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Three Game Sevens provide thrilling moments and three heartbroken teams. Notes on Carcillo, Mason, Heatley, Niederreiter, Kopitar, Thornton and more. RANGERS GET PAST FLYERS One night after getting soundly beaten by the Philadelphia Flyers, the New York Rangers bounced back with a 2-1 win in Game Seven, giving the Blueshirts the victory in the first-round series. With the series on the line, it wasnt the big names getting the job done. The Rangers first goal came from Daniel Carcillo, back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch for a couple games. Carcillo, who had four goals and an assist in 57 regular season games, picked up two goals in three games for the series. The Blueshirts other goal in Game Seven was provided by Benoit Pouliot, who contributed two goals and four points in the series. New Yorks third defence pairing -- John Moore and Kevin Klein -- were on for more than 70% of the 5-on-5 shot attempts in Game Six and Seven. They were getting chewed up early in the series, but were much more effetive later in the series. Philadelphias only goal of the deciding game came from rookie RW Jason Akeson, his second of the series. G Steve Mason was terrific for the Flyers, stopping 31 of 33 shots in Game Seven, giving him a .939 save percentage for the series. Tough to end up on the losing side with those numbers, but Mason didnt appear until Game Three because he was recovering from a concussion suffered late in the season. For all the trials he has endured throughout his career, this has been the best year of Masons career and if the 25-year-old has found a new level of play, then thats a win for the franchise going forward. Of course, well only have some idea if this improvement is legit when we see how Mason plays next season. In the end, the Rangers held the puck possession edge and, even though he didnt score a goal in the series, Rick Nash was at the forefront of driving play. The Rangers deserved their win, though the strong goaltending performance by Mason made it a close series. The Rangers move on and ought to have a fair chance against a Pittsburgh team that tends to rely on their high-end talent to carry the day. WILD FINISH Despite losing their starting goaltender, Darcy Kuemper, to what looked like a knee (and possibly head) injury and facing a deficit four different times in Game Seven, the Minnesota Wild ultimately prevailed with a 5-4 overtime win against the Colorado Avalanche. Perhaps the most remarkable story for the Wild in Game Seven -- well, aside from G Ilya Bryzgalov getting credit for the win after stopping one shot -- is that Minnesotas offence was driven by the supporting cast. Kyle Brodziak, Dany Heatley and Nino Niederreiter each had three points, with Niederreiters second goal of the game counting as the game-winner in overtime. Heatley, whose career has been on a steep decline in Minnesota and was scratched early in the series, finished the series with five points for the Wild, while Brodziak, also a healthy scratch, finished with five points in the series. Those are valuable contributions from players that might not be expeccted to do all that much. The tying goal, which forced overtime, was buried by D Jared Spurgeon, from Niederreiter and Brodziak, with just 2:27 remaining in the third period. Colorado didnt get that same contribution from the supporting cast. Paul Stastny, who scored in Game Seven, finished with 10 points, tied with rookie Nathan MacKinnon and Wild LW Zach Parise for the playoff scoring lead. Avalanche veteran winger Maxime Talbot had a rough go in the possession game. With Talbot on the ice at 5-on-5, the Avs had 49 shot attempts for and 113 against with Talbot on the ice (30.8%). Without Talbot on the ice, the Avalanche had 45.3% of the 5-on-5 shot attempts -- not great, but clearly better. This series had the most lopsided possession stats of any first-round series, with the Wild getting 61.3% of unblocked shot attempts when the score was close (within a goal in first two periods, tied in the third). The Avalanche, as they had all season, relied too much on G Semyon Varlamov, who had an ordinary game at the worst possible time. Now the Wild get to increase their level of difficulty in Round Two, facing the defending-champion Chicago Blackhawks. ROYAL RALLY Facing a three-games-to-none deficit, the Los Angeles Kings chipped away at the San Jose Sharks lead and, by the time Game Seven arrived Wednesday night, there was little doubt that the Kings could complete the improbable comeback. This doesnt mean it was a sure thing -- the Sharks scored first in Game Seven -- but the Kings were poised to make this rare comeback. Then D Drew Doughty tied the game, and C Anze Kopitar gave the Kings the lead, then it was Tyler Toffoli and the outcome was become evident. With a pair of points, Kopitar moved into a tie for the playoff scoring lead, with 10 points. Toffoli (57.4 Corsi%) and Doughty (54.8 Corsi%) had the best possession stats on the Kings. Another Kings rookie, in addition to Toffoli, LW Tanner Pearson, picked up a goal and an assist in the clinching game. Blowing a 3-0 series lead will hit the Sharks hard. They were, undeniably, a Stanley Cup contender stuck with a very difficult first-round opponent. The main criticism will fall on C Joe Thornton and LW Patrick Marleau because it always does, but also because theyve been around a while, through all the previous disappointments. Shut out in the deciding game, Thornton finished the series with three points in seven games, while Marleau led the Sharks with seven points. On the other hand, the Sharks fourth line ran into trouble. There were times when their physical play seemed to be helpful but, in the bigger picture, they werent effective. LW Raffi Torres, for example, was one for 41 shot attempts for and 69 against (37.3%). With Torres off the ice, the Sharks got 50.7% of the 5-on-5 shot attempts. On the Kings fourth line, by comparison, they frequently had C Mike Richards running with the fourth line and Richards had eight shots on goal in Game Seven. The difference in the series, between two dominant possession teams, was expected to be in goal and thats how it turned out. Jonathan Quick got lit up early, but he stopped 130 of 135 shots (.963 SV%) in the final four games to lead the Kings comeback. While the Sharks ponder this crushing defeat, the Kings move on to take on Anaheim, a good rivalry series, though one in which the Kings, a superior possesion team with a more experienced goaltender, should be favoured. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Clearance New Balance Shoes . Torres scored the first goal by an English team in the knockout phase of the Champions League this season when he met Cezar Azpilicuetas cutback in the ninth minute of their first leg match in the last 16. But Chelsea failed to make the most of its counterattacks and the Turkish champions equalized in the second half after gaining in confidence and cutting out their defensive mistakes. Authentic New Balance Store . Felton pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a firearm. He admitted he knowingly had a large-capacity ammunition magazine and a semi-automatic pistol without a license. http://www.wholesalenewbalance.com/. Ending a nine-game losing streak? That gave the Milwaukee Bucks veteran forward a reason to smile. Cheap New Balance Sneakers . Billy Hamilton finished off Cincinnatis biggest comeback of the season for a doubleheader sweep. Wholesale New Balance China . Directly ahead was open field, the end zone and the Seattle Seahawks place in the NFC championship game.OTTAWA -- A week ago it was unthinkable, but the Ottawa Senators are back in playoff contention. Ales Hemsky scored the only goal of the shootout Monday night as the Senators earned a huge 2-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Hemsky moved in and fired a shot off the post and into the back of the net behind goaltender Cam Ward to give the Senators their third straight win, and fourth in their past fifth games. They have nine points over that stretch. As it stands now, the Senators are in 12th in the Eastern Conference four points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets, who currently possess the second wild-card berth with 82 points. The Hurricanes are seven back. "All Im doing is going game-by-game still. We won today, now we have to get ready for Wednesday and again well see where we are at (in) 82 games," said Senators coach Paul MacLean. Craig Anderson stopped all three Carolina shooters, including Elias Lindholm with the final shot to earn the victory. Mika Zibanejad scored in regulation for the Senators (32-29-14) while Anderson made 30 saves. Jeff Skinner had the Carolina goal while Ward backstopped the Hurricanes (32-32-11) through regulation with 28 saves. Coincidental minor penalties in overtime meant the teams played two minutes of three-on-three hockey. Kyle Turris had the best opportunity for the Senators during that span but his shot went over the net. Alex Semin had Anderson beat on a two-on-one but his backhand went wide. "Structure wise we werent really sure what to do, but you need guys that are creative and are able to beat guys one-on-one because thats what it comes down to," Senators defenceman Marc Methot said of the rare three-on-three. "The guys handled it well." There was very little in the way of scoring opportunities through most of the third period. That changed in the final few minutes as both teams started to apply pressure as neither wanted the other to claim a bonus point in the tight playoff race. "There were definitely opportunities and a little spark at the end. The fans started getting into it knowing the pressure of the last five minutes and that any mistake could be in the back of the net," said Hurricanes forward Jordan Staal. "It raised the intensity of the game for sure.&" The way the first period started it seemed as though the goaltenders were going to have nightmares even before they went to bed.dddddddddddd The score was tied 1-1 before the five-minute mark and the non-defensive style was allowing for several opportunities on both sides. Zibanejad opened the scoring at 1:41 of the first period when he deflected a Patrick Wiercioch point shot past Ward. The play was reviewed but quickly announced that the call on the ice stood and it was in fact a goal. "Youve got to look at it as a lucky break on their side, and just get ready for the next shot," Ward said of the goal. "The puck was bouncing a little more than I would have liked, but other than that we gave our team a chance to win. Unfortunately, it doesnt feel good to lose in a shootout." Zibanejad continues to improve on his career-high numbers as he now has 14 goals and 29 points in 64 games. "Lately weve been taking it one game at a time. Its cliche but we are. And were doing whatever we can to make sure we get the points," said Zibanejad. "The pressure is not on us, the pressure is on the teams above us and by winning were putting more pressure on them." It wasnt all good news for the Senators though as Erik Karlsson gave the puck away behind his own goal and then was the last player to touch it before it went into the back of the Ottawa goal behind Anderson. Karlsson tried to sweep the puck around the boards behind the net but fanned on his attempt, giving skinner possession of the puck behind the goal. He danced from side-to-side before banking the puck off Karlsson and in to tie the game at the 4:03 mark. Notes- Jason Spezza, Bobby Ryan, Jared Cowen and Colin Greening were scratches for the Senators. Mike Komisarek, Radek Dvorak and Justin Peters were scratches for the HurricanesaThe Senators recalled Jean-Gabriel Pageau from Binghamton on MondayaSenators forward Kyle Turris was named the NHLs First Star of the Week Monday after collecting four goals and three assists in four gamesaJeff Skinner now has points in five straight games and recorded his 30th goal of the season MondayaThe Carolina Hurricanes are scheduled to play back-to-back games 20 times this season, second only to the ' ' '