Let's get to the point …

These are my opinions. Please feel free to have your own.

Matt Niskanen deserved a minor penalty.

There was absolutely no intentional head shot or blatant cross-checking motion. If anything, Niskanen held up from steamrolling Sidney Crosby after the defenseman realized the forward was off balance. Niskanen then braced himself for contact, which resulted in Niskanen's hand making contact with Crosby's head as the forward was tumbling.

The contact wasn't at shoulder level, and Niskanen did not fully extend his arms in a cross-checking motion. If Niskanen doesn't brace for contact, Crosby steamrolls him, and then Niskanen might be the player who is injured. If Crosby would have lost control of his stick and his stick hit Niskanen in the face, Crosby would have received a penalty. A collision was going to take place, and Niskanen dug his heels in the sand.

There's also the Alex Ovechkin stick work before that, but it's really impossible to tell the significance of the impact. Judging Crosby's body language, it looks like very minor contact.

Watch Niskanen's hands and stick in the replay. His hands are nearly together and both his elbows are bent at the point of contact. His lower hand is off the stick immediately after contact, too. It's not a vicious play.

crosby injury pic.twitter.com/dXcWa8YlBd

— steph (@myregularface) May 1, 2017

Some folks have gone mad to grab page views, but I'm happy to call it a hockey play with an unfortunate result. Perhaps, it wasn't even that unfortunate.

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Something that stood out during Saturday's Game 2 between the Senators and Rangers, was the Blueshirts defensemen consistently giving up the offensive blue line and retreating on potential 50-50 puck battles. On a couple occasions, an Ottawa winger missed a wrap around or breakout pass, and the Sens still exited the zone because the New York defense was already in the neutral zone. Had the Ranger defenseman held the line, it would have extended the offensive pressure. Offensive pressures leads to chances, penalties and goals.

It's pretty clear that a number of New York defensemen are too slow and too scared to hold the line. That's a serious problem. It's also further proof of why the once decorated stay-at-home defenseman is quickly being replaced by mobile puck movers. Nashville turning to Yannick Weber and Matt Irwin is a prime example, and it's working.

This also stands out:

Here's a shift chart visualizing how much Alain Vigneault favored Staal+Holden over Skjei+Smith in final crunch. Amazing, in a certain way. pic.twitter.com/cZ67kB4mHC

— HockeyStatMiner (@HockeyStatMiner) April 30, 2017

Here's a followup snippet from Larry Brooks:

“I was looking for certain matchups and sometimes within a game’s flow, certain players get lost for a couple of minutes and that’s what happened,” Vigneault said when asked why No. 42 had gotten so little time in the third period. “It wasn’t performance-related. Brendan played a good game with bite. It just happened that way.”

Again. It should not have happened. Smith, who has played with an edge throughout the playoffs and had sparred repeatedly with Kyle Turris to the Rangers’ advantage throughout Game 2, somehow was on the ice for just two shifts and a combined 35 seconds over the final 12:48 of the third period as the match slipped away in shocking fashion.

Vigneault did not specify the matchups he was seeking — or seeking to avoid — but it’s difficult to figure that eight games into the tournament the coach still regards the Smith-Brady Skjei pair as his weakest tandem and thus the one to shelter. It is more difficult to figure that Smith seems ensconced as the third right defenseman regardless of his work or the comparative work of top-four righties Dan Girardi and Nick Holden.

I was predisposed to write that the Rangers have never once seemed in control through two games. But you know, they were up by two and had held the Senators to two shots on goal through the first 16:41 of the third period on Saturday. If Henrik Lundqvist had been himself, the series would be even, so how much piling on is appropriate here?

And here's the full article.

Speaking of the Blueshirt blue line, New York has signed Neal Pionk. It's a solid addition, and Pionk should have a shot to see NHL ice time next year.

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This is pretty telling.

Asked what he’s getting from Jordan Eberle right now, Todd McLellan scowled: “Not enough.”

— Mark Spector (@SportsnetSpec) May 1, 2017

And remember, it wasn't long ago that Jordan Eberle was once considered a lock for Team Canada rosters for the next decade. Now, he can't even move the needle for the Oilers.

Living in the Atlantic time zone hasn't allowed many opportunities to watch Eberle, but my sense is a lot went right in his early days, and there are no more fortunate bounces in the tank. Real in-depth analysis, I know, but in all seriousness, Eberle's heroics elevated his perceived value significantly. He's crafty and skilled, but he prefers to play on the perimeter and doesn't have a heavy shot. It also isn't out of the question to suggest that he's lost a step since entering the league.

