Player Notes

Anderson allowed six goals for the second-consecutive contest, as Ottawa lost 6-2 to Pittsburgh on Friday in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal, giving the Penguins the series win.
Recommendation: Anderson had a rough series save for the win in Game 3, as he allowed 12 goals in the last two games against a superior team. Anderson was able to guide the Sens farther than most assumed Ottawa would go and will be a trendy pick next fall as a goalie that's essentially guaranteed to eat minutes and gather wins.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Crawford gave up just one goal on 26 shots in the Hawks' 2-0 Game 4 loss to Detroit on Thursday.
Recommendation: Considering that he limited the Wings to one goal prior to the empty-netter in the final minute of the third period, Crawford likely erased any talk of a change in goal for the Hawks when the series goes back to Chicago for Game 5 on Saturday.

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.

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.

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.

Morrow (arm) will be a game-time decision for Friday's Game 5 against the Senators, Sportsnet East's Ian Mendes reports.
Recommendation: Morrow missed Wednesday's Game 4 against the Senators, but he was able to take part in Friday's gameday skate and said he felt good afterwards. His chances of playing Friday look good, but check back closer to faceoff to confirm his status.

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.

Coach Darryl Sutter said Stoll (head) skated for 15 minutes Friday but remains "a long ways off," the LA Times' Helene Elliot reports.
Recommendation: While he may not be close to returning to game action, it is definitely good to see him back on the ice for the first time since suffering a head injury in Game 1 of the second-round series against the Sharks. However, he still has not been cleared for contact, and it is unknown when he will be able to play again.

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.

Kreider potted the game-winning goal in Thursday's Game 4 OT win over Boston.
Recommendation: With a chance to skate on Rick Nash's line thanks to a series of lineup adjustments, Kreider was on the receiving end of a pass from Nash in the extra frame and managed to beat Tuukka Rask on the blocker side to extend the Rangers' season for at least another game as the series will return to Boston for Game 5.

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.

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.

McElhinney signed a one-year, one-way contract with the Blue Jackets, the Columbus Dispatch's Aaron Portzline reports.
Recommendation: McElhinney spent the 2012-13 season with AHL Springfield, going 29-16-3 with a 2.32 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage.

Howard stopped all 28 shots he faced Thursday against Chicago in a winning effort.
Recommendation: Corey Crawford played well at the other end, but the Wings were able to find the back of the net in the second period for the eventual game-winning tally before Daniel Cleary found an empty net in the final minute of the third period. Although the Wings have a 3-1 lead in the series, Howard needs to stay sharp with the return to Chicago for Game 5 on Saturday.

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.

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.