The Los Angeles Kings seized the early advantage in the Stanley Cup Final, taking Game One last night in New Jersey by a 2-1 overtime score. The game itself was somewhat overshadowed, however, by major news items developing around the league. Later this morning, Detroit's Nick Lidstrom is slated to announce his retirement at a press conference in Detroit, while the commissioner's address to the media has put business issues in the spotlight...

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Our afternoon hockey notes can hopefully get you back thinking about the Nashville Predators, which may be a challenge given all the Nicklas Lidstrom conversation, and the opening of the Stanley Cup Final tonight.

So we'll kick things off with a double-barreled blast at "the Predator Way", followed by more insight into the move by Milwaukee Admirals head coach Ian Herbers, who is leaving the Preds organization to head up the University of Alberta program...

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As was rumored and reported a week ago, the Nashville Predators have signed Finnish defenseman Joonas Jarvinen to an entry-level contract. Here's the team's press release:

Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that the club has signed free agent defenseman Joonas Järvinen (YOH-nuhs JAHR-vehn-en) to a two-year, two-way contract.

Järvinen, 23 (1/5/89), played his first season with Pelicans Lahti of the Finnish League (SM-Liiga) in 2011-12, ranking second among all league skaters in plus/minus rating (+28), fourth in penalty minutes (125) and among the League's Top 20 defensemen in points (5g-18a-23pts). The 6-3, 220-pound blueliner posted six points (3g-3a) in 17 2012 playoff games, helping Lahti reach the SM-Liiga Finals and earn a silver medal. The native of Turku, Finland spent his first four professional seasons with his hometown team, TPS Turku, helping them claim the SM-Liiga title in 2010.

Järvinen participated in his first World Championship tournament earlier this month, recording three assists in 10 games for Finland. He has also represented Finland on the international stage at the 2008 and 2009 World Junior Championships, and the 2007 World Under-18 Championships.

It's time to stretch those creative muscles, people.

While the hockey world looks forward to the opening of the Stanley Cup Final tonight (7:00 p.m. Central on NBC), front office staff from around the NHL are working to prepare for the upcoming Draft. Besides a Scouting Combine taking place in Toronto this week, there is also the matter of tying up loose ends from the 2010 draft. Players unsigned after two years go back into the pool, and the Predators have one such player in Sweden's Patrick Cehlin.

That story leads off our hockey notes this morning...

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You know we're desperate for real hockey news here in Nashville when the hot topic of the day is what might happen with the backup goaltending spot next season. After two seasons spent mostly on the bench, is Anders Lindback ready to move on? Two local blog posts this afternoon touch on that question...

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After topping John Tavares of the New York Islanders in the semfinals, Nashville Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne has made the final round of voting for the honor of gracing the cover of EA Sports NHL13. He'll meet up with Claude Giroux, the Philadelphia Flyers' scoring sensation who enjoyed a breakout 93-point campaign, and led all players in jersey sales at Shop.NHL.com.

Puck Daddy has the details:

More than 23 million votes have been cast since EA Sports announced its NHL 13 cover vote campaign last month. After all of the voting, the final two players who will be vying to be on the cover of the game hitting shelves Sept. 11 in North America (Sept. 14 in Europe) are Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers and Nashville Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne.

The final voting period will run beginning today (May 29) through June 4, with the winner being revealed during the NHL Awards show in Las Vegas on June 20.

Pekka Rinne

#35 / Goalie / Nashville Predators

Height: 6-5

Weight: 209

Born: Nov 03, 1982

You know the drill, folks! Head over to covervote.nhl.com and vote until your mouse cries for mercy.

Then get a new mouse.

Now that we're a few weeks past the Nashville Predators' playoff elimination, the gears are starting to turn as the franchise prepares for the 2012 NHL Draft and a summer free agent market that could significantly reshape the team.

Our hockey notes this morning start off with reports that the first change might come behind the bench in Milwaukee, however. After years of relative stability, are the Admirals going through head coaches like drummers from Spinal Tap?

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It's been a slow weekend on the hockey front, so while you vote for Pekka Rinne on the NHL13 cover (covervote.nhl.com, vote as often as you like), let's cheer on Nashville Predators prospect Austin Watson as he leads the London Knights into battle against the Shawinigan Cataractes for the 2012 Memorial Cup.

The puck drops shortly after 6:00 p.m. Central on the NHL Network!

As of our last update, Pekka Rinne still holds a lead over John Tavares in the semifinal round of voting for the EA Sports NHL13 cover, but he'll continue to need your support through Monday to make it to the final round. One fan has put together a video to rally others to the cause, but the bottom line is that you need to spend a little quality time at covervote.nhl.com today and push Pekka over the top.

Since there's been some confusion, it's worth clarifying - you can vote as many times as you like. There's a contest associated with this vote, in which you can only gain 10 entries per day, but if you sat there and cast 500 votes (one for every lap of today's Indy 500?) every single one of them will count.

So now, on to your morning hockey notes, which feature Nashville Predators prospect Austin Watson, the club's 2010 1st-round pick, who is going for the Memorial Cup championship today with the London Knights (6:00 p.m. Central on NHL Network).

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With a victory tonight on home ice, the New Jersey Devils can eliminate the Rangers and return to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2003.

You can use this thread to follow the game, after reading your afternoon hockey notes, of course...

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An interesting tweet just floated through cyberspace courtesy of Montreal columnist Dave Stubbs:

#Preds‬ Gill had plate screwed into fractured tibia 2 weeks ago, on crutches when we met for lunch. Has cool x-ray pics in his iPhone‪ #Habs‬

Hal Gill

#75 / Defenseman / Nashville Predators

Height: 6-7

Weight: 244

Born: Apr 06, 1975

Also according to Stubbs, the injury occurred when Gill blocked a shot from Sheldon Souray towards the end of the regular season's penultimate game, so it does indeed sound like Gill was skating on a broken leg in the Western Conference Semifinals. I guess you can either take that as evidence of Gill's guts & determination, or a discredit to his skating ability that we didn't notice (I kid, I kid).

After the jump, we've got exclusive footage of how that decision went down between Gill and the Predators' medical staff as to whether or not he would be able to play with a fractured tibia...

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According to a report at RDS (passed along via @NHLGossip on Twitter), the Nashville Predators have signed junior winger Andre Bouvet-Morrissette of the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the QMJHL to a one-year contract. Bouvet-Morrissette, who has gone undrafted by NHL teams, was reportedly invited by Montreal to a combine in June, but presumably this move by the Predators seems to jump the queue for the rights to the 6'2", right-shooting forward.

According to the Voltigeurs' website, he expects to attend the Preds Development Camp on June 25 (now that's news, we hadn't heard dates about that previously), and play for the Milwaukee Admirals in the fall.

His numbers this year for Drummondville took a big jump up, with 39 goals and 33 assists in 63 games, after posting 16 goals and 14 assists in 2010-2011. Keep in mind, however, that he was a 20-year-old competing against younger players, so apply the appropriate size grain of salt to any expectations about what he might do at the next level.

For some video of Bouvet-Morrissette in action, head over to the Voltigeurs' site.

After a night without action, the Stanley Cup Playoffs will resume tonight with Game Six between the Devils & Rangers, and with New Jersey holding a 3-2 series advantage, echoes of 1994 seem to be everywhere...

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By scoring a win over the New York Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist, Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne has made the Final Four in EA Sports' voting for who will grace the cover for NHL13.

Pekka Rinne

#35 / Goalie / Nashville Predators

Height: 6-5

Weight: 209

Born: Nov 03, 1982

Now through Monday, May 28, you can vote AS MANY TIMES AS YOU LIKE at covervote.nhl.com for Peks as he takes on John Tavares of the New York Islanders in one semifinal. The other side of the bracket features Philadelphia's Claude Giroux, and Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin.

So what are you waiting for? Get over there and start clicking!

Thanks to a wild 5-3 victory in Game 5, the New Jersey Devils have taken a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals and have a chance to close things out tomorrow night on their home ice. Our hockey notes this morning touch on this game, before moving on to the rest of the hockey world, including two articles from our very own Sam Page appearing in different outlets...