However, while Eberle has been held to just two assists through nine playoffs games, San Jose and Anaheim are daunting opponents that are physically imposing. Eberle isn't a star player, and his small stature isn't ideal for either matchup. Additionally, if you flash back to his draft year in 2008, few would look at his 2016-17 production and call it a disappointment. During his career-best showing — 34 goals and 76 points — in 2011-12, Eberle posted an 18.9 shooting percentage.

It's also hard to be too tough on Eberle when he's combined with Connor McDavid for 3.36 goals per 60 minutes at five-on-five over the past two years and a 2.14 mark with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. That's a significant difference, and it's obviously not entirely on Eberle.

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The latest on Ilya Kovalchuk is that he cannot re-sign a contract with the Devils until July 1, so there is nothing happening anytime soon. Remember, Kovalchuk has to sign with New Jersey, and then he can be traded. The expectation is that Ray Shero will reach out to Kovalchuk's agent this week.

Since I talked about Kovalchuk last week, I'm thinking the smart move with him is to make him a rich man's Sam Gagner. That would be best for Kovalchuk, too. Playing against weaker opponents at five-on-five while focusing on being a power-play specialist would be a perfect setup for him, and especially if it's on a strong team.

I suspect his contract demands will price him out of that kind of role, but at 34, it's probably the best fit. Perhaps, a Brett Hull skating with Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg would work, too. It's also been a nice fit for Jaromir Jagr, Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov.

***

The Canadiens added defenseman Jakub Jerabek on Monday. The 25-year-old Czech inked a one-year, $925,000 deal, according to CapFriendly.com, and he'll be an unrestricted free agent following the 2017-18 campaign. Here's the announcement from Montreal's official website.

The move has prompted the suggestion that Nathan Beaulieu is on the way out of Montreal, too. With Jerabek likely to slot behind Shea Weber, Andrei Markov (if he re-signs), Jeff Petry and then battle for minutes with Alexei Emelin, Brandon Davidson, Nathan Beaulieu (if he's still with the club), Nikita Nesterov (same) and Jordie Benn, there probably isn't a lot of fantasy value here.

***

Here are a handful of promising AHL performances to start the playoffs.

After posting 24 goals and 46 points through 67 games in the AHL and receiving an eight-outing cup or coffee with Carolina, Lucas Wallmark posted three goals and three assists during Charlotte's five-game playoff series. Wallmark should have a shot to crack the Hurricanes this fall, and his intelligent game and playmaking ability should be a nice fit. Skating has been the knock on Wallmark, so it'll be interesting to see if he can improve his foot speed to succeed at the highest level. Read more on Wallmark here.

Mark Jankowski has collectd a goal and four assists through four playoff games, and Stockton will look to advance to Round 2 with a Game 5 win Tuesday night. Jankowski recorded 27 goals and 56 points through 64 games in his first full AHL campaign. With Matt Stajan and Mikael Backlund set to hit unrestricted free agency at the end of the 2017-18 season, next year will be big for Jankowski, and he could solidify himself as lineup lock and key piece entering the 2018-19 campaign. Read more on Jankowski here.

Jake DeBrusk scored three goals and added a helper through five games during Providence's Round 1 win. After registering 213 shots during the regular season, he had another 17 in the first round of the playoffs. His 19-goal and 49-point regular season certainly doesn't jump off the page, but a strong playoff performance would be telling. Boston isn't overloaded with talent on the wings, and DeBrusk would probably be able to handle a mid-line role for stretches next season. Read more on DeBrusk here.

Another Bruins farmhand, Danton Heinen recorded four goals and six points in Round 1, and currently holds the league lead in playoff scoring. Heinen went scoreless during an eight-game stretch with Boston and didn't light the league on fire during the AHL regular season (14 goals and 44 points through 64 games), but there's definitely upside. Because he doesn't have the same pedigree as other Boston prospects, it will probably be more difficult for Heinen to become a regular in the immediate future. Read more on Heinen here.

(After I wrote these up, I wanted to link to their DobberProspect pages and found Mark Allen's Prospect Ramblings about the AHL playoffs — Take a peek)

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Thanks for checking in, Dobberheads.

The 2017-18 products are up in the shop for pre-sale now:https://t.co/M9eawcpcQu

Some notes on this… pic.twitter.com/Mz6kw8Gp3J

— Dobber (@DobberHockey) May 1, 2017