Sunday Recap

There really does seem to be some sort of rhyme and reason to the home-ice advantage theory, especially in the Capitals and Rangers series.  Three games, three home team wins, as the Rangers managed to squeak past the Capitals in a hotly-contested affair, 3-2, in regulation time.  It was definitely a fun game to watch, especially the 3rd period, when the goals came with that added touch of desperation.

The pool leader in Game Three at Madison Square Gardens was Brandon Dubinsky, who scored the winning goal late in the 3rd period and added an assist for a 3-point effort, while Henrik Lundqvist made 21 saves for the win.

On the Washington side, Alex Ovechkin was in on both Captials' goals on Sunday, scoring one of them and helping out on the other one.

There are no new injuries to report and Game Four will not go until Wednesday night, part of a big catch-up night in the NHL schedule.

For two teams without a natural rivalry in the NHL, the Ducks and Predators series has a very good level of animosity between the two sides and they have been at each other's throats for the better part of the opening games.  I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy this series much, but I really have started to like it a lot.

Game Three was a very interesting contest, which saw the Predators work extra hard to get a 2-0 lead, but in only a matter of moments, the tides had turned and the Ducks had tied it up late in the 2nd, opening up the 3rd period.  When the dust finally settled, the Predators snuck away with a 4-3 win in regulation time and now a 2-1 series lead.

In this game, Martin Erat had a goal and an assist, Ryan Suter had a pair of assists, Mike Fisher scored the winner and Pekka Rinne made 13 saves for the win, all four players picking up 2 points each in the pool.

For the Ducks, Teemu Selanne scored a pair of goals, 30 seconds apart, and Corey Perry assisted on both those goals, as the only two Ducks to pick up more than one point in this game.

Game Four of this series will also go on Wednesday night, as the Predators go out to put the Ducks to the brink of elimination with another home game.

In the late game, the Canucks took to Chicago to move another step closer to putting the whole mess with the Blackhawks behind them and it was business as usual for them in Game Three. The Canucks did fall down one goal in the 2nd period, but there was very little panic in their game, rather, they pushed on and picked up a power play goal and another quick tally, restoring whatever confidence they may have lost or not come equipped with early on.  The Canucks strung together a solid 40 minutes after a rocky opening frame, scoring the only goal of the 3rd period an earning a 3-0 series lead with a 3-2 victory.

Christian Ehrhoff and Daniel Sedin each scored a goal and an assist, Henrik Sedin had a pair of assists, Mikael Samuelsson had the winning goal in the 3rd and Roberto Luongo made 30 saves for the win, each player registering 2 points each in the game.

Jonathan Toews was the impact player of the night for the Blackhawks, picking up a pair of assists on the only two Blackhawks goals, but it was in a losing effort.

This series can wrap up on Tuesday night, as Game Four goes in Chicago or if the series doesn't finish there right away, Game Five will be in Vancouver on Thursday.

Game-Winning Goals
Only three games, so only three game-winning goals on Sunday... Brandon Dubinsky of the Rangers, Mike Fisher of the Predators and Mikael Samuelsson of the Canucks.  All three players are in the playoff pool this year, so there should be some teams collecting bonus points.  Three teams now lead the pool in bonus points, as Jack_Bit_Gary collected one to move into a tie with Flyers Fanatic #1 and Porkies Revenge.

The pool record for most GWGs collected in one playoff year is 22, which happened in 2009.  Teams would have to be fairly fortunate to pick up that many winners, likely taking all skaters through to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Tonight's Games

The Flyers and Sabres split the first two games in Philadelphia, which leaves the series wide open for any number of possibilities.  I think it is fair to expect Brian Boucher in the net for the Flyers, while the Sabres should be running with the same line-up again.  Neither team seem to be out-playing each other, just a matter of the bounces going one way or the other.

The Canadiens have been surprising everyone yet again this year, taking both games in Boston and now bring the series back home to the Bell Centre and their raucous fans, should make for a crazy atmosphere in Game Three tonight.  No word yet on Zdeno Chara and his status for the game, it might be fair to say that he's questionable for the game, but we likely won't know until just before puck drop.

Earning a split in Pittsburgh should definitely be more than enough to keep the Lightning content, as they had back home to host Game Three on Monday night.  The shorthanded Penguins will just have to continue playing the game that got them into the playoffs and a Game One win, just trying to shutdown the Bolts' dynamic offense and then grind out a goal or two.  Still no sign of Sidney Crosby being close for the Penguins yet.

The Red Wings did their job and made great use of home-ice advantage in the opening games against the Coyotes and in the late game, they'll be out to put the pinch on Phoenix, trying to push them into the brink of elimination.  The Coyotes have scratched and clawed some goals from underneath the Red Wings, but they need to find a good lead, something they can build momentum on and get them into a position where they can lean on Ilya Bryzgalov for the win.