Round 1 Recap

Western Conference:

San Jose vs. Colorado - Whew.  That was close eh?  Then, suddenly, it wasn't at all as San Jose outscored Colorado 10-2 in the last two games.  So I was off by one game in my prediction, thanks to stupid Dan Boyle, but otherwise not a bad prediction.  Sharks-Wings should be just awesome, if San Jose can keep their heads out of their asses long enough.

Chicago vs. Nashville - NOT OVER SOON ENOUGH.  Didn't these games, whether the games were in Chicago or Nashville, just look terrible on TV?  Too dark or something, like there was nobody else there.  Gross.  Yuck.  Play a real hockey teams now plz.

Vancouver vs. Los Angeles - This was my big swing and miss, though if the Kings had held those third period leads I'd be dead on.  This was the series I watched the most and yeah, Drew Doughty is pretty good eh?  Great to actually get some prolonged exposure, it's pretty tiresome to see how people just jump on the "he's the next Bobby Orr" because that's what they've read online or heard on TSN.  It was the worst around the Olympics, all the self-styled pundits who'll assure you of the future greatness of a player that, come on, there's no WAY you've actually seen him play.  I'm thinking here of people I work with.  But yeah, great puckhandler, great passer, creates space so well on the powerplay or when trapped in his own zone, and physical too.  Not enough though.  Stupid not-good-enough-conspiracy.  Let's see the NHL really flex their muscles when Vancouver plays Chicago, a team Bettman surely has marked for the finals.

Detroit vs. Phoenix -Pretty close here too, great showing for Phoenix and you know they probably win if Shane Doan doesn't get hurt.  Going by what I heard on the radio, the Coyote/Jets franchise has never won a game 7.  James Duthie had a great line about how since Detroit had a bad record in day games, like 2-8 or something, that the NHL should change game 7 to an afternoon like game 6 was.  That the league could own a team the entire season, and into the playoffs where said league can influence the schedule, is pretty bush.  Not bush like being allowed to own two CFL teams or anything, but pretty close.  Now with the two who-cares teams out in the first round (Nashville and Phoenix) we can start some real hockey.

Eastern Conference:

Washington vs. Montreal - Just.  Wow.  I wanted to see an Ovechkin-Pronger matchup in the second round, then of course the epic Washington-Pittsburgh Eastern final, but Halak... oh man.  Washington became a pretty hard team to cheer for in game 7 too; how many times did Ovechkin take the puck from his own zone or blue line, skate up the wing, and take a wrist shot with the defender as a screen.  EVERY time.  Drive the net for God's sakes!  Draw a penalty!  Take a hit!  It's hard to accuse Ovechkin of a lack of effort, but when you watch last night's game you can easily accuse him of lacking creativity and being way too stubborn.  Did you see the fans leaving when Montreal went up two goals with five minutes left?  Inexcusable.  A bad hockey city that merely masqueraded as a good one for the last year or so.  Can't hope for you to win when you're team fires Jason Blake-wrist shots all game and your fans bail.

New Jersey vs. Philadelphia - Well I bombed this one.  Not sure what else to say.  All that stuff that made Philly look good on paper in the off-season, and bad during the regular season, sure looked REALLY good against the Devils.  Without Gagne and Carter for at least a few weeks (and Carter done for the playoffs I think I heard) who knows how much further they can go.

Buffalo vs. Boston - Like Philly-Jersey, the Play Your Big Defenseman All The Damn Time Stratagem was a good one.  For a team that didn't blow a third period lead all season (!!!!), Buffalo sure looked soft in those two third period Bruin comebacks.  Tuukka Rask also takes out the Olympic Hero (who, um, lost by the way), showing that the playoffs are where trends go to die (blown leads, teams who can't score suddenly flipping a switch).  I really didn't mind getting this one wrong, it'll be nice to see Marc Savard able to play in the playoffs since he's apparently been cleared. 

Pittsburgh vs. Ottawa - I did pick them in six but this and Vancouver-LA might've been the most exciting first-round series.  A great show by Ottawa, they played as well as they possibly could.  Reminded me of the old Edmonton-Dallas series where the Oilers would try hard, hit like crazy, hit a few posts, then make one mistake and the game would be over.  Does Ottawa trade a goalie in the off-season now?  Perhaps in exchange for a veteran one with an exaggerated back problem, super-short term salary and mild propensity to be "festive" before driving during his injury rehab?


I finished the first round with a paltry 4-4 record, but when there's three upsets in the East I can't imagine that many people did much better.  I should have been 5-3 but I had to take that gamble on Los Angeles, after all, how easy is it to feel contempt for a city that declares a special day after winning a first-round series?