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1. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning. Just a dominant performance right now. He had two goals, an assist, and six shots on goal in Saturday’s win and is starting to run away with the points lead (17) this postseason. He now has a four-point lead over every other player in the playoffs. Not bad for having played zero games during the regular season. Tampa Bay Lightning

He has turned in the best performance of his career during the shortened 2020-21 season, starting 39 of 56 games, winning 30 of them and ironically tying Varlamov for the league lead in shutouts (7). Thanks in large part to Grubauer, the Avalanche won the Central Division as well as the Presidents’ Trophy for the NHL’s best regular season record. Los Angeles Kings

Price has ice in his veins. This latest save comes two games following his athletic diving stop on Maple Leafs center Jason Spezza in Game 3, many calling it the save of the entire NHL season.

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I like the Bruins off a loss, and I also like that it’s a home game but *not* a Game 7 game — home teams in Game 7 often come out tight and don’t get the benefit of the venue (think back to St. Louis beating Boston in the Finals a few years back, or the Toronto choke job from last week). I’m expecting Boston to control this game and carry a significant shot advantage, and if Varly isn’t Superman again, it should be a 60-minute affair.

- Josh Bailey got called for tripping on Charlie McAvoy with 8:56 left in the game, but the Bruins couldn't add on to their lead. After multiple shots on net, Barzal finally got one past Rask to tie the game up at 1-1 with 5:26 remaining. It was his first goal of the playoffs.

Cassidy also took issue with Trotz’s comments about Patrice Bergeron “cheating” in the face-off dot. Minnesota Wild

Make wise protection picks for the expansion draft. The Penguins' biggest issue in making their decisions will come in the forward group. There's a few contracts they can dangle (such as Jason Zucker, and his $5.5 million annual cap hit), but Pittsburgh is likely to lose a young depth forward like Zach Aston-Reese, Jared McCann, or perhaps Kasperi Kapanen. Remember, it's a new regime with less emotional ties to these players. So we could see something unexpected. Chicago Blackhawks