4/28/2010

Goods & Bads

With the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs almost wrapped up, Washington and Montreal have a decisive Game 7 left to play, here are some goods and bads of the post season so far.

Good - Detroit played as close to a perfect game as possible in Game 7 against Phoenix. They scored on their power plays and they killed all of the Coyotes' man advantage situations. And, to use a real cliché, their best players were their best players.

Bad - Washington will be without defenseman Tom Poti, who suffered a fratured orbital bone after getting a puck in the face. Tough break for the Caps.

Good - Marc Savard is healty and has been cleared to play in the second round. Although Boston finally found some scoring against the Sabres, Savard will be a most welcomed addition.

Bad - The New Jersey Devils. I really thought the Devils would go far in the playoffs this year, and I am sure they did too. But many of their best players did not show up for the first round and the Flyers took advantage of that, handing in four solid wins in five games.

Good - Brian Boucher. After a rollercoaster decade he is finally back playing for the team that once drafted him, the Philadelphia Flyers. He was fantastic against the Devils and he leads all goalies in save percentage and GAA.

Finally I have to get back to last night's game and say, I really like Dave Tippet. Besides being a really nice guy he is also honest. At the post game press conference he did not shy away from admitting they had been thumped by a team that, at crunch time, had stepped its game up to a level the Coyotes could not reach. I also liked it when he called the Red Wing-duo, Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk the "Two-Headed Monster". Classic!

4/11/2010

Final Round


Henrik Sedin did what he could against the Calgary Flames. His teammates also did what they could to get the puck to him all night. Henrik played around five minutes more then usual and ended up with four assists. Brother Daniel also had a four-point night. He scored three goals, of which the last one was a sick stick-between-the-legs stunt. So Henrik Sedin leads the point race with his franschise-record 112 points. Now all he can do is wait and see what Alexander Ovechkin can do in his last game. The Russian sits three points behind in the hunt for the Art Ross.

In Philadelphia it all comes down to what feels like a Game 7 between the Flyers and the New York Rangers. One game. The winner is in the playoffs, the loser is out. It's a tough one. The Blueshirts looked good in the last game against the Flyers and the are 7-2-1 in their last ten and winners in the last two. Philadelphia, eventhough they are playing at home, are just 3-6-1 in their last ten. I will go with the Rangers.

Detroit are in a good spot right now. Currently in fifth place in the Western Conference, they will face the fourth-placed Phoenix Coyotes in the first round. Not that Phoenix is in any way a bad team, they have had a fantastic season, but I don't think they were hoping to get the Wings in the first round. Actually, I doubt any team were hoping to get Detroit. Well, it all comes down to the last game. The Red Wings need to win their last game, away against Chicago. If they lose and Los Angeles beat Colorado away, the Wings will instead face Vancouver in the first round.

Wow, there is so much at stake in this final round of the season. Just the way it should be.

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