Detroit is making Colorado look like what they really are - an old hockey team with enough talent to get into the second season but not enough to do much damage once they're in there. Detroit is simply overwhelming the Avs, picking them apart piece by piece, and with Stasny going down you might as well chalk this series up for a sweep. Maybe Colorado saves face and wins tomorrow night, but even if they do they'll get decimated at the Joe in game 5. The Avs are done. There's no other possible conclusion to reach from how the Wings have taken it to them.
The Sharks are done. Giving up 3rd period leads in two games in a row is a killer, and losing game 3 in OT hurts even worse. Plus you get the questionable quick whistle that disallowed a would-be goal, which would have put the Sharks up 1-0 early - but of course playing what if is inane. What if Marleau got that goal, and then Dallas got a goal after that? The fact remains that the Sharks were outplayed at home two games in a row, had a third period lead and couldn't fend of Dallas. The Sharks too may win a game, maybe two, but all in all Dallas has this series in hand I think. The Sharks cannot seem to muster that desperation that's necessary, and boy is it setting up for a truly classic Western Final. Wow.
Finally, the Pens absorbed New York's frantic game last night, yet walked away with a 5-3 win. 5 goals in MSG? They scored what - 5 goals all regular season at the Garden? Yikes. Worse than that, the Rangers had the building, they had the momentum, and while they didn't have the game in hand, they had the Pens right where they wanted them. They had the Pens back on their heels, looking confused and out of synch, and then the Rangers goon took a stupid penalty, and Malkin made them pay. Much like game 2 of the first round, where Ottawa fought back from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game in the 3rd, the Pens didn't panic. Instead, they countered. And New York, like Ottawa, couldn't shrug off the counter and get back into the game. The Pens counter-strike ability - their ability to score a goal shortly after the opposition scores a big one - speaks volumes about their resiliency and maturity as a team, and isn't it nice to have those weapons?
Tonight, the Flyers look to try to put the Habs into a nice tight box and keep them there. The Flyers physical game will be at its peak, and regardless of who the Habs put in goal, the Flyers are going to pester him. Choosing Price may be the right choice - certainly its the one I think that the players want to see - but in the end the Canadiens have to play a better game of hockey in the Wachovia Center or they'll be dusted.
Amazingly enough, nearly every series except the Detroit/Colorado one was forecast to go at least six games. I don't think anybody could have predicted in their right mind that the Pens and Stars both would jump out to 3-0 series leads. I think some people may have felt the Pens were capable of winning both at home and taking a 2-0 series lead, but everyone expected them to fall back to earth at the Garden. I think everyone expected the Stars to take home-ice advantage by winning at least one in the Tank, but not both, and then certainly not taking game 3 when the Sharks have been such a good road team. It's baffling - although looking at how the teams are playing, understandable.
The Rangers power play has been their demise. They can't score. They had two rather lengthy 5-on-3 power plays last night, yet couldn't get the puck behind Fleury. They passed and looked and probed, but nothing opened up. When they shot the puck, the Pens blocked it, or Fleury stopped it. When he didn't a Pens player was there to clean up the mess. The Pens managed to clear their zone twice in the second 5-on-3 and you could hear the MSG crowd grumbling. Hell, on that PK TWO Pens players took shots to their legs which hobbled them, and yet they still managed to gimp around the ice long enough to get the job done.
Where this all leads to no body knows. I can't imagine three of the four series ending in sweeps and the other ending in five. But the way things look right now? I don't suppose it would surprise me too much...
pittsburgh mike are you that retarded have you watched the avs red wings series. you wonder why we are being dominated. we have lost some of our best players. Stasny, the points leader, theodore has been sick, Ryan smyth, wojtek wolski, and marek svatos have all been injured. with them this is a completely different series.
r dog - Read the blog. He said that "with Stasny going down you might as well chalk this series up for a sweep." Granted he didn't list out all of Colorado's injuries, but he alluded to the fact that they are an injured team right now. You're right that with all of those players healthy this would be a different series....but they are not healthy and that's why this series will probably be a sweep. I don't think that the Avs would beat Detroit even if they were healthy, but they'd have a better chance, that's for sure.
that is a very good question especially since even when they played during the season they were still missing players like sackic and stasny, so i guess we wont know.
You can talk about injuries all you want....it was the defense of the Avs that killed them. . They made Detroit look like the harlem globetrotters of hockey. Colorado was soft and that was the reason they lost. Theodore wasn't sick the whole series so dont pull that card...Roy couldnt have even saved this team. Injuries or not this series would not have been any different, so enough of the excuses. This is not the 1996 Avs team, this was a poor mans version. They need to get younger and grittier in order to be successful.
if you knew anything about the avs you would know that they are in fact a young team. sure they have a few veterans but for the most part they are a young team and will surely develop into a stanley cup champion in the near future
I am a Pittsburgh and related area sports fan. In college ball, I defy the norm by following not only Penn State, but also Pittsburgh and West Virginia as well. I like to see them all perform well. Football and hockey are my favorites, and I'll write about them at length and frequently. I savor the Pittsburgh-ba sed sports rivalries - the entire AFC North, the Northeast division in hockey and of course, Big Ten and Big East football. They are the most fun, and sometimes the most dispiriting. But that's sports. I'm also a whitewater kayaker, so sometimes you'll see entries about my latest run. I try to remain balanced - that Pittsburgh homer handicap notwithstandi ng - so read on and enjoy!
