Game 7 Anyone?

The Pittsburgh Penguins may look back at Game 6 as the turning point of their season. The Washington Capitals came through, in what was the best game of the series by far, 5-4 in OT. David Steckel deflected Brooks Laich's shot past Marc-Andre Fleury to send the Penguins faithful abruptly to the exits. What a game. There were lead changes and a total disrespect for defense in the 3rd period when 4 goals were scored in a 10-minute span. If you're a Penguins fan, boy, a 5 on 3 PP early on in the 1st that went nowhere when they were up by 1. Also, the real killer was not being able to connect on a crucial PP with just over 2 minutes to play in regulation when the game was tied at 4. That, my friends, may come back to haunt the Pens. Opportunities lost! Give the Caps credit though, they stuck around - even though they were outshot 42-24. Varlamov was fantastic and some of the lesser Capitals players came through. With Game 7 being in Washington, you never know. But it will be hard for the Pens to rebound from this in my estimation.

The Chicago Blackhawks fought back and closed their series with a 7-5 win over the Vancouver Canucks. Just when it seemed like Vancouver was ready to take it home for a Game 7, Chicago really stepped up. The Blackhawks answered twice in a span of 49 seconds to erase a 5-4 Canucks lead. What a wild 3rd period it was! Sort of made the Pittsburgh and Washington 3rd period look like child’s play! 6 goals were scored and Vancouver had the lead not once - but twice! However, Patrick Kane's hattrick lead the Hawks past a much more veteran laden team in the Canucks. I've said this earlier, this Blackhawk team reminds me a whole lot of the Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s. This is a talented group of youthful exuberance. It may not be their time now, but I would be real careful about how you approach playing this team. Calgary and Vancouver found out! Who's next?

Well, well. Something or someone has stirred and awakened the Boston Bruins. With a 4-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes, the Bruins have put a stop to all the talk of early hibernation. The series now heads back to Beantown all even at 3 games a piece. The Bruins set the table early with 2 goals in the first 5:04 of the 1st period. Mark Recchi (still productive!) and Steve Montador gave the Bruins a 2-0 lead after one. In the 2nd period, the Canes cut the lead to 1 on a goal by Matt Cullen. However, the Bruins would answer with 2 goals - one by Marc Savard and the other (a late goal) by Chuck Kobasew. The goals gave the Bruins a commanding lead heading into the final stanza of play. In the 3rd period Carolina would get one back when ex-Bruin Sergei Samsanov scored, but that would be it! The Bruins would be outshot 14-4 in the 3rd, but Tim Thomas continued his good play and basically shut down any hopes of a Carolina comeback. What a huge turn around in this series! Games 2, 3, and 4 the Bruins looked slow and completely out of whack. Now they have fought back and head home for the all-important Game 7. Can the Hurricanes shock again? Or will the Bruins, the best team all year, find their stride?

Wow, what a wild ending in Anaheim! The Ducks have forced Game 7 with a 2-1 victory. But what definitely got my attention was at the end of the game. It almost turned into old-time hockey as Ryan Getzlaf and Marion Hossa tussled. This then led to Scott Niedermayer and Pavel Datsyuk exchanging punches, as did Corey Perry and Brian Rafalski. Wow! What a set-up for Game 7 in Detroit! The Ducks controlled most of this game as Getzlaf had a goal and an assist on Corey Perry's tally. Detroit cut the lead in half with just over 2 minutes to play on a nice passing play with Johan Franzen finishing it off with his 8th of the playoffs. Jonas Hiller was superb in the nets for the Ducks and made many spectacular saves to help the Ducks force yet another Game 7. Three of the series left remaining are now headed to a Game 7... you gotta love that (Chicago ruined it a little)! Over and out!