As a group, hockey coaches don’t often command the spotlight when the cameras roll. They defer to their players and reserve whatever fiery rhetorical skills they possess for the sanctity of the dressing room.

Guys like Dale Hunter and Darryl Sutter will never make the list of the century’s great orators, anyway. But then there’s the Rangers’ John Tortorella, the subject of the video tribute above (the great work of DJ Steve Porter who, as Yahoo’s Puck Daddy Editor Greg Wyshynski relates, has a pretty impressive history of remixing video clips, hockey and otherwise) that appeared on Saturday over Hockey Night In Canada.

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Devils sniper Ilya Kovalchuk, who has been playing with a suspected bad back, must continue to be productive against New York’s tough defense and stellar goaltending. (Scott Levy/NHLI via Getty Images)

They’re not good neighbors, as we saw a few times this season, but that can make for great hockey when the Devils and Rangers hook up. Yes, there will be echoes of 1994, when New York won the Eastern Conference championship in the second overtime period of Game 7, but that was long ago. With the exception of Marty Brodeur, who is still in goal for the Devs, almost everything and everyone has changed, including the way each team plays: The Rangers are now the more defensive oriented club and the Devils are the team that might be stronger offensively. But both play a strong all-around game and this series will be a treat.

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High-priced goalie Ilya Bryzgalov is the obvious scapegoat, but the Flyers’ demise was a true team effort. (Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images)

There’s no brotherly love in Philadelphia today. All three of the city’s major sports teams dropped games on Tuesday night: the Phillies blowing a 4-0 lead to the Mets, the 76ers failing to clinch their series against Chicago, and the Flyers being eliminated by the Devils. That last one is, as hosts Mike and Ike said on their WIP Radio midday show, “the deepest wound of all.”

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Though Dainius Zubrus of the Devils ultimately wasn’t injured, the headshot he received from Claude Giroux (not pictured) was egregious enough to merit a disciplinary hearing. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Will the NHL show courage and suspend Claude Giroux for Game 5 of the Flyers’ series against the Devils? A disciplinary hearing took place on Monday morning and Giroux certainly deserves a ban for targeting the head of the Devils’ Dainius Zubrus late in the second period of Sunday’s Game 4, which New Jersey won, 4-2, to push Philadelphia to the brink of elimination. But to remove Philly’s best player from the lineup in a potential elimination game would be a bold a move for Brendan Shanahan and the league’s Department of Player Safety. It would, however, show that they’ve learned from an earlier mistake.

UPDATED: The NHL has suspended Giroux for one game. Here is the league’s statement and Shanahan’s video explanation.

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During the winning goal in Sunday's Game 1, Devils goalie Martin Brodeur had his stick moved by Flyers winger James van Riemsdyk's skate, hindering his ability to make the save. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

After watching these unpredictable and bizarre Stanley Cup playoffs unfold through the weekend, one thing is certain: the numerous incidents involving the question of goaltender interference demands that the NHL rethink adding it to the league’s list of goal/no-goal calls that are reviewable via video.

UPDATE: On TSN Monday night, Darren Dreger reported the NHL GMs will discuss adding goaltender interference to the video review situations at their next meeting and predicted it would pass (video).

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The Coyotes will have to be resourceful and determined to beat Nashville's stout defense that has been fortified at key moments by the monster goaltending of Pekka Rinne. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

We quickly move to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, what they call the conference semi-finals. Upsets galore, tight games, lots of overtime and fierce play marked the first round and that shouldn’t change too much now. With some strong teams knocked out, every survivor must figure that it has a chance to keep its playoff run alive. All it has to do is continue playing to its strengths, shore up its weaknesses and have a good game plan against its opponent. Easy, right?

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Defenseman Brian Campbell has Stanley Cup experience on a team hoping to end Florida's playoff series drought. The Devils say that sniper Ilya Kovalchuk (right) is healthy. (Andy Marlin/NHLI via Getty Images)

It’s the series that few people are watching and that’s really a shame because it’s been just as compelling as the rest of the first round, but without any of the histrionics that have accompanied most of the other matchups. So if you haven’t seen any of the Panthers-Devils clash, Tuesday is your big chance — there’s no other game on the playoff schedule to compete with their Game 6 encounter.

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Of concern: Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist showed signs of wearing down as the regular season wore on. (Scott Levy/NHLI via Getty Images)

If you’re looking for Stanley Cup predictions, you’ve come to the wrong place. As we’ve previously written, predictions are a waste of time. However, we’re willing to take some stabs at what is each playoff team about. What do they have to do to win? What must they avoid to prevent things from going south?

So here are the keys to the first round match-ups in the Eastern Conference. You can find the keys to the Western Conference here.

NEW YORK RANGERS (1) vs. OTTAWA SENATORS (8)

Rangers - Who they are and how they win:  This team is all about character and sacrifice, starting with captain Ryan Callahan. The Rangers play with unmatched passion, and their shot-blocking and energy are exceptional. They don’t lose a lot of races for the puck and they take hits to make plays. They roll four lines and have better team speed than some think, especially up front, which gives them a dangerous quick-strike offense. Some  people believe New York is a one-line team, but it had decent secondary scoring this season and, because coach John Tortorella has juggled lines all year, he can probably correct any imbalance. Solid defensively, the Rangers keep opponents to the outside and have world-class goaltending with Henrik Lundqvist.

What could go wrong: . The Rangers’ shot-blocking and physical sacrifice could lead to injuries and a depleted lineup. Lundqvist was not at his best in the late going and that would be problematic if it continues in the postseason. They also don’t have a great power play and taking advantage of those opportunities in the postseason is crucial. The Rangers could get frustrated if their power play falters. The worst thing they could do is be overconfident or take Ottawa too lightly. The Senators are just as fast a team and they have played well against New York all season.

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Under the current playoff seeding format, it's possible that the Blackhawks and Red Wings would meet in Detroit on the final day of the regular season in a game that each team wants to lose. (Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Sharks jumped into first place in the Pacific Division on Monday night — and good for them, because, as we pointed out last week, they are making the most of their stretch run during which they play almost all of their games  head-to-head against the teams they are fighting for a playoff spot. Of course, finishing first in the division will make San Jose’s points total moot, because that guarantees the Sharks a playoff spot.

Another thing that first place will give the Sharks – as it does all division-winners — is home ice advantage in the first round. And that provision in the NHL playoff format can handicap other teams that have a better record but a lower playoff seed.

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By dropping their gloves at the opening face-off, the Devils and Rangers had an ugly start to an otherwise clean game. (Jim McIsaac/ZUMAPRESS.com)

At what point does the NHL and NHLPA decide that moronic spectacles like the “appointment fights” at the opening face-off of the Devils-Rangers game on Monday night are really not good for the game and actually do something about them?

The three simultaneous bouts that commenced at the drop of the puck serve absolutely no purpose other than to brand a major league sport as something less than it is. Yes, it’s Slap Shot. And keep in mind that Slap Shot was about mid-level minor league hockey, the fictitious Federal League based on the old, real-life Eastern League where the quality of play and the players weren’t good enough to sustain interest unless there were some cheap thrills thrown in.

Well, cheap thrills are not what the NHL is supposed to be about. But that’s what was served up in the world’s most famous arena on Monday night.

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