Player Notes

Bertuzzi will not play in Game 2 against Chicago on Saturday, Detroit News writer John Niyo reports.
Recommendation: Bertuzzi lands on the bench due to the return of Drew Miller, who had been sitting due to a hand injury.

Burish's upper body injury has been classified as a broken hand, CSN Bay Area reports.
Recommendation: Burish has already been ruled out for the remainder of the second-round series against the Kings. While Burish maintained that he'd like to get on the ice at some point in the series, that seems unlikely to happen until he actually gets on the ice in practice, which he is not yet doing.

Carter notched his fourth goal of the playoffs and added an assist in a 4-3 win Thursday.
Recommendation: Carter is certainly rewarding those who bet on his scoring success from the regular season carrying over into the playoffs.

Adams is in the lineup Friday for Game 2 against the Senators, the team's official website reports.
Recommendation: Adams was absent during Friday's morning skate, but it sounds like it was just for rest than as a result of any sort of injury. He'll likely be ticketed for his usual ice time.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?