Top Line: Chicago's Stanley Cup Final hole looks deep, more links
Ugly history: Game 3 losers have lost the Cup final 84 percent of the time since 1939. (Gail Oskin/Getty Images)
By Allan Muir
An annotated guide to this morning's must-read hockey stories:
• You remember that 3-1 deficit that Chicago rallied from against the Red Wings? This 2-1 hole they've dug for themselves against the Bruinsseems a lot deeper, doesn't it?
• It's a rare day that the Boston Globe pulls Dan Shaughnessy out from behind the pay-wall. Take advantage of this while you can.
• There's Danny Paille, scoring his second winner in as many games. Because apparently Moe Lemay wasn't available.
• With Marian Hossaa late scratch, Chicago needed Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane to step up...so the Hawks were pretty much DOA at that point.
• Ben Smith earned a last-minute promotion from the Black Aces for a Stanley Cup start in the town where he made his name as a college hockey hero.
• How easy did Tuukka Rask have it? Bruce Arthur writes he was "as casual as a lemonade stand."
• Three Stars weren't enough to recognize all the heroes of a disciplined, exhaustive effort last night by the Bruins.
• The Bruins were worried about respecting Chicago's speed and avoiding dumb penalties. Should have been the other way around, writes Roy MacGregor.
• Here are five takeaways from the Boston win.
• And here are three keys to the Blackhawks' loss.
• It's the same tune, but with different lyrics. In Boston, they're singing about a penalty kill that is in the groove. In Chicago, they're wailing a dirge about a power play gone wrong.
• Given a little time and space, Jaromir Jagr is showing he still has a bit of the ol' razzle-dazzle in his game.
• Maybe that word means something else in Finnish.
• A tentative lease agreement for Jobing.com Arena will be presented to Glendale city council tonight. If they agree to what amounts to $15 million in subsidies within a week, the Coyotes may just make it. If not, Plan B -- Seattle -- is all but a done deal.
• The league may love the thought of a franchise in Seattle, but a club facing at least four or five seasons in an outdated rink might be just as big a financial drain as one in the desert.
• The sheer goofiness of some of the voting for this year's NHL awards may lead to greater transparency in the future.
• Logan Couture's got lunch. The budding superstar reportedly has agreed to terms on a contract extension that should ensure he's capable of picking up the tab for years to come.
• John Tortorella has to convince the Vancouver Canucks that he can leave his baggage in New York.
• The Flyers and Mark Streit have agreed to a four-year, $21 million deal. Problem is, they can't sign anything until GM Paul Holmgren clears some old money off the books. See ya later, Danny Briere.
• Philly clearly needed to bolster a sub-par blueline. But is Streit the answer or just another expensive, aging risk?
• The Flyers have their eye on Donovan McNabb's nephew in this year's draft. If that's the case, they might want to think about moving up from 11. I don't see defenseman Darnell Nurse dropping that far.
• Speaking of the draft, here's a look at the top-five picks from the perspective of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
• New coach Alain Vigneault will bring substantial changes in style to the New York Rangers.
• Owner Jeff Vanderbeek missed a loan payment deadline and now the Devils are looking for some angel investors..and a couple of guys with failed ties to the Lightning are at the front of the line. Somewhere, a documentarian is getting ready to start shooting B roll for Big Shot 2.