Losing a game 7 and being knocked out of the playoffs is always a tough pill to swallow. Losing a game 7 with 30 seconds to play in the game... that's cause for playing in traffic. The New Jersey Devils were blindsided last night as the Carolin Hurricanes scored twice in the final minutes of the game to tie, then steal a victory to seal the first round playoff series. Eric Staal potted the game winner with little more than 30 seconds remaining to send his club to the second round where they will meet the Boston Bruins.

The Washington Capitals completed a 3-1 series comeback over the New York Rangers last night and completed the first round series with a 2-1 win. Caps forward Sergei Federov also scored late in the game to finish off Washington comeback. The only thing stunning about this series is that it actually went 7 games. The Rangers were dominated throughout the series and merely found ways to survive, although their luck finally ran out. The Capitals move on to the second round where they will face off in what has to be the best matchup of the second round....Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Quick Shave:
So the bosher was 6 for 8 in the first round... only the Flames and Sharks let me down. Well the Sharks pretty much let everyone down. Again. Let's start there.

San Jose once again followed up a successful regular season with an early playoff exit. Joe Thornton was crucified (especially by Keith Jones on Versus... you would have thought Thornton shot his dog) for his poor play, leadership, etc... but let's be fair. This was a team effort, and every Shark sucked big time. Nabokov? Where was he? Marleau? Boyle had one great game. Then? It may be time to blow this team up, because it was clearly not Ron Wilson's fault. The Ducks on the other hand... look awesome. They look as good as they did when they captured the cup 2 years ago. Detroit will have their hands full. The Red Wings were challenged slightly by the Blue Jackets in game 4 but cleared the table quickly as most expected. The Vancouver Canucks shut down a very hot St. Louis Blues team in 4 games as well. The Sedin twins looked great, and Luongo was solid. Sundin was invisible... which is kind of sad. He missed a few games due to injury this series as well. His comeback thus far has been a quiet letdown...quiet everywhere but in Vancouver from what I've read. The Boston Bruins may as well have gotten a first round bye. The Montreal Canadiens would have looked better if I was playing with them. The Pittsburgh Penguins look sharp. Just when I thought the Philadelphia Flyers had a chance to force a game 7, the Penguins reminded me once again that the Flyers still don't have the goaltending to compete with the contenders. Sure Biron was solid in a few games and even landed himself a shutout, but when he's bad, he's really bad. The Blackhawks look great. Young, fast, resilient... and they have Martin Havlat. Does everyone remember how clutch this guy was with Ottawa? He's still doing it. It doesnt hurt to have a revived Nikolai Khabibulin in net either playing like he's in his old Stanley Cup winning form.

Sadly because of the Rangers exit, the Bosher finds himself clean shaven once again... but I find myself in the judges chair once again, admiring the facial artwork that is being displayed once again. Get ready for a very hairy round 2 my friends!

Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh