This is not the reason why the Rangers lost last night. There is just no way to describe how Marian Gaborik just brain cramped late in the second and early in the third period but he certainly did pay for it as his production has been silent in the first two games. It seemed as if the Devils fourth line was outplaying the Rangers' first line last night. The only thing that saved the Rangers from a worse defeat was two power play goals off fortuitous bounces. That is really good for fantasy pools but not for fans of the team.

The broken door will be talked about until Hell freezes over and the debate on whether it cost New Jersey. That answer is likely and it will be left at that. It was a game full of weird moments but also one that featured incredible saves. The difficulty was coming up with a Fantasy POTN but we think we got one.

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FANTASY POTN:

Martin Brodeur, G, New Jersey Devils

Both goalies got a bit lucky or this game could have been even higher scoring. However, Brodeur made 23 saves in a game where timely saves were key. He made this ridiculously sick save I know. The 40 year old, despite everything was the best player on the ice on a night where there were more balanced and maligned efforts. An extra day of rest should help Brodeur honestly and hopefully he is watchful of the boards. That will have to be monitored but without the red #30, New Jersey does not win last night.

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SCHEDULE TIME:

This is the series for Phoenix. If they do not find a way to win tonight and change the script, then they are just flat out done. Los Angeles has imposed its will in the first two games, with 40+ shots in both games. Its not the amount of hits but the relentless forecheck has been stifling to Phoenix's offense. When the offense has broken out, Jonathan Quick has been solid in net. Jeff Carter did have a hat trick in Game 2 and that Carter-Richards combo will be important going forward as depth scoring is something that cannot hurt. It is now time for the NHL 12 simulation for tonight. So far, we are 2-2 in the Conference Finals.

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NHL 12 Simulation -- Game 3 -- Kings Vs. Coyotes

It comes down to a more critical Game 3 than Phoenix could have imagined at the start of this. Phoenix again has to keep the intensity err start the game with an urgency that was not there at in Game 1 or Game 2 at the beginning. There will be no Martin Hanzal (suspension) and Shane Doan knows he is on notice as well. They may play a bit more tentative which plays into LA's hands even more. Let's see what happens

Kings @ Coyotes Game 2
1st Period
LAK -- Anze Kopitar (14:55, Voynov and Brown)
2nd Period
PHX -- Shane Doan (12:05, Whitney)
LAK -- Dwight King (15:12, Doughty)
3rd Period
LAK -- Dustin Brown (12:33, Kopitar and Williams)

Team Stats:
Shots
LA- 34 PHX- 25
Power Plays
PHX- 0/3, LA- 0/4

Final: Kings 3 Coyotes 1
3 Stars:
1. Dustin Brown 2. Anze Kopitar 3. Jonathan Quick

The game is just hours away and if it approaches anything like the sims, it will be an awfully good one. We literally had the seven sims go in all different directions and there was no real consensus. The final sim literally after the first six were split was this one and its what we ultimately went with. Will there be a few surprises? That is a possibility so thanks again for reading and there will be live tweeting throughout the night....along with IIHF updates.

It was one of those strange nights and we have a little of it here on Playoff Videos After Dark!

Have a great night everyone and remember the WD-40 next time!

It is Wednesday already and time for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers. The Rangers are up one game to none after a 3-0 win on Monday Night that caused the blocked shot issue to become even more of one. It was blown up a bit earlier this morning when Martin Brodeur suggested maybe you have to shoot at them. Yes we paraphrased this for a reason. There is much worse that has been said and the reality is there are ways to beat it.  New Jersey just has to do a better job playing defense than they did in Game 1. That is what gets lost in the shuffle here. It always seems to.

With the anticipated line changes (yes Parise-Zajac-Kovalchuk are back together), it will be interesting to see what happens here. Game 1 honestly saw Zach Parise get manhandled once again and at times it just looks like he is rattled by it. Maybe the time and space generated by Kovalchuk and Zajac will help him but I just do not see it. The Rangers are pretty much going with the same plan. Why would they need to change anything after all? Henrik Lundqvist could have sat there with a beach ball in the third period honestly. Nothing penetrated! The first ten to twenty minutes is going to tell us something tonight, that is a given.

Last night, in the Western Conference Final, the Los Angeles Kings may have put the exclamation point on the series already after they decimated the Phoenix Coyotes 4-0 in Phoenix. It was not a contest as LA outshot Phoenix 40-24 and survived a few questionable hits along the way. However our Fantasy POTN was someone who was along for the ride a bit on these playoffs but no longer. Here it goes.....

