They're one of the worst teams in the league, and have been for years. Not showing up is their strong suit. Halak was absolutely brilliant last night and I'd love to see him playing for a decent team.

Yea the east seemed really weak this year.Outside of the Caps and Pens none of these teams are extremely impressive.


Okay which team or teams do you think had disappointing season this year?My two choices would be the Flyers and Ducks.The Flyers were picked to win the east in the Playoffs by a fair share of experts and ended up barely making the playoffs.Then the Duck ,I just look at that roster and say how?they had plenty of young talent and veterans backed by a good goalie and the just flopped.

Much as I hate them, the Flyers are generally a pretty strong team, so I was surprised at how poorly they did. I also wasn't expecting the Hawks to do as well as they had, nor did I expect anyone to finish beneath the godawful Leafs. It's been a bit of a strange season and this is being reflected in the playoffs. Pens might be the only favourite in the East to actually win their opening series.

Detroit got the victory last night; I wonder if Washington can get the win tonight. It's so hard for me to root for Washington. I would love to see them lose, but some small part of me wants to see them advance.

Te Blackhawks were my Western Pick at the Beginning of the season and the Caps from the East.I am bit jealous of the Hawks though. When the Flyers were bad that one random season I was hoping they would get the first pick with Kane.As much as I love my Hometown boy VanRiemsdyk Kane is undoubtedly the batter player.

As for the game tonight I am hoping the Caps win.I know they are the better of the two opponents but I think they match up better with them then they do the Bruins.Plus I hope Chara ruins Crosby and Malkin.

As a Bruins fan, it's very difficult for me to root for the Habs, but I hate Ovechkin far more than the Canadiens so....and maybe they could play in the finals...

Habs win you get Philly, they lose you get Pittsburgh; I'd cheer for the Habs too.

Shaping up to be a Pittsburgh - Chicago/Detroit matchup.

Washington loses tonight, Pittsburgh without a shadow of a doubt wipes away everyone else in the East.

Detroit demolishes the Sharks, the Hawks edge Vancouver in a tough series, proving yet again they own the rivalry.

Detroit and Chicago, I'm not going to pretend I have any idea what would happen in that semi-final matchup. Two incredibly talented teams that match up so well with eachother.

Bruins.
It's so hard to have an interest in a not-quite-so-cold state's team. I just can't take them seriously. Phoenix?!? Anyway.
As long as the penalty boxes are full and gloves are on the ice it's all good.

I think the traditional setting for hockey does not really matter considering the majority of teams are in the U.S. and its been a while since a Canadian team won the Cup.


More injuries for the Flyers.Ian Laperriere is done.He suffered a brain contusion and mild concussion when he went down to block that shot.He was a big part of the strong defensive play and clearly willing to sacrifice his body for the team.year after year they just get screwed with injuries in the playoffs.

What an absolute travesty!

Damn

Wow great game.

I cannot believe the Canadiens eliminated the Capitals!

Pens winning the East again I guess. :meh:

Again, I live in Pittsburgh, and I am a Penguins fan, but if we've learned anything so far in these playoffs, it's that anything can happen. I hope you're right about the Pens, but who would've thought the Canadiens would beat Washington. They may have enough to beat the Pens, too. I hope I'm wrong, but you never know.

I do not believe it.

That was in my opinion one of the craziest hockey games ever.

WOW!

How can you say that.1 big upset=absolutely no more upsets?

Crazy game so far Sharks to a 3-0 lead but Wings scored shortly after the 3rd goal.

I just read on Yahoo sports that the Red Wings got fined $2500 by an airport in California. I hope Ilitch can afford it. And, with the way that the Preds made the Blackhawks sweat a little bit, I'm not that worried about them. If the Wings can beat the Sharks, they may be heading to play for Lord Stanley's Cup again. Of course, that is a really big if. THe Sharks always play the Red Wings tough. It should be a good series.

Halak was ridiculous, man, the Capitals outshot the Canadiens by like 100 shots, and they still won the series. Penguins are good but Halak will keep the Habs in the game.

Sharks win game 1.
Sweet.

I predicted three big upsets in the first round: Philly over New Jersey, Colorado over San Jose, and Montreal over Washington.

I've been telling people Washington would be upset by the Canadiens for a while, people thought I was crazy. Halak was on fire, and no matter what offense you throw at a hot goalie, their team cannot lose. They had enough offensive weapons to score on Washington's lackluster defense (their best defenseman doesn't play defense...) while Ovechkin is a classic playoff choker. You'd need a hell of a supporting cast to win if Ovie's not playing well, and Washington does. Too bad the entire supporting cast, save Backstrom, also 'choked' in the sense they let a hot goalie steal the series. It's tough to say choke, because Halak absolutely dominated the net and stopped some goals that the Capitals usually score in a pretty fashion.

As for Pittsburgh, I really have no doubt they go to the Cup. Crosby's at the other side of the spectrum, he's an amazing playoff player. So is Malkin. The wingers are a poor suporting cast, but their elite centers get it done and will for a while. All they need to make it to the SC finals are three players: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Marc-Andre Fleury.

I'm not a Pittsburgh fan, and if anything I don't want them making it to the finals in case the Hawks are there, but I really see no way they don't. Boston, Philly, or Montreal don't match up against them.

But regardless, I say the West wins this year. Chicago, Detroit, Vancouver, or San Jose. Most likely Chicago or Detroit.

To benn1670, don't get cocky. You still need to beat San Jose to even face Chicago, if they get past Vancouver. To say you're not worried about them is mild [censored]ation. Nashville is a shut-down physical defensive team, and with guys like Shea Weber, Ryan Sutter, and Dan Hamhuis on the Toews/Kane line every time, it was no doubt it'd take a while for them to find rhythm. But when they did, it was obvious the Hawks were far superior and they started scoring the way they had all year. Going to 6 games against a worthy Nashville team is pretty much the same as going to 7 games against a worthy Phoenix team.

That was not an upset.The Flyers handled the Devils in the regular season winning it 5-2 games.Just because they were the higher seed does not make it an upset.

I was just glad the Sharks didn't blow their 3-goal lead. I am happy with that outcome, but I don't have much faith in the Sharks. They blew it last year. I know that was last year, but until they prove they can sustain it, I am going to be a cynic. I predict Detroit in 6, but I'm hoping the Sharks knock the Red Wings off.


The Penguins *should* make it to the Finals, but there are no sure things in the NHL this time of year. I remember the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1993. They had won two cups in a row (in '91 and '92), and the '93 team was better than the those two cup-winning teams. They should have been in the Finals that year, but they got beat by the Isles. It was quite disappointing.

I want to see how Pittsburgh's three-center model -- with arguably the BEST three centers in the league -- does against Montreal. The Canadiens shut the Capitals down in the last three games of that series. I have a bad feeling the Penguins are going to come out flat tonight after having had about a week off. This could be a game for Montreal to steal. I guess we'll see tonight.


I agree.

Halak is really all the Habs have going for them. If his hot streak ends, they're sunk. They also need to be better about getting the puck out of their own zone. They can't give Pittsburgh 15+ minutes per period in the offensive zone and expect things to go well for them. On the one hand, Pittsburgh is well-rested, on the other, Montreal is still riding the high of a major upset. Ordinarily I'd say Pittsburgh in four, maybe five, but with the way Halak has been playing it's really hard to say.

It's hard not to like Datsyuk, even if you are not a Red Wings fan. That guy can do some crazy things with the puck and make goalies look like fools. I hope Howard can get some consistency when they play San Jose, he is making me a bit nervous.