PLAYOFF REFLECTIONS: DAY FOUR

Although it is impossible to truly follow all of the games here are some reflections and opinions from the forth day of playoff action:

1)   The Bruins are a playoff fraud! Argue all you want Bruins fans, the B’s have lost 6 straight playoff games, which includes the Fukushima like meltdown last year against the Flyers. Check out their playoff history http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news?slug=bostonpost. This link does not include this year or last year. Think about this… the Bruins have never seen what are called the “Eastern Conference Finals.” Their last conference finals appearance was in 1992, when it was called the “Wales Conference.”

2)  The Canadiens have a game plan, and they are following it to perfection. They are making sure Carey Price can see the puck, they are clearing rebounds, and they are letting the Bruins discipline problems crush them. The Bruins are taking too many penalties, and seem to be preoccupied with P.K. Subban. Time for players like Nathan Horton and Milan Lucic to score goals rather than chase P.K. around. 

3)  The NHL has the playoff schedule done perfectly! Who doesn’t like a Saturday when you can watch hockey from 1pm EST to 1am? What a day of hockey!

4)  Instead of using two goalies, the Flyers may use three this year. It took one game and 12:30 to see the Flyers use their second goalie. Coach Peter Laviolette waited one goal too long to pull Sergei Bobrovsky as he was  flopping around, looking very shaky. Buffalo capitalized with three goals on 7 shots, but had trouble breaking Brian Boucher once he came in. Boucher allowed only one goal on 21 shots, and made some great saves immediately after entering the game.  Boucher has to get the start for game three in Buffalo Monday.  Michael Leighton is back with the team after playing most of the season in the AHL with Adirondack. When will he see action?

5)  When was the last time you saw a period like the first period of the Flyers/Sabres game? It saw 6 goals, one fight, a disallowed goal that was blocked by a players head, and a goalie pulled. It was a very undisciplined period from both teams, but who cares, it was one of the most entertaining periods of hockey I have seen in a long time.

6)  Drew Doughty is back. All year there has been talk about Doughty regressing. Last night proved he still has it. The Kings climbed back to even the series at one game each. Doughty dominated offensively and defensively. Without leading scorer Anze Koptar someone on the Kings needed to step up. Doughty ended the game with 2 goals and 2 assists, and more importantly the Kings shutout the Sharks, winning 4-0.

7)  If you did not see the game, make sure you see the highlights of the Red Wings/Coyotes game. http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=35&id=109063

Pavel Datsyuk was a one man show. He finished the game with one goal and three assists, but that doesn’t tell the complete story.  Datsyuk owned the puck. He mesmerized the Coyotes defensemen all game and it was the best performance of the playoffs thus far.

Here is the schedule for today’s games.

Washington @ NY Rangers 3:00pm EST

Anaheim @ Nashville  6:00pm EST

Vancouver @ Chicago   8:00pm EST

Tweets tonight of the Canucks/Blackhawks game @getrealhockey.  I will also be  tweeting the Flyers/Sabres game  tomorrow @getrealhockey.

Follow my articles and tweets @Chyz1

-Mark Chyz

Habs' Price is the Dfference

Coming into Game 1 of the first round of the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Carey Price had lost his last eight playoff starts and hadn't won a playoff game since the Spring of '08.  Well, that was a different Carey Price than the one we've seen in 2010-11.  This season, Price has relished his role as the number 1 goaltender and appears to be far more confident on and off the ice as he started 72 games for the Habs.  It was that Carey Price who backstopped the Canadiens to a 2-0 win over the Boston Bruins in Game 1 of their playoff encounter at the TD Garden in Beantown, a result that hands Montreal home ice advantage in the series. Right from the start, Montreal appeared to be employing their game plan from last season's playoff run in which they upset both the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins before falling to the Philadelphia Flyers in the Conference Finals.  Score early and then back up the bus in front of the net to protect the lead.  Brian Gionta got the Canadiens started with the early goal on a defensive lapse from the Bruins as he beat goaltender Tim Thomas high on the glove side.  Thomas couldn't be blamed for this one.  However, the same cannot be said for the second goal.

Rewind to the Spring of 2010 and it was Jaroslav Halak barring the door in front of the Canadiens goal and often having to stop 40+ shots a night.  Last summer, one could easily have made the argument that Montreal dealt away the wrong goaltender.  The decision to trade Halak to St. Louis doesn't appear to be so controversial any longer.  Now it's Carey Price facing the barrage of shots and the Bruins did their part to play the role of frustrated opponent, especially in the second period when they looked closest to scoring and appeared to have the Habs reeling.  As Price said in the locker room after the game, the "rope-a-dope" style worked and they were able to play a much more effective game in the third period by clearing traffic away from the net and giving Price a clear view on Boston's shots on goal.

