David Poile

For better and worse, players from the former Soviet bloc have been the focus of playoff drama. Are they playing to type, or just playing hockey?

Nashville's Pekka Rinne may be great. But with goalies, nobody knows anything

No history? No stars? No problem for the largely anonymous Predators, whose grinding, defense-first style has given the playoffs a whole new backbeat

A country-lovin' defenseman will feel at home, but there'll still be heartaches by the number

David Poile had always run the Predators on a shoestring budget. In the franchise's first two seasons Nashville's payroll was the NHL's smallest, and last year's $19.6 million tab, though large by club standards, was...