- The Boston Bruins showed their depth last night, getting both goals from their fourth line in a 2-1 win over New York. Dan Paille broke the tie with just 3:31 left in the third period, and the Rangers weren't able to muster a sustained offensive attack to tie the game. In fact, offence has been a huge problem for the Rangers all post-season long. They're averaging just a little more than two goals per game, and their powerplay is a woeful 5.3%. Boston now has a 3-0 stranglehold on the series and can advance to their second East Conference final in the last three years with a win on Thursday.
- Like New York, the LA Kings have also been having trouble finding their offense in these playoff, scoring only one goal last night in a 2-1 loss to San Jose (though they should have had two, I'll get to that in a minute). The Kings have scored the fewest goals of any team in the second round, and against Sharks goalie Antti Niemi (1.93 goals against average, .930 save percentage), they need to be better in game five if they want to take back control of this series. San Jose got goals from Brent Burns and Logan Couture in the victory last night, and the series is now tied 2-2 going back to LA.
- A controversial moment for the Kings last night, after Dustin Penner appeared to score, but the goal was disallowed. The referee, who was too far from the net, blew the whistle while the puck was clearly loose behind Niemi. The goal, which would have cut the Shark's lead to 2-1 at that point, should have counted, and has renewed debate about instituting a coach's challenge into the NHL.
- There was some concern in Ottawa after tough forward Chris Neil left game three and didn't return for the Sens. However it appears that Neil will be okay and return to the lineup tonight against Pittsburgh.
- It's been announced by the Montreal Canadiens that defenceman Alexei Emelin underwent surgery on the MCL and ACL of his left knee and will be out for six months. The injury came during a game in April, when he was nailed by Bruins winger Milan Lucic.
- A bit of a change in Nashville, as the Predators have fired associate coach Peter Horacheck and replaced him with former legendary defenceman Phil Housley. Housley, who sits fourth all time in defenceman scoring, has recently coached the American team to gold at the World Junior Championships. He has a good rapport with young players and will be expected to work with the Pred's defence and well as the power play.
- A bit of good news to finish up the morning snapshots, as the Columbus Blue Jackets are reporting a 13% increase in season ticket renewals over last season. The Jackets, who have long suffered through attendance problems, averaged 14,562 fans per game last season and that number could climb higher. Just goes to show how much winning can really make a difference.
Thanks for reading everybody. Please check out the 'Contest' tab up top and make sure to vote in the poll for which image you think should be the new header here at WAAP. And as always, please comment and share if you like the content too. Your morning gif is this odd game winning goal from the Boston/New York game last night. Paille ultimately swats it in, but how the puck bounces forward off the line prior to that is really strange:
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