Morning Skate: May 7

The Morning After:

Yesterday’s results:

Kings 3, Blues 1
Devils 4, Flyers 2

RLD 3 stars of the night:

1. Jonathan Quick (23 saves, win)

2. Dustin Brown (2 goals)

3. Dainius Zubrus (2 goals)

---

Tonight’s slate:

Capitals @ Rangers, 7:30 ET, Game 5
Predators @ Coyotes, 10:00 ET, Game 5

#7 Washington Capitals @ #1 New York Rangers

Game 5… 7:30 ET… TV: NBC Sports Network, CBC

Series: Tied 2-2

Projected starting goaltenders:

WAS-    Braden Holtby (Playoff stats: 6-5, 1.94 GAA)

NYR-    Henrik Lundqvist (Playoff stats: 6-5, 1.68 GAA)

Injury report:

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

NYR-    Brandon Dubinsky (leg, out), Michael Sauer (concussion, out), Mats Zuccarello (wrist, out)

Game thoughts:

Where do these two teams go from here? Following yet another neck-and-neck game, the Capitals found a way to even the series on the strength of their top weapons. But will they have enough to take another game at MSG? 


This series simply mirrors the first round series of each team. And if this style of play continues, we could be looking at another seven-game series. Our dart lands on the Caps but this game could easily go the other way. 
Prediction: Capitals 2, Rangers 1 (OT)


#4 Nashville Predators @ #3 Phoenix Coyotes

Game 4… 7:30 ET… TV: NBC Sports Network, CBC

Series: 3-0 Coyotes

Projected starting goaltenders:

NAS-    Pekka Rinne (Playoff stats: 5-4, 2.07 GAA)

PHO-    Mike Smith (Playoff stats: 6-3, 2.41 GAA)

Injury report:

NAS-    None

PHO-    Lauri Korpikoski (lower body, day-to-day)  

Game thoughts:

Following a bold Game 3, the Predators did not have enough to tie the series in Game 4. The x-factor, of course, has been playoff hero Mike Smith, who has stopped 118 of 126 shots faced. All Smith needs is another perfect performance in order to advance to the Conference Finals.


However, the battle-tested Preds will do everything to prevent that. Coach Barry Trotz most likely dresses both Andrei Kostitsyn and Alexander Radulov in an attempt to get more offense out of his lineup. Can the Preds hold off defeat with their backs against the wall? 
Prediction: Coyotes 4, Predators 3 (OT)

Video of the day:

*Follow us on Twitter – @RLDhockey