Tom Cruise watched top gun and legend Anze Kopitar, far and away their best forward, make it rain, man, and help push the Sharks into oblivion as the Kings won this war of the worlds with their eyes wide shut. [NHL Video]

No. 1 Star: Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings goalie made 28 saves for his second career shutout, as Detroit won Game 4 over the Chicago Blackhawks, 2-0. He was especially good in the third period as the Blackhawks turned on the offense. Detroit leads the series, 3-1.

No. 2 Star: Derek Stepan, New York Rangers

The Rangers needed someone to make a play. Stepan did, twice. He stripped Zdeno Chara of the puck and scored to tie the Boston Bruins in the third period, 2-2. After Tyler Seguin’s goal gave Boston the lead again, Stepan set up Brian Boyle for another tying goal on the power play, where the Rangers were the worst team left in the postseason. New York won Game 4, 4-3 in overtime, on a Chris Kreider goal. Here’s the Stepan strip-and-score, helping the Rangers stay alive in the postseason.

Getty ImagesNEW YORK, N.Y. -- Henrik Lundqvist called it "the ugliest goal I've ever seen," but to the New York Rangers it was so, so beautiful. Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask's slip in the second period allowed Carl Hagelin to score the easiest goal of his career and turned Game 4 around.

“It gave us some life," said Rangers head coach John Tortorella. "It’s funny how it works, huh?”

From that moment on, the Rangers played inspired hockey and woke up a Madison Square Garden crowd who grew restless after the Bruins took a 2-0 lead 7:41 into the second period. The energized arena reached its peak 7:03 into overtime when Chris Kreider redirected a Rick Nash pass to give the Rangers a 4-3 win, staving off elimination yet again:

The Rangers fought off elimination for a third time this postseason and will attempt to do so again on Saturday in Boston facing a 3-1 deficit.

GettyThe Chicago Blackhawks’ history-making season is slipping into the same abyss that swallowed up other Presidents Trophy winners who couldn’t fulfill the promise of their regular-season success.

The Detroit Red Wings won Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals, 2-0, to take a 3-1 lead and push the Hawks to an elimination game back in Chicago on Saturday.

The unraveling of the Blackhawks continued in Game 4.

Boston Bruins netminder Tuukka Rask was humming along in the second period toward what was looking like his first shutout of the playoffs during Game 4 against the New York Rangers. But just 58 seconds after Torey Krug gave the Bruins a 2-0 lead, Rask tripped over himself after a Carl Hagelin shot was blocked by Johnny Boychuk's stick. The rest is for the blooper reel:

Breaking sports news video. MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL highlights and more.

That must have been some lonely feeling for Rask as he watched that puck glide by him in the crease and into the net.

Afteward, Rask explained: "I just took a step to the side in what I think probably was a skate mark or something. My skate dug in, that's what it felt like. I lost my balance and the rest is history.

"It happens to me twice a year in practice, maybe. [I've] got to me more focused, I think. Just a tough mistake, it looks pretty bad on TV, I guess."

The final 11:21 of the second period went uneventful for Rask, despite the goal inspiring the Rangers' play a bit. With Rask being known as a guy with a bit of a temper, it was nice to see nothing was harmed in the aftermath of that blunder. Though, with the Rangers coming out on top 4-3 in overtime thanks to a Chris Kreider goal, we don't know what kind of damage was done in the locker room.

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

(Ed. Note: We're proud to welcome back two of our favorite bloggers, Chuck and Pants from What's Up, Ya Sieve?, to the Puck Daddy fold as they author our weekly NHL Playoff Beard Watch every Thursday.)

By Chuck and Pants from What's Up, Ya Sieve?

Never in considering playoff beards or writing this informative and newsworthy weekly feature did we expect to find that so many people share our affinity for ginger beards. You’re all into hockey, that’s enough to make us friends. This common captivation with facial hair takes our relationship to the next level.

Since we’ve made ginger beards a thing, it’s time to give them their due. Last week, we mentioned Daniel Alfredsson and Brian Bickell’s impressive contributions. Here are the rest of The Best 2013 Ginger Beards, from rusty to rosy and everything in between.

Dougie Hamilton, Boston Bruins - GBR (Ginger Beard Rookie)

Getty ImagesSure, Dougie is a rookie, and he looks a bit like Beaker from “The Muppet Show,” but his ginger beard is not to be

Turns out Stephane Roy knew what he was talking about after all. Two days after telling the Denver Post that his brother, Patrick Roy would be the next head coach of the Colorado Avalanche -- and then back-pedaling when someone told him brothers are supposed to give noogies and share Oreos, not break major personnel decisions -- the Avalanche have officially announced the move.

Patrick Roy is the next head coach of the Colorado Avalanche.

But that's not all! He's also been named a vice president of hockey operations, just like Joe Sakic! They'll be leading the hockey team together! (Also Greg Sherman will be there, hanging around, occasionally saying things, apparently.)

From the Avalanche press release, which is 625 words long, and none of those words are "Greg" or "Sherman", which seems unusual:

“This is a very exciting day for our fans and a significant moment in our organization’s history,” said Avalanche President Josh Kroenke. “Patrick’s passion for the game of hockey both as a player and as a coach defines who he is as a person. He is a winner and is coming back to Denver where he created numerous special moments on and off the ice while helping lead us to two Stanley Cup championships.”

“All along Patrick was our top candidate and we are thrilled that he has decided to accept this offer,” said Sakic. “Patrick has a great hockey mind, is a tremendous coach and there is no one more passionate about this game. He will bring that winning attitude to our dressing room to help this young team grow.”

“This is an unbelievable day for me,” said Roy. “It’s a new and exciting challenge that I am really looking forward to. I would like to thank Stan and Josh Kroenke for this opportunity as well as Joe Sakic for the trust they are putting in me. Almost 10 years to the day that I announced my retirement as a player I am back in Denver and hope the fans are as excited as I am.”

The jury's still out on whether Sakic and Roy can do what they did for the Avalanche a decade ago from the front office. There's a nostalgia element that's very cool, but may not necessarily turn the franchise around. That said, it would be tough for the Avalanche to take a step backwards, and Roy's junior resume speaks for itself. This isn't a hire based on what he did during his days as a player. It's based on what he's done since.

Plus, if it's a personality transplant the Avalanche needed, and they did, boy oh boy, did they just get one.

Back in Round 1, Kevin Bieksa of the Vancouver Canucks took a moment to suggest that the San Jose Sharks occasionally dabbled in embellishment. It was a fairly transparent bit of gamesmanship, and even moreso after he gave a second performance of the monologue, this time with props.

It didn't work, either. Thereafter, the Canucks won zero games.

But that didn't discourage San Jose Sharks' winger T.J. Galiardi from trying out the tactic himself. On Thursday, Galiardi had a few words to say about LA Kings' goaltender Jonathan Quick.

He's Quick on the ice and quick to the ice, if you catch my meaning. From the Mercury News:

Galiardi is speaking, as you'd expect, from experience. He was sent to the box for goaltender interference in the second period of Game 4, and he was almost sent again for the same infraction before he could even get back to the bench. After the Sharks killed off his penalty, he chased Slava Voynov into the LA end on the San Jose's final zone clear, and as he skated by the goal, he clipped Quick's skate.

The goaltender dropped.

But, just like on the ice, the Kings stand up for their goaltender. It was Drew Doughty who rushed to Quick's defense this time around, and he took about the same approach to dismissing Galiardi's observations that the Sharks took in dismissing Kevin Bieksa's: no, you are.

Hockey Hugs is a feature that celebrates the best in hugging from around the sport of hockey, because who doesn't love a good hug now and then? Have you seen a particularly good hug photo lately? Send it to puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or Tweet it to @HarrisonMooney.

Welcome once again to hockey hugs, the Puck Daddy feature that's all about the love.

We're into the second round of the playoffs, and it's a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the hugs just keep getting more and more meaningful the further into the postseason you go. On the other hand, the variety is beginning to dwindle.

Fortunately, many of the teams remaining have characters you can't help but chuckle at. The San Jose Sharks, for instance, have the Wookiee Brent Burns. What's he howling? Why, he's swearing a life-debt to Marc-Edouard Vlasic, just like Chewbacca!

Meanwhile, the Boston Bruins are led by, basically, the Iron Giant in a spoked B, so they're going to produce a lot of great big-guy-little-guy shots. Case in point, this photo, where Brad Marchand looks less like a teammate and more like a troll that rides around on his back.

Coming up: more hugs, unsurprisingly. We've been doing this awhile now. You know how it works.