There was much discussion in and around the New York area, and probably throughout hockey circles everywhere, concerning New York Ranger coach John Tortorella's bold decision to bench Marian Gaborik in the third period of Game Two against the New Jersey Devils (May 16) at Madison Square Garden.

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NEW YORK -- As the New York Rangers prepared to host the New Jersey Devils on Monday night at Madison Square Garden, the home team made a special effort to remind the Devils -- and the fans -- what happened the last time the bitter rivals battled for a trip to the Stanley Cup finals in 1994.

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NEW YORK -- As the New York Rangers prepared to host the New Jersey Devils on Monday night at Madison Square Garden, the team made a special effort to remind the Devils -- and the fans -- what happened the last time the two teams battled for a trip to the Stanley Cup finals in 1994.

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While there are certainly two series to be won over the next few days, it's impossible not to gander beyond them at the prospects of a New York Ranger - New Jersey Devils Eastern Conference Final. And if form holds in both current series, the Rangers will be following an eerily reminiscent path to a Stanley Cup.

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The Philadelphia Flyers are hoping that this weekend's excursion to play the New Jersey Devils isn't their last road trip of the year.

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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. • We don't wanna say the Florida Panthers are straight up trollin' the New Jersey Devils, but here's an ad for their viewing party in which Stephen Weiss  … well, yeah. • Marian Hossa gives the Nathan Horton Inspirational Visit After a Concussion to the Chicago Blackhawks. [ ESPN Chicago ] • Congratulations to the people of Vancouver for not burning down their city after losing on home ice. [ AP] • Mirtle on the Pittsburgh Penguins' future, and specifically on Sidney Crosby: "The Pens had to adjust to life with Crosby again, and there were signs of problems in those ugly late season losses to the Senators and Islanders where they allowed 18 goals in the three games that they weren't quite ready for a team as good as Philadelphia." [ Globe & Mail ] • Mr. Plank looks at the construction of the San Jose Sharks, and how it led to their first-round ouster. [ Fear The Fin ] • Helene St. James wonders if it's time for the Detroit Red Wings to trade Johan Franzen: "Johan Franzen did not have a good series, scoring one goal in five games despite playing next to Pavel Datsyuk. Franzen has eight years remaining on his contract, but his salary cap hit is a reasonable $3.9 million and his actual salary over the last three years is a combined $4 million, which would be attractive to teams worried about reaching the NHL's minimum salary cap space requirement. But the Wings aren't necessarily going to look to trade him, because which Franzen would they be trading?" [ Freep ] • Great bit from the Canadian Press on the originals of a numerically-specific Ottawa Senators fan chat that honors Daniel Alfredsson. [ THN ] • No Jaroslav Halak in the first two games of the second round for the St. Louis Blues. [ BND ] • Why the second round of the playoffs in the Western Conference won't be a ratings disaster. [ Puck The Media ] • How big are the Stanley Cup Playoffs? According to SportsCenter, slightly bigger than offseason football! (Although now that the Saints were eavesdropping on opponents …) [ Deadspin ] • Spector on Roberto Luongo's future: Could the Lightning afford him, and could Brian Burke bury the hatchet to get him? [ THN ]

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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. • Meet "Mishka," the 2013 IIHF U20 world champions mascot and the Russian word for pedo-bear …er, teddy bear. [ IIHF ] "The Rangers and Boston College junior Chris Kreider, the 19th overall pick in the 2009 draft, have agreed to terms on an entry-level contract, the Record has confirmed.  Kreider will join the Rangers for practice tomorrow. By doing so, he'll automatically burn up the first year of his three-year entry deal regardless of whether he plays in the playoffs." [ Rangers Rants ] • St. Louis Blues goalie Brian Elliott is out with an upper-body injury that Ken Hitchcock said makes him "day to day." Said Hitch: "We've been nursing it for a week or so. He got a lot of work in the first 45 minutes ... It's more maintenance. It's not a big deal. We knew how long this day was going to be and we just felt like, 'Man, why cool a guy down?'" [ STLToday.com ] • No Daniel Sedin at Vancouver Canucks practice today, which calls into question whether he'll play in Game 1 or whether he's just wearing Henrik's kit to throw off everyone. [ Vancouver Sun ] • Roberto Luongo's meta tweeting spree continues. [ PITB ] • Attention New Jersey Devils fans: DUCK! "The City of Newark has reduced its police presence at The Rock in the latest in the fight between Booker and Vanderbeek. Turns out the city has paid $10.8 million on police protection at the Prudential Center since 2007." [ NJ.com ] • Your odds for the 2012 NHL Draft Lottery, which will be held at 8 p.m. and feature a live blog via your pals at Puck Daddy. [ NHL ] • The Leafs made the world safe for Jay Feaster and Brent Sutter to apologize for the Calgary Flames missing the playoffs. [ Flames ] • Congrats to Tim Peel for being a playoff ref, and to Steve Miller for the chance to "misplace" more series winning pucks. Better luck next year, Stephan Auger.   [ NHL ] • Does regular-season success mean anything in the postseason? Via Fancy Stats Greenberg: "Since the lockout, teams that have a better head-to-head regular season record over their first-round playoff opponents (measured here as win percentage) have won 77 percent of those series — quite a hefty margin." [ WaPo ] • What if the Stanley Cup Final is the Bruins and the Red Wings? [ What If Sports ]

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As the New Jersey Devils head for the 2012 NHL playoffs with a first-round tilt against the Florida Panthers, it's important for fans to be fully prepared before making the trek to the Prudential Center for Game Three of the series on Apr. 17, and Game Four on Apr. 19.

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The Detroit Red Wings still are fighting for home-ice advantage in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, and another home victory over the New Jersey Devils certainly would help their chances.

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NEWARK, N.J. - With the playoffs on tap next week, Travis Zajac is rounding into form at the right time for the New Jersey Devils.

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