As a Buffalo Sabres fan, it's always difficult to see the team not make the playoffs - but chances are many of the other series have a former Sabre or two in them to cheer on throughout the playoffs. The Vancouver Canucks are one such team, following their pick-up of Zack Kassian and Marc-Andre Gragnani at the trade deadline. The first-seeded Canucks will be taking on the eighth-seeded Los Angeles Kings in the first round of Western Conference NHL playoff action, beginning Wednesday, April 11 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

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Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media. • Hey, remember Deron Quint? Played for the Phoenix Coyotes, Columbus Blue Jackets and Chicago Blackhawks among others? He's with Traktor in the KHL now. And he looks like this. • Not sure if Cory Schneider was a political science major, but boy does he know how to play the game in speaking about Roberto Luongo and the Vancouver Canucks' starting job. Schneider said Luongo's the starter, case closed. "I'm competitive. Trust me, I would love to play. I would love to play every single game I could. But Roberto has been one of the best and most consistent goalies the last decade. If it was a scenario that was grossly unfair or one that wasn't the right decision, then I'd probably be more upset. But what [Luongo] has done speaks for itself and I have a tonne of respect for him, I'm behind him 100 per cent and he deserves everything he gets." [ Province ] • Meanwhile, why is there a goalie controversy? Schneider's better. [ Fan Attic ] • Jeff Carter skated for the Los Angeles Kings, but would only indicate he'd be ready for the start of the playoffs. Even though his absence could potentially cost them that chance. Tough break. [ LA Kings Insider ] • Jose Theodore isn't the only ex-Capital looking to take down Washington tonight. [ Capitals Insider ] • Scott Harntell on the Buffalo Sabres: "You play games and it comes down to this is their Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final to get in. They're gonna be hitting, they're gonna be skating, they're gonna be fighting." [ CSN Philly ] • The Boston Bruins wide their collective brow as Johnny Boychuk has but a mild knee sprain. [ Bruins Blog ] • Incredibly, Adam Proteau believes there's virtue and honor to being a Lady Byng winner: "If the Byng is such a terrible comment on the caliber of a player's game, why don't we create the anti-Byng award? We could present it to the thinnest-skinned NHLer, the mega-macho hothead who can be thrown completely off his game with a couple whacks across the ankles or a cross-check in the small of the back. That sounds like a player every Stanley Cup contender could use, doesn't it?" Actually, it sounds like Tim Thomas and/or Milan Lucic. How'd that work out? [ THN ] • Bourne explains why Doc Emrick needs to be more of a prick. [ Backhand Shelf ] • This Macleans piece on the CBC and NHL negotiations should be called "When Gary Bettman got all Gary Bettmany on the CBC and got on their nerves." [ Macleans, via Allan Walsh] • The 10 longest title droughts in the National Hockey League. No. 1 is ... a tie? [ The Man In The Gray Flannel Suit ]

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BUFFALO, N.Y. - Sabres goalie Ryan Miller had a candid response when informed of Capitals forward Brooks Laich's guarantee that Washington was going to make the playoffs.

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No. 1 Star: Mike Smith, Phoenix Coyotes The Columbus Blue Jackets set a franchise record with 54 shots but none found their way past Smith. Stopping all 54 he faced, Smith earned his third straight shutout as the Coyotes blanked the Blue Jackets 2-0. The shutout was Smith's eighth of the season and 19th of his career. He's not allowed a goal in 219:59, the second-best streak in franchise history. No. 2 Star: Derek Roy, Buffalo Sabres The Sabres rebounded from a 3-0 deficit in the first period to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-5 thanks to Roy's second goal of the game coming with 1:31 left in overtime. Alex Sulzer scored twice and added an assist as the Sabres tied the Washington Capitals at 80 points for eighth in the East with two games to go for both clubs. No. 3 Star: Andrew Ladd, Winnipeg Jets Winnipeg fell behind 3-0 early in the second period, but clawed back and eventually took the extra point 3:13 into overtime when Andrew Ladd potted his second goal of the night for the 5-4 win over the Florida Panthers:

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Since we're down to the final moments of postseason life for teams in contention, Puck Daddy solemnly begins a daily countdown to annihilation. The Washington Capitals allowed Steven Stamkos to give the Buffalo Sabres some life, as the NHL's leading goal-scorer set up a game-tying goal in the second, scored the game-winning goal in the third — unchecked in front of the Caps' crease — and then iced the game with goal No. 58 into an empty net. Via The Washington Times: "It's frustrating. We could have really put ourselves in a good spot and put a little bit of a stranglehold on it. But now we just kind of took one more step back and made it a lot tougher on ourselves," defenseman Karl Alzner said. "We obviously let off the gas, and there was a lot of bad turnovers and sloppy play. That's the sign of a team, that, in my opinion, thinks they had it a little bit too good. It was a big-time error by us. We never should've had that game be where it was." Well, yeah. The Capitals are still very much in the driver's seat for the No. 8 seed. They have 88 points with two games left, and the Sabres have 86 with three games left. Alas, one of those Buffalo games is Tuesday night against that Leafs juggernaut that humbled them on Saturday. Remember: The Sabres need to finish ahead of the Capitals in points because they collected too many flimsy B.S. shootout wins during the regular season, and hence lose the tie-breaker. What the loss to Tampa cost the Capitals, potentially, is the Southeast Division title. The Florida Panthers can clinch with a win over Winnipeg at home tonight; if that fails, they just need a win in either of their last two games to clinch — including a Thursday night showdown with the Capitals in DC. Sports Club Stats gives the Panthers a 96-percent chance of being the No. 3 seed … but who would they face? Coming up, the playoff pictures for the East and West, as we shift the focus to playoff seeding. The full NHL standings and schedules can be found on Y! Sports.

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Since we're down to the final moments of postseason life for teams in contention, Puck Daddy solemnly begins a daily countdown to annihilation. The Washington Capitals allowed Steven Stamkos to give the Buffalo Sabres some life, as the NHL's leading … Continue reading ?

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No. 1 Star: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins Pittsburgh rebounded from two straight losses to the New York Islanders with a 5-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres. Crosby continued racking up points with a goal and three assists to bring his season total to 29 points in 18 games. In the process, Crosby became the seventh youngest player in NHL history to surpass the 600-point mark. Steve Sullivan chipped in three points and Evgeni Malkin recorded two, bringing his goal total to 48 and points total to 102 on the season. Pascal Dupuis had two helpers to increase his NHL-best points streak to 13 games. No. 2 Star: Nikita Nikitin, Columbus Blue Jackets The Blue Jackets played spoiler on Friday denying the Florida Panthers a chance to move closer to the Southeast Division title with a 4-1 win. Nikitin scored twice and assisted on another and R.J.Umberger tallied two goals to send the Panthers to their sixth loss in their last eight road games. Allen York made 30 shots for his second straight win. No. 3 Star: Semyon Varlamov, Colorado Avalanche Making his seventh straight start, Varlamov snapped a four-game losing streak by with 38 saves backstopping the Avs to a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames. Four different Avs scored to keep them in the mix for one of the bottom playoff spots in the Western Conference.

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No. 1 Star: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins Pittsburgh rebounded from two straight losses to the New York Islanders with a 5-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres. Crosby continued racking up points with a goal and three assists to bring his … Continue reading ?

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BUFFALO, N.Y. - A swollen nose couldn't stop Sidney Crosby from enjoying a four-point night. And neither could Ryan Miller and the Buffalo Sabres.

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Here are your Puck Previews: Spotlighting the key games in NHL action, news and views as well as general frivolity. Make sure to stop back here for the nightly Three Stars when the games are finished. Preview : Pittsburgh Penguins at Buffalo Sabres, 7:30 p.m. ET . The Sabres have not played against Sidney Crosby since Dec. 2010 and with the Penguins coming off two losses in a row to the New York Islanders, Buffalo will have their hands full as they try to gain a two-point lead over the Washington Capitals in their game in-hand tonight. After playing last night, there's a good chance that Brent Johnson will make his first start in 17 games for the Penguins. Ryan Miller, who has won five in a row and allowed six goals over that span, should get the call for the Sabres. Preview : Nashville Predators at Detroit Red Wings, 8 p.m. ET . It's looking more and more like these two teams will meet in the first round of the playoffs with the only question of who will have home ice advantage. Jimmy Howard returns to the Detroit net after missing four games with a groin injury. Kyle Quincey is slated to be scratched as Mike Babcock makes sure his defensemen each get some action heading into the postseason. Martin Erat, Jordin Tooto and Roman Josi are all expected back in the Predators' lineup. Preview : Colorado Avalanche at Calgary Flames, 9 p.m. ET . With four games left, the Flames aren't out of contention for a bottom-8 spot in the Western Conference, but time is running out quick. Wednesday's 3-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings was deflating and might have been the unofficial nail in their coffin. Semyon Varlamov should be in net for Colorado making his seventh straight start and looking to snap a four-game skid. Check out previews and updated scores for all of today's games on the Y! Sports NHL scores and scheds page . For tonight's starting goalies, check out Left Wing Lock. •  Today's Marek vs. Wyshynski podcast with John Shannon . Evening Reading • Here are your playoff clinching scenarios tonight for the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks. [ NHL.com ] • Good read on Paul Henderson and his battle with lymphocytic lymphoma chronic leukemia. [ Sportsnet ] • Jeff Carter left the Kings' morning skate today with his foot in a walking boot and handling crutches. [ LA Kings Insider ] • After taking a charge from Jason Chimera last night, Boston Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid will miss their trip to New York this weekend and both games against the Islanders and Rangers with a swollen eye. [ CSN New England ] Puck Daddy Reader Comment of the Day: Via Steve Whyno : Dale Hunter on catcalls as a coach: "They called me fat" on Long Island. Bold Prediction: Jimmy Howard gives Detroit a 3-point lead over Nashville with a 2-0 shutout of the Predators.

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