THE BEST NIGHT OF THE PLAYOFFS IS HERE!

If you are an avid hockey fan, tonight is a dream night. If you are a casual fan, you will be gripped. Playoff hockey is the best playoff in all of sports, and tonight is a classic reason why.

Game 6 of the Bruins/Canadiens series starts at 7pm from the Bell Centre in Montreal.

Game Info:

The pressure of the home crowd seems to get to Carey Price, as he has not won a playoff game at home since the first game of the 2008 series against Philadelphia (7 straight starts). Tim Thomas has improved greatly as the series has progressed. The leaky goals between the legs have disappeared and he is looking every bit like the Vezina Trophy candidate he was during the regular season. If the Canadiens can pull this one out, game 7 is tomorrow night in Boston. Montreal centre David Desharnais will miss tonight’s game while defenseman James Wisniewski is doubtful.

Prediction:

The Bruins will finish the series off tonight as the Habs are wearing down against the physically superior Bruins. Boston’s game has rounded into form and they will take a large step in ridding the monkey off their back from last years meltdown against the Flyers. Boston wins 4-2.

Game 7 of the Sabres/Flyers series is at 7:30pm from the Wells-Fargo Center in Philaelphia.

Game info: Brian Boucher will get the start for the Flyers in the deciding game of the series. The Flyers have started three goalies in the series, but Boucher has been the only one to win. The Sabres hold a major advantage in goal with Ryan Miller in net. He has posted two shutouts in the series, but looked very shaky giving up fat rebounds in game 6.  Buffalo has not played a game 7 since the 2006 Eastern Conference final vs Carolina. The Sabres will be without Tim Connolly and Jason Pominville. Connolly will not play after suffering an upper body injury from the controversial Mike Richards hit in game 6. Derek Roy will likely see his first game action since December when he tore a quadriceps muscle. Jeff Carter will almost certainly be out for the Flyers with a leg injury that has cost him the last 2.5 games. Chris Pronger looks to be more involved in his second game back from a broken hand. It remains to be seen if he does more than just play on the power play as he did in game 6.

Prediction:

Goaltending is always a question in Philadelphia. As long as Brian Boucher makes the saves he is supposed to, they will win. The Flyers experience, depth, and the advantage of last change will prove to be too much for the Sabres.. These teams do not like each other, so expect a nasty affair.  Flyers win 4-3.

Game 7 of the Blackhawks/Canucks series is at 10:00pm from the Rogers Arena in Vancouver.

Game info: The Canucks are on the verge of the worst playoff meltdown in history. They were up 3-0 in the series, and are the #1 seed in the Western Conference. The Blackhawks have no pressure on them. Since David Bolland came back in game 4, the Hawks have outscored the Canucks 16-5. Bolland is a (+6) , while the Sedin twins are a combined (-13).  Roberto Luongo will start after being benched for the start of game 6 (.738 save % since games 4-6). The $10 million goalie has to get the Blackhawks funk out of his system and outplay Corey Crawford tonight. The Hawks have eliminated the Canucks in each of the last two years with Luongo inexplicably falling apart in the each of the deciding games. Nerves will be key, and the fans will be tense.  A major statement will be made by the Canucks one way or another. Bryan Bickell is out for Chicago after breaking his hand in game 6.

Prediction:

Vancouver’s depth will win over late in the game., as the Hawks top players will wear down after playing so many exhausting key minutes in the series. Luongo will play well enough to win and the city can breath a sigh of relief. Canucks 4-2 with an empty net goal.

Here is the schedule for tonight’s games.

Boston @ Montreal 7:00pm EST

Buffalo @ Philadelphia  7:30pm

Chicago @ Vancouver  10:00pm

In-game tweets tonight of Flyers/Sabres game 7 at  twitter.com@getrealhockey.

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-Mark Chyz