The Boyle Incident

Ok, after having a couple of days to think about the Sharks 1-0 overtime loss in Colorado Sunday night, I feel like I need to comment on Dan Boyle’s errant play on the puck that ended up in the back of his own net. I’ve watched the replay several times and after listening to Brian Engblom’s take on the situation, I’d have to agree with him that this wasn’t Dan Boyle’s fault.
 
Now, the fact of the matter is that hockey is a team sport. You live as a team, you die as a team. The objective is not to point fingers at players on your team and say that the outcome of the game was one person’s individual fault because, let’s face it, the Sharks had plenty of opportunities to win that hockey game but they failed to convert on them. I don’t think that any of the players in the Sharks’ locker room are blaming Boyle for being down 2-1 in the series, but I know that fans are. I was one of them when I initially saw the play.  The responsibility of that puck staying out of the net is on the goaltender, Evgeni Nabokov. Nabby was caught sleeping on the play as Avalanche forward Ryan O’Reily did indeed get a stick on the puck when Boyle tried playing it behind the net. The angle at which the puck was played was so sharp that there was only a small amount of net that Nabokov had to cover in order to prevent the goal, but he was off the post and not even square to the puck allowing it to squeeze through his pads.
 
It has been the mental errors of this team that are causing them to lose hockey games. We will see how they respond in the all important Game 4 to tonight at the Pepsi Center. It has been confirmed that Dany Heatley will be back in the lineup tonight.

Mon-day Blues

A second period blowup resulted in the Montreal Canadiens finding themselves in a 4-0 hole at the end of 40 minutes and began the 3rd period short handed due to an implosion from the Montreal players. After a strong start to the game, the Canadiens surrendered four goals in the 2nd period, the first coming off a shorthanded rush by Boyd Gordan and Mike Knuble. From there the Caps received goals from Brooks Laich, Eric Fehr, and Alexander Ovechkin. Canadiens goaltender Jaroslav Halak was replaced by Carey Price after the 3rd goal from Fehr.

It's amazing how the Canadiens started to self-destruct right after the Boyd Gordan goal, their defensemen started running around in their own zone and giving the Capitals forwards time and space with and without the puck. Teams will not succeed against the Caps by standing still while watching them move the puck - they're too talented. Laich and Ovechkin's goals were virtually identical in the fact that both players made subtle plays to move into the soft areas of the offensive zone giving themselves separation from the defense and just enough time to get off quick shots that ended up in the back of the Montreal net. The Canadiens efforts to entice the Capitals player into taking penalties failed miserably as Washington did an amazing job of keeping their composure, resulting in stupid penalties including a 10 minute misconduct by Scott Gomez and an extra minor penalty for Tomas Plakanec.

A goal by Plakanec on a Montreal powerplay early in the 3rd gave the Canadiens and their fans a shot of life as they cut the deficit to 4-1. However, the Caps thrive on playing games with large leads, and a 3 goal lead is plenty enough to allow them roll their lines and stretch the ice. This resulted in Washington being able to capitalize (no pun intended) on chances taken by the Canadiens and their ability to pull away from the defensive matchups the Canadiens' coaching staff wanted in this game. A goal in the final minute of regulation ended the game with Capitals handily downing the Canadiens 5-1.

One thing the Capitals will look to improve on is their powerplay going 0 for 7 Monday night and are now 0 for 14 on the series. Also, Semyon Varlamov saw his first postseason action stopping 26 of 27 shots. Game 4 will be on Wednesday night at 7pm et on TSN.

Capital Comeback!

Well the Washington Capitals certainly didn't make it easy on themselves or their fans but were able to come from behind to beat the Montreal Canadiens 6-5 in overtime Saturday to even the series at 1-1. Nicklas Backstrom got the game-winning goal just 31 seconds into overtime where he beat Jaroslav Halak high on the glove side for his 3rd goal of the game.

Questions concerning Alex Ovechkin and his lack of presence in Game 1 were answered when Ovie had a goal and added 3 assists helping his team to vicotry. Though he impacted the scoresheet, Ovechkin struggled to get open and place shots on net at first but stepped up his physical presence, immediately contributing to his team's success when coming back from a 4-1 deficit late in the 2nd period. When asked about the adjustments made to his game, Ovechkin stated that he felt more comfortable in this game and stressed the mental importance of the win for his team heading into Game 3.

