Pens Win Thriller In Washington For 6th Straight Win

This is borderline insane and I'm not sure I fully believe it.

Somebody pinch me.....please.

The Penguins have won six games in a row now after knocking off the Capitals 4-3 in a shootout Sunday. Should the game have gone to a shootout? Absolutely not.

The Penguins came out flatter than a day old open beer in the third period with a 3-1 lead and the Caps pounced scoring two goals in 49 seconds to tie the game. I was at Caps/Pens game at the Igloo on Oct. 16 and the same thing happened. The Pens had a 3-1 lead and gave up in the third period and lost 4-3. Thankfully they learned from that mistake this time around.

The shock from those two goals was rather apparent, seeing as how the team looked scared to be on the ice for most of the period after that. If not for a couple of powerplays, they may not have pulled this one out.

There was one scary moment late in the third period thanks to good pal Hal Gill. I have never been more proud of his poor puckhandling skills.

With under five seconds to play, Gill attempts to clear a bouncing puck out of danger in the slot. The key word there is "attempts." Gill fires the puck to the endboards behind Marc-Andre Fleury and barely misses turning the red light on for the Capitals. Had he done that I would have needed a new television.

Video Highlights Courtesy Of NHL.com


Here's some notes from the game:

- Bill Guerin had three points (1G 2A) in the game today. The top line of Sidney Crosby - Chris Kunitz - Guerin is working rather well so far.

- The top powerplay unit is still a shade off from regaining the lethal form it once had. Guerin parking his wide frame in front of the net resulted in one goal tonight on a bomb from Sergei Gonchar. That's a good sign if you ask me.

- Fleury had a roughly .950 save percentage before today's game in March, which is a league high. He played spectacularly again today and came up huge in the shootout stopping Alex Ovechkin to win the game.

- Petr Sykora did not dress for this game due to "an upper body injury," according to the Pitsburgh Tribune-Review. He is listed as day-to-day.

- The Penguins finish this pivitol five-game roadtrip with a perfect 5-0 record. That is a franchise best mark.

- The Bylsma Penguins are now 8-1-1. Not a bad start for the new coach.

- The win prevents a season series sweep by the Caps for the first time in history as well. The Caps have come close to sweeping the Pens a couple of times, but that record lives on for another year now.

The Penguins are making me do some extra work today in breaking down three goals against, but a couple of these are rather simple.

Goal #1 - Alexander Semin dekes around Fleury down low

Kris Letang is set up behind the net and attempts a long outlet pass intended for Evgeni Malkin. The pass fails miserably as he hits Nicklas Backstrom, who was applying pressure. Backstrom picks up the loose puck in the corner and hits Semin rushing into the slot to tie the game at 1-1.

Points assigned: Letang gets the full point for the awful outlet pass.

Goal #2 - Ovechkin Powerplay Goal

Mark Eaton blocks a shot in the slot. Brooks Laich picks up the loose puck and passes it back to Mike Green at the point. Green goes point-to-point to Ovechkin who takes a couple steps toward the net and fires a wrister behind Fleury. The puck appears to have gone off Gonchar, who was battling with Laich behind Fleury at the side of the net.

Points assigned: Max Talbot gets 0.5 for being too far away from his pointman (Ovechkin) and allowing him to get a higher percentage shot. Gonchar gets the other .5 for not getting body position on Laich and as a result of the battle, the puck hits Gonchar and goes in.

Goal #3 - Laich Breakway Off Bad Line Change

David Steckel catches the Pens in a horrific line change on defense and connects with Laich on the home-run pass. Laich walks in on Fleury and almost loses the handle on the puck, but puts on a nice move and roofs it behind Fleury to tie the game at 3-3.

Points assigned: 0.5 each to Letang and Eaton for the horrible line change. It was poorly executed and Washington made them pay as a result.

Updated Hal Gill Quotient Standings:

Kris Letang - 4.84 - 9 GP
Hal Gill - 4.34 - 11 GP
Marc-Andre Fleury - 4.08 - 12 GP
Ryan Whitney - 3.5 - 6 GP - TRADED
Sergei Gonchar - 3.25 - 10 GP
Mark Eaton - 2.83 - 12 GP
Brooks Orpik - 2.75 - 12 GP
Jordan Staal - 2.25 - 12 GP
Rob Scuderi - 1.50 - 12 GP
Matt Cooke - 1.0 - 12 GP
Ruslan Fedotenko - 1.0 12 GP
Pascal Dupuis - .83 - 12 GP
Max Talbot - 0.5 - 12 GP
Referee Paul Devorski - 0.5 - 1 Game Reffed
Bill Thomas - .33 - 5 GP - WAIVED

B's Lose in OT, Pronger and More

After opening the six game home stand at T.D. Banknorth Garden with a pair of six-goal outings, the Bruins fell in overtime yesterday 4-3 to the Capitals and Alexander Semin's 80 foot shot. Unfortunately, I was at work and missed the game, so my comments on it will be brief. From what I've read and watched from highlights, the game reminds me of the encounter with Tampa last week. Constantly playing catch up. The Bruins should be content, though not pleased to come away from this one with a point.

