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Highly regarded NHL draft prospect Morgan Rielly could be back from his ACL surgery by Game 5 of the Moose Jaw Warriors' first-round series. Sweet scoop from Dean Millard.(Coming Down The Pipe!)

Calgary Hitmen captain Cody Sylvester and third-leading scorer Victor Rask are each day-to-day with injuries. They were sorely missed in the Game 1 loss to Brandon. (Calgary Herald, Calgary Sun)

Montreal Canadiens prospect Brendan Gallagher has been part of the Vancouver Giants since Day 1. Now he begins his final post-season with the team. (Vancouver Province, Vancouver Sun, Spokane Spokesman-Review)

Everyone expects the Medicine Hat-Saskatoon series will go the distance. Could Blades goalie Andrey Makarov, a world junior silver medallist, make the difference? (Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Medicine Hat News)

A definite should-read: Tri-City Americans GM Bob Tory reminisces about the days when the

Niagara IceDogs' Alex Friesen (OHL Images)

No. 1 star: Alex Friesen, Niagara IceDogs (OHL)

It might seem counter-intuitive to elevate a player who thrived in a 8-2 blowout over those who did it in closer games. However, considering what Friesen embodies for Niagara, he should get his due for getting his first OHL hat trick after going 333 games without one.

For all their star power, the IceDogs really do look to overages Friesen and Andrew Agozzino, the only holdovers from the team's first season in Ontario wine country in 2007-08, to light the fire. Both had four points in the one-sided win over the Oshawa Generals. Friesen, a Vancouver Canucks prospect and Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., native, got the party started with a goal just 1:43 into the game, assisted by Agozzino. He set up his long-time teammate later in the period and tallied again in each of the next two frames. Niagara was able to shut it down early, too.

No. 2 star: Michael Ferland, Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)

Ferland, playing in the home arena of his NHL organization, helped Brandon wrest home-ice advantage from the Calgary Hitmen with a 6-2 win the night's sole WHL game. The Calgary Flames pick assisted on a Mark Stone late second-period goal that stood up as the winner and also got a tip-in goal 6:22 into the third that snuffed out Calgary's comeback hopes. Ferland was also his usual rugged self physically.

Ottawa 67's captain Marc Zanetti (OHL Images)The home teams each won on opening night in the Ontario Hockey League playoffs, but two of the contests were very tight. The third, not so much

Ottawa 3 Belleville 2 (67's lead Eastern Conference series 1-0) — How important is it the grand scheme for Ottawa to need overtime, considering they are the big favourite? It was perhaps more crucial symbolically than it was as any show of superiority that the 67's, who won 3-2 by the margin of two Tyler Toffoli goals, got it done in extra time.

Last season, they lost Game 1 on home (in name only since the game was at Scotiabank Place) to Sudbury. With a host of injuries, they downward spiralled out of the playoffs and were swept. This represented a 180-degree turnaround, although it was far from a thorough 20-man effort.

"I was saying to the boys at intermission before overtime, 'you're never going to have more fun than this in your life, so embrace it. Battle your hardest,' " said 67's captain Marc Zanetti, who was named the game's first star. "Last year we lost Game 1 in overtime, so today, to win, was a real high for us. Belleville's a strong team, they know how to attack your weak spots. Today was important because we saw how we can't freak out and go crazy on each other when we're not scoring. The boys responded very well, battled really hard."

Belleville Bulls goalie Malcolm SubbanMalcolm Subban knows that where he's headed, players with Tyler Toffoli's moves will be more than the rule than the exception.

So after the highly touted goaltender, looking to help his underdog Belleville Bulls at least split two road games vs. the Ottawa 67's, was bested on a breakaway in overtime for a game-winner, he kept a tight seal on his emotions. Toffoli's goal 2:02 into extra time that gave heavily favoured Ottawa a 3-2 win and 1-0 lead in the Ontario Hockey League first-round series came on the classic abrupt change peculiar to the post-season. A clearing attempt bounced near the Ottawa blueline and by the Bulls' Jake Worrad. That left the 100-point man Toffoli with a 100-foot breakaway, which he completed by sneaking the puck just between Subban's left foot and the goalpost.

Even though he was credited with 40 saves and helped the Bulls go to overtime despite having just 11 shots after the first period, Subban's self-assessment cut to the quick.

"I thought I played good overall, but I didn't get the win so it wasn't one of my better games," said the Rexdale, Ont., native, who could be the first goalie taken in June's NHL draft. "Sometimes you don't play your best game but you get the win, that's all that matters."

Ottawa, with talents up front such as NHL second-rounders Toffoli, Shane Prince and Dalton Smith and budding first-rounder Sean Monhan, has been a season-long nemesis for Subban. The 18-year-old had a 2.29 average and .929 save percentage in the regular season, but his rate stats (in a small sample size, albeit) were 4.47 and .854 vs. the 67's. So there was some solace to be taken from holding off the heavies.

"It was a great way to set the tone and show them that we mean business," Subban said. "It would have been nicer if we got the win."

