Well last night we saw the Sharks beating the Red Wings in overtime. This was the 20th time a 2011 playoff game went into the sudden death frame. This is the third time in NHL playoff history that there were 20 or more overtime games in the first 2 rounds of the post season (there were 23 in 2001, and 21 in 2003). Unfortunately, I only predict there'll be only 1 or 2 more overtime games this postseason. With 1 series always completed, and 2 more with one team leading 3-0, It's unlikely that there will be too many more opportunities to see an overtime game. So I think there will be 22 overtimes at the end of the second round; 1 off from the record. This happened in the first round as well when there were 14 overtime games while the record for most in the first round was 15. These playoffs blow (this last line should be read with a hint of sarcasm).
Also, I just want to point out that the GM of the Capitals, Ted Leonsis, announced last night that they will NOT be firing coach Bruce Boudreau. People believed that had the Capitals lost last night, that would be the end of Bruce's coaching job in D.C. but Leonsis simply put it, "I expect him to be back. He's a good coach." Which is true. Boudreau joined the Caps in the '07-'08 season when they were first overall in the Southeast Division and the 3rd seeded team in the east. But they went quick and lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in a 7 game series and left after the first round. Next season, the Caps were again first in the Southeast Division and this time 2nd overall in the East. They were finally able to get past the first round when they beat the New York Rangers in an exciting 7 game series. That lead them to the second round where they faced the Pittsburgh Penguins. After a back-and-forth, exciting series, the Penguins romped them in game 7 and the Capitals were eliminated from playoff contention yet again (and the Penguins went on to win the Cup that year). Next year, things looked better than ever. Not only did they win their conference again, but they were the best team in the league points-wise in the regular season. The top seeded Capitals felt ready to exercise their demons this year and go all the way. In the first round though, they met Jaroslav Halak and the opportunistic Montreal Canadiens. The Habs scratched and fought their way to a 7 game series and were able to beat the Caps in Washington in game 7 and the Caps were gone just like that. This year, for the 4th time in a row (all under Boudreau) they won the Southeast AND they won the entire eastern conference. After beating the Rangers in the first round (the only team the "Chokers" beat in the playoffs in the first round were the Rangers whom they defeated twice) they got swept swiftly by the Tampa Bay Lightning and their 41 year old goalie http://communities.canada.com/theprovince/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Blogs.Components.WeblogFiles/kurtenblog/1488.rolo.jpg . So after 4 years in a row of showing regular season promise, the Capitals choked under Boudreau in the playoffs. So clearly there has to be a change in the team and Leonsis doesn't think it's the coach. They already went out and got a good goalie in Michal Neuvirth so it's going to be a busy offseason for Leonsis and the coaching staff as they try to figure this stuff out.
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