This is what it came down to: Raffi Torres was a repeat offender. He was just 44 games removed from one of the longest suspensions in NHL history. He delivered another illegal check to the head that caused another brain injury – the exact type of check and the exact type of injury the league has made a major effort to reduce for the last three years.

San Jose's Raffi Torres is out for rest of the series against Los Angeles for his hit on Jarret Stoll. (Reuters)The incident happened Tuesday night in Game 1 of a second-round playoff series between the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings. The NHL did not know whether Stoll would miss the rest of the series. Concussions are difficult to predict. But the league looked at medical reports, and it did know that Stoll would not only miss Thursday night’s Game 2, but would stay away from Staples Center to avoid bright lights and loud noises.

Officials from the department of player safety debated suspending Torres in the four- to six-game range. But ultimately NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan decided Torres had lost the privilege of playing the rest of

Read More »from NHL repeat offender Raffi Torres risks last chance with series-long suspension

In the end, there weren’t that many surprises in the first round of the NHL playoffs. Two underdogs gave us this-can’t-be-happening moments, but the New York Islanders and Toronto Maple Leafs couldn’t pull off upsets. Two second and two third seeds lost, but in our initial NHL playoff power rankings, listing teams in order of their chances to win the Stanley Cup, none was in the top six.

The Hawks' skill level and top-to-bottom depth makes them the No. 1 team heading into Round 2. (Reuters)It has been a weird year, with a 48-game regular season skewing the standings, and it was a fun first round, with a record 17 overtime games. But now that we’re in the second round, it’s big-boy hockey. The last five teams to win the Cup are still alive. So are the New York Rangers, who went to the Eastern Conference final last season, and the San Jose Sharks, who went to the Western Conference final in 2010 and ’11.

The only team left without a recent playoff pedigree is the Ottawa Senators, who just won a round for the first time since 2007, when they made the Cup final. But the way the Sens have

Read More »from Round 2 NHL Playoff Power Rankings: Blackhawks, Kings emerge as favorites

BOSTON — It was over. Not just the game or the series, but maybe the run of these Boston Bruins. They had blown a 3-1 series lead and now faced a 4-1 deficit almost halfway through the third period Monday night, and they were going to lose a Game 7 in the first round for the second straight year after winning the Stanley Cup. People were starting to wonder whether coach Claude Julien would be fired and what other changes would be made, from cyberspace to the Bruins’ bench.

The Bruins' Patrice Bergeron gets a bear hug by Zdeno Chara after scoring in Game 7 overtime against Leafs. (AP)“You start thinking to yourself, ‘Is this the end of this group here?’ ” said winger Milan Lucic. “Because it probably would have been if we didn’t win this game.”

But the Bruins did win this game. Somehow they came back and tied the Toronto Maple Leafs, scoring twice with their goalie pulled in the final minute-and-a-half of regulation. Somehow they eked out a 5-4 victory when Patrice Bergeron scored on a rebound 6:05 into overtime, converting boos into cheers at TD Garden, cruelly dashing the raised hopes of Leafs

Read More »from Back from the brink: Bruins finish off furious Game 7 rally with OT win, crushing Leafs' playoff hopes

NEW YORK — “Enjoy the game.” That’s what Henrik Lundqvist had told himself. Embrace the situation, live in the moment, all that good psychological stuff.

Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist has been too busy to bask in the playoff experience. (AP)Then the puck dropped Sunday. Everything Zen? I don’t think so. This was not a prayer garden. This was Madison Square Garden, and these were the New York Rangers, and they were facing elimination from the first round of the playoffs.

When bodies are blocking your vision, pucks are whizzing at you and teammates leave you no margin for error, enjoying the game is easier said than done – at least until you make 27 saves, complete a 1-0 shutout of the Washington Capitals, force a Game 7 on Monday night in D.C., punch the air in celebration and finally calm down again.

“After I said that, I started to think about it,” said Lundqvist after stripping off his gear, a satisfied smile on his face. “You say it. You want to enjoy it. But it’s …”

Pause.

“Uh …”

Pause.

“It’s intense, and there’s a lot of pressure. There’s moments. There’s moments

Read More »from From shutout to Game 7: No margin of error for Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist

DETROIT — Steve Yzerman became the captain of the Detroit Red Wings in 1986-87. He helped restore the Original Six franchise to glory, winning three Stanley Cups and earning a reputation as one of the game’s great leaders.

