Defenseman John Carlson didn't play much in the final 20 minutes Friday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinal series and he didn't practice Saturday, but Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau and teammates are optimistic about his chances of being available Sunday for Game 2 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

"I think he's - pretty good chance that he'll play tomorrow," Boudreau said. "But I'm not 100 percent sure."

Carlson was injured in a pileup near the net after he hit Tampa Bay's Nate Thompson. The 21-year-old defenseman had a great rookie season for the Capitals, essentially assuming the role of No. 1 defenseman when guys like Mike Green, Tom Poti and Dennis Wideman were injured.

He and fellow young defenseman Karl Alzner have formed Washington's most consistent pairing this season, and Boudreau has entrusted them to play against top competition despite their relative lack of age and experience.

"We've had a lot of instances where we went down to five "D," more than I've had in recent years at least," Alzner said. "It is not too bad, but John is a huge part of this team and it affects the team as a whole instead of just any individual guy.

"He's a tough guy who likes to battle and we'd definitely like to have him back. It is tough to say -- I just saw him a little bit getting treatment. That's about it. I think most guys are optimistic about him playing."

Carlson left the bench in the second period and returned for the third but took only a couple of short shifts. He stayed on the bench for a while and skated during television timeouts before eventually heading back to the dressing room for good.

Green was in a similar situation during Game 5 against the New York Rangers - he was injured and stayed on the bench. Boudreau said Green was OK to play in case of an emergency, but that wasn't the case for Carlson on Friday.

"No, yesterday he was sore," Boudreau said. "Because if we could have used him, we would have used him."

The byproduct of Carlson's absence was an added strain on Green. With Wideman injured, Carlson and Green are the team's lone consistent offensive threats on the blue line. Green played more than 11 minutes in the third period because Carlson was missing and the Capitals were down a goal and trying to find an equalizer in an eventual 4-2 loss to the Lightning.

"When you look at Mike Green's minutes at 27 minutes, it is too high," Boudreau said. "He had a great series against New York but he was playing 18-20 (minutes). Those are the kind of minutes we have to get back to."

Added Green: "I felt the same way. To be effective, especially in the playoffs, you have to keep your shifts short and be fresh. I felt like I was out there a little too much and I didn't feel like I was able to be as productive as I could have been."

If Carlson cannot play in Game 2, Boudreau said he doesn't think Poti or Wideman will be available as a replacement. Both veterans have been out for a long time with injuries but have been skating almost every day during the postseason.

The most likely is option if Carlson can't go is 27-year-old Sean Collins, who played four games near the end of the regular season after spending nearly all of the past two seasons in the American Hockey League.

Tyler Sloan has spent that time with the Capitals as a reserve defenseman, but Collins came off the ice with the rest of the Capitals expected to play Saturday while Sloan and recent call-up Patrick McNeil stayed on the ice with the other scratches and "Black Aces" from AHL Hershey.

Sunday's Game 2 between the Sharks and Red Wings will start at noon local time at HP Pavilion, the first time all season a game will start that early in San Jose. The Red Wings are no strangers to playing at 12:30 on NBC, but it's going to be a new experience for many members of the Sharks.

"I don't like it. I'll be honest," defenseman Dan Boyle said. "I don't like noon games at all. It is what it is. I haven't quite figured out what the routine's going to be, but I'll figure it out tonight. Although I don't like it, I'm sure I'll be ready to go come game time."

Sharks coach Todd McLellan said he doesn't believe the rare noon start of his players will have much an effect, considering the team holds most of its practices at home at about the same time.

"Both teams have to start at noon, so both teams have issues and things to deal with," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. "Our body clocks and our hockey clocks are set to skate at this time. This is when we practice every day. We cfome to the rink and we start thinking hockey and breathing hockey. It's a matter of what you do tonight and how you manage your morning and make sure you're prepared. That's an individual choice that each of our players has to make so they come in and play for their teammates."

Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard doesn't mind waking up a little earlier for a hockey game.

"It's no big deal," Howard said. "The only thing that really changes is the morning and you don't get the pregame skate."

Follow Dave Lozo on Twitter: @DaveLozo

The Sharks had a quick skate Saturday afternoon at Sharks Ice, their practice facility that's about 2 miles from HP Pavilion. The atmosphere was light and fun, not surprising with the team coming off a 2-1 overtime win against the Red Wings about 12 hours earlier.

But no one seemed to be having more fun than Dany Heatley, who was asked about Joe Pavelski, a Wisconsin native who also played his college hockey at Wisconsin.

The question was, "What's the most Wisconsin Badger-like thing about him?"

"I don't know about Badger," Heatley said, "but growing up in Wisconsin, it's probably his and his old man's love of hunting and fishing. I did see him eat some cheese curds the other day."

Ever seen him any Green Bay Packers stuff?

"Oh yeah," Heatley said. "You don't see him tailgating out there with the grill?"

Does he lean toward Brett Favre or Aaron Rodgers?