And then out of nowhere, a Canadiens goal was manufactured by of all people, Scott Gomez.  Gomez has had a terrible season in Montreal and has been heavily criticized by fans and media, but on this night was one of the team's heroes with 2 assists.  Gomez stole the puck inside the Bruins zone and fed Brian Gionta for the goal that sealed the Bruins fate.  This was a bad goal for the Bruins on a couple of levels.  It was the result of a turnover in their own zone late in the game and it was a shot that Tim Thomas should have stopped.  If you're a Bruins fan, you have to wonder if Thomas is the type of goaltender that can take a team to the Cup.  His playoff record coming into this game was a mediocre 10-8.  Yes, he put up Vezina Trophy winning numbers this season as he did 2 years ago, but the question is, can he be relied upon in a big game?  To date, the answer is No.  He doesn't project the confidence that you expect from a big game goalie, and his unorthodox style can sometimes leave him out of position and vulnerable.  Until this season, Carey Price may not have inspired that confidence either, but Price has excelled in big game situations in the past with Team Canada in the World Junior Championships and more recently with the Hamilton Bulldogs in the Calder Cup Playoffs.  Price now appears to be bringing that game to the NHL Playoffs.  This isn't a major revelation, but this series is going to come down to the goaltenders and in that regard, the Canadiens have an advantage.  This loss substantially hurts the Bruins chances of winning the series as they have played poorly at the Bell Centre in Montreal this season (losing all three contests convincingly), and now they are going to have to win a game in that building to survive.

Factoid:  Price's shutout of the Bruins in Game 1 was his third in his playoff career.  All have come against Boston.

- Brian Lomax

PLAYOFF REFLECTIONS: NIGHT TWO

Although it is impossible to truly follow all of the games here are some reflections and opinions from the second night of playoff action:

1)     Are the Canadiens in the Bruins head? A shutout in game one on the road is a huge statement. Carey Price was very sharp, and the Habs looked like a team that was willing to sacrifice to win. Games will be tight and if the Habs continue to block shots and play disciplined they can win this series. The Bruins are supposed to be much stronger and more physical than Montreal. They will need to adapt a much more rough and tumble game plan to win game two.

2)     The Flyers/Sabres game was one of the most dull playoff games in recent memory. Not much happened, and that’s just the way Lindy Ruff and the Sabres would love to have it the rest of the series. The Flyers questions coming into the game were mostly surrounding Sergei Bobrovsky, and the absence of Chris Pronger. After game one, some heart and character questions should be thrown out to Mike Richards and Jeff Carter. Stars have to be stars in the playoffs. Both Richards and Carter looked like passengers in the game. Ryan Miller played stellar, but didn’t need to be fantastic. The Sabres were quite content to let the Flyers stay to the outside and block a bunch of shots.  Bobrovsky kicked out a fat rebound on the lone goal scored by Patrick Kaleta, but it is completely unreasonable to put any blame on the rookie netminder.

3)     Ryan Miller is fine. Injury concerns were the story in Buffalo leading up to the series. Miler missed 4 of Buffalo’s last 6 regular season games, but didn’t show any concern in shutting out the Flyers.  The Sabres defencemen made life easy on Miller limiting second chance opportunities and allowing him to see the puck.

4)     Jarret Stoll of the LA Kings should be suspended for his hit on Ian White of San Jose. The hit happened behind the net, late in the first period. It was a clear forearm to the head of the Sharks defenceman. This is the exact kind of hit that the NHL needs to rid itself of. Stoll is not know as a dirty player, but careless play on the ice, especially when going right to the head will not be tolerated.  White’s status is not known, but he did not return to the game. Stoll should get 1-2 games in this series.

Here is the schedule for tonight’s games.

Tampa Bay @ Pittsburgh 7:00pm EST

NY Rangers @ Washington  7:30pm EST

Chicago @ Vancouver   10:00pm EST

Nashville @ Anaheim  10:30pm

No live tweets from me tonight.  I will be back tomorrow tweeting the Flyers/Sabres game  @getrealhockey.

Follow my articles and tweets and send questions to @Chyz1 on TWITTER.

