Pittsburgh 5 - New York Rangers 3 (series 3-0 NYR)
The Penguins are beating the hell out of a very good Rangers team. MVP Runner-Up Evgeni Malkin killed a second period New York rally, and the Rangers lost despite out-shooting their opponents 39 to 17. The Rangers aren’t even playing badly, they are an excellent hockey team getting played out of the rink by a Pittsburgh squad that has to be the Cup front runner at this point. Sidney Crosby has been, so far, the second best player on his team most nights, the defense is holding up, Marian Hossa has apparently paid off. Hell, even Georges Laraque found his way onto the scoresheet. It’s pride time for New York. There’s no way this Penguins squad drops 4 straight, especially when they might not lose 4 the rest of the way.
San Jose 1 - Dallas 2 OT (series 3-0 DAL)
Also done for the post season are the San Jose Sharks. It was a better effort, but Dallas has consistently found the goal they needed, the big hit or turnover to change the game. Reworking things to include Sergei Zubov has led to a couple of Shark goals, but the defender has made up for it in spades on the other end of the ice. Joe Thornton hasn’t done anything to improve his post-season reputation, but Patrick Marleau has been solid thus far. This was the game for Nabokov to steal, but the Sharks couldn’t sneak two past Turco. They’ll be on the ice again in a shade under 24 hours, and while I can’t imagine either of these teams taking both sides of the double header, I also somehow don’t see San Jose sticking around. Dallas could go a long way to legitimize their own Cup aspirations by ending things. You have to think the Sharks blow it up in the off season.
Detroit 4 - Colorado 4 (series 3-0 DET)
How about that anticlimatic second round, eh? I don’t think the Avs have played a game in this series without having a significant injury, and Jose Theodore’s illness pretty much killed thier chances to get out of the gate quickly. Detroit, meanwhile, doesn’t let up. Consistent ay at even strength, on special teams and the occassional tough save from Chris Osgood leave the Wings one win away from advancing to the Conference Finals. Rolling the dice with old hands got the Avs one round into the playoffs, which should be a positive for this group, but they lack the pieces to get much further. A big game from Paul Stasny - who is also now hurt - would go a long way to extending this series.And a final note to the NHL. I’m sure there are many complex issues behind scheduling games during the post season, but do you think it’s maybe a bad idea to have 6 of the 8 teams play on the same night?