As a confirmed tech nerd, I like to count myself lucky to have become an adult in the kind of world that I only dreamed about as a child. In uplifting moments I'm grateful for all the awesome information technology that's transformed the world. Then again, in other small minded moments, I'm grateful for a lot of the mischief this same awesome technology has facilitated.

Case in point: Carey Price, Pension Plan Puppets and Hockey Reference.

All I'll say right now is that Hockey Reference, like its sister sites, allows individuals to sponsor pages with personalized messages. PPP, albeit with some help from its readers, decided it was time to strike in defense of Leafdom, with Montreal goalie Carey Price being the first target. When you get to his page, the sponsorship line now reads:

More Ken Dryden (Liberal leadership candidate) than Ken Dryden (1971 Conn Smythe Winner)

Fresh off its foray into online hijinks, PPP is embarking on a long-term plan to buy up as many pages as possible to annoy fans of rival teams. Childish? Perhaps. But in terms of online marketing, it's sheer brilliance. I can't wait to see who might be next in line. In fact, if I was a less charitable man, I'd think that the folks at Hockey Reference might actually be behind this campaign. But that would just be naked speculation.

Now excuse me for a moment, I need to check out Cam Ward's page.

It's no secret that the 2007-08 NHL season didn't end the way New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur wanted it to. As if seeing his team flushed out of the playoffs in just five games wasn't enough, Brodeur also got to endure a public beatdown at the hands of winger Sean Avery. No, Avery never laid a glove on Brodeur. Instead, he did something far worse: Avery shamed him with his antics, something that Brodeur only compounded as he refused to shake Avery's hand at the end of the series.

It's also no secret that Brodeur is closer to the end of his career than even he wants to admit, but if he has his way in a meeting with some fellow players and general managers in a few weeks, he'll be sure to have a significant influence on the game for many years after he's gone.

What am I talking about? This morning, the NHL and NHLPA announced the formation of the Goalie Equipment Working Group, a body consisting of five players and four general managers. According to a statement from the NHLPA, the group will "examine the configuration and dimensions of goaltender equipment with respect to safety and performance."

"If the working group decides alterations to the rules governing goaltender equipment are warranted, and will not jeopardize the safety of the goalies, these recommendations will be forwarded to the Competition Committee for consideration," the statement said.

In other words, if there's any way this group can figure out a way to shrink the equipment in order to increase goal scoring without jeopardizing the life and health of goaltenders, they'll do it. Then again, taking a look at the members of the group, my guess is we won't be seeing any dramatic changes after that June 11 meeting.

In Carolina yesterday, Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford delivered his year-end state of the team speech to the local media, and it's probably safe to say the performance came a couple of weeks early as far as Rutherford was concerned.

Coming a little less than a week after a loss in the regular season finale against Florida that effectively opened the door to Washington stealing the Southeast Division title, it's understandable that Rutherford was a tad cranky -- especially as GM of a team that missed the playoffs for a second year in a row after winning a Stanley Cup in 2006.

Given that Rutherford telegraphed his intention to shake up his roster at the trade deadline in a radio interview back in January, Joe Ovies of 850 AM The Buzz made sure to ask Rutherford about the status of head coach Peter Laviolette:

[L]et me just say I don't think Peter Laviolette is going to get the axe. However, when I gave Rutherford an opportunity to clear up his status, he continued to keep it vague and offered up verbal clues as to why he wants to remove himself from the end of the season before having a serious talk. Bottom line for Rutherford, "everyone in our business is under review."

Or as Dan Patrick used to say, he's listed day to day, but aren't we all?

For the five or six people who gave a flying toss about HBO's "In Treatment," I imagine the last few weeks of the NHL season have had a similar intensity: Every night a new drama, every night a new revelation, and every night bringing us closer to a conclusion that will be painful for some and joyous for others. But no Gabriel Bryne. At least not yet.

Tonight is no different: Six games, many of them with direct effects on playoff seedings and clinchings, and many of them whose results will ripple into this weekend's finales. From the NHL, here's what's at stake for the Eastern Conference:

No. 3 Carolina Hurricanes can clinch the Southeast Division tonight if they beat Florida; they can clinch an Eastern Conference playoff berth tonight if they get one point against Florida and Philadelphia gets no points against New Jersey. Here's a hell of a stat: "The Hurricanes have won their last 13 home games against the Panthers, which represents the NHL's longest active home winning streak against one opponent."

Every day from Monday to Saturday, The Ice Sheet will take a look at the biggest stories in the league that happened on the ice and elsewhere the night before.

Considering where the Washington Capitals typically find themselves at this point in the season, Coach Bruce Boudreau's metaphor was drenched in irony. "The right ping-pong ball has to got to fall in the right spaces for us to be successful," he said after his team's 4-1 victory over Carolina last night in front of a playoff-intense crowd in D.C. The victory tied the teams with 90 points apiece -- with two games left for each, both against Tampa Bay and Florida -- but there's a misconception in the coverage of last night's win: The Capitals are no more tied for the Southeast Division lead as they are tied for the last playoff spot in the East.

They remain one point in back of Philly and Boston, and they remain one win in back of Carolina. "If we don't win tonight, it's really difficult to get what we want to get. We're desperate. But we'll wake up tomorrow and realize, 'Holy Jeez, we've got to win Thursday. And Saturday,'" Boudreau said. "[The Hurricanes are] still in the driver's seat for the division and for the playoffs. I think they'll be ready."

Based on what I saw last night, I'm not quite sure they will be.

(Coming Up Next: Last Night's Losers, Puck Headlines, Cake for Zebras and an odd hockey animation.)

Every day from Monday to Saturday, The Ice Sheet will take a look at the biggest stories in the league that happened on the ice and elsewhere the night before.

With the Nashville Predators nipping at their heels, and Peter Forsberg starting to get into the groove, the Vancouver Canucks have picked the worst time to go into the tank.

After a give-the-points-away 3-2 loss to the Flames on Tuesday, the Canucks gave away another two points as the Avs pounded them 6-3. This was a game in which the Canucks had a 2-1 lead and looked halfway decent at one point, but then decided to stop putting out an effort altogether.

With the Avs win, and the Wild beating up on a red-hot Edmonton Oilers squad, the Northwest Division is providing hockey fans with one hell of a race. Every game is important, and every game provides a seemingly massive swing in the standings and the emotions of fans.

As of this morning, both Nashville and Edmonton have realistic playoff hopes if they can run the table and get some help from the hockey gods.

	Team	GP	PTS
1.	Detroit	77	108
2.	San Jose	76	100
3.	Minnesota*	78	91
4.	Anaheim	78	96
5.	Calgary	77	90
6.	Dallas	76	89
7.	Colorado	78	88
8.	Vancouver	77	86
9.	Nashville	77	84
10.	Edmonton	78	83

Every day from Monday to Saturday, The Ice Sheet will take a look at the biggest stories in the league that happened on the ice and elsewhere the night before.

Every hockey fan knows that it's not goalie interference if a defenseman shoves an opponent into that D-man's own keeper. The rule was interpreted in two different ways in two critical games last night, leading to two very angry coaches.

In Carolina -- where Alexander Ovechkin scored his 61st goal, breaking the Capitals' single-season record -- Erik Cole was pushed into Washington goalie Cristobal Huet by defenseman Shaone Morrisonn, and the puck trickled into the net along with nearly all involved. A long video review followed, the game-tying goal was allowed, and Caps coach Bruce Boudreau had a flabbergasted exchange with the officials. Although the Capitals went on to win, 3-2, in the skills competition -- proving once again why signing shootout specialist Viktor Kozlov was a shrewd off-season move -- Carolina managed to steal a charity point and remain four points ahead in the Southeast.

The night's other goalie bump came in New Jersey. And for the goal-deprived Devils, it was a critical call.

(Coming Up Next: Last Night's Losers, Puck Headlines, Slamming Jordin Tootoo and more Jonathan Roy video.)<

The NHL didn't really get all that much of a bump from Willa Ford's participation on the hit ABC show "Dancing with the Stars" because she wasn't yet married to Mike Modano -- allowing her to raise her profile via a constant state of flirtation with her dance partner during the show. Hockey might see a higher profile in the series' sixth season, as Kristi Yamaguchi competes on the show while her husband, Carolina defenseman Brett Hedican, competes in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. (Assuming that...nah, the Hurricanes will make the cut, right?) Yamaguchi has been playing up her husband's career in interviews, telling ABC News that she put her figure skating and celebrity career on hold for four years for "[being] a mom, hanging out, being a hockey wife."

In a move that will certainly diminish her chances of entering the Dallas Mavericks' locker room, Yamaguchi is also blogging for OK! Magazine during her stint on "Dancing With the Stars"; her latest post might be of interest to Hedican's teammates:

I just want to give some shout-outs to my family now – my husband, who's been amazing. He's still in his hockey season so it's a little sad we're going to be separated, but he's been so supportive of me. He'd come to watch us practice during the past month and would tell me, "Oh, you've got to teach me all these dance moves once all this is done!" I hope we stay in it long enough so he can come see me compete.

I'm sure Rod Brind'Amour and Scott Walker are just dying to see The Brett Hedican Mambo. The last season of "Dancing With the Stars" ran from Sept. 24 through Nov. 27, so no matter how deep the Hurricanes go in the postseason the show will still be on the air. Seeing as how Yamaguchi is the early favorite to win this season, I wonder if there's a friendly wager on who lasts longer in their respective competitions. I'm also pondering this: If she "plans to move back to the Bay Area this year, so her kids can grow up with their cousins," as Yamaguchi told ABC News, how will that affect the future for 36-year-old Hedican, who is a UFA after this season?

After his trade to the Carolina Hurricanes, Joe Corvo sinned against two fan bases when he 'fessed up to the fact that he had requested a trade out of Ottawa for an American destination. Senators general manager (and not yet coach) Bryan Murray slammed Corvo and Raleigh when he said the defenseman would excel there because "they don't talk (hockey) very much" in Carolina: "He'll probably thrive in that environment and I like guys who thrive under pressure." But Hurricanes fans like Cason Blog were didn't exactly muster up sympathy for Corvo's plight: "Despite what Murray and Corvo said, I don't think it's an American players are fish out of water in Canada thing. I think it's a Joe Corvo has a fragile psyche thing."

Fragile psyche was replaced with vengeful spirit on Sunday afternoon, as Corvo scored his first NHL hat-trick in Carolina's 5-1 win over his old Senators mates. "If I got to write a storybook ending, this would be it," he said after the game, but the chapters leading up to that ending are just as interesting: Carolina is now 12-3-1 since acquiring Corvo and Patrick Eaves for Cory Stillman and Mike Commodore on Feb. 11. Corvo has energized the Carolina power play with eight points and four goals -- pretty ballsy wearing Paul Coffey's old number, isn't it? -- and has 15 points in 15 games with the Hurricanes. That's enough to quiet the Carolina skeptics ... and infuriate Senators fans. "Joe Corvo got a hat trick. That is not a typo," was today's game summary from Scarlett Ice.

Southeast Division bashers take note: Both Florida and Washington are two points away from joining Carolina in the postseason as of Sunday night.

When the Chicago Blackhawks, a team that doesn't ooze offensive depth from its pores, put the enigmatic Sergei Samsonov on waivers in December, most of us thought that it was the end for the little Russian. He had his last chance, and blew it.
Sammy appeared to care little about doing much other than whining and pouting, despite the fact that given every opportunity to succeed during his brief tenure in the Windy City. Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Robert Lang had no problems scoring, but Samsonov certainly did.

Who would really want to take a chance on a whiny, me-first player who put up just 4 points in 23 games? The Carolina Hurricanes, apparently, who took Samsonov on waivers, and made a lot of fans scratch their heads.

Whatever magic tonic Peter Laviolette has been giving Sergei could make a mint on eBay. Somehow, some way, the Canes' head coach has coaxed 24 points and +11 in 27 games out of the little bugger.

Frankly, I am quite amazed and shocked. Even with Samsonov's skill set, there was nothing to suggest that there was something left in the tank. It's not just the production that has suddenly reappeared, but the passion for the game and the willingness to work hard. For whatever reason, Samsonov didn't care much about winning when he was with the Habs or Hawks, but is now working his buns off to backcheck, forecheck, hipcheck, bodycheck, cross-check, and produce offensively.

Just think ... it could very well be Sergei Samsonov, of all people, that turns out to be the best in-season transaction in the NHL for this campaign. With Justin Williams and Rod Brind'Amour lost to injury, Samsonov may very well be the reason why Canes win their division.