Stanley Cup Roundup: Day 1

The hits. The saves. The goals. There's just nothing like the Stanley Cup playoffs. Here's how night #1 went down:

DETROIT RED WINGS 4, PHOENIX COYOTES 2
Detroit leads series 1-0

Detroit's annual goal is to win the last game of the Stanley Cup playoffs. They won the first thanks to goaltending and special teams. Jimmy Howard carried the Wings through the 1st period, and Phoenix was unable to capitalize on some early power play opportunities, including a 5-on-3. In the 2nd, Detroit scored a power play goal, and another goal just after a power play expired. Players like Datsyuk and Franzen were engineered for the playoffs.

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS 3, TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING 0
Pittsburgh leads series 1-0

M.A. Fleury was all over the place, stopping 32 shots for his 5th career playoff shutout. Kovalev and Arron Asham did the scoring, plus Chris Kunitz added an empty-netter. The power play reliant Lightning only had 1 power play opportunity. Stamkos was held to one shot, and met Mr. Brooks Orpik.

WASHINGTON CAPITALS 2, NEW YORK RANGERS 1 (OT)
Washington leads series 1-0

The Rangers were on their way to a 1-0 shutout over the Caps. Late in the 3rd, Lundqvist locks up a puck between his thighs, Ovechkin pokes at it, the ref is tardy with his whistle, the puck rolls across the line. Then after almost a full period of OT, fatigue catches up with Marc Staal who gives the puck away to Jason Arnott. Then Alexander Semin scores the winner. Without Ryan Callahan, the Rangers might be in serious trouble.

VANCOUVER CANUCKS 2, CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS 0
Vancouver leads series 1-0

Roberto Luongo was brilliant. 32 stunning saves. His 2nd career playoff shutout. Chicago held the Sedins scoreless, but weren't able to do much offensively themselves. This Blackhawks team is just completely different without Dustin Byfuglien driving the engine. Sharp, Kane, and Toews need to show up.

NASHVILLE PREDATORS 4, ANAHEIM DUCKS 1
Nashville leads series 1-0

Mike Fisher scored twice with an assist, Shea Weber had a few big hits and a power play goal, but the star of the game was Pekka Rinne, who made an unbelievable kick save to keep the game at 1-0. As you might expect from a blowout, there was some ugliness at the end. The Ducks collected 32 penalty minutes in the last 15 seconds.

Tonight's games:
7:00 PM - Canadiens @ Bruins - NESN (Versus nationally)
7:30 PM - Sabres @ Flyers
10:00 PM - Kings @ Sharks - Versus

-The Commodore

Stanley Cup Playoffs: West Preview

We don't get to see the Western Conference teams very often in Boston. It's a shame that we play Florida and Atlanta far more often than Detroit, Chicago, Vancouver, or even San Jose.

#1 VANCOUVER CANUCKS vs. #8 CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
The defending champion Hawks were victimized by the salary cap in the off-season, which I think will do the NHL more long-term harm than good, and that's why they barely made it in as an 8 seed. Vancouver have been electric all year. #1 in goals scored, goals against, power play, and #3 in penalty kill. The Sedin-Samuellson line totaled 78 goals. Then Ryan Kesler added 41 more from the 2nd line. Luongo had a brilliant year, and on paper, the Canucks have to be favorites to win it all. The Hawks also boast plenty of weapons, but their goaltending is untried, and their defense is suspect. Vancouver wins in 6 high scoring games.

#2 SAN JOSE SHARKS vs. #7 LOS ANGELES KINGS
The Pacific Division sent 4 teams to the postseason and these are two of them. They split the season series 3-3. And while San Jose has dangerous scorers like Marleau, Thornton, Pavelski, Heatley, and 22 year old Logan Couture (who scored 32 goals), I have my doubts. The Sharks are perennial postseason failures. Their offense depends a great deal on the power play, and LA has an excellent penalty kill. The Kings also have Jonathan Quick. I don't think LA has the offense to go very far, but they do have enough defense to stop San Jose. Kings in 7.

#3 DETROIT RED WINGS vs. #6 PHOENIX COYOTES
Detroit made the playoffs for the 18th straight season. They can score, but their defense and goaltending is shaky. Zetterberg's health is a question mark, but the Wings can deploy plenty of other weapons. Not to mention a roll call of strong, experienced forwards. Datsyuk, Franzen, Cleary, Bertuzzi, Draper. And it's the same on defense. Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronwall, Stuart. Phoenix doesn't have many recognizable skaters. Even goalie Ilya Bryzgalov had an off year. Phoenix are solid 5-on-5, but have an anemic power play and a gaping penalty kill. That will be their undoing. Detroit wins in 5.

#4 ANAHEIM DUCKS vs. #5 NASHVILLE PREDATORS
The Predators were 3rd in goals against, and 21st in attendance. The Ducks had the 3rd best power play, and were 26th in attendance. Two of the best players in the NHL will duel each other in this series. And they'll finally be able to do it in front of full houses. Anaheim's Corey Perry scored 50 goals, with 48 assists. Nashville's Pekka Rinne had a 2.12 GAA and a .930 SV%. The Ducks have some weapons beside Perry, including George Parros' bristling black mustache.

But Anaheim's offensive output depends too much on getting power play points. The Predators also have Shea Weber, a burly defenseman who also scored 16 times this year. I'm picking Rinne and the Preds in 6.

It's difficult to not pick Detroit to win the West. But they're old. They don't have the goaltending. I think this is finally the year for Vancouver to shine and go all the way to the finals.

Tonight's games:
7:00 PM - Red Wings @ Coyotes - Versus
7:00 PM - Lightning @ Penguins
7:30 PM - Rangers @ Capitals
10:00 PM - Blackhawks @ Canucks - Versus
10:30 PM - Predators @ Ducks

-The Commodore

Predators 4, Bruins 3 (OT)

The Bruins didn't play bad, but they didn't play good enough. It's amazing to watch opposing teams step up their intensity, and then see the Bruins fail to answer. It's a routine we've seen all too often under Julien. The Bruins haven't ended regulation with a lead since March 3rd.

Give plenty of credit to Pekka Rinne, who is perhaps the 2nd best goalie in the NHL right now. His name also sounds like a delicious pasta dish, served Alfredo. He made a some pretty big saves, most notably on Lucic and Ryder.

But when were the Bruins the clearly superior team? They never were. And their PP unit continues to struggle. When are the coaches going to evaluate their strategies and say "maybe this whole idea is wrong?" If they haven't yet, they probably never will.

I did like the line of Seguin-Peverley-Kelly. I think Seguin and Peverley compliment each other very well, and Kelly brings a physical presence. That's a decent 3rd line right there. Even though it's comprised of 3 centers.

I don't care too much about the divisional race with Montreal. I don't care about seeding either. The Bruins are better on the road anyway. The playoffs are about matchups. So if the Bruins are the 3 seed, or the 5 seed, or the 6 seed, it doesn't matter too much.

But I do like using this time of year to evaluate how the team performs in tough situations. Nashville played tough last night. The Predators are already in playoff mode, fighting for that final spot in the West. And this game reminded me of all the potential series winning games the Bruins lost last year and the year before. The Bruins gave it 9 out of 10, but the Predators gave it 12 out of 10. And that's what we'll see in the playoffs, if the Bruins are fortunate enough to be on the verge of eliminating an opponent. Which I kind of doubt.

Bruins at Leafs Saturday night.

-The Commodore

Bruins Already Have Trade Done?

There are rumors flying about the internet today that say that the Bruins already have a trade completed, but it won't be announced until after the Olympics are over. The question is, what is the deal?

Most sources seem to think that it is for Predators' defenseman Dan Hamhuis. There is no word on what the Bruins are giving up in this deal, but the asking price for Hamhuis was scorer and high-second or late-first round pick. The Bruins do have a couple of draft picks to play with, but I can't see them giving up anymore scorers considering that is their main problem.

Anyways, just something to keep an eye on.

Bruins 3, Predators 2

The lineup that took the ice Wednesday night wasn't exactly what Coach Claude Julien and Bruins fans had envisioned at the start of the season. But the one thing the Bruins had at the start of the season, and is being tested at the moment, is depth at forward.

There were several firsts in this game. Brad Marchand's assist of Michael Ryder's goal was his first NHL point. Steve Begin's game winning goal in the 3rd was his first as a Bruin. And he was assisted by Daniel Paille, getting his first point in a Bruins uniform.

It was a nice win, and a solid win, but Nashville sucks. And the trouble with the Bruins hasn't been winning, it's been winning two games in a row. Tomorrow night in Philly will be a much tougher test.

-The Commodore

Predators @ Bruins Preview

The Bruins are going to have to get used to playing without Savard and Lucic for a while (plus Kessel and Kobasew forever), and that could be though. Lucic was a motivator. He was always there with a big hit or a scrappy rebound goal. Savard is the Bruins most talented forward, so you add that with the personnel loses and the Bruins could be in trouble. So what do they do?

Well first off Thomas and the defense is going to have to play a lot better. I don't think you are going to see the Bruins breakout for 6-7 goals in a game anymore. That means they are going to need to keep these games a lot more low scoring. Chara and Co need to step up the intensity, and win the battle in the corners (which hasn't really need the case so far this year). Thomas flat out needs to play better. I can blame it on the defense all I want, but in the end Thomas needs to let in less goals.

On the offensive side of thing I think Krejci is going to need to show that he can be a #1 center. He has showed a lot of talent, but Savard has always been there to keep Krejci at #2. He (along with the other remaining forwards) are going to need to find a way to still put up points. One way is to get back to the dump and chase, and really start hitting hard. Even without Lucic the Bruins are still one of the tougher teams in the NHL. They are going to need to be even more so if they plan on weathering this injury storm.

The good news is that Predators have totaled four goals while dropping their last five games, so hopefully Boston can take advantage.

Game starts at 7pm on NESN.

Bruins 2 Predators 3 (SO)

Really tough game for the Bruins last night as they lost in a shootout 3-2. To be honest I really didn't get what the Bruins were doing in their shootout. They sent up Blake Wheeler (who scored), then Bergeron, and P.J. Axelsson. I am sorry, but when you have guys like Savard and Kessel on the bench and an opportunity to win the game, you put the puck in their hands. Kessel finally got his shot, after P.J. ruined the chance to end the game. Kessel missed, and the Predators burned Manny Fernandez to get the win.

Boston really struggled for most of the game. They finally came alive in the 3rd period when they tied the game at 2 when Zdeno Chara's goal with 1:16 left in regulation. Boston needs to wake up their goal scorers, because if they can't soon they they are going to have to make a trade to get some kind of goal scorer in here. This was Boston's 4th straight loss (even though they still get a point for this), and they just don't seem to have that swagger that they had a month ago. You have to wonder if all the injuries suring the season have finally worn down the Bruins...