Mike Brophy

Veteran hockey columnist Mike Brophy writes Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday on Sportsnet.ca and appears regularly on Hockeycentral.

Joe Thornton has been camped near the crease more this spring.

Before we start to credit Joe Thornton's playoff play and forget his past performances because of the six-game point's streak he's riding, his defensive play could use a little pick-me-up. When the Detroit Red Wings crushed San Jose 7-1 last Thursday, Thornton was minus-3 and he's minus-4 overall in the post-season.

Still, you have to be impressed with the way he has taken charge on offense; no longer staying to the outside where he is less effective, but instead working the puck to the net. The results have been significant. In his past six games, Thornton has three goals and nine points. Thornton's linemate Patrick Marleau has responded with points in four straight games while Dany Heatley has two goals and seven points in five games.

If this trio continues to produce, while Joe Pavelski, Ryane Clowe and Devin Setoguchi score at the pace they did through the first two rounds, the Sharks should be a legitimate No. 1 seed through the remainder of the playoffs. Based on the fact they have the highest number of points of the remaining teams, that would be the case anyway, but we all know when it comes to the Sharks and the playoffs, what they do in the regular season doesn't necessarily mean much.

Here are some other thoughts after a weekend of playoff action:

Tough guy: Vancouver Canucks defenceman Shane O'Brien has had his ups and downs this season, but you have to admire the way he left the ice Sunday night with blood streaming from a cut between his eyes and returned to action a short while later after being stitched up. With his team playing shorthanded on the blueline, the emotional O'Brien kept his composure and played a solid game.

Captain Lou: Roberto Luongo has also had more than his share of problems in this year's playoffs with many calling into question the decision to name him captain of the Canucks. I didn't mind the appointment originally, but now see where it can be a distraction for a goaltender to be answering questions game after game, especially after a weak individual performance. Luongo has been inconsistent this spring, but was spectacular Sunday against Chicago, particularly early in the game when he made numerous saves on Chicago's Marian Hossa.

Time to reload: There are a lot of questions facing the Detroit Red Wings moving forward. The most pressing, of course, is, will defenceman Nicklas Lidstrom return? The 40-year-old Swede has not yet decided if he'll return for a 19th season. There were times during the season when it looked like Lidstrom was slowing down and his production took a noticeable dip. However, he had 10 points in 12 playoff games and was plus-7, a good indication there is plenty left in the tank should he decide to return.

The Wings must also decide on what they will do with their support players. Veteran winger Kirk Maltby's contract is up and he'll probably retire. Todd Bertuzzi is an unrestricted free agent, as is Jason Williams. Also, checking centre Kris Carper and backup goalie Chris Osgood have one year left on their contracts.

While Detroit's frontline forwards remain among the best in the league, they need more production from their third and fourth lines to get back to being Stanley Cup contenders. They also need to find a suitable replacement for tough guy Darren McCarty who was sadly missed in this year's playoffs.

Ken Holland is regarded by many as the best GM in the NHL so it will be interesting to see what he does to get back into the thick of things next season.

Shoot Sid, shoot: If you look at his numbers - five goals and 17 points in 11 playoff games - you would think there's really nothing to worry about concerning Sidney Crosby's performance in the playoffs. Still, people are wondering why Crosby's goal-scoring is down from the regular season. The answer is simple: he's not shooting the puck as often. In 81 regular season games Crosby scored 51 goals on 298 shots. That's an average of 3.7 shots per game. In the playoffs he has just five goals on 33 shots. He is averaging just 2.8 shots per game. In four of the five games Pittsburgh has played against Montreal in the second round, Crosby was limited to one shot on goal.