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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. Colin Miller Jersey . The thinking at the time was Clowney could have already been promised he would be selected first overall by the Houston Texans, therefore negating any need to meet with any other teams. The plot took another twist this week. Vegas Golden Knights Jerseys .com) - Pavel Datsyuk and Gustav Nyquist both scored in the shootout as the Detroit Red Wings denied the Minnesota Wilds comeback bid with a 5-4 win on Tuesday. http://www.officialgoldenknightspro.com/...hts-jersey/.com Tours Nova Scotia Open. The 27-year-old Sloan, a former Texas-El Paso player from Calgary matched first-round leader Rodriguez at 10-under 132 on Ashburn Golf Clubs New Course. Alex Tuch Jersey .com) - The Ottawa Senators will try to keep their slim playoff hopes alive when they face the Chicago Blackhawks who are trying to secure their place in the post-season. William Karlsson Jersey .Heres Ralph the Dog with the crew here at TSN jumping into the James Duthie TradeCentre selfie: Happy to drop by! RT @TSN_Sports: @tsnjamesduthie: Take this Ellen.BARCELONA, Spain - Lionel Messi and Dani Alves scored second-half goals as Barcelona beat 10-man Manchester City 2-1 on Wednesday to reach the Champions League quarterfinals for the seventh straight season. Barcelona advanced with a 4-1 victory on aggregate over two legs in which referees decisions — and non-decisions — played a big part. City defender Joleon Lescott replaced Martin Demichelis, who was sent off in the first leg, and had just as much trouble keeping up with Messi throughout the game at the Camp Nou. But Lescott was unlucky as Cesc Fabregas pass bobbled through his legs in the 67th minute to emerge onto the run of Messi, who flicked the ball over goalkeeper Joe Hart with a sublime touch. As in its 2-0 defeat in the first leg, City finished with 10 players after Pablo Zabaleta was booked for a second time in the 78th for protesting after Gerard Pique barged into substitute Edin Dzeko inside the area without a penalty being awarded. Vincent Kompany scored a consolation goal for City in the 89th minute before Dani Alves struck in stoppage time for the Spanish champions. In the nights other match, Paris Saint-Germain advanced to the quarterfinals for the second straight season after coming from behind for a 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen and a 6-1 victory on aggregate. Both teams rebounded with strong performances after limping into the match on the back of domestic losses. "We had some pretty big setbacks, especially in the way we were playing — but today we got back to playing the way we know, the Barca people love." Messi said. "Even though the goal came in the second half, I dont think we were ever in danger of an upset." City managed to create good scoring chances from the boots of David Silva and Yaya Toure, but manager Manuel Pellegrini could only bury his head in his hands when Messi scored his eighth goal of the competition. While Barcelona did not look in danger of an upset, City will certainly feel aggrieved after Pique was not penalized for his sliding tackle from behhind, which saw Citys furious players surround referee Stephane Lannoy and Zabaleta dismissed.dddddddddddd "Going for a second time down to 10 men after it was a clear penalty, its not easy conditions to come and play against a strong team," Kompany said. "Over the course of two games, whenever there was 11 players (against 11) there wasnt much between the two teams." Much of Citys hope of overcoming the deficit lay in Sergio Agueros return after he missed the first leg, but the Argentina striker also seemed absent Wednesday despite starting ahead of Alvaro Negredo and Dzeko. Pellegrini watched from the stands as the Chilean served a ban for his criticism of the referees performance in the first match. Though Silva passed up a promising opportunity early on, Barcelona was sharp as Messi repeatedly ran at — and past — Lescott, who seemed to have got away with a trip on the Argentina forward inside the area in the early stages. Messi exploited Citys slow-footed defence to register his 28th goal of the season after having found the post earlier on. City crafted occasional first-half moments, but Hart kept the visitors in it with a reaction stop on Xavi Hernandez before Fernandinho cleared Neymars curler off the line. City went into the break encouraged after Samir Nasri sent Silvas midair backheel flick straight at goalkeeper Victor Valdes, who also tipped Dzekos powerful header over the bar in the 52nd. Aguero came off with an injury for Dzeko to start the second half and immediately lifted Citys attack. Kompany looked to have been in an offside position as he guided Dzekos header home to equalize, but the goal proved fruitless as Dani Alves scored late again, as he did in the opening leg. "We felt that, for this game, these were the tactics to use," said assistant coach Ruben Cousillas, who was unrepentant over Citys decision to play with a lone striker in attack. "It didnt turn out so bad." ___ Follow Paul Logothetis on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/PaulLogoAP ' ' '