April 23, 2004
NHL Playoff Notebook
San Jose 5 Colorado 2: How dominating did San Jose look last night in the first period against the Avalanche? About as dominating as the Avalanche looked in the opening game of their first round series with Dallas, that's how dominating. Three goals in the first period. Three goals from Sharks captain Patrick Marleau. Three periods of dominating hockey that ought to leave Colorado head coach Tony Granato and the rest of the Avalanche streaking back to the drawing board for a new game plan.
Still, Mark Purdy of the San Jose Mercury-News is counseling caution:
Only one game. Repeat after me. Only one game.
Only. One. Game.
The Sharks were darned near perfect fish Thursday night. They did all the right hockey stuff. Had good jump, right from the start. Took the quick lead. Were aggressive in all corners and zones of the rink. Didn't back down when challenged. Didn't get goofy when Colorado went to the Todd Bertuzzi school of third-period etiquette. Won easily, 5-2.
Only. One. Game.
Indeed, only one game. But one that should have kept the Avalanche up all night long in their hotel rooms. Guess we'll get to see how good a coach Granato is now.
San Jose leads series 1-0.
Philadelphia 3 Toronto 1: After just one period, the folks in the video division at the NHL had a season's worth of bone crushing hits for their clip file. But while Toronto worked hard and hit hard, the bounces all seemed to go Philly's way:
"They didn't dominate us at all," Leafs forward Tie Domi said. "They don't have any rough and tumble guys. They aren't the Broad Street Bullies. It is totally different hockey."
Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer was inclined to agree:
No disrespect intended toward defending champion New Jersey, but the playoffs actually began last night for the Flyers.
It's always a good idea to give the Devils their due, although more difficult this season, what with Scott Stevens making an early exit and the entire New Jersey team following not that far behind. The Devils were certainly a longtime nemesis, but the Flyers needed just five games of the opening round to eliminate them. That wasn't a series of intimidation or physical play. It was just a series to close out before the real playoffs got going.
They got going last night when that team from Toronto showed up. The game had barely begun when Gary Roberts of the Maple Leafs buried Flyers defender Danny Markov into the boards and the sound of the hit reverberated like a drumroll introducing the festivities that will last until either the Flyers or Maple Leafs win four games.
Last year's first round series went seven games and included seven OT periods. Expect more bloodletting before this is over.
Philadelphia leads series 1-0.
Calgary 2 Detroit 1 OT: With apologies to Johnny Marr and Stephen Patrick Morrissey:
Panic in the streets of Greektown
Panic in the streets of Sterling Heights
I wonder to myself
Could life ever be sane again?
The off-wing ice that you streak down
I wonder to myself
Hopes may rise on the top seed
But Cujo-boy, you’re not safe here
So you skate down
To the safety of the town
But there’s panic on the streets of Lansing
Grosse Pointe, Dearborn, Saginaw
I wonder to myself. . .
Calgary leads series 1-0.
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Sigh. Didn't we hear this in the first round? Being favorites is no picnic. Lose one game and you're supposed to panic (if you don't, you must be full of hubris and Heading for a Fall). According to every hackneyed headline in the sports pages, you didn't just lose, you were, almost invariably, "stunned."
For the record, this is the 4th of the Wings' last 7 playoff series to begin with an overtime loss at home. They went on to lose to the Ducks, famously, but beat Vancouver and Carolina. We Wings fans don't like last night's result, but it's far from stunning. You could see it coming a mile away, or at least a few hundred yards.
But I appreciate the mention of my and Derian Hatcher's hometown!
Posted by:
at April 23, 2004 03:43 PM
What is with those new SJ Mercury links? The registration I can understand, but the links containing your email address are a little much.
The Denver Post actually has some pretty amazing coverage on this series. Check out these graphics:
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~84~2102683,00.html
Posted by:
at April 23, 2004 05:29 PM
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