I can't really stomach any of the four remaining teams winning the Cup, so June will bring me pain: The semis include three teams I don't like plus Dan(n)y Heatley. I cannot win. But one wonderful thing about the Flyers winning the first two games? Their fans singing the "Ole" song that Canadiens fans have adopted in recent years.

It's great because: 1) The lyrics are elementary enough that Flyers fans can actually remember -- perhaps even spell -- them; and 2) It's a famous serenade that has been in soccer for decades, yet I keep running across Habs fans who think it is theirs and theirs alone -- ones who even get offended when someone else sings "their" song ... which happens to be about soccer. Such is the risk when you don't have a song particular to your team: It might be one multiple teams use, it might get thrown back in your face (particularly if your traveling fans make a habit of singing it in other people's faces on the road) ... you might even be stuck listening to "Rock and Roll, Part II."

I'd encourage you to keep discussing Trent Hunter's report card if you haven't already, but here are some links on topics from Matt Martin to Queens to Florida to salary cap management:

Islanders-ish

• Mentioned in comments yesterday, this was an outstanding Q&A with Matt Martin on his first NHL experience. Boy, you gotta hope his abilities match how much fans want to like him.
  
• Another day, another Queens Chamber of Commerce expression of interest in the Islanders [Queens Courier]
• Botta will have a chat at 11:30. [Islanders Point Blank] He also ran a bit on the latest Town of Hempstead propaganda.
• In the Memorial Cup, Travis Hamonic's Wheat Kings get another shot at Calgary, the team that knocked them out of the WHL playoffs. Have you noticed how much they turn to Hamonic for quotes? By the way, Tambellini the Elder is not concerned that Taylor Hall plays a game that might make him prone to receiving boom-goes-the-dynamite hits like the one Hamonic gave him.

World Championships

• Canada lost again. To the Czechs (woo, fatherland!). Meaning Canada faces Russia in the quarters. The game got messy in the end (blame Corey Perry), but check out the 1:18 mark of this video to see what, uh, well, how a lot of my distant relatives dress. Copper & Blue had a fun write-up of the game.
  
• Host Germany also made it to the quarterfinals, where they draw the Swiss. The U.S. survived their relegation scare, thanks to a shootout win over Italy in which T.J. Oshie shot a billion times.
  
• John Tavares is still the tourney's goal leader, with six, but Brandon Dubinsky is tops in points, with 10. [no link, it's all pdf's over there]
  

Hockey for Hockey's Sake

• Bunch of great coverage on the Panthers' Dale Tallon hiring at the Sun Sentinel: Ol' Bowtie Bill's part in the hiring (as well as the fate of Sexton, and more); Blackhawks react to Tallon landing on his feet; Hawks ex-colleague (now Thrashers GM) Rick Dudley on the hire; the initial Q&A with Tallon. (I confess, I find GM hires lots of fun, and they're much rarer than coaching changes.) USA Today's Kevin Allen calls it a huge move, even if Tallon has some mistakes on his record.
  
• Speaking of Tallon, Derek Zona had a really good reminder that despite Tallon's success (which included Kane and Toews falling into his lap), his cap-killer deals nearly Tambellini'd Kevin Lowe'd the Hawks.
• Former NHLer Scott Arniel, a candidate for the Blue Jackets job, will also be interviewed by the Thrashers.
  
• Peter Worrell is gonna be a coach! (h/t Michael Fornabaio)

Discuss what's on your mind.