Kamloops' Tim BozonCommissioner Ron Robison made sure to make ample reference to "competitive balance" and "franchise stability" in his media address to kick off the 2012 Western Hockey League playoff schedule in Kamloops on Thursday. The local Blazers are heavily favoured coming into their series against the Victoria Royals, and according to Royals President Dave Dakers, the first shots have already been fired, albeit not by any hockey club.

"I'm not sure why we're playing this series if you read the newspaper," said Dakers, in reference to the local Kamloops Daily News having mistakenly referred to the first-year Royals franchise as "Grizzlies" in its sports section. Already entering as underdogs, this provides a little bit more bulletin board material for Victoria, who come in as the 7-seed having won just 24 of its 72 games this season and are out-matched on paper against the Blazers.

Niagara IceDogs forward Mitchell Theoret and stylist Will

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say. Come playoff time, no one tests that adage quite like some of the beauties in the Canadian Hockey League when it comes to hair.

Crazy playoff hair has become a tradition in junior hockey, much like complaining about poor officiating and long bus rides. Last year we went through the post-season transformation with Niagara IceDogs forward Mitchell Theoret, who went from the clean-cut boy next door to freak of the week in a matter of hours with the help of his barber, Will, at Blackbeard's Barbershop.

This year, he went back to Will and they kicked the crazy up a notch with a look Theoret's calling the old man. (see photo above)

"Last year's was a little more stylish, something you might consider wearing," explained the seventh-round pick of the New York Islanders. "With this I'm just trying to get a glimpse of what I might look like in about 60 years.

"Hopefully I'll still have some hair."

When asked if he'd seen Theoret's hair, the response from IceDogs coach-GM Marty Williamson was brief.

"Yes, and I can't repeat what I said. Unbelievable."

[Related: It's all about the hair for Murray State basketball player Ed Daniel]

If you're an Islanders fan you've got to be pretty pumped about this, because if Theoret's going to be this dedicated off the ice, just imagine what he'll do for your team on the ice. Plus if you're an Islanders fan nothing truly scares you anymore, anyway.

"A lot of my teammates just shook their heads and said, 'I can't believe you actually did it again,'" said the Kitchener, Ont., native. "I was just in downtown St. Catharines a few minutes ago and everyone that drove by just looked at me like I was from a different planet."

Yes, Planet Awesome.

Sarnia Sting centre Alex Galchenyuk (OHL Images)Alex Galchenyuk and Nail Yakupov will play on Friday night. That much we know. And that's about it.

At the outset of the season, the Sarnia Sting's pair of top NHL draft prospect were supposed to be the league's flagship future franchise players. They were coming off posting a combined 180 points as rookies in Sarnia the previous season. New Sting coach-GM Jacques Beaulieu had significantly upgraded the talent around them, and they were ready to roll and possibly set off a debate over which should be the NHL's No. 1 pick?

Fate, to put it mildly, threw each a curve. Injuries and myriad misfortunes meant the Sting only had one or the other, never both, in the lineup for only 44 games across the 68-game schedule. Tomorrow's playoff opener vs. the Saginaw Spirit will mark the first time the two have skated together in a meaningful game since before the team was mathematically eliminated from last season's playoff chase. How close either will be to peak form is open to question, since they have had a surreal past six months.

Here's a timeline:

Sept. 16: During a preseason game, Galchenyuk loses an edge and his left knee crashes into the back of the goal. It looks like a serious injury.

Oct. 22: Ten games into the season, Yakupov already has 24 points. He's had five games with at least three points.

A four-year Ontario Hockey League veteran, goaltender John Cullen is in his final year of eligibility with the Windsor Spitfires. He will be bringing his player's perspective to Buzzing The Net on a regular basis. Cullen and the Spitfires begin their first-round playoff series against the London Knights on Friday.

I remember it like it was yesterday, huddled around the television surrounded by family and friends as Brett Hull scored the controversial game-winning goal to help the Dallas Stars defeat my hometown Buffalo Sabres to win the Stanley Cup. I was crushed and heartbroken, because even at a young age I was caught up in the excitement of playoff hockey.

Windsor goalie John Cullen

There's a reason why many call hockey the greatest game on earth. When the regular season ends something incredible happens. The game speeds up, the hits get harder, the passes seem crisper, and with each goal scored you can feel your team come closer to winning it all.

For me and the rest of my Windsor Spitfires teammates, making the playoffs means getting one step closer to winning the most coveted trophy in all of junior hockey: The Memorial Cup.

The best part about being a goaltender is that we have the ability to steal a game at any point in the series. It's something special when a goalie is 'in the zone,' as we call it in the trade. To the opposing team it as if a brick wall is standing guard in net, nothing they do seems to work and no shot gets through. Nothing is more intimidating than running into a hot goalie in playoffs, and the outcome of a series is usually dictated by whose goalie is more consistent throughout the series.

Preparation is crucial to success, even more so in hockey. So it's no surprise that the most prepared team coming into each game is always the team that brings home the hardware. Watching video on your opponents' special teams and team-play contributes to the preparation process. Also important is studying the opposing teams' systems, such as their forecheck and breakout, and keying on individual players tendencies and weaknesses is also helpful.