So the Final is set and although I think Los Angeles is the better team, I wonder how much the Kings have left after that unbelievable series with the Blackhawks. It almost reminds me of how Montreal looked in the Conference Finals against New York. They seemed to be running on empty after defeating the Bruins. The Rangers get the luxury of playing someone in a similar situation, and one that has played past 60 minutes in two of the last three games.

Granted, the Kings are probably built better for a lengthy playoff run than Montreal, but the number of tough minutes their top guys played against Chicago could start to show up against New York.

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In other Cup news, J.T. Miller’s status remains up in the air for Game 1 with a shoulder injury.

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Kings defenseman Alec Martinez had a career-high 11 goals and 22 points in 61 games during the 2013-14 season, but can he keep that up for a full 82 games next year?

He’s had a respectable playoffs as well with nine points in 21 games, including two goals in the last two, and has been on quite the run over the last three months. 15 of his points came after March 1, so it seems like more of a streak than a good indication of what Martinez is capable of over a large sample size. He topped out at 30 points for his best campaign at the AHL level, too.

Keep in mind, Slava Voynov, was in a similar situation last year with the Kings, scoring 25 points in the 48-game season and following it up with 13 points in 18 playoff games. Voynov then went on to be pretty average this season.

I’d be cautious where Martinez is concerned. 

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Sadly, at just 32, Andrew Alberts’ career could be over because of concussions.

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Fear not Habs fans, Carey Price won’t need surgery on his injured knee. At least we think it’s his knee because Montreal and Price are still calling it a lower-body injury. Kreider hit him in the knee, he held his knee when he went down, and he was seen wearing a knee brace afterwards, but Montreal still thinks we can’t figure it out, apparently.  

Obviously Montreal wouldn't have even had him on the ice skating if they feared it was actually something serious, but it's a comforting sign for Price owners that he should be in for a regular offseason and prepared to be in top form again come October.

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Speaking of Montreal, their Twitter account lost a bet with Jimmy Fallon and Youppi had to walk around town with a Rangers jersey. Hilarity. 

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Peter Laviolette spoke to some fans in Nashville recently and should have poolies excited about Predator players next year. 

“I guess my thought process on the game and the style early on is that I decided to play with the puck, and I would rather play somewhere else other than my end," said Laviolette to the Tennessean. "However we could pressure that up ice, or pressure it through the neutral zone, get the puck, get it out of our zone, and play it down there. So it’s been a style I’m accustomed to, and something I’m looking forward to bringing here to Nashville.”

It remains to be seen if there will be any significant difference in production between Laviolette and Barry Trotz’s Predators, but the new coach's words are encouraging. 

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Staying with the Preds, they announced Carter Hutton would be getting a two-year contract extension on Monday.  Hutton played well last year while Pekka Rinne was sidelined and posted some solid numbers. He had a 20-11-4 record to go along with a .910 save percentage and 2.62 goals against average in 40 games in 2013-14. Obviously with Rinne back healthy he will be regulated to backup duties in 2014-15 and shouldn't have much fantasy value.

However, Rinne is coming off a significant hip injury and those type of issues can sometimes cause problems down the road. Hopefully Rinne doesn't have a problem, but if he gets sidelined, Hutton wouldn't be the worst fill in. Then again, keep in mind Hutton's numbers came under Barry Trotz and with Laviolette there now it's a less goalie-friendly system. He'd be hard pressed to duplicate last year's numbers under Laviolette.

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The Blackhawks and Kings truly was an unreal series. Here are the 10 best plays from the seven games.

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The San Jose Sharks are hoping to host an outdoor game in 2015 because there aren't enough of them already and it's so cold in California.

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Interesting story here that Pierre McGuire has now reportedly had two interviews for the Pittsburgh Penguins general manager position.  McGuire was once an assistant coach for the Penguins way back in 1992, but he is now known as a television guy more than anything else. It would be intriguing to see someone who has been in that world for so long step in to a management position. The Penguins would be a prime job for anyone, though, as that roster doesn't need much changing, and certainly someone with McGuire's passion for the game and exuberance would be quite the culture change in Pittsburgh.

Michael Amato is an Associate Editor for DobberHockey and a News Editor for theScore. You can follow him on Twitter at @amato_mike