"I don't know. I'm a Favre guy," Heatley said. "I'm both guys. They're both good guys. You have to be diplomatic with those guys."

Heatley did heap praise on Pavelski for his game-tying goal in the third period Friday, when he batted a puck out of mid-air near the net.

"The way he plays, come this time of year, he gets rewarded for those things," Heatley said. "When Pavs does things like that in practice, knocking it out of the air, you get in a game like that, you get a chance to do that, and he buries it for us. He works on a lot little things."

Follow Dave Lozo on Twitter: @DaveLozo

When Bruins forward Brad Marchand looks across the ice at Flyers forward Claude Giroux, it won't be their first matchup. The two went head-to-head for three seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League when Giroux was with Gatineau and Marchand played with Moncton, Val d'Or and Halifax. The two also won gold medals together with Canada at the 2008 World Junior Championship.

"I think with (Giroux), he's such a good player, so offensive," Marchand said prior to Game 1. "He brings a lot of different attributes, plays on their PK, power play, 5-on-5 -- he's great. … The biggest thing for us is we have to be physical against him, can't give him time and space. He'll make a lot of great plays if we give him that time and space."

Besides seeing a lot of Marchand, Giroux also can expect to hear a lot of him, too. Marchand has developed a reputation for being a yapper on the ice. It's part of his role, which is agitating the opposition and prodding them into taking bad penalties.

"I think it's just going to be a timing factor," said Marchand. "They have a lot of guys over there who play the same kind of role. You want to try to use that to your advantage and try to get them off their game, but they're pretty good at it, too. If you let them get the better of you … you don't want to be the one taking penalties. I think we're going to see more of it as the series goes on just because it's going to be an emotional series."

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK

Bruins coach Claude Julien is certainly glad he'll have a healthy Andrew Ference and Dennis Seidenberg along the blueline against the Flyers this time around.

During last year's seven-game series loss to Philadelphia, Ference played hurt after missing 17 of the last 21 regular-season games due to a groin/hernia injury and finished a minus-5 with 4 penalty minutes against the Flyers. Seidenberg didn't play at all after suffering a lacerated tendon in his left forearm late in the season.

Julien knows the importance of having fresh, capable defensemen on the ice against the physical Flyers. That said, the Flyers are also a better defensive team following the off-season acquisitions of Andrej Meszaros and Sean O'Donnell.

"They're two experienced guys that you get into your lineup and that's certainly going to help," Julien said of Ference and Seidenberg. "I know Seids (Seidenberg) has played there in Philly and always seems to play well against them."

Ference had 2 assists and was a plus-3 in the deciding game against Montreal and had a goal and 3 assists in the last four games of the series. Seidenberg, drafted in the sixth round (172nd overall) by the Flyers in 2001, will be meeting his former employer for the first time in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"It's definitely different playing here again, especially for a playoff game, and just it's something special for me," Seidenberg said."It's going to be exciting and I'm really looking forward to it."

"He's had a pretty good start to the playoffs, so you hope that continues," Julien said. "But we're going in there this time probably with a healthier squad so we hope that's going to help our hockey club. But I think last year is last year and this year is this year. As you mentioned, a lot of people are going to want to bring up the past and if anything, it's like Montreal. All the stats are probably against us with the odds and how the Bruins had fared against them in the past and down 2-0.

"It's always a new situation, a new opportunity, and that's how we're looking at it," Julien added. "Just a new opportunity for us to get past these guys and hopefully win this series."

Seidenberg has 2 goals and 9 points in 26 career playoff games and Ference has 4 goals and 26 points in 81 contests.

Follow Mike Morreale on Twitter at: @mike_morreale

The rivalry between the Bruins and Flyers historically has been nasty and physical, with big hits going both ways. The first fight in a Winter Classic came when the Flyers' Daniel Carcillo and the Bruins' Shawn Thornton dropped the gloves at the 2010 game.

"This is probably going to be a physical series," said coach Peter Laviolette. "They are a hitting team. We can play that game as well."

To that end, the Flyers could dress one of two physical players to fill out their fourth line for Game 1 Saturday -- veteran Jody Shelley or rookie Zac Rinaldo.

The 35-year-old Shelley hasn't played since suffering a broken orbital bone during a March 21. GM Paul Holmgren has said Shelley is healthy and cleared to play, but Laviolette has yet to use him.

Shelley is wearing a visor to protect his face, and told the Philadelphia Inquirer on Friday that he will be "ready to do what I have to do pretty soon."

In 10 NHL seasons, the 6-foot-3, 230-pound Shelley has played 596 games and is eighth among active players with 1,474 penalty minutes. He's skated in just seven Stanley Cup Playoff games.

"(Shelley) is just a big, physical guy," linemate Blair Betts told CSNPhilly.com. "I think that's it. I think maybe there's an intimidation factor with him in the lineup. I think he's underrated as a player. He's great on the forecheck, he uses his body well and his size to protect the puck and create room for the rest of us, and that's what expect out of him."

