Colorado Avalanche: News from around the NHL May 30, 2014

With all that Dominic Moore has been through in the last few years, I was happy to see that it was his goal that helped the Rangers get the the Cup final.

Dominic Moore had previously been a part of two teams that fell short in the conference finals before this season. In his third attempt, he personally made sure the ride wasn't ending any time soon.

Moore’s third goal of the playoffs with 1:53 left in the second period was all the New York Rangers would need as they defeated the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 to win the series 4-2 and advance to their first Stanley Cup Final in 20 years.

In the hours leading up to Game 6, the Rangers did not want to look back on their disastrous 7-4 loss in Game 5. Instead, they were focusing on Thursday night’s task: a second attempt to eliminate Montreal. The game was completely opposite of the goal-fest that was Tuesday night. There were 10 less goals and Henrik Lundqvist reverted back to his standard elite form, making 18 saves, including this ridiculous blocker save just minutes before Moore’s goal:

Are NHL'ers really reporting all concussion issues?

Gorges is aware of concussion symptoms, rhyming off a list from his stall in the visitors’ dressing room at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. He sounded well versed in NHL concussion protocol, and seemed like someone who has taken time to consider the issue.

The issue of concussions was raised again on Thursday, after Dale Weise was ruled out of a playoff game. Two days earlier, Weise absorbed a vicious and illegal check to his head, leaving him unsteady and woozy.

“If I’m sitting there, and you’re in the quiet room, I’m not thinking, ‘well, in 30 years, I’m going to be …’ ” he said, trailing off. “The only thing I’m thinking about is, ‘get me back out on that ice.’ ”

Canadiens coach Michel Therrien strongly denied the idea Weise suffered a concussion, blithely describing his mystery illness as “a body injury” hours before his team played in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference final. (Weise displayed several symptoms that would have ticked boxes on the NHL’s concussion checklist, including disorientation, a blank or vacant look and “balance or motor incoordination.”)

The NHL concussion protocol states players diagnosed with a concussion “shall not return to practice or a game” the same day the injury occurred, but these playoffs have provided several examples of players doing exactly that.

Stepan holds no anger towards Prust... only hopes to be able to actually eat solid food at his wedding.

New York Rangers forward Derek Stepan still can't eat solid foods. After a hit early in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final from Montreal Canadiens forward and former teammate Brandon Prust fractured his jaw, Stepan had surgery and will be eating through a straw for roughly the next six weeks.

He hopes he will be able to eat properly at his wedding this summer. But with the Rangers now moving on to the Stanley Cup Final after a 1-0 victory in Game 6 on Thursday gave them a 4-2 series win against the Canadiens, Stepan has looked past the late hit that earned Prust a two-game suspension.

"I'm not going to hold it against [Prust]. He finished his check," Stepan said after the series-clinching win. "He feels bad about it. He knows it was late. We move on from there."

For the time being, Stepan will continue to wear a protective shield over his face during games and practices. The jaw injury caused him to miss Game 4 against Montreal, the only game he's sat out in his four-season NHL career. Donning his new headware, Stepan returned for Game 5 in Montreal and scored two goals in the Rangers' 7-4 loss.