The Verizon Center is commonly known as the east coast epicenter for Jersey Fouls. Based on the entries we've received over the years, there are two players most represented on Capitals Jersey Fouls are Sidney Crosby (sadly) and Alex Semin.

Caps fans are, above all else, Semin lovers, as you can see from this sweater at Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. (Thanks to reader Betsy Philpott for the image.)

There may be no topping this Alex Semin jersey by Jersey Foul standards. Even this classic comes up short.

Again, the arena is full of Semin Fouls. Example: What more impressive tribute is there for a professional athlete than a fan wearing your number and simply running this as the nameplate?

This one's from earlier in the season, but has been seen plenty at Verizon Center. Via reader Jeremy Kanter:

Not totally outrageous, but I think it gets bonus points for being extra creepy (Semin's name replaced with "Sexy," worn by a woman somewhat older than Semin). And the best part is that it's signed by Alex, so not only is this lady weird enough to wear a #28 "Sexy" jersey in public, but Semin must know she's out there, flaunting this awkward jersey by day and fantasizing about him by night.

The Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning play in Game 2 of the semifinals tonight. Semin has a load of goals against the Bolts this season — eight in total, including one in Game 1.

Tampa simply must do a better job holding back Semin.

This TSN bit on Philadelphia Flyers defenseman is pretty polished, with a lot of different voices chiming in, some of his greatest soundbytes and first-person insight from being on the receiving end of his act from Kris Versteeg and Scott Hartnell.

What the piece points to is that Pronger is the quintessential "player you hate until he's on your team." (See Also: Lemieux, Claude.)

I remember speaking to some folks in the NHL at the 2009 NHL Draft, after Flyers GM Paul Holmgren pulled the trigger on the trade with the Anaheim Ducks, and to a man they said no matter what his reputation is, the players in the room respect him because he does that physical, nasty, dirty work that others don't.

If there's one aspect the story glossed over, probably because it didn't fit the narrative, it's that Pronger hasn't had a suspension since the Ryan Kesler stomp. That for all the intimidation and illegality of this past, he actually may have located the line he can't cross as a player. Which is surreal in our suspension culture and his being Chris Pronger.

WASHINGTON, DC — Having tied Game 2 of his team's Stanley Cup Playoff semifinal series with a clutch goal, and then watch that team lose in overtime on a self-destructive sequence, Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin laid out the mission at hand as the action shifts to Tampa:

"We're going there, and we're going to win two games."

It wasn't a guarantee, it the reality of their surroundings. The Capitals have dropped the first two games of their series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, losing 3-2 in overtime on Sunday night. An impressive showing against the Rangers in Round 1 has become a frustrating deficit on Round 2.

The ghosts of playoff disappointments past are haunting their power play, which is now 0-for-11. And even in a game where the Capitals dominated play, symbolized by a 37-23 shot advantage, defeat was served after one mistake in the extra session:

Defenseman Scott Hannan was the catalyst for the bad change that led to Vinny Lecavalier's game-winner. His shift lasted 33 seconds, which was his second-shortest of the game (the only shorter one was ended at 18 seconds because of a penalty).

"I was a little tired and I thought I could get off in time and obviously I couldn't. It was a bad play," said Hannan. "It was a bad change. I thought the puck was going in behind. You can't make mistakes like that. It will cost you in the playoffs."

That it did.

"It was a bad change, and at the same time the guys who came on didn't come on anywhere as quick as they should have," said Capitals Coach Bruce Boudreau.

Lecavalier's second of the game, his first coming on the power play at 19:01 of the first, came after that home-run pass by Randy Jones to Teddy Purcell.

"I just went on the ice, and I saw Teddy Purcell was going to get that loose puck. I was just hoping he'd get it by that defenseman," said Lecavalier, who helped the Lightning overcome the losses of Simon Gagne and Pavel Kubina after Game 1 injuries.

"I tried to go high on [Neuvirth]. He got me last game: I tried to go between his legs and he's so good down low. If I tried to put it high, I thought I'd have a chance."

Lecavalier gave the Bolts the 1-0 lead with Ovechkin in the box on a high sticking call. It was vintage work from The Vinny and Marty Show: St. Louis confidently working the blue line on an umbrella power play, Lecavalier either feeding to the slot or firing on net from the right circle.

The Capitals knotted it at 14:52 of the second period on a goal set up by a line that wasn't out there when it was scored. Jason Arnott, Jason Chimera and Eric Fehr pinned the Lightning's top line in its defensive zone for over a minute, forcing the Bolts into an awkward change when Marty St. Louis chose to bank the puck off the center ice boards rather than go deep. That led to a Nicklas Backstrom shot that trickled over Roloson and in on a Brooks Laich shot.

At 7:35 of the third, Teddy Purcell had a takeaway in back of the Capitals net. He dished to St. Louis in the corner to Neuvirth's right, who snapped a shot that went off of Mike Green's right skate and into a gaping net.

"Purcell did a great job hunting the puck. I saw Vinny back door and tried to pass it to Vinny," St. Louis said. "You throw the puck there. If it doesn't get through, there's a good chance it goes off something. Whenever you put the puck in the paint, good things happen."

The Captials tied the game with Neuvirth pulled and on a couple of miscues by the Lightning defense. Victor Hedman, who otherwise had a strong game, couldn't clear the puck; the Capitals' Brooks Laich gained possession, dished in front and found Ovechkin without a Bolt body on him for the game-tying tally.

The Caps had a man advantage there, but it wasn't a power play; you can tell because they actually put the puck in the net.

"Look at the penalty killing tonight," said Lecavalier. "That's the difference right there. It was phenomenal."

Washington's power play cost them its series against the Montreal Canadiens last postseason, going 1-for-33. It's been as much a hindrance in this semifinal, unable to convert in a pair of closely played games and going 0-for-6 in Game 2. Some of the credit goes to the Bolts killers and Dwayne Roloson, who made 12 shorthanded saves. But it's also the Capitals' inability to convert.

"We're tryin'. Tryin' different things. Tryin' to make things work. Obviously it's not," Boudreau said. "It's not like they're bad penalty killers. They stopped 35 out of 36 against Pittsburgh."

The Capitals played well in Game 2. Well enough to win. Yet there was Vinny Lecavalier, mobbed by his teammates, converting a chance he was given.

"They seem very determined," said Lecavalier. "They just weren't opportunists."

No. 1 Star: Vinny Lecavalier, Tampa Bay Lightning

The Lightning captain scored twice in Tampa's 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals, taking a 2-0 series lead. His power-play goal at 19:01 of the first period, a rocket from the circle, gave the Bolts a 1-0 lead. His overtime game-winner came on a bad change from the Caps and two good feeds from defenseman Randy Jones and winger Teddy Purcell.

