Series Wrapup: Los Angeles Kings 4-1 Vancouver Canucks

I'm gonna do my best here to remain as objective and impartial as possible in describing this series, but being that I'm a Kings fan and my team just beat the Vancouver fucking Canucks in five games, that's gonna prove a little difficult. 


Aside from a few brave predictors, most everyone had the Canucks taking this series in at most six games. For the Kings, the matchup was ominous: the Western Conference Stanley Cup finalists coming off their second straight President's-Trophy-winning season. But there was a glimmer of hope that came in the form of Roberto Luongo.


When I found out that my Kings, by virtue of losing the last two games of the regular season to the Sharks, were going to face off against the Canucks instead of the Blues, I was a happy motherfucker. That's not to say that the Canucks aren't a great hockey team, but they are and were an incomplete one. Missing one Sedin and with perpetual choker Luongo in net, the Canucks looked human. And they were. 


Not only did the Kings steal the home ice advantage, they won all three games they played in Vancouver. Were it not for the momentum boost brought on by Daniel Sedin's return in Game 4 in Los Angeles, the Kings would have almost surely swept the series. The Canucks made the right call in switching to Cory Schneider for Game 3 and onwards, but it was too late. The Kings had all the momentum going back to Los Angeles and there was really no point where winning the series was ever in doubt thanks to the outstanding performance of Jonathan Quick. Cue goaltending controversy, Luongo trade request, and Canuck fan excuses ("That was totally a penalty by Lewis on Hamhuis!").


Noticeably absent from the series were Jeff Carter (big surprise) [5GP - 0G - 2A] and Ryan Kesler [5GP - 0G - 3A]. The latter's absence was crucial for Vancouver, who were lacking Daniel's offense already. The former's absence was not debilitating but he'll need to show up for the rest of the playoffs for the Kings to make any noise.


Looking at the flip side of the coin, a talented Sharks team lost in five games to the Blues. Do I think the Kings would have suffered the same fate? Most definitely. This Blues playoff group has not had a lot of time to form playoff cohesion, but it's a deep and well-rounded group that plays Ken Hitchcock hockey. There are no easy wins against the Blues. That said, the Kings now enter the semifinal with plenty of momentum from their first-round upset. They're also not as bad of a team as their seeding indicates. It's going to be one hell of a (low-scoring and probably boring) series. Doesn't matter. That the Kings made it this far (and created all kinds of issues for Vancouver going forward) is a successful season in itself. Anything else is gravy.

Flavor of the Series:

Brouwerij 't IJ Columbus. Why?

You don't expect that kind of quality from a little Dutch brewery.

Series Wrapup: Phoenix Coyotes 4-2 Chicago Blackhawks

You have to hand it to the Phoenix Coyotes after winning their first division title in team history they follow it up with their first playoff series victory in team history as well. Many Hawk fans will be shaking their heads, wondering what their team did wrong considering how good the team looked at times. What happened then? They were out coached and out disciplined. Phoenix came into this series knowing what they wanted to do, play a tight game with tough checking, allow as few chances (and weak ones to the outside when they did) and to capitalize on their opportunities when they came. They, largely, dictated the flow of the game and slowed it down, killing the transition game of the Hawks.

Mike Smith’s performance cannot be understated, he was fantastic all series whereas Corey Crawford struggled mightily with consistency and gave up very soft goals in the overtimes of both games 3 and 4. The top 6 talent that Chicago possesses was largely silent and their woes on the power play with so many of the games being air tight killed them; they finish with a playoff worst 5.3% power play. 

Looking ahead the Phoenix Coyotes will have the Nashville Predators, my pick to come out of the West. They’re beaten up and without forward Raffi Torres (as you probably know, Torres was suspended 25 games for an illegal charge to the head of Marian Hossa that sent him to the hospital) and I have a hard time seeing them doing any real damage against a Predators team that plays a similar style but possesses a much better team and talent. For the Hawks they have a long off-season with my questions that need to be answered. What to do with the gaping hole at 2C? How to fix the special teams? How can the D be fixed? And, most importantly in my opinion, will Joel Quenneville be given a chance to turn this around? 

So congrats to the Coyotes on their first win and best of luck next year to the Hawks.

Flavor of the Series:

Founders Dirty Bastard. Why?

Raffi Torres.

How To Survive: New Jersey Devils

Although the West is all ready for the Conference Semifinals, the East still has a lot to figure out.  There's several teams on the verge of elimination, looking for someone to step up and lead their team into the next round.

The New Jersey Devils have the most work to do, needing to win two games straight, something they haven't done yet in the post season since 2007.  The series was predicted to be either a quick sweep or a long, grueling fight, which it's turning out to be.  The Devils have taken too many periods off, and now they find themselves looking for an answer to all of those plastic rats.

Here's what they need to do to survive:

• Play a full game.  Playing 20 minutes a game isn't going to get you to the next round, even if you're up by three goals.  Florida is playing the underdog card better than anyone since, well, the Devils.  
• David Clarkson and Ilya Kovalchuk need to leave their concrete shoes at home for the next two games.
• Keep up the pressure on Florida's young defense.  
• Get in Clemmenson's head Tuesday night.  Theodore looks like he's out for at least the night, so if they can repeat last Thursday's matchup against Clemmenson, who was a huge thorn in the Devils side all regular season, they can grab the momentum swing into Game 7.
• Stop being so fancy and play some hockey.  They seem determined with forcing cute passes and dangles and are turning the puck over too much.  Do what you came here to do, play hockey and win.
• Don't complain about plastic rats falling from the sky or bad calls (incidental contact with the goaltender).  You shouldn't be looking at the refs to win the game for you; stay out of the box and keep the pressure on.

And if all else fails, win the round to have a better chance at keeping Parise long term.  The further you go, the more confidence he'll have in the core.

Series Wrapup: Nashville Predators 4-1 Detroit Red Wings

Well we're here, first round matchups are drawing to a close, many have already wrapped up. Nashville vs. Detroit was the first one to end on Friday, and end in decisive fashion. It's tough to win when you can't score, and Pekka Rinne did to the Red Wings exactly what he has done to everyone all season long. Prevent scoring. In a year in which he would get my vote for the Vezina trophy if not for the unreal performance by Jonathan Quick, Rinne has been an absolute stud. Although Nashville pretty soundly outplayed Detroit for a majority of the series, Detroit's major problem of the past few years of not shooting enough has been addressed by Babcock and the coaching staff as Rinne was kept uncomfortable with Detroit's bombardment that was launched his way.

Now it's time for Ken Holland and the management to address their concerns. 40 shots in a game is nice, but when they're from 45 feet out by a mediocre at best shooter on a goaltender like Pekka Rinne, it will probably be absorbed and contribute very little to the actual offensive output by the team.

Counter that with a team that's capable of putting 3 or 4 goals up game in and game out with Pekka Rinne and Shea Weber protecting their quick starts and you're looking at a team that has a shot to go all the way. This was a no doubter from the beginning, and we got what we expected.

Flavor of the series:

A can of  Pabst Blue Ribbon. It was alright, you kinda knew what you were gonna get, and it was gone before we even noticed.

Draft-Eligible Swedes Pt. 2 - Hampus Lindholm

Ängelholm is notable as the home of Kenny and Jörgen Jonsson, Christian von Koenigsegg (and his namesake luxury automobile company), and Rögle BK. Much of the 23,240 residents revolve their lives around their hometown club, packing the 5,150 seat arena and overfilling the ståplats (standing) section with drunk, chanting bodies that far outcry their Malmö rivals who regularly outdraw them by the thousands. A mishmash of mostly Swedish journeymen, a few former draft picks that never cracked the NHL, and homegrown talent, Rögle outperformed all clubs in the Allsvenskan, many of which had higher payrolls and more established stars, en route to their recent promotion to the Elitserien.

One of the young players key to their success this season is Hampus Lindholm, who skated in just 20 regular season games but posted five points in 10 Kvalserien (relegation/promotion) contests, good for fifth amongst the 54 defensemen who suited up during the mini-tournament. Having watched him play a handful of times since coming to Sweden in January, it's been interesting to see Lindholm evolve. I wrote this report on January 31st, 2012 after seeing the young blueliner for the first time. This game was actually his worst and he's improved on a consistent basis since.

I'm not ready to call him a sure thing but he plays the now protoypically Swedish Erik-Karlsson-style defensive game that gives opposing teams fits in the new NHL and he's not totally useless in his own end, a rarity in a league that's mostly a loosely-checked danglefest. He's definitely an outside shot to sneak into the first round if a team likes his upside and undoubtedly improved his draft stock during the postseason.

#5 HAMPUS LINDHOLM

DEFENSEMAN (Right), Rögle BK, Hockeyallsvenskan

SEASON TO DATE: 12GP - 0G - 1A - 1P - -3 - 24 SOG - 8 PIM

STATS ON THE NIGHT: 0G - 0A - 0P - +/- EVEN - 3 SOG - 0 PIM

Rögle BK @ Malmö Redhawks (Malmö Arena, Malmö, Sweden)

31/1/2012 (19:00)

FINAL SCORE: MAL 3-2 (SO) RÖG

BY PERIOD: 1-1, 1-0, 0-1, 0-0, 1-0 (SO)

USA vs. Canada U18 Thoughts

1. Team USA showing a lot of great speed getting to the early 1-0 lead.

2. Apparently the US has been watching a lot of the Penguins/Flyers first round playoff series, terrible goal to have Canada tie on.

