So the first round is finished and it has been a wild ride for almost everyone. Just like that, the Bruins and Lightning get to play more hockey, and the Pens and Habs get to play golf.
I am proud of my Penguins. We worked damn hard and got far, especially with the injuries. So many players from the AHL got a chance this year and many made a real good show of their talents. The lack of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, but specifically Crosby, was glaring. Apparently without him we cannot score. Not only can Tampa score, they showed they can really clamp down on defense. Roloson was so focused, he played excellent in the whole series.
What makes this hard to swallow is that we were up 3-1 in games. We looked good we were clicking. The blowout loss in game five really took the wind out of our sails and the mental mistakes in game six revealed a team that had really lost their focus. Congratulations to the Lightning, they earned it, especially with that lock down one nothing win last night. Maybe it's better, Crosby will have all summer to recover without any pressure to be on the ice. Who knows. Still a heart breaker.
Now, the Habs and the Bruins. What an even series, right down to the end. Really, could it have ended any other way? Well maybe with the Habs winning, but man this has been a fun match up to watch. The Bruins with their size and power vs. the small Habs with their speed and skill. How about Seidenberg almost putting it in on his own team in overtime? Seriously, this was fun to watch.
Looking forward to the next round, should be a doozy! How about the mirror image east/west in seeds advancing? Both have 1,2,3, and 5 advancing to the next round. Hardly an upset yet! We'll see how it goes, I'll be back next time to preview the next round. Oh, it starts tonight? Well, next time I'll talk about it a bit. I'll just give completely unexplained predictions right now:
East:
Lightning in 7
Bruins in 6
West:
Vancouver in 7
Red Wings in 6
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
The Stanley Cup Playoffs, thoughts.
I did not write down any predictions, but I will talk of what has happened so far. I'll mostly focus on the west, considering they are done with the first round. There is still some unfinished business in the East.
Despite all the drama in the west, Nashville was the only lower seed to move on. Unfortunately, I did not see any of the series outside of highlights, but congratulations to them on making it to the second round for the first time in franchise history. To do it they had to take down a team notorious for picking up their game in the post-season, the Anaheim Ducks. I'm impressed, though not overly surprised. They have been renowned for the defense and work ethic for years, but it seems they've finally found a certain scoring touch between the additions of Kostitsen and mr. Carey Underwood, Mike Fisher. It also helps that Martin Erat has really come into his own and that Shea Weber can fire a puck so hard you think he's a cartoon space duck (mighty ducks cartoon anyone?).
I expected more from the Red Wings series, but maybe I shouldn't have. Coyotes have looked good all season, but when the Red Wings are healthy and focused, they're pretty unstoppable. They'll probably just win the cup again as boring as that sounds. But with Datsyuk, Zetterberg and the crew, they certainly won't be boring to watch.
I'll admit I have a real soft spot for the Kings. They score real garbage goals and know how to grind out a game and I just enjoy watching Drew Doughty skate. His work on the blue line, his deft passing and his blistering offensive zone entry, its just awsome to watch.They might have been able to take some serious momentum in this series if they had not given up a certain four goal lead. Unfortunately, the lack of Anze Kopitar has been glaring. Not only can he score, but he's excellent on the defensive side as well. They put their heart into it, but let's face it, the Sharks really stepped it up. Slowly but surely they're exorcising their playoff curse. I think the Kings have a bright future ahead of them though.
Speaking of curses, the Canucks had to take it to game 7 over time to break theirs, after losing a 3 game to nothing lead no less. This series seemed pretty average before game four. The Canucks were the best team in the league. Literally they led every team in the relevant statistics. Chicago made it into the playoffs because another team lost, pitiful. So the Canucks proceeded to take it to Chicago. Usually, what looks good on paper never works out in the playoffs, but here, it seemed to, until game 4. This win was shocking. It was so shocking Vancouver could not get their shit together until game 6, which they lost. Suddenly Chicago is a real team on the verge of doing something that has only happened four times before in sports. How can we raise the stakes? That's right, take it to overtime. How do the Canucks win? Not superior play or puck control. Not some espn highlight fancy goal. They win on a horrible turnover at the one spot on the ice your told never to turn over the puck, at the blue line. Burrows skates his ass off and in one instant finally figures out how to drive that last nail in the coffin that had been giving the Canucks so much trouble.
I know a lot of people were rooting for the Stanley Cup champs in this one, but I have to say I was rooting for Vancouver. A loss like this with their expectations, heads were gonna roll. There's less pressure on Chicago at this point and you can chalk their loss up to so many things, the exodus of players after winning the cup, the stanley cup hangover, et cetera. They barely even made it in the playoffs. I guess it's just, I don't have anything against Vancouver. With Burrows' goal last night I couldn't help but think, "what a relief."
Well onto the next round for the west. That's a completely different story. As far as the East is concerned, I really hope my Pens can pull it out. Tampa suddenly turned their scoring on and we need to keep it under wraps, especially without Crosby or Malkin. And I'm rooting for Boston in the other series. It's been fun to watch. You have to love the big power team vs. the tiny skill team, it's just fun.
Until then enjoy the game 7's and maybe I'll be back with some next round previews and predictions.
Despite all the drama in the west, Nashville was the only lower seed to move on. Unfortunately, I did not see any of the series outside of highlights, but congratulations to them on making it to the second round for the first time in franchise history. To do it they had to take down a team notorious for picking up their game in the post-season, the Anaheim Ducks. I'm impressed, though not overly surprised. They have been renowned for the defense and work ethic for years, but it seems they've finally found a certain scoring touch between the additions of Kostitsen and mr. Carey Underwood, Mike Fisher. It also helps that Martin Erat has really come into his own and that Shea Weber can fire a puck so hard you think he's a cartoon space duck (mighty ducks cartoon anyone?).
I expected more from the Red Wings series, but maybe I shouldn't have. Coyotes have looked good all season, but when the Red Wings are healthy and focused, they're pretty unstoppable. They'll probably just win the cup again as boring as that sounds. But with Datsyuk, Zetterberg and the crew, they certainly won't be boring to watch.
I'll admit I have a real soft spot for the Kings. They score real garbage goals and know how to grind out a game and I just enjoy watching Drew Doughty skate. His work on the blue line, his deft passing and his blistering offensive zone entry, its just awsome to watch.They might have been able to take some serious momentum in this series if they had not given up a certain four goal lead. Unfortunately, the lack of Anze Kopitar has been glaring. Not only can he score, but he's excellent on the defensive side as well. They put their heart into it, but let's face it, the Sharks really stepped it up. Slowly but surely they're exorcising their playoff curse. I think the Kings have a bright future ahead of them though.
Speaking of curses, the Canucks had to take it to game 7 over time to break theirs, after losing a 3 game to nothing lead no less. This series seemed pretty average before game four. The Canucks were the best team in the league. Literally they led every team in the relevant statistics. Chicago made it into the playoffs because another team lost, pitiful. So the Canucks proceeded to take it to Chicago. Usually, what looks good on paper never works out in the playoffs, but here, it seemed to, until game 4. This win was shocking. It was so shocking Vancouver could not get their shit together until game 6, which they lost. Suddenly Chicago is a real team on the verge of doing something that has only happened four times before in sports. How can we raise the stakes? That's right, take it to overtime. How do the Canucks win? Not superior play or puck control. Not some espn highlight fancy goal. They win on a horrible turnover at the one spot on the ice your told never to turn over the puck, at the blue line. Burrows skates his ass off and in one instant finally figures out how to drive that last nail in the coffin that had been giving the Canucks so much trouble.
I know a lot of people were rooting for the Stanley Cup champs in this one, but I have to say I was rooting for Vancouver. A loss like this with their expectations, heads were gonna roll. There's less pressure on Chicago at this point and you can chalk their loss up to so many things, the exodus of players after winning the cup, the stanley cup hangover, et cetera. They barely even made it in the playoffs. I guess it's just, I don't have anything against Vancouver. With Burrows' goal last night I couldn't help but think, "what a relief."
Well onto the next round for the west. That's a completely different story. As far as the East is concerned, I really hope my Pens can pull it out. Tampa suddenly turned their scoring on and we need to keep it under wraps, especially without Crosby or Malkin. And I'm rooting for Boston in the other series. It's been fun to watch. You have to love the big power team vs. the tiny skill team, it's just fun.
Until then enjoy the game 7's and maybe I'll be back with some next round previews and predictions.
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