No. 2 Star: Antti Niemi, San Jose Sharks

The Sharks keeper was strong in making 33 saves, as San Jose took a 2-0 lead in their series against the Detroit Red Wings with a 2-1 victory. He was at his best in the first period, as the Sharks killed off six minutes of power-play time for the Red Wings.

No. 3 Star: Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals

Ovechkin scored his fourth of the playoffs at 18:52 of the third period to tie Game 2 and send it into overtime.

Honorable mention: The Sharks received goals from their blueline, as Ian White and Niclas Wallin provided the offense in their victory. Henrik Zetterberg had the Detroit goal. … Marty St. Louis had an assist and a goal, his pass to Lecavalier going off the skate of Mike Green and in for the Bolts' second goal. … Dwayne Roloson made 35 saves.

Did you know? The Red Wings have lost six of their last seven series when falling behind 2-0, with the only win coming in the first round against Vancouver in 2002. (AP)

Dishonorable mention: Ben Eager was given a roughing penalty and a 10-minute misconduct for skirmish with Todd Bertuzzi. … The Capitals are now 0-for-11 on the power play in the series. … Detroit was outshot 19-9 in the second period.

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

WASHINGTON, DC — Hundreds of Americans rallied outside the White House early Monday morning, the news that Osama Bin Laden had been killed sparking a raucous impromptu rally in D.C. — one that had its share of hockey fans in attendance.

Game 2 of the Washington Capitals' series against the Tampa Bay Lightning was played several blocks from the White House, a 3-2 overtime loss for the home team. By the time President Obama made the announcement, the local bars were still packed with hockey fans, many of whom trekked to the rally -- Obama signs sharing space in the crowd with Ovechkin jerseys.

And, of course, this young lady in the Patrick Kane Team USA sweater.

As news broke about Bin Laden, the streets of DC were filled with revelers. College students, military, firemen, tourists … they all converged on the White House, sang "God Bless America" and "Na Na Na Goodbye" and joined in a moment of American history. (As did that dude who climbed the street lamp while people in the crowd chanted "Yes you can!")

For the press covering Game 2, it was a surreal moment: After Coach Bruce Boudreau's press conference, the TV inside the press room was turned to CNN. The only announcement at the time was of a major national security announcement from the President. Being in the heart of D.C., hearing those words … well, any number of Jack Bauer nightmare scenarios ran through my head.

When the Bin Laden news broke ... well, like everyone else, we were enjoying the Twitter comedy and heartfelt messages on social media until we could hit the streets ourselves to witness history.

It's 1:43 a.m. as I write this on a side street a few blocks away from the White House. There's still cheering, hollering and car horns. On my way to the car, I turned to a Caps fan in the crowd, pointed at his sweater and asked him if he thought his night would end like this.

"Sorta makes you forget about an overtime loss, doesn't it?" was his reply.

Hello, this is a feature that will run through the entire season and aims to recap the weekend's events and boils those events down to one admittedly superficial fact or stupid opinion about each team. Feel free to complain about it.

The three things that come to mind most when I think of the Red Wings: Stoic and efficient professionalism, overwhelming skill and lots of wins.

But in this series — and indeed, their last playoff meeting with the Sharks as well — they've been out of their element, outplayed and out of luck.

The Sharks have now beaten the Wings in six of the last seven playoff meetings, en route to a 4-1 thumping last year and a 2-0 lead so far this season. That should be cause for concern in The D, because this is a team that has been consistently outmaneuvered, despite what tales the one-goal scorelines in Games 1 and 2 would have you believe.

When I wondered aloud whether these last seven playoff games against San Jose were of any concern to the usually stalwart-in-their-support Red Wings fans, I was told that this near-unprecedented domination could be a product of the fact that Sharks coach Todd McLellan was an assistant under Mike Babcock before he took Horace Greeley's advice and went west.

Maybe that's it … but couldn't it be that the Sharks are simply the better team?

(Coming Up: NHL bans Chara from enjoying Coke; Pekka Rinne is decent at best; Minnesota money problems; Kirk Muller watch in Dallas; Hurricanes in evaluation mode; Todd Marchant leans to retirement; Thrashers think checking is overrated; Blackhawks target Crawford; Rangers consider Drury buyout; Brian Boucher deserves 'boos' not 'Boosh'; Alex Burrows's beauty goal; a simply preposterous Sabres/Penguins trade; and Zach Parise does not feel The Force.)

After all, the Sharks' 105 points in a division where all five teams had at least 95 points is at least somewhat indicative that they're just a better squad than the Wings, who got 104 points in a division with two sides at 87 points or fewer. And shouldn't Babcock know at least some of his former assistant's tendencies anyway?

Maybe, to some extent, Wings fans are right, and McLellan just knows how to beat his old team. He's certainly laying out the perfect blueprint for doing it: Hit 'em. A lot. Like, a whole lot. Engage them in shoving matches after the play. Get under their skin. They react, shall we say, aversely. Often, whistles to stop play only serve to prompt a series of facewashes and little crosschecks.

The Red Wings do seem rattled. And not just by the ignominious prospect of now needing two wins at the Joe to keep their playoff dreams alive, but also at the Sharks' insistence on finishing every single check and doing their best to give Jimmy Howard a refreshing snow shower each time he covers the puck.

They are, it turns out, very easy to goad into penalties.

All that pestering has led the Wings to take an uncharacteristic number of penalties, creating many tough situations and tiring out the skill players who get used on the penalty kill so that they are less effective in other parts of the game. Given the way the Wings dissected the Coyotes' defense and goaltending in just four games, most would've thought it near impossible that they'd have just two goals and 59 shots through 127 minutes. They just don't have the same zip in this series, despite the fresh legs having a week off should have given the aging juggernaut.

And obviously, even when they're off their game, the Red Wings are an exceedingly difficult team to beat. Both games in this series have been 2-1, and one took overtime to decide. Their four losses in the conference semis last year were all by a single goal (and their only win, somehow, was a 7-1 whitewash.

However, there's little moral victory to be pulled from trailing 2-0 in yet another series, especially because the Sharks seem to find a mischievous joy in doing the type of irritating spadework in which they've taken to specializing against the Wings.

None of this, by the way, is to discount the work of the guys who aren't the team's shift disturbers. The Sharks' forward lines are nearly impossible for any team that isn't Vancouver to match up against safely, particularly when they have last change. The big guns of Thornton, Pavelski, Heatley, Marleau and Setoguchi haven't had a huge impact on the scoreboard, but they've consistently tilted the ice in San Jose's favor, making way for guys most people haven't heard of — Ferreiro and Wallin and White — to get all the postseason glory.

The Sharks may only be halfway there, but the way this series has gone, Detroit needs a major course correction, and they need it Tuesday night. If not, they're going to have a major problem on their hands — and little to no time in which to fix it.

