It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We continue our division-by-division preview of the potential wheeling and dealing with the Northwest Division.
It appears we are setting up for an offseason of significant change in the Northwest Division. Only the Vancouver Canucks will have the same coach as last year, and there could be some real upheaval in terms of personnel. Not only that, but two teams (Minnesota and Colorado) have changed general managers.
After watching Vancouver play stout defense in front of All-Star goalie Roberto Luongo during a sweep of St. Louis in the first round, more was expected. The Canucks looked like a team committed to playing strong in their zone, and they knew if they could keep lanes clear for Luongo and make the extra effort to get to rebounds, they could go far.
It all blew up on them in the second round. A younger, faster, exceptionally determined Chicago team took out the Canucks in six games, and they scored 21 goals to do it. It's got some in Vancouver wondering about Luongo's future, which is the last thing that should be up in the air now.
With most eyes on the splendid series going on in Pittsburgh, the Canucks and Blackhawks waged a stirring Game 6 of their own, each team answering back repeatedly until Chicago's young stars put the game away - and put the Blackhawks into the conference finals for the first time since 1995.
After essentially a decade of futility, once-great Chicago is poised for a another lengthy run of success with players such as 20-year-old Patrick Kane, who had a hat trick in Monday night's 7-5 victory over Vancouver, and 21-year-old captain Jonathan Toews. Toews ended a nine-game goal-less streak by putting two in - including the go-ahead score, an attempted pass that deflected in on a power play with 6:11 left.
Winning on the road is so very important in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Chicago Blackhawks seemed to be a good candidate for road success, being that they set a franchise record for it in the regular season.
That performance has indeed carried over. Chicago improved to 3-3 in road games during this postseason, and 2-1 in this series, as they bested Vancouver 4-2 Saturday night at GM Place.
Most teams suffer their first loss of the NHL Playoffs before they've won a series. In the case of the Vancouver Canucks, they won five straight before Chicago took them down 6-3 on Saturday.
Game 3 of this physical series was played Tuesday night in Chicago. Not only was Vancouver coming off a loss, but they were dealing with injuries to a stalwart defenseman and one of their top six forwards. With this as a backdrop, the Canucks responded with a 3-1 win at United Center.
Sunday night is a pivotal one for the St. Louis Blues. Down 2-0 in a best-of-seven series against Vancouver, St. Louis plays their first home playoff game since 2004 on Sunday night.
Veteran forward Paul Kariya has been out of the Blues' lineup since November. He's coming off hip surgery, and was recently cleared to skate with the team. His first practice with the Blues was Sunday morning, leading to a lot of buzz about his status for Sunday night's game. It's buzz that the Blues didn't do very much to kill.
The Stanley Cup won't be handed out until June, but this is the time when we see teams making runs at the playoffs. And you can't win the Cup if you don't make the playoffs. Race for the Cup is your daily check of where your favorite team stands as the season dwindles.
At one point, the Vancouver Canucks had lost nine straight home games, Mats Sundin was an overpaid flop, and the team was going to have trouble making the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Calgary Flames had won the Northwest Division before the deadline deals that brought them Jordan Leopold and Olli Jokinen. It's obvious now that we spoke way too soon, as the division has a new leader, and there appears to be no doubt Vancouver will be a dangerous team in the playoffs.
There are two things I will never understand about sports fans: 1) why the sight of a fan in an opposing jersey will lead to physical conflict, and 2) why they would be willing to spend $8.50 for a beer only to hurl it in the direction of another fan.
Here we find some video from a Vancouver Canucks game that features both acts of idiocy.
Saturday was hockey day in Canada, and the premier game on the schedule was Mats Sundin's highly anticipated return to Toronto, the city he called home for 13 years.
After refusing to waive his no-trade clause at last year's deadline, Sundin became an unrestricted free agent in the offseason, and following a lengthy soap opera filled with self-imposed deadlines as to where he would play this season, he finally agreed to a contract with the Vancouver Canucks. With Vancouver making its first trip to Toronto with Sundin, the game came down to him in the final round of a shootout.
Penguins 5, Canadiens 4: The Montreal Canadiens had an opportunity to put a nine-point cushion between themselves and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night. Instead, they picked up their 12th loss in their past 15 games falling to the Penguins, 5-4
Sergei Gonchar scored his first goal of the season for the Penguins, blasting a slap shot from the blue line behind Carey Price midway through the third period. It capped off a seven-minute stretch where the two teams combined for five goals in what was an absolutely frantic third period.
It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We continue our division-by-division preview of the potential wheeling and dealing with the Northwest Division. 
After watching Vancouver play stout defense in front of All-Star goalie 
With most eyes on the splendid series going on in Pittsburgh, the Canucks and Blackhawks waged a stirring Game 6 of their own, each team answering back repeatedly until Chicago's young stars put the game away - and put the Blackhawks into the conference finals for the first time since 1995.
Winning on the road is so very important in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Chicago Blackhawks seemed to be a good candidate for road success, being that they set a franchise record for it in the regular season. 
Most teams suffer their first loss of the NHL Playoffs before they've won a series. In the case of the Vancouver Canucks, they won five straight before Chicago took them down 6-3 on Saturday.
Sunday night is a pivotal one for the St. Louis Blues. Down 2-0 in a best-of-seven series against Vancouver, St. Louis plays their first home playoff game since 2004 on Sunday night.
The Stanley Cup won't be handed out until June, but this is the time when we see teams making runs at the playoffs. And you can't win the Cup if you don't make the playoffs. 
Saturday was hockey day in Canada, and the premier game on the schedule was 
