Former Colorado Avalanche superstar Peter Forsberg wants to play for the Washington Capitals, and the Capitals want him.  Forsberg scored the overtime game-winner today for MoDo of the Swedish Elite league, in his second game of his comeback attempt to the NHL.  About 15 NHL scouts were in attendance for the game and all of them were drooling when they saw him fly up and down the ice.  One of the scouts says that it was the best Forsberg had looked in the last 5 years.  Forsberg was dominating the play and he didn’ t get much ice-time, only some box-play and some regular five-on-five, yet the assist on the first goal was pure Forsberg.  It cut through the ice, through two opponents to a team-mate with an open net.  If they would have played him on the powerplay the scoreline could have been a lot different.  But he was a menace out there, a constant threat, he even had a brawl with ex-San Jose Shark Marcus Ragnarsson.  All the experts in Sweden were stunned.  The old Forsberg is back.  A line with Forsberg, Alex Ovechkin and Mike Knuble could be unstoppable.  This is definitely a scenario that the Caps would like to see happen.

Capitals netminder Semyon Varlamov was neck and neck with Michal Neuvirth for the backup position to Cristobal Huet, but it now looks like he’s going to start the season with the big squad.  Varlamov was a sensation in net during last seasons playoff run.

Boston Bruins forward Marc Savard will be highly sought after next offseason when his contract is up, and the Toronto Maple Leafs might be one team that swoops in to grab him.  The Bruins may not have the cap room to sign Savard next offseason, especially if they choose to extend some of their other free agents.  So Toronto may try to reunited Savard with Phil Kessel.  Savard however has said he likes it in Boston, so we’ll have to see how this one plays out.  This could be one of the reasons that the bruins may extend an offer to Ilya Kovalchuk.

What this team lacks is a veteran presence.  While the Bruins have a true veteran and three-time Cup winner on the blue line in Aaron Ward, they could use another veteran forward to help mentor their younger players along with Mark Recchi.  The answer to that problem could be Columbus Blue Jackets un-restricted free agent Micheal Peca.  Peca, who has been an NHL captain with two different teams, would be a solid addition with his defensive skill and experience.  It could be the missing ingredients Boston requires to push it to a championship level next season.  He also is expected to ask for a reasonable salary, a key factor when GM Peter Chiarelli is trying to fit all his young stars under the salary cap.

Boston had the 25th pick in the draft and selected Jordan Caron, a big right winger from Rimouski of the QMJHL. Caron is a big body, skates well and possesses a big shot.  He is a very steady, dependable player.  He scored 36 goals this season, but some will say that’s an inflated number in a high-scoring league.  He should fit in nicely on Boston’s 2nd or 3rd line.

While Jason Chara leads Boston’s solid group of blueliners there’s room for improvement.  But obviously they’re really pressed by salary-cap limitations.  Look for them to try to add someone who can make a difference.  They may be able to get that player if they decide to trade Kessel.

One thing Boston doesn’t have to worry about is their goaltending.  Vezina trophy winner Tim Thomas has that position all taken care of and backup Manny Fernandez with 16-8 reord last year is more than the Bruins could have asked for.  With these two tending goal, it will be difficult for teams to beat the Bruins.

The city of Boston had high hopes for their team this past season, with the unexpected loss to Carolina in the second round of the playoffs it just puts even more pressure on the Bruins for next season.  Bruins management and their fans will be demanding nothing short of a Stanley Cup victory.

The Philadelphia Flyers have made it no secret that they covet Florida Panther defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, this years top free agent.  The Flyers want to trade for his rights and sign him before he becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1.  If this deal goes down then it will probably be prior to or during the NHL Draft on Friday.

Marian Gaborik is sending subtle hints that he wants to play for the Vancouver Canucks.  the Minnesota Wild forward bought a house in Vancouver, as he’s set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.  If the Canucks lose out on re-signing the Sedin twins then Gaborik makes perfect sense.  Plus with Wild GM focusing on Ottawa Senators Dany Heatley it seems like Gaborik’s days in Minnesota are numbered.

Montreal Canadiens GM Bob Gainey isn’t talking with any free agents yet because he said there could be a blockbuster trade over the weekend.  The potential deal to get Vincent LeCavalier from the Tampa Bay Lightning is still very much in play.  We’ll see if Gainey can acquire the right players to put the Habs back on top.

Lightning owners Oren Koules and Len Barrie have been drifting apart for months now (according to whispers within the organization), and finally, it blew up — so NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is being called in to mediate.  According to anonymous sources, the owners can’t agree on anything.  So it’s possible that Bettman could go in there and decide which owner will have control of the franchise.  In short, this could turn out to be a custody battle, and one owner may lose out.

It seems like history is possibly looking to repeat itself.  Once again after taking a two game lead in a series against Pittsburgh, the Washington Capitals dropped their second straight time to allow the Penguins to tie up the other Eastern Conferences semi-final series at 2-2.  After Washington’s  Nicklas Backstrom scored less than a minute into the game, Pittsburgh ran off three straight goals in the first period and never trailed again.  Sidney Crosby scored his postseason-leading ninth goal and added an assist to lead the Penguins offense.  Caps Goalie Simeon Varlamov didn’t bring his A game and it showed, 4 of the 5 goals he let in were a little soft, only Crosby’s goal was really pretty. Also after scoring five goals in the first three games of the series, Capitals sniper Alex Ovechkin seemed to disappear as he was held without a goal in Game 4.  The Penguins are now in position to again do what they did against the Capitals in 1992 and 1996 by rallying to win after being down 2-0 in a series.  Pittsburgh has a major worry though, as Sergei Gonchar was helped off the ice late in the first period after absorbing a knee-on-knee hit from Ovechkin.  There was no immediate word about the injury, or how long it would sideline the Penguins’ most experienced defenseman.  The Pens will need him healthy to pull out a series victory.  Game 5 is in Washington tonight.

The Boston Bruins definitely did not disappoint their fans as they took care of the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 to open their 2nd round series.  They played to a 1-1 tie after the 1st period but in the 2nd Boston turned it on scoring twice in 5 minutes to take control of the game.  Marc Savard scored his first goal of the game at 7:21 of the 2nd period.  By the way Savard added his 2nd goal of the game at 7:21 of the 3rd period, I thought his play was at least consistent, scoring at the same time in each of the last two periods.  Goaltender Tim Thomas stopped 26 of 27 shots giving the Bruins another solid night between the pipes.  Thomas won his 11th consecutive game and  sixth straight where he allowed two goals or fewer.  They’ll go back at it on Sunday for game two.  The Bruins better not let their guard down because I have a sneaky suspicion that the Hurricanes may steal game two.

The Bruins beat Montreal 5-1 showing that they are not going to be pushed around by the Canadiens.  Constantly throughout the game Boston out hustled and out muscled Montreal at every opportunity.  Carey Price made some great saves to keep Montreal close early on but stupid penalties did the Habs in once again as the Bruins scored three power-play goals.  Bostons offense was led by Marc Savards 4 point night, he had 2 goals and added 2 assists.  The series now moves to the Bell Center in Montreal where 21,000 plus rabid fans await game 3.  The Canadiens will have to defend their home ice to have a chance at coming back and even winning the series.  There is a lot of bad blood between these two teams and I expect game 3 to be an all out battle to the end.  Also expect to see a lot of aggressive play from Montreal sprinkling in a few fights on the way.

The New York Rangers won a grind it out type of game beating the Washington Capitals 1-0.  New York got a strong performance by goalie Henrik Lundqvist who recorded his third career playoff shutout turning away all 35 shots he faced.  The Capitals have now lost six of their last eight playoff games and have dug themselves a big hole against the seventh-seeded Rangers.  Alex Ovechkin the NHL’s regular season goal scoring leader has been held scoreless so far in the playoffs.

The Detroit Red Wings continue to roll as they disposed of the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-0.  Chris Osgood collected his 14 career shutout.  Osgood is playing at a very high level right now.  The Blue Jackets have managed just one goal on 46 shots in the first two games of the series.  If Detroit keeps up this type of play they’ll be hoisting up the Stanley Cup Trophy above their heads once again come the beginning of June.  Four different Red Wings scored a goal as seven different Red Wings have now scored a goal in the series.  Only Jiri Hudler has two goals.  So now the series shifts to Columbus, you better believe the Blue Jackets will be ready to host their first ever playoff game.  Expect Columbus to put up a fight but ultimately the Red Wings should prevail.

The Flames continued their slumping ways last night.  Calgary rushed out to a 2-0 lead early in the 1st period but then the Black Hawks scored 3 unanswered 2nd period goals to win by a score of 3-2.  Chicago is getting awesome goaltending from netminder Nikolai Khabibulin.  With the win the Hawks took a 2-0 lead in the series.  Chicago fans are definitely feeling playoff fever grip the city.  What a great season this extremely young team has had so far and they’re showing that they still have some unfinished business to achieve their goal of winning it all.