What We Learned

Anaheim Ducks: Sounds to me like Todd Marchant is leaning toward retirement. With 1,200 career games in 15 or so seasons and a Stanley Cup under his belt, I'd say that's a pretty decent career.

Atlanta Thrashers: I didn't know this before but I guess Craig Ramsay thinks hitting is overrated and that there are better ways to separate the player from the puck. That might be true if you're Nick Lidstrom. That is not true if you're any defenseman that has ever been an Atlanta Thrasher.

Boston Bruins: Remember when Zdeno Chara was drinking that Coke on the bench? Yeah the NHL told him he can't do it any more because the league has a partnership with Pepsi. Also revealed: Chara drinks Coke once a month.

Buffalo Sabres: "I want to win a Stanley Cup with this city, and I'm not willing to quit yet," Lindy Ruff said. "That's my goal. My goal isn't to go somewhere else and win it. I want to win it here." Yes, Lindy. That's why you just signed the multi-year extension. Good stuff, buddy.

Calgary Flames: The Hockey Writers looked at the Flames' top prospects, and oddly, the page wasn't blank.

Carolina Hurricanes: So apparently Jimmy Rutherford is still in the "evaluation process" about this season and where the organization goes from here. Oooo, Jim! Pick me! Fire the coach and sign some defensemen! There, I've solved your problems.

Chicago Blackhawks: Apparently the thought is that the Blackhawks' first priority should be re-upping Corey Crawford. BUT WHAT ABOUT TOMAS KOPECKY?!?

Colorado Avalanche: "Is Ryan O'Byrne the next Don Cherry?" jokes the headline. Maybe. Depends how much he hates people who aren't from north of the 49th parallel and west of Quebec.

Columbus Blue Jackets: Rick Nash had a goal and an assist in Canada's first game of the World Championships, which just goes to show that if you put anyone competent on his line, he'll do really well. He has not often enjoyed this luxury in his time with Columbus.

Dallas Stars: The Stars might make Kirk Muller their next head coach, but regardless of what the Montreal Gazette would have you believe, that's not for sure.

Detroit Red Wings: I'm no expert, but my gut feeling is the Red Wings will need to score more than one goal a night over the next two games of this series if they want to avoid getting swept.

Edmonton Oilers: The Oilers signed talented young Swedish forward Anton Lander on Friday. He's best pals with Magnus Paajarvi. He's also not a goalie or defenseman so the Oilers are still gonna be terrible next year.

Florida Panthers: Keaton Ellerby got a new one-year deal, and it's a one-way, which guarantees he'll be with the big club, or at least making big-club money in the minors. Said Ellerby, "This is the year we're going to make the playoffs and…" WHOOOOOOA buddy slow down there.

Los Angeles Kings: The Kings are trying to put together their plan for their offseason. I have a good idea of where to start: RE-SIGN DREW DOUGHTY FOR A MILLION YEARS.

Minnesota Wild: The Wild are probably going to have money problems in the offseason. Bet they're really regretting having Niklas Backstrom carry the fifth-highest cap hit for a goalie in the whole league. Oh, and I guess a minority owner who controls two companies that are currently under SEC investigation. That also.

Montreal Canadiens: A "stats guru" has carefully examined why the Canadiens lost to Boston in the first round. And here's some of that groundbreaking analysis now: "[O]ne thing that came out was that centre Tomas Plekanec graded out consistently better in all categories than his $7.3-million-US-peryear teammate Scott Gomez." That's the kind of insight that's going to make advanced metrics take the hockey world by storm.

Nashville Predators: So this Rinne fellow is pretty good.

New Jersey Devils: News that will break Wysh's heart: Zach Parise has never seen a Star Wars movie. How terrible for him.

New York Islanders: Somehow Matt Moulson didn't get invited to play at the World Championships. Antoine Vermette did. I don't get it either.

New York Rangers: The Rangers are kicking around the idea of buying out Chris Drury. Don't they know he was once in the Little League World Series?

Ottawa Senators: Gosh, I sure wish we hadn't traded this oddly expensive 30-year-old role player-type third-line guy for a second-round pick in the middle of a rebuild!

Philadelphia Flyers: Headline: "Flyers' porous defense gives Bruins series lead." Well that's a nice way of saying, "Flyers' goalies porous, singlehandedly give Bruins series lead."

Phoenix Coyotes: Don Maloney had a chat with fans on Friday. He revealed that the team would really like a top-line center. "We are always looking to improve," he said. "In fact, I had breakfast with Bryz and asked him to find us a center from Russia." I'm pretty sure it's exactly that easy, too.

Pittsburgh Penguins: This just in -- Losing your top three centers for extended periods of time is not especially helpful.

San Jose Sharks: Holding the Red Wings to just two goals in 127 minutes of hockey is a) impressive, and b) pretty much exactly how you want to start out a series. The Sharks sure do have the Red Wings' number in the playoffs of late.

St. Louis Blues: Carlo Colaiacovo is playing in the World Championships, which is notable because I barely remembered he exists.

Tampa Bay Lightning: No Simon Gagne in Game 2, but he hopes to be back real soon. That would be helpful.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Hey Leafs fans, don't hate John Ferguson Jr. as much as you think you should.

Vancouver Canucks: "Sedins need offense to run on all cylinders." And vice versa.

Washington Capitals: The Capitals started their own Tumblr. It's just a matter of time now until they're posting YouTube videos of Ovechkin giggling over LOLcats.

Gold Star Award

Everyone on Boston's top line had a great afternoon on Saturday. David Krejci had two goals and two assists. Nathan Horton had a goal and a helper. Milan Lucic… well, he successfully made it to the game.

Minus of the Weekend

Brian Boucher kinda shouldn't be in the NHL at this point, right?

Play of the Weekend

Just a nasty goal from Alex Burrows.

Great support work by Ryan Kesler too.

Perfect HFBoards trade proposal of the week

User "goldy2266" put on his thinkin' cap for this one.

To Pitts:
Tyler Myers
Zack Kassian
Luke Adam
Brad Boyes

To Buff:
Evgeni Malkin
Matt Niskanen
2nd Round draft pick.

Signoff

Do they give a Nobel Prize for attempted chemistry?

Ryan Lambert publishes hockey awesomeness rather infrequently over at The Two-Line Pass. Check it out, why don't you? Or you can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter if you so desire.

What's the mark of a good pest in the NHL?

Goading better players into taking bad penalties, like Chris Pronger's slashing call in the first period of Game 1.

Agitating players who aren't even on the ice, like Max Pacioretty's embarrassing tweet about nose size during the first round against Montreal.

And, when that work is done, annoying teams even more on the scoresheet, with two goals and an assist in Game 1 against the Flyers.

Such is the mark Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins has made in the Stanley Cup Playoffs as a rookie, becoming the type of chaotic X-factor a championship team needs on its roster.

From the Boston Herald, Marchand on his pest act:

"I think they know I'm a guy they can kind of poke at," said Marchand. "They have a few guys on their team who play the same way I do. I imagine we're going to clash a bit in this series, that's just how it goes.

"They want to push my buttons and see if I'll take some penalties — I did end up taking a couple — and I'll try to do the same with them."

From CSN Philly, Bruins Coach Claude Julien:

"I think Brad has gotten much better and we're going to stand here and say that was room for improvement but he's been so much better at being able to ride that fine line," said Bruins coach Claude Julien.

"He's one of those guys that can be a pest but he's also a very good hockey player. We need him as much on the ice than anything else but you never want to take away one of the things he does well. You have to let him do it and as long as he doesn't cross the line I have no issues with that."

Credit Julien with trying to educate Marchand about where that line is this season. He was singled out by the coach for aggressive but uninhibited play, and benched during a game in March. He was chided for "crossing the line" for mocking the Toronto Maple Leafs with a golf swing, telling reporters that Julien gave him an earful and "it won't happen again."

Marchand chirped the Montreal Canadiens before a rivalry game, calling them divers and saying "whatever they're mad about, they can suck it up"; it didn't happen again in the first round of the playoffs.

He's still a rookie, still plays on the edge, and could topple over it. But he hasn't in the postseason yet, with as many points (8) as penalty minutes (8). Credit the player, and his coach, for that level of restraint.

Latest word on tonight's Game 2 between Boston and Philly: Brian Boucher off the ice first at practice. Let the goalie fun begin again.

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.

• No word if this was Jack Skille's "Oh (my god we had to rally to beat Norway) Face". Team USA played its 4-2 victory under increased security and with players instructed not to discuss the death of Osama bin Laden. [Y! Sports]

• Philly anthem singer Lauren Hart on blaring "God Bless America" before tonight's game and after the death of bin Laden: "Not until (Monday) morning while listening to the radio and hearing the people talk about 'God Bless America' tonight did it dawn on me that this would be important to people and it would be a special moment for everybody in that building tonight." [NHL.com]

• Brian Boucher gets the start for Game 2 of the Philadelphia Flyers' series against the Boston Bruins. Peter Laviolette: "Today, for me, is a game where we all get to go back in there and try and right some wrongs. So everybody gets an opportunity. He deserves it." [CSN Philly]

• The Atlanta Thrashers are for sale for $110 million, as that's the price tag for the investors led by Tom Glavine. From Forbes, if the Coyotes remain in Phoenix: "True North [of Winnipeg] would pay $170 million of which $60 million would go the NHL as a relocation fee." [Forbes]

• Looking at the counseling of Matt Cooke during this suspension, as the Pittsburgh Penguins winger reminds us that he's not going to put a tutu on and dance. Sorry, bachelor parties in need of entertainment ... [Pensburgh]

• Your VERSUS ratings for last week; the Nashville Predators and Vancouver Canucks not exactly setting the ratings world on fire. [Puck The Media]

• The Canucks have a problem and his name is Pekka Rinne. [Kurtenblog]

• On the many snowjobs of Detroit Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard. Said Coach Todd McLellan of the San Jose Sharks: "I have no time for gimmicks and that type of crap. If our players are doing that [intentionally], they're going to hear from me first. But they're going to hear from me even more when they don't go to the net and stop on a loose puck. If you go back and look at them the pucks are bobbling around." [Fear The Fin]

• Emotions are getting more intense between the Sharks and Wings. [NHL.com]

• Top-20 worst bang-for-the-buck NHL forwards in 2010-11. [HI]

• Tom Fornelli, Chicago Blackhawks fan, looks at the remaining playoff teams and decides which one would be the most palatable for a Chicago fan to root for in the Stanley Cup race. (Spoiler: Not Detroit.)  [Foul Balls]

• Aubrey Huff, Capitals vs. Lightning and trash talking ... good times. [Homer McFanboy]

• Hey, it's not just you: There are a crap ton of overtimes in these playoffs. [Houses Of The Hockey]

• Grading the Minnesota Wild's front office. Turns out Chuck Fletcher did a rather average job. [Hockey Wilderness]

• Ken Campbell believes the Tampa Bay Lightning are sucking the fun out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and is worried about other coaches adopting their scheme: "We risk going back to the days of the Dead Puck Era without the hooking, holding and obstruction." So, "defense" then. [THN]

• Looking at the influence of Dominik Hasek on Dwayne Roloson. [Globe & Mail]

• BREAKING: The more people in downtown Winnipeg, the better it is for local businesses. [QMI]

• Phoenix Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney announced today that Coyotes Associate Coach Ulf Samuelsson has accepted the head coach position with MODO in the Swedish Elite League. In a related story, spearing is expected to increase in the Swedish Elite League by close to 150% next season. [Coyotes]

• Fantastic find by Kevin Delury: "Here's a pic of Mark Messier donning the fire helmet of fallen FDNY Chief Ray Downey during the Rangers home opener on October 7, 2001 as a tribute to him and all the first responders who died that day as well as a thank you to all the heroes of 9/11." Oh, sorry, we thought this was the anti-concussion helmet. Our mistake. [NY Rangers Blog]

• Los Angeles Kings forward Dustin Brown, Washington Capitals defenseman Mike Green and Vancouver Canucks forwards Daniel and Henrik Sedin are the finalists for the 13th Annual NHL Foundation Player Award, the National Hockey League announced today.  The award recognizes an NHL player who applies the core values of hockey — commitment, perseverance and teamwork — to enrich the lives of people in his community. SHANE O'BRIEN WUZ ROBBED.

• How hockey took over Buffalo. [Thrive]

• The Pittsburgh Penguins have promoted Travis Williams to Chief Operating Officer, it was announced today by David Morehouse, the team's CEO and President. [Penguins]

• Radek Martinek is out of a Slovak hospital and "does not have any injuries to his neck or spine, but is still experiencing headaches. He will not return for the remainder of the tournament." [Islanders]

• Handling conference trophy voodoo in the OHL. [Buzzing The Net]

• Finally, Dean Evanson is disturbingly intense after Alex Ovechkin's game-tying goal in Game 2 (via the DC Sports Bog):

What you're witnessing here is history, or at least revisionist history. To paraphrase the great Jack Edwards:

A couple of hours before Game 2 between the Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins, a bunch of rowdy Comcast employees and Flyers supporters charged out of some Philadelphia bars, went down to the dock and dumped the "Boston tea" into the not-very-salty Delaware River. And in doing that, it struck a chord, that rings true even today: That when confronted with a 1-0 series deficit, shameless publicity stunts are not only the right thing to do — it can be a heck of a lot of a fun.

