The Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers are on the verge of doing a quality impression of the Washington Capitals, with both teams being one loss away from getting swept in Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Towards the end of series, the Capitals looked like a fish already in the boat, sporadically thrashing back as if they could fight their way out of their situation, but their fate seemed all but sealed. It was only humane of the Lightning to whack them over the head quickly and put them out of their misery.

If the other teams hope to fight their way back into the water and live to play another day, they've got one heck of a chore in front of them. The physical part is a battle, but the mental part is a war.

I was on the wrong side of a sweep in 2008 courtesy the ECHL's Las Vegas Wranglers, and found the constantly un-met goals utterly deflating, snowballing until I wanted to come out in Game 4 and run completely through another human out of frustration (as Alex Ovechkin did against Tampa). But frustrated players going up against a group of positive, relaxed dudes just isn't a fair fight. It's how a team ends up "getting the bounces" — patience and poise create something that resembles luck, but is actually earned.

Each game and period that you fall farther behind, you execute the mental yoga necessary to convince yourself like Lloyd Christmas that there's a chance, only to have those hopes repeatedly dashed. It's tiring. As the situation grows increasingly bleak the disease of "we're done" — whether anybody is saying it or not - spreads throughout the room, sapping your will to fight.

But it takes a long time to get to that point, and this is where a coach has to excel at his job.

It's not about phony, ra-ra positivity, it's about re-routing the direction of the ship. You need to establish a checkpoint, so that guys have reason to believe it's a new beginning. You know, the "ever since the Red Wings changed to a 1-3-1 they've thwarted the Sharks offense," or "ever since the Flyers put the arena janitor in net they haven't lost" type of change.

Whether the move is overhauling the lines or implementing a switch of systems, players need reason to believe they aren't just skating down the green mile, about to bite the same lure they've seen the previous three games. At the very least, it's something else to think about other than your team's imminent demise.

The best tool a team has at a time like this is pride, and the best leaders generally have it in spades. Nobody wants to be embarrassed, and that's as motivating as anything.

This is where the expression "weather the storm" has true value for a team trying to polish an opponent off. The Bruins and Sharks have to know that their opponents will come out with a burr in their collective jock in Game 4, and they'll have to find a way to match that intensity. If the toughest game to win is the fourth, it's borne of the losing team's distaste for humiliation.

But once those teams gets through that — especially if they can head to the dressing room after the first period with a lead — they've got their opponent in the mental state comparable to submission. It's takes a strong group to fight back when you're losing in Game 4 and down 3-0 in the series (tomorrow certainly won't be easy for the B's, with the Flyers knowing they accomplished the feat just last year).

Down 3-0, a simple things like communication between players can break down — when there aren't a whole lot of positive things to say and the eggshells are piling up alongside the losses, it's best not to ask your liney why he can't make one simple decent pass, you useless moron. Frustration and Blame are not a fun couple when they're holding hands — it can be tough to stay united when they're around.

Both teams staring up from the bottom of the well in the conference semi-finals are capable of comebacks. The series' are fairly evenly matched, but as the snowballs of failure and success tumble in opposite directions, they have to find that certain something to give them a fresh start.

If they don't, they'll find themselves alongside the Washington Capitals, finding out that fishing is more than just a metaphor.

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.

• "Ha! Got you! I never said 'Nathan says put your arms up like football goalposts.' Rubes!"

• The National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) announced today that Corey Perry of the Anaheim Ducks, Daniel Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks and Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning have been selected as finalists for the 2010-11 Ted Lindsay Award. The Ted Lindsay Award is presented annually to the "Most Outstanding Player" in the NHL, as voted by fellow members of the NHLPA. More on this in a moment.

• On the Detroit Red Wings' inability to topple the San Jose Sharks: "The Red Wings lost the way they've lost many times to this team, an agonizing riddle they just can't solve." [Detroit News]

• Ken Campbell on the Sharks: "The Red Wings are proud and willing, but the fact is they are depressingly unable against a Sharks team that is bigger, faster, stronger and more equipped to win big games. Wait a minute, did I just write that?" [THN]

• Ex-goon Jim Thomson wants to ban fighting in the NHL to prevent concussions. Keeping in mind, of course, that no one would be talking to Jim Thomson had it not been for fighting. [National Post]

• The Kurtenbloggers on the lack of production from Henrik Sedin: "Henrik Sedin has now gone four games without a point and has just one assist in his last seven games. Please update your wall charts accordingly. Clearly Henrik is hurting. Whether it's his groin, hip or back, we can only speculate. But while playing hurt doesn't excuse his lack of production, not entirely at least, it certainly makes it desirable for the Canucks to finish off the Predators as soon as possible." [KB]

• Boston Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid is progressing back from that sprained neck. The team is optimistic, but you never know when his recovery might hit a wall. [Bruins Blog]

• Yet another plan by the City of Glendale to close the sale of the Phoenix Coyotes: "The new plan could replace the existing $197 million deal Glendale approved to help Hulsizer finance a purchase of the team for between $170 million to $180 million. Sources familiar with the Coyotes plan say it could entail a $50 million bond sale with some kind of assurances to investors from both Glendale and the NHL." Because, you know, so many things have been assured in this process. [Phoenix Business Journal]

• Alex Ovechkin to the NIT? [IIHF]

• The Washington Capitals' many injuries, including news on an Ovechkin knee surgery. [Capitals Insider]

• Howard Bryant is a very insightful columnist, but we find it difficult to consume his "Sidney Crosby's absence from the playoffs and what it means for the NHL" piece when it features a line like this: "When the Capitals' Dave Steckel (now with the Devils) clubbed him in the head from behind, it did not appear to be a vicious hit at the time." Clubbed him? Look at the hit again; what steps could the NHL have taken to have prevented it? Bryant writes a compelling column on hockey violence; using the Steckel hit as a pivot point is, we think, putting the wrong skate forward. [ESPN]

• The Atlantic on the Stanley Cup Playoffs: "Nothing can match the edge-of-your-seat suspense of overtime playoff hockey. The speed of the sport and continuous game action guarantees that a goal can materialize at literally any moment, and the absence of a shootout or other tiebreaking method means the games can go on and on and on until somebody scores." [The Atlantic, via St. Louis Game Time]

• Another good mainstream piece praising the playoffs. [HuffPo]

• Hey, remember Jeff Vinik? The dude who purchased the Tampa Bay Lightning from Koules/Barrie? He's pretty happy: "Nothing shocks me about these guys." [Tampa Tribune]

• Jon Jordan on playoff hero Sean Bergenheim of the Tampa Bay Lightning: "Bergenheim fit with the Lightning from the start and has been a dynamic difference-maker in the playoffs. Only now, with a share of the playoff goal-scoring lead, will a wide array of observers begin to notice. But anyone that's been following this club for some time already knew what kind of an impact Bergenheim has made on this team at important times since his arrival." [Jordan]

• The Morning After for Capitals fans: "Was it the coaching? Was it the system? Was it the players? Was it the captain? Why did the pieces that seemed to be the final ones suddenly make no difference? What makes a group of professional athletes suddenly unable to show the intensity necessary for postseason hockey? What makes them glare menacingly at reporters and pledge constant vigilance off the ice, only to have them step on the ice and roll over? Why does this team, with all the talent and character in the world, become incapable of finding another level when other teams with varying levels of talent can become playoff juggernauts?" [Japers' Rink]

• On Frozen Blog, on Bruce Boudreau: "In the absence of coherent and sustained game plans we saw the Capitals often pursue a highly individualized style of play, with the captain especially susceptible to it. By the bitter end, we saw a band of misled brothers wholly uncertain of what to do against Tampa Bay, how to counteract 'character' game-breakers who rose to the occasion." [OFB]

• 'Chicago Native Son' with more eulogizing of the Capitals.

