Get Ready for the East Finals

The big news on Saturday night was that the New Jersey Devils were eliminated in five games. Martin Brodeur (picked 21 times) was not playing like we all knew he could and that was seemingly the difference in that series. The Devils were the third-most popular team in the pool, having 137 selections being made from their roster. Only Buffalo and Anaheim were more popular... so it took a good chunk of players out of the pool before the Conference Finals and there will be a few less points collected in Round 3.

On Sunday, one more series was decided. The New York Rangers have made their exit from the 2007 Playoff campaign after losing to the Buffalo Sabres in six games. The Rangers weren't necessarily favourites in the pool, rather a bit more of a surprise to score as much as they did. So it wasn't terribly surprising to see the mighty Buffalo walk over them in the last couple games... although they did make it a pretty entertaining series to watch. The most popular players to be eliminated from this round were Marek Malik, Paul Mara and Sean Avery. They were chosen 15, 14 & 13 times, respectively. Michael Nylander added his 15 points to the mix and one team cashed in on Henrik Lundqvist's 14 points.

Player of the Night



Well, well, well... if it isn't Mr. Popularity, himself. In the East, that is. Daniel Briere, the second most selected player in the pool, tops in the East, has really given the benefits to those who believed in him enough to select him in the pool. With four assists in the last two games against the Rangers, including three in the clincher, Briere has really taken the Sabres to that next level that they were hoping for in the last few seasons. It's a real shame about the moustache though... ol' babyface Briere isn't exactly winning the Mike Commodore Award for playoff hair growth, now is he? Nevertheless, with a trip to the Conference Finals, he'll be able to put a few more points on the board and hopefully make a move for the top in Box 7.

Game Winning Goal Scorers
Maxim Afinogenov scored an overtime winner for the Sabres on Friday night to give the Sabres home-ice advantage once again. It was mighty heartbreaking for the Rangers to give that goal up, as they played so well for 59:52 up 1-0. Afinogenov gave another bonus point to his three teams who picked him... it was his second GWG of the playoffs.

On Saturday, Pavel Datsyuk can thank Sharks' goalie, Evgeni Nabokov for the winning goal in the afternoon game where the Wings defeated the Sharks for the series lead. Nabokov came out to play a dump in chance and Datsyuk managed to guess right and get the clearing attempt to hit him and he then had an open cage to put the puck in afterwards.

Daniel Alfredsson got credit for the winning goal after Scott Gomez scored one to draw the Devils within one goal before the end of the game. It was Alredsson's sixth goal of the playoffs, but only his first GWG. Remarkably, only one team picked Alfredsson.

Finally on Sunday, it was Jochen Hecht's second goal of the afternoon that was the eliminating goal for the New York Rangers. Hecht scored almost 15 minutes into the third period, in the midst of a Ranger press, to salt it away for the road team. The bonus point for Hecht only gives him four points in the pool thus far... maybe a tad disappointing for the 8 teams who picked him.

Three teams have had a player eliminated from the playoffs without their team losing four games in a series. Mathieu Schneider will not see another game in the playoffs after suffering a broken wrist on Saturday afternoon against the Sharks. This will be a huge blow to the Red Wings before Game 6 in San Jose... but the Red Wings only have to win one more to get through and face the Ducks. How much will the Wings miss that blueline presence?


The Sharks face elimination tonight at the HP Pavillion in San Jose. The Red Wings, now sans Mathieu Schneider, will try and do the business to save themselves from a Game 7 showdown at Joe Louis Arena on Wednesday. The Red Wings best guys are playing exactly like that... like their best guys. Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk have been lighting it up in the last couple games, which is really showing up the duo of Joe Thornton and Jonathon Cheechoo. If this trend continues, well... Game 7 will be a distant possibility.

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