In the first round of the NHL playoffs, 5 of the 8 series will last at least 6 games. The defending champion Los Angeles Kings finished of the St. Louis Blues in 6 games Friday night in Los Angeles. The Kings won 4 games in a row, after losing the first 2 in St. Louis. However, the other 4 series have not finished yet.
In the Western Conference, the Anaheim Ducks lost 4-3 in overtime to the Detroit Red Wings to force a game 7 in Anaheim on Sunday night. All 3 of the wins by the Red Wings have come in overtime. Henrik Zetterberg scored 64 seconds into overtime, his second goal of the game. He had no goals in the series before Friday. Look for the Ducks to win game 7 at home, and send the Red Wings home . The Ducks will then face the Kings in the second round. This will be the first time the 2 Southern California teams have ever met in the playoffs.
In the other Western Conference semifinal, the San Jose Sharks will take on the Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks won the President’s Trophy as the team with the best record in the regular season. They showed the Minnesota Wild the door after a 5 game series. The San Jose Sharks had an even easier time with the Vancouver Canucks. They swept the third seeded Canucks in 4 games, to continue a trend in which Vancouver wins its division and flames out early in the playoffs.
The only thing settled in the Eastern Conference so far is that the Ottawa Senators will be in the conference semifinals. They beat the second seeded Montreal Canadiens in 5 games. After the fight-filled Game 3, the hockey resumed, and the Canadiens’ goalie problems doomed them. They lost Carey Price to injury in Game 4, but he was not having a good series anyway. Craig Anderson, who was robbed in not even being nominated for the Vezina Trophy, which goes to the best goalie, continued his outstanding play for the Senators. Anderson led the NHL in the regular season in both goals against average, and save percentage.
Speaking of goalies, the Pittsburgh Penguins got back on track to take a 3 games to 2 lead in their series against the New York Islanders, after replacing Marc-Andre Fleury with Tomas Vokoun in goal. Fleury had given up 14 goals in games 2-4, after a shutout in game 1. Vokoun had his own shutout in Game 5 on Thursday. Look for the Penguins to win the series, now that their goal is no longer a sieve.
The other 2 series in the Eastern Conference were both 2-1 games on Friday night. The Washington Capitals beat the New York Rangers in overtime. Mike Ribeiro scored the game winner for the Capitals at 9:24 of overtime. This was his first playoff goal in 6 years, and first game winner in the playoffs ever. Game 6 will be in New York on Sunday night. I think the Capitals will eventually prevail in this series, probably in 7 games. The Toronto Maple Leafs won their game in regulation, extending their series to at least a sixth game. This series will return to Toronto for Game 6, also on Sunday night. Look for the Bruins to win this series, perhaps as early as game 6.
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