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From the official NHLPA release:

NHLPA ANNOUNCES FINALISTS FOR 2011-12 TED LINDSAY AWARD
Lundqvist, Malkin, & Stamkos voted by fellow members of the National Hockey League Players’ Association as finalists for the “Most Outstanding Player” award
…First-time Ted Lindsay Award recipient will be named for 2011-12

TORONTO (May 2, 2012) – The National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) announced today that Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers, Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning have been selected as finalists for the 2011-12 Ted Lindsay Award. The Ted Lindsay Award is presented annually to the “Most Outstanding Player” in the NHL, as voted by fellow members of the NHLPA.

The Ted Lindsay Award is the only award voted on by the players themselves, carrying on the tradition established by the Lester B. Pearson Award since 1970-71. The Award honours Ted Lindsay, an All-Star forward known for his skill, tenacity, leadership, and for his role in establishing the original Players' Association.

This year’s group of finalists – Lundqvist, Malkin and Stamkos – ensures that there will be a first-time recipient named when the Ted Lindsay Award is presented at the 2012 NHL Awards in Las Vegas on June 20th.

The following players are finalists for the 2012 Ted Lindsay Award (in alphabetical order):

Henrik Lundqvist, of Are, Sweden, appeared in 62 games during the 2011-12 season, leading the New York Rangers to their best regular season record since 1993-94. He set career-best marks in save percentage (.930) and goals-against average (1.97), ranking fourth in both categories. Henrik also set a career-high in wins (39), finishing third in the category, and tied for third among goaltenders in shutouts (8). He is the only goaltender in NHL history to record at least 30 wins in each of his first seven seasons. This is Henrik’s first nomination as a finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award. The four-time Vezina Trophy nominee would become just the third goaltender to receive the “Most Outstanding Player” award as voted on by the players, joining Mike Liut (1980-81) and Dominik Hasek (1996-97, 1997-98), and he is the first goaltender to be nominated since Roberto Luongo was a finalist (2006-07).

Evgeni Malkin, of Magnitogorsk, Russia appeared in 75 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2011-12 season. Evgeni led all NHL players in regular season scoring (109 points) to earn his second Art Ross Trophy (2008-09). He finished with more than 100 points in a season for the third time in his career, while finishing third in assists (59) and second in goals (a career-high 50). He also led the league in shots (339) and tied for fourth in game-winning goals (9). This is Evgeni’s third nomination by his peers as a finalist for the “Most Outstanding Player” award (2007-08, 2008-09). The former Calder Trophy recipient (2006-07) would become the fourth Penguins player to receive the “Most Outstanding Player” award as voted on by the players, following Mario Lemieux (1985-86, 1987-88, 1992-93, 1995-96), Jaromir Jagr (1998-99, 1999-00, 2005-06) and Sidney Crosby (2006-07).

Steven Stamkos, of Markham, Ontario, appeared in all 82 games in the 2011-12 season with the Tampa Bay Lightning, for the third consecutive season. For the second time in his young career, Steven led the league in goals (60) to earn the Maurice Richard Trophy, becoming only the 19th player in NHL history to record 60 goals in a season. He also finished second in points (97), tied for first with Radim Vrbata for most game-winning goals (12), and scored the most overtime-winning goals (5) – an NHL record. This is Steven’s second consecutive nomination by his peers as a finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award (2010-11). He would become only the second member of the Lightning to receive the “Most Outstanding Player” award as voted on by the players, joining teammate Martin St. Louis (2003-04).

The NHLPA also launched the 2011-12 Ted Lindsay Award Contest today on www.nhlpa.com. Fans are encouraged to select the Ted Lindsay Award recipient, just like the players do. A random draw will take place following the 2012 NHL Awards in Las Vegas NV, to determine the Grand Prize winner, as well as the second and third-place finishers.

Fans and media are encouraged to visit www.nhlpa.com for further information on the Ted Lindsay Award, finalist profiles and contest information.

From the official NHL release:

LUNDQVIST, MALKIN AND STAMKOS NAMED HART TROPHY FINALISTS


NEW YORK (April 27, 2012) -- Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers, center Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins and center Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning are the three finalists for the
2011-12 Hart Memorial Trophy, awarded " to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team," the National Hockey League announced today.

