I gotta agree that I don't see a single series that is a slam dunk at this point. 7 series have gone 2 games so far, and ALL 7 are 1-1. Home ice means little or nothing right now, 7 teams have proven that. Hope the Hawks series follows the current trend. :-)

5 huge games tomorrow...God I love this time of year. :-)

Your right
Home Ice has not been Kind to the B's this year.

I cant believe yesterdays action.

The Caps looked all but dead and buried. Ovi and Backstrom seem to have found that Halak is shaky high and the Caps definetly got in his head as he was complaining on almost every goal. That game looked all but over early in the 3rd when the Habs went up 4-1.

The Kings beat Luo. They looked dead also but nope they decided to find that grit and solve. Kessler may be hurt as well. That would be a big loss.
As to Vancouver, yet again they appear to have kept it classy like at the WJC in 2006 when they booed the US anthem and were pretty rough on the US Jr kids. After the game winning goal a "Yankees Suck!" chant broke out. Really? Half the team is likely Canadian and since when do the Yankees play baseball in Vancouver?
http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/con...=sb:highlights
If you listen at about 10:55 its failry audible. Come on Canucks.

I dont think I will be able to catch all the games tonight, but I am going to get most of the Yotes game hopefully the Hawks and some of the Sharks. Funny until they escape the 1st round I have little intrest in watching them. Good luck to everyone with a horse in the race today.

I agree some of the Vancouver fans were classless last night.

Working today so I will try to catch some of the Wings-Yotes game in the lunchroom. I will try to get off a little early tonight and hopefully watch most of the Hawks game in real time.

As Mike said, good luck to all.

Not to say the Wings may not come back and win Game 3....but I think the theory of the Coyotes being intimidated by the Joe is out the window.

Wait I watched that game Tom. At the end of the game though the place was a ghost town. I didnt see much of an intimidating crowd there at the Joe. Sure hope we dont see any crutches break out about a quick whistle in the 3rd. It took the Wings 60 minutes to fail, and that wouldnt have even tied the game.

Awesome to see the Coyotes go into the Joe and punch the Wings right in the mouth after the last game. Going to be interesting to see if Doan is gone for the series or not. Going to be real interesting to see how the Wings respond. The Coyotes also have home ice again so I guess that Joe definetly wont be a factor now either.

I only hope the Sharks and Hawks show up tonight, but Marleau has been a ghost again this year and heater is gripping that stick hard evidenced by his clankers.

Lets go Hawks! A must win game tonight.

No-No Niemi comes through. :-) Pressure back on the Preds in Game 3. :-)

Unbelievable performance by Craig Anderson tonight...51 saves, and a well-earned smile after the game. Mike, sorry about the loss....I know Danny Boyle ain't smiling tonight.

Son, looks like the 'Yotes weren't quite as intimidated by the Joe as you thought they might be....Tuesday becomes a "must win" game for the defending Western Champs.

I ddn't get to see any of the Devils-Flyers, how was the overtime?

Oh man...that's one overtime goal you don't want credited to your name. Ouch.

You know its hard to be mad at the boys tonight.
They out played the Avs in every area except luck. That makes two winning goals for the Avs that were luck.

I hope for a better result on tueday. The third period was a joke the Sharks man handled the Avs and spent almost the entire period in their zone. What can you say though the end result is score board and the Avs lead the series 2-1. I believe the Sharks will stick to the same game plan and hope for a better result.

Nice win for the Hawks and the Yotes I think I called both of them. I seem to remember saying this series will come down to goaltending and tonight it clearly did.

I'd say goaltending was even at the very least, Mike.

Add in that Doan went out with a injury and they still won, they are definitely showing they are a strong team. Most of the news reporters locally and fans want Osgood in net and think Howard is the reason why we aren't playing well. I disagree, Wings need to get some defenders to start playing to the level they are supposed to. Howard is not all to blame for the 2-1 deficit.

Good Win by the Hawks, Pops :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uHUghCf3NI


Not exactly a pretty way to win.....but I'll take it.....:-)

Anderson was AMAZING....51 saves....

From my standpoint? Excellent! The Flyers really dominated play in the third and OT...outshooting the Devils 18-4; 6-1 in the OT. If it wasn't for Marty, the Flyers would have won in regulation.

The officiating in the game was ...:-) (for both sides). It seemed like they would call anything in the 1st, then let anything go in the 2nd. The 3rd and OT were a little more as you would hope, but early on it was odd.

Boucher has really surprised me so far in this series. He hasn't let in the "bad goal" yet that haunted him down the stretch.

Speaking of bad goals, the short-side goal Howard let in yesterday was pretty bad. Goals like that can take something from a team and I wouldn't be surprised if the 'Yotes win that series...maybe even handily. A veteran may be able to get over stuff like that, but as a rookie...IDK.

And the Avalanche goal?...wow.

I agree with you, Son...although Howard did let in that soft, short-side goal, I don't know if bringing in Ozze at this point is the answer....but of course, that's why Babcock is coach and I am a post whore on a cigar board. :-)

The guy who has really suprised me Joel, not just in the series but most of the year, is Dan Carcillo. I pretty much thought of him as a goof, but this year he has been clutch, and looked pretty skilled, on many occassions. Wouldn't mind having that kid on the Blackhawks.

I guess yeah. I just hate using a crutch or the term puck luck. Anderson played the game of his pro carrer and the Avs have gotten puck luck in 2 games now. Its just crappy. That goal was 1 in 1000 or worse, but thats been the series for the Sharks this year. Goals of feet, goals of throats, and a WTF? Never seen that before goal last night. I hate to say it, but the Avs are clearly not the better team and it is clear by the stats. They are definetly the lucky team though with a goalie who is playing fantastic. Anderson has kept them alive. The Sharks plan is working great they are physically dominating the Avs in hits, shots, time of possession and dictating the flow of the game. They have to solve Anderson though and as everyone knows a hot goalie can take you to the promise land and that just may happen if Anderson can keep it going.

I think thats why not to many have hit the panic button yet though. Its not that the Avs have out played the Sharks since game 1. Without Anderson this series is very different. What can you do, Anderson stopped 51 shots last night and the Avs were generally dominated after the 1st period. The Sharks failed to capitalize on a Goalie that played the best game of his pro carrer. The Avs mustered 17 and the 17th was an accidental redirect not even a shot. I tell you though I wont be sad to see marleau go if he doesnt start playing with some heart.

In the end though all you can really say is scoreboard. They need to get it done and they are not. Unlike last year though when I was contemplating my season ticket purchase, right now I am not. My wife was even wtching the game just laughing at the whole situation in the 3rd. It was total domination with no goal.

Me too Tom. When the Flyers signed him last year they made a point to emphasize he wasn't only a tough guy/general PITA but that he had skill to go with it, pointing out his 13 goals in 50+ games with the 'Yotes in '07-08. He didn't display that last year, but now playing with the first line he had the opportunity to display it (arguable whether the Richards line or the Carter line is the first line, but I digress). His totals this year were anything but remarkable, but watching him play, I think he does his job well.

Maybe the Flyers will deal him this offseason for one of the Hawks many defensemen. Depth at D is something the Flyers are lacking....Stranger things have happened. :-)

L.A. is 7 for 12 on the powerplay in the first 3 games against the Canucks. The Canucks scratched Alberts for game 3 as he had 13 PIMs in the first 2 games...but the 'Nucks still found themselves in the box 3 times, and L.A. scored on all 3. Drew Doughty tied Paul Coffey's franchise playoff record with 4 points for a defenseman (1 G, 3 A).

Montreal needs Game 4 or they are toast.

Wings, Sens, Sharks and Hawks badly in need of wins on Tuesday.

Philly can really put the Devils in a Helluva bad situation.

Another great day for hockey! Let's Go Hawks! Image