CHICAGO -- Entering this season, the Chicago Blackhawks had accomplished their "One Goal" organizational credo by winning the Stanley Cup twice in four years.

They fell one goal short of playing for it again this season, losing in overtime of Game 7 of the Western Conference Final on a goal by Los Angeles Kings defenseman Alec Martinez. That abruptly ended the reign of the defending Stanley Cup champions with a 5-4 loss.

Less than two days later, the Blackhawks reassembled at United Center to sum it all up by looking back at what happened and forward to next season.

"We lost in the conference finals to the Red Wings five or six years ago and that was treated more as a celebration," left wing Patrick Sharp said Tuesday. "It felt good to get that far. This year it feels pretty disappointing. I feel like we all felt we should still be playing. It's a disappointing time."

NEW YORK -- An off day in the Eastern Conference Final between the New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens only can mean one thing.

It's time for two fan favorites who once starred for the Rangers to go head-to-head in a bubble hockey showdown for off-ice supremacy at the NHL Powered by Reebok Store. That's exactly the type of entertainment forward Ron Duguay and defenseman Jeff Beukeboom provided Friday afternoon.

Duguay, who warned Beukeboom prior to faceoff that he owned a bubble hockey table at home, came away with a 5-4 victory. The event was made extra special when longtime Rangers anthem singer John Amirante sang the Canadian and U.S. national anthems.

"If the Rangers reach the Stanley Cup, we'll have a rematch," Duguay said afterward.

ANAHEIM -- It's much too early for Anaheim Ducks general manager Bob Murray to fully dissect what went wrong with his team in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, specifically a Game 7 that is already being talked about as the worst loss in franchise history.

Anaheim caved under the pressure and succumbed to the rival Los Angeles Kings 6-2 in Game 7 of the Western Conference Second Round series in a building in which it had started the season 20-0-2. Murray talked Monday on the team's exit meetings day, and the game still haunted him.

"When you sit and watch, after the all years in this business, you worry the night before that your team may be too nervous, too apprehensive," Murray said. "There's all sorts of things that go through your mind, and they're your worst nightmare. But it's something you have to take and move on from. You've got to learn from that. We're at that point where we can't allow this to happen. We've got to move forward."

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild's season has been over for a few days but they were still coming to terms with how it ended when players emptied their lockers Friday.

Tied 1-1 in overtime with the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 6 of the Western Conference Second Round, Patrick Kane scored the series-clinching goal after a dump-in attempt took a goofy hop off a stanchion behind the Wild net and landed on his stick. Just like that, Minnesota's season was over. Disappointing as the ending was, it was a successful year when the Wild's youngsters made major strides.

"We played some good hockey and it was a great series and it could have gone either way," forward Nino Niederreiter said. "But obviously it's a bitter end."

One thing is for certain: The Wild took a step forward this season, with its prospects leading the way.

"I believe that there are a lot of positives," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "But I also am realistic that it's really hard [to keep improving]. And so we should look forward to that challenge."

The Pittsburgh Penguins had just completed a fourth straight season of having failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs when Ray Shero was hired as general manager in May 2006.

It wasn't going to be an easy fix, but the former player agent and son of Hall of Fame coach Fred Shero was up to the task. He stressed the importance of long-term building and not a one-season fix to reach the playoffs, having a vision and definitive plan in place.

Under his reign the Penguins qualified for the playoffs each of the next eight seasons and won the third Stanley Cup in franchise history in 2009. But major postseason pitfalls since that championship run cost Shero his job Friday.

When Peter Laviolette accepted the Nashville Predators coaching job Tuesday, four other NHL jobs were vacant, some with teams that might be considered to have more talented rosters.

Laviolette said he chose Nashville in large part because of the relationship he developed with Predators general manager David Poile while the two worked for the United States in the time leading up to the 2014 Sochi Olympics. They knew each other before Laviolette became an assistant coach, and Poile the GM for the U.S., but the relationship strengthened during that period.

"We spent an awful lot of time talking over the phone and in meetings," Laviolette said Wednesday via conference call from Minsk, Belarus where he is coaching the United States in the IIHF World Championship, "and it's an opportunity to work for a first-class general manager, one of the best in the League, and that's appealing to me."

Two days after the Philadelphia Flyers were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs, owner Ed Snider said some changes may be coming within their personnel department.

Paul Holmgren, who has been general manager since 2006, will be "head of hockey operations," and Snider hinted Holmgren may relinquish the GM title to Ron Hextall this offseason.

"We're going to all sit down, and it's going to be up to Paul. We're in the process of analyzing everybody's title," Snider said.

Holmgren may not be ready to hand the day-to-day reins to Hextall, the former Flyers goalie.