James Neal

Left Wing - PIT

GOALS: 1 | ASST: 2 | PTS: 3
SOG: 17 | +/-: 1

"You can't get frustrated," Neal said after practice Tuesday. "It's fun to be in the playoffs, it's fun to be playing hockey every day, so you've got to enjoy this. If you don't, it all goes fast. I think when you stay upbeat and stay excited and stay happy, goals and points and that kind of stuff will come. With the team being successful, everything's all right."

Pekka Rinne will be on crutches for six weeks after hip surgery, the Nashville Predators goaltender told The Tennessean on Monday.

Rinne is expected to be ready for training camp after having a hip arthroscopy May 8. Recovery time was projected to be four months.

"I'm positive it will be better," Rinne said Monday at Bridgestone Arena. "Right now I'm just happy it's taken care of and hopefully I can return stronger. I'm sure once I get back on the ice, I'll notice the biggest differences."

New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur will join the CBC "Hockey Night in Canada" panel as a guest analyst starting Wednesday, the network announced.

"I am thrilled to join the esteemed team of broadcasters at 'Hockey Night in Canada' and look forward to sharing my insight and perspective with viewers," Brodeur said in a statement.

Brodeur will join Ron MacLean, P.J. Stock, Elliotte Friedman, Glenn Healy, Kevin Weekes and Andi Petrillo in studio between periods of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinal series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators (7 p.m. ET).

CHICAGO -- Joel Quenneville wanted his Chicago Blackhawks to get angrier as the Stanley Cup Playoffs progressed, and now he's got his wish.

The Blackhawks are pretty steamed three games into a heated Western Conference Semifinal series against the rival Detroit Red Wings, but they're also trailing 2-1 after losing 3-1 in Game 3 on Monday.

It was filled with hard hits, post-whistle skirmishes and lots of chirping, particularly between Chicago's Bryan Bickell and Andrew Shaw and Detroit's Daniel Cleary and Brendan Smith. Afterward, some wondered if the Red Wings successfully are throwing off the Blackhawks by getting under their skin.

DETROIT -- Slovakia didn't offer much resistance to Mike Babcock's Canadian team at the 1997 IIHF World Junior Championship in a 7-2 loss in the quarterfinals.

Marian Hossa

Right Wing - CHI

GOALS: 4 | ASST: 3 | PTS: 7
SOG: 27 | +/-: 1

It was a kid from small town in northeastern Slovakia named Marian Hossa.

"Obviously [Hossa] is a real good player. The first time I saw him was in '97 at the World Juniors," Babcock said. "I came back from the World Juniors and I told our GM we needed to get him. We weren't willing to pay the 50 grand to get him. Portland got him and he played there, won the Memorial Cup and beat us."

The Nashville Predators on Tuesday hired Phil Housley as an assistant coach.

Housley recently helped the United States win a bronze medal as an assistant coach at the 2013 IIHF World Championship. Predators general manager David Poile serves on the USA Hockey national team advisory board and helped assemble this year's team.

"Phil brings a unique skill set to our coaching staff," Poile told the Predators' website. "He was one of the most talented offensive defensemen to play in the NHL, and he has worked extensively with young players during his coaching career. He will continue to focus his efforts on our young defensemen and assisting on the power play."

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Alexei Emelin underwent reconstructive surgery Tuesday to repair the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee. Recovery is expected to take six months.

Emelin was injured in an April 6 game against the Boston Bruins, depriving the Canadiens of one of their top young blueliners for the stretch run and in their five-game loss to the Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

The 27-year-old was in his second NHL season, which finished with him compiling three goals, 12 points and a plus-2 rating in 38 games.

The Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday signed a pair of recent draft picks, Sebastian Colberg and Magnus Nygren, to entry-level contracts

OTTAWA -- The Stanley Cup Playoffs can give birth to unexpected heroes. In the case of the Ottawa Senators, those special players have come in the form of their fourth line, consisting of Colin Greening, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Erik Condra.

Condra and Greening, each in their third season with the Senators, have joined the rookie Pageau as an integral part of Ottawa's youth movement and its success in the postseason.

"That line -- in the eight games that we've played so far -- has consistently been our best line in the playoffs," Senators coach Paul MacLean said. "Game to game, shift to shift, they've been extremely important to us. Not only 5-on-5, but they also contribute killing penalties. They play very important minutes for us."

Damien Brunner

Center - DET

GOALS: 4 | ASST: 4 | PTS: 8
SOG: 20 | +/-: 0

DETROIT -- In recent seasons, the Detroit Red Wings dressing room was populated heavily by veterans, Stanley Cup winners with a businesslike mentality.

Not to say there weren't unique characters or personalities, but it certainly wouldn't have been considered one of the League's most colorful.

This has been a different kind of season in Detroit in many respects. There was a youth movement unlike anything seen for this franchise in some time. A half-dozen of the 23 skaters who have dressed for a game in the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs had no prior postseason experience at this level. Two others are in their second postseason.

There is a different vibe in the Red Wings dressing room. To be certain, veteran leaders Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen, Daniel Cleary and Todd Bertuzzi have made sure the central principles of the Red Wings' machine remains, but the kids definitely have added a splash of color.

"I really don't think he has a clue what's going on," Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard said. "I don't think he understands the realm of things, of what could possibly happen here as the playoffs unfold. He's in a good mood every single day."