I feel like the Caps and all of their weapons would be a tough match for the Bruins in the playoffs, aside from Ovechkin being a monster, they're got a very strong team that can move the puck around quickly and make things happen. Now I'm not saying the Bruins can't do the same, they can, but I've got a feeling about the Capitals. Then again, it would be the playoffs and anything could happen.

The B's once again led the way in shots 37-32, but the Bruins surrendered two power play goals. Marc Savard had three assists, but could be the culprit for the first goal when he was sent to the box for hooking. Matt Hunwick, getting some serious ice time the past two games has responded extremely well, with two goals and an assist.

Bruins fans will certainly hope that the club can bounce back from this with a win, because they know that Jersey and Washington are becoming hot on their heels as the season begins to wind down through the last 20 or so games.

Highlights courtesy of our good friends at NHL.com


Also last night, Yahoo Sports and the Sporting News had an article that Ducks defenseman Chris Pronger to Boston talk was picking up steam. One potential deal I've read is Pronger and Travis Moen to Boston in exchange for Mark Stuart, Chuck Kobasew, Joe Colborne and a 2009 2nd round pick.

From the outset I don't like this deal for Boston for a few reasons.

1. Pronger makes $6.25M. Yes the deal would only include the last 20ish games of the season, so that salary will be pro-rated and easier to swallow, but the B's are just $1.43M under the cap. Pronger is owed about $1.5M the rest of this year if my math is correct.

2. Mark Stuart is a poor man's Pronger. They play a similar style of play, sure Stuart doesn't have the size, or quite the same talent level, but he's younger, cheaper and has been effective for the Bruins this year.

3. Kobasew is a good piece to have around. He's a hard worker, a team player, can work on the power play, can score a goal and has definitely endeared himself to the Boston fans this year. I definitely see Chuck as a trading chip potentially in the future though.

4. Pronger is due $6.5M next year, the final year of his contract. The Bruins also will have expiring contracts in Tim Thomas, David Krejci and Phil Kessel. Where does Pronger fit under the cap in these circumstances? Which player doesn't return? How long would the B's really have Pronger for? Would he be an 18 month rental and out the door?

The Ducks are retooling, but they don't need help from the Bruins. I'd like to believe that B's GM Peter Chiarelli is more interested in finding a winger to help out in Marco Sturm's absence to get a little more oomph at the offensive end of the ice.

Other rumored targets for the B's are Keith Tkachuk (Mass. native), Jordon Leopold and of course, the oft-mentioned Erik Cole.

I would be okay with a player like Keith, he'd be a blessing on the power play, his big body in front of the net for screens and generally being a nuisance to the opposing goalie. Leopold would be a decent second-tier defenseman, but I don't see where he fits in right now. Chara/Ward, Hunwick/Wideman and Hnidy/Stuart are a good six-some, but unless Hunwick gets sent back to Providence (would be a bad move), I can't see Leopold being a B.

I think I've done the Erik Cole thing to death.

Would I like to see the Bruins make a move? Yes, but only if it supplements what is already at the club, Chiarelli has been quoted as saying that he's 50% likely to make a deal. I would put money on prospects and picks being traded over anyone actually on the B's, as long as any deal fits under the cap. Other than that, you could potentially see a Kobasew-type being moved, but I expect the Bruins to stand pat. I just don't see anything that makes a lot of sense right now.

There's three days left until the deadline on Wednesday, so I'm sure we'll be back with more information.

Pens Lose To Caps, No One's Surprised

There's not much to be said about the Pens 5-2 loss to the Caps yesterday. I'm not surprised one bit that they lost to the Capitals in such a convincing fashion, especially with how intense Saturday's game against the Flyers was.

Now, this would have been an enormously huge win for the Pens, but it just wasn't in the cards. Let's take a look at the goals against and assign some Hal Gill Quotient points to the deserving players.

Goal #1 - Alex Ovechkin scores on the powerplay - Sergei Fedorov has the puck in the corner and feeds Nicklas Backstrom at the bottom of the right faceoff circle. Shockingly enough, Hal Gill was the man Fedorov beat with the short pass.

Backstrom then sends the puck over to Ovechkin, who's streaking down the weakside with a wide open net. Ovie fires the one-timer and it's 1-0 Caps. Rob Scuderi attempted to block Backstrom's pass, but missed.

Points assigned: Gill - 0.5, Scuderi 0.5

Video Highlights Courtesy Of NHL.com


Goal #2 - Alexander Semin scores on the powerplay - For some reason, all four Penguins were along the near side boards trying to get the puck out of the zone. The four Penguins on the ice were: Sidney Crosby, Matt Cooke, Brooks Orpik and Mark Eaton.

Sid, Orpik, and Cooke were pursuing Backstrom along the wall. Eaton then slides over to mark Ovechkin, leaving Semin wide open in front of Marc-Andre Fleury. Backstrom chips the puck past all three Pens into the vicinity of Semin, who handles the puck and dekes Fleury to the ice for a 2-1 lead.

Points assigned - Orpik 0.5 for being out of position, Eaton 0.5 for cheating to Ovechkin.

Goal #3 - Fedorov blows one through Fleury - Jordan Staal turns the puck over while trying to return a pass to Ryan Whitney along the nearside at the blueline. Semin picked off the pass and found Fedorov entering the zone. Fedorov tees it up from the slot and blows it through the legs of Fleury for a 3-1 lead.

Points assigned - .75 to Staal for the turnover, .25 to Fleury for not getting the pads down quick enough despite the wide open slapper from 15 feet.

Goal #4 - Shaone Morrison scores on rebound blast from tough angle - Ovechkin dances around Tyler Kennedy at the top of the right faceoff circle and dances his way to the nearside to get a shot on net. Fleury makes the save and deflects the rebound aside. Morrison skates down past the hashmarks along the wall and rips the puck right back at Fleury who misplayed the angle and its now 4-2 Caps.

Points assigned - Pascal Dupuis 0.5 for not picking up his pointman (Morrison) streaking to the puck. Fleury 0.5 for not stopping a shot from that bad of an angle.

Goal #5 - Fleury goes behind the net to play the puck to Gill, but the pass gets broken up by Semin. An attempted pass into the slot by Semin goes awry, but the puck finds its way back to Tom Poti at the point. Poti unloads and misses the net by about a foot to Fleury's right. Brooks Laich pounces on the loose puck and just throws it on net. The puck must have had eyes as it found a small opening Fleury must have left and just barely crosses the line. 5-2 Caps.

Points assigned - Fleury 0.5 for not blocking off the post and allowing a very weak goal, Gill 0.25 for not calling Fleury off on the pass or assisting in that aspect of the play in any way, Scuderi 0.25 for not picking up Laich after Poti's shot.


Updated Hal Gill Quotient Standings:

Marc-Andre Fleury - 3.58 - 6 GP
Ryan Whitney - 3.5 - 6 GP
Kris Letang - 2.84 - 3 Games Played
Hal Gill - 2.34 - 5 GP
Mark Eaton - 2.33 - 6 GP
Sergei Gonchar - 1.75 - 5 GP
Brooks Orpik - 1.75 - 6 GP
Jordan Staal - 1.75 - 6 GP
Rob Scuderi - 1.25 - 6 GP
Matt Cooke - 1.0 - 6 GP
Pascal Dupuis - .83 - 6 GP
Referee Paul Devorski - 0.5 - 1 Game Reffed
Bill Thomas - .33 - 4 GP

Bruins Need Spark Plug

I'm sure in countless hockey rinks, football fields, and baseball diamonds across the country, parents tell their children that it doesn't matter if you win or lose, it's whether or not you put in the effort and have fun. Play your best, your hardest, but it's okay if you don't win. Because you did your best, your threw it all out there.

For the past three games of this road trip, Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julien has seemingly practiced this methodology. Unfortunately for Claude and his Bruins, this method need not apply to the National Hockey League. Yes, there was the December to Remember. However, it is now late February, heading closer and closer to the playoffs and nobody remembers December. They remember a 1-3-1 road trip on the back of back-to-back home losses. 1-4-2 in their last seven.

Play hard boys, but it's okay if you don't win.

The 4-3 loss to Tampa Bay certainly wasn't for lack of effort. The Bruins relentlessly peppered Karri Ramo with shot after shot, 43 (paired with 41 aganst Florida) of them in all and were rewarded with three goals for those efforts. However, some untimely turnovers, poor defending and Manny Fernandez-quality goaltending, he gave up the 4 goals on just 18 shots, ouch.

Yes, the Bruins showed passion and intensity along with terrific energy. Shawn Thornton and Mark Stuart were both involved in fisticuffs with a pair of thrilling duels that energized the team. When PhiKessel netted his early goal things looked great, but then Tampa scored two in fifteen seconds and the energy changed. The Bruins fought back from behind twice, but still fell.

Now, 43 shots on goal are fantastic, but how many of those were bonafide chances? Along with the shots, the intensity of play seemed to wane until after Tampa had gone ahead with 1:33 to play.

Where has Boston's complacency come from? Jumping out to a huge lead in the Eastern Conference? Taking bottom of the conference teams like Tampa for granted?

Maybe it's the coach settling for effort and not results.

Patrice Bergeron still finds himself on the point on the top power play line. He looks timid and uncomfortable along the blue line and rightly so. He's a winger. Put him there already, please. Chara and Ward at the point on the top line did well, they were rewarded with it. Bergeron excelled on the second unit playing along the wall and putting his body in front of the net. Patrice's confidence wasn't raised as highly as Julien may have thought with that erm... empty net goal.

How badly do the B's need a sniper? I brought up the fact that the B's won't be where they need to be unless they find a sniper, and a friend responded; "Our sniper is injured." I laughed. Michael Ryder, as nice a goal scoring option as he is, does not a sniper make. The Bruins need someone who can score 35-40 goals in a season. Kessel is nice, Ryder is nice, having five guys who can net 20+ goals and a dozen who can net 10+ is nice, but you need someone that strikes fear into opposition goalies. Chara can do that, sure, but where's that full time offensive presence? The Sykora, Kovalchuk, Kovalev winger who can score from anywhere inside the zone?

No, the Bruins probably aren't able to get a player of their calibre. Especially with names like Keith Tkachuk and Erik Cole being bandied about. To think I know a couple of people excited about the prospect of Cole being a Bruin, but he's a fraud of a goalscorer. Not nearly the player he was in Carolina and not likely to ever be. Tkachuk? While it'd be nice to see the Massachusetts native play for the B's, he's basically washed up and wouldn't add enough to the team. In the end the fact is that they need a proven out and out scorer. The Bruins have players who can score goals, but they're very, very streaky. Consistency would do wonders for this team.

With the Caps inching ever closer to the B's, they could lose grip on the East's top spot. The Bruins are in a precarious position right now, despite what many may think.

It's already been proven that effort alone isn't enough to do the job.

Nylander On The Move?

Caps Blog


With the trade deadline looming, it seems likely that Center Michael Nylander is on his out. In late November, there were rumors that he would be sent to Chicago, however, nothing materialized. Even as late as August of last year, removing Nylander from the caps was a top priority, according to NHL Fanhouse. In that same article, Nylander reportedly put his Maryland home on the market.

Caps coach Bruce Boudreau runs a North-South style of NHL play, which is in contrast to Nylander's East-West approach to the game. The difference has caused a rapture between the two this season. Earlier in the season, Nylander was mainly a healthy scratch in many games, but as of late Nylander has been a scoring machine. Last week, Nylander posted two goals against the Devils that helped end the Devils nine-game winning streak.

If the Caps decide to trade Nylander, where will he land? The best case scenario would involve the Atlanta Thrashers. It is no secret the Thrashers need to move cap in order to revamp the team, as they did last year moving Marian Hossa to the Penguins. The player I am talking about is Ilya Kovalchuk. There have been many trade rumors involving Kovalchuk for most of the season, and according to bleacher report, Kovalchuk has asked for a trade. This is not as far fetched as some may think. The Caps have a lot of young talent in Hershey (AHL team) and could move Nylander in the process. There is no doubt the Caps would have to give up a lot for Kovalchuk, but the rewards would far out weigh the price.

Imagine the first three lines of the Caps. First line you have Alexander Ovechkin, second line Kovalchuk, and third line Alexander Semin. The Caps would be a scoring machine would be able to beat the Sharks, Red Wings, and Bruins.

The worst case scenario is him being traded to Vancouver. Nylander's former agent, Mike Gillis, is the general manager in Vancouver. This makes a trade there likely. Trading Nylander to such a team would mean the most the Caps would get is a low rated prospect.


James Herring

Rangers/Caps Recap 2/11

Tonight the Rangers take on the Capitals who are currently sitting at 2nd place in the Eastern conference. When looking at the Rangers roster, the team should be broken down into 3 tiers.

Tier 1: Players that are getting paid the big bucks to score and defend.
Gomez, Drury, Zherdev, Naslund, Redden, Rozsival, Mara
Tier 2: Role players that need to do the grunt work and the fundamentals.
Dubinsky, Dawes, Korpikoski, Staal, Girardi, Callahan
Tier 3: Don't expect much but are happy with whatever you get. Just hope they don't kill you.
Betts, Orr, Sjostrom, Voros, Reitz

Rangers fans have to be ecstatic about what they see night in and night out from Tier 2. They hustle their butts off, shoot the puck, slash down the middle, crash the net, block shots, and do all of the little things to keep plays alive. These are the types of players that every team loves to have, and unfortunately, when Glenn Sather is answering the phones over the next week, they are the players that will get moved to bring in better talent. Due to the small amount of cap space and the inability to move most from Tier 1 because of their enormous contracts, Sather will in all likelihood have to trade multiple 2 tier guys, and when this happens, Rangers fans will be depressed. Clearly the blame of the season must be put onto the Tier 1 guys for not producing. With that said, onto the game.

1st Period

Nothing like 2 fights within the first three minutes to get both the crowd and the Rangers into the game. Poor job by Washington. They must know that the Rangers are down trodden and two fights would only give them and the home crowd a boost.

7:00 in Ryan Callahan takes a Lauri Korpikoski pass, shoots, and squeaks one just past Jose to take the lead 1-0. The Rangers are a team that play exponentially better with a lead rather than behind. Granted, this is a statement that can be made for most teams, but it especially rings true for the Rangers. They have a trouble coming from behind more than most. This opening goal bodes well.

Four minutes later and Fleischmann ties it up. I blame the Rangers front line for this. They never got back to back check and help out the defense allowing cross ice passing and gave Fleischmann time to put one home. Lack luster effort gave the Caps a tied score at 1-1.

Two minutes to go in the period and the Caps take the lead off of an Eric Fehr goal. Nothing irritates me more than allowing a goal in the first two or last two minutes of the period. In the first two, minutes, a goal sets the tone for the period and establishes some negative momentum. In the last two minutes, it deflates a team heading into the locker room and makes the team stew over it all throughout the intermission. The Rangers give up way too many goals in those last two minutes of the period. The Garden is deflated. 2-1 Caps

2nd Period

Nine minutes go by with relatively little action until Lauri Korpikoski lights the lamp off of a feed from Callahan. Korpikoski uses the fundamentals here and crashes the net when Callahan threw the puck on it. Great fundamental goal. Game tied at 2-2.

Washington answer right back. Note to all NHL teams... you cannot allow Mike Green and his howitzer to walk into the slot with no pressure, you will be fishing the puck out of the back of the net. Green ties the NHL record of 7 straight games with a goal for a defenseman tonight tying the 25 year old record of Mark McConnell and passing the likes of a few guys named Orr and Bourque. Great look by Ovechkin across ice. No idea where the Rangers defense was but noone was on the right side of the ice. Green goes top shelf and realistically, Hank had no chance. 3-2 Caps.

One minute goes by and the Rangers answer back to tie it up at 3-3. Dawes hits Naslund streaking and Naslund does a great job of getting his stick down on the ice to deflect it in while crashing into the net. Amazing play all around. This never happens. The Rangers never fight back. They get hit in the mouth and run home to mommy. They are simply not a comeback team. Can this be the turnaround we have all been hoping for?

Paul Mara does his best Mike Green impression and blasts on from the left point, through a screen (more fundamentals?) and over Theodores left shoulder. I am in complete shock. He gets the shot on net maybe 30% of the time. This actually looked like he knew what he was doing. Rangers take the 4-3 lead and it looks like the slump is being busted.

ONE MINUTE TO GO IN THE PERIOD AND WE FREAKING DO IT AGAIN. Mike Green takes a slap shot, which basically looks like a replay of his first goal. Once again Hank has little to no chance and the defense is nowhere to be found. Rangers increase their league lead in depressing intermissions.

3rd Period

3:00 in and Tom Poti returns to Broadway with a little acting job of his own, taking a dive and giving the Rangers a PP. Someone must have forwarded my suggestions article onto the Rangers because they have unleashed 5 shots, 3 reaching Theodore. No goal but a good effort.

6:00 in and Paul Mara gets into the head of Ovechkin. Ovechkin retaliates to some pushing with a cross check and Rangers right back on the PP. Rangers have trouble gaining the zone and a couple bad passes lead to a relatively easy kill. Rangers now 1-20 over the last 7 games with the man advantage.

9:00 in and Mike Green shows off his hand eye coordination by batting a puck out of mid air. Unfortunately for the Caps, he did this in his own end and sent the puck into the stands for a delay of game penalty. Three power plays thus far this period. The nice thing here is that the entire period thus far has been played in the Caps end. The bad aspect is that the more scoreless power plays, the more restless the crowd is getting.

10:00 in and Naslund gets whacked in the face with a high stick. The Rangers waste 30 seconds putzing around instead of driving to the net and forcing the Caps to touch up. Now instead of a minute with the 5 on 3, its only 30 seconds. Luckily, Naslund is bleeding and the Rangers get 4:00. Here is the defining 4:00 of the game.

Roszival gets the puck about 20 feet out in the middle with a screen in front of Jose. Decides not to shoot. GET HIM OFF THE PP! The crowd starts the "Shoot the Puck!" chant. 8:00 of power play tick away, nothing to show for it, Washington has the clear momentum advantage. Also because Ovechkin hasn't been on the ice in the last 6 minutes, he is fully rested and clearly has an extra burst compared to everyone else on the ice. For a game that witnessed 8 goals in the first 40 minutes, this 3rd period has slowed greatly. Both teams look as if they are playing for the 1 guaranteed point.

OT

Ovechkin has given out 13 hits thus far in the game. The Rangers defenders are basically bouncing off of him. All of that rest in the 3rd is showing in OT because he is absolutely blowing by Rangers defensemen. If it wasn't for a nice Mark Staal play, Alex would've coasted into the slot untouched and the game would've been over.

Hank makes the save of the game as Brooks Laich threads a needle to Eric Fehr. Fehr dekes and takes a wrister that King Henrik kicks aside. We are heading to a shootout. Rangers this season in shootouts 8-3; Caps 2-2.

Rangers Shooters: Naslund, Dawes, Zherdev
Caps Shooters: Nylander (revenge anyone?) Ovechkin, Federov

Naslund: Naslund out dekes himself and falls off balance, and tries to stuff it in with the backhand. Great patience by Theodore
Nylander: 12 seconds and 38 dekes later, Nylander gets to the net. Hank stonewalls him on the forehand
Dawes: GOAL: Dawes dips the shoulder and freezes Jose, snaps one low glove side just over the mitt
Federov: Winds up, fires a rocket, and Hank saves it with the glove
Zherdev: Tries to go 5 hole as he always does. Jose must have read the scouting report and was ready for it.
Ovechkin: GOAL: Do or die, wicked wrister 5 hole
Callahan: GOAL: Callahan banks one off the crossbar, off of Theodore's back, puck drops to the ice, Jose backs up and kicks it into his own net. Luckiest goal ever but we'll take it.
Laich: Starts forehand, goes quickly to the backhand. HANK KICK SAVE. If Laich gets it up we go to round 5, but he doesn't.

Solid game for the Rangers, any time your team puts up 4+ goals it's a solid offensive game. Much needed 2 points in the standings and a confidence booster over a top team in the conference.

If the season ended today

We are at this current moment 25-30 games away from the end of the regular season. This season has been exciting with some great story lines and is setting up to have two of the best conference finals in a long time should the standings hold true throughout the playoffs. With that said though, we may be in line for the most boring first round of the playoffs ever. I cannot realistically see any 6, 7, or 8 seeds challenging and of the top 3 seeds in either conference.

East

1 Boston Bruins vs 8 Florida Panthers

Boston is currently the best team in the league and outside of it's hiccup last night vs the Fighting Nabokovs, has rarely been beaten badly this season. They score on 23% of their power plays and kill 82% of their penalties. Tim Thomas hasn't woken up yet from his dream season and is playing out of its mind. Florida does not possess an offensive line that scares anybody nor have they picked a goaltender to lead them into the playoffs. Is it Vokoun or Andersen? Who gets the nod to start game one? After either gets shelled in game 1, how long until you see the other in the series? And with all signs to them trading Bouwmeester, the odds of them even making the playoffs are slim at best. But seeing how we are looking at today's standings only, the Panthers are in the playoffs, but won't last long.

Prediction: Bruins 4-0

2 Washington Capitals vs 7 Buffalo Sabres

The most important player in this series will be none other than Alexander....... Semin. Please use the next 20 seconds to throw something against the wall, calm down because I didn't say Ovechkin, and regroup. We good? Great. Alexander Ovechkin in my eyes is the best player in the league. He can score at will, is physical, and creates absolute havoc when on the ice. I have no doubt he will light it up in the playoffs. I am not saying he is not important to the sucess of the Caps. But here is my fun fact of the day. Alexander Semin and Alexander Ovechkin EACH score on average 1.3 points per game. Each averages .7 goals and .6 assists. But the difference is that teams will key on Ovie and try not to let him beat them in the series. This will leave opportunities for Semin. If he can capitalize on those opportunities, these team will go far.

Prediction: Caps 4-1

3 New Jersey Devils vs 6 New York Rangers

It pains me to say this being a Rangers fan, but short of a miracle, they have no chance in the playoffs this year. Let's look at the best case scenario here for the Rangers. Hank plays out of his mind, stands on his head, and allows no more than 2 goals a game. A Devils team who decided the last 15 years of boring hockey wasn't going to cut it decided to go out and get some offense because Brodeur was getting up there in years and was due for and injury letdown (which happened). Marty comes back for the playoffs, with trememdous rest, and the Devils revert back to boring hockey. In that scenario, do the Rangers win 4 games vs. their arch rival. No chance. The Rangers have trouble finding the back of the net and their defense is just bad enough that other teams get multiple scoring chances and cash in on 2-3 a game. Hank does his best to stop them all but he's also human. With Parise, Elias, Zajac, Langenbrunner, Rolston, and Shanny, the Devils are finally poised to take the load off of Marty's back and score more than 2 goals a game. The Garden may give the Rangers a game or 2, but no more.

Prediction: Devils 4-1

West

1 San Jose Sharks vs 8 Minnesota Wild

The Wild are the Rangers of the west. They play great defense, but can't find the back of the net against regular goalies. Evgeni Nabokov is no regular goalie. Nabby has the ability to play at 75% and shut out inferior teams. He will be able to yawn his way through the first round. The only chance the Wild has is if Backstrom matches Nabby and forces games into OT, where suddenly tensions run high, heart rates rise, and every shot could be the last of the game. That, or if the Sharks overlook the Wild and ready for a 2nd round matchup. In my opinion though, both things are highly unlikely and in this bout, Goliath beats David.

Sharks 4-0

2 Detroit Red Wings vs 7 Vancouver Canucks

Outside of Roberto Luongo (who hasn't looked at all himself since returning from the injury) and the Sedin boys, how are the Canucks ever going to match the offensive fire power of the mighty Red Wings. The Wings boast the top PP in the league (over 27%) and have the most goals in the league by a large margin. The 2nd place scoring team can put up a Dallas-esque 10 in the next game and still be trailing Wings in goals scored. If you are facing Detroit, which guy do you target the most to stop? Datsyuk or Zetterberg? Or Hossa? Or Lidstrom? What about on the PP? Because when you are watching those 4, Samuelsson and Hudler and Holmstrom wreak havoc and light the lamp. This team is simply a matchup nightmare, and Vancouver doesn't have the power to do anything about it.

Prediction: Detroit 4-1

3 Calgary Flames vs 6 Anaheim Ducks

This is by far the most intruging matchup of the 1st round and I strategically left it for last. Somehow after losing two of their top scorers from last year in Tanguay and Huselius, the Flames filled in the cracks and are sitting atop their division and in third in the conference. (Michael Cammalleri take a bow) Each year the Flames are the ugly ducklings of the playoffs. They rely on basically two guys to carry the load on their backs (Iginla and Kipper) and use role players the rest of the way to keep the ship going. With that said though, those role players all take turns stepping up and being the heroes of any given game. The Flames win ugly, but the key is Mike Keenan has found a way to keep them winning.

The Ducks on the other hand don't have "it" this year. They look almost bored out there. This team used to be fun to watch. They hit, they fought, they scored, and they looked like they were having fun out there. Now, they look like they are simply going through the motions until the end of April roles around. There is no sense of urgency or want with this team. While I am not saying that is the end all and be all when it comes playoff time, it is something. On top of that, who is getting the nod game 1? Is it Hiller or Giggy? Easily you can make cases for each, but Giggy hasn't been himself since his father passed away and Hiller is inexperienced. Also, whichever one does start will be looking over his shoulder the entire time, especially once one or two losses happen. I think this will be the closest series that isn't a 4-5 in the playoffs, but for some reason I think the Flames want it more and therefore will take it.

Prediction: Calgary 4-2

There you have it, what may be one of the most boring first rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in recent memory.

Pens vs. Caps 3/9/08

After a long night Saturday and seeing my clock instantly jump an hour into the future, I dragged myself out of bed and stumbled to my desk in the basement to watch quite possibly the best hockey game of the season so far.

I don’t know if I would’ve tuned in for the start if I wasn’t a Pens fan, but boy am I glad I did. From the opening draw this game had a playoff feel. Bodies were flying everywhere and the intensity was just like a Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

The Pens and Caps both needed this win today, but the Pens prevailed 4-2. The win gets the Pens within one-point of idle New Jersey for not only the top spot in the division, but the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

A win for the Caps would have pulled them within five points of idle Carolina for the division lead and four points back of the 8-seeded Philadelphia Flyers.

The game came down to one play with just under 30 seconds to play in the third period. Sidney Crosby seemed to take over the game in the latter half of the period and wouldn’t you know it, he gets credit for the game winning goal.

Sid threw the puck to the front of the net looking for anybody to hammer it home. Caps rookie sensation Niklas Backstrom got his stick on the loose puck in the crease and attempted to fire it to the endboards out of trouble. Seems like the logical play when you have three opponents looking to pick up the garbage. Only problem was that he missed the endboards and fired it into his own net.

NBC had a camera focused on Alexander Ovechkin who was on the near side of the ice as the puck crossed the line. The anguish on his face was undeniable. He dropped to his belly and lay there for several moments. The kid had been flying all game long, registering 10 shots on goal and two assists in the game. You could tell he died a little inside to see that effort go for naught.

The hitting was like out of a video game for most of the contest. I lost count on how many guys Jarkko Ruutu sent flying. Crosby alone took about 7 big hits in the opening frame and bounced right back up every time. He’s got no fear at all. He was willing to do anything to win today.

Marc-Andre Fleury played very well. He had a little trouble with his rebound control in the second period which led to some more scoring chances for the Caps. All in all he came up big when he needed to, including making a sprawling breakaway save while shorthanded in the second period. The play goes back the other way and Crosby tucked the puck under Huet on a goalmouth scramble to give the Pens a 2-1 lead just after the powerplay expired.

Huet wasn’t tested early, but he was incredible on several occasions. I’m nominating his save on Jordan Staal as save of the year. Max Talbot made a great pass through traffic to Staal who had slipped by to the far side of Huet unchecked. Staal fires the one timer and Huet goes spread eagle to rob him with the pad. If Staal elevates the puck, it’s in no question, but I’m not taking anything away from Huet here. My jaw hit the floor, I put my head down and let out an exasperated whimper.

My heart rate was through the roof as the third period wound down. The Pens finally stopped trying to be fancy and cute with the puck and started throwing it on net every chance they got. Again, Huet was brilliant in the third period and it’s a shame for the Caps to lose the way they did.

Here’s the highlights of the game in case you haven’t seen it yourself. Pay attention to Doc’s voice. If you don’t get excited listening to him, have someone check your pulse to make sure you’re still alive.




Moments after the save on Huet, Sergei Gonchar tees it up from the point and drills the crossbar. At this point I’m nearly on the floor feeling like someone just kicked me in the groin. As a fan you start thinking, “this isn’t our day at all.” This would have followed suit with the rest of the weekend for me. (Quick side note: I’m a bowler. Yeah I said it. Since I work a night shift and can’t play hockey, I bowl. Have since I was a kid. I average about 175ish and since getting two new balls that’s going up. Friday night is league night and I had it going on this week. Only problem is that the pins weren’t cooperating at all. My final two games should have been 230+ games but ended up as 187 and 156. I was not impressed.)

Anyway, I ran upstairs as the Pens go down a man for a too many men on the ice penalty to finish getting ready for work. I put the television on in the bedroom and started jumping up and down like an idiot when Backstrom potted the game winner for the Pens. My girlfriend comes running in asking what happened, but I might as well have suffered a stroke. There’s no way she understood a word I said. All she said was “Come on put your shirt on, we have to get going.”

She witnessed the final nail in the coffin with Evgeni Malkin making an unselfish pass to Staal to give him some vindication for his hard work all game, who ripped the empty net twine.

This was nuts. My father called me in the middle of the game to discuss going away on vacation later this year and I don’t think he could even understand me on the phone. I suppose I should call him back now that the game is over and who doesn’t like vacation?

Going forward, the Pens need to stop giving up 35+ shots a game. At one point today they were down 27-9 in shots and ended the game 38-25. They need to cut these numbers down if they are going to make a deep run in the playoffs. Also, stop being cute with the puck. Throw it on net and crash for the rebounds. That's how you score goals this time of year.

Anyway, should be a fun stretch run for everyone, but I felt compelled to write something about this fantastic game.