2nd Round Playoff Matchups
Eastern Conference
Boston Bruins (1) versus Carolina Hurricanes (6)
- “I don’t know that they keep time of possession stats, but if they do, you’ll definitely see a major difference between tonight’s game and the previous three games,” said Bruins netminder Tim Thomas after the Bruins’ impressive 4-0 home victory. Boston gave its fans what they deserved last night, writes Bob Ryan. Game 5 looked a lot more like Game 1 than any of the games in between, opines Kevin Paul Dupont. It didn’t hurt that Zdeno Chara was back to his dominant ways yesterday. The momentum was already in Boston’s favour, but the massive hit by Milan Lucic on Dennis Seidenberg got the crowd into the game. The Bruins were mad about a couple cheap shots yesterday. (Writer’s note: I am not one to defend cheap shots but c’mon here. Jokinen didn’t exactly two-hand Chara hard. I mean, the guy is like 6’7 and 260 pounds, a tap like that isn’t going to injure him. Secondly, Aaron Ward was going after Matt Cullen (who has a bad concussion history) and Scott Walker, one of the more well respected players in the league, stuck up for his player. Ward, the veteran defenseman that he is, has to be ready to defend himself. What did he think Walker was going to do? You go after a player with concussion issues, you are going to have to defend yourself and Ward isn’t exactly a soft player. It is unfortunate that Ward may have a broken orbital bone, but I didn’t think it was a “sucker punch.”)
- “I think we got sucked into their style of game,” said Hurricanes netminder Cam Ward. Carolina should not have been surprised with Boston’s performance Sunday night at the Garden. Claude Julien and Paul Maurice both have their opinions on the alleged cheap shots.
Washington Capitals (2) versus Pittsburgh Penguins (4)
Western Conference
Detroit Red Wings (2) versus Anaheim Ducks (8)
Vancouver Canucks (3) versus Chicago Blackhawks (4)
Teams that are not in the playoffs:
- There will be a Town Hall Meeting for Lightning fans today in Tampa.
- With his play in the World Championships, did Jason Spezza move his way into consideration for Canada’s 2010 Olympic Team?
The Coyotes situation: