John Tortorella loves him some post-game press conferences. Ok. No. That's completely incorrect. He is mandated by the league to answer questions, win or lose, after all games. It's especially uncomfortable after a loss in the playoffs. Puck Daddy goes through all the ups and downs of Torts pressers.

Fans may not realize is that he's not the only coach to enjoy post-game press conferences as much as a proctology exam. The king of awkward press conferences goes to the coach of the New England Patriots, Bill Belichick, as shown here:

Belichick and Tortorella, kindred spirits. We should start being worried about Torts if he dons the weird cut-off sweatshirt, a Belichick's gameday standard.

On to the preview!

GAME 1: New York Rangers at New Jersey Devils, 10:00AM on CBC, NBC, RDS

SBN Sites: Blueshirt Banter & In Lou We Trust

Series Record & Storyline: Jay-Z 1 - Springsteen 1. Are the Devils lucky or are they good? As has been the case throughout the playoffs, if New Jersey is going to win this game, Martin Brodeur is going to need to have a great game. If he's leaky, the Rangers are going to light him up, no question.

Got back from the East Coast late last night. Massive jetlag.

I will give everyone an update tomorrow on Team USA and Team Canada's exits from the World Championships. Let's just say that Getzy may have to use his American wife to get a green card because I don't think Canada is going to want him back...

GAME 1: Phoenix Coyotes at Los Angeles Kings, 6:00PM on RDS, TSN, NBCSN

SBN Blogs: Jewels From The Crown, Battle of California & Five For Howling

Series Record & Storyline: Why, God? Why? 2 - Phoenix 0. Can anyone beat the Kings? No, I'm serious. CAN ANYBODY BEAT THE KINGS?!

Quick Duck Update: I was looking for something to add to this thread and I came across a new feature on the Ducks website. They added an 'Offseason Player Tracker' that gives the contract status of the current roster. Keep in mind that we are still in the 2011-2012 season. This won't change until July 1st.

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GAME 1: New Jersey Devils at New York Rangers, 5:00PM on CBC, RDS, NBCSN

SBN Sites: Blueshirt Banter & In Lou We Trust

Series Record & Storyline: Rangers 1 - Devils 0. This isn't a storyline related to the actual game, but I thought this was funny. On Deadspin, they reported that there is a movement underway by Devils fans to not sell tickets to Rangers fans. Our SBN brethren, In Lou We Trust, are supporting the movement. I think this is hilarious. I WISH our fans weren't so apathetic and could pull together to do something like this. Good job, Devils fans. Sorry in advance for taking Zach Parise from you (ha!).

I'm back! Yay. [Ed. Note: Give Kristen a HUGE congratulations for graduating from Yale! We're proud of her. She makes us look smart!]

And Jeff Carter scored a hat trick last night. Boo.

But to paraphrase Justin for the umpteenth time, never bet against a team that has Mike Richards on its roster.

On to the links!

• Schultz Watch: Everyone's favorite defensive prospect is currently taking his final exams at Wisconsin, and the Ducks organization expects to hear a decision from him very soon. [OC Register]
• The Hockey Writers' Ryan Fulford argues that Bruce Boudreau's recent contract extension will act as a stabilizing force for the Ducks. I agree with this. But Fulford goes on to argue that Randy Carlyle would have stymied the offensive development of Emerson Etem. It's a moot point now, but something that's interesting to ponder. [The Hockey Writers]
• Corey Perry overcame the flu (during which he lost 12 pounds) to lead Team Canada to a 5-1 win over Belarus in world championship action yesterday. [CANOE]
• Francois Beauchemin thinks that the Rangers and Coyotes will meet in the Stanley Cup Final. [Los Angeles Times]
• Blueshirt Banter editor George E. Ays discusses the Rangers-Devils series. [Blueshirt Banter]
• Would anyone watch a New York-LA Stanley Cup Final? [Puck Daddy]
• The Backhand Shelf's Chris Lund believes that last night's chippy Yotes-Kings game might result in several suspensions. [Backhand Shelf]
• The Ducks website is counting down the top 25 moments from this past season. Here are moments 6-10. [Anaheim Ducks]
• Friends Christian School of Yorba Linda won the S.C.O.R.E. Shootout street hockey tournament at Honda Center last Saturday (and for the fifth year in a row). [Anaheim Ducks]
• The Anaheim Ducks Towel Invades (even in the offseason!) the Whatcom Museum of History and Art in Bellingham, WA. [Anaheim Ducks Towel Invasions]

