NHL Playoff Rewind—It’s only the first game…
Game 1 of the second round kicked off with a bang—and boy did it deliever. Both games last night came down to the very end of the game (or in the Canadiens vs Flyers case, it even went into OT). However, how much can actually be said about the first game in a best of seven series? No doubt it helps with momentum, but in many instances it plays no factor into how the overall series will pan out. That’s not just to say the winner of Game 1 may/may not go on to win the series, but it also fails to reflect the predicatability (or lack thereof) of the scoring—for instance, Game 2 could be a blowout for either team involved as opposed to the tight scoring matches we saw last night. Regardless, while the importance of the first game can be speculated, it’s still worth taking a step back and seeing how the teams played on all fronts and what it could mean for the rest of the series.
Canadiens vs Flyers (EAST)—Game numero uno and already there’s controversy. It surrounds the tying goal made by Alexei Kovalev late in the third, which sent the game into OT.
The Flyers were up 2-0 over the Habs after the first period; however, they had trouble holding onto the lead once again. Ever reminiscent of Games 1 and 6 against the Caps, the Flyers lost their early lead—allowing the Habs to tie it up by the end of the second at 2-all. Just seconds into the third, the Flyers scored on the power play (Joffrey Lupul) to once again take the lead. But it wasn’t long before Kovalev took a shot against Martin Biron to tie it back up at 3 a piece. Not even a minute into OT, Tom Kostopoulos puts the puck in the back of the net to get the win for the Canadiens.
Now here in lies the controversial play/call. What happened was a penalty was called on Mike Richards for kneeing Kovalev (it’s argued that it was his shoulder not his knee and that Kovalev dove to make it look like more than it was), and it was during this power play that Kovalev scored to tie it up. However, it wasn’t without extensive video review by the refs, afterwhich the refs indicated that they supported the original, on-ice call of a goal. The real discrepency lies in whether or not Kovalev’s stick had made contact with the puck below the level of the crossbar or if it was high sticking. Check the replay below.
I’m leaving this one alone simply because does hitting the puck with the bottom of the blade while the middle of the blade hits the crossbar constitute as high sticking? I really don’t know (perhaps someone could inform me). Either way, the Habs are on cloud 9 for getting the big W (and having Kovalev come back to life in true form), and the Flyers are hot with revenge. Game 2 will be an exciting one to watch, and I think the Flyers got the extra “oomph” they needed to potentially cut back on the costly mistakes (i.e. losing their early leads) and pull away with the win.
Red Wings vs Avalanche (WEST)—What looked like it could have been a huge blow out, didn’t really end up that way. Hearts were at risk of failure in Avs country, after the Red Wings finished the first period with a sizeable lead, and what could have been the end of the game.
The Wings’ three goals in the first came pretty evenly throughout the period. Goal number three was scored on a Wings power play—once again proving that the Avs really need to step up their power play kills if they want to continue their quest for the Cup. Of course, they also need to work on their scoring when they have the power play advantage as well. Regardless, Paul Stastny, hungry for some goals, was the lone scorer for the Avs in the first period. After the Wings scored another goal (putting the score at 4-1 just minutes into the second) Avs coach, Joel Quenneville, yanked Jose Theodore and replaced him with Peter Budaj. From there, the Avs gained two more goals with the help of John-Michael Liles and Milan Hejduk to end the second trailing the Wings by one. The third period proved to be intense to say the least, as the Wings faught to hold onto their lead and the Avs faught to tie it up. It just wasn’t meant to be for the Avs, as the game ended with a Game 1 win for the Wings.
It’s necessary to mention that Wojtek Wolski and Peter Forsberg were both injured and didn’t play in last night’s game. Wolski had an upper body injury and Foppa pulled his groin. Foppa is day-to-day, but Wolski looks ready to play the next game.
Quenneville is hoping for both Wolski and Theodore to start in Game 2. Wolski starting would be a tremendous help for the Avs—he has 2 goals and 3 assists so far in the playoffs and has been there to make the big plays. With his return, and if Theodore can shake the monkey off his back that seems to be weighing him down (Quenneville is blaming it on illness saying he didn’t even skate yesterday morning, but insisted on playing), the Avs have a great shot at winning Game 2.
(side note: I think all the controversy surrounding the Wings and the octopus debacle is getting a little too much media attention now. Instead, shouldn’t somebody call PETA since the Wings insist on killing an octopus all for the sake of tradition? I mean, it’s not entirely humane—is my bias coming through again?)
Tune-in to Game 1 for the Penguins vs Rangers series at 7:00 p.m., followed by Game 1 for Stars vs Sharks at 10 p.m. both on VS (Versus).
Tags: Avalanche, Canadiens, Colorado, Dallas, Detroit, Flyers, Montreal, New York, NHL playoffs, Penguins, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Rangers, Red Wings, Round 2, Round two, San Jose, Sharks, Stars
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