Parity?  What parity?

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...

So here we go - the Flyers took a 2-1 series lead last night, and the Rangers hope to defend home ice tonight at the Garden.

The Flyers/Canadiens series is quickly evolving into one of those series in which the players generate true, awesome hatred for one another.  This is going to be a decidedly mean series from this point out, and that's why playoff hockey is so engaging.  The edge that each team will bring to the ice will almost be visible.  Every check will get finished - not just because its the best way to play the game in the playoffs, but also because there's personal satisfaction from crunching a guy you have come to loathe into the boards just so you can maybe hear him whimper.  And if you screw up and whimper - look out.  Every player will take a run, just to see if they can get him to whimper again.  Because after a while, only the most disciplined players can withstand that kind of beating, get up and keep on playing at the same level.  It's like in football, when a big smash-mouth football team lines up its offense in the fourth quarter.  You know the running back is going to get the ball, and he's going to plunge into the defense.  There's no subtlety - it's just pure strength on strength, desire on desire and heart on heart.  That's what the Philly/Canadiens series is going toward - pure heart on heart.  The finesse and skill of players like Kovi and Richards won't matter as much as whether or not those two are willing to stick their nose into places it shouldn't be, and then whether they're willing to take the punch on the button just to get the job done.  Now that's playoff hockey at its finest. 

The Flyers have got to be feeling pretty good right now.  Sure, the bumps and bruises still hurt, and the physical energy drain has got to be coming on strong right now, but last night they escaped with a win, and maybe - just maybe - got into Price's head.  On XM radio this morning, there was speculation as to whether the crowd or the team got into Price's head.  Either way, the rookie looked awfully unsteady and unsure of himself - and like chum in the water, the Flyers attacked.  So tomorrow night, the Habs had better be prepared to defend in front of Price.  Because the Flyers are going to run him - all night, all the time.

Of course, if the Habs win tomorrow night, it'll all be a moot point, won't it?  Back to the Bell Centre, back to the friendly confines of home ice.  And it'll be a different series. 

I've got to wonder, though, if the Canadiens can afford to lose tomorrow night  Montreal has a very nice team from top to bottom - a lot of skill, depth, quickness and enough physicality to stand toe to toe to the Flyers.  But Montreal is rather young, especially in goal, and facing a long, tough uphill climb to win when down 1-3 in the series may take more than they have.  I think this series turns tomorrow.  If the Habs win, and tie the series, I'd put them in the driver's seat.  Home ice is back to them, and then pivotal game 5 is on home ice.  But if the Flyers win, the Habs are done.  That's how I see it - the Flyers won't let up.  If anything, the boot they put on the Habs throat will get bigger and nastier.  The hits will turn up, the intensity.  The Flyers will attempt to beat the Habs into submission, and then worry about scoring goals.  Tomorrow night is the key - to me, who wins game 4 wins the series.  Since I picked Philly to win the series, I'll go with a Philly win tomorrow night, and a nearly insurmountable lead in the series.

Just up the road, the Pens roll into town to take on a surly Rangers team.  The Blue Shirts know that they let two winnable games get away from them.  Their best chance in game one escaped them, and I'm not sure they even know how it happened.  In their minds, it just did - it was a fluke.  In their minds, the Pens got lucky breaks, and that was that.  Game two was similar - a game that heavily favored the Rangers in terms of style, and yet they couldn't pull it out.  Yet despite losing the Rangers felt they had the better of the play.  They've got to be scratching their heads a little, unable to figure out exactly how the Pens managed to win both at the Igloo. 

More than that, I think the Rangers believe that the Pens were lucky.  And luck doesn't hold, nor can it be relied upon.  So the Rangers expect to come out tonight and erase any bad feelings held over from the first two games.  They are drawing upon last year's playoff experience, where they lost two in a row to start the series in Buffalo, but came roaring back in the Garden to even the series.  They are expecting the same thing to occur, and it starts tonight.  The Rangers will put out all the stops tonight - tight-checking with plenty of hard hits, defend their ice with tenacity and anger and throw the works at Fleury.  They were a little surprised I think to find the Pens defense keeping them to the edge of the ice and denying them the slot.  I think they'll work exceptionally hard to get into that slot, where their dangerous snipers can go to work. 

For the Pens, they have to weather the expected intensity that will surely come in the first ten minutes of this game.  The Rangers will be flying - hitting everything on the ice, pressing the attack at every opportunity, attacking the puck with abandon, safe in the knowledge that Henrik will keep the Pens off the board.  So the Pens have to weather that, to absorb the best that the Rangers can give them.  And then they'll have to counter-punch the Rangers. 

The best weapon the Pens can have is an early goal.  It will deflate the home crowd a little, and perhaps get the Rangers thinking.  I think this will really be a back and forth game, with momentum shifts occurring all night.  But an early goal for the Pens will put their stamp onto this game, and deny New York some of the ability to dictate play.  That's what the Pens have to do - they cannot allow the Rangers to dictate play to them; they have to keep it even, or better yet, dictate play to the Rangers.  The game the Rangers probably cannot win is a shoot-out style game, with open ice and end-to-end rushes all night long.  It's not to say that the Rangers can't beat the Pens at their own game, but the nature of the players is that the Pens have an advantage in that kind of game.  Their speed, power and creativity will be on display in an open game.  That's something the Rangers can't allow, and therefore the Pens have to try and generate. 

It's interesting that going into this series many people thought the Rangers were the better team.  The Pens had slight advantages in offense and defense, especially in scoring defense, but that was nullified by the Rangers advantage in goal.  So far the Pens advantages have been marked while the Rangers advantage has been at least countered by Fleury's strong play.  The Rangers defense has been good, and Lundqvist has been as good as advertised.  But it hasn't been enough, because from top to bottom the Pens are playing tremendous hockey. 

Tonight, I pretty much think that it will be one of those super-intense 2-1 games with a meaningless empty-netter to seal the win for one team.  The hitting will be off the charts, the defense tight and the offensive players on both teams frustrated all night long because of a dearth of chances.  Because of that, I think that the Rangers will probably win tonight.  They are in a must-win situation - they simply cannot allow the Pens to go up 3-0 in the series, not with two potential games remaining at the Igloo.  They have to take advantage of their ice and get back into this series.  The ugly goal will be a focus tonight - none of that tape-to-tape cross-ice passing to generate a one-timer into an empty night - that won't happen.  I just don't see that being allowed - on either end.  No, it'll be a grinder - a Sean Avery or Tyler Kennedy - that gets in the crease, battles and battles and puts a stick on a shot that deflects past the goalie.  Maybe the goal is set up by the likes of Jagr or Gomez or Crosby, but they probably won't see the goal sheet tonight.  Odd that I'm doubting the big guns on either team gets the goals, but the way I see it the big guns are going to be draped with bodies all night, so the role players have to do their job.  The energy lines will be huge tonight.  The defense will be huge.  Maybe I'll be wrong - hell, I'll probably be wrong - but tonight is setting up to be a picture of pure playoff hockey.  3-1 Rangers, with an empty net to seal the win.  I hope I'm wrong.  I do.  But the Rangers are going to win games this series, and tonight I think they get off the schneid. 

I am surprised by the lack of furious blog entries from passionate Flyers fans all ranting and raving about the two questionable calls in last night's loss to Montreal.  I expected a ton of entries.  I guess it's just the state of the NHL that not as many people put their thoughts down.

Anyway, the two calls - the high-stick goal and late kneeing penalty on Richards - were angrily debated this morning on HTM on XM 204.  They announcers thought both calls were fair, although they did acknolwedge that Kovalev's goal looked like a high-stick.  But the calls were what they were, and that's the problem with screaming over calls.  The players still have to play.  The goal-scorers still have to find the net, the goalies defend it.  The refs made two calls, and both stood up, and yet everyone is saying that those two calls alone defined this game.  Two giant moments - yes, that much is definitely true.  But if luck - or if you prefer, karma - doesn't have Carter's stick break on the huge face-off in the Flyer's zone at the end of the game...

