Caps, Hawks, Canes and Ducks Win

I'm kind of glad the Sharks are out so I never have to see this guy again (other than in my nightmares)

The Anaheim Ducks finished their unlikely series victory over the Sharks last night. The Sharks simply could not get anything going and any time they did Jonas Hiller was there with an answer. Joe Thornton (I refuse to call him Big Joe, you dont call Martin St. Louis Small Marty, do you?No) attempted to inspire his team by dropping the gloves 1 second into the game and fighting Ryan Getzlaf. It did not work unless he was trying to ensure that Getzlaf got a playoff Gordie Howe Hat trick. This leaves some big questions for the Sharks. Do they try again as is? Do they ditch the GM or coach? Do they dismantle their veterans like Marelau, Cheechoo and Thornton and start fresh? Its hard to say they should do any of those things especially considering they were the leagues best team and just failed to put it together in the second season. It certainly is not Nabokov's fault, though he did let in a few softies. The scoring just was not there. Should they have been more active at the deadline? Probably not, that room has enough leaders and guys that have playoff experience and were cruising along at that point. So where should the team go from here? Its not a question I have the answer to and I certainly do not envy the decisions Sharks president Greg Jamison has to make in the coming months (as great as Marleau would look in a Sabres sweater). The Shark's defeat leaves the Bruins with home-ice advantage for the rest of the playoffs.

Seeing the Saddledome entirely in red sweaters is one of the coolest things in the game

Another team searching for answers is the Calgary Flames. They were handily beaten by the Blackhawks in game 6 and earned a first-round postseason exit for the fourth time in a row. Head coach Mike Keenan should probably be packing his bags at this very moment. The Flames retooled well at the deadline picking up Olli Jokinen and looked to be a force in the West but Jokinen fell flat after a hot few games and the team looked uninterested after taking two games at home to tie the series. With Dion Phaneuf out with an undisclosed injury and Miikka Kiprusoff not looking his best, the Hawks easily took control of the game and took the series 4-2. They now face a formidable opponent in the form of the Vancouver Canucks. Look for another physical series here.

Ouch

I'm beginning to feel bad for the Devils/Hurricanes series. Tonight was an easy choice in terms of games to watch between the best player in the world and a tight but relatively uninteresting matchup. Both games turned out to be interesting but I'm glad I watched the Caps game. The Hurricanes scored twice in the last 2:00 minutes of regulation to tie and eventually beat the Devils. Thank whatever god you pray to that we wont have to hear "Doc" Emrick and Pierre "Cue Ball" McGuire chatter nonstop about a Staal vs Staal battle that could have happened if the Canes faced the Rangers. That would have been awful. Now we have to leave them to their favorite talking point of who is the better player, Donald Brashear or Hal Gill... kidding.

I imagine this is how Lundqvist feels right about now

I got my wish in the East, the Capitals beat the Rangers despite managing only 3 shots in the first period, their worst showing in a single period all season. They got a lucky bounce and veteran Sergei Federov scored on a rocket of a wrister with 5 minutes left in regulation to give the Caps the win. They advance to the second round for the first time in over 10 years. Its unfortunate that the whole John Tortorella being a 12-year old thing had to be the major talking point of the series and not the stellar play of Simeon Varlamov. Perhaps that is a good thing now that I really consider it. As Don Cherry always says, all the pressure is on the goalies in the playoffs. Tortorella's inability to control himself in a hostile environment along with the whining of Glen Sather kept much of the attention off the 20-year old goaltender. If we handed out the Conn Smythe award today, I would give it to him. Lets see how he handles the challenge of facing Bing Crosby and Malkin as well as probably more media attention. The league is likely to promote this matchup at off-the-charts levels so it will be interesting to watch the young tender deal with the added pressure.

*Note* The last image is from the Nashunal Hocky League O' Laffs. A very funny site, check it out of you have not yet done so.