So far the Stanley Cup playoffs have been pretty intense. Just four games into round one and a team has already been eliminated, there have been a crazy amount of injuries, a lot of tension and fighting, an almost excessive amount of overtime play and someone became a first-time dad. Let’s take a look and see where each series is at.
Western Conference
No. 1 Blackhawks vs. No. 8 Wild
As many people predicted, this has been one of the most intense, hard-fought pairings. The Blackhawks are currently winning the series 3-1 after winning games one, two, and four. Games one and three ended in overtime, a win for each team, but Chicago well outplayed Minnesota in the other two games winning 5-2 and 3-0. Blackhawk’s Patrick Sharp is currently leading the series in both goals and points. The Wild have gone through three goalies already in the series; their starter going out in the warm ups of game one and their back up Josh Harding getting hurt in game four, period one. Backup-backup goalie Darcy Kuemper was thrown into the game during the second period, and despite having played only six NHL games, played fairly well against the speedy Blackhawks. The Blackhawks didn’t play their best last night but I think everyone was a little excited about the newest edition to their family, Duncan Keith’s baby boy who was born Tuesday morning. Keith did make the trip back to Minnesota for the game and according to his teammates was only a few hours late. Hopefully the club doesn’t fine him!
No. 2 Ducks vs. No. 7 Red Wings
Anaheim and Detroit are both playing pretty even strength and this series will probably drag out the full seven games. They’re currently tied 2-2. The Ducks have pulled ahead both times with the Red Wings tying up the series. Damien Brunner of Detroit is currently leading the series in both goals and points but the leading goalie is Jonas Hiller of Anaheim. If Anaheim is hoping to pull ahead and win this they’re going to need to really start working together and start scoring. Corey Perry is a big scorer for Anaheim and he’s not producing right now. As in the past, the Red Wings have some magical playoff power and are giving the Ducks a run for their money.
No. 3 Canucks vs. No. 6 Sharks
Despite being seeded three and six, these teams had pretty equal seasons. The Sharks started out great and then had a rocky road the rest of the season. Vancouver had a lot of ups and downs as well so it was hard to stay who would take this series. I was fairly positive the Sharks would just because of their huge start and their determination this season. What I wasn’t prepared for was a Canucks sweep. Vancouver did not even show up to play losing four games straight. The Sharks did choke a little Tuesday night and were behind 3-2 with a few minutes left in the third when Joe Pavelski tied it up. San Jose won in overtime. The series leaders are all part of San Jose’s team, Pavelski leading in goals and points and Antti Niemi the star goaltender. This series has drawn to a close resulting in our first playoff upset and elimination. For better or worse, the Sharks will have a breather waiting for their next game.
No. 4 Blues vs. No. 5 Kings
Like many of the other series’, this one is tied 2-2 as well. The Blues won the first two games and looked like they might pull off a sweep; despite them being close games, they were severely outplaying the Kings. The Kings however game back and tied up the series. Kings goalie, Jonathan Quick, is leading in goals against but the Blues are still out-offensing the Kings with T.J Oshie leading in goals and Vladimir Sobotka leading in points. Game give will be played back in St. Louis where the Blues are hoping to regain their momentum.
Eastern Conference
No. 1 Penguins vs. No. 8 Islanders
For a one seed-eight seed matchup, this has probably been the most interesting in awhile. Pittsburg started out the series with a win but the Islanders came back and tied in game two. This repeated for games three and four. All the current series leaders are Penguins players, Pascal Dupuis, Evgeni Malkin, and Marc-Andre Fleury. Despite being a series leader, somehow, Fleury looked worse than a Mite goalie in game four and has been pulled for game five Thursday night. He spent most of the game way out of net and couldn’t seem to stop much of anything, allowing six Islanders goals. John Tavares on the other hand had a great game last night scoring a goal against Fleury and winning a star of the game. If this new Penguins goalie doesn’t step up, I expect to be seeing one heck of an upset with this series.
No. 2 Canadiens vs. No. 7 Senators
This series has been by far the greatest to watch and the most intense. I expected for them to be closely played as teams from Canada are tough, but I wasn’t prepared for the beating Montreal has been taking from the Senators. The Senators won the first game but the Canadiens came back to tie it in game two. Game three was another brutal attack by Ottawa but game four was a total surprise. I turned it on in period two when the Canadiens were winning 2-0. The Senators came back with a goal many considered questionable, but the referees reviewed and held their position, and were able to score a second goal with a mere twenty seconds left in the game. They came back to win it in overtime with an excellent wristshot from Kyle Turris. This series has been full of injuries, line changeups, firsts, and a lot of fighting. Unless Montreal can pull off a miracle though, they’ll be seeing their postseason end pretty soon.
No. 3 Capitals vs. No. 6 Rangers
Not much surprise, but the Capitals are leading this series 2-1. Despite their patchy start this season, they’ve played great the rest of it and have continued that into the postseason. The games have been close but the Capitals are really outshining the Rangers still. Goalie Henrik Lundqvist is in reality the reason the Rangers even made the playoffs and he’s carrying them through the series right now not allowing many Washington goals. Although not confirmed yet, Ryane Clowe sounds like he’ll be returning in game four on Wednesday night which could be a series changer.
No. 4 Bruins vs. No. 5 Maple Leafs
This Bruins, Maple Leafs series is probably one of the least talked about ones in the playoffs. Boston is winning 2-1 with game four coming Wednesday night. There’s not a whole lot noteworthy happening in the series so I think it’s kind of just slipped under the radar right now with the Bruins quietly winning their games and preparing for the next. Bruins player’s Nathan Horton and Tuukka Rask have been stellar though. Rask has stopped quite a few hard fired shots from the Leafs and Horton has fired quite a few of his own at the Leafs. He actually shot one so hard the other night it went top shelf and got stuck in the camera. These two teams are probably the most evenly matched in the whole playoff grouping and it will come down to a final straw I’d be willing to bet.