We're already done with the first round of the 2014 NHL playoffs. There were multiple crazy games and finishes and we had our fare share of great overtime contests. The bar was placed pretty high but there's reason to believe these playoffs are just going to continue to improve as it gets deeper and deeper.
This year there have been 10 multi-goal deficits erased en route to a victory. That's an incredible amount. To put things in perspective there were 8 of those in all in the 2013 playoffs. We already have 10 and it's been just one round. Teams are not giving up in games and are willing to fight till the end and that has generated many interesting series.
I predicted each series at the end of last month's post (read up on my pre-playoffs thoughts here) and let's see how I did.
ATLANTIC DIVISION
DETROIT RED WINGS VS BOSTON BRUINS
I predicted Boston in 5
Bruins won in 5
Game 1: Det 1 Bos 0
Game 2: Det 1 Bos 4
Game 3: Bos 3 Det 0
Game 4: Bos 3 Det 2 OT
Game 5: Det 2 Bos 4
Goals Leader: Pavel Datsyuk (3)
Points Leader: Patrice Bergeron (5)
Most Valuable Player: Tuukka Rask
Was sensational in net. Of goalies who played in at least 3 games, he has the best GAA (1.16) and SV% (.961). He was Boston's best player and will most likely continue this great playing.
Least Valuable Player: None found
There's not really anything to pin this loss on for Detroit. They were simply overmatched and Boston really took advantage of being the better team. They didn't let Detroit stick around. While Detroit didn't play exceptionally well, there's nobody that really disappointed.
Overview:
The series took an interesting start when goalie Jimmy Howard of Detroit posted a 25 save shutout in Boston. Everybody picked Boston to steam roll Detroit yet it suddenly looked like Detroit would make a series of this. Boston couldn't figure out a way to score and got pretty frustrated (just ask Milan Lucic).
But then game 2 happened. And it seemed that as soon as Justin Florek put the puck past Jimmy Howard after the misfire, that everybody exhaled and realised Boston was back and would cruise to a series win.
The rest of the series was pretty routine. We had heartless wrench Brad Marchand screw up his own dive. This shouldn't surprise anyone because I wrote about his terrible acting 2 YEARS AGO. Seriously.
Boston had a big comeback in game 4 (which shouldn't surprise anybody this season) in a game that both Niklas Kronwall and Pavel Datsyuk played and scored in a day after having newborn babies.
And then Boston focused on not blowing a 3-1 series lead like they did last year against Toronto. We saw Jonas Gustavsson close out the series for Detroit because of some kind of ailment to Jimmy Howard. Gustavsson couldn't pull off the upset and still remains famous solely for this 2 on 0 save during his time in Toronto.
Fun fact: Tuukka Rask finished the series with 1 point (an assist) which ranks him higher than 13 players on Detroit's roster. Ha. Haha. Hahahahahahah.
To sum it up, Detroit was doomed from the opening faceoff.
For this series in a video, watch this cute scruff between Zdeno Chara (6"9, 255 lb) and Brendan Smith (6"2, 198 lb). Overmatched from the beginning but tried his best.
Best Play of the Series:
Huge goal for Detroit late but it wasn't nearly enough. Detroit scored just 5 more times in the next four games against Rask and the Bruins. Runner up was this HUGE hit by Niklas Kronwall in game 2.
MONTREAL CANADIENS VS TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
I predicted Montreal in 6
Montreal won in 4
Game 1: Mtl 5 Tbl 4 OT
Game 2: Mtl 4 Tbl 1
Game 3: Tbl 2 Mtl 3
Game 4: Tbl 3 Mtl 4
Goals Leader: Brendan Gallagher (3)
Points Leader: P.K. Subban (5)
Most Valuable Player: Brendan Gallagher (runner up is Director of Hockey Ops in Montreal)
Was electric and was all over the ice. A very gritty player and had several clutch performances in the Habs first round.
Least Valuable Player: Ben Bishop's Right Wrist
I'm writing it now and I might write it another few times in this section. Backup goalie Anders Lindback didn't lose the series for the Tampa Bay Lightning but it would have really interesting to see what Vezina finalist Ben Bishop could have done in this series.
Overview:
The first game was really ecxiting with great back-and-forth action. It was a real shootout with Montreal controlling play but Tampa generating enough high quality chances of their own to keep things close. There was a sense for the first time the Lightning in the reigns of Steven Stamkos who took over for captain after Martin St. Louis was sent to New York at the trade deadline. He had a fantastic performance with 2 clutch goals. The game saw Montreal goalie Carey Price stop just three out of five shots in the third period forcing the game into overtime. That's when Dale Weise was left all alone in front of the net to end the night.
You may ask yourself, "Self, why were Dale Weise and Cedric Paquette on the ice in an NHL playoff overtime game?" Good question.
Great quote from Dale Weise though, who's a Montreal native, by the way, "Playing for my favourite team growing up, I've probably scored that goal a million times in my driveway. It feels good to actually do it in real life." My inner child weeps.
Rene Bourque reminded us all that he was still in the NHL with a stunning 2 goal performance in game 2.
Series shifted to Montreal where we literally saw the best pre-game intro ever. EVER.
There's a saying that there are only 2 places in the world that do ceremonies properly: the Buckingham Palace and the Bell Centre.
Goosebumps.
The Habs played off the energy of the crowd and Rene Bourque rewarded their efforts with a goal 11 seconds into the contest. There was later a controversial no-goal call on the ice that negated a goal by Tampa forward Ryan Callahan. It wasn't a big deal because it wouldn't have mattered anyway. Montreal looked very, very good.
Danny Briere scored a goal which made every hockey personality to welcome him back on Twitter and make the usual "he only performs in the playoff" observation. Briere mentioned that his late mother was a HUGE Ginette Reno fan, who now sings the anthem in the Bell Centre. Talk about good motivation.
Montreal got a powerplay with 2 minutes remaining in a tied up playoff game in Montreal by a referee from Quebec because of course and then Max Pacioretty ended it on the PP with less than a minute left.
The bottom line was that Tampa was too sloppy and had too many turnovers. Montreal took advantage.
The Lightning trailed for just 3:34 the entire series. Hmm.
Best Play of the Series:
Great creativity by Subban as he takes a couple of laps around the net before finding the wide open Gallagher who goes top shelf on Lindback. Incredible goal. But guys. I'm concerned about Ondrej Palat...
Ouch.
He wasn't the only one faked out of his skates though. Teammate Radko Gudas broke his ankles in game 1 courtesy of a slick move by Tomas Plekanec.
METROPOLITAN DIVISION
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS VS PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
I said Pittsburgh in 6
Pittsburgh won in 6
Game 1: Cbj 3 Pit 4
Game 2: Cbj 4 Pit 3 2OT
Game 3: Pit 4 Cbj 3
Game 4: Pit 3 Cbj 4 OT
Game 5: Cbj 1 Pit 3
Game 6: Pit 4 Cbj 3
Goals Leader: Jack Johnson (3)
Points Leader: Paul Martin (7)
Most Valuable Player: Paul Martin and Matt Niskanen
If someone told me before the series that this tandem would combine for 14 points in 6 games, I'd point them in the direction of the closest mental hospital. These two got the puck to the net very effectively especially on the powerplay.
