Well that was quite an exciting hockey weekend for Canadians - from Alberta, or Quebec.

For those of you that spent your weekend locked in a basement, the Oilers won the draft lottery. Again. Seriously.

And the plucky Flames, my favourite to win the Western Conference, pulled off another win.

But before we get to that, let's talk about some playoff hockey in Toronto.

Yes, you heard me correctly.

The Marlies made it in to the AHL playoffs! They will face off against the Grand Rapids Griffins, which are the Red Wings affiliate, in round one. The playoff schedule is here. Note that in the AHL the first round is only a best of 5; so your only chance to see the Marlies play in the first round is this weekend, regardless of whether it goes to 5 games or not, is this Saturday or Sunday. They are both afternoon games. We will have a Marlies playoff preview later this week and coverage all next weekend, courtesy of Jeffler and Scott!

(memo to Jeffler and Scott: you must produce a Marlies playoff preview this week and cover the games this weekend)

Speaking of the Griffins:

Teemu Pulkkinen Wins AHL Goal-Scoring Race Despite Early NHL Call-Up
This will be someone to watch in this series. But we have Nylander and Brown, so all is cool, right?

Here's what happened in yesterday's playoff games.

Flames vs Canucks game 3 recap: Vancouver loses its cool as Calgary youngsters continue to lead the way
Matchsticks and Gasoline thinks this was one of the best games of the past several seasons. I watched most of it on Gamecentre and I agree it was great hockey. Oh but there was one little thing that happened...

Dan Hamhuis Catches Sam Bennett in the Chin - Suspension Incoming?
OUCH! Stéphane Quintal is going to take a look at this for sure.

Blackhawks vs. Predators Game 3: Chicago takes series lead with 4-2 victory
The Hawks got back on track at home Sunday afternoon to take a 2-1 series lead.

Islanders, Capitals Game 3: Tavares scores game winner in OT
John Tavares scored 15 seconds into overtime to give the New York Islanders a 2-1 series lead. Fantastic goal by Tavares to end the game in OT.

Oh, and one of the Habs or SNES won. I don't care who.

But hilarity happened! Erik Karlsson lines up Nathan Beaulieu for a hit, fails miserably.

Keep bashing each other, please.

Not much else was going on yesterday, though BSH is wondering who will be there next GM.

Babcock, McLellan reportedly Flyers 'main targets' for coaching job
And oddly enough, the two worked together in Detroit in the mid-to-late 2000s.

On Sean Burke, hockey, domestic violence, and privilege (with interviews with Achariya and Katie).

Enjoy your Monday!

From The Branches