The Washington Capitals will take on the Pittsburgh Penguins today and, while the teams matter, what people really care about is the showdown between two of the league’s hottest stars.

Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin will meet up in the ultimate Stanley Cup playoff pairing (I swear I can hear Gary Bettman drooling).  Both of the players have incredibly impressive stats but only one of them will emerge from this series with bragging rights (and we all know that Ovie knows how to brag).

Here’s the schedule (all in Eastern Time):

• Saturday, May 2, 1pm - Penguins at Capitals
• Monday, May 4, 7pm - Penguins at Capitals
• Wednesday, May 6, 7pm - Capitals at Penguins
• Friday, May 8, 7pm - Capitals at Penguins
• Saturday, May 9, 7pm - Penguins at Capitals
• *6 Monday, May 11, TBD - Capitals at Penguins
• *7 Wednesday, May 13, 7pm - Penguins at Capitals

image: TSN

The Boston Bruins easily beat the Montreal Canadiens in the first round but will they do as well against the Carolina Hurricanes?  Only time will tell since this is yet another surprising pairing in the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

I was expecting the New Jersey Devils to eliminate the Hurricanes and was thoroughly shocked by the results of Game 6.  After they came back and won that game with less than 90 seconds left in the third, I felt a deep sense of respect for them.  They won the cup back in 2006 and then things just went downhill from there, including the play of formerly acclaimed goaltender, Cam Ward. 

Now, the boys (including Ward) have a chance to redeem themselves but will their efforts be enough to stave off the Bruins?  I’m really doubtful.  The Bruins have played incredibly well this season (best in the Eastern Conference) and they just have everything going for them – Marc Savard has been excellent offensively, Zdeno Chara is an incredible defenceman and then there’s goaltender Tim Thomas who has been spectacular between the pipes for the club. 

Here’s a schedule of the games for this series:

• Friday, May 1 at Boston, 7:30 p.m. VERSUS (JIP), TSN
• Sunday, May 3 at Boston, 7:30 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
• Wednesday, May 6 at Carolina, 7:30 p.m. VERSUS (JIP), TSN
• Friday, May 8 at Carolina, 7:30 p.m. VERSUS (JIP), TSN
• *Sunday, May 10 at Boston, 7:30 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
• *Tuesday, May 12 at Carolina, 7:00 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
• *Thursday, May 14 at Boston, TBD TSN

image: TSN

Tonight, the Detroit Red Wings will host the Anaheim Ducks for what could be a very interesting series.  The Ducks have already surprised a lot of people by eliminating the top seeded team in the league in the first round and now the 2007 Stanley Cup Champions will take on the 2008 Stanley Cup Champions.  Who will advance to the next round?

I can’t even make a prediction about how this is going to go down but I do have a feeling that, like so many other series, this one could be determined by goaltending.  Both teams have their strengths (Detroit is a playoff machine and Anaheim seems to have drive and the element of surprise) but I want to see how Chris Osgood fares against Jonas Hiller, the goalie-who-has-emerged-from-obscurity-to-become-one-of-the-most-talked-about-players-in-the-postseason.

The action starts tonight.  Here’s the schedule:

• Friday, May 1 at Detroit, 7:00 p.m. VERSUS, TSN2
• Sunday, May 3 at Detroit, 2:00 p.m. NBC, TSN
• Tuesday, May 5 at Anaheim, 10:30 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
• Thursday, May 7 at Anaheim, 10:30 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
• *Sunday, May 10 at Detroit, 5:00 p.m. TSN
• *Tuesday, May 12 at Anaheim, TBD VERSUS, TSN
• *Thursday, May 14 at Detroit, TBD VERSUS, TSN

image: TSN

The Vancouver Canucks eliminated the St. Louis Blues in four games and have been on a nice, long break waiting for the second round to begin.  Meanwhile, the quarterfinal series went all the way to Game 6 for the Chicago Blackhawks who, ultimately, beat the Calgary Flames.  Now, they will face off in the semi-finals and I think this could end up being a very interesting pairing.

Both teams are very annoying to play against.   The Sedin twins, Henrik and Daniel (Vancouver), have an undeniable chemistry on the ice and really have the ability to score.  Meanwhile, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, like much of the Blackhawks, are young and fast.  Watching the Blackhawks is like watching a swarm of bees buzzing all over the place. 

Hopefully, this series will be the goaltending showdown that everyone is expecting as Vancouver’s Roberto Luongo takes on Chicago’s Nikolai Khabibulin, who won the Stanley Cup in 2004 with the Tampa Bay Lightning. 

Here’s the game schedule:

• Thursday, April 30 at Vancouver, 9:00 p.m. CBC, VERSUS
• Saturday, May 2 at Vancouver, 9:00 p.m. CBC, VERSUS
• Tuesday, May 5 at Chicago, 8:00 p.m. CBC, VERSUS
• Thursday, May 7 at Chicago, 8:00 p.m. CBC, VERSUS
• *Saturday, May 9 at Vancouver, 10:30 p.m CBC, VERSUS
• *Monday, May 11 at Chicago, 9:00 p.m. CBC, VERSUS (JIP)
• *Thursday, May 14 at Vancouver, TBD CBC, VERSUS

* if necessary

image: TSN

I have had many American friends complain that the coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs isn’t as good in the States as it is in Canada.  Fortunately, VERSUS is trying to improve things during its fourth season as the exclusive cable television network of the NHL outside of Canada (it’s also the fastest growing US cable sports network!).

I checked out their schedule and it’s pretty impressive.  They plan to kick off things off tonight with a special playoffs preview Hockey Central show at 6:30 p.m. ET. 

This will be followed by the series opener for the Philadelphia Flyers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins at 7 pm ET and will end the night with the first game in the St. Louis Blues and Vancouver Canucks series (10pm ET).  All games in each round will be produced and presented in HD where available. Check out the game schedule!

Here’s a great ad highlighting their coverage.  I can’t wait!!!!!!

The 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs begin today with the first of the quarterfinal games and I can’t believe this day has finally arrived.  Honestly, this season went by so quickly that it’s hard to believe we are at the end.  I look at the teams that have made the playoffs and I truly cannot predict who will win this thing. 

On the one hand, it’s easy to assume that teams like the Boston Bruins or San Jose Sharks, who have clearly dominated throughout the season, will take home Lord Stanley but you really can’t underestimate a good underdog. 

Here’s the schedule for the 2009 Playoffs Conference Quarterfinals (times are EST):

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Boston vs. Montreal

Washington Capitals vs. NY Rangers

New Jersey Devils vs. Carolina Hurricanes

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Philadelphia Flyers

WESTERN CONFERENCE

San Jose Sharks vs. Anaheim Ducks

Detroit Red Wings vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

Vancouver Canucks vs. St Louis Blues

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Calgary Flames

*if necessary

image: Newscom

Just a reminder for everyone – today the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship officially begins.  With the preliminaries behind us, the real action starts today.  The overwhelming favorite for the gold medal is Team Canada.  Since the games are being hosted in Ottawa, Ontario, our nation’s capital, I have to admit it would be pretty amazing to see Team Canada bring home the gold.

For more information about which games are going to be played each day, check out the World Junior Championship game schedule.

image: TSN

The World Junior Championship begins this Friday.  I love watching the tournament since so many of those standout players end up getting drafted into the NHL and sometimes turn into big stars like Sidney Crosby and Dion Phaneuf. 

Anyway, here is the schedule for the games:

December 26, 2008
Germany-USA @ 3:30
Canada-Czech Republic @ 7:30

December 28, 2008
Kazakhstan-Canada @ 3:30
USA-Czech Republic @ 7:30

December 29, 2008
Germany-Canada @ 7:30

December 30, 2008
USA-Kazakhstan @ 7:30

December 31, 2008
Canada-USA @ 7:30

January 2, 2008
WJC Quarterfinal #1 @ 3:30
WJC Quarterfinal #2 @ 7:30

January 3, 2008
WJC Semifinal #1 @ 3:30
WJC Semifinal #2 @ 7:30

January 5, 2008
WJC Bronze Medal Game @ 3:30
WJC Gold Medal Game @ 7:30

image: TSN

Here are tonight’s scheduled games (listed in Eastern Standard Time):

• Tampa Bay at Buffalo - 7:00 PM
• Pittsburgh at New Jersey - 7:00 PM
• Boston at Washington - 7:00 PM
• NY Rangers at Atlanta - 7:00 PM
• Calgary at Detroit - 7:30 PM
• Ottawa at Chicago - 8:30 PM
• Phoenix at Dallas - 8:30 PM
• St. Louis at Anaheim - 10:00 PM

Here are today’s scheduled NHL games:

• NY Islanders at Philadelphia - 7:00 PM
• Calgary at Montreal - 7:30 PM
• Vancouver at Nashville - 8:00 PM
• Los Angeles at Colorado - 9:30 PM