Rangers vs. Senators
New York: No. 1 seed, 51-24-7, 109 points
Ottawa: No. 8 seed, 41-31-10, 92 points
SPOTLIGHT ON
Henrik Lundqvist: The Swedish Rangers goalie had a Vezina-worthy season but has never gone to a Cup Finals.
STORY LINE
Rangers won conference title, but stumbled a bit down stretch and scoring worries remain.
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KEY PLAYERS
N.Y. RANGERS
PlayerGPGAPts.Marian Gaborik82413576Brad Richards82254166Ryan Callahan76292554
G Henrik Lundqvist: 39-18-5, 1.97 GAA, .929.
OTTAWA
PlayerGPGAPts.Jason Spezza80345084Erik Karlsson81195978Milan Michalek77352560
G Craig Anderson: 33-22-6 2.83 GAA, .913.
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POST’S PICK
Rangers in five.
SCHEDULE
Thursday: at N.Y. Rangers, |5 p.m.
Saturday: at N.Y. Rangers, 5 p.m.
Monday: at Ottawa, 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 18: at Ottawa, 5:30 p.m.
x-Saturday, April 21: at N.Y. Rangers, 5 p.m.
x-Monday, April 23: at Ottawa, TBD
x-Thursday, April 26: at N.Y. Rangers, TBD
x — if necessary; best of seven
Bruins vs. Capitals
Boston: No. 2 seed, 49-29-4, 102 points
Washington: No. 7 seed, 42-32-8, 92 points
SPOTLIGHT ONTim Thomas: Bruins goalie made lots of controversy this year with a boycott of the White House for personal political beliefs.
STORY LINE
The defending Cup champion Bruins appear healthy again, but is their hunger for a repeat there?
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KEY PLAYERS
BOSTON
PlayerGPGAPts.Tyler Seguin81293867P. Bergeron81224264David Krejci79233962
G Tim Thomas: 35-19-1, 2.36 GAA, .920.
WASHINGTON
PlayerGPGAPts.Alex Ovechkin79382765Alex Semin77 213354M. Johansson80143246
G Michal Neuvirth: 13-13-5, 2.82 GAA, .902.
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POST’S PICK
Bruins in five.
SCHEDULE
Thursday: at Boston, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday: at Boston, 1 p.m.
Monday: at Washington, 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 19: at Washington, 5:30 p.m.
x-Saturday, April 21: at Boston, 1 p.m.
x-Sunday, April 22: at Washington, TBD
x-Wednesday, April 25: at Boston, TBD
x — if necessary; best of seven
Panthers vs. Devils
Florida: No. 3 seed, 38-26-18, 94 points
New Jersey: No. 6 seed, 48-28-6, 102 points
SPOTLIGHT ON
Ilya Kovalchuk: Signed to a 15-year, $102 million contract three years ago, it is starting to pay off more for the Devils, and he had an outstanding season.
STORY LINE
Is Devils goalie Martin Brodeur really up for another long playoff run at age 39?
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KEY PLAYERS
FLORIDA
PlayerGPGAPts.T. Fleischmann82273461Stephen Weiss80203757Kris Versteeg71233154
G Jose Theodore: 22-16-11, 2.46 GAA, .916.
NEW JERSEY
PlayerGPGAPts.Ilya Kovalchuk77374683Patrik Elias81265278Zach Parise82313869
G Martin Brodeur: 31-21-4, 2.41 GAA, .907.
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POST’S PICK
Devils in six.
SCHEDULE
Friday: at Florida, 5 p.m.
Sunday: at Florida, 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday: at New Jersey, 5 p.m.
Thursday, April 19: at New Jersey, 7 p.m.
x-Saturday, April 21: at Florida, 6:30 p.m.
x-Tuesday, April 24: at New Jersey, TBD
x-Thursday, April 26: at Florida, TBD
x — if necessary; best of seven
Penguins vs. Flyers
Pittsburgh: No. 4 seed, 51-25-6, 108 points
Philadelphia: No. 5 seed, 47-26-9, 103 points
SPOTLIGHT ON
Sidney Crosby: He has been healthy again for a while now and playing great. But is he up for the rigors of the playoffs?
STORY LINE
This probably will be the best series in either conference. The two teams are skilled and hate each other.
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KEY PLAYERS
PITTSBURGH
PlayerGPGAPts.Evgeni Malkin755059109James Neal80404181Sidney Crosby2282937
G Marc-Andre Fleury: 42-17-4, 2.36 GAA, .913.
PHILADELPHIA
PlayerGPGAPts.Claude Giroux77 286593Scott Hartnell82373067Jaromir Jagr 73193554
G Ilya Bryzgalov: 33-16-7, 2.48 GAA, .909.
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POST’S PICK
Penguins in six.
SCHEDULE
Today: at Pittsburgh, 5:30 p.m.
Friday: at Pittsburgh, 5:30 p.m.
Sunday: at Philadelphia, 1 p.m.
Wednesday, April 18: at Philadelphia, 5:30 p.m.
x-Friday, April 20: at Pittsburgh, 5:30 p.m.
x-Sunday, April 22: at Philadelphia, TBD
x-Tuesday, April 24: at Pittsburgh, TBD
x — if necessary; best of seven
