! Sports]

• Sidney Crosby tells reporters that he suffered a concussion symptom-related setback in his comeback, but that he's optimistic about playing next season with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Frustrating news, to be sure. [Post Gazette]

• NHL.com selling Stamkos as a surrogate for Sidney in battle with Alex Ovechkin. [NHL.com]

• Tampa Bay Lightning Coach Guy Boucher on the Washington Capitals: "I know that if they lose this, for them it's a huge failure." [Capitals Insider]

• In praise of the Detroit Red Wings grinders, including the soon-to-be-40 Kris Draper. [NY Times]

• Mark Purdy makes his pick: "In the first round against L.A., the Sharks could also give up a four-goal lead and still come from behind to win. Against the Red Wings in a series of No-Houdini Hockey, that will not work. It'll be the Sharks in seven. But with a very nervous rabbit inside the hat." [Mercury News]

• Jesse Spector on Sean Avery's season with the New York Rangers: "If Avery is back with the Rangers next season — Tortorella said on breakup day, 'I don't know where it sits with Sean' — he has to be himself, because this season, he wasn't, and while he still trod a regular path to the penalty box, he did not validate those sin bin sessions with contributions on the ice." [NYDN]

• Recapping the Buffalo Sabres press conference today, including Lindy Ruff's contract extension for multiple years. [Die By The Blade]

• Tom Gaglardi is in talks to buy the Dallas Stars. GM Joe Nieuwendyk is in a holding pattern. Brad Richards goes UFA on July 1. The waiting is the hardest part. [Dallas Morning News]

• Your next Dallas Stars head coach: Kirk Muller, according to Pat Hickey. "Gauthier ducked a question about assistant coach Kirk Muller, but he'll be moving to the Dallas Stars. His appointment as head coach is on hold while the team awaits a new group of owners" [Gazette, via Defending Big D]

• Extortion? Check. Hookers? Check. An unnamed employee of an American hockey team at the heart of the scandal? Check. [Calgary Herald]

• Spector on the Montreal Canadiens and what could be wholesale changes for their blue line. [THN]

• Scott Gomez: "I feel I have let my teammates down." Not-so-much his accountant. [QMI]

• Wondering what happened to Patrick Kane this season? He said he returned from an ankle injury too soon in December. [Chicago Tribune]

• Steven Ovadia on the Philadelphia Flyers: "Last year, the Flyers often felt like a playoff team that couldn't be stopped, Chicago Blackhawks excluded.  One round into the playoffs, and once again winning in spite of serious goaltending issues, the Flyers have that unstoppable vibe once again. And this time, there are no Blackhawks around to stop them." [Puck Update]

• Peter Laviolette on Chris Pronger for Round 2: "It was pretty darn good and having him back out there was just…he calms things down. He makes little plays. He agitates a little bit and irritates a little bit. He helps on the power play and does so many good things for us to get him back in there. He's only going to get stronger now as time moves on." [Sports Radio Interviews]

• We're in awe of this, and secretly wish it was Jyrki Lumme.

• How Barry Trotz's Round 1 victory with the Nashville Predators changed his reputation for the better. [Kennedy]

• "Police in Saskatoon confirm that a man accused of an on-ice assault in an adult hockey game is a 15-year veteran of the force." Ouch. [CTV]

• A nearly line-for-line rebuttal of Blades of Teal's Los Angeles Kings Eulogy. [Jewels From The Crown]

• How a stockbroker can better enjoy the Stanley Cup Playoffs. [Benzinga]

• NHL stars attend the Royal Wedding in Photoshop form. [Houses Of The Hockey]

• Finally, this was the scene after Game 7 against the Blackhawks in Vancouver. Not the Olympics post-gold medal, but same sort of vibe:

Canucks 2011 Cup Run from Kenan Hafi on Vimeo.

Trending Topics is a new column that looks at the week in hockey according to Twitter. If you're only going to comment to say how stupid Twitter is, why not just go have a good cry for the slow, sad death of your dear Internet instead?

There was a lot of talk from fans and media alike as the Vancouver Canucks at long last eliminated the Chicago Blackhawks, and the Boston Bruins finally won a Game 7.

That "demons" had been "exorcised" and "the ghosts" driven howling back to the nether, where they would never be seen or heard from again.

But I've seen enough exorcism and haunted house movies (OK, just "The Exorcist" and "Poltergeist") to know that just when you think they've gone away, that's when they come back scarier than ever.

And unfortunately for the Canucks and Bruins, that precedent looks like it could very well hold up.

Yeah, the Canucks finally put the Chelsea Dagger to their long-time tormentors, needing a Game 7, an extra period and a terribly fortunate giveaway from an extraordinarily unfortunate defenseman to accomplish it, even after being up three games to Chicago's goose egg.

Euphoria in Vancouver! A curse lifted! The very high likelihood that there will be a couple thousand new Vancouverites born in nine months or so!

All ignoring the mightily inconvenient fact that the Canucks' problems extend beyond the Chicago Blackhawks, and always have.

Sure, they've made the playoffs a fair amount in the last decade, but only once, in 2003, did they even play in a game where a win would have moved them on to the Western Conference finals. And in that series, well hey, guess what: They went up 3-1 before dropping three in a row, two of which were at home, by an aggregate score 16-5.

And it's fair enough for you to say that the 2002-03 Canucks share exactly three players with the current iteration (and even then, the Sedins were but 22-year-old, 30-point players). But if we're going to act like the frustrations suffered 40 years the franchise was founded carried weight just a few days ago, so too does this.

You know how many current Canucks have played past a conference quarterfinal? Two. Mikael Samuelsson and Raffi Torres. And unless they get all the guys to huddle real close in the dressing room, imparting secret get-out-of-the-second-round wisdom like an ancient bard (that isn't "let Lidstrom/Pronger run the show"), they're not all going to magically know what the hell they're doing. If we're going to talk about Roberto Luongo's fragile mental state because of the Blackhawks, then the panic of not knowing how to beat anyone in the second round must be coiled around everyone else like a snake.

As it turns out, 1994 was a long-ass time ago, and no date with the Nashville Predators in the second round guarantees safe passage to the third, necessarily. The Predators vanquished their own dragons in even getting to this point, and there's no reason Vancouver's should be any more or less valid, apart from the fact that the Canucks are probably going to gut them like fish.

Not that anyone on earth would be surprised if they didn't.

Similar to the Canucks is the Bruins' well-documented problems with closing out series. It is exceedingly difficult to remember the last time the Bruins actually won a Game 7 off the top of your head. As with the Canucks, you have to go all the way back to 1994, when they beat the Canadiens in the first round after being down 3-1 in the series. They were 0 for 4 since then.

But oh, hey, they beat the Habs. And like the Canucks needed overtime to do it. What drama! It gave Jack Edwards extra time to cook up that insane, rambling speech that only occasionally touched on the very edges of making sense, but other than that, the game served little purpose than to reassure the Bruins' detractors.

Going negative-1 for 21 on the very, very, veryvery limp power play during a series is no way to ensure victory (proof: that's the first team ever to have gone 0-fer on the man advantage and won a seven-game set). Nor is having about as much skill up front as the Blue Jackets when Rick Nash is on the IR. Nor is taking penalties inside of three minutes remaining in regulation. Nor is giving up several five-on-threes in a game. Nor is going down 2-0 in a series for which you have home ice advantage.

But the Bruins did all that and still won, and now look who stands in the way of the Bruins' first appearance in the conference finals since 1992: It's the team that made the most hilarious, if not the greatest, series comeback in sports history in the same round last year, the Philadelphia Flyers.

That's a whole new, and altogether scarier, set of ghosts, isn't it? It may have taken the Flyers seven games to put the sword to an underwhelming, and in the end ineffectual, Buffalo squad, and they may come with the same goaltending problems that should have plagued them last year; but the Bruins will need to have their proton packs on full power if they want to have any hope of advancing.

Now that the media is done cooking up thrilling fictions about the Blackhawks' ability to beat the Canucks coming from INSIDE ROGERS CENTER!!!!!!, and holding flashlights under their chins as they weave heartstopping tales of Marc Savard's Game 7 line change nightmares that become horrifying reality, there are fresh monsters to face.

Vancouver and Boston want to exorcise the latest set of demons? They're going to need a bigger Bible, because after all, every good scary story gets a sequel.

Or maybe, just maybe, it's all made up and doesn't matter.

#WorstBeerLeaguePlay

Nothing made me laugh harder this week than when my buddy and partner in charity Chemmy from Pension Plan Puppets asked the Twitterverse to tell stories about their worst-ever memories from playing beer league hockey. Imaginging these happening in an NHL game makes it all so much better.

@DownGoesSpezza got it started the right way: "high sticked myself on a faceoff"

@raaaachel_4519: "went to kick the puck, tripped over it, rolled my ankle, and took out my own goalie. other team scored."

@KellBHDL: "Falling back into the bench while trying to get on the ice"

@bryanbell09: "Jumped out of penalty box to take lead pass for breakaway, stepped on the puck and went down."

@JaredOfLondon: "switched teams at the half, totally forgot, scored on own goalie first shift on new team"

@WvadsaDicfoure: "Cried after winning the end of season Most Improved Award"

@garrettbauman: "New stick. Celebrated wildly thinking I'd scored the winner. Nope. Blade went into the net, puck was between my skates."

@hawknut: "Checking out teammate's sister in stands during pregame skate,face-planted over our goalie stretching in front of bench"

And your winner, because I have no idea how this even begins to happen:

@mikenumberfive: "Lost my skate mid-stride"

Pearls of Biz-dom

We all know that there isn't a better Twitter account out there than that of Paul Bissonnette. So why not find his best bit of advice on love, life and lappers from the last week?

BizNasty on the apocalypse: "If Van loses Game 7. Granville street is getting destroyed. And the only thing that will servive are the Roxy an Spoons."

If you've got something for Trending Topics, holla at Lambert on Twitter or via email. He'll even credit you so you get a thousand followers in one day and you'll become the most popular person on the Internet! You can also visit his blog if you're so inclined.

The San Jose Sharks dispatched the Detroit Red Wings in five games last postseason, taking it on the chin in Game 4 in Detroit but closing out the series on home ice. It was the playoff underachiever topping the perennial Cup contender; and in the case of Todd McLellan and Mike Babcock, the student defeating the teacher.

How does McLellan see the rematch?

"When you start as a coach or a player, playing with that kind of motivation, I think it can be dangerous. It's not about Mike and Todd. Mike and Todd are going to stand there and change lines. The players are going to go out and play and at the end of the day, we know one of the teams is going to move on.

"Whoever plays best in a seven-game series is going to win. Eventually the better team evolves and takes off. We'd like to be that team and there's a pretty good team over there and we understand that."

Pretty good? The Wings looked damn impressive in Round 1, while the Sharks had their problems with a pesky Kings team (and some terrific goaltending).

Who wins this Western Conference semifinal? And, more importantly, will we see another friggin' Shark with a friggin' octopus in its friggin' mouth thrown on the ice?

Look at the Detroit Red Wings' top nine forwards in the postseason. Look at the San Jose Sharks' top nine forwards in the postseason. Which one impresses you more?

The Red Wings group reads like … well, like the side of the Stanley Cup. Pavel Datsyuk was in Conn Smythe form, dominating the first round in stretches with six points. Tomas Holmstrom is the immovable object, Johan Franzen the irresistible force in the postseason. Missing from that list: Henrik Zetterberg, who'll be ready to roll in Game 1 and brings one of the best two-way games in hockey to the series.

But the performances the Sharks have received from their group can't be ignored. Ryane Clowe (7 points) and Logan Couture (5 points) were the team's most important and effective duo in the first round. Joe Pavelski had more postseason heroics. Players like Kyle Wellwood and Torrey Mitchell (4 points each) contributed down the lineup.

So they've got depth beyond the Big Three … but the Big Three aren't to be overlooked despite their postseason reputation, especially when Dany Heatley and Joe Thornton scored in Game 6 to oust the Kings. (Thornton with the series-clinching goal, forcing hockey fans to run outside to make sure up wasn't down and that dogs and cats weren't living together.)

Which group is better? We'd offer that one-through-nine, it's the Sharks. But it's hard to argue with the names on the Red Wings roster.

The first round afforded Nicklas Lidstrom rest both in games played and in ice time, as he averaged under 20 minutes (19:34) per game. Expect that total to spike in this series, as he and Brad Staurt will see copious amounts of Joe Thornton, one would imagine.

Niklas Kronwall led the Wings in ice time with 22:24 on average, scoring three points and being a physical presence with Ruslan Salei. Brian Rafalski averaged 21:19 and tallied two goals.

Dan Boyle does the heavy lifting for the San Jose Sharks, averaging 27:10 in the opening round with three points. His partner, Douglas Murray, brings a level of physical agitation along with effective defensive play. Jason Demers tallied two goals in the series, while Ian White had five assists. Marc-Edouard Vlasic had an up and down series, dealing with some off the ice issues.

Antti Niemi has a Stanley Cup ring … and a 3.99 GAA and a .863 save percentage in the first round. The Sharks were outscored 8-1 in the first period against the Kings, which is something they can't get away with against the Wings. A return to competence for Niemi is essential here.

Against the Sharks last postseason, Jimmy Howard gave up four goals in three of their four losses. Is he looking for revenge? From the Freep: "I'm just going to try and play the same that I did against Phoenix. I'm not trying to be spectacular, but make the saves when called upon. And try to come up with the one or two that you shouldn't."

The key here: Which goalie will a bigger liability for his team?

For what it's worth, Niemi had the best of Howard in a big way in the regular season.

The Todd Bertuzzi Song.

"He's skating all around and everybody's woozy." Yeah, there was this one guy …

Teacher vs. student again.

There are few coaches you'd want on your bench instead of Mike Babcock for a critical playoff game. He's deft at juggling lines, juggling his roster, motivating his troops and managing a series. If the Jack Adams could actually go to a coach who wins with a great team instead of barely making the playoffs with an average one, he'd have a shelf of them by now.

Todd McLellan, his former assistant, is 14-13 in the playoffs, and did some impressive work in what was a chaotic opening-round series vs. Los Angeles -- including standing by Niemi.

And, of course, he beat Babcock last season.

The Red Wings are 4 for 15 on the power play, but struggled on the kill, having given up six power-play goals in 18 times shorthanded.

The Sharks are 2 for 23 on the power play, an anemic 8.7 percent conversion rate. On the kill, they gave up five goals in 24 chances.

Sharks power play vs. Wings' kill … something's gotta give.

SHARK NINJA!

The sequel to "Jaws" that never was.

Sharks in seven. This San Jose team already has the confidence from defeating the Wings last season on top of the confidence that this team, because the emergence of a solid young core of players, has better balance in scoring and in leadership.

This is going to be a war. But the Sharks showed impressive perseverance in Round 1.

Scary moment here in D.C. during the first period of Game 1 between the Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning, as Simon Gagne was checked by Scott Hannan and then tumbles on his head at 8:22.

Lightning GM Steve Yzerman said between the first and second period that Gagne was alert and talking in the locker room, under the evaluation of doctors and that no concussion diagnosis had been made.

Gagne has a history of concussions, of course; there was plenty of concern from his teammates after the injury.

WASHINGTON, DC — Bruce Boudreau was speaking about Steve Downie's tying goal in the Washington Capitals' Game 1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, but he might as well have been talking about the entirety of his team's effort to open the Eastern Conference semifinals:

"I'm a firm a believer that, in the end, you get what you deserve."