The Caps outshot the Habs for the second consecutive game, 37 to 24, seemingly solving Montreal's net-minder by beating him high. Caps' starting goaltender Jose Theordore was chased early in the 1st period, surrending goals on the game's first two shots. Semyon Varlamov relieved Theodore and stopped 19 of the 22 shots he faced.

By going up 2-0 early, the Canadiens were able to set the tone and play their game aimed at frustrating the Captial forwards by getting their sticks in shooting lanes and clogging up the center of the ice in their own zone making it difficult for shots to get through. In the offensive zone, the Canadiens focussed on keeping pucks deep and in the Washington corners, much like we saw in Game 1.

Defensive play by the Captials continues to be an area of concern, particularly for Mike Green, where several goals were scored because of his soft plays on the puck. On Canadian forward Andrei Kostitsyn's second goal, Green did not do a good enough job getting back to the net after he was caught out of position on a failed attempt to clear the zone, then did not engage Kostitsyn who was planted in front of the net and scored off of a feed from Mike Cammelleri. When Montreal took the lead late in the 3rd period, Green had a chance to clear the puck to the boards as Cammerlleri and Plekanec we're pressuring, but made a soft play on the puck which allowed Plekanec to move the puck over to Cammelleri then failed to tie up the stick of Plekanac who had an easy tap-in when he got the return feed from Cammelleri. I would hate to be Green during his video meeting.

Washington Head Coach Bruce Boudreau has a tough decision to make when considering who will start in Game 3 on the road in Montreal Monday night. Theodore was drafted by the Canadiens in 1994 and was with the team until the 2005-2006 season so with the hostility he's likely to face by the Montreal crowd and with the mental impact of Saturday night's performance, starting Varlamov doesn't sound like a bad idea.

Despite the worries on the defensive side of play, the Captials' offense seems to have ignited which was the main reason for their success in the regular season. The mental impact this game had on the Canadiens after leading for much of the hockey game remains to be seen but expect even more physicality and grit in Game 3 especially if Glen Metrpolit is back in the lineup for Montreal.

The game can be seen on Versus Tuesday night at 7pm et.

A Capital Upset

The Washington Capitals and the hockey world were stunned by the 3-2 overtime loss suffered at Verizon Center Thursday Night. Tomas Plekanac scored in overtime by gaining entry into the Caps' zone, cutting to the middle, and letting a shot go from the high-slot area to beat Jose Theodore. Washington defenseman Joe Corvo was giving Plekanac way too much room to operate once he gained the zone, and seemed to be partially screening Theodore on the play.
 
The Caps dominated much of the first period outshooting the Habs 19-7 and winning almost every physical battle in all three zones. However, once the second period set in, the Capitals' bad habits came out that had been of concern all season. Montreal seemed to step up the tempo and their forecheck resulting in Capital turnovers and scoring opportunities for the Canadians. One thing (among the many) that the Caps need to do better are line changes in the second period - the long change from the bench to the defensive zone had their defense caught for extended shifts several times. The Capitals are not a good enough team in their own zone for their defense to get stuck on the ice only to turn the puck over and make poor decisions. This problem can also be helped by the wingers giving more support to the defense, giving them an outlet for breakout passes.
 
The goal scored by Nicklas Backstrom that broke the 1-1 tie very early in the 3rd period brought the fans back into the game and brought out shades of the regular season Capitals. But Canadians goaltender Jaroslav Halak had other ideas and put on a show in net. Halak ended the night with 45 saves on 47 shots. While the shooting continued throughout the rest of the game by the Capitals, the Canadians were winning more and more physical battles, especially in their own zone. The absence of a forecheck directly led to the game-tying goal by Scott Gomez. Gomez was able to carry the puck out of the Habs’ zone unmolested, picking up speed through the neutral zone, dodged a check by both Backstrom and Ovechkin, and then dished the puck to Brian Gionta, before heading to the net for the return feed that made it a 2-2 game.
 