3. I love battles for the puck as much as the next hockey fan, but seeing no touch icing in this game has me hoping some form of that is introduced at the NHL level sooner than later. Kurtis Foster likely still agrees.

4. Jones (USA) with an excellent stretch pass setting up a scoring opportunity, denied by Canada.

5. Getting very reminiscent of the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center observing the awfully sparse crowd here.

6. After controlling the play in the final minute of period 1 Canada coughs the puck up leading to a USA one on one opportunity that they do nothing with.

7. Apologize for the vague descriptions for players, don't know many of them yet and the announcers are speaking some magical language I do not understand.

8. Fittingly, Smells Like Teen Spirit is playing during the intermission...

9. USA goalie swimming in net as shot goes way wide.

10. I know they're our neighbors to the North but this game could not have less passion. USA with a good set up from behind the goal line but it's shot wide. Seems to be the theme of the game.

11. Tournament renamed to "Alex Semin Invitational U18s"

Five Questions for Game 3 of Hawks-Yotes

1.  With the series coming back to Chicago, how will the Hawks respond on home ice?  It’s no secret the Hawks didn’t play their best hockey in Phoenix but they were able, in dramatic overtime fashion, to steal a game from the Yotes.  Now they come home for a two game stretch where hopefully they’re able to pick up two games and a commanding lead of the series.  It’s not a reach to say the Hawks could win these next two games, they’ve played much better at home (27-8-6) this year than on the road (18-18-5).  Phoenix is a good road team though; they’ve won almost as many games at home as on the road.  If the Hawks want to win this series they’re going to have to translate their regular season success on home ice to the playoffs.

2.  What will the lineup and lines look like tonight?  After heading into the first game with, in my opinion, disastrous lines (Kane at left wing, Kruger at 2C) Quenneville seemed to adjust to more natural lines.  On the back end will we see young Dylan Olsen get a game since Sean O’Donnell has been unremarkable?  Speaking of youngsters, I would love to see Jimmy Hayes get some playing time although I am not sure who Quenneville will scratch.  My choice would be Andrew Brunette who has been just as slow and bad as he was in the regular season but Quenneville seems to love the guy.  A final last note is Andrew Shaw who is waiting (still) to hear about his possible suspension.  Shanahan made it clear by not deciding yesterday that the suspension will depend on the health of Mike Smith, who skated in warm-ups today.  However, Phoenix said he wouldn’t be speaking to the media due to “extreme circumstances,” Dave Tippet said Smith will be a game time decision.  Seems a little fishy to me.

3.  Has Brent Seabrook finally taken the reigns as the team’s #1 D man?  He has had an absolutely fantastic series after having what was, arguably, the best season of any Hawk defensemen this year.  Duncan Keith, while still playing solid hockey and being a critical part of the team, has not returned to Norris form (makes you wonder if he ever will).  Seabrook has been a force on the blueline for the Hawks playing solid, consistent defense while still chipping in on the score sheet, not to mention his massive contributions in the dying seconds of regulation in the last two games. 

4.  Will the power play ever get any better?  This has been a sore spot all season due to its inability to put pucks in the net (26^th in the league this year).  What confuses a lot of people is how can a team with all this talent be unable to have a dynamic power play.  My argument is the system.  A nugget from Sharp’s post-game interview, when he was jokingly asked if they practice 6 on 5, was his reply of no and that they’re just reacting out there, playing the game.  Maybe that’s what their power play needs, a system change that allows the players to be more creative and go for anything other than the back door pass to Sharp.

5.  Will Brandon Saad be called up and play in this series?  After being selected 43^rd overall in the draft last year Saad came into camp and exploded there, even earning himself a few NHL games at the start of the year.  He returned to Saginaw though and had a stellar year putting up the highest point per game average in the entire OHL.  He put up 8 goals and 9 assists in 12 games before Saginaw was eliminated by the London Knights.  I’ve watched as much of Saad’s game as I could, he is going to be a dynamite NHLer he has a solid shot and a big body which he uses well along the boards but his best asset is his IQ and positioning.  He simply knows where to be all the time.  I am excited about him but not sure it’s the right move to bring him up for this series, if the Hawks advance and he gets some time in with the team, then maybe play him in the second series.  Keep in mind if he is called up a year on his ELC is burned.  

Should be a fun game tonight, if I had to guess I'd say 3-1 Hawks.