Sharks Out, Wings In

Myself, like a lot of people, thought this was gonna be the battle of California in the Western Conference Finals, but the San Jose Sharks just could not figure out a way to slow down the top line of the Detroit Red Wings. Granted, Game 6... there was only one assist from a player on the top line... but there was no production from the top line of Joe Thornton, Jonathon Cheechoo and Milan Michalek. Combined, they were a total of 70 selections in the pool, so they were a pretty popular bunch. The whole Shark team was the fifth popular team in the pool with 116 selections, so that really narrows down the field.

Stay tuned... either later on Tuesday or Wednesday morning, there will be a Conference Final preview and a look at how the pool is shaping up with only four teams remaining...

Spotlight Player



Dominik Hasek stopped 28 shots on Monday night to lead the Red Wings past the Sharks and into the Conference Finals to face the Ducks. In what was a very low pool-scoring game, Hasek's four points for the shutout was the only thing that really stood out from the rest of the pack. This was Hasek's first shutout in the playoffs this season, but his 13th in his career... much to the delight of his 15 takers.

Game Winning Goal Scorers of the Night
Another non-pool player scored the winner... actually, he scored both goals in last night's game. Mikael Samuelsson was pretty close to ending up on the sheet for selections, but gambling on the health of Todd Bertuzzi was a little bit more fun and I don't think many people really knew who Samuelsson was... but you should now. He's the Swede that ended the Sharks run. Admittedly, he is really coming into his own in these playoffs, as he's being relied upon for some quality minutes from the Red Wings coaching staff and he's paid dividends at the right time.

Technorati Tags
NHL, Hockey Pool, Injuries, Playoffs, Scores, Hockey

Go to the Hockey Pool standings Page
Go to the Trash Talk Page