Wait…Ovechkin?  Alexander Ovechkin? Was that the first time I mentioned his name in this post? Probably because he registered zero shots on goal in his 26-plus minutes of ice time. Hard to believe for the reigning MVP who finished 1st in the regular season with 368 shots on goal, and he also did not factor into the Capitals scoring. So, what do we usually see when Ovechkin is held scoreless? A one-man wrecking machine that punishes every player who touches the puck. That did not happen as well. Double-teamed all game, the Montreal Canadians did a great job with their gap control and placing their sticks in his shooting lanes. Caps head coach Bruce Boudreau called out Ovechkin directly in a post game interview.
 
“When you get almost 50 shots on goal and Ovechkin doesn’t get any and you have four power plays, there’s something (wrong),” Boudreau said. “They took him away pretty good, but I just didn’t think he was very good tonight.”
 
I suspect we’ll see a strong response to these comments at Ovechkin when the Caps are back in action Saturday night at Verizon Center.
 
Now, I have to give credit where credit is due, and the Montreal Canadians played as well as they could have played. I already mentioned the performance of Jaroslav Halak but the Habs’ big named players came through in a very big way. Mike Cammalleri, Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez, and Tomas Plekanec all registered points for Montreal and these players knew they would need to play well in this series if they were to make a stand against the heavily favored Capitals. The challenge for Montreal will be if they can sustain this level of play as the series continues.
 
Expect Scott Walker for Washington to be in the lineup Saturday night to agitate the Montreal defense as I’m sure it was difficult to watch his team from the press-box. The game can be seen on Versus at 7pm et.

Game Notes

Some observations from the games or parts of games, which I watched last night:
 
Shane Doan was amazing for the Phoenix Coyotes last night – he really sent a message to his teammates that he’s there to compete. Who cares if he’s not scoring goals? Doan was hitting everything and anything that moved. The Coyotes went 3 for 4 on the PP, an area I said they needed to improve on here, and they converted on their chances by keeping their powerplay simple. They got bodies in front and shots from the point on 2 of the PPGs. Ilya Bryzgalov was amazing, as usual, stopping 38 of 40 shots faced. Great start for the Coyotes.
 
The Pittsburgh Penguins looked like they were going to run away with their first game of the post season, converting on their first powerplay opportunity early in the 1st period on a one-timer form Evgeni Malkin. However, the Ottawa Senators responded with the next 3 goals and really did a good job of setting the tone on the road. A lot of whistles and stoppages took the sold-out Mellon Arena crowd right out of the game which is very frustrating for a home team. The Senators also took advantage of Marc Andre Fluery’s struggle to control rebounds and track the puck. I don’t particularly feel Sens’ goaltender, Brian Elliot, played great – he was just untested. With the offensive power that the Penguins have in their lineup, they need to produce more than 25 shots on goal. Sidney Crosby only had 2 shots on net and Bill Guerin looked awful. I don’t know what reasoning Coach Dan Bylsma had for scratching Mike Rupp, but the Pens needed his energy and physicality in the lineup.
 
With all the pressure of success in the post-season surrounding the Sharks, an unlucky bounce of the skate of defenseman Rob Blake handed San Jose a loss on home ice against Colorado. I only watched about a period and a half of the game before having to catch the highlights late last night, but I was really impressed at how the Sharks started the game immediately firing every puck on net. Avalanche goalie Craig Anderson, looked very sharp from what I saw but who knows if he can sustain that type of play when fatigue sets in. From the highlights I watched, Devin Setoguchi looked to be the best player on the ice for San Jose, producing an assist and registering 6 shots on goal. The sentiment here in the Bay Area regarding the Sharks is….well, not good.
 
I only caught about the final 3 minutes of the New Jersey/Philadelphia game, but from the highlights it looked like Brian Boucher was outstanding for Philly. Boucher stopped 23 of 24 shots and despite the Flyers only putting 14 shots on net, they were able to slip 2 passed Martin Brodeur. Ilya Kovalchuk looked a little snake-bitten having trouble putting the puck in the net – if he gets going, the Flyers could be in trouble.

Get ready for some great action tonight with Washington/Montreal and Vancouver/LA.

And so it begins...

