Hawks to Take Flight Against Flyers
EASTERN CONFERENCE
#7 Philadelphia Flyers OVER #8 Montreal Canadiens 4-1
Turning Point: The Flyers physically overmatched the Canadiens and Michael Leighton had another shutout in Game 4 to take a 3-1 series lead.
Key Stat: 3. The number of shutouts for Michael Leighton
Result: I guess whoever plays goalie for the Flyers will outplay the better goalie. After Brian Boucher was hurt in Game 5 in Boston, all Michael Leighton has done is post a 6-1 record with a 1.45 GAA and 3 shutouts. Go figure. In previous series, the Canadiens were able to match up against scoring first oriented teams in Washington and Pittsburgh. Philadelphia’s grind-it-out and physical approach overwhelmed the much smaller Canadiens.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
#2 Chicago Blackhawks OVER #1 San Jose Sharks 4-0
Turning Point: Dustin Byufglien buried a centering pass from Dave Bolland for a Game 3 overtime winner to give the Hawks a 3-0 lead.
Key Stat: 3. Game-winning goals for Byufglien in the series.
Result: So much for a long series between the top two teams in the conference. Separated by one point during the regular season, the Sharks couldn’t do enough to separate by a goal. Dustin Byufglien continued to be the unsung hero of the postseason finishing with game-winning goals in Games 1, 3, and 4. Antti Niemi continued his dominant play by stealing Game 1 and making enough key saves to sweep away the Sharks. For San Jose, another year goes by with no trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. While the Sharks went as far as many thought they would, to be swept away will leave more questions about what else this team can do to get to the next level.
Chaulk it Eastside Down, Apple Sauce, Shark Bite, and the Hawks Flying Up North
EASTERN CONFERENCE
#8 Montreal Canadiens OVER #4 Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3
Turning Point: The Canadiens jumped out early on the Penguins in Game 7 building a 4-0 lead and held on to clinch another Game 7 on the road.
Key Stat: 7-2. Michael Cammalleri outscored Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
Result: Let the momentum ride. The Montreal Canadiens continued to their streak of momentum to another Game 7 upset over a high scoring offense led by one of the best players in the league. For the defending champs, both Crosby and Malkin found trouble trying to get their game going. Jaroslav Halak was again brilliant rebounding from being pulled in Game 1 to win 4 of the next 6. Mike Cammalleri joined a class that includes Maurice “Rocket” Richard, Jean Beliveau and Guy Lafleur for the 4th highest goal total (12) in Habs playoff history. We will have a new champion.
#7 Philadelphia Flyers OVER #6 Boston Bruins 4-3
Turning Point: Simone Gagne scored an overtime winner in Game 4 to extend the series another game. Who knew it would lead to one of the great comebacks in sports history.
Key Stat: 0-3 to 4-3. A theme to this series.
Result: For only the third time in NHL history and fourth time in sports history, a team rallied from 0-3 down in a playoff series. While it’s about Philadelphia’s comeback it’s more about Boston’s collapse. How do you like dem apples? Ahhhhhh! The last team to comeback from 0-3 was the Red Sox over the Yankees. Now Boston gets the shaft this time. Apple Sauce bitch!
WESTERN CONFERENCE
#1 San Jose Sharks OVER #5 Detroit Red Wings 4-1
Turning Point: Patrick Marleau scored in overtime of Game 3 to give the Sharks a 3-0 strangehold on the series.
Key Stat: 31-23. San Jose’s advantage in power play opportunities, including more opportunities in all four wins.
Result: The playoff demons were exorcised in San Jose. Most people figured the Sharks would face the uphill climb against the mighty Red Wings, but really dominated the series, as a top seed should. Detroit took too many penalties, some were controversial, but some brain dead. The Sharks took advantage as power plays keyed the Game 2 and 5 victories. For the Red Wings, they went as far as they should’ve. Age is a question. Will they turn it over? Nik Lidstrom looks like he has another year or two in the tank but the likes of Kris Draper and a few other veterans may be on their way out. Jimmy Howard had a good rookie season.
#2 Chicago Blackhawks OVER #3 Vancouver Canucks 4-2
Turning Point: Dustin Byufglien’s Hat Trick in Game 3 not only swung the series in Chicago’s favor but frustrated the Canucks into too many penalties.
Key Stat: 22, the number of goals allowed by Roberto Luongo in this series.
Result: Two things dictated this series: 1. Dustin Byufglien. The top pest on Chicago’s roster frustrated the Canucks into bad penalties and took the Sedin twins off their game. 2. Chicago had better goaltending. In what was expected to be a high scoring series, Anti Niemi outplayed Roberto Luongo. Luongo didn’t make any big saves in this series. The overrated label will continue to be attached to his name. Vancouver’s penalty killing was awful again, giving up 7 of 28 opportunities.
It seemed to be a perfect week…except for Saturday’s weather in Austin…
Congratulations to Dallas Braden of the Oakland A’s for pitching the 19th Perfect Game in MLB history. The guy who A-Rod said had no credibility obviously has made a name for himself now. He joins Catfish Hunter as the only other pitcher to throw a Perfect Game in the storied Athletics franchise…
Another perfect thing is three NBA teams: the Orlando Magic are on a roll and will sweep through the first two rounds on the playoffs. The Suns and Lakers will get a week off after rolling through their series…
The not-so-perfect would be Time Magazine. Congrats on becoming People Magazine. Lady Gaga, Sandra Bullock, and Taylor Swift are on your 100 most influential list? What a joke.
I think the entire city of San Jose just let out a huge sigh of relief. Detroit your team just wasn’t good enough…
Tiger couldn’t finish his round of golf because of a neck injury. According to Curb Your Enthusiasm there are only two ways to injure your neck…
It sucks that when you’re in a Lake it goes from 90 one day to 70 and cloudy the next…
I got a raise so that’s a start of a good week…
The difference between home court and home ice: Four lower seeds in the NHL advanced in the first round compared to two in the NBA. NHL home teams were 22-27 in the first round while NBA teams were 33-12. My home court picks still looks good…
2nd round NHL picks: Red Wings over Sharks in 7, Blackhawks over Canucks in 7, Penguins over Canadiens in 6, Bruins over Flyers in 6…
I rank the Canadiens upset over the Capitals as the third biggest upset in NHL Playoff history. The third-year expansion Sharks over the Red Wings in 1994 in #1 and the 1982 L.A. Kings over Gretzky’s Oilers and their 48-point differential is #2…
The first month of the baseball season is finished. I don’t see the Padres, Mets, and an 80-win team winning the AL West. I’ll let this play out a little longer…
Some immigration groups are asking fans to protest the new Arizona immigration bill by not showing up to Diamondbacks games. Apparently Arizona fans got that memo about eight years ago…
Paid more for doing the same job; that sounds odd in Corporate America…