The stunt took place on the deck of the Moshulu, a historic seafaring vessel-turned-Four Diamond winning restaurant in Penn's Landing. Flyers blog Crossing Broad wonders if mocking a cherished moment in American history is all that smart considering current events, and broke down the stunt thusly:

Rebels demanding freedom : rallying cry for soon-to-be-formed nation, including Philadelphia :: Flyers fans tossing some faux Boston Tea in muddy river : Bostonians being owned by our offensive mockery of their heroism

Yeah that will show them, those damn Patriots.

Hey, if nothing else, it appears the Philadelphia Tea Party ended before Michelle Bachman showed up with a Power Point presentation on the federal debt. Which means we all win.

The Flyers' mockery of Boston wasn't contained to the shores of the Delaware. Here are the two T-shirts created for Games 1 and 2 in Philly, with the design on the right being given out tonight:

The first shirt probably isn't going to be a collector's item after the Flyers were stuffed in a barrel and tossed overboard in Game 1; the second evokes a Bostonian colloquialism in a comedic concept that's about as cutting edge as Jimmy Fallon dropping a Nomar Garciaparra reference on 'SNL' -- in 2002. Even if, you know, it captures the Flyers fan aesthetic rather deftly.

What's so disheartening about these Boston-inspired hijinks is that Flyers fans are much, much, much funnier and more caustic than a faux tea party and a couple of future dust rags would give them credit for being. Witness Flyers Goal Scored By making the obvious Nomar joke and then killing it with the Boston quips. Witness the subtle celebrity look-a-like angle from Broad Street Hockey. Leave the driving to them!

Stick-tap The School Philly.

Early word today was that Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger "sat out Monday's morning skate with a head cold but is expected to play tonight." Turns out the early word was ill-spoken.

Pronger's out for Game 2 against the Boston Bruins, the official word being "head cold," which we're shocked isn't "upper body illness" in NHL injury parlance. Sarah Baiker of CSN Philly "can't imagine that's the reason," while Sam Carchidi of Broad Street Bull cites a team source as indicating it's "an undisclosed injury."

From CSN Philly:

The Flyers have not disclosed the reason for Pronger's absence, but sources indicate it maybe be two injuries. Pronger injured his back either at the end of the Buffalo series or the start of this series.

Pronger was a minus-3 in Game 1, leaving the bench with around two minutes left in the game according to Philly Sports Daily, which writes:

If the Flyers top defenseman isn't ready to go, the Flyers will be well prepared, playing 32 regular season and five playoff games without him.

"We feel pretty good," Sean O'Donnell said. "Every team deals with injuries. Their team has played without arguably their most offensive guy, Marc Savard, all year and they've done a good job with that and no one's feeling sorry for them over there. They're finding ways to get it done."

"It's not gonna be one guy that's gonna step up and say 'I'm gonna be replacing Chris Pronger.' That's not how it works," Matt Carle said. "Hockey's a team sport as a defense corps, we need to step our game up and replace what is or isn't there."

Pronger played the last three games of the postseason after missing the first five. The Flyers were 2-1 with Pronger, and 2-3 without him. Brian Boucher gets the start.

Boston Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid is a big hitter, and he had Mike Richards of the Philadelphia Flyers lined up near the end of the first period in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Only Richards moved out of the way … and McQuaid crashed viciously into the end boards. This is brutal:

And here's the VERSUS feed:

This is the second time we've seen something like this in 2011, as Troy Brouwer whiffed on a check against the Montreal Canadiens and injured his shoulder.

Photoshop of Mike Richards as a matador in 3...2...

Via WEEI, an update on McQuaid, who was taken to a Philadelphia area hospital for observation:

"Adam is coming back home with us," Julien said. "He's on his way back. He was sent to the hosital for further evaluation. I don't know the [complete] details but he's coming back with us and that's a good sign in itself. Our D did a great job of stepping up."

Indeed it did, as Boston won 3-2 in overtime to take a 2-0 lead over the Flyers.

No. 1 Star: Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins

After spotting the Philadelphia Flyers a 2-0 lead through the game's first 10 minutes, Thomas bounced back and stabilized things for Boston as they came back for a 3-2 overtime victory to take a 2-0 series lead. Thomas made a career high (regular season and playoffs) 52 saves, including 46 after allowing Philadelphia's second goal.

No. 2 Star: James van Riemsdyk, Philadelphia Flyers

From the opening minute, van Riemsdyk was an offensive force for the Flyers. Opening the scoring 29 seconds later, JVR would put Philadelphia up 2-0 just 8:02 later with his seventh of the playoffs.

No. 3 Star: David Krejci, Boston Bruins

Krejci played the most minutes of any Bruins forward (24:36) and was the hero scoring the winning goal 14 minutes into the overtime:

Honorable mention: Claude Giroux won 13 of 20 faceoffs ... Matt Carle (seven) and Dennis Seidenberg (six) were the leaders in blocked shots ... Carle also led all players in giveaways with four ... Milan Lucic had three takeaways for the Bruins ... Sergei Bobrovsky was 6-for-6 in save opportunities in short relief of Brian Boucher ... After the world events of Sunday night, the Kate Smith/Lauren Hart duet of "God Bless America" was more emotional than usual:

Did you know? The Flyers set a team record for shots in a period in a home playoff game with 22 in the third. (AP)

Dishonorable mention: Boucher allowed both of Boston's first period goals before leaving the game with a hand injury. He returned in the third period ... Danny Briere had a golden opportunity to end the game in the dying seconds of regulation, but whiffed on this shot:

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

In 1986, the late Patrick Swayze helped introduce U.S. hockey fans to the Hollywood-ized version of Canadian Junior Hockey in "Youngblood"; a film remembered mostly for this goalie mask and the fact that Swayze was 33 (!) when he made it, dropping lines like: "To the game and getting out of this hick town! Thank God there is a sport for middle-sized white boys."

The adult league at Piney Orchard rink in Odenton, Md. — former preseason home to the Washington Capitals — has its share of middle-sized white boys. And one of the teams in its B2 Division honors the legacy of the man who played Derek Sutton with its official moniker:

Hat Trick Swayzes.

The team, whose players range from 21-51, used to be known as Hook & Ladder, after the D.C.-area brewery, from 2006-2010. That was until a classic beer league problem hit: Too many new players, not enough Hook & Ladder jerseys. So the team brainstormed a new name and agreed on Hat Trick Swayzes.

"We found a cool logo online and asked the artist if we could use it," said captain Garett Tache'. "She said yes and added the 'shield' around the Swayze face."

OK, so why Patrick Swayze? Besides, you know, the fact that he completely owns in "Road House."