Members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association submitted ballots for the Hart Trophy at the conclusion of the regular season, with the top three vote-getters designated as finalists. The winner will be announced Wednesday, June 20, during the 2012 NHL Awards from Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas. The 2012 NHL Awards will be broadcast by NBC Sports Network in the United States and CBC in Canada.

Following are the finalists for the Hart Trophy, in alphabetical
order:

Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers

Lundqvist was the anchor of a Rangers club that posted its best regular-season record since the Stanley Cup season of 1993-94 and captured first place in the Eastern Conference. He went 39-18-5 in 62 appearances, setting a career high in wins. He placed near the top in all major goaltending categories: third in wins, tied for third in shutouts (eight), fourth in goals-against average (1.97) and fourth in save percentage (.930). Also voted a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, Lundqvist is the first goaltender to vie for Hart Trophy honors since 2007, when Vancouver's Roberto Luongo and New Jersey's Martin Brodeur were second and third, respectively.

Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins

Malkin captured his second career Art Ross Trophy by leading the NHL with 109 points (50 goals, 59 assists). He registered points in 60 of the
75 games he played in (80%) and became the first player since 1995-96 to record five or more points at least four times in one season. Malkin also finished second in the NHL with a career-high 50 goals and led the League with 339 shots on goal. He is the first scoring champion to win by a double-digit margin since Pittsburgh's Jaromir Jagr finished 20 points ahead of Anaheim’s Teemu Selanne in 1998-99. Malkin is a Hart Finalist for the third time; he finished second to Washington's Alex Ovechkin in 2008 and 2009.

Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning

Stamkos scored a League-leading 60 goals to capture his second Maurice Richard Trophy in the past three seasons. He notched his 60th goal in Tampa Bay's season finale at Winnipeg, becoming the first player to reach the milestone since 2007-08 (Alex Ovechkin, 65); before Ovechkin, the last time a player hit 60 was 1995-96 (Mario Lemieux, 69; Jaromir Jagr, 62). Stamkos tied for the League lead with Phoenix's Radim Vrbata in game-winning goals (12), scored an NHL-record five overtime goals and notched 48 even-strength scores, the most of any player since 1992-93. The 22-year-old is an NHL Trophy finalist for the first time.

History

The Hart Memorial Trophy was presented by the National Hockey League in 1960 after the original Hart Trophy was retired to the Hockey Hall of Fame. The original Hart Trophy was donated to the NHL in 1924 by Dr. David A. Hart, father of Cecil Hart, former manager-coach of the Montreal Canadiens.

• The Kings eliminated the Canucks, the team with the best record in the NHL this season, with a 2-1 overtime win in Game 5 of their first-round series. Vancouver was the sixth Presidents' Trophy-winning team to be knocked out in the first round of the playoffs since 1985-86, when the NHL began giving its award to the team with the best record in the league, but they were the first one of those teams to go out in fewer than six games. The other Presidents' Trophy winners who were one-and-done were the 1990-91 Blackhawks (eliminated by the Minnesota North Stars), 1999-2000 Blues (San Jose), 2005-06 Red Wings (Edmonton), 2008-09 Sharks (Anaheim) and 2009-10 Capitals (Montreal).

• The Bruins-Capitals series is the first one in NHL playoff history in which each of the first six games were decided by a one-goal margin. Boston has won by scores of 1-0 (in double overtime), 4-3 and 4-3 (in OT), while Washington's victories have been scores of 2-1 (in overtime), 2-1 and 4-3. Of course, the Bruins' and Caps' exclusive hold on that record might last only one day. Game 6 of the Phoenix-Chicago series is set for Monday night and each of the first five games were decided in overtime.

• Tyler Seguin scored the first playoff overtime goal of his NHL career to give the Bruins a 4-3 win in Game 6 of their series against the Capitals. The 20-year-old Seguin is the third-youngest player to score a playoff overtime goal for the Bruins, behind Don Gallinger, who holds the NHL record with an OT winner at age 17 versus Montreal in 1943, and Patrice Bergeron, who was 18 years old when he scored in overtime against the Canadiens in 2004.

• The Flyers finally got it right on their third try to eliminate the Penguins, wrapping up their first-round series with a 5-1 win in Game 6. Claude Giroux, who led all players on both teams with 14 points in the series (6 goals, 8 assists), recorded a goal and two assists in the clincher on Sunday afternoon. Giroux's 14 points were the second-most ever tallied by a Flyers player in one playoff series, behind Tim Kerr's 15 points (10 goals, 5 assists) in a seven-game series against Pittsburgh in 1989. Giroux is only the second NHL player since 1993 to score at least 14 points in a playoff series of fewer than seven games. Sidney Crosby registered 14 points in the Penguins' six-game first-round series win against Ottawa in 2010.

Flyers-Penguins series: The Flyers were decidedly better -- the 5-1-in-Game-6 kind of better. That's what you need to know. They will keep playing, the Penguins go home. Also worth knowing: Claude Giroux earned first-round Conn Smythe honors.

Bruins-Capitals: Tim Thomas is back. But so is Alex Ovechkin. Man, don't you love Game 7's?

Kings-Canucks: Goaltender battles can be entertaining too, especially those that pit two guys against each other who have been working a cage match since they were wee lads. But after the Kings clobbered the Canucks in OT, count on Jonathan Quick to be the favorite as the second-round Conn Smythe winner.

• In each of the first five games of the series, the team that scored the first goal lost. It’s only the third series in NHL playoff history to follow that unusual pattern; the others were Pittsburgh vs. St. Louis in 1981 and Dallas vs. San Jose in 2008.

• David Legwand scored a tiebreaking goal 13 seconds into the third period and the Predators preserved their one-goal lead the rest of the way for a 2–1 series-clinching win over the Red Wings. It was the second straight game in which Legwand scored a third-period goal; his goal in the final minute wrapped up Nashville’s 3–1 win in Game 4 at Detroit. Before that game Legwand had scored only two third-period goals in 40 career NHL playoff games.

Special teams once again played a large part in the story arc of Game 5, as the Flyers continue to take advantage of Pittsburgh’s lack of discipline. They opened the scoring when Matt Carle sneaked a long shot past netminder Marc-Andre Fleury with two seconds left on their first power-play opportunity and then added a second power-play goal late in the first period on a 5-on-3, with Scott Hartnell capitalizing.

The Penguins, though, did manage to kill off the final two Flyer power plays, thanks in large part to Fleury’s heroics.

The Penguins, whose own power play has been potent in this series, produced one goal as well, a first-period tally by Steve Sullivan.

The two teams have combined for 19 power-play goals in the series with Philadelphia holding an 11-8 edge. They are two power-play goals short of tying the NHL single-series record of 21.

Although the Flyers are enjoying a distinct special-teams advantage (they also have three short-handed goals), they have not been effective scoring at even strength. In fact, they have not scored at even strength since 27 seconds into the third period of Game 3.

Overall, the Penguins are outscoring the Flyers 17-11 in the series when at even strength, including their final two goals in Game 5 by Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy.

Easy Does It, Geno

Not a particularly good night for defending regular-season scoring champ Evgeni Malkin, who took two minor penalties and was generally not a factor offensively.

Head coach Dan Bylsma acknowledged that Malkin let his emotions get the better of him.

“Tonight we got a huge game from Jordan Staal and a game-winning goal from Tyler Kennedy. Tonight Geno, the emotions got the best of him in some of the situations and he took those two penalties. But our team came up big on the kill there,” Bylsma said. “We need everybody at their best, we need Geno at his best ... for Game 6."

• By scoring 10 goals against the Flyers, the Penguins tied a franchise record for goals in a playoff game and the two teams helped make NHL history. Pittsburgh and Philadelphia have combined for 45 goals, the most in the first 4 games of a series in Stanley Cup playoffs history. And they’ve done their scoring early -- 20 of the 45 goals have come in the 1st period. The 20 1st-period goals is an NHL record for most combined 1st-period goals through the first 4 games of a series. The previous record was 17 by the Sabres and Canadiens in 1991 and the Blackhawks and Oilers in 1985. The last time an entire series had at least 20 1st-period goals was in the 1995 playoffs when it happened in the conference quarterfinals in 2 series: Flames vs Sharks (7 games) and Penguins vs Capitals (7 games). The NHL record for combined 1st-period goals in an entire series is 25 by the Blackhawks and Oilers in 1985.

