Player Notes

Powe (undisclosed) is out for Thursday's Game 1 against the Bruins, NHL.com reports.
Recommendation: Powe is suspected to be dealing with a concussion and has been out since May 6. He remains day-to-day going forward.

Clowe (undisclosed) is out for Thursday's Game 1 against the Bruins, NHL.com reports.
Recommendation: Clowe has been out since May 10 and is suspected to be dealing with a concussion. He remains day-to-day going forward.

Ovechkin played the final two games of the Capitals' playoff series against the Rangers with a hairline fracture in his left foot, the Washington Post reports.
Recommendation: Since skating could not make the injury worse, Ovechkin played through the issue, both in those two games, as well as the the quarterfinals of the World Championships. The good news is that the fracture will simply requires rest to heal and Ovechkin has the entire offseason ahead of him to that end.

Kane is not worried about his postseason drought that has him only scoring one goal in the last 18 playoff games, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Recommendation: While he has only lit the lamp once since he got the game-winner in the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals, Kane has 14 assists in those 18 games including five helpers against the Wild in the first round.

Dupuis scored his sixth goal of the playoffs -- a short-handed effort -- in Tuesday's 4-1 win over Ottawa.
Recommendation: Dupuis owners faced a scary moment when the forward slid awkwardly into the end boards during the third period and skated slowly off the ice. He didn't miss any time, however, and potted a short-side wrister over goalie Craig Anderson's right shoulder soon thereafter.

Smith practiced with the fourth line in Tuesday's practice and could be skating in Game 1 of the Western Conference semi-finals on Wednesday, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Recommendation: Smith was working with the top four lines on Tuesday while Viktor Stalberg wore the white jersey on the fifth line. The 24-year-old forward posted a career-high 47 points for Rockford of the AHL. If Smith skates Wednesday night, it will be his first appearance in a NHL playoff game since the 2010-11 season and he did well with three goals in seven games, all against the Canucks.

Malkin is tied with Boston's David Krejci for the playoff scoring race with 13 points (3 G, 10 A) after a two-point night Tuesday.
Recommendation: He's skating as well as he has all season long. Malkin is still battling through an injured left shoulder which may require offseason surgery, however, making his slap shot much less of a weapon. Even so, he's able to create offensive opportunities with his strong skating. Malkin skated less than 16 minutes (15:56) as Pittsburgh spent considerable time killing off five Ottawa power plays.

Erat will not require surgery on his dislocated elbow, the Washington Times reports. Instead, he plans on the rehabbing the injury on his own.
Recommendation: Of course, with the Capitals eliminated following Monday's Game 7 loss to the Rangers, Erat will have all offseason to rehab the injury, though he's expected to be fully recovered within a few weeks. Erat said he would have been available to play through the pain had the Capitals advanced to the second round.

Samuelsson (shoulder) will not play in Wednesday's Game 1 against the Blackhawks, ESPN Chicago reports.
Recommendation: Although Samuelsson missed most of the regular season due to injury, he managed to tally two points over five games in the first round series against Anaheim. Once healthy, he'll have a chance at working his way back into the Red Wings' line rotations.

Asham opened the scoring Monday in what turned out to be a 5-0 romp over the Capitals in Game 7.
Recommendation: Despite playing just under eight minutes in the game, Asham contributed his second goal of these playoffs. He doesn't play much and he doesn't shoot much in his agitating role, but Asham's got a strong and accurate shot when he uses it.

Horton's goal at 9:18 of the third period Monday started the Bruins' rally from a 4-1 deficit to a 5-4 Game 7 overtime win.
Recommendation: He finishes the Bruins' first-round series with four goals, seven points and a league-best plus-11 rating after a disappointing 22-point regular season.

Seguin notched an assist on the game-winning tally in Monday's 5-4 Game 7 overtime win over the Leafs.
Recommendation: The point was the first of the postseason for Seguin, who did manage to record 29 shots in the seven-game first-round series against the Leafs. The team will be looking for Seguin, as well as linemates Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron, to pick things up in the second round of the playoffs after being thoroughly outplayed by the David Krejci/Milan Lucic/Nathan Horton trio in Round 1.

Niederreiter is picking up in the Swiss league where he left off in the AHL, according to the Islanders Point Blank.
Recommendation: Nino had 28 goals and 50 points in 74 games for Bridgeport and also leads his Swiss team with four goals, yet the Islanders never called him up this season. The Isles can say anything they like, but it certainly appears he was punished for his comments about the organization last year. The question now is whether the team will shop him for an upgrade on defense or in goal during the off-season. Jonathan Bernier, anyone?

Kessel scored the game-winning goal Sunday in a 2-1 victory over Boston. The goal came at even strength.
Recommendation: The even strength part is significant because he'd gained the unfortunate reputation that he was only able to get points against his old team when he was on the PP. Two of his three goals this series have come at even strength and both were game-winners.

Selanne was hit in the face during the morning skate but is expected to take the ice for Sunday's Game 7 against Detroit, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Recommendation: Selanne iced the region following drills and appears to be fine heading into the series finale Sunday. After tallying a point in each of the first three games versus the Red Wings, he has been held off the scoreboard the past three outings.

Perry was credited with an assist during the third period of the Ducks' 4-3 overtime loss to the Red Wings in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Friday.
Recommendation: With Friday's assist being only Perry's second point in the Ducks' first six playoff games, he is having a slightly slower start to the postseason than the team might have expected from their second highest point-getter of the regular season.

Eaves replaced Cory Emmerton on Detroit's fourth line prior to Sunday's Game 7 in Anaheim, the Detroit Free Press reports.
Recommendation: Emmerton's zero points and minus-4 rating spurred the lineup change. Eaves, who didn't see the ice in Game 6, will look to add to his assist from Game 1 of the first-round series.

Gionta has undergone successful surgery on his left biceps tear, the Montreal Gazette reports.
Recommendation: Gionta himself relayed that the procedure went well, and with the entire offseason in front of him to recover, the Canadiens' winger should be all systems go by the fall.

Michalek sat out Sunday's practice in order to rest but will be available for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at Pittsburgh.
Recommendation: Michalek notched a goal and an assist during Ottawa's five-game series victory over Montreal, which followed up a 14-point, injury-plagued regular season. Since his knee injury has lingered throughout the 2013 campaign, a day of rest is preferable for his ultimate output.