1st Round Impressions and 2nd Round Predictions

With the first round of the NHL playoffs in the books, it’s time to take a brief look back on who impressed, who disappointed, and what’s next.

Thoughts on Round 1

Boston certainly look like a deep, talented and disciplined team. Coach Julien took Coach/GM Gainey to school. Everything Julien did worked out beautifully. Nothing Gainey did worked at all. A long playoff run looks to figure in Boston’s future, while a long summer of upheaval on and off the ice beckons for Montreal.

Washington deserved to win at least the first 6 games of their series with the Rangers, thanks to the brilliance of Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist . In what can only be considered as a cruel twist of fate, the Rangers probably deserved to win game 7, but their anemic offense was not able to generate enough production. Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, and Markus Naslund – hang your heads in shame. Alexander Ovechkin wasn’t at his best, yet the Rangers still couldn’t muster enough to pull the upset.

Who would have guessed that the Devils and Hurricanes would have produced a 7 game series of must-see hockey. Martin Brodeur and Cam Ward were altogether brilliant in their matchup, with each pitching shutouts and posting 40+ save performances. It was nothing short of epic. Everything looked promising for the Devils until there was 2 minutes left in the 3rd. Tim Gleason made a season-saving play at the blue line to keep the puck in. Jussi Jokinen scored shortly after to tie the game, and Eric Staal won it less than a minute later. Needless to say, the Devils (and probably the Canes too) were stunned. The Devils have now been bounced in the first round in 4 of their last 5 playoff appearances. After looking like world beaters when Brodeur came back from his arm injury, this has to be devastating.

The battle of Pensylvannia was also a good series, highlighted by some good goaltending performances from M.A. Fleury. Once again, Philadelphia’s goaltending was not good enough to carry them to the promised land. When will their management learn that guys like Biron, Esche, Cechmanek, Antero Niittymaki and other underacheivers are not the type of goalie needed to win the cup? It’s been their achilles heel for ages, and looks like it will continue to be so.

In what has to be the biggest disappointment of the year, the San Jose Sharks rolled over – yet again when it mattered most. Joe Thornton did his level best, but again it was not nearly enough. He shares an enormous set of goat horns with Patrick Marleau for their tank job. There’s got to be some fallout in San Jose because of this? I wonder what Ron Wilson is thinking right about now? To me, this series was predictable. I didn’t even give the Sharks a chance to make it a 7 game series against the Ducks. Hall of famers Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer, not to mention the heroic Jonas Hiller knocked out the President Trophy winners. Again.

What can be said of the defending champs? The Red Wings total dismantling of the upstart Blue Jackets was nothing short of impressive. Were the Blue Jackets just excited to have been there, or are the Wings yet again that good? Can it be both? Chris Osgood, as he promised, was better than he had been in the regular season, while Blue Jackets super rookie Steve Mason fell back to earth after a stunning regular season perfomance. They’ll be back, but for now they’ve got to deal with this piece of humble pie.

Vancouver may have swept the Blues, but they were life & death in doing so. The Blues fought hard in each of their 4 games and probably deserved to win at least 1. That being said, Roberto Luongo looks like a man poised to good deep, and also has his gaze on the #1 role for team Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics. With or without Mats Sundin, beating Luongo 4 times out of 7 is going to be tough for any team.

Personally, the biggest surprise of the first round was the Chicago Blackhawks. I did not expect them to show so much spirit and poise in their first playoff appearance. Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Kris Versteeg, Martin Havlat, and the rest of the team showed unusual poise for such a young bunch. As for the Flames…you’ve got to feel sorry for them. They were banged up on the blue line like no other team West of Montreal, but so much more was expected, especially after they acquired Mike Cammalleri, Olli Jokinen and Jordan Leopold.

Quick Predictions for Round 2

Boston Bruins (1) vs Carolina Hurricanes (6)
The top seeded Bruins draw another low seed – but this Hurricane team is not your garden variety low seed. They’ve got chemistry and experience. Perhaps most importantly, they’ve got Cam Ward who continues to fly under the radar. The Bruins are healthy, and remain the deepest team in the East. I expect them to topple the Hurricanes, but it won’t be easy. Early rust will affect them in game 1, but they’ll sail from there. Zdeno Chara will get the assignment of shutting down Staal, and he’ll get that job done. The rest of the Bruins depth, starting with Phil Kessel and Patrice Bergeron will be too much for the Hurricanes to handle.

Boston in 6.

