The beauty of the playoffs is that teams see each other over a series, allowing each to adjust. This is key as last night’s Ranger win over the Capitals was a bit of an upset. The Rangers want to do it again. The Capitals are looking to put themselves back on track. Washington goalie Jose [...]

Wow. Last night Phoenix’s Al Montoya became the first Cuban-American to play in the NHL. Even better, he got a shutout. Montoya is a former first-round pick who’s never seemed particularly ready for the NHL, so it’s great he had such a strong game. Even if it was against a horrible team. A horrible team [...]

Saturday night, Islanders coach Scott Gordon used stay-at-home defenseman Brendan Witt in the shootout, obviously a very strange move. Greg Logan finally got to ask Gordon about the rationale for Witt. Basically, it sounds like Gordon is just experimenting, since the season is over. I’m with Gordon on this. I’d put my backup goalie in [...]

Wow. Martin Erat is out for the rest of the season. That’s tough for Nashville, who really haven’t locked down a spot in the playoffs. Even worse, he was hurt by friendly fire — teammate Shea Weber pulled the trigger. The only good news is that the Predators might call up the beloved Jed Ortmeyer, [...]

In Washington, coach Bruce Boudreau says his team is taking too many penalties. Shockingly, he’s blaming his players and not the ghost of Caps teams past. Tonight, in New York, the Rangers retire Adam Graves’ number. I’m sure The Two-Line Pass will be all over this tonight, but for now, Rick Carpiniello says enough with [...]

So Brendan Shanahan’s return to New Jersey went pretty well. He scored a powerplay goal, saw a decent amount of ice time, and skated with Bobby Holik and Mike Rupp on the fourth line. Jay Pandolfo was a healthy scratch and wasn’t happy about it. Also, Tim Panaccio had a nice look at the NHL’s [...]

I haven’t written much about Brendan Shanahan joining the Devils but seeing as how he’s expected to suit-up in Nashville tonight, it seems like a good time. Devils coach Brent Sutter hasn’t announced who Shanahan will replace in the line-up, but it seems to be down to fourth-liners Jay Pandolfo and Mike Rupp. Pandolfo used [...]

OK. We’re going dim sum style today: Does anyone else feel the Alex Ovechkin-Evgeni Malkin is either entirely faked or will end with one of them getting shot in Las Vegas? Flyer Scott Hartnell gets awful stage fright in shootout/penalty shot situations. Unlike a breakaway, where you’re just reacting, with shootouts/penalty shots, you have the [...]

I love rivalries, so I was pretty psyched to learn the Caps aren’t huge fans of the Flyers. It doesn’t seem personal. The Flyers are just a physical team and of course, Flyer fans are pretty rough, too. It seems like the Capitals don’t appreciate the Flyer experience. I’m not sure Washington has to worry [...]

Here are some quick thoughts: Ilya Kovalchuk has got to love playing on a line with Marty Reasoner and Chris Thorburn. When I think playmaking, I think Reasoner, who’s never had more than 20 assists in a season. I get that Kovalchuk is a mess in the defensive zone, but I’m not sure if taking [...]