Hockey Today
SCOREBOARD
Friday, April 24
New York Rangers at Washington (7 p.m. EDT). New York beat Washington 2-1 on Wednesday night to take a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference series.
STARS
Thursday
— Martin Brodeur and David Clarkson, Devils. Brodeur made 44 saves to tie Patrick Roy’s NHL record for playoff shutouts with his 23rd, and Clarkson scored a power-play goal in New Jersey’s 1-0 win over Carolina. New Jersey leads the series 3-2.
— Bobby Ryan and Jonas Hiller, Ducks. Ryan scored twice in a 3:40 span of the second period, and Hiller made 31 saves in his second playoff shutout in Anaheim’s 4-0 victory over San Jose. The Ducks lead the series 3-1.
— Johan Franzen and Marian Hossa, Red Wings. Franzen scored on a power play with 46.6 seconds left, and Hossa had two goals in Detroit’s 6-5 victory in Columbus. The defending Stanley Cup champion Red Wings won the series 4-0.
— Martin Biron, Flyers, made 28 saves in Philadelphia’s 3-0 victory in Pittsburgh. The Penguins lead the series 3-2.
SELECTED
Boston’s Zdeno Chara, Washington’s Mike Green and Detroit’s Nicklas Lidstrom were selected as finalists Thursday for the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman. The winner will be announced June 18.
SUSPENDED
Calgary left winger Andre Roy was suspended for one game by the NHL on Thursday for initiating contact with Chicago defenseman Aaron Johnson during pregame warmups Wednesday night. Roy will miss Game 5 on Saturday night in Chicago.
STATUS
St. Louis goalie Chris Mason joined Canada in Switzerland for the world championships Thursday, two days after the Blues were eliminated from the playoffs. Also, Canada selected Phoenix’s Shane Doan as captain for the third straight year. … Minnesota defenseman Brent Burns had surgery Thursday on his right shoulder.
SCOUTING
Nick Palmieri scored on a power play in double overtime to give the Belleville Bulls a 3-2 victory over the Brampton Battalion on Thursday night in the Ontario Hockey League Eastern Conference final. Palmieri also scored in regulation to help the Bulls cut the Battalion’s series lead to 3-2. The series winner will face Windsor.
SPEAKING
“There’s no more excitement and challenge to be down in a series and know there’s no tomorrow.”—Philadelphia goalie Martin Biron after making 28 saves in the Flyers’ 3-0 victory in Pittsburgh on Thursday night. Pittsburgh leads the series 3-2.
NY RANGERS (46-31-0-9, 101 pts.) at WASHINGTON (51-27-0-8, 110 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
NY RANGERS is 9-7 (+2.8 Units) against the spread versus WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
NY RANGERS is 9-7-0 straight up against WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
10 of 16 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+3.3 Units)
NY Rangers at Washington
NY Rangers:
5-0 SU AWAY in the first round of the playoffs
12-3 SU when leading in a playoff series
Washington:
5-13 SU at home in the first round of the playoffs
2-7 SU as a # 2 seed in the playoffs
NY RANGERS vs. WASHINGTON
NY Rangers are 6-15 SU in their last 21 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 8 of the NY Rangers last 10 games on the road
Washington is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Washington's last 8 games at home
NHL Playoffs
Washington outshot New York 149-99 in first four series games, but are down 3-1, face elimination here. Rangers are 0-14 on power play in last three games (22:37), but they've won six of last seven games. Caps lost four of last five games against the Rangers-- Washington had won six of seven home tilts against Rangers before losing Games 1-2 in this series.