"It's all in good fun and we love yelling 'Swayze' after a goal," said Tache'.

Is any of the hockey mojo the name provides undercut by his having appeared in "Ghost" or "To Wong Foo ..."?

"Nope," said Tache', "we have plenty of romantics and a couple of cross-dressers on the team, so it works well."

Well that leaves us with only one last rhetorical question: If they win the championship trophy, will they drink deer blood out of it like Swayze in "Red Dawn," to help capture the spirit of the beast and turn them into men in order to fight the Commies? (Wolverines!)

With that, we ask you, dear readers: Have you ever heard of, or have you played on, a rec league team with an incredibly inventive name and kick-ass sweater? One that could rival Hat Trick Swayzes? Answers in the comments, or email images to puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com.

There's two problems with any kind of postmortem on the Philadelphia Flyers' Game 2 loss to the Boston Bruins on Monday night. The first is that they were the better team in most facets of the game, and were stonewalled by a 52-save effort by Tim Thomas, who could have defended a soccer net for four periods. Hot goalies are just going to win playoff games sometimes, no matter what you throw at them.

The second is that a 2-0 lead in a Flyers/Bruins series, based on recent history, is like a 10-second lead in the Boston Marathon. There shouldn't be a scintilla of doubt in that Flyers room right now; hell, there shouldn't be any until they're down 3-0 and losing in the last minute of Game 4, whatever middling goaltender they started seated firmly on the bench for an extra attacker.

Having climbed that mountain last year, resiliency shouldn't be difficult to conjure. Which is why Coach Peter Laviolette was passing the pressure buck to the B's in his postgame comments. From WEEI:

"We have to go into Boston and win one hockey game," Laviolette said. "Going to the well is not an easy thing to do. It's a difficult thing to do and we did it last series and we did it last year against Boston. When you lose your first two games in your home building, I would say there's a real expectation for the Bruins to win the series now. So it relieves us of the pressure, I believe, a little bit to just go in and play a game in Boston. And while it relieves us of the pressure, it certainly mounts onto them to be successful now that they have a 2-0 lead."

"I think we're going to go into Boston, we're going to play a strong hockey game, we're going to win a game. This team never quits. We get to remove some of that pressure right now and just go play, have some fun and see if we can score some more goals than we did tonight. I truly believe this team still has a lot of fight in it."

'Meh, we just need a split.' It's obviously a bit of psychological gamesmanship, but it might also be the prevailing attitude from a coach that's seen his team play better as the underdog with a foot on its throat than as the favorite eying a victory lap.

Coming up, a few more impressions of the Bruins' 3-2 Game 2 victory. Do you believe a 2-0 series lead is safe?

Via Travis Hughes of Broad Street Hockey:

I'm not going to sit here and bitch and moan about a lost hockey game tonight. Truth is, the Flyers couldn't have played much better in the latter 34 minutes of the game. They threw 32 shots on Tim Thomas compared to the 12 shots the Boston Bruins threw on Brian Boucher's net in that final stretch.

Thomas stole a game. The bounces didn't go their way once or twice (or 30 times). But, they deserved to win the hockey game. It truly is no consolation at this time of year -- a loss is a loss is a loss -- but what is there to complain about? Sometimes this is a brutally unfair game, and that's part of the reason why we love it. Also, why we hate it.

From Flyers Goal Scored By, which saw Philly get "manhandled" by the Bruins checkers:

Ed Snider decided 40 years ago that we weren't going to be pushed around. Now we've got Versteeg playing games all over the ice, Briere and Carcillo embellishing the [poop] out of everything and one dangerous hitter out there. Anyone can start a post-whistle scrum. Someone needs to let the Bruins know, and maybe more importantly his teammates know, '[Expletive] the Bruins.'

Maybe I don't write this if we converted on any of our 10 decent scoring chances during the last 60 minutes of the game. As it stands, we're down 2-0 and we're also being tossed around the ice.

Jay Greenberg of CSN Philly thinks it's impossible not to think of the players who didn't appear in Game 2:

Without Chris Pronger, who missed Game 2 with a bad back that has led to a hamstring problem, and Jeff Carter, who has a knee sprain, the Flyers do not have as many ways to win on offense and defense, too.

You know it's not 2010 anymore, because with seconds to go in the regulation, Danny Briere whiffed on a wide-open net and because a rimmed puck hopped over Kimmo Timonen's stick, setting up David Krecji's winner.

Does Timonen, no spring chicken, play that puck correctly if he is not, in Pronger's absence, into his 31st minute of ice time in a surprisingly wide-open and therefore exhausting game? Would Carter, the Flyers' leading goal scorer, have put his gifted hands to one puck lying in the slot and shoot one that finally Thomas couldn't stop?

Philadelphia Sports Daily says it's not about the Flyers goalies for once:

The Flyers were able to block 22 Boston shots before they could be saved or hit the net, but in the first period they did not play inspired hockey after James van Riemsdyk's pair of goals.

"Boosh kept us in the game," Claude Giroux said. "He made some key saves, even Bob when he came in made some key saves. I think the goalies were great today. It's just too bad that we couldn't help them with that third goal."

Meanwhile, CSN New England writer Joe Haggerty would like to say "nanny nanny boo-boo" to Flyers GM Paul Holmgren as he watches Tim Thomas shine:

It seems like years ago now, but there was a time last summer when the Bruins were exploring all their salary-cap relief options. Those choices included trading Thomas and his $5 million salary cap tag to a willing team, and people close to Thomas let it be known that Philadelphia is the place he most wanted to go.

But the Flyers weren't interested in a middle-aged goaltender coming off major hip surgery and an "off season" during which he lost his starting job to young understudy Tuukka Rask.  One would think Flyers GM Paul Holmgren might want to rethink that strategy after watching Thomas push his record in Philadelphia to 8-0-0 against the Flyers in the regular season and playoffs.

Yikes. That said, we're seen flawless marks in a Flyers/Bruins series get tarnished in a hurry.

Enter any comment thread on a Washington Capitals playoff loss, and the barbs are frequent:  "Ovech-Choke" … "Well, we know what the 'C' stands for" … and the rest of it.

They're not necessarily fair to Alex Ovechkin as a playoff performer, given his 47 points in 35 games and 24 goals — four of them coming in this postseason. But it's also not fair to let Ovechkin off the hook simply because he's been more competent than many of his under-producing teammates in the playoffs — Alex Semin in 2010, Nicklas Backstrom in 2011 — because Alex Ovechkin needs to be something more than that.

He needs to be the guy who ties the game and then wins it. He needs to be the guy who gets the goal that captures momentum at a critical moment in a game, or in a series, for his team.

He needs to be the guy who said "we're going there, and we're going to win two games" after Game 2 (no matter what the official transcript indicated he said) and backs it up by leading his team to a pair of victories.

The question for Alex Ovechkin, his fans and the Capitals as they face back-to-back games at the Tampa Bay Lightning: Is he that guy?

In Game 3 on Tuesday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, with the Capitals down 2-0 to the Bolts and facing back-to-back games, Ovechkin's team faces what John Keeley of On Frozen Blog feels is nothing short of a referendum on the franchise — and its captain:

This hockey club has the requisite skill and experience to rise to the challenge. What we don't yet know is if it has adequate leadership. It's a point that's been debated with some robustness for more than a year now: Did the Caps get it right in stitching the 'C' to Ovi's sweater? Failure this week in Tampa will bring fresh and heated scrutiny to that question. 2010-11 has not been a year to remember for our captain; its premature conclusion would intensify the evidence against his leadership. And the late-season arrival of Jason Arnott only adds fuel to that fire.

This is a postseason tailor-made for Ovi to ascend, but to date, we don't have that breakthrough performance suggestive that he's ready to seize that moment and lead his club. Tonight is one such opportunity.

Japers' Rink echoes the sentiments, adding that the Capitals are in danger of being "your father's Capitals" with another playoff disappointment.

No one expects No. 8 to post an Ovechtrick in Game 3 … although his first three-point night since Game 4 against Montreal last postseason would be welcome.

Where he needs to lead, where he needs to be a difference-maker, is on one five-man unit: The Capitals' terrible, momentum sapping power play.

It's 0 for 11 in this series, and it's 3 for 27 in the playoffs, killing them as softly as it did vs. Jaroslav Halak last year. The Capitals are 2-2 in one-goal games, and lost Game 1 of this series with an empty-netter being scored. The margin for error is so slim, yet the power play has erred with frequency.

Ovechkin has assists on all three Capitals goals in this postseason, but hasn't scored one. In his last 19 playoff games, Ovechkin has one goal and six assists on the man advantage … which can also be read as one power-play goal in his last 19 playoff games.

You can talk all you want about intangibles as a captain, but there's something significant about the kind of kinetic kick-in-the-ass an Ovechkin goal provides his team. It's better than any barking broken English speech he could shout in the locker room between periods.

Which is to say they need one Tuesday night. A goal that gives them a lead. A moment. Something from their captain, at an important juncture of the game, that brings focus to the task at hand rather than concern about the next bad line change or fluky goal that'll crush their spirit.

As Keeley said, it's been a challenging year for Ovechkin. No love for the Hart Trophy. An 18-goal decrease from last season. Injuries that have nagged him and kept the cortisone flowing.

There's always going to be a section of Ovechkin's fan base, in and out of Washington, that'll say it's not about him — it's about a supporting cast that doesn't step up in the postseason.

In a seven-game series, based on the history of the player and his team, that's accurate.

In a Game 3, facing a dire second-round predicament against a Tampa team not giving them an inch, it's an excuse. The next 48 hours are Ovechkin's time. There's no other way to measure it.

Scary scene from the 2011 IIHF world championships in Slovakia.

In the first period of their preliminary round game, Swiss forward Simon Moser was absolutely demolished on a hit by Canadian (and Toronto Maple Leafs) defenseman Dion Phaneuf. Once on the bench, he appeared to lose consciousness before being tended to by the training staff and leaving the game under his own power.

The hit, and the aftermath (stick-tap to Too Many Men On the Site)

As Evan Hammer, hipped us to the hit, wrote: "Ugly to see. Chill down the spine, seemed like Jiri Fischer for a moment."

Chris Johnston of the Canadian Press reports that Moser returned for the third period, rather incredibly. From Sports Expressen:

According to TV10, he swallowed his tongue and the referee stopped the game temporarily. "This does not look good, an [expletive] nasty whack, "says TV10's expert commentator Calle Johansson.

Calle Johansson, wordsmith. Now, was the Phaneuf hit legal by IIHF standards? If he got him in the head, their rules for the 2010 Winter Games:

Rule 540 - Checking to the Head and Neck Area — A player who directs a check or blow, with any part of his body, to the head and neck area of an opposing player or "drives" or "forces" the head of an opposing player into the protective glass or boards, shall be assessed at the discretion of the Referee, a minor and a misconduct penalty; a major and game misconduct penalty; or a match penalty. When injury occurs, a match penalty must be assessed.

Principle point of contact appeared to be the chest, however; so Phaneuf was, and should be, in the clear.

It's a Tuesday edition of Puck Daddy Radio, and we're chatting about the following and much more:

• Special Guest Star: The triumphant return of NHL Network analyst and former NHLer Bobby Holik, a Puck Daddy Radio favorite.

• The awkward end to Game 2 between the Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins.

• The Washington Capitals' critical Game 3 vs. Tampa Bay.

• What's up with the Sedins?

• Question of the day: Of the remaining players in the playoffs, which one has pulled the biggest disappearing act?

• 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:

For a team pushing towards the Stanley Cup Finals, "discipline" is more than just some buzzword. It's a crucial trait that needs to start at the top and works its way on down — when younger guys see their team leaders buy into the concept, they will too.

The incentive to be disciplined is black and white: Power plays decide a lot of hockey games, and if you give up too many, it's only a matter of time before you have to dig the puck out of the back of your net.

Unfortunately, the Philadelphia Flyers' leaders seem to struggle with that simple concept.

While they haven't been bitten by the Boston Bruins more-than-feeble power play just yet, it makes me wonder how tough it must be for the young guys to follow the men who are supposed to be driving the bus.

In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semi-final series between the Bruins and the Flyers, Chris Pronger went back on a puck to touch it for icing. Trying to negate the call, Daniel Paille got on his horse, lifted Pronger's stick and took him into the boards, almost accomplishing his goal, but taking a penalty in the process.

Then he got slashed in the side by a curiously wild-eyed Pronger, generously declining the penalty the Flyers had coming their way.

On the way to the penalty box, he seethed. He glared back at Paille and took a random shove at Shawn Thornton, risking putting his team down a man.

Just two periods later, Pronger was tripped by Brad Marchand — thinking the trip was dirty, young James van Riemsdyk skated over to have a word with the Bruins pest. But ever the disciplined player that he is, Pronger grabbed van Riemsdyk and escorted him away like a parent whose kid was touching too many things in the grocery story.

This is the same guy who negated a Flyers 5-on-3 in the first period of Game 6 against the Buffalo Sabres — a series the team was trailing 3-2 at the time, mind you — because he couldn't hold himself back from firing slashes at a Buffalo Sabres defenseman who had the audacity to try to, y'know, defend him.

I know if I were a player in that dressing room, his on-and-off style of discipline would make it near-impossible for me as a teammate to follow him, despite his Stanley Cup, despite his three trips to the Finals.

