Brian Burke showering Ottawa Senators forward Bobby Ryan with compliments is not something most hockey fans expected to hear following Saturday's Eastern Conference Final.

Or ever.

But then again, Ryan has arguably been Ottawa's best forward this playoffs.

Related: Suddenly Ottawa's best forward, Ryan starting anew this postseason

Burke and Ryan have never exactly seen eye to eye, and the pair have a colorful history.

Most will remember the highly publicized feud between the winger and the Calgary Flames president of hockey operations from the winter of 2014, where Burke called out Ryan for lacking intensity.

Burke went as far as to say "That word is not in his vocabulary," according to ESPN's Scott Burnside.

At the time, Burke was the director of player personnel for Team USA and left Ryan off the roster for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

The two traded barbs in the media, Ryan missed the opportunity to play at the Olympics, and the hockey world spun on.

Fast forward to today, and Burke has seemingly changed his opinion on the 30-year-old veteran.

"The difference in watching Bobby play in this year's playoffs versus prior seasons is his commitment level," Burke said Sunday, according to Craig Custance of ESPN.

Burke was also quick to point out the influence that head coach Guy Boucher has had on Ryan's play.

"This coach has clearly gotten to him. When you add the intensity we were all hoping for when he turned pro - and he has brought that now - this is the package the Anaheim Ducks thought they were drafting."

Ryan has been clutch for the Sens, racking up five goals and six assists in 13 games so far this postseason while also firing 30 shots on net.

Ottawa and Boucher will need a lot more of the same from Ryan if they hope to knock off the reigning Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

Game 2 goes Monday at PPG Paints Arena, with puck drop set for 8:00 p.m. ET.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

It's easy to understand why most people are just starting to hear about Nasvhille Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm.

For starters, he plays on the same squad as perennial Norris Trophy threats Roman Josi, P.K. Subban, and Ryan Ellis.

And sure, he's been an above-average defenseman for the better part of four seasons now, but realistically, outside of committed hockey heads, Ekholm still doesn't get the love he deserves.

He also plays in Nashville.

Which, despite its recent success on the ice, is not known for being a big hockey market. So Ekholm's talents don't get him the attention that they might if he played elsewhere.

After Friday's Game 1 showing where he was an absolute beast at both ends of the rink against the Anaheim Ducks, it's safe to expect that we'll be hearing a lot more of his name in the coming days.

Related: Breaking down Ekholm's excellent effort before Neal's OT winner

However, one thing remains clear: Ekholm is putting the league on notice this postseason.

Not only is the Swedish national averaging an impressive amount of minutes per game at 25:16 - good enough for sixth in the league among D-men still competing in the playoffs - but he's starting to chip in offensively, as well.

Ekholm has yet to find the back of the net during Nashville's recent playoff run, but his vision and outlet passing are quickly becoming his trademarks.

Ekholm's contributed three assists in his last three games, and the rearguard's arguably been Nashville's strongest blue-liner.

Take that in for a second - Ekholm was the Predators' best D-man ahead of both Josi and Subban.

He's a glue guy who goes about his business in the same manner in which his team operates: Under the radar.

At 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, the 26-year-old has the frame to go along with the skills to be a contributing factor on the Nashville blue line for years to come.

Ekholm put himself on the NHL's map with an excellent two-way performance in Game 1 versus the Ducks - a game in which he fired four shots on net and also blocked two shots.

Whether he plays with Subban, Josi, or Ellis, Ekholm always brings his stabilizing stay-at-home approach to every contest.

The guy can do it all.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Somewhere Mike Babcock is grinning uncontrollably.

That's because on Sunday at the worlds Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander put on a stick-handling clinic before completing a sweet give-and-go with Washington Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom.

The goal was Nylander's fourth of the tournament and gave Sweden a 3-0 lead over Denmark. However, it's also worth noting that less than four minutes earlier Nylander also scored this beauty:

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Bobby Ryan and Craig Anderson didn't want to dwell on it, but this Mother's Day likely carries extra significance for the Ottawa Senators teammates.

Ryan, who scored the overtime winner Saturday night to win Game 1 over the Pittsburgh Penguins, shared how tough it was to not be able to reach out to his mother - who died last summer after a battle with liver cancer - to share in his moment.

"It's almost poetic," Ryan told reporters. "It's my first (Mother's Day) without being able to text my mom, but I woke up this morning, and I was able to text my wife because it was hers. You take the good with the bad on days like today."

Anderson, whose situation has also been well documented, acknowledged that Mother's Day is always important, but insisted his circumstances didn't make it any different.

"I don't think there's any more meaning," he said. "I think it's probably one of the first Mother's Days I've been playing, that's for sure. We'll take a little time today and reflect on it and spend some time with that and move on."

Anderson's wife, Nicholle, has been battling throat cancer since being diagnosed in October.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Here's what happened on Day 10 of the World Hockey Championship in Paris, France and Cologne, Germany.

USA 6, Slovakia 1

• USA won its fifth consecutive game, improving to 5-0-0-1 in the tournament, and momentarily jumping Russia for the top spot in Group A.
• Calgary Flames star Johnny Gaudreau netted two goals and one assist, bringing his tournament total to nine points.
• Anders Lee, Christian Dvorak, Jacob Trouba, and Clayton Keller added the other tallies for the Americans.
• USA will close out its preliminary schedule Tuesday afternoon in a crucial contest versus Russia.

