Baily's Sports & Stuff

LeBron was getting fouled hard. The Miami Heat were having a hard time. Chicago was coasting to a 76-64 lead in the fourth quarter. So what do they do? Just make impossible shots. That'll help. LeBron knocked down two key jumpers in a span of 30 seconds, Derrick Rose missed a huge free throw late and the Heat survived the Bulls 83-80. LeBron scored 28 and grabbed 11 boards. With the Heat down 79-72 and 1:31 left, Dwyane Wade made a huge play. He took a three, got fouled, made the three, and knocked down the foul shot. On the next Miami possession, it was Bron Bron's turn. LeBron stepped up, used a screen to get open on the left wing, and drained a three. The Heat stole the ball on a deflected pass, and James knocked down another huge jumper. Miami had their first lead since the first quarter. However, it didn't look like the lead would last long. Derrick Rose was fouled, and he made the first shot, but the second hit the side rim and missed. Chris Bosh was sen

You have comeback champions and you have comeback victims. The Boston Bruins will be remembered as a comeback victim. The Tampa Bay Lightning will be remembered as a comeback champion. One more win on Friday night, and the Lightning will have another comeback under their belt. Teddy Purcell and Martin St. Louis scored two goals apiece and the Lightning staved off the Bruins 5-4 to avoid elimination and send the series into seven games. The winner plays Vancouver in the Stanley Cup Finals. Just 35 seconds into the game, Purcell got the puck on a faceoff and fired a shot top-shelf. It went in the net, and the Lightning led, but they didn't have much celebration time. Boston came back and took a 2-1 lead after one period. The efforts and actions of St. Louis and Purcell were huge for Tampa. St. Louis fired a backhand goal past Tim Thomas midway through the period, and just a little bit later, Teddy Purcell fired a wristshot that went in the corner of the goal, which made T

If the Oklahoma City Thunder had a time machine, they'd use it. Last Thursday, Oklahoma City was tied 1-1 in the series, and they had home court. Now, the Dallas Mavericks are in the NBA Finals. Dirk scored 26, Shawn Marion scored 26, and the Mavericks finished off the Thunder in five to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since the '05-06 season. The final score was 100-96. No one expected the Lakers to be knocked out by the Mavericks, but Dirk and Dallas dominated the series. No one saw the Mavericks making the NBA Finals, but here they are, awaiting the winner of the Chicago-Miami series. Nowitzki has given his all this series, averaging 32.2 PPG against OKC, and averaging 44 PPG in games one and four. If he continues to light up the Finals, Dallas may be celebrating a title. The last time Dallas made the finals, five years ago, Miami was the opponent. The Heat own a 3-1 series lead on Chicago, and they are ready to go in for the kill. If the Mavericks

The Oklahoma City Thunder crowd was going crazy. Five minutes remained, and their team led 99-84. A 2-2 series was what everyone saw. Except Dirk Nowitzki. Dirk scored 40, Jason Kidd was huge during overtime and the original four periods, and the Mavericks stunned the Thunder 112-105 in overtime. During the 17-2 run, Dirk went back to making tough shots, draining a three and converting a three-point play on back-to-back possessions. Dirk calmly knocked down a pair of foul shots to tie the game. Oklahoma City had a chance to win the game, but a busted possession is what went down next. Kevin Durant's three-point attempt was blocked by Shawn Marion, and the game went into overtime. The game was tied with under one minute to go in overtime, until Jason Kidd stepped up. Kidd knocked down a triple from the right wing, and the Mavericks led by three. Russell Westbrook missed a layup, and the Mavericks drained four free throws to end the game. Dirk was huge early in the game,

When you have a goalie like Antti Niemi, it's pretty hard to lose games. Niemi is one of the best goalies when it comes to the leg, and he can use his glove, too. But when his team struggles, you wonder where Niemi is. And if he's ready. Niemi has gave up 17 goals in this series against Vancouver, including 14 in the last three games. He's been pulled twice, and Antero Nittymaki stepped up for him by saving all but one shot in his two appearances (29 of 30 shots). In the Canucks 4-2 victory over San Jose, Niemi gave up four goals in Vancouver's 13 shots. Sure, the last Vancouver goal was nearly impossible to save, and he made a great save in the first, but he still needs to play better. Every team still in the playoffs except for San Jose has recorded a shutout. That's funny, because Niemi has had 17 chances to do it, while the Bruins and Lightning only had 15. 9 of the 16 teams have recorded shutouts this postseason. Niemi was strong for about a period an

