NHL Semifinals Done
More of my commentary to those in my NHL Playoffs Pool.
Ducks Beat Canucks
The Ducks have beaten the Canucks in 5 games, just like the Minnesota Wild.
Vancouver managed just 8 goals in the series and never more than 2 in one game.
After allowing 5 goals in game 1, the Canucks settled down an won game two, 2 to 1 but required two OT periods to do it. In the end, 3 games went to OT.
The series was tied at 1 when it relocated to Vancouver, but Anaheim disappointed the home crowd by taking both games. Game 4 proved to be the back breaker for Vancouver as a two goal lead was squandered in the 3rd period, forcing the game into OT where Anaheim's Travis Moen scored the game winner.
In game 5, it seemed like Vancouver might survive to fight another day. Luongo was having a stellar day and ultimately made 56 saves. But it was a shot from Scott Niedermayer at the blue line, bench side that did him in. From the replay, and in post game interviews, Luongo thought that there was going to be a penalty on Rob Niedermayer's hard check on Jannik Hansen and he looked towards a referee and gestured for a call. It cost his team the game and ultimately the series.
Its possible that Vancouver was just too worn out after the first round struggle with Dallas to offer much resistance to a well rested Anaheim. Vancouver won 3 of their last 9 games and 5 of their last 12.
Senators Drive Off The Devils
Like the Penguins before them, the New Jersey Devils succumbed to the Ottawa Senators in 5 games. Brodeur wasn't too difficult a puzzle for the Senators as they scored at least 2 goals in every game, even the one they lost. Game 1 was a shocker as Ottawa scored four goals in the 1st period. The Devils eventually recovered but fell short. After that game, both goaltenders knuckled down.
After splitting the first two games in Jersey, Ottawa snatched both home games to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. There was some controversy in the 3rd period of game 3 as Brodeur exaggerated incidental contact (which I couldn't even see on the replay) between him and Senators center Mike Fisher. Seconds later Tom Preissing got the first goal of the game. Brodeur was hoping to draw a penalty but, for once, it came back to bite him in the ass.
It didn't matter that game 5 was back in Jersey, the Senators could smell victory and took it. I wonder if Lou Lamoriello will fire himself as coach to "shake things up" for next year.
Sabres Stave Off Rangers
The Buffalo Sabres dashed the Cinderella aspirations of the New York Rangers, though the latter didn't give up without a fight. After a 5-2 thrashing in game 1, the Rangers rebounded in game 2, but lost a 2-1 lead heading into the 3rd period. Back in New York for games 3 and 4, the home crowd pumped up the team and they won two top notch defensive games 2-1 (with game 3 going into double OT) to even up the series.
Holding down the league's top offense was no easy feat. The Rangers had to play their best defense for every second of these games because they knew they weren't going to beat the Sabres on offense. Buffalo is just too explosive. Blink and they're past you. And that's what happened in game 5. With just 7.7 seconds left in the game, Chris Drury tied it up and sent the game into OT. Maxim Afinogenov, who was benched for game 4, scored the game winner a little over four and a half minutes later.
The wheels fell off the bus in game 6. Buffalo scored 4 goals over 10 minutes in the 2nd period. Henrik Lundqvist, who'd been outstanding in net for most of the playoffs and the last two months of the season, was suddenly vulnerable. Although the Rangers rallied, the Sabres were always one step ahead of them.
And I have to add that Sean Avery was nowhere to be found in this series. The Sabres ignored his antics and pre-series Manson-like ramblings and dumped his ass on the ice. Unlike Atlanta, they didn't take the bait and never let losing frustrate them into stupidity. Definitely a sign of a team with focus.
Red Wings Foil Sharks
The Red Wings have finally gained some respect. After early departures from the playoffs the last couple of years, they've advanced to the Conference Finals. Many critics thought that the Sharks were the better team, but they didn't play like it. They took game 1 in Detroit 2-0 with a mere 19 SOG. Nabokov faced down 34. Game 2 was looking to be a repeat as the Sharks were up 2-0 just 5 minutes into the game. But the Red Wings settled down and finally figured out Nabokov, eventually winning 3-2. Once again, San Jose had just 19 SOG.
