Tuesday Timeout

Is the Eastern Conference full of mediocre teams right now?

I can't help myself to not ask that question after watching both games closely last night. Yes, the games have been entertaining. The effort from these teams has been tremendous almost on a nightly basis. But in my opinion none of these teams comes close to matching up with the talent of San Jose, Vancouver, Chicago, or even Detroit for that matter.

Having the top three seeds eliminated in the first round(Wash,NJ,Buff) certainly changed the whole Eastern Conference landscape this post season. Lets take a glance at each team as they stand right now.

Pittsburgh Penguins: We all know that they posses two of the best players in the game and are the defending Stanley Cup Champions, but even Penguin fans will tell you that this years version is not as strong as last season. We love Marc Andre Fleury in goal, but he as struggled at times. The defense is not as strong after losing Hal Gill and Rob Scuderi. Sergie Gonchar is clearly their best offensive defensemen and Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski have played well at times. Brooks Orpik is very solid defensively, but after that journeymen such as Eaton and Leopold round out the blueline. Offensively, Bill Guerin is starting to show his age, and there is a big drop off in scoring after Crosby and Malkin. Jordan Stall has been injures and is probably not 100% which hurts, but do their second and third lines match up at all with San Jose's or Chicago's? We think not.

Montreal Canadiens: Let's not forget that they clinched a playoff spot the final weekend of the NHL season by one point. Their first round upset of Washington was one of the biggest upsets in years. Not taking anything away from them as Jaroslav Halak and Mike Cammalleri have absolutely taken over series and have been brilliant. But did they really win last night with a defense of Hamrlik, Bergeron, Spacek(first game back in 10 games), Gorges, O'Byrne, and a guy named PK Subban? Subban is 20 years old, played in two games this season and logged 29 minutes of ice time last night and played like Drew Doughty. I still can't figure out how they keep winning with a patchwork defense and average forwards besides Cammalleri. However, give them the credit they deserve. Montreal has played an amazing team game and the Bell Center is the loudest building in hockey and has been quite the scene this postseason. Are they really a team anyone can see hoisting the cup though?

Boston Bruins: Tuukka Rask was brilliant in the series against Buffalo, and the start of the Philadelphia series but has struggled as have the rest of the Bruins the last two games. Watching that game last night I felt like the Bruins were a step slow and appeared to be a tired team. Getting back Marc Savard has certainly helped the offense, but losing top six forwards Marco Sturm and David Krejci has been devastating. Thankfully, for Boston they are getting production from Miro Satan, who was a waiver pickup, and the 42 year old Mark Recchi. The Bruins were also in danger of missing the playoffs this season also, and clearly have some holes, but have been bailed out by Rask at times this postseason. Boston is a solid team, but once again the roster is not nearly as talented as the teams out west.

Philadelphia Flyers: Philadelphia made the playoffs by beating the NY Rangers in a shoot out in the final game of the season. Goaltender injuries forced them to use Brian Boucher in the playoffs and he played brilliantly against the New Jersey Devils as the Flyers won the series in five. The Flyers-Bruins series has been evenly played for the most past, but Philly appears to be getting better and healthy as this series has gone on. Simon Gagne returned from injury to win game 4 in OT. The never say die Flyers, were probably a much better team than their record indicated and appear to have a roster built for the playoffs. They played a perfect road game last night, and the thought of coming back from 0-3, suddenly is not out of the question. Losing Claude Giroux hurts, but if they keep getting production from Ville Leino and Scott Hartnell, in addition to Richards and Briere they will not go down easily. Michael Leighton, is the big question in goal after Boucher suffered a season ending knee injury. Leighton has not played in two months, but looked solid coming in relief last night. He still has to be a question mark the rest of the series due to being off that long. Can you envision the Flyers winning the Stanley Cup with the current goaltending they have?

Let's be honest, both Philly and Boston are not great teams. Both teams have gone through streaks where they were good and bad. It really shouldn't be a surprise that this series is heading to a game six. The same should apply for Pittsburgh and Montreal as well. All four of these teams are flawed, but it's still been an amazing postseason and entertaining on a nightly basis. I doubt the Stanley Cup Finals will be as riveting as it may end very quickly for the Eastern Conference winner.

Monday Minutes

Injuries are starting to pile up as the second round series are nearing the end, but perhaps the most severe of all is what happened to Canucks defensemen Sami Salo last night. According to the Vancouver Province, Salo is out with a suspected testicle injury. As most of us cringe at that thought, if he does miss Game Six, the Canucks will be even thinner on the blueline. Aaron Rome would take his place on Tuesday night if he can't play. Shane O'Brien, another defensemen was accidentally hit in the face with a follow through shot by Dustin Byfuglien, but as only a hockey player would do, once the trainers got the blood to stop, he didn't miss a shift.

Montreal Canadiens: Perhaps no team is battling injuries more right now than the Montreal Canadiens. Defensemen, Andrei Markov is listed as doubtful tonight and Hal Gill is listed as day to day. Gill is attempting to play after suffering a laceration in his left leg in the third period of Game 5. It appears that Jaroslav Spacek, who has not played since in nine games is progressing well and may be able to play tonight.

Pittsburgh Penguins: The Penguins appear to be fine as far as injuries go. Jordan Stall's health should be improving as this will be his third game back tonight. Sidney Crosby and the rest of the Penguins will be relieved if Hal Gill does not play for Montreal tonight. Pittsburgh will attempt to close out the Habs tonight on the road. The Penguins, under coach Dan Bylsma, have won five playoff series, and have clinched them all on the road. They may have Montreal exactly where they want them.

Philadelphia Flyers: Agitator Daniel Carcillo, missed practice yesterday with a knee injury. It's unclear whether he will play tonight, if not he will be replaced by Jon Kalinski. Odds are this guy will play unless he can't walk. The Flyers have not played since Friday night, which should help Chris Pronger who logged loads of ice time during their OT win. Philly will need better play from their other defensemen to win tonight and keep their season alive.

Boston Bruins: After losing David Krejci and Marco Sturm for the rest of the playoffs, the Bruins are otherwise healthy. Mark Stuart played his first game in a month Friday night, and was a minus 2. The Bruins feel that the pressure is on the Flyers tonight, yet Philly is saying that all the pressure is on the Bruins because they are home tonight and if they don't close it out will have to go back to Philadelphia facing the prospect of a Game 7 if they don't win.

Our Picks:

We'll go with the trend of Pittsburgh closing out opponents on the road once again. However, the Boston-Philly game is a toss up. The over & Under is 5, so we'll take the over tonight because both defenses have struggled at times in this series.

Pittsburgh -170
Boston/Philly Over 5 -145

In Detroit We Trust

If any team can come back from 0-3, it is the Red Wings. If any team can blow a 3-0 lead it is the San Jose Sharks. Detroit should of won Game Three, and was leading Game two going into the third period. Take nothing away from San Jose, as they have played brilliantly in this series. However, maybe Jimmy Howard is due to steal a game, maybe Franzen will score another 4 goals, who knows maybe Bertuzzi will step up. Detroit will do what it takes to take this series back to the Joe.

The Pick: Detroit + 125

Wednesday Wrap Up

Some thoughts from Tuesday's action:

The Montreal Canadiens are giving the Pittsburgh Penguins all they can handle. Last night it was the Canadiens turn to find out what happens when you run into a hot goalie. The second half of the first period found Montreal all over the Penguins. They did everything right except score. As the game went on, Marc-Andre Fluery made terrific save after terrific save and deserves most of the credit in Pittsburgh's victory. For Montreal, PK Subban looks like the real thing on defense. He moves the puck, plays well defensively and could be the 6th defensemen they have been looking for. This series is far from over.