• Game 3 postmortem for the Detroit Red Wings. [Hockey Independent]

• GM Dale Tallon of the Florida Panthers is known for spending a buck or two on the free agent market; who might he target this summer? [Litter Box Cats]

• Former NHL enforcer Donald Brashear will step into the cage against Martin Trempe at Ringside MMA 11 in Quebec City. [CP]

• Good look at the Conn Smythe candidacy of Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins. [Houses of the Hockey]

• Talking about Ryan Suter with … Gary Suter. [Gazette]

• Hockey Bieber shines at Worlds. [CP]

• Steve Sullivan out, Colin Wilson in for the Nashville Predators in Game 4. It's Wilson's playoff debut. [NHL.com]

• Arguing why the Nashville Predators need to break up their top line of Sergei Kostitsyn, Patric Hornqvist and Mike Fisher. Hey, we know a girl who could write them a great breakup song. [On The Forecheck]

• Looking at Adam Larsson's maturation as a player in Sweden, as he could join the New Jersey Devils' blueline in the draft. [ILWT]

• Finally, backyard hockey with a healthy spoonful of adorable kid stuff:

Backyard Rink 2010/11 - Version 3.0 from Chad Fournier on Vimeo.

Is there a more widely misunderstood NHL award than the Ted Lindsay Award?

Formerly the Lester B. Pearson Award, and renamed for the Detroit Red Wings legend in 2010, it's voted on by members of the NHLPA and given annually to the "Most Outstanding Player" in the NHL.

Again: "Most Outstanding." Yet every season, you have media and teams and more media referring to the Pearson/Lindsay as the "MVP award voted on by NHL players" when it's nothing of the sort.

Check out the 2010-11 finalists announcement, and look for the words "value," "valuable" or "MVP." You won't find them. Yet the Lindsay is, to this day, treated like some kind of minority report on the Hart Trophy for league MVP because it's the players' voice heard instead of that of the media -- only the scribes are voting based on stats and intangibles, while the players are voting for the de facto "NHL Player of the Year" award.

Hence, Hart Trophy finalists Corey Perry of the Anaheim Ducks and Daniel Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks are up for the Lindsay, having led the league in goals and points respectively; and Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning is the third finalist, his statistical season impressing his peers more than that of Marty St. Louis, who was the other finalist for the Hart.

Since 1990, there have been five instances in which the Hart winner didn't take home the Pearson/Lindsay: In 2000, when Chris Pronger won MVP and Jaromir Jagr won the Pearson; in 2002, when Jose Theodore won MVP and Jarome Iginla won the Pearson; in 2003, when Peter Forsberg won the Hart and Markus Naslund won the Pearson; in 2006, when Joe Thornton won the Hart and Jaromir Jagr won the Pearson; and last year, when Henrik Sedin won the Hart and Alex Ovechkin won the Lindsay.

Assuming Corey Perry and Daniel Sedin are your two favorites, will we see deviation between the awards again? That depends on one thing: The players' opinions on Daniel.

Perry will, we think, win the Hart due to the timing of his offensive dominance (late in the season, during the voting) and the fact that he excelled while Ryan Getzlaf was injured.

So are 104 points better than 50 goals for the players? When Thornton and Jagr split, Thornton had more points while Jagr had a huge (54-29) goal advantage. Ditto Forsberg (29) and Naslund (48) in 2003.

In 2010-11, Daniel trailed Perry by just nine goals. That goal scoring, and leading the league in points, should mean the Lindsay for Sedin to go along with, we think, Perry's Hart.

"I'd never thought I'd say this to my hockey team. We've got to start diving because it's working. It is working. They're getting power plays because of the diving. I can go through the list of players. You already know who they are. You've seen them. It's ridiculous." — Anaheim Ducks GM Bob Murray on the Nashville Predators diving, April 18

"That's gamesmanship, and I understand that. It's also a little bit putting the referee in a tough spot. We have the best referees. If you're going to make them look bad, I don't think that's needed in the game." — Nashville Predators Coach Barry Trotz on the Vancouver Canucks diving, May 4.

Such is the way of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, when the alleged embellishers become those victimized by alleged embellishment.

The focus of Thursday night's Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals between the Vancouver Canucks and the Nashville Predators should be on what extending this series would mean to the Preds' franchise, as well as on the goalie duel between Roberto Luongo and Pekka Rinne.

Instead, the focus is on the officiating; and, specifically, if the Predators' words after Game 3 will have hurt or harmed their cause.

There were two plays in Game 3 that drew the ire of Trotz and Predators fans.

The first was a Jarred Smithson phantom high stick (gif here) that Luongo made look like he had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage during the play. That led to a second-period power-play goal for Vancouver.

In overtime, more significantly, this happened:

That Ryan Kesler stick-hold-turned-hooking call on Shea Weber resulted in a game-winning tally in overtime, and led to this quote from David Legwand (via the Kurtenblog):

"It's a horrible call. Obviously they're going to think it's a good call, but Kesler's obviously holding his stick. I don't know if [referee] Timmy Peel had a date or something, but he wanted to get out of here pretty quick, it looked like. It's a tough way to lose a game."

Wow, don't hold back, Leggy. Tell us how you really feel.

So will any of them affect the officiating in Game 4? The Globe & Mail is wondering the same thing:

Prior to Game 7 of their first-round series against the Chicago Blackhawks, Canucks general manager Mike Gillis went on a prepared rant regarding the officiating. His team won the deciding contest, although some calls went against the Canucks.

"I don't think so," Trotz said when asked if working the officials helps get the next call. "My point was: let's be up front...let's play it fair up and straight up, and if so, the best team wins."

Maybe Trotz's sneaky "Hey, give the refs a break" speech and Legwand's rant on Tim Peel are a wash. Or, maybe, the Predators' angst after Game 3 will mean a power-play advantage in Game 4.

The Green Men, those spandex-clad super fans, traveled to Nashville to see their Vancouver Canucks win Games 3 and 4 of the Western Conference semifinals.

While they weren't seated in their usual roles as penalty box tormentors, they had more interesting interactions on Thursday night: Goofing around with actress Nicole Kidman and her husband, country star Keith Urban, during the Canucks' 4-2 win over the Nashville Predators.

