Two Interesting Hockey Links. . . Over at Salon today: first, a cartoon by Keith Knight; and a brief broadside at NHL violence by the Wall Street Journal's Allen Barra. The only problem I have with the piece is that Barra, like many other sportswriters, simply doesn't have the passion for the game of ice hockey that he has for other sports (in his case, baseball), and that makes it hard for me to take him too seriously. In fact, while Barra identifies violence as the problem with the sport, it nearly isn't as significant a problem as the fact that the players have become too fast and too big for the ice surface.

New sheriff in Texas: Mustache man Dave Tippett, a tough journeyman back in his playing days, is set to be hired to coach the Dallas Stars.

Huzzah for the new guy: Everyone please welcome new PuckHog blogger, Eric McErlain.

On to the 3rd Round: Time to look back at my picks from the last round and feel shame. I was spot on the money only for one series. I got the winner wrong on two others (though I correctly picked the number of games it would take for one of them), and was off by one game in my Colorado pick.

Prediction: Sens in six. Reality: Leafs in seven.

Prediction: Colorado in six. Reality: Colorado in seven.

Prediction: Detroit in five. Reality: same.

Prediction: Habs in six. Reality: Carolina in six.

My fiancee has decided that from now on, whomever I pick to win she will assume is going to lose.

Isn't that sweet?!

McPhee On Next Steps For Caps: Capitals GM George McPhee was live online taking questions from readers of the Washington Post on Tuesday. You can find the transcript here.

Top Three Playoff Goats: #3. Brent Johnson, Goalie, St. Louis Blues: Every kid who plays ice hockey around the world is taught that when clearing the puck from the defensive zone you always clear the puck up the wings, using the boards if possible. One never, ever, clears the puck up the slot. Defy these rules, and risk paying the consequences. In game four of the Western Conference semi-final, Johnson forgot this basic rule and cleared the puck right onto the stick of Steve Yzerman, who promptly deposited this gift in the net -- a goal that proved to be the difference in a 4-3 Red Wings victory, a win that essentially put the series away before it was known Chris Pronger's knee injury would knock him out for the rest of the season.

#2. Michel Therrien, Coach, Montreal Canadiens: In game four of their series with Carolina, Montreal led on home ice 3-0 with a little more than 16 minutes left in the third period. A win would have given Montreal a commanding 3 games to 1 lead over Carolina, but then the whole shooting match came apart. Carolina, with its back literally against the wall, was crashing the Montreal crease and goalie Jose Theodore with abandon when Stephane Quintal took a routine cross-checking penalty. Therrien was incensed, and he let the refs know it -- in this case perhaps a little too vigorously. He was slapped with a bench minor, giving Carolina a two-man advantage and a way back into the game. They scored three times in the third to tie the game before winning in OT, 4-3. Montreal never recovered, getting crushed 13-3 over the remaining two games of the series.

#1. Ricard Persson, Defenseman, Ottawa Senators: If the thuggish Maple Leafs manage to win the Stanley Cup, it's this seldom-used defenseman they have to thank -- in particular his unnecessary hit in Game 6 of the Eastern Conferernce semifinal. Ironically, Persson delivered his gift hit to pugilist Tie Domi, an infraction that led to a four minute power play that allowed the Leafs to tie Ottawa before the end of a first period where the Senators had been dominating play. The Leafs never looked back after that, winning game 6, 4-3 before clinching the series at home last night.

Is this the last straw for Killer?: LCS wonders if our parting vision of Doug Gilmour will be of him sitting under a shower of broken glass. Killer looks like he already has both feet in his mouth, if not in retirement.

New coach in Philadelphia: The Flyers' most recent trip on the coaching carousel stopped at Ken Hitchcock, recently booted from his duties at the helm of the Dallas Stars. The best mustache outside of hockey (Bill Clement) thinks he might make for a good fit, but, "It will be interesting to see how the players adjust to his system, which calls for very little continuous skating and a lot of stopping and starting. There are definite places to be and places not to be in Hitchcock's system. Donald Audette and Jyrki Lumme were unable to adapt to the style in Dallas. Not all of the Flyers' players will make it work. But with every change behind the bench there are changes on the bench."

Who'd a thunk it? Not me. The Senators just could not get it going last night. Except for a flurry in the third period, they did not do much. And someone needs to smack Seannie Mac and Radek Bonkers on the backs of their heads. Heck, anything to get them to score a fricking goal!

Not that it matters now. Let's Go Leafs!

No puck? Thanks to a wicked storm Sunday night, and a wayward tree yesterday, my home was without power yesterday. Thankfully, it was cold out, so the lack of AC was no big deal.

But the lack of puck was a pain. At least I missed the cringe-worthy excercise of watching the Habs get bounced from the playoffs in Flyer-like fashion...

With power restored today, I look forward to the massochistic experience of paying bills and blanacing my checkbook in between Toronto defensive breakdowns and Ottawa Senator goals. Crap.

My fingers are crossed for a minor Bay Street miracle.

Oh, and Charles, congrats on the Slovakian horde... now if only the World Championships meant something you could actually be proud!

So much for the Habs! They are down 8-1 an the close of the 2nd period. They just quit! I can't watch the 3rd period :-(

Dirtiest players: ESPN's poll of the dirtiest players of all time seems thin. But it does have four hockey players: Bryan Marchment, Claude Lemieux, Ulf Samuelsson, and Bobby Clarke. Tie Domi, Marty McSorley and Dale Hunter almost made the list.

But what about Kirk Maltby or Gordie Howe?

Page2: Dirtiest pro players

It looks like the Wings are going to be tough to beat. Monday night should be a great one for hockey fans....