Stanley Cup Roundup*

As always, there are some seriously good series being played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. All Original Six teams made the playoffs, the top two markets in the country (New York, LA) each have two teams in the mix, Canada was well-represented, and there are no teams from truly poor hockey markets like Phoenix or Nashville. And we're already rid of the Vancouver Canucks.

Sharks 4, Canucks 3 (OT) - Sharks win series 4-0

Vancouver went with Cory Schneider and it didn't really work out. This was a matchup between teams that perennially choke in the playoffs, so one of them had to advance and one had to be embarrassed. I had to post a pic of a hot girl in Vancouver colors, since I won't have a chance to post anymore in the upcoming weeks.

Blackhawks 3, Wild 0 - Blackhawks lead series 3-1

Chicago only lost 7 games in regulation this season, and Minnesota doesn't appear to be much of a match for them. The Wild aren't healthy and the Blackhawks have Patrick Sharp, who had 2 goals in the game and has 4 in the series.

Senators 3, Canadiens 2 (OT) - Senators lead series 3-1

Only 8 penalty minutes in this game. There were about 30 times as many penalty minutes in the previous game. Montreal got conservative in the 3rd period and it screwed them. Ottawa grinded out a pair of goals. Carey Price appeared to hurt his groin at the end of the 3rd and backup Peter Budaj allowed the Kyle Turris game-winner. Ottawa scares me more than any other team in the East. They're getting 110% from their talent and they've been working their asses off all season. Every game they played against the Bruins was close and they got better and better against the B's as the season progressed.

Islanders 6, Penguins 4 - Series tied 2-2

The Penguins have the best skaters in the NHL. No doubt about it. They're stacked. Unfortunately, their goalie is Marc-Andre Fleury. He allowed 6 goals on 24 shots. One fourth of the shots on goal went by him. And some of them were hideous. He's allowed 14 goals in the last 3 games, and Vokoun might get the start in Game 5.

Tonight's games...

7:00pm - Bruins @ Maple Leafs - Bruins lead series 2-1 - NESN/NHL Network
The Bruins need to remain consistent. Tonight they have an opportunity to start burying Toronto's grave. They also have an opportunity to give Toronto a second life.

7:30pm - Capitals @ Rangers - Capitals lead series 2-1 - NBC Sports
The Rangers were up against it and Game 3 and came through. Washington looks good, they have Ovechkin, they have depth, and the Rangers don't seem to know how to win playoff series. However, the Caps will have to find another gear to knock them out.

9:00pm - Kings @ Blues - Series tied 2-2 - CNBC
The defending Champions don't look as sharp as they did last year. I haven't seen much of this series but St. Louis has looked good from what I have seen. And Jonathan Quick has looked human.

10:00pm - Red Wings @ Ducks - Series tied 2-2 - NBC Sports
This series is a big reason why Detroit will be moving to the Eastern Conference. A fanbase in the Eastern Time zone is forced to watch playoff games at 10:00pm. On weeknights. Not good for business. One good thing is if Detroit wins they could face Midwest rival Chicago in the next round. And if Anaheim wins they could face California rival LA.

Stanley Cup Playoffs: Day 12*

Some series came to an end, others were extended. The violence has subsided a bit, so now we can enjoy actual hockey.

PANTHERS 3, DEVILS 0 - (Panthers lead series 3-2)

Jose Theodore is back in net for Florida, and it worked out pretty well for the Panthers. He stopped all 30 shots he faced. The Panthers are on the verge of making everyone who was clamoring for changes in the playoff system look like fools.

Game 6 Tuesday night in Jersey.

SENATORS 2, RANGERS 0 - (Senators lead series 3-2)
Jason Spezza is the latest Senator to pick up the slack left by the absence of Daniel Alfredsson. He scored his first and second goals of the series in this game. Oh, and Craig Anderson stopped 41 shots. The Rangers were a favorite to win The Cup, and now they're facing elimination.

Game 6 tonight in Ottawa.

BLUES 3, SHARKS 1 - (Blues win series 4-1)

The Sharks were a sexy upset pick by the experts. The experts forgot that they have Joe Thornton along with goaltending issues. The Blues scored three goals in the 3rd and fully demonstrated how and why they finished the regular season with 109 points.

BLACKHAWKS 2, COYOTES 1 (OT) - (Coyotes lead series 3-2)

All five games in this series have gone into Overtime. That's ridiculous.

Game 6 tonight in Chicago.

FLYERS 5, PENGUINS 1 - (Flyers win series 4-2)

Thank God Pittsburgh is eliminated. The craniums of the remaining playoff teams are much safer thanks to their elimination. And thank God I can stop rooting for the Flyers. Danny Briere and Claude Giroux ran this series. Briere scored 5 times, Giroux scored 6 times. Sidney "Canada's Golden Boy" Crosby had 8 points in this series. And was -3 in this game. Fuck off, Penguins.

KINGS 2, CANUCKS 1 (OT) - (Kings win series 4-2)

Give Vancouver another excuse to tear apart their own city. The Canucks once again choked in the playoffs. This is a common theme with them. They can't just blame their goalie anymore, as Schneider did pretty well for himself. Maybe having a first line consisting of soft Swedes that fold faster than Ikea furniture is the problem. Maybe having guys like Burrows and Lapierre is the problem. Maybe defensemen should play defense. I don't know. I don't care. Goodbye, Vancouver.

A #8 seed beats a #1 seed in 5 games.

Tonight's games:
7:00pm - Rangers @ Senators - NBC Sports - Senators lead 3-2
9:00pm - Coyotes @ Blackhawks - CNBC - Coyotes lead series 3-2

Stanley Cup Playoffs: Day 6*

Tempers are flaring in just about every series. These games are close, physical, and every inch is being fought for. Best time of the year.

RANGERS 1, SENATORS 0 - (Rangers lead series 2-1)
Henrik Lundqvist was a wall, stopping all 39 shots he faced. With no Alfredsson, the Senators have no offense. And no chance of winning this series. The NHL suspended Carl Hagelin 3 games for the hit that concussed Alfredsson, but Hagelin may have won the series with that hit. Alfredsson is listed as day-to-day but if he doesn't come back, the Senator's won't either.

Game 4 Wednesday night in Ottawa.

BRUINS 4, CAPITALS 3 - (Bruins lead series 2-1)

Speaking of suspensions, it'll be interesting to see if Nicklas Backstrom gets one for cross-checking Rich Peverley's face at the end of last night's game. Backstrom was issued a 10 minute match penalty for "deliberate injury" and given the timing and nature of the penalty, I think at least a 1 game ban is in order.

Game 4 Thursday night in D.C.

BLUES 4, SHARKS 3 - (Blues lead series 2-1)

This game wasn't as close as the score might suggest. St. Louis entered the 3rd period with a 3-1 lead and made it 4-1 in less than a minute. Joe Thornton got 2 of his 3 assists on late goals and was awarded #2 star of the game in a token gesture of homerism. The Blues scored 3 of their 4 goals on the Power Play. They've scored 5 PP goals in the series, and limited the Sharks to just 2.

Game 4 Thursday night in San Jose.

Tonight's games:
7:00pm - Panthers @ Devils - NHL Network - Series tied 1-1
7:30pm - Predators @ Red Wings - NBC Sports - Predators lead 2-1
9:00pm - Coyotes @ Blackhawks - CNBC - Series tied 1-1

Stanley Cup Preview: Sharks vs. Blues*

This is a new role for both teams. The Sharks are the 7th seed underdogs and the Blues have the 2nd best record in the NHL.

People think this is the recipe for an upset. The Sharks have no pressure on them, they have some considerable playoff experience, and nobody really knows much about the St. Louis Blues.

The Blues have an excellent tandem of goalies in Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott. They're the two biggest reasons the Blues allowed a mere 165 goals this season (2.01 per game). The next best were the LA Kings at 179 (2.18 per game).

The Blues are also one of two NHL teams with 30+ home wins. The other being the Red Wings, who had a losing road record. The Sharks were a .500 team on the road. It'll be tough for them to win games in Missouri.

And even though the Sharks have won a few series the past few seasons, any team with Joe Thornton carries that expectation of disappointment.

Furthermore, Antti Niemi has struggled to recapture his Cup winning form.

One thing that gives me doubts about St. Louis is that they don't have one true goalie. Two goalies works well in the regular season, but in the playoffs you have to stick to one guy. If I were a betting man, I'd stay away from this series, or even place a few bucks on the Sharks as an underdog.

Blues in 7.

