Sorts of Sports

Things We Learned from Eastern Quarterfinals

Washington in five over the New York Rangers.

 No surprise here as the Capitals proved to be the better offensive team scoring more goals in the key moments of the game.  From Alexander Semin to Jason Chimera the Capitals owned overtime.  Also, unlike previous years, they didn’t fold when playing from behind, which was clearly explained when they scored 4 unanswered goals in game 4 after being down 3-0 after two periods.

Jason Arnott was huge setting up the game winner in game one.  He also proved that he would solidify the second line center spot which the Capitals had been lacking.  Michael Neuvirth outplayed Henrik Lundqvist over the series and that was unexpected.

The Rangers needed Lundqvist to steal the series and while he almost did that in game one, he was not the superstar goalie capable of stealing games and winning games for his team.  He is far from being an elite goalie in my mind, when factoring in the playoffs.  Down a game with a 3 goal lead heading into a third period, you simply can’t lose, and Lundvist and the Rangers did.  The worst part of the Rangers being ousted is no more John Tortorella and Larry Brooks exchanges during press conferences, because those are always fun.  Second worst part is we won’t be seeing the Dubinsky ‘stache anytime soon either.  Actually, they should have gotten swept for due to it’s hideousness.

Philadelphia in seven over Buffalo.

Who needs one goalie, when you can play three?  That’s exactly what the Flyers did in taking and winning this series after the full distance.  Sergei Bobrovsky and Michael Leighton both saw action, but it was Brian Boucher who eventually got the final win to put the Flyers in the second round.  Claude Giroux and Danny Briere deserve a lot of the credit for willing the Flyers passed the Sabers as well as Villie Leino who got the winning goal in game six in overtime.  Especially more credit to them with Jeff Carter (missed three games) and Mike Richards (0 goals, 5 assists) not contributing a lot offensively.  The Flyers did a good job at even strength too, since Buffalo won the special teams battle.

Give Buffalo a lot of credit for some things.  They were playing better coming into the playoffs and a lot of people thought they would get out muscled from the get go and be eliminated quickly but they were essentially within one goal of advancing.  Ryan Miller didn’t play his best and looked off his game in game seven, which really hurt the Sabers chances.  The Flyers also took the first series without Chris Pronger.

Boston wins in seven over Montreal.

What a physical, brutal, sometimes violent series; and Zdeno Chara wasn’t a major force (1 point, +1 rating) in the 7 game series.  Not sure how much he is fighting an injury but the fact they survived this series without Chara influencing it to a major degree shows the depths of the Bruins lineup.

The Bruins survived somewhat winning three games in overtime and after falling down 0-2 losing both games at home, but they responded winning games three and four in Montreal and then taking the next two at home.  Nathan Horton only scored 3 goals, but two were overtime enders, which makes them significant, but the real star was Patrice Bergeron who averaged a point per over the series.  Bergeron has stepped up this entire year with the absence of Marc Savard and he continued that in the first round.

Montreal had Boston down two games going back home and lost both games.  You simply can’t let that happen.  They needed to go back to Boston for game five up 3-1.  When they didn’t do that, you gave the better team a chance back into the series and Boston didn’t give that up a second time.  Carey Price didn’t have a horrible series, but was outplayed by the Bruins’ Tim Thomas.  Michael Cammalleri had a big round with 10 points, but was a -5, but other than that not overly impressed with anyone’s numbers.

Tampa Bay wins in seven over Pittsburgh.

The MVP of this round was Tampa Bay goalie, Dwayne Roloson who willed his team to a game 7 shutout win in Pittsburgh to finish off a 3-1 deficit.  When it seemed like the Penguins, without Crosby and Malkin, would be able to advance to the next round they seemed to stop scoring.  Their defense which almost propelled them to a division title, folded in a game 5 home loss (8-2), and Marc-Andre Fleury couldn’t steal a game like he had done for many during the regular season. 

Martin St. Louis had a solid series with 8 points, and Simon Gagne chipped in 7 points.  The Lightning blocked a ton of shots over the series including 27 by Eric Brewer, which turned out to be a great deadline acquisition for Tampa.  Three other players also blocked at least 18 shots.  Roloson, with a .950 save percentage over the seven games, responded in a big game situation after giving up the weak bad angle goal to James Neal in the overtime period of game four.

I understand Daniel Sedin or Corey Perry will probably win the Hart Trophy, for league’s Most Valuable Player, but make no question about it; the MVP of the National Hockey League is Sidney Crosby.  The Penguins probably would have won in 4 or 5 games if Crosby were in the lineup.  The Penguins put on a gutsy performance but in the end, they didn’t have enough up front to outscore the Lightning, and that’s why Tampa advanced.