Player Notes

Powe (undisclosed) did not practice Friday, the Bergen Record's Andrew Gross reports.
Recommendation: Powe has not played since Game 3 of the first round against the Capitals. However, his status for Saturday's Game 5 against the Bruins is unknown.

Quick stopped all 24 shots in faced in a 3-0 win over the Sharks on Thursday.
Recommendation: Quick may have started off slowly this postseason but he' clearly back on track and flashing the form he showed in the 2012 playoffs that netted him the Conn Smythe.

Brassard had two helpers in a 4-3 overtime win over Boston on Thursday.
Recommendation: Brassard also won 11 of 17 faceoffs in the win. Received in the Marian Gaborik deadline deal with Columbus, Brassard leads the Rangers with 12 points and is ranked sixth in NHL playoff scoring heading into Friday's action.

Redden (undisclosed) practiced Friday but remains questionable for Saturday's Game 5 against the Rangers, the Boston Herald reports.
Recommendation: For the first time all series, the Bruins' defense looked rather shaky with Redden and Dennis Seidenberg both sidelined. A potential Redden return would likely send Dougie Hamilton to the press box for Game 5.

Staal (knee) plans to begin riding a stationary bike next week, the Raleigh News & Observer reports.
Recommendation: Hitting the bike represents the first step in what is expected to be a three-month rehab process for Staal. It looks like he'll be healed in plenty of time for training camp if his rehab remains on schedule.

Malkin snapped a two-game pointless streak with a goal and an assist Friday night.
Recommendation: Even with a mini-scoring drought, Malkin has netted four goals and 16 points in the playoffs, one point behind Boston's David Krejci for the league lead.

Lundqvist stopped 37 of the 40 shots he faced in the Rangers' OT win over Boston on Thursday night.
Recommendation: The offensive support in front of him was much better Thursday as the Rangers managed to pot four goals against Tuukka Rask after tallying just five in the previous three contests combined. Lundqvist will need to play very well as the Rangers look to avoid elimination in Game 5 and erase a 3-1 series deficit.

Seguin notched his first goal of the playoffs and picked up an assist in Thursday's overtime loss to the Rangers.
Recommendation: It took 11 games for Seguin to hit the back of the net, but it's not like he wasn't getting his chances. His 45 shots on goal are second among postseason skaters to date. With Jaromir Jagr now skating with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron, Seguin has being working with Rich Peverley and Chris Kelly on the Bruins' speedy third line.

Kreider did not practice with the team Friday, reports Jim Cerny.
Recommendation: After scoring Thursday's game-winner, Kreider gets another maintenance day. Nothing to worry about, it appears head coach John Tortorella is trying to keep the youngster's legs fresh.

Kindl scored his first career playoff goal, which stood as the eventual game-winner in Thursday's victory over Chicago.
Recommendation: For a player who struggled at times to stay in the regular blue-line rotation last season, Kindl's emergence over the course of the year has been a huge boost to the Wings as they had to adjust to life without Nicklas Lidstrom heading up their blue-line corps this season. Although his offensive contributions are not elite, Kindl's expanded role put him on pace for a 26-point season if projected over a typical 82-game slate.

Seidenberg (leg) practiced Friday but is questionable to play in Saturday's Game 5, the Boston Herald reports.
Recommendation: He was paired during practice with Wade Redden (undisclosed), who is also questionable to play Game 5. If he's cleared to return, he'll likely send Matt Bartkowski or Dougie Hamilton to the press box with Torey Krug already having racked up four points during the series.

Neal netted a hat trick and added an assist in a 6-2, series-clinching win Friday night against the Senators.
Recommendation: He has five goals (on 14 shots) and seven points in the last two games. Linemate Evgeni Malkin predicted a breakout for Neal -- who totaled three points in his first seven playoff games -- prior to Wednesday's tilt and the forward has more than followed through. Surprisingly, just two of his 10 points have come courtesy of the power play.

Demers returned to play in Thursday's Game 5 match-up after being out with an injury since mid-April.
Recommendation: Demers only say 3:47 of ice time though and had two minutes in the box for a rough boarding call against LA's Robyn Regher. His return was notable because, like teammate Brent Burns, the Sharks have moved Demers to forward. Could be interesting for future games if the Sharks can stay alive.

Vokoun made 29 saves in a 6-2 series-clinching victory Friday night against the Senators.
Recommendation: He's now 5-1 in the playoffs, with his only blemish coming in Ottawa's double-overtime Game 3 win. Vokoun's performance Friday was so expected that he wasn't even named one of the game's three stars. The 36-year-old has given Pittsburgh a calm presence in goal and will likely stay there until he gets hurt or has a bad game. Right now, nothing seems to be able to slow him or the Penguins down. The team will await the winner of the Rangers-Bruins series to play against in the East finals.

McDonagh had an assist and blocked three shots on goal during Thursday's 4-3 overtime defeat of Boston.
Recommendation: McDonagh also logged a team-high, 29-plus minutes of ice time. More intriguing moving forward, head coach John Tortorella said he regrets not having used the defenseman on his team's slumping power play earlier, reports Jim Cerny of the Rangers' website. Through four games against second round opponent Boston, McDonagh has a goal and two assists.

Cracknell re-signed with the Blues on a one-year contract on Friday.
Recommendation: Cracknell was a bit contributor for the Blues this season, recording a modest six points in 20 games. He doesn't figure to vault into a more impactful role in 2013-14.

Ference (lower body) missed practice Friday.
Recommendation: Ference is currently dealing with a lower-body injury and has yet to play in the second-round series against the Rangers. His status for Saturday's Game 5 is unknown.

Stepan contributed a goal and an assist in Thursday's 4-3 overtime win over Boston.
Recommendation: Stepan snuck in behind the Boston net, swiped the puck from Zedeno Chara for a wrap around by Tuukka Rask, notching the game-tying goal early in the third period. It's the third year center's first point since Game 1 and fifth point overall in 11 playoff contests this season.

Rask gave up four goals on 32 shots in Thursday's OT loss to the Rangers.
Recommendation: The Rangers played well in a must-win situation in Game 4, but the series is now headed back to Boston and Rask will be counted on to bounce back to his form from the previous three games where he allowed just five goals on 96 shots.

Niemi gave up a pair of goals on 28 shots in a losing effort Thursday against the Kings.
Recommendation: With the Kings now up 3-2 in the series, Niemi will be tasked with stepping up his play even further in Game 6 when the series returns to San Jose. Overall, he's played well through the first five games, giving up just 10 goals in that span.