Series schedule:
1: Thursday 4/12 - 7:30pm - SJ @ StL - CNBC
2: Saturday 4/14 - 7:30pm - SJ @ StL - CNBC
3: Monday 4/16 - 10:00pm - StL @ SJ - NBC Sports
4: Thursday 4/19 - 10:30pm - StL @ SJ - NBC Sports
5: Saturday 4/21 - 7:30pm - SJ @ StL - CNBC
6: Monday 4/23 - tba - StL @ SJ - tba
7: Wednesday 4/25 - tba - SJ @ StL tba

Bruins Giveaway a Game

The good news is that the mistakes that the Bruins made are easily fixed. That's also what makes them so frustrating to watch. San Jose came into Boston after playing 65 minutes in New Jersey the night before. The Bruins should have tried to grind a game out, play mistake free, and hope to outplay and outwork the Sharks in the 3rd. Instead, they made some stupid mistakes (especially David Krejci) early on and were playing catch-up hockey most of the night.

Pavelski's goal 72 seconds into the game was assisted by Joe Thornton, but Krejci deserved the second assist. He surrendered the puck in the Neutral Zone with a careless pass that had no chance of not being a turnover.

San Jose's second goal came when Krejci didn't cover the slot in front of Thomas. Instead, he kind of joined a 2-on-2 scrum for the puck on the boards behind the net (I say "kind of" because he didn't really do anything to help the two Bruins defensemen engaged). This left Logan Couture uncovered in front, and when the Sharks won the board battle, Couture made the Bruins pay for Krejci's absentmindedness.

I criticize Krejci for not being much of a scorer. The playoffs silenced that critique. But he's praised for his puck-possession skills. Turnovers and defensive mistakes are acceptable realities for guys who can score 40 goals. For someone who struggles to reach 20 goals, and who is supposed to do the smart, little things, Krejci's mistakes were intolerable.

He's -5 on the season and that's one of the reasons he's been taken off the top line. He's better than this. He'll play better.

The Bruins' play improved in the late parts of the 2nd and scored twice in the 3rd. Lucic's goal was pure effort and muscle. Seguin's goal was a bit cleaner, but still assisted by the strength of Lucic and Kelly. I'm liking the Lucic-Kelly-Seguin line.

But the Sharks got the game-winner thanks to a faceoff win, some food forechecking, and a bit of indecisiveness from Steve Kampfer.

The Bruins are successful when they do the little things right. ALL the little things. That's why they won the Cup, that's why they had a good start to the 3rd period. Overall in the game, though, the Bruins turned the puck over 23 times (San Jose had 6 giveaways) and didn't complete many of their passes.

We saw this routine last year. We even saw it a few times in the playoffs. The Bruins fell behind to Montreal and Vancouver because they didn't take care of the puck. This team can play better than this and I'm sure within the remaining 74 games, they will.

Big game Thursday as the Habs come to town. Montreal is 1-4-2 and this is a good chance to keep a divisional foe down.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

STANLEY CUP ROUNDUP: DAY 7*

All 16 teams remain alive, though some are barely clinging to life. The quality of hockey seems to increase every game, and as teams start to face elimination, we're seeing that desperate ferocity that makes for really entertaining hockey.

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS 7, VANCOUVER CANUCKS 2
Vancouver leads series 3-1

The Hawks staved off elimination with an offensive onslaught against a sluggish Vancouver team. Chicago's defensemen got involved in the offense, as both Duncan Keith and Brian Campbell scored. The Blackhawks power play, which helped propel them past Vancouver in last year's playoffs, also woke up, scoring 2 goals. This series hadn't been as brutally violent as last year's, until the 3rd period. 92 penalty minutes were issued in that frame, including six misconducts. Game 5 should be exciting.

SAN JOSE SHARKS 6, LA KINGS 5 (OT)
San Jose leads series 2-1

44 seconds into the 2nd period, the Kings scored to make it 4-0. The Sharks pulled Niemi, and looked dead. But by the end of the period, it was 5-5. Devin Setoguchi scored the OT game-winner and the Sharks completed a monumental comeback, the likes of which has only happened 4 times in Stanley Cup history. That's why the NHL Playoffs are so exciting. One btilliant period of hockey could be the difference in this series. As the Sox are out West this week, do yourself a favor and watch bits of Game 4 of this series on Thursday night while the Sox game is in a commercial break.

Tonight's games:
7:00 PM - Capitals @ Rangers (Washington leads series 2-1) - Versus
7:00 PM - Penguins @ Lightning (Pittsburgh leads series 2-1)
7:30 PM - Flyers @ Sabres (Philadelphia leads series 2-1)
8:30 PM - Ducks @ Predators (Nashville leads series 2-1)
10:30 PM - Red Wings @ Coyotes (Detroit leads series 3-0) - Versus

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS: WEST PREVIEW*

We don't get to see the Western Conference teams very often in Boston. It's a shame that we play Florida and Atlanta far more often than Detroit, Chicago, Vancouver, or even San Jose.

#1 VANCOUVER CANUCKS vs. #8 CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
The defending champion Hawks were victimized by the salary cap in the off-season, which I think will do the NHL more long-term harm than good, and that's why they barely made it in as an 8 seed. Vancouver have been electric all year. #1 in goals scored, goals against, power play, and #3 in penalty kill. The Sedin-Samuellson line totaled 78 goals. Then Ryan Kesler added 41 more from the 2nd line. Luongo had a brilliant year, and on paper, the Canucks have to be favorites to win it all. The Hawks also boast plenty of weapons, but their goaltending is untried, and their defense is suspect. Vancouver wins in 6 high scoring games.

#2 SAN JOSE SHARKS vs. #7 LOS ANGELES KINGS
The Pacific Division sent 4 teams to the postseason and these are two of them. They split the season series 3-3. And while San Jose has dangerous scorers like Marleau, Thornton, Pavelski, Heatley, and 22 year old Logan Couture (who scored 32 goals), I have my doubts. The Sharks are perennial postseason failures. Their offense depends a great deal on the power play, and LA has an excellent penalty kill. The Kings also have Jonathan Quick. I don't think LA has the offense to go very far, but they do have enough defense to stop San Jose. Kings in 7.

#3 DETROIT RED WINGS vs. #6 PHOENIX COYOTES
Detroit made the playoffs for the 18th straight season. They can score, but their defense and goaltending is shaky. Zetterberg's health is a question mark, but the Wings can deploy plenty of other weapons. Not to mention a roll call of strong, experienced forwards. Datsyuk, Franzen, Cleary, Bertuzzi, Draper. And it's the same on defense. Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronwall, Stuart. Phoenix doesn't have many recognizable skaters. Even goalie Ilya Bryzgalov had an off year. Phoenix are solid 5-on-5, but have an anemic power play and a gaping penalty kill. That will be their undoing. Detroit wins in 5.

#4 ANAHEIM DUCKS vs. #5 NASHVILLE PREDATORS
The Predators were 3rd in goals against, and 21st in attendance. The Ducks had the 3rd best power play, and were 26th in attendance. Two of the best players in the NHL will duel each other in this series. And they'll finally be able to do it in front of full houses. Anaheim's Corey Perry scored 50 goals, with 48 assists. Nashville's Pekka Rinne had a 2.12 GAA and a .930 SV%. The Ducks have some weapons beside Perry, including George Parros' bristling black mustache.

But Anaheim's offensive output depends too much on getting power play points. The Predators also have Shea Weber, a burly defenseman who also scored 16 times this year. I'm picking Rinne and the Preds in 6.

It's difficult to not pick Detroit to win the West. But they're old. They don't have the goaltending. I think this is finally the year for Vancouver to shine and go all the way to the finals.

Tonight's games:
7:00 PM - Red Wings @ Coyotes - Versus
7:00 PM - Lightning @ Penguins
7:30 PM - Rangers @ Capitals
10:00 PM - Blackhawks @ Canucks - Versus
10:30 PM - Predators @ Ducks

ANOTHER HANGOVER GAME

After the Bruins' hard-fought (literally) win over Dallas, you couldn't help but feel optimistic. But as they've done with frequency for the past 3 years, the B's followed a strong performance with a flat one.

They absolutely dominated the Stars, and if not for Rask and the refs, the score would have been closer to 8-1 as opposed to 6-3. Then they give us 60 minutes of mediocrity against San Jose. They managed 26 shots on Niemi, very few of which came from good scoring positions. The thing about Niemi is that he'll give up some juicy rebounds. The Bruins didn't collect any of them. Give credit to the Sharks, who usually had 4 bodies positioned around Niemi at all times, and clearing those rebounds. They outmanned and outmuscled the Bruins down low.

They outmuscled the Bruins everywhere, and that's been a repetitive theme of Sharks/Bruins games. The Sharks are bigger, they skate with power, they win battles.

The Bruins had 4 power plays, and failed to get a shot on goal for 3 of them. That's simply sad.

Krejci played like an utter turd. I don't know how he received the 3rd Star. Maybe it was a typo. Maybe it was a joke. I wouldn't be surprised if I heard he played the game drunk, he was that careless with the puck. It was the worst game I've seen him play. He was by far the worst player on the ice. His shorthanded foolishness cost the Bruins a goal, and who knows how many scoring chances he cost Lucic and Horton with his giveaways.

