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. Kahale Warring Jersey . According to TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie, the deal will pay Schenn $2.25 million in the first year and $2.75 million in the second year. In 82 games with the Flyers in 2013-14, Schenn scored 20 goals and added 21 assists. DeAndre Hopkins Youth Jersey . -- Brendan Leipsic had two goals and an assist and Nicolas Petan extended his point streak to 11 games as the Portland Winterhawks slipped past the Red Deer Rebels 5-4 on Saturday in Western Hockey League action. http://www.texansrookiestore.com/Texans-...llaspia-Jersey/. Dr. James Andrews is to operate next week on the 24-year-old pitcher, who made the AL All-Star team last year. Moore will be the first Rays pitcher to undergo Tommy John surgery since Jason Isringhausen in June 2009. Cullen Gillaspia Womens Jersey .Y. - Brooklyn Nets centre Brook Lopez has a strained lower back and will miss at least a week. Deshaun Watson Womens Jersey .Y. -- As if the worst start in franchise history isnt bad enough, Buffalo Sabres President Ted Black braced his teams win-starved fans for potentially more tough times.With new head coach Carl Robinson at the helm, the Vancouver Whitecaps will look to get back into the MLS Western Conference playoff picture. TSN soccer analyst Luke Wileman tells you everything you need to know about the 2014 Whitecaps, while TSN soccer analyst Jason deVos tells you how they will succeed or fail during the new campaign. Luke Wileman: After missing out on the playoffs in 2013, Vancouver Whitecaps have re-tooled ahead of the new season. They lost their leading scorer, Camilo, in controversial circumstances, but the Caps will enter the 2014 season with a stronger overall squad. The biggest change of the offseason was the departure of head coach Martin Rennie. After two years with the club, Rennies contract was not renewed, and after a long search, the Whitecaps promoted Carl Robinson from his role as assistant coach to take the top job. I said at the time that Robinson was the perfect choice. He already knew the inner workings of the club from his time on Rennies coaching staff, but has brought a fresh outlook. Robinson is heading into his rookie season as a head coach, and it will be a steep learning curve, but theres little doubt he is ready for the task ahead. The way he handled difficult situations during the offseason was superb, and his leadership and communication with players through preseason has earned him plenty of respect within the locker room. So what can we expect from Robinsons team? The Whitecaps coach has made no secret of the fact that he wants to play an attractive entertaining style of soccer. He has also said he wont be afraid to give youth a chance. Robinsons squad is young, but with experience in key areas throughout the team. In fact there is a strong veteran presence down the spine of the team with David Ousted in goal, Jay DeMerit and Andy OBrien at the back, Nigel Reo Coker in midfield and Kenny Miller up front. The Whitecaps have made some strong additions in the offseason but the biggest question mark is whether they will be able to replace the league-leading 22 goals scored by Camilo. There wont be one person who shoulders the responsibility of filling the void left by the Brazilian, it will need to be a team effort, and the way the squad has been built should help that to happen. Uruguyan duo Sebastian Fernandez and Nicolas Mezquida have shown evidence of their creativity and technical ability during preseason, and the expected arrival of Chilean attacking midfielder Pedro Morales from Spanish side Malaga will be a massive piece of the puzzle. Vancouver already has quality in attack. Keeping Kenny Miller fit is key for the Caps. It will also be interesting to see the development of youngsters Kekuta Manneh, Darren Mattocks, Erik Hurtado, Omar Salgado and Russell Teibert. All five of those players have the ability to contribute significantly to the Whitecaps attacking play. The Whitecaps added former MLS All-Star Steven Beitashour at right back to replace the retired YP Lee and have options in the central defensive positions with DeMerit and OBrien likely to be favoured to open the season, but Carlyle Mitchell, Johnny Leveron and draft pick Christian Dean all capable of stepping in at any time. With Carl Robinson likely to play a 4-2-3-1 formation, the two defensive midfield players will need to protect the back four but also start a lot of the Whitecaps play moving forward. On his day, Nigel Reo-Coker can be one of the top midfielders in the league, but Robinson will want to see more consistency from the Englishman this season dictating the play and getting box to box. One of the Whitecaps big offseason additions was young Argentine midfielder Matias Laba who arrived from Toronto FC. Hes a superb signing who will commplement the qualities of Reo Coker.dddddddddddd Laba is a destroyer. He breaks up the play and gets it going again in an effective manner. The defensive midfield pairing of Reo Coker and Laba could be particularly strong for the Whitecaps this season. Despite my view that the overall squad is better than a year ago, the Whitecaps wont find it easy to achieve their goal of making the playoffs in a Western Conference that is packed with quality. Last year, Vancouver improved on their points total from a year earlier, but didnt make it to the postseason. They improved, but not enough because the other teams around them had made bigger strides. This time around, the Whitecaps have made some significant changes. It might take them time to settle into their new identity, but it should be a fun ride. TSN Soccer analyst Jason deVos weighs in on how the Whitecaps will succeed or fail during the 2014 season. Jason deVos: Vancouver Whitecaps will succeed if… …the young guns come out firing. Rookie head coach Carl Robinson has a squad full of talented youngsters. Russell Teibert, Kekuta Manneh, Gershon Koffie, Omar Salgado, Darren Mattocks, Nicolás Mezquida, Matías Laba, Erik Hurtado, Andre Lewis and Sam Adekugbe are all under the age of 23. With youth comes inconsistency; an amazing performance one week, followed up by a flat one the next. If Robinson can get the young players to find a measure of consistency, the Whitecaps will fare far better than many predict this season. The reason for that is that this team is quick - and I mean, lightning fast. Mattocks, Manneh and Hurtado are whippets, and will win races against virtually every player in MLS. If the experienced players in the squad - Nigel Reo-Coker, Andy OBrien and Jay DeMerit - can shepherd the young players along the right path, the Whitecaps are going to surprise a few people this season. Vancouver Whitecaps will fail if… …they show up one week and not the next. Succeeding in professional soccer is all about finding a level of consistency from week to week. Reliability comes with experience - something that is severely lacking from this squad of players. The onus is on Robinson to set the standards of performance that he expects from all of his players. Experienced campaigners like Reo-Coker, OBrien and DeMerit wont be the issue - they know what they need to do to succeed in the game, and will rarely dip below a 7 out of 10 performance. It is the young players that need to learn this. They need to learn that you cannot turn it on one week, then not bother showing up the next. That will be Robinsons biggest challenge this season - getting a consistent level out of his talented crop of youngsters. If he can do that, this will be an exciting season for Whitecaps fans. If not, the Whitecaps will again fail to make the playoffs. 2013 finish: 13-12-9 (seventh in Western Conference). Did not qualify for MLS Cup playoffs. Whos In?: M Mehdi Ballouchy (Re-Entry Draft), D Steven Beitashour (traded from San Jose), M/F Sebastian Fernandez (loan from Boston River), M Matías Laba (trade from Toronto), M/F Nicolas Mezquida (transfer from Boston River), GK Paolo Tornaghi (signed). Whos Out?: GK Joe Cannon (option declined), M Jun Marques Davidson (option declined), F Tom