If you missed Game 2 in the series between Los Angeles and Phoenix, you missed several hits that could have / should have been reviewed by the NHL. Martin Hanzal's hit on Dustin Brown, Shane Doan's hit on Trevor Lewis and Derek Morris' knee on Rob Scuderi were just a few. Ultimately only one player, Hanzal, received NHL discipline (1 game) but others could have certainly seen some sort of additional punishment.

Then there's the Mike Smith incident. Smith developed a reputation earlier in this year's playoffs for embellishing contact. He was hit in the series against Chicago but made the most of it, doing a full barrel roll before hitting the ice. In Game 2 against Los Angeles, Smith was nudged by Dwight King, causing him to go sprawling to the ice as if a train had just collided into him. 

Would the NHL ever consider handing out discipline for a player that clearly embellished/dove on a play? For the sake of the sport we should all hope so.

I've heard people complain about "boring hockey" for two days short of forever, but not more often than this season. The Blues were accused of playing "boring trap-style hockey." Too much defense! Not enough running and gunning! Score more! While the latter would have been nice, especially during round two, most Blues fans didn't notice trap. We noticed the fact that we're getting a new Central Division Champion banner on opening night.

There has been some complaining about how "boring" the playoffs are to watch. Too much shot blocking, not enough break-away excitement for the viewers. That argument strikes me as odd, considering this year's ratings for the playoffs have been extremely solid. Do viewers really equate goals scored with excitement? Is that what matters, or is it the pace of the game, the hits, the strategy, and your team winning? Is that latter part not the point of the playoffs?

.

Winston Churchill once said of Russia, "It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma..." This quote is often applied to their players as well. Jingoistic hockey pundits call Russian players lazy and mysterious. They're also accused of playing when they feel like it, and shutting down when they're faced with adverse situations. While it's unfair to apply this to all Russians equally, Alexander Ovechkin's been livin' the stereotype this season. Between being accused of not putting forth effort to get former coach Bruce Boudreau canned to being accused of being unhappy that Dale Hunter was limiting his ice-time, Ovie hasn't exactly gotten the best press this season.

You might remember a story that ran on Puck Drunk Love in April that exposed a Florida news station using a college logo in place of the Florida Panthers logo. Today, a similar event happened in Los Angeles when NBC Los Angeles accidentally ran the NBA's Sacramento Kings logo in place of the Los Angeles Kings logo. 

Embarrassing. 

The Los Angeles Kings are the new favorite to win the Stanley Cup, according to online sports book Bovada. Odds may vary depending which betting outlook you check, but at least one large site has shifted their odds in favor of the Kings taking home the ultimate prize. 

For Kings fans this news might be bittersweet. While they might feel the team has finally received some overdue recognition for its accomplishments, the superstitious LA fans might be concerned that oddsmakers just sealed the team's exit from the playoffs.

If you've been with us since the first round of picks, we'll quickly acknowledge that our prediction record might not be the best but we're going to continue with another round of selections.

We're officially at the halfway point in the 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs and only four teams remain for the chance to lift Lord Stanley.  In the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Kings will take on the Phoenix Coyotes while the New Jersey Devils will face the New York Rangers in the East.

Without further delay, let the Conference Finals begin!

David Rogers:

Western Conference Final: Kings in 7

Several series in this year's NHL playoffs have appeared to be certain goaltending duels. Several times we've been incorrect. This is the series that, one would think, changes that. It's a battle between Jonathan Quick and Mike Smith. Whichever goaltender is able to make the fewest mistakes should carry his club into the Stanley Cup Final.

My record for picks this year has been dreadful. I won't deny it. However, here I side with the Los Angeles Kings and Jonathan Quick. I saw first-hand just how tough of an opponent the Kings are when they dismantled my St. Louis Blues with ease. Phoenix should play with more heart than the Blues but ultimately I think LA's relentless pressure, physical game, and penalty kill are deciding factors in pushing the Kings forward in their quest for a Cup.

The original Winnipeg Jets never made it to the Western Conference finals, unfortunately for the fans and the city. The team that they turned into, the Phoenix Coyotes, start play in the conference finals tomorrow, and understandably some fans of the original team are a bit upset. Sad with nostalgia at what could have been, yet happy to see their old franch-

Oh, they're lighting Coyotes jerseys on fire? I guess scratch that whole "happy to see their old franchise succeed." 

Fans have been asking for months - will Jaromir Jagr play in 2012-13? If so, which club will he skate for?

These questions were all put on the back burner while the Philadelphia Flyers competed in the Stanley Cup playoffs. However, after a disappointing second round exit the questions about Jagr's future have once again risen to the surface. 

Image via totalprosports.com

Professional sports team have PR departments. Usually, they're meant to foster good will amongst the community and to get people's butts in seats. Unfortunately, sometimes they have to play cover-up to their athletes' questionable actions. Each professional sports league's had a guy to goof up, not realizing that as a public entertainment figure people assume that they give up their right to privacy. Even the quietest indescretions are public knowledge, though I'm not sure if I'd say Patrick Kane's indiscretions are quiet.

Previously known for being involved in an altercation with a Buffalo cab driver over twenty cents, and also for being possibly buzzed at the Blackhawks' Stanley Cup parade in 2010, Patrick Kane was at it again at a University of Wisconsin fraternity party on Cinco de Mayo. Apparently, according to photos and accounts at Deadspin, he was at it again also at local bars around the campus. Lots of people noticed, because, you know, he's Patrick Kane. Of course, when you pose for photos and hang out with large groups of possibly drunk people on a made-up holiday (unless you're in Puebla, which might be Kaner's next stop), people are going to notice you. Your stupid behavior will become public. It's a given, and a lesson that Kane should have learned a few years ago.

If you've been following the Washington Capitals through this year's Stanley Cup playoffs you're aware of the heroics they have had in net. Braden Hotlby has emerged and taken the playoffs by storm, giving the Washington Capitals something they haven't had in ages - reliability in net. 

Where did Holtby come from? Perhaps more importantly, what will his remarkable run through the playoffs mean for Washington moving forward?