Washington Capitals (2) vs Pittsburgh Penguins (4)
In what can only be described as Gary Bettman’s fantasy, we get a playoff matchup between Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin. And the stars don’t stop there. The Penguins will be throwing MVP candidate and Art Ross winner Evgeni Malkin out there, Jordan Staal, Sergei Gonchar, and a plethora of competent supporting talent. Washington counters with Alexander Semin, Niklas Backstrom, Mike Green and their own cast of veteran talent. The wild card in this series is Simeon Varlamov. It’s one thing to beat the Rangers’ paltry offense. It’s another thing entirely to ask a 20 year old to stop 2 of the best hockey players in the world.

Pittsburgh in 7.

Detroit Red Wings (2) vs Anaheim Ducks (8)
How long can the Ducks ride this wave? Did they run in to a collection of playoff chokers, or are they a battle-hardened group of veterans who don’t need the red carpet rolled out for them? We will have our answer after this round. Can round 1 hero Jonas Hiller continue to baffle opposition shooters? Or will the Red Wings collection of championship stars find a way to deflate this guy’s balloon? Playoff goaltending heroics are not rare throughout history, and they can take teams from improbable 8th seeds to the finals (see Dwayne Roloson with the Oilers in 2005), but in this case, my money is going on the champs to continue their roll and send the Ducks packing for the summer. Too much top end skill to be contained.

Detroit in 6.

Vancouver Canucks (3) vs Chicago Blackhawks (4)
This ought to be a fun series to watch. These teams don’t like each other. Each team has what the other team doesn’t. The Canucks have top flight goaltending, while the Hawks have top notch talent. It will be a contest between the Hawks’ young guns vs the Canucks defense corps and Roberto Luongo. Can Ryan Kesler and Alex Burrows support the Sedins enough offensively to put them over the top? Can Mats Sundin be the X factor for the Canucks? This is why they acquired him, so it’s time for him to get back in the lineup and show why he should be considered as one of the all-time greats. He’ll never have a better chance at Lord Stanley’s mug than he will this year.

Vancouver in 7.

If I’m right, and I’m usually not, we’ll have conference finals that look like this:

East
Boston (1) vs Pittsburgh (4)

West
Detroit (2) vs Vancouver (3)

I’d love to hear your thoughts and your predictions!

Canes, Caps Advance In Spectacular Fashion

Fedorov Caps Game 7

Thanks to sage, old Sergei Fedorov and a monumental comeback, the Washington Capitals are headed to the second round of the NHL playoffs for the first time in more than a decade.

Fedorov beat Henrik Lundqvist with 4:59 left in the third period, rookie Simeon Varlamov was good in the net when he had to be, and the Capitals edged the New York Rangers 2-1 in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference quarter-final Tuesday night.

Of note for the Rangers, Sean Avery came to the rink and played a very good game – his purse must have matched his blouse last night! 

However, Avery hobbled off the ice in the dying seconds of the game with a “lower body injury” and following an emotional Game 7 loss there were several reports from fans that they could see Avery’s mascara running as he exited the ice. 

Post-game quotes from the Capitals locker room:

Let’s face it: Realistically, we should have won the first six games,” Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said.

“We have to try to keep our emotions,” Ovechkin said, “and get ready for the next round.”

Brodeur, Devils Collapse With Finish Line in Sight

The Carolina Hurricanes stole their thrilling first-round series from the New Jersey Devils in the final 80 seconds.

Jussi Jokinen and Eric Staal scored in a 48-second span late in the third period as the Hurricanes stunned the Devils 4-3 in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference series.

In a series that had been highlighted by great goaltending for both teams, neither Cam Ward or Martin Brodeur were spectacular.  Brodeur played well until the final 1:20 when the wheels fell off the bus!

The Hurricanes now move on to play the well rested Boston Bruins team that finished off the Montreal Canadiens in just 4 games.  The Hurricanes endured a physical series with teh Devils, but the Bruins led by Milan Lucic and Zdeno Chara could bring a whole new level of physicality to the series.

Donald Brashear Hits Blair Betts

In Game 6 of the Washington Capitals vs. New York Rangers series, Donald Brashear dressed and even had a small altercation with Colton Orr prior to the game. Brashear dressed for the Capitals, while Orr did not suit up for the game.

Blair Betts collected the puck at near the red line and dumped it in to the Washington zone. As Betts turned to go to the Ranger bench for  change, Brashear caught him with a late hit  (it may have also been an elbow -  you be the judge).

A scrum ensued where Paul Mara and Brashear tied up near the bench, both receiving two minute minor penalties for roughing.

The officials issued no penalty for the hit by Brashear on Betts.

