The AHL's Toronto Marlies kicked off their postseason with a win Saturday, taking Game 1 against the Rochester Americans by a score of 6-3. They did so in large part thanks to goaltender Drew MacIntyre, far and away the busiest goaltender of the evening. He made 31 stops in the victory.

One stop in particular was downright astonishing. With the game tied 3-3 late in the second, MacIntyre absolutely robbed Zemgus Girgensons on the backdoor, snagging a surefire goal by reaching behind his back for one of the best glove saves you're ever going to see:

Save of the year? If not, I'd say it's been a very good year.

That was pretty much it for Rochester trying to score. After outshooting the Marlies 29-9 in the first two periods, they would only attempt five shots in the third, perhaps because they realized it was going to take a miracle to get another puck past MacIntyre after this one didn't go.

Meanwhile, the Marlies came alive in the final frame, scoring thrice to cement the win.

Ryan Miller was the focus in Buffalo Friday night, and he made the most of the spotlight in his 500th start as a member of the Sabres, stopping 30 saves en route to a 2-1 shootout victory in what felt a lot like a swansong.

But he wasn't the only veteran member of the Sabres' core that might have been playing his final game behind the swords. Thomas Vanek's future in Buffalo is up in the air, too. He would certainly fetch a pretty penny in a trade to expedite the Sabres' apparent rebuild.

Vanek knows it's a possibility. On Saturday, with the Sabres back at First Niagara Center cleaning out their lockers, and having their exit meetings and physicals, Vanek addressed the possibility that it might be time to go. From the Buffalo News:

"Let's be honest," Vanek said. "I'm not stupid. I know I have a year left and they can probably deal me for prospects, young guys, whatever else is out there. Yeah, I've thought about it. If it looks like it's a long rebuild, then it probably makes sense for both parties to move on."

Vanek wants a quick, trade-based rebuild as opposed to a build through the draft. But the latter scenario appears more likely.

"I don't know what the plan is," Vanek said. "If they're turning it over to the younger guys, it's a turnover. Or are they going to build around us again? It's all speculation at this point because you guys don't know and I don't know what's going to happen."

It's not exactly a formal trade request, but I think Vanek's desires, much like the Sabres' rebuild plans, are quite clear. Vanek is 29. If the idea is to keep him and build around him by acquiring young players and letting them mature, there's a good chance that he'll squander the prime of his career waiting for the rest of his team to catch up. What star wants that?

It certainly looks like that's what's happening. With Jason Pominville, Vanek's running mate, moved to Minnesota for young players and picks -- and with Sabres' owner Terry Pegula having recently scaled back expectations in the market -- it doesn't look like the Sabres are planning to take the express route back to contention.

So one can understand why Vanek might be hinting at a preference to move on.

As Vanek said, nobody knows what's going to happen in Buffalo, but based on what we do know, I think we can safely guess what Vanek would like to happen as well.

"Don't touch me, man."

No. 1 Star: Jordan Eberle, Edmonton Oilers

Eberle was the first star with 1 goal and 2 assists in an unexpected rout for the Oilers over the Minnesota Wild. With the Wild needing just one win to clinch the playoffs, they instead dropped this one by a stunning score of 6-1. Taylor Hall added a three-point night, and Corey Potter, of all people, scored twice.

No. 2 Star: Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres

In his 500th start for the Sabres -- and potentially his last -- Miller was fantastic, making 30 saves on 31 shots and backstopping his club to a 2-1 shootout win over the New York Islanders. Thomas Vanek scored the lone shootout goal.

"I'm gonna get this Poonerman character if it's the last thing I do."

Brian Burke was pretty direct about what it was that got him fired as the General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs back in January. "We didn't win enough games," he told the media at the press conference following his dismissal, and that about summed it up.

But if you were to listen to Internet commenters like "POONERMAN" or "CAMBARKERFAN" -- two individuals whose usernames should tell you all you need to know about their airtight credibility and intelligence -- there was more to this story than simply a failure to get the Leafs to the playoffs.

These guys claimed that Burke was actually fired because he had an affair with a Sportsnet reporter. Salacious.

Burke denies this, however, and he won't tolerate the rumour's continued dissemination. On Friday, the former GM launched a lawsuit against the commenters behind this rumour in B.C. Supreme Court. From Metro News:

“The Defamatory Statements were made with the knowledge that they were false or with a reckless disregard for their truth,” the notice of civil claim reads.

“The Defamatory Statements have been published, republished, downloaded, viewed and commented on by persons in British Columbia and Ontario and throughout Canada and the United States by various means, including through email, internet bulletin board postings, Facebook pages and Twitter messages, and have harmed the Plaintiff’s reputation in, amongst other jurisdictions, British Columbia, Ontario, and other parts of Canada and the United States.”

“In publishing the Defamatory Statements, the Defendants were motivated by actual and express malice, and had the intention of damaging the Plaintiff’s reputation.”

I think it's safe to say that Burke's never heard of the Streisand Effect. Good luck with this one.

Burke is suing for damages, as well as an injunction that would prevent the 18 defendants from posting any more defamatory statements.

So who are the defendants? Why, I'm glad you asked, because they're only listed by username, and those usernames are incredible:

The usernames listed in the claim are: “NOFIXEDADDRESS”, “CAMBARKERFAN”, “LAVY16”, “MBSKIDMORE”, “TULOWD”, “LOOB”, “NAGGAH”, “MOWERMAN”, “AARONP18”, “STEVE”, “KABOOMIN8”,“THEZBRAD”, “SLOBBERFACE”, “POONERMAN”, “ISOLATEDCIRCUIT”, “KANADA KEV”, “NCOGNITO” AND “SIR PSYCHO SEXY”.

