2010 NHL Playoffs: Parity is not a *****!

I'm going to Game 1 of Sharks/Detroit tonight. I have a feeling this series will go the distance with San Jose edging out the Wings of course. Either way though, this is a helluva matchup.

Go Sharks!!!

 

Nice! Have you ever been to an NHL playoff game before, Darth-Lando?

 

Oh yeah, the 10-pack of tickets I get from the Sharks each year gets me 1 game per playoff round. I went to game 5 this year in the first round of SJ/Col. Plus last years Game 5 against Anaheim (one of the two wins ). And in 2008 I was at Games 1 & 7 against Calgary and Game 5 against Dallas. And, assuming the Sharks get that far, I've got two guaranteed tickets to Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals and Game 5 of the Stanley Cup.

Also, changing gears slightly, my dad emailed me this article this morning written by a Caps fan into the Washington Post:

I'll just say that the fact that the lowest seeded team can beat the #1 seed is what makes the Stanley Cup playoffs so exciting! Anybody can beat anybody! If not everyone can win, really, what's the point? And this is coming from a fan of last years President's Cup winners who lost in the first round. And let me tell you this, no one in San Jose was blaming the NHL on that one.

 

That's sweet! My parents have season tickets (as part of a group with 8-ish other people), and went to a Stanley Cup final game last year. I went to the Eastern Conference clincher against the Flyers in '08.

Yep, I agree. People talk about parity in the West, but the East has a lot of it, too. The Flyers had the Devil's number all year long, and Halak was incredible against Washington.

 

So San Jose wins the first game...hmmm.

 

The Tank was jumping last night! When San Jose scored 3 goals in just 1:19 the place was louder than I had ever heard it before. It seemed like everything came together perfectly for the Sharks. Thornton and Heatley connected. Our 2nd line continued to dominate with Setoguchi scoring and Pavelski picked up right where he left off with 2 goals. And possibly most importantly, our penalty killers held the Wings to just 4 shots in over 8 minutes with the man advantage. All in all it was a great start to this series and it's nice to see the Sharks not blow their home ice advantage like they have in years past. This was actually the Sharks first Game 1 win in over 3 years. It's all just another sign that they are finally dropping the "chokers" stigma that has been following this team around for far too long.

EDIT: Marleau was out with reported "flu-like symptons" but hopefully he'll be back and ready to play for Sunday's game. Also, I'll freely admit that there was some questionable officiating on both sides. Whistles were blown when the puck was completely loose or held when they play should have been called dead. And I still don't know exactly how Franzen wound up in the penalty box after taking a high stick to the head. I don't understand it, but I'll accept it.

 

I gotta say, Nabokov's been handling the pressure pretty well. After he got torched in the Olympics, I was worried that he'd be the biggest choker (he gave up what, 5 goals in a single game before Russia's elimination?). He should be well-rested for game 2 on Sunday.

 

Detroit's got to be concerned about Howard.

But don't book the parade route yet. Detroit has the sharpest management evah, and they'll make adjustments.

 

Yeah, Detroit is far from out of this. They are Hockey Town after all...
[image=http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a105/darthcolin/realhockeytown.jpg]

 

Yikes!

 

I just read an interesting article about the Habs/Caps series. Basically, the article suggests that it wasn't a matter of Montreal's goalie suddenly becoming godlike, it was a deliberate coaching move that destroyed the Capitals.

 

Very interesting article.

 

Very interesting indeed.


Pens doubled up on the Habs, 6-3. Jordan Staal (leg) and Andrei Markov (lower body) were both injured during the game. I hope that Staal's able to be back next game; he's never missed a game in his NHL career.

 

That was one painful OT.

 

That was a great article and something that I think the Caps coaching staff should have recongnized during those games. It also brings up Ovie's ability as a captain. I'm pretty sure the Caps coaching staff told their players to hit the net hard, so that means Semin and Ovie just didn't want to or thought that their pretty perimiter play would work. It just goes to show that the playoffs are a different animal all together and that your "top six forwards" need to be ready to do "bottom six forwards" type work. Some needed to light a fire under Ovie's ass and tell him to drive the net. He has the skill set to do that and more.

 

Well, *that* was strange. The Hawks seemed very flat.

 

Damn Habs did it again! Jordan Staal was a big lose to the Pens. The article rings true again, the Pens were stuck on the perimeter save for a couple of chances inside. I guess Martin is a pretty good coach. BTW I hate to admit all of this as a Leaf Fan.

 

lol @ me for not knowing it was an afternoon game until the start of the 3rd period. The one time I could've followed a Pens game live here...


Doesn't sound like I missed much, though. Staal is definitely a big loss, though. I hope he's back soon. He's a great two-way player and causes match up problems as a 3rd liner. Sounds like Halak had another great game, though. I think he had 38 saves, not too shabby.

 

God, I haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate the trap.

You don't have to be a good coach to use it; you just need a bad team and a good goalie.

 

Pavelski scores two more. Thornton gets the game winner. 2-0 and the series is headed to Detroit. And a dead shark with a baby octopus in it's mouth was thrown on the ice. Great time to be a San Jose fan.

Go Sharks!

 

Missed oppurtunity for the Canucks last night. Damn it. The Bruins are a surprise to me, they could give the Pens a battle as well. That's assuming Montreal's luck runs out, or I should say Halak's.

 

I, too, am a little surprised that the Bruins are up 2-0. It's still early in the series. It would be pretty sweet to get Pens - Flyers in the Eastern Conference Championship series again. It's a great rivalry.


Pens play tonight. Hopefully someone can step up into Jordan Staal's role as a game changer. It'd be nice if the power play worked again, too.

 

Greetings, back from vacation. I can't believe I missed the Habs' comeback.

 

Sharks are up 3-0 after tonight's OT win.

 

That's gotta be demoralising for the Red Wings- giving up the last 3 goals to lose in OT.