Three Nights, One Post... Playoffs In Full Swing

It will be somewhat of an elongated playoff update, since I haven't been sitting at my computer very much over the last few days.  I might try to shorten everything up, but we'll see how it goes.

How about this start to the playoffs, eh?

Lots of scoring, lots of dirty pool and all kinds of intrigue surrounding these series.  Sure, there is going to be all kinds of disappointment without much Canadian team content, but I think the league is making up for it in other ways.  The divisional match-ups may be kind of dumb, but already, it was proven to be worth its weight in gold, when you look at how rough & tumble some of these match-ups are.

With scoring the way it is, there is very little room for error in how you may have chosen your teams to win this hockey pool.

Unfortunately, I am going to go all the way back to Thursday night, the start of the long weekend in my recap.  That means we'll be starting with Game One of the Rangers/Flyers series, which played well on television, making a good start to the Metropolitan Division series.

The Rangers fell to a 1-0 deficit early in the 1st period, but responded back with four unanswered goals, including two power play goals to make perfect use of a Philadelphia double-minor penalty.  The Rangers never looked back in that 3rd period and earned the Game One victory, 4-1.

Brad Richards led the way for the Rangers with 4 points and I know he was taken a few times in the pool (actual pick numbers will come down early in the week).  Martin St. Louis and Henrik Lundqvist also made for good picks in Game One, as they each had 2 points a piece as well.

The Rangers & Flyers go again on Sunday morning, 10:30am start, which may even be too early for this blog post, but hopefully not.

The Philadelphia Flyers are still without their number one goalie and their Box 24 representation, as Steve Mason was not able to dress for the first game of the series and he is not expected to dress for Game Two either. Mason is dealing with an undisclosed upper-body injury, which he suffered before the regular season ended and he hasn't been cleared to play. Game Three is still a possibility, but the Flyers will be playing this one close to the vest... surprise, surprise.

Nothing screams, "the playoffs" like a triple-overtime outing, wouldn't you say?

Game One between the Blues/Blackhawks in St. Louis did just that, keeping us all on the edge of our seats, as likely one of the more marquee match-ups in the first round got underway.

Both teams were going into the playoffs with the favourite label attached to them somewhere in their description and with the Blues getting back some key players from injury, they were ready to show that they could hang with the big boys, instead of being that team that was floudering into the playoffs, losing six straight beforehand.

With under two minutes to go in the 3rd period, down a goal, St. Louis tied up the game, sending the game into the extra frame and then eventually won, two periods and a touch more later.

Alex Steen and Ryan Miller were the only two Blues players to get multiple points in the game, each coming away with 2 points, while Brent Seabrook had a goal and an assist in the opening game for the Blackhawks.  I don't think Steen was all that popular, but Miller was taken a number of times, while Seabrook saw the odd selection or two as well.

Game Two of the series went on Saturday afternoon, so it'll be coming a little bit later on in the post.

St. Louis Blues forward T.J. Oshie wasn't quite ready to go quite yet for St. Louis in the opening game of the series, but it wasn't like they missed him too much.  Oshie was dealing with an upper-body injury, likely a concussion, which he had suffered with a few weeks to go in the regular season.  He was definitely one of the players missed down the stretch, but he was deemed close to return and would be a game-time decision for Game Two.

The Central Division 1 vs. 4 match-up may not have been the sexiest match-up at face value, but the Minnesota Wild were not going to let the Colorado Avalanche walk all over them to open up their first round match-up on Thursday night.

The Wild were throwing punches on the scoresheet, going up 4-2 before the 3rd period, looking like they were ready for upsetting the Central Division winners, but the Avalanche were not going to roll over in front of their home fans.  A goal near the midway mark of the 3rd lifted their spirits and then the tying goal with only 14 seconds to go, gave this game overtime as well.

The Avs managed to claw their way back from being two goals down, got to the extra frame and did it in the first eight minutes.  The series was 1-0 to the series favourites and they wouldn't have to wait long to build on that momentum.

Paul Stastny opened up the series with a 4-point night in the pool, followed closely by Nathan MacKinnon who tallied 3 assists.  Ryan O'Reilly, Tyson Barrie and Semyon Varlamov all had a pair of points in the pool, giving plenty of Colorado options for scoring on the sheet.  For the Wild, only Zach Parise had 2 assists for the team. who had a disappointing finish.

The Colorado Avalanche were without Box 1 forward Matt Duchene, as he suffered a knee injury before the playoffs and he isn't expected to be ready to go until the second round of the playoffs, assuming that the Avalanche would be able to slip past the Wild.  I don't think anyone went ahead with Duchene on their sheet, so he may not have a direct impact on the hockey pool, but his return may give the Avs that boost they require to go deep.

Finally, the last game on Thursday night, saw the 2 vs. 3 game in the Pacific Division, as the San Jose Sharks hosted the Los Angeles Kings, in another series that has a couple of potential favourites going head-to-head early on in the schedule.

