Entertain Me, NHL
It's been quite some time since we wrote something about hockey here, and reviewing the last few items I posted back in March makes me wish I had more time to write more often.
Sunday night's Dallas Stars victory over the defending champs (you know, those Mighty Ducks, as 30 Rock still calls them) put the cap on a outing I predicted back in early March with these two posts: ( 1, 2 ).
The way things turned out, the Stars converted on 26.3% of their power plays in the series, but more importantly, Dallas had a man advantage 38 times compared to the 24 times they were shorthanded. Anaheim just couldn't stay out of the box and made one dumb play after another.
The Stars will now move on to face either the Avs or the Sharks. Dallas was 2-1-1 against Calgary this season and 4-2-2 against San Jose, so as long as Marty Turco can keep from allowing more of the soft goals he let in against the Ducks in games five and six, the Stars have a real chance to play in the West finals.
Also on Sunday...
the Red Wings wrapped up their series with the Predators, winning in six games. The Preds put up a great fight through the first 5 games of the series, but their overtime loss in game 5 really took the spring out of their step. Still, Barry Trotz deserves coach of the year honors for what he's done with this team this season, and throughout his career in Nashville. Trotz is the only coach the Preds have ever had.
Monday night, the first game seven of these 2008 playoffs with commence; with the surprising Boston Bruins, an 8th seed in the East, taking on the top ranked Montreal Canadiens. Boston has rallied from a 1-3 game deficit and even had to rally to score 4 third period goals in game six to stay alive. Cheers to Phil Kessel, a healthy scratch in two games this series, for taking over games five and six to lead Boston's resurgence.
The Bruins may even get back Patrice Bergeron tonight to help their chances, but really the prospect of a a guy - even one as talented as Bergeron - who hasn't played competitive hockey since October, stepping into game seven of a playoff series isn't one I'd want if I was a Bruins fan.
Also being played tonight is game six of the sloppily played, yet highly entertaining Flyers - Caps series. Washington is on the road hoping for a win tonight that would force a game seven back in the nation's capitol. The gametime is the same as the Habs/B's game, but the style of play will likely be very different, and much more open, since it's doubtful that either Montreal or Boston will play game seven with any of the furious flurry they ended game six with.
Tuesday night will sport at least one other game seven, thanks to Calgary's 2-0 win over San Jose on Sunday night. Aside from maybe the Caps/Flyers series, this Western Conference matchup has probably been the most entertaining series to watch this first round.