I’ve been reading reports all morning that the Philadelphia Flyers are in talks with goaltender, Ray Emery.  Flyers General Manager, Paul Holmgren, confirmed the news.

“We have internal discussions about many players and their potential availability, including Ray Emery,” Holmgren said. “I have spoken to his agent a few times about Ray as well. Any further speculation about this would be very premature.”

Still, this is potentially HUGE news.  I really had all but written off the former Ottawa Senators netminder – not because he wasn’t good enough but because he couldn’t seem to get control over his personal problems (for which he did take some responsibility).  It was sad to me because he really has a lot of potential and even backstopped the Sens all the way to the 2007 Stanley Cup Final.

Unfortunately, things really started to fall apart after that (and, yes, his ego seemed to play a huge role in that) and he ended up playing for Moscow’s Mytishchi Atlanta in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League this season (though he did accuse the team of taking money from him).

Emery is 71-40-14 with a 2.71 goals-against average and eight shutouts in 134 NHL games and could fit in nicely with the Flyers (if he could behave) since both of their goaltender, Martin Biron and Antero Niittymaki, will become free agents this summer.

I would be happy to see Emery make a return to the NHL as long as he’s ready.  As is the case with Sean Avery, I feel that a player’s personal issues can really ruin an otherwise excellent career so I hope that Emery gets himself back on track because the jury is still out on Avery.

image: TSN

The Pittsburgh Penguins staged an amazing comeback from a three goal deficit and have advanced to the semi-finals after eliminating the Philadelphia Flyers this afternoon.  It was an intense game and, for the first 20 minutes, it looked like Game 7 was going to be inevitable. 

Just when it looked like the game was lost, Sergei Gonchar and Sidney Crosby rallied for their team – Crosby scored the game tying goal in the second (as well as an empty-netter in the final minute) while Gonchar put one in the back of the net in the third to secure a 5-3 victory in Game 6.

This was the second season in a row that the Penguins have eliminated the Flyers in the playoffs.  They will have to wait to find out who they will play in the semi-finals but I get the feeling that the Penguins are hungry for the Stanley Cup.  I would love to see them go up against the Boston Bruins in the conference final but there’s still a lot of time before that happens.

image: TSN

If the Pittsburgh Penguins were shocked when the Philadelphia Flyers beat them 6-3 in Game 3, I’m sure they were positively stunned to be shut out by them tonight.

The Flyers beat the Penguins 3-0 last night and sent the message that they are far from being completely out of this series.  The only goal that the Pens scored was disallowed after it was determined that Evgeni Malkin kicked it into the back of the net.

Flyers goaltender, Martin Biron, stopped all 28 shots that he faced while Penguins netminder, Marc-Andre Fleury, only managed to turn away 23 of the 26 shots on goal.

No doubt, the Penguins are frustrated and possibly embarrassed by their performance.  I’m surprised with Malkin and Sidney Crosby being healthy that they allowed themselves to get shut out.  Especially since this was Game 5 and all they had to do was win this one to capture the series.

image: TSN

The Philadelphia Flyers may have fought hard to get into the series by winning Game 3 with a whopping final score of 6-3 but the Pittsburgh Penguins have quickly recovered.  With a three-game advantage over the Flyers, the Pens have a good chance of winning the series.

image: TSN

There was no scoring in the first period of Game 4 but during the second, Pens captain, Sidney Crosby, slid feet-first into the Philly net and, fortunately, took the puck right along with him.  The play was reviewed, of course, but it ended up counting.  Tyler Kennedy scored about four minutes later and then Maxime Talbot put one into an empty net late in the game to seal the deal.

Only Daniel Carcillo was able to score for the Flyers because Pens goaltender, Marc-André Fleury was incredible last night.  He turned away 45 shots on net and kept Pittsburgh in the game.  You can’t say that Philly didn’t try.

After being dominated by the Pittsburgh Penguins for the first two games, the Philadelphia Flyers are finally showed signs of life.  Yesterday, they absolutely shocked the Penguins (and many of the fans) by roaring back into contention with a 6-3 victory at home.

image: TSN

Jeff Carter and Mike Richards flexed their playoff muscles by scoring their first goals of the series early in the game which seems to be all the team needed to really gain momentum.  “It was a huge game. We didn’t want to go down 3-0 because that’s a tough task,” Flyers centre Danny Briere said. “We have to enjoy it for a few minutes here.”

It shows just how important it is for all of the team’s players to be contributing on the ice.  While Evgeni Malkin scored twice for the Pens, captain Sidney Crosby has just one goal in three games (he did post three assists in Game 3, though).  I’m sure Pittsburgh is hoping he will catch fire before it’s too late.

