Playoff Update

It’s been another couple of days chock full of great games. Here’s the skinny…

Western Conference
1 Detroit vs. 8 Edmonton, series at 1-2: So a lot of people said that the first two games were a fluke…Edmonton had pushed to 2nd OT by sheer luck and won game two by even more luck. Well, eat that critics! Edmonton won last night at home in another 2 overtime game by a score of 4-3. It was a good win for them, although I don’t think they played as hard as they could have. I wonder what is going through the minds of the Detroit players…I mean they have to be in complete shock. With any luck, they will continue their stupor and lose the series…not that I’m biased or anything….

2 Dallas vs. 7 Colorado, series at 0-2: In a 5-4 OT nail biter, the Colorado Avalanche won game two of the best of seven series versus the Dallas Stars. After scoring 3 goals in the first period, the Avalanche and Jose Theodore allowed 4 goals by the Stars in the second period. In the third period, Brett Clark scored his second goal in his second career playoff game with 2:04 left in the period. In the first overtime, Jason Arnott of the Stars hit the post seconds before Joe Sakic scored the game winning goal on a shot from point by John-Michael Liles at 4:36. The series moves to Denver tonight for game three at 7:30 MST and can be seen on Altitude, OLN, and TSN.

3 Calgary vs. 6 Anaheim, series at 2-1: In a 5-2 contest last night, Calgary took the lead in the series as it moved to Anaheim. Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 27 shots while J.S. Giguere saved 19. In a game where 22 total penalties were called (12 for 27 minutes for the Flames and 10 for 23 minutes for the Ducks) special teams played an important role. Of the seven total goals scored, 5 (including both Anaheim goals) were scored on the power play. The series continues tomorrow in Anaheim.

4 Nashville vs. 5 San Jose, series at 1-2: San Jose took the lead in the series last night in a 4-1 win over the Predators at the HP Pavilion. Captain Patrick Marleau scored twice and goalie Vesa Toskala made 16 saves. Rookie Steve Bernier scored his first playoff goal late in the second which turned out to be the game winning goal. The series continues tomorrow in San Jose.

Eastern Conference
1 Ottawa vs. 8 Tampa Bay, series at 2-1: In a highly unimpressive game by the Tampa Bay Lightening, Ottawa took the lead in the series last night with an 8-4 win in Tampa Bay. The highlight of this game however came with 2:17 left in the final period. NHL.com described the brawl best when they wrote “Heatley squared off in a fight with Nolan Pratt, and Chara locked up with Vincent Lecavalier. Ottawa's 6-foot-9 defenseman cocked his right arm and held it menacingly over Lecavalier, who was down on the ice, but restrained from throwing the big punch. The melee, sparked by Vaclav Varada's boarding penalty against Tampa Bay's Ruslan Fedotenko, capped a physical game that featured 139 penalty minutes - 79 for Tampa Bay - five fighting majors, and seven misconducts.” It was an interesting end to a rather boring end as it appeared that there were half a dozen players on each bench as the final minutes of the game ran through.

2 Carolina vs. 7 Montreal, series at 0-2: First of all, I find it interesting that one of the biggest trades this year, David Aebischer for Jose Theodore, left each team in the same place in their respective conferences with the same records in the playoffs. Moving on. In a 6-5 two overtime win over Carolina, Montreal heads home with the lead in the series. Huet made an astounding 41 saves while Gerber made 10 saves on 13 shots before being pulled and replaced by Ward who then made 20 saves on 23 shots. The series continues tonight in Montreal.

3 New Jersey vs. 6 New York Rangers, series at 0-2: Without Jaromir Jagr, who was out with an upper arm injury, the Rangers seemed to flounder in a 4-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils. But defense may be the Rangers biggest problem. Of the 4 goals scored by New Jersey, two were short handed, one came on the power play and the last came at even strength. Those numbers are truly unacceptable for a team that wants to win the Stanley Cup. This series continues tonight and Rangers face the Devils at home in Madison Square Gardens.

4 Buffalo vs. 5 Philadelphia, series at 2-0: In a very convincing 8-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, the Buffalo Sabres took the game 2 of the series. I guess I can’t say this enough, for a team with so little playoff experience, the Sabres are playing some amazing hockey, while the Flyers are barely putting up a fight. This series continues tonight as the Sabres meet the Flyers in Philadelphia.