Least Valuable Player: Sergei Bobrovsky
Going into the series, the Jackets NEEDED Bobrovsky to steal a game or two to keep up with the Penguins. He was their only legitimate advantage but he didn't play like it. The hard-working Columbus team was able to put up a fight but they really needed their Vezina winning goalie to steal a game when they needed it.
Overview:
Okay. First of all, the ugly mustard yellow theme the Pens fans had in the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh was terrible. This franchise had several good white-outs for the past 10 years which makes the switch very odd.
Columbus showed everyone that they were an actually good team that could compete with the Penguins when they jumped out to a 3-1 lead in game 1. Then they showed they weren't when they blew that said 2 goal lead and lost 4-3.
Now imagine that happening to both teams over 6 games and that literally explains this series.
Gibbons-mania was a thing early in game 2 before he disappeared for the rest of the series. This time it was Columbus' turn to come back from down 3-1 to win it 4-3 in double overtime courtesy of three special team goals. Ps. This was the first playoff win in Columbus history.
Columbus took the 3-1 lead in game 3 with a dominant forecheck and physical play before Sergei Bobrovsky threw it all away by surrendering three goals on consecutive shots in the third.
The Penguins changed things up by blowing a 3-0 lead instead of a 3-1 lead. Nick Foligno scored the winner on a soft wrister and followed it up with a pretty nice celly. Fun fact: somebody actually asked Foligno if he intended to shoot that puck or just dump it in on net.
That was the kind of series that goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was having.
Until game 5. Yup. Columbus technically lost their early one goal lead but Pittsburgh secured the 3-1 victory.
In game 6 the Penguins cruised to a 4-0 lead and shut the door and ended the series.
Just kidding. Columbus posted a furious comeback in the third and the game ended 4-3 with Pittsburgh eking out the win.
Evgeni Malkin finally scored in the series, scoring a hat trick in game 6. Sidney Crosby went scoreless. Five out of the six games ended with the score of 4-3 and if this series taught us anything, it's that Pittsburgh might still have some problems figuring out this whole playoff thing.
Also, the Blue Jackets proved that they're a great young team that will just get better. Ryan Johansen and Boone Jenner looked great together and this team's passion on the ice was fun to watch.
"We've got a rivalry born here between the Jackets and Penguins" said Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma. Let's hope he's right.
Best Play of the Series:
A great play by Brandon Dubinsky to maintain possesion of the puck before finding Jack "mother f'ing" Johnson who finished nicely (and look at the crowd's in that ugly rusty gold hugh. blech)
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS VS NEW YORK RANGERS
I said New York in 7
New York won in 7
Game 1: Phi 1 Nyr 4
Game 2: Phi 4 Nyr 2
Game 3: Nyr 4 Phi 1
Game 4: Nyr 1 Phi 2
Game 5: Phi 2 Nyr 4
Game 6: Nyr 2 Phi 5
Game 7: Phi 1 Nyr 2
Goals Leader: Wayne Simmonds (4)
Points Leader: Martin St. Louis (6)
Most Valuable Player: Martin St. Louis
The New York Rangers really wanted Martin St. Louis and Martin St. Louis really wanted the New York Rangers. So much so that the Rangers shipped captain Ryan Callahan and a 1st and 2nd round pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the hopes that the veteran could supply them with more offensive power for the playoff run. In 19 games playing in Ranger blue, St. Louis had just 8 points.
He really stepped up his game though in the first round, leading the team in points and has been a good leader for them as well. I guess better late than never.
Least Valuable Player: Craig Berube
I'm not really sure if there was any other choice here. The Flyers randomly looked pretty good but then they'd follow up a good effort with a really terrible game. I suppose that falls on coach Craig Berube. Also, as I'll point out later, he played 75 year old dinosaur Hal Gill in a playoff game. What a mistake.
Overview:
Before I begin I'll write that this series was by far the least fascinating. For all the hype that was built beforehand, these two being big rivals and having important games in the past few seasons, it was kind of mellow. Not an incredible amount of bad blood and that was definitely disappointing.
Game 1 was tied until a third period double minor high-sticking penalty by Philadelphia forward Jason Akeson led to 2 Ranger goals and they didn't look back.
In game 2, world class goaltender Henrik Lundqvsit was outplayed by Ray Emery(!!!)
Then of course came a great moment for hockey when Daniel Carcillo scored a big goal out of the penalty box and was given a friendly salute from the Philadelphia faithful.
Goalie Steve Mason came in in relief for Emery after missing the first two games with injuries. Rangers would carry on to victory.
In game 4, world class goaltender Henrik Lundqvsit was outplayed by Steve Mason(!!!!!!!!!!)
Now for the game the Flyers would like to have back. For some reason unbeknownst to any person other than coach Craig Berube, Hal Gill was started. Let me say this clearly. The Flyers took a breathing fossil who was scratched 76 TIMES IN THE REGULAR SEASON, and threw him into a crucial road playoff game.
And Hal Gill consequently sucked. Terribly.
This led to a game 6 performance by Wayne Simmonds that was particularly memorable.
During this whole Donald Sterling racism thing, Wayne Simmonds, former Los Angeles athlete, was asked about it. Needless to say, it was an interesting period for Simmonds but he responded in game 6 by scoring a hat trick. (Just a side note, this was the first playoff hat trick ever surrendered by the Rangers since the 2005-2006 season when New Jersey's John Madden scored 3 goals against Kevin Weekes. This isn't relevant, but I just wanted to mention that I was at that game)
Also, Hal Gill was a healthy scratch. No surprise there.
The Rangers have not won an opening round series in less than 7 games since 2008. That's a really fun fact.
The Rangers pulled through in game 7 yet again in a game that saw a rather impressive performance by goalie Steve Mason. The jury's still out if he's legitimately good or not though.
Best Play of the Series:
Mason had a very good glove all series. This was one of many big saves he made with it.
CENTRAL DIVISION
MINNESOTA WILD VS COLORADO AVALANCHE
I said Colorado in 7
Minnesota won in 7
Game 1: Min 4 Col 5 OT
Game 2: Min 2 Col 4
Game 3: Col 0 Min 1 OT
Game 4: Col 1 Min 2
Game 5: Min 3 Col 4 OT
Game 6: Col 2 Min 5
Game 7: Min 5 Col 4 OT
Goals Leader: Paul Stastny (5)
Points Leader: Zach Parise (10)
Most Valuable Player: Darcy Kuemper
It would have been easy to say Zach Parise who was a force in the opening series, but you got to hand it to Kuemper, who started game 3 with his team down 2 games to none after Ilya Bryzgalov was too shaky to continue. The 23 year old posted a .913 SV% and a 2.03 GAA and earned 3 victories for the Wild. Sure, he was a bit shaky on the road but he was great for the Wild and helped get them back in the series. He left game 7 and therefore didn't receive credit for the victory but hopefully we'll see him again soon.
Least Valuable Player: Colorado Youth
We more or less saw this in 2012 with the Florida Panthers. A group of highly skilled youngsters who at times were unstoppable but had too many inconsistencies in order to win. Florida lost in 7 to the New Jersey Devils in double overtime (woo) and the Avalanche had a similar fate. They'll definitely be back in the postseason too and there's no need to hang their heads. They were perhaps in over their heads a little bit and played fine on a big stage.
Overview:
Game 1 was the first time the whole country got to see just how good this Avs team was. Everyone heard about their speed and skill but this is the first time it was on display for everyone to see. And most people fell in love. They posted a rigorous comeback and managed to win it in overtime.
Game 2 was much of the same. Colorado kept showing what they got and America drooled over themselves at how exciting this team was.
But then they were stopped. In game 3 they hit the breaks hard. For the first time in the series, Minnesota found a way to stop Nathan Mackinnon's line. And it wasn't Zach Parise's line.
It was Matt Cooke's.
So certainly with this new found formula with Matt Cooke, the rest of the series would be a cakewalk, right?
Nevermind.
It seemed like Matt Cooke finally fell off the wagon. After not a single suspension OR MAJOR PENALTY since 2011, he slammed knees with Colorado defenseman Tyson Barrie and was suspended the rest of the series +4 more.
As for Barrie, he was done for the series, out 6 weeks with a knee injury.
As Patrick Roy said afterwards, "It was the play of the game." Barrie is Colorado's 2nd leading time on ice guy defensively so it was a huge loss, especially when you consider Barrie's potential upside.
Oh and Mikael Granlund had the overtime winner. Nice.
Game 4 was legit all Minnesota. There has not been a more dominant performance than game 4 since recent memory. The Wild held Colorado to just 12 shots and controlled the puck all game long. It was a miracle that Semyon Varlamov held them to just 2 goals. In games 3 and 4, Minnesota outshot the Avalanche 78-34. And Mikael Granlund got to play hero again at the end of regulation to secure the victory. Kuemper was rock solid in both victories.
In game 5 the Avalanche caught a break on their tying goal when the linesmen missed Paul Stastny being nearly a football-field-length offside. Nathan Mackinnon stayed hot as the Avs forced a potential elimination game in Minnesota.
A game which the Wild obviously won. Matt Duchene returned to the lineup after missing the first 5 games with an injury, while Zach Parise lead by example on the ice with 2 goals and 2 assists. The Avalanche, as they've been doing all year, pulled their goalie relatively early to try to tie it up but this time it backfired as the Avalanche gave up a couple of empty netters, unlike in games 1 and 5 when they scored with the extra attacker.
So that set up game 7 in Mile High City in a series in which the home team won every game. At home, Colorado scored 13 goals to Minnesota's 9 (this includes every single one of Mackinnon's goals) Nathan Mackinnon was going to get the matchups they so desired and Varlamov was on his game. There's no way this team which the fancy stats community prognosticated doom would lose.
Unless of course they blow 4 separate leads throughout the game and Varlamov plays adequate at best.
So was the case in this crazy affair in which of course we saw a return of Ilya Bryzgalov because his career wouldn't be complete without an emergency substitution in a game 7 in a series in which he was already pulled from.
But what is there to say about the Minnesota goaltending situation this year. They've dressed 5 different goalies this year and now 3 of them have sustained injuries. Niklas Backstrom, Josh Harding, Darcy Kuemper, Ilya Bryzgalov, and John Curry have all strapped the pads this season for Minny. The Minnesota goaltending story is legitimately a curse.
After tying it late, Nino Niederreiter scored on a shot that went straight through Varlamov. Hooray.
By the way, Ilya Bryzgalov gets credit for the win with posting 1 save. Craziness literally just follows him around.
Play of the Series:
I literally could have gone with any Colorado goal in game 2 but I chose this one A) because it's overtime and B) it was a HUGE goal in the series giving Minnesota it's first one. But those goals in game 2 were pretty nice too.
Nathan Mackinnon had one. Shake and bake, broken ankles, sniped.
Landeskog had one on a great passing play.
And he also had this snipe.
This team is going to be really good very soon.
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS VS ST. LOUIS BLUES
I said Chicago in 7
Chicago won in 6
Game 1: Chi 3 Stl 4 3OT
Game 2: Chi 3 Stl 4 OT
Game 3: Stl 0 Chi 2
Game 4: Stl 3 Chi 4 OT
Game 5: Chi 3 Stl 2 OT
Game 6: Stl 1 Chi 5
Goals Leader: Vladimir Tarasenko (4)
Points Leader: Jonathan Toews (7)
Most Valuable Player: Jonathan Toews
The captain has to deliver and he really did. He led his team in points and played inspired hockey on the ice to pull his team back into the series after the slow start. Not only that, but he also scored the game winning goal in three out of the four games including a big overtime winner in game 5.
Least Valuable Player: Ryan Miller
This was a toss up between Miller and the St. Louis powerplay. But Miller takes the cake here because he was literally brought in at the trade deadline just so he can provide for them good playoff goaltending. Not only did he not earn them wins, but he was the reason for a couple of losses and that can't be the case in the NHL playoffs.
Overview:
Okay. I'll say this once. Yes this series was eerily similar, if not exactly the same, as the Blues 4 games to 2 loss last year against the Kings.
In game 1 Alexander Steen scored the overtime winner.
In game 2 Barret Jackman scored the winning goal.
In game 3 the Blues outshot the opposition by nine but got shutout.
In game 4 the Blues blew a 3-2 late in the game and lost 4-3.
In game 5 Alex Pietrangelo scored the game tying goal, his first of the playoffs, assisted by Jaden Schwartz, but it was not enough as they lost 3-2 in OT.
And Blues fans didn't bother watching game 6.
I just explained the last two years of St. Louis playoff hockey.
Game 1 was intense although Ryan Miller may have stopped playing for a moment or two. To his defense, he did nicely set up the five-hole trap. We also saw Chicago coach Joel Queneville get fined for doing inappropriate things with his hands (at 0:56).
Game two was seemingly the turning point of the series. Bryan Bickell went knee-on-knee on Vladimir Sobotka and then Brent Seabrook boarded David Backes. The Blues made em pay by scoring on the power play with just 6 seconds left before winning it in overtime.
Every hockey fan knows that now the Blues have all the momentum. They just had an emotional victory and have a comfortable-enough lead. Plus Seabrook is out of the lineup because of his suspension and they're playing motivated hockey for injured captain David Backes.
With all this momentum, St. Louis is gonna sweep. Book it.
Jokes!
Chicago scored a super softy soft goal by Jonathan Toews and shut down the Blues in game 3 and then had a come from behind overtime win in game 4 to tie up the series at 2.
It was as if the Blackhawks gained all the momentum from the Seabrook incident.
A lucky break for the Hawks in game 5 in overtime, an explosive third period in game 6 (3 goals in the first 7 minutes) and the St. Louis Blues are left pondering where to go next (and of course, just to rub salt in the wound, Brent Seabrook had 2 assists and was +3 in his return from the suspension).
The Blackhawks are a good hockey team. Like really, really, freaking good. And they know how to climb out of holes. That's why they won the Stanley Cup this year. Chicago is 11-2 in series clinching games since 2009 and they know how to battle.
The Blues season didn't end after game 6. It didn't end after captain David Backes went down with an injury. It ended six games before the playoffs when they started their tailspin. They finished the season 0-6, essentially because of a laundry list of injuries, which took them from the 1 seed in the Central Division (and a first round matchup with the Minnesota Wild) to the 2 seed which put them against the most dangerous team in the playoffs, the defending champs, Chicago. That was their downfall.
