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Phil Kessel dodges media; NBC Cup Final schedule; Bolland out for Chicago (Puck Headlines)

Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.

• Oh that’s priceless: “Habs fans get doused with popcorn as the Toronto Maple Leafs drop the last game of the season 4-1 to the Montreal Canadiens at Air Canada Centre.”

• Dave Nonis vows that Phil Kessel will speak to reporters during the Leafs/Bruins series after he avoided them today. [Globe & Mail]

• Lou Lamoriello confirms that the New Jersey Devils will keep their first-round pick for the draft in New Jersey this summer. Which means they’ll automatically give it up next summer. But hey, they have Stefan Matteau, so there’s that. [Fire & Ice]

• Uh-oh: “Chicago Blackhawks forward Dave Bolland and goaltender Ray Emery will not play against the Minnesota Wild in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday because of lower-body injuries.” [ESPN Chicago]

• New Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill on whether he plans on firing Glen Gulutzan: “It’s going to be about a two-week process, and we’ll make decisions from there. But right now, we’re going to be very patient with decisions, we’re not going to rush through anything. I’ve been sitting on the outside, I need to get on the inside, and we’ll go from there.” [Dallas Sports Day]

• Ken Holland couldn’t be happier for Nill. [Wings]

• Marc Staal on coming back for the Capitals series for the Rangers: “I don’t know want to go down that road yet. As of right now, I haven’t made a decision one way or the other. I think it’s gonna go day-by-day. If I feel good enough and make the decision to go, then I’ll go … I haven’t written myself off.” [NYDN]

• Washington Capitals right wing Alex Ovechkin, St. Louis Blues goaltender Brian Elliott and New York Rangers center Derek Stepan have been named the NHL's "Three Stars" for the month of April. [NHL]

• Why the Sharks Will Win the Stanley Cup. Wait, the Stanley Cup?! [Sharks]

• NBC makes some changes to its Stanley Cup schedule format: “The network will air Games 1 and 4-7 of this year's Stanley Cup Final, meaning every potentially clinching game of the series will air on broadcast television. Games 2 and 3 will air on the NBC Sports Network. This changes a format that has been in place since 2009. From 2000-2008, Games 1 and 2 aired on cable, while 3-7 aired on network television. The networks will air all of the Stanley Cup Final in primetime.” [Lepore]

• Vladivostok joins the KHL. [KHL]

• Worry not about Steven Stamkos’s knee. [Lightning]

• Jay Harrison on the Carolina Hurricanes’ demise: "Ultimately, the simplest explanation is that we just didn't play well enough over a stretch in which we had to, and we didn't limit the losses when we needed to.” [CP]

• Are we going to see Brooks Laich in the playoffs? [Capitals Insider]

• Nail Yakupov is your rookie of the month for April. [Oilers]

• Finally, Dan Rosen sees the Ottawa Senators as sleepers in the East.