In a remarkable turn of events that highlights a potential lack-of-parity that's beginning to arise, the four remaining teams in the hunt for the Stanley Cup Finals are the same four teams that lifted the Stanley Cup each in the last four seasons.
(a bit of trivia: this is the first time this has happened since 1984 when the Islanders were in the conference finals (the Islanders had won the Stanley Cup the previous four years!))
But I'll save the lack-of-parity discussion for some other time because right now we have 2 incredible series to break down.
One thing that we were sure of going into this season was that we'd see some sloppy hockey. With a shorter season, late start, and a condensed schedule it was guaranteed that the players were not going to be ready for the physical demands that were necessary.
Especially for a team who stresses an all out style of play.
This 2012-2013 campaign should have been a free ride for several coaches in the NHL. John Tortorella being one of them.
Now Ranger fans were starting to call for Tortorella's head at the beginning of the Washington series after they went down 2 games. But Tortorella got the team going again and came back to win the series in 7. Torts got 0 credit for the comeback.
Then the Rangers were completely flat for five games with Boston and that was that.
Let's look at some statistics, shall we?
In the twelve years under GM Glen Sather, the Rangers have just five playoff victories. Does anyone have any guesses who has the majority of those?
That's right, John Tortorella. With 3 series victories in the last two years. Nobody else has brought even close to the amount of success as Torts has.
Not to mention, his team finished atop the entire Eastern Conference last season.
so long
So what changed in just one year? The Ranger fans went from loving the brutally honest coach to hating him in just one season.
The Rangers still made the playoffs and advanced to the next round after a very solid season. Sure, they underperformed considering the expectations, but then again, the expectations were Stanley Cup or bust this year. How can you blame Tortorella for Richards completely disappearing in the postseason or for Nash to not play like what he is worth.
You see, this season was torture for a Rangers team who have to go all out every game. Their style of hockey DEMANDS great conditioning and practice, two things the Rangers admittedly were missing. Brian Boyle said so himself after they got eliminated that there were guys on the Rangers who were out of shape for much of the year. John Tortorella cannot coach the way he wants with a team like that.
So do the Rangers just can a guy for one year not panning out the way they planned, even if it wasn't a disaster of a season?
I kind of assume that the Rangers just wanted a new guy. Right now there are some available coachs that any team wouldn't mind taking. Alain Vigneault, former Vancouver coach, is a hot commodity being sought after by several teams, as is Lindy Ruff. Dave Tippet may also be available for some teams.
So I hate to say the Rangers are making a mistake here. As a Devils fan, I hate John Tortorella. As a hockey fan, I think he might be one of the best options for the Rangers. And you can ask any 2012 Ranger fan to back me up.
The EA Sports NHL series has been regarded as not only the best sports games on the market but one of the best games around. The yearly game is constantly improving software, graphics, and gameplay to make the games more realistic and more enjoyable for the gamer.
The game has also done a fine job in selecting the cover athlete over the years. They select a player who is regarded as one of the best and most exciting in the game. They take this player and put a great action shot of him on the cover, concisely displaying what the game holds.
Last year, they began a new way to pick the cover athlete. They let the fans decide.
They had voting online in a bracket format and they let the fans pick who advanced.
And that gave us this cover for NHL 13:
The fans pulled through and the voting system was deemed a success, seeing how Giroux was regarded as one of the best players in the league.
So they tried it again this year with a special feature "Twitter Vote Thursdays" and they put the fans to it again.
The finalists:
Yes, that is Martin Brodeur and Sergei Bobrovsky, duking it out for the honour of being the NHL 14 Cover athlete.
Brodeur beat Anze Kopitar, James van Riemsdyk, and Pavel Datsyuk and Bobrovsky defeated Patrick Sharp, Taylor Hall, and John Tavares.
So they both started out against an underrated superstar who gets overshadowed by his surroundings/where he plays (Kopitar/Sharp), went up against a player who plays in Canada who got a ton of votes from the home fans (JVR/Hall), and finally pulled the upset against that one player who's REALLY good and that everyone loves (Datsyuk/Tavares).
Both are 4 seeds.
Both are goalies who missed the playoffs.
The difference here is, do we go with the young goalie who struggled in the past but was great this year or do we go with the veteran who's wonderful career is coming to an end.
Bobs was sick this year and almost got into the postseason which would have been huge for Columbus and the fans. Brodeur missed a lot of the season and, although the team stunk while he was out, wasn't good enough at the end to push them in.
Here's where it gets interesting though.
Sergei Bobrovsky is a free agent this summer and, although he might stay in Columbus, a lot of teams are going after. As far as I know, there has not been an NHL cover athlete who was on a different team when the game came out. I recall the craziness when Brett Favre was on the cover of Madden as a Packers quarterback even though he was acquired by the Jets during the offseason.
But it gets weirder because, as Puck Daddy noted, SKA Saint Petersburg of the KHL is going after Bobs also. Imagine having a cover athlete with that player not in the league anymore. How can he possibly represent the NHL while playing in the KHL?
It'll definitely be interesting to see.
And in case anyone is wondering about the cover curse, the last goalie who was on the cover (John Vanbiesbrouck of the Florida Panthers in 1997) posted great numbers. 27-19-10 with a 2.29 GAA and a .919 SV% and received the most votes out of any Eastern Conference player for the All Star game.
Personally, I think Marty will got the nod. His career numbers are incredible, he's liked by 29 NHL teams, and his social media has been gathering votes every second.
On the other hand, there's something inside me that wants Bobrovsky to win. He'll finally be "On the Case"
I hate the New York Rangers with all my might. I enjoy seeing them lose. I enjoy seeing their fans upset. I enjoyed beating them last year (I had to put that in here)
That makes what I'm about to do very difficult for me.
Last year, the Devils were down 3 games to none in the Stanley Cup Finals against the unstoppable, and eventual Stanley Cup champions, Los Angeles Kings.
The Devils did not make it all the way to game 7, but the fight they displayed was definitely something we all can learn from.
It's a difficult mountain to climb. Only 3 teams have done it. The '42 Maple Leafs, the '75 Islanders, and the '10 Flyers were the only ones to accomplish the feat, and there's a reason for that. It's just not expected.
At the time, I was typing away, foolishly filling myself with hope. After their game 4 win, the idea was already strong in my head. And that continued especially after winning game 5.
The Rangers just won game 4 and it's already easy to recognise the similarities of the 2 series.
The Devils first 3 losses consisted of 2 overtime games and one game they got blown out.
The Rangers had 2 one goal losses (one of them in OT) and one game they got blown out.
Game 4 for each was an intense battle of nerves where the rookie who has a knack for playoff hockey shows up again to save the day. Henrique with the game winner with 4 minutes to go in the third and Chris Kreider with the overtime winner.
Same. Exact. Storyline. (aside from home ice advantage. We'll get to that later)
So, as a fan who went through this emotional roller coaster, I will give you some tips.
First, I'll give you the small things the Rangers must do to keep it going.
Then I'll give you advice on how to not go criminally insane during this stretch.
So appreciate this, because honest to god, I hope the Bruins win game 5.
But here's what the Rangers gotta do.
It has come to my attention that the NHL is continuously growing and, thus, gaining new viewers.
I'm the first one to admit that it must be hard to adapt to a new and exciting sport so I'm gonna try to help the newbies out with a list of things to do and not to do during the NHL playoffs, y'know, to make things easier.
Do's:
Do mute Pierre McGuire every time he opens his mouth
Trust me on this one. It'll give you less headaches. Do watch games in your favourite team's jersey for good luck
Sometimes a good superstition can spring a long playoff run. Do cry whenever you see a CBC intro
How can you not?Best vids around.
Do follow @DownGoesBrown on Twitter
For the best tweets around during the postseason. Except for after the Leafs loss. That was pretty awkward. Do feel bad for the goalies going against the Penguins powerplay
32.3%. 32.3 freakin' percent. Doget lost in Henrik Lundqvist's eyes
Again. How can you not?
Do wonder who thought Pierre McGuire was a good man for an announcing job
Also why he's on for the playoffs... Don'ts:
Don't be surprised if forward Raffi Torres gets suspended for a hit to the head
It's essentially an annual event.
Don't watch the NBA playoffs
I promise you the Heat will win.
Don't make the whole world hate you
This tip would have helped this Toronto fan.
Don't yell shoot on when your team is on the powerplay
They're professional NHL players who practice the powerplay everyday. Also, they probably don't have a shooting angle anyway.
*Exception: Ranger fans. They have every right to.
Don't make facebook posts after every goal
Either all your friends are watching or nobody cares. I don't need 30 posts telling me that Ryan Callahan scored. Don't ask a Maple Leafs fan why they aren't in the playoffs anymore Too soon.
Don't resort to crack if your team loses
Especially if you're a Mayor
Don't sarcastically chant the opposing goaltenders name when they're shutting you out
After a goal, I understand. But in the third period when he's stopped 40 out of 41 shots, you're in no position to do so. Don't do school work
I don't even have to write this one out. No time to do it anyway.