For full scores and coverage, visit the IIHF's World Championship website.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Ottawa Senators had a glaring weakness in the regular season, but they've rectified it in a major way this spring.

Preventing opposing power-play goals was a significant challenge for Ottawa over the 82-game schedule, and particularly down the stretch.

The Senators ranked in the bottom third of the NHL over the entire regular season and had the league's worst penalty kill over their final 30 contests.

It's been a different story in the playoffs, though.

The Senators boast an 88.9 percent kill rate in 13 postseason contests, a mark bested by only the Nashville Predators among the four remaining clubs.

They've allowed just two opposing power-play goals in six home playoff games, and only three in seven on the road.

Craig Anderson has played a big part in that success.

The goaltender has a stellar .932 save percentage on the kill in the playoffs, best among the remaining starters and a major improvement over his regular-season mark of .838, which ranked third-worst among goalies with at least 40 games played.

Ottawa's penalty kill was a perfect five-for-five in a Game 1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night, and that continued a recent trend of perfection.

The Senators have killed off 12 straight penalties in the last three games dating back to their second-round series against the New York Rangers, and they're 17-for-18 in the last four.

Ottawa hasn't allowed a power-play goal since Rangers forward Chris Kreider scored with the man advantage midway through the third period of Game 4.

Few are giving the Senators much of a chance against the Penguins in the Eastern Conference Final, but as Ottawa proved in Game 1, they'll be tough to beat if they can keep stifling opposing power plays.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

With the offseason underway for a number of teams and the remainder to join them in a few weeks, we're looking at what's in store for each club in the coming months.

2016-17 Grade: F

The Dallas Stars failed to build on a 2015-16 campaign in which they finished with 109 points, second to only the Washington Capitals. The Stars crashed down to 79 points this season, as the team's young blue line and shaky goaltending put it on the wrong side of the scoreboard on too many nights.

Free Agents

The Stars have several players who need contracts come July 1, including veteran forwards Patrick Sharp, Ales Hemsky, and Jiri Hudler, who all dealt with a host of injuries this season. Moving on from all three will free up plenty of cap space and allow general manager Jim Nill to bring in some new blood among the forward ranks.

2017 Draft Picks

The Stars have eight picks in the coming draft, including an extra first-rounder from the deal that sent Patrick Eaves to the Anaheim Ducks.

Dallas was originally slotted to pick at No. 8, but will now select third overall after winning one of three draws at the draft lottery.

Summer Priorities

Build out from Bishop

Nothing hurt the Stars more this season than the shoddy goaltending duo of Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi, as the two combined for an NHL-worst .893 save percentage. Lehtonen (.902) outdueled the latter (.892), though neither netminder was worth writing home about.

That left Nill to look elsewhere, and the Stars began their offseason with a bang by acquiring the rights to goaltender Ben Bishop from the Los Angeles Kings. Dallas wasted little time in getting Bishop's name on an extension, as he's since signed a six-year deal with the club.

Add a veteran blue-liner

The Stars have a promising defensive core with several youngsters in tow, like John Klingberg, Esa Lindell, and Stephen Johns, but the team could use a greybeard to shepherd in the next wave on the back end.

Dallas added 34-year-old Dan Hamhuis last offseason, but lost key veteran voices in Alex Goligoski, Jason Demers, and Kris Russell. Most importantly, some added experience should shore up the Stars' porous penalty killing unit, which finished dead last at 73.9 percent.

Adjust to Ken Hitchcock's defensive style

Lindy Ruff is out and Ken Hitchcock is in. The veteran bench boss won the Stanley Cup with the Stars in 1999 and returns to Texas with much of the same philosophy he used in guiding Dallas to its only championship.

Related: Seguin 'giddy' about Hitchcock's plan to turn him into true No. 1 center

Hitchcock preaches details in the defensive zone, an area where the Stars struggled last season. Those issues will be far easier to tackle with Bishop between the pipes and some added veteran presence on the blue line.

2017-18 Outlook

The offense is there, and the playoffs can be as well, if the Stars can fix their ailing defensive game.

The dynamic duo of Tyler Seguin and captain Jamie Benn leads the scoring charge up front, but it will be up to the Stars' young blue line to take the next steps in order to climb the ranks in the Central Division.

Klingberg took a step back this season, as despite appearing in four more games than in 2015-16, he finished with nine fewer points, while his plus-minus plummeted by 20. He'll be looked upon to lead a youthful defensive core that should play with more confidence next season with Bishop defending the cage.

If the club can shore up its back end, the Stars' postseason drought should end after a modest one season miss.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Sit back, relax, and reflect on the magic of playoff overtime.

After establishing an NHL record with 18 combined OT games in the first round, the postseason heroics haven't slowed down.

Five games in Round 2 required extra time, while the first two contests of the conference finals were settled in sudden death, too.

The grand total for this postseason is now 25, just three shy of matching the all-time record, with plenty of games remaining.

(Video Courtesy: NHL.com)

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.