Antti Niemi may not be known as a third period goalie. He gave up three goals in the final period tonight and four last game. Yet, the Sharks are still cruising along, with only a couple dents in their ship. Patrick Marleau has saved more. Marleau scored twice, Joe Thornton racked up three assists, and the Sharks held off the Canucks to get their first Western Conference finals win in their last nine tries. Just 3:56 into the game, Marleau got the Sharks on the board after a great play by Thornton. Thornton had the puck behind the net, and he passed it to Marleau, who poked the puck through Luongo's legs. Ryane Clowe made a big play for the Sharks just a little bit later when he got the puck in front of the net, moved it to the right, and fired past Luongo, who had now allowed two goals. Marleau decided to tack on another goal for the Sharks, and his fifth goal in four games was a good one. He stole the puck from Vancouver, got a breakaway, and fired the puck into the r

The Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning had combined for 18 goals in the series' first two games, and ten of those were let in by Tim Thomas. So how did he respond? Domination. Thomas saved all 31 shots taken by Tampa Bay, and the Bruins defeated the Lightning 2-0 to take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference finals. David Krejci and Andrew Ference scored for Boston. After finding the net five times in Game 1, and leading early in Game 2, Tampa Bay was expected to dominate. But Boston found a way to win Game 2, and their star goalie helped them win Game 3. Krejci's goal was huge for the Bruins, and it was spectacular, too. He received a pass from Milan Lucic, faked out Dwayne Roloson with a shot, moved the puck to the left and back-handed the shot in. Ference's was a little easier. He fired a slap shot from a long ways away, and Roloson failed to cover up the puck. However, that goal wasn't needed, considering how great Thomas was. Roloson made some nice sa

The NBA Lottery is basically just an event you either win, lose, or don't really get anything out of. Once the Cleveland Cavaliers figured out they won the lottery, Cleveland was jubilant. But now, they have to do something with it. With the pool of talent there is this year, it isn't easy to go wrong, especially since the Cavs also have the fourth pick. But who would make the most sense for Cleveland, and the other top five teams? Kyrie Irving is a smart point guard who plays well when his team needs it. He stepped up at key times for Duke in college, dropping 31 in one game. Although Kemba Walker was clearly better in college, Irving has what NBA scouts want. If Walker is available when Cleveland picks fourth, I say they should grab him. Still, with the first pick, they will need a player to support Baron Davis, and Irving isn't as much of a risk as Walker. Cleveland should take Kyrie Irving. As for the Minnesota Timberwolves, they need a point guard or a center

People were comparing Dirk Nowitzki to Zach Randolph before this series started. Big, good at rebounding, a great fadeaway jump shot. However, Dirk was in his own league tonight. So much for Zach Randolph. Dirk scored 48 points and made all 24 of his free throws, Jason Terry scored 24 and Dallas overcame a second quarter deficit to defeat Oklahoma City 121-112 and take a 1-0 series lead in the Western Conference Finals. In the first four minutes, Dirk scored ten points, and every Mavericks fan in the arena was predicting big things from Nowitzki. Although those were his only buckets in the first, he made some nice plays in the second as well. Dirk added 11 more in the second, dominating with his odd fadeaway shot, and scoring wherever he could. From layups off inbounds to jumpers to driving layups to free throws, Dirk was unstoppable. Nowitzki took and made that shot like a miss would literally kill him. With the Mavericks on top 71-62 in the third, Dirk took a 14-footer, and

Kevin Durant was coming off his worst game in a long time. The scoring champ needed to do something about it. So, he decided to put on a great display of dunks, floaters, and threes. It worked well. Durant scored 39, Russell Westbrook put up a triple-double, and the Oklahoma City Thunder took over the third quarter and beat Memphis 105-90 to advance to the conference finals. Oklahoma City made 20 of their 23 free throws, with all three misses coming from James Harden. However, he redeemed himself by draining four treys and scoring 17. The Thunder bench tallied 42, while the Memphis bench only tallied 22. The Thunder are going to need a lot from the bench to survive the Mavericks, who's bench completely dominated LA's. Nick Collison was huge for Oklahoma City. He stuffed the Grizzlies almost every time he got the chance, and he made some huge tip-ins. If Collison plays like this in the conference finals, the Mavericks may have a tough time. With Oklahoma City up 50-4

In the first period, Boston got 12 shots, while Tampa Bay got 10. In the third period, Tampa Bay got 11 shots, and Boston got 13. In the first and third period, the Lightning scored five goals. Boston scored two. Sean Bergenheim scored his eighth goal of the playoffs (he had 14 in the regular season), Dwayne Roloson saved 31 out of 33 shots, and the Tampa Bay Lightning kept an eight-game winning streak alive by beating the Boston Bruins 5-2. Boston fired lots of long slap shots, especially in the second and third periods, knowing that those have gone by Roloson before, and setting up a better shot could result in a turnover. Were they saved? Yes. Roloson made saves high, low, and in the middle, he saved slap shots, wrist shots, wrap-arounds, and snaps. He got lots of help from the defense, who blocked 17 shots. The Bruins fired 50 shots, but only 33 got to the goalie. Boston wasn't trying hard enough to shoot the puck in a space where Roloson would have to move to get i

Since the Giants won the World Series, Brian Wilson, Tim Lincecum, Pablo Sandoval, Edgar Renteria, all these guys were being more appreciated. Has the appreciation helped? Yes. The San Francisco Giants rebounded from a tough start and have won 20 games so far, compared to 16 losses. The defending champs are tied for first in the NL West. San Francisco has won five straight games and seven of eight, sweeping the Rockies, taking two of three from the Mets, and taking the first two against Arizona. Tuesday, it was Cody Ross, Wednesday, Andres Torres. Everyone is getting into the fun that is Giants baseball. Even though the Giants still have 126 games left, and the division race is tight, there is reason to believe and celebrate in San Francisco. Pablo Sandoval has hit five homers and knocked in fourteen runs in just 24 games played. Pat Burrell has also went deep five times, but most of those were in early or mid April. Plus, Pat the Bat only has nine RBI's. The leader in

Boston was feeling pretty comfortable. They were playing well against the Miami Heat, with a halftime lead, and even 23 points from Dwyane Wade couldn't give the Heat a halftime lead. In the second half, Wade didn't play as well. He got a boost. Wade scored 34, LeBron James scored 33 as the Heat beat the Celtics 97-87 to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. James made huge back-to-back triples to seal the game. They will play the winner of the Chicago-Atlanta series. The Celtics led by as much as ten during the game, but the Heat fought back. Early in the game, with the Heat down 20-12, Wade grabbed a rebound, put up a crazy left-handed floater as he was falling, and made the basket. Still, that wasn't enough. Boston's early 26-16 lead sent doubt into the Heat and their fans, but the team recovered. Wade scored 12 in quarter two as the Heat cut the halftime deficit to 49-47. In the third, Mike Bibby and Juwan Howard scored, with Howard draining a pair o

Last year; 11 of the 60 draft picks are from other countries. In 2009, 17 were from different countries. In 2011, four of the first eight picks may be from other countries. The NBA Draft is letting in top stars from college that may have dominated their season, led their team to a championship-caliber season, won an award, or did something else special. Is that what most people look forward to when they watch the draft? Yes. But this year, players like Enes Kanter, Jan Vesley, Bismack Biyombo, and Jonas Valanciunas are taking over. Kanter, a 6-10 center who weighs 255, hasn't even played a game this year. But scouts are so high on him, that he could even go third, most likely the first player from another country (Kanter is from Turkey) to get picked. Jan Vesley loves to run and dunk the ball, and has an excellent perimeter game. Even though he isn't your typical defensive player, he could still go fourth (at highest). Vesley is from the Czech Republic. As for Biyombo

There was no answer. No answer to the way Oklahoma City was playing. They trailed 37-19, then 44-27. How could a team like Oklahoma City come back and beat Memphis. The Grizzlies had all of the momentum. They let it slip away. Russell Westbrook scored 40, Kevin Durant scored 35 as Oklahoma City stunned Memphis 133-123 in the third overtime. Oklahoma City had chances to win in both overtimes, but they missed three game-winning shots. Memphis was getting great plays here and there from Zach Randolph, Shane Battier, Marc Gasol, just about everyone. When O.J. Mayo drained a 17-footer early in the second, the Grizzlies went up 37-19. Kendrick Perkins was called for a technical foul midway through the second, giving Zach Randolph a technical free throw. He made it, then drained a short shot. Memphis lead 44-27. However, OKC dominated the rest of the period, and cut the halftime score to 53-49. Durant and Westbrook combined for 14 of the team's 22 points in the third quarter,

