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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For Original Six clubs, the present does not live up to the past and the best way to recapture old glory is to build like a modern NHL team.

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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. Congratulations to all of the Toronto-based reporters, headline writers and bloggers that resisted using the "Hurricanes blow away Leafs' season" theme in writing about the demise of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The urge must have been palpable, like the siren's song of meth. Yes, the parade has been cancelled. Again. The Leafs heard the boo birds singing at the ACC last night in a 3-0 exercise in tedium against the Carolina Hurricanes, who survived elimination while putting the Burkie Bunch out of theirs. Said Tie Domi on what needs to happen in Toronto: "Stop saying it's the GM. Stop saying it's the coach. Step up, core guys. Figure it out." Meanwhile, across the border, it was party time in Buffalo last night for Sabres fans watching their team dominate the Capitals in Washington, 5-1 , to increase their playoff probability by over 20 percent according to Sports Club Stats. The Sabres control their own destiny; the Capitals need help, as they fell two behind the Sabres and five points behind the Florida Panthers for the division lead. 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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The fact that the chant — "Fire Burke" according to the Toronto Star, "Fire Burkie" via the Globe & Mail — was barely audible isn't the point. On Tuesday night, during another pathetic Toronto Maple Leafs performance in a loss to the New York Islanders (5-2 on the scoreboard, 7-0 in Good Ontarian Boys on the roster), fans at the ACC targeted GM Brian Burke in the same way that they targeted former coach Ron Wilson. And now that the chant has gotten play in the media, the one at the next home game will be louder. The next one, louder still. Burke created this monster, quite admirably in fact. When he fired Wilson, he acknowledged that the "Fire Wilson!" chants at home games helped necessitate it. Thus, he bestowed upon the mortals the power of influence, and they're now attempting to weaponize it against their Creator. So Burke started this fire, and it's either going to consume him and his well-compensated Cabinet or he's going to be the one that extinguishes it by turning the Leafs around. But the chant is as much as symbol of pessimism about that mission as it is about frustration at season's end.

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The fact that the chant — "Fire Burke" according to the Toronto Star, "Fire Burkie" via the Globe & Mail — was barely audible isn't the point. On Tuesday night, during another pathetic Toronto Maple Leafs performance in a loss … Continue reading ?

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SUNRISE, Fla. - SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) —The Florida Panthers don't have any trouble scoring against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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PITTSBURGH -- "The coaching profession doesn't hand you any gifts." That was Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Randy Carlyle's response to a question about the continuing injuries to his roster all while he's trying to re-jigger chemistry and find the … Continue reading ?

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Don Cherry is a man of the people. The people of Ontario. He visits local rinks, talks to Hockey Dads, has young players tugging at his loud jacket like he's the mayor of Hockeyville. Don Cherry also feels that Ontarian … Continue reading ?

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Boston Bruins goaltender Tuuka Rask will miss at least the next two games. Rask will miss Sunday's game against the New York Rangers and Tuesday's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Bruins coach Claude Julien told the media.

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MONTREAL - Randy Carlyle opened his tenure as head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs with a win.

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