The first two periods of the game were dominated by the hosts, as the Sharks got off to 5-0 lead before the horn went off and it looked like it was going to be a walk in the park for the final frame.  The Kings did find a little bit of pride in their game, as they did manage to make it somewhat close, making 5-3 before the 14-minute mark.  The Sharks were able to close down the game with an empty-netter, giving the game a 6-3 finish and San Jose goes away with a 1-0 series lead.

Tomas Hertl, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Brent Burns and Antti Niemi were the playoff pool heroes for the Sharks, each finishing with 2 points a piece, while there were no such players doing that for the Kings.

Going into the game, there was also no injuries to mention and the game wasn't exceptionally dirty to force anyone out.  Game Two will go on Sunday night, as the Sharks look to give a repeat performance to make good use of home-ice advantage.

The Montreal Canadiens were already looking at their trip down to Tampa Bay as a success, as they had already taken one game away from the host Lightning, as they went into Game Two on Saturday afternoon.

The Lightning, already down a game, were not getting much for good news, as Ben Bishop, their number one goalie, was not able to return to help defend against this Montreal speed.

There was some emotion and hard feelings between these two sides in Game Two, as there were some fisticuffs to make mention of, just after Montreal hit the scoreboard to make it 1-0 in the 2nd period.  The Canadiens fed off this emotion, going up 2-0 after two, then held off some Lightning pressure in the 3rd, before score another two goals to go up 4-0.  The Lightning did spoil the shutout for the Habs, but that was their only consolation.

Montreal heads home with a 2-0 series lead and their own brand of home-ice advantage, as they will go again on Sunday evening to take a stranglehold on the series.

In Game Two, it was only Carey Price and P.K. Subban making noise in the pool, each picking up a couple points each.

Scoring has now been a big issue for the Tampa Bay Lightning and in Game Two, they were without one of their more consistent scorers at the end of the regular season, as Ondrej Palat suffered an upper-body injury in Game One and was not able to go in Game Two.  As of Sunday morning, he is listed as a game-time decision for Game Three.  Palat was on the ice over the weekend, so it may be a good sign for him to go and give the Bolts a bit more of a chance on Sunday night.

There was very little argument around the water cooler about how much of a favourite Boston was going to be for another Cup Finals appearance, but there was also quite a bit of support for how much of a threat the veteran squad from Detroit would be to their success.

The series opened up on Saturday afternoon and this was the closest representation to some good ol' playoff hockey that we were expecting, as neither team was giving an inch and both goalies were not ready to be the goat.

The 1st period saw the shots at 11-9 Detroit and there was only one penalty to the Bruins, as it went by without a score.  The 2nd period was even tighter, 7-5 were the shots to the Bruins, who took a second penalty in the game in that frame.  The 3rd remained tight, as shots finished up at 9-8 for Boston, Detroit killed an early penalty and then were able to break through late, as Pavel Datsyuk sniped one past Tuukka Rask with three minutes to go.

Remarkably, that was it.  The Red Wings went into the TD Gardens and stole a tight one away from the Bruins.  Game Two goes on Sunday and I think it would be fair to expect more of the same.

No one was missed in Game One and I think everyone should be accounted for in Game Two, which is good news for both teams.

Game Two in Anaheim was a show from the big stars for the Ducks, as they managed to come away with a 3-2 win at home against Dallas Stars, coming away with a 2-0 series lead.

Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and an assist, helping out on Andrew Cogliano's game-winner in the 3rd period and in fine fashion as well.  Getzlaf has been a force in this series to start, already with 2 goals and 2 assists in the first two games of the series.  Getzlaf and Cogliano were the only two Ducks on the pool sheet to come away with points, as Fredrik Andersen continues to be the number one guy for Anaheim, taking the place of Jonas Hiller, much to the disappointment of some poolies.

The Stars haven't been too far away in this series, skating well, but some careless mistakes have cost them, especially when they are giving them up to the likes of Getzlaf and Corey Perry.

There were no changes to the line-ups on Saturday night, as far as the hockey pool was concerned, as the two players that missed out on Game One were not dressed for Game Two and they may not jump into their line-ups before the series ends.  I'm sure the Stars would really like to have Brenden Dillon back, but it doesn't sound like he'll be ready for Game Three on Monday night.

After Game Two of the series between St. Louis and Chicago, it is getting tougher and tougher to find what the biggest story of the series is. Is it the Blackhawks giving up late goals to send each of the two opening games into overtime, only to lose in the end or is the ugly/chippy play that has made this series into one full of hate?

Just when you thought everything couldn't get any uglier, Brent Seabrook laid waste to St. Louis captain David Backes in the 3rd period, which may cost some games for both players, both in suspension and in injury.  Seabrook is expected to get a phone call from the NHL Player Safety office, while Backes was hit into next week and likely suffered a concussion in the process.  His status for Game Three has to be considered doubtful.

Yes, it was a second overtime winner for the Blues, which gave them a 2-0 lead in the series, which will continue, under the cloud of emotion, on Monday in Chicago.

The second 4-3 result for the Blues was good for Kevin Shattenkirk, who finished the game with a goal and 2 assists for a 3-point night.  Vladimir Sobotka, Barret Jackman and Ryan Miller each had 2 points each for St. Louis in the win.  On the other side of the coin, Brandon Saad and Seabrook each had 2 points as well in a losing cause.

On a more positive note, as mentioned earlier in the blog post, Blues forward T.J. Oshie was going to be a game-time decision for the Blues for Game Two and did end up returning to the line-up. He had no immediate impact, going scoreless and a -1 in 25 minutes of ice-time, but I'm sure the team was just happy that they could get his energy back on the ice against a tough divisional opponent.

After watching bits and pieces of Game One between the Penguins and Blue Jackets, I had a pretty good feeling about what Columbus may be able to do in this series and on Saturday, they took advantage of possibly an over-confident Pittsburgh team.

The Penguins finished the opening frame with a 3-1 lead over the visiting Blue Jackets, but some sloppy play on the Pittsburgh special teams cost them in the end, as a shorthanded goal from Matt Calvert in the 2nd and a power play goal in the 3rd from Jack Johnson tied the game up and in double overtime, Calvert was the hero, potting the winner over a sprawled out Marc-Andre Fleury.  The series is now tied at one, heading back to Columbus for Game Three on Monday night.

In the pool, it was Ryan Johansen and Sergei Bobrovsky leading the way for the Jackets with 2 points each, while Sidney Crosby, Matt Niskanen and Paul Martin each had a pair for the Penguins in the loss.

The Blue Jackets were also able to welcome back forward R.J. Umberger to their line-up, as he missed the opening game with an upper-body injury. Umberger's line on his return wasn't too helpful, as he went with no points, a -1 rating, a penalty, a shot on goal and a blocked shot... nothing pool worthy.  Much the same as Oshie above, it is just good to get some experience in the line-up, as it goes a long way to playing a full 60-minute game.

Everyone loves a party. A lot of people really enjoy coming-out parties, which the series between the Avalanche and Wild is quickly becoming for rookie forward Nathan MacKinnon, the 1st overall pick in last Summer's NHL Entry Draft.

I'm not trying to take anything away from his teammates or in particular, his linemates, but MacKinnon is showing why he was the number one pick, at the time that you may not have expected it, but it is adding to the allure of the likely Calder Trophy winner.

In Game Two, it was a little bit of a late start for the Avalanche, who found themselves down a goal early on, but then MacKinnon jump started the offense with his 1st career playoff goal and that started the ball down the hill.  The Landeskog/MacKinnon/Stastny line added another couple goals in the 2nd period with amazing flair, before Paul Stastny added an empty-netter in the 3rd and we finished with a 4-2 win for the home team.

From a hockey pool standpoint, both MacKinnon and Stastny finished with 4-point nights, while Gabriel Landeskog had 3 points for his owners, while Semyon Varlamov got 2 points for the win.  I won't forget to mention, Mikko Koivu also had a couple of assists for the Wild, but I don't think that will count in too many places in the pool.

No changes were made to the line-ups, so we'll just make mention that this series goes back to St. Paul, Minnesota with the Wild down two games and the Avalanche are running with all kinds of confidence.

Game-Winning Goals
Let's see how the bonus points were spread out in the last three days... Brad Richards of the Rangers potted one on Thursday, as did Alex Steen of the Blues in overtime.  Paul Stastny of the Avalanche scored his in the 1st overtime period on Thursday, while Raffi Torres of the Sharks stole a point away from the pool in the first San Jose win.

On Friday, the winners came from Rene Bourque of the Canadiens, Pavel Datsyuk of the Red Wings and Andrew Cogliano of the Ducks.

Barret Jackman of the Blues in overtime, Matt Calvert of the Blue Jackets in double overtime and Gabriel Landeskog for the Avalanche in regulation were our bonus point getters on Saturday.  Well, two out of three stayed in the pool and I know some were collected for sure.

Four teams in the hockey pool have been able to collect a couple of bonus points thus far, as Glen, Cindy, Rick and Sheldon have each taken a couple points, in varying degrees of success in the standings.

In the 2012 edition of the playoff pool, the best team in bonus points had 17, so we're already a long way from that total.  2011 saw the top team with 19 winners, just as a point of reference.

After the first four nights of the playoffs, we have an outright leader in Brenda F., who sits at 40 points through Saturday's action. We have a couple of teams chasing Brenda down in Grant S. and Aaron A., each with 38 points.

Just as a heads up to everyone, there are four more teams to be entered in the pool, which were hidden away in PDF form in my e-mail.  They were received well within the pool deadline of the end of day on Thursday, they were just missed.  I'll highlight them in tomorrow's post, just so we all know who they are.

I am also waiting for a couple of line-up corrections, which I will allow, if they come soon enough.  The corrections will be minor and likely won't have as much impact on the final results as one may not hope for.