Round 1: Sunday, April 26

Washington 5 : New York 3

Series tied 3-3
Wonder how the view was from up high for Coach Tortorella? Things are not looking good for the Rangers – the team seems freaked out and who knows if they can recover from their mindset taking a complete nosedive. The three Ranger’s wins were all by one goal, the three Capital’s wins were by 4,4,2 goals. In six games, Washington has scored 17 goals, Rangers 10. It would be easy to assert the advantage goes to Washington but the Rangers are now where they were at the beginning of the series – with nothing to lose therefore advantage goes to the Rangers, despite the thought that Washington would go farther in the playoffs than New York and that as a team, Ranger’s energy could be better spent undergoing a team overhaul rather than vying for a Cup they will not win this year…conserving energy now so that it can be expended at a later date. The worst thing we could see is the Caps taking an early lead and the Rangers completely imploding. But for now, more turnovers New York and stay the h-e double hockey sticks out of the sin bin.

New Jersey 0 : Carolina 4

Series tied 3-3
Wowee. Martin Brodeur and Henrik Lundqvist seemed to be playing on the same wavelength in their respective games today/tonight – regressive. Going into game 7 this series is incredibly close. Three wins by Carolina were by 1,1,4 goals – for New Jersey their 3 wins were by 3,1,1 goals. In 6 games New Jersey has scored 12 goals, Carolina 13. And both teams have each won 1 game overtime and have each won 2 games at home and 1 away. As much as I think Carolina has played better as a team, home ice performance may help the Devils eke out a win on Tuesday night. However, the biggest threat to Carolina is one dude in the net. Time to flip a coin.

Round 1: Saturday, April 25

Pittsburgh 5 : Philadelphia 3

Pittsburgh wins series 4-2
OH HAPPY DAY!! At first it was dreadful to hear the horn sound three times for the Flyers. I could not believe they could win this game so effortlessly so I spent the entire game pacing between my new found photog friends Tim and Tom and my sister who was also rooting for the Pens. After the 1st period the Flyers were up 2-0. The only thought I had about the Pens winning was that from my years of watching Flyers hockey, Philly does better when they either bully effectively or score the first goal within the first 10-12 minutes of the game which they did not do, the first goal (Mike Knuble) occurred with about 3 minutes to go in the 1st period. That was the good news going into the second, the bad news…Danny Briere scored #3 a few minutes into the 2nd. However, the second period turned out to be the game changer. The pens were able to get off 20 shots despite 13 penalty minutes whereas the Flyers has the same number of penalty minutes but only 9 shots. Two other game changing happenings in the 2nd period – after the third Philly goal Marc-Andre Fleury went into a zone and remained there and the Pens did what the Flyers did not do – diffuse the weight of winning the game among as many players as possible. In the 3rd period, Philly was too much on the defensive so 5 shots on goal was not going to bring them a come from behind win. Although considering that the Pen’s sixth goal was an empty netter by Sidney Crosby in the last minute of the period, tying the game was not out of reach for Philly. Surprisingly Flyer fans were not sore losers this time around, they seemed too disappointed to be obnoxious, or like some of the fans around us, too liquored up. It’s always hit or miss when going to the Wachovia Center but this time around I had a fabulous time – great view of the game, lots of laughs with staff and fans, edge of your seat hockey… all culminating in the Flyers going boo-bye. Here's a video of the last 10 seconds of the game:



Calgary 1 : Chicago 5
Chicago leads series 3-2

Anaheim 2 : San Jose 3 (OT)
Anaheim leads series 3-2

The Flyer/Pens game must have tired me out – after arriving back at my mom’s house I went to say hello to my cat Freddy Bear and conked out next to him. Zzzzz. So I missed the later games. In reading the recaps and watching highlights – advantage still stands for Chicago and Anaheim. Chicago is just getting started in playing their ‘better than’ hockey and with 48 shots on goal, San Jose better have won the game…yet they won by only 1 goal. The Ducks can figure out a strategy to win the series based on the last two games won by the Sharkypoos, who seem to have woken up but the question is, did they wake up in enough time.

Round 1: Friday, April 24

New York 0 – Capitals 4

New York leads series 3-2
When I saw that Sean Avery was pulled from the line up, I opted to take my dogs to the park rather than watch the Rangers lose. John Tortorella’s decision should lead to his not returning as coach next season. Coaching style of subjective but leadership is not. There’s a concept in group process that you don’t sacrifice the group for the sake of an individual. Funny how one might think the ‘individual’ would be Avery. I wrote at the beginning of this series that a test to the Rangers would be at the first sign of adversity – never thinking that the ego to turn against his team would be the coach’s. Being right was more important to John Tortorella than keeping his team in tact and winning the game. If Avery is not in the line up for Sunday’s game, I’ll be asking my dogs where they want to go this time…I suspect Petco for some treats.

Round 1 Continues: Thursday, April 23

Philadelphia 3 – Pittsburgh 0

Pittsburgh leads series 3-2
Great to see Martin Biron fly above radar this game which surely was a major factor in the game outcome. The Flyers distributed the weight of effort from line to line and came up with 3 even strength goals. The Penguins did not. I suppose commanding the Penguins to win wouldn’t be realistic so I’ll just have to root them on at the game and hope they bounce back like they did on Tuesday. The first 10 minutes of the game will say it all.

*Note to not all but too many Flyer fans going to the game…calling him Cindy Crosby is funny, calling him a pedophile is not.

Detroit 6 – Columbus 5

Detroit wins series 4-0
Overall this series was like Varsity scrimmaging JV. The Blue Jackets made history by their appearance in the playoffs and no one can say that they did not give their all in this round. Although it would have been wild to see the game go to OT, the end result would have been the same; Wings advancing to the 2nd round. Yes losing stinks however if you’re in it for the long haul, this is the way you want to lose – all out team effort and the standing ovation support of 18,889 fans.

Carolina 0 – New Jersey 1

New Jersey leads series 3-2
It was goalie against goalie this game and as predicted, Martin Brodeur composed himself and led his team to a shutout win…with only 1 goal…a deflection…on the power play. If Brodeur wasn’t in goal it could be a toss up but as long as he keeps his composure Carolina is going to have to come up with some serious strategy for getting the puck past him enough times to win 2 games.

San Jose 0 – Anaheim 4

Anaheim leads series 3-1
This is clearly a situation of Ducks impersonating Sharks. I suspect Anaheim is not going to give back the shark suits any time soon. San Jose seemed deflated since the beginning of this series and unable to gain any type of meaningful or lasting momentum. It must stink to work your butts off all season to rise to the top entering the playoffs only to fall down when taking the first playoff step…however the cool as cucumber attitudes I saw and heard in Shark interviews were a little baffling. Not that the players should have run around shouting ‘the sky is falling’, but some intensity in their words might have helped their internal process, which somewhere along the line broke down. Now it’s time to see if Anaheim knows how to cap off a series while in the underdog role.

Round 1 Continues: Wednesday, April 22

Boston 4 : Montreal 1

Boston wins series 4-0.
Montreal fans showed zero class towards their team at the end of this game. I hope that under his catch glove and blocker, Carey Price’s middle fingers were up. Perhaps not kicking a dog when it’s down does not translate in French. Here’s my high school French translation for Habs fans…vous tous sucez le temps grand.