Pittsburgh leads the quarterfinal series 2-1.  Game 4 is Tuesday night in Philadelphia.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have continued their domination over the Philadelphia Flyers by winning last night’s game and taking a 2-0 series lead.  This game was a little closer than the first one but it was still very intense.

image: TSN

The game was crazy enough through the regular 60 minutes but then it went into overtime.  To make it even more insane, Mike Knuble and Claude Giroux were both assessed 2 minute penalties (cross checking and slashing) which gave the Pens a two-man advantage.  The team’s oldest player, 38-year-old Bill Guerin, took a pass from teammate Sergei Gonchar and beat Flyers goalie, Martin Biron.  It was Guerin’s first-ever game-winning playoff goal.  What a night!

A lot of people were waiting to see the Pittsburgh Penguins play last night and they did not disappoint.  They took on the Philadelphia Flyers and made them look like a junior team trying to play in the big league.  It was almost sad and, for the full 60 minutes, it was a seriously one-sided game.  Did the Flyers realize that this was a playoff match?

image: Newscom

Both captain, Sidney Crosby, and emerging superstar, Evgeni Malkin, got a goal and an assist each while goaltender, Marc-André Fleury, came close to securing a shutout in the 4-1 victory.  No matter the details, these three effectively shut down the Flyers in Steel Town last night.  “It was important not because of last year, but because you want to start the series off right. But last year’s done … I don’t think that was in anybody’s mind,” Crosby said. “We certainly want to be tough at home and establish that early.”

Friday’s game should be an interesting one.  If they are smart, the Flyers are off licking their wounds and trying to figure out how to outplay the Penguins.  We’ll see.

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.

image: Newscom

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. Vancouver is red hot right now but Columbus is also doing well. The thing that is going to make this pairing sizzle, though, is the battle between goaltenders, Roberto Luongo (Canucks) and rookie Steve Mason (Blue Jackets). I can’t stand Vancouver (although, I have to admit that they’ve been amazing) so I want them to lose the series but I will be watching these games whenever I can just to see whether Luongo or Mason will come out on top. The Chicago vs. Calgary games could go either way since both teams have been patchy throughout the season and Calgary has been really struggling since acquiring Olli Jokinen at the trade deadline. They had been doing so well so it’s anyone’s guess whether they will be able to shake off whatever is bothering them in order to get more effective on the ice…

image: Newscom

In the Eastern Conference, you will find the following matchups:

• Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens
• Washington Capitals vs. NY Rangers
• New Jersey Devils vs. Carolina Hurricanes
• Philadelphia Flyers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins/li>

I can’t even believe that Boston is going to battle Montreal in the first round.  Both were part of the original six teams that made up the NHL and they are long-time rivals.  The fans are going to go crazy and I wish I could head back east and watch a Montreal game with my family.  I don’t know who will win the Caps vs. Rangers series but, if it comes down to it, I think that Alexander Ovechkin is going to do all that he can to stay in the game.  After the season that goaltender, Martin Brodeur, has had, I’m hoping the New Jersey Devils will beat out the Carolina Hurricanes but I don’t think it’s obvious enough to make a prediction.  Also, although it may not be as rooted in history as the Montreal/Boston series, it’s going to be intense when the Flyers take on the Penguins.  It’s going to be one long “Battle of Pennsylvania” for the fans and I am hoping the Pens skate away with a strong victory. I know that Sidney Crosby and Evgeny Malkin are going to want that second chance after narrowly losing the Stanley Cup finals last year.

I’d love to hear what you think!  Which matchups are you most looking forward to and who do you think will move on?

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:

Who do you think will take home Lord Stanley?  I think that the two teams leading each conference (Boston and San Jose) are going to be tough to beat so I wouldn’t be surprised if either of them won the finals (I think Boston might be a little more likely).  Still, the playoffs can be so unpredictable so it’s hard to tell…

image: NBCUMV

Pittsburgh Penguins captain, Sidney Crosby, pulled it together and proved he deserves all the acclaim.  After scoring twice in the 6-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning, Crosby helped lift his team to a playoff spot. 

Crosby’s goals gave him 101 points for the season which marks the first time two Pens players reached the 100 point milestone during the same season since Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jager in 1995-1996 (teammate Evgeni Malkin has a league-leading 110  points).  Is it the sign of things to come? 

The Penguins came so close to winning the Stanley Cup last year so I would be very happy for them if they were able to pull it off this year (or at least make the finals).  Of course, I would love to see the Calgary Flames take it but they are playing so poorly these days that I have serious doubts.

On the same night, fellow Pennsylvania team, the Philadelphia Flyers, also made the playoffs with a 2-1 win over the Florida Panthers.  "Obviously it’s nice to get into the playoffs, but we still have a lot of work to do to get home ice advantage," said Jeff Carter.

image: TSN