-Mark Chyz

PLAYOFF REFLECTIONS: NIGHT ONE

Although it is impossible to truly follow all of the games here are some reflections and opinions from the first night of playoff action:

1)     Ilya Bryzgalov has to be a lot better for the Coyotes to have a chance. The Red Wings looked like the superior team. Phoenix came out with a lot of jump early, but could not sustain it. Pavel Datsyuk was by far, the most dominant player in the game. Bryzgalov cannot give up 4 goals on the road and expect to win. The Coyotes lack the talent to score with the Wings and must have a lock down performance from their goalie in game 2, or this will be a short series. Johan Franzen is a playoff beast. Every year he turns up his game and it showed with a goal and assist.

2)     It is amazing how much one goal can change the outlook of a series. The Capitals beat the Rangers in overtime on a horrible giveaway up the boards by Marc Staal. Jason Arnott made a great pass, and Alex Semin buried it on a one timer. If the Caps lose this one, all of the old questions come back about playoff failure. With the win, the focus is now on how well Michal Neurvirth played in his playoff debut, and how the Caps showed the heart needed to get a late goal to tie the game. The Caps are not going to win this series easily.

3)     The OT winner in the Rangers/Caps game is just a prime example of needless plays up the boards made by defensemen. Marc Stall, who is a great player, made the common mistake that a many defensemen commit; he moved the puck up the boards to the obvious spot where the opposition would be. Panic sets in too often for defensemen stuck with a puck they feel they must move forward. If Staal just eats the puck in the corner and causes a scrum his teammates will get back into position, or they will get a faceoff.

4)     Roberto Luongo played big. It is only one game, so we should not make such a big deal about this, but he was the best player in the game. The Canucks played more physical than the Hawks and it is obvious that all of the role players the Hawks had to move out for salary cap reasons are going to be missed. Do not expect this to be a long series.

5)     Can people start to look at how good Marc-Andre Fleury is? The Penguins team is not very talented without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, yet they keep winning. Coaching and goaltending are the two reasons they have not only survived the injury problems, but they have played like an elite team. Dwayne Roloson’s numbers looked good, but he looked lost on the Aaron Asham goal.  Your goalie has to make that save, especially only 18 seconds after the goal that made it 1-0 for Pittsburgh.

6)     Pekka Rinne played awesome, Dan Ellis stunk. When your goalie gets outplayed badly, you cannot win in the playoffs.  Ellis allowed 4 goals on 24 shots, while Rinne was making spectacular saves time and time again for Nashville. If Ray Emery is healthy enough to come in relief for Ellis, can he start game two for Anaheim?

Here is the schedule for tonight’s games.

Montreal @ Boston 7:00pm EST

Buffalo @ Philadelphia  7:30pm EST

Los Angeles @ San Jose   10:00pm EST

 

I will be tweeting the Buffalo vs Philadelphia game and providing updates of the Montreal vs Boston game @getrealhockey.

Follow my articles and tweets @Chyz1

-Mark Chyz

Playoff Hockey - Best Time of the Year

There is a transformation in April seen by hockey fans all over North America, and this transformation is fueled by passion. Passion, one of the most natural emotions, can almost be grasped during the months of April, May and June while watching the greatest athletes in the world compete for Lord Stanley’s Cup.

Take for example, the 2010 second round series of Eastern Conference rivals Philadelphia and Boston. With the Bruins one game away from sweeping the Flyers, the season seemed over for the gritty Flyers. But with an emotional overtime win in Game 4, the Flyers stopped the Bruins train in its tracks, winning the next 3 games. This four games to three come from behind win, was the first in the history of professional sports, an unthinkable accomplishment.  Without passion, the Flyers would have been sent home to play golf in game four.  The Broad Street Bullies played an old brand of hockey to finish off the Bruins, a style of hockey that excites even the smallest of hockey fans.

Thunderous hits, ferocious forechecking, and unbeatable defense, all fueled by passion are what make playoff hockey the phenomenon that sweeps over the hockey world. Hockey is an incredible sport to watch, the talent and athleticism seen in players like Ovechkin, Mike Richards, Toews, and new star Steven Stamkos is unmatchable. When teams enter the playoffs, watching the sport takes on a whole new meaning. We’ve all had nights glued to the television, literally on the edge of our seats, with our hearts racing while our team battles conference foes for the right to play for Lord Stanleys Cup. The playoffs to anyone with a heartbeat means endless nights of screaming at the television, while wearing our prized jersey. The 2011 playoffs will be no different.

With opening round matchups like Bruins/Habs, and Canucks/Blackhawks we are bound to see the excitement that we wait somewhat patiently throughout the year to watch. Players put bumps and bruises on the back burner, and leave everything they have on the ice. This formula creates five star entertainment. We’re all in this to see the hits, saves, and goals that are bound to come during the next two months.  As teams look to shift into high gear, and ride whatever momentum they carry from the end of the regular season, the hockey world is in for a treat.

