from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,

- Why should the Leafs beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, high-end payroll and young superstars aside? The Leafs lost to the Boston Bruins in each of the past two years, ostensibly because they couldn’t kill penalties and couldn’t adjust appropriately. They are fortunate to be playing a Blue Jackets team that is 28th in power-play goals for, 27th in PP percentage. The past two seasons, the Bruins were third and fifth in scoring with the man advantage. Big difference there.

- A Stanley Cup final I’d love to watch: Pittsburgh vs. Edmonton. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on one side. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the other side. Seven scoring titles and five Hart Trophies between them, and I’m counting Draisaitl with a Hart win for this season.

- Why we have no idea who’s going to beat whom and where the upsets are coming from in this new-fangled summertime playoff format: After 10 games last October, one of the best teams in the NHL was the Buffalo Sabres.

- The Carolina Hurricanes impressed winning Game 1 of their series with the New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon without Dougie Hamilton. This is a stronger, deeper team that many tend to acknowledge. And Rod Brind’Amour can coach.

a few more notes, mostly Toronto related...