So the Green Men are YouTube sensations, have been interviewed on ESPN and had the NHL restrict their behavior; but could the crowing achievement of their careers be the night they made Nicole Kidman's face move?

Ah, but this was not the first time the Green Men have hung with Nicole Kidman …

… witness:

When they bum rushed the weather set in "To Die For."

When Sully gamely attempted to get The Duke's attention to let him know Satine and Christian were on the down low at the "Moulin Rogue!"

A deleted scene from "Batman Forever," as the Dark Knight and Dr. Chase Meridian attempt to ignore the gravity defying taunting of the Green Men and their cousin, the Riddler.

And finally, biding time between secret orgies in "Eyes Wide Shut" by hiding in Nicole's bedroom mirror, Candyman style.

So the Green Men get around ... although, at some point, they're going to have to explain to Kesler why they stole his bit.

No. 1 Star: Ryan Kesler, Vancouver Canucks

Kesler hadn't make his mark on the scoresheet in these playoffs until tonight when he broke out with a two-goal, one assist performance as the Canucks took a 3-1 series lead over the Nashville Predators with a 4-2 victory. On the go-ahead goal, Kesler took a Henrik Sedin pass and knifed his way through the Nashville defense:

No. 2 Star: Christian Ehrhoff, Vancouver Canucks

After snapping a five-game pointless streak in Game 3 with two assists, Ehrhoff kept up the production with a three-point game by scoring Vancouver's opening goal and assisting on Alex Edler's goal and Kesler's go-ahead tally.

No. 3 Star: Joel Ward, Nashville Predators

Ward continued his offensive contributions in these playoffs for the Predators with his fifth goal and added an assist in a losing effort. He also led all players with three takeaways. Ward has points in eight of the Predators' 10 playoff games.

Honorable mention: Henrik Sedin scored his first goal of the playoffs on an empty netter and assisted on two others to give him eight points through 11 games ... Kevin Klein had five hits for Nashville ... Nick Spaling won nine of 12 faceoffs ... An historic meeting of the Green Men and actress Nicole Kidman and singer Keith Urban went down during the second period.

Did you know? Only two nights since Apr. 19 haven't featured at least one game going into overtime: tonight & Apr. 28, night of Game 1 between Vancouver and Nashville.

Dishonorable mention: Ryan Suter's holding penalty put the Canucks on the power play that led to Kesler's goal ... Pekka Rinne thought Alex Burrows interfered with him on Vancouver's first goal. What do you think?

Conn Smythe Watch: 1. Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins; 3. Ryane Clowe, San Jose Sharks; 4. Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings; 5. Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins; 6. Nathan Horton, Boston Bruins; 7. Ryan Kesler, Vancouver Canucks; 8. Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators; 9. Vinny Lecavalier, Tampa Bay Lightning; 10. Danny Briere, Philadelphia Flyers;

Steven Paul, 28, is a Tampa Bay Lightning season ticket holder who's justifiably excited with his team in the Eastern Conference finals, eight wins away from the Stanley Cup.

Like many other Bolts supporters, he flaunted that enthusiasm within his community. That is, until his Home Owner's Association crushed his freedom of expression like an over-reactive parent.

But Steven Paul is a hockey fan, which means he's both incredibly cynical and incredibly stubborn about his passions. So he got a little creative in his battle with the draconian rules of his neighborhood HOA — and appears to have won.

Back in April, before the Lightning defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals in the Eastern Conference playoffs, Paul decided he wanted to make his neighbors aware of his fervor for the team.

When the Lightning clinched a playoff spot, they gave fans a playoff preparation package that included a T-shirt, stickers and a sign made for display on one's front yard, like a political placard.

Paul placed his white "GO BOLTS" sign on his lawn on a Saturday.

On Wednesday of the following week, he received this from his HOA:

"Whoever it is that has too much time on their hands took a picture on Monday, turned it in and then I got the letter that said, 'No signs allowed except for security signs,'" said Paul, who shared the story and the letter with the Reddit hockey community, where he's an active member.

His HOA limits lawn signs to ones that provide free advertising for alert others that the house is protected by some kind of alarm system or security service.

"I was pissed. I was infuriated," recalled Paul, "and then I was like, 'OK, fine. If we can only have security signs, then I'll make it a security sign."

Which he did:

A few days later, his wife was at home when something caught her eye outside the house. It was a woman with a camera, taking a photo of the new sign, ostensibly for more HOA tattling.

Meanwhile, Paul was getting proactive with the HOA after their cease and desist letter, writing a letter of his own.

"I asked them if they had any community support. Tampa made the playoffs for the first time in years. Obviously, it's not a permanent sign in my yard, it's just a way to support the team," he said. "Don't they have anything better to do with my HOA fees?"

After transforming his sign into "GO BOLTS SECURITY," he hasn't gotten a second notice — yet. The HOA told Paul they'll discuss the matter further at an upcoming meeting.

Then Paul decided to get really proactive. Inside the bag of Lightning swag was a large blue Tampa Bay flag. He checked the HOA bylaws about hanging flags on houses, and found no restrictions.

So up it went on his garage:

"Honestly, I think the flag looks worse than the lawn sign," he said, "but I'm gonna hang it up there until we're done."

An engineer for the NOAA Hurricane Hunters (Ed. Note: Awesome), Paul is waiting to see if there's any further pushback from the HOA, while wondering if his sport of choice is part of the victimization.

"If this was the Rays or if this was the Bucs, would this even be an issue?" he asked.

Whether or not he'll need to get creative again, the good news for Paul and thousands of other Lightning fans is that there's at least another round of playoff hockey in which to express their enthusiasm — no matter if "the man" says otherwise.

Stick-tap to reader Phil Scott for the tip.

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Jaromir Jagr hasn't played in the NHL in three season now, but he is the kind of player fans do remember. Recently, Montreal radio station CJAD announced that "a well-placed NHL source tells CJAD Jagr would put Montreal on his short-list of teams he'd love to hear from for a return to the NHL."

The rumors of Jagr coming back to the NHL surface every year. Recently, Sovetsky Sport's Pavel Lysenkov met with Jagr in Slovakia, where Jagr is playing for the Czech National team in the IIHF's World Championships, and asked him a few of questions, including some of ours.

Here is what Jagr said about his future:

"I have to see. There is time. I haven't thought about it. My contract just ended, and if I have a good offer [from Avangard] I will certainly consider it. Maybe some other teams will make me offers. As for the NHL, we'll see. I think that if I want to play in the NHL, I will come and I will be able to play in the NHL. I am not saying I will play on the first line, but I will be able to play."

After the interview, Avangard Omsk announced that they had made an official offer to Jagr to stay in Russia for one more year. Jagr is expected to sign a contract with the KHL team this summer.

If he does return to the Russian league, at least he won't have to face his former coach, who reportedly tried to fight him after one of the KHL playoff games.

A teammate of Jagr told SovSport anonymously last month that then-Omsk coach Raimo Summanen "went after Jagr with his fists after [a Game 6 victory] in Magnitogorsk. He was jumping around [Jagr], challenged him to a fight."

