DEVILS LEAD FLYERS 2-1

Alexei  Ponikarovsky and the New Jersey Devils have the favorite Philadelphia Flyers in a 2-1 hole.

Ponikarovsky scored the OT winner putting home his own rebound on a 2-on-1 rush giving New Jersey a 4-3 OT win on Thursday night and a 2-1 series lead.

Ilya Kovalchuk reportedly playing with a herniated disk in his back, had a goal and two assists in his return to the lineup and set up Ponikarovsky's tally with 2:39 left in overtime as Kovalchuk caught the Flyers on a horrible change. Kovalchuk was exceptional in the game dictating the play, as was Zach Parise who was a force in the offensive zone.

The storyline for the Flyers in the loss was their struggling power play that failed to convert two golden power play chances in overtime.

The Devils who struggled in Game 1 on the PK and gave up a power play in the first period, made in game adjustments which makes Pittsburgh's struggles against Philadelphia even worse. The Devils were very aggressive in not letting Philadelphia create an effective zone presence but the key for them was their rotation.

-- The Devils have surprisingly matched up much better against Philadelphia than I thought they would and the Devils blueline has really evolved this series. On paper it's not a typical Devils blueline from their glory days but they have come together as a group.

-- Clutching and obstruction was widespread in last night's game and while the Flyers are doing it too, it favored New Jersey last night as the ability to obstruct the Flyers on the forecheck is a big factor in slowing them down. Philadelphia is at their best when they get pucks behind the oppositions D.

-- The LA Kings lead the St. Louis Blues 3-0 in the series and it's all coming together for a talented Kings group that matches up extremely well against the rest of the field in the West and East. LA is emerging as the Cup favorite.

-- The Philadelphia Flyers have been involved negotiations on a one year deal for Jaromir Jagr but one report says defenseman Matt Carle is the top priority over Jagr if it came to one or the other. That's a no brainer from the standpoint of Carle being 27 and Jagr being 40.

Although the Flyers want to retain Jagr and he has been a big addition on the ice and in the locker room, Philadelphia should strongly considering not bringing Jagr back and if they do, nowhere near his $3.3 million salary. It's one of those situations the Flyers should look at it that they got the most out of him and move on. Jagr has already dropped off the top-2 lines.

Meanwhile, Carle will be a coveted defenseman if he hits the open market. He logs big minutes, can skate, move the puck well and is an excellent shot blocker, leading the Flyers with 164 blocked shots during the regular season. He's a player who fit great in Dan Bylsma's system and fill a big void from a shot blocking standpoint if the cap space was ever there for Pittsburgh this summer.

-- There's some individuals in hockey circles who feel the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning will be the front runners for Roberto Luongo and that both teams should take the chance on him if they believe he has another four to five All-Star type seasons in him. However, a sleeper team to watch out for will be the New Jersey Devils if Marty Brodeur decides to hang em up.

Penguins center Evgeni Malkin, Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist and Lightning center Steven Stamkos have been officially named finalists for the Hart Trophy, as voted by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

Malkin who is widely regarded as the front runner for the award based on ballots released in recent weeks by voters, led the NHL with 109 points and posted his first career 50 goal season.

Stamkos became just the second player since the lockout to score 60 goals, collecting 60 goals and finishing second in the league with a career-best 97 points.

Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist went 39-18-5, with a 1.97 GAA, and .930 save percentage, including 8 shutouts, leading the Rangers to the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

Lundqvist is the first goaltender since Roberto Luongo in 2007 to be named a finalist for the Hart Trophy. The last goaltender to win the award was Jose Theodore with Montreal in 2002.

The Washington Capitals beat the defending Cup champions Boston Bruins as Joel Ward scored in overtime of Game 7 giving Washington a thrilling 2-1 win.

The Capitals punched their ticket to the second round joining the Philadelphia Flyers in the East.

Two Game 7's on Thursday night involve the 1. New York Rangers - 8. Ottawa Senators and 3. Florida Panthers - 6. New Jersey Devils.

All seven games during the Bruins - Capitals series were one goal games, setting a playoff record.

The star of the series was Capitals 22 year old netminder Braden Holtby who has come out of nowwhere to solidify the Capitals goaltending position.

Under head coach Dale Hunter, Washington has evolved into a defensive minded team, which has led to Alexander Ovechkin seeing less ice time than he did under Bruce Boudreau.

Goaltenders Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers, Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings, and Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators have been named finalists for the Vezina Trophy, NHL announced this morning.

Brendan Shanahan has struck down on Phoenix Coyotes forward Raffi Torres who delivered a late hit to the head of Marian Hossa in Game 4 of the Coyotes - Blackhawks series.

Shanahan ruled today that he has suspended Torres for 25 games, the NHL announced, sending a statement for those type of hits.

Shanahan ruled Torres knew Hossa didn't have the puck and made Hossa's head the principle point of contact and Torres in the process not only targeted Hossa's head but violently launched before contact.

Torres history also played a factor in the suspension being 25 games, in addition to Hossa suffering a major injury.