The Penguins tied 2 NHL playoff records in the process. Their 10 goals equaled the record for most goals in a Stanley Cup playoff game by a road team, a mark set by the Kings in a 10-8 win at Edmonton in 1982 and matched by the Oilers with a 10-2 victory at Calgary in 1983. Pittsburgh also equaled the record for goals by one team in a playoff game in which it faced elimination. That standard was established by the Canadiens with a 10-3 win on home ice in Game 5 of their series against the Maple Leafs in 1945.

FUN WITH A 10-3 SCORE IN THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA:
The Penguins beat the Flyers 10-3 on Wednesday night.
-In 77 all-time meetings, the Eagles and Steelers have never had a final score of 10-3.
-The Pirates have defeated the Phillies 10-3 9 times during the live ball era (since 1920).
-The Phillies have defeated the Pirates 10-3 4 times during the live ball era (since 1920).

• The Rangers' 3-2 loss to the Senators was their seventh consecutive defeat in playoff overtime games, dating back to May 2007. It's the longest losing streak of its kind in Rangers history (they lost five straight playoff OT games from 1986 to 1991), and the longest current playoff overtime losing streak by any NHL team.

It was only the third time in Senators history that they won a playoff game in which they trailed by two goals. Ottawa’s other two-goal comeback wins in postseason play were against the Flyers in 2003 and the Sabres in double-overtime in 2007.

PHILADELPHIA -- One of the local Philadelphia papers had a picture of Sidney Crosby dressed up as a lion with the headline “The Cowardly Penguin.” Not sure we get it since Crosby was chastised for running around trying to rough up a handful of Philadelphia Flyers in Game 3, but regardless, the Pittsburgh Penguins received monster nights from their big three centers.

Crosby had a goal and two assists. Malkin had two goals and one assist. And Jordan Staal, the best forward on the ice for either team Wednesday night, had a hat trick.

"Yeah, we needed a lot of guys to step up to win this first one and try to keep things rolling, so, you know. A lot of guys in the room know how to play playoff hockey and I thought we had a great effort,” Staal said.

Special teams again ran rampant Wednesday night as the two teams combined to go 7-for-14 with the man advantage. The Pens really lit it up going 4-for-9 with the man advantage and, for a change, didn’t allow the Flyers to deflate them with a shorthanded goal -- something that had happened three times in the first three games.

"Yeah, you know, our penalty kill, obviously a tough start," Staal said. "But we as a team played better keeping the puck out of our net the second and third and found a way to keep scoring as well."

When Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma was asked about the newspaper gag, he just smiled and said the Flyers' fans kept screaming at Crosby and he kept playing.

“Everyone has pride and wants to make sure you're playing the best when you need to be," Crosby added. "It's been a tough series. For guys to respond the way they did is a good sign. It doesn't get any easier. We have to keep going here.

“Especially the way the first period went, it would have been easy to take chances and force things a bit. We didn't do that. We built confidence. The big thing is to limit our mistakes, we did a good job on that.”

Flyers injuries

The Flyers received some bad news as defenseman Nicklas Grossmann is day to day with an upper-body injury.

Grossmann, acquired at the trade deadline from Dallas, played just 8:54 and it’s believed he was injured in collisions with Tyler Kennedy and Evgeni Malkin.

The Flyers are already missing captain Chris Pronger, of course, and Marc-Andre Bourdon hasn’t returned after being hurt in Game 1.

Discipline question

Nowhere near the gong show that we saw in terms of on-ice mayhem during Sunday’s 8-4 win by Philadelphia, you still have to wonder what league disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan will think of rookie Zac Rinaldo's mauling of defenseman Zbynek Michalek after wrestling Michalek to the ice.

Rinaldo earned a cross-checking, roughing, game misconduct and 10-minute misconduct on the play.

PHILADELPHIA -- You could hardly find a more straight-up player in the NHL than Pittsburgh defenseman Brooks Orpik. Tough as nails but thoughtful, he has seen what has been unfolding this playoff spring and hears what people are saying.

What he sees isn’t so much a change in the way the game is played as a way the game is viewed.

“I think just now with every big hit, the first word you hear out of people’s mouths is 'suspension, suspension.' Rather than maybe it was a good hit. Maybe it’s just how we view them is changing,” Orpik told ESPN.com Wednesday morning.

