Taking The Day Off….

A quick synopsis of what happened yesterday…..

The Rangers really laid a 1st period egg against the Penguins and could never catch up…as they lost 5-3.

The Stars scored a dramatic OT win once again…Mattias Norstrom did the honors this time as the puck went in…he seemed more stunned than the San Jose Sharks….scary thought.

Datsyuk and Zetterberg dominated the shorthanded Avs again and the Wings held on for a 4-3 victory to go up 3-0 in the series as well.

Sean Avery remains hospitalized after suffering a lacerated spleen in last night’s Rangers game…he did go into Cardiac Arrest but is stable right now and on the road to recovery.

We went 2-1 yesterday…raising our record to 8-4.  So today……

Montreal over Philly 3-2 (OT)

Dallas over San Jose 3-2 (OT)

Maybe this time….it will go right for Montreal…it has to sometime…right???

I Feel Like I Just Got Kicked In The Nuts!

That is the only way I can describe last night’s game. I thought for sure Montreal would find a way to win last night’s game and then the second period came and went….my thoughts changed drastically. The goal by Scottie Upshall wasn’t so bad….it was the goal by Mike Richards that was the real dagger though the RJ Umberger goal (off yet another Price misplay) turned out to be the needed insurance. Maybe Derian Hatcher should buy Jeff Carter and Umberger dinner for the next week after his boneheaded 5:00 major nearly cost the Flyers their lead.

In the end, the final score was 3-2. Yet if you watched the game as a fan of neither team the game felt like a 5-1 Habs rout except for the fact that Martin Biron stood on his head in crunch time and Carey Price made at least 2 unforced errors that proved costly. Using tennis terms aside, the Habs are sticking by their goalie…I think a change to Jaroslav Halak would not hurt. Hey the Devils did this once in 1994 against Boston…they benched their rookie (some guy named Brodeur) for Chris Terreri and the Devils went on to win four straight. I am not saying that Halak is a cure all here. However, Halak seems to be more assertive in these puck playing situations and Price’s nonchalantness is the reason why the Habs are down 2-1 plain and simple!!

So now the Habs pretty much face a do or die Game 4…they have to bury their chances and win this one otherwise if they think the Montreal media is all over them now….just give them a few more days after another loss and boy it will be more than a frenzy. It will be downright a catastrophic nightmare that could shut down the entire city.

Prediction Time: (3 games)

NY Rangers 3  Pittsburgh 2 (OT)

Dallas 3  San Jose 2 (OT)

Detroit 4  Colorado 2

Enjoy the hockey tonight everyone…hopefully my 6-3 record gets a bit of a boost tonight.

Today’s Predictions….

I had to keep this simple for my sanity as I am stille stunned from the amazing four goal outburst from Dallas in the third period of tonight’s 5-2 win over San Jose at the HP Pavilion.  The four point period from Brad Richards was just the icing on the cake.  Any doubt now that Dallas knew what they were doing when they made that trade??  Doubts erased!!!  What is sure now is that this series may be shorter than six.  Hell, Ron Wilson may be fired sometime next week (you heard it here first).

Congrats also to the Pittsburgh Penguins who used a workmanlike effort today in their 2-0 win over the New York Rangers.  Jordan Staal scored on the Power Play then Marc-Andre Fleury may it stand up.  Adam Hall added the empty netter.  Fleury made 26 saves and several key ones in the third period to preserve the shutout…his first of his career.  I have the feeling he is going to have a few more before all is said and done in his career.  So the Rangers have been beaten in a slower game and in a faster paced game.  That isn’t what I want to see if I am Tom Renney.  Shudder to think what it could be like if Pittsburgh played at their best.  So far the Rangers have been treading water after that early 3-0 lead in Game 1….and that my friends is dangerous stuff.

So all in all…a 1-1 record today was not surprising…just the way that it happened.  Fortunately there is only one game on Monday’s docket…and that is Montreal @ Philly.  I just see Montreal and particularly Carey Price coming out with conviction and that will serve him well when this game is in its crucial stages.  Here it goes…time to let it ride!

Montreal 4  Philly 3  (OT)

I will be able to watch this all in HD and enjoy it thoroughly.  Thank you and good night!!!

Here Comes The Pain!!!