The Lakers plan coming into Game 4 was to force the Mavericks to drive in and take two-point shots. It was a good plan, and the Lakers were feeling confident that they could execute it to perfection. There was just one problem; the Mavericks tied an NBA record for threes made. Peja Stojavokic and Jason Terry combined to make 15 out of 16 threes, Jose Juan Barea scored 22 as the Mavericks dominated the Lakers 122-86. The game was close in the first quarter, but an avalanche of triples gave the Mavericks a 63-39 halftime lead. Sometimes, the Lakers wouldn't even contest a shot. Jason Terry made his first five shots from beyond the arc, and three of them were uncontested. Peja knocked down all six of his from downtown, and only two or three were contested. When the Lakers did try to avoid a three, Jose Juan Barea just drove right by them. The six-foot tall Barea saw easy openings and finished with the left hand, the right hand, or any hand. He scored more than Kobe in this gam

Justin Verlander had done this before. He had already thrown a no-hitter. So when he was back in the situation, he decided to have a little fun on the mound. He had a lot more fun when the game was over. Verlander faced 27 batters in his second career no-hitter, which was the second in just five days. Verlander was perfect until J.P Arencibia walked on a 12-pitch at-bat. He got out of that jam by forcing a double-play. The Tigers beat the Blue Jays 9-0. Even though the Tigers ace only struck out four batters, he finished the game with a K, and he got some nice plays from the defense. Scott Sizemore and Jhonny Peralta made some nice fielding plays, as well as Brandon Inge and Ryan Raburn. Verlander and Blue Jays ace both retired the first six batters they faced, but Romero broke down in the third and fourth inning, and Verlander stayed perfect. J-Ver's fastball was working to perfection, and his off-speed pitches were working well. In the first few innings, Verlander used

The Grizzlies were down 16 late in the third quarter to Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Thunder. They trailed by 15 with under a minute left in the third. So how did they win this game? Overcoming adversity, and playing with determination and heart. Zach Randolph, or Z-Bo, scored 21 points and grabbed 21 boards as the Grizzlies stunned the Thunder 101-93 in overtime. Memphis leads the series 2-1, a great feat for an eighth seed. If Memphis advances past OKC, they will become the first eighth seed to advance to the conference finals. The game was close early on, with the biggest lead in the first 18:34 being OKC's 15-8 lead early. Memphis went on an 8-0 run to get the lead back, but Kevin Durant drained a stepback three to give the Thunder the lead. However, Memphis led after one, getting the go-ahead bucket when Grevis Vasquez stole the ball from Durant and gave it up to O.J Mayo, who scored a layup at the buzzer. Mayo played great for Memphis in Game 3, scoring 18

L.A. hasn't dominated the league like they normally do this year, taking out the New Orleans Hornets in six games, instead of four or five, like everyone expected. Once they fell behind 2-0 to Dallas, though, everyone knew the Lakers would have to stage some kind of improbable comeback. They couldn't give up Game 3 and 4! They gave up Game 3. Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry were instrumental in Dallas's eight-point fourth quarter rally as Dallas somehow beat the Lakers 98-92. Terry scored seven points in the final two minutes, and Dirk had the go-ahead basket with 1:23 left. Dirk scored 32 in this game, Terry scored 23 and Peja Stojavokic scored 15. Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom led a Lakers squad that was beat up from their two losses at the Staples Center, and it showed. Well, it showed in Kobe. The Lakers star finished with 17 points, and in a game that the Lakers just barely lost? They need more contributions from Bryant, who averages 25.3 PPG in this series. He has

The Sedin brothers have hardly done anything during the playoffs. In fact, Henrik Sedin picked up his first playoff points in Game 4, and Daniel hasn't scored in five games (and he only has two assists in that time). The Canucks are doing the job for him. Ryan Kesler broke a tie with a goal in the third period as Vancouver beat Nashville 4-2. Henrik Sedin finally scored on an empty-net goal to seal the deal and push the Predators on the brink of elimination. Christian Ehrhoff picked up a goal early on when a slap shot he fired got past Pekka Rinne, giving the Canucks a 1-0 lead. However, Joel Ward didn't want his Predators to go into intermission losing, so he got a pass near the goal and scored. In the second, the Canucks got some more luck on long slap shots. Alexander Edler fired one, and somehow, it got by Rinne. Pekka Rinne had played very well against Anaheim, and he took over Game 2 of the series, but in Game 3 and Game 4 he hasn't been doing as well. Rinne

Jimmer Fredette has dominated college basketball, yet people think he won't go in the Top 10. That's true, he probably won't, but if I were a Top 10 team, I would definitely take Fredette. What leads these teams to pass on college stars and take players that they've hardly even seen play. This year, players from other countries will probably get picked before Kemba or Jimmer. Jimmer will most likely get picked 10th-14th, or late lottery. He isn't super-athletic, and he's not great on defense, but he finds ways to score easily. He led college hoops in scoring. I think Fredette goes to Phoenix. Phoenix's guards are worn out, and Steve Nash is past his prime. He still averages 11.4 assists per game, but he is definitely near the end of his career. Before Jimmer takes over, he could help Nash dish out even more assists. Fredette can score from almost anywhere, and when he shoots that jump shot, you'd better pray it doesn't go in. Kemba Walker is a

Dirk Nowitzki has solidified his reputation as a shooter, a rebounder, and a guy who can post up and score down low. Basically, he can do almost everything on offense for you, and he doesn't slack off on D. This leads to a 2-0 series lead against the LA Lakers. Dallas stunned LA again 93-81 to take a 2-0 series lead in the Western Conference semis. Dirk scored 24 to lead the Mavericks, while Shawn Marion supported the team with 14. Kobe scored 23, which is good, but not enough for LA. Even though only four people got into double-digit scoring, and only one finished with 15 or more, Dallas got enough defense and enough threes to help them survive. Los Angeles shot 11 for 20 from the free throw line, which is like what some nine year olds can shoot. Dallas shot 17 for 21 from the foul line, and 8 for 25 from beyond the arc. LA shot 2 for 20 from downtown. Dirk made key shots in the first, second, third, and fourth. In the first, he hit a nice turnaround and a triple to end th

It doesn't matter if the game is in San Jose, Los Angeles, or Detroit, the San Jose Sharks are simply amazing in overtime. Five of the team's seven wins have come in overtime, including three against LA. The two against the Wings have still turned the tide. San Jose got a hat trick from Devin Setoguchi and a big goal from Dan Boyle as the Sharks stole Game 3 4-3 in overtime from the Red Wings. Just like last year, San Jose leads Detroit 3-0 in the series. Antti Niemi allowed a few goals, but he played well when San Jose needed him to. Detroit had a couple shots in the extra session that just went wide or high. Detroit had a setup similar to the one where they scored a goal in Game 2, and it worked, but Henrik Zetterburg's shot went high. Doug Ericcson had another good chance, but he missed a shot wide left, and Tomas Holmstrom had one, but he couldn't juke Niemi and get the puck past him. Niemi made the save with his leg. Earlier in the period, Pavel Datysuk t

It was right there for the Capitals to grab. A victory that would guarantee them tickets back home to play hockey at the Verizon Center, to have a much better shot at defeating Tampa Bay. The Capitals were clinging to a 3-2 third period lead, which was so precious. All they had to do was keep it. In a matter of 24 seconds, they let it go. Steven Stamkos and Ryan Malone scored in a period of 24 seconds as the Lightning stunned the Capitals 4-3 and pushed the Capitals on to the brink of elimination. Sean Bergenheim and Vincent Lecavlier also found the net for Tampa Bay, who has won six straight. Early in the game, Washington had the puck deep in Tampa territory. Somehow, Mike Knuble got the puck past Dwayne Roloson from the side of the net. The Capitals started a brief celebration, but it stopped when the Capitals were called for a penalty, too many men on the ice. The Lightning had many chances, especially on power plays, but refused to take long slap shots. They wanted to get t

Francisco Liriano was having a hard season. He had a 1-4 record, his pitches weren't working and he wasn't getting much help from his fielders. A 9.13 ERA from the Twins ace? Liriano was pitching tonight to save his spot in the rotation. He saved his spot, alright. Even though he gave up six walks, Liriano didn't allow a single hit in the Twins 1-0 victory over the White Sox, throwing the first no-no this year. Liriano forced a groundout to short, a popup to short, and a liner to short in the ninth inning. Liriano struck out only two batters, but his fielders were making plays, and good ones, too. On one play in the eighth, Brent Lillebrige was at first and Gordon Beckham was up. Beckham hit a curveball to third base, where Danny Valencia fielded it and fired to second... Alexi Casilla caught the ball at second, who got the lead runner out, but his throw to first was a little off. Justin Morneau came off the bag to get it, and he tried to tag the runner. Although re

In a close game, the Hawks needed someone to step up. Derrick Rose and the Bulls had won close games three times against the Pacers, twice at the United Center. Including the playoffs, Chicago was 39-5 at the United Center. So how did they lose? The Hawks stepped up. By shooting 51.3 percent from the field (compared to 44.6 percent from Chicago) the Hawks found a way to stun Chicago and take a 1-0 series lead on the road, something that really helped them against Orlando. Joe Johnson led Atlanta with 34, and him and Jamal Crawford made huge shots in the fourth quarter to power Atlanta to a 103-95 win. Atlanta got two free throws from Zaza Pachulia at the end of the third, giving them a 72-71 lead. Early in the fourth, Johnson stepped up and drained a triple near the top of the key. With Atlanta up 77-71, Jamal Crawford got the ball on the left corner and knocked down another triple. The 10-0 run helped Atlanta take control of the game and pull away. With Atlanta on top 84-75,

When you're down 60-44 in LA against the Lakers, you might as well give up, right? No team has come back against the Lakers from a deficit like that to win in a long time. Until now. Somehow, Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks stayed in the game and found a way to stun LA 96-94. Luck helped in the final seconds, with a couple free throws sealing the deal, and Kobe actually missing a game-winning three-pointer. The Lakers went on a 21-2 run in the second and third quarters, changing a 42-39 deficit into a 60-44 lead. In LA, when the Lakers have the momentum, it's hard to change it back. But Dallas did just that. The main reason the Mavericks won is shooting. Dallas shot 49.4 percent from the field, while LA only shot 42.9 percent. Dallas drained nine triples, while Los Angeles only scored on five. Even though LA made 17 free throws, and Dallas only made nine, the Mavericks made the ones they needed to, especially late in the game to catch up with the Lakers. Anothe

Zach Randolph doesn't look like a shooter. He doesn't look like he has hustle. He doesn't look like the star of the Memphis Grizzlies basketball team. But he is. He's playing like it. Randolph tallied 34 as the Grizzlies stunned the Thunder 114-101 to take a 1-0 series lead, and control of the series. The Grizz also got 20 points and 13 rebounds from Marc Gasol, who is playing like his brother Pau. By using their speed and hustle and showing the ability to overcome the Thunder's front-court trap, Memphis was able to score. They worked the ball around the horn very nicely, drove to the hoop well, and stole the ball enough times. OKC had 18 turnovers, while the Grizzlies only had seven. In the first quarter, with Memphis winning 20-19, Zach Randolph had the ball. He took a turnaround that went right through the center of the hoop, pivoting and fading away when he took the shot. Randolph made shots from everywhere. Randolph converted three-point plays, draine

Antti Niemi hasn't played like a hockey goalie for a while. He had a tough series against LA, allowing a total of 18 goals in 6 games against the Kings. But now, the Niemi that ousted the Sharks last year is playing for the Sharks this year. He's playing well. Niemi allowed just 1 goal in 34 shots as the Sharks survived the Red Wings 2-1 and took a 2-0 series lead. Ian White and Niclas Wallin scored for San Jose, with each scoring their first playoff goal. San Jose fans were in it and on their feet the entire game. The crowd got even louder early in the first period, when Logan Couture was knocked down by the stick of Justin Abdelkader, and a power play was awarded to San Jose. The Sharks got the puck into their offensive zone, and with about 20 seconds left in the PP, Dany Heatley took the puck up, pulling the defender with him. He sent a pass back to Ian White, who waited, set up his shot, then fired. It hit the top left corner of the goal, and the crowd erupted. San

Pekka Rinne. Who has heard that name before this season? Not many of you. But the goalie for the Nashville Predators made himself known in Game 2, where he went into a classic goalie duel with Roberto Luongo and the Vancouver Canucks. Rinne wouldn't leave until he emerged victorious. And he did. After giving up a shorthanded goal in the second period, Rinne played the best game of his life, making saves here and there and everywhere to tie the series up at 1 with Vancouver. The game wasn't decided until 5:09 remained in the second overtime. The game was a goalie duel early on until the Canucks finally broke through when Alex Burrows stole the puck from the Preds, passed it to Ryan Kesler, received a pass back from Kesler, and slapped the puck into the net. With the way Roberto Luongo was playing, you thought the game would be over. But it wasn't. Early in the 3rd period, Nashville got a great chance. Jordin Tootoo had an amazing breakaway chance, but his wrist shot

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 Natha