I would love to eavesdrop to the Rangers chatter in between periods in their MSG lockeroom.  Perhaps, I would hear Captain Jagr make some distinct remark on Crosby or crack a joke on how in his country if he is booed then it means that he is fighting like a bull.  It would be interesting especially after Jagr grabbed Malkin during a third game fight to hear his commentary especially now that the Rangers are on verge of elimination.

Jaromir Jagr, who happens to be my favorite player, believes that the Rangers should be able to remain in the series with one game to go, and beat the Pens.  He suddenly became a baseball fan and told reporters that "even a great team like the Yankees didn't hold a 3-0 lead" in the 2004 MLB playoffs.    Last I heard, the Boston Red Sox, won that series. 

To make matters worse, Sean Avery was rushed to the hospital at 3AM with a spleen injury.   Avery will probably miss his hockey stick more than his spleen.   Perhaps Martin Brodeur should send him a get well card at this point. Regardless, the New York Rangers, need to work on improving neutral zone coverage and stopping turnovers.  The power play must produce its desired outcome before they become the next statistical casualty to the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

Marc Andre Fleury is the second goaltending victim to fall under the wrath of New York Rangers Sean Avery who is well known for his on ice antics of instigation.  Without falling under the surveillance cameras of the Mellon Arena or caught by the referee, Sean Avery smacked Fleury with his hockey stick against the pads during the final minutes of play.  But it wasn't until the end of the game, when Avery supposedly took his stick and rubbed it against the icon of the skating Penguin on Fleury's jersey.   This was definitely one move that irritated Hal Gill who went to protect the goalie. The rest was a postgame rumble between the New York Rangers and the Pittsburgh Penguins which included Captain Jagr in the fighting action.

I'm not disappointed in the Flyers level of play against the top seeded Montreal Canadiens.  In fact, I'm just disappointed in the quality of their hockey sticks. 

Nowadays hockey sticks are made of technological advanced materials, special coatings and graphite blades.  Anyone would think that broken hockey sticks would be a thing of the past with the future of science.  Of course, this might be just part of the advertising campaign to emulate hockey heroes such as Sidney Crosby.

During the first period of game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, Flyers Scottie Upshall broke his Easton S17 stick after shooting a tying goal against the Washington Capitals.  The infamous hockey stick is even on sale on Ebay. 

But the most dramatic Flyers stick break occurred this past Thursday during their first semifinal game against the Montreal Canadiens. With less than a minute left in the third period, Flyers center Jeff Carter's Bauer stick broke as he tapped it forcibly on the ice on a faceoff to Canadien's Saku Koivu.  Christopher Higgins then shot the loose puck to Alex Kovalev who sent it straight into the top right corner beating Flyers goaltender Martin Biron tying the game. 

It seems that Tom Kostopoulus with his RBK Pro-O stick made more damage in overtime than the Flyers could realize for the Canadiens win.  His Pro-O stick did not break. 

So, why not sue RBK, Easton or whichever company makes the hockey sticks for broken damages?   A broken stick can lose the game. 

"I thought he might chip in on the powerplay or something, but I did not expect four points,(AP)" said coach Wilson after the game.

Jeremy Roenick was a healthy scratch during the sixth quarterfinal playoff game for the San Jose Sharks. It was not until Coach Ron Wilson flipped his cell phone open and sent a text message telling him that he would need his support full force that Roenick came to the realization that he can make the difference. It didn't work under Ken Hitchcock's realm under the Flyers, but somehow it worked for Wilson. The message was clear and it was not about allowing a supposedly beat up veteran to rest. Roenick stepped up his game earning two goals and two assists to lead the San Jose Sharks to victory over the Calgary Flames.

Interestingly enough, even a tough minded coach like Calgary's Mike Keenan had to admit that "at the end, it was all Jeremy Roenick." (AP) He capitalized with a turnover and then with a power play goal.

But during the next round the Sharks must rely on consistency which was an issue against the Calgary Flames. To contend against the Dallas Stars, their first line consisting of: Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, and Ryane Clowe must produce on an ongoing basis. The Dallas Stars might add Sergei Zubov back in the lineup to spruce their defense. They are also relying on Mike Modano, against the Sharks, but in his new role as penalty killer and checking line center. At the end, what will matter the most will be the goaltending. The Dallas Stars netminder won his first ever playoff round back in 2003 but then lost the next four years in a row. Nabokov, a Vezina finalist, appears to be sharp in his puck stopping abilities.

"It's not like you win three of four and they give you a mercy rule," said Martin Biron to the press after the Capitals beat the Flyers 4-2 in game 6. Biron is right; Flyers hockey is based on no mercy. For goaltenders and players alike, you fight to play till after the end of the season. In the case of the Flyers, despite two in between losses against the Capitals, they fought to play till the end of the series.

Game 7 proved just how pivotal it is to count on special teams especially a sound power play. Capitals Nicklas Backstrom and Philadelphia Flyers' Scottie Upshall tallied power plays in the opening period. It was not until Flyers Joffrey Lupul netted a rebound during 6:06 of overtime play that the Flyers untied the game for a win. The Flyers converted a total of 2 of their 5 power plays while the Washington Capitals converted only one of their 4 shots on goal.

The next series will be against top seeded Montreal Canadiens, a team that despite having a 24% power play percentage during the season, struggled with the same in the quarterfinals against the Bruins. Their power play converted at a mere 9.1%.

But will a sound power play be enough for the Flyers to beat the Canadiens? Biron, certainly, wants to play without mercy.