Milan Michalek is out for the playoffs with a torn ACL. This will be his FOURTH major knee surgery.

Puck Daddy chats with Wayne Gretzky.

The Maple Leafs re-signed Jonas Gustavsson this morning. He signed a two year deal worth about $1.3 million per season. Look for him and Giguere to split starts next season, with the hopes that he will be ready to start in 2011-12.

On twitter? Follow myself (@angus_j) and Dobber (@DobberHockey).

Part 2 of my Prime Cuts article series will be out tomorrow. I’ll unveil the third line and the second defensive pairing. Any guesses? If you have read my articles throughout the season, it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out who will make the grade. Keith Yandle, who made the team (and was featured in Part 1), had a great game for the Coyotes last night.

I’ll try and have a weekly question and answer chat throughout the playoffs and summer. I get a lot of feedback on these, and I enjoy dispensing advice! Perhaps I’ll try and get something scheduled on a regular basis.

The hockey played in the Cup Final is impossible to beat, but the first round comes very close. Four games on television every single night? Hell yes!

Brad Richards led the Western Conference in powerplay points this season (and trailed only Steven Stamkos for the overall lead). Dallas has the right pieces in place to improve quickly (two strong veteran centers, tons of youth at wing). They need to add a defenseman or two, and hope that Kari Lehtonen buys a gym pass this summer.

Playoff Draft List – for info click here.

According to Darren Dreger, Brian Campbell could be back for game three in the Chicago/Nashville series. The Hawks are also missing Kim Johnsson on the back end, and they are going to need Hjalmarsson and Sopel (yikes) to step up and log more minutes – at least for the next two games.

Chris Botta believes that the Islanders will be close to $10 million BELOW the cap floor this summer. What does that mean? Well, they are forced to add $10 million in salary. Their needs are many, so speculate away!

Does Marty St. Louis want to be traded? This article (containing quotes from Marty) does a bit of speculating. That loud noise is the collective screaming of poolies who own Steven Stamkos.

Dobber made a great point in the April 12^th ramblings regarding Rick Nash. I traded him last summer for Marc-Andre Fleury, as I feel Nash is one of the most overrated players in fantasy hockey. He simply doesn't record enough assists or play with the consistency needed to be a top level forward over a full season. He dominates during short tournaments because his size/skill package is out-of-this-world good, but he has yet to translate that to the rigors of the 82 game schedule. If you can deal him for an 85-95 point player, do it.

Rangers beat writer Andrew Gross weighs in with his offseason insights. Great read. Will the Rangers be willing to pay Wade Redden $6.5 million to ride the bus in Hartford?

According to his agent, Jacob Markstrom may play another year or two in the SEL. I think this is just agent-speak – Markstrom is at most one year away from playing for the Panthers. I think he just wants to pressure the Panthers to open up a spot for him, which would probably involve shopping Tomas Vokoun this or next summer.

I haven't seen Tyler Seguin play much, but I think the Oilers would be foolish to pass on Taylor Hall.

You can find Dobber's playoff preview on Puck Daddy (Western Conference click here, Eastern Conference click here). And you can find his playoff preview for The Hockey News (Western Conference click here, Eastern Conference will be out tomorrow). You’ll see some dark horses and playoff strategy…

I'll post some of my thoughts from the first night of playoff hockey. I absolutely love the relentless forechecking, the constant physicality, and the nervous anticipation that is the postseason!

Ottawa vs. Pittsburgh

Fleury laid an egg, plain and simple. The Penguins and Senators both looked very dangerous offensively. Ottawa was very meticulous, structured, and safe. Clouston runs a tight ship and they are going to be a tough team to beat, especially if they can score five goals. Brian Elliott wasn't great, but he made the saves he needed to.

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Chris Neil shows once again why he was deserving of the fat contract Ottawa gave him last summer. He may not score much, but there are few energy players in the league that have the presence he does on the ice. He probably won't ever see time on a second line in the NHL, but he could be decent fantasy player (15 goals, 200+ PIM) if all of the cards fell into place for him.

Erik Karlsson is going to be the closest thing to Mike Green (from an offensive standpoint). He is absolutely dynamic with the puck on his stick.

I mentioned this a few weeks ago in an article – Peter Regin has been able to play such a big role for the Senators this season due in large part to his past with Clouston as his coach in the AHL. Often times, promoted coaches like to bring a guy or two with them to the pro club (Fleischmann and Boudreau in Washington, Vigneault and Rypien in Vancouver). In this case, it has allowed Regin to develop and he has only gotten stronger as the season has gone on. It wouldn't surprise me to see him be somewhere around 50 points next season.

In 2007, Ottawa won game one of the series, and went on to the cup final. In 2008, the Penguins won game one, and went on to the cup final. Seeing a trend?

Alexei Ponikarovsky has not fit in at all with the Penguins.

Philadelphia vs. New Jersey

Brian Boucher bested Marty Brodeur last night. I didn't catch any of this game, but from the sounds of it, I didn't miss all that much. Kovalchuk had a few great chances, including one beauty of an end-to-end rush.

Chris Pronger scored a goal and played over 30 minutes. Another day at the office for one of the best defensemen in the history of the game.

San Jose vs. Colorado

The Avs simply wanted this one more than the Sharks. They were skating harder and skating more all game long. San Jose looked tentative and was booed off the ice at the end.

If Colorado advances past the first round, it will be due in large part to the play of Kyle Cumiskey. He can skate like few others in the league, and had a fantastic playoff debut last night. He anticipates well both defensively and offensively. If he can develop his shot a bit more, it wouldn't surprise me to see him develop into a 40 or 50 point defenseman. He reminds me a bit of Bret Hedican, who was a swift skater but never a big point producer. It will be interesting to see where Cumiskey's development path leads.

Darcy Tucker is sloooooooooooooooooooooooooooow.

Detroit vs. Phoenix

Shane Doan had about 10 HUGE hits last night. He sure was fun to watch.

Another player to watch in the postseason – Martin Hanzal. He was pretty quiet last night, but he is going to be one of the elite defensive centers in the league for a long, long time. His fantasy value will depend a lot on whether he becomes a second line center (Ryan Kesler) or remains in more of a checking role (Jordan Staal) due to depth in the organization. After Kyle Turris, Phoenix has no long-term centers, but Matthew Lombardi appears to be a keeper.

A video compilation of the top 30 goals from the 2009-10 NHL season: