FTS - 4/20/09

TOP STORY

SHARK OUT OF WATER

Bobby Ryan gets the Ducks first goal in Game 2 as Anaheim heads home with a 2-0 lead

(Photo Credit - AP)

(8) Anaheim Ducks (2-0) over the (1) San Jose Sharks (0-2) 3-2

The Anaheim Ducks just went 2 for 2 in NHL's toughest road arena to open the playoffs. Has the curse of the President's Trophy struck again?

Andrew Ebbett broke a tie with a goal from an awkward angle with 10:16 left, and the Ducks stunned the San Jose Sharks with another defensive gem in a 3-2 victory in Game 2, jumping to a 2-0 lead in the first-round playoff series. Jonas Hiller made 42 saves in his second outstanding effort, while Bobby Ryan and Drew Miller also scored their first playoff goals. Just as their 2-0 Game 1 victory, the eighth-seeded Ducks were defensively tough and offensively fortunate against San Jose, which lost just five home games in regulation during the entire regular season.
"We knew we could play well," Hiller said. "But to come into the rink of the best team in the league and win the first two games, we don't expect that, although we have to think it's possible. ... I'm sure this is not what people expected from us. We have the two wins, but the Sharks are still the best team this year."

Ryane Clowe's goal early in the second period ended more than 174 minutes of scoreless playoff hockey for the Sharks dating to last season, but San Jose couldn't rally despite another monstrous edge in shots. An eighth seed has beaten a top seed seven times in the NHL playoffs since 1994, and playoff-tested Anaheim is ripe to add its name to the list. San Jose must win four of the next five games, including two in Anaheim, to avoid what would be a disastrous end to a 117-point season capped by the franchise's first Presidents' Trophy.

"I'm not too sure that the guys in there, after the two games, I think if you went through and asked each of the guys, they'd think they're the better team," said Todd McLellan, the Sharks' rookie coach. "They're not getting the puck luck, and you have to give Anaheim credit. They found a way to win."

Jonathan Cheechoo also scored, and Evgeni Nabokov made 23 saves for the Sharks, who outshot Anaheim 44-26 after a 35-17 edge in the Ducks' 2-0 Game 1 victory -- but San Jose dropped to 0-for-12 on the power play in the series after going scoreless in six chances in Game 2. McLellan broke up his top-line pairing of Joe Thornton and captain Patrick Marleau for Game 2, moving around his top two scorers but rarely icing them together. It didn't generate much new offense, but Clowe came through after a turnover by Ebbett, slipping the puck past three defenders to snap the Sharks' playoff scoreless streak at 174 minutes, 2 seconds, dating to their four-overtime elimination loss to Dallas last spring. Joe Thornton was held without a goal for the eighth straight postseason game.

Game 3 is Tuesday night in Anaheim.


I don't want to say San Jose is done just yet, because they are the Sharks and maybe the trip down the California coast will wake them up. But they are in critical condition. Jonas Hiller is playing like a goalie with nothing to lose, and that's because they don't have anything to lose. If San Jose had swept Anaheim, yeah, it stinks for the Ducks, but the Sharks made chum of teams all year long. Nothing is more dangerous than a team with nothing to lose in the playoffs. It will be interesting to see what changes rookie bench boss Todd McLellan makes for the first game at the Honda Center.

If St. Louis hadn't won on the last day of the season, how much of the Western Conference landscape would have changed?

-San Jose vs. St. Louis (I can't imagine San Jose not winning this series)

-Detroit vs. Anaheim (a much tougher match-up for Detroit and Anaheim...Red Wings probably would have prevailed in 6)

-Vancouver vs. Columbus (I still give the Canucks the series win, but Columbus would have been a much tougher match up for Vancouver)

Just think about that for a second...

OTHER PLAYOFF ACTION...

(5) Philadelphia Flyers (1-2) over the (4) Pittsburgh Penguins (2-1) 6-3

Jeff Carter and Mike Richards scored their first goals of the series to get the Flyers going early and Claude Giroux and Simon Gagne put the Flyers ahead for good in a 6-3 victory over the Penguins on Sunday. Carter, the NHL's scored-leading goal scorer, scored his first of the postseason 3 minutes into the game, and Richards made it two goals on two shots for the Flyers 2:15 later. "It was a huge game. We didn't want to go down 3-0 because that's a tough task," Flyers center Daniel Briere said. "We have to enjoy it for a few minutes here." Evgeni Malkin scored two goals for the Penguins, who are still waiting for Sidney Crosby to catch fire. Crosby had two assists in Game 3, but has only one goal in three games(Crosby stretched his postseason scoring streak to seven straight games). Martin Biron stopped 26 shots and played like the goalie who led the Flyers to the conference finals last year. Jared Ross scored his first NHL goal in the third to make it 5-2 and Gagne added his second on an empty-netter with 1:36 left to secure the win. The game started with four fighting penalties and two roughing penalties in the opening period. Game 4 is Tuesday night in Philadelphia.


While this was a very nice win for Philly, I still give the Penguins the edge in this series. Sidney Crosby will start finding the net soon. When he does, that's the beginning of the end for Philly. It was good to see Philly passing the puck well and playing their brand of hockey.

(3) New Jersey Devils (2-1) over the (6) Carolina Hurricanes (1-2) 3-2 (OT)

Travis Zajac scored off his own rebound at 4:58 of overtime, and New Jersey beat Carolina 3-2 on Sunday night in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference playoff series. Zach Parise scored for the third straight game and assisted on Zajac's winner for the Devils, who took a 2-1 lead in the series and earned home ice advantage back. "We know how we need to play and how we want to play. When we play that way, it's a lot more fun for the players," Devils coach Brent Sutter said. "They won a game in our building -- obviously, we were going to have to come here and get that one back. It's nice to get it back with your first game. Now, we can get focused for Game 4 and see what happens." Their reconfigured No. 1 line (Brian Rolston is now playing alongside Zajac and Parise for the injured Jaime Langenbrunner) generated two goals, including the game winner and one from new linemate, Brian Gionta. Martin Brodeur stopped 28 shots for the Devils. They improved to 1-5 against the Hurricanes in overtime playoff games and have yet to trail in regulation in the series. Referring to his team taking a lead in regulation, Carolina coach Paul Maurice deadpanned: "We'd love to try that." Ryan Bayda and Chad LaRose scored their first career playoff goals, and Ward finished with 32 saves for Carolina. Game 4 is Tuesday night at the RBC Center.


This series boils down to Game 4. Carolina has managed to alter thier game enough to battle with New Jersey, but are still lacking. If they can figure it out by tomorrow night, they can still win the series. If not, the winner of the past three Devils-Hurricanes match-ups in the playoffs has gone on to win the East (there's some food for thought)

(3) Vancouver Canucks (3-0) over the (6) St. Louis Blues (0-3) 3-2

The Canucks scored three power-play goals, including Steve Bernier's go-ahead score early in the third period, while again stifling the Blues' chances with the man advantage in a 3-2 victory Sunday night. "It was a huge difference," Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo said. "We got some big goals and we killed some big ones off." Vancouver, the third seed in the Western Conference, silenced a standing-room crowd of 19,500 for the Blues' first home playoff game in five seasons. "It's 3-0 and I think we still have to get to four," Luongo said. "So we've got a big one left to win and by no means are we going to think it's over. "Those guys are not going to quit and we've got to make sure we bear down." Coach Alain Vigneault said the Canucks got to this point by turning the other cheek instead of retaliating. "Our guys have been taking a lot of cheap shots so far during this series," Vigneault said. "To respond with three goals on the power play is pretty satisfying." On the flip side, St. Louis was shut out on six power plays, especially squandering early chances to seize control, and is 1-for-17 in the series. "We look tight and nervous on the power play," coach Andy Murray said. "We've had over 5 minutes of 5-on-3 in this series and really have not been the threat that we want to be. We probably had four or five good chances on the 5-on-3, but that's not good enough against this goaltender." Mattias Ohlund and Daniel Sedin also scored power-play goals for the Canucks, who were strong the last two periods after mustering five shots and trailing 1-0 after the first. And Luongo, who allowed one goal on 56 shots the first two games, made 24 saves and was good enough even if he wasn't the star that prompted a fans' "LuonGO Home" sign. The Canucks can finish off the sixth-seeded Blues in Game 4 tomorrow night in St. Louis.

It's a real shame the Blues 15th to 6th run ended up taking them right in to the Wall of Luongo. Being without Paul Kariya certainly hurt St. Louis, but I don't know how much of a difference he would have made. It's not like the Blues aren't getting chances and creating opportunites. St. Louis is doing everything they can, but Luongo is thwarting all of their attempts. The Blues can get this series back to Vancouver, but I don't anticipate another game being played in St. Louis until the fall.

OTHER NEWS

-The Boston Bruins will have to do without Milan Lucic for Game 3 of their series with the Canadiens after the NHL handed the bruising forward a one-game suspension Sunday. Lucic received a minor and match penalty for crosschecking Montreal's Maxim Lapierre in the neck and head late in the third period of Boston's 5-1 win over the Canadiens. In an attempt to avoid losing one of their emotional sparkplugs the submitted a video clip to NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell that they believed showed Lucic's gloved hand striking Lapierre's neck and head before his stick. "While it is unclear whether Lucic's glove or stick makes contact with Lapierre, what is clear is that he delivered a reckless and forceful blow to the head of his opponent," said Campbell in a statement. A Vancouver native, Lucic has been a physical force in the series thus far. He has been credited with eight hits, including a couple of momentum changers in Game 1, and has racked up a playoff high 24 minutes in penalties. He has also collected a pair of assists and a +2 rating. He will be eligible to return for Game 4 on Wednesday in Montreal.

-New Jersey captain Jamie Langenbrunner will miss at least two games of the Devils' playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes because of a lower body injury. Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello said Saturday that Langenbrunner would miss Games 3 and 4 of the first-round series and that it was too early to tell whether the right winger would return for Game 5 back at home on Thursday, calling it "a day-by-day situation." The teams split the first two games in New Jersey, and the series will continue on Sunday night. Game 4 is Tuesday. Lamoriello called Langenbrunner's injury a "freak event." The captain was hurt Friday night in the second period of the Devils' 2-1 overtime loss. "We don't know exactly where it transpired, but he felt it at a certain point," Lamoriello said.

-The Boston Bruins were dealt an emotional blow Saturday when defenceman Matt Hunwick was rushed by ambulance to Massachusetts General Hospital for an emergency splenectomy. "He's comfortable and he's resting in his room," said Bruins physician Dr. Peter Asnis just before Game 2 of the Eastern Conference quarter-final against the Montreal Canadiens. "His spirits are high and he'll be there for a couple of days." Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said Hunwick was never supposed to play in Saturday night's game after suffering the injury in the second period of Game 1. Veteran Shane Hnidy took Hunwick's place on the Boston roster for Saturday's game, and Chiarelli said it is unknown whether the Bruins will call someone up from the minors as of yet. Hunwick was injured on a check Thursday night, but he didn't complain of any abdominal pain after the game, Asnis said. Hunwick practiced with his teammates Friday, and it was only afterwards that he noticed some "vague abdominal pain" and was taken to hospital for a CAT scan and blood tests, Asnis said. "He was stable based on his blood work and exam" and was released from hospital Friday but kept under surveillance, Asnis said. At about 10:45 a.m. ET Saturday morning, Hunwick noticed a sudden increase in pain in his abdomen and he was rushed from the Bruins practice facility in Wilmington, Mass., by ambulance to the hospital. His spleen was removed at around 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon by Dr. David Berger. "His playing career should not be affected, he should have a 100 per cent full recovery," Asnis said. "The only thing for his health is that he'll get additional immunizations. But there are players in contact sports at the professional level playing without a spleen." Asnis could not give a timeline for a potential return by Hunwick, but said it is possible he could return to play in these playoffs, depending on his recovery. Bruins head coach Claude Julien said immediately after Hunwick left for the hospital Saturday that his loss will be a blow to the team. "We're a close-knit team and everybody feels for each other," he said. "There's no doubt our players feel for him and we'll certainly worry like everybody else until we get some results. But he's in good hands." Hunwick, 23, had six goals and 21 assists in 53 games this season, averaging just under 17 minutes of ice time per game. Boston selected Hunwick in the seventh round, 224th overall, in the 2004 NHL entry draft.

TONIGHT'S ACTION:
Gm 3 - (1) Boston Bruins @ (8) Montreal Canadiens - 7PM (Boston leads 2-0
Gm 3 - (2) Washington Capitals @ (7) New York Rangers - 7PM - Versus (Rangers lead 2-0)
Gm 1 - (4) Chicago Blackhawks @ (5) Calgary Flames - 9:30PM - (Chicago leads 2-0)

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