I know it was a loss for the ‘Hawks but I still think they played a very good game.  It was a tough one but, in the end, Mikael Samuelsson scored 5:14 into overtime to give Detroit the 3-2 victory.

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It just shows what kind of stamina a well-trained and disciplined team like the Red Wings can deliver despite the fact that their legs must be pretty tired at this point (they played for the fourth time in a week, including those last two hard-fought games against the Anaheim Ducks in the semifinals).

Obviously, the Blackhawks really need to step up their game and use that home ice advantage in these next two games (in Chicago) or they will be eliminated.  I would hate to see them get swept.  The entire team is going to have to put in a lot of extra effort and this is where experience and maturity can be a major factor.  This is a young team and, last night, only Jonathan Toews scored (twice!).

Game 3 takes place in Chicago on Friday night.

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They are the highest remaining seed in the playoffs at this point and, like the San Jose Sharks (the #1 seed was eliminated in the first round), the Bruins have been showing some weakness.  They rebounded in a big way tonight and staved off elimination.

Barely five minutes into the game the Bruins were up 2-0 and managed to keep a two-goal lead in the end.  Now they will get to play Game 7 at home in Boston.

“From the time we fell behind 3-1 in the series, our goal was to create a Game 7,” coach Claude Julien said. “We’re there now. … Getting to Game 7 is one thing. Now we’ve got to decide what we’re going to do with it.”

I don’t know what is going to happen in that final game.  The Bruins are a great team and have had a great season but the Hurricanes continue to surprise so I really won’t discount them, home advantage or not.

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I know that a lot of critics and commentators had discounted the Caps but I knew better – I may not be a fan of the team but I do knew that Alexander Ovechkin was going to fight to stay in the playoffs and, regardless of what he says, that drive is intensified by his rivalry with Sidney Crosby.

This is it, folks.  These two teams (and star players) are going to Game 7.  It’s do-or-die time and I can’t wait to see what these clubs are really made of.  “I think it’s going to be great game,” Ovechkin said. “I think the league wants us to play Game 7 (on Wednesday).”

I couldn’t agree more.  A matchup between Alex the Great and Sid the Kid is just what the league wants and, as I’ve said since the beginning, I’m sure NHL commissioner, Gary Bettman, is literally drooling over this turn of events.

I can’t predict what’s going to happen because this series has been filled with all kinds of twists and turns (plus, I’m not a psychic) but I do hope the Penguins get to continue on to the next round.  I can’t lie, though.  The Capitals are slowly winning me over and Ovechkin is a heck of a player but I gotta go with Crosby.

Game 7 takes place on Wednesday, May 13 at 7pm ET.  I can barely stand the wait…

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Incredibly, though, the Pens will have to admit that they are ahead due, in part, to some “assistance” they’ve received from the Capitals themselves.  Tonight’s overtime win was courtesy of a goal that was deflected into the back of the net by Capitals defenceman, Tom Poti.  I’m sure Evgeni Malkin couldn’t predict that Poti would be the one to help him score the goal but no one was complaining.  “These games come down to mistakes and bounces,” Crosby said. “And we got a good bounce there on the last goal.”

Of course, if you’ve been watching the series, you will remember that, back in Game 3, a shot by Kris Letang was deflected in by defenceman Shaone Morrisonn.  “It’s always hard when you play in overtime and you allow a silly goal like this,” said goaltender, Simeon Varlamov. “That’s twice now. … But winners make their own luck.”

Yeah… if I was him, I’d be pretty pissed off.

Meanwhile, over in the Western Conference, the Vancouver Canucks are facing a fate similar to that of the Capitals.

The Chicago Blackhawks struck first but then the Canucks quickly tied the game in the first period.  They came on strong in the second with the Sedin twins and Mats Sundin teaming up on Chicago goaltender, Nikolai Khabibulin, and scoring a really nice goal.  In the end it just wasn’t enough.

The teams were tied at 2-2 late in the third period when the Hawks scored on a power play.  They put another one into the empty net and secured a 4-2 victory.

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Franzen led the Wings to an early lead by scoring two goals in the first period while Hossa scored twice in just over three minutes to break the 2-2 tie and put Detroit up by one.  Franzen added an assist on Hossa’s first goal.

The game marked the first time that we saw a crack in Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller’s pristine veneer.  The kid has come up huge for his team throughout the postseason, making 59 saves in the Ducks’ 4-3 triple-overtime win in Game 2 and 45 saves in a 2-1 victory in Game 3.  That’s absolutely remarkable!  Unfortunately, he was pulled and replaced by Jean-Sebastien Giguere (who, I’m sure, is bitter as hell at being benched this whole time) after allowing five goals in 33 shots on net.  His Red Wings counterpart, Chris Osgood, made 25 saves.