I have probably watched the movie “Snake Eyes” a few too many times but you felt the sting of the loss coming like it was fixed.  The line that the champ was supposed to go down on was “Here Comes The Pain”…and sure enough the Champ went down and the Senator gets shot and eventually dies.  There was a coverup, conspiracy, and much much more.  But for aesthetic purposes, I felt that pain when I saw RJ Umberger bat the puck away from Carey Price then shoveled it in the net to give the Flyers a 4-2 lead and a split in Montreal.  After 5 straight correct predictions…I was due for some sort of Murphy’s Law…right???  You bet your ass!!

So yes…we dropped a tough one and are now 5-1 for the second round.  However…I am undaunted and will try to redeem myself with today’s picks.  Time to take a stab at it…ready…aim…..FIRE!!!!

Pittsburgh 4  NY Rangers 3

San Jose 3  Dallas 2 (OT)

That 11am PDT start time for the Penguins game will drive me batty but I am game for it….these Game 2’s are going to be even more intense than the Game 1’s and that is just damn fine to me.  Here comes the hockey baby!!!

Starry Starry Night….

Stars take Game 1 3-2 in OT.

With just that one shot…the Dallas-San Jose series took on a different meaning. Now yes, I know San Jose dropped Game 1 at home against Calgary but memo to Sharks fans…this isn’t Calgary!! The Stars have scoring depth this year…something they have sorely needed in previous years. Marty Turco is playing solid in net very similar to last year. He kept San Jose at bay for most of the game and did enough late in the game and in overtime to set up Morrow’s heroics. The Stars have now won in 7 of their last 8 visits to the HP Pavillion Center….pretty scary stuff. Maybe they should rename their team the Dallas Sharks…just a thought.

If that wasn’t enough in the “star” department….then there was the star power in last night’s NY Rangers - Pittsburgh Penguins Game 1 clash. Jagr, Gomez, Lundqvist, Crosby, Malkin…they were all there but in the end….it was Ryan Whitney who set up Crosby for a one timer from the point…..then Evgeni Malkin got just enough of his stick on it to tip it in past Henrik Lundqvist on the Power Play and just like that the Penguins won the game 5-4 on the late PP goal with just over 100 seconds left. It capped a very weird game where both goaltenders were extremely shaky and the Rangers had a 3-0 lead early in the second period then the Penguins scored 2 strange goals in :14 to turn the game around as Jarkko Ruutu and Pascual Dupuis scored on Lundqvist who didn’t look the same afterwards.

Not that Fleury had that many bright moments either but he did just barely enough to keep his team in it when they went down 3-0. I was surprised Therrien did not make a change but he stuck with his goalie and did pay off as Marc-Andre Fleury responded. Both teams are going to look at this game and not be all that surprised at what happened. Expect an attempt especially in the first period of Game 2…where both teams try to assert themselves with more physicality and defense. The bottom line is this…whoever has the last chance may just win each game…I kid you not…it may just come down to that.

Onward to today’s predictions….and a run to the store to get some cider before the game starts…..

Montreal Over Philly 4-2

Detroit Over Colorado 4-2

Enjoy the food, beer, and hockey, and now a moment from Montreal-Philly Game 1 from a Habs fan….

Thank you RDS merci!

77 Ticks!

The best way to describe the last 77 seconds of last night’s Montreal-Philly game was wow.  The back and forth chances were something else…including penalty shots, posts, and more.  Montreal’s speed was stifled for the most part in the first period as Philly was able to forecheck and pick up two key goals in the first and Philly led 2-0.

Weirdly, they went away from the gameplan and tried to play at a bit of a faster pace.  Montreal made them pay and dearly as they scored twice in the second period to tie it.  Now, Philly would tally early in the third on a Joffrey Lupul tally but then the game just went back and forth.  There was an ebb and flow unlike Game 1’s you normally would expect after both teams went 7 in Round One.  When Montreal drew a penalty late..you knew the 6 on 4 was coming…to me that was the game right there.  The Richards infraction proved costly…as Saku Koivu fed Alexei Kovalev and Kovalev would make no mistake as he slid the puck past Biron to tie the game…sending Bell Centre into a frenzy!!!  The inevitable was coming…you knew it had to.

Surely the end came quick and without yield.  Off a faceoff, Andrei Markov fired a hard slapper from the point.  It was low and hard…and Biron had a hard time with the puck….the rebound went to Tom Kostopoulos.  Biron got the first shot but could not get the second and the puck hit twine and the game was over just like that…48 seconds into OT.  The Habs had a 1-0 series lead with the 4-3 victory.

