HELSINKI -- This trip to Finland will be a celebration of the three native players who play for the Anaheim Ducks, but they aren't alone in their heritage.

Ducks coach Randy Carlyle also has roots in this Scandinavian country to the northwest of the Baltic Sea.

"My grandparents were from Finland," Carlyle said. "They were born and raised in Finland and then they moved to Canada. My grandfather was a carpenter and they moved to Sudbury, Ontario area."

When the Ducks got off to a slow start last season, media members and disgruntled fans questioned whether Carlyle's job was in jeopardy, but general manager Bob Murray's confidence was rewarded as the Ducks made the playoffs despite losing starting goaltender Jonas Hiller for the stretch run.

It was a coaching performance that could have been worthy of a Jack Adams award nomination, but there is no question Carlyle is one of the top bench bosses in the League. His 266 wins are by far the most in franchise history, and Carlyle's led the Ducks to the playoffs in five of his six seasons -- not to mention a Stanley Cup victory in 2007.

The Western Conference was the tougher of the two last season, and major additions in Los Angeles, San Jose and Columbus aren't going to make it any easier, but with a healthy Hiller and the return of Teemu Selanne for another season the Ducks should battle San Jose and Los Angeles for Pacific Division supremacy.

"We feel that we have a hockey club here that can challenge for a playoff position," Carlyle said. "Once you get in, it is wide open."

Before that, the Ducks will spend the week here in Scandinavia, playing an exhibition game and two regular-season contests while also enjoying some of the benefits of an NHL-sponsored European vacation.

"For us as a coaching staff, it gives you an opportunity to have the team together, a little bit of team bonding and team building," Carlyle said. "We'll spend the week together, and there will be a few events that the team participates in. They're will be a team dinner. We can practice as a group right here. We don't have to change facilities.

"For our players we think it is a new experience, and we're here representing the NHL. Any chance you have as a partner of the NHL to spread your wings and be involved on an international basis helps sell the game to the international community with the NHL brand, I think you have to take it and take it very, very seriously. We have to put our best foot forward, not only for the NHL but for the Anaheim Ducks organization and we're very, very happy to do that."

One big adjustment for the Ducks this week will be the weather. It was a beautiful, sunny day in Helsinki, but the temperature isn't expected to reach 60 degrees all week while the lows are likely to be in the low-to-mid 40s.

Carlyle was one member of the Ducks who wasn't complaining.

"Hopefully the weather stays nice," he said. "Being from California, all we ever see is sun and heat, and being from Northern Ontario, this is very close to where I lived and grew up in Sudbury. Deep lakes, pine forests -- it is fall, and that is a little bit of a change for us."

HELSINKI -- Tony Lydman wants to play in front of his countrymen Friday when the Anaheim Ducks face the Buffalo Sabres here at Hartwall Areena, but a decision on his status for that season-opening contest has yet to be determined.

Lydman, a Lahti, Finland, native, had surgery to repair the torn labrum in his left shoulder in May, and it is unclear if he will be allowed to play against Buffalo.

"Right now we're carrying seven defensemen and 14 forwards and three goaltenders, but Lydman isn't in that group," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "He'll have to go on injured reserve by Thursday. There will be a decision that has to be made here as we go through practice. We're not ruling him out, but his timeframe to play -- he'd be ahead of schedule if we were to use him this weekend. He's had major shoulder surgery and the timeframe they've given us was sometime in mid-October.

Lydman was on the ice with the rest of the Ducks at practice Sunday morning. The team will practice again Monday, Wednesday and Thursday with an exhibition game Tuesday against Jokerit.

The 34-year-old defenseman spent his first two years as a professional with Tappara in SM-liiga, but he also played two seasons with Jokerit's rival in Helsinki, HIFK. He also played for HIFK during the lockout in 2004-05.

"I'm close to playing, and I hope to be able to play, but nothing is sure yet," Lydman said. 

Added Carlyle: "If you watch him skate and practice it doesn't look like anything is wrong with him, but those things do take time to heal."

