Magnificent Masked Men - Top 10 Greatest Goalies of All Time

The Stanley Cup Finals have come to an end and the Boston Bruins are officially perched atop the National Hockey League.  The summer is in full swing now and draft day is quickly approaching as 29 other teams look to find their diamond in the rough that will lead them to hockey glory.  In the wake of this years Cup, however, I thought it fitting to take a look back at arguably the most fundamental and important position in hockey: the goalie.  Tim Thomas and  Roberto Luongo gave fans an up close and personal look into the importance of the position this playoff season with Thomas becoming just the second tender to take home the Vezina, Conn Smythe and win the Stanley Cup in the same season.  Luongo, on the other hand, has been saddled with the dubious distinction of being one of the biggest choke artists in recent memory (whether it is warranted or not).  Teams live and die by their masked men, so I wanted to dive into the history of goaltending and put a list together honouring the 10 best of all time.  The list isn't concrete and there were several deserving tenders that were left off, but here's one guy's opinion on the 10 greatest players to strap on the pads and put their team on their backs in the name of victory.

10. Bernie Parent  1965 - 1979 (Boston, Philadelphia, Toronto)

Number ten on my list was a member of the great 'Broadstreet Bullies' in the '70's.  Bernie Parent was taken from Boston by Philadelphia in the expansion draft and would go on to lead the Flyers to 2 Stanley Cups, claiming the Conn Smythe in both of them.  During those two Cup runs Parent also locked up the Vezina Trophy in both seasons.  He became a cult hero in Philly along with most of the team as their hard nosed and physical style mesmerized fans.  Parent's 54 shutouts rank him 19th all time and he ended his career with a solid 2.55 GAA.

9. Bill Durnan 1943 - 1950 (Montreal)

The ninth goalie to make the list is one of several Montreal Canadien greats.  Bill Durnan's career may not have been lengthy, but he made the years he played count.  In just seven seasons with the Habs Durnan racked up 6 Vezina trophy's, 6 first team all star nominations and won 2 Stanley Cups.  His 2.36 GAA rank him 16th all time and he held the record for longest shutout streak at 309 min and 21 sec until Brian Boucher broke the record in 2004.  Durnan isn't a household name for many hockey fans because of his short career, but the numbers don't lie, he was one of the best to ever guard the twine.

8. Glenn Hall  1952 - 1971 (Detroit, Chicago, St Louis)

Glenn Hall, affectionately referred to as 'Mr Goalie', is one of the great iron man tenders on the list.  Hall holds the record for the most consecutive completed games by a goaltender at 502.  He was best known for inventing the butterfly style of goaltending which has become the dominant style at the position today.  Hall's 84 shutouts rank him 4th all time and 407 wins put him in 8th, while he also has 2 Stanley Cups and a Conn Smythe.  He is the first person on the list to win the Calder Trophy in his rookie season and brought home 3 Vezina's and a whopping 7 first team all star nominations.  Glenn Hall paved the way for today's goaltender and is truly one of the greats at this position.

7. George Hainsworth  1926 - 1937 (Montreal, Toronto)

We are reaching way back into our bag of tricks for the 7th man on our list today as George Hainsworth is officially the oldest tender on the list.  Hainsworth made his mark with the Habs in the early '30's winning 2 Stanley Cups and 3 Vezina Trophy's.  He ranks third all time in shutouts with 94 and holds the record for the most shutouts in a single season with 22.  Moreover, the most impressive stat for Hainsworth is his career 1.93 GAA.  He is one of only two goalies to have a career goals against average under 2.00 and even posted a 0.93 GAA in 44 games played in the '28 - '29 season.  Hainsworth played in a much different era than many of the people on the list, but stopping pucks at this rate makes him a deserving member of the 10 greatest of all time.

6. Jacques Plante  1953 - 1973 (Montreal, New York Rangers, St. Louis, Toronto, Boston)

Number six on the list is truly one of the great names in hockey history.  Jacques Plante will best be remembered as the man who first wore a mask while playing net.  His 6 Stanley Cups have him tied for the most all time by a goalie and the 7 Vezina's he owns is the record for most by any tender.  Plante ranks 5th all time with 82 shutouts, 6th all time with 437 wins and is one of only 6 goalies to ever win the Hart Trophy.  The Hart is a particularly special accomplishment as only seven times in history has a goalie won this award.  Every true hockey household knows the name Jacques Plante and most have the famous picture of his busted up face and that tiny mask he first started wearing.  Plante is truly a special person in hockey history and mush deserving of being on this list.

5. Ken Dryden  1970 - 1979 (Montreal)

Breaking into our top five goalies of all time we see one of the best, and biggest, goalies to ever play.  Measuring in at around 6'4, Dryden was a daunting figure in the Canadiens net for almost a decade.  Despite his short playing career, Dryden is tied with the aforementioned Plante for the most Cup wins by a goalie all time with 6.  He claimed 5 Vezina's, 5 first team all star nominations, a Conn Smythe Trophy and a Calder Trophy as well.  Dryden's 2.24 GAA rank him 9th all time and his 46 shutouts have him in at 26th.  It's a shame he wasn't able to have a longer career because Habs fans will always remember Dryden as one of the best to ever lace em up.

4. Terry Sawchuk  1949 - 1970 (Detroit, Boston, Toronto, Los Angeles, New York Rangers)

The Detroit Red Wing great Terry Sawchuk comes in on the list at number four being best known for his shutout record.  Sawchuk racked up 103 shutouts over the course of his 21 seasons and that record stood tall until Martin Brodeur just recently surpassed it.  Sawchuk brought home 4 Cups and 4 Vezina's over the span of his illustrious career as well as winning the Calder Trophy in his rookie season.  His 447 wins put him 5th all time and he had 3 first team all star nominations to his credit.  Sawchuk is arguably the greatest goalie in Red Wings franchise history and deserves to be considered as one of the greatest at the position in general all time.

3. Dominik Hasek  1990 - 2008 (Chicago, Buffalo, Detroit, Ottawa)

Coming into the top three on our list of greatest goaltenders of all time is one of the most awkward looking yet affective goalies ever.  Hasek, nicknamed 'The Dominator', was one of the best players in the NHL period during his career.  Even though Hasek is the only man on the list without multiple Cups, he only won 1, his 6 Vezina's and 6 first team all star nominations speak for themselves.  The Dominator ranks 7th all time with a 2.20 career GAA, is tied for 6th with 81 shutouts and is 11th with 389 career wins.  He also bested Patrick Roy and team Canada in the 1998 Olympics in Nagano and claimed the Gold Medal against the Russians that same year.  However, maybe his greatest accomplishment is the back-to-back Hart Trophy's that Hasek won in the '96 - '97 season and '97 - '98 season.  He is the only goalie to ever win multiple Hart Trophy's as it has only happened 7 times in history that a tender has won the award.  The Dominator was truly just that for almost two decades and his individual accomplishments speak much louder than his lack of Stanley Cups.

2. Patrick Roy  1985 - 2003 (Montreal, Colorado)

Possibly a bit of a surprise at number 2 as most analysts and fans alike have Roy as the greatest of all time, but as we see the numbers feelings may begin to change.  However, giving Patrick Roy his due he was arguably the greatest goaltender of all time.  The Canadien legend won 2 of his 4 Stanley Cups in a Habs uniform before departing for Colorado after a tiff with management.  His 551 wins rank him second all time to go along with his 3 Vezina Trophy's and 3 Conn Smythe's.  Roy is tied with Martin Brodeur for the most consecutive 30 plus win seasons at 13 and the most playoff shutouts at 23.  He owns the record for the most playoff victories with 151 yet also has the dubious distinction of having the most playoff losses all time.  There is no doubt that Roy needs to be in the conversation for greatest goaltender of all time and is probably interchangeable at the top of this list with the number 1, however, when looking at the facts I think you will find the decision to put the great Patrick Roy at 2 was the right one. 

1. Martin Brodeur  1993 - Present (New Jersey)

The greatest goaltender all time in this guy's opinion has to be, hands down, Martin Brodeur.  If you don't believe me just take a look at what comes next:

• 2 time Olympic Gold Medalist (1 as a starter)
• 8th all time with a 2.21 GAA
• 1st all time with 116 shutouts
• 1st all time with 625 wins
• 3 Stanley Cups
• 4 first team all star nominations
• Calder Trophy
• 4 Vezina Trophy's
• Most wins in a single season (48)
• Most minutes and games played in a career
• Most consecutive 30 plus win seasons (12)
• Most consecutive 35 plus win seasons (11)
• Most 40 plus win seasons (8)
• Most consecutive 40 plus win seasons (3) tied with Evgeni Nabokov
• Most playoff shutouts (23) tied with Roy
• Youngest Goalie too 300, 400, 500 & 600 wins
• Most shutouts in 1 playoff run (7)

Oh and by the way, this guy is still playing and playing at a high level.  I don't think there is much more one can say other than Brodeur is the greatest goaltender that has ever graced this game and when he retires it till be a truly sad day for hockey.


That concludes the list of the top 10 greatest goalies of all time.  I want too reiterate that this list is opinion and not fact and there are several choices that were omitted but could have been there just as easily.  Three honourable mentions I'd like to put in are Blackhawks great Tony Esposito, Leafs legend Johnny Bower and Eddie 'the Eagle' Belfour.  These three could most definitely have made the list if we just had some more space.  Leave a comment let me know what you agree or disagree with!