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For the third season in a row, Alexander Radulov has been named the winner of the Golden Stick, which goes to the KHL's most valuable player during the regular season. With 25 goals and 38 assists, he also led the league in scoring for the second consecutive year.

In addition, he was awarded a "Golden Helmet", which is basically comparable to an NHL First Team All-Star selection, as the best six-man unit was also selected.

Alexander Radulov

#47 / Right Wing / Nashville Predators

Height: 6-1

Weight: 200

Born: Jul 05, 1986

Contract Status: Restricted Free Agent

Any guesses on how late he'll stay out celebrating this big win?

We'll kick off our season reviews of the 2011-2012 Nashville Predators with one of the more popular players on the team, the big lug who fills a rather unique role.

Brian McGrattan

#23 / Right Wing / Nashville Predators

Height: 6-4

Weight: 235

Born: Sep 02, 1981

Contract Status: Unrestricted Free Agent

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Late last night the Los Angeles Kings finished off the Phoenix Coyotes to take the Western Conference Final in 5 games, and send L.A. back to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1993. So brace yourselves for a lot more of Barry Melrose, folks, and highlight clips of Ye Olden Days when the Mullet paced behind the bench and Wayne Gretzky led the way...

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Can the Coyotes stave off elimination once again?

We have to keep in mind that the deal's not done yet to keep the team in Phoenix, so it's entirely possible that this could be the Coyotes last game in Arizona.

WCF: Los Angeles Kings @ Phoenix Coyotes Game 5: Time To Do It Again - Five For Howling
Can Ray Whitney get rolling? That's one key to a potential Phoenix victory.

Thanks to a 4-1 New Jersey victory in Game Four, the Devils & Rangers are now in for another long series, and as you can imagine in a matchup featuring New York & New Jersey, it's all about congeniality, gentlemanly play, and decorum...

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The Devils need to make a stand on home ice, as they face a 2-1 series deficit to the Rangers...

2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Eastern Conference Finals, Game 4 Preview: New York Rangers at New Jersey Devils - In Lou We Trust
Take a pre-game look from the New Jersey side.

2012 NHL Playoffs: Stu Bickel Replaces Brandon Prust In Tonight's Lineup - Blueshirt Banter
Prust is out with a suspension, so Stu Bickel gets his chance.

As we look ahead to the 2012 NHL Awards taking place in Las Vegas next month, the assembled SB Nation hockey bloggers conducted our own balloting for the major awards, and this morning, Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings was revealed as our collective pick for the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the league's top goaltender. Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators came in 4th behind Henrik Lundqvist and Mike Smith.

Jonathan Quick

#32 / Goalie / Los Angeles Kings

Height: 6-1

Weight: 212

Born: Jan 21, 1986

Follow @Forechecker

Each of us submitted our top 3 selections, so here's a look at how the OTF crew voted:

Chris: (1) Quick, (2) Rinne, (3) Lundqvist

Marc: (1) Lundqvist, (2) Quick, (3) Rinne

Dirk: (1) Quick, (2) Smith, (3) Lundqvist

Yesterday saw two big games on opposite ends of the hockey world. In the Western Conference Finals, the Phoenix Coyotes slowed down the L.A. Kings' rampage for a day, while at the World Championships, Russia captured the gold medal as they look to build momentum ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics, which will be held on their turf frozen tundra.

We've got updates from those games, as well the junior hockey spectacle which is the Memorial Cup...

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Can the Kings close the deal, and claim the Clarence Campbell Bowl for the first time in 19 years?

Thanks to the Czech Republic losing yesterday (and Martin Erat getting knocked from the game with a concussion), all of the Nashville Predators are officially done playing for this season. Sure, there are two junior prospects still competing in the Memorial Cup, but the pros are now able to kick off the skates and heal up for the next three months.

All that's left to do for now is get ready for Mike Fisher's interview with Oprah Winfrey, which airs tonight at 8:00 p.m. Central on OWN. We've got a sneak peek as part of our hockey notes today...

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