Morning Skate: P.K. Subban vs. Sidney Crosby is the Stanley Cup feud we need

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Lace ‘em up. Time for the Morning Skate.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the NBA playoffs and NHL playoffs lately.

Mainly about why so many people tune into NBA games so often. I’m not a basketball fan, so that’s a question I often ask. Everything I love about the NHL (the parity, the constant motion, etc.) seems to be missing from the NBA when I watch.

But I do get the appeal of today’s NBA: The star power is palpable. And the individual rivalries are infectious. Does Kevin Durant hate Russell Westbrook? I don’t know. Is LeBron sick of the Warriors? Maybe.

But possibly. And it’s worth watching just to see those stars get up-close-and-personal on the biggest stage. I get it.

So thank goodness for this Stanley Cup Final, because P.K. Subban and Sidney Crosby are two of the game’s best players and might actually hate each other. The pair wrestled last night, capping off simmering tensions over #Breathgate in Game 5. Not to mention it coaxed another eye-rolling comment out of Mike Milbury.

Sure, Crosby told reporters later that it was nothing personal. Just hockey. Doesn’t matter. The optics are that two of the NHL’s best lightning rod players are feuding on and off the ice during the Stanley Cup Final, and that is great for the sport.

Pittsburgh is a win away from the Cup, thanks to a three-point night from their captain. For better or worse, he was the star of Game 5.

Not to mention the fact HE THREW A WATER BOTTLE ON THE ICE BEFORE A GOAL Kind of hilarious, really.

Nashville now faces a goalie crisis at the worst possible time. At least we know their crowd will be going bonkers.

The Sharks are closing in on two important extensions in net and on the blue line.

Meanwhile, their Pacific bunkmates in L.A. just locked up a key player for three years.

The Flyers just hired one of the hotter assistant coaching names on the market. Is their head coach in trouble?

EA Sports needs to work on its mouthguard accuracy.

Scott Hartnell will set the tone for Columbus’ offseason.

If the Oilers do indeed trade Jordan Eberle, they’ll need to get full value for him and find a good replacement.