Getty ImagesWhen the Buffalo Sabres put their faith in general manager Darcy Regier to rebuild the organization, his first order of business was making a decision on the team’s first new head coach since Lindy Ruff was hired in 1997.

It would be a decision that spoke volumes about the direction of the organization, and Regier’s own desire to make dramatic changes to it.

On Tuesday, the Sabres formally hired interim coach Ron Rolston to replace Ruff, after going 15-11-5 in a prolonged audition; and it’s a move that tells us a lot about where the Sabres are going.

First off: You can argue he earned the job. As Regier said in his contentious postseason press conference:

“Ron’s situation will be that he and I will sit down over the next week, maybe couple of weeks, re-evaluate the season and have discussions about our relationship going forward," Regier added, "I would add that I think he did a very good job under trying circumstances, but again, we’ll address that down the road."

Rolston coached this Sabres team back to the playoff bubble at a time when it was trading away assets – Jason Pominville, Jordan Leopold, Robyn Regehr – and in the swirl of emotion that followed Ruff’s dismissal.

But here’s why he was hired: Because the Sabres are rebuilding, and because he’s someone that’ll never try to override Regier.

Getty ImagesNo. 1 Star: Derick Brassard, New York Rangers

The Rangers desperately needed offense, having scored one goal in two games against the Washington Capitals. Brassard responded: He scored a power-play goal and assisted on two even-strength goals as the Rangers topped the Caps, 4-3. The only goal he didn’t have a point on was Derek Stepan’s game-winner in the third. The Rangers are now down 2-1 to the Caps.

No. 2 Star: Damien Brunner, Detroit Red Wings

Brunner scored the game-winner at 15:10 of overtime, giving the Red Wings a huge 3-2 victory and a 2-2 series tie with the Anaheim Ducks.

If the Detroit Red Wings were going to defeat the Anaheim Ducks in the Western Conference quarterfinals, they needed some playoff heroes beyond the usual names like Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Franzen. It appears they’ve found two: Forwards Gustav Nyquist and Damien Brunner.

Here’s that duo combining on the overtime game-winner in Detroit’s 3-2 Game 4 win, knotting the series at 2-2.

Tough sequence for Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller. His poke check on Nyquist was a thing of beauty. Unfortunately, the puck deflected off of defenseman Bryan Allen; and Hiller made yet another save on that deflection but couldn’t control the puck, leading Brunner open for what amounted to an empty net goal.

The Red Wings were after Hiller all night, pumping 49 shots on goal.

“We definitely did a better job tonight getting more pucks to Hiller, making it more difficult for him. We deserved that win,” said Brunner on NBC.

Add another name to the list of the Kronwall’d: Anaheim Ducks forward Kyle Palmieri met Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall in the Game 4 of the Western Conference quarterfinal.

Boy, did he:

The Red Wings fans at the Joe chanted “You Got Kronwall’d!” after that hit. Which is awesome.

Kronwall would later have an epic collision with Bobby Ryan of the Ducks, too.

s/t World of Isaac and CorkBoards

The Boston Bruins helped their city’s healing process after bombings at the Boston Marathon killed three people and injured well over 250 more. Their first game after the tragedy featured a stirring rendition of the National Anthem, “WE ARE BOSTON!” chants and a video montage themed to the slogan “Boston Strong.”

Well, one Toronto Maple Leafs fan felt all of this was fair game for Stanley Cup Playoffs smack talk, showing up to Game 3 of their series with Boston with this sign:

Version FortyWell, the ribbon’s a bit much.

To the surprise of no one, the backlash on social media was immediate and vicious towards this fan. Even Toronto radio host Jeff Blair felt the sign was idiotic.

Back by popular demand, here are your Puck Previews: Spotlighting the key games in NHL action, news and views as well as general frivolity. Make sure to stop back here for the nightly Three Stars when the games are finished.

Via ESPN and d’oh. [@TomUrtzJr]

The Battaglia Bros., winners of the Amazing Race, and Louis Jean on today's MvsW [Marek Vs. Wyshynski]

Preview: Boston Bruins at Toronto Maple Leafs, 7 p.m. ET (Tied 1-1). The first home playoff game in Toronto since May 4, 2004. Mayor Rob Ford has declared this day “Blue and White Day”. Andrew Ference returns from his suspension, which means Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg are back together as a shutdown pair.

Preview: Washington Capitals at New York Rangers, 7:30 p.m. ET (Caps lead 2-0). The Rangers were looking for the return of Ryane Clowe or Marc Staal or both for a critical Game 3. The Capitals are going with the same lineup that won them Games 1 and 2.

Sometimes, the best way to gauge hockey hysteria is through its effect on everyday events. Like when the water consumption in Edmonton spiked at the end of each period and after the overtime gold medal-winning goal in the 2010 Winter Olympic men’s hockey final, because everyone in the Canadian city was flushing his or her toilet at the same time.

The latest example comes from the world of pizza:

RedditThis receipt popped up on Reddit over the weekend, as a customer informed the local pizza joint that they couldn’t venture out to pick up their large original hand-tossed chicken pizza because the Canucks had just tied the San Jose Sharks in a playoff game.

Hence, they couldn’t leave the house. Because of hockey.

[Watch: Senators, Canadiens brawl in Game 3]

The smart money is on this being a receipt from Game 2 of their Western Conference quarterfinal series, which Ryan Kesler tied 59 seconds into the third period and then gave Vancouver the lead roughly six minutes later.

Alas, San Jose would

Throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs, we’ll be spotlighting unsung heroes around the postseason on a weekly basis.

Minnesota Wild forward Jason Zucker, 21, entered his name into franchise lore with an overtime, game-winning goal in Game 3 against the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday.

“Just trying to get the puck on net and it just happened to go in for me,” Zucker told the Star Tribune, of his goal 2:15 into overtime to cut the Wild’s series deficit to 2-1.

It was a sharp-angle shot that found its way past goalie Corey Crawford. It surprised the Blackhawks goalie, and surprised the rest of the hockey world, too: Zucker’s wasn’t a name many expected would be attached to a goal of that magnitude.

[Also: Leafs fan risks international scorn with 'Toronto Stronger' sign]

But Minnesota Wild fans know what he’s meant to the team this season.

Zucker, a rookie, has 26 NHL games to his credit, with four goals and three assists for his career. He played 20 of those games this season, playing a vital role as an energy player with four goals in 14 games before Corey Perry’s head-shot on March 12 forced him to miss two games. That affected his place in the lineup; according to Minnesota Hockey Magazine, Pierre-Marc Bouchard took Zucker’s place in the lineup and soon the young player was seeing fourth-line minutes.