Your savory breakfast links:

• And from the Boston side of things:
  • Notes from practice. [CSNNE]
  • The marquee match-up: Zdeno Chara (and Dennis Seidenberg) vs. Alex Ovechkin. [NHL.com, CSNNE, NESN]
  • Special teams play will be key. [The Republican, BHerald]
  • Tyler Seguin knows a lot is expected of him now. [NEHJ, ESPN Boston, BHerald]
  • Rich Peverley owns is back, and that's bad news for opponents. [CSNNE]
  • From most of what you read, the B's will have a harder time guarding against over-confidence than actually, y'know, beating the Caps. [CSNNE]
    
  • Can we keep politics out of this? Yes? No? Maybe? [Puck Daddy, CSNNE]
  • Milan Lucic is looking forward to a long run. [BHerald]
  • We'll keep this image in our back pockets for now. [NESN]
• Hit the road, Caps (and please come back with a win or two). [WashTimes, Capitals Overtime]
• Humility suits the Caps well. [DCEx]
• Is the Caps' best yet to come? [Frankovic]
• Braden Holtby at 100/1 for Conn Smythe? Hmm. [Puck Daddy]
• Make that "confident Braden Holtby." [WaPo, with more on Holtby at HomerMcFanboy]
• The Bruins are so deep that James Cameron is designing a special sub to take a closer look. [WashTimes]
• A look at the series' forwards. [SCoC]
• How the Caps will win! And how the Bruins will win. And what could go wrong for both teams. Bases? Covered. [SI]
• Contrary to what you might have thought, having the regular season edge in head-to-head match-ups might mean more than nothing. [WaPo, with a look back at that season series at RtR]
• Breaking down the match-up. [SB Nation]
• In case you forgot, Ovi's aggregate scoring numbers in the playoffs are a little bit good. [Sick, Unbelieveable]
• How to beat Tim Thomas (spoiler alert: get pucks on net with traffic). [RMNB]
• When shot-blocking goes bad. [Sick, Unbeleivable, with a bit more on another real-time stat here]
• Getting inside the coaches' craniums. [Capitals 101]
• This chess match might be better if the Caps had their Czech mates. [Hockey Hourly]
• Ready? Draw! [RtR]
• Would the Rangers have been a better draw for the Caps? Locker thinks so. [106.7 The Fan]
• The "Keith Aucoin is from Massachusetts" angle. [Capital Games]
• Misty water-color memories. [NESN]
• Predictions:
  • Caps in six. [Fanspeak]
  • Caps (I think). [Rodney the Pomeranian]
  • Bruins in four. [EA Sports]
  • Bruins in five. [Sporting News, Bruins Blog, Empty Netters]
  • Bruins in six. [Puck Prospectus]
  • Bruins in seven. [RLS]
  • Bruins. [Greatest Hockey Legends]
  • Pretty much everyone: Bruins. [DC Sports Bog]
    
• Behind the Caps' playoff opening videos. [DC Sports Bog]
• All the jokes you'd expect and then some. [Down Goes Brown]
• It would have been nice if Colorado sucked a little more this season, but the Caps will have to make do with the 11th pick in the draft. [WashTimes, CSNW, SB Nation DC, with a reflection on The Great Screw Job of '05 at OFB]
• Notes from Tuesday's Bears practice. [Patriot-News (with more on the Bears' use of amateur tryout contracts here]
• Finally, happy 34th birthday to Ben Clymer, happy 42nd birthday to Trevor Linden, and happy 51st birthday to Ron Jones.
• Oh, and pledge something - anything - for my beard. Do it. For the children. (And here are some other close-to-home options if you're feeling charitable.)