Tonight's Playoff Match-ups 13/05

Via: torontosun.com

It's the final night of the first round of the NHL playoffs tonight. There's two game sevens on tap, let's take a look at each of them.

Toronto Maple Leafs @ Boston Bruins (7:00pm ET)
TV:CBC, RDS, CNBC, NESN
Series 3-3
The Leafs have fought back hard from a 3-1 series hole, winning 2-1 in game six to force a game seven tonight in Boston. Phil Kessel has been one of the biggest stories for Toronto so far in this series. He scored the game winning goal in game six for the Leafs and has thus far proved his worth against the team that gave him up a few years ago. It helps that Toronto netminder James Reimer has been brilliant, only allowing two goals in two straight victories. The Bruins will need to rely on home ice advantage, veteran experience and goalie Tuukka Rask if they hope to defeat Toronto tonight in game seven. Michael Kostka and Mark Fraser are out for the Leafs tonight, while the status of Tyler Bozak, who was a late scratch before game six, is uncertain. Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference is unlikely to play. Prediction: 3-2 Bruins.

New York Rangers @ Washington Capitals (8:00pm ET)
TV: TSN, RDE2, NBCSN, MSG, CSN-DC
Series 3-3
The final game of the quarter final round of the Eastern conference goes tonight in DC. This has been an incredibly close, low scoring series thus far, with five of the six games decided by only one goal. It's also been a series dictated by the role players, as Brad Richards and Rick Nash of the Rangers have combined for just one goal, while Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom of the Caps have combined for two. Ranger's goalie Henrik Lundqvist picked up the shutout in his last start, though Washington netminder Braden Holtby has been just as good on the other end of the ice. The Rangers will need to avoid penalties (Washington is 21.4% on the pp) and play a near perfect road game if they want to close out this series. Michael Sauer is out for the Rangers, while Ryane Clowe, Marc Staal and Darroll Powe are questionable. The Caps will be without Brooks Laich again, in addiction to Tom Poti and Martin Erat. Prediction: 3-1 Caps.

That's all for tonight, just two games, but they're sure to be highly intense and enjoyable. I must give special credit to my significant other, who I gave the honor of predicting tonight's games. I'll be back tomorrow with a preview of the semi-final match-ups in each conference, as well as post-mortems of the teams who lose tonight. Don't forget to comment and share if you like the content here at WAAP, and please be aware that our header imagine contest is still going on. You can find details about how to enter in the tab on top. Tonight's gif is brought to you by Detroit's goalie Jimmy Howard. Better watch out for snipers, Jimmy!