Second Round Recap

First off, I must begin by apologizing for my two-week absence, but unfortunately such evil things as exams cannot be avoided.

Second, that was certainly an interesting second round. The Sharks (for once) didn't take an early-round exit and defeated the Red Wings in five games, in a series that the Sharks largely dominated, except for a Game 4 beatdown.

The Blackhawks defeated the Canucks in a series I really didn't pay too much attention to, largely because it was the Western Conference and didn't carry quite the storyline that the other series did. Oh well. It sets up a Sharks-Blackhawks Western Conference Final, and at this point I might say that this might actually be the Sharks year, unless the Blackhawks goaltending manages to hold up.

In the East, the Montreal Canadiens continued on their improbable run to the Cup, beating the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games. Where did this team come from? Who knows, but certainly much of their credit should be given to Jaroslav Halak and Michael Cammalleri.

And, OBTW, Marc-Andre Fleury is not that great of a goalie. That doesn't necessarily have anything to do with this series in particular, but I just felt the need to express that opinion again.

Finally, in what is one of the saddest series I have seen - the Boston Bruins lost their series to the Philadelphia Flyers after being up 3-0 in the series. Not only were they up 3-0 in the series, but they were up 3-0 in Game 7 as well - somehow, they managed to blow both of their leads. Honestly, I can't imagine what Bruins fans must be going through right now - it's bad enough to lose a playoff series, but to lose one like that? Ouch.

Although, it seems to lend credibility to the theory that as long as you get a Peter Laviolette-coached team into the playoffs, you have a chance to go far. He is perhaps the only thing I find that I like about this Flyers team - Dan Carcillo is a punk.

So I suppose I'm going to cheer for the Canadiens because I really don't feel like cheering for the Western Conference and I dislike the Flyers. Wouldn't it be interesting to see an Original Six matchup with the Blackhawks and Canadiens in the Finals?

But the Finals are still a series away... I will most likely be back on my normal posting schedule, so stay tuned!