While all the attention is centered around the Conference Finals in the NHL, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced that head coach Paul Maurice has been fired.

After missing the playoffs for three straight seasons, the Leafs look to undergo a major rebuilding process.

Despite being scared straight by Team USA yesterday–where the Americans barely lost 5-4–Team Canada is still an odds-on favorite to win Gold at the World Hockey Championships.

The Canucks are paying out at even money in SPORTSBETTING.COM IIHF championship futures.

With only four teams left in the NHL playoffs, many are beginning to project who the eventual playoff MVP will be.

SPORTSBETTING.COM has Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby (+450) as the odds-on to be the 2008 Conn Smythe trophy winner.

The odds seem stacked against the Philadelphia Flyers in NHL playoff betting.

Philly is +170 in its Eastern Conference Final series against Pittsburgh and is listed at +2000 to pull the upset and sweep the Penguins 4-0.

However, the Flyers are a grittier team and grit is invaluable in the playoffs.

Can Philly beat the odds?

It took four OT periods but Dallas was finally able to eliminate the San Jose Sharks from the NHL playoffs by a final score of 2-1, catapulting the Stars into the Conference Finals against the Detroit Red Wings.

On the Eastern Front, the Conference Final will be a battle of Pennsylvania as the Philadelphia Flyers will battle the Pittsburgh Penguins.

With a 6-4 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, the Montreal Canadiens were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs, losing the series 4-1.

Facing elimination, the San Jose Sharks were able to fend off the Dallas Stars last night and send their playoff series to a fifth game.

The Sharks are listed at 10-1 to represent the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Final. 

After tonight, two more NHL teams could be cleaning out lockers and booking tee off times as the New York Rangers and Colorado Avalanche are both down 3-0 and could be bounced by the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings respectively.

The Rangers are at Even money and the Avs are +135 on the Money line.

The Philly Flyers have scored 10 times on Montreal goalies and the Dallas Stars have popped in the same against Vezina candidate Evgeni Nabokov and his San Jose Sharks.

Will the Sharks and Habs’ netminders allow more than a combined 10.5 goals tonight?

Consider a wager on the NHL Grand Salami.

Contrary to reports yesterday that Sean Avery was in cardiac arrest, the New York Rangers said that their LW had suffered a lacerated spleen and would miss the remainder of the postseason.

The Rangers are down 3-0 to the Pittsburgh Penguins though, so the remainder of the playoffs could be just one game.

The Rangers are +1500 to come out of the Eastern Conference.