Morning Skate: Playoff Edition (5/14)

The Morning After:
My 3 stars from last night:
1. Sidney Crosby (2 goals, 1 assist)
Crosby TKO’d Ovechkin with a big 3 point night.
2. Bill Guerin (1 goal)
Guerin’s GWG took the air out of Verizon Center officially.
3. Marc-Andre Fleury (19 saves)
He didn’t have to be clutch, but his glove save 3 minutes into the game was huge.
Best atmosphere: Washington
It was great for about 10 minutes, then was hushed by the Penguins.
‘RLD Game-Changing Performance’ of the night:
Marc-Andre Fleury… I assure that if Ovechkin scores on that breakaway 3 minutes into the game, that it would’ve been a totally different game. But Fleury stood tall and snatched away Ovie’s bid at the opening goal.
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Tonight’s Slate:

Games of the Night:
8) Anaheim Ducks @ 2) Detroit Red Wings
Game 7, 7:00 ET… TV: VERSUS, CBC, Local Networks
Series tied, 3-3

Players to watch:
ANA- Ryan Getzlaf
‘Getzy’ will have to be the best player on the ice tonight for the Ducks to win.
DET- Johan Franzen
Franzen has 6 goals in this series… Anaheim has to find a way to stop him.

Starting Goaltenders:
ANA- Jonas Hiller (Playoff stats: 7-5, 2.09 GAA)
DET- Chris Osgood (Playoff stats: 7-3, 1.97 GAA)

Injury Report:
ANA- Bret Hedican (back, out)
DET- Kris Draper (upper body, questionable), Andreas Lilja (head, out)

Game Thoughts:
This is the first time since 2002 that the Wings have hosted a Game 7. Anaheim played almost a perfect game on Tuesday, and will have to have a similar effort tonight. Detroit will be fired up after their late-game mini-brawl in Game 6, if they weren’t already. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Anaheim win, but I just think a Detroit will win and a series with Chicago is destined.

Prediction: Red Wings 4, Ducks 2
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6) Carolina Hurricanes @ 1) Boston Bruins
Game 7, 8:00 ET… TV: VERSUS, TSN, Local Networks
Series tied, 3-3

Players to watch:
CAR- Ray Whitney
Whitney has just 1 assist in this series; it’s time for him to step up.
BOS- Milan Lucic
‘Looch’ has stepped his game up considerably these last 2 games.

Starting Goaltenders:
CAR- Cam Ward (Playoff stats: 7-6, 2.29 GAA)
BOS- Tim Thomas (Playoff stats: 7-3, 1.80 GAA)

Injury Report:
CAR- None
BOS- Marc Savard (lower body, will play), Andrew Ference (undisclosed, questionable), Matt Hunwick (spleen, out), Marco Sturm (knee, out)

Game Thoughts:
To be honest, I just cannot see the Bruins losing this game. I know Ward is 4-0 in Game 7’s, but he’s gonna lose one at some point. The B’s have grabbed the momentum in this series, and have basically dominated in these last couple games. Whitney and Staal will have to be a force for the ‘Canes to have a chance. In the end, I think Boston will win a low-scoring, high-energy game.

Prediction: Bruins 2, Hurricanes 1