Washington 1 : New York 2

New York leads series 3-1
Washington 39 shots on goal Rangers 21, Washington had 3 more chances on the power play (6) than the Rangers (3). Regardless of what the final score could have been, the Caps were able to put only 1 goal past Henrik Lundqvist with those stats. Not a good sign, plus with each game Ovechkin looks more and more like the only cactus left in the desert. Going into the 3rd period, the Rangers were up 2-0. What I noticed was that the Rangers seemed like they did not know how to win the game from that point - ‘we’re ahead so what do we do now?’. I think this will make them vulnerable to a come from behind Caps win on Friday night if they should pull ahead of Washington but not know how to yank the last piece of the band-aid off. However, as strange as this might sound (it seemed strange thinking it)…Sean Avery’s penalty with about 3 minutes left in the game was the best thing that could have happened to the Rangers. In those last 3 minutes what I saw was the Rangers digging down deep and Rangers fans standing up high. The game came alive. It was the perfect lead in to the next game and a perfect fan send off to help catapult the Rangers towards closing out the series. Advantage goes to the Rangers based on those 3 minutes, maybe this time the Rangers can dig down with Avery ON the ice.

Chicago 4 : Calgary 6

Series tied 2-2
As much as Calgary fought to win this game, they gave up a three goal lead in the second period. Without the empty net goal, the score would have been 5-4. Discounting power play goals and the empty netter, Calgary ‘won’ 4-2. I’m still going with Chicago for the series win however they are going to have to push Calgary back or else the Flames will bully them out of the series. Overall the game seemed flukey.

Round 1 Continues: Tuesday, April 21

Pittsburgh 3 : Philadelphia 1

Pittsburgh leads series 3-1
Let’s see…Pittsburgh scored ‘3’ goals. One goal Crosby’s body escorted into the net and another was an empty netter. Yes they count for the win but in my mind the Penguins head back home after having tied the Flyers 1-1. Marc-Andre Fleury was the primary reason the Penguins did not lose this game – second to his performance was the defense stepping up to protect their turf, and killing 8 penalties. Some risky behavior by the Pens and if they start racking up as many penalties on Thursday night, I don’t think they will be as fortunate as they were in this game. But then again, if they have more confidence in their goalie now, we might see less penalty minutes from Pittsburgh. As for the Flyers - where did their game go? Where was the substance? Beyond that, 8 power play opportunities and 46 shots on net produced 1 goal? This next game is hard to call. Fleury can run hot and cold, Martin Biron has been a little too quiet back there in net so far this series but after this game he might be inspired to kick it up a notch, he has to because it was not until this game that I noticed his presence in net – that isn’t good, well at least by my standards. Playoffs are not the games where a goalie can fly under the radar. I think the Penguins will win this series, and as much as I would like to see the Flyers go buh-bye, I’m not sure if game 5 will be the one to do it. On that note, advantage goes to the Flyers. On another note, I volunteer to be wrong.

Vancouver 3 : St. Louis 2

Vancouver wins series 4-0, their first playoff series sweep. The Canuck’s skill set won out over the Blues and no doubt Vancouver is a well conditioned team, physically. Although I was hoping the Blues could pull off a win on home ice, and for a moment there when the score was tied 2-2 it seemed possible – St. Louis had advantages of more power play minutes and shots on goal (49-36) but did not have the extra UMPH! to push on through to the win. It’s UMPH! that St. Louis will need to develop in order to spiral up next season and also, Chris Mason may benefit from Yoga and/or Pilates.

Detroit 4 : Columbus 1

Detroit leads series 3-0.
Ok so I just typed ‘Detroit leads series 3-1.’. AH HA! Foreshadowing to the Blue Jackets squeaking out a win on home ice? Hey it could happen. Columbus is looking frustrated because and obviously on the surface losing sucks, even if it was going to be quite a task for Columbus to beat the defending Champs. Columbus is a feisty team, a team you can feel play this series and empathize with – I’m still with the intention that they win one at home.

New Jersey 3 : Carolina 4

Series tied 2-2
What was Martin Brodeur really pissed at? The referees not calling goalie interference? Being tied in the series? That his own defense was a detriment by getting in his way? Carolina taking 46 shots and Brodeur having to deal with that? That maybe, just maybe after Jussi Jokinen ‘bumped’ him, Brodeur hesitated thinking it would be called and didn’t play the puck, thus ultimately was pissed at himself? I don’t know the answer to the question but I don’t think being pissed at the referees is why he threw his stick. Advantage goes to New Jersey for the next game due to Carolina blowing a three goal lead and that Brodeur is going to ‘correct’ the situation through his playing, he’s going to utilize the experience which is great but not as effective if team cohesion is lacking. This might be a good time for the Devils to squeeze in some off ice team building exercises before the game. Styrofoam cups, string…communication…group hug…whatever it takes or a speedy and cohesive team like Carolina is going to show the Devils how it’s done.

San Jose 4 : Anaheim 3

Anaheim leads series 2-1
It’s Duck season, no it’s Shark season, Duck season, Shark season blah blah blah. What a ping pong match this game was. Pretty thrilling hockey to watch. Although San Jose won, it was the Duck’s comeback goals that stood out and assigns them the advantage for Thursday night. What we’ve got here is a rock-paper-scissors kind of thing going on.

Round 1 Continues: Monday, April 20

Washington 3 : New York 0

New York leads series 2-1
By far this is the oddest thing in the playoffs so far – the Rangers and their fans showed up to play/cheer as if they were still in the regular season…9 minutes into the game they were going to lose. Was there anyone, Ranger or Ranger fan, who realized this was a playoff game? Yup. Sean Avery. 5 bucks Avery was more frustrated with his team than the Caps. 5 bucks Ranger fans (or majority of) think it’s beneath them to wear a colored t-shirt and swing from the rafters for their team. Avery’s acting out was understandable however being the tuning fork of the team takes away from his ability at times, this was one of those times. My hope is that he’s developed an off switch by now before he does something to mess up his career in a more permanent way. Overall, this is the kind of adversity I wrote about in an earlier blog post, and after seeing Ranger’s coach John Tortorella’s post game interview, advantage goes to Washington for the next game. Coach Tortorella…your team entered the playoffs seated 7th, up against 2nd seated team and beat them on their turf in the first two games therefore it was a little much that you were publically hostile towards your players. 2 minutes for uncoachmanlike conduct.

Boston 4 : Montreal 2

Boston leads series 3-0
Montreal accomplished two things this game – they scored first to give them their first lead in the series and even though the Habs lost, this time around they made Boston earn the win. Time to call this series for Boston, although I hope the Habs win on Wednesday for their fans and to tucker out Boston a bit for the next round. Both Boston and Detroit have had it a little too easy.

Chicago 2 : Calgary 4

Chicago leads series 2-1
The tug-of-war is alive and well between these two teams and with each game it intensifies. No doubt this will be a fight to the finish series, a lot more hockey equipment will be dropped to the ice. After watching this game, I’m going to go with Chicago for the series because their response to losing (while they are playing) errr how do I translate this…Calgary’s win didn’t seem like a win that would contribute to them coming back to take the series, it seemed like a bump in the road to Chicago moving ahead to round 2. Chicago’s drive is strong and their demeanor is sober, I’d be very surprised if they did not go far in the run for the Cup.

Round 1 Continues: Sunday, April 19

Pittsburgh 3 : Philadelphia 6

Pittsburgh leads series 2-1
I went to this game to see Bill Guerin play as a Penguin and to see the Flyers lose. About 10 minutes into the first period I knew that Philly was going to win this game, and win it big. Wasn’t ESP, just a familiar sight. Usually I am watching the Flyers trap the Isles into their style of play but this time it was Pittsburgh. The Flyers and their fans did everything right from the get-go, the team stunned their prey with swift and sudden effort in the 1st – the Penguins were too busy trying to keep up that they made many mistakes, and overall their puck handling was awful and the Flyers were given way too much room in front of Marc-Andre Fleury who appeared to struggle (mind-set) after the 1st Flyer goal and could not regain composure. In order to win this series the Penguins are going to have to accept that they cannot match the Flyers physical play and will exhaust their talent if they are stubborn about that. Pittsburgh will also have to evenly distribute the weight of effort among every player out on the ice. That’s also what the Flyers did right, and if they continue to play like they did this game, round two here they come. Ick.

*It was buzzing around at the game that John Stevens’s job could be in jeopardy depending on how the Flyers do. Unless Stevens is responsible for creating a team that is too top heavy (offense), that would be a boneheaded move by the Flyer’s organization this early (think it’s his 3rd season) in his coaching gig. Would be better to ask him what he thinks is missing for a Stanley Cup worthy team and fill the order.

Vancouver 3 : St. Louis 2

Vancouver leads series 3-0
Ah the difference power plays can make. Vancouver’s 3 goals were all on the power play (3 for 5) and St. Louis blew through 6 power plays coming up with el zippo. Lots of ping pong hockey and both teams seemed to step it up a notch overall. Let’s see if St. Louis can pull off a win on Tuesday and avoid being shut out of the series on home ice.

*Mats Sundin out this game with a groin injury.

New Jersey 3 : Carolina 2 (OT)

New Jersey leads series 2-1
I did not see this game but listened to it on NHL.com while watching the Canucks/Blues game while typing stuff…which means the game went in one ear and out the other.

*NJ Captain Jamie Langenbrunner out another game due to lower body injury.

Anaheim 3 : San Jose 2

Anaheim leads series 2-0
Attention San Jose players…the year is 2009, you are playing in the NHL quarter finals…ah ice hockey…that’s right…you are losing the series 2-0. Any of this getting through? The Ducks are very good opportunists – taking advantage of San Jose being in la la land. Either San Jose players come back into their bodies or the Duck’s quack won’t be bigger than their bite. San Jose seems numb – this would be a good time for every Shark to flush their sinuses with a TINY bit of Cayenne, then with Slippery Elm. No joke.

Cheechoo! Gesundheit!

Witness to a Tragedy : Penguins vs. Flyers

Ugh. What to say about the Penguins vs. Flyers game today. I was there, sitting up behind the Pens bench. Tragic. Maybe that's enough said for now.

St. Louis lost 3-2, and New Jersey tied with Carolina 2-2 in the third. Really looking forward to Ducks vs. Sharks later.

and this just in:
Double wammy - Boston's Milan Lucic suspended 1 game for wacking Montreal's Maxim Lapierre in the side of the face/head with his stick. Lucic followed his hit with stick with his fist. That had to hurt. Well deserved suspension.

Here are some pictures from the game. Click on picture to enlarge. Be back for games summary later on.








and my favorite! #13

Playoffs Preview: Sunday, April 19

Penguins @ Flyers: PIT leads 2-0

The Penguins are going strong right now, while the Flyers just look as though they want to stop playing. Perhaps a change of scenery will do them good though, especially in their home building where the fans are completely raucous. Biron's been hammered a bit by the potent Penguins offense, which is not only Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby (read: Guerin scored the OT winner in Game 2), but he might be able to feed off the energy in the Wachovia Center today.

Vancouver @ St. Louis: VAN leads 2-0

I saw the second game of this series, and although Chris Mason is doing everything he can to keep the puck out of the net, he is not getting much help. Meanwhile, the Canucks have a great amount of energy and a complete brick wall in net by the name of Roberto Luongo. Although traveling into enemy territory today, I would expect the Blues to have their work cut out for them right now.

New Jersey @ Carolina: series tied, 1-1

Okay, so I didn't expect Carolina to come back and tie the series. But there's still an awful lot for them to do now- and they will be happy to hear that captain Jamie Langenbrunner will not be on the ice for Games 3 and 4 due to a lower body injury. That will definitely throw off the chemistry a bit, not only on his line, but on the other lines as Brent Sutter now has to do some juggling. we'll see how that pans out.

Anaheim @ San Jose: ANA leads, 1-0

Yowza! Who saw that coming? Jonas Hiller must be a hell of a goalie- although I didn't see it, I can only judge from the recaps on nhl.com. But a 2-to-1 edge in shots for SJ, and you still manage to shut out the President's Trophy winners? That is pure amazement. Even so, don't expect the Sharks to take it lying down- they will find a way to battle back, and Anaheim must be ready.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!