What a crazy game!!!  I was hoping that the Anaheim Ducks would rebound after being beat by the Detroit Red Wings in Game 1 of this second round and they did not disappoint.  The two most recent Stanley Cup champions battled hard, matching goal for goal until it was all decided in third overtime, making this the longest playoff game so far this year!

I think both the Red Wings and the Ducks put a huge amount of effort into the game tonight but I do want to say that Detroit goaltender, Chris Osgood, didn’t seem to be on his game …read more

Hockey fans everywhere were anxiously awaiting the start of this highly anticipated matchup – Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin battling out in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  It doesn’t get a lot better than that.  Fortunately, the boys didn’t let us down.

The Washington Capitals hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins this afternoon and it was a hard-fought game but, in the end, it was Washington that skated away with a 3-2 victory.
Crosby started the scoring early in the first period but the Caps scored twice, including a goal from Ovechkin, to put them ahead by one going into the second.  After that, it …read more

After securing a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues last night, the Vancouver Canucks took a commanding series lead and are now just one win away from a sweep.  I truly cannot believe it.  It’s not that I thought the Blues were going to win the quarterfinals, the Canucks are just too hot, but I did think there would be more of a battle.

During last night’s game, I saw a team that looked like they were positively starving for the Stanley Cup and, if they continue to play that way, they could make it.  Many people (myself included) have …read more

WOW.  This was the most shocking score of the night.  The Anaheim Ducks managed to completely shut out the league’s best team, the San Jose Sharks.  The Ducks were the very last team to squeak into the playoffs and, in terms of regular season, were a massive 26 points behind the Sharks.  I don’t know if it will last but that was a massive win for the Ducks.
I didn’t see the game but I saw highlights last night as I sat half-asleep on my couch.  I didn’t realize until just now that it was Jonas Hiller between the pipes for …read more

The first two periods of last night’s game between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens started out pretty intense.  Boston immediately took a lead in the 1st, with two goals by Phil Kessel which were answered by Montreal’s Chris HIggins and Alex Kovalev.  The Bruins left their rivals in the dust, however, with goals by David Krejci and Zdeno Chara in the final 20 minutes and took the series lead (1-0).

There were a couple goals that I know Habs goaltender, Carey Price, would love to have back since he seemed to lose his edge late in the game.  He did, …read more

The New York Rangers took an early lead in the series by winning 4-3 over the Washington Capitals.  It was a hard battled game but, really, it came down to the amazing skills of NYR goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist, who managed to stop 32 shots on goal.  The ones that made it in were so good, he barely had a chance to save them.

Meanwhile, his Washington counterpart, Jose Theodore, was busy putting a lot of blame on himself.  After saying that his effort “just wasn’t good enough” coach Bruce Boudreau did very little to make the netminder feel better.  Boudreau added …read more

The 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs will begin next week and, with the remaining spots taken last night by the Anaheim Ducks and the St. Louis Blues, the NHL has announced the final matchups for the first round.
In the Western Conference the following teams will square off:

San Jose Sharks vs. St. Louis Blues
Detroit Red Wings vs. Anaheim Ducks
Vancouver Canucks vs. Columbus Blue Jackets
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Calgary Flames

Those are some interesting matchups. I predict that the Sharks will take out the Blues and the Wings will pick off the Ducks but I am not sure what will happen with the others. …read more

The teams who will compete in the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs have been decided and I’m extremely excited!  There are a few surprises (Montreal just squeaking in) and things that I’m truly happy about (Chicago, Columbus and St. Louis making the cut) but aside from that, it’s pretty much what most of us could have predicted a couple months ago.  I am disappointed, though, that Dallas wasn’t able to pull it together this season to push past their problems and get to the postseason.  Maybe next year…
Here are a list of the teams that made it:

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

1
Z
Boston
114
1
Z
San Jose
117

2
Y
Washington
108
2
Y
Detroit
112

3
Y
New …read more

It was an amazing night for the Columbus Blue Jackets who made the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in franchise history after a 4-3 SO win over the Chicago Blackhawks.

It has been almost nine years since the Blue Jackets were added to the NHL and I’m sure this victory was sweet since they were the only active team to have never qualified for the postseason.  They only needed one point to secure the playoff spot.  “To get that one point was huge, to come back after being down 2-0,” Rick Nash said. “To get the win was even …read more