Tonight's Playoff Match-ups 16/05

New York Rangers @ Boston Bruins (7:30pm ET)
TV: TSN, RDS, NBCSN
Series: 0-0
The final conference semi-final series to get going is in Boston tonight, as the Rangers take on the Bruins. The teams met each other three times in the regular season, with New York coming out on top twice in extra time, but not since February 12th. Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist enters tonight's game with a 120 minute shutout streak, and his teammates have been likewise firing on all cylinders. Boston is still riding an emotional high after their historic comeback victory in game seven over Toronto. However, the Bruins look like they'll be missing three key defensemen; Andrew Ference, Dennis Seidenberg and Wade Redden are all out with injuries. The Rangers are likely to be without Marc Staal, Darroll Power and Ryane Clowe for at least tonight and maybe longer. Tuukka Rask will get the start for Boston opposite Lundqvist.
Prediction: 3-2 Rangers.

San Jose Sharks @ Los Angeles Kings (10:00pm ET)
TV: TSN, RDS, NBCSN
Series: 1-0 Kings
After two straight losses to open their series against the Blues, the Kings are looking like the Stanley Cup champs they are with 5 straight wins, including a 2-0 whitewash of the Sharks in game one. The main reason has been King's goalie Jonathan Quick, who stopped at 35 shots San Jose threw at him during that game. The Sharks will counter with Antti Niemi in goal, who has been good but not as good as Quick. One of the storylines to watch in tonight's game will not only be whether the Sharks can get to Quick or not, but also the absence of Raffi Torres. The San Jose forward will have a disciplinary hearing at the NHL offices in New York today, and is likely to get suspended for a while after a high hit in game one. Aside from Torres, Martin Havlat also appears unlikely to suit for of the Sharks tonight. Jarret Stoll and Kyle Clifford are day to day for LA and their status for tonight is questionable.

That's all for tonight folks, enjoy the hockey! Don't forget to comment and share if you like the content here at WAAP. Check out this gif from round one...poor Lundqvist couldn't find anybody to celebrate his shutout with, so he congratulates himself: