Well, due to collections on Thursday night, I wasn't able to get a great read on the opening night of the playoffs, but I have been catching replays, so bear with me on the first playoff recap blog of the season. Like last year, I like to recap the multiple point players in the game, so I think I will continue that trend again this season.The playoffs opened up with a bit of a barn-burner in Pittsburgh, as the Senators beat the champs in a bit of a sprint, 5-4. The Senators pool players were led by Chris Kelly, who had a goal and two assists in the win. I don't think Kelly has received many selections, but the breakdown is still yet to be done, so I don't know for sure. Erik Karlsson also had a goal and an assist, while Brian Elliot picked up a pair of points in the win. The Penguins made a little bit of noise in the pool as well, as Sidney Crosby had 3 assists, Evgeni Malkin had 2 goals and an assist and Sergei Gonchar had a pair of assists. I'm pretty sure everyone here was pretty popular.
It looks like it was a good goaltending duel between Brian Boucher and Martin Brodeur in the Flyers/Devils game. Boucher made 23 stops to win the game 2-1 and take the series opener in New Jersey and claim his first two points of the playoffs. Mike Richards also had the game-winning goal and an assist for a multiple point mention. I don't think the Flyers were necessarily a popular team in the pool, but they definitely made a case for making you regret not taking them, but it's still early.
In the desert, the Red Wings opened up their series against the Coyotes and by how the boxscore reads, it looks like the Coyotes hung on to an early third period go-ahead goal to beat Detroit, 3-2. Ilya Bryzgalov continued using his regular season form, making 38 stops in the game and picking up his first 2 points of the campaign. The big player of the night, however, was Derek Morris, who scored the winning goal and picked up a pair of assists for a 4-point night. Matthew Lombardi and Keith Yandle also had 2 points in the game for the Coyotes, making them a little more attractive after one game. No Red Wings players had a multiple-point night.
In San Jose, the Avalanche and Sharks got underway with what looked to be a pretty tight game. The Avalanche made it three road team upsets on Thursday night with a 2-1 win, with Craig Anderson leading the way with 25 stops. Chris Stewart was the hero for the Avalanche, scoring the game-winner with only 50 seconds to go in the third period, breaking some hearts early. Paul Stastny also had a pretty good game for Colorado, picking up an assist on each goal for the Avalanche, but I don't think too many people climbed on the Avalanche bandwagon that high up, if at all.
That's a pretty good start to the playoffs, I'd say. All statistics should be posted and updated on the standings by the end of the night on Thursday.
Game-Winning Goals
This does get to be somewhat redundant, because most players that score the game-winner automatically has a multiple-point night, but this just proves to be a minor recap for those keeping score at home. In the Ottawa win, it was non-pool player, Jarkko Ruutu, who was credited with the game-winner, making the first steal of the playoffs. Mike Richards had the game-winner for Philly, Derek Morris was the hero for Phoenix and Chris Stewart had the late-game heroics for the Avalanche. I'm not sure how many of these goals counted for teams, but we will soon find out, I promise.
Bad news regarding Buffalo forward, Jochen Hecht, he'll now be out of the line-up a little bit longer than initially expected. Hecht needed some extra surgery to help the recovery of his finger injury and he will now be out for the next couple weeks, taking him right out of the first round series against the Bruins. I know Hecht was taken a couple of times, so this report will come down to a few moans and groans from some poolies.
The Ottawa Senators appeared to have lost Milan Michalek to a lower-body injury, as he left the game and didn't return. Some reports are suggesting that he may have re-aggravated a knee injury that has been hindering him this season. I would imagine that he will be doubtful for Friday's game, but we'll have to hear some more reports before we make any more judgements. All other injury information can be seen here.
Tonight's Games
Only three games on the schedule for the second night of the NHL playoffs. Montreal opens up their series against the Capitals in Washington on TSN at 5pm MT tonight. This series is bogged down with the question, "can the Habs really keep the pace with the Caps?" This should be a very entertaining series, to say the least.
Also at 5pm MT, the Sabres begin their playoff run by hosting the Bruins in Buffalo. The 3/6 match-up in the East does appear to be a bit closer on paper, but I have the feeling that the Sabres are going to be ready to make good on a very productive regular season.
In the late game on CBC, the Canucks open their series against the Kings in Vancouver, in what should be a very quick & physical series. This game will get going at 8pm MT.
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