2 years agoNew York Rangers left wing Chris Kreider helped the team's survival efforts with two goals in Monday's Game 7 against Carolina, surpassing Alex Ovechkin (13) for most goals in elimination games among active players. He tied Ovi with a power-play goal in the opening period and grabbed his 14th career goal in elimination games early in the third. The league record for most goals scored in elimination games sits at 16 and it's held by Mark Messier. Kreider had an amazing 52-goal campaign during the regular season, and he's shown off good form in front of the net in the playoffs as well with eight goals in 14 games. He's provided scoring in every situation for the team, adding three assists.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoNew York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad finished Monday's Game 7 victory over Carolina with three assists. He started his night at the office by setting up Chris Kreider for a power-play goal eight minutes into the game and finished his work in the third period with a pair of even-strength helpers. Monday's performance helped Mika Zibanejad to extend his point streak to five games and he has tallied eight of his 19 postseason points during the run. Mika Zibanejad and Rangers defenseman Adam Fox each have now registered 10 points in this year's elimination games, and Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams are the only players in NHL history with more points in such matches, having recorded 11 during the Kings' amazing Cup run in 2014.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoNew York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox will have a chance to set a new NHL record on Monday as he looks to become the most prolific defenseman in elimination games during a single postseason. He's tallied eight points in elimination games this year and that puts him level with Ray Bourque, Ian Turnbull and Denis Potvin. Fox is riding a four-game point streak ahead of Monday's big Game 7 against Carolina, and he leads all blue-liners in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs with 16 points.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoNew York Rangers forward Barclay Goodrow appears ready to play against Carolina in Monday's Game 7 despite missing the morning skate. He has just returned to the lineup from a lower-body injury and played for only the second time this postseason in Saturday's 5-2 win. The 29-year-old skated on the fourth line and finished with a plus-one rating in 13:16 of action, recording one shot, two blocks and one hit. Goodrow, who posted 33 points in 79 games during the regular season, is a versatile forward who is capable of impacting the game in many ways and his availability is great news for the Rangers.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Vince Z. Mercogliano

2 years agoCarolina Hurricanes goaltender Antti Raanta will make his 13th playoff start of the year in Monday's Game 7 against the Rangers. The 33-year-old is looking to bounce back after lasting less than 24 minutes in Saturday's Game 6 and giving up three goals on 13 shots. Raanta had a miserable outing at the weekend, but it was a road game and he has done much better in front of home fans. He is a perfect 6-0 this postseason on home ice and has allowed just six goals in total at the PNC Arena. Pyotr Kochetkov continues as Raanta's backup, with Frederik Andersen (lower body) still unavailable.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Abby Labar

2 years agoCarolina Hurricanes defenseman Brady Skjei scored his first goal of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs and recorded an assist in Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Rangers. He also produced two hits and blocked one shot in 22:35 of ice time. The former Ranger had a solid 39-point campaign during the regular season, but he's been quiet offensively in the playoffs, picking up just three points so far. The 28-year-old rearguard might not get many opportunities to add to his tally as the second-round series has gone to Game 7. However, luckily for Skjei and the Hurricanes, they will be hosting the pivotal match on Monday, entering the action with a perfect 7-0 home record for this year's playoffs.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoNew York Rangers forward Filip Chytil played just 10:39 in Saturday's Game 6 victory over the Hurricanes, but he made a big impact with two goals. The youngster netted both of his goals in the second period inside 3:23 of action to put the Rangers 4-1 up. Artemi Panarin eventually sealed the win in the third, making it 5-2 with a power-play goal. Chytil also scored in Game 1 against Carolina, but it's not been a very fruitful postseason for him overall as he's managed four goals and five points in 13 games. The 22-year-old found himself riding on the first line early in the series, but he's now back on the third line and is struggling to get meaningful minutes.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoNew York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin made a mark at both ends of the ice in Saturday's Game 6 against Carolina, stopping 37 pucks and recording two assists in a 5-2 win. He became only the fifth goalie in NHL history to register multiple helpers in a playoff game. The MVP candidate notched his first assist on a Mika Zibanejad power-play goal in the first period and also had a hand on Filip Chytil's second goal of the night in the second period. Shesterkin made a bit of franchise history as well, picking up his sixth consecutive home win in the playoffs, surpassing Mike Richter, Steve Baker, Ed Giacomin and Dave Kerr. He's now 7-5 for this year's postseason with a 2.75 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoBoston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand has undergone hip surgery and will need six months to recover, meaning he will miss the start of next season. The 34-year-old had a hip arthroscopy and labral repair on both hips. Marchand posted his fifth 80-point year in six seasons in 2021-22, banging in 32 goals and delivering 48 assists in 70 games. He also tallied 78 hits and registered a plus-16 rating. Marchand is getting older and hip surgeries are a pretty serious thing, but hopefully he can make a full recovery and maintain his status as an elite winger in the league.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com

