Playoffs Baby!!

Sorry for getting so behind…it’s a crazy thing when work gets uber-busy then I lose the internet connection at home…damn technology! Just kidding…

Western Conference
1 Detroit vs. 8 Edmonton, series at 2-3: GO Edmonton! After winning two in a row, Edmonton lost at home last Thursday in a 4-2 game. In a game that saw 5 of the 6 goals come on the power play, and livid Craig MacTavish, the Red Wings evened the series at 2-2. Sure, the Oilers took some silly penalties (Rookie Matt Greene had 3 penalties all on his own) but this game came down to determination and the Oilers simply didn’t have any. However, on Saturday the tables were turned. Playing in Detroit, Edmonton was able to score 3 goals in the second period as was able to hold off Detroit’s final flurry for a 3-2 win over the Red Wings. The Oilers have a chance to close out the series tonight, as they head back to Edmonton. Of the three wins the Oilers have posted in this series, two have come at Detroit while the third came in Edmonton, after the Oilers has won in Detroit. Hopefully that bodes well!

2 Dallas vs. 7 Colorado, Colorado won the series at 1-4: Last Friday night the Colorado Avalanche had a chance to end the Dallas Stars’ season as game 4 was played in Denver. However, Colorado was not able to close the deal in a 4-1 loss to Dallas. A desperate Dallas team was able to pull out the win on the brink of elimination. Rookie Brad Richardson scored the only goal for Colorado in the first period on a pass from behind the net from Antti Laaksonen less than 5 minutes into the game. However the desperation felt by Dallas was enough to propel them to the win. Dallas iced the game with an empty net goal in the third to force a fifth game. On Sunday, the series headed back to Dallas. In an absolutely stunning win, the Avalanche eliminated the Dallas Stars from the playoffs. Jose Theodore, who allowed only 1 goal in five third periods, made 50 saves. Though it is cliché, he really gave the Avs a chance to win. He looked the most solid I have seen him and made some truly spectacular saves, while making very few “mistakes.” In the 3-2 OT game, Dallas scored first on a power play breakaway by Jussi Jokinen, the shootout God of the NHL. Colorado scored next on a nifty tip by Jimmy Dowd, who was able to find a hole between the post and Mary Turco’s leg to net his seventh career playoff goal. Joe Sakic scored next with less than a minute left in the first period to give the Avs a 2-1 lead. Bill Guerin scored Dallas’ second tally when he poked the puck away from Kurt Sauer in the offensive end. In the OT, Dallas out shot Colorado 11-4, including seven shots in the OT’s only power play. Andrew Brunette scored the winning goal on a rebound from a Joe Sakic shot. CONGRATULATIONS to the Avs!!!

3 Calgary vs. 6 Anaheim, series at 3-2: In a 3-2 OT win, Anaheim tied the series at 2-2 last Thursday. After a quite first period with no scoring and only one penalty, Anaheim scored twice in the second period less than 4 minutes apart to take the lead in the game. However, Jerome Iginla scored twice in less than 3 minutes in the beginning of the third to tie the game. Much to the chagrin of Calgary, Sean O’Donnell scored 1:36 into the first OT to win the game for Anaheim. In game 5 last night, Tony Amonte scored 5 minutes into the game to start off scoring. Once again Jerome Iginla scored twice, once a little over 10 minutes after Amonte scored and then again 1:03 into the second period. J.S. Giguere was pulled after Iginla’s second goal after giving up 3 goals on 8 shots. Anaheim’s back-up Ilya Bryzgalov made 11 saves in the second and 8 saves in the third to shut out the Flames, but his efforts were not enough. Any McDonald of Anaheim spoiled Miikka Kiprusoff’s chance at a shutout when he scored a power play goal in the third. Then Anaheim pulled within one on Rob Niedermayer’s power play goal with 33 seconds left in the game. The series continues tonight in Anaheim as the Flames have a chance to close out the best of seven series.

4 Nashville vs. 5 San Jose, San Jose won the series at 1-4: In another Western Conference upset, the San Jose Sharks beat the Nashville Predators 2-1 last night in Nashville. After winning the first game in the series, Nashville lost 4 in a row. Their third loss came on Thursday in the Shark Tank after putting up a great fight in the 4-5 game. San Jose’s captain, Patrick Marleau scored a hat trick, while University of Denver product Matt Carle had two assists for his first multi-point playoff game. On Sunday, in a 2-1 victory in Nashville, the Sharks eliminated the Predators from the playoffs. The first period went quietly until a flukey goal with .3 left in the first period gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead over the Predators. Scott Hannan passed the puck to Milan Michalek, who shot it from the left circle and Steve Bernier bumped it past Preds goalie Chris Mason. After a review, the officials (not only on the ice, but in the NHL’s war room in Toronto) ruled that it crossed the line before the time expired. Patrick Marleau Scored on the power play in the second for the game-winner. Then Paul Kariya of Nashville scored in the third on the power play to end Vesa Toskala’s shut-out.

Eastern Conference
1 Ottawa vs. 8 Tampa Bay, Ottawa won the series 4-1: After an embarrassing 8-4 loss, Tampa Bay seemed to lose any momentum they had. In game 4 of the series last Thursday, Tampa Bay lost 5-2 to a very strong Ottawa team. 4 of their 5 goals came at even strength. Not to mention John Grahame’s performance in goal for the Lightening was less than stellar, allowing 4 goals in 17 shots is simply not good enough. He was pulled in the third for back-up Burke, who allowed 1 goal on 8 shots in 20 minutes of play. In the final game of series, Tampa Bay struggled to make ends meet again, allowing 2 even strength and 1 power play goal while only managing to score 2 even strength goals in the second. A change in goal did not help. Struggling goalie John Grahame played backup Saturday to veteran Sean Burke who made 35 saves in the loss. It was his first playoff start since he and the Phoenix Coyotes were eliminated from the playoffs by San Jose in 2002. While they applied pressure to the Senators, the Lightening just couldn’t seem to muster the strength to win.

2 Carolina vs. 7 Montreal, series at 3-2: In a tough 2-1 OT loss to the Hurricanes, Montreal surrendered their first game on home ice. Carolina caught some breaks for their first win in the series after losing two at home. The game winner was scored on the power play 3:38 into the first overtime when Huet lost sight of the puck and Eric Staal was able to slide it past him. In perhaps an even more tough loss, the Canadiens surrendered the lead in the series in a 3-2 game that saw more than just the loss of the game. In a scary moment, Saku Koivu received a high-stick to his face that caused an eye injury. Justin Williams, the Hurricanes player who perpetrated the hit was not penalized. Koivu was rushed to the hospital and it is still unclear how much damage was done to his eye. Though he was wearing a half shield, it still did not protect him from the stick that slid under the shield. The Hurricanes took the lead in the series on Sunday with a 2-1 win on their home ice, the first for either team. Cam Ward had a stellar game saving 30 shots in his third straight start after taking the job from Gerber. He seems to be carrying this team. Eric Staal and Matt Cullen scored power play goals for the Canes while Alex Kovalev scored the only goal for the Canadiens. Cristobal Huet had 26 saves on 28 shots.

3 New Jersey vs. 6 New York R, New Jersey won 4-0: In a maybe not so surprising sweep of the New York Rangers, New Jersey advanced the second round of the playoffs as the only team to completely sweep another team. Even the return of Jaromir Jagr could save the Rangers. In a shutout last Wednesday night in Madison Square Gardens, Martin Brodeur made 25 saves. Langenbrunner scored and had an assist to garner the games’ first star, while Patrick Elias also scored and had an assist to earn the games’ second star. Not surprisingly Brodeur came in at the third star (honestly what does a goalie have to do?) In a surprisingly quiet and ironic game (only 5 penalties, 2 in the first and 3 in the second) New Jersey took the third game of the series by a score of 3-0, the last tally coming from former University of North Dakota star Zach Parise. In the final game of the series, the Rangers scored both first and last and again lost the services of Jaromir Jagr. Patrick Elias upped the ante again by have an assist and scoring two goals in the win while Brian Gionta scored the game winner unassisted. The Devils have now won an amazing 15 games in a row. Can anyone stop them?

4 Buffalo vs. 5 Philadelphia, series at 3-2: After losing two on the road, Philadelphia pulled out two home wins to tie the series. Peter Forsberg chose a great time to show the Flyers why they pay him so much. He scored two goals and tallied one assist in a 4-2 win over Buffalo. I should mention however, that the assist came on an empty net…In the second home win, the Sabres didn’t go so quietly, in a 5-4 win, Forsberg again scored twice and added an assist to earn the first star of the game. But let’s not overlook Daniel Briere, the heart and soul of the Sabres franchise who scored two goals himself. On Sunday, rookie Ryan Miller, the Sabres’ goaltender single-handedly took control of the game as he posted a shutout for the lead in the series. Miller made 24 saves, two of which were deflections off of his teammates. He became the third rookie in franchise history to post a shutout in the playoffs. Robert Esche on the other end of the ice also deserves praise as he made 30 saves on 33 shots. The Sabres look to finish this series off tomorrow in Philadelphia.

Wow….that was a lot of writing….