Assuming that the league reviews the incident, and they should as Betts has not returned to the game, Brashear’s several previous suspensions should play a factor into any sanction the league may hand down.

Update April 27/09:

The National Hockey League assessed the situation and handed Brashear a totla of six games.  Brashear received a one game suspension for initiating contact with Colton Orr prior to the game and five additional games for the hit on Blair Betts.  The following is the rationale behind the decision:

“Brashear delivered a shoulder hit to an unsuspecting player,” said Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell in a release. ”It is also my opinion that the hit was delivered late and targeted the head of his opponent, causing significant injury.”

Glove tap to Kukla’s Korner for the video link.

Torts, Jumbo Joe and Comeback Kids

Torts Lands in Hot Water

The NHL has suspended New York Rangers head coach John Tortorella for one game after a dispute involving a fan Friday night in Washington. Tortorella responded to a fan who allegedly poured beer on him during the game.

Tortorella squirted a water bottle at a fan and also took a stick from the bench and shook it at the spectator, who was directly behind the Rangers’ bench in Game 5.

Maybe Sean Avery can recommend a good anger management therapist!

Ducks Wake Sleeping Giant!

Patrick Marleau scored his second game-winning goal of the playoffs 6:02 into overtime, and the top-seeded San Jose Sharks avoided first-round elimination with a 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks in Game 5 on Saturday night.

The Sharks needed a big victory and Nabakov stepped up to the plate with some huge saves.   Sharks superstar, Joe Thornton, has been almost as absent as the Sharks third jersey during the first round of the playoffs.  However, the Ducks may have awoken the sleeping giant as Jumbo Joe exploded for 3 points Saturday night.

Penguins Cap Comeback – Eliminate Flyers

After staring the game out with what seemed to be an insurmountable 3-0 lead at home, the Philadelphia Flyers squndered the lead and their season – losing 5-3 to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Penguins started the comeback after Max Talbot took on Flyers tough-guy Dan Carcillo in an attempt to turn the tide. While Carcillo easily got the best o f Talbot, it was the Penguins that grabbed the momentum, finishing off the Flyers with 5 unanswered goals!

Blackhawks Don’t Mind Physical Play

Adam Burish doesn’t agree with those who say the Chicago Blackhawks are intimidated or cowering from the Calgary Flames’ aggressive play.

Easy for Burish to say as he breaks his stick over Rene Bourque with a cross-check! It is ridiculous that the only player suspended in this rough and tumble series was Andre Roy for an incident that didn’t even happen during the game.

The Playoff Game That Never Ended!

My favorite Hockey Historian, Joe Pelletier, writes about the playoff game that never ended.

On March 31st, 1951 the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins battled in what was described as “one of the most gruelling NHL playoff games on record.” The game went into overtime, but was never completed.Why was it never finished? Because of Sunday.Back in those days the city of Toronto had a municipal bylaw that forbade events such as professional sports on a Sunday.

With two games on the schedule today, we can certainly see that times have indeed changed!

Simeon Varlamov Answers The Call

Varlamov Answers the Call

On Frozen Blog has the dish on Simeon Varlamov, the Capitals sensational young goalie who was a key factor in the 4-0 victory over the Rangers in Game #3 of the series. The article includes a very good Q&A with the young netminder.

Of course Sean Avery was up to his old tricks again. Avery was the pinnacle of undisciplined play – to the tune of 18 minutes in penalties.

Habs Looking Hopeless

Michael Ryder haunted his former club on Monday night, scoring the key goal to help put the Boston Bruins on the verge of a sweep of the Montreal Canadiens.

Even without Milan Lucic, the Bruins downed the struggling Canadiens in relatively easy fashion.  The Canadiens powerplay was, again, nowhere to be found and Alex Kovalev took another patented “night off” at the worst possible time.

Ducks Host Hockey Tailgating Party!

The Anaheim Ducks announced an outdoor hospitality venue for their fans called The Playoff Spot.   It will open three hours prior to faceoff and be available throughout the game, will offer large-screen plasma televisions for viewing NHL playoff action (including out-of-market games) and exclusive menu options and beverages.

Now, not only can Ducks fans enjoy their two wins over the San Jose Sharks…they can get bombed outside prior to the game! Who would have thought that California would be the home of the first official hockey tailgating party?

Twitter Goes Mainstream

Alanah, from Canucks and Beyond, has a list of some Mainstream Media hockey folks on Twitter. These folks include a few hockey personalities from CBC, print media reporters from around the league and my personal favorite – NHL’s Carrie Milbank!

NHL Digest has been using twitter for some time now and found it a terrific place to meet other awesome hockey fans!  If you’re not using Twitter, please sign up and follow NHL Digest Tweets here: www.twitter.com/nhldigest

Getting Behind NHL on VERSUS

The National Hockey League is a staple of Canadian Television both on CBC and on TSN.  However, in the United States VERSUS continues to build its presence as network to be reckoned with and currently enjoys a strong relationship with the NHL.

Within this interview, we have asked some tough questions of VERSUS Director of Marketing Meier Raivich.  Many of the questions were responded to by Katie Bradshaw who is the Senior Publicist at VERSUS.  You will notice that they were not able to comment on some parts of certain questions.

Enjoy!

There has been some concern as to the availability of VERSUS in certain markets and from certain providers. For example, with Dish Network a premium subscription is required to have access to Versus. Of course, options vary from provider to provider, but does Versus have any leverage over providers with regard to how the channel is offered?

Availability of VERSUS is continuing to grow. The network is now in more than 75 million U.S. homes and is available on every major cable and satellite provider in the U.S., making VERSUS accessible to anyone and everyone in the country.

With respect to High Definition hockey broadcasts, can fans expect to see more HD broadcasts from VERSUS next season? And, are their any plans to implement a nightly NHL highlights/recap show?

VERSUS launched its dedicated HD channel in December 2008 and each and every one of VERSUS’ NHL telecasts are produced and presented in HD. VERSUS’ HD channel is rapidly gaining distribution and is currently in more than 16 million U.S. homes.
While there aren’t currently any plans for the network to air a nightly NHL show, VERSUS airs its dedicated NHL studio show, Hockey Central, each night the network televises a game throughout the regular season and playoffs.

Is there a possibility that we might see some growth in the number of VERSUS broadcasts picked up by other networks (ie. TSN) during the 2009-2010 season?

We do not have any plans in place for Canadian networks to pick up VERSUS’ NHL telecasts in the 2009-10 season. However, throughout the 2009 postseason, as in past playoffs, VERSUS will simulcast several games from Canadian networks to give viewers bonus NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs action to ensure the hockey fans in this country get as much postseason coverage as possible.

Has VERSUS entertained any plans to incorporate flexibility into the coverage and television schedule for next year, especially late in the season with consideration for games with playoff implications etc.?

VERSUS has the option to take advantage of flexible scheduling following the All-Star break which allows the network to replace a select number of games from the ones originally scheduled. The network has exercised this option the last couple seasons and will continue to explore ways to present viewers with the best match-ups featuring the most nationally appealing games throughout the regular season.

What has been the reaction of Coaches to having VERSUS reporters visit the players bench during play?

VERSUS strives to give viewers the most in-depth live game coverage; whether it is putting microphones on players during key games or having reporters visit the bench during game action. VERSUS institutes these type of production features to bring viewers as close to the action as possible so that they feel like they’re part of the game and the reaction from coaches and players has been extremely positive and well-received by everyone involved with the NHL.

Could you provide comparative growth numbers from last year to this year with regard to average viewership of NHL games broadcast on VERSUS?

VERSUS is entering the 2009 postseason with double-digit viewership growth for the 2008/09 regular season as compared to last season. Total viewership showed an increase of 21 percent and household impressions were up 23 percent, while viewership for all key male demographics also showed substantial increases: Men 18-34 (up 51%), Men 18-49 (up 43%) and Men 25-54 (up 41%). The network’s coverage of the 2008/09 NHL regular season reached 32.9 million total viewers, the most ever for an NHL on VERSUS regular season (up 13% from last season).

When the re-branding/re-organization from OLN occurred, what were the major goals of the marketing team with regard to positioning Versus in the marketplace? And, how does that strategy relate to Versus’ partnership with the National hockey League?

Two and half years ago the network was OLN, a mid-sized network focusing on hunting/fishing and other outdoor related programming. Today, VERSUS is in more than 75 million homes and is the fastest growing cable sports network in the country. All of VERSUS’ marketing campaigns surrounding the re-brand were conceptualized and executed with the ultimate goal of establishing credibility and awareness for the VERSUS brand.
Employing this type of creative thought, the network created marketing and ad campaigns that sought to establish VERSUS as the home of hockey in the U.S. among both casual and hardcore fans and did this by giving a voice to the athlete and making them the central piece of each and every campaign.

We’d like to thank VERSUS for the opportunity to learn more about the VERSUS channel and the relationship with the National Hockey League.

Also, thank you to the NHL Digest Twitter followers for sumitting some great questions!

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