Playoff Stuff
Penguins - Senators

-Welcome back Chris Kunitz ... to a line with Sidney Crosby and Pascal Dupuis.

-Wy can't the Penguins ever seem to take a 2-0 series lead?

-“When I first saw him play a few times in San Jose, I would not have guessed he was from Sweden. It’s just his size (6-3, 245 pounds) and his physical mentality and his toughness. He plays with an edge and that’s what he needs to do. He deters guys from coming to the front of the net and from going in the corners.” - Deryk Engelland on Douglas Murray.

-"(I want) to go out there and match up against those guys and make sure they’re not running around too much." - Engelland on matching up against the Senators' fourth line.

-Crosby speaks:

-Dan Byslma speaks:

-Kris Letang speaks:

-James Neal speaks:

-“For us, it’s about: What can we exploit in their game?. At the same time, how can we slow them down and (not) let their skill take over and let their skilled guys have too much time with the puck.” - Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson.

-Welcome back forward Guillaume Latendresse to the Senators' lineup?

-"I don't think he's played close to what he was playing before he got injured. He was a dominant, dominant player, possibly the best player in the league at the time of his injury. No, his play hasn't been up to the level of that. And our expectation wasn't that it would be at that level." - Senators coach Paul MacLean on Erik Karlsson's recovery from an Achilles injury.

-MacLean wants his team to go to the net in Game 2.

-MacLean speaks:

-Alfredsson speaks:

Calder Cup Playoff

-Down 3-0 in the series, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins will try to hold off being eliminated tonight in Game 4 against the Providence Bruins.

-After the Jump: Thrilling wins by the Bruins and Kings, a scary injury for Carolina's Eric Staal and Evgeni Malkin is a Jeopardy! answer?

(4) Bruins vs. (6) Rangers

Bruins Leading Postseason Scorer: David Krejci (right), 13 points (5 goals, 8 assists).

Rangers Leading Regular Season Scorer: Derick Brassard (below), 9 points (2 goals, 7 assists).

Bruins Expected Starting Goaltender: Tuukka Rask (4-3, 2.49 GAA, .923 SV%).

Rangers Expected Starting Goaltender: Henrik Lundqvist, (4-3, 1.65 GAA, .947 SV%).

Bruins Postseason Statistics

Rangers Postseason Statistics

Bruins Injuries: Defenseman Wade Redden (undisclosed) is questionable. Defensemen Andrew Ference ("lower body") and Dennis Seidenberg (left leg) are doubtful. Center Marc Savard (concussion) is on injured reserve.

Rangers Injuries: Left winger Ryane Clowe ("upper body"), center Darroll Powe ("upper body") and defenseman Marc Staal (eye) are doubtful. Defensemen Michael Sauer (concussion) is on injured reserve.

Bruins with Stanley Cup bling: Patrice Bergeron, C; Johnny Boychuk, D; Gregory Campbell, C; Zdeno Chara, D; Andrew Ference, D; Nathan Horton, RW; Jaromir Jagr, RW; Chris Kelly, C; David Krejci, C; Milan Lucic, LW; Brad Marchand, C; Adam McQuaid, D; Daniel Paille, LW; Rich Peverly, C; Tuukka Rask, G; Marc Savard, C; Tyler Seguin, C; Dennis Seidenberg, D; Shawn Thornton, LW.

Rangers with Stanley Cup bling: Brad Richards, C.

Something worthwhile about the Bruins: The Bruins have recorded the most missed shots of any Eastern Conference team in the postseason with 114.

Something worthwhile about the Rangers: At 7.1 percent, the Rangers have the worst power-play percentage of any team still alive in the postseason.

Something useless about the Bruins that is vaguely connected to the Penguins: The Rangers and Bruins last met in a postseason series when they faced one another in a 1973 quarterfinal. THe Rangers clinched the series with a 6-3 win in Game 5. The Bruins' goaltender of record was future Penguins general manager/coach Eddie Johnston who made 22 saves in the loss.

Something useless about the Rangers that is vaguely connected to the Penguins Pirates: The first home postseason shutout in Rangers history was recorded by Lorne Chabot in a 4-0 win in Game 1 of 1928 quarterfinal series against the NHL's Pittsburgh Pirates franchise.

Former Penguins on the Bruins: Andrew Ference, D; Jaromir Jagr, RW.

Former Penguins on the Rangers: Arron Asham, RW; Rick Kehoe, professional scout; Glen Sather, general manager.

Who needs to be the difference for the Bruins: Krejci, Brad Marchand, Jaromir Jagr, Patrice Bergeron, etc. The Bruins' offensive stars must find a way to penetrate the Rangers defense. If they can do that, they need to pray for a goal against Lundqvist who recorded shutouts in Games 6 and 7 in the quarterfinal round against the Rangers. The Bruins racked up some solid offensive numbers against the Maple Leafs. They'll have a much tougher time against the Rangers..

