Keystone State Eastern Conference Finals
How bummed is Peter Forsberg right now for not signing with the Philadelphia Flyers?
How grateful are you Flyers fans that he chose to sign with the Colorado Avalanche and spend his time on their training table?
Who would have thought that the Philadelphia Flyers would rebound so hard following a disastrous 2006-2007 season where they finished at the bottom of the league? Even I cannot say that I saw such success headed their way. Playoffs I thought were possible... but to the Final Four? Inconceivable?!?!
Believe it or not, the Flyers have finally figured out the formula to playoff success... goaltending. Martin Biron outdeuled Montreal Canadiens goal keeper Carey Price last night in their 6-4 win that closed out their second round series in 5 games. The Flyers goal scorers are also on fire, recieving contributions from just about everyone right now. Daniel Briere is second in playoff points, and R.J. Umberger is second in playoff goals, and Vaclav Prospal is feeding the puck to everyone, and is among the leader in assists.
Just across the state, the Pittsburgh Penguins wrapped up their second round series with the New York Rangers. While the Rangers made it look interesting, I think after Game 1, there was no question who the winner of the series would be. The Rangers did manage to avoid the sweep, but were essentially bested in almost every aspect of the game. The Penguins bring a potent powerplay, loaded with top notch forwards and now ride a goaltender in Marc Andre Fleury who defeated Vezina nomineed Henrik Lundqvist. The Penguins closed out their series in 5 games, and so far, have lost only once during the post-season tournament.
The Detroit Red Wings are on a mission. They easily dispatched the Colorado Avalanche in 4 games (they hammered the Avs in game 4, 8-2, and Johan Franzen (I heard a sick stat the other day on the NHL Channel, that Franzen has 26 goals in his last 26 games played... crazy) recorded his second hat trick of the series) and made Jose Theodore look mortal again... and most likely destroyed any bargaining power he had going into unrestricted free-agency this summer. While the Avs weren't healthy I doubt they would have done much against the Wings. The Red Wings now wait to learn who they will face in the Conference Finals.
Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh
Comments
Anybody stay up for the 4 OT marathon in Dallas??? Me either. But from the highlights I saw Brendan Morrow was on a mission, Evgeni Nabakov had maybe the best save of the playoffs so far robbing Brad Richards, and Marty Turco was outstanding. I've had a creeping sickness for about a week now that can only mean one thing: the Red Wings look like Cup favorites. As much as I hate typing that, I do think if there's one team hungry enough to match up with them it might just be Dallas. It should be a monster of a series. Key word being "should." We'll see...
Major props to the Flyers. I didn't even like them as playoff contenders at the start of the season and does anyone even think about the fact they've got this far WITHOUT Simon Gagne? Heck no. They're playing incredibly well and I can't urge you guys enough to tune in for all of these games against the Penguins. These two teams hate each other. Just hate each other. The Flyers outplayed the Pens for most of the year and that should only fuel the fire.
Get ready!!!
PS - anybody else think the sports analysts guys are being way too harsh on Carey Price? He let in some soft goals, yes, but Montreal was not doing an effective job defensively period from what I saw. Give the kid a break.
Posted by: Stache | May 5, 2008 10:43 AM