FTS - 4/28/09

TOP STORY

Just Another Bad Jaws Sequel

Joe Thornton and the San Jose Sharks Prematurely Exit The Playoffs...Again

(Photo Credits - AP)

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

Teemu Selanne and Francois Beauchemin put Anaheim ahead with their first playoff goals on fortunate deflections 43 seconds apart in the second period, and the Ducks coolly finished off the Presidents' Trophy winners in an upset that could resonate for years in this juicy in-state rivalry. "I think if you ask anyone, we're not an eight seed," defenseman Ryan Whitney said. "Everyone in here knows that, and I think now everyone in hockey pretty much sees it, too." Jonas Hiller made 36 saves to finish his phenomenal playoff series debut for the Ducks, who won a fight-filled clincher to complete a remarkable playoff upset two years after winning the franchise's only Stanley Cup. The Ducks were outshot in every game, but Hiller, the Swiss goalie, allowed just 10 goals and posted two shutouts.

The clubs' final meeting was a slugfest with 60 total penalty minutes and a long series of brawls between Anaheim's goals and Hiller's saves. It all started with the stunning fight between Getzlaf and Thornton, who traded shoves and harsh words two days earlier in San Jose. "Joe kind of came in and said, 'Do you want to go tonight?'" Getzlaf said. "I had every intention of asking him, so it was a situation that carried over from last game. We kind of knew what we were doing. ... [In Game 5] I didn't want to give them any spark. Tonight, I felt, was the opportunity to redeem myself."

Corey Perry also scored as Anaheim advanced to face second-seeded Detroit, which swept Columbus out of the first round. The defending Stanley Cup champions are favorites to defend their title -- but few gave the Ducks much chance against the Sharks, either. With a dynamic offensive effort that negated all the Sharks' physical bluster, Anaheim became the third team to beat the NHL's top regular-season club in the first round since 2000, and just the fifth since 1968 (the Presdient's Trophy didn't start being awarded until the mid 80s. Two of the previous three teams to eliminate the President's Trophy winner have gone on to the Stanley Cup). The Ducks are the eighth No. 8 seed to win a playoff series since 1994, largely dominating the league's first all-California postseason series in 40 years. Anaheim improved to 9-0 at home when they have a chance to close out a playoff series.

Evgeni Nabokov made 28 saves and Milan Michalek scored the game's first goal for the Sharks, who completed the biggest playoff collapse in a franchise history full of them. San Jose led the NHL with franchise records for points (117) and wins (53) during the regular season, but the club has been past the second round of the postseason just once, in 2004.

"Did we get what we deserved? We could have played better, obviously, in some games," said Sharks rookie coach Todd McLellan, an assistant in Detroit last year. "It took us a while once our character was challenged, and we responded. The lesson has to be learned that we can't give games away." San Jose has won four Pacific Division titles in the past seven seasons, but has never made it beyond the 2004 Western Conference finals.

The loss might be the final game in the 20-year career of Jeremy Roenick, who postponed retirement to make two more runs at his first Stanley Cup. Rob Blake, the 39-year-old defenseman, also could be gone, as could 43-year-old Claude Lemieux, who made a comeback after a 5½-year NHL absence, but played just once against Anaheim.

The Ducks advance to the Western Conference Semifinals to play the #2 seed Detroit Red Wings.


The Ducks weren't a "true" #8 seed, but that's no excuse for the Sharks lackluster performance. These two teams were a lot closer in talent and the level they play each other than their records and seeds indicated. What's funny is that these teams had polar opposite seasons, but in the end, reverted back to their traditonal ways. San Jose DOMINATED all year long, but couldn't break thier jinx of early playoff exits. Anaheim was a very up and down team this year, but when the chips were down, they played the way a playoff team SHOULD play. Anaheim is going to be a tough out for Detroit, but I still pick the Red Wings in 6 (Red Wings won the season series 3-0-1). As for the Sharks, now we see why the Bruins dealt Joe Thornton. I wouldn't say San Jose needs a complete overhaul, but certain key cogs need to be replaced, and it starts with Thornton.

Btw, poor Travis Moen. He gets traded from the Ducks to the Sharks and watches his former team eliminate him.

OTHER PLAYOFF ACTION...

(4) Chicago Blackhawks (4-2) over the (5) Calgary Flames (2-4) 4-1

There is plenty of reason to celebrate in Chicago as the Blackhawks downed injury-riddled Calgary 4-1 in last night's win to take the series 4-2. The Blackhawks' previous playoff series win was a four-game sweep of Calgary back in 1996, 13 years ago. Calgary was eliminated in the 1st round for the fourth straight season and other than the year they went to the Stanley Cup, haven't gone past the 1st round since their cup winning season in 1989.

The Blackhawks were simply relieved after Monday's game to have earned their first road win in the series and get a breather before facing the well-rested Vancouver Canucks in the next round. "We're excited about the win, but you pay the price," captain Jonathan Toews said "You take a lot of pressure and abuse." Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist for Chicago, with Adam Burish and Brian Campbell also scoring. Dustin Byfuglien added an empty-net goal and had two assists. Rookie Kris Versteeg, a Calder Trophy nominee, also contributed two assists.

The Blackhawks had 10 players with a combined 309 playoff games compared to Calgary's 19 players with 764 postseason games. With 14 players under the age of 25, the Blackhawks are the youngest team in the NHL. Chicago was quicker out of its zone, faster on the forecheck and unafraid to engage Calgary physically.

Todd Bertuzzi scored the lone goal for the Flames, who managed just two goals in the final two games of the series. They were ousted in the first round for a fourth straight season. The Flames spent up to the salary cap to build a team for a long postseason run. Injuries hampered them in this series, but the depth wasn't there in the playoffs, either. "The organization gave us the opportunity to go deep and to win and we didn't get it done," Flames captain Jarome Iginla said. "Injuries are part of it. Even with those, we were still capable for winning this series and it's hard to take."

Nikolai Khabibulin made 43 saves for the win. He's 8-3 in the playoffs against the Flames, including beating them in the 2004 Stanley Cup final when he played for Tampa Bay. His regular season record vs. the Flames is 22-5-2. "People started saying in Game 3 and Game 4 he wasn't playing his best hockey," Toews said. "He's our best player and he proved that again tonight."
Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 12 shots in the loss. The Flames pressed for goals in the third period and pulled Kiprusoff with more than 2 minutes remaining to no avail.

With Bertuzzi in the penalty box, Kane made it 1-0 just 2:20 in. From the bottom of the circle, Versteeg tried to connect with Byfuglien in front of the net for a tip-in, but the puck deflected out front for Kane. Byfuglien lugged the puck and circled behind the net to the half-boards before passing to Burish, who beat Kiprusoff midway in the opening period. Defenseman Campbell's slap shot from the point through traffic was deflected and beat Kiprusoff to the glove side for a 3-0 edge in the second period.

Next up for the Blackhawks are the Vancouver Canucks, who they split the regular season series with.


This series went pretty much how I expected it to. I really thought Calgary could make a deep run because they could tangle with teams like Detroit and San Jose, but they ran in to a team that was a poor match-up for them. Chicago is a fast, young, physical team while. Calgary is a physical team, but is older and couldn't match Chicago's energy. Calgary made the right moves at the deadline but it didn't pan out for them. Calgary is another team that will be interesting to follow in the off-season to see what direction they head in. As for the Blackhawks, they get rewarded with the best goalie in the world in Roberto Luongo. I wouldn't say Vancouver and Chicago mirror each other's styles, but they are close and this series will come down to goaltending. I think the Canucks take it in 7 games.


OTHER NEWS

-Washington Capitals forward Donald Brashear was suspended for a total of six games by the National Hockey League for two separate incidents in Game 6 against the New York Rangers. Brashear had a hearing on Monday to discuss his exchange with New York's Colton Orr in the warm-up prior to the game and his late hit on Rangers forward Blair Betts in the first period. Brashear got one game for the incident with Orr and five additional games for his hit on Betts. The Rangers announced on Monday that Betts suffered a broken orbital bone as a result of the hit and is out indefinitely. "Brashear delivered a shoulder hit to an unsuspecting player," said Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell in a release. "It is also my opinion that the hit was delivered late and targeted the head of his opponent, causing significant injury." Brashear will start serving his suspension in Game 7 and it will extend through Washington's next five playoff games, or the 2009/10 regular season depending on how long the Capitals are in the playoffs. The Capitals defeated the Rangers 5-3 on Sunday to force Game 7 on Tuesday.

-Niklas Backstrom of the Minnesota Wild, Steve Mason of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins are the finalists for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender. The winner, voted by general managers around the league, will be revealed June 18 at the NHL awards show in Las Vegas. Mason, a rookie, posted a franchise-record three straight shutouts in December and helped the Blue Jackets reach the playoffs for the first time. Thomas led the NHL with a 2.10 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage for the Eastern Conference-leading Bruins. "It's quite an honor," Thomas said after the Bruins practiced at Ristuccia Arena on Monday. "Just breaking into the NHL a few years ago, you're always trying to make your goals bigger but you want to make them reasonable. You know, one step at a time." Backstrom appeared in 71 games for Minnesota and ranked among the top five goaltenders in goals-against average, save percentage and shutouts. His 37 wins were a franchise record, and after playing in his first All-Star Game he received a four-year, $24 million contract extension that will begin next season. "You don't really think about those things," Backstrom said by phone from Colorado, where he's rehabilitating following hip surgery. "It's more you focus on your game and try to help your team."

-The United States broke open a close game with four goals in the third period, beating Austria 6-1 on Monday to reach the second round of the ice hockey world championship. Dustin Brown had a goal and two assists, and Patrick O'Sullivan and Jason Blake each added a goal and an assist for the Americans. Drew Stafford, Lee Stempniak and defenseman Matt Niskanen also scored goals. U.S. coach Ron Wilson challenged his team when it led 2-1 after two periods. "I think they responded somewhat to my challenge," Wilson said. "We could have put it away fairly early had we scored on some of our wide open chances. We were a little bit casual." The United States beat Latvia 4-2 on Saturday and is assured of reaching the second round, which features two groups of six teams beginning play Thursday. The U.S. finishes Group C play against Sweden on Wednesday.

-Top Canucks defensemen Sami Salo and Willie Mitchell are both expected to play when Vancouver starts the second round of the NHL playoffs. Salo was back at practice on Monday after missing Game 4 in St. Louis, and pronounced himself fit. Mitchell, who was limping after Game 4, skipped practice Monday after leaving early Saturday, but coach Alain Vigneault expects him to play. The Canucks have been waiting and resting since sweeping St. Louis a week ago Tuesday night. Vancouver will open at home against Chicago. Life will be easier for goalie Roberto Luongo, who leads the league with a 1.15 goals-against average in the playoffs and .962 save percentage. He stopped 126 of 131 shots by the Blues, including all 18 in overtime of a Game 4 victory.

-Quebec's finance minister says the provincial government is willing to provide an unsecured bond to help investors who are interested in buying the Montreal Canadiens. Raymond Bachand said Monday he has told Jacques Menard, the chairman of BMO Nesbitt Burns, that Quebec is ready to provide a modest amount, "like $100 million of debentures." Habs majority owner George Gillett has retained the services of BMO to assess all alternatives regarding a potential sale of the team. Bachand stresses that any financial support would have to be available to all Quebec investors interested in acquiring the team. He also made it clear Quebec would not be a shareholder in the NHL club. It's been reported that up to 10 potential buyers have signed confidentiality agreements with BMO to get a look at the franchise's books. Bachand made his comments after a news conference where he announced the creation of Teralys Capital Fund, an $825-million technology investment fund.

TONIGHT'S ACTION:
^Gm 7 - (7) New York Rangers @ (2) Washington Capitals - 7PM (Series tied 3-3) - Versus
^Gm 7 - (6) Carolina Hurricanes @ (3) New Jersey Devils - 7:30PM - (Series tied 3-3)
^ = elimination alert

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Information from the AP was used in this posting