Carlyle has two other players who are questionable for the game Friday. Defenseman Kurtis Foster had surgery to repair the metal plate in his leg two weeks ago. Foster had the plate inserted after his leg was broken two seasons ago, and a loose wire from the plate was cutting into the muscle in his leg.

Left wing Matt Beleskey also had surgery to repair a torn labrum in May, and is on a similar timetable to Lydman. The Ducks brought extra defensemen to Finland specifically as insurance in case Lydman and/or Foster aren't ready.

HELSINKI -- The Anaheim Ducks will have a new "Big Three" this week, because Finnish natives Teemu Selanne, Saku Koivu and Tony Lydman are clearly the players everyone wants to see and meet this week.

A few members of one of the team’s in Jokerit’s youth hockey system were about to get on a bus this morning, but many of them wandered over to the entrance of "The Cave," which is what Hartwall Areena’s practice rink is affectionately called, and waited to see if the Ducks would come out that way after their practice was complete.

The team flew from California to Newark, N.J., for refueling yesterday and onto Helsinki where they arrived this morning. They were scheduled to practice at Hartwall at noon, but decided to go straight to the rink and were practicing by 11 a.m. or so.

Everyone was on the ice inside "The Cave" -- and trust me, it really feels like you’re in a bunker or a cave down there -- for the Ducks in a spirited practice despite the travel. All eight defensemen and three goalies who made the trip went through practice. There were no surprises with the forward lines:

Ryan-Getzlaf-Perry (white)

Blake-Koivu-Selanne (red)

(Smith-Pelley)-Cogliano-Gordon (orange)

Parros-McMillan-McGrattan-Beleskey-Macenauer (grey)

The three Finns shared the media spotlight today, while coach Randy Carlyle also spent about 15 minutes answering questions from about a dozen members of the local media. Anaheim will be back at Hartwall Areena for practice Monday, which is scheduled for an early afternoon start.

It has been a long summer, but hockey is back for the NHL this weekend. Players were at training facilities taking physicals and getting reacquainted Friday, and nearly every team will conduct its first official practice Saturday.

Such an occasion is worthy of a name like "Super Saturday," so we're going to try and provide coverage worthy of a day that is highly anticipated by everyone in the hockey community. NHL.com has correspondents in many NHL cities, and they will be filing dispatches to this blog throughout the day.

Want to know how a star player looks on the ice after joining a new team or returning from an injury, or maybe which goalie has the best-looking new mask? Check back here throughout the day Saturday for many, many updates from around the NHL.

Also be sure to watch for updates from our correspondents on Twitter, who will be using the hashtag #NHLSuperSaturday to help fans follow along with ease.

NHL Vice President of Hockey Operations Mike Murphy said Tuesday some of the post-whistle antics between the Vancouver Canucks and the Boston Bruins "has been addressed" with the teams.

Players from both sides have been taunting each other, stemming from Alexandre Burrows' biting of Patrice Bergeron's finger in a scrum at the end of the first period in Game 1. Maxim Lapierre stuck his fingers near Bergeron's face during Game 2, while Mark Recchi and Milan Lucic did the same to Vancouver players in Game 3.

"We will deal with the issues of the series, the chippy-ness that's going on," Murphy said. "(Vice President of Hockey Operations) Kris King is in charge of the series. We've addressed it. We've addressed it with the teams as early as this morning. I will be speaking with both general managers and coaches before the day's over about what we are seeing, the garbage that is going on, some of the issues."

There has been plenty of extracurricular activity by both teams after the whistle in this series. When the Bruins took a big lead in Game 3, some of that boiled over. Boston's Shawn Thornton earned a misconduct penalty for an extended facewash on Vancouver's Ryan Kesler, who later fought Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg after some post-whistle jostling between the two.

Boston's Andrew Ference and Vancouver's Daniel Sedin also earned misconducts for their part in an altercation after the whistle had been blown.