“Let’s be honest: Nobody thought Scott Stevens’ hit on Paul Kariya (during the 2003 Stanley Cup finals) was dirty, right? If that happened now, people would be calling for (Stevens’) head. Everyone says players have a lack of respect for each other. I think it’s how the hits are viewed now. I’m not saying the hits before were better, but a lot of guys grew up saying, 'I want to play like Scott Stevens did because he was praised for it and idolized for it,'” Orpik said.

The advances in medical research, especially as it relates to concussions and blows to the head and the long-term impact of the violent collisions, have changed the sensitivity to those things. Go back 10 or 15 years -- the hits probably aren’t any less violent or (in some cases) dirty, Orpik said.

“I think it’s just the way they’re looked upon and viewed and maybe that’s just culture changing," he said. "You see all the stuff in the NFL and advances in the medical findings, and the research with brain disease I think maybe that leads into it too. I think everybody being more aware of the long-term risks plays into how people view the hits.”

Still, Orpik acknowledged that those in the greater hockey community should be concerned about how this is being viewed by the paying public.

“It reflects badly on the game," he said. "You’re trying to grow the game, and obviously I think with the TV exposure we have now, we’re taking a lot of steps forward in terms of growing the game and marketing the game. But a lot of times if it’s picked up by news agencies or carriers that aren’t really hockey affiliates, the only things that they broadcast or showcase are the hits or the dirty plays and stuff like that. A lot of people who aren’t real hockey fans -- who are just common fans -- that’s all they see."

PHILADELPHIA -- An already dire situation for the Pittsburgh Penguins -- down 3-0 in their first round playoff series with the Philadelphia Flyers -- has been made even more ominous with the suspension of three regulars, including 40-goal man James Neal.

The Penguins, outscored 20-12 in the first three games of this series, will be without Neal, who was suspended for one game by league disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan after he knocked down an unsuspecting Sean Couturier with a hard check even though the puck was nowhere nearby in the third period of Sunday’s 8-4 Philadelphia win. Later in that period, Neal also went after Claude Giroux, dazing him with a hit.

The Penguins will also be without Craig Adams, who was given an automatic one-game suspension for an instigator penalty earned in a late-game fight with Scott Hartnell. Arron Asham was given a four-game ban for his crosscheck to the face and throat of Brayden Schenn, whom he then punched after the Flyers forward fell to the ice.

The suspensions of Neal and Asham inexplicably took more than 48 hours after Game 3 to become public. Ironically, the decisions were then lost in the furor over an even more disturbing case in a spring of ugliness for the National Hockey League.

In Chicago, serial predator Raffi Torres of the Phoenix Coyotes left his feet to hit Chicago forward Marian Hossa after Hossa had made a pass in the neutral zone. Hossa lay motionless on the ice and was carried off on a stretcher.

Although it’s difficult to determine just what criteria Shanahan is using in handing down supplemental discipline in a chaotic opening week of the playoffs, the outcry around the league over player behavior and the league’s ineffectiveness at changing behavior is at a fever pitch.

The mayhem has become the story of the playoffs, blotting out terrific stories like the Florida Panthers’ come-from-behind win in Game 3 and the youthful Flyers’ domination of the Pens.

At least in Neal’s case, this is a punishment that has some consequence.

One can only assume Neal will feel a pinch of remorse if he’s wearing a suit in the press box Wednesday night and his team is swept from the playoffs. Surely contributing to that embarrassing fact through his own selfish behavior by running amok, targeting defenseless Flyers players, might prompt a change in behavior.

Sadly, given the nonstop carnage of this postseason, one despairs that anyone will learn a lesson of any kind.

PHILADELPHIA -- After taking a day to get away from the nightmare that has been this Eastern Conference quarterfinal series, the Penguins returned to Philadelphia determined to put the brakes on their out-of-control train.

“We’re definitely trying to find ways to figure out these games and figure out the right way to play,” center Jordan Staal said late Tuesday afternoon.

There are the technical things -- giving up three shorthanded goals, allowing six power-play goals on just 10 opportunities and blowing leads in three straight games -- that will need to be addressed in short order or the Pens will be done Wednesday night.

But for a team that melted down as it did in an ugly 8-4 loss Sunday, Game 4 offers a chance at redemption.