It's the same old story with this team. Ups and downs. Fighting for 60 minutes, then a few days later relaxing for 60. Playing with intensity and focus, then making stupid mistakes. And simple adjustments fail to be made during the game. Niemi gives up rebounds, so why not try some bad angle shots? Bad angle shot=good angle rebound, as this kindergarten level diagram illustrates:

I just don't expect much from this team. Not with these same repeating lapses in focus and intensity. Not with this coach. This cast of characters. This GM. Guys like Thomas, Lucic, and now Bergeron and Marchand have carried this team. Along with the defense. But they've been undermined by the likes of Michael Ryder, Blake Wheeler, Nathan Horton, and Claude Julien.

We have a good team in Boston, but they're too good at self-sabotaging themselves.

A few days off, then a short but tough stretch of games. The Bruins are 2 points ahead of Montreal and host them Wednesday night. Then it's a home and home with Detroit, the #2 team in the West. Time for the B's to bring their A Game.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

NHL PLAYOFF PREVIEW: WESTERN CONFERENCE*

The West is the best, it's also the deepest. 88 points got Philly and Montreal playoff spots in the East. Out West, it gets you tied for 11th with Dallas.

#1 SAN JOSE SHARKS vs. #8 COLORADO AVALANCHE
The Sharks won the Western Conference's regular season again, and hope to have better results than last year. And they will. Colorado has been slipping - like a slow avalanche - since the Olympic break. They were 8-10-3 down that stretch. They were 35-20-6 before the stretch. They're young and exuberant, but also inexperienced and rough around the edges. They score a lot of goals, but they allow a lot. And San Jose has some scorers in Marleau (44 goals), Heatly (39 goals), and Thornton (69 assists).

Sharks in 5.



#2 CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS vs. #7 NASHVILLE PREDATORS
Yes, Nashville has a team, and they've made the playoffs for the 5th time in franchise history. But they've never advanced beyond the 1st round. Philosophical question: if a city has a hockey team, and nobody in the city goes to the games, does the team exist? The Preds may have finished 7th in the Western Conference, but they were 26th in the NHL in attendance.

The Blackahwsk are a fun team to watch. They gained some experience in last year's playoffs, and they also gained Marian Hossa. They scored the 3rd most goals, and allowed the 5th fewest. They beat Nashville 4 out of 6. They have multiple threats in guys like Patrck Kane, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp, Hossa, Kris Versteeg, and an arsenal of active defensemen. Nashville has 30 goal scorer Patric Hornqvist. That's about it.

Chicago in 4.



#3 VANCOUVER CANUCKS vs. #6 LOS ANGELES KINGS
Don't look past the Kings, an all-around steady team. Not too strong, but few glaring weaknesses. 7th in goals for, 10th in goals against. The playoffs are more about exposing an opponents' weakness, as opposed to implementing your own strengths. And the Kings just don't have many holes.

The Canucks have the NHL's points leader in Henrik Sedin (29 goals, 83 assists), his twin Daniel (29-56), Alex Burrows (35 goals), Mikael Samuelsson (30 goals) and then some. But goalie Roberto Luongo has seen better days. As much as I want to pick Vancouver, I have to pick the steady tortoise to defeat the hare.

Kings in 7.



#4 PHOENIX COYOTES vs. #5 DETROIT RED WINGS
Phoenix is another city unworthy of a hockey team. 3rd best record in the West, 4th best record in the League, and dead last 30th in attendance at 11,989. It's just a travesty that there's an NHL team in Arizona. But thankfully, they'll be eliminated by the surging Red Wings.

Detroit was 16-3-2 after the Olympic break, soaring to the 5th seed. It's as if the Hockey Gods are punishing the city of Phoenix for daring to posses the 4th seeded team in the Western Conference.

The Coyotes do have Ilya Bryzgalov, while the Red Wings have rookie Jimmy Howard. Bryzgalov has 16 career playoff starts under his belt (9-5, 1.68 GAA), Howard has 0. And that might turn this series on its head. We all know how far a hot goalie can take a team.

But I have difficulty removing my anti-Phoenix bias. I also have difficulty picking against a team that has Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Lidstrom, Holmstrom, Cleary, Draper, and Johan Franzen, whose return just so happened to coincide with Detroit's 16-3-2 run.

I'm picking Detroit in 7.