April 11, 2003
NHL Playoff Roundup
Four more Game Ones.
Four more favorites flame out on home ice.
The Capitals just short-circuited the youthful Lightning, with Olie Kolzig grabbing a 3-0 shutout. I'll bet Caps owner Ted Leonsis was happy to see high-priced free agent acquisition Robert Lang score twice, as his team graudually pulled away.
The most exciting game of the night probably was in Detroit, where the Ducks took out the defending Stanley Cup Champs 2-1 in triple OT. In many ways, last night's game reminded me much of playoffs past. If not for Ducks goalie J.S. Giguere, the Wings might have made short work of Anaheim. Once the game got into OT, the Wings simply dominated play, handcuffing the Ducks in their own zone. If anything, it reminded me of the 1995 Western Conference Finals where the Wings faced the Chicago Blackhawks.
Then, it was all Ed Belfour could do to keep the Wings from scoring in regulation, sending multiple games in that series into OT. Once there, the Wings dominated play much as they did last night, to the point where the game-winning goal seemed inevitable.
Unfortunately for the Wings, Giguere simply bested Detroit goalie Curtis Joseph -- something that evoked memories of Detroit's 1998 Stanley Cup run where the team managed to win despite goalie Chris Osgood's best efforts to the contrary.
The best moment: seeing all-around good guy Paul Kariya getting the game winner.
In Colorado, Jacques Lemaire and the Wild laid a beating down on the Avalanche and rookie coach Tony Granato, 4-2. The Wild jumped out to a 3-0 lead by the middle of the second period, and then fell back into the trapping style Lemaire used so effectively with the Devils in 1995. But to talk about the trap alone would be a disservice to Minnesota -- a team with the speed, guts, and enough skill on the counterattack to make the game worth watching.
Out in Vancouver, I can't explain what in the world happened to the Canucks, and they were shellacked by the Blues, 6-0. Why can't I explain? Well, because I needed to get some sleep, and couldn't have possibly stayed awake to watch the whole game.
The demands of television begin to skew the schedule starting tonight, as we'll only have three games on tap: Edmonton-Dallas; Boston-New Jersey; and Toronto-Philadelphia.
CORRECTIONS: As pointed out by one astute reader, the Ducks-Wings game went into triple OT. And the final score of the Wild-Avalanche game was actually 4-2.
I need more sleep.
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I stilol enjoy reading your blog. It is one of the fiorst things I do when getting to work. Fine recap on the playoffs, just one quibble. The Ducks-Wings game was decided in the THIRD overtime.
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at April 11, 2003 11:03 AM
Posted by:
at April 11, 2003 11:05 AM
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