“I think we all feel we owe it to ourselves to at least put a full game together here and see what happens,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said late Tuesday afternoon. “We’re quite capable of putting a full 60 minutes together.”

“We also know that we have done some really good things and if we limit our mistakes, we give ourselves a great chance of winning the game,” Crosby added.

Coach Dan Bylsma will have to juggle a lineup that will be missing three regulars given the one-game suspension handed to forward Craig Adams after an instigator penalty was called for his late-game fight with Scott Hartnell in Game 3.

Add to that the suspension to Arron Asham, who cross-checked Brayden Schenn in the throat and then punched him in the head as he lay on the ice. Asham was suspended four games Tuesday night.

James Neal who levied a high hits on Sean Couturier and Claude Giroux, was suspended one game.

Regardless, the team will need to be better in many areas of the game if it hopes to force a fifth game in Pittsburgh on Friday night.

“Ten days ago, we believed we were a very good team and we believed we had a chance to win the Stanley Cup. That still holds true, regardless of the situation we’re in. If there’s any group of guys that believes that and knowing that, it’s this group of guys. And it starts with a very simple task of going out and focusing on winning one game, which is Wednesday,” Bylsma said.

Added Crosby, “We just want to get back to Pittsburgh.”

The key will be in forcing Philadelphia to tag along, too.

Color Scott Hartnell and Peter Laviolette among those who had no problem with what was a wild and woolly Game 3 in the Eastern Conference quarterfinal between their Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

In fact, Hartnell said the first period -- one that included a rare fight involving Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby and top Flyers offensive star Claude Giroux and another fight between Flyers skilled defenseman Kimmo Timonen and the Pens’ Kris Letang -- was one of the best periods of hockey in which he’s been involved.

“The goals, the scraps, Kimmo dropping the gloves. In 12 years, I haven’t seen that guy with a heartbeat over 140 -- and the guy’s out there with a tough guy like Letang. It’s great to see,” Hartnell said.

Laviolette, the Flyers’ head coach, likewise said he received many comments after the game from friends and acquaintances, some from the hockey world, some not, telling him how much they enjoyed the contest.

“If you’re just a fan of the sport, just from an enjoyment level of watching a game of hockey, it was great," Laviolette said. "It was back and forth, it was toe to toe, there were fights, there [were] goals, it was great. I had a lot of texts, people just texting me saying it was of the best games if not the best game they’d ever seen."

The one element of the game Hartnell, he of the distinctive curly locks, didn’t appreciate was having one of the Penguins tug on his hair during one of the late-game grappling sessions.

“I don’t know what the rule is in the NHL rulebook about hair pulling, but maybe I should look into it. Letang has got some nice hair over there on the other team and I’m sure he would like it if somebody pulled his hair. I’m guessing I’m going to have to call Shanny about that,” Hartnell said with a grin, referencing the NHL’s head of discipline, Brendan Shanahan, who has his hands full trying to keep up with the potentially suspension-worthy events that have cropped up in recent days.

Flyers happy to be hated

Much was made of Crosby’s comments after Game 3 about how he doesn’t like any of the Flyers and specifically Jakub Voracek, whose glove he shot away as the Flyers forward was about to retrieve it late in the game.

"I guess we've got to be doing something right if he hates us, right?" offered the playoff’s leading point-getter, Claude Giroux, who has eight points in the three games, including a franchise-record six in Game 2.

How does Giroux feel about his opponents?

"Well, with the first three games it's got to be hard to like them," Giroux said. "Obviously we're not big fans of them and that's why this series is so entertaining for the fans."

Pittsburgh head coach Dan Bylsma viewed Crosby’s engaging with Flyers players as a premeditated effort to try to keep his team motivated as opposed to Crosby losing his focus.

“I think a little bit of what we saw yesterday was him trying to spark our team and trying to get back in this thing and scratch and claw to do it," Bylsma said. "I think that’s a lot of what I saw from him and more calculated than losing emotional control.

“That’s a little bit of the emotion I saw yesterday from our captain."

