Battle Of Hudson

That’s right. I’ll be over at Blogtalk Radio hosting my hour long playoff special. It starts in less than 20 minutes from now. We’ll be analyzing the locals’ chances in each of their respective series and also breaking down last nite’s action as well as making our Cup pick.

Check it all out here:

Hard Hits

P.S. Steve. Just a correction. It’s Eric Perrin. And also, beware of Jason Ward. He’s been getting 2nd line duty as well as PP and PK time. He could be a factor in your series.

Also, penalties shouldn’t be much of an issue since you’re talking about the two least penalized teams in hockey. Tampa wasn’t shorthanded that much more than the Devs.

It could come down to even-strength. Watch for Tampa’s blueline to jump into the rush.

I kind of disagree with Tort’s move to not have Denis backup. That seems crazy but he’s not your normal coach. Maybe he knows something we don’t.

Enjoy the games!

Devils win 4-2 in their Game 1. Zajac the winner.

Thrashers take the Rangers 4-3.

Sabres beat the Isles in OT 3-2.

Detroit beats Calgary 2-1

I am so very excited to watch the Devils tonight, after 1 taste of playoff hockey, it makes you like a rabid wolf who’s got a sniff of meat. You want more, and more and more! Er…4 OT’s last night have gotten us all a little delirious. Anyway…the Devils take on the Lightning tonight in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Series.

The Lightning have a somewhat balanced attack, but there is certainly a drop-off after Lecavalier-St. Louis-Prospal, goes down to the Brad Richards line (Usually with Nathan Perrin and Russlan Fedotenko). They have a backline that can contribute big time with Dan Boyle and Filip Kuba. Their goaltending situation is the reason the entire NHL On VERSUS panel picked the Devils to win this series. Johan Holmqvist is an unproven playoff rookie, and Marc Denis is…well, not on the roster at the moment. Karri Ramo has been promoted to Holmqvist’s backup. So, not to certain on the backline for Tampa.

The Devils have gotten here, as they usually do, through solid team play, timely scoring, fantastic goaltending, you know, the usuals. This year there is some drama around the New Jersey Devils as coach Claude Julien was fired with 3 games remaining and coach Lou Lamoriello took over and went 2-0-1. The key to the Devils winning this series will be again, timely scoring, but the EGG line really must come through. If they don’t score early and often the Devils will be in trouble.

I think that the other key in this series in the Madden-Pandolfo line versus whatever line has 2 of Tampa’s holy trinity on it. If you can neutralize Tampa’s offense to the point where only one player can score, the Devils will have a chance. Also, Brian Rafalski’s offensive involvement will be a key to this series. If he can rack of the assists and get the Devil power play moving, New Jersey can take this easily. If they end up calling a lot of penalties, likely it’ll be the Lightning guilty of most, and the Devils will finish this up quickly.

As I’ve said before, Devils in 5.

LET’s GO NJ!

The Isles improbably find themselves in the playoffs tonight vs. the Sabres in Buffalo. The Isles are big underdogs and while I don’t expect them to win the series, I think the team’s experience during the last four games of the season and the rough period in March that preceded it has toughened this team up. I think they will play with confidence and a loose “we’re just happy to be here and have nothing to lose” attitude. The Sabres, on the other hand, didn’t make it to the finals last year mainly because of injuries, but had a fantastic season this year and is the favorite by many to win the Cup.

So clearly, the pressure will be on the Sabres. If the Islanders were to steal game one or two in Buffalo, I think it will be a long, hard fought series. To do so, the Isles will need to shutdown the center corridor that the swift Buffalo skaters use as a runway to gain speed. If they cross the blue line flying on a consistent basis, the Isles are in big trouble. Witt and Hill will be no match for the speed of Buffalo’s lines. The Isles need to play, gasp, Devils hockey, and line up across the red line forcing the Sabres to dump and chase. Next, the Isles need to keep the puck on the boards and win the little battles in the corners. On offense, they need a solid fore check with lots of cycling and guys clogging the crease.

Finally, the Isles need to play a tough, physical series as we all know that toughness is the way to get to Buffalo. The Sabres do not react well to taking a physical beating. However, the Isles have to be smart about it. As the team with the highest amount of shorthanded vs even minutes in the league this year, it seems as if the refs are programmed to call the mildest infraction on the Isles. It will be a fine line between playing tough and going to the box. And the Isles cannot panic when Buffalo uses its speed. No hooking and grabbing – just play positionally and rely on teammates to pick each other up.

Obviously, the goaltending match up for game 1 favors the Sabres. And I think Dubie will be exposed to an offense that is capable of blowing any goalie away. That said, Dubie played two periods against the Sabres in a blow out loss two weeks ago in relief of Dunham, and played fairly well.

Well,I’m just giddy about the Isles making the playoffs and any wins after this is gravy. We are playing the Sabres after all.

Rob

Henrik Sedin wins it on a feed from Daniel. Winner Winner, Quardruple Overtime Chicken Parm Dinner. 5-4 VanCity.

What a game. Thanks for staying up. See you in about, oh, 15 and a half hours for Devs, Rags, and Isles!

Says Dave Strader. Feels like about 5 or 6.

Quadruple Overtime folks. Stay awake with me! 4-4 after 6 periods.

First to blink. Simple as that. We’re headed to TRIPLE OT in Game 1 of the West Qtrs. We only had 1 Triple Overtime all of last post-season (It was in Edmonton and San Jose’s Conference Semi, Edmonton won it). If Turco doesn’t see a lot of action at the start of the 3rd OT, he may be in some real trouble and susceptible to a late goal, because Luongo looks ready to do this all night.

Recap the scores and goal scorers tonight:

East Qtrs. – Game 1: OTT Leads 1-0
Penguins 3 (Staal, Gonchar, Crosby)
Senators 6 (Meszaros, Kelly, Preissing, Heatley, Neil, Comrie)

West Qtrs. – Game 1: SJ Leads 1-0
Final/Double OT
Sharks 5 (Carle, Grier, Rivet, Michalek, Rissmiller)
Predators 4 (Radulov [2 Goals], Dumont [2 Goals])

West Qtrs. – Game 1: ANA Leads 1-0
Wild 1 (Demitra)
Ducks 2 (Selanne, Penner)

TRIPLE OT IS NEXT!

Double Overtime in British Columbia with the Stars and Canucks.

Anaheim takes Game 1 over Minnesota.

Anaheim, San Jose and Ottawa all have 1-0 leads.

We’re headed to the extra session in VanCity. What character this Stars team has shown. 4-4 as we go to a 4th period.

1-1 in the 3rd in Orange County.

In Double-OT, Patrick Rissmiller wins is for the Sharks. After some turn-overs in the 3rd that led to the GTG, way to go for the young kid.

Minnesota and Anaheim are tied at 1 right now.

Vancouver leads Dallas 3-2 on a Markus Naslund goal.