Gotta love Kane. After he made a stupid mistake, he ended up winning it in OT. 4 2-2 series' with 2 more potentially after tomorrow. Aside from SJ/LA (which I'm really surprised about) and MTL/TB, the playoffs have been awesome. Stars and Jackets really look like they can upset.
Cooke gets 7 games for hit on Barrie. Looking forward to seeing what Hishon can provide for the Avs. They called him up in light of getting shut out in game three. They drafted him 17th overall in 2010 out of Owen Sound. He will center the 4th line but more importantly he will be featured on pp. Hishon has loads of offensive talent but has seen his career stall due to reoccurring head injuries. He was able to play his first full season in the AHL this season and now he gets his first crack in the NHL.
Matt Cooke has always been a little piece of trash. This suspension was a long time coming. Nice win, Hawks. I can always count on the NHL playoffs to entertain me when NBA reffing lets me down.
Blues fans have been waiting for the team to make some noise in the Playoffs , but the Champs showing why they have that champ spirit and toughness.
Lots of questions for the Blues in the offseason, not the least of which is how far they want to go to get Ryan Miller re-signed. The fans here have already been clamoring for the team to add some more offense and this series isn't going to do anything to quiet those folks down.
Nice for the Hawks to close it out. No matter who they draw in their next series, it'll be a tough one. Colorado fared pretty well against the Hawks in the regular season though most of those games the Hawks outplayed them and still lost because of the great goaltending of Varlamov. I believe the Wild went 3-1-1 against the Hawks in the regular season, so yeah another team that has had success against them in the regular season. That LA/SJ series got interesting real quick. If theres a team that can come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series, it's probably LA. Caught part of game 6 of Anaheim/Dallas, what a crazy game. I thought Dallas had the game in the bag, and Anaheim came roaring back.
After Parenteau and MacKinnon's heroics in game 5 the Avs have a chance to close out the Wild and set up a Western Conference semifinal matchup with the Hawks. Now the Avs have played horrible in both previous games in Minnesota, but could get a big boost with the possible return of Duchene. After game 5 Roy did not rule him out for game 6 so he should be considered a game time decision. Duchene could be just what the Avs need to pick up their play on the road. It would also be good for him to get some ice time before a potential matchup with the Hawks because were going to need him at his best if we want to take down Chicago.
Didn't expect the Stars to win, but after coming back to tie 2-2, I had a little bit of hope...Alas, it wasn't enough but the future looks bright with a good core group of guys...
Was really hoping for an Av win in game 6. Do not want any part of a game 7 because they are way too stressful. Avs played a much better game on the road than they did in their games 3 and 4 losses. Even with Duchene coming back it wasn't enough as the Wild pulled ahead in the final 6 minutes of the 3rd and added a couple empty netters. Really encouraged though with Duchene's play returning from injury. The biggest sign that I saw from Duchene that lets me know he's as close to 100% as can be expected for this time of the year are the tight spin moves he makes along the half boards and from behind the net. He was able to escape defenders with this move and set up great scoring chances in front. That has become his staple and the biggest reason why he far and away lead the team in assists even though he missed around 11 or so games this season.
I'm speaking about the Sharks here: I can't think of another team in the NHL in the last decade that has achieved so much regular season success , yet underachieve every year in the playoffs.
I'm still shocked at San Jose. That is one cursed franchise right there. Not surprised that the Wild won that game. Crazy finish. Hawks are gonna have some trouble against the Wild who match up well against them. Their goalie situation isn't the greatest at the moment, but I'd be surprised if this series ends earlier than 6 games. The Wild seem like a hard-working team, I'm just hoping the Hawks match that.
