Just a few things that caught my eye ...
- Exhaustion is almost guaranteed with a new baby. Braden Holtby became a first-time dad on Thursday. Wonder how that's going to affect his game.
- Score first and win. It seems to work in the Rangers-Capitals series. Can't wait for Saturday night ...
- Speaking of dads -- if the Caps push through, 40-year-old Martin Brodeur will face 22-year-old Braden Holtby. The former could have fathered the latter ... young, of course, but it could have happened. Eeewwww.
- Funny how Anton Stralman can take a regular shift and play 16-18 minutes a night with the studly Rangers, couldn't make the Leafs' roster.
- Jay Beagle goes down, Matt Hendricks steps in. They're both Dale Hunter kind of boys.
- Dale Hunter's London Knights became OHL champs Friday night and have a Mem Cup date. Wonder if the karma will rub off on Hunter's Caps.
- Henrik Lundqvist has been good, but he hasn't had to steal any games ... yet. How long can that go on?
- Hockey fans are a fickle lot. Lundqvist hasn't really won anything yet, but he doesn't have to prove a thing. Roberto Luongo has an Olympic gold and he went to Game 7 of last year's quest for the Cup, but he's a relative pariah. Wait -- I'll rephrase the first line. Canadian hockey fans are a fickle lot.
- Nashville's D gets all the hype, but Phoenix's blueliners were better. And by a significant margin. Oliver Ekman-Larsson is a stud.
- Speaking of D ... Mike Green is really starting to get his legs. His impact Saturday will be felt in a big way.
- Canadian fans -- are you as tired as I am about all the CBC cut-aways to Braden Holtby's parents? Really.
- Is Alexander Ovechkin finally becoming Steve Yzerman? He's still leading his team in scoring (five goals, nine points) and has actually started to block shots. Or has Dale Hunter just managed to convince Ovie to take one for the team for the playoff period. A full 82 games still seems a stretch, though.