NHL 2nd Round Playoff Recap
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.