This Week on the Tablets: Lacing up the skates and hitting the ice for SI’s NHL Preview

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In this week’s issue, Sports Illustrated predicts that the Penguins will defeat the Blackhawks to win the Stanley Cup. That prediction hinges greatly on the health of Sidney Crosby, whose struggles with post-concussion symptoms lie at the heart of the NHL’s debate on player safety. On the tablet this week, several players sound off in videos on the prevention of head shots, how important it is for the league to have Crosby return to form and almost everything else on the topic (and the upcoming season). Readers are also treated to an NHL bonus in Leading Off: Outtake photos of the 22 players who recently passed through SI’s offices. (In particular, keep an eye out for the hilarious faces of reigning Vezina and Conn Smythe Trophy winner Tim Thomas.)

The digital extra for our Southeast regional cover story on Alabama’s defense poses a question: What other college defenses are in the discussion for the best of all time? SI presents hot spots of five candidates for that superlative: Alabama ’61, Syracuse ’59, Nebraska ’71, Oklahoma ’74 and Miami ’01. The baseball story this week breaks down how each of the eight playoff teams put together their 25-man Division Series rosters—through a combination of free agency, trade/waiver/Rule 5 draft and the amateur draft/amateur free agency—and includes a photo gallery on the best shots from the playoffs thus far. And for those fans searching for their basketball fix, check out photos of Brandon Jennings’ life as an intern at Under Armour.

This week’s SI Digital Bonus highlights a different type of sport. A week ago Thursday, competitive eating legend Takeru (the Tsunami) Kobayashi stopped by the SI offices for a late-afternoon snack: 32 hardboiled eggs (consumed in a minute) and a gallon of milk (drank in 20 seconds). Not possible, you say? Watch the video to see that it’s really true. Plus, a tablet-only Inside Boxing column by staff writer Chris Mannix (@ChrisMannixSI) on why boxer Sergio Martinez isn’t a bigger name in spite of his myriad credentials.

To top it all off, the regular digital features in the Oct. 10 edition include:

• Senior writer Peter King’s (@SI_PeterKing) weekly podcast interview (his guests this week are Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times and Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) and the Week 5 edition of his “Last Word” on the NFL.
• Senior writer Jim Trotter’s (@SI_JimTrotter) Week 5 predictions.
• Off the Record: This week’s must-see moments in sports video.
• All Inside columns feature a Truth & Rumors feed specific to that sport, which updates in real time.

Enjoy.