FTS - 4/22/09

TOP STORY

SINGING THE SAINT LOUIS BLUES

Alex Burrows ends the Blues season in overtime of Game 4

(Photo Credit - AP)

(3) Vancouver Canucks (4-0) over the (6) St. Louis Blues (0-4) 3-2 (OT)

Roberto Luongo was so drained he required IV fluids. It was OK, though as Alex Burrows bailed him out of having to go through a 2nd overtime, scoring his second goal of the game with 18.9 seconds to go in overtime. Luongo finished with 47 saves, helping the Canucks complete a first-round sweep of the St. Louis Blues with a 3-2 last night. "We knew it wasn't going to be easy," Luongo said. "It was a gritty one."

Kyle Wellwood also scored for the Canucks, who swept a four-game series for the first time in franchise history. Vancouver won a series before the seventh game for the first time in 12 tries since 1994. "We have a few guys banged up," Luongo said. "It's good that we're going to get the rest now and heal up and make sure we're ready to go when the next round starts."

Brad Boyes and David Perron scored for the Blues, who rallied from a two-goal, second-period deficit thanks to increased traffic around Luongo. But more power-play woes doomed St. Louis, which was 0-for-7 with the man advantage and 1-for-24 in the series including a four-minute double-minor midway through overtime. "The one thing that killed us in the series is our power play," Blues forward Keith Tkachuk said. "We had opportunities throughout the series and we didn't capitalize. "You've got to bring it up a notch and we didn't do that."

The Blues' first playoff appearance in five years was a short one. They had the best second half in the NHL to qualify with one game to go, doing it without injured stars Paul Kariya, Erik Johnson and Eric Brewer. Then they were swept for the first time since Dallas did it to them in 1994.

The Canucks improved to 3-0 all-time in postseason series vs. the Blues. If the Ducks beat San Jose, Vancouver gets the winner of Chicago-Calgary. If San Jose comes back to win their series, Detroit and Vancouver will meet in the Western Conference semifinals.


One difference maker in this series was Roberto Luongo, but it was more about the lack of success for the Blues on the power play. Just like guard play wins NCAA Basketball championships, a good power play can give an underdog a legitimate chance in a best of seven series. Even though they were swept, this season was still a success for St. Louis and they have a lot to build on heading in to next season. Would Paul Kariya have made a difference? Maybe the Blues wouldn't have been swept, but Luongo was just too good to have been beaten for four games. I'm looking forward to see how what Vancouver does in the 2nd round.

OTHER PLAYOFF ACTION...

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

A sliding Sidney Crosby scored a goal that ricocheted off his stick, his midsection, and into the back of the net to spark Pittsburgh to a 3-1 win over Philadelphia last night. "That's how he scores goals and that one right there is a typical goal," said Penguins coach Dan Bylsma. Crosby's second goal of the series snapped a scoreless tie and helped the Penguins grab a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.

That might sound familiar -- the Flyers were knocked out by the Penguins in five games in last year's conference finals. "We're not dead," Flyers center Daniel Briere said. Marc-Andre Fleury made 45 saves to push the Flyers to the brink (only six shy of the most he's faced in any game). He was only two saves away from a career best. "It didn't matter how many shots they had, I just tried to make the saves and I knew we would be in good shape to win the game," Fleury said. Tyler Kennedy and Maxime Talbot also scored for the Penguins to back Fleury's effort. Daniel Carcillo scored the lone goal for Philly, his first as a Flyer.

The Flyers haven't rallied from a 2-1 deficit to win a playoff series since 2003. Game 5 is in Pittsburgh on Thursday night.


That was the last Flyers hockey game in the Wachovia center until the pre-season begins in the fall. The Penguins know that a Flyers win in Pittsburgh in Game 5 would open a can of worms that they don't want to deal with. With the Rangers-Caps and Devils-Hurricanes series both looking like they'll go at least 6, the Penguins will have a chance to rest up for the 2nd round with a win on Thursday night.

(2) Detroit Red Wings (3-0) over the (7) Columbus Blue Jackets (0-3) 4-1

Henrik Zetterberg scored two goals as the reigning Stanley Cup champions dominated from beginning to end last night to beat the Blue Jackets 4-1 and grab a 3-0 lead. "Everyone talks about a best-of-seven. Really, it's a race to four" coach Mike Babcock said. "You want to get to four as fast as you can." The first NHL playoff game at Nationwide Arena -- in the Blue Jackets' 659th game -- was a mammoth letdown for a franchise-record crowd of 19,219. "It was an exciting game for the first playoff game in this building," said Zetterberg, whose empty-netter gave him 30 goals and 25 assists in his 64 playoff appearances. "The fans were excited. We tried to defeat that, too."

Daniel Cleary had a goal and two assists, Tomas Holmstrom scored 1:07 in for an early lift and Johan Franzen added two assists. The Red Wings can advance to the conference semifinals with a win Thursday night. Almost no one is surprised. The Red Wings are an experienced, confident bunch who have barely allowed a younger team stocked with playoff rookies to breathe. "There's something about experience," Babcock said. "In life, when you don't have it, you think it's overrated. When you have it, it's obviously very, very important."

Chris Osgood's shutout streak of 144 minutes, 27 seconds ended with 3:53 left when R.J. Umberger scored on a backhander off a rebound of Rick Nash's drive. The goal was almost identical to the only other score the Blue Jackets have in the series, when Umberger scored late in the second period of Game 1. "We've been there, we know how difficult it is. Each game is a separate moment," Osgood said of the playoffs. "We played real well the first 10 minutes. We pressed them and got the early goal, which helped us a ton." Osgood, who finished with 31 saves, stopped Kristian Huselius on two prime scoring chances within a minute in the first period, each of which would have tied it.

Since an embarrassing 8-2 home loss -- with Osgood in goal -- on March 7, the Red Wings have won the last four meetings with the Blue Jackets by a combined score of 16-2.

Game 4 is Thursday night in Columbus.


Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Columbus Blue Jackets. That St. Louis Blues win really screwed Columbus because they would have faired better against Vancouver. Ken Hitchock is a great coach, but the Red Wings are a hockey machine that even the defensive-minded Hitchcock has a tough time figuring out. This will be the second 1st round sweep in the Western Conference. If San Jose can come back and win the series, having a well rested Vancouver and Detroit match-up would be epic.

(6) Carolina Hurricanes (2-2) over the (3) New Jersey Devils (2-2) 4-3

Jussi Jokinen deflected in Dennis Seidenberg's slap shot off his skate with 0.2 of a second remaining and the Hurricanes evened their series with New Jersey at two games apiece. Eric Staal, Ryan Bayda and Chad LaRose also scored and Seidenberg finished with two assists for the Hurricanes, who blew a 3-0 lead but regrouped just in time to avoid a third straight overtime game. Jokinen started the dramatic sequence when he tried to stuff a backhander past Brodeur with about 7 seconds remaining. The puck circled around to Joni Pitkanen near the blue line and he passed off to Seidenberg, who unloaded a hard blast from the point. "I knew it was close, so I just tried to get the puck to the net," Seidenberg said. It got there -- right after it clicked off the Finn's left skate and past Brodeur's low left side as time expired. "I felt right away [the puck hit] my skate, and then I saw it just in the net. I didn't hear the buzzer, so I was pretty sure, I was comfortable it was a goal," Jokinen said. "I tried to look at everybody -- our coaches, our players -- asking if it was a good goal or no. Everybody says, 'I don't know,' so I was really nervous." After a review of about 2 minutes, officials determined that the puck crossed the goal line with 0.2 of a second left.

An incensed Brodeur, who had been bumped outside the crease by Jokinen seconds before the goal, smashed his stick into the boards. "'I had time to reset myself.' That's always the same answer. It doesn't matter which referee," Brodeur said. "It's the easy way out for them to say that. It's hard. You want to play your game. You want to do what's right and be in the best position you can. "With these guys [Carolina], they go to the net. They play hard," he added. "I am not complaining about how Carolina is playing. They don't take liberty. They're pretty fair about it. They got to the net. The referee has to do their job. Today was pretty awful." David Clarkson scored the tying goal with 11:14 left for New Jersey. Brian Gionta added a goal and an assist, Brendan Shanahan scored his 60th career playoff goal and Brodeur stopped 42 shots for the Devils.

"We want to be careful with that, because it seems the team who's taken one on the chin has responded very well," Carolina coach Paul Maurice said. "We're going to have to come back with the same sense of determination that I thought we felt coming into this game." "It's a disappointing loss, but we didn't lose anything today," Brodeur said. "We've still got home-ice advantage. We lost a game. That's it."

Game 5 is Thursday night in Newark.


This is probably the least publicized of the eight first round series, but is probably the best of the bunch. Usually you can get a gauge on a series and make a statement like "whoever wins Game 5 wins this series". This series has been such a rollercoaster that I have no idea who is going to come out of this one. I still lean towards the Devils, but only barely.


(1) San Jose Sharks (1-2) over the (8) Anaheim Ducks (2-1) 4-3

Patrick Marleau scored the go-ahead goal on a power play with 9:27 left, and the Sharks evaded a daunting playoff deficit with a 4-3 victory over Anaheim, trimming the Ducks' series lead to 2-1.