From the official NHL release:

PENGUINS’ FORWARD ADAMS SUSPENDED FOR ONE GAME;
HEAD COACH BYLSMA FINED $10,000


NEW YORK (April 16, 2012) -- Pittsburgh Penguins forward Craig Adams has been suspended for one game and Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma has been fined $10,000 for Adams’ actions in the final five minutes of Sunday’s Eastern Conference Quarterfinal playoff game against the Flyers in Philadelphia, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

Adams instigated a fight at 15:18 of the third period. He was assessed a minor penalty for instigating, a major penalty for fighting and a game misconduct.

Both Adams’ suspension and Bylsma’s fine are automatic for violation of NHL Rule 46.12 – Instigator in Final Five Minutes of Regulation Time (or Anytime in Overtime), and as outlined by NHL Rule 46.22.

The fine money goes to the NHL Foundation.

The Penguins will be swept: It doesn't matter what the media is told afterward; the Flyers have the Penguins completely off their game. Evgeni Malkin is a shadow of himself, intimidated into a peripheral role, going from MVP to Most Invisible Player. The Penguins -- captain Sidney Crosby, especially -- are too paralyzed by the goon show to be able to play the way they did during the season. The Flyers' goaltending has been ripe for the picking, too. This is a lost opportunity, and now the Penguins will be left with thinking about what could have been with one of the best collections of talent they've ever had.

Shea Weber for Conn Smythe: Now that's how a captain reacts to adversity. Shea Weber, public enemy No. 1 in Detroit, scored and let everyone know he doesn't get fazed. This guy is a cold-stone killer. Preds are up 2-1 in that series.

The Panthers bounced back: The Panthers won a playoff game for the first time since 1997, which was a long time ago, eh? Before full-body searches at the airport and everything. Don't know about you, but it took me that long to get over the proliferation of "rats" headlines.

The Canucks are cooked: In other news about wildly favored teams choking away potential, the Canucks are one game from playing golf or catching salmon or whatever they do for a pastime in British Columbia. (Chill, people; I've been to Stanley Park.) Hindsight is 20/20, of course, but it just goes to show you what having a settled situation in net will do for your team's confidence in the playoffs. If he keeps this up, no one will say, "If only Jonathan Quick played on the East Coast, he'd get the recognition he deserves ..."

• The Flyers took a commanding 3-0 lead in their series against the Penguins with an 8–4 home-ice win on Sunday, after winning the first two games of the series by scores of 4–3 and 8–5 in Pittsburgh. The two-team aggregate of 32 goals (Flyers 20, Penguins 12) is the highest total through the first three games of an NHL playoff series since the first-round matchup between the Oilers and Kings in 1987, when a record-tying 34 goals were scored (Edmonton 21, Los Angeles 13).

Danny Briere, Matt Read and Maxime Talbot each scored two goals for the Flyers. It was the first time in Flyers history that they had three multiple-goal scorers in the same playoff game, and only the third instance over the last 11 playoff years by any NHL team. The Red Wings had three multi-goal men in Game 4 of their series against Colorado in 2008 (Johan Franzen 3, Mikael Samuelsson 2, Henrik Zetterberg 2), and the Lightning had three in Game 5 of their first-round series against Pittsburgh last year (Simon Gagne 2, Pavel Kubina 2, Steven Stamkos 2).

The last team to score at least 16 goals in consecutive Stanley Cup playoff games is Wayne Gretzky's L.A. Kings in 1993, who scored 18 goals (9 in each) in consecutive games against the Calgary Flames. The Flyers had never scored 16 in consecutive Stanley Cup playoff games and the Penguins had never allowed 16 in consecutive Stanley Cup playoff games.

• The Panthers ended the longest playoff win drought in NHL history with their 4–2 victory against the Devils on Sunday night. It was Florida’s first postseason win in two days short of 15 years, since a 3–0 victory over the Rangers on April 17, 1997, in the opening game of a first-round series. The Panthers obliterated the old NHL record for the longest stretch with a playoff win, which was just under 12 years by the Red Wings, between wins on April 26, 1966, and April 11, 1978.

• Pekka Rinne made 41 saves to lead the Predators to a 3–2 win in Game 3 of their series against the Red Wings in Detroit. Rinne was 5–0–2 with a 1.66 goal-against average and .958 save percentage in the seven games in the 2011–12 regular season in which he faced 40 or more shots on goal, including a win over the Red Wings in Nashville on Dec. 15.