The Leafs have signed prospect Greg McKegg to an entry-level contract. McKegg led Erie (OHL) in scoring with 49 goals and 92 points this past season. He was picked in the 3rd round of the 2010 Entry Draft.

Geno Malkin managed to avoid surgery on his MCL (his ACL was still operated on). Sounds like his recovery is ahead of schedule. He won’t be back until next season but should have time before camp to skate and exercise hard.

The NHL’s fake season is upon us. Great column with fantasy hockey implications.

Alex Edler is playing tonight for the Canucks. Dan Hamhuis will be ready for game one of the playoffs.

Vancouver’s potential defensive group for game one: Hamhuis-Bieksa, Ehrhoff-Edler, Ballard-Salo. First time all season all six have been healthy. Formidable to say the least.

Mike Green will be back before round one kicks off, but Dennis Wideman won’t. The Capitals aren’t anticipating a return from Wideman at any point during the first round.

Some potential Finnish free agents who could have a fantasy impact in 2011-12…

Michael Grabner scored two goals last night – 32 and 33 on the season. Florida’s leading scorer David Booth had a goal (his 23rd). Just saying…

When exactly did Rick DiPietro steal Dan Cloutier’s helmet?

Henrik Zetterberg left the game with a lower body injury last night. He won’t play in either of Detroit’s final two games… no word on his return for the postseason.

The year of the hat trick continues… Corey Perry continues his assault on the NHL with three (the third being his 50^th of the season). Rocket Richard is sewn up, he is chasing down Daniel Sedin for the Art Ross, and he has probably leapfrogged his way above Sedin for the Hart as well.

Anaheim's top players are peaking at the right time – if Jonas Hiller can return soon, the Ducks could play sleeper once again in the postseason.

As a hockey fan, I'd love to see an Anaheim/San Jose first round match up.

Good news for the Hawks (and poolies) – Patrick Sharp returned to the lineup last night after missing seven with a knee injury

Scott Clemmensen recorded the loss for Florida last night – his fourth consecutive start. Tomas Vokoun has been out with a back injury.

Mattias Tedenby's rookie season hasn't been all that impressive from a statistical standpoint, but he has shown flashes of offensive skills each game. He'll be a regular in New Jersey next year, as will fellow Swede Jacob Josefsen.

Depending what happens with Parise, the Devils could slide the two rookies alongside Ilya Kovalchuk on the second line.

Worst NHL player of the year award – Nikolai Khabibulin?

My Head-to-Head opponent this week (final) has Devan Dubnyk (shutout Canucks on Tuesday) and Cam Ward (blanked Detroit last night). I am losing 15-1 at the moment…

Jeff Skinner is only one point away from 60 after scoring another last night.

Jarome Iginla also had three goals, and broke the 40 goal mark for the fourth time in his career. His strong season has gone largely unnoticed because of Calgary's struggled.

Interesting stat I saw on another forum last night – Milan Lucic and David Backes both have 30 goals, 30 assists, and a plus-30 rating.

Impressive for sure, but Backes at plus-30 is even more remarkable considering how average the Blues have been all season.

Ilya Kovalchuk scored his 30^th of the season last night – his eighth straight 30 goal seasons. Expect him to be closer to 45 in 2011-12.

Interesting Cory Schneider tidbit from DobberHockey’s wisest – fzusher:

“Vigneault, in a really classy move, put Schneider in net for 29 seconds yesterday. To be the perfect class act, he’d let Schneider start one of the remaining two games so that he can hit his 25th game in style.

25 games would make him eligible for the Jennings if the Nucks finish the year with the lowest GA, which has been pointed out in different media recently. But I don’t know if people have mentioned how big of a deal this would be.

Why?

Because in 08-09 Schneider won both the Holmes (fewest GA) and Bastien (best goalie) in the AHL. Since the Jennings became the trophy for fewest goals allowed in 1982, only one goalie – Mike Dunham – has won both the Holmes and the Jennings. And he’s never won the Bastien (Dunham did win the Butterfield, for Calder cup MVP, which Schneider hasn’t).”

Perry with 50 – got Hart?