It was only a matter of time before the intensity of the Philadelphia-Pittsburgh series boiled over into suspension-territory. The waning moments of Game One last night got ugly as 26 minutes of penalties were handed out, including a fight between Bill Guerin and Braydon Coburn with seven seconds to go in the game.

News broke this morning that Daniel Carcillo was summoned to a hearing for his actions at the end of last night's opening game. Despite not being assessed a penalty, Carcillo was suspended this evening for Game Two and Flyers head coach John Stevens was fined $10,000 as part of the NHL's venture to stop "message sending" in games in which it's pretty much decided who will be victorious.

Carcillo was determined to have butt-ended Penguins forward Max Talbot in the face towards the end of the game. The League reviewed the incident and determined that punishment was necessary.

The NHL's Senior Executive V.P. of Hockey Operations, Colin Campbell, held a conference call with

Our previews of the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs' opening round, featuring pretty pictures and a special guest video by the great Steve Dangle at the end.

It's been eight long years since the Chicago Blackhawks have been playing hockey deep into April. Rocky Wirtz and John McDonough have changed the entire culture surrounding the franchise. Gone are the days of Rocky's father "Dollar Bill" Wirtz. Now, the Blackhawks aren't afraid to spend, or overspend (see: Campbell, Brian), on free agents or be seen on television.

Currently in a franchise renaissance, Chicago isn't just happy to be in the playoffs after a long absence. The Hawks have been consistently towards the top half of the Western Conference all year long; whatever head coach Joel Quenneville instilled in his players, after he took over after the team's fourth game of the season, has worked.

For the Calgary Flames, they came within one game of taking home the Stanley Cup back in 2004 and haven't been past the first round since.

Our previews of the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs' opening round, featuring pretty pictures and a special guest video by the great Steve Dangle at the end.

Is the world ready for another Battle of Pennsylvania?

Last season's had the makings of a classic encounter between these two hated rivals, but in the end turned into a one-sided affair that gave the Pittsburgh Penguins a trip to their third Stanley Cup Finals and a year of bragging rights.

Instead of meeting for a chance at the Stanley Cup on the line, it's a 4/5 matchup between a team that's stayed in the pack of the Eastern Conference standings for most of the season, and one who went through upheaval and got things back on track on their way to the playoffs.

The 'Keystone Clash' will be its usual intense, physical self; and you can be sure that the Sidney Crosby hating will be turned up a notch when things get to Philadelphia for Game 3.

Will the fact that this series could be survival of the fittest hinder either team's progress

(Ed Note: Exotic Wagers looks at the unusual ways through which the outcome of the Stanley Cup playoffs can be predicted. Join us in the next two days for more peculiar experiments regarding fate, probability and utter coincidence.)

It's been 37 years since Boston Bruins fans have had a chance to celebrate a Stanley Cup championship; but if you're one to believe in both the Easter Bunny and video game simulations, then start lining Cambridge Street in anticipation of the coming parade.

In their annual virtual experiment, the gaming gods at EA Sports have simulated the 2009 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs and came to an 'Original Six' match-up with the Bruins defeating the Chicago Blackhawks in six games. Phil Kessel took home Conn Smythe honors and Marc Savard providing the theatrics with two overtime goals in the finals.

If you recall last year's playoff simulation, EA Sports told us that the San Jose Sharks were going to dispatch the Montreal Canadiens in a classic seven-game series to

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Tonight's NCAA championship game at Verizon Center will be a battle between a frequent guest and a brand new visitor. The Terriers of Boston University will be making their 10th title game, while the RedHawks of Miami University appearance will mark the first time, in any sport, that the school will have a chance to win a national championship.

Boston University has the history. They have the coach with over 800 wins. They have the current players who are top prospects and the numerous alumni who went on to the National Hockey League. They're an annual contender for the NCAA title and a team that college hockey fans love to hate.

Miami University has never been in a bigger hockey game than the one it will play tonight.

Nerves might overtake Miami Head Coach Enrico Blasi's players at the start; but according to Blasi, the pressure of being contenders could affect BU more than his club, who weren't expected to get this far:

"Sometimes when you're out in front and

Mired in a rebuilding process that wasn't officially admitted to by the front office at first and struggling to secure approvals to rebuild their existing home, the New York Islanders are now a ping-pong ball away from turning around their fortunes in a hurry.

Should NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly announce on Tuesday night that the Islanders have won the Draft Lottery, it will be the first in a string of dominos that will fall in favor of the much-mocked team.

Just four years ago, the Pittsburgh Penguins were dealing with a poor on-ice product in the wake of the Jaromir Jagr trade as well as the possibility of uprooting their franchise. Enter the 2005 NHL Draft Lottery. When Gary Bettman announced that the Penguins had won the Sidney Crosby sweepstakes, you could hear a shovel hitting the ground at the Pens new arena (along with a serious show of relief by Penguins CEO Ken Sawyer) as well as the cash registers ringing with the sounds of season tickets being purchased until sold

We've seen Dallas Stars forward Mike Ribeiro pull some magic out of his trick bag during shootouts. Exhibit A is here. Exhibit B is here. And a not so successful Exhibit C here.

During last night's shootout against the Colorado Avalanche was definitely his most creative and jaw-dropping.

Extra footage on YouTube is here. Granted, Ribeiro got help from some sweet backspin, but full marks for creativity for the shootout-deciding tally.

Poor Peter Budaj. It was like Tiger Woods laying up a shot from the fairway onto the green with the backspin that was involved. Did Ribeiro go too far in a meaningless Game No. 81 for his team? From the Colorado goalie in the Dallas News:

"I don't want to say what he does . . . but he jokes around and stuff like that," said Budaj. "It's a lucky bounce. If he does it 20 times, he's not going to score many times because he made a bad shot, but it just trickled in."

The loss ensured the Avalanche would finish outside the bottom two in the National Hockey

In tonight's second semifinal in the 2009 NCAA Frozen Four, the University of Vermont Catamounts take on the top seeded Boston University Terriers.

Dean Strong is Vermont's captain and one of the team's four outgoing seniors. A finalist for the Hockey East's version of the Selke Trophy in 2007-08, Strong isn't a guy that's going to put up impressive numbers, but one that will do the dirty work of blocking shots and winning face-offs. He's also quite durable, having played in over 150 consecutive games for Vermont.

In our chat with Strong, he talks about the crazy game-ending goal in the East Regional Final, what how big of an inspiration fellow smaller-in-stature player Martin St. Louis has been, and the success the Catamounts have when he scores a point.

Q. First off, what's it like to be captaining your team into the Frozen Four?

STRONG: I guess it's pretty cool. To say I'm quote-unquote leading these guys to a championship. That being said, I don't give myself that much credit.