There downfall was also the fact that they went 2-29 on the powerplay in the series including 0-6 in game 6. But that's besides the point.
Shoutout to Blackhawks defenseman and noted douchebag Duncan Keith for his clever "wakey, wakey" chirp to a woozy Backes. Kudos.
Just a wildly entertaining series in which we saw four out of the six games head to overtime. Cool!
Best Play of the Series:
Great effort as TJ Oshie stuck with the play and scored from a tough position. This narrowly edged out this Corey Crawford stick save in game 1.
PACIFIC DIVISION
DALLAS STARS VS ANAHEIM DUCKS
I said Anaheim in 6
Anaheim won in 6
Game 1: Dal 3 Ana 4
Game 2: Dal 2 Ana 3
Game 3: Ana 0 Dal 3
Game 4: Ana 2 Dal 4
Game 5: Dal 2 Ana 6
Game 6: Ana 5 Dal 4 OT
Goals Leader: Jamie Benn (4)
Points Leader: Ryan Getzlaf (7)
Most Valuable Player: Ryan Getzlaf
There's a reason he's a Hart Trophy nominee for MVP of the regular season. He was the best player on the ice this season and continued this in the playoffs, with a visor over his face. He was a force and really led his team to an opening round win.
Least Valuable Player: Dallas Stars Inexperience
We saw several great performances from Dallas players. Jamie Benn was great, goalie Kari Lehtonen was very good. Trevor Daley was fun to watch. But their one problem was probably their inexperience. We didn't see them play well consistently enough and the blown lead in game 6 was most likely a result of said lack of experience.
Overview:
Rookie goaltender Frederik Andersen was given the start in game 1 for Anaheim because Jonas Hiller was shaky down the stretch. He was fine in game 1 and Ryan Getzlaf was hit in the face with a shot in the closing minutes in Dallas' scramble to come back. It made him look cool.
Dallas used the momentum from the end of game 1 to lose again in game 2. Ryan Getzlaf had stitches and the birth of a baby daughter in the same hospital that morning before coming back to scoring in game 2. Corey Perry scored his first playoff goal since April 20th 2011. Dallas almost comes back at the end of the game again before falling short. Somebody should tell them they might want to play well at the beginning of games too and stuff, I guess.
Kari Lehtonen decided to take things into his own hands as he shut the door in game 3 to give Dallas the shutout victory for the first playoff game in Dallas in six years. Stephane Robidas, dman on Anaheim, left the game with another injury because he's actually made of glass.
Then Dallas caught a break they needed when Ryan Getzlaf and Teemu Selanne were both scratches in game 4. The Stars took advantage of the undermanned Anaheim team by evening the series after the game 4 win.
Getzlaf got a goal and 2 assists in his return in game 5 though, thus shattering the Dallas strategy of "hoping the Ducks continue scratching their star players." Shucks.
Game 6 was essentially game 7 for Toronto last year except taken place in Dallas. Dalas came out firing and played a really good hockey game. They chased Andersen who was shaky all series long but Jonas Hiller was great in relief.
Anaheim scored twice at the end of the game (great, great patience by Devante Smith-Pelly on the tying tally) and ended the series in overtime.
First of all, I enjoyed watching those games in Dallas.
The fans were loud and they somehow ALL bought those new bright green jerseys as it was a green house in Texas. Also, Jamie Benn is really legit, everyone.
Best Play of the Series:
Trevor Daley is a great player and scores this clutch goal. He had another highlight reel one later in the game.
LOS ANGELES KINGS VS SAN JOSE SHARKS
I said San Jose in 7
Los Angeles won in 7
Game 1: Lak 3 Sjs 6
Game 2: Lak 2 Sjs 7
Game 3: Sjs 4 Lak 3 OT
Game 4: Sjs 3 Lak 6
Game 5: Lak 3 Sjs 0
Game 6: Sjs 1 Lak 4
Game 7: Lak 5 Sjs1
Goals Leader: Anze Kopitar (4)
Points Leader: Anze Kopita (10)
Most Valuable Player: Anze Kopitar
He literally picked the team up and put them on his back. He had a point in each game and was an unstoppable force.
Least Valuable Player: The Sharks
I'll admit. I'm the guy that comes back every year saying "this year will be different" and I pick them to win and then they always disappoint. Never like this though. Their reputation is literally beginning to define them and it's really scary. No team needs to win worse than San Jose does.
Overview:
Game 1 was the first time Jonathan Quick ever looked human in playoff hockey. 5 goals given up. Given the hook by his coach. Pretty bizarre game.
Game 2 was more like the Los Angeles Kings. Played a great possession game early, scored 2 in the first period, and Quick was standing on his head.
But then they gave up 7 straight goals.
It was almost unheard of. The Sharks were dominating especially in transition, as almost all of their odd man rushes were just ripped past Quick.
Nobody saw this happening.
Technically speaking LA got better in game 3, taking the Kings to overtime and losing then.
So the Kings were down 3-0. The team that was "made for the playoffs" was given the ultimate challenge, something that has been done just 3 times in the past.
Game 4 showed signs that the Kings were coming back.
Game 5 we saw Jonathan Quick playing like we were used to.
The Sharks went with rookie Alex Stalock in game 6. Stalock was good filling in for Antti Niemi in the regular season.
The game was close and tight, like we imagined the whole series would be. With 8 minutes to go in regulation, the Kings finally broke the tie in the worst way. On a goal that shouldn't have counted.
You see, according to the NHL rules, a player can't push a goalie in to the puck into the net. That's 300% what Justin Williams did there.
The goal stood, the Sharks couldn't respond, and the Kings scored 2 more in the next 2:46.
So game 7 was upon us. This one had a few cute side notes. First of all, everybody and their mother predicted this series would go 7. Nobody thought it would be like this though.
Also, Jeff Carter and Mike Richards (technically) were on the 2010 Philadelphia Flyers team that pulled this feat against the Boston Bruins. Not only would this add experience in these situations to the locker room but it would make them the first athletes ever in North America to pull this comeback off twice.
Quick was hot again, allowing just 4 goals in the 3 wins after being a complete sieve in the first 3 games.
San Jose also had experience in these kinds of comebacks. In 2011, the Sharks blew a 3-0 series lead against the Detroit Red Wings before pulling out a gutsy game 7 win.
The Kings have Justin Williams who has 9 points in 4 game 7's. Him along with Richards, Carter, and Marian Gaborik have never lost game 7's before.
The Kings tied up the game in the second period on a powerplay after a God-awful call on Logan Couture who was called for elbowing. Although the Sharks were rewarded with the next 5 powerplays (a couple indubitably make-up calls), this put the Kings on the map and they never looked back.
The Kings kept pressuring and ultimately gave the advanced stat nerds the orgasm they needed as the Kings completed the comeback in typical Kings' fashion.
Best Play of the Series:
Grand larceny in the decisive game 7
ROUND 2 PREDICTIONS
Montreal Canadiens vs Boston Bruins
The Habs looked great in the first round against the weaker Tampa Bay team. Carey Price was really sharp and their scoring depth was as expected. The Bruins looked great against the Wings as well.
I'm a Habs fan come playoff time when my Devils are left on the outside so I may be a bit biased when I pick the Canadiens to win this one. They've played the Bruins close all year long and they have a way of getting under their skin.
