NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 3
Wow. Western
Conference fans got to watch back to back game sevens, both which game down to
the last moments. Sharks fans were
disappointed again as the defending champion Los Angeles Kings knocked them out
by holding on 2-1 in a furious game seven finish where goalie Jonathan Quick
was the difference. The other series saw
an epic end to the Chicago-Detroit divisional rivalry as the Blackhawks crawled
their way back down 3 games to 1 to win game seven when Niklas Hjalmarsson
scored in the closing minutes of the third period, er, I mean Brett Seabrook
scored early in overtime to send some happy humans home at the Hangar. The Eastern Conference wasn’t as fun to
watch, as Boston and Pittsburgh rolled to the conference finals.
So how did I do? Much
better this round as I picked all four series.
Now, for the conference finals
Eastern Conference Finals
Pittsburgh Penguins (1) vs. Boston Bruins
Both team dominated in their previous series. Sidney Crosby is back, netting 15 points in
only 10 games. Evgeni Malkin said he
needs to step up his game, although he has 16 points in 11 games. The only thing holding Pittsburgh back is
their goaltending, although Tomas Vokoun played very well against Ottawa. Boston made beating the Rangers look easy and
it cost Rangers coach John Tortorella his job
Both of these teams have been scoring a lot so this could be a wide open
series which bodes well for Pittsburgh.
On the other hand, Boston knows how to clamp down defensively, which
bodes well for them. Zdeno Chara is
playing almost 30 minutes a game, David Krejci is leading the playoffs in
scoring and Tuukka Rask is playing well in the net. The top five scores in the postseason are
playing in this series. As long as the
goaltending holds, this is Pittsburgh’s series to win. Penguins in 7.
(Okay,
quick recap. On the top is Zdeno Chara. He is 6'9", 255 lbs. and is
36 years old. He is Slovakian.
On
the bottom it Charo, aka Maria Rosario Pilar Martinez Moline Baeza. Her
age is, well, in dispute. According to Wikipedia, her birth records in
Spain say she was born in 1931, in the US 1941 but somehow she got a US court to
decree 1951 as her birth year. So she is 82,72 or 62, depending on who
you believe. No indications on height and weight but I'm pretty sure
those are double Ds.)
Western Conference
Chicago Blackhawks (1) vs. Los Angeles Kings
The Hawks are still not playing their best hockey although
they played very well in long stretches in the last three wins over Detroit
(sucks). The Kings used home ice to
their advantage (note: the Kings passed the Sharks for the 5th seed
the last weekend of the regular season) and have yet to lose at the Staples
Center. Did I mention they have just
about the same team as last year’s Cup hoisters? Did you see Jonathan Quick in the 3rd
period of game seven against the Sharks?
Did you know his GAA this post season is 1.50? Did you know Corey Crawford is second in GAA
with 1.70? For the Hawks to win this,
Kane and Toews need to pot some goals.
Patrick Sharp has already scored more post-season goals than regular season
goals and Bryan Bickell has been a beast, netting 5 goals of his own. Chicago’s D has been up and down, with too
many turnovers against Detroit but overall they are the deeper team. If they can get a few past quick and keep the
Kings top line in check, Chicago can advance.
There will be a lot of 2-1 games in this series. Hawks in 7.