Quick Worlds Update: Both Bobby Ryan and Cam Fowler scored in Team USA's 5-2 victory over Luca Sbisa and Team Switzerland. The Swiss will not be moving on to the quarter finals, but Team America (f*ck ya!) will. On Thursday, the Americans will face Team Finland, again. Last time the two teams met, Team USA beat the then heavily favored Finns 5-0. That same day, the Canadians will face Slovakia. Slovakia certainly have the potential for an upset, as they handed Team USA its only loss.

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GAME 1: Los Angeles Kings at Phoenix Coyotes, 6:00PM on RDS, TSN, NBCSN

SBN Sites: Jewels From The Crown, Battle of California & Five For Howling

Series Record & Storyline: Us 0 - Them 1. The Kings are the Cinderellas of this year's playoffs. The mainstream media types are head over heels for this story of the Little Eighth-Seed That Could. They are now 11-1 in the playoffs. Crap. Phoenix looked out-gunned. Let's hope they learned something on their day off.

Yeah, these guys don't like each other very much. I doubt the thug lines will be starting for each team tonight; however, I hope the hatred carries over nonetheless. Should be a great series.

Here's how we picked it. (Daniel and Kevin were unable to post bond and are still in jail.)

GAME 1: New Jersey Devils at New York Rangers, 5:00PM on CBC, RDS, NBCSN

SBN Sites: Blueshirt Banter & In Lou We Trust

By the way, I'm currently on the East Coast. Watching games at 10:30PM blows. I'll take a 4:30PM start over this crap any day.

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I'm not going to be opening a separate thread early tomorrow morning for Team USA's game versus Team Switzerland (hi, Luca Sbisa!) and Team Canada versus Team Belarus. Both Canada (playing at 2:15AM) and the USA (playing at 10:15AM on NBCSports) have qualified for the next round and these games are moot. Feel free to use this thread to comment on the games.

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Quick Ducks Update: Goalie Iiro Tarkki has signed on to play in the KHL for two years. He signed a one-year deal with the Ducks prior to the 2011-2012 season and provided to be a solid backstop for the Syracuse Crunch.

Quick World Championship update. The USA pummeled defending World Champion gold medalist Finland 5-0 early this morning. Bobby Ryan and Kyle Palmieri both had goals while Cam Fowler was a +2. They have one more qualifying game on Tuesday against Luca Sbisa and Switzerland. They don't need to win this game, as the win against Finland clinched their spot in the group quarterfinals.

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The Dark Days have how descended upon us. The Pacific Division Western Conference Championships start tonight. Picking a winner is like picking the worst of two evils. We'll have our predictions later on. Here are our predictions. (Daniel, Kristen, Justin and Kevin are all in jail or something and have not made their picks.)

GAME 1: Los Angeles Kings @ Phoenix Coyotes, 5:00PM on RDS, TSN,NBCSN

SBN Sites: Jewels From The Crown, Battle of California & Five For Howling

This video is somewhat related to today's games. Coach Boudreau was on NHL Live yesterday discussing the playoffs. How do they manage to find the silliest picture of him for every interview he's not at?

GAME 7: Washington Capitals at New York Rangers, 4:30PM on CBC, NBCSN, RDS

SBN Sites: Blueshirt Banter & Japers' Rink

Series Record & Storyline: NYC 3 - DC 3. Win or go home. Period.

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Team America (f@ck ya!) barely beat Kazakhstan in overtime on Friday morning. While it looked like France was going to upset Team Canada, the Canadians shook off their hangovers and ended up beating the French 5-3.

The US is off today. Canada is in action against Kazakhstan at 10:15AM. You'll be able to see it if you get TSN or have access to the special YouTube channels.