The San Jose Sharks take a commanding 3-0 lead on the 2 time Western Conference Champion Detroit Red Wings. The achilles heal of the Red Wings for years has been their goaltending. Usually, they are good enough despite the goaltending and veteran Chris Osgood always made the saves he was supposed to make. Last night, Rookie (I hate calling him that, he is 25) Jimmy Howard gave San Jose a gift when Logan Couture scored on a terrible angle to tie the game up at 3 in the later stages of the third period. Give San Jose full marks for coming from behind to tie that game up. Patrick Marleau scored the game winner in overtime when the Sharks took advantage of a bad read by the Red Wings off a player change. Marleau has gotten beat up each offseason when the Sharks have had early exits, and has also lost his captaincy.
Good for Marleau and the Sharks as they appear to be on the door of the Western Conference Finals.

Tuesday Timeout

Just another day to discuss topics such as:

The biting incident: Too bite or not too bite? During Game two of the Boston-Philly series, Daniel Carcillo accused Marc Savard of biting his finger. Carcillo had this to say about the incident. "The last time I was bit was in grade school. "It's not a good feeling and it was pretty cowardly" Savard responded by saying "I guess that's biting when a guy tries to pull your front teeth out like he did" Perhaps Carcillo, who has no front teeth, wanted Savard to look like him and was trying to do him a favor for his appearance. Funny stuff that only happens in hockey!

Sid the Cry Baby: I have to admit, I defend Crosby to most of my fellow hockey followers who can't stand the guy, but his actions during Game Two was indefensible. After Jarosalv Halak made one of his many saves in a Game Two win, Crosby throw his stick in the direction of Halak and was visibly upset. I'm sorry Sidney, you're not the only player Halak has stoned this postseason. Don't come across as a spoiled baby. Ask Ovechkin and the Capitals how it feels.

The Up's and Down's of Antti Niemi: After allowing 5 goals in a game one loss to Vancouver, Ron MacLean of Hockey Night in Canada suggested that the Hawks may go to Huet in Game two. However, if you look at Niemi this season after a bad game, he usually responds with a solid performance, as he did last night. Vancouver scored two early goals, one on a five on three, and Niemi shut the door after that. Even if he gives up 8 goals he still probably has more confidence than Huet at this point. He is the guy for the Blackhawks, as I'm sure Chicago fans have developed a love-hate relationship with him this season.

When Mike Babcock speaks, I Listen: His team is in an 0-2 hole to San Jose after taking several penalties in the third period of game two, yet he did not blast the officiating and still appears confident heading back to Detroit. I don't think there is a coach in the league, as prepared, respected, and not afraid to make a tough decision(ex.pulling Brodeur in the Olympics). Reading his quotes this morning makes me appear confident that the Wings will win tonight.

TV ratings up in US: This seasons epic playoffs have produced the highest cable ratings in ten years in the US. We have had our frustrations with Versus on this blog at times, but overall this is good news for hockey fans and the NHL. I think NBC is another issue as I could do without Pierre Mcguire, and the ridiculous early start times here on the West Coast, but if people are watching than I can deal with it.

For what's it worth, We'll take the two Stanley Cup Finalist from a year ago to win tonight.

Detroit -165
Pittsburgh -170

Monday Minutes

Another exciting round of playoffs is underway as we rank the top five performers in the post season thus far.

1) Jaroslav Halak - How can anyone forget his 53 save performance in Game Six against Washington? He is simply the only reason why the Canadiens pulled off the biggest first round upset in years. Not a bad performance yesterday in Game Two against Pittsburgh as he is officially in the head of Sidney Crosby.

2) Joe Pavelski - He leads the NHL playoffs in scoring with 9 goals and has taken over as the Sharks go to guy this postseason. Forming a dynamic line with Ryan Clowe and Devin Setoguchi, that is providing the Sharks the added scoring they have lacked in years past. As Joe Thornton put it "I wish I was on the planet that he is on right now"

3) Mikael Samuelsson - The leading scorer for the Vancouver Canucks has scored 7 goals in seven games. He has not only scored this postseason, but also is one of the teams best defenders and has a plus 9 rating to show for it. May be playing on the leagues most explosive line with the Sedin twins, that dominated the series against LA.

4) Sidney Crosby - The first round series against Ottawa was simply brilliant for Crosby, scoring five goals and nine assists. He leads the NHL playoff scoring in points with 16 and has to be on this list. We'll see what he can muster against Halak as he was visually frustrated after Game Two.

5) Mark Recchi - I could put Brian Boucher, Jonathan Toews, or Pavel Datsuyk on this list as well, but the 42 year old Recchi has been amazing for the Bruins this post season. He scored a huge goal in Game two vs. Buffalo and has registered six points in seven games for the surprising Bruins. Recchi is also very valuable for his leadership and his ability to make the players around him better. Dude is playing like he is 22 not 42.

Eastern Conference Semi-Finals

8 Montreal Canadiens vs Pittsburgh Penguins 4

Season Series: Pittsburgh won series 3-1.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are marching towards their 3rd straight Stanley Cup Finals appearance. Montreal shocked the hockey world after upsetting the #1 seed Washington Capitals in 7 games. Can they pull off another upset?

Pittsburgh Penguins: The Penguins although the 4th seed are by rights the 2nd best team in the Eastern Conference and now the best team remaining after Washington's loss. Only an 0-6 record to New Jersey during the regular season cost them from being the #2 seed. Turns out, everything works out. Pittsburgh avoided a matchup with the 7 seed Flyers in the first round, in our opinion a better playoff team than Ottawa. Now that Washington is out, we see no reason why the Penguins shouldn't march into the Stanley Cup Finals. Impressive in the Ottawa series was the resilience of the Penguins when falling behind. An impressive comeback in game 6 when trailing 3-0 on the road was more proof that Pittsburgh is the class of the East. As usual, the Penguins relied on Crosby (14 pts) and Malkin (8pts) to lead the way. Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin had decent series as well, but the Penguins will need more from secondary players if they want to win the Cup.

Montreal Canadiens: The Canadiens improbable path to the 2nd round has caused lots of people to question the importance of the regular season and how important playoff seeding is. Is there that much parity? We aren't sure. What we do know is that Jacques Martin out coached Bruce Boudreau, Jaroslav Halak outplayed Semyon Varlamov and Hal Gill kept Ovechkin from taking over the series. Mike Cammelleri had 10 points and Tomas Plekanic had 7 to lead Montreal in scoring. For a team that clinched a playoff birth on it's final game of the season, a knockout of the Washington Capitals should seem like a nice accomplishment but the Canadiens are not satisfied. The Bell Centre will be electric for game 3 and Pittsburgh will have a tough time matching their intensity.

Pittsburgh still by far has the best 1-2 punch in the game. No team has an answer for Sidney Crosby as he has become a scary goal scoring threat as well as a dish man. If Hal Gill can slow down Crosby and play physical and Halak can continue his ridiculous play, Montreal will then have a shot. We saw them do it to Washington so I don't want to say it can't happen, but look for the Penguins to move on to next round.

Pittsburgh in 6


7 Philadelphia Flyers vs Boston Bruins 6

Season Series: Split, both teams were 2-1-1.

Should be an old school slugfest. Let's break down both teams and see who has an edge.

Philadelphia Flyers: They say regular season matchups don't translate to the post-season. Well the Flyers, who took 5 of 6 from the Devils during the regular season, breezed through the first round in 5 games against that same team. The Flyers who got into the playoffs by winning a shootout against the New York Rangers on the final game of the season, find themselves in the 2nd round of the playoffs. Brian Boucher proved us and many hockey people wrong by being the backbone of the Flyers during their first round match-up. The Flyers are built for the playoffs and have several guys that can light the lamp. Richards, Briere, Giroux all had solid series as well as Chris Pronger adding 5 points to the scoresheet. Pronger solidifies the defense and adds grit and size that most teams can't match up with. The Flyers will need for all these players to contribute.

Boston Bruins: The Bruins are another team that is built for the playoffs. Several gritty forwards and a defense led by Zdeno Chara has them capable of matching up with the also gritty and physical Flyers. Add Tuukka Rask, the NHL goaltending leader in Goals Against Average and Save Percentage, the Bruins are capable of beating anyone. However, the Bruins were also the lowest scoring team in the NHL this season and although Marc Savard will be back in the 2nd round, the Bruins will need him to play like he hasn't missed the last 6 weeks of the season.
The Bruins did upset the Buffalo Sabres largely in part to their defense and goaltending. Tuukka Rask outplayed the over rated Ryan Miller and Marc Recchi played like he is 23 years old.

This should be a throwback, old time beat em up series. Both teams play hard physical games and defense and goaltending should be the keys to each team's success. The Flyers have the edge in offense but the Bruins have the edge in goaltending and defense. Although these teams are the 6th and 7th seeds, both of them are better than their records and are built for these situations. This should be an excellent series to watch. All in all, the Bruins have failed to prove they can score enough goals.

Flyers in 7

Western Conference Playoff Previews

(1) San Jose vs. (5) Detroit

Season Series: 3-1 Detroit

Once again the San Jose Sharks will have a chance to prove they can win in the playoffs, but standing in their way are the defending Western Conference champion Detroit Red Wings.

The Low down on the San Jose Sharks: What was most impressive about the Sharks first round victory over Colorado was the secondary scoring from Joe Pavelski(5 goals), Devin Setoguchi(3 goals), and Ryan Clowe, who led the Sharks in points with eight. In years past, San Jose has relied solely on Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau, who once again struggled in round one. If San Jose continues to get production from the second line, and the big three of Thornton, Marleau, and Heatley step up, then the Sharks are in good shape offensively. The Sharks also got contributions from grinders Scott Nichol, Logan Couture, and Manny Malhotra in round one which will be needed even more against Detroit. Defensively, aside from game two which they gave up 5 goals to Colorado, they limited the Avalanche offense to only six goals the rest of the series. Dan Boyle averaged almost 27 minutes of ice time in Round One and is paired with the bruising Douglas Murray. They will be assigned the duty of stopping Pavel Datsyuk and company. Evgeni Nabokov had a brilliant series as well, and when he is on he is one of the leagues best. Head coach Todd McLellan knows the Wings well from being an assistant coach to Mike Babcock two years ago.

The Low Down on the Detroit Red Wings: The Stanley Cup Champions two years ago, and they were one game away from winning the Cup last season. Experienced veterans and proven winners throughout the Wings lineup. Most importantly, this team is completely healthy and has been the best team in hockey since the Olympic break. Henrik Zetterberg led the Wings in scoring against Phoenix by registering 11 points in seven games. The usual suspects, Franzen, Datsyuk, Filppula, Lidstrom, all seem to be hitting thier strides at the right time. The Coyotes did manage to take Detroit to seven games and were leading the series 2-1 at one point, but managed only 7 goals in the next four games. Perhaps this is not the strongest Wings team we have seen, but the fact that they are healthy and confident presents a challenge to San Jose. Nicklas Lidstrom continues to lead the team in ice time, and Brad Stuart had a strong series against Phoenix posting a team best +6. I would expect the Thornton line to see lots of Niklas Kronwall who is the Red Wings shut down defensemen. Rookie goalie Jimmy Howard made some mistakes as expected, but overall played well and posted a shutout in the pivotal Game 4.

The Pick: This series is a toss up, but I like the Sharks in seven. I like the way Evgeni Nabokov and the Sharks defense is playing and wonder how much Detroit has in the tank after a tough seven game series with Phoenix.

(2) Chicago vs. (3) Vancouver

Season Series: 2-2 split

For the second time in two seasons the Chicago Blackhawks and Vancouver Canucks will renew acquaintances in Round 2 as the Canucks will look to avenge last seasons defeat to the Blackhawks. Plenty of animosity exists between these two teams who are legitimate Stanley Cup contenders and their seasons would be considered a disappointment should they be eliminated in the second round.


The low down on the Chicago Blackhawks: Chicago is coming off a first round series victory over Nashville in which they trailed the series 2-1, but gained confidence as the series went on and finished off the Predators in six games. Jonathan Toews led the Hawks balanced attack against Nashville by scoring 8 points in six games. Chicago is the most skilled and deepest team offensively in the playoffs which may present problems for Vancouver's blue line which was exposed at times by the Los Angeles Kings in round one. One player that goes under the radar due to the fact that Chicago has so many star players, is Tomas Kopecky who had a terrific series against Nashville. Both these clubs are among the league's best in offense and it may boil down to which team gets more contributions from the third and fourth lines. Expect to see Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook match up against the Sedin line for Vancouver. Chicago is just as deep overall on defense, especially since Brian Campbell is back from injury. Antti Niemi put up solid numbers in goal versus Nashville posting a 2.15 GAA and a .92 save percentage. Chicago killed off 26 of 27 Nashville power plays in round one but continued to struggle on the power play, just as they did in the regular season.

The low down on the Vancouver Canucks: Led by the NHL's leading scorer and Hart trophy finalist Henrik Sedin, the Canucks also possess a dynamic offense. Forward, Mikael Samuelsson scored 7 goals in six games against LA, and after being moved to the Sedin line in Game Four, they proved to be unstoppable. Secondary scorers such as Steve Bernier(4 goals), Pavol Demitra(5 points), and Kyle Wellwood(3 points), played better as the series went on. Although Alex Burrows struggled to score in the LA series, he was a 35 goal scorer during the regular season which adds to Vancouver's lethal attack. However, the defense has some issues especially after their top four. Salo, Bieksa, Edler, and Ehrhoff are solid, but after that is a huge drop off. The big question is whether they are deep enough to handle what the Blackhawks will throw at them. Roberto Luongo picked up his game after being pulled in Game Three at Los Angeles, and made a highlight reel of saves. He will be looking to avenge the nightmare series he had against the Hawks last season when he gave up 7 goals in Game Six which ended the Canucks season. Vancouver had tons of trouble killing penalties in the LA series, but seemed to fix their issues in the final game. No team in the playoffs has had more success at home this year than the Vancouver Canucks.

The Pick: Chicago in Seven

This is another series that is a toss up. The fact that Chicago is deeper on defense appears to be the reason why they should advance to the Western Conference Finals.

Game 7: Detroit at Phoenix

Detroit -115 -1.5(+245) Over 5(-130)
Phoenix -105 +1.5(-290) Under 5(+110)

Detroit squandered a chance to put the Coyotes away at home on Sunday, and will now have to win a Game Seven on the road for the first time since 1964. The big question heading into tonight is how rookie goaltender, Jimmy Howard responds after allowing five goals in Game Six, even if three of them were scored on the power play. Detroit almost always bounces back well in the playoffs after a bad loss, and we expect them to stay out of penalty trouble tonight. For the Coyotes, it appears that captain, Shane Doan, will be a game time decision as they will be relying on a big effort from goalie, Ilya Bryzgalov who is capable of stealing a game anytime. It's always difficult to win a Game Seven on the road, but we are fairly confident that the Red Wings can get it done tonight.

The Pick: Look for the experience and leadership of the Detroit Red Wings to win a very tight and low scoring Game Seven. Detroit -115, Under 5

Tuesday Timeout

More and more story lines abound as one of the best NHL first rounds in years are coming to an epic end.

1. Buffalo ousted in Round One: Everyone expected Boston-Buffalo to be a low scoring series that could go either way, but did anyone really think Tuukka Rask would outplay Ryan Miller in goal? The Sabres problems start and end with offense. Top Centers Derek Roy and Tim Connelly did not register one goal this series and their most explosive forward, Tomas Vanek battled injuries all series. This will be a long and painful summer for Darcy Regier and Lindy Ruff as they must address their lack of scoring this offseason. Yes the Sabres won a weak division, but it's another year of a playoff letdown in upstate New York.

2. Jaroslav Halak: 53 saves to shut out Washington last night and force a game seven. Shockingly, the Capitals are 1-30 on the power play this season. Everyone predicted the Capitals to make short work of Montreal, but amazingly the Canadiens, on the strength of their goalie have hung in with the explosive Capitals. I still don't feel like Washington makes enough of a commitment to defense which will hurt them, even if they advance to the second round.

3. Another Chicago-Vancouver Series awaits: I saw the Canucks first hand this playoff year and if Roberto Luongo plays like he did the last three playoff games against LA, this team can beat anyone. Expect lots of animosity between these two teams, especially from Vancouver after losing to the Blackhawks last season. Perhaps no team is deeper than Chicago, but will they be able to stop the Sedin line? Is the Canuck defense deep enough to handle the firepower of the Hawks? Can Antti Niemi outplay Roberto Luongo? This series is must watch TV.

4. Young teams such as Nashville, Colorado, and Los Angeles proved they are on the rise: Nashville coach Barry Trotz is one of our favorite coaches and although he has never advanced the Predators past the first round, he is to be commended by how that team performs. Nashville gave Chicago everything they could handle and with a few breaks could of won. Due to budget restrictions, expect the Predators to continue to rely on goaltending and defense and not go the free agent route. As for Colorado and LA, they both should benefit from a year of playoff seasoning. Both teams are building with young players and just need to stay the course. I would expect the Kings this summer to try to add more pieces to take the next step.

5. Finally, I want to touch on an article in NY Newsday today, concerning the Islanders lighthouse project and a potential casino being built near Nassau Coliseum, instead of the original plan presented to Nassau County by owner Charles Wang. Quite honestly, I am sick and tired of all this uncertainty surrounding the Islanders. The New York Islanders and their fans deserve a new building and the scuttlebutt around the team should consist of what happens on the ice, not off it. Islander fans are very loyal, as I rarely go to an NHL arena, without seeing someone wearing an Islander jersey. Enough is enough, as the county and Wang need to get something settled because it is becoming borderline embarrassing and unfair.

Saturday Playoff Thoughts

• Chicago Blackhawks score shorthanded with less than 14 seconds left after Marian Hossa takes major penalty. Hossa gets out of box in Overtime and scores game winner. Penalty was awfully similar to Ovechkin's hit on Campbell. Hossa should have been kicked out in our opinion and if you are a Predator or Predator fan, you have every right to be kicking and screaming.
• Versus screws the fans again as San Jose and Colorado are joined in progress
• The Stanley Cup Champions fight back from 3-0 hole to eliminate Ottawa in Overtime
• Look for San Jose to knock out Colorado tonight. The Avs won't go down without a fight though.
  

NHL and Versus Screwing Fans

It's April 21st, 10pm Eastern and 7pm Pacific time. Your Los Angeles Kings are in the playoffs for the first time in 8 years and you are about to watch them take on the Canucks for game 4 of the playoffs. A win gives you a commanding 3 games to 1 lead. Turn on the TV and what do you see? Boston and Buffalo in an overtime that may never end. Add to that, people that own the NHL Centre Ice Package got blacked out with a message that read, catch game on Versus.
This was the case for many Kings fans (and Canucks fans) that live outside of their teams market. One of HockeySureShot's members made the 6 hour drive from San Francisco to LA for game 3 of this series. This same fan has bought hats, jerseys, tickets to games, bought the NHL Centre Ice Package and now sits at home missing the entire first period of the Kings and Canucks.
"Don't miss a single second of the NHL Playoffs" is what you hear when you call Versus to complain or simply ask what is going on. Versus is owned by Comcast, who owns about 400,000 channels. No good answer was given to me as to why the late game, (in this case LA vs Vancouver) can't be shown temporarily on another channel or why their exclusive rights screw over fans that pay $140 for the Centre Ice Package.
When calling the NHL, they agree with my complaints and say that next year is the last year of the contract with Versus and that they are not happy with what has been going on. Versus needs to find a way to get every game on TV for their entirety.