All in 77 seconds…the game was decided…that is the Stanley Cup Playoffs…a little time changes everything and with that may have been Philly’s best chance to take control of this series…time will tell on that one if that is really true but you had to think Philly had this game won.

Well after going 2-0 in last night’s games…onward to tonight’s and here ya go…..

Pittsburgh over NY Rangers 3-2

Dallas over San Jose 3-2

Thank you and good night!!!!!

Quick Hitters…Day1 Round 2

Welcome to Round 2 everyone…..

Quick and simple…here are today’s predictions for the two Game 1’s.

Montreal over Philly 5-3

Detroit over Colorado 4-3

Insight on it:  I expect the teams to make a good number of defensive miscues and the goalies will have to be on their toes.  There will be likely be room for the goal scorers to shine and things may tighten up as the series go on.  Tonight though….is not going to be dull…that is for sure.  High physicality and good scoring makes for great watching!!  Enjoy!!

Round 2… Get Out The Medikits!!!

Cider’s up as always. It must be getting warmer because the ice keeps getting more and more choppy which means it is time for Round 2 at last. Now is the time to get rid of some more pretenders who think they have a chance at Lord Stanley’s Cup but are really just dust in the wind more than anything else. In the immortal words of Al Bundy…..”Let’s Rock!”

#1 Montreal Canadiens Vs. #6 Philadelphia Flyers

A bit of a twist with the links….they lead to blogs…now to get on to it!!!

Keys to Flyers Victory: Slow the game down but be able to strike quick on the Power Play and take advantage of odd man opportunities. Lupul and Briere have to work their magic similar to Round 1 along with Richards and Carter. Timonen has to not only QB the Flyers Power Play but stop the most mobile unit in the NHL. Martin Biron has to not necessarily play out of his mind but it wouldn’t hurt. A split in Montreal is essential…if they don’t…this series will be a runaway.

Keys to Habs Victory: Simple…pedal to the metal both 5 on 5 and especially on the Power Play. Keep the crowd raucous and happy. Score first! Koivu and Kostitsyn brothers are downright scary then add Higgins, Kovalev, and crew and you have the makings of speed and skill personified. The speed will be big as line by line the Habs have a big advantage on the Flyers there. Avoid complacency!! You can’t take teams for granted and now Guy Carbonneau knows that hard lesson first hand. Games 1 and 7 are great but games 2-6 may be a little important too. Now we’ll see if the Habs can sustain the pressure. I think it will be tough but in the end….the Habs will be in the conference Finals.

Prediction: Habs in 6…Price makes his mark.

#2 Pittsburgh Penguins Vs. #5 New York Rangers

This one kind of shapes up to be a contrast in styles but no so fast my friend…..

Keys to Pittsburgh Victory: Quite simply this is Marc Andre Fleury’s time. There is no more excuses. He was very good in Round 1 and needs to be great in Round 2…there is no way around it. The Penguins defense is pretty reliable but is vulnerable and Fleury needs to be the difference maker. The Malkin line has to produce and so does Marian Hossa. A steady diet of setting up Power Plays will be the key to solving Henrik Lundqvist and really the New Jersey Devils in Games 3-5 may have laid the blueprint from which to do so. Everyone will key on Crosby…it is up to guys like Malone, Sykora, and company to pick up the slack. This is their best chance yet.

Keys to New York Victory: Henrik Lundqvist has to play like he did in Games 1 and 2 against New Jersey. If he does…it will be a long series for the Penguins. Chris Drury and Scott Gomez need to continue their clutch play and Jaromir Jagr needs to shake off past playoff disappointments and deliver like he did versus New Jersey. Those goals were key. It also won’t hurt to have a great team defensive effort like the Rangers executed brilliantly in their 13 game point streak…that will be needed if they expect to advance. They will fight till the bitter end.

Prediction: Penguins in 7 tough games…expect lots of swings in this one.

#1 Detroit Red Wings VS. #6 Colorado Avalanche

1996 anyone???? Oh yeah…that was when the rivalry really was full tilt. Sure it has lost some of its luster but expect some fireworks here!!!

Keys to Detroit Victory: Roll the lines….the Wings have to get production from all lines and have to be able to use their skill level to their advantage early and often. Make Theodore crack….Minnesota was never really able to do that at any times in their series and it is why the Avs are in the second round. Hit hard with Draper and McCarty and let their mobile D (Lidstrom and Rafalski) roam a bit and cause some havoc. Obviously Zetts and Datsyuk have to be at their best and Osgood will be consistent. Truly all Detroit needs is a consistent effort from Osgood and they will move on to the conference finals.

Keys to Colorado Victory: Theodore has to play the way he did in his Vezina and Hart campaign of 2003-04. He has to steal at least two games for Colorado to win this series. Sakic and Forsberg will be at their usual brilliance but Hejduk, Stastny, and especially John-Michael Liles have to step up big time. The Avs can play down low better than just about anyone and they have to cycle hard and heavy to stay in the series. A team defensive effort will be key and a lucky goal or three as well. The Avs are a team that will put up a strong fight in this series no question.

Prediction: Detroit in 6 hard ones….just too tough!

#2 San Jose Sharks Vs. #5 Dallas Stars

Fun fun fun…till Marty took Thornton’s keys away??? This one shapes up to be a whale of a series!

Keys to San Jose Victory: More efforts like Game 7!!!! Thornton has to be a two way force like he was the other night. If he plays like that…San Jose is nearly unstoppable. It fed the rest of the team including one Jeremy Roenick who had a four point night. The intensity and snarl need to be there from the get-go! Dallas is no slouch…they will pounce on weakness if they see any. Nabokov has to play like he did for most of Round 1 but even better now. Mr. Turco is waiting and with the playoff monkey off his back will play with even more confidence. Goals will be hard to come by at times in this series. Goaltending and defense are paramount…San Jose must step up the defensive intensity that much more or its curtains!!

Keys to Dallas Victory; Play exactly like they did in Round 1. Let guys like Modano, Ribeiro, Richards, and Robidas lead…and oh some guy named Brendan Morrow. Marty Turco was great in Round 1 and must continue to play like he did. I expect a great series from him. Dallas and their special teams may be a key especially in this series with the playmaking of Brad Richards. San Jose didn’t really get to see the full extent of Richards’ strengths. They will now.

Prediction: Dallas in 6…a shocker??? Yes!! Turco and Richards the difference.

The game predictions are coming later…..stay tuned!!!!

Jeremy Spoken……

The best way to describe this game was it was a Jeremy Roenick kind of game. Ron Wilson scratched Roenick in Game 6 for this very reason. Wilson had to roll the dice….the flameouts of San Jose playoffs past would be too much to bear if they lost this one. In the end a four goal explosion during the second period was what cemented this 5-3 victory. What finished the victory was a determined defensive effort in the third period that held the lead up.

After Owen Nolan’s wonderful breakaway goal early in the second period to give the Flames a 2-1 lead…the San Jose Sharks went simply nuts all led by the mercurial Jeremy Roenick. He spoke all right and it went something like this. Roenick already had a secondary assist on the Joe Thornton power play tally. He turned back the clock and scored twice in 3:00 to make it 3-2 Sharks. Both goals were JR specials…one was a fortunate bounce from driving the net…and the other was a Power Play tally where he followed his own rebound to slam it hope past Miikka Kiprusoff. It is funny that on the VS. feed JR talked to the press about scoring 2 goals and well he sure did.  Amazing effort for the 38 year old who turned back the clock tonight and played like a man in his late 20’s.

Calgary has nothing to be ashamed of…they were bombarded in this game and yet they were still in it…just about till the very end.  The Flames were outshot 35-13 in the first 2 periods and basically Kipper, Iginla, and Phaneuf cannot do it alone.  That much was proven tonight.  Iginla played 13:18 of the third period and nearly cut the lead to one several times but Evgeni Nabokov shut the door just enough to keep him off the scoresheet in the third.  In the end, San Jose was able to play keep away a little better than Calgary was able to mount an offensive attack.  They appeared dead tired and when you are exhausted in the final 5:00 of a Game 7….it is hard to pull off the comeback.  Kudos to San Jose for moving on…they get a rested Dallas Stars team Friday night.

