Some Stanley Cup notes – it’s starting to look as though Viktor Stalberg will be out… and Bryan Bollig will be in. Tim Sassone tweeted the line combos in practice, for the Blackhawks:

Sharp – Toews – Hossa

Bickell – Handzus – Kane

Saad – Bolland – Shaw

Bollig – Kruger – Frolik

So Coach Quenneville loaded up with talent on the top line, and gave Kane as much size on his line as possible. So who does Chara cover? If I’m Coach Julien, I try to match him with the Toews line. Leave Kane to Ference and Boychuk.

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I don’t have Boston’s practice combos, but the lines they used last game, courtesy of Frozen Pool, were:

Bergeron – Marchand – Jagr

Horton – Krejci – Lucic

Daugavins – Peverley – Seguin

Paille – Kelly – Thornton

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I try to use the Facebook page for some insider stuff about what is going on with Dobber Sports. Little hints of what is to come on the various sites. Yesterday I posted our plans for Frozen Pool. A few days ago I posted a new logo for something that is upcoming. I just want to make it worth your taking the time to “like” Dobber Sports.

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I missed this yesterday, but Bob McKenzie tweeted that he expects Philadelphia to use the compliance buyout on Ilya Bryzgalov. Wouldn’t it be funny if they then signed Mike Smith, expecting another miracle goalie before discovering that it was Phoenix coaching all along?

Funnier still – Bryzgalov goes back to Phoenix…

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NHL Conference finals viewership doubled over last year. Just a tiny article, so I’ll post it in its entirety here:

The NHL conference finals’ television viewership more than doubled from last year. With three large-market teams and three clubs with recent histories of luring audiences, the Blackhawks-Kings and Bruins-Penguins series averaged 2.65 million viewers on NBC and NBC Sports Network despite lasting only a combined nine games. Kings-Coyotes and Devils-Rangers averaged 1.25 million viewers last year over 11 games.

Helped by two double-overtime games, this year’s series drew the most viewers for a conference finals in 17 years, when games on Fox and ESPN averaged 2.86 million viewers; the population was smaller then, but that was for 13 games.

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Rossy gives his rankings of the 2013 draftees who he feels have the most fantasy value – his ramblings over at DobberProspects.

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The Sharks signed undrafted prospect Petter Emanuelsson. The 21-year-old had 18 points in 54 games in the SEL last season. In the lower levels he showed some promise offensively, so I’m curious to see how he does in the AHL in the fall.

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The Hockey Writers take a look at Damien Brunner and why the Red Wings need to re-sign him.

Still with THW, they also list five under-the-radar European prospects to watch for at the Draft.

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People are still asking about what went wrong with the Penguins. To me the answer is obvious – too many moves at the deadline. You know that I panned the Jarome Iginla acquisition. It felt wrong to be criticizing the move, given the player that they were getting. But this was a team that was winning hockey games and had amazing chemistry. Then they add Iginla. And yes, he flourished for them offensively. But the chemistry was gone. He took a power-play spot and never fit in there. He pushed Beau Bennett into the press box. He pushed Pascal Dupuis off the top line at times (rarely, but it did happen), and Chris Kunitz off the power play at other times.

On the other hand, I have no problem with the Morrow, Jokinen and Murray acquisitions. They used Morrow as a checker, Jokinen filled in for Crosby when he was injured and was ready to do so again if needed, and Murray filled a hole on defense. Iginla didn’t fill any need. He’s a just a great player added to a lineup that didn’t need a great player. It’s not his fault that the Penguins lost. Not even close. But the move that brought him on board, to me, was the move that led to this. It changed everything.

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NHL 14 – the Enforcer…