As the second season gets underway tonight, let’s take a quick look at the Eastern Conference matchups:
 
Washington vs Montreal
 
We can beat the drum all day about the skilled forwards in the Caps’ arsenal with Ovechkin, Semin, Backstrom, and we’ll even throw Knuble in there but what GM George Mcphee has really focused on was filling in the depths of their 3rd and 4th lines with big-bodied players that bang. Jason Chimera, Matt Bradley, David Steckel, and Scott Walker (not very big but known as an agitator) have all been either acquired or developed into forechecking machines that are crucial during playoff runs and will be relied on heavily if the Caps are expected to go deep. Jose Theodore has certainly done a good job down the stretch to eliminate any potential question marks for the Caps in goal. In my opinion, and for many others, the Caps’ Achilles heel lays in their defensive zone play. Mistakes are made often by the Washington defense when they are pressured, checked, and forced into making a sub-optimal decision with the puck. This can be attributed to the aggressive breakout Washington adopts in order to utilize the stretch pass. I suspect Washington will try to limit their aggressive style of play much like we saw in their final regular season meeting against Pittsburgh. Now, how does this affect Montreal? They will not be able to handle the play of Washington in. this matchup The Canadian forwards are not big enough to establish an aggressive enough forecheck to cause the Washington defense to turn the puck over. Halak will have to be stellar to give Montreal a chance.
 
My prediction: The Capitals sweep the Habs in 4 games.
 
New Jersey vs Philadelphia
 
What do you get when you have two of the NHL’s high-premier offensive weapons and a future Hall of Fame goalie? A big problem for the Philadelphia Flyers who, more or less, backed into the playoffs. Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk will be depended on for producing the Devils’ offense, especially on the power-play. New Jersey will have to capitalize on the Flyer’s goaltending, or lack thereof, to overcome the physical game the Flyers bring to the table. Philly will rely on their role players like Dan Carcillo to get under the skin of the Devils’ skill players and force them to take penalties. Expect this matchup to have the nastiness of the old Broadstreet Bullies.
 
My prediction: New Jersey in 6 games.
 
Buffalo vs Boston
 
It’s hard to say which team will emerge victorious in this matchup because of the hot and cold streaks and also injuries these two teams have dealt with all season. Boston could really use Marc Savard and Buffalo could use Tim Connelly in their respective line-ups. This series will come down to goaltending. Tuukka Rask for Boston has had a stellar season after taking over the full-time position from Tim Thomas and Ryan Miller has had a Vezina-caliber season and is the reason the Sabres won the division. Thomas Vanek can be a huge impact for Buffalo’s offensive if what we saw at the end of the season is the Austrian-born winger heating up – Vanek score 5 goals in his final two regular season games.
 
My prediction: Tough to call but I’m going to say Buffalo in 7.
 
Pittsburgh vs Ottawa
 
The Penguins will kickoff their defending Stanley Cup bid against the Ottawa Senators who I think will only be as good as how Spezza and Alfredsson perform. The Sens do not have the depth to allow these two top forwards go cold at the wrong time. The Penguins are stronger than some of the inconsistencies we saw this season. The return of Gino Malkin to the lineup adds a more offensive dynamic to the Penguins’ top six forwards. Also, with a healthy Sergei Gonchar on the blueline, the Pens have the potential to have the most potent power play of any team. There’s no reason to believe Sidney Crosby’s Art Ross caliber performance during the regular season will not continue, we know he can perform and excel when the pressure is on and expect Sid to take his game to another level (scary to think!) if the Pens heat up.
 
My prediction: Penguins in 5.

Western Matchups

I think we are more likely to see more upsets in the Western Conference playoff matchups because of the strength of each team. The seeding does not necessarily indicate the strength or ability for a team to succeed in the playoffs. We all saw an example of this when the 8th seeded Anaheim Ducks uprooted the top seeded and President Trophy winning San Jose Sharks in the 2009 playoffs. The Ducks, just one season removed from winning the Stanley Cup, had much of the same roster and played with desperation right from the start which caught the Sharks off guard. The Sharks find themselves a #1 seed again this season so let’s start off with their matchup in my Western Conference outlook:

