Afternoon Player Notes in the Playoffs (Apr 19)

How much more magic does Petr Mrazek have up his sleeve for the Detroit Red Wings?  It looks like it will be Mrazek against Ben Bishop again tonight, as there are no other roster moves expected between either the Lightning or the Wings.  Game 4 should prove to be a good one again tonight.

Does it really matter about the goalie in this series?  Both Mrazek and Bishop have zero selections this season.  If that's the case, why did Mrazek get the header graphic?  Hmmmm...

The Pittsburgh Penguins escaped their own home-ice with a split against the New York Rangers, but they can't take any results for granted, as they will still be without Marc-Andre Fleury for Game 3 tonight, as his concussion symptoms have obviously not allowed him to be cleared for action.  Jeff Zatkoff will get the call again for the Penguins tonight.

Defenseman Justin Schultz was a healthy scratch in Game 2, much to the chagrin of 10 teams that picked him in Box 22, and with the Penguins winning last game, it seems rather unlikely that they'll slot him in, just for the sake of.

On the Rangers' side, there is a decent chance that their captain Ryan McDonagh will draw back into the lineup from an upper-body injury, which would delight eight teams in the pool.  McDonagh has missed the first two games and he would provide a huge boost to the Rangers, if he can draw back in.

No changes expected in either lineup for the Blues and Blackhawks, as Game 4 approaches.  The Blues should be running with the status quo, with a huge Game 3 win on the shoulders of Brian Elliott, while no one anticipates anyone other than Corey Crawford in the net for the Blackhawks.  Everyone else on the sheet is good & healthy, so we'll expect a full-on battle to the death tonight at the Madhouse on Madison.

I don't expect anything less than another excellent battle... overtime anyone?

The big news heading into Game 3 of the Anaheim/Nashville series is that the Ducks are moving to Frederik Andersen as their starter, trying to find a lift in their lineup, as they go into hostile territory, already down 2-0 in the series.  For the seven teams that opted for John Gibson, this had to be a legitimate fear, since the goaltending tandem has been running 1A/1B since Gibson's recall, earlier in the year.

The Predators are in control, heading home and could pose a huge threat to the high expectations of this Ducks team.