1) The just-tweaking days are over for Ken Holland in Detroit. He has some work to do. Mike Babcock mentioned lack of depth up front after the series; holy smokes, how about the D? Kyle Quincey was as big a liability as seen anywhere in the first round. And life without Nick ….. time to get crackin'.

2) How in Hades did I pick the SJ Sharks to win in the first round, especially matched up against a defensively disciplined club like St. Louis? (Using the "coming out of nowhere" angle, picked SJ in five). The Blues grind and play strict to systems. Did I suddenly forget the Sharks only on occasion have shown fortitude in the postseason, that their goalie would be a little shaky, and their scorers are streaky to say the least. This postseason; Marleau, nada, Joe Pavelski, also nothing. Devon Setoguchi had 7 clutch goals in the postseason last year; he's in Minnesota. Outscored 13-8, the points list was short. Jumbo Joe gets to head to the beach in Thailand early this year. "It's OK, we'll be fine …."

3) On a much more accurate note - I did predict Philly in six. I also had Nashville (but in 7). Jury still out on the others. Already know I didn't give Florida enough credit … or maybe NJ too much. ((This just added: I had Vanc over LA. oh well.))

4) Sid who? How about Claude Giroux as the poster boy for the NHL? Not the lottery guy that Sid was, didn't save a franchise, speaks with an accent, and the League might want him to get a haircut. But Claude is very special player. Sid has the boy-next-door image going for him. Maybe Claude can be the French Canadian boy-next-door. Honestly don't know much about him off the ice, but on the ice, he's absolutely everything anyone would want in a hockey player.

5) Not gonna rehash hits/suspensions issue, as we've heard the whining ad nauseam, especially from writers/media who allegedly have been watching hockey for twenty or thirty years. It only seems like they've only been watching it since 2005. I wasn't surprised at all when Darryl Sutter said the game was definitely more violent and nastier when he played two decades ago. And a decade before that?! Yikes! Does history make most of the nasty stuff OK? Hell yes. It's called hockey.

6) Don't underestimate the importance of the return of Carl Hagelin to the NYR line-up Monday.

7) I was on the radio in Columbus Saturday morning and I never had a chance to mention seeing the highlight of Gilbert Brule's (6th overall pick for Jackets in 2005) goal for Phoenix Saturday night. It got me thinking about all their first-round-picks. Here's a where-are-they-now (and why Columbus has had problems). Under former GM Doug Maclean: 2000 (4th overall) - Rusty Klesla. After 9+ seasons in CLB, went to Phoenix at deadline in 2011. 3rd pair D-man. Has 500+ NHL GP. 2001 (8th overall) - Pascal Leclaire. Injury prone, high maintenance goalie, 7+ seasons, whereabouts unknown. 2002 (1st overall) - Rick Nash. All-star power forward, will be the center of our attention this summer. 2003 (4th overall) - Nikolai Zherdev. WAH, WAh, Wah, wahhh. Talented. Likes Brighton Beach. In KHL. 2004 (8th overall) - Alexandre Picard, (not to be confused with his namesake drafted by Philly a year before who has 200+ NHL GP and is in Pitt org.) - Played 67 games for CLB and never scored a goal. 2 assists. AHL regular. 2005 (6th overall) - Gilbert Brule. The aforementioned; left CLB in 2008 to Edmonton in a trade for our dear friend Raffi Torres. Best known for picking up hitchhiker Bono of U2 in Vancouver last season. 3rd liner. 2006 (6th overall) - Derick Brassard. Developing in Columbus at center, not 6th overall offensive numbers yet despite time on top line, but hey, its the Blue Jackets. Two years left at a cap hit of $3.2 million per. Transition summer from MacLean to GM Scott Howson: - 2007 (7th overall) - Jakub Voracek. Winger has really played well, physical, has really shown more offensive upside than expected ……… for the Flyers. Went to Philly with a 1st and 3rd round pick last summer for, hmm mmm, Jeff Carter. 2008 (6th overall) - Nikita Filatov. Traded to Ottawa in 2011 for a third-rounder. Played nine games for Sen's this season and then went back and played in KHL. It's a Russian thing. Should be back and could be good. 2009 (John Moore) - Big boy. Left-handed shot D-man. Played 67 games for Jackets this season; 7 points, 8 PIM, minus-23. Consider him indoctrinated. 2010 (4th overall) - Ryan Johansen. Looked great at the rookie tourney in Traverse City. Earned a spot in the mix. Big center, 21 points in 67 games for the big club. 2011 (8th overall) - Um, with CLB's pick (for Carter), the Flyers took Sean Couturier. Young poise personified.

8) Congratulations to the LA Kings. #8 over #1 and living up to some of those pre-season expectations. Goalie Jonathan Quick is as under-appreciated as anyone in the League. Fantastic! Moving on to play St. Louis.

9) And speaking of those pre-season expectations: which expert(s) had Ottawa as the last Canadian team standing? That would be ZERO!

Enjoy the action folks! All the best.

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