Jagr didn't want to fight his coach.

"I didn't want to talk about it," Jagr told us. "And now the time has passed. No one can understand what was going on apart from those who were with the team. And what happened with that coach was the last time it would ever happen to me, I hope. It was quite an experience for me. This sort of thing happened for the first time for me. And I hope it was also the last time. Bad experience.

"It's just difficult to describe. I wish I could have more time to explain exactly what happened, but we just don't have the time. We did have a good result as a team, but it was so difficult for every player psychologically to work with this coach. He's good as a coach, he has a good system. But if you make a mistake, or not even, if you simply lose a game what happens after that with this coach I have no words to explain. He is a good coach, but not a good person. During the regular season he never yelled at me or told me something bad. But I saw it happening to other guys. And I asked them to tolerate it because we were showing good results. But it was also tough to see how he psychologically tried to kill his players.

"And it was my big mistake that I asked the guys to tolerate that. I should have spoken to the coach earlier to tell him he simply cannot act like that. And I think the guys were waiting for me to tell that to the coach. And I didn't."

So, was it true Summanen wanted to fight Jagr?

"Everything that has been written has some truth to that. Not everything. I don't want to talk about it."

We also asked Lysenkov to ask Jagr about his take on the amount of head injuries in the NHL. He was on the receiving end of a hit to the head by Alex Ovechkin in last year's Olympics in Vancouver.

This is what Jagr said about the number of injuries in the game:

"You know, it is a very difficult question. On one hand hockey is a very physical contact sport. On the other, hockey is also a huge business. You employ a lot of players paying them a lot of money. You don't want them to get injured. Imagine you pay someone like Sidney Crosby a lot of money and you don't know when he is going to play again. The NFL had the same problem and they aggressively addressed it making changes," he said.

"Hockey players are now a lot bigger than they were before, a lot stronger. It's not the same game it was 20 years ago. Just look at the guys playing now! The game is a lot faster now with a lot more skill. And because it is faster and players are bigger and stronger, there will be more injuries and those injuries will be more severe. I don't know what can be done to eliminate that."

This October marks the 21-year anniversary of Jagr's NHL debut. And he's still as famous a name as you'll find in the game.

If the San Jose Sharks complete the sweep on Friday night against the Detroit Red Wings, this is how it likely ends for Mike Modano: a night in street clothes, as a healthy scratch.

Modano told reporters that his name wasn't on the lineup board, and that he'll be scratched for the seventh time in these playoffs.

He played 40 games with the Red Wings in the regular season, scoring 4 goals and 11 assists in a campaign derailed by a nasty lacerated wrist injury in November 2010.

From Yahoo! Sports' Nick Cotsonika, reporting from Detroit, Modano's thoughts from Thursday:

"It certainly crossed my mind after the game last night and today that this could be it," Modano said. "A knee-jerk reaction is to kind of say that's it and be done with it, because the frustration level is fairly high at this point. … Right now if you ask me, I'd probably say no, I wouldn't entertain anything at this moment."

Modano said he isn't sure if he would announce his retirement right away or wait to see if he got the itch and opportunity to play again, like he did last summer. But he knows some of the people who are trying to buy the Stars. He might have a future doing something in Dallas, and that might be the way to go. This attempt at playing one more season didn't work out the way he envisioned, to say the least.

"Your initial thought is a little regret, because of what you went through, but no one could ever predict what happened, the severity of the injury and what all took place," Modano said. "It's just … Maybe it was a sign that I should have stayed away."

For Modano to recognize that now is, obviously, a depressing development, because it should have been evident last summer. He had a farewell befitting an NHL legend: The teary-eyed sendoff by Dallas Stars fans after a shootout goal, and the surreal Minnesota North Stars salute on the road.

The Red Wings haven't been sentimental about this stuff in the past. Steve Thomas was a healthy playoff scratch at the end of his run in 2004, for example. Putting Modano in Game 4 would have been an honorable thing for Mike Babcock, but it also would have signaled that this series had reached its curtain call, so the decision is understandable. Check out Defending Big D for a Stars blog perspective.

It's hard to accept Modano's final game after 21 seasons will be spent in the press box. But it's not like he didn't have the chance to go out on his terms.

We're predisposed to loathe any parody of Bobby Darin's swingin' "Mack the Knife" because, well, it's a classic. But when the original classic has lyrics like, "when that shark bites, with his teeth, babe," it's a natural fit for a San Jose Sharks playoff anthem — at least in the mind of Greg Kihn, the morning show host for KFOX.

Here's Kihn with "Mack The Shark," name-checking every player and broadcaster while goofing around with San Jose fans.

Again, there's a part of you that wants to FAIL this, but honestly: It's goofy, it's clever and this dude's enthusiasm reaches moments of Buster Poindexter bombast near the end.

Really, our only complaints are that it's about a minute too long and Needs. More. Slappy. But what say you?

Pass or Fail: The San Jose playoff anthem 'Mack The Shark'.

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

• Special Guest Star: Stu "The Grim Reaper" Grimson talks Nashville Predators hockey and fighting in the NHL.

• The Vancouver Canucks' 3-0 lead on the Preds.

• The Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings face elimination.

• The end of Mike Modano.

• Pizzo slams the NHL on Green Men.

• Question of the day: Do the Flyers or Wings have a better chance of surviving?

• 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 158. 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:

You don't have to be a pro scout to know that Ryan Kesler of the Vancouver Canucks fits the very enviable description of what the hockey world refers to as a "horse." You could hook up a plow to the dudes back and I'm pretty sure he could till a sizable field by nightfall.

If the Canucks are going to turn their Cup dreams into a reality this season, they're going to have to hitch their wagon to him. It's not that the Sedin brothers or Luongo aren't great players, it's just that none of them fit the description of the true horse (despite the hilarious jokes I foresee in the comment section).

Since the lockout, we've seen that you have to have at least one of these centaurs to hoist the Cup.

Presenting your Cup-providing horses, in order from 2005-2006 to present: 2006: Carolina Hurricanes (Eric Staal, the definition of horse), 2007: Anaheim Ducks (Chris Pronger, a developing Ryan Getzlaf), 2008: Detroit Red Wings (Johan Franzen, Tomas Holmstrom), 2009: Pittsburgh Penguins (Sidney Crosby, the smallest person ever to qualify as a horse ... are there pygmy horses?), 2010: Chicago Blackhawks (Jonathan Toews).

Now, to clarify, a horse doesn't have to be a terrific goal scorer — it helps, of course, but even someone like Tim Jackman of the Calgary Flames would qualify.

The definition of a horse at its very simplest is that they're basically genetically built to play hockey. I could go to the gym every day from now until whenever and still never achieve horse status. They have great work ethic, no fear, they're aggressive. Aside from One-of-a-Kind Crosby, they're almost always big, lean men packed with energizer batteries.

Ryan Kesler fits the description of the guy who would be carrying the football into the end zone with three people on his back and two dragging at his legs — I believe it was Marshawn Lynch who referred to that as "Beast Mode," but on the ice rink it's a little more like Horse Mode. You get to gallop a lot more in hockey than you do on a football field.

