The 2011-12 NHL season kicks off for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday, and it may very well be Ron Wilson’s last with the team. The Leafs’ head coach is in the last year of a four-year contract he signed in 2008, when then-Leafs general manager Cliff Fletcher inked the former San Jose Sharks bench boss to a deal that Wilson’s Team USA friend and old buddy, Brian Burke, inherited. At the time, Wilson was seen as a fairly solid hire for the Leafs, considering he was on the heels of a very successful tenure with the Sharks, at least in the regular season, and also considering he once coached the Washington Capitals to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Henrik Sedin proved that he just might have it in him after all.
The Vancouver captain scored the game-winning goal in as the Vancouver Canucks made a third-period comeback to beat the San Jose Sharks 3–2 in the Western Conference Final series opener, showing his critics he can get the job done, regular season or not.
San Jose's Patrick Marleau lead the Sharks to a 3-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings with his first goal of the series at 12:13 in the third period eliminating Detroit in Game 7 on Thursday night.
Valteri Filppula scored the game-winning goal and added an assist as the Detroit Red Wings beat the San Jose Sharks 3-1 and have a chance to become the fourth team in NHL history to come back from a 3-0 series deficit.
Tomas Holmstrom gave Detroit its first and only lead midway through the third period, lifting the Red Wings to a 4-3 victory and keeping them alive in their series against the Sharks during Game 5 in San Jose.
Darren Helm scored the winner with 1:27 remaining in the third period to give the Detroit Red Wings a 4-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Friday night, allowing the Wings to fight another day.
Devin Setoguchi scored three goals, including the overtime winner at 9:21, leading the San Jose Sharks to a 4-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings, giving them a commanding 3-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinal.
San Jose defenceman Niclas Wallin grabbed his first goal since December at 1:39 into the third, pushing the Sharks to a 2-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings.