Tampa Bay @ Boston: Game Seven Preview

All the questions surrounding this series will be answered in tonight's Game 7 match-up between the Boston Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning.  Will the Bruins figure out how to score on a powerplay?  Can they continue to have postseason success if they don't?  Will they learn how to kill penalties against Stamkos, Lecavalier and St. Louis?  Which goaltender will emerge dominant in this best-of-1 series?  Will Tim Thomas continue to put his team on his back and make heroic saves?  Will Dwayne Roloson play the way we all know he is capable of playing?  If he doesn't, will Tamapa Bay manage to score enough goals to get the win like they did in Game 6?  Can Roloson continue his undefeated posteason record in elimination games?  Will this be another high scoring game?  Low scoring?

Here's what I think.  The Bruins will continue to struggle tonight with respect to their special teams.  I didn't see any indication in Game 6 to suggest otherwise.  They might be able to slide by the Lightning with their horrendous powerplay and penalty kill, but they won't be able to pull it off against Vancouver if they're lucky enough to get the chance.  I think both Thomas and Roloson understand the importance of tonight's game, and I expect both of them to play accordingly.  With that said, I'm sticking with the prediction I made before Game 6 that the Bruins will win the series.  That would mean Roloson will no longer be undefeated in postseason elimination game.  Expect to see a low scoring game for a change.  

Game 7's are as exciting as the sport gets, and hockey fans are guaranteed a great game tonight.  Only one team will have the opportunity to play in the Stanley Cup finals.  History will be made.

Tampa Evens Series

Right about now the Bruins are kicking themselves for blowing a first period 3 goal lead in Game 4. The loss of the 3 goal lead was crucial for Tampa's comeback to force Game 7. The Bruins, however, are staying calm because of their home ice advantage. Coach Claude Julien said, "That's one of the key things that if you can get home-ice advantage this time of year, you need to take advantage of it. We did against Montreal, and now we need to do the same thing against Tampa."(ESPN) Game 6 was filled with offensive fire power with both top lines contributing in big ways. The first line point tally went as follows:

Boston
1. David Krejci- 3 goals
2. Milan Lucic- 1 goal, 1 assist
3. Nathan Horton: 2 assists

Tampa Bay
1. Martin St. Louis- 2 goals, 1 assist
2. Vincent Lecavalier- 2 assists
3. Steve Stamkos- 1 goal, 2 assists

The game was opened up by the Lightning once again in the first minute. After David Krejci was kicked out of the face off, Purcell shifted from the right wing to directly behind Lecavalier after he recognized Chris Kelly's weakness. Lecavalier won the draw back and Purcell beat Thomas through a screen to make it 1-0. The Bruins headed into the locker room after goals by Lucic and Krejci. It took 13 minutes for the Lighting to even things up when St. Louis converted on a powerplay opportunity. After a slew of goals in the second and third, Martin St. Louis put the Lightning up 5-3 with just9:45 remaining. Krejci evened things up a few minutes later on a flukey goal that found its way passed the sprawled Roloson after redirecting off of a Tampa defenseman. The Bruins poured it on towards the end of the third but could not solve Roloson. One game will decide who advances to the Stanley Cup and who heads to the beach. Lucic put it perfectly when he said, "For all of us, it's the biggest game of our careers. We've got to go out there and have no regrets. You've got to be confident. You've got to believe. Everything is on the line here. It's a chance to move on and play for something that you've been dreaming about your whole life."(ESPN)

For a video recap click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IZaM1QU-uQ

The Bruins Look to Eliminate the Lightning in Tonight's Game 6 Match-Up

Tim Thomas' save on Steve Downie is the kind of save the can define an entire series.  Absolutely incredible.  The Bruins have no choice but to raise their standard of play after watching their goaltender make a save like that.  In Brad Marchand's post-game press conference, he commented on the fact that in the final ten minutes of the third period when things were starting to get hectic, Thomas appeared to be poised and calm.  This has a contagious effect on the entire hockey team, and it's obvious that the Bruins have the utmost confidence in their goaltender.  This confidence allows the five other skaters on the ice to take risks and chances knowing that Thomas has their back.  "With their goaltender, we're not nervous, we're expecting that," said Tampa Bay coach Guy Boucher after Game Five.  Not only does Tim Thomas' performance earn the confidence of his own team, it drains the life out of the opposition.  Steve Downie remained on the bench reflecting on what could have been long after the game was finished:

The goaltending situation for the Lightning has not been as straightforward as it has been for the Bruins.  I believed that, despite being pulled in Game 4, Dwayne Roloson would still start Game 5.  Clearly, I was wrong.  Roloson watched the game from the bench in favor of Mike Smith who made 17 saves on 19 shots.

It has been confirmed, however, that Roloson will get the Game 6 start tonight.

The good news for Tampa Bay is that Roloson is 6-0 in postseason elimination games.  We'll find out at 8:00 PM EST tonight if he can keep that streak alive.  I believe that this series will take seven games to decide, and that the Bruins will eventually emerge victorious to play the Vancouver Canucks in the Stanley Cup finals.

Vancouver Moves On

The Vancouver Canucks went in to Rogers Arena last night knowing if they won, they would move on to their first Stanley Cup since 1994. They did just that. The Vancouver Canucks defeated the San Jose Sharks by a score of 3-2 in a double over time thriller. The last time the Canucks made the Stanley Cup Finals they were sent on a double over time victory by the hands of Greg Adams. Ironically, it had been 17 years last night since Adams sent the Canucks to the Finals. This time it would be Kevin Bieksa who would propel the Canucks to another Stanley Cup Finals. Despite Bieksa's overtime conversion, it was Luongo who carried the team to the Finals. Last night Luongo made a stunning 54 saves, which includes 16 in the first over time period. "He was great. He turned away everything," Ryan Kesler said. "After he let that one in in the third, he shut the door after that. He really battled hard and gave us a chance to win."(Fox News) Luongo was sharp from the start making one of the best saves of the night just 1:40 into the game. The scoring was opened up by Alexandre Burrows 8:02 into the first on a tic-tac-toe passing play that featured who else, but the Sedin twins. Dan Boyle evened things up on a shot from the point through a screen mid way through the second that found its way through Luongo. It was only fitting that the game was tied heading into the third period. The Vancouver faithful were not pleased just 00:24 into the third when Devin Setoguchi converted on a flukey 2 on 0 goal. In an attempt to prevent the odd man rush, Luongo aggressively skated out of the net, but to no avail. Pavelski slid the puck over to Setoguchi with ease who slid the puck into an open net. Down by one in the third, the Canucks were relentless on offense, but they could not solve Niemi. With just under a minute to play the Sharks seemingly iced the puck, which brought an offensive face off for the Canucks. The icing, however, was heavily contested by the Sharks who explained it had hit a Canucks forward prior to leaving the zone. Upon further review, the Sharks were proven correct, but the call had been made. The Canucks managed to generate a shot from the half wall that managed to squeak through Niemi setting off a huge celebration. The next Vancouver goal would come in double over time after an awkward bounce off the glass. The puck was dumped in off the glass, but hit a seam and bounced to the open Kevin Bieksa. Bieksa fired the puck from the point past the unsuspecting Niemi. Although the Canucks found themselves in that position due to a missed call and a lucky bounce, they found a way to get the job done. Patrick Marleau couldn't have been more right when he said, " An inch here or there and we get a break, but it went the other way tonight." Hockey is a game of inches and the inches happened to fall the Canucks way last night. The Canucks will face either the Boston Bruins or the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Finals.

Tampa Bay @ Boston: Game Five Preview

Tampa Bay Lightning fans formed a human lightning bolt at the airport to show support for their team as they begun their flight to Boston for game five:

The Bruins vs. Lightning match-up has evolved into a promising series as we head into game five tonight in Boston.  One of the big questions heading into tonight's game is whether or not Dwayne Roloson will be getting the start, despite giving up three goals on nine shots in the first period of game four.  He was replaced by back-up Mike Smith who stood perfect for the remainder of the game and allowed Tampa Bay to score five unanswered goals to even up the series. According to an NHL.com article, all indications suggest that Roloson will be starting.  According to Lightning coach Guy Boucher:

I don't think we have a situation.  We have a goaltender that has taken us here and has played really well and is preparing for (Monday).  And you've got a goaltender that came in relief, and he's done really well.  Every time we've asked Smitty to come in, he's played well.  We've got a goaltender that's taken us here, knows how to win and knows how to bounce back.  I don't feel there's a situation there.

Goaltender Mike Smith seems to be in agreement with Boucher:

I don't expect to (start Game 5). But I'll be ready to. Roli's carried us through the playoffs this far and I don't expect anything less than for him to come back and have a great game.

I fully support Dwayne Roloson getting the start tonight.  He deserves it.  The 41-year-old goaltender has carried his team throughout the playoffs to date, and, for the most part, has been phenomenal.  I believe that he understands this is most likely his last year to win a Stanley cup, and I'm sure that's not something he's taking for granted.  Expect Roloson to play and stand on his head tonight.  At the same time, however, note that the Lightning have outscored the Bruins 7-0 when Mike Smith has been in net, and Mike Smith has yet to allow a goal on the 27 shots he has faced.  While I think that Roloson will, and should, get the start tonight, I don't think it's an obvious or easy decision for Boucher to make.