In Pursuit of the Cup - The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Here we sit, mere hours away from watching Lord Stanley's illustrious Mug being awarded to the best team in the National Hockey League.  The question on the tip of everyone's tongue is: who is that team?  After 88 playoff games we have yet to determine which team is worthy enough to carry the Stanley Cup.  Tonight will be true seventh heaven as it is the 7th game 7 of these 2011 playoffs and will ultimately decide the NHL's finest.  The Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins have one chance to embed themselves into hockey history and have their names written on the greatest Cup in sports.  So why exactly am I writing this before we bear witness to the game 7 to end all game 7's?  Well, this Cup Final has been chalked full of storylines and I am truly afraid that once tonight's game is finished, we may forget a couple of them in the wake of our new Stanley Cup Champions.  So in honour of the first 6 games, here is the good, the bad and the ugly of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals thus far.

The Good

Forgive me if I keep this section somewhat brief but there really hasn't been as much to write home about in these Finals as one would think and the bad and ugly are making me salivate thinking about them.  But to be fair, there has been some good storylines coming from this series.  Without a doubt the 37 year old goalie wearing black and yellow must be front and centre in this discussion.  Tim Thomas has been absolutely marvellous these entire playoffs and the Cup have been no different.  Thomas will most likely earn the Conn Smythe tonight with or without a Bruins victory and could be the sixth player in history to win the award without hoisting the Stanley Cup.  In 6 games the unorthodox Thomas has allowed a miniscule 8 goals and with his first save in game 7 will break the record for the most saves by a goaltender in a playoff season.  He has been the backbone of the Boston Bruins all season and is the chief reason why they are one win away from hockey glory.

Secondly, I feel the need to throw this into the good section only because he will be berated through the next two.  Roberto Luongo has been stellar at home in these Finals.  Yes, I'm putting Bobby Lou into the good section, sue me.  You cannot argue with his numbers however, as Luongo has a stunning 0.67 GAA and .979 save % to go alongside 2 shutouts in 3 games at home.  Say what you will about the big netminder, but he has been a steady rock while playing at Rogers Arena (a place where he won the Olympic Gold Medal nonetheless). 

Finally, a true feel good story coming out of Vancouver would be the return of Manny Malholtra in game 2.  After almost getting his eye taken out in a game against Colorado in March, Malholtra was more worried about seeing with two eyes again rather than playing in the Stanley Cup.  However, after a shocking recovery Malholtra found his way back into the lineup and now has a chance to hoist the Cup from the ice rather than the press box.  There has clearly been good happenstances throughout the Finals but these three underlying stories seem to top them and like I said before, I'm more excited for the next two sections. 

The Bad

Oh boy oh boy where do I start?  Oh ya that's right, I start in Vancouver's net and work my way out from there.  So, remember how I just told you about Luongo's masterful play in Vancouver, don't jump on the bandwagon just yet.  In three games in Boston Luongo has managed to be pulled twice, post an 8.05 GAA, .773 save % and embarrass himself mightily.  This could in fact be the single worst performance of any goaltender in NHL history on the road in a Stanley Cup Final.  Luongo has looked lost in all three games which was epitomized by his being pulled just 9 minutes into game 6 after giving up 4 goals.  Read that sentence over again and let it sink in, 4 goals, 9 minutes, game 6.  My God what happened Roberto?  You are a high class world renowned NHL goaltender and you literally couldn't stop a beach ball.  Ok, enough on Lou because we will come back to him next section once again.

Working my way out, I need to discuss the upper echelon Vancouver Canuck forwards as a whole.  The Sedin's, taking their second vacation to Sweden in these playoffs it seems, have once again been non-existent as they were for the last half of the Chicago series.  Henrik has posted a magnificent 1 goal in this series and Daniel stunningly has a goal and 3 assists, pretty gaudy numbers if I do say so myself.  Not only have they been offensively absent, but they've been absent in general.  The magic people in Vancouver have come to expect from the twins seems to come and go like Brett Favre from football, whenever it so pleases.  This series should not have gone seven games and the twins are a big reason it has, for Boston that is.  Along the same lines would be Ryan Kesler.  Kesler has singlehandedly played his way out of Conn Smythe contention along with the red headed twins with his 1 point in 6 games routine in the Finals.  These three were cornerstones of this franchise outside of Luongo and have all pulled disappearing acts for 6 games now.

Finally, the Vancouver Canucks as an entire team needs to be put into the bad section.  This is the Presidents Trophy winning Canucks who led the league offensively and defensively while posting the best road record in the NHL.  They are currently facing a do-or-die game 7 and have been outscored 19 - 8 in the first 6 games.  They've been outright embarrassed in Boston three times and have needed late game heroics to sneak out of their own building with victories.  This team is the best team on paper and I've maintained that point throughout the playoffs, but again there is a reason we don't simulate the NHL playoffs like a video game.  Players need to show up and bring the grit and tenacity required to earn the Stanley Cup.  So far the Canucks have relied on luck, skill and hope to get them this far, it won't work tonight if they don't bring their A game.

The Ugly

This series has unfortunately been tainted slightly with two severe and career threatening injuries.  Aaron Rome's open-ice hit on Nathan Horton in game 3 may have sparked the Bruins, but it blew out the spark in Horton's head.  The game 7 magic man for Boston was said to have a severe concussion and was carted off the ice and ruled out of the rest of the series.  Now, Rome's hit was not malicious and there certainly did not look like there was intent to injure, but it was late and Horton was in a vulnerable position which adds up to a 4 game suspension (the longest in Stanley Cup history) and Rome missing the rest of the Cup. 

Furthering the point on hits and injuries, in game 6 Johnny Boychuk appeared to run Mason Raymond into the side boards and shove him awkwardly when the puck was nowhere near.  Raymond broke a vertebrae in his back and is now out for 4 to 6 months.  The hit at first looked fairly harmless but on further review the shove was definitely late and resulted in a monumental injury.  However, Boychuk did not receive any disciplinary action and Raymond is left to watch game 7 from a wheelchair.  It's not how you want to see any player or teams season end, but it is part of the game.  These two hits and resulting injuries will put a blemish on this series forever and provide the loser a 'what if' scenario for years to come.

Finally, I come back to my good friend Roberto Luongo.  Hits and injuries aside, this may be the ugliest thing I've seen in a Stanley Cup ever.  After essentially calling out Tim Thomas and pointing out his unorthodox style, Luongo was quoted as saying:

"I've been pumping his tires ever since the series started, and I haven't heard one nice thing he had to say about me, so that's the way it is."

Has anyone explained to Luongo that this is the Stanley Cup Final and that bearded man wearing a mask on the opposite end of the ice is his enemy and counterpart?  What the hell was he expecting the two of them to go for beers after each game and high five all night?  As an avid Luongo supporter I was at a loss when I heard this interview.  It made no sense, plain and simple.  Luongo needs to grow a pair, man up and stop some pucks tonight or there will be some serious repercussion for him in Vancouver. 

Well there you have it, the good, the bad and the ugly coming out of the first 6 games of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals.  It's been two months of non-stop playoff hockey and tonight will be the culmination of a phenomenal playoff season.  Win or lose both these teams deserve a lot of respect and admiration for the work they have put in, but ultimately only one will be remembered for greatness.  I picked the Canucks from the beginning so I'm sticking true to my choice, but game 7 should be a lot of fun watch!  Get the beer fridge stocked, put the kids to bed early and let's have one last blast of playoff hockey before the summer sets in!

Veteran Mavs Darlings of the NBA in 2011

Dirk Nowitzki is soft.  He is not a true leader and he doesn't play the type of game that fits his physical stature.  The big German Power Forward is nothing more than a glorified jump shooting artist who is unable to dominate enough to win on the biggest stage in basketball.  These previous statements seem about as logical and true as when they told us Shaq was only 300 lbs when he went to the Heat in '06.  The fact of the matter is Dirk Nowitzki just gave every critic that he has ever had a great big screw you sandwich.  Possibly one of the greatest shooters of all-time and a sure fire hall of famer, Dirk iced his legacy by leading the Dallas Mavericks to an improbable NBA title on Monday night against the mighty three-headed monster from Miami. 

Now all the talks and discussion in the last 24 hours has centered on Lebron James and his lack of production throughout these finals.  It's beginning to feel as though people feel the Heat lost the finals rather than the Mavs won it.  If these are people's sentiments, they would be dead wrong.  So for that reason, I am only going to focus on the Mavs accomplishments and leave the Heat's shortcoming for another time. 

Back to Dirk.  His play on the court speaks for itself and needs no embellishment.  The cornerstone of the Mavs franchise averaged almost 28 points throughout the playoffs and just over 8 rebounds a game.  His clutch shooting down the stretch of games was magical to watch and was epitomized in the series clinching game against Miami.  With allegations coming from the Heat players that Dirk's 'sickness' in game 5 may have been somewhat embellished, Nowitzki shot a miserable 1 for 12 from the field in the first half of game 6 yet the Mavs still found themselves up 2 at half.  Then the real Dirk showed up.  Nowitzki went 8 for 15 in the second half of game 6 and finished with 21 points and 11 boards which, along with Jason Terry's 27 points, clinched the Larry O' Brien trophy for Dallas.

Coming as no surprise to anyone, Nowitzki was awarded the Bill Russell Award as the NBA Finals MVP.  The win was even sweeter coming against the aforementioned Miami Heat because of the crushing defeat the Mavs took in 2006 blowing a 2 - 0 series lead in the NBA Finals and losing 4 straight to fall in 6 games to the Heat.  You saw the elation in the face of Nowitzki as, unable to control his emotions, Dirk left the court for the locker room immediately after the final horn in order to collect himself.  Nowitzki would return shortly after to collect his prize and celebrate the first NBA Championship in Dallas Mavericks history.

This Mavericks team began this season, at least on paper, as an aged group with many critics not giving them much of a chance for a deep playoff run.  With the mighty Heat in the East and the Kobe Bryant led Lakers in the West it seemed inevitable that the Black Mamba and King James would meet in the Finals.  However, after disposing of the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round, one in which many experts (including this one) called the Blazers to upset, the Mavs were pitted against the two-time defending champion Lakers.  This is where Dirk and company began to make true believers out of NBA fans and analysts alike.  The Mavs embarrassed the Lakers and swept them right out of the playoffs while shooting at a torrid pace.  It wasn't the fact that they had won, but how they had won.  The 122 - 86 game 4 victory which ultimately sent Kobe and the boys packing turned just about every head in the NBA.  These Mavs were for real.

The veteran laden Mavs, with or without the backing of anyone else, believed in themselves and each other.  Nothing says this more than Jason Terry's tattoo on his bicep of the Larry O' Brien trophy.  The Mavs backup guard got inked up in October at a team building party at teammate DeShawn Stevenson's house.  Call it pretentious, pompous, conceited or just downright stupid, but Terry looks like a genius now.  He let his play do the talking as well as Terry, coming off the bench for the Mavs, averaged 17.5 points in the playoffs and usually provided the necessary offense when Dirk was resting.  His precision shooting and veteran presence were crucial for the Mavs especially in game 6 against the Heat when Dirk was struggling in the first half.  Terry took over the first two quarters and dropped 19 points on the Heat to keep the Mavs afloat until Dirk found his groove. 

Finally, hats off to one of the greatest point guards to ever play the game.  Jason Kidd, whenever he so chooses because Lord knows I am not rushing him, will undoubtedly be a first ballot hall of famer.  The Mavs smooth passing floor general won his first championship after tasting defeat twice while with the New Jersey Nets.  Kidd showed he is still able to control a game and compete at a high level as he averaged over 7 assists per game and over 9 points.  But, maybe even more of a contribution, is the development of JJ Barea that Kidd has no doubt been an integral part of.  Barea showed glimpses of being a real impact guard when he was given the minutes as watching Kidd from the bench and learning from one of the greats must be rubbing off. 

So, the Dallas Mavericks are NBA Champions.  Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd finally have their rings.  Jason Terry doesn't need any ink removal. Owner Mark Cuban has officially had his gag order lifted.  All I can really say is congratulations to this group.  Not quite the underdog story that will go down in basketball history, but a great mish mash that all add up to one of the better feel good stories in NBA history.  The mighty Heat will have their day, but that day is not today.  Today belongs to that sweet shooting German, the bald floor general, the pretentious and inked up backup guard and the loudmouth owner.  Congratulations once again Dallas Mavericks, enjoy the party!

Conference Finals Off and Running in Vancouver & Boston

From coast to coast hockey fans are catching a glimpse of the NHL's best in this year's Conference Finals.  The final four teams left to battle for the Stanley Cup truly epitomize their geographical conferences as San Jose and Vancouver meet out West, while Tampa Bay and Boston meet in the East.  The West played out as it should pitting the number 1 seeded Canucks against the number 2 seeded Sharks.  The East, meanwhile, saw both Washington and Philadelphia make dubious second round exits and left us with the number 3 seeded Bruins to face Steve Yzerman's upstart Lightning team which finished the regular season in the 5 seed.  I realize we've seen a game in each of these series already but I thought I'd weigh in with my own previews and predictions as always.  Coming off a 3 - 1 second round I'm sitting at 8 - 4 for these playoffs thus far and I'm not taking both game 1 winners if it makes you feel better.  Here's how I see the final four breaking down.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

3 Boston Bruins VS 5 Tampa Bay Lightning (Winner - Boston Bruins)

Well, like I said, I'm not taking both game 1 winners.  I've kind of put myself behind the 8-ball with this pick as Boston took a 5 - 2 thumping in front of their home crowd in game 1.  Still, I feel the Bruins have what it takes to win this series in the long run.  The first game of this series may have been slightly misleading I believe.  Both teams were coming off of long layoffs after completing sweeps over the Flyers and Capitals respectively.  Long layoffs in hockey aren't necessarily the best thing and usually provide some fairly wonky hockey.  We saw just that in the first 20 minutes of play, especially from the Bruins.  If you remove a 1:25 span in the first period then this was a 2 - 2 hockey game and played much more closely than the final score shows.  Once again, this is the reason we play 7 game series in hockey and not a one game winner take all.

Let me start with the Lightning because to the victor go the spoils.  Kudos to Tampa Bay for overcoming a long layoff and blitzing the Bruins in the first period of game 1.  All around the Lightning played a solid road game and came away with a much needed win.  Unfortunately, I just can't see this Lightning team continue to win hockey games on the backs of their 3rd and 4th lines.  The Bergenheim, Downie, Moore line has looked more like Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Franzen these past few weeks while racking up the points.  Throw in Teddy Purcell who is second on the Lightning in playoff scoring and there is the reason why Tampa is where they are.  Game 1 was a prime example as Bergenheim, Brett Clark, Purcell and Marc-Andre Bergeron provided the 4 goals past a tender (Gagne scored into an empty cage).  The Bruins are a big and physical team that knows how to play solid defensively and get under the other teams skin.  If past history predicts future behaviour then maybe we might see Steve Downie try and take his skate off and chase someone around the ice with it a la Happy Gilmore.  If the Bruins are able to shut down Tampa's big line then I don't believe the secondary scoring is going to continue at the pace it has been. 

The Bruins are a better fundamental hockey team, plain and simple.  They proved over the long 82 game haul to be a fundamentally sound juggernaut with the second best goal differential in the NHL next to, surprise surprise, the Canucks.  The Bruins should be able to keep pace offensively with the skilled Lightning team and have a much better back end (although that didn't shine through in game 1).  The loss of Patrice Bergeron is monumental for this Bruins team, but Bergeron has been skating with the team and hopes to be back by game 3 possibly.  The one bright spot with Bergeron's injury is young Tyler Seguin made a splash in his first playoff game, scoring a highlight reel goal and arguably being the Bruins best forward on the night.  I expect Tim Thomas to elevate his game after laying a bit of an egg in game 1 and the rest of the Bruins to be much more efficient and accountable with the puck for the rest of the series.  The Lightning won't go quietly into the night, but I like Boston to win a hard fought series.


WESTERN CONFERENCE

1 Vancouver Canucks VS 2 San Jose Sharks (Winner - Vancouver Canucks)

Well Canada, one way or another were going to get a Canadian team back to the Cup for the first time since the Oilers fell to the Hurricanes in '06.  Wait, what was that?  Are you saying San Jose isn't a Canadian team?  Don't they have like half the roster off the Canadian Olympic team though?  Well, I never was very good at geography anyway so I apologize for my faux pas.  Either way, this series features the two best teams in the West without a doubt.  On paper and on the ice the Sharks and Canucks have great skill, veteran leadership, youthful exuberance and, oh ya, they both came within 1 game of blowing 3 - 0 series leads. 

These two teams are also probably the most criticized teams for playoff failures over the past decade.  The Sharks boast a plethora of talent, and have for years now, headed up by Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau.  Yes, the same Thornton that has been labelled as someone who disappears come April and the same Marleau that was called 'gutless' by Jeremy Roenick for his play last series.  The Canucks, on the other hand, feature the likes of the Sedin twins and Roberto Luongo.  Yes, that's the same Luongo that, despite backstopping Canada to an Olympic Gold, is still considered overrated because of his playoff track record.  And yes, these are the same Sedin twins who have been called soft and underachievers once playoff time rolls around.  Well, I'm here to tell you that someone is going to get the monkey off their back in this series.  Either Thornton and Marleau or Luongo and the Sedin's must make the Stanley Cup Final this season, that is for sure.  The question is, which one?

As much as I feel for Sharks fans as they have had to endure season after season of phenomenal hockey from October through early April, only to watch their team fold come playoff time, I think they are in for it again.  This time, however, it is simply because they are up against the best.  The Canucks staved off their nemesis in round 1, they overcame the raucous crowd in Nashville in round 2 and after overcoming a 2 - 1 third period deficit in game 1 to take the early lead in this series I'm truly a believer that this is our Stanley Cup winner.  Like it or not Canada, the Cup should return to Canadian soil in just under a month.  Luongo, despite his horrid giveaway to Thornton, looks poised and ready this playoff season.  The Sedin twins are rounding back into form after a non-existent spell in the first and second rounds and the Canucks are getting production from their grind line as well.  This team is just too good to lose.  There isn't a team in the NHL that is able to beat the Vancouver Canucks this season except the Vancouver Canucks.  As long as this team continues to work hard night in and night out, we'll see the Canucks play in and hoist the Stanley Cup this season.


Well, better late than never right?  Game 1 of both series is in the books and the Lightning and Canucks hold one game leads respectively.  By the end of next week I expect to see the Canucks continue their winning ways and send the Sharks home for the umpteenth time and the Bruins to grind out a long series win against the Lightning.  The Stanley Cup Finals are right around the corner people, this is what hockey fans live for!

Ovie VS Sid the Kid - How is Greatness Determined?

This years NHL playoff season has been overwhelming to say the least.  The sixteen teams that began this incredible playoff run have left fans enamoured and lusting for more as the field has now been cut to seven with the seemingly premature exit of the Washington Capitals, a team most poolies had in the Eastern Conference Finals at the very least.  With overtime becoming a nightly occurrence (already 20 OT games in under 2 rounds this year surpassing the 18 from last seasons entire playoff run) and predictability at an all time low, there isn't much more we could hope for in April or May.  But amidst all the tension and the hype, there's something else that happened this playoff season that hasn't happened since the '06-'07 playoffs; Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby were not both a part of it. 

With the concussion Crosby sustained in early January and the rumours that he would probably not return no matter how deep the Penguins were able to advance this year, many perceived this as Ovechkin's moment for greatness.  The Capitals seemed poised and ready for a deep playoff run led by their Russian phenom and Sid the Kid could only watch from the press box.  Ovechkin and company clearly did not seize this moment as they were handily swept aside by the Tampa Bay Lightning in a fairly uneventful second round clash.  For the fourth straight year the Capitals have dominated the regular season racking up four straight Southeast division titles, two Eastern Conference titles and a Presidents Trophy, yet have nothing more than a pair of first round wins over the NY Rangers to show for it in the post-season.  At what point does the onus begin to fall squarely on the shoulders of Ovechkin, widely considered to share the title of the best player in the world with the aforementioned Crosby?  With both of these superstars now on the outside looking in on the playoffs, I thought it fitting to take a glimpse at their young careers (Ovechkin is only 25 and Crosby 23) and see how the perceptions of these two hockey giants differ based upon wins and losses. 

The Ovechkin-Crosby debate has become a staple among the hockey world since the two squared off against each other in the Gold Medal game of World Junior Championship in 2005.  Crosby showed utter dominance in the QMJHL collecting 303 points in 121 games in just 2 seasons with Rimouski before being drafted number 1 overall by the Penguins in 2005 as one of the most coveted draft picks in recent memory.  Ovechkin, taken number 1 the year prior to Crosby, was widely regarded as one of the most talented Russian's in the world and proved just that by leading Russia to a World Junior Gold Medal in 2003.  In 2005 the hockey world got their first true glimpse at one of the greatest blossoming individual hockey rivalries of this era as Sid and Ovie took centre stage in Grand Forks to play for Gold.  However, the much anticipated Russia-Canada and Ovechkin-Crosby matchup didn't quite have the muster that most people were so eager to see.  Ovechkin was hurt midway through the second period and the Canadian juggernaut assembled because of the NHL lockout went on to dismantle the Russians 6 - 1.  Round one goes to Crosby.

The next time fans would get a true taste of this rivalry would be the 2005 - '06 NHL regular season where, coming out of a lockout, the hockey God's quickly erased the negative memories of a work stoppage by creating an arms race for the Calder trophy.  Ovechkin and Crosby dazzled fans and asserted themselves among the elite in the NHL immediately by posting 106 and 102 point seasons respectively.  Ovechkin sniped 52 goals and fell just 4 short of Jonathan Cheechoo's 56 for the Rocket Richard trophy.  Both superstars, however, were unable to lead their teams to playoff hockey and they finished next to each other in the basement of the Eastern Conference.  Not surprisingly, Ovechkin was awarded the Calder trophy that June with Crosby finishing a close second.  Round two to Ovechkin.

Rounds three and four of this heavyweight tilt seem to be split decisions as both stars became young legends individually.  Crosby, fresh off his Calder trophy loss to Ovechkin, took the NHL by storm in '06-'07 and became the youngest NHL player in history to win the Art Ross trophy at 19 years of age.  Crosby, joined by that years Calder winner Evgeni Malkin, would make up one of the most dangerous duos in hockey to this day and led the Penguins to a playoff birth.  The 120 point season for Crosby would also earn him the Hart trophy and Lester B. Pearson award as the league's most outstanding player judged by the NHL players association.  Not to be outdone, Ovechkin would win the Hart trophy, Lester B. Pearson award, Art Ross trophy and Rocket Richard trophy with 65 goals and 112 points in '07-'08.  Ovechkin is still the only player in NHL history to capture all four awards in the same season and was able to lead the Caps to the playoffs that same year.  The two had cemented themselves as the NHL's premier superstars and new faces of the game.

Following Ovechkin's record breaking season in '07-'08 it seems as though this argument of the greatest player in the game has seen a separation.  It is extremely easy and difficult at the same time to make a case for either Crosby or Ovechkin as the greatest individual player in today's game solely based on individual numbers because the two are seemingly so equally matched.  The only true separation between the two can be the achievements of the teams they have respectively led.  Crosby captained the Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cup appearances and boasts a Stanley Cup ring.  He will live on in Canadian hockey lore as the image of the 'Golden Goal' in the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver will be forever etched in the minds and hearts of the Canadian faithful.  Ovechkin, meanwhile, has yet to reach a conference final with the Caps and was a part of one of the poorest Russian showings in an Olympic hockey game as they were embarrassed 7 - 3 by the Canadians in the quarterfinals.  The talent level of each team is not in dispute either as the Capitals and Penguins have been powerhouses in the NHL for several years now and both the Russian and Canadian teams were slated to play for Gold. 

In a game clearly defined as a 'team sport', individual greatness always seems to be represented by team wins and losses.  Is it fair?  No, probably not.  Is it a reality?  Yes, plain and simple.  The greatest individual players in team sports are constantly defined by how they are able to perform in the post-season and how they are able to lead their teams to greatness.  Legends like NFL hall of famer Dan Marino are forever slightly tarnished because of his inability to capture that career defining win.  Is the perception of individual greatness within team sports one that needs to be redefined, or is it simply the mark of the true greats that they are able to seize that greatness and will their team to victory?  The great debate will continue to rage on as it always has, continuing to beg the question of who is the best.  It's early on in both their young careers and we expect many more years of excellence from both Ovie and Sid the Kid, but for now one must acknowledge that this two horse race has a clear cut thoroughbred in Crosby.  Sid has emerged not only as one of the most talented players in the NHL today, but as a born leader and a true winner.  Until Ovechkin is able to prove his worth in post-season hardware, it seems as though he will play second fiddle in the great debate to a much more seasoned and accomplished Crosby.

First Round Frenzy Leads To Second Round Clash of the Titans

The first round came to an emphatic end last night with yet another game 7 overtime goal in Boston and a 1 - 0 nail biter in Pittsburgh.  The past two weeks have epitomized the excellence of playoff hockey as we may have just witnessed the greatest and most exciting first round in NHL history.  The 49 total games played in the first round as well as 9 straight days with an overtime game were both NHL records.  Half of the series were pushed to a game 7, with 2 of those game 7's going into overtime, and 7 of the 8 series went at least 5 games with only the Detroit - Phoenix series finishing in a sweep.  There is really no more fans could have asked for short of actually having some playoff hockey in Toronto, but that is a whole different story isn't it.  Regardless, when the horn sounded on the Pittsburgh Penguins 1 - 0 defeat at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning, the hockey world had officially set its Conference semi-finals.  The four series bring with it some intriguing matchups as the East and West both have rematches of last years Conference semi-finals.  I went 5 - 3 in the first round losing out on 2 game 7's and laying an egg on the Coyotes.  Here is the way I see the second round shaping up.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

1 Vancouver Canucks VS 5 Nashville Predators (Winner - Vancouver Canucks)

If you were a hockey fan you were watching the Hawks-Canucks game 7.  If you were a hockey fan with no affiliation to either team you were watching the Hawks-Canucks game 7.  If you were not a hockey fan and you didn't have much to do on Tuesday, you were watching the Hawks-Canucks game 7.  When Alex Burrows brought down Chris Campoli's horrible clearing attempt and slapped a rolling puck over the right shoulder of Corey Crawford you could literally feel a weight lift from wherever you were sitting, standing or jumping.  The Vancouver Canucks had exorcised their Chicago demons and had avoided the most historic collapse of all time.  Roberto Luongo had avoided, for now, the title of biggest choke artist and most overrated goaltender in the NHL.  The Sedin twins were saved from an offseason of questions and concerns regarding how soft they play and their true leadership capabilities.  Alain Vigneault's job itself was saved for at least one more series.  Quite a lot was riding on that one fateful goal as you can see. 

The reason I have gone on and on about the last series is because it fuels the reasoning for my pick in this series.  The Canucks may be the loosest team coming into the 2nd round now.  They have officially beaten their nemesis.  I can sit here and shoot numbers out at you all day as to why the Canucks should win this series against Nashville now, but I won't because you already know they are far superior on paper.  The simple fact is the Predators came into these playoffs with 1 thing on their mind: win a series.  The Canucks came in also with 1 goal in mind: win the Stanley Cup.  The Predators have accomplished their goal, the Canucks haven't yet.  I believe we see the full coming of age of these Vancouver Canucks in this series.  The Canucks win this series handily and await their opponent with their eyes fixed on the prize; Lord Stanley's mug.

2 San Jose Sharks VS 3 Detroit Red Wings (Winner - San Jose Sharks)

Our first rematch of the 2010 Conference semi-finals features 2 very different superpowers in the Sharks and Red Wings.  The Sharks regular season success over the past several years has been overshadowed dramatically by their post-season failures.  On the other hand, the Red Wings are 2 years off of a Stanley Cup win and have a long track record of knowing when to turn their game up a notch.  However, this matchup doesn't seem to bode well for this particular Red Wing team.  Last years 2nd round matchup saw the Sharks easily dispose of the Wings in 5 games and the Sharks followed that up by taking 3 of the 4 regular season games from the Wings this year.  The Sharks clearly have the mental edge going into this series, but does that mean much against a veteran laden team like the Wings?

Both teams will be fairly well rested with the Sharks having 3 days rest and the Wings having a whopping 8 days off before the start of round 2.  This could actually work in favor of the Sharks coming off a dramatic overtime game 6 win in Los Angeles on Monday to close out the Kings.  The 8 days between games could allow the Wings to have a slight mental lapse which may end up costing them game 1 in San Jose.  The Sharks are going to have to make sure their lacklustre power play from the first round, which was so good in the regular season, is firing on all cylinders against the Red Wings who allowed 6 power play goals in 4 games to the Coyotes.  The goaltending battle should be fairly even with Niemi and Howard, so I look for this series to be high scoring and high intensity.  We could be in for a 'whoever scores last wins' kind of series which should ultimately favor the Sharks.  The slight edge in firepower and home ice advantage should carry the Sharks to the Conference final for a second year in a row.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

1 Washington Capitals VS 5 Tampa Bay Lightning (Winner - Washington Capitals)

The Caps - Lightning series seems to be flying under the radar slightly with the storylines coming out of the other 3 series.  However, these two high octane offenses could prove to be one of the most exciting 2nd round matchups.  The Lightning asserted themselves against the Penguins coming back from a 3 - 1 deficit to win the series in 7 games.  Veteran Dwayne Roloson showed the hockey world why Steve Yzerman made the move to snag him from Long Island early in the season as he had the most saves of any goalie in the first round and had the best goals against average of any goalie that started every game for his team.  This rock solid play in net combined with the stellar play of Hart trophy nominee Martin St. Louis and emergence of young superstar Steven Stamkos vaulted the Lightning past an injury depleted Penguins team.  They are able to put up goals in a hurry and Roloson is a steadying force in net giving the Lightning a chance to win night in and night out.

The Capitals will pose quite a different threat to the Lightning than the Penguins.  Without Crosby and Malkin in the linuep, the Pens relied heavily on positioning, defense and goaltending to win their series and the Lightning were able to exploit their offensive weaknesses.  The Caps don't have the same weakness.  Ovechkin, Semin, Backstrom and even Mike Green's head seem to be just fine heading into the second round.  The Caps easily disposed of the Rangers giving them ample rest before their clash with the Lightning whereas it took Tampa 7 gruelling games to get by Pittsburgh.  I think the fatigue factor will come in to play in this series as it rolls along and favor Washington.  Furthermore, the new look Caps attention to defense and ability to score should overwhelm Tampa Bay and give the Capitals the edge as they progress to the third round.

2 Philadelphia Flyers VS 3 Boston Bruins (Winner - Boston Bruins)

Well I'm going to use a quote by journalist Steve Rushin that I used when describing the Montreal - Boston series in the first round: "By the age of 18, the average American has witnessed 200,000 acts of violence on television, most of them occurring during Game One of the NHL playoff series".  I don't like re-using material but this quote just seems so fitting once again to describe this series between 2 teams who are big, strong, physical and for all intense and purposes, mean.  The Flyers made history last year and came back from a 3 - 0 deficit to beat the Bruins in 7 games.  These two teams don't like each other and that will be very evident throughout this series.  Chris Pronger is officially back for the Flyers which is great for Flyers fans especially with the problems they have in net.  The three headed circus Philadelphia brought to the table in round one featuring Bobrovsky, Leighton and eventual game 7 winner Boucher will not fly against a much better Boston Bruin team.  Pronger will definitely help out in the defensive end, but if their problems in goal continue the Flyers will have a tough time advancing.

On the other side, the Bruins came in as heavy favorites in round 1 against the Montreal Canadiens.  Well, they didn't quite live up to the billing.  The Bruins needed to comeback from a 2 - 0 series deficit and get an overtime goal from Nathan Horton in game 7 to advance to round two.  Their power play was an abomination finishing without a goal in the first round, while Tim Thomas looked average at times.  If the Bruins are going to win this series they will need to get leading scorer Milan Lucic going after Lucic was virtually non-existent against Montreal.  They have the clear cut advantage in net with Thomas and I believe this is where the series will ultimately be won or lost.  Thomas shows his Vezina form in round 2 and Chara wins the battle of the defensive beasts over Pronger as the Bruins get revenge for last years meltdown and move on to round three.


We are about half an hour away the start of round 2 and I think it should be a doozy.  To recap I like the Canucks to assert their dominance against Nashville, the Sharks to continue their mastery over Detroit, the Caps to beat the Lightning and the Bruins to sneak by the Flyers.  If the first round is indicative of how the rest of these playoffs are going to go, I can't wait!  Let's do it now, turn on the TV's and let's watch some puck!

Canucks on the Verge Historic Collapse

Lord Stanley's glorious mug has circulated throughout the hockey world for over a century since the Lord Stanley of Preston donated the cup in 1892.  The significance of having one's name inscribed on this magnificent trophy of trophies is far beyond words for the players who compete year in and year out at the highest level of hockey in the world.  For the country who considers hockey to be 'our game', Canada has been starved for almost 2 decades as the Stanley Cup has not been presented to a Canadian team since Patrick Roy led the Montreal Canadiens to hockey glory in the '92 - '93 season.  This insatiable lust for hockey glory that resides within many Canadians looked as though it had its best chance at being quenched this playoff season as our West coast brothers from Vancouver asserted their dominance over a remarkable regular season and continued that supremacy through the first 3 games of these playoffs.  Now for the bad news.  We may be witnessing the greatest collective collapse in the history of the National Hockey League.

I have heard for a few days now about the Chicago Blackhawks and their grit, determination and heart.  I've listened as people have talked about their will to win and their ability to raise their game to another level and how their perseverance and courage will vault them into another class in hockey history.  Well, frankly I am sick and tired of hearing about it.  I don't want to talk about the Chicago Blackhawks of today, the Philadelphia Flyers of last year, the 1975 New York Islanders or the even the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs.  I want to focus my efforts on describing how tonight's game 7 will determine whether or not the Vancouver Canucks will live on in hockey lore as the biggest goats of all time.  I want to talk about last years Boston Bruins, the 1975 Pittsburgh Penguins and the 1942 Detroit Red Wings who all suffered the same fate as the Canucks face tonight, and illustrate how a Canuck loss would put them front and centre as the most epic collapse in NHL history. 

Going chronologically, the first team in NHL history to blow a 3 - 0 series lead was the 1941 - '42 Detroit Red Wings.  Good on them for even being up 3 - 0 in the series is the way I look at it.  The powerhouse Leafs came in 2nd in the NHL that year while the Wings finished 5th and were 8 wins and 15 points back of the Leafs.  The Leafs were led that year by future Hall of Famers Turk Broda and Syl Apps and were clearly the more superior team to the Wings on paper.  The meltdown by Detroit was not expected by any means, but can be forgiven in some respects when looking at the facts. 

The 1975 Pittsburgh Penguins received the same rude awakening as the '42 Wings when Denis Potvin and company from Long Island stormed back down 3 - 0 to win their quarterfinal matchup.  The Pens and Islanders were separated by only 1 point that year during the regular season and it was a tale of 2 very different teams.  The offensively gifted Penguins went up against the defensive minded squad from Long Island in a battle of 2 separate hockey identities.  The series was hard fought and the islanders prevailed after giving up 14 goals in their first 3 losses, the Isles clamped down defensively and gave up a mere 4 goals in their 4 wins.  Even though the Pens arguably wear the crown as the biggest goat in hockey history to this point, the two teams were fairly evenly matched and lightning seemed to strike at the right time for the Islanders.

Finally, last years magical run by the Philadelphia Flyers encompassed a 2nd round 'upset' much to the chagrin of the Boston Bruins.  The Flyers, led by Chris Pronger and playoff phenom Michael Leighton, stormed back down 3 - 0 to Boston and capped their epic series comeback by overcoming a 3 - 0 deficit in game 7 as well.  The Flyers would continue on to the Stanley Cup and would only be stopped by, guess who, the Chicago Blackhawks.  Once again, however, when breaking down the Flyers-Bruins series one can easily see how these two teams matched up well and the expectation was a hard fought and long series.  The Bruins finished 6th in the Eastern Conference with the Flyers finishing only 3 points behind them in 7th.  The Flyers actually had 2 more regular season wins than the Bruins and had a better goal differential.  It's fairly obvious that much like the Pens-Isles series in '75 that these two teams were fairly evenly matched.  This is not to devalue the accomplishments of the Leafs, Isles or Flyers teams that were able to come back from down 3 games because it has only happened 3 times in hockey history.  But my point here is that the Vancouver Canucks meltdown will far exceed the previous 3 meltdowns.

Let's first discuss the hard facts in this years Hawks-Canucks matchup.  The Canucks finished the regular season as President's Trophy winners and finished 10 full points ahead of the Washington Capitals for regular season supremacy.  The Canucks led the NHL in goals for and goals against while boasting the NHL's number 1 ranked power play and number 2 ranked penalty kill.  The Blackhawks, meanwhile, sat back and watched as an oddly inspired Minnesota Wild team beat the Dallas Stars in the last game of the NHL's regular season allowing the Hawks to backdoor into the playoffs with 20 points fewer than the Canucks.  Furthermore, the Canucks possess the last 2 Art Ross trophy winners, most likely the last 2 Hart trophy winners and an Olympic gold medal winning goaltender.  The Blackhawks counter with a rookie netminder and a team decimated by an offseason fire sale that saw many of its key playoff contributors move on to other teams.  The series was really over before it started; or so we thought.

Getting past the numbers game this series becomes even more intriguing as most of us should already know the immediate history between these two teams.  The Chicago Blackhawks are essentially the reason why the hockey world has ever questioned Roberto Luongo in his quest to become the premier goaltender in the NHL.  The past 2 seasons, in animosity filled series I might add, the Hawks have sent the Canucks to the links.  The undertone to the series this year, even if the Canucks didn't acknowledge it publicly, was to make the Hawks pay and taste the same sour taste of defeat that has been left in Vancouver in back-to-back years now.  Unfortunately, Apollo Creed had Rocky on the ropes and just hasn't been able to throw the knockout punch. 

If the Canucks are able to complete this disastrous meltdown tonight and are sent home for a third time in three years it would be the most catastrophic happenstance in Vancouver hockey as well as the greatest collapse of any hockey franchise in NHL history.  Tonight's game 7 means so much more than just who advances to the second round.  Tonight is a career defining game for Roberto Luongo.  After the shame of being pulled in back-to-back games, followed by not starting game 6 and still giving up the game winner, Luongo and his decade long contract will be a tough sell in Vancouver.  This loss will follow the Canadian tender for the rest of his career and will be an enormous burden to carry.  The Sedin twins can throw their hat in the mix with Luongo as reports have surfaced that they travelled to Sweden after game 3 and have yet to return this series.  These 3 marquee players must step up for themselves, their teammates, the franchise, the city of Vancouver and Canadians alike who are starved for a Stanley Cup winner on home soil (yes I know the Habs are still in but I am being realistic).  No pressure though.  Good luck Vancouver.  May your sticks be solid, your gloves be quick and God forbid you come out on the wrong end of the score sheet tonight, don't bother coming back.

Pipe Dreams - Where Have All the Goalies Gone?

So I wasn't sure if anyone was actually reading these blogs or not, but after my post regarding the monotony of game 1's in the NHL playoffs I am starting to believe I may have an avid following of NHL players, coaches and, more specifically, goaltenders alike.  Here is an excerpt from that particular post: "if the eight game 1's are any indication of what is to come we may be in for a low scoring and borderline monotonous opening round of the playoffs."  Boy oh boy did I not fully anticipate what was to come in the near future.  Since I took my stand against the dull and lifeless opening of the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs, teams have combined to score 223 goals in 34 games.  That works out to be almost 6.6 goals per game on average.  Now please, don't get me wrong, I don't deserve all of the credit for revitalizing playoff hockey and rescuing it from the depths of borderline boredom.  I shouldn't be praised either for waking up any sleeping giants and salvaging the NHL from being compared to an offensively explosive and riveting game of soccer.  So what can account for this offensive barrage at a time when fans fully expect the games to be lower scoring and tighter checking?  Ummm, I can think of one fairly obvious explanation; the goaltending has been awful!

This April has got to be the worst display of goaltending in recent playoff memory.  Only one series is complete at this point and already we have managed to see 10 different games in which a starting goaltender has been pulled from a game.  There have only been 42 games played people.  I think you can do the easy math and figure out that a goalie pulled once in every four games isn't quite synonymous with playoff hockey is it?  Here is the quick and dirty list of playoff performances to forget this year.

• Bobrovsky in game 2 -- 3 goals on 7 shots
• Boucher in game 5 -- 3 goals on 11 shots
• Leighton in game 6 -- 3 goals on 8 shots
• Fleury in game 5 -- 4 goals on 14 shots
• Luongo in game 4 -- 6 goals on 28 shots
• Luongo in game 5 -- 4 goals on 12 shots
• Niemi in game 3 -- 4 goals on 10 shots
• Niemi in game 5 -- 3 goals on 4 shots
• Ellis in game 1 -- 4 goals on 24 shots
• Rinne in game 4 -- 6 goals on 29 shots

Just so we are on the same page as well, I would like to point out that within that list are 2 current Vezina candidates, an Olympic gold medal winner from last year, last years starting goaltender for the Stanley Cup finalists and last years Stanley Cup winning goaltender.  Yes, it has been an abysmal display to say the least. 

At this point we can look to only 2 series where the goaltending has been consistently decent: Washington - New York and Boston - Montreal.  All 6 other series have either had goaltenders pulled, starters changed, or in the case of Ilya Bryzgalov a failure to change the starter may have been the downfall in Phoenix.  Any way you look at it, it feels as though we are witnessing the emergence of some old time hockey.  The death of the goaltender era, a changing of the guard from defense to offense, however you want to put it; it may in fact be upon us.  No longer are we seeing Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur and Ed Belfour of the 90's carry teams year after year to playoff glory.  It is beginning to feel like the Oiler's of the 80's where Grant Fuhr won a Vezina trophy with a 3.43 gaa and an .881 save percentage.  Are you serious?

If you look at the previous 10 winners of the Vezina trophy, 6 different goaltenders have received the award with the only repeat winner being the aforementioned Brodeur who has claimed 4 of those.  With Brodeur seemingly being at the end of his storied career, I'm not sure if there is a legitimate threat to take over the claim as the greatest goalie in the NHL.  Is it Roberto Luongo?  Bobby Lou has all the numbers and a gold medal to his name, but can he win in the playoffs?  Well judging by Cory Schneider's start in game 6 it doesn't seem like Canucks upper management thinks so.  Is it Tim Thomas?  Well let's just say this guy wasn't even allowed to start in between years where he could possibly win 2 Vezina's, go figure.  How about Carey Price?  See similar reasoning to Tim Thomas and Roberto Loungo, combine them both and you have Carey Price. 

The bottom line is this revolving door of masked men has severely changed the complexion of playoff hockey.  A decade ago the Hasek's, Belfour's, Brodeur's and Roy's captivated us with a constant onslaught of stellar regular seasons and deep playoff runs.  Today's fan is merely looking for the next Michael Leighton or Antti Niemi, someone to get hot and give their team just enough to win.  Where does this flaw in hockey logic stem from?  Isn't it clear that better goaltenders will always be better goaltenders?  Or is it possible the game itself has changed so much that goaltending can be in a constant state of flux and a team can still be successful?  We've watched as the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers have been two of the more successful teams over the past few years and I don't have enough fingers or toes to count all the tenders they have used combined.  The shift in today's game seems clear: substitute goaltending for offensive firepower and bring in more fans.  It was clear with last year's Stanley Cup winners as the Blackhawks went to arbitration with Niemi and declined to pay him what seemed to be a reasonable amount for a young and talented goaltender who has just won a Stanley Cup. 

I'm not sure if I am biased because I grew up with the game of the 90's watching the Jersey trap and Hasek's acrobats, but I love the 2 - 1 nail biters.  The gritty game where every mistake looms so large because getting pucks past the tailors of the tangled twine (to steal a quote from Joe Bowen) was virtually impossible.  Today you sometimes need a calculator and your own score book to keep up.  I realize high octane offenses bring in fans, but I still can't help but feel we lose something from within the game when we lose faith in the last line of defense.  Confidence levels must be at an all time low for goaltenders around the league with the knowledge that this game could be their last.  That's how I feel the games changed, the hockey world seems to have lost faith in goaltending itself, and consequently it seems that goaltending has lost faith in hockey.

First Round Marred By Suspension Debate

Playoff hockey is in full gear and this year's group of sixteen hasn't disappointed thus far.  We've witnessed magnificent goals, stunning goaltending, suffocating defense and hard hitting action throughout the first half of round one.  The Blackhawks and Coyotes are on the verge of being swept out of the playoffs while the other six series are locked in entertaining and heart stopping battles.  Unfortunately, the common fan may not bear witness to all these tremendously positive storylines as the first week of the playoffs has been seemingly overrun with negativity.  Daily headlines haven't surrounded winners and losers, great goals or saves, but rather have focused in on injuries and suspensions. 

The first round of this years Stanley Cup playoffs has already seen four separate players receive disciplinary action adding up to a total of 5 lost games, with a fifth player narrowly and controversially avoiding a suspension.  The epidemic that has become the National Hockey League must be stopped before our children and our children's children fall victim to this wicked tyrant.  Air Canada, as we speak, is pulling the plug on their sponsorship and has even gone as far as to say they will cease flying in or out of North America if the league does not step in and put in place concrete preventative measures for their players safety.

Is anyone still reading this?  If you are, I think you can clearly see how ridiculous all this sounds, but I sometimes feel this way when reading people's comments about suspensions and 'vicious' hits in hockey.  The bottom line is there are millions of people who believe they should be in charge of disciplining players in the NHL (most of which have never strapped on a pair of skates) and feel Colin Campbell and company aren't doing it properly.  Well, when we get past all the whining and outlandish statements, I may tend to agree to a certain extent with some of them.  The subjectivity of suspensions seems to be front and centre in this years playoffs, so I wanted to take a look at each suspension, and the one non-suspension, to see if I could figure out the rationale behind the decisions.

Jarret Stoll on Ian White

I thought I would start with the Stoll hit as it was the first that received any disciplinary action in these playoffs.  I also believe it was arguably the worst of all the hits.  For those who didn't see the hit, during game 1 of the Sharks-Kings series Stoll ran Ian White from behind and drove his head into the end boards with his elbow.  I say this was arguably the worst of the hits because of the nature surrounding hits from behind in the NHL and really throughout all of hockey.  The damage that hitting a defenceless player from behind can inflict far exceeds most instances of body contact which is why minor hockey has placed large red stop signs on the backs of all jerseys.  The NHL has gone to vast lengths to try and remove hits from behind from hockey and this check was clearly from behind as White had his back to Stoll for several seconds and Stoll took several steps before drilling White behind the net. 

The other issue here is the idea that the punishment should fit the crime.  This is where the real subjectivity comes to play when comparing suspensions but for now we will just look at the Stoll hit.  Ian White was clearly hurt after this hit as he was barely able to get up under his own power and looked very shaken up.  White did not return to the game and was ruled out of game 2 as well with what can only be assumed to be a concussion.  The notion that a severe hit from behind causing injury can only render a one game suspension does not seem to add up in the minds of many people.  As we move forward and look at the other suspensions and hits it becomes even more glaring how this hit was given leniency possibly because of the time of year.

Steve Downie on Ben Lovejoy & Chris Kunitz on Simon Gagne

The second and third hits are out of chronological order but they go along with the subjective nature of suspensions in the NHL and possible leniency based upon the time of year.  Steve Downie and Chris Kunitz both received one game suspensions following game 3 of the Penguins-Lightning series for their hits on Ben Lovejoy and Simon Gagne respectively.  Neither Lovejoy nor Gagne appears to be injured following their hits which are about the only positive thing one could say about them.  The Downie hit happened behind the Pittsburgh net as Ben Lovejoy went to retrieve the puck; Downie came full speed from the hash marks and obliterated Lovejoy while leaving his feet to do so.  Leaving your feet when checking an opposing player is illegal and brings with it a charging penalty, however, the vicious nature of this particular hit brought with it a one game suspension.  We will see the difference between leaving your feet and not doing so when we look at the Raffi Torres hit as there are many similarities between the two other than having one's feet on the ground.  This all seems fairly standard until you consider Downie's history:

• Suspended 5 games in the OHL for cross checking teammate Akim Aliu during practice and knocking out 3 teeth because Aliu would not participate in a hazing tradition.
• Suspended 20 games in the 2007 preseason for deliberate attempt to injure by leaving his feet and hitting Senators forward Dead McAmmond behind the net.
• Suspended 20 games in 2009 for slashing a linesman while playing for the Norfolk Admirals after a controversial empty net goal

How Downie is allowed to get away with only a 1 game suspension with his previous history is a mystery to me.  The league must be compelled to make an example out of players like Downie (Matt Cooke would be in this as well if he wasn't suspended for the entire first round already) who are a constant threat to the safety of the players around him. 

The other suspension coming from game 3 in that series goes to Chris Kunitz of the Penguins for his elbow to Simon Gagne's head.  Kunitz also received a 1 game suspension which once again seems far too lenient when looking at the hit.  Gagne came across the edge of the crease and as he lost the puck Kunitz, who was a foot or two away from Gagne, reached out his elbow into Gagne's head as the two crossed paths.  I'm not sure what Kunitz is thinking at this point, but this hit can only be considered a blatant attempt to injure another player.  The two weren't close enough for an actual body check and Kunitz made no attempt with any other part of his body other than his elbow to make contact with Gagne.  For a league that has continuously discussed protecting their players from headshots it is hits like these, the blatant attempts on another player's head, which should be made examples of.  Both Kunitz and Downie, for different reasons, should most definitely have been given harsher disciplinary penalties.  Unfortunately, during playoff time in the NHL it seems there are a slightly different set of rules inside and outside the game.

Raffi Torres on Brent Seabrook

The Raffi Torres hit on Brent Seabrook is the only one being looked at that did not garner a suspension.  The hit was reminiscent of Steve Downie's hit on Ben Lovejoy as Torres wiped out Seabrook behind the Blackhawks net as he was playing the puck.  The crucial difference between the two hits was Torres keeping his feet on the ground and leading with his shoulder.  Whether you agree with the rules put in place by the National Hockey League or not, you cannot argue that Torres' hit was not a legal one.  The unfortunate nature surrounding the hit is that Seabrook eventually had to leave the game and subsequently missed game 4 as well.  But people have to keep in mind that this is a physical game and injuries are going to be a part of it.  I compare this hit to Scott Stevens on Eric Lindros in the '99-'00 playoffs which put Lindros' career in severe peril.  However, hockey players have to understand where they are on the ice and must be aware of their surroundings.  It is imperative not only for the player throwing the check, but for the player receiving the check to have a heightened sense of awareness of who is around him.  The old saying goes 'never skate with your head down' for a reason, because that is when injuries occur.  If the league wants to address hits where a player is 'legally' blindsided then that is something to do in the future.  In this instance, Raffi Torres was well within the rules of the game leading with his shoulder and hitting a player from the front.  It is just an unfortunate repercussion that Brent Seabrook was injured on the play.

Bobby Ryan on Jonathan Blum

The final suspension I want to discuss doesn't even involve a body check and yet Ryan received the most games (2) out of all the players suspended so far.  Ryan was suspended for stomping on the foot of Jonathan Blum behind the Nashville net.  Now, I am in no way condoning what Bobby Ryan did whatsoever.  I believe it was pure stupidity that Ryan thought, out of frustration or not, that using a blade in a stomping motion would be alright.  Furthermore, there is some severe precedent that has already been set for issues of stomping as Chris Simon and Chris Pronger have both had suspensions of 30 games and 8 games respectively for stomping on players.  Granted, Ryan's particular stomp was not as comparable to those two, but there still have been examples set.  What I don't understand is how Colin Campbell is able to justify that Bobby Ryan's stomp, which rendered no penalty or injury to Blum, is more serious than Jarret Stoll's brutal hit from behind which left Ian White injured, Steve Downie's best torpedo impression or Chris Kunitz's blatant attempt to injure with his elbow? 

The issue is not whether all of these hits and stomps deserved disciplinary actions, but rather the justifications behind the suspensions that were handed down.  I think fans and players alike are constantly confused by the NHL and the methods they are using to hand down punishments.  It clearly is not a black and white profession and I respect Campbell and anyone else in a similar position, however, there needs to be some parody in respect to these punishments in order to rectify the situation itself.  If the NHL continues to place such an emphasis on removing head shots and blatant attempts to injure from the game then they must be responsible for handing out punishments worthy of the crime.  It's just one guys opinion I know, but I find it hard to see the logic in some of these suspensions especially when compared to each other.  Other then that though I am loving this first round!  Keep it coming boys!

Game 1's - The Good, The Bad and The Boring?

We are two days into the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and it's blatantly evident that there is a tremendous emphasis early in this playoff season on goaltending and defense.  What's new you ask?  I understand playoff time is a different animal completely from the regular season as each game is viewed as monumental and a virtual must-win.  The games themselves feature tighter checking, a more physical style of play and usually a more fierce attention to detail on defense.  However, if the eight game 1's are any indication of what is to come we may be in for a low scoring and borderline monotonous opening round of the playoffs. 

Consider the fact that four of these eight series have opened with a shutout, compared to last years first round where we saw a total of five shutouts and none in the opening games.  The Eastern Conference matchups have tallied a total of nine goals combined throughout the four games, an average of less than 2.5 goals per game.  Another mind-blowing stat is other than Brian Gionta's goal against Boston a mere 3 minutes into the game, there was not one goal scored in the first or second period of any Eastern Conference matchup.  We watched as 3 games went into the third period deadlocked at 0 - 0, while the Habs had a 1 - 0 lead heading into the final frame.  Now, I love a hard nosed defensive game just as much as anybody, but that's a little ridiculous don't you think?  If you include the Vancouver - Chicago game with the 4 games in the east then we've watched 9 of 15 scoreless regulation periods thus far.  Of those 6 periods that a goal has been scored in regulation, only 2 of them saw multiple goals as the Pens tallied 3 in the third against the Lightning and the Rangers and Caps traded 3rd period goals.  It's safe to say we are hoping the Nashville - Anaheim and Detroit - Phoenix series' aren't going to carry the majority of the offensive prowess through the rest of this first round.

Aside from the lack of offensive firepower, the opening set of games has created a few more storylines to follow as we progress through the first round.  Beginning out west where the last of the 8 game 1's was played late last night, the Sharks and Kings are playing only the third series all time featuring two teams from California.  However, that story, along with the Sharks gutsy overtime win, was overshadowed today by the suspension of Kings forward Jarret Stoll for his hit on Sharks defenseman Ian White.  Stoll drove White's head into the boards behind the San Jose net on an obvious hit from behind which forced White to leave the game and not return.  White immediately fell to the ice after the hit and needed help getting up and skating off the ice as it looked like the Sharks defenseman may have a concussion.  There was no penalty called on the play which seemed to further escalate the issue.  The following face-off saw Sharks forward Ben Eager take his frustration out on Kyle Clifford as the two fought in the Sharks zone which ignited an intense battle that carried on throughout the game between the two teams and spilled into an overtime period before Joe Pavelski ended it for the Sharks.  These two teams play in the same division all year and already have a rivalry brewing, but Stoll's hit may have just pushed this series into a new dimension.  I'm looking forward to game 2 on Saturday!

On the topic of physical series and intense animosity towards one another, game 1 of the Bruins - Habs series didn't quite have the hostility and anger many of us expected.  In fact, I thought I was watching a rerun of games 5, 6, and 7 of last year's series with Washington until I saw the big bear on Zdeno Chara's chest.  The Habs did exactly what they did last year, they played dull, boring and a fundamentally sound defensive game while relying heavily on their goaltender.  They also did one other thing; they won again.  Fault them or not, the Habs have created a playoff system that they seem to be able to execute almost to perfection.  Anyone who watched that game could see that Carey Price had just about the easiest 31 save shutout a goalie could have.  Now, just to clarify, I am not by any means taking away from how Price played.  However, the Habs did an excellent job getting into shooting lanes and getting rid of traffic in front of Price.  The Bruins shot puck after puck directly into the chest of a well positioned Price as the Habs took the opener in Boston.  For anyone hoping to see a repeat of that incredible February brawl between these two teams, I wouldn't hold your breath.  But, a flicker of hope in this case came late in the third when public enemy number one Zdeno Chara tried to see if Montreal's leading scorer Tomas Plekanec would fit through the ice.  The 6'9 beast Chara clearly looked frustrated after Brian Gionta's second goal of the night and decided to try and take these frustrations out on the 5'11 Plekanec.  One can only hope we will see some of that edginess leak through tomorrow for game 2.

The third storyline that I wanted to take a look at which is emerging in these playoffs is one nobody would have dreamed of coming into the 2010-2011 season.  The Washington Capitals are a defensive minded juggernaut that can clamp down and play dirty.  Yes, it is true, the Capitals and Bruce Boudreau re-worked their team philosophy and became a much better team defensively then in years past.  It is also true that they came into the playoffs as the second best defensive team in the east next to only the Vezina frontrunner Tim Thomas and his Bruins.  But, come on, this is the playoffs and the run and gun Caps will once again surface and the system will come crashing down in DC.  Well, granted it's only been one game and nobody won anything in one game, but the Caps looked pretty darn good defensively on Wednesday night.  The Caps blocked an astonishing 32 shots in game 1 which more than doubles their season average of 15.3 per game.  They held the Rangers to 25 shots in nearly 4 periods (they went almost to the end of the first OT) and Michael Neuvirth looked comfortable in his first playoff start.  I've said it before and I'll say it again; defence wins championships.  The Caps will score with all the talent they have, so if they can continue this defensive minded trend then we may be seeing a lot more of Ovi and company in the next month or so.

Well as I said before, I realize it's just game 1 and nothing is ever won in the first game, but there definitely are some emerging stories to keep an eye on as we move forward.  Miller Time was front and center in Philadelphia as the Flyers will need to solve Buffalo's Ryan Miller if they have any hopes of repeating as Eastern Conference champs.  The goaltending debacle in Anaheim cost them game 1 and they will have a new starter for game 2 as Ray Emery gets the nod.  The Detroit - Phoenix and Pittsburgh - Tampa Bay openers were pretty uneventful and I hope to get a little more out of both those series as they progress.  Finally, the Canucks won game 1 for the third straight year against the Hawks, so Canucks fans don't start planning any parades just yet until there able to win 3 more.  Game 1's are in the books, hopefully we see a few more goals and some intensity levels increase as these series continue to develop.

First Round NHL Breakdown - Beasts of the East

Here we are a little more then 24 hours away from playoff hockey, can you feel the excitement building?  It's been a long and arduous journey through the course of the regular season but sixteen of the thirty NHL franchises managed to stamp their ticket to challenge for Lord Stanley's illustrious mug.  We looked at the four matchups from the Western Conference yesterday, so today I'd like to take a look at how the Beasts of the East measure up against each other and determine who will continue to play for hockey glory and who will be pulling out their 9 iron sooner then expected. 

EASTERN CONFERENCE

1 Washington Capitals VS 8 New York Rangers (Winner - Washington Capitals)

The David and Goliath matchup in the east pits the other number 8 seed to clinch a playoff spot on a loss against the revamped and defensive minded Washington Capitals.  The Rangers, who have essentially been playing playoff hockey since early March, looked as though the grind was taking its toll on them as they dropped 3 of their last 6 games with losses to bottom feeders Atlanta and the Islanders.  They required a Carolina Hurricanes meltdown in their final regular season game against Tampa Bay to backdoor into the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.  The loss of Ryan Callahan also puts the Rangers at a severe disadvantage even though Captain Chris Drury is back for the playoff drive.  Callahan was third in scoring for the Rangers and led the team in power play points and game winning goals while bringing an edginess needed in the playoffs.  Rangers tender Henrik Lundqvist will be asked to do everything and more if New York is going to make a series out of this, much less move on to the second round.

The Capitals, meanwhile, have been transformed by Bruce Boudreau into a defensive juggernaut?  Yes, I put a question mark after that statement because I can't believe I wrote it with a straight face.  But the Capitals, with Ovechkin, Semin, Backstron, Green and company, have turned in an inspired defensive regular season led by their overbearing coach.  The Caps come in ranked second in the east defensively and still roll out an offensively charged unit that can turn a series into a laugher quickly.  The Caps dropped 3 of 4 to the Rangers this year, getting pummelled 6 -0 and 7 - 0 in two of those games, but don't expect that trend to continue.  New York is the only team the Caps have beaten in the playoffs since the Ovi era began, expect history to repeat itself and the Capitals to advance to the second round.

2 Philadelphia Flyers VS 7 Buffalo Sabres (Winner - Buffalo Sabres)

It took the Flyers a final game shootout win over the New York Rangers last season just to make the playoffs.  Their magical playoff run to the Stanley Cup finals came as a surprise to many, especially seeing as how they did it with a virtual nobody in Michael Leighton between the pipes.  This season, however, the Flyers aren't sneaking up on anyone.  They led the Eastern Conference for much of the regular season and finished just 1 point out of winning the conference to the Washington Capitals.  Their prize?  A date with arguably the hottest team in the NHL over the last month in the Buffalo Sabres.  Philly comes in losing 13 of their final 20 games and with a young struggling goaltender.  Rookie Sergei Bobrovsky, another off the radar guy, went winless in his final 5 decisions and has drummed up some controversy in the Philadelphia net once again.  Combine this with the questionable status of Chris Pronger and his hand injury, and the Flyers are not sailing into playoff time on a high note by any means.

The Buffalo Sabres, on the other hand, couldn't be playing much better hockey then they are right now.  The Sabres finished the season winning 13 of their final 20 games and doing it with a complete team effort.  The Sabres, even with the early season loss of Derek Roy, seem to be hitting their stride offensively at the right time as they've scored 4 or more goals in 4 of their final 5 regular season games.  That trend does not bode well for the Flyers and Bobrovsky as the Sabres will counter with one of the elite goaltenders in the game, Ryan Miller.  Miller time in Buffalo seems to be in full tilt as the Sabres goalie posted his 5th straight season with at least 34 wins and had 5 shutouts.  This all boils down to the Flyers capability to protect Bobrovsky and keep the puck out of their own net.  With Pronger less then 100% and a young Bobrovsky looking like he is wearing down a little, the Flyers look like they may be the one to have the early exit this season.

3 Boston Bruins VS 6 Montreal Canadiens (Winner - Boston Bruins)

Well, well, well, the hockey God's took everything into consideration and bestowed upon us possibly the most anticipated, hostile and bitter series one could hope for in the first round.  I think this series can be summed up with a quote by journalist Steve Rushin: "By the age of 18, the average American has witnessed 200,000 acts of violence on television, most of them occurring during Game One of the NHL playoff series".  One can only hope Steve, one can only hope.  For those of you who need to catch up, the Bruins and the Habs don't like each other.  In fact, they hate each other.  The Northeastern division rivals will further their animosity for each other which has already seen a bench clearing brawl and a man sent to the hospital with virtually a broken neck this season.  Did I mention these two teams don't like each other very much?  Sorry, other then that obvious fact I don't like any storylines coming out of this series.  It looks lopsided on paper and in reality.  The Habs are the lowest scoring team in the playoffs.  Their blueline is decimated with injuries and they have a goalie with a less then stellar 5 - 11 playoff mark in the last 3 seasons.  Yes, I know Carey Price had a good season and he may not be the same goaltender he was a year ago, but he isn't superman people. 

I really can't say much more then Tim Thomas when I look at this series from a Bruins standpoint.  Let me reiterate this point, Tim Thomas is good, he's really good.  He is going to be the Vezina trophy winner this season and he is arguably the best tender in hockey today.  Best goalie in hockey versus the lowest scoring team in the playoffs?  I don't think anyone has to be a genius to figure this one out.  But, if you need some more information, here it is.  The Habs are also the worst road team in the playoffs and they'll have to win in Boston in order to win this series.  Montreal took the season series 4 - 2 and many of those games were of the high scoring variety.  But playoff time is a different monster, the games are tighter checking and every shift looms larger and larger as the game progresses.  I think the Bruins overwhelm the Habs with a much more potent offensive attack and frustrate them with their sasquatch Zdeno Chara on defence and their brick wall in net. 

4 Pittsburgh Penguins VS 5 Tampa Bay Lightning (Winner - Pittsburgh Penguins)

The series I wanted to see the least in the first round has unfortunately come to fruition.  The Penguins and Lightning alike have had my eye all season long and I would have loved to see both advance deeper into April.  With great regret, however, we will see one of them fall by the wayside by next week.  In Tampa Bay, Steve Yzerman has taken a team that had 80 points last year and hadn't seen a playoff game since the '06-'07 season, and turned them into a team that was in the mix to win the east all season long.  Yzerman went out and grabbed Simon Gagne, Pavel Kubina, Brett Clark and Dominic Moore in the offseason and then snagged veteran goalie Dwayne Roloson from the Islanders earlier in the regular season.  This mix of role players and top 6 talent has led the Lightning to a playoff birth and seems to have restarted the dead engines of stars Marty St. Louis and Vincent Lecavelier.  The Lightning boast the 6th best power play and 8th best penalty kill in the NHL yet come into the playoffs as the worst defensive team in the east.  They will have to rectify this if they hope to beat the Penguins. 

The Penguins have had to overcome possibly the most adversity with the best results in the NHL this season.  The losses of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin should have been monumental blows to a Pittsburgh team with aspirations of winning their second cup in 3 seasons.  However, the team excelled without the likes of Crosby and Malkin and went on to post their highest point total since the duo came to Pittsburgh.  Their number 1 ranked penalty kill exemplifies how the concept of team is far beyond any superstar in the Penguins locker room.  Dan Bylsma has done a phenomenal job in keeping this team on track and they still have a plethora of young and talented personnel.  The key in this series I think will end up being experience and goaltending.  The Penguins have made deep playoff runs in 2 of the past 3 seasons with many of these same players, as opposed to a relatively inexperienced Lightning team.  Marc-Andre Fleury is a proven winner and has a Stanley Cup ring to prove it.  This one should go to 7 games and I hate to see either team take the early exit, but the Penguins experience and fundamentally sound system will eventually win out.


That officially concludes our 2011 first round NHL playoff breakdown.  To recap it looks like the Caps take out the Rangers again, Miller time takes Philly by storm, the Bruins beat down the Habs and the Pens sneak by the Lightning.  It's the most wonderful time of year to be a hockey fan and a Canadian in general.  We live and breathe hockey and there is no better hockey then playoff hockey.  May your beers be cold, your couches be warm and your TV's be on tomorrow, the playoffs are here!