San Jose at Colorado

San Jose -160 over Colorado

Sharks fans are echoing the words "must win" yet again this time of year as the Sharks are down to Colorado 2-1 in this best of seven. We find it astonishing that the #1 seeded Sharks have yet to have played with the lead in this series. Their only win was in Game Two when they came back five different times to tie it and ultimately won 6-5 in OT. The first question that can be raised heading into tonight is how San Jose responds to the bizarre way that they lost game three. Yes, they outshot Colorado by wide margins the last two games, and it does appear that they have figured out the Avalanche's neutral zone trap, but can the Sharks be trusted mentally? On paper Colorado does not have near the skill of the Sharks and on top of that they are very banged up. We expect the Sharks to rebound in this pivotal Game 4. If they lose tonight we promise to NEVER pick them again. It's time for the core group of the Sharks(Thornton, Boyle, Murray, Nabakov and especially Marleau) to step up their game and earn a big win on the road. The best chance the Av's have tonight is if Craig Anderson stands on his head like he did in Game Three.

We are through five exciting days of the NHL playoff season which included seven overtime games already. We decided to rank all eight of the series in terms of excitement thus far. The action has been tremendous across the board proving once again that no sport can match playoff hockey.

8) Chicago vs. Nashville
We ranked this series last because no game has gone to OT and the other series have been slightly more entertaining. This matchup will pick up more intensity as it shifts to Nashville.

7) Buffalo vs. Boston
Looking forward to tonight's game in Boston. Both games have been in close so far and the hitting is starting to pick up. This has the feel of a seven game series.

6) New Jersey vs. Philadelphia
Daniel Carcillo of all people scores the OT winner for Philly yesterday. Pressure mounting for the Devils who have had trouble getting past the first round in recent years.

5) Pittsburgh vs. Ottawa
Ottawa shocked the defending Stanley Cup Champions in game one, but the Penguins have rebounded nicely in yet another exciting and competitive series. The hit by Andy Sutton was memorable as has Sidney Crosby's performance thus far.

4) Vancouver vs. Los Angeles
Two games and two overtimes. First home playoff game for LA tonight which should have that building filled with overwhelming excitement.

3) San Jose vs. Colorado
The snake bitten Sharks lose game 3 as Dan Boyle puts the puck in his own net. The Sharks only win was in OT, and they have never led in the series. All three games have been tied going into the final minute of play.

2) Phoenix vs. Detroit
Game one is decided by one goal, and game two may have been the most entertaining game I have ever watched. This is another series that will probably go seven games. Both teams are fast and aggressive which adds to the spectacle.

1) Washington vs. Montreal
Didn't expect this series to be as close as it is, but Montreal is giving the favored Capitals all they can handle. After Washington came back from a 4-1 deficit in the third and both games have gone into overtime, this series got our nod as the best series by a slim margin.

Sunday Morning Playoff thoughts

-Still recovering from an amazing night of playoff action once again. Seven series are tied 1-1 which gives you an idea how entertaining the playoffs have been thus far.

-We get the feeling that the Washington Capitals could put up ten goals in a game if they wanted to. Niklas Backstrom's OT winner last night may be a series changer for Washington.

-Enjoyed reading that Ottawa coach, Cory Clouston wants his team to be more physical as Andy Sutton's hit the other night is still fresh in my mind. Game three vs. Pittsburgh should be a must watch today.

-Los Angeles appeared in big trouble after going down 2-0 in the first period last night, but give the young team credit for a huge win. Jonathan Quick did not give up a goal the rest of the way and Anze Kopitar set up the tying goal and won it in OT.

-Finally, I could do without the matinee playoff games. I know NBC has to show games on a weekend, but a 10:00 AM start on the west coast is kind of mindless in our opinion.