The snapbomb he launched for the game winner last night (as opposed to the interview bombs he's been dropping all season) was the perfect example of what a strong player with a head of steam and no fear can do.

He took the puck directly at Shea Weber (and Shane O'Brien), for crying out loud. I wouldn't take the puck at Shea Weber without anything short of a gift basket and full body armour.

Round one versus the Chicago Blackhawks saw Kesler engaged in one of the more underrated playoff battles thus far, when Jonathan Toews (Selke nominee) went head-to-head with him (also a Selke nominee) and they Selke'd each other to death, combining for a grand total of no goals until the dying seconds of game seven when Toews put home a fantastic short-handed effort.

It was some hot horse-on-horse action.

And it's efforts like that which differentiate the horse from the goal-scorer (and part of the reason non-horsey stars like Alexander Semin and Nicklas Backstrom struggle in playoffs) — when times get tight and scoring gets tough, They-That-Neigh still manage to contribute something to your team. It takes hard work and a well-rounded game to be valuable when you don't score, and I'd say keeping Toews from scoring for nearly seven games (only happened one time all season) qualifies.

If the Nucks manage to push past a good Nashville team, their forecast is mostly Sharky with a chance of Lightning (or a chance of Bruins, it just sounded better with Lightning), and they'll need more of the same from him.

Kesler scored 41 times during the regular season, and that's not even where horses play their best hockey. The more the slog of tight-checking playoff hockey hampers everyone else, the more these guys thrive, just a-tilling the damn field no matter how many rocks are in the way.

As much as the team needs productive hockey from its 2010 Hart winner, its 2011 Hart nominee, its 2011 Vezina nominee and the rest of its cast of characters, they need Kesler to be the engine that powers them over the hump.

They refer to the teams that make playoffs as a "field" for a reason - that's where horses run best.

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.

• Five reasons why Nicklas Lidstrom won't retire after this season. Great stuff from Kevin Allen. [USA Today]

• "Not to bury the Detroit Red Wings before they're done, but is it fair to wonder whether this core has another Cup in it? They've been getting progressively further from winning it all since 2008." [Freep]

• Mike Richards on what inspirational pregame speech he'll give the Philadelphia Flyers before their potential elimination Friday night in Boston: "There's no speech that is needed. … Everybody understands the situation that we're in. There's words that will be said, but there's no speech …" Braveheart, he is not. [CSN Philly]

• Sergei Bobrovsky gets his first start of the series against the Boston Bruins, and Chris Pronger is again a maybe. [Philly.com]

• The Boston Bruins on the Beat Up Old Jacket, their playoff trinket that's gaining attention. [Boston.com]

• Ryan Kennedy on Tomas Kaberle's time with the Boston Bruins: "The price Kaberle came at -- specifically big prospect center Joe Colborne and a first round draft pick, plus a conditional pick -- it will all be worth it if Boston wins the Stanley Cup." [THN]

• MY GAWD THAT'S J.P. DUMONT'S MUSIC! [NHL.com]

• Alain Vigneault gave Barry Trotz the gears on diving after Game 4: "I hope they are not going to complain about embellishment tonight with the number of things that happened out there on the ice, Suter having the audacity to complain after he takes that penalty and just hauls Ryan Kesler down is utterly amazing." [Examiner]

• Canada tops the U.S. in a shootout at worlds. Optimus Reim over ConkBlock. [Y!]

• Down Goes Brown with signs that your second-round playoff series isn't going so well: "Instead of twirling a towel or encouraging the crowd to sing along, your anthem singer's trademark postseason move is to tie a little noose out of the microphone cord." [DGB]

• Really, any combination of Christopher Nolan's directing and the San Jose Sharks is a win in our book. [Battle of Cali]

• David Staples with an interesting examination on whether the Edmonton Oilers could be headed for relocation in three years. "Quebec City might well be held up as a possible home for the Oilers, but, as we can see, it's not as good a market, and it would also cause the biggest stink in Edmonton since Wayne Gretzky was sold if our tax dollars essentially paid for an arena in Quebec City, then our Oilers moved to that city." [Edmonton Journal]

• Media Takedown No. 1: Nucks Misconduct with a takedown on a Roy MacGregor "drive-by hit piece" in the Vancouver Canucks and Roberto Luongo. [Nucks Misconduct]

• Media Takedown No. 2: An in-depth and at times scathing review of Pierre McGuire's opinions on the Montreal Canadiens. [Eyes On the Prize]

• Chicago Native Son strikes again, adding "If you can't beat 'em, 'join 'em.'"

• JP calls for the head of Bruce Boudreau after the Washington Capitals are swept out of the postseason. [Japers' Rink]

• The Washington Capitals' forgotten goalie, Semyon Varlamov, would like to stay in the NHL rather than return to Russia. One wrinkle: The KHL teams wouldn't have to use the "foreign player" exception on him as a native, which will make him a hot commodity. [Capitals Insider]

• Baycrest senior scientist Brian Levine, a brain expert, attempts to answer the question: "Does playing in the NHL affect your brain health later in life?" [Mirtle]

• Good stuff from John Kreiser on playoff overtimes: "Unlike the last three years, when home teams did well in overtime, road clubs have had the better of play this year. Of the 20 overtime games so far, 13 have been won by the visiting team -- the most since road clubs won 13 of 21 in 1999." [NHL.com]

• The Behind The Net stat-heads breakdown home ice in the second round. [BTN]

• What a trip down memory lane this was: Remembering the minor league star-hoarding Detroit Vipers. [Winging It]

• Stay classy, New Jersey Devils. Note: This isn't cynicism. [ILWT]

• Columbus Blue Jackets blog offers its assessment of Mike Commodore: "Goodbye Commie and thanks for nothing." [The Cannon]

• Finally, Mikael Granlund (Minnesota Wild prospect) converts a shootout in Worlds that's nifty if you have your sound off and awesome with the sounds on thanks to this rather enthusiastic goal call.

After seven playoff wins in nine playoff games, you can see it coming together for the San Jose Sharks. Which means you start picturing the previously unimaginable:

Gary Bettman, through lusty boos as usual, telling Captain Joe Thornton to come collect the Stanley Cup. ... Jumbo, with an almost adolescent exuberance, passes it to Patrick Marleau, who lifts it high above the years of underachievement in his career. ... Eventually, it goes to Dany Heatley, who gives the Cup a smooch while wondering what Steve Tambellini and Bryan Murray are up to these days.

The most tantalizing thing about these Sharks — and the scariest, if you consider the scenario above to be nightmarish — is that this playoff run has proven that The Big Three are still important to the team but no longer its engine. There are different heroes nearly every night for the Sharks, who can close out the Detroit Red Wings in Game 4 on Friday night.

They could post their first playoff sweep in franchise history. Things are different this time.

Consider their 2011 playoff run thus far:

Win 1: In Game 1 of the quarterfinals, Joe Pavelski scores at 14:44 of overtime, his third career OT goal, to lead San Jose to a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings.