2 years agoTampa Bay Lightning forward Brayden Point (lower body) isn't skating with the team and it's unknown when he's able to return to the lineup. The 26-year-old star, who has led the league in goals each of the last two postseasons, appeared to have hurt his right leg in Game 7 of the first-round matchup against Toronto and sat out the whole second-round series versus Florida. Head coach Jon Cooper sounds quite optimistic about Point's chances to feature in the Eastern Conference Finals. "Is Point closer to playing in round three than he was in round two? No question," Cooper said on Friday. "He's progressing. We've just got to see." Point has tallied two goals and two assists this postseason.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com

2 years agoColorado Avalanche forward J.T. Compher popped up with two goals in Friday's Game 6 against the Blues to help the team finish off the series with a 3-2 win. He produced a pair of game-tying goals before Darren Helm grabbed the winner just six seconds from the end of regulation. Compher was very efficient with his work as he logged just 9:09 of ice time. He had three shots on goal in total and finished with a minus-one rating. This is his second multi-point performance of the playoffs, although Compher has unfortunately gone pointless in all of the other games. He played less and less as the series progressed and Compher likely won't have a big role in the Western Conference Finals either.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoSt. Louis Blues winger David Perron has scored a team-high nine goals in the playoffs and will hope to become only the fifth player in franchise history to get 10-plus goals in a single postseason. Brett Hull, Jaden Schwartz, Vladimir Tarasenko and Greg Paslawski are currently the only players to achieve it. Perron has seen a lot of success during the postseason, but he's also been very inconsistent, scoring all of his goals in only four games. The 33-year-old has added four assists across 11 outings in the playoffs ahead of Friday's Game 6 against Colorado.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoSt. Louis Blues defenseman Torey Krug (lower body) won't play in Friday's Game 6 against Colorado and will also miss a potential Game 7. He has been out of the lineup since Game 3 of the first round and it appears that Krug isn't even close to returning to action, although he has been back skating. Krug had a nice regular season with 43 points in 64 games, and he opened the postseason with a huge three-assist effort before getting injured soon after. Nick Leddy has turned out to be St. Louis' most prolific blue-liner in the playoffs with six points in eight games. --Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Lou Korac

2 years agoColorado Avalanche winger Andre Burakovsky will be back in the lineup on Friday against St. Louis. He returns following a two-game stint as a healthy scratch. Burakovsky had a superb regular-season campaign with a career-high 61 points, but he's gone scoreless in six of his seven playoff appearances, which explains his absence from the past two games. Alex Newhook is set to come out of the lineup, and Burakovsky should also join the second power-play unit after working with the crew at the morning skate. --Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Adrian Dater

2 years agoEdmonton Oilers winger Zach Hyman scored in a fifth consecutive game and recorded two assists as the team secured a series victory against Calgary with a 5-4 overtime win Thursday night. He was a superb plus-four for the game and led the team with seven shots, whilst also handing out four hits. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl simply crushed the Flames, but Hyman had a special series as well, becoming the first Oiler to score at least once in each of the first five games of a playoff series. The 29-year-old has racked up eight goals and 12 points in total in the playoffs, and he will be out to match Esa Tikkanen's franchise record for the longest playoff goal streak in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN