Danny Briere laughed off questions about officiating and whether Pittsburgh Penguins stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin get more calls than they deserve. He didn't want to get too involved in criticism, especially now that the Philadelphia Flyers are down 2-0 to their cross-state rivals in the Eastern Conference finals.

Paul Maurice was fired as coach of the Maple Leafs on Wednesday after Toronto failed to make the playoffs during his two years. The dismissal was the first big move in what is expected to be an active offseason for the team. "This is a start of a new era for the Maple Leafs," interim general manager Cliff Fletcher said at a news conference at Air Canada Centre.

Several of the current San Jose Sharks still remember the nagging ache of uncertainty that a team gets when it has three victories in a playoff series, but just can't nail down the fourth. The Sharks had it four years ago against Colorado, and they're hoping to give it to the Dallas Stars on Friday night in Game 5 of a second-round series that's still one San Jose mistake away from ending.