Game 5 is Sunday in Detroit, and Game 6 is Tuesday night in Anaheim.  I’ll be on the couch, holding my breath.  I still think Anaheim can pull off another upset.  I just hope Hiller isn’t too rattled by being pulled and can bring back the focus after getting some much-needed rest.

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In what must be called an amazing comeback, Andrew Ladd received the puck from teammate Dave Bolland (Chicago) and tipped it right in behind Luongo to secure the victory.  It felt like poetic justice since, with less than 10 seconds left in regulation, Bolland was on a breakaway and Vancouver’s Alexander Edler caught up to him and either hooked or tripped him.  Bolland went down and the crowd at the United Centre (along with the coach and GM) was screaming for a penalty and it never happened.  That was one of the more disappointing failures in officiating I’ve seen in this series.

It was crazy because the score had been 1-0 in favor of the Canucks for what felt like an eternity and the, all of a sudden, with less than three minutes left in the game, Martin Havlat sprung to life and tied the game.  “We were a couple of minutes away from winning this game,” Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault said. “It happened. We’ve got to deal with it and get ready for the next game.”

Well, that was definitely a problem but the thing that Vigneault should really be concerned about is the fact that Chicago netminder, Nikolai Khabibulin, only had to make 14 saves whereas Vancouver goalie, Roberto Luongo, turned away 26 shots on goal.  If Vancouver is going to compete with a young, fast team like Chicago, they are going to have to shoot the puck a lot more than 15 times.

Game 5 is Saturday night in Vancouver and the Canucks will have to

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As you would expect in a series with some serious talent, there were some great goals scored last night.  Alexander Ovechkin scored a crazy goal after he grabbed a bad bounce off the glass, clunked along toward the net (I can’t even described how weirdly he was skating) and then launched the puck into the net (and it looked like he was airborne at the time).  Poor Pens goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury, didn’t stand a chance since he was out of the net thinking he was going to collect the puck but, as I said, it bounced off the glass and right into Ovie’s hands.

The Ovechkin/Sidney Crosby pairing continued to heat up with Ovechkin pushing Crosby in the back (and right into the Capitals net) and incurred a two-minute interference penalty.  It was pretty lame and I’m surprised he did it.

As if to silence his doubters, Evgeni Malkin appeared to come to life last night and scored the second goal of the night for Pittsburgh (Ruslan Fedetenko scored the first) and I believe that this goal gave his team the chance to win.  His parents were in the stands and I just have to say that he looks EXACTLY like his mother.  It gave me the creeps…

Game 4 is bound to be very interesting.  It takes place on Friday in Pittsburgh.

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Hurricanes goaltender, Cam Ward, was coming off his fourth career playoff shutout and it seemed like the team was on a mission to prove that their first win was not a fluke.  It was definitely an intensely played game and the little feud between Zdeno Chara (Boston) and Eric Staal (Carolina) continued to mount.

The teams were tied 2-2 when the third period ended.  Although Carolina had a good momentum going, Boston netminder, Tim Thomas, really did try his best and made a spectacular save on Matt Cullen and had to reach behind himself and guess where that puck was to stop it from going in.  Thomas hasn’t allowed a goal in third period during the postseason so I wasn’t surprised when they went to overtime.

Jussi Jokinen received a pass and did a really smooth rotation in front of the net before putting it behind Thomas to win in overtime.  I wanted Boston to win but I can’t deny that it was just a really sweet goal.

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The whole game was hard-fought but I honestly thought that the Ducks would either fall to the Red Wings or things would be decided in overtime again when I saw the intensity Detroit brought to the third period.

It was close, actually, since a goal that I believe should have counted was taken from Detroit.  Scott Niedermayer (ANA) misplayed and Hiller actually lost control of the puck in the crease.  Marion Hossa (DET) quickly saw the opportunity and slammed the puck into the back of the net.  Unfortunately, referee Brad Watson claimed he had lost track of the puck and whistled the play dead, which negated the goal.  It was shocking because I thought the puck was in plain sight but I guess he didn’t see it.  If that goal had counted, Detroit would have tied the game with 1:04 remaining and it almost certainly would have gone to overtime.

Game 4 will, again, be in Anaheim on Thursday.  I can barely wait.  People are talking so much about the Pittsburgh/Washington series but I think this matchup is just as exciting.

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Neither goaltender was tested too much with Roberto Luongo (Vancouver) turning away 23 of the 24 shots on goal while Nikolai Khabibulin managed to only save 18 of the 21 shots he faced. 

Mason Raymond opened the scoring for Vancouver in the first, which was a period filled with penalties on both sides.  Patrick Kane (Chicago) drew a hooking call with less than a minute left and the Canucks took full advantage of it when the second period began, with Steve Bernier scoring just 60 seconds into play.  Henrik Sedin scored the third goal for Vancouver while Brian Campbell was the lone Blackhawks to get on the board.  There was no scoring in the third period.

The teams will meet again for Game 4 in Chicago on Thursday night.

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