In the end, the Capitals deserved to lose this game. "I think we play too cute and we took lots of penalties and that cost us," said Alex Ovechkin.

The turnovers. The sloppy drop passes. The lack of quality chances on a power play that that went 0-for-5; and the quality chances they gave a Lightning offense that remained dangerous even after losing Simon Gagne to an upper body injury in the first period.

"You can't play river hockey," said Boudreau after the 4-2 loss on Friday night. "This wasn't the way we play. This was reverting back to an older day [for the Capitals]."

While Boudreau was critical of his team, the Lightning had nothing but praise for the Capitals. Such is the way of playoff psychological warfare.

"They came out real hard. They had their chances. They should have beat us. But we stayed alive," said Bolts winger Steve Downie, whose deflected shot off of Capitals defenseman Scott Hannan knotted the game at 2-2 at 16:17 of the second period before Steven Stamkos's power-play goal at 19:28 gave Tampa the lead for good.

Lightning Coach Guy Boucher echoed his winger's words, while amplified the praise for the Capitals.

"We're surprised [we won], to be honest with you. This is a machine here. It's a hockey machine that's in its fifth year of its plan. They're supposed to win this year," said Boucher. "I think they might be the best team in the league. We're coming here and we're just learning how to win as a team. Half the team hasn't played in the playoffs.

"When you lose Gagne and you're down to 10 forwards, that's when you feel lucky to get out of it."

So the Bolts won Game 1 in a building that has what can best be called "Fan Muscle Memory": Things go badly in the postseason and the tension becomes palpable in the stands. In the third period, down a goal, the Capitals were booed by the home fans on an ineffective power play. The place fell dead silent after Tampa goals.

Do the Lightning feel they've planted a seed of doubt here in Washington about this series? "Maybe," said forward Nate Thompson, "but it's a seven game series. I don't think anybody expects it's going to be a quick series at all."

Boucher didn't believe Game 1 damaged the home team's psyche. "No," he said, "because if you look at the Canadiens, they won the first two games in Boston, and they lost the series.

"To me, it's just one game. We're very well aware of what kind of machine they got."

No. 1 Star: Steve Downie, Tampa Bay Lightning

Having won their final three games against the Pittsburgh Penguins to advance to Round 2, the Lightning made it four in a row with a 4-2 victory over the Washington Capitals in Game 1 of their series. Playing just 11:46, Downie increased his team-high point total to nine with a goal and an assist as a fortunate bounce off Scott Hannan's tied the game at two with 3:43 left in the second period.

No. 2 Star: Benn Ferriero, San Jose Sharks

On his 24th birthday and playing in his first NHL playoff game, Ferriero was the hero as his goal 7:03 into overtime gave the Sharks a 2-1 win and 1-0 series lead over the Detroit Red Wings:

No. 3 Star: Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings

Howard did he all he could to earn the win for Detroit stopping 44 shots, including six of the seven he faced in overtime.

Honorable mention: Steven Stamkos netted the winner for Tampa Bay on the power play with 32 seconds remaining in the second period ... Sean Bergenheim opened the scoring with his fourth goal in five games ... Joe Pavelski delivered another big time goal for the Sharks when he forced overtime with a power play tally with 9:38 left in regulation ... San Jose has won all four of their overtime games in the playoffs ... Jason Demers led all players with five blocked shots ... A day after he turned 41, Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom scored his 51st career playoff goal ... The CSN Bay Area cameras caught the "Ghetto Shark" in the stands at HP Pavilion in this fantastic outfit:

Did you know? The Sharks have won 11 in a row & are 15-1 when Joe Pavelski scores in the playoffs.

Dishonorable mention: Washington went 0-for-5 on the power play ... Simon Gagne had to leave the game after hitting his head on the ice after a hit from Hannan. No diagnosis has been made yet, but Gagne was alert and talking in the locker room according to Lightning GM Steve Yzerman ... Todd Bertuzzi's boarding penalty put San Jose on the power play that led to Pavelski's tying goal.

Conn Smythe Watch: 1. Danny Briere, Philadelphia Flyers, 2. Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings; 3. Ryane Clowe, San Jose Sharks; 4. Michal Neuvirth, Washington Capitals; 5. Daniel Sedin,Vancouver Canucks; 6. Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning; 7. Mike Fisher, Nashville Predators; 8. Nathan Horton, Boston Bruins; 9. Dwayne Roloson, Tampa Bay Lightning; 10. Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers.

"I think last year is last year, and this year is this year."

Those are the words of Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julien. While forgetting about their historic collapse from a year ago, it will also provide motivation for the Bruins as they face the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference semifinal for the second straight season.

Redemption will the rallying cry in the city of Boston over the next two weeks, but they'll be facing a very similar Philadelphia team from last year. Same big-game players up front. Similar strong defensive depth. Same goaltending issues. We'll see highlights from Game 7 of last year so many times it'll become nauseous and like the Chicago Blackhawks' demonizing of the Vancouver Canucks, there will be one overlying storyline until the Bruins erase the memories of the collapse.

Milan Lucic scored a team-high 30 goals in the regular season to lead the Bruins, but managed just a pair of assists in their seven-game series with the Montreal Canadiens. Taking charge on the offensive load was Chris Kelly and Nathan Horton (three), along with Michael Ryder (two). Horton played the hero twice for the Bruins with two overtime winners, including the series clincher in Game 7 against the Habs.

The Bruins need to get goals from Lucic and in general, really. Boston managed 17 goals in their extended series with Montreal, two more than the Washington Capitals who netted 15 in their short series with the New York Rangers. Getting that first goal will also be important as the Bruins were 3-0 doing so against Montreal showing they can tighten up defensively with a lead. Depending on goals coming from behind will need to be improved as Boston went 1-3 and 0-3 when trailing after the first and second periods, respectively.

Up and down the Flyers lineup are big-game players. Danny Briere was most certainly in the Conn Smythe conversation last year and after a six-goal first round, he's back in it again. James van Riemsdyk (four) and Ville Leino (three) round out the top goal scorers for the Flyers and that's without mentioning the contributions of Claude Giroux (nine points) who has a knack for shining in the postseason.

Like the Bruins, Philadelphia has received scoring from numerous players in the playoffs so far. Kris Versteeg and Mike Richards have yet to get on the board with goals, yet the Flyers still tied for the lead after the first round with 22. That will cause serious concern for the Bruins and their defense. Tim Thomas will be busy facing a Flyers team that averaged 36 shots a game in the first round.

The Tomas Kaberle deal has only produced one goal through 31 games since coming over from the Toronto Maple Leafs and only three points on the power play since being paired with Zdeno Chara (zero goals through the first round). We'll get to the power play later, but those two who are known for contributing offensively were quiet against Montreal.

Andrew Ference (four points, +6, 11 blocked shots) lead the Bruins from the back, with Dennis Seidenberg (21 hits, 27:50 TOI, 19 shots) also effective.

Chris Pronger only play power play minutes in Philadelphia's final two games against the Buffalo Sabres, but with four days off to heal up further after coming back from a broken hand, his presence in the the back will only strengthen the Flyers blueline even more.

The Flyers blocked a total of 107 shots against Buffalo, with half of those coming from their defense. Matt Carle (16), Andrej Meszaros (14), Kimmo Timonen (14), and Braydon Coburn (10) are not afraid to give up the body and also each played least 22 minutes or more against Buffalo.

In three games that ended in overtime, Tim Thomas made a total of 16 saves that ended in three wins for the Bruins. When Thomas is on his game, he's one of, if not the best in the world. But Thomas is not afraid to show his emotions and with some of the agitators on the Flyers, it wouldn't be shocking if that's a route Philadelphia attempts to go down to take him off his game. But in the end, Thomas has shown he's capable of making the big save when needed and if Boston's offense goes quiet, he's able to steal a game or two.

Goaltending issues is nothing new to the Flyers, so the fact that there were three different netminders in Round 1 against Buffalo really isn't surprising; nor is the idea that goaltending can prevent them from making their way to the Stanley Cup final (see: last year). But can they overcome their game of goalie musical chairs once again?

Brian Boucher will be the man for the Flyers after winning all four games in the opening round. He has better numbers than Thomas despite three less starts, but there's a little redemption for Boucher to play for this year himself. He lost the first three games to the Bruins last year before getting hurt in Game 5 and watching Michael Leighton help the Flyers through to the Final.

We imagine when the Game Operations staff at TD Garden wants to get the fans to make some noise, they'll use this:

Is Claude Julien playing for his job still after getting out of the first round? It's possible depending on how this series goes, but Julien has helped instil a winning attitude within the Bruins organization and has managed GM Peter Chiarelli's additions well.

Peter Laviolette knows how to get the most out of his players and when to push buttons to get even more out of them. Even with high expectations for the Flyers, Laviolette has been able to keep them grounded and settle things down in the playoffs after a very rough ending to the regular season.

There wasn't a worse power play in the first round than what the Boston Bruins put on the ice against Montreal. Failing to score on 21 opportunities with the extra man, Boston made NHL history by becoming the only team to win a series without a power play goal. The Kaberle-Chara combination hasn't quite paid off as the Bruins would have liked so far.

Philadelphia's power play got some life when Pronger returned in Game 6 as they scored three times in nine chances in the final two games, compared to the two in 26 opportunities in the previous five. He'll be a huge presence logging major minutes with the extra man and the Flyers don't have a shortage of guys who can cash in on those chances.

The Bruins allows six power play goals to the Canadiens in 27 chances continuing their trend of being a middle-of-the-road kill from the regular season. The Flyers weren't any better killing just 77.4% of power plays going 7-for-31 against the Sabres. A fully healthy Pronger should be able to improve things.

Is your scarecrow lacking clothes or some sort of dressing up? Why not try one of these new jersey flags?

If the Bruins are legitimate Cup contenders out of the East, they'll need to prove it against the Flyers. Forget about exercising the demons of last year's collapse, Boston didn't look contender-like against the Canadiens and with some big names yet to live up expectations so far, they can't afford to stutter against a Flyers team that can go to any number of sources for big goals.

Is Boucher up to the task of beating another world-class goaltender for a second consecutive series? Or will the Flyers need to rely on their scoring to bail them out against Thomas?

The pick here, however, is Bruins in six. The motivation is there from last season and there's not a chance the power play continues being putrid and that Chara and Lucic remain off the goal sheet. After falling behind 2-0 to the Habs, Boston picked up their socks and fought back to advance, taking three games in overtime. Thomas can play even better and I think he will in a series that will not be short of dramatic moments.

UPDATE: Both Bob McKenzie of TSN and ESPN's Pierre LeBrun reported tonight that Miller has been put back into the rotation for Round 2. He'll be in Tampa this week for the Lighting-Capitals series and is expected to officiate.

Steve Miller is an 11-year NHL linesman with close to 50 playoff games to his credit, including work in the last two Stanley Cup Finals. He appeared twice in the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs … and then was curiously removed from the officials' rotation for the second round.

The reason? Miller has been accused by several parties of having taken the game-winning puck from the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals, which gave the Chicago Blackhawks their first championship since 1961.

From ESPN:

Miller was featured in an ESPN.com "Outside the Lines" story on April 21 that explored the whereabouts of the puck Patrick Kane shot to win last year's Cup in Game 6 against the Philadelphia Flyers. Since the story appeared, Miller has not worked an NHL game. Gary Meagher, the league's senior vice president for public relations, said Friday that the decision was made to temporarily remove Miller from the playoffs to avoid any potential distractions. Meagher said Miller is not suspended, and that the league stands behind him.

"There are lots of questions out there and to have any potential distraction while our playoffs are going on is not fair," Meagher said.

According to ESPN, Meagher said there is a possibility Miller could return later this postseason. Although how that return wouldn't be a distraction, given the press he's removal has been given, is baffling.

The NHL stands by Miller, as does the NHL Officials Association. The problem? There's almost irrefutable evidence that this linesman is being less-than-forthcoming with the whereabouts of a piece of hockey history.

After his overtime goal in Game 6 against the Flyers, Kane wasn't given the puck. No one associated with the Blackhawks was given it, actually. The Flyers claimed they didn't have it either … despite the presence of noted puck thief Chris Pronger, who swiped game pucks from the first two contests of the 2010 Finals in a bit of gamesmanship.

Who had it? Or, at least, who knew where it went?

In January, the Philadelphia Flyers blog Crossing Broad ran a provocative "who dunnit?" post that named Miller, who worked the sixth and final game of that series in Philadelphia, as its prime suspect.

Drehs picked up the investigation for ESPN, speaking with both teams, with eyewitness fans in the stands and, most importantly, with Miller himself about the following image:

From the outstanding piece from ESPN, Drehs speaks to Miller:

"If not you, then who has it?" I ask. "Who should I talk to?"

"I honestly don't have a clue," he tells me. "Honestly, I don't know where it would be. It's a mystery. Who knows? [Leighton] could have shot it away right away. And I may not have even seen it. It looks like I'm looking down there."

"Steve," I say, "It looks like you're looking right at it."

"From the picture it does, yeah. But I can honestly say that I didn't … when we came off the ice there was all the director of officials and all that kind of stuff, and they asked where the puck was. They wanted to know right there. The Hockey Hall of Fame wanted it."

The evidence presented through interviews and newly discovered video also point to Miller picking up the puck (click the image or here to view it):

So why is this such a serious matter for the NHL, to the point of pulling Miller from the playoffs, even temporarily?

First, there's no question that having one of their playoff officials center stage and on the record in that ESPN story is an embarrassment. The League doesn't make its officials available to the media after games, for the expressed reason that they don't want the officials to become the story. Whoops.

Second, this has become an FBI matter. (With the Bureau telling ESPN that "we are 100 percent certain the linesman picked up the puck.") Grant DePorter, CEO of Harry Caray's, offered a $50,000 reward for the puck. On the memorabilia market — or black market — it would carry a considerable price tag. So its whereabouts are a rather significant deal.

Did Miller "steal" the puck? The evidence is irrefutable that he handled it. But it's also completely believable that this guy accidently handed off hockey history to someone else in the postgame euphoria, and is unable to piece together what happened. So he's just going with the straight denial.

One thing's for certain: By removing him from the playoffs, the NHL made the accusations about Steve Miller into bigger headlines than the theories about his behavior ever did. He may or may not have stolen the puck; but the NHL has stolen a quality official from these playoffs, and in the process has certainly added validity to the accusations against him.

When Sully and Force, better known as the Vancouver Green Men, appeared on Puck Daddy Radio Thursday, they told Wysh and Pizzo they would be in attendance for tonight's Game 2, and gave a warning to singer Carrie Underwood, the wife of Nashville Predators forward Mike Fisher.

As they've done in the past with actor Vince Vaughn -- including Wednesday's Game 7 against the Chicago Blackhawks -- the Green Men took a cutout of Underwood and dressed her in a Canucks jersey, plastering it on the glass next to the penalty box as Jordin Tootoo was serving a first period minor:

The Green Men are hockey's secret during the regular and once the Canucks make it to the payoffs, Sully and Force become international phenomenons, doing interviews and promotions all over the place, like their spot on ESPN's E:60 last week.

Their silly little antics don't take away from the game itself and is nothing but harmless fun, with some NHLers even enjoying their act.

That's why it's maddening to hear Glen Healy report on tonight's "Hotstove" segment on Hockey Night in Canada -- after turning up the volume on his "curmudgeon" button -- that the NHL has told the boys in spandex that they can no longer touch the glass while an opposing player is in the box.

Given their creativity, we fully expect Sully and Force to be able to work around these new restrictions.

If Nashville Predators head coach Barry Trotz described his players after their Game 1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks by calling them "passengers", then Pekka Rinne is the "bus driver" after his Game 2 performance.

The Vezina Trophy nominee was spectacular in making 32 saves as the Predators evened the series with a 2-1 win in double overtime thanks to a snipe by Matt Halischuk. Rinne's biggest save of the night also kept Nashville's hope alive.

After Ryan Suter's bank shot went in off of Roberto Luongo's pads with 1:07 left in regulation to force overtime, Rinne robbed Kevin Bieksa with a top candidate for "Save of the Playoffs":

Nashville took the harsh words of their coach after Game 1 to heart and put forth a much more inspired effort in Game 2 blistering Luongo with 46 shots, winning 57-percent of draws and continually threatening the Canucks with scoring opportunities.

We were wondering when Rinne would return to form after a mediocre first-round series against the Anaheim Ducks. Through two games, it's obvious Rinne's play is back and that will truly determine Nashville's fate in this series.

No. 1 Star: Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators

Rinne's numerous outstanding stops, like the game-saver in overtime on Kevin Bieksa, propelled Nashville to a road split with a 2-1 double overtime win over the Vancouver Canucks. Making 32 saves, including 11 in the overtime periods, Rinne helped the Predators head home for Game 3 on Tuesday night with the series knotted at one.

No. 2 Star: David Krejci, Boston Bruins

The Bruins emphatically opened their series against the Philadelphia Flyers with a 7-3 victory in Game 1. Krejci, who missed the final four games of the series last year with a wrist injury, recorded a four-point night with two goals and two assists in the victory. Needing just 1:52 to open the scoring, Krejci and Brad Marchand (two goals as well) scored 108 seconds apart late in the second period to chase Brian Boucher.

No. 3 Star: Ryan Suter, Nashville Predators

It was Suter's goal off a bank shot from the corner with 67 seconds left in the third period that sent the game to overtime. Suter also assisted on Matt Halischuk's double overtime winner and was just 11 seconds behind Shea Weber in time on-ice playing an incredible 42:01.

Honorable mention: Dennis Seidenberg played a solid 25:43 and finished a plus-2 with a pair of assists ... Patrice Bergeron recorded three assists to give him 10 points in seven games ... Alex Burrows scored the lone goal for Vancouver, a shorthanded tally to give him four in four games ... Roberto Luongo made 44 saves in a losing effort ... Here's Matt Halischuk playing the hero for Nashville:

The Green Men in Vancouver were at it again using Mike Fisher's wife, Carrie Underwood, as part of their prop comedy:

Did you know? The double overtime game was the longest in Predators history, and the third longest ever for the Canucks. (AP)

Dishonorable mention: Boston's abysmal power play went 0-for-5 to fall to 0-for-26 in the playoffs so far ... More goalie follies for the Flyers as Brian Boucher was pulled after allowing five Bruins goals and Sergei Bobrovsky allowed the final two before things ended.

Conn Smythe Watch: 1. Danny Briere, Philadelphia Flyers, 2. Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings; 3. Ryane Clowe, San Jose Sharks; 4. Michal Neuvirth, Washington Capitals; 5. Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks; 6. Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning; 7. Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators; 8. Nathan Horton, Boston Bruins; 9. Dwayne Roloson, Tampa Bay Lightning; 10. Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers.

(Ed. Note: Welcome to Stat Nerd Sunday, where we occasionally obsess over hockey numbers like a Dungeon Master obsessing over the level of his warrior elf. Here's Matt Barr, formerly of LCS: Guide To Hockey and Trolleytracks and now blogging hockey at Kertwang.me.)

To celebrate the start of the second round, I wanted to look at the proposition that a better-rested team has an advantage in the next round over a team that took the full seven games to advance.

It makes intuitive sense: A team that's had days off, without travel, with a chance to nurse nagging injuries, should be fresher, healthier and more energetic than a team that's been through a longer series that ended more recently.

Evidence of this advantage should show up in the first game of the series between the better-rested and maxed-out teams, provided we go back far enough to get a large sample of games to look at.

Let's go back 20 full playoffs, so we'll look at 1990-2010.

Over that time, there were 71 series in which at least one participant had just won a game seven to advance. Coming off a seven-game win, teams were 29-42 in the first game of the next series, a .408 win percentage.

We're not done, because some of those series included two teams coming off seven-game series. When a seven-game series winner plays a "better rested" team in the first game of the next round -- a team that advanced in four, five or six games the round before -- the seven-game series winner is 19-32, a .373 win percentage, in 51 games.

So far, that's pretty powerful evidence of some kind of advantage.

But we're still not done. If a second round matchup features a first seed and a sixth seed, we would expect the six seed to lose the first game often, no matter how many games it took it to get there.

We can suss out the number of "upset losses" in those 51 games. The easiest way is by looking at whether the seven-game series winner was on the road -- and therefore, lower-seeded. Fifteen times in those 51 games a higher seed lost to a lower seed, a nominal "upset."  Looked at from the other direction, a lower-seeded team lost (as expected) 17 times out of 32 total losses. We can't fairly attribute those losses to facing a better-rested opponent -- it's just as likely that they were facing a better opponent.

So, 15 times in 20 years a team took seven games to dispatch an opponent, and then it lost Game 1 of the next series to a lower seed. We need to see how that compares to upsets under other circumstances. The chart below sets all this and more out, but let's walk through it first.

First, let's look at the 47 series over the same 20 years which matched two teams that both won the previous round in either five or six games. Twenty-three times the lower seed prevailed in Game 1. The higher seed went 24-23.

Then, let's look at the 19 series over the same period where both teams were coming off either a sweep or a five-game series win. There were only five upsets in game one under those circumstances, the high seed going 14-5.

Finally, we have to consider the overall number of Game 1 upsets in the second round or later over those 20 years. Sixty two of 140 game ones in the second round or later were upsets, based on seed. The high seed, in every series after the first round in the last 20 years, has gone 78-62 in game one.

In the chart, "UPSET%" isn't (as you can probably tell) the winning percentage of the lower seed. Rather, to true up the percentages with what we did for teams coming off seven-game series, we look at the number of upset losses as a percentage of all possible outcomes.

In other words, it's upset losses divided by (all wins + all losses).

Here's how I think we can fairly summarize the data:

Longer series in the previous round do contribute to upsets. Compare the upset percentage when both teams are coming off four- or five-game wins to the rest of the numbers. There are far fewer when both teams are well rested.

But a team coming off a seven-game series playing a better-rested opponent is only about five percent more likely to be upset than if both teams had gone either five or six games the series before (29.4% vs. 24.5%). That amounts to one extra game-one upset in every 20 series.

There is certainly an advantage to being well-rested, but its effect in the results of the next series -- or at least, game one of the next series -- is usually overestimated.

Bonus nerdity!  Below you see the game one W-L of each team over the last 20 years when it is coming off a seven-game series win, minimum three such games. This does not exclude series in which both teams were coming off 4-3 wins.

The IIHF World Championships are well underway in Slovakia and they've been rather brutal. Witness this hit by Latvian defenseman Arturs Kulda on Czech defenseman (and New York Islanders blue-liner) Radek Martinek on Saturday that left Martinek motionless on the ice and, eventually, on a stretcher:

The IIHF Disciplinary Panel (a.k.a. Wheel of Justice International) reviewed the hit and banned Kulda for three games, which will really hurt Latvia's world championship chances if they had any. From the IIHF:

"The video showed Arturs Kulda jumping into the situation, hitting Martinek's head and neck area," said Jan-Ake Edvinsson, Chairman of the Disciplinary Panel.

Martinek was taken to a hospital where he was diagnosed with a severe concussion. "The player has suffered a severe concussion and a severe bruise (hematoma)," said Dr. Beat Villiger, the IIHF Medical Supervisor. "The CT scan showed no further injuries, but there is very little chance that he can play in the championship."

Suffice it to say, Martinek is out of Worlds. So is Russia's Alexei Tereschenko, a 2000 draft pick by the Dallas Stars who currently plays for Ak Bars Kazen of the KHL, thanks to a dangerous knee-on-knee hit vs. Slovenia … and then things got really ugly.

From the IIHF on today's Russian win over Slovenia:

Marcel Rodman collided with Alexei Tereshenko in the neutral zone. Rodman got a tripping penalty, and Tereshenko was helped off the ice. He's out of the tournament with a ruptured ligament of the right knee.

Yikes. A few minutes later, Russia had a dangerous hit of its own, as Alexei Yemelin checked Ziga Jeglic from behind and left him bloody:

From the IIHF:

Jeglic left the ice his face covered in blood and with a fractured nose while Yemelin received a game misconduct and was escorted to the dressing room.

The IIHF World Championships: Like the N.I.T., only much nastier and with 100 percent more Kovalchuk annually.

Meanwhile, today's amazing factoid: Did you know that the country that gave us goalie Martin Gerber actually has a player on its national team named Beat Gerber? Too bad Gerber's neck injury cost him a spot on the national team; would have made for some awkward scrimmages.

Sports cards have turned into big business over the past 25 years and as time has gone on, certain ones have garnered interest beyond the rest, such as the famous Honus Wagner T-206 that has enamored collectors for years and saw one sold for $2.35 million in 2007.

California-based SCP Auctions listed a 1979-80 Wayne Gretzky O-Pee-Chee rookie card in their latest auction and the hockey treasure sold for a final bidding price of $94,163, a record for a modern hockey card passing the $80,000 bid for the same exact card in 2006. The all-time record for a hockey card is a tie between a 1910-11 C56 Newsy Lalonde and a 1911-12 C55 Georges Vezina that both sold for $100,000.

Helping increase the card's value was the fact that it was graded a GEM MINT 10, a pristine rating, by evaluators from PSA, a well-known grading company.

Rookie cards were the first valuable find in packs before companies began inserting pieces of game-used and game-worn memorabilia. Gretzky's always going to be collectable and his rookie cards are some of the most sought-after in the industry, but very few can compare to the condition that the one sold at the SCP auction was in.

Another piece of Gretzky history sold during the auction was No. 99's official contract from the Soo Greyhounds of the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League from 1977, which went for $22, 039.20