I'm skeptical that "Sir Psycho Sexy" is fit to stand trial. If he's really that psychotically sexy, it's going to be tough to find him liable. But you'd best watch yourself, "Steve". You'll be the easiest to track down.

It is my sincere hope that Burke wins this suit and the defendants are ordered to meet him in a barn.

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.

• He may look callow and boyish in this photo, but Cam Atkinson has proven himself in Columbus. The diminutive forward has re-signed for two years at $2.3 million. [Blue Jackets]

Preview: New York Islanders at Buffalo Sabres, 7 p.m. ET

The Islanders are in and the Sabres are not, but there's still plenty to play for. Ryan Miller will be starting his 500th game for the Sabres, and possibly his last. As for the Islanders, a win sees them leapfrog up to 6th place for the time being. A loss and they're be flying to Pittsburgh for Round 1.

Preview: Edmonton Oilers at Minnesota Wild, 8 p.m. ET

The Wild can still move all the way up to sixth place in the Western Conference, but first they just need to clinch. A win versus the Oilers will do that for them, and they couldn't have picked a better time to face Edmonton: the Oilers have dropped 3 straight, 9 of their last 10, and 29 of their last 46.

The Masterton Trophy is an interesting award. With its somewhat open-ended criteria -- it's presented annually to the player "who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey" -- there are a lot of ways to justify a nomination.

Some go with the perseverance angle, nominating a player who's been through a lot. Others take the opportunity to pay tribute to a leader in the room. Others still salute an NHL veteran on a lengthy career. Either way, the result is an interesting assortment of submissions.

This year, the front-runner has to be Josh Harding, whose perseverance after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis has been an inspiration all year long. From his bio:

Harding selflessly divulged his illness because he didn’t want a distraction to affect the team during a potential shortened season. He made clear his career wasn’t over. “It would make me happy to overcome this. Not just overcome this, but to really succeed with it,” Harding said. “I want this to be a story where when we look back, it was a happy story.”

In his first start this season, Harding made 24 saves to shut out Dallas. He did have complications with a new medication that caused him to miss two months, but Harding persevered through and after a two-game conditioning stint including a win to help Houston clinch a playoff spot, Harding was recalled to Minnesota April 22.

It's tough to beat that.

Several players this year have been nominated for their work with the NHLPA during the NHL lockout, which should garner them some consideration. And Pekka Rinne is bound to get a second look, simply because his bio includes this section:

In the summer of 2006, after Rinne’s first year in North America with the Milwaukee Admirals, he was at a bachelor party in Finland when he was a victim of an assault by a pizzeria owner. The assailant fired pepper spray into Rinne’s eyes and tackled him. Rinne had to undergo shoulder surgery, which kept him out four months.

"I was still young and right away you’re thinking ‘this is it,’” Rinne said in a 2011 article about the incident. “It’s a scary feeling.” Rinne battled back from the injury and the mental scarring of the incident to become an NHL regular in 2008-09.

Having never been attacked by a pizzeria owner, I can only imagine the mental scarring. You don't ever expect pizzeria owner to nearly end your hockey career. You expect him to serve you a fresh pizza pie.

Coming up, each team's nominee for the Masterton trophy.

Like many minor-league teams, the CHL's Arizona Sundogs have to get creative in order to fill their arena. The latest innovation, as the Prescott Valley club strives to sell 800 season tickets this offseason: torture.

On Sunday, April 21, at noon, four members of the organization were hoisted 33 feet into the air on a scissor lift at the corner of the Prescott Highway, with no intention of coming down until they had sold 300 season tickets.

"We hope we can get it done quickly and move on to the next big project," Sundogs co-owner Brad Fain, one of the four brave souls, told the Prescott Valley Tribune before the stunt began.

That's, uh, not what happened.

By sunset on the first day, they'd sold 17 season tickets. Five days later, they're still up there, using a pulley system to raise food and lower waste, fighting off the elements, and praying for an end to their arduous ordeal.

Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.

• A desperate Dallas squad pulls out all the stops to score a game-tying goal. [Reddit]

• Jared Staal has been recalled by the Carolina Hurricanes. He'll make his NHL debut Thursday alongside his brothers, Eric and Jordan, versus his other brother Marc's club (although Marc won't play, obviously). It's Staal-a-palooza! [Hurricanes]

• Sidney Crosby is back skating, but there's still no timetable for his return. [TribLive]

• Cory Schneider has injured his undisclosed. Roberto Luongo draws in. This could get interesting. [PITB]

• Dion Phaneuf is maturing, and the playoffs are a huge opportunity for him to make sure people notice. [Sportsnet]

• In honour of Alex Ovechkin's crazy run, Sean McIndoe takes us back through time as we remember the other players that have led the league in scoring. [Down Goes Brown]

• Sergei Bobrovsky has us once again asking if a goalie should win the Hart trophy. [The Hockey News]

• Josh Harding is the Minnesota Wild's nominee for the Masteron award, which is pretty much a no-brainer. Dude's an inspiration. [Hockey Wilderness]

• Mayor Bloomberg wants to transform the Bronx armoury into the one's largest indoor ice sports complex. Please tell me they're calling it "Ice Town". [NY Post]

• Travis Hughes on how Philadelphia showed a little brotherly love to the city of Boston last night. [Broad Street Hockey]

• The Washington Capitals have re-signed Eric Fehr. Two years. $3 million. Cap hit of $1.5 million. [Capitals]