The most critical area for the Bruins to improve in is their special teams.  Special teams can make or break a series.  The puck movement on Tampa Bay's power play in game four was nothing short of impressive.  The Lightning's power play percentage is at 23.7% for the series, compared to the Bruins who are operating at just 7.7%.  It seems to me like these stats are the result of a dominant Tampa Bay power play with Stamkos, Lecavalier and St. Louis, combined with a struggling Bruins penalty kill.  The Bruins are killing off just 81.8% of penalties, versus the Lightning who are killing off 92.8% of theirs.  This is clearly a problem the Bruins must address and improve to be successful moving forward.

The Bruins will also need to pay special attention to Teddy Purcell who scored the first two goals for Tampa Bay in game four that started their comeback.  Sean Bergenheim had the third goal of that same game, and he now leads the league in postseason goals.

Twins, Basil. Twins.

The Vancouver Canucks will have the ability to eliminate the San Jose Sharks tomorrow night at Rogers Arena in front of their own 18,860 fans. Although the sun may be shining in San Jose California, things aren't looking so bright for the Sharks. It was a mere two minute span that opened up the game that saw 3 Vancouver powerplay goals. Todd McLellan was not too happy with his teams lack of discipline in the second period.

The Sharks cannot afford to give Vancouver powerplays, especially five on threes. The Canucks lead all remaining teams with a powerplay percentage of 28.8%. This incredibly high percentage can be attributed to playmaker Henrik Sedin. Sedin, who was highly criticized by the Vancouver media for his playoff performance through the Conference Finals, finished the night with 4 assists. Two of his assists were also assisted by twin brother Daniel Sedin. When put together on the powerplay, the Swedish twins light it up. When asked about the powerplay, Henrik Sedin said, "We got some good looks, and for me it was picking and choosing who was going to shoot the puck."Despite the quick three goal lead, Vancouver was heavily outplayed throughout the game. Luongo had to come up with 33 saves to clinch the game, while Niemi only made 9. If the Canucks manage to take another win away from this series, they will find themselves in the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1994.

"You can just title it 'this is how i know soph has a crush on me, cuz she wrote for my blog...voluntarily'"

Guest post, courtesy of Sophia Sopuch:

After the Blackhawks were eliminated from the Stanley cup playoffs this season, I have yet to watch another play off game in its entirety. So, sticking to territory I am familiar with, I would like to reflect back on the seven game series, which ultimately ended the Blackhawks season. Technically the Blackhawks couldn’t even say they made the playoffs this season, because they relied on Minnesota beating Dallas in order to advance into the first round. However, the state of Minnesota made friends with Blackhawks fans around the nation when the Wild sent Chicago to the playoffs and the Stars packing, with a 5-3 win.

The Canucks-Blachawks series started as expected, Vancouver lead 3 games to 0. Luongo had his second career playoff shutout in the first game of the series, showing the Blackhawks they would have to step up in order to have a chance against the number one seed. Many also feared that without the help of Andrew Ladd, Kris Versteeg, and Dustin Byfuglien, who helped lead Chicago to its Stanley Cup win last year, the Blackhawks would have no chance of beating a tgeam like Vancouver in the first round. However, no one would have predicted that Chicago would win three straight games and take game 7 into a nail-biting OT. One of the low-lights of the series for me was when Brent Seabrook took a hard hit from Raffi Torres in game 3 and had to sit out of game 4, putting a hole in the defensive lineup. However, clearly it did not affect the team dynamic, it may have even helped the Blackhawks, because they ended up winning their first game of the series, 7-2. The highlight of the series for me was when Vigneault sat Roberto Luongo, arguably the best goalie in the NHL, after he let in 10 goals in two games. 

Game seven “was a game filled with drama and playoff ghosts for a Canucks team that had been knocked out of the last two playoffs by the Blackhawks.” The game went into overtime after Blackhawks Captain, Jonathan Toews, scored a short-handed goal with 1:56 left to go. A few minutes into OT, Burrows ended the game with a slapshot over the shoulder of rookie goalier, Corey Crawford. However, this was not a representation of Crawford’s goal-tending throughout the series. If there was one reason the Blackhawks made it as far as they did, it was Corey Crawford. Apparently I’m not the only one who thinks it is an injustice that Crawford wasn’t nominated for rookie of the year, who had a .930 GAA. If I were the Canucks, I would have been rattled by the Blackhawks series, which I am sure they were. The series made me question whether or not the Canucks really deserve the hype they get at all.