NHL Playoffs Round 1; Recapping the Action
Vancouver and Chicago. Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh. Philadelphia and Buffalo. Montreal and Boston. LA and San Jose. Anaheim and Nashville. All six of those series went down to the wire, with each being decided in either six or seven games. Washington vs New York and Phoenix vs Detroit brought excitement as well, capping off a great first round. Let's go over all the action.
Down-to-the-wire series
Philadelphia is used to coming back to win games and series. They rallied from down 3-0 in the series and final game against Boston last year, and they found a way to do it against Buffalo. Ville Leino made a huge goal in Game 6, Danny Briere scored 5 goals during the series as Philadelphia beat Buffalo in seven.
Goaltending was a huge problem throughout the series, but in the clinching game, Philadelphia only allowed two goals. Briere scored 2 points during the game, as Philly survived 5-2 and advanced to the next round. Their opponent, Boston, had trouble making it as well, with Nathan Horton's slap shot in the overtime of Game 7 the only reason Boston is still alive. Horton put in a rebound to win Game 5 in 2OT for the Bruins as well. Boston is 3-0 in overtime.
San Jose also went 3-0 in OT, scoring a huge comeback victory in Game 3 and holding off the Kings for wins in games 1 and 6. Ryane Clowe led the team with 7 points in the series, including two goals in the 6-5 OT win that was Game 3. Devin Setoguchi, who had a quiet series, received a pass and took a slap shot that made it past Jonathan Quick. Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton scored game-winners as well, with Thornton scoring a couple off rebounds.
Dwayne Roloson of Tampa Bay had a great Game 7, saving 36 out of 36 shots as the Lightning stunned the Penguins and came back from a 3-1 deficit. Sean Bergenheim scored off of a pass for the only goal of the game. Tampa Bay got contributions from a lot of players, and a great effort from Roloson helped them survive the Pens and make their huge comeback.
In Nashville, Shea Weber and Jerred Smithson made series-changing plays. With the Preds on the brink of falling behind 3-2, Shea Weber scored a huge goal on a slap-shot, and Smithson put in a pass to give Nashville a 3-2 lead. Nick Spaling scored 2 goals in the clinching game as Nashville won the series 4-2.
Vancouver took a 3-0 series lead against Chicago and seemed to have the series locked up, but Chicago tied the series up at 3. Alex Burrows put Vancouver up early, and the Canucks seemed to have the game locked up, but Jonathan Toews scored to tie the game. However, in OT, Burrows got a pass and scored top shelf to give the Canucks the win and avoid the upset.
Washington and Detroit coasted through their series', with the Red Wings winning their series in 4 and the Capitals finishing in 5. Alexander Semin made a huge goal for the Caps in Game 1, sparking an amazing series from the Caps. Washington will just need to avoid the haunted house of the NHL Playoffs in Round 2. Detroit didn't have any ghosts, however, as the Wings finished by sweeping Phoenix.
Round 1 of the NHL Playoffs sure were intense! What about Round 2? What surprises will the second round bring us? We know one thing though, and it is that it will be hard to top the action in Round 1.
Down-to-the-wire series
Philadelphia is used to coming back to win games and series. They rallied from down 3-0 in the series and final game against Boston last year, and they found a way to do it against Buffalo. Ville Leino made a huge goal in Game 6, Danny Briere scored 5 goals during the series as Philadelphia beat Buffalo in seven.
Goaltending was a huge problem throughout the series, but in the clinching game, Philadelphia only allowed two goals. Briere scored 2 points during the game, as Philly survived 5-2 and advanced to the next round. Their opponent, Boston, had trouble making it as well, with Nathan Horton's slap shot in the overtime of Game 7 the only reason Boston is still alive. Horton put in a rebound to win Game 5 in 2OT for the Bruins as well. Boston is 3-0 in overtime.
San Jose also went 3-0 in OT, scoring a huge comeback victory in Game 3 and holding off the Kings for wins in games 1 and 6. Ryane Clowe led the team with 7 points in the series, including two goals in the 6-5 OT win that was Game 3. Devin Setoguchi, who had a quiet series, received a pass and took a slap shot that made it past Jonathan Quick. Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton scored game-winners as well, with Thornton scoring a couple off rebounds.
Dwayne Roloson of Tampa Bay had a great Game 7, saving 36 out of 36 shots as the Lightning stunned the Penguins and came back from a 3-1 deficit. Sean Bergenheim scored off of a pass for the only goal of the game. Tampa Bay got contributions from a lot of players, and a great effort from Roloson helped them survive the Pens and make their huge comeback.
In Nashville, Shea Weber and Jerred Smithson made series-changing plays. With the Preds on the brink of falling behind 3-2, Shea Weber scored a huge goal on a slap-shot, and Smithson put in a pass to give Nashville a 3-2 lead. Nick Spaling scored 2 goals in the clinching game as Nashville won the series 4-2.
Vancouver took a 3-0 series lead against Chicago and seemed to have the series locked up, but Chicago tied the series up at 3. Alex Burrows put Vancouver up early, and the Canucks seemed to have the game locked up, but Jonathan Toews scored to tie the game. However, in OT, Burrows got a pass and scored top shelf to give the Canucks the win and avoid the upset.
Washington and Detroit coasted through their series', with the Red Wings winning their series in 4 and the Capitals finishing in 5. Alexander Semin made a huge goal for the Caps in Game 1, sparking an amazing series from the Caps. Washington will just need to avoid the haunted house of the NHL Playoffs in Round 2. Detroit didn't have any ghosts, however, as the Wings finished by sweeping Phoenix.
Round 1 of the NHL Playoffs sure were intense! What about Round 2? What surprises will the second round bring us? We know one thing though, and it is that it will be hard to top the action in Round 1.
Comments