This is not the reason why the Rangers lost last night. There is just no way to describe how Marian Gaborik just brain cramped again but he certainly did pay for it as his production has been silent in the series so far. Chew on this fact. Bryce Salvador has as many points in the postseason as Gaborik. It seemed as if the Devils just found a way to keep the Rangers hemmed in their zone when they had to. The only thing that saved the Rangers from a worse defeat was a few lucky bounces and a little slushy ice. That is really good for fantasy pools but not for fans of the team.
There are things that will be talked about with Game 4 for an eternity. There will be the Gaborik elbow, the Rupp whatever you want to call it, the Del Zotto turnovers, the return of Zach Parise, etc. The difficulty was coming up with a Fantasy POTN but we think we got one.
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FANTASY POTN:
Zach Parise, W, New Jersey Devils
It was tough not to choose Martin Brodeur and not just for his 28 save effort (he really deserved the shutout) but Parise finally was the player he needed to be for one night anyway. New Jersey is more talented offensively than New York even if most do not want to admit that and Parise is one of the main reasons why or he was supposed to be. Last night, he put it together with two goals and an assist on five shots. He was all over the ice and was even good in 4 on 4 and penalty killing situations which he was not as efficient with in the first three games. Last night Parise left everything on the ice. He needs at least two more efforts to ensure New Jersey extends his stay for at least another round.
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SCHEDULE TIME:
Tuesday, May 22, 2012 |
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| Teams | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | at | Phoenix | 9:00 PM | Gameday | ||
This is the series for Phoenix. If they do not win then simply they are done. What is funny is we are doing pretty well in predicting the West and the East has been well, helter skelter. Shane Doan took over for the Coyotes the way that Dustin Brown had for the Kings in the first three games. By the way, Brown was held to 1 shot and a couple hits in Game 4. Maybe it was the start or the Phoenix scheme. Whatever it was, it worked for Phoenix. It is time to delve into Game 5 of the sim to see what is going on. Our problem is which Mike Smith will show up? Will it be the goalie on the road or the goalie at home? Phoenix better hope for “The Road Warrior” and the return of Radim Vrbata (wait he is just invisible not injured). Anyway, here is the latest sim….
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NHL 12 Simulation — Game 5 — Kings Vs. Coyotes
It comes down to a more critical Game 5 than Phoenix could have imagined at the start of this. Phoenix again has to keep the intensity that not only saw them steal Game 4 but gave them some undisputed life in this series. There will be no tomorrow if they do not win tonight. They have nothing to lose and the pressure is still squarely on the shoulders of the Kings. Let’s see what happens
Kings @ Coyotes Game 5
1st Period
PHX — Radim Vrbata (14:05, PP, Yandle and Whitney)
2nd Period
LAK — Dustin Brown (12:55, Kopitar and Williams)
PHX — Shane Doan (16:43, unassisted)
3rd Period
LAK — Drew Doughty (4:45, King and Nolan)
Overtime
LAK — Anze Kopitar (2:34, Brown and Voynov)
Team Stats:
Shots
LA- 32 PHX- 31
Power Plays
PHX- 1/5, LA- 0/4
Final: Kings 3 Coyotes 2 (Overtime)
3 Stars:
1. Anze Kopitar 2. Jonathan Quick 3. Shane Doan
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 a possible crowning of a conference champion. Stay tuned.