The guy has barely played, yet he's managed the type of cut and dried examples that demonstrate what appears to be the Flyers struggle with concept of committing to team first. Being hurt is no excuse for him to make those types of decisions, and when he comes back, I'm not so sure his teammates will trust him.

You never know what kind of effect that a lack of trust in leadership can have on a team as they try to push and pull together on their way towards a mutual goal.

There's a reason people consider men like Steve Yzerman and Joe Sakic great leaders — being a leader is not a do-as-I-say role, it's do-as-I-do. Only coaches have the luxury of the do-as-I-say position. If you're wearing skates and the same team crest, you understand that your words don't carry weight if you don't practice what you preach.

To make matters worse for the dressing room, Mike Richards hasn't exactly been the picture of disciplined, clean play either, as I believe we've mentioned in the past.

It's not until the chips are down — a situation the Flyers now find themselves in — that you need that leadership, and suddenly you find out that those little selfish plays have eroded the team's belief that everyone is on the same page. Victory is supposed to be the best deodorant for a team's problems - when you're suddenly out of pit-stick, you realize how much some of these plays have really stunk.

Down 2-0 and heading to Boston, the Flyers are officially in a pickle. The skaters can't fix the atrocious goaltending, but they can switch to being a team that's capable of taking a spear from a player and making their opponent pay on the power play. They haven't shown that commitment yet.

But it has to start at the top. If I'm expected to take a painful hack on the wrist and not retaliate, I need to know that my teammates are doing the same too. If there's anything we've been told by those who've won the Cup before, it's that the road to glory takes sacrifice.

For the Flyers, it's time to grow up, or they'll find themselves listening to their eulogy, lying down.

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.

• Puck Daddy reader John S. is not exactly enamored with the Nashville Predators' style of play.

• Wholesale changes for the Vancouver Canucks' scoring lines: Alex Burrows with the twins, Chris Higgins with Ryan Kesler and Mason Raymond while Mikael Samuelsson will try and locate his game with Cody Hodgson and Tanner Glass. [Province]

• This is Nashville's first home semifinal playoff game, which means the Canadian media gets to write about the arena experience and the franchise's humble beginnings and the Smashville nickname and the volume of the fans and all the usual stories written when a "non-traditional" U.S. market hosts a team north of the border in the playoffs.

• Nashville Predators defenseman Shane O'Brien is now on Twitter @ShaneOBrien55 until the account's inevitable deletion. Drunk tweeting is no way to go through life, son. [White Towel]

• When did the Predators go from pretenders to contenders? [Tennessean]

• The return of Dan Hamhuis to Nashville, after he snarked about their attendance in the offseason. [On The Forecheck]

• Report: The majority of Chicago Blackhawks fans are not incredibly shortsighted and stupid. [Between The Circles]

• In an incredible twist we first learned about in 2009, Mike Danton tells ESPN his father was his intended murder target. [Dispatch]

• Detroit Red Wings Coach Mike Babcock splits Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, and Kris Draper says he's in for Game 3. [Freep]

• Alex Pietrangelo's OT goal gave Canada a 4-3 win over those pesky Swiss at Worlds. The Swiss have a player named Felicien Du Bois. If we could swap names, it would be with Felicien Du Bois. Or Darren Rumble.[Y! Sports]

• If Sidney Crosby didn't expect to play this season, why did the Pittsburgh Penguins so heavily publicize footage of his skating and practicing? [The Confluence]

• Professor Lemaire teaches the neutral zone trap. Hilarious. [Japers' Rink]

• Brad Boyes gets his report card for the Buffalo Sabres. [Die By The Blade]

• Speaking of report cards, this one on the Pittsburgh Penguins forwards is pretty amusing. [Get To Our Game]

• Nice piece on Wayne Fleming's inspiration for the Tampa Bay Lightning. [NHL.com]

• In which the San Jose Sharks are still considered "chokers." [Houses Of The Hockey]

• Boston Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid is day-to-day with a sprained neck after he chickety-checked himself and riggity-wrecked himself vs. Philly. [Bruins Blog]

• Kevin Mc. fulfills our prediction last night and comes through with the Mike Richards/Adam McQuaid matador Photoshop. Ole! [Crap I Made]

• "For the life of me, I can't understand why anyone would be steadfast in the notion that the NHL fixes playoff games through its officials and then still watch." [THN]

• The City of Glendale has paid the National Hockey League the $25 million that was due Tuesday. [TSN]

• The AHL is waiting to see what happens with NHL relocation to Winnipeg before figuring out the fate of the Moose. [QMI]

• As pigheaded Americans, most of this reads like Greek, but how can we not link a headline like "Is Stephen Harper really Calgary Flames Mascot Harvey the Hound?" [Matchsticks and Gasoline]

• Down Goes Brown presents the application to be on Team Canada's team at Worlds. [DGB]

• Somewhat hockey related: NBC misses out on the big PAC-10 television contract. [Puck The Media]

• More NHL.com headline puns. Getting mighty lazy with the Flyers ones. [The Royal Half]

• Finally, Mike Reno is the lead singer (and drummer … how very Phil Collins) of the seminal 1980s Canadian rock band Loverboy, which gave the world such high-voltage tunes as "The Kid Is Hot Tonite," "Working for the Weekend" and "Lovin' Every Minute of It." This Vancouver Canucks playoff anthem sounds like none of that. Unfortunately.

After a 4-2 victory over the Florida Panthers on April 10, the Tampa Bay Lightning players learned that assistant coach Wayne Fleming had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. As the team was preparing to move from regular-season mode to focusing on the playoffs for the first time in four seasons, Fleming was facing his biggest battle.

Tuesday, close to a month since the team found out about the news, Fleming underwent eight hours of surgery to remove the tumor. As Tampa prepares for Tuesday night's Game 3 against the Washington Capitals, Fleming's fight has become a source of inspiration for the team.

Lightning forward Steven Stamkos told Brian Compton of NHL.com that despite his absence, Fleming is still thinking hockey:

"I think we use it as inspiration," Stamkos said. "Flemmer's been a huge part of our team since Day One. We're obviously aware of the situation. When we were made aware from the get-go, it was just simply inspiration. Everyone is praying for him and his family. Your thoughts are with him, but after every game he's texting guys. He's watching the games and he's still a big part of this team."

As Damian Cristodero of the St. Petersburg Times pointed out Tuesday morning, Fleming, who manages the Tampa penalty kill, would be proud of the fact that the Lightning haven't allowed a power-play goal in 30 opportunities and are the best short-handed team remaining in the playoffs.

The Capitals have been unsuccessful in 11 power-play opportunities through two games and extending that streak Tuesday night would continue the running tribute for Fleming since his diagnosis.