Dan Boyle had two goals and an assist, and fellow defenseman Blake had a goal and an exceptional assist on Marleau's winner for the top-seeded Sharks, who had scored just twice while losing the first two games of their series against the eighth-seeded Ducks at home, quickly falling into a playoff hole that might have been their grave. "It was desperation out there, and it turned up a level even late in this game," Blake said. "You saw the desperation in the way we worked and executed. Everyone chipped in, and we got the result."

Evgeni Nabokov made 27 saves for the Sharks, who realized any logical hope of winning the series hung on Game 3. San Jose took three one-goal leads in the first two periods, but Anaheim tied it each time.

Bobby Ryan, James Wisniewski and Chris Pronger scored for the Ducks, who kept pace with the Sharks' improved efforts, but never could take the lead in a lively, penalty-filled game. Hiller stopped 31 shots, but didn't have the indomitable form of the Ducks' first two victories.

Game 4 is Thursday night in Anaheim.


This series all comes down to Game 4. A Sharks win and I think they righted the ship just in time to have some motivation heading back to San Jose for Game 5. An Anaheim win should give the Ducks enough of a confidence boost to finish off the Sharks. It's a shame that the start times for these games are 10PM or later because this is the best series in the Western Conference and is right behind the Devils-Hurricanes for best series in the first round.

OTHER NEWS

-Minnesota Wild all-star goalie Niklas Backstrom will have surgery to remove two cysts in his left hip that caused problems with his groin muscles and affected his mechanics in the net this season. The procedure will keep Backstrom out for three to six months. Acting general manager Tom Lynn said he expects Backstrom to be recovered in time for training camp in mid-September, provided Dr. Marc Philippon doesn't find any red flags. Backstrom's age and condition, Lynn said, make it more likely he'll need closer to the minimum recovery time. Backstrom sought several sources of advice, but agreed to have the surgery now rather than risk a greater need for it at a less convenient time. "We decided the best course was to get this fixed and have him ready for next season," Lynn said in a conference call with reporters from Houston, where he's with Minnesota's minor league team. Backstrom started 71 of 82 games and went 37-24-8. His .923 save percentage ranked fifth in the NHL during the regular season. His 2.33 goals-against average was third in the league, but he played through pain down the stretch and frequently skipped practices to preserve his strength while the Wild unsuccessfully chased a playoff spot. Backstrom began feeling the most discomfort in late January. The injury was from wear and tear, not from a collision.

-Former Wild GM Doug Risebrough was "shocked" by his firing (courtesy of TSN):
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=275910

-Minnesota Wild left wing Derek Boogaard has undergone surgery on his right shoulder. The team said Tuesday the six-foot-eight enforcer is on the road to recovery and will begin rehabilitation Wednesday. Boogaard's ability to keep fighters and scrappers in line was minimized this season by injuries and a lack of discipline that led to costly penalties. The Saskatoon native was suspended for five games without pay by the league for elbowing an opponent in the head. Boogaard appeared in 51 games and had three assists. Boogaard has two goals and eight assists in 198 NHL games, and his 439 career penalty minutes are the second most in franchise history. His last goal was on Jan. 7, 2006.

-Dominik Hasek is coming out of retirement to play for his former club in the top Czech league. The 44-year-old goaltender will play next season for HC Moeller Pardubice in the town where he was born and started his career. While Hasek will be the oldest player in the league, Pardubice has an option to extend the contract by one more year. "I'm really glad I could sign a deal with this club," Hasek told a news conference Tuesday. "It's a club where I spent the most years. I've never even thought I could play for any other club in the Czech Republic. I'm looking forward to the next season." The announcement comes less than a year after Hasek's retirement following winning won the Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings for the second time in June. "A year ago I said goodbye to the NHL but not to hockey," Hasek said. "After a year when I was engaged in other activities I felt like returning." Hasek helped Pardubice win the Czech title in 1987 and '89. "My return won't be easy," Hasek said. "We have big goals with Pardubice. I don't talk about my age but a return to top hockey will not be easy. I want to keep winning, I'm looking forward to it."

TONIGHT'S ACTION:
Gm 4 - (1) Boston Bruins @ (8) Montreal Canadiens (Boston leads 3-0)
Gm 4 - (2) Washington Capitals @ (7) New York Rangers - 7PM - (NYR leads 2-1) - Versus
Gm 4 - (4) Chicago Blackhawks @ (5) Calgary Flames - 10PM - (Chicago leads 2-1)

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