NHL Morning Papers: Playoff Teams (Tuesday Edition)

Here are the morning papers for the Eastern Conference playoff match ups:

Montreal versus Boston:

• The Canadiens were as close to perfect as a team can be for a Game 7 last night, writes Pat Hickey. Habs coach Guy Carbonneau made a good line up move by switching Alexei Kovalev onto Saku Koivu’s line for last night’s contest. The Habs should enjoy this victory because in Red Fisher’s opinion they were outplayed in four of the seven games.
• “It’s a good feeling to have, proving a lot of people wrong. I think we can build a lot on what we did this year and carry it on to next year,” said Bruins rookie Milan Lucic after his team’s 5-0 loss in Game 7. It was tough to beat the impressive Carey Price last night, writes Bob Ryan. Last night’s game may have been Glen Murray’s last as a Bruin.

Pittsburgh versus Ottawa:

• The Penguins have been very pleased with their acquisition of big defenseman Hal Gill at the trade deadline, writes Dave Molinari. Meanwhile, Jarko Ruutu has found his comfort zone in Pittsburgh.
• Apparently the Senators are looking to add Fabian Brunnstrom to their forward mix for next season.

Washington versus Philadelphia:

• The Capitals’ roster, which is heavy on Europeans, is responding just fine to the playoff grind, writes Jason LaCanfora. Alexander Ovechkin is the main reason that the Capitals were victorious in Game 6, so can he be the reason they advance to the second round too? “Well, we had no doubts in this room,” said Caps netminder Cristobal Huet about his team being down 2-0 early in Game 6.
• The Flyers still have one more chance to close out the Capitals tonight, writes Phil Sheridan. One mistake can change the complexion of a game and it did last night, writes Tim Panaccio. Riley Cote is hoping to replace Mike Knuble’s scoring with some energy and physical play.

New Jersey versus New York Rangers:

• It is evident by this article that Martin Brodeur had become mentally exhausted from the Devils season. Devils fans can say bye-bye to Karel Rachunek.
• Things are looking up for the Lundqvist brothers after some hard times this season, writes Jay Greenberg. Henrik Lundqvist is very deserving of his Vezina Trophy nomination. The Rangers will be starting on the road in Round 2 regardless of if they play the Habs or the Pens.

The morning papers for the Western Conference playoff match ups are soon to follow…

For Illegal Curve, I’m Richard Pollock.

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