Morning Skate: April 30

The Morning After:

Yesterday’s results:

Flyers 4, Devils 3 (OT)
Coyotes 5, Predators 3

RLD 3 stars of the night:

1. Danny Briere (2 goals)

2. Shane Doan (1 goal, 1 assist)

3. Petr Sykora (1 goal)

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Tonight’s slate:

Capitals @ Rangers, 7:30 ET, Game 2

Kings @ Blues, 9:00, Game 2

#7 Washington Capitals @ #1 New York Rangers

Game 2… 7:30 ET… TV: NBC Sports, CBC

Season series: 1-0 Rangers

Projected starting goaltenders:

WAS-    Braden Holtby (Playoff stats: 4-4, 2.13 GAA)

NYR-    Henrik Lundqvist (Playoff stats: 5-3, 1.62 GAA)

Injury report:

WAS-    Tomas Vokoun and Tom Poti (groin, out)

NYR-    Brandon Dubinsky (lower body, questionable), Brian Boyle and Michael Sauer (concussion, out), Mat Zuccarello (wrist, out)

Game thoughts:

After winning Game 1 by a decisive 3-1 score, the pressure is on the Rangers to keep their right foot on the gas-- in an ideal world, they would like to win tonight and travel to Washington with a 2-0 series lead. However, shutting down the talented tandems of the Capitals is easier said than done. 


Despite Saturday's tilt making for some great playoff hockey, the winning team only mustered 14 shots on goal. By that same token, the Capitals only put 18 shots on net against Henrik Lundqvist. Clearly this type of low-scoring affair is not sustainable, despite both teams putting a clear emphasis on defense. Nevertheless, if both teams continue to play a defense-first game, the Rangers certainly have the upper hand. 

Prediction: Rangers 2, Capitals 0

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#8 Los Angeles Kings @ #2 St. Louis Blues

Game 2… 9:00 ET… TV: CNBC, TSN

Series: 1-0 Kings

Projected starting goaltenders:

LAK-   Jonathan Quick (Playoff stats: 4-1, 1.59 GAA)

STL-   Brian Elliott (Playoff stats: 4-2, 2.09 GAA)

Injury report:

LAK-   Kyle Clifford (upper body, day-to-day), Simon Gagne (concussion, out), Scott Parse (hip, out)

STL-   Jaroslav Halak (ankle, out), Alex Pietrangelo (upper body, questionable)

Game thoughts:

On Saturday night, the Los Angeles Kings once again found a way to defeat their higher-seeded opponent. Jonathan Quick was outstanding, stopping 28 of 29 shots, while his team received timely goal scoring from Slava Voynov and Matt Greene. But tonight, the Kings should be reminded of why St. Louis dominated the regular season.

Unlike the Vancouver Canucks, the Blues know how to play a patient game in order to come out on top. In fact, Saturday's game is a good outlier of things for both teams as the overall series will remain very tight. St. Louis wins tonight, splitting their two home games as they head back West. 
Prediction: Blues 4, Kings 3 (OT) 

Video of the day:

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