Karma is a funny thing.  It grants, and then penalizes.  The Flyers may have earned some karma last night - so maybe that's the way to solace yourselves as you prepare for game 2.  Think of it this way - the close calls that went your way in game 7 of the opening round drained your karma reserves...so perhaps last night will replenish it.  And maybe now Montreal has lost some of their karma. 

Who knows?  All I know is that in about 5 hours the Arena will be rocking, and game 1 starts.  Now that's good karma!

Who is 2nd on the all-time Pens records in goals, assists, and points?  Who once rang up 62 goals for the Pens?  Who once had points of 149, 127 and 121 for the Pens?

Jaromir Jagr.

Pens fans will boo Jagr relentlessly in the 2nd round series because of how Jagr left.  Facing a situation in which he'd be a star player on a team with absolutely nothing around him, nor the money to pay him, Jagr demanded an exit.  Nothing in Pittsburgh fandom is forgotten, and wanting out of Pittsburgh is never forgiven.  Therefore, Jagr will hear rains of boos every time he touches the puck on Pittsburgh ice. 

In the Civic/Mellon Arena, Jagr was part of 2 Stanley Cup playoff teams.  He took his team to the playoffs, to Eastern Conference finals and more.  He rang up point totals that are second only to Super Mario in team history.  He was the best player in the league after Lemieux left, and then he skipped town when he saw the writing on the wall.  After Jagr left and before Crosby fell into the Pens lap, the Pens were a laughingstock.  They were atrocious.  Horrible.  Reached new lows.  And Jagr was not forgotten, nor forgiven.

Now, Jaromir Jagr returns to the Arena as the opponent, leading a pretty damn good hockey team into a much-anticipated series with his old team, the Pens.  When Pens fans open their game books and review the stat history, they'll see old number 68 listed prominently.  When Pens fans watch Jagr dance on the ice with the puck, they'll remember the days of him working the half-boards with Zubov and Kovalev, when the Pens had a lethal power play.  When Pens fans watch Jagr, they'll remember how great he was, and then they'll remember how he left town.  And they'll boo.

It's a state of Pittsburgh sports that I don't necessarily like or agree with.  Jagr was a celebrated player, when the Pens were a bright spot in an otherwise dark offseason.  The Pens gave hope after the Steelers choked in the playoffs.  He was the heir apparent, and was revered in this city for his skills.  Once adored, now hated - proving how fickle fans truly are.  Especially here.

Now the Pens have new blood - Crosby, Malkin, Malone and Fleury.  The last time the Pens saw Jagr in the post-season, he was wearing black and gold and stirring the home crowd with his play and grace.  Now he'll just inflame their dislike. 

Fellow Pittsburgh fans - before you rain boos down on Jagr, take a moment to remember how great he was, and how much you enjoyed watching him play.  Give him a warm round of applause before game one to show that respect, and to honor the player that was once a key component of two Stanley Cup titles.  Make him feel all warm and fuzzy, if for only a second.  Then you can boo him.  Because he's now the enemy.  And you have a right to boo the enemy.

I haven't been following the draft with nearly the same level of interest that I have in past years.  Changes in my life are one reason, the NHL playoffs another and a general lack of interest this year the third.  I'm just not all that interested.  I can't even hardly listen to guys like Mel Kiper or whomever Fox Sports has these days analyzing the draft.  I don't know who the Steelers are looking at, and who the other teams have in mind.  I know there's always draft intrigue and player movement around this time, but other than headline moves like the Pacman trade, I haven't bothered.  That being said, I've quickly scanned some stuff both for and against the Dolphins move to secure Jake Long as their number one draft pick.  I can't say that I'm against this selection.  I remember when the Jags took Boselli as their number one in their first year - and he was a stud tackle for them for a lot of years.  It's my belief that the offensive line in football makes or breaks a team - the skill players can't show their skills if they never get a chance to because the offensive line is falling apart.  And for those people that are wondering about the Big Tuna's influence - to me this is the ultimate Tuna pick.  His offense is a pure smash-mouth, and a big, nasty line anchored by a big, nasty left tackle is the obvious starting point.  So I like Miami's selection.  If that means anything.

I also thought that the Pacman trade was interesting.  I don't know why the Cowboys did it, although this seems to be the year of taking either talent-iffy or brain-cramped corners and throwing all kinds of money at them.  A lot of the guys signed aren't even the pure shut-down corners so many teams covet.  They're good...but not true shut-down.  And Pacman's a total headcase.  He'll be in trouble within six months in that organization, and now that you have Pacman and TO on the same team, I can't imagine the media circus that will be result.  Yikes.

I was recently attacked for posting that I "hate" all AFC north foes, and have a certain amount of extra distaste for Baltimore.  I am not going to apologize for how I feel about Baltimore's team.  I am glad to see that Cleveland's team is on the rise - the city and team deserves a winner (I just hope that it doesn't come at Pittsburgh's expense!!).  Furthermore, I also don't care if Modell sold the team and got out.  Modell deserves an extra slot in hell, where he'll reside along with the owner that moved the Dodgers from Brooklyn, Jim Irsay, twice for Al Davis, and especially for the idiot in Seattle that wants to move the Sonics to OKC.  Moving a team - holding the city, county and state hostage for a new stadium/arena deal - is infuriating and disgusting.  I read an analysis of the Sonics thing, and their lawsuit, and it looks like an interesting concept.  I would really enjoy seeing the NBA get egg on its face for allowing such a shameless, transparent move without fighting.  Anyway, back on point, the fact that I broadcast who I root for, and against, does not make me an arrogant person.  Rather, it really just makes me like all other fans.  And since the attack came from a fan of a team that plays against the Steelers, all its really done is cement the fact that I truly now hate the city and team all the more...and their fans.

The NBA desperately needs to have an LA/Boston finals.  That's the only thing that will generate a positive buzz about the sport.  As much as the Suns would be fun to watch, and O'Neal in the finals again would be a treat, the whole idea of Lakers-Celtics makes me think that I'd actually watch the finals.  The Spurs are boring, I have no idea how the Jazz got so good - or who's on their team - the Pistons are boring, and everyone else is so off my radar screen that I could care less.  But LA/Boston?  That would be interesting.  KG/KB?  Interesting.  What would be really enjoyable is that the two teams put on a seven-game show like the 80s series.  Then, once again, Boston and LA could be responsible for resurrecting broad-based interest in the NBA.

The Pirates are a minor-league baseball team.  One could draw a reasonable parallel to the Bad News Bears, watching that baseball team "play."  The Pirates were supposedly getting back to fundamentals this year - I guess they misinterpreted the concept to think that they were supposed to play fundamentally bad baseball.  I mean, how can a professional sports team actually manage to bungle fourteen years in a row?  It's unbelievable that this once-proud franchise, home of such hall of famers as Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell and Honus Wagner now is on the brink of setting a woeful record that will probably never be broken - the most consecutive years of losing seasons.  What a mess.  I read an article in "The Onion" that made me laugh - how PNC Park was threatening to move unless the baseball team got a significant upgrade.  After spending $230 million on a park that most consider to be the single-best one in baseball, I can understand the sarcasm in the humor.  You take that ballpark to a good baseball town, or to a winning team, and that 38,000 seat stadium is filled nightly.  You drop it in Pittsburgh, and get a wonderful backdrop to watch a product that's, in a word, laughable.  Thank god that the Pens and Steelers have better owners.