CANADIENS IN 6
New York Rangers vs Pittsburgh Penguins
The Rangers weren't the sharpest team in the first round, surrendering 3 losses to the Flyeres. But the Penguins continued their unimpressive playoff play from the past few seasons. The upstart Blue Jackets were too much to handle with their heavy forecheck and Pitt struggled, even with a shaky Sergei Bobrovsky in the opposing net. The Rangers have the scoring, skill, grit, and great goaltending to pull the upset. I have faith in Marc-Andre Fleury to not be completely terrible but I still like the Rangers here.
RANGERS IN 6
Minnesota Wild vs Chicago Blackhawks
A rematch of last year's opening round matchup. Not much has changed except Minnesota has a bit of a question mark in net. Kuemper is questionable and the alternative is Ilya Bryzgalov who was the steadiest goalie from the first round. The Blackhawks just won four straight against the Blues and are coming in hot. There's no way the defending champs falter here.
CHICAGO IN 6
Los Angeles Kings vs Anaheim Ducks
Before I begin, I need to point out that the Ducks were extremely lucky that they played a team like the Dallas Stars in the first round. They played a team where they didn't have to be perfect but still were able to pull out w's. They won't be so lucky this round. The Kings are a playoff machine and are coming off the Reverse Sweep of San Jose. The Ducks have a question in net and the Kings have been excellent in all three zones.
LOS ANGELES IN 5
This year there have been 10 multi-goal deficits erased en route to a victory. That's an incredible amount. To put things in perspective there were 8 of those in all in the 2013 playoffs. We already have 10 and it's been just one round. Teams are not giving up in games and are willing to fight till the end and that has generated many interesting series.
I predicted each series at the end of last month's post (read up on my pre-playoffs thoughts here) and let's see how I did.
ATLANTIC DIVISION
DETROIT RED WINGS VS BOSTON BRUINS
I predicted Boston in 5
Bruins won in 5
Game 1: Det 1 Bos 0
Game 2: Det 1 Bos 4
Game 3: Bos 3 Det 0
Game 4: Bos 3 Det 2 OT
Game 5: Det 2 Bos 4
Goals Leader: Pavel Datsyuk (3)
Points Leader: Patrice Bergeron (5)
Most Valuable Player: Tuukka Rask
Was sensational in net. Of goalies who played in at least 3 games, he has the best GAA (1.16) and SV% (.961). He was Boston's best player and will most likely continue this great playing.
Least Valuable Player: None found
There's not really anything to pin this loss on for Detroit. They were simply overmatched and Boston really took advantage of being the better team. They didn't let Detroit stick around. While Detroit didn't play exceptionally well, there's nobody that really disappointed.
Overview:
The series took an interesting start when goalie Jimmy Howard of Detroit posted a 25 save shutout in Boston. Everybody picked Boston to steam roll Detroit yet it suddenly looked like Detroit would make a series of this. Boston couldn't figure out a way to score and got pretty frustrated (just ask Milan Lucic).
But then game 2 happened. And it seemed that as soon as Justin Florek put the puck past Jimmy Howard after the misfire, that everybody exhaled and realised Boston was back and would cruise to a series win.
The rest of the series was pretty routine. We had heartless wrench Brad Marchand screw up his own dive. This shouldn't surprise anyone because I wrote about his terrible acting 2 YEARS AGO. Seriously.
Boston had a big comeback in game 4 (which shouldn't surprise anybody this season) in a game that both Niklas Kronwall and Pavel Datsyuk played and scored in a day after having newborn babies.
And then Boston focused on not blowing a 3-1 series lead like they did last year against Toronto. We saw Jonas Gustavsson close out the series for Detroit because of some kind of ailment to Jimmy Howard. Gustavsson couldn't pull off the upset and still remains famous solely for this 2 on 0 save during his time in Toronto.
Fun fact: Tuukka Rask finished the series with 1 point (an assist) which ranks him higher than 13 players on Detroit's roster. Ha. Haha. Hahahahahahah.
To sum it up, Detroit was doomed from the opening faceoff.
For this series in a video, watch this cute scruff between Zdeno Chara (6"9, 255 lb) and Brendan Smith (6"2, 198 lb). Overmatched from the beginning but tried his best.
Best Play of the Series:
MONTREAL CANADIENS VS TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
I predicted Montreal in 6
Montreal won in 4
Game 1: Mtl 5 Tbl 4 OT
Game 2: Mtl 4 Tbl 1
Game 3: Tbl 2 Mtl 3
Game 4: Tbl 3 Mtl 4
Goals Leader: Brendan Gallagher (3)
Points Leader: P.K. Subban (5)
Most Valuable Player: Brendan Gallagher (runner up is Director of Hockey Ops in Montreal)
Was electric and was all over the ice. A very gritty player and had several clutch performances in the Habs first round.
Least Valuable Player: Ben Bishop's Right Wrist
I'm writing it now and I might write it another few times in this section. Backup goalie Anders Lindback didn't lose the series for the Tampa Bay Lightning but it would have really interesting to see what Vezina finalist Ben Bishop could have done in this series.
Overview:
The first game was really ecxiting with great back-and-forth action. It was a real shootout with Montreal controlling play but Tampa generating enough high quality chances of their own to keep things close. There was a sense for the first time the Lightning in the reigns of Steven Stamkos who took over for captain after Martin St. Louis was sent to New York at the trade deadline. He had a fantastic performance with 2 clutch goals. The game saw Montreal goalie Carey Price stop just three out of five shots in the third period forcing the game into overtime. That's when Dale Weise was left all alone in front of the net to end the night.
You may ask yourself, "Self, why were Dale Weise and Cedric Paquette on the ice in an NHL playoff overtime game?" Good question.
Great quote from Dale Weise though, who's a Montreal native, by the way, "Playing for my favourite team growing up, I've probably scored that goal a million times in my driveway. It feels good to actually do it in real life." My inner child weeps.
Rene Bourque reminded us all that he was still in the NHL with a stunning 2 goal performance in game 2.
Series shifted to Montreal where we literally saw the best pre-game intro ever. EVER.
Goosebumps.
The Habs played off the energy of the crowd and Rene Bourque rewarded their efforts with a goal 11 seconds into the contest. There was later a controversial no-goal call on the ice that negated a goal by Tampa forward Ryan Callahan. It wasn't a big deal because it wouldn't have mattered anyway. Montreal looked very, very good.
Danny Briere scored a goal which made every hockey personality to welcome him back on Twitter and make the usual "he only performs in the playoff" observation. Briere mentioned that his late mother was a HUGE Ginette Reno fan, who now sings the anthem in the Bell Centre. Talk about good motivation.
Montreal got a powerplay with 2 minutes remaining in a tied up playoff game in Montreal by a referee from Quebec because of course and then Max Pacioretty ended it on the PP with less than a minute left.
The bottom line was that Tampa was too sloppy and had too many turnovers. Montreal took advantage.
The Lightning trailed for just 3:34 the entire series. Hmm.
Best Play of the Series:
He wasn't the only one faked out of his skates though. Teammate Radko Gudas broke his ankles in game 1 courtesy of a slick move by Tomas Plekanec.
METROPOLITAN DIVISION
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS VS PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
I said Pittsburgh in 6
Pittsburgh won in 6
Game 1: Cbj 3 Pit 4
Game 2: Cbj 4 Pit 3 2OT
Game 3: Pit 4 Cbj 3
Game 4: Pit 3 Cbj 4 OT
Game 5: Cbj 1 Pit 3
Game 6: Pit 4 Cbj 3
Goals Leader: Jack Johnson (3)
Points Leader: Paul Martin (7)
Most Valuable Player: Paul Martin and Matt Niskanen
If someone told me before the series that this tandem would combine for 14 points in 6 games, I'd point them in the direction of the closest mental hospital. These two got the puck to the net very effectively especially on the powerplay.
Least Valuable Player: Sergei Bobrovsky
Going into the series, the Jackets NEEDED Bobrovsky to steal a game or two to keep up with the Penguins. He was their only legitimate advantage but he didn't play like it. The hard-working Columbus team was able to put up a fight but they really needed their Vezina winning goalie to steal a game when they needed it.
Overview:
Okay. First of all, the ugly mustard yellow theme the Pens fans had in the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh was terrible. This franchise had several good white-outs for the past 10 years which makes the switch very odd.
Columbus showed everyone that they were an actually good team that could compete with the Penguins when they jumped out to a 3-1 lead in game 1. Then they showed they weren't when they blew that said 2 goal lead and lost 4-3.
Now imagine that happening to both teams over 6 games and that literally explains this series.
Gibbons-mania was a thing early in game 2 before he disappeared for the rest of the series. This time it was Columbus' turn to come back from down 3-1 to win it 4-3 in double overtime courtesy of three special team goals. Ps. This was the first playoff win in Columbus history.
Columbus took the 3-1 lead in game 3 with a dominant forecheck and physical play before Sergei Bobrovsky threw it all away by surrendering three goals on consecutive shots in the third.
That was the kind of series that goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was having.
Until game 5. Yup. Columbus technically lost their early one goal lead but Pittsburgh secured the 3-1 victory.
In game 6 the Penguins cruised to a 4-0 lead and shut the door and ended the series.
Just kidding. Columbus posted a furious comeback in the third and the game ended 4-3 with Pittsburgh eking out the win.
Evgeni Malkin finally scored in the series, scoring a hat trick in game 6. Sidney Crosby went scoreless. Five out of the six games ended with the score of 4-3 and if this series taught us anything, it's that Pittsburgh might still have some problems figuring out this whole playoff thing.
Also, the Blue Jackets proved that they're a great young team that will just get better. Ryan Johansen and Boone Jenner looked great together and this team's passion on the ice was fun to watch.
"We've got a rivalry born here between the Jackets and Penguins" said Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma. Let's hope he's right.
Best Play of the Series:
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS VS NEW YORK RANGERS
I said New York in 7
New York won in 7
Game 1: Phi 1 Nyr 4
Game 2: Phi 4 Nyr 2
Game 3: Nyr 4 Phi 1
Game 4: Nyr 1 Phi 2
Game 5: Phi 2 Nyr 4
Game 6: Nyr 2 Phi 5
Game 7: Phi 1 Nyr 2
Goals Leader: Wayne Simmonds (4)
Points Leader: Martin St. Louis (6)
Most Valuable Player: Martin St. Louis
The New York Rangers really wanted Martin St. Louis and Martin St. Louis really wanted the New York Rangers. So much so that the Rangers shipped captain Ryan Callahan and a 1st and 2nd round pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the hopes that the veteran could supply them with more offensive power for the playoff run. In 19 games playing in Ranger blue, St. Louis had just 8 points.
He really stepped up his game though in the first round, leading the team in points and has been a good leader for them as well. I guess better late than never.
Least Valuable Player: Craig Berube
I'm not really sure if there was any other choice here. The Flyers randomly looked pretty good but then they'd follow up a good effort with a really terrible game. I suppose that falls on coach Craig Berube. Also, as I'll point out later, he played 75 year old dinosaur Hal Gill in a playoff game. What a mistake.
Overview:
Before I begin I'll write that this series was by far the least fascinating. For all the hype that was built beforehand, these two being big rivals and having important games in the past few seasons, it was kind of mellow. Not an incredible amount of bad blood and that was definitely disappointing.
Game 1 was tied until a third period double minor high-sticking penalty by Philadelphia forward Jason Akeson led to 2 Ranger goals and they didn't look back.
In game 2, world class goaltender Henrik Lundqvsit was outplayed by Ray Emery(!!!)
Then of course came a great moment for hockey when Daniel Carcillo scored a big goal out of the penalty box and was given a friendly salute from the Philadelphia faithful.
In game 4, world class goaltender Henrik Lundqvsit was outplayed by Steve Mason(!!!!!!!!!!)
Now for the game the Flyers would like to have back. For some reason unbeknownst to any person other than coach Craig Berube, Hal Gill was started. Let me say this clearly. The Flyers took a breathing fossil who was scratched 76 TIMES IN THE REGULAR SEASON, and threw him into a crucial road playoff game.
And Hal Gill consequently sucked. Terribly.
This led to a game 6 performance by Wayne Simmonds that was particularly memorable.
During this whole Donald Sterling racism thing, Wayne Simmonds, former Los Angeles athlete, was asked about it. Needless to say, it was an interesting period for Simmonds but he responded in game 6 by scoring a hat trick. (Just a side note, this was the first playoff hat trick ever surrendered by the Rangers since the 2005-2006 season when New Jersey's John Madden scored 3 goals against Kevin Weekes. This isn't relevant, but I just wanted to mention that I was at that game)
Also, Hal Gill was a healthy scratch. No surprise there.
The Rangers have not won an opening round series in less than 7 games since 2008. That's a really fun fact.
The Rangers pulled through in game 7 yet again in a game that saw a rather impressive performance by goalie Steve Mason. The jury's still out if he's legitimately good or not though.
Best Play of the Series:
CENTRAL DIVISION
MINNESOTA WILD VS COLORADO AVALANCHE
I said Colorado in 7
Minnesota won in 7
Game 1: Min 4 Col 5 OT
Game 2: Min 2 Col 4
Game 3: Col 0 Min 1 OT
Game 4: Col 1 Min 2
Game 5: Min 3 Col 4 OT
Game 6: Col 2 Min 5
Game 7: Min 5 Col 4 OT
Goals Leader: Paul Stastny (5)
Points Leader: Zach Parise (10)
Most Valuable Player: Darcy Kuemper
It would have been easy to say Zach Parise who was a force in the opening series, but you got to hand it to Kuemper, who started game 3 with his team down 2 games to none after Ilya Bryzgalov was too shaky to continue. The 23 year old posted a .913 SV% and a 2.03 GAA and earned 3 victories for the Wild. Sure, he was a bit shaky on the road but he was great for the Wild and helped get them back in the series. He left game 7 and therefore didn't receive credit for the victory but hopefully we'll see him again soon.
Least Valuable Player: Colorado Youth
We more or less saw this in 2012 with the Florida Panthers. A group of highly skilled youngsters who at times were unstoppable but had too many inconsistencies in order to win. Florida lost in 7 to the New Jersey Devils in double overtime (woo) and the Avalanche had a similar fate. They'll definitely be back in the postseason too and there's no need to hang their heads. They were perhaps in over their heads a little bit and played fine on a big stage.