- Matt Gamelin

Philadelphia Flyers vs Buffalo Sabres - Philly on Top !!!

Philadelphia won the season series by going 2-1-1. The teams split the 4 games, but technically because of an extra point for an overtime loss. Combine that with the fact that the Flyers finished ahead of the Sabres by 10 points, and it should be clear that the Flyers are the clear favorites. So you would assume that Philly should have the advantage going into the series, however, that is not the case in my eyes. The Flyers started off the season series great; however, they lost both of the last 2 games against the Sabres towards the end of the year. It gets even worse for the Flyers though, because not only did they play poorly in the last 2 games vs the Sabres, they also played horrible against the rest of the league to finish off the year. The Flyers finished off the year by going 8-8-7 in the last 23 games of the season. If you think about it that means they lost 15 out of 23 games!! 8 wins in 23 games is completely unacceptable for a team that finished 1 point behind 1^st place in the Eastern conference.  What makes this series even more interesting is that while the Flyers were dropping games, the Sabres did the complete opposite. The Buffalo Sabres since Pegula took over, have been unstoppable. In fact they ended the year, on a 28-11-6 run, including points in 20 of the last 24 games!!!

These 2 teams are definitely heading in different directions. The Sabres have been on fire lately, in large part due to Thomas Vanek. Fresh off winning 1^st star of the week, after 2 incredible performances in 2 clutch games, first getting a hat trick, and then 2 assists and the game-winner the next game. Vanek has had a tremendous year, 32 G’s, 73 Pts. He also had 7 points in the 4 games vs the Flyers.  He has been the driving force for this team offensively, and shows no signs of slowing down. The other key reason why Buffalo could upset in this series is Ryan Miller. Miller is the x-factor in this series, and any game he could steal a game or two vs Philly. Philadelphia will need to put a lot of bodies in front of Miller if they want to beat him.  

However, despite all of that, I still think Philadelphia’s offensive depth is just too strong. If they could get any sort of goaltending, I think the combination of Richards, Carter, Giroux, Briere, Pronger and company, will be enough to advance the Flyers. But goaltending is always important, you can’t underestimate it. I think if there will be any upset in the East in the 1^st round, it will be this one. But I still have to go with Philly, playoffs are a different game, and they are built for it!

Flyers in 7.

- Grant Robinson

Boston Bruins vs Montreal Canadiens - This is Going to be Crazy !!!

If there is any 1^st round matchup that you will want to keep your eyes on, it is definitely this one! This series might lack the offensive stars of some other matchups, but outside of that there is plenty to love about this series. 2 of the best goaltenders in the league this year will be going head to head in each crease, and the rest of the ice is bound to be full of fireworks! There might not be a lot of goals in this series, but there will be no lack of hitting, fighting, and battling, as these 2 teams just flat out cannot stand each other. They are one of, if not THE biggest rivalry in hockey, and this year did nothing but add fuel to the fire! There was the “Massacre in Boston” where there was so many fights, that at one point the penalty boxes looked like clown cars they were so packed! And then the next time they played involved the whole Chara/Pacioretty incident. So trust me when I say that there will be some activity after the whistles in this series. I really do believe this will be a physical and hard fought series, which is why I think the Bruins will win, despite the Habs winning the season series 4-2.

The Bruins have won 2 of the last 3 matchups between these teams, but it’s the way that they have won them that has me picking them to win this series. The 1^st game was the “Massacre”, the Bruins won 8-6 over the Habs, but absolutely dominated them physically. The Bruins showed that Montreal simply could not compete with them physically, and that was no more evident then on one shift. 3 Bruins paired off with 3 Habs players, and the result was definitely one-sided. While Thornton and Campbell were handling Hamrlik and Pyatt; Boychuk gave Spacek one of the worst beatings I saw all year. It was just evident that the Habs when it comes to toughness can’t match the Bruins. Then after the whole Chara incident, you would think the Habs would be fired up to put a beating on the Bruins, but instead they came out flat and Boston gave them a beatdown this time on the scoreboard 7-0! Those two games make it very tough for me to think that the Habs will win this series.

However, having said that the Habs did win the season series, and this is also the same team that nobody thought had a chance last year vs the Caps or Pens, and they upset both of them. Carey Price is definitely capable of stealing some games, but will need Cammalleri & company to step it up offensively.

But combine Thomas in nets, with the fact that I think  Kaberle/Chara will finally get it going on the powerplay. The Bruins will be a very scary team, and very hard to stop!

Bruins in 6.

- Gant Robinson