Random Thoughts On The Stanley Cup Conference Quarterfinals: Day Nine

by Mike

Two teams manage to stave off elimination so far while two others were being pushed to the edge. Let's check it out.

Montreal: 2; Washington: 1
Washington leads the series 3-2
Great move by Montreal to put Halak back in. Maybe watching Game 4 helped him refocus and get back to where he needed to be. Montreal's offense isn't prolific, but they were able to generate enough while containing the Capitals. Game 6 is back to Montreal but considering that the Canadiens have lost six consecutive playoff games there, they're going to have to buck the trend if they want to stay alive this series.

Buffalo: 4; Boston: 1
Boston leads the series 3-2
Buffalo came out very strong tonight