Don't blame a loss on a league's conspiracy against your team
We've all heard it before. What makes you so special?
So that's more or less all you need to know about watching playoff hockey.
So empty your DVR, crack open a beer or two, and enjoy the next few weeks.
After a crazy first round, the teams don't exactly have much time to regroup as the second round starts literally the next night. So teams need to regroup as quickly as possible. For some teams it just means resting up. For others it means working up a new game plan. Let's take a look at the matchups.
In a do or die game 7, the rule is to expect the unexpected. The Maple Leafs had years of shame and frustration they had to shake off while the Bruins were trying desperately not to blow a 3-1 series lead.
Who woulda thought, however, that in front of a packed house in the TD Garden, it would be Toronto to go ahead 4-1 and controlling the play.
Yes, with 2 goals by defenseman Cody Franson and helpers by Kessel from Kadri and vice versa, it seemed Toronto was finally going to break out of their slump and cruise to a game 7 victory against their much heated rivals. Even after a Nathan Horton goal cut the lead to 2, things looked pretty grim for the Boston faithful.
In the final few minutes, Bruin fans were parading out of the arena, expecting the Bruins to crumble.
They didn't.
With no more than a minute and a half left, Milan Lucic tipped the puck in as the extra attacker to make it a one goal game (something he also did about 24 hours earlier).
At that point, things started to turn. You sensed the nervous feeling at one end of the ice with the spark of hope going on at the other.
The next play happened pretty quickly. Bruins got the puck deep. Rask went back to the bench. Then the Bruins got the puck and set up. And that's when you knew what was going to happen next.
And because I like talking about them, I figured the Hockey Gods had a hand in this one.
We were either going to see the Maple Leafs win this in overtime, making this win ever so sweet, not only giving the Bruins hope and taking it away, but showing resiliency.
Or
We were going to see the Bruins finish the comeback, continuing the emotional train ride Boston has been in the past few weeks.
And it was all in the Hockey God's hands.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is the look of disappointment
A little over five minutes into the extra frame, the Bruins put the game to bed, once and for all.
A couple of shots, a mad scramble, a rebound off of a Maple Leafs' stick, and Patrice Bergeron buries the biscuit into the back of the net, sending the Bruins fans (who stayed) home happy and the many up in Toronto into a state of shock.
So there you have it. One of the best games you will see for another few years, at least.
But this brings up the question.
Was this the Maple Leafs choking on the biggest stage after finally making it to the playoffs or is this the experienced Bruins playing until the final buzzer, never giving up hope. Did James Reimer forget how to stop a puck or did the Bruins' sticks finally find some twine.
And if you think it's the former, I think you're crazy.
Take a step back and ask yourself this.
At the beginning of the season, did you see the Maple Leafs making the playoffs? Did you think they could possibly string together a fine season and get into the postseason for the first time since 2004, let alone the 5 seed in the east?
Now go back a couple of weeks. Toronto's matched up with Boston in the first round. Did you honestly think the young Leafs' team can beat, or even contend with the Bruins in a playoff round? I sure as hell didn't.
Well the Leafs quieted us all with their magical, short-lived playoff run. Not many teams can keep up with the Bruins for 7 games.
And the only thing that stopped the Leafs from actually winning this thing was 10:42 and Patrice Bergeron.
This year's first round was a classic. Every night there seemed to be a slew of great games. We saw big hits, flashy moves, and fast paced, back and forth hockey. There was blood spilled and teeth pulled. But with two game 7's still left to be played, it seems like the hecticness of the first round is coming to an end. So let's take a look at some of the things that made this round special.
In a season where literally anything was possible, hockey
fans were given the unfathomable. It was a season where teams sprung up out of
nowhere to make the playoffs and a season where sure-fire playoff teams had
struggling points. We saw an unimaginable points streak by the Blackhawks and
saw an incredible turnaround by the Washington Capitals. We saw the Red Wings
almost miss the playoffs in the first time in 22 years as the Blue Jackets
threatened to steal a playoff spot in the West. And, of course, we saw the
Islanders and Maple Leafs, two cursed franchises, make the playoffs.
The storylines for this shortened season were endless and in the last couple of
months, we have 16 teams who will battle for the ultimate prize.
These first round matchups should give us some good hockey
so let's jump in.
(a bit of trivia: this is the first time this has happened since 1984 when the Islanders were in the conference finals (the Islanders had won the Stanley Cup the previous four years!)) 
