Carolina and Chicago are on fire right now. Two teams who did not get much love from the pundits and critics ahead of their quarter final series – against Boston and Vancouver respectively – are having amazing series.
I admit I didn’t think the Hurricanes could keep up with Boston. After the 4-1 demolition job the Bruins did in the first game. Then the Canes come back and do a similar job in Game Two. Then they win the third with a dramatic OT goal. Eric Staal has been sensational for the Canes this series. People seem to forget, also, that Cam Ward won a Stanley Cup between the pipes a few years back. He hasn’t lost the skill.
Then…Chicago. Wow. They put 6 (6 of the last 7) in the net in the last two periods of Game Two after being down 0-2 for a 6-3 victory. They went home to United Centre and I thought that they’d carry the momentum. Not to be. They had a bad game at home in the Windy City. Then, Game Four – you see Vancouver totally dominate the game for the first 58 minutes. Then Chicago come alive with a late tying goal and, ultimately, an OT winner. It’s interesting now, tied at 2. I think the series will go right down to the wire. Still got my money on Vancouver, for their experience – but, saying that, I’d love to see the young Black Hawks win. Mark my words, there’s a stack of amazing young talent on the Hawks roster, led by Toews and Kane. They’ll be around for a while yet.
Watching Game Four – Washington vs. Pittsburgh. Been a very interesting game so far. Two soft goals, one each for Varlarmov and Fleury. Ovechkin’s hit on Sergei Gonchar ended up worse than it looked. I hope that Gonchar is okay. You don’t like to see a guy go down like that. Can't stand Sidney Crosby (and, to a lesser extent, Evgeni Malkin) smooching butt with the referees, trying for a major penalty against Ovie. It wasn’t that bad a hit, fellas. Give the striped crew some respect. It’s one of the most annoying things about Crosby – he’s always yap-yap-yap. No wonder no one likes the guy! Pittsburgh look the better team right now. I think this one will go to 7, especially if the series continues to go with the home ice advantage.
Quick turnaround for tomorrow’s Game 5 in Washington.
Also – Lakers in a HUGE Game Three vs. Houston & 500 miles for the NASCAR Spring Cup in Darlington tomorrow. Can’t wait!
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