Sharks vs Avalanche

Although no one in San Jose will admit it, they were hoping to face the Avalanche in the first round. Colorado started to fizzle towards the end of the regular season, didn’t quite back-in to a playoff position, but their inexperience and possibly worn-down team is an indicator that they are arguably the weakest team in the playoffs. The Sharks have the ability to overcome last season’s disappointing first-round exit and build momentum against a team like the Avs. I think we’ll see a mentally prepared Sharks team that will come out firing against this young Avalanche squad. A perhaps rested Craig Anderson could start this series really hot but if the Sharks can pepper the goaltender with shots, especially from the blue-line, Anderson could tire. This series doesn’t go without the possibility of this Avalanche team surprising everyone like they did in the regular season. This team is as talented as they come, and when it came time for them to win (on the road against Vancouver to clinch), they came through.

My prediction: The Sharks take the series in 5 games.

Chicago vs Nashville

Question marks in goal for the Blackhawks will prove to be their major obstacle in this first-round matchup against the Predators. You have to think, Head Coach, Joel Quennville will go with Antii Niemi to start the series with the way he finished the regular season for the ‘Hawks, but still, an unproven goaltender is always worrisome for a team with high expectations. I think Chicago lucked out that they did not end up playing a team with more offensive weapons such as the LA Kings or Colorado Avalanche, where if their goaltending woes continue, they could have a major problem. Chicago has a talented group of goal scorers in Kane, Hossa, Toews, Sharp, etc., and these forwards will be relied on to break through the strong defensive system of the Nashville Predators. If they go cold, we could see an early exit for the Blackhawks. The Nashville Predators will rely heavily on their goaltender, Pekka Rinne, who boasts a 2.53 GAA and a .911 save percentage, and their defensive core anchored by Olympic gold medal winner, Shea Weber.

My prediction: If the ‘Hawks forwards go cold and their goaltending gets spotty, we could see an upset here. However, I see the Blackhawks winning this one in 6 games.

Vancouver vs Los Angeles

In what will possibly pan-out to be the most entertaining series offensively, this matchup features a healthy mix of young talent and veteran presence for both teams. The Kings have the potential to make some Canucks fans very angry with an early exit with the veterans up front and their young dynamic players. Ryan Smyth, Michal Handzus, and Justin Williams all have playoff experience to bring to the table for the Kings young forwards – and let’s not forget the playoff experience that shutdown defenseman Rob Scuderi will provide as he has made a trip to the finals each of the past two seasons including one Stanley Cup ring. Then you have to look at the young talent on this team. Captain Dustin Brown is one of the most ferocious forecheckers in the league, Anze Kopitar has been tremendous this season setting career-highs in goals, assists, and points, and how can we forget Drew Doughty and his amazing success as a second-year player finishing the regular season 2nd on the team in scoring and winning a gold medal with team Canada earlier this year. The Canucks will have their work cut out for them.

Vancouver has a cup-caliber team in my opinion. Roberto Luongo proved to the world that he can win against the best players in hockey with his gold medal performance earlier this year. The Canucks have grit in forwards such as Mason Raymond, Alex Burrows, and Ryan Kessler. All three players are seemingly getting better every season under coach Alain Vigneault and can put the puck in the net. The name “Sedin” is not going to sneak up on any team in the post season but it sure makes it difficult when you have to defend against two of them. Had it not been for Daniel’s injury that caused him to miss 19 games, we probably would have seen him with just as many points as brother Henrik at the end of the season. One area for concern for the Canucks is their record on the road, going 19-20-2 on the year.

My prediction: Canucks win in 7 games.

Phoenix vs Detroit

An unfortunate draw for the Phoenix Coyotes has them up against the Detroit Red Wings. I touched on the difficulties of playing Detroit in an earlier post but with the goaltending we've seen from Ilya Brizgolov, you can bet that Mike Babcock and the Wings are not looking past this year's surprise team. Detroit is rich with playoff veterans and know exactly what it takes for a championship run reaching the finals the previous two seasons and winning 16 of their last 21 games to finished the season in a surprising 5th seed. The big question mark for Detroit is, like other teams, their goaltending. Rookie Jimmy Howard will most likely get the nod by Babcock but if he falters, will Chris Osgood have what it takes to bail him out?

My prediction: Detroit wins in 6 games.


Photo from NHL.com