In The Crease

Before their playoff series with St. Louis, the Sharks were told by their coaches that the Blues' Chris Pronger and Keith Tkachuk could be goaded into committing penalties. Through the first two games—both won by San Jose—the two players had combined for 22 minutes in penalties, setting up 10 of the Sharks' 17 power plays. In addition, Tkachuk's offensive zone turnover in Game I led to the overtime goal by San Jose's Niko Dimitrakos....

Is nine-time All-Star Teemu Selanne becoming an afterthought in Colorado? Selanne, 33, who scored only twice in the Avalanche's final 23 regular-season games, saw his ice time dwindle to just over 11 minutes a game in the first two postseason matches against Dallas. Rookie Marek Svatos and second-year center Riku Hahl were the only Colorado forwards with less ice time than Selanne in those games, and Svatos, 21, often took Selanne's spot with Joe Sakic on the power play....

The importance of having veterans take face-offs in the playoffs was evident in the first three games of the Detroit- Nashville series. Between them, Red Wings stalwarts Steve Yzerman and Kris Draper won 62% of their draws, including 23 of 33 in the defensive zone. Before the playoffs Detroit signed defenseman Niklas Lidstrom and forward Tomas Holmstrom to extensions, and it is likely to do the same with Draper, who is also scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent.