2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - Apr 28th

1-2 again last night. Despite missing both Sami Salo and Kevin Bieksa from the lineup last night the Canucks pulled out a win and the Sabres showed up in the third period to win their game.

Tonights Games:

San Jose Sharks (1) at Detroit Red Wings (0) : Hopefully the Detroit Red Wings were woken up by their loss in game 1 of this series and come out swinging tonight. They will again be without Tomas Holmstrom who is out with blood in his eye and will continue to struggle on the power play without him. If this wasn't a home game for Detroit I would be picking the Sharks to win, but with the crowd involved (assuming one shows up!) I think the Wings even up the series tonight.

Ottawa Senators (1) at New Jersey Devils (0) : While the first period of game 1 was pretty scary if you are a Devils fan you had to like what happened in the remaining two periods. Tonight the Devils get captain Patrick Elias back and they will certainly be a little peeved at their performance in game 1. Expect the Devils to come out hard and take it to Ottawa with the series knotted up at 1-1.

Last Nights Recaps:

New York Rangers 2 (0) at Buffalo Sabres 3 (2) : The Buffalo Sabres showed off their character and their depth last night as they came from behind in the 3rd period to take game 2 of the series. Thomas Vanek again scored a game winner late in the third period and the Sabres weathered a two man advantage for the final two minutes of the game as the Rangers pulled Lundqvist while Daniel Briere was in the penalty box on a questionable call. Briere got the penalty shortly after the linesman studiously ignored New York having 7 men on the ice with about 4 minutes to go. There was some horrible officiating in this game, but give credit to the Sabres as they clawed back to take a 2-0 series lead.

Vancouver Canucks 2 (1) at Anaheim Ducks 1 (1) : The Canucks pulled another over time win out of their bag of tricks to even up the series before they head home for game 3. Markus Naslund actually found the back of the net and Roberto Luongo simply decided that he wanted to win this game. Travis Moen scored the only goal for Anaheim as he picked up a loose rebound after Teemu Selanne's breakaway chance. The defensive effort in front of Luongo was solid considering they are still missing two of their top defensemen. Great job by Vancouver last night.

NHL Playoffs Video Highlights - April 26th

From the NHL Highlight Machine

2007 NHL Playoffs Video Highlights

Ottawa Sentors 5 (1) at New Jersey Devils 4 (0) :



San Jose Sharks 2 (1) at Detroit Red Wings 0 (0) :

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - Apr 27th

1-2 last night as both home teams lost the opening game of round 2. Detroit couldn't muster any offence and Martin Brodeur played like Andrew Raycroft. Ah well.

Tonights Games:

New York Rangers (0) at Buffalo Sabres (1) : The Rangers were simply outclassed by the speed and depth of the Sabres in game 1. I expect that to continue tonight. New York managed to limit the top two lines from Buffalo but couldn't handle the 3rd line and Thomas Vanek made them pay with two goals. The Rangers will likely be without defenseman Michal Rozsival who left game 1 with a leg injury. Expect Vanek to produce again and the Sabres to win this one tonight.

Vancouver Canucks (0) at Anaheim Ducks (1) : The size and strength of the Ducks was too much for a weary Canucks team in game 1. It didn't help that Vancouver was missing Sami Salo and Kevin Bieksa, two of their more dependable defensemen, in game 1. Salo should be back tonight but Bieksa is day to day. Andy McDonald got his first career hat trick and will make his presence felt again tonight. The Ducks take a 2-0 series lead tonight.

Last Nights Recaps:

Ottawa Sentors 5 (1) at New Jersey Devils 4 (0) : The game certainly didn't start well as it looked like Brodeur simply misplayed a Tom Preissing shot 1:30 into the first period, replays later showed that Jason Spezza tipped the shot past Brodeur. The Devils were down 4-0 before they got on the board with a goal from Travis Zajac late in the first period and they made a game of it by clawing back to a 1 goal deficit. Wow, tough game, tougher call tonight. The Devils were blown out early but managed to gut it out and make a game of it. If Brodeur improves even slightly on Saturday, and I expect he will, the Devils will even up the series. The good news for the Senators is that they know they can get past Brodeur, the good news for the Devils is that they proved they can make a game of it even when Brodeur isn't sharp. Going forward this series is tough to call, the Senators could upset my predictions in round 2.

San Jose Sharks 2 (1) at Detroit Red Wings 0 (0) : The first shutout of round 2 should be awarded to the Sharks defensive core, San Jose blocked 18 shots in game 1 to help Evgeni Nabokov along in the 2-0 win in game 1. Detroit seemed at a loss without Tomas Holmstrom in front of the net and they simply were unable to compete with the size and strength of San Jose's forwards. This series could be over quickly.

NHL Playoffs Video Highlights - April 25th

From the NHL Highlight Machine

2007 NHL Playoffs Video Highlights

New York Rangers 2 (0) at Buffalo Sabres 5 (1) :



Vancouver Canucks 1 (0) at Anaheim Ducks 5 (1) :

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - Apr 26th

As expected last night the Buffalo Sabres and Anaheim Ducks rolled over top of the two weaker teams left in the 2007 NHL Playoffs. Tonight the two tougher round 2 playoff series get underway, the difference maker in this years playoffs could be how long this second round lasts for the Sharks vs Wings and Senators vs Devils. Two long series could end up costing these teams a chance at the cup this year as they end up facing fresher teams in round three.

Tonights Games:

Ottawa Senators at New Jersey Devils: Which Martin Brodeur will show up tonight? Goaltending is the question in this series, Senators goalie Ray Emery left practice earlier this week with a bruised catching hand but has practiced for two straight days and intends to play tonight. We will see. Without any further information I have to go with the home team and Martin Brodeur tonight.

San Jose Sharks at Detroit Red Wings: Tough call here but the Wings will be without Tomas Holmstrom due to an eye injury he received in game 6 against Calgary. Detroit will sorely miss Holmstrom's presence in front of the net on the power play. In my opinion they lose game 1 at home.

Last Nights Recaps:

New York Rangers 2 (0) at Buffalo Sabres 5 (1) : The first period was a little shaky as the Sabres didn't manage a goal in 5 power play attempts, but the speed and skill of the Sabres 4 lines wore on the Rangers defensive efforts and they continued to give Buffalo chances on the man advantage. 8 times in the game. The 5th goal was perhaps the most entertaining empty net goal I have ever seen as Drew Stafford fights the length of the ice with Jaromir Jagr in what would have been a penalty shot had the puck not ended up in the net on the play. Good news for New York, Jagr intends to play in this series. Bad news is so do the entire Buffalo team.

Vancouver Canucks 1 (0) at Anaheim Ducks 5 (1) : The Ducks pummeled the Canucks despite giving up the first goal by scoring 3 goals on the first 9 shots they put on Roberto Luongo. The Canucks only chance at getting to round three in this years playoffs is for Luongo to drag them there kicking and screaming. He certainly didn't do it last night as he was pulled in favour of backup Dany Sabourin in the 3rd period. Andy McDonald got a hat trick as the forward lines of the Ducks overpowered Vancouver, this may end up as a sweep by Anaheim.