In the other game tonight….Joffrey Lupul scored on the waning seconds of a power play early in Overtime to win the series for the Philadelphia Flyers.  Daniel Briere set up Kimmo Timonen, who fired a hard and low shot on goal that Cristobal Huet could not fully handle.  Earlier in the overtime almost the same play occurred but Lupul was about a half second slow.  He was not slow this time around as he got to the puck real quick and backhanded the puck past a sprawled out Huet sending the Flyers bench into hysterics of joy while the heart of Washington finally stopped beating.

The 3-2 final, which seemed significant in the playoffs so far wasn’t without some controversy however.  The Flyers second goal scored by Sami Kapanen was just after Patrick Thoresen knocked a Caps defenseman right over Huet.  Kapanen had a wide open net and did not miss which gave them a shortlived 2-1 lead.  Alexander Ovechkin would score on an amazing shot late in the second to tie it at two but many wondered aloud if that second Flyers goal would have counted if the Refs had been in better position.  It is one of those, we’ll never know type things but I think Ted Leonsis and the Caps will be thinking about it for some time.

Take nothing away from these two teams it was a hell of a series.  This was a great way to end the first round.  I was hoping to see an Ovechkin-Crosby Round 2…really to see Ovechkin and Malkin go at it but it wasn’t meant to be.  So now here are the conference semi matchups starting East first then West.  Previews will come on Thursday….

(1) Montreal Canadiens VS. (6) Philadelphia Flyers

(2) Pittsburgh Penguins VS. (5) New York Rangers

(1) Detroit Red Wings VS. (6) Colorado Avalanche

(2) San Jose Sharks VS. (5) Dallas Stars

It is going to be an awesome second round.  For those on the prediction front…I went a halfway decent 29-19 for the first round…not too shabby.  Take the day off….relax and recharge…because the second round is going to come back with a vengeance tomorrow night.

One Game 7 Down…2 More To Go!

This picture really does tell a 1000 words and maybe more.  Not only did Boston do nothing in its gameplan or could really execute when they had the opportunity but they let Montreal walk all over them in a Game 7 that was more like Game 1 than anything else.  Chara for some reason is a player that lives by the sword and dies by the sword.  Well he died tonight in a big, big spot once again.  For argument’s sake…here is Chara’s line from tonight’s game.

TOI: 24:04   0G 0A  -3, 0 shots and 2 Pims (that call lead to a goal)

Now is it really fair to spotlight Chara like this?  Maybe it isn’t.  The last Game 7 Chara played in was the infamous Game 7 against New Jersey….but Redden was on the ice for that gaffe and not Zdeno Chara.  However tonight was so eerie…as his game resembled Redden’s (in big spots) in so many ways.  In times when Chara needed to be passive he was aggressive and paid dearly (Mark Streit slipped past him for an easy goal that was highlight reel material all the way).  That goal was more or less the heartbreaker (that made it 2-0 Habs) but it would get worse…when Chara took a holding penalty and Montreal scored seconds after the penalty ended.  It was 3-0 and you could warm up the bus for Boston…the party was over!

Montreal would add two goals late in the third period to make the final score 5-0.  Montreal outshot the B’s 27-14 over the final two periods and yet one would think Boston would have put forth more of an effort.  However, the B’s were gassed and the final 20:00 reflected that.  It took too much effort the last two games for them to be able to sustain it for a third game in a row.  Give Boston credit…they made a series of it when no one else thought they would.  I certainly didn’t…the Montreal guys didn’t think so either.  AllHabs summed it up best…five games and a 1/3 of the sixth in purgatory then they woke up.

Maybe the Habs should send a thank you card to Zdeno Chara because Chara led the B’s to an almost certain death especially when you play a game like that on the biggest of stages.  It makes you wonder as Chara ages..he will be 31 at the start of the season…what Boston will do with him at some point.   All that money (7.5 mill a year) for a turkey of an effort when it counts has to confound even the most diehard of Boston fans this Tuesday morning.

And now for the twist…I really expected only one Game 7 tomorrow between the Sharks and Flames so what does Washington do?  They go all Ovechkin in the third period and now there are two Game 7’s….who would have thought it?  Not me!  So now with our 28-18 record….we get 2 more chances to add to our first round record.  So let’s go for it…what the hell!!!!

Washington 3  Philadelphia 1

San Jose 3  Calgary 2

Now for goats and studs…here goes…..

Goats: Derian Hatcher, Dion Phaneuf

Studs: Joe Thornton, Alexander Ovechkin

Enjoy the two Game 7’s!!!  I know I will.

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