Brian Strait and Hickey are fine, but they cannot be rolled out consistently as a second pairing, if you want to be successful. Scott Mayfield and Matt Donovan played well, from my viewing, but similarly, you’re not winning many games with those four rounding out your defense corps.

Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy were fantastic in Game 7 and all the series, but the New York Rangers are far deeper on the blue line, and New York is better at the top ranks, too.

Alex Ovechkin went good for two goals and three helpers in the series. It is likely safe to assume he’ll have to be better than that to have the Capitals in a position to win a fourth game in Round 2. He was held to three shots or fewer in four of the seven games, too, and including each of the last three.

John Carlson, meanwhile, is an absolute fantasy stud. He loves to shoot and block the puck, he has a nasty side, and he scored as many even-strength points (P.K. Subban also finished with 38) as any defenseman in the league this season. Carlson looks poised to remain on the No. 1 power-play unit and take a huge step forward in 2015-16.

Bump him up your ranks, as a top-five finish isn’t out of the question.

***

Anders Lee was a healthy scratch for Game 7, which was his second consecutive press box visit. And given the Islanders had their lines in the blender in an attempt to generate offense, it seems odd the 25-goal scorer — second most on the team — wasn’t even an option.

Obviously there are reasons, but Jack Capuano’s experience comment was interesting. Who are the experienced Islanders?

***

Game 7 in Tampa will be fun viewing Wednesday. I’m not sure how the Tampa Bay Lightning have allowed themselves to be in this position, or why the Detroit Red Wings haven’t been able to put the Bolts away.

At times, it seems like neither team really wants to win this series. Both have shown fleeting dominance, but here we are at a seventh game.

Steven Stamkos is garnering all the attention, but Henrik Zetterberg has just three assists and Game 6 was his first with more than three shots on net.

With their experience edge, Detroit needed to finish Tampa Bay in Joe Louis Arena, in my opinion. Barring a Petr Mrazek game-stealing performance, which is possible, the Montreal Canadiens are set to have a date with the Lightning in Round 2.

***

Here are some quick hit news updates from around the league.

Mike Fisher expects to return to the Nashville Predators. It is somewhat hard to believe that Fisher has played 271 games with the Preds. During the five-year stretch, he has a respectable 78 goals and 94 helpers with 169 penalty minutes. He is a solid fantasy player, but unless he boasts winger eligibility you should aim higher at the center position outside of deep formats.

Kris Versteeg could be a healthy scratch for Game 1 of the second round. It would boost Bryan Bickell up with Patrick Kane and Brad Richards, and Teuvo Teravainen would skate with Patrick Sharp and Antoine Vermette. The Blackhawks have the depth to tinker a little bit, and will likely continue to do so. Daily players will want to keep an eye out for potential bargains, such as Teravainen projects to be, if the Hawks stick with the plan.

Mats Zuccarello is out indefinitely. However, the Rangers will receive a boost on the blue line with Kevin Klein returning. James Sheppard will draw into the lineup in Zuccarello’s absence. Although, it could be more than just a minor blow to New York. The Blueshirts were rolling three solid offensively capable lines, and with Martin St. Louis likely moving into Zuccarello’s sport with Derick Brassard and Rick Nash, the third line could sputter.

***

There are no games on the docket Tuesday. Does anyone know when the Round 2 schedule will be released?