"We've addressed that and realize that's one of our strengths. We're not going to feed the animosity after whistles," Vancouver center Manny Malhotra said. "We're not going to gain anything from it and the referees are starting to crack down on the nonsense after the whistles. Our focus is on playing between the whistles.

"I think it's the nature of playoff hockey. As the series goes on, the rivalries and the animosity grows. I think that was an effect of being in the playoffs (Monday). You see a lot more hostility toward one another. But we've cleaned that up and we realize where our focus needs to be."

Both Lucic and Recchi said they were reprimanded by the Boston coaching staff after their taunting acts.

"I got in trouble for that," Recchi said. "(Julien) gave me heck for that. We didn't know this morning that he said something.  You know, it's emotional out there. But it won't happen again. Obviously when it happens to one of your teammates, they kind of mock you a little bit, when it happened in Game 1, it was a little bit -- you know, it's a little bit of frustration on our part. It is what it is, and we'll forget about it and get ready for the next game."

Tim Thomas is an aggressive goaltender, maybe the most aggressive in the NHL.

Being aggressive is part of his personality, and it often enables him to make brilliant saves. He challenges shooters, often coming out of the blue paint to cut off angles and not let the bodies in front of him affect his ability to make the save.

But every now and then, opponents are able to use that aggressiveness against him. Both of the game-winning goals in this 2011 Stanley Cup Final have come on plays where Thomas came out of his net and the Canucks were able to counter it.

"I think at the stage we're at right now, if I ask him to change his style, I'm not sure that's real good advice," Boston coach Claude Julien said.

Raffi Torres directed a pass from Jannik Hansen past Thomas with 18.5 seconds left in Game 1. Thomas came out to challenge Hansen, who was skating in from the right point, and the Danish forward sent the puck to Torres cutting toward the left post.

Alexandre Burrows also drew Thomas away from the cage with a shot fake as he broke down left wing early in overtime of Game 2. Thomas overcommitted on the play, so Burrows went behind the net and slipped in the game-winner on a wraparound before Thomas could recover.

The city of Boston has embraced the Bruins during their run to the Stanley Cup Final, and that was evident when the television ratings for Game 1 where released Thursday.

Game 1 between the Bruins and the Vancouver Canucks earned a 3.2 overnight rating and a 6 share nationally, making it the most-watched opening game of the Final series since 1999. A big reason for that was the huge numbers in Boston, where the game had a 25.5 rating and a 39 share.

"I think it's great news. It's awesome," Bruins center Patrice Bergeron said. "To be honest, back home we could feel it. The whole city was really behind us. They still are behind us throughout the playoffs and the season. It means a lot to us. Obviously we want to do it for them. But we can feel all the support and that's something great."

To put it into perspective, Game 1 actually had better ratings in Boston than Game 1 of the 2010 NBA Finals, which featured the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers.

The Boston Red Sox have also moved the start time of their game Saturday to allow fans to watch Game 2 of the Cup Final and still attend the contest at Fenway Park.

"That's the respect there is in Boston as far as the Red Sox are concerned," coach Claude Julien said. "They're big fans of ours and we're big fans of theirs. That's something that has been going on for a long time now. That's what Boston is all about. They're supportive of all their teams.

"Obviously, hockey for the longest of times was something so big in Boston. It kind of lost its luster in those difficult times. I think right now what we're seeing is it's certainly coming back in the right direction. It's been a lot of fun being part of it."

BOSTON -- Tampa Bay's special teams have been an advantage for the Lightning throughout the regular season and into the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

But in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, there was no special teams advantage to be had. There were no penalties called on either team, so the entire game was played at even strength.

"Obviously our special teams are phenomenal and have been phenomenal all playoffs, but it was just the type of game we played," goalie Dwayne Roloson said. "We play a pretty disciplined style of game and so do they. Give the refs credit -- there wasn't anything out there to call. Guys played hard, and did everything they had to do to get in the game, whether it was block shots or hits or whatever was needed."

Added Boston defenseman Andrew Ference: "The refs let us play. There were penalties that could have been called on either side. But, both teams did have great discipline and played a great hockey game. The refs let us play and I think it was even up and I don't think either team got gypped in that category."

If Ference is correct in saying there were calls that could have been made, then it probably did help the Bruins. Tampa Bay had the sixth-best power play in the League during the regular season and the second-best percentage of any team that reached the second round.

Tampa Bay scored three power-play goals in a span of less than 13 minutes in Game 6 against Boston. The Lightning never found out it if there was any momentum to be carried over with the extra man.

"The power play has been a strength of ours definitely," Tampa Bay Guy Boucher said. You know you are hoping you get one, but come the third period I wasn't hoping for a power play. Two teams who are very disciplined -- I think we respected each other's strengths and I think this was the type of game that [could have] 0-0 penalties. I can't think of any moment I felt there should have been a power play on either side -- that's credit to both teams' discipline and attention to details."

Conversely, the Lightning erased 92.3 percent of opposing teams' extra-man opportunities during this postseason while the Bruins are 5-for-61 with the man advantage. Even if there was a penalty or two called on the Lightning, Tampa Bay may have been to cobble together some momentum by keeping Boston off the scoreboard with the extra man.

Instead, this game played out at even strength. Boston led the NHL in goal ratio at even strength in the regular season and is doing so again during the playoffs.

"We didn't mind that at all," Boston coach Claude Julien said. "I think what I liked about the refereeing tonight, they let the two teams decide the outcome. And I think both teams are very disciplined tonight. Even though, you know, we could question that call, it didn't really matter at that point. It was about staying focused and doing the right thing here. I thought for what this game meant, I thought the referees handled themselves extremely well. I'm not saying that because we won, I'm saying that because even as it was 0-0, I liked the way they were handling it."

BOSTON -- Sean Bergenheim skated for about 15 minutes Friday morning at TD Garden, but Tampa Bay coach Guy Boucher deemed his return from an undisclosed injury "doubtful" for Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

"I wouldn't say optimistic for now. I'd say he's better," Boucher said. "He might try the warm-up. We'll see. I still have to talk to my therapist and the doctors. There's been some improvement -- to what extent we'll have to wait and see, but [he's] doubtful."

Bergenheim left Game 5 of this series late in the first period with an injury and did not return. He skated without his full set of equipment the morning of Game 6 but did not participate in the pre-game warm-up and did not play.

The Finnish forward has 9 goals, good for third in the League during the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He had the lone goal in Game 7 against Pittsburgh in a 1-0 victory against the Penguins in the opening round.

"It would be great," Steven Stamkos said of a potential return for Bergenheim. "He's scored a lot of big goals. It was tough without last game, but we once again proved without a great player we can step up. We've done it all year."

BOSTON -- Sean Bergenheim has been a valuable source of offense in the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but the Tampa Bay Lightning may be without him again in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Friday night.

Tampa Bay coach Guy Boucher said Thursday that Bergenheim, who left Game 5 early and did not dress for Game 6 because of an undisclosed injury, is still being evaluated.

"He's seeing our doctors again today, and he's going to have another evaluation tonight and tomorrow morning," Boucher said after the Lightning’s arrival in Boston. "We'll see, but right now it doesn't necessarily look like something positive for us."

Boucher had said the day before Game 6 that he might "go to church" to help get a better diagnosis on Bergenheim, but the Finnish forward was not in the lineup against the Boston Bruins. Bergenheim has been a scoring sensation this spring, scoring 9 goals while playing on the team’s third line.

Teddy Purcell has been the guy who filled some of Bergenheim’s scoring in this series. He leads the Lightning in this series with five goals, including a pair in two of the past three games.

Boucher also said defenseman Pavel Kubina, out since Game 1 of the second round after a hit behind the net by Washington’s Jason Chimera, will not be available. Forward Dana Tyrell replaced Bergenheim in Game 6 as Boucher went with 12 forwards, but Boucher could also turn to Randy Jones if he wants to deploy seven defensemen.