Pavel Datsyuk has been known to pull off a dangle or two in his time, and tonight’s move only adds to the Wings’ star’s repetoire. (Matt Kartozian/US Presswire)

By Allan Muir

Here are a couple of knee-buckling displays of skill from Thursday night’s action that you cannot afford to miss.

First up, Philly’s Claude Giroux channels Pavel Datsyuk in the shootout. A point earned in the extra-time loss to the Islanders tonight won’t do the struggling Flyers much good, so Giroux probably won’t give this absolutely sick deke a second thought. But geez, you have to feel for Evgeni Nabokov, who bit so hard on that move he’d probably still be sliding left if he hadn’t run into the post.

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High-priced goalie Ilya Bryzgalov is the obvious scapegoat, but the Flyers’ demise was a true team effort. (Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images)

By Stu Hackel

There’s no brotherly love in Philadelphia today. All three of the city’s major sports teams dropped games on Tuesday night: the Phillies blowing a 4-0 lead to the Mets, the 76ers failing to clinch their series against Chicago, and the Flyers being eliminated by the Devils. That last one is, as hosts Mike and Ike said on their WIP Radio midday show, “the deepest wound of all.”

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Though Dainius Zubrus of the Devils ultimately wasn’t injured, the headshot he received from Claude Giroux (not pictured) was egregious enough to merit a disciplinary hearing. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

By Stu Hackel

Will the NHL show courage and suspend Claude Giroux for Game 5 of the Flyers’ series against the Devils? A disciplinary hearing took place on Monday morning and Giroux certainly deserves a ban for targeting the head of the Devils’ Dainius Zubrus late in the second period of Sunday’s Game 4, which New Jersey won, 4-2, to push Philadelphia to the brink of elimination. But to remove Philly’s best player from the lineup in a potential elimination game would be a bold a move for Brendan Shanahan and the league’s Department of Player Safety. It would, however, show that they’ve learned from an earlier mistake.

UPDATED: The NHL has suspended Giroux for one game. Here is the league’s statement and Shanahan’s video explanation.

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The Coyotes will have to be resourceful and determined to beat Nashville’s stout defense that has been fortified at key moments by the monster goaltending of Pekka Rinne. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

By Stu Hackel

We quickly move to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, what they call the conference semi-finals. Upsets galore, tight games, lots of overtime and fierce play marked the first round and that shouldn’t change too much now. With some strong teams knocked out, every survivor must figure that it has a chance to keep its playoff run alive. All it has to do is continue playing to its strengths, shore up its weaknesses and have a good game plan against its opponent. Easy, right?

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Coyotes winger Mikkel Boedker is one of the poster boys for this postseason’s exceptional spate of close games: he’s scored two OT goals, one shy of the single year record. (Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images)

By Stu Hackel

It’s been a remarkable first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, historic in many ways. Some of that history is worth celebrating and some is not, but the fact that we’re not even through it yet could make this year’s tournament one we’ll all remember for a long time.

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Refs seem to have rediscovered the idea that sending a player to the box and leaving his team in a potentially costly penalty-kill is one of the best ways to curb on-ice mayhem. (Mark Goldman/Icon SMI)

By Stu Hackel

Perhaps Wednesday will go down as the day the NHL regained some control over the Stanley Cup playoffs and did it in the most logical manner – having the referees call penalties rather than “let the boys play.”

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Of concern: Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist showed signs of wearing down as the regular season wore on. (Scott Levy/NHLI via Getty Images)

By Stu Hackel

If you’re looking for Stanley Cup predictions, you’ve come to the wrong place. As we’ve previously written, predictions are a waste of time. However, we’re willing to take some stabs at what is each playoff team about. What do they have to do to win? What must they avoid to prevent things from going south?

So here are the keys to the first round match-ups in the Eastern Conference. You can find the keys to the Western Conference here.

NEW YORK RANGERS (1) vs. OTTAWA SENATORS (8)

Rangers - Who they are and how they win:  This team is all about character and sacrifice, starting with captain Ryan Callahan. The Rangers play with unmatched passion, and their shot-blocking and energy are exceptional. They don’t lose a lot of races for the puck and they take hits to make plays. They roll four lines and have better team speed than some think, especially up front, which gives them a dangerous quick-strike offense. Some  people believe New York is a one-line team, but it had decent secondary scoring this season and, because coach John Tortorella has juggled lines all year, he can probably correct any imbalance. Solid defensively, the Rangers keep opponents to the outside and have world-class goaltending with Henrik Lundqvist.

What could go wrong: . The Rangers’ shot-blocking and physical sacrifice could lead to injuries and a depleted lineup. Lundqvist was not at his best in the late going and that would be problematic if it continues in the postseason. They also don’t have a great power play and taking advantage of those opportunities in the postseason is crucial. The Rangers could get frustrated if their power play falters. The worst thing they could do is be overconfident or take Ottawa too lightly. The Senators are just as fast a team and they have played well against New York all season.

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The Flyers and Rangers have been at each other’s throats since the days of Dave Schultz and Philly’s infamous Broad Street Bullies. (Rusty Kennedy/AP)

By Stu Hackel

After months of buildup and promotion, the Winter Classic is finally upon us. It is, of course, nothing more than Game 569 of the regular season schedule, worth the same two points in the standings as any other game — or (sigh) two for the winner and one for the loser if it ends in a regulation tie.

But the exposure and popularity this unique game has brought to hockey during the past four years can’t — and shouldn’t — be denied. For that we must credit the NHL’s partnership with NBC. Their deal may be far less lucrative for the league’s teams than the ones enjoyed by other major pro sports, but it’s the best the league has ever had, especially because
NBC and its offshoots respect the product and help create new ways to expose it.

The same can be said for the NHL’s deal with HBO which, through its”24/7″ series, provides an unprecedented look at the run-up to the game. Nothing has ever come close to bringing viewers inside the NHL as it really is, looks and sounds.

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The Flyers are showing signs that they’ll remain competitive after the loss of captain Chris Pronger, but the NHL still has work to do in preventing harmful head contact. (Christopher Szagola-US PRESSWIRE)

By Stu Hackel

When the Flyers traded for Chris Pronger during the 2009 draft, GM Paul Holmgren said, “I made it sort of clear I would like to get a hammer, a guy who makes life miserable for the other team. This is one of those guys.”

Today, that hammer is broken, perhaps for good.
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Sidney Crosby has become a case study in hockey’s myriad dangers, how vulnerable players can be, and how difficult it will be for the NHL to further prevent concussion incidents. (Photo by Gene J. Puskar/AP)

By Stu Hackel

Sidney Crosby sat calmly at his dressing room stall on Monday, a Penguins cap pulled low on his brow and casting a shadow over his eyes. In a chipper tone, he described his condition as “not bad.”

Frequently smiling, Crosby patiently answered questions from those huddled around him about his latest injury, which is being called “concussion-like symptoms.” He believes he is not as seriously injured as when he was originally concussed last January by a combination of blows in two consecutive games, and he restated what had been known for a few days: that he had passed an ImPACT  test of his brain activity, which ruled out that he had suffered another concussion.

But he ominously added, “The ImPACT isn’t everything. You’ve got to listen to your body, too.” He said there was no time frame on his return.

So the NHL’s fleeting feel-good story of the first half of the season has now ground to a halt and you have to wonder if it will transform into a recurring nightmare. There have to be legitimate concerns that Crosby is now one of those players who becomes highly susceptible to concussions after suffering one, that a series of them could be ahead, and his once-sunny future is now at least partly cloudy.

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