Happy Birthday

Game 4 is taking place in New Jersey today. The Devils have a chance to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series with a win at home today. Playoff hockey , in my opinion, is the most exciting of all sports to watch. There is no need to add a little something extra in to the mix, but today we are fortunate to have that little something extra. Martin Brodeur, who is arguably the best goaltender to ever play the game, is turning 40 years old today and I’m sure that he would love to celebrate the big 4-0 with a win today.  Marty Brodeur is second in overall wins and first in all time shutouts, he has a career .919 save percentage in 191 regular season appearances. No one can question his commitment and excellence in the crease, win or lose today. The question we have to ask is Brodeur going to play 40 years young or old today against Philly?

Conclusion

The 3^rd period between these two teams did not disappoint. It began with the game tied at 2-2 going into the last period of play in standard regulation. A lot of the play at the beginning of the 3^rd was dictated by the defense of both teams. This is also the way that the majority of the series has been between these two opponents. The first goal of the 3^rd period was scored about 7minutes into the period by Jersey’s Zach Parise. I think everyone at home and in that stadium watching knew that goal was not going to be enough to win this hockey game. Less than 5 minutes later Danny Breire once again tied it up and we are forced to go to overtime. In the final 3 minutes of the overtime period former Penguins, Alex Ponikarovsky scored the game winner (go figure). Like I said Philly, maybe you should let the other team score first.

Game 3 Flyers Vs. Devils

With the dramatic conclusion of game 2 the series has become tied and expectations are higher than ever for game 3. It’s not disappointing anyone. The Atlantic Division showdown began with the Flyers drawing first blood in the 1^st period (Schenn). I would like to extend a suggestion to Philadelphia, maybe let the  other team score first. Against both Jersey and Pittsburgh Philly is undefeated when the opposing team scores first.  The Devils quickly responded by scoring 2 goals of their own (Elias,Kovalchuk) within 20 seconds of each other.

In my opinion the Devils came out rather sluggish to begin the 2^nd period. The Flyers quickly tied the game up 4:44 into the 2^nd (Carle). The Devils picked things up soon after the goal scored. By the end of the 2^nd period one could easily see that the Devils were more emotionally into the game when compared to the Flyers. Much of this is probably due to the poor work of the referee; making two poor calls against the Devils. The First of which was a hi-sticking call on Adam Larsonn, who very clearly very touched Danny Briere. The second was a delay of game call against Kovalchuk. I can understand the hi-stick mistake, but come on the puck was clearly deflected out by the Flyers.

It’s the cup and it’s 2-2 going into the 3^rd. 

Devils/Flyers Game 2

Watching the Devils play the Flyers in game 2 of the series reminded me of two things. First of which is that I am still not over the Pens losing. Having said that, secondly the Devils are so much more defensively sound than the Penguins were against the Flyers. Part of this I feel is the Devils size. Philly is a big team and the Devils can more easily match their size advantage  compared to the Pens.

I was a little worried for Jersey going into the  3^rd period with a 1-0 Philly lead. I think the biggest surprise for any true hockey fan  was Adam Larsson. Adam scored the first of four goals in the 3^rd period for the Devils. This was Larsson’s first ever NHL playoff appearance and he delivered when necessary.  On the scoring shift Zubrus was first on the scene after Philly’s goaltender gave up a juicy rebound. Everyone watching this game thought that Zubrus was going to bring the puck back to his forehand and let it go, but instead he leaves it for the trailing Larsson coming in for support. Not only did Larsson bury the puck, but he did it with authority beating Bryzgalov shortside top self.

Also the Devils just beat the Flyers without their season leading scorer Ilya Kovalchuk (encouraging thought).

A big let down..

I apologize about the lack of writing of late. I have been struggling to cope with the major disappointment that is the Penguin’s post season effort. As much as it pains me to say it; the Flyers absolutely outplayed the Penguins in every aspect of the game. The only exception one could make would be regarding Bryzgalov’s performance which was much like that of Fluery’s……poor (putting it nicely). At the end of the day Philly just wanted it more. I could sit here and give numerous excuses as to why the Pens lost; coaching, lack of chemistry on lines, special teams, but I think it was just a lack of effort.

Penguins Website

 

It is hard to cope with a loss from a team that you know your better than. Hopfully the Pens are thinking about how they want to redeem themselves on Thursday. Although this game will go down in the books as a loss, I hope we managed to take away something from this defeat. I feel like this was an eye opener for the Penguins, if we want to finish in 1st place we are going to have to match the emotion of our opposition. We will see how much we want the top seed later on down the road when we play teams desperate for points, like Buffalo.

For a more extensive view of the game:

–Penguins Website

2012 Playoffs

As usual teams in both the East and West are fighting for a playoff berth. Who do you think has a better chance at getting in?

Sedin Concussed

Sedin Concussed

As of now the New York Rangers are leading the Eastern Conference with 101 pts. Pittsburgh is close on NY’s tail with 100 pts. since Sunday. The question now is who can keep playing at the highest level.  With the Rangers going 5-5-0 in there last 10 games compared to the penguins 8-1-1, one can only assume that the Penguins are fully capable of passing up there division rivals.

Not only are the penguins the undoubtedly the hottest team in the league right now, but this is the first time that Pittsburgh’s stars are all on the ice together all season. The Penguins also have the advantage of being a game up on NY and still having to play them a final time before the regular season ends.

It would seem the Pens have all of the tools needed in front of them, but it is hardly going to be a walking in the park. The Pens still have one of the hardest remaining schedules in the league. Pittsburgh still must play the Rangers, Bruins, and Flyers twice.

Stakes are high, but with moves like this it’s hard not to be optimistic:

Sidney Crosby breakaway goal on Brodeur 3/25/12

Hello world!

Welcome to WordPress.com. After you read this, you should delete and write your own post, with a new title above. Or hit Add New on the left (of the admin dashboard) to start a fresh post.

Here are some suggestions for your first post.

1. You can find new ideas for what to blog about by reading the Daily Post.
2. Add PressThis to your browser. It creates a new blog post for you about any interesting  page you read on the web.
3. Make some changes to this page, and then hit preview on the right. You can always preview any post or edit it before you share it to the world.