The series moved to San Jose for games 3 & 4 where the Sharks have been fearsome. They took the first game 2-1 with both teams firing away at their opponent's goalies. Game 4 looked to be more of the same, except the Sharks weren't shooting as much (In the end, Detroit outshot San Jose 49-27). It looked as if the Sharks were going to take a commanding 3-1 lead but Robert Lang saved the day with just 33 seconds left, sending the game into OT. Matthieu Schneider would eventually get the game winning goal.
"We blew the game in the last minute," Sharks coach Ron Wilson said. "Some people have to take a good look in the mirror why they were in the position they were in on the ice - cheating on the offensive side of things when the other team has pulled their goalie. If you get on the right side of the puck, nothing bad happens and you don't have to worry about overtime."
This would be the turning point in the series.
Game 5 went to the Red Wings with a 4-1 win at home. Down 2-1 after two periods, the Sharks got sloppy and started taking penalties. Detroit capitalized on these mistakes to put the game out of reach. Unfortunately, the game got ugly in the final minute as the Sharks took their frustration out on Detroit with a wee bit of roughing.
Game 6 was back in the Shark Tank but there was no bite left in San Jose. They floundered around the ice, losing 2-0. One golden opportunity came right after Mikael Samuelsson scored the first of his two goals. Hasek was out of the net playing the puck but he botched it. Mike Grier snagged the puck and went for a wraparound in the empty net but a diving Nick Lidstrom saved Hasek's ass, deflecting the puck at the last second.
Detroit will now face Anaheim without star defenseman Mathieu Schneider, who broke his wrist in game 5 and is done for the season. With a depleted core of defensemen, Chris Chelios and Nicklas Lidstrom will be forced to pick up the slack and push their aging legs as far as they can go. Hasek should consider staying in the net and not wander out.
\_/
DED
Ducks Beat Canucks
The Ducks have beaten the Canucks in 5 games, just like the Minnesota Wild.
Vancouver managed just 8 goals in the series and never more than 2 in one game.
After allowing 5 goals in game 1, the Canucks settled down an won game two, 2 to 1 but required two OT periods to do it. In the end, 3 games went to OT.
The series was tied at 1 when it relocated to Vancouver, but Anaheim disappointed the home crowd by taking both games. Game 4 proved to be the back breaker for Vancouver as a two goal lead was squandered in the 3rd period, forcing the game into OT where Anaheim's Travis Moen scored the game winner.
In game 5, it seemed like Vancouver might survive to fight another day. Luongo was having a stellar day and ultimately made 56 saves. But it was a shot from Scott Niedermayer at the blue line, bench side that did him in. From the replay, and in post game interviews, Luongo thought that there was going to be a penalty on Rob Niedermayer's hard check on Jannik Hansen and he looked towards a referee and gestured for a call. It cost his team the game and ultimately the series.
Its possible that Vancouver was just too worn out after the first round struggle with Dallas to offer much resistance to a well rested Anaheim. Vancouver won 3 of their last 9 games and 5 of their last 12.
Senators Drive Off The Devils
Like the Penguins before them, the New Jersey Devils succumbed to the Ottawa Senators in 5 games. Brodeur wasn't too difficult a puzzle for the Senators as they scored at least 2 goals in every game, even the one they lost. Game 1 was a shocker as Ottawa scored four goals in the 1st period. The Devils eventually recovered but fell short. After that game, both goaltenders knuckled down.
After splitting the first two games in Jersey, Ottawa snatched both home games to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. There was some controversy in the 3rd period of game 3 as Brodeur exaggerated incidental contact (which I couldn't even see on the replay) between him and Senators center Mike Fisher. Seconds later Tom Preissing got the first goal of the game. Brodeur was hoping to draw a penalty but, for once, it came back to bite him in the ass.
It didn't matter that game 5 was back in Jersey, the Senators could smell victory and took it. I wonder if Lou Lamoriello will fire himself as coach to "shake things up" for next year.
Sabres Stave Off Rangers
The Buffalo Sabres dashed the Cinderella aspirations of the New York Rangers, though the latter didn't give up without a fight. After a 5-2 thrashing in game 1, the Rangers rebounded in game 2, but lost a 2-1 lead heading into the 3rd period. Back in New York for games 3 and 4, the home crowd pumped up the team and they won two top notch defensive games 2-1 (with game 3 going into double OT) to even up the series.
Holding down the league's top offense was no easy feat. The Rangers had to play their best defense for every second of these games because they knew they weren't going to beat the Sabres on offense. Buffalo is just too explosive. Blink and they're past you. And that's what happened in game 5. With just 7.7 seconds left in the game, Chris Drury tied it up and sent the game into OT. Maxim Afinogenov, who was benched for game 4, scored the game winner a little over four and a half minutes later.
The wheels fell off the bus in game 6. Buffalo scored 4 goals over 10 minutes in the 2nd period. Henrik Lundqvist, who'd been outstanding in net for most of the playoffs and the last two months of the season, was suddenly vulnerable. Although the Rangers rallied, the Sabres were always one step ahead of them.
And I have to add that Sean Avery was nowhere to be found in this series. The Sabres ignored his antics and pre-series Manson-like ramblings and dumped his ass on the ice. Unlike Atlanta, they didn't take the bait and never let losing frustrate them into stupidity. Definitely a sign of a team with focus.
Red Wings Foil Sharks
The Red Wings have finally gained some respect. After early departures from the playoffs the last couple of years, they've advanced to the Conference Finals. Many critics thought that the Sharks were the better team, but they didn't play like it. They took game 1 in Detroit 2-0 with a mere 19 SOG. Nabokov faced down 34. Game 2 was looking to be a repeat as the Sharks were up 2-0 just 5 minutes into the game. But the Red Wings settled down and finally figured out Nabokov, eventually winning 3-2. Once again, San Jose had just 19 SOG.
The series moved to San Jose for games 3 & 4 where the Sharks have been fearsome. They took the first game 2-1 with both teams firing away at their opponent's goalies. Game 4 looked to be more of the same, except the Sharks weren't shooting as much (In the end, Detroit outshot San Jose 49-27). It looked as if the Sharks were going to take a commanding 3-1 lead but Robert Lang saved the day with just 33 seconds left, sending the game into OT. Matthieu Schneider would eventually get the game winning goal.
"We blew the game in the last minute," Sharks coach Ron Wilson said. "Some people have to take a good look in the mirror why they were in the position they were in on the ice - cheating on the offensive side of things when the other team has pulled their goalie. If you get on the right side of the puck, nothing bad happens and you don't have to worry about overtime."
This would be the turning point in the series.
Game 5 went to the Red Wings with a 4-1 win at home. Down 2-1 after two periods, the Sharks got sloppy and started taking penalties. Detroit capitalized on these mistakes to put the game out of reach. Unfortunately, the game got ugly in the final minute as the Sharks took their frustration out on Detroit with a wee bit of roughing.
Game 6 was back in the Shark Tank but there was no bite left in San Jose. They floundered around the ice, losing 2-0. One golden opportunity came right after Mikael Samuelsson scored the first of his two goals. Hasek was out of the net playing the puck but he botched it. Mike Grier snagged the puck and went for a wraparound in the empty net but a diving Nick Lidstrom saved Hasek's ass, deflecting the puck at the last second.
Detroit will now face Anaheim without star defenseman Mathieu Schneider, who broke his wrist in game 5 and is done for the season. With a depleted core of defensemen, Chris Chelios and Nicklas Lidstrom will be forced to pick up the slack and push their aging legs as far as they can go. Hasek should consider staying in the net and not wander out.
\_/
DED
Labels: hockey
posted by DED at 2:18 PM
2 Comments:
did you really have to bring up 7.7 seconds!
Sorry, Jim. Didn't mean to turn the knife or anything. It hurt here too. Part of the healing process I suppose. Have a beer. It'll help to kill the pain.
Post a Comment
<< Home