Overview:
Game 1 was the first time the whole country got to see just how good this Avs team was. Everyone heard about their speed and skill but this is the first time it was on display for everyone to see. And most people fell in love. They posted a rigorous comeback and managed to win it in overtime.
Game 2 was much of the same. Colorado kept showing what they got and America drooled over themselves at how exciting this team was.
But then they were stopped. In game 3 they hit the breaks hard. For the first time in the series, Minnesota found a way to stop Nathan Mackinnon's line. And it wasn't Zach Parise's line.
It was Matt Cooke's.
So certainly with this new found formula with Matt Cooke, the rest of the series would be a cakewalk, right?
Nevermind.
As for Barrie, he was done for the series, out 6 weeks with a knee injury.
As Patrick Roy said afterwards, "It was the play of the game." Barrie is Colorado's 2nd leading time on ice guy defensively so it was a huge loss, especially when you consider Barrie's potential upside.
Oh and Mikael Granlund had the overtime winner. Nice.
Game 4 was legit all Minnesota. There has not been a more dominant performance than game 4 since recent memory. The Wild held Colorado to just 12 shots and controlled the puck all game long. It was a miracle that Semyon Varlamov held them to just 2 goals. In games 3 and 4, Minnesota outshot the Avalanche 78-34. And Mikael Granlund got to play hero again at the end of regulation to secure the victory. Kuemper was rock solid in both victories.
In game 5 the Avalanche caught a break on their tying goal when the linesmen missed Paul Stastny being nearly a football-field-length offside. Nathan Mackinnon stayed hot as the Avs forced a potential elimination game in Minnesota.
A game which the Wild obviously won. Matt Duchene returned to the lineup after missing the first 5 games with an injury, while Zach Parise lead by example on the ice with 2 goals and 2 assists. The Avalanche, as they've been doing all year, pulled their goalie relatively early to try to tie it up but this time it backfired as the Avalanche gave up a couple of empty netters, unlike in games 1 and 5 when they scored with the extra attacker.
So that set up game 7 in Mile High City in a series in which the home team won every game. At home, Colorado scored 13 goals to Minnesota's 9 (this includes every single one of Mackinnon's goals) Nathan Mackinnon was going to get the matchups they so desired and Varlamov was on his game. There's no way this team which the fancy stats community prognosticated doom would lose.
Unless of course they blow 4 separate leads throughout the game and Varlamov plays adequate at best.
So was the case in this crazy affair in which of course we saw a return of Ilya Bryzgalov because his career wouldn't be complete without an emergency substitution in a game 7 in a series in which he was already pulled from.
But what is there to say about the Minnesota goaltending situation this year. They've dressed 5 different goalies this year and now 3 of them have sustained injuries. Niklas Backstrom, Josh Harding, Darcy Kuemper, Ilya Bryzgalov, and John Curry have all strapped the pads this season for Minny. The Minnesota goaltending story is legitimately a curse.
After tying it late, Nino Niederreiter scored on a shot that went straight through Varlamov. Hooray.
By the way, Ilya Bryzgalov gets credit for the win with posting 1 save. Craziness literally just follows him around.
Play of the Series:
Nathan Mackinnon had one. Shake and bake, broken ankles, sniped.
Landeskog had one on a great passing play.
And he also had this snipe.
This team is going to be really good very soon.
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS VS ST. LOUIS BLUES
I said Chicago in 7
Chicago won in 6
Game 1: Chi 3 Stl 4 3OT
Game 2: Chi 3 Stl 4 OT
Game 3: Stl 0 Chi 2
Game 4: Stl 3 Chi 4 OT
Game 5: Chi 3 Stl 2 OT
Game 6: Stl 1 Chi 5
Goals Leader: Vladimir Tarasenko (4)
Points Leader: Jonathan Toews (7)
Most Valuable Player: Jonathan Toews
The captain has to deliver and he really did. He led his team in points and played inspired hockey on the ice to pull his team back into the series after the slow start. Not only that, but he also scored the game winning goal in three out of the four games including a big overtime winner in game 5.
Least Valuable Player: Ryan Miller
This was a toss up between Miller and the St. Louis powerplay. But Miller takes the cake here because he was literally brought in at the trade deadline just so he can provide for them good playoff goaltending. Not only did he not earn them wins, but he was the reason for a couple of losses and that can't be the case in the NHL playoffs.
Overview:
Okay. I'll say this once. Yes this series was eerily similar, if not exactly the same, as the Blues 4 games to 2 loss last year against the Kings.
In game 1 Alexander Steen scored the overtime winner.
In game 2 Barret Jackman scored the winning goal.
In game 3 the Blues outshot the opposition by nine but got shutout.
In game 4 the Blues blew a 3-2 late in the game and lost 4-3.
In game 5 Alex Pietrangelo scored the game tying goal, his first of the playoffs, assisted by Jaden Schwartz, but it was not enough as they lost 3-2 in OT.
And Blues fans didn't bother watching game 6.
I just explained the last two years of St. Louis playoff hockey.
Game 1 was intense although Ryan Miller may have stopped playing for a moment or two. To his defense, he did nicely set up the five-hole trap. We also saw Chicago coach Joel Queneville get fined for doing inappropriate things with his hands (at 0:56).
Game two was seemingly the turning point of the series. Bryan Bickell went knee-on-knee on Vladimir Sobotka and then Brent Seabrook boarded David Backes. The Blues made em pay by scoring on the power play with just 6 seconds left before winning it in overtime.
Every hockey fan knows that now the Blues have all the momentum. They just had an emotional victory and have a comfortable-enough lead. Plus Seabrook is out of the lineup because of his suspension and they're playing motivated hockey for injured captain David Backes.
With all this momentum, St. Louis is gonna sweep. Book it.
Jokes!
Chicago scored a super softy soft goal by Jonathan Toews and shut down the Blues in game 3 and then had a come from behind overtime win in game 4 to tie up the series at 2.
It was as if the Blackhawks gained all the momentum from the Seabrook incident.
The Blackhawks are a good hockey team. Like really, really, freaking good. And they know how to climb out of holes. That's why they won the Stanley Cup this year. Chicago is 11-2 in series clinching games since 2009 and they know how to battle.
The Blues season didn't end after game 6. It didn't end after captain David Backes went down with an injury. It ended six games before the playoffs when they started their tailspin. They finished the season 0-6, essentially because of a laundry list of injuries, which took them from the 1 seed in the Central Division (and a first round matchup with the Minnesota Wild) to the 2 seed which put them against the most dangerous team in the playoffs, the defending champs, Chicago. That was their downfall.
Shoutout to Blackhawks defenseman and noted douchebag Duncan Keith for his clever "wakey, wakey" chirp to a woozy Backes. Kudos.
Just a wildly entertaining series in which we saw four out of the six games head to overtime. Cool!
Best Play of the Series:
PACIFIC DIVISION
DALLAS STARS VS ANAHEIM DUCKS
I said Anaheim in 6
Anaheim won in 6
Game 1: Dal 3 Ana 4
Game 2: Dal 2 Ana 3
Game 3: Ana 0 Dal 3
Game 4: Ana 2 Dal 4
Game 5: Dal 2 Ana 6
Game 6: Ana 5 Dal 4 OT
Goals Leader: Jamie Benn (4)
Points Leader: Ryan Getzlaf (7)
Most Valuable Player: Ryan Getzlaf
There's a reason he's a Hart Trophy nominee for MVP of the regular season. He was the best player on the ice this season and continued this in the playoffs, with a visor over his face. He was a force and really led his team to an opening round win.