Win 2: In Game 3 vs. the Kings, it's Devin Setoguchi scoring at 3:09 of overtime against Jonathan Quick, capping that five-goal rally for the 6-5 victory.

Win 3: Ryane Clowe opens the scoring in Game 4 at 3:58 of the second and then adds a critical third goal for San Jose later in the period during the 6-3 road victory.

Win 4: Proving yet again that expectations and reputations in the Stanley Cup Playoffs can change in an instant, Joe Thornton scores the series-clinching goal at 2:22 of overtime to win Game 6, 4-3, in Los Angeles.

Win 5: Something called "Benn Ferriero" scores at 7:03 in overtime to give the Sharks the 2-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings in Game 1 of the semifinals.

Win 6: Hey, look, they have a goalie, too. Antti Niemi plays the second-best game of his postseason life (that 2-1 win over San Jose while with the Blackhawks is probably his masterpiece at this point) in stopping 33 shots and letting goals by offensive juggernauts Ian White and Niclas Wallin to stand in the 2-1 Game 2 win.

Win 7: The Setoguchi show again, as his first career playoff hat trick was completed at 9:21 of overtime for the 4-3 Game 3 victory.

Seven wins, six different heroes. This is a team with 14 different goal-scorers in the playoffs.

That the Red Wings have 15 is very much a positive point of comparison. In fact, it's no coincidence that three of the seven teams remaining in the playoffs have strong ties to the Detroit machine: The Wings themselves, the Sharks (with coach Todd McLellan) and the Tampa Bay Lightning (with GM Steve Yzerman). They're different variations of the same themes, and they're all excelling.

In Sharks' case, their transformation into a Wings-like playoff team has produced seven wins over Detroit in eight games. Quoth Darth McLellan: "The circle is now complete. When I left you I was but the learner. Now I am the master."

We've been asked a few dozen times this postseason: What's different about the Sharks?

The fact that you can throw a dart at their lineup Friday night and have a good chance of hitting the name that will make the difference in victory is, undeniably, one big difference than in previous disappointing campaigns.

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?

So the Washington Capitals got bounced from the playoffs in just four games against a team they beat out for the division lead. And now there's talk — foolish, foolish talk — that, as a consequence, so too will Bruce Boudreau's tenure as the team's head coach end.

This is, maybe, the dumbest thing I've heard someone say about hockey all damn year.

Theoretically and based on their regular-season records, the Capitals should have advanced past the second round before this year. And if they had, we wouldn't be having this ridiculous conversation. But the playoffs are an inherently unfair and flawed system, one which benefits lucky clubs rather than good ones; though the two are not always mutually exclusive (see also: Red Wings, Detroit, 2008).

But guess what: The Tampa Bay Lightning are one lucky-ass team. They got every bounce in a four-game series to go their way. They got better-than-could-be-reasonably-expected-from-an-octogenarian goaltending. They got some mediocre performances from a couple of Capitals, who, one can reasonably suspect, were pretty banged up.

They were, to put it succinctly, not exactly the better team in this series.

Remember, this is the same team that peed down its leg in the second half of the season when it started leading the division, while Washington rebounded from that lengthy losing streak around the Winter Classic and clobbered everyone in its path en route to the top seed in the East. No small feat.

And the reason it was able to do that?

Bruce Boudreau. Pretty much solely.

His insistence on switching to a reasonable, slightly more defensive brand hockey rather than trying to win games 6-5 every night was largely predicated on the idea that this style of play is how you "Win In The Playoffs." He and GM George McPhee worked hard to craft a team that could execute that type of game, and they saw the fruits of that labor in the back half of what was after all a very successful regular season, as the team jelled and adapted to the new system.

We saw it, too, in the first round, when the Capitals disemboweled the New York Rangers just like everyone on the planet who doesn't own a Rangers jersey knew they would. But things go wrong in the second round, and suddenly a lot of Chicken Littles start pecking around the Caps dressing room asking asinine questions.

If this type of change is being considered, then I'm a little surprised. To be fair, McPhee said he "expects" that Boudreau will be back. (Leading me to believe that the decision might come from a bit higher up the food chain; say, the owner's box).

Those who would promote such a move can point to moves like the one made in Pittsburgh in 2008-09, when Dan Bylsma was brought in midseason and somehow/someway got a team with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin playing out of their minds to a Stanley Cup title when Michel Therrien could "only" manage a Cup final appearance.

Obviously Bylsma is a great coach, but I bet that the extra summer of tinkering with the roster, acquiring a few different guys at the deadline and letting young players develop for another season contributed more than a little to the new guy's seeming alchemic success.

Along the same lines, one has to wonder if Marcus Johansson or John Carlson or Karl Alzner or Michal Neuvirth will be more effective players next year, or if any free agents brought in to help streamline the team's play in its current systems will help. The smart guess: probably a little.

It doesn't help that Alex Ovechkin went around guaranteeing the team would win both games in Tampa, then amending that to "win the series" when the first game in St. Pete didn't work out. That just sets Boudreau up to fail because, with all apologies to the 2009-10 Flyers, teams just don't come back from being down 3-0.

And really, who could do a better job with the Capitals as currently constituted than Boudreau? The NHL head coaching ranks are getting so thin that the Devils are considering bringing Ken Hitchcock aboard. Ken Hitchcock! Imagine that?

The fact is Boudreau has won the division each of the last four years and, in the last three, averaged 112 points a season. You don't ride Nicklas Backstrom, and Alexes Ovechkin and Semin to 112 points a year by chance, or by being anything else than a great coach.

It's unfair to label a guy a choker or say he can't get it done in the postseason when everything but the final score of the games indicates he coaches the best and most efficient team on the ice in not only the regular season, but also all the series they've lost in the last few years.

Again, the playoffs are ruled through the tyranny of small sample sizes. Boudreau's teams essentially lost three one-goal games (the 4-2 scoreline in Game 1 came due to an empty netter) to a Bolts team that statistically should have failed. These weren't humiliating blowouts — unless you count Mike Green's doors on the Game 3 winner — but rather skin-of-their-teeth victories that could very easily have gone the other way.  Hell, only one team wins the Stanley Cup every year. And that doesn't even make the coach who Got It Done a genius.

Fire Boudreau? Honestly?

To paraphrase the man himself, "That's really [expletive]in' dumb."

#WhyGlennHealyIsSoAngry

The most talked-about part of the Nashville Predators/Vancouver Canucks series hasn't been the stunning play of Pekka Rinne or whether the Sedin twins have been on dialysis between shifts, but rather, whether two idiots in green body suits who everyone is kinda sick of hearing about should be allowed to continue to behave like idiots.

Hockey Night in Canada personality Glenn Healy repeatedly expressed his dislike for the Green Men, before later recanting, but the good folks at the Kurtenblog got to wondering: Why is Glenn Healy so angry, really?

Tweeters had some theories.

@gottabe_KD: Colby Armstrong was paid more for 1 week of work on TSN than he makes all season

@lmchew: Upset at the number of "dislikes" Rebecca Black is getting on YouTube

@graeme_0: Saw the GEICO ad on the wall

@IvanJWhite: all paychecks made out to "the guy who sits next to __________ during the hotstove"

@Driedg: his kids insist on calling him "redlight"

@Hstands4Hockey: Feels he should have got the Game 7 start in 1994.

@TheFecklessPuck: Got snowed by Joe Thornton

@camcharron: PJ Stock is kicking him from beneath the HNiC desk.

And your winner:

@Carkeez: Osama Bin Laden owed him $50.

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 vacations: "Best thing about Cabo is you dont have to leave the pool to pee."

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.

Time was not on the side of the Phoenix Coyotes.

The Goldwater Institute had them by the stones over the bond sale issue. Prospective owner Matthew Hulsizer, the NHL and the Board of Governors were losing patience with the sale process. Winnipeg, and the necessity of the NHL's 2011-12 schedule, were looming.

So the City of Glendale has apparently decided to reset the clock, have this moribund franchise remain in the desert for another season and see if they can make a deal with Hulsizer (or someone else) to keep the team local.

Via Scott Burnside of ESPN:

The City of Glendale released its council agenda Friday and multiple sources confirmed to ESPN.com that the city is looking at replicating an arrangement that cost the municipality $25 million this season to help cover operating costs while the National Hockey League finds an owner for the franchise for next season.

The proposal to extend the guarantee to next season is expected to pass -- one source told ESPN.com Friday it would be a "no-brainer" for the city to do so -- and could take some of the pressure off of the municipality to sell more than $100 million in bonds that are crucial to closing a deal with Chicago businessman Matthew Hulsizer.

The NHL is down with this plan, via Phoenix Business Journal:

"As we have for the past two-plus years, we have been working very closely with the city of Glendale to do everything possible to ensure the Coyotes' future in Glendale. At the city's request, we have agreed to pursue another one-year interim arrangement while we jointly pursue a long-term ownership solution. We remain confident that one exists, and we intend to continue to pursue it," said deputy NHL commissioner Bill Daly.

The Winnipeg Sun thinks there are other factors at play as well:

By not finalizing the deal midseason, Hulsizer couldn't benefit from the NHL's revenue sharing plan, nor could he collect on his arena management fee, payable by Glendale and pegged at nearly $20 million a year. So it's not believed Hulsizer is sweetening the pot.

Delaying the inevitable? A stay of execution? Perhaps. But Glendale buys some time with Hulsizer, solidifies its footing in the showdown with Goldwater and is no longer at the mercy of the NHL schedule. Meanwhile, the good people of Winnipeg may let their eyes wander over to the Atlanta Thrashers as the NHL's most portable team with Glendale and the League continuing to stubbornly push to keep the team in Phoenix.

Also on Friday: The Hulsizer group denied he was looking to buy the St. Louis Blues and had soured on the Coyotes. And why not: You don't see the St. Louis City Council grabbing its ankles for him like the accommodating folks in Glendale, do you?

After his team swept the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday night, Milan Lucic of the Boston Bruins was asked if it was a relief to finally have questions about their seven-game collapse to the Flyers in 2010 rendered irrelevant.

"It's nice that we're not going to have to answer any more of those questions. I think we learned a lot from that experience last year," said Lucic, who finally revealed himself as a playoff participant with two goals in their Game 4 series-clincher.

"In this series, we went right after them."

That they did. And the Flyers did little to battle them back.

It makes you wonder what the Flyers learned last postseason in their improbable run to the Stanley Cup Finals, because it wasn't evident in this four-game humbling. They couldn't match Boston's level of competition, physicality or consistency. They looked tired, taxed, passive where the Bruins were aggressive.

They didn't look like the Flyers.

Bobby Holik, a former Stanley Cup champion and an analyst for NHL Network, joined us on Puck Daddy Radio earlier this week and said something changed in the Flyers around February in the regular season:

"They were not playing with the same edge, the same drive and hunger they had last year. That's where the difference is. The team's not much worse or not better. But only here and there are they playing with the same edge.

"Every since around February, they started playing a skill game. That's all good, but the strength of their game is playing with an edge. And what is going to get them out of the playoffs is not playing with that edge. … They are one of the best built teams in the League. What separated them from the rest was they could take all that talent and skill and play hard-driving hockey. It's there, but it could be too late for them to bring it out."

There were three main factors in the Flyers' demise in the playoffs. The first is that the Bruins flat outplayed them in the four games, in nearly every facet, to the point where the worst power play in the postseason potted goals in Games 3 and 4.

The second was the goaltending and defense, as the Flyers used two different goaltenders in each of the first three games and hung them out to dry frequently. The Flyers pulled their goalie six times in 11 playoff games. Padded by some empty netters, the Bruins outscored the Flyers 20-7 in this series. That's inexcusable.

And the third, and perhaps most significant, was the absence of  Chris Pronger.

The Flyers lacked leadership; Pronger provides it. The Flyers lacked snarl; Pronger provides it. The Flyers lacked defensive cohesion; Pronger provides it.

"You notice the impact a guy like Chara has on the other side. They have the same style, play the same way. You certainly miss him," said Coach Peter Laviolette after Game 4.

The Flyers played 11 games in the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs. They had Pronger for 41:45 of them. Compare that to their run last season, when he was their backbone and averaged an absurd 29:03 per game. His loss to injuries proved insurmountable.

The Flyers enter the summer with a projected cap space of $430,845 according to Cap Geek. That isn't a misprint.

But they also enter the summer with undeniable talent, depth and potential to contend in 2011-12. It's a tricky offseason for GM Paul Holmgren, mostly because, like everyone else, it's hard to understand how this Flyers team could be so dominated by the Bruins in the semifinals.

No. 1 Star: Milan Lucic, Boston Bruins

The Bruins power forward scored 30 goals in the regular season but didn't have a single tally through 10 playoff games. He picked a hell of a time to get rolling: Game 4 vs. the Philadelphia Flyers, scoring two goals in the Bruins' sweep-completing 5-1 win. Lucic scored the Bruins' second power-play goal of the postseason in the first period and then iced the win with a breakaway goal off a Matt Carle turnover in the third.

No. 2 Star: Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings

With the Red Wings facing elimination — and potentially the end of an era — the captain came through with two first-period goals in Detroit's 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks in Game 4. Lidstrom's first tally was a blast off an Antti Niemi rebound; his second was a shot from the slot on the power play.

No. 3 Star: Darren Helm, Detroit Red Wings

Helm's second goal of the playoffs at 18:33 of the third period gave Detroit the 4-3 lead. The goal came after the Wings blew a 3-0 lead, as Dany Heatley tied the game at 1:14 of the third period. Here's Helm's tally:

Honorable mention: Johnny Boychuk scored the game-winner for the Bruins on a deflected shot past Sergei Bobrovsky (22 saves) … Brad Marchand scored his fifth of the playoffs into an empty net. … Kris Versteeg scored the Flyers' lone goal. … Jimmy Howard made 25 saves, including some key stops late in the third, for the Red Wings. … Ryane Clowe had three assists for the Sharks, getting helpers on goals by Logan Couture, Dan Boyle and Heatley. … Todd Bertuzzi had a goal and an assist. … Tim Thomas made 22 saves.

Did you know? Lidstrom's first goal gave him 181 career playoff points, breaking a second-place tie with Ray Bourque for scoring by a defenseman, and broke an 11th-place tie overall with Jaromir Jagr. (AP)

Dishonorable mention: Jeff Carter had no points and was a minus-4 for the Flyers. … Scott Hartnell finished the Boston series with no points and a minus-5. … The Flyers (18) and Sharks (13) lead the NHL in first-period goals allowed in the playoffs. … Finally, potentially tough break for the Bruins as Claude Giroux takes out Patrice Bergeron, who skated one shift in the third period:

Conn Smythe Watch: 1. Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins; 3. Ryane Clowe, San Jose Sharks; 4. Ryan Kesler, Vancouver Canucks; 5. Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins; 6. Joe Thornton, San Jose Sharks; 7. Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators; 8. Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings; 9. Nathan Horton, Boston Bruins; 10. Vinny Lecavalier, Tampa Bay Lightning.

As the Boston Bruins were celebrating their first trip to the Conference Final since the 1991-92 season after sweeping the Philadelphia Flyers last night, they were missing a vital cog in their engine that's led them to this point.

Patrice Bergeron was in the locker room getting checked out and was not seen again after early in the third period.

Speaking to the media this morning, Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli said that Bergeron suffered a mild concussion after this hit from Philadelphia's Claude Giroux:

It also looks like Tyler Seguin will start in Bergeron's place for the start of the series against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Bergeron's concussion history is well-known and the fact that he may have suffered another is scary news, especially for an organization that's had to deal with the effects of Marc Savard's health in the past year. Two years, Bergeron missed 15 games after colliding with Dennis Seidenberg then of the Carolina Hurricanes.

There's little question that Bergeron's been Boston's offensive Conn Smythe candidate through two rounds. He leads the team in scoring (12 points), hits (30), shots (35),  and as dominated in the faceoff dot (64.2-percent). Losing Bergeron for any amount of time would be a blow to their drive to the Stanley Cup, but given the potential circumstances at play here, the Bruins don't want to see what happened with Savard happen to another valuable member of their organization.

Stick-tap Eric Burton for the video

As the Tampa Bay Lightning showed this season, a new coach with the right philosophy can turn a franchise around in a hurry.

Yet scanning the latest scuttlebutt for the NHL's five current coaching vacancies, the early favorites aren't AHL darlings like Guy Boucher but NHL assistants and ex-NHL head coaches — including a few big names.

Here what the five teams searching for coaches have on their respective radars:

Minnesota Wild

Michael Russo of the Star Tribune reported on Friday that former Edmonton Oilers coach Craig MacTavish "has emerged as a strong candidate" for Todd Richards' old gig. From Russo:

According to multiple league sources, the former Edmonton Oilers coach has had a handful of conversations with Chuck Fletcher and was recently interviewed by the Wild general manager at a Toronto hotel. The 52-year-old MacTavish, who coached the Oilers from 2000 to '09, has been unwilling to talk about any of the NHL coaching vacancies other than to say he's "recharged" and ready to return to coaching.

According to Russo, Fletcher hasn't reached out to Ken Hitchcock, who is currently coaching the Wild's Cal Clutterbuck and Brent Burns at the World Championships in Slovakia.

Another name to consider: Mike Yeo, head coach of the AHL Houston Aeros, although it's odd to think Fletcher would go back to the AHL well so soon after Richards didn't work. Also, Minnesota's power play would stink. Ask a Penguins fan.

New Jersey Devils

There's only one name linked with the Devils, and it's a big one: Hitchcock, whom Larry Brooks of the New York Post wrote last week is the coach GM Lou Lamoriello "intends to hire this summer."

From Brooks:

That makes perfect sense because the Devils general manager, who in the previous six summers since the lockout hired Larry Robinson, Claude Julien, Brent Sutter, Jacques Lemaire and John MacLean, has to go for the safe pick this time, has to go for a coach who will grab every one of his players' attention and command every one of his players' respect the moment he walks in the room the first day of training camp.

All of that is why an otherwise logical (and stellar) candidate like Montreal Canadiens assistant Kirk Muller wouldn't be the choice due to his lack of NHL head coaching experience.

Ken Hitchcock and the New Jersey Devils. What say you, Admiral Akbar?

Ottawa Senators

Mississauga St. Michael's Majors head coach Dave Cameron, who coached Canada at World Juniors, was discussed as the next Senators coach even before Cory Clouston packed up his desk. Cameron was asked about his future during the OHL finals, via the Journal Pioneer:

"The hockey world is a rumour world and, certainly, with my connection and having worked with Mr. Melnyk here in Toronto and in Binghamton, your name gets added to the rumour thing," Cameron said.

Eugene Melnyk owns both the Ottawa Senators and the Majors.

"I don't want it to be a distraction for my team," he said of the rumour mill. "Moving forward here, they have a lot at stake, so I've avoided it or downplayed it as best I can.

"But I'm no different than the players. I aspire to get to the National Hockey League. That's always been a dream of mine as a coach, but it's a hard league to get to. There are only 30 of those jobs in the world, and there are a lot of good coaches out there applying for them. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to get there, but at the end of the day I'm up to my neck here in some real good hockey and I'll address that one when my season is over."

And when he does, it won't surprise anyone to see him do so in front of a Centurian's head.

Dallas Stars

Please recall Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette basically declaring that Canadiens assistant Kirk Muller was Dallas-bound after the Habs were eliminated:

[GM Pierre] 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.

Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News had front office sources saying it was less than that concrete, but clearly Muller is on the radar in Big D.

This week, speculation out of Montreal was that Muller could be a candidate to replace Bruce Boudreau in Washington, as he's a former teammate of GM George McPhee.

Florida Panthers

One name moved to the forefront quickly in Sunrise: John Torchetti, who was an assistant coach under GM Dale Tallon with the Chicago Blackhawks before moving over to the Atlanta Thrashers as an assistant coach under another former Blackhawks executive, GM Rick Dudley.

He was an interim coach for the Panthers in 2003-04, going 10-12-4 in 27 games. He served the same role with the Los Angeles Kings in 2005-06 for 12 games (5-7-0).

There was weirdness two weeks ago for the Panthers and Torch, as Dudley told the Star Tribune that Florida asked his permission to speak to the coach, but Panthers assistant GM Mike Santos denied it. From On Frozen Pond:

Santos added that those who think the Panthers are going to hire a guy with Chicago (Tallon) or Nashville (Santos) ties are "over-thinking things a bit.'' Santos said the Panthers are looking at all options. "We need the right personality that fits here,'' he said.

"And also a love of deep dish pizza and the Bears," he added (we think).