Our season may be over, but the future goes on.

Crunch and Ducks Links

• Ducklings vs Tiny Jets: A (Late) Calder Cup Playoff Preview. [Sportsnet.ca]
• The Syracuse Crunch fell to the St. John’s IceCaps, 3-2, in Game 1 of the 2012 Calder Cup Eastern Conference quarterfinals on Thursday. [News Channel 9 WSYR]
• The Syracuse Crunch defeated the St. John's IceCaps 4-3 in Game 2 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals on Saturday. [CBC]
• And as you all can tell, the series is now tied 1-1. [TheAHL.com]
• How can the Crunch win their series? By winning their faceoffs. [Syracuse.com]
• A profile of Crunch (squee!) forward Emerson Etem. [Anaheim Ducks]
• Mark Bell and Brandon McMillan have been big for the Crunch thus far. [OC Register]
• Is Matthew Dumba destined to be a Duck? [The Hockey Writers]
• Which free agents could help the Ducks? [OC Register]
• Scott Niedermayer will be inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame on October 18 in Calgary. [CKNW AM 980]
• The Anaheim Ducks Towel invades Jobing.com Arena. [Anaheim Ducks Towel Invasions]
• Henry Samueli has decided to donate to Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates' "Giving Pledge," which helps billionaires direct their money towards various philanthropic causes. [Yahoo Voices]
• Comments on reflections upon the Ducks season that was. [CBSSports.com]

Playoff Links and General Shameless Rumor Mongering

• The Los Angeles Kings eliminated the Vancouver Canucks from playoff contention last night with a 2-1 overtime win in Game 5 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals. Not sure how I feel about this. [LA Times]
• The Edmonton Journal's Jim Matheson thinks that Roberto Luongo could end up in Tampa Bay, Toronto, Columbus, Florida, or Chicago next season. [Edmonton Journal]
• The Philadelphia Flyers 'Knock Knocked' the Pittsburgh Penguins out of the playoffs in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. The final score was a healthy, vigorous, jam-filled 5-1. Woohoo! [Broad Street Hockey]
• But unfortunately, the Caps failed to eliminate the Bruins today. Game 7 of this goaltending-centric series will be played in Boston on Wednesday. [Japers' Rink]
• Ottawa Senators' captain Daniel Alfredsson has been shut down since he took an elbow to the head in Game 2 of the Sens' series against the New York Rangers. However, he skated for the second day in a row yesterday, and might return to action soon. [Backhand Shelf]
• Debunking the myth of the 'timely save.' [Backhand Shelf]
• The Nashville Predators eliminated the Detroit Red Wings from playoff contention this weekend. Watch the Preds celebrate in their locker room after the win. (And if the Ducks begin to slump next season, BB should show them this video for rage-fueled motivation). [On The Forecheck]
• A CSSI explanation for the Detroit Red Wings' Game 5 loss. [Winging It In Motown]
• And the Wings might be interested in acquiring Zach Parise and/or Ryan Suter this offseason. [Ed. Note: I would die if the former happened.] [TSN]
• The NHL doesn't need 'Raffi Torres types.' [OC Register]
• The Calder Trophy finalists - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the Edmonton Oilers, Gabriel Landeskog of the Colorado Avalanche, and Adam Henrique of the New Jersey Devils - were announced last week. No one is surprised. [OC Register]