Rinaldo, who spent the regular season with the Adirondack Phantoms of the American Hockey League, made his Stanley Cup Playoff debut in Game 5 of the first round, playing three shifts totaling 1:56, but he had three hits. However, his ice time was more the result of the score, as the Flyers fell behind 3-0 in the first period.

"We fell behind early in that game and the game plan kind of went out the window," said Laviolette. "We had to get our guys that score goals out there as much as we could.  I thought he was good.  He had a couple good shifts. He only had a minute and 20 or a minute and 30 in ice time, but he had three hits -- three hard hits."

Rinaldo was second on the AHL with 331 penalty minutes, and had more suspensions (four) than goals (three). However, the 5-11, 169-pounder believes those numbers don't properly describe what kind of player he wants to be.

"I'm misunderstood, for sure," he told the (Camden) Courier-Post. "I hit and I hit hard, and some guys don't like it. When they don't like it, they want to come after me and fight and I don't back down. I don't go looking for the fights, but since I hit so hard and hit so big, guys want to fight me and that's what racks up the penalties."

Which one plays? True to form, Laviolette wasn't saying. Shelley and Rinaldo split time on the fourth line with Betts and Darroll Powe in practice, so there was no clue there. And with Saturday's 3 p.m. ET start (NBC, CBC, RDS), there was no pre-game skate to evaluate.

There were reports that Rinaldo's equipment was shipped from the Flyers' practice site in Voorhees, N.J. to the Wells Fargo Center, and since he only has one set, that could be the cue that he's playing. But the morning of Game 5, Ben Holmstrom skated with the fourth line during practice, only to see Rinaldo play, so everything's up for debate until game time.

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK

It's a pretty good bet that at least one of the games in the Eastern Conference Semifinals pitting the Flyers and Bruins goes to overtime. After all, two of the seven games in last year's epic showdown needed an extra period.

This season, Nathan Horton has been an overtime gem for the Bruins. The 6-foot-2, 229-pound wing connected for the double-overtime winner in Game 5 against the Montreal Canadiens and the OT clincher in the decisive Game 7.

Needless to say, the Flyers are well aware of Horton's heroic efforts.

Nathan Horton #18 of the Boston Bruins celebrates scoring the over time game winning goal against the Montreal Canadiens

"He is a natural goal scorer," Flyers captain Mike Richards said. "When you have that, it's always a threat when he's on the ice. He is a good forward with a great shot. I can remember in juniors (when Horton played with the Oshawa Generals), he always had that knack to be around the net and find those quiet holes. He has a good shot to go with that."

Horton was acquired in a trade with the Florida Panthers that sent he and Gregory Campbell to Boston in exchange for Dennis Wideman and draft picks during the offseason. In addition to Horton's major contributions with the top line, Campbell has been a steady center on Boston's fourth line all season.

"He scored a couple of big goals for them," Pronger said of Horton. "Obviously the two overtime winners and he's a guy that gets to the net. He has a great shot and you got to take away his time and space and kind of be strong on the puck."

Video review determined that Washington's Brooks Laich used a distinct kicking motion at 13:34 of the first period.   The puck does not touch any player's stick after the distinct kicking motion.  No goal.

WASHINGTON -- The Tampa Bay Lightning staved off elimination three times in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and blanked the Pittsburgh Penguins on their sheet of ice in Game 7 to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

That would lead at least some to believe that they enter Friday night's game at Washington with a ton of momentum, right?

Perhaps, but Lightning coach Guy Boucher isn't a part of that group.

"In the playoffs, I'm a non-believer in momentum," Boucher said after the Bolts skated Friday afternoon at Verizon Center. "Every game comes back to zero and it's the team that has the most desperation. We just won three in a row, but it's a new team, a new day. We've got to start all over again. I think that's the beauty of hockey, especially in a series. There's always the next game until the last one."

Steven Stamkos agreed. Stamkos, who had 2 goals and 2 assists against the Penguins, doesn't see how the momentum gained during the opening round can find its way through the Verizon Center's doors. Basically, the Bolts will have to create momentum all over again.

"I think in the playoffs, momentum is what happens during games," Stamkos said. "I think once that game ends, everyone forgets about it -- whether you had a really good game or a really poor game. It's easy to throw games out the window come playoff time, because you know how big the next game is. This is a totally different series.

"You could say they have momentum because they handled the Rangers in five, or you could say we have momentum because we won three straight to come back to beat Pittsburgh. I don't think it's a factor heading into a brand-new series."

A series that features teams that combined for 94 victories during the regular season. That would lead some to believe that this will be an evenly-matched battle between fierce division rivals, but Boucher views the No. 1-seeded Caps as the clear-cut favorite.

"Either we see it as a threat or we see it as a challenge," Boucher said. "It's a great challenge for us. If they lose this, for them, it's a huge failure. There's a lot of pressure, but at the same time, there comes a lot of energy with pressure.

"I think it's going to be like a boxing match. They'll look at us, we'll look at them and we'll figure each other out and try to adapt as we move on."

Follow Brian Compton on Twitter: @BComptonNHL