It's peak season for them

Once again, the Hub of Hockey will be without the Stanley Cup playoffs this spring. Though not all the berths have been determined, here's a quick look at a key figure on each team -- someone who could emerge in the weeks ahead, when we'll again remind ourselves that there is nothing like playoff hockey.

Atlanta: Keith Tkachuk, 35, was hustled in at the trade deadline, and he was here at the Garden yesterday with pretty good numbers (7-5--12) in his first 14 games in Thrasher cool blue. His 50-goal-a-year hands and hammer are gone, but he could be a valuable set of wide shoulders (witness yesterday's game-winner).

Buffalo: Headed into last night's game, No. 1 netminder Ryan Miller was 7-4-2 in the 13 games since the Sabres sent Martin Biron to the Flyers. Miller, who was immense in Buffalo's run to the conference finals last year, has to prove he can post the W's without Biron on the bench as the safety net.

Carolina: Goaltending has been the Hurricanes' bugaboo, but if they make the cut, keep an eye on left winger Cory Stillman, who missed the first half of the season following shoulder surgery. He had 26 points in 25 games leading to last year's Cup win.

Montreal: That left wing spot didn't work out so well for ex-Bruin Sergei Samsonov, but it has been the sweet spot for Tomas Plekanec, the speedy Czech who doubled his production from his freshman season. He gets the puck and takes it straight to the net -- a path that Samsonov seldom chose.

New Jersey: Sure, the Devils will go as far as MVP candidate Martin Brodeur carries them, but the guy to watch is Scott Gomez, whose production has been off by about 25 percent this season. An unrestricted free agent July 1, he needs a big postseason to build on his $5 million paycheck.

New York Islanders: With top goalie Rick DiPietro sidelined with post-concussion syndrome, this could be the Week To Nowhere for the Islanders. If they chisel off the No. 8 spot, all eyes will be on Ryan Smyth, the former heart and soul of the Oilers.

New York Rangers: Few guys get under the skin -- including that of his own teammates -- like Sean Avery, the foul-mouthed left winger the Blueshirts picked up from the Kings. He has been a big hit on Broadway, agitating as always, and chipping in valuable points and body slams.

Ottawa: No surprise, it's all about the goaltending, and that means it's all about Ray Emery, who emerged as the No. 1 after management forked over $11 million-plus to bring in ex-Hurricane Martin Gerber. If Emery is the real deal -- and he's looked like it before, but failed -- then now is the time to prove it.

Pittsburgh: Sidney Crosby is the headliner, but for refurbished acts, it's tough to beat the renaissance ex-Bruin Sergei Gonchar has enjoyed with the Penguins. Last season, after signing his five-year, $25 million free agent deal, he was chided by Igloo fans. Now he's back as one of the game's top point-producing defensemen.

Tampa Bay: The Bolts thought they fixed their goaltending woes with the June trade for Marc Denis. But if not for the near-heroic work of backup Johan Holmqvist, who signed for $600,000, the '04 Cup champs would have seen their season end around February. Holmqvist is an unrestricted free agent July 1.

Toronto: Back at the start of March, after a two-month stay on IR, the nasty but lovable Darcy Tucker brought that hard edge that every playoff team values. Not a great finisher around the net, but he'll do just about anything to get there.

Anaheim: Bruins fans will want to pay close attention to goalie J.S. Giguere, who could be courted here when free agency opens July 1. However, the focal point again will be 6-foot-6-inch defenseman Chris Pronger, dealt to the Ducks upon asking out of Edmonton following the Oilers' run to the Cup finals last June.

Calgary: He'll turn 22 when the postseason starts, and when you see Dion Phaneuf's poise and composure, you might think his birth certificate reads 1975 and not 1985. Strong and smart, the sophomore blue liner intimidates opposing forwards as they move deeper in the zone.

Dallas: The Stars don't have much flash, despite some skilled forwards, and their grinding system leads to some dull nights. But if Finnish winger Jussi Jokinen is allowed some leeway, he can be among the game's most exciting offensive threats.

Detroit: Pavel Datsyuk has yet to show that he can be a big playoff performer. Witness: 15 points in 42 postseason games, and 0-9--9 in his most recent 21 playoff appearances. Now the Winged Wheels have Dominik Hasek in net, and Datsyuk, with a big playoff run, stands to cash in for $5 million a year or better as an unrestricted free agent.

Colorado: With Joe Sakic (37) getting a bit long in the tooth, the Avalanche needed a youthful boost to the offense. Exhibit A: Paul Stastny, son of the iconic Quebec center and brother of two-time Bruin Yan Stastny. Paul set the standard for a rookie point-scoring streak (20 games, Feb. 3-March 17). Good genes, great hands.

Minnesota: The Wild have shed some of their Trappist Wonk ways, in part because of last summer's free agent acquisitions and the play of ex-Bruin Brian Rolston. The show-stopper here, though, is Slovak winger Marian Gaborik, who posted 17 points in 18 playoff games in 2003 -- the last time the Wild made it to the postseason.

Nashville: The Predators paid a steep price (including prospects Scott Upshall and Ryan Parent) to bring in Peter Forsberg from Philly. If he stays healthy -- a big IF -- he still has enough game to carry Tune Town to the Cup final.

San Jose: A torrid second half carried franchise center Joe Thornton to his second straight 100-point season. Now it's time, again, to prove that he can be the same player come playoff time and lead the Sharks in a successful Cup run.

Vancouver: The Sedin twins, Henrik and Daniel, finally displayed the synergy that everyone expected of them. But the Canucks have franchise goalie Roberto Luongo to thank most for their success. Luongo could win both the Hart (MVP) and Vezina (top goalie) awards in June. He's also good enough to have the Canucks still playing in June.

Boyes answers the call for another new team

Former Bruin Brad Boyes likes his new home, playing center and wing with St. Louis. He thinks the Blues have a promising future, and he's glad to be part of it. He just wishes he could have stayed in the Hub of Hockey.

"I don't think you're ever totally prepared for a trade," said Boyes, dealt to the Blues Feb. 27 for defenseman Dennis Wideman. "I was shocked. I thought I was going to stay in Boston. I loved playing there. I loved the city. The fans were great, and knowledgeable.

"I know you have to realize it's a business, too, and move on, but I wanted to be there, and most of all, I wanted us to win. That would have been unbelievable."

Headed into last night's game, Boyes had 4 goals and 11 points in 14 games with the Blues. Thursday night's win over Edmonton had him back at center, his natural position, working with wingers Jamal Mayers and Lee Stempniak. Previously, he worked on right wing, paired with Doug Weight and Petr Cajanek.

The key difference in St. Louis, said Boyes, is the theory of offensive attack.

Under coach Andy Murray, the forwards are encouraged to press the attack, maintain possession, carry the puck in, and try to generate offense. Under Dave Lewis, he said, the philosophy was, "Make the change, dump the puck in, and go to the bench. Here, we try to go and make plays more. But we were giving up a lot of goals in Boston, so it became more of a defensive mind-set. If there was any indecision, to go or not go, we had to stay on the side of caution. But again, we were giving up a lot of chances."

Boyes struggled to get his game going for much of the season, but he was looking a little more like the 2005-06 model when he was dealt west. When the clock hit 3 p.m. Feb. 27, and he hadn't heard of a trade, he thought he would be staying put.

"I'd been hearing rumors, but when 3 o'clock came around, I thought, 'Hey, OK, I'm staying,' " he recalled. "Then by 4 o'clock I started to see stories on the Internet, saying I might have been traded. A couple of reporters called, asked if I heard anything.

"And then Peter [Chiarelli] called and told me, said that they just kind of wanted to take care of the defensive aspect of the team -- 'shore up' the defense, as he put it. He thanked me for my time, and that was it. Not a lot you can say, you know?

Boyes, who will turn 25 this month, has been dealt three times at the deadline, including 2003 and 2004, a rare hat trick for someone so young.

"Never fun," he said. "I'm thinking next year, maybe I'll just keep my phone turned off."

Etc.

The goalie go-round
Hannu Toivonen, ditched to the Providence Wanna-B's at the end of February when the Bruins acquired Joey MacDonald via waivers, will return to Boston this week and play at least a couple of games with the varsity. Just last Sunday, following his squad's 5-0 shellacking in Pittsburgh, coach Dave Lewis said Toivonen would remain in the AHL for the rest of the season. But general manager Peter Chiarelli, just prior to weekend play, said the 22-year-old backstop will get another look. Confusing? Yes.

All systems aren't go
Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, when asked last week if his squad sometimes looked confused on the ice: "Yes, I don't blame you for saying that. We have to be smarter. We have to be more consistent." And when asked if he felt the root cause was the system of play, Big Z nodded, smiled, and said, "You know, that's probably not a question for me. You know, you have to have different systems for the different teams you play. It's good to attack, but you can't go blindly attacking on some teams. At times we had a system and we played it well. Look at even Tampa, and how they attack. Sometimes it works well for them -- and sometimes they get killed."

Year in, year out
Too close to call at this hour, because the Hurricanes remain in the hunt, but it looks as if both of last year's Cup finalists could miss the playoffs -- a first for the NHL. For the record, such a scenario has never happened in the NBA, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. It has happened four times in the NFL, including to the Patriots and Rams, who met up in the Super Bowl in February 2002 and then DNQ'd the following season.

"Sure, I admit it . . . I took a dive." Sound like the words of an honest, if cheating, NHLer in 2007, no? Well, not the case. Those were the words of Frank "King" Clancy to Globe reporter Victor O. Jones in March 1935. The King fessed up to teasing a penalty out of the Bruins' Babe Siebert during their first-round playoff series. "You gotta do things like that," said Clancy, "if these close games are ever to be broken open." And the more things change, the more the cheaters continue to manipulate the system. Thanks to Heidi Holland, in the Bruins publicity department, who stumbled across the passage during recent research work in Toronto.

One theory around the league has ex-Boston University forward Chris Drury landing in Los Angeles as a free agent this summer. The former Hobey Baker winner, who could win a Cup this year with Buffalo, keeps a home in Manhattan Beach, not far from Kings defenseman Rob Blake . . . Serge Savard chimed in, adding his vote to the anti-fighting movement. The Hall of Fame defenseman said he didn't like doing it in his day, and that it really has nothing to do with hockey. True as that may be, people do like watching it, which is why commissioner Gary Bettman cautioned anyone from thinking it might be eradicated. Penguins tough guy Georges Laraque recently noted that goals bring people out of their seats, but only the fans of the home team. When a fight breaks out, "Everyone is out of their seats," he said. He's right about that . . . St. Louis GM John Davidson, who owns three first-round picks in the June draft, took a break from the front office recently and headed to a fishing hole in the burbs. "I needed a break," said J.D. "We'd had a tough loss, and some of the calls, I'm telling you -- I just needed a break." Owner of three dogs, Davidson brought along his Llewellin retriever, and let the dog run free when they got near the fishing hole. "But when I called him, he didn't come back," said Davidson. "I figured, 'Uh-oh, this is trouble,' and I took off to find him. I looked everywhere, called him, and nothing. I lose that dog, I might as well not even go home. Two hours later, I go back to the very spot I let him go, and there he is, waiting for me. Mad as I was the night before, I was the happiest guy going when I found him just sitting there."

Kevin Paul Dupont's e-mail address is dupont@globe.com; material from personal interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.