Marcus here:

During yesterday's Canucks practice, Bernier and the Sedins were seperated from the rest of team. Look for Coach V to try Burrows on a different line. Not a fan of this move but just thought it was worth a read.

San Jose signed prospect John McCarthy, LW, to an entry level deal. His upside is minimal – below 60 for sure.

Brian Rafalski missed Detroit's last practice for a "rest day", but as you can see from his absence from last night's game, "rest day" could mean anything – from the flu, to a hangnail, to a broken leg.

Interesting – the last time the Caps and Pens met in the playoffs, Sergei Gonchar was on the Caps (2001)

The Preds have assigned Jonathan Blum to Milwaukee of the AHL, as he has received medical clearance.

Mike Richards' shoulder surgery was a complete disaster. Pure failure. Just kidding, it was a "success". But wouldn't it be nice to occasionally see surgery announced as a failure? Every headline following an athlete's surgery is "Player X's Surgery was a Success" – even the ones that turn out to be failures are initially called successes. It seems a waste of words – if it's successful every time, then it's redundant to specifically call it a success each occasion. Let's all assume it's a success and only create a headline and article if it's a failure (which is never).

Yes, it's a slow news day so I ramble about stupid things…