from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,

- f the Stanley Cup playoffs opened today, five Canadian teams would be in the post-season. That’s a little ambitious over 82 games, but right now Montreal, Edmonton, Ottawa, Vancouver and Calgary would qualify. The best young offensive players in hockey, McDavid, Matthews, Patrik Laine, Mark Scheifele, Johnny Gaudreau, all play for Canadian teams.

- This is how you know Babcock isn’t coaching the Red Wings anymore: Detroit is 29th in possession in the league.

- How much does coaching matter for NHL goaltenders?

- If your coach is Ken Hitchcock, it sure matters.

Hitchcock has done more with less than probably any coach in NHL history and the statistics in that area are rather startling. It’s not that he’s a goalie wizard, it’s that his teams are so difficult to play against and so efficient defensively that the goalies who play for him face less difficulty and end up with extraordinary numbers.

The rather average Roman Cechmanek had a 1.83 goals against average and six shutouts playing for Hitch in Philadelphia.

more on the last topic plus other hockey notes...