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FANTASY POTN:

Jeff Carter, F, Los Angeles Kings

"Get Carter!" This was probably heard ad nauseum. Carter was the difference as he lit a spart under the power play that was Boston-like dormant and nabbed a hat trick in the playoffs for the Kings. Basically it was a #99 like performance for LA. Jeff Carter was invisible in Game 1 but was extremely visible from the beginning in Game 2. The whole LA team was very much up front and personal with Phoenix and as a result, Carter was able to cash in on his opportunities. Those three goals may have cemented the series for LA. Bluntly, they did barring a miracle.

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SCHEDULE TIME:

Well it may be a must win Game 2 for New Jersey or a must need for a more respectable showing. That third period was horrendous and cannot happen again. A team cannot play the style of another and expect to win. It just never works. If New Jersey does not play their game tonight, New York will eventually just grind them down and win. This is what it comes down to...imposing your will.

Now it is time for the sim......

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NHL 12 Sim -- Devils @ Rangers Game 2

What are we going to do?  Simply, we are going to run the NHL 12 sims for Game 2. The Rangers and Devils are fairly even in theory. It is all the intangibles that will play out throughout this series that will ultimately determine it. It is time.

It comes down to the Battle Of The Hudson, this simulation just had to come as these always have fantasy purposes along with fun prognostication. We played a total of seven games and this is what we came up with for our prediction. Again keep in mind, this may not happen obviously. Simply the rivalry deserves the utmost of respect in how the sims are run. Here were our results.

Devils-Rangers Game 2
1st Period
No scoring
2nd Period
NYR - Brian Boyle (12:12, Prust and Del Zotto)
3rd Period
NYR - Marian Gaborik (15:55, Gaborik and Hagelin)

Team Stats:
Shots
NYR- 28, NJD- 23
Power Plays
NYR- 0/4, NJD- 0/3

Final: Rangers 2 Devils 0
3 Stars:
1. Brian Boyle 2. Marian Gaborik 3. Henrik Lundqvist

The game is just hours away and if it approaches anything like the sims, it will be an awfully good one. We literally had some more consensus on this one so who knows what that will ultimately mean. Can New Jersey play its style or will New York impose more of its will? Time will tell but the sims seemed to dictate more of the same tonight. Let's see what happens and again thanks for reading.

Here is the quick edition of the Playoff Videos After Dark.  No Coyotes or Kings were seriously harmed in the making of this....

Have a great night everyone!

ACHOO! This is not a joke as it feels like a sneezing fit is coming on. Seriously, it was one of those nights last night that will be considered a bad sneeze or a trend in the ECF as the New York Rangers blanked the New Jersey Devils 3-0. It became more of what the Devils did not do as opposed to what the Rangers did. When Dan Girardi stepeed into a slapper from the blue line that beat Martin Brodeur, the game was pretty well over. The game really did have that first goals wins type of feel.

New Jersey clearly came out flat last night then ran out of gas in the third period. These are things that cannot happen in the playoffs but still do anyway. The Rangers suckered the Devils into playing their type of game and the Devils simply fell for it 100%. Who did we give our Fantasy POTN to? It is time to find out.

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Fantasy POTN:

Dan Girardi, D, New York Rangers

The leader of the Rangers defense led by example as he hit and blocked everything in sight. Then he punctuated the game by scoring the first and game winning goal. It was the overall body of work that made him the most fantasy relevant and yes Henrik Lundqvist did have a shutout but how much of that was due to the 26 blocked shots and countless altered shots because of the defense? Ah, there you have it. Give Girardi credit, he does have quite a few points in these playoffs but that goal may be the biggest goal of the playoffs so far.

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SCHEDULE TIME:

This is going to be a different sort of game tonight. Los Angeles played a hard, physical game on Sunday Night as they won 4-2 with a whopping 48 shots on goal. The overall hitting and intensity could not be matched by Phoenix. Yes, Phoenix did get two gifts in this game that led to goals but LA was simply too much to be contained in Game 1. Phoenix has to match that for longer, more sustained period to win Game 2. Also, their first line has to at least show up and not be manhandled like it was on Sunday Night. Ray Whitney looked his age as Los Angeles keyed on him early and often.

With this in mind, let us run the NHL 12 simulation to see who wins Game 2.  So far we are 1-1 in the Conference Finals round.

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NHL 12 -- Game 2 Kings Vs. Coyotes

It comes down to a more critical Game 2 than Phoenix could have imagined at the start of this. Phoenix again has to keep the intensity err start the game with an urgency that was not there at Game 1. This game felt like Phoenix started it an hour late. That is a considerable problem. Simply, the Coyotes have to hit and get pucks to the net. If they do not, it is going to be a long Game 2. Here is what the sim brought in......

Kings @ Coyotes Game 2
1st Period
LAK -- Justin Williams (12:45, Brown and Doughty)
2nd Period
PHX -- Ray Whitney (2:42, PP, Yandle and Hanzal)
LAK -- Dustin Penner (17:45, Voynov)
3rd Period
PHX -- Shane Doan (15:56, Klesla)
LAK -- Dustin Brown (18:25, unassisted)

Team Stats:
Shots
LA- 35 PHX- 30
Power Plays
PHX- 1/4, LA- 0/4

Final: Kings 3 Coyotes 2
3 Stars:
1. Dustin Brown 2. Ray Whitney 3. Jonathan Quick

The game is just hours away and if it approaches anything like the sims, it will be an awfully good one. We literally had the seven sims go in all different directions and there was no real consensus. The final sim literally after the first six were split was this one and its what we ultimately went with.

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Good luck everyone and thanks once again for reading.

This is the time that has been 18 years in the making. Whether you are a Rangers or Devils fan does not matter, the bottom line is the series itself will come down to a little of everything. No one really knows what to expect from the rest or tired issue to what will win out -- offense or defense. However we took a look at some of the series previews out there and here is what we found.

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BEST OF THE BEST PREVIEWS:

In Lou We Trust -- Prediction And Preview

Down Goes Avery -- #6 Devils Vs. #1 Rangers

Red Light District -- Rangers Vs. Devils

Big Blue Interactive Forum Style:  Rangers-Devils

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We used a bulletin board like preview for a reason as the war of words will spill on the ice and off throughout this series. The pressure is clearly on the Rangers in this one while the Devils want to try to win one more for Marty. That is just two of the plotlines in this compelling drama. It will be fascinating to see what happens in this one as the sides have clearly been drawn.

What are we going to do?  Simply, we are going to run the NHL 12 sims for Game 1. The Rangers and Devils are fairly even in theory. It is all the intangibles that will play out throughout this series that will ultimately determine it. It is time.

NHL 12 -- Game 7 Rangers Vs. Capitals

It comes down to the Battle Of The Hudson, this simulation just had to come as these always have fantasy purposes along with fun prognostication. We played a total of seven games and this is what we came up with for our prediction. Again keep in mind, this may not happen obviously. Simply the rivalry deserves the utmost of respect in how the sims are run. Here were our results.

Devils @ Rangers Game 1
1st Period
NYR - Brad Richards (7:41, PP, Hagelin and Del Zotto)
NJD - Zach Parise (14:33, Elias and Larsson)
2nd Period
NYR - Brian Boyle (12:12, unassisted)
3rd Period
NJD - Alexei Ponikarovsky (9:22, Henrique)
Overtime
NJD - Travis Zajac (2:24, Kovalchuk and Zidlicky)

Team Stats:
Shots
NYR- 32, NJD- 33
Power Plays
NYR- 1/4, NJD- 0/2

Final: Devils 3 Rangers 2 (OT)
3 Stars:
1. Zach Parise 2. Brad Richards 3. Henrik Lundqvist

The game is just hours away and if it approaches anything like the sims, it will be an awfully good one. We literally had the seven sims go in all different directions and there was no real consensus. The final sim literally after the first six were split was this one and its what we ultimately went with.

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SCHEDULE TIME:

It is always fun to know that this of year there is only this one game on the schedule. Now this is the mother of all Game 1's at least on this side of the coast. The fantasy ramifications in and of itself will be immense because no one expected Martin Brodeur, Zach Parise, and Ilya Kovalchuk to still be alive in the playoffs. If you own them, it will be an interesting ride in this one and of course, Brad Richards, Marian Gaborik, and Henrik Lundqvist are the obvious keys for the Rangers.

The odd thing about a series like this one is there are always a few unexpected heroes sprinkled inbetween the final outcome. Game 1 will likely have that very bizarre twist and a little of everything. There will be a fight or two in this one also. Also the scoring will be mixed up enough where one player will not necessarily dominate or that is the expectation at least.

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Watch the game and enjoy this one. Hopefully this all lives up to the hype and again, thanks for reading.

Welcome to the Western Conference Finals on the Videos Before Bedtime!

Have a great night everyone!