Dubinsky returns for Game 5; No hearing for Brown; Spacek rips Habs (Puck Headlines) (Puck Daddy)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 11:29:50 PDT)
• John Tortorella, when asked how he was going to get his forwards going on Tuesday: "Pray." He then read an excerpt from his memoir on a trip he took around the world after splitting from the Tampa Bay Lightning. • By the way, in case it wasn't clear that John Tortorella's sense of humour is lacking, on Wednesday morning he made it clear that he was joking about prayer and retracted the joke. [ NHL ] • No hearing for Dustin Brown for his controversial collision with Michal Rozsival. [ LA Kings Insider ] • Brandon Dubinsky returns to the Rangers' lineup for Game 5. [ Newsday ] • Showing some much-needed attention to the Devils' relatively anonymous blueline. [ NJ ] • An argument for shaking up the New York Rangers' lines by removing Carl Hagelin from the top unit: "Hagelin is currently playing top line minutes with the Rangers two most skilled forwards, and ha exactly zero goals to show for it. That's no goals and just three assists in 18 games so far this postseason. No matter which way you look at this, it's unacceptable to have a top line player with zero goals in 18 games. At some point, changes need to be made." [ Blue Seat Blogs ] • Jaroslav Spacek claims he might have retired at the end of the year if he had finished it in Montreal, and rips the Canadiens hockey operations team, from the bizarre rules for the players to the total lack of communication. "'So much bad stuff,' Spacek said. 'In my 20-year hockey career, I'd never seen anything like it. If you don't like the way I play, kick me in the ass. But no one said anything. It was terrible.'" [ Montreal Gazette ] • Another major step towards the Phoenix Coyotes staying in Arizona was taken after the team was eliminated last night, as the Glendale City Council voted to approve a preliminary budget that includes $17 million to the prospective buyer of the team for operating costs for the city's Jobing.com Arena." [ Winnipeg Free Press ] • The Wild have signed 2010 first-round pick Mikael Grandlund to his entry-level contract. He announced the deal himself in a video on the Wild's website. [ Wild ] • Michael Arace on the American invasion in the NHL. [ Blue Jackets Xtra ] • Alex Semin cuts his forehead on his gold medal, which is a very enigmatic thing to do. [ RMNB ]

Ratings down for conference finals; Ted Nugent backs David Booth; NHL 13 teaser (Puck Headlines) (Puck Daddy)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 13:07:28 PDT)
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. • You're probably seen Zdeno Chara's tribute to Pavel Demitra by now, but here's Slovakia's Branko Radivojevic rocking a tribute T-shirt after their semifinal win over the Czech Republic at the Hockey World Championship in Helsinki. • NBC audiences were down over the weekend for the conference finals. Lepore: "Saturday's Rangers-Devils game drew a 1.3 overnight rating, down 13% from last year's Game 4 between Boston and Tampa Bay. It may have been hurt by the early timeslot, or the fact that there was a huge dip in ratings in the lone local market, New York. Game 3 drew a 4.2 in the Big Apple, well down from the 6.2 for Game 1 on the NBC Sports Network.  Sunday's Game 4 between the Coyotes and Kings drew a 1.1 overnight, down 15% from last year's Game 4 between the Canucks and Sharks, which was a 2-1 series, as opposed to the 3-0 lead the Kings had heading in. The game drew a series high 2.7 in Los Angeles." [ Puck The Media ] • Henrik Lundqvist on the New York Rangers fans that invade the Rock: "We always have played there in Newark. It's one of the things that makes it special to play these types of games, play New York teams.  We have a lot of support, and talked about it earlier, a couple days ago, when you see the way that the fans react to things that happen during the game or even the results, it's exciting." [ Rangers Rants ] • Looks like Stu Bickel will move up to forward to replace the suspended Brandon Prust. [ Slap Shot ] • Larry Brooks believes the hate-o-meter is slowly seeing the needled move on the Rangers and New Jersey Devils. [ NY Post ] • Sports Business Journal is reporting that the Detroit Red Wings have settled on a designer for a new 18,000-seat arena to replace the Joe. [ Detroit News ] • Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League's Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has agreed to terms with defenseman Jamie McBain on a two-year contract. The deal will pay McBain $1.7 million in 2012-13, and $1.9 million in 2013-14. [ Hurricanes ] • They signed Bobby Sanguinetti and forward Nicolas Blanchard to two-way contracts, too. [ Canes Country ] • Zach Parise is a free agent … risk? "It is very likely that he will elevate whichever team signs him in the short run, but as teams weigh the idea of making him an offer, they need to keep in mind the distinct possibility that he will underperform this contract in the near future and eventually become an anchor on the team's salary cap finances." [ NHL Numbers ] • Bear killin' David Booth has a friend in Ted Nugent. [ PITB ]

What We Learned: Embarrassing LA sports media moments while covering Kings playoff run (Puck Daddy)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 06:58:22 PDT)
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. It's possibly the greatest bit of investigative journalism conducted since Woodward and Bernstein brought down Richard Nixon. This exemplary, collective effort of sleuth work is currently ongoing in Los Angeles, Calif., where an entire media market has unearthed the NHL's shocking secret: The city has a professional hockey team. Over the past week or so here at Puck Daddy, we've tried to document every startling discovery made by the intrepid Los Angeles media, like how to properly pronounce Anze Kopitar's name (it's hard because he's from Bosnia or something), the real name of this Drew Doughty character ( it's actually Brad !) and that hockey is in fact not played with a ball, but rather a little piece of rubber known as a "puck." That last one makes me pretty uncomfortable because of the word it rhymes with. ("Duck" — sorry, I just don't trust 'em; they have weird beaks). Just how villainous is this team, operating as a sort of sporting sleeper cell? They got all the way to the Western Conference Finals without one local noticing. That takes real criminal talent. And not only that, but, the NHL had the diabolical idea to hide it right under the Los Angelinos' noses, by having their home games played at the Staples Center. You know, where the Lakers play. Further, they named the team the Kings to intentionally confuse even the savviest media organization into thinking they are the NBA's Sacramento Kings. Astonishingly devious stuff. More twists and turns than the Da Vinci Code, which I've read three times just to make sure I understood it all. The best bit of this journalism on this pressing issue comes, of course, from the city's paper of record, the Los Angeles Times, winner of 44 Pulitzer Prizes since 1942, including three in 2012. It was for that towering beacon of journalistic excellence that columnist Chris Erskine successfully scruted several of the team and sport's most inscrutable mysteries . For instance, that thing I said earlier about the puck (again, yuck… oh and that's another gross word it rhymes with), I learned it from Erskine. Apparently they even freeze the thing. And that's a huge point of concern, because, "The hardest shots can reach 110 mph and tear flesh, crush bone, even kill you if you're not careful." Yikes, you guys! ( Coming Up: Rick Nash to Boston?; Tororella defends Prust; Ryan Suter faces his future; Evegni Malkin is having a pretty good season; why Lundqvist is King; why the Capitals can't win with Ovechkin; the Islanders know how to party; Canucks might keep Luongo; Ryan Miller on the CBA; Flames and Oilers coaching news; and are the Kings in trouble?)

Stanley Cup Playoffs Continue, as the Philadelphia Flyers Shift Their Focus: Fan's Take (Yahoo! Contributor Network)
(Sat, 19 May 2012 11:24:00 PDT)
It's difficult to know if Philadelphia Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren believed that the massive roster revolution he led last year would result in a Stanley Cup victory this June.

Finns, Russia go through, Slovaks upset Canada
(Thu, 17 May 2012 14:23:16 PDT)
Holders Finland advanced to the semi-finals of the world ice hockey championships with a last-gasp winner against the United States on Thursday, but Olympic champions Canada were shocked by Slovakia.

Devils vs. Rangers in Game 2; top NHL free agents; top 10 playoff saves (Playoff Puck Previews) (Puck Daddy)
(Wed, 16 May 2012 15:02:43 PDT)
Back by popular demand, here are your Puck Previews: Spotlighting the key games in NHL action, news and views as well as general frivolity. Make sure to stop back here for the nightly Three Stars when the games are finished. Via Lockhart Steele on Twitter: "Guy wants to sell me these for $150 each. seeing Callahan lay out Deron Williams worth it? Thoughts?" Insert your shot-blocking and/or goaltending joke here. [ Deadspin , s/t @Tedislaw ] Eastern Conference Final Game 2 Preview: New Jersey Devils at New York Rangers, 8 p.m. ET. No lineup changes for the Rangers but the Devils could have a new look for Game 2: Coach Pete DeBoer reunited Zach Parise with Travis Zajac and Ilya Kovalchuk, and will have Patrik Elias skating with Petr Sykora and Dainius Zubrus. The Devils are going to try to find a way around the Rangers' shot blocking that doesn't involve maiming. By the way, that whole "keep Rangers fans out of the Rock" thing the Devils were doing? It's disappeared, and the team hasn't explained why. Check out previews and updated scores for all of today's games on the Y! Sports NHL scores and scheds page . For tonight's starting goalies, check out Left Wing Lock. Evening Reading • Listen to today's Marek Vs. Wyshynski here. • Adam Proteau presents the top 10 UFAs this summer. You know Nos. 1 and 2; did you know No. 3 was Dennis Wideman of the Washington Capitals? [ THN ]

Anaheim's Ryan helps U.S. defeat Switzerland at worlds (The SportsXchange)
(Wed, 16 May 2012 09:40:16 PDT)
The Anaheim Ducks' Bobby Ryan scored the first of four unanswered goals to help the United States to a 5-2 victory over Switzerland at the ice hockey world championships in Helsinki on Tuesday.

Trade Patrick Kane; Rangers vs. Devils previews; Nickelback’s favorite hockey song (Puck Headlines) (Puck Daddy)
(Mon, 14 May 2012 13:07:23 PDT)
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. • Yeah, about that … • The latest Bovada odds on winning the Stanley Cup: Los Angeles Kings (7/5); New York Rangers (11/5); New Jersey Devils (10/3); Phoenix Coyotes (6/1). • Neither Game 7 of the conference finals will appear on NBC, but rather on NBC Sports Network. [ Puck The Media ] • Simon Gagne has been cleared for contact for the Los Angeles Kings, but won't begin practicing quite yet. [ LA Kings Insider ] • Who might coach the Washington Capitals now that Dale Hunter's out? How about Marc Crawford, Ron Wilson or Patrick Roy? [ NHL ] • Nikita Filatov will play in the KHL next season, which is probably the best thing for all parties. [ TSN ] • Here's Yahoo! Sports' own Nick Cotsonika on the Evolution of John Tortorella: "Tortorella's style has worked with the team because he has the right players, stays consistent and, yes, shows another side of himself behind closed doors." [ Y! Sports ] • It's only $900 to watch the Devils and Rangers at the Garden. Wow. [ NYT ] • Dater picks the Devils in six: "The Rangers have lived dangerously this spring, barely escaping their series against Ottawa and Washington. You can only do that for so long. The Devils have more offensive depth than those teams, and they like to forecheck. Brodeur has won four conference titles. Lundqvist? Zero." [ SI ] • Ken Campbell on how the Rangers' shot-blocking style is terrible for the NHL: "I think the New York Rangers are bad for hockey. And if we've learned anything about the NHL over the past century, it's that once one style of play garners some success, teams will be lined up to steal the blueprint." [ THN ] • Patrick Kane's drunken weekend in Madison has now become fodder for the Chicago media, urging for the Blackhawks to trade him. From Steve Rosenbloom: "Everyone at the Madhouse on Madison would have a reason for wanting to be rid of Kane. The reasons would be legit, too, more legit than Kane playing center. So, maybe the Hawks' silence isn't because they're hoping this goes away but because they're fighting to see who gets the honor of making the problem child go away." [ Tribune ]

What We Learned: What to make of this Washington Capitals season? (Puck Daddy)
(Mon, 14 May 2012 05:28:10 PDT)
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. There's been a lot of talk about what this season has meant for the Washington Capitals in the hours leading up to, and then immediately following, their final game of the remarkably eventful 2011-12 season. Wysh had a pretty good recap of the reasons the Capitals felt this little run to a pair of one-goal Game 7s against the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds in the Eastern Conference — both having been heavy favorites — vindicated the Dale Hunter system of everyone playing defense and collapsing to within three inches of the crease, and it's perfectly reasonable for people to feel that way. Certainly, no one expected these Capitals to do much damage in the postseason given that they frittered away a division they were picked to dominate. But the thing that everyone seems to forget is that, again, they were picked to dominate the Southeast, be a superpower in the East and the League at large. If the team tuned out Bruce Boudreau, and it appears they did, then wasn't his replacement, whoever it happened to be, more or less expected to get this far? Therefore, it becomes a question about what changed, and really, what didn't. Let's not forget, Boudreau came in originally and let guys like Alex Semin, Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green have their run of the rink. Two-minute shifts? Sure! Goals aplenty? You bet. But in the end, what did it get them? Bounce-outs, and if you believe the talk, disappointing ones at that. So Boudreau changed the style, focusing more on defense, tethering Ovechkin and Co. to an extent, and … getting the same amount of success. Under each of the two clearly definable Boudreau regimes, the team lost in the conference quarter- and semi-finals. Which is of course notable because the latter is exactly how far Hunter got in his first chance at the tiller, despite doing everything in his power not to: like limiting Ovechkin to fewer than 20 minutes a night in every game in this series save for Saturday's Game 7 and the three-overtime Game 3, in which he played 35:14 — or, if you prefer 17:37 per three periods of play. This therefore vindicates Hunter only as far as it vindicated Boudreau; which, with a roster like this, and given the "choker" label being hung liberally on the former Caps coach this time last year. The philosophy changed radically under Hunter, and worked only as far as it did for Boudreau. Why? ( Coming Up: Team USA, international ass-kickers; getting stupid about Patrick Kane's drinking; Parise's future; Could Brad Stuart return to the Sharks?; Kevin Lowe says Ryan Murray is the top player in this year's draft class; Suter/Weber questions; Pancakes Penner's revenge; Bruins pumped for Dougie Hamilton; Alfredsson retirement watch; Leafs/Penguins trade?; Lundqvist is King; Alex Burrows runs and hugs a goalie; and Winnipeg Jets fans are burning Coyotes jerseys.)

Jonathan Quick vs. Mike Smith in the battle for Stanley Cup Final, Conn Smythe (Puck Daddy)
(Fri, 11 May 2012 09:21:06 PDT)
Los Angeles Kings Head Coach Darryl Sutter joked during a Thursday conference call that if goaltender Jonathan Quick were to get injured, Jonathan Bernier would be next in line, followed by team vice president and assistant GM Ron Hextall and goaltending coach Bill Ranford. The latter two were Conn Smythe Trophy winners in 1987 and 1990, respectively, while Bernier has yet to experience a playoff game in his NHL career. Quick is the current front-runner for the Smythe as the Kings go for their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. Some teams can win in spite of their goaltending, but the Kings wouldn't be close to even a sniff of the Western Conference Final against the Phoenix Coyotes without the work of Quick. His 35-win season made him the first Kings goaltender to record three straight 30-plus win seasons. He also posted an NHL-best 10 shutouts and was top-5 in wins, goals-against average (1.95) and save percentage (.929). Aside from being a Smythe candidate, he was nominated for the Vezina Trophy; and while he fell short of being a finalist, many believe he was worthy of Hart Trophy consideration. Taking into account that nine of Quick's losses came in games where he allowed just a single goal, it's hard to ignore his inclusion into the MVP discussion. Sutter has seen this before. While coaching the Calgary Flames during the 2003-04 season when they came within a game of winning the Cup, he watched Miikka Kiprusoff post five shutouts and a 1.85 goals against average en route to Game 7 of the Final that year. To Sutter, what Quick brings to the Kings reminds him of Kiprusoff eight years ago. "I think they play a lot of the same way in their styles," Sutter said. "It's a bit different than other guys. Same practice habits, both have real similar work ethics, both have the same demeanor in the locker room, but there are real similarities between these two guys." While many saw this coming from Quick, what Mike Smith has been providing to the Coyotes wasn't predicted.

Maloney and Tippett making it work in Phoenix (The Associated Press)
(Thu, 10 May 2012 17:27:16 PDT)
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) Perched on a seat well above the ice, Phoenix Coyotes general manager Don Maloney peers down as the tip of his reading glasses rests between his lips, occasionally putting them on to glance at the papers piled in his lap.

NHL Roundup: Stars bring back Gainey as consultant (The SportsXchange)
(Thu, 10 May 2012 16:00:27 PDT)
Former Dallas Stars general manager Bob Gainey has rejoined the organization as a consultant, the team announced Thursday.

Patrick Kane’s drunken weekend; Jaromir Jagr’s future with Flyers; conference final times (Puck Headlines) (Puck Daddy)
(Thu, 10 May 2012 12:53:10 PDT)
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. • Deadspin has pieced together the drunken weekend of Patrick Kane in Madison, Wis., including anonymous tales of choking a girl and getting involved with the police because there was almost a fight sparked by Kane's alleged anti-Semitic comments. Meanwhile, Jonathan Toews read a book. [ Deadspin ] • Jaromir Jagr done with the Philadelphia Flyers? "Jaromir Jagr was given several chances to say he wanted to return to the Flyers. He did not bite. It appears he will test the FA market." [ Broad Street Bull ] • In hindsight, how did Paul Holmgren actually do as Philadelphia Flyers GM? [ TPSH ] • The conference final times are set for Games 1 and 2: "The Western Conference Final opens Sunday, May 13 in Glendale, Arizona, where the Phoenix Coyotes will host the Los Angeles Kings at Jobing.com Arena (8 p.m., ET, NBC Sports Network, TSN, RDS). Game 2 of the series will be played in Glendale on Tuesday, May 15, beginning at 9 p.m., ET.  Games 1 and 2 of the Eastern Conference Final will be played on Monday, May 14 and Wednesday, May 16, respectively, and pit the New Jersey Devils against the winner of the Conference Semifinal series between the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals. That series currently is deadlocked at 3-3, with Game 7 set for Saturday night in New York (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, CBC, RDS)." [ NHL ] • Among the owners in Tom Stillman's group for the St. Louis Blues: John Danforth, former U.S. Senators, and Thomas Schiafly, the founder of the St. Louis Brewery. [ Blues ] • John Fontana on the NHL vs. the NHLPA: "With posturing in the media by the Commissioner and a lack of tangible movement on the labor front, the noxious bane's potency becomes more lethal, and an interruption to the 2012-13 NHL season becomes more possible." [ Raw Charge ] • What's the off-the-ice impact of the Nashville Predators' playoff disappointment? [ Tennessean ] • Injured defensemen Marek Zidlicky and Anton Volchenkov are expected to be ready by Game 1 of the conference final for the Devils. [ Fire & Ice ] • Marty Brodeur on getting taunted with "Matteau! Matteau!" at MSG: "It stopped not long ago," Brodeur said Thursday. "Same guy. Same spot. He would yell it at me over and over at the Garden. Since '94 they've been living off it for a long time, some of these fans. They have a great hockey club now. I expect if we do play them it will be somewhat similar." [ NJ ]

Stars hire ex-coach, GM Gainey as consultant (The SportsXchange)
(Thu, 10 May 2012 11:30:16 PDT)
Former Dallas Stars general manager Bob Gainey has rejoined the organization as a consultant, the team announced Thursday.

Gainey rejoining Stars as senior advisor (The Associated Press)
(Thu, 10 May 2012 09:44:55 PDT)
FRISCO, Texas (AP) Bob Gainey is returning to the Dallas Stars as a senior advisor to the team.

US loses to Slovakia 4-2 at hockey worlds (The Associated Press)
(Mon, 07 May 2012 14:46:12 PDT)
HELSINKI (AP) The United States lost to Slovakia 4-2 Monday for its first loss at hockey's world championships after opening with two victories.

Sneaky Italian goalie blocks Denmark player after getting dumped on bench (VIDEO) (Puck Daddy)
(Mon, 07 May 2012 11:05:10 PDT)
Giulio Scandella was the hero for Italy as he netted the overtime winner during their 4-3 win over Denmark at the World Championships on Sunday. Before he gave Italy their first win of the tournament, Scandella, whose brother Marco is a defenseman with the Minnesota Wild, was part of a different sort of highlight earlier in the game. In the first period, Scandella dumped Danish and Dallas Stars defenseman Philip Larsen into the Italian bench with the help of backup netminder Thomas Tragust, who then proceeded to block his attempt to hop back onto the ice: "Come on, man. Move! Let me get back on the ice!" "I'm trying to watch the game!" The benches in Stockholm are a tad larger than on this side of the pond, otherwise Larsen would have had to maneuver around an entire line of Italians. Of course, the universal code in hockey when an opponent gets put into bench is to not help whatsoever. Just ask Dainius Zubrus . Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

Canada rout France in Helsinki
(Mon, 07 May 2012 09:37:01 PDT)
Vancouver Olympic champions Canada recorded their second win at the world ice hockey championship by thrashing France 7-2 here on Monday.

What We Learned: Do mediocre divisions produce better Stanley Cup Playoff teams? (Puck Daddy)
(Mon, 07 May 2012 07:24:34 PDT)
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. Occasionally you will hear that playing top teams several times a season, like those in the Atlantic and Central Divisions did this season, is a great way to prepare yourself for the postseason. They say it makes you ready to face the tougher competition in the playoffs, and by extension, those teams playing in softer divisions must logically be ill-prepared for similar rigors once the postseason rolls around. Both of the Atlantic and Central divisions were littered with 100-point teams, boasting eight of the league's 10 to eclipse the century mark between them (the other two being Boston and Vancouver), and it therefore stood to reason that they would likely send the lion's share of competitors to the conference finals. The better teams in the regular season tend to do about as well in the postseason, because they are, after all, very good teams. That makes sense. It turns out, though, that having a bunch of teams even in the neighborhood of 100 points in your division at the end of the regular season actually may be more of a detriment to a squad's postseason success. Since the lockout, only two teams have played in a Stanley Cup Final after playing in a division with three teams that managed 100 points. However, both those teams (Anaheim in 2007 and Chicago in 2010) won the Cup. If you expand that number out to even 97 points — which typically assures you a playoff berth but not home ice — only two more teams are added to the mix, the 2008 and 2009 Penguins. Conversely, teams coming out of divisions with two or fewer 97-point teams got into the Cup Finals with far greater frequency, doing so eight times since the lockout (including both Boston and Vancouver last year). But now we've seen the Los Angeles Kings advance to the Western Conference Final for the first time since 1993, and the Phoenix Coyotes stand on the precipice of doing the same for the first time since ever. Phoenix won the Pacific Division with 97 points, and is only a home ice team by virtue of its division title. Had seeding been based on points, they'd have slotted into the sixth spot. Los Angeles, meanwhile, finished with 95. The now-eliminated Sharks were sandwiched between them with 96. Three teams from one division in the playoffs, yes, but one terribly underwhelming division from which not much was expected. (Coming Up: America is a hockey superpower, thanks to Jack Johnson; Barry Trotz is wrong; Dustin Brown is awesome; Jordan Staal of Carolina; Thomas Vanek makes bank; Luongo to the Blackhawks?; Rick Dudley to the Habs; Jonathan Quick vs. Terry Sawchuck; trading Sidney Crosby; Todd McLellan-to-Calgary rumors; and the best and worst of the Capitals.)

Predators and Coyotes might hurt ratings but youth hockey is growing in Sun Belt states
(Fri, 04 May 2012 15:08:03 PDT)
When teams in odd hockey markets such as Nashville and Phoenix win, youngsters flock to the sport.

NHL playoff overtimes: Too much of a good thing? (Puck Daddy)
(Fri, 04 May 2012 14:15:32 PDT)
As noted by Brandon Worley of Defending Big D , the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs have already equaled the number of overtime games through two rounds that we saw last preseason: 20, and we're still in the middle of the semifinals. The Chicago Blackhawks and Phoenix Coyotes accounted for five of them; the Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals for four. Both years were well ahead of the pace established in the previous four playoff years, which averaged 14 overtime games through the semifinals. Is this too much of a good thing?