NHL Hockey Player News

Boyle will travel to Washington with the team, but likely won't play in Game 1.

Clowe will travel to Washington with the team, but likely won't play in Game 1.

He probably won't play in Game 1. However he could return at some point during the first round.

We will have to wait until tomorrow for an official word on Ward's status.

Nabokov looked like he did in San Jose in 2009-10. He had a fantastic season with the Isles this year. He went 23-11-7 with a 2.50 GAA and .910 SV% and got New York into playoffs for the first time since 2007. It is going to be nearly impossible for the Islanders to get by the Penguins, but it all starts with Nabokov. If he can keep them in games, they have talent upfront that can put the biscuit in the net.

Reimer was all the Maple Leafs could have hoped for this season. He had a winning record every month of the season while posting solid GAA and SV%. Reimer was 1-1-1 with a 1.63 GAA and .948 SV% vs. the Bruins this season, but he will have to be at his best if the Maple Leafs are going to have a chance.

Kennedy only put up two points and was a minus-5 in his last 11 games.

The 21-year-old Bennett posted 14 points in 26 games this season.

Claude Julien usually does not like to use rookies in the playoffs so this is no surprise. Tyler Seguin only appeared in 13 of the Bruins 25 games in their 2010-11 Stanley Cup run.

Crosby who has been out since March 30th, is not quite ready to make his return from a broken jaw. This is a tough break for the Penguins but they have more than enough talent to win without Sid. Evgeni Malkin will be leaned on heavily to get the Pens off on the right foot in game 1.

Lundqvist did not receive very much help from his teammates in the early part of the season but in April he upped his play and the Rangers found some offense. He went 10-3-1 with a 1.76 GAA and .934 SV% down the stretch. He will take on a Capitals team who he had some success against this year. He was 1-0-1 with a 1.44 GAA and .942 SV% vs. the Capitals in 2013.

Rask was 11-1-2 in his first 14 starts but went 8-9-3 after that. Rask is probably happy about taking on the Maple Leafs in the first round. He was 2-0-0 with a 0.85 GAA and .958 SV% vs. Toronto this year.

Crosby practiced on the Pens fifth line in practice so it doesn't look like he will play tonight. We'll wait for an official word from the Penguins this afternoon.

Niklas Backstrom was hurt in warmups and Harding will get the start for Wild. Backstrom missed close to two months with MS. It will be a tough series for whoever is in the WIld goal.

The Wild left Minnesota yesterday completely confident Pominville would play after practicing yesterday. But Pominville, who missed the regular season’s final two games after being elbowed in the head by Dustin Brown, woke up not feeling well today, I hear. Zenon Konopka will enter the lineup in Pominville's spot.

Crosby did not practice on a regular line this morning. He was on the 'fifth' line which would suggest that he won't play tomorrow. However he is Sidney Crosby and he wants to play hockey. Monitor his status tomorrow.

Scandella posted 17 points in 45 games in the AHL this season. He recorded just one assist in six games with Wild.

It looks like Oshie will return to the Blues lineup tonight. He missed the last 15 games of the regular season with a foot injury. He had 20 points in 30 games this season. The Blues will need him to get on the scoresheet if they want to beat LA.

With TJ Oshie likely returning tonight for game 1 after missing the last 15 games, Tarasenko appears to be a healthy scratch. Tarasenko had just three assists in his last 15 games.