Who needs to be the difference for the Rangers: Lundqvist. Now and forever, Lundqvist is the most important player on this team. Yes, he has a very strong defense in front of him, but he was forced to shutdown a potent Capitals offense in the first round. Regardless of the opponent, Lundqvist must bring his best every night.

Best Bruins YouTube Video We Could Find: An overtime goal by former Bruins defenseman Brad Park in Game 7 of the 1983 Adams Division final against the Sabres:

Best Rangers  YouTube Video We Could Find: Richard's goal which tied Game 5 of a 2012 Eastern Conference final series against the Capitals with 6.6 seconds remaining in regulation:

EN Prediction: The Bruins enter this series with a lot of injuries on the blue line. While some of the Rangers' offensive stars such as Rick Nash and Brad Richards are struggling, they will have an excellent chance to take advantage of Boston's weakened defense. Additionally, Lundqvist is simply a better goaltender than Rask. In a series which figures to be tight and defensive, we'll take the Vezina Trophy winner over the goaltender still trying to prove himself in a lot of ways. Rangers 4-3.

(Photos: Krejci-Jared Wickerham/Getty Images; Brassard-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

A few eyebrows were raised when Dan Bylsma inserted Deryk Engelland into the lineup for Game 1 against the Senators Tuesday. Engelland's previous playoff appearance saw him have a rough outing in Game 2 in the quarterfinal round against the Islanders in which he took two penalties, one of which led to a power-play goal for New York.

Tuesday against Ottawa, Engelland was teamed with Douglas Murray. The duo provided some toughness for the Penguins, especially against the Senators' feisty fourth line of Matt Kassian, Chris Neil and Zack Smith.

Yesterday, Engelland talked about his role in this series:

How do you match up against that fourth line?

"If you take a look at their fourth line, they’ve got some toughness there. They can play and they bring toughness. (I want) to go out there and match up against those guys and make sure they’re not running around too much. Play physical against them and wear down and get pucks to our forwards so they can get them in the [offensive] zone."

How do you combat someone like Neil when he tries to mix it up with Sidney Crosby as he did late in Game 1?

"You know it’s going to come. It’s part of his job. He’s got to play physical. Obviously Sid sees everything the way he plays. He gets out of the way of most hits. You just kind put it in the back of your mind."

Ottawa coach Paul MacLean said his team didn't go to the net enough in Game 1. Would you expect that to change in Game 2?

"They definitely will go to the net harder, get more traffic in front of [Tomas Vokoun] and make it more difficult on us. I don’t think they played the way they did last series [against Montreal] so we’re expecting them to come out a lot harder."

With newer interference rules, how can you keep them away from the net?

"Get into them early in the corner. If you bump into them there, it takes longer for them to get to the net. Just get in the way. Try to clear them out of the way as much as you can to let [Vokoun] see [shots]."

The penalty kill struggled in the regular season but has been excellent in the postseason. What has changed?

"I think we’ve changed a little bit. We’re a little more aggressive. I think guys were figuring out the system still during the season and now, we’ve tweaked a few things. Now, we’re playing a lot more on our toes than sitting back."

(Photo: Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

Playoff Stuff
Penguins - Senators

-Remember when Pascal Dupuis (right) was the throw-in to the Marian Hossa trade from the Thrashers?

-"My body's a little more sore today than last time."- The Great Joe Vitale comparing Game 1 of against the Senators to the previous round against the Islanders.

-"From a playing standpoint, as long as we're not playing back-to-back, I don't think anyone minds. I don't mind having two days off, that's for sure." - Brooks Orpik on the two-day break between Games 1 and 2.

-Does Marc-Andre Fleury still have a chance at being on Canada's roster should the NHL participate in the 2014 Olympics?

-Dan Bylsma s speaks:

-Kris Letang speaks:

-Matt Niskanen speaks:

-Craig Adams speaks:

-"If you don't continue to raise your level of play, you end up not getting the opportunity to play." - Senators coach Paul MacLean.

-MacLean shot down any speculation that injured center Jason Spezza was ready to return to the lineup from a back injury.

-“We know we can play with them. Maybe we came out a little bit tight, but now that we’ve got the jitters out, we’re a confident group.” - Senators defenseman Marc Methot.

-MacLean speaks:

Calder Cup playoffs

-Brad Thiessen made 20 saves for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 2-1 overtime loss at home to the Providence Bruins in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series in the Calder Cup playoffs. Providence leads the best-of-seven series, 3-0. The Penguins will host Game 4 Friday, 7:05 p.m.

-After the Jump: The Blackhawks take a 1-0 lead against the Red Wings and more outdoor games.