Least Valuable Player: Dallas Stars Inexperience
We saw several great performances from Dallas players. Jamie Benn was great, goalie Kari Lehtonen was very good. Trevor Daley was fun to watch. But their one problem was probably their inexperience. We didn't see them play well consistently enough and the blown lead in game 6 was most likely a result of said lack of experience.
Overview:
Rookie goaltender Frederik Andersen was given the start in game 1 for Anaheim because Jonas Hiller was shaky down the stretch. He was fine in game 1 and Ryan Getzlaf was hit in the face with a shot in the closing minutes in Dallas' scramble to come back. It made him look cool.
Dallas used the momentum from the end of game 1 to lose again in game 2. Ryan Getzlaf had stitches and the birth of a baby daughter in the same hospital that morning before coming back to scoring in game 2. Corey Perry scored his first playoff goal since April 20th 2011. Dallas almost comes back at the end of the game again before falling short. Somebody should tell them they might want to play well at the beginning of games too and stuff, I guess.
Kari Lehtonen decided to take things into his own hands as he shut the door in game 3 to give Dallas the shutout victory for the first playoff game in Dallas in six years. Stephane Robidas, dman on Anaheim, left the game with another injury because he's actually made of glass.
Then Dallas caught a break they needed when Ryan Getzlaf and Teemu Selanne were both scratches in game 4. The Stars took advantage of the undermanned Anaheim team by evening the series after the game 4 win.
Getzlaf got a goal and 2 assists in his return in game 5 though, thus shattering the Dallas strategy of "hoping the Ducks continue scratching their star players." Shucks.
Game 6 was essentially game 7 for Toronto last year except taken place in Dallas. Dalas came out firing and played a really good hockey game. They chased Andersen who was shaky all series long but Jonas Hiller was great in relief.
Anaheim scored twice at the end of the game (great, great patience by Devante Smith-Pelly on the tying tally) and ended the series in overtime.
First of all, I enjoyed watching those games in Dallas.
 |
| Thugging |
The fans were loud and they somehow ALL bought those new bright green jerseys as it was a green house in Texas. Also, Jamie Benn is really legit, everyone.
Best Play of the Series:
LOS ANGELES KINGS VS SAN JOSE SHARKS
I said San Jose in 7
Los Angeles won in 7
Game 1: Lak 3 Sjs 6
Game 2: Lak 2 Sjs 7
Game 3: Sjs 4 Lak 3 OT
Game 4: Sjs 3 Lak 6
Game 5: Lak 3 Sjs 0
Game 6: Sjs 1 Lak 4
Game 7: Lak 5 Sjs1
Goals Leader: Anze Kopitar (4)
Points Leader: Anze Kopita (10)
Most Valuable Player: Anze Kopitar
He literally picked the team up and put them on his back. He had a point in each game and was an unstoppable force.
Least Valuable Player: The Sharks
Overview:
Game 1 was the first time Jonathan Quick ever looked human in playoff hockey. 5 goals given up. Given the hook by his coach. Pretty bizarre game.
Game 2 was more like the Los Angeles Kings. Played a great possession game early, scored 2 in the first period, and Quick was standing on his head.
But then they gave up 7 straight goals.
It was almost unheard of. The Sharks were dominating especially in transition, as almost all of their odd man rushes were just ripped past Quick.
Nobody saw this happening.
Technically speaking LA got better in game 3, taking the Kings to overtime and losing then.
So the Kings were down 3-0. The team that was "made for the playoffs" was given the ultimate challenge, something that has been done just 3 times in the past.
Game 4 showed signs that the Kings were coming back.
Game 5 we saw Jonathan Quick playing like we were used to.
The Sharks went with rookie Alex Stalock in game 6. Stalock was good filling in for Antti Niemi in the regular season.
The game was close and tight, like we imagined the whole series would be. With 8 minutes to go in regulation, the Kings finally broke the tie in the worst way. On a goal that shouldn't have counted.
You see, according to the NHL rules, a player can't push a goalie in to the puck into the net. That's 300% what Justin Williams did there.
The goal stood, the Sharks couldn't respond, and the Kings scored 2 more in the next 2:46.
So game 7 was upon us. This one had a few cute side notes. First of all, everybody and their mother predicted this series would go 7. Nobody thought it would be like this though.
Also, Jeff Carter and Mike Richards (technically) were on the 2010 Philadelphia Flyers team that pulled this feat against the Boston Bruins. Not only would this add experience in these situations to the locker room but it would make them the first athletes ever in North America to pull this comeback off twice.
Quick was hot again, allowing just 4 goals in the 3 wins after being a complete sieve in the first 3 games.
San Jose also had experience in these kinds of comebacks. In 2011, the Sharks blew a 3-0 series lead against the Detroit Red Wings before pulling out a gutsy game 7 win.
The Kings tied up the game in the second period on a powerplay after a God-awful call on Logan Couture who was called for elbowing. Although the Sharks were rewarded with the next 5 powerplays (a couple indubitably make-up calls), this put the Kings on the map and they never looked back.
The Kings kept pressuring and ultimately gave the advanced stat nerds the orgasm they needed as the Kings completed the comeback in typical Kings' fashion.
Best Play of the Series:
ROUND 2 PREDICTIONS
Montreal Canadiens vs Boston Bruins
The Habs looked great in the first round against the weaker Tampa Bay team. Carey Price was really sharp and their scoring depth was as expected. The Bruins looked great against the Wings as well.
I'm a Habs fan come playoff time when my Devils are left on the outside so I may be a bit biased when I pick the Canadiens to win this one. They've played the Bruins close all year long and they have a way of getting under their skin.
CANADIENS IN 6
New York Rangers vs Pittsburgh Penguins
The Rangers weren't the sharpest team in the first round, surrendering 3 losses to the Flyeres. But the Penguins continued their unimpressive playoff play from the past few seasons. The upstart Blue Jackets were too much to handle with their heavy forecheck and Pitt struggled, even with a shaky Sergei Bobrovsky in the opposing net. The Rangers have the scoring, skill, grit, and great goaltending to pull the upset. I have faith in Marc-Andre Fleury to not be completely terrible but I still like the Rangers here.
RANGERS IN 6
Minnesota Wild vs Chicago Blackhawks
A rematch of last year's opening round matchup. Not much has changed except Minnesota has a bit of a question mark in net. Kuemper is questionable and the alternative is Ilya Bryzgalov who was the steadiest goalie from the first round. The Blackhawks just won four straight against the Blues and are coming in hot. There's no way the defending champs falter here.
CHICAGO IN 6
Los Angeles Kings vs Anaheim Ducks
Before I begin, I need to point out that the Ducks were extremely lucky that they played a team like the Dallas Stars in the first round. They played a team where they didn't have to be perfect but still were able to pull out w's. They won't be so lucky this round. The Kings are a playoff machine and are coming off the Reverse Sweep of San Jose. The Ducks have a question in net and the Kings have been excellent in all three zones.
LOS ANGELES IN 5
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