Dan’s Daily Links: Binnington, Blues Unbeatable, Babcock in Trouble

Who would have thought signing an NHL head coach to an eight-year, $50 million deal would wind up being a problem? The Toronto Maple Leafs and head coach Mike Babcock are on shaky ground. The Boston Bruins rode their Game 7 high after beating Toronto into the first period against Columbus in Round Two, and St. Louis was too good for Dallas. And Shelly Anderson has an interesting look at who could join the Pittsburgh Penguins core.

Raise your hand if you predicted more than three of the NHL playoff series so far. I only got two: Colorado and St. Louis.

St. Louis is starting to go nuts for the Blues. It’s one thing to make the playoffs but with the field cleared, they’re starting to feel the big prize is within reach. Vladimir Tarasenko scored a late goal and St. Louis won Game 1 (USA Today)

Interim head coach Craig Berube is getting a lot of credit. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

Mike Babcock is on shaky ground in Toronto. No, Babcock is not overrated but he has had trouble with one of his stars. Babcock has four years and $25 million left on his contract (Sportsnet)

The San Jose Sharks scored four power-play goals on one major penalty in Game 7 against Vegas to advance to Round Two. The third period call helped San Jose erase a three-goal deficit. The NHL called Vegas GM George McPhee and apologized for the bad call. (TSN)

Charlie Coyle scored the OT winner for Boston in the Game 1 win over CBJ. For Coyle, it was like a dream (MassLive)

5 Columbus Takeaways from the Game 1 loss (Columbus Dispatch)

Are Jared McCann and Nick Bjugstad going to become core pieces for the Penguins or could they be traded? The answer is yes, according to Shelly Anderson (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)