The NHL Playoffs have begun, and the teams are wasting no time battling it out. It's almost like opening day, when the bad teams still don't know how bad they are. Every team starts evenly, and the lower seeded clubs are playing like they are ranked higher than they are.
Just a game or two into most of these series, the underdogs are fighting for their playoff lives right from the first game.
In the Eastern Conference, the series between the Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning is locked at 1-1. After winning game one, the Sens couldn't make it two in a row. The significance of that fact is that Ottawa is now 0-for-13 in games where they can take a 2-0 series lead. The defending Cup Champs didn't have a great season, but they're not going down without a fight.
Heads turned when the Carolina Hurricanes, one of the hottest clubs in the league all season, dropped the first game of their series against the Montreal Canadiens. Game two will be Monday night, and I expect that the series will be tied at one apiece when it's over.
The Buffalo Sabres needed to go into a second overtime to continue their season-long dominance over the Broad St. Bullies, the Philadelphia Flyers. It wasn't easy, but Buffalo took a 1-0 lead. Look for Philly to make a series of it.
The final Eastern Conference series is the one that's closer to home to the Metropolitan New York area, and that, of course, is the Rangers-Devils. The Rangers are looking to throw the first game into the garbage pile and start over, as they could not have played a worse game against New Jersey if they tried. It was a game with non-stop penalties, and the Devils would make the Blueshirts pay, scoring four power-play goals on their way to a 6-1 smacking of New York.
In some circles they say that it's easier for a team to get over a blowout than a close loss. The Rangers better hope so, because this one is a bitter pill to swallow.
The worst news for the Rangers after game one wasn't just the lopsided scoreboard, but their injury to their stud scorer, Jaromir Jagr.
The Rangers owe their success this season to basically two players: Jagr and goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. The Rangers go as these two players go. When Jagr was lighting up the scoreboard and Lundy was hot, New York was practically unbeatable. Towards the end of the season when Jagr started to slip, the Rangers went into a funk that appears is not yet over.
Rangers fans should come in off of the ledge, because we have not yet heard the last from this team. Look for New York to rebound and make a run at New Jersey...possibly as soon as game two. But if the Jagr meister is as hurt as he appeared when he left the ice on Saturday, the Rangers could be in big, big trouble and could make yet another early exit from the Chase for Lord Stanley's Cup.
In the West, Edmonton is trying to keep the Red Wings up against the wall as that series is 1-1. The Oilers believe in themselves, something that can be not just overlooked but unappreciated. Give a team a little confidence in the playoffs and it can go a long way. Just look at what Anaheim accomplished a few years back.
The Colorado Avalanche surprised the Dallas Stars as they took the first game of their series in Dallas. The Stars will come back as long as they put more pressure on Colorado than they did the last two periods of game one. This is one of the more evenly matched series, so it's possible that it may go the distance.
The Calgary Flames had to go into OT to beat the Mighty Ducks, but the Ducks came back to tie the series on Sunday night. This is another series that could go seven games.
The Nashville Predators won more home games than any other team in the NHL this season, but San Jose has high-scoring Jonathan Cheechoo and possible MVP Joe Thornton. They were a very impressive team this season, and they should come back and knock Nashville out.
Drop a line, give me your take on how the NHL Playoffs will shape up, and who you think is going to win the Cup.
No comments:
Post a Comment