The Wings' talent level isn't what it used to be, but they still have Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg. (AP)Nicklas Lidstrom succeeded Yzerman in 2006-07. He became the first European-born captain to win the Cup and cemented himself as the best defenseman – and one of the best players, period – of his generation.

Henrik Zetterberg succeeded Lidstrom this season. Along with Pavel Datsyuk, he dragged the Wings into the playoffs as a seventh seed, and now he has dragged them into a seventh game in the first round against the Anaheim Ducks.

If you think that doesn’t compare, you’re right.

Zetterberg and Datsyuk don’t have the supporting cast Yzerman and Lidstrom had for so many years. They don’t have Chris Chelios and Kris Draper and Sergei Fedorov and Slava Fetisov and Tomas Holmstrom and Brett Hull and Igor Larionov and Darren McCarty and Kirk Maltby and Brian Rafalski and

Read More »from Pavel Datsyuk & Henrik Zetterberg: Red Wings' best players leading by example

During the dark days of the NHL lockout, Milan Lucic passed the time by going back in time. NESN filled holes in its programming schedule by replaying the Boston Bruins’ march to the 2011 Stanley Cup. Lucic had lived it, but when he relived it, he saw it from a new perspective.

David Krejci led the Bruins in scoring when they won the Stanley Cup in 2011. (AP)“You kind of forget some of the things that went on,” Lucic said.

Some things are hard to forget: Tim Thomas’ goaltending, Nathan Horton’s Game 7 goals, Zdeno Chara’s looming presence, Patrice Bergeron’s two-way play, Brad Marchand’s beak. But because the Bruins were such a deep, balanced team, some things are a little lost, like Dennis Seidenberg’s defense and David Krejci’s offense.

Especially David Krejci’s offense.

Thomas deserved the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs’ most valuable player for keeping the puck out of the net, but someone had to put the puck in the net, and Krejci led the league in goals (12) and points (23). Still, when Bruins coach Claude Julien said Wednesday that “he was obviously

Read More »from Overlooked and underappreciated: Meet David Krejci, the best-kept secret on the Bruins

TORONTO — Ryan O’Byrne thought he had time. His defense partner, Jake Gardiner, had reversed the puck to him off the end boards in the left-wing corner. He waited for a second. Then anoth …

It's good to be Jaromir Jagr, a 41-year-old superstar looking to win another Stanley Cup. (USA Today)Before he knew what happened, Jaromir Jagr crept up behind him, poked the puck away, took two steps behind the net and made a quick pass out the other side. Rich Peverley slapped it home before goaltender James Reimer could react. Steal. Pass. Score. The Boston Bruins led, 2-0, on their way to a 5-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night.

“He’s a Hall of Famer,” O’Byrne said. “He’s a guy that you need to be aware of on the ice.”

Lesson learned.

“That’s what experience does,” O’Byrne said.

This is what the Bruins hoped Jagr would do when they acquired him at the trade deadline. He’s 41. He’s slow. But he’s still strong and skilled and smart, and with more than 180 NHL playoff games on his resume, he’s savvy.

Asked about what he had done to O’Byrne, who has 10 percent of his NHL

Read More »from Playoff warhorse Jaromir Jagr embraces supporting role with Bruins – and another Stanley Cup chance

TORONTO — The party was already breaking up by the time David Krejci slid the puck into an empty net Monday night. The cups were dry and discarded. The confetti was littering the street. The crowd outside Air Canada Centre, a loud, solid wall of humanity at the start, was now quiet and in clumps at the finish as folks absorbed the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 5-2 loss to the Boston Bruins.

Leafs fans gathered outside AIr Canada Centre during Game 3, but left disappointed. (USA Today)This was half celebration, half realization. The Leafs had ended the longest playoff drought in the NHL, and they were playing their first playoff game at the ACC in nine years and two days – an eternity in the so-called Centre of the Hockey Universe. But as fans and as players, it’s hard to act like you’ve been there before when, well, you haven’t been there before. This was an experience for everybody.

As Toronto buzzed, the Leafs fired 47 shots on goal and hit a couple of posts. But they coughed up pucks and watched them end up in their net. They lost faceoffs because they didn’t cheat as well as the

Read More »from Bruins crash party at Maple Leafs' first home playoff game since 2004