Tim Thomas Spanks Flyers - No Comeback This Year

The Boston Bruins head home with a 2-0 series lead after a wild 3-2 win in overtime against the Philadelphia Flyers last night. The difference in the game was goaltending as Tim Thomas stole the show making 50 saves, many of them were great, game-saving chances.  People will point to the Bruins collapse of last season against the Flyers and say that the series is never over until it’s over. This year will be different!

The tide has turned from last year to this year. It was the Bruins that had injury problems last year. Now, it is the Flyers. David Krejci has been on fire in the first two games with 3 goals and 2 assists. After being knocked out of the playoffs by a Mike Richards hit last year, Krejci has come back with a vengeance to take down the Flyers. Philadelphia could not handle Krejci’s line with Nathan Horton and Milan Lucic at home when they had the ability to matchup against them. Going home to Boston will make that matchup much more difficult.

The loss of Chris Pronger cannot be understated. Pronger missed last night’s game, presumably due to the hand injury that cost him the first five game of round one. Pronger is a stabilizer, a physical force, an agitator, and a leader.  His playoff success cannot be disputed. Since the post lockout NHL, Pronger has been to the Stanley Cup Final three time (06,07, 10), winning in 2007 with Anaheim.

Jeff Carter seems to be a forgotten name. Carter left game 4 in the first round series against Buffalo with a knee injury. Pronger has been the focus but losing a 36 goal scorer has taken away a big threat and neutralized the Flyers biggest asset in having 3 lines that can score at any time. The difference between Dan Carcillo playing on a line vs. Jeff Carter cannot be dismissed. This once again shows the fault of GM Paul Holmgren. He is willing to a pay a forward like Carter $5.5 milllion, yet not have any stable goaltending. Forwards get hurt in the playoffs, goalies rarely do. If the other team gets better goaltending than you every round, it is incredibly difficult to win the Stanley Cup.

Tim Thomas has Philadelphia’s number as he ran his record to 8-0 in Philadelphia. He stopped 46 consecutive shots and gave his team the performance needed to win on the road. The Flyers do not have the goaltending to beat Thomas, in Boston two times on the road in order to win the series. Thomas was hurt last year and the Bruins melted down with a young Tuuka Rask in goal. Look for the Bruins to sweep the series. Cast aside the collapse of last year. The Bruins are on a roll, and with the way Thomas is playing, they will roll right into the Stanley Cup Final.

- Mark Chyz

Send questions or comments to me on twitter @Chyz1.

We bought this Stanley Cup ring from 1953 - What do you think ?

PRICE AND SUBBAN - THE HABS LOOK SOLID GOING INTO NEXT YEAR

Looks like the Habs ghost is dead and gone in Montreal.  The team got the boot from the post season last week and the chanting and cheering has died down to zero in tdowntown Montreal.  The boys in red , white , and blue are gone now and the traditional wait till next year is ringing loud and clear.

Montreal bowed out to Boston in the playoffs but it was clear that the core of a great team lies below the surface of this current squad.  Guys like Subban and Price clearly showed that they are ready and able to take the Habs to the next level.  Subban's blue line leadership brought back memories of legendary defensemen like Savard and Robinson.  Subban can carry the puck like no other defenseman can in Montreal.   Markov should be jettisoned by Montreal as the habs will have to make tough financial decisions to make in the next 12-24 months.  The big cash has to be spent on players like Subban and Price who have brilliant futures.

Price is a King in Montreal , now.  The Halak episode of last year is a distant memory and Carey should find himself in nets for Montreal for a very long time.  This young man showed immense character by overcoming the chorus of boos at the start of the season.  He did everything but stand on his head all year long and if Montreal had been a little steadier defensively , they could have competed for the Cup.  While Subban was a standout on the Montreal blue line, Gill and Hamrlik were like ghosts.  Price was often left alone to defend against some pretty heavy offensive minded teams.  The Habs can help themselves by getting younger and more skilled on the blue line.  It will help Price and Subban out in the long run.  Markov, Gill, and Hamrlik should be gone and the door should be left open for players who play every game well into the end of May.       

DETROIT FALLS TO SAN JOSE - THINGS ARE LOOKING GREAT FOR THE SHARKS

The playoffs look set to dispatch another hockey dynasty to the sidelines.  Detroit fell to the Sharks today by a 2-1 margin.   The Red Wings played a dull game with little to no spark.   Datsyuk is a non entity so far in this series and Jimmy Howard is doing his best to keep the Motor City crew from getting crushed.   The Sharks are young and aggressive and they could start filling the puck with goals if Detroit doesn't wake up.   We think Detroit is fighting an uphill battle and the Sharks might be in a position to close this off sooner rather than later.

The favourites in the Stanley Cup playoffs are becoming clearer as it evolves.  The Bruins look to strong for Philadelphia; Nashville seems ready to send the Canucks packing, and we are still holding out slim hope for the Capitals.  This year's playoffs victories are being earned by youngsters and hustlers while superstars and veterans watch by the sidelines.  Goaltending is giving us a bushel full of OT games and we think the trend will continue right till the Cup is hosted by the victors.    

Ovechkin, Boucher, and the Sedins - Where are the superstars ???

The 2011 Stanley Cup race has been a roller coaster for all the teams which are in the post season.  The parity in the NHL is evident with the number of OT and double OT games.  Just last night we saw the Canucks and the Predators battle in a double OT  showdown crowned by the play of Roberto Luongo.

Some astute NHL fans don't buy the parity argument.  They think the number of OT game is directly linked to the under performance by some of the key players and stars from some teams which are still battling and/or have been knocked out.   We can see how this argument can make sense for fans of teams like Philadelphia, Vancouver, and Washington.

Vancouver leads the parade of underperformers.  The Canucks had terrorized the NHL in the regular season in a string of high scoring victories.  The run and gun Canucks look a lot like the Capitals from last year.  The Sedins which were on the scoreboard all the time in the regular season are nowhere to be found in the post season.   Roberto Luongo is the reason the Canucks are still a threat in the playoffs.  If Vancouver doesn't get the big guns scoring, they will fall by the wayside just like the Capitals in last year's playoffs series.

Boucher, Boucher, Boucher !!!!  This guy is giving the Flyer faithful fits.  He is playing like swiss cheese and this problem needs to be fixed.  The goalie is key and confidence in the goalie is a priority for a playoff team.  They need Brian Boucher to wake up from his coma and start supporting the forwards.  This is a good team but without a decent goalie they are doomed !!!

Ovechkin is the Boucher of Washington.  His success on the ice is critical to the Caps.  It is going to be interesting see if the hot and cold Russian has the ##### to play up to his ability.  Crunch time is the time for superstars to show up.   We like Washington for an appearance in the finals.  However, with Ovechkin firing blanks; Tampa will destroy the Caps and send them packing.

It is time NHL stars take the game seriously and perform when it counts.  Fans spend good money going to the games and they deserve the best at playoff time.    

CALLING RED WINGS AND CAPITAL FANS !!! YOU ARE BOTH DOWN 1-0 !!! RALLY THE TROOPS

Sunday is going to be an exciting day for hockey fans.  The Red Wings and Capitals are up @ bat and their fans will be watching to see how they deliver.

The Wings are up first against the San Jose Sharks.  The Sharks are young and aggressive and they will be a handful for Detroit.  Hockey Town USA is a tough place to be on the losing end of a series so the 2011 Red Wings are going to have to pick up their game.   San Jose is not Phoenix.  If Detroit goes down 2-0 today, they will have the almost impossible task of battling back.  If Jimmy Howard cracks under pressure, the Sharks will pounce and put this one away.

Washington plays later today against the Bolts.  Tampa smacked the Caps around in their first match up and you can be sure that Bruce Boudreau's men will want some payback.  Ovechkin has to come to the rink today for Washington.   If Washington can get everyone ticking along, they should dispose of Tampa easily.   Without Ovechkin, Washington will fold like a deck of cards and Stamkos and the boys will take them out to the woodshed. It could get ugly.

There is nothing like the "good old hockey game" !!!  Turn this tune up , grab some beers and warm up the couch !!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZWxErEbQkY

MAKE THE DAY EVEN BETTER - PLAY FANTASY HOCKEY AND WIN CASH TODAY !!!

Watching the Stanley Cup playoffs is like the holy grail for hockey nuts everywhere.   Get Real Hockey wants you to have fun watching the showdowns and maybe make some money at the same time. Join the Get Real Hockey family on FanDual.com @

http://www.fanduel.com/fantasyhockey?btag=a_664b_25c_

VANCOUVER AND FLYERS FALL IN CUP PLAY - BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD

Saturday was another day of surprises in the Stanley Cup playoffs.   Both games played yesterday saw the favourites fall by the wayside with stunning loses. 

The Flyers were first to go down with a crushing lose of 7-3 to the Bruins.  Boston jumped all over the Flyers and never let up.  Every half decent shot found the back of the net for the Bees and Philadelphia was half hearted in trying to stop the melt down.  Tim Thomas was not nearly as good as he was against Montreal so there is hope for the Flyers for the rest of the series.  The power forwards for the Flyers can only do so much though;  the Flyers will need net minding to compete.

Vancouver was both lucky and unlucky in yesterday's match up with Nashville.  They were lucky that someone else than the Sedins' showed up and unlucky that the Sedins' didn't show up.   The Canucks led by Luongo played a strong defensive game and looked like they were going to sneak out of the building with a 1-0 victory.  The Preds kept up the pressure and just before the end they managed to tie it 1-1 and that set the stage for OT and a 2-1 win for Nashville.  This victory could be a momentum changer.  Vancouver seems help bent on doing things the tough way.  They let Chicago back into their series and now they seem ready to do the same for Nashville.  Vancouver's coaching staff needs to wake up the stars on the Canucks and get them scoring goals.  Vancouver was #1  in scoring during the season.  They need to go back there if they want to win the Cup.

The pendulum is definitely in favour the Bruins and the Predators in their respective matchups.  Their opponents will have to redraw the battle plans to keep up.  Stay tune because this will be interesting to watch.  Expect the unexpected in the 2011 Stanley Cup race.