The hyped Pittsburgh-Philadelphia series is turning out to be a nightmare for the Penguins, as their defense was again utterly destroyed. The non-hyped Vancouver-Los Angeles series is turning into a disaster for the Canucks, as they can’t get their offense in gear. Vancouver and Pittsburgh being pushed to the edge led up the action in […]
Of the 15 games played so far in this year’s NHL playoffs, seven of them have gone overtime. Saturday’s action made a big contribution to the total, with three of four going extra time and one hitting double OT. And all four games saw the Game 1 loser bounce back with a win. Enough excitement for you? TheSportsNotebook looks back on Saturday and ahead to four more on Sunday…
Vancouver and Pittsburgh may have been the betting-line favorites* when the Stanley Cup playoffs started on Wednesday, but each is halfway to elimination after dropping the first two games of the opening round on their home ice. TheSportsNotebook looks back on their games Friday night, other first-round action and looks ahead to Saturday…
The first night of the NHL playoffs on Wednesday saw the two betting line favorites to reach the Finals lose on their home ice. The second night saw three of four games go to overtime, with two underdogs getting wins. As I texted to a friend late last night—the NHL playoffs are what the Almighty put in place to give his creatures heart failure every spring. TheSportsNotebook takes a look back on Thursday night and a look ahead to Friday’s four games…
We’re one day into the NHL playoffs and already the two betting line favorites to reach the Stanley Cup Finals have lost their openers, a coach has ripped the officiating in an in-game interview and the one game last night that wasn’t penalty-ridden was the one everyone was waiting to see closely officiated. In other words, it was another day at the office in the NHL’s always-wild two-month ride to the championship.
If March Madness just ended, then Spring Madness begins tonight, with the two-month ride that is the NHL playoffs. In no other sport is the phrase “second season” more appropriate, and while it would be demeaning to past Stanley Cup winners to call the postseason a complete crapshoot, it is fair to say that what you did prior to this no longer matters and that anyone—down to the lowest seeds in the bracket—can win the Cup if they can put it all together for a good, sustained run. TheSportsNotebook offers its final preview of the 2012 NHL playoffs, with a listing of each team’s odds to win both their conference and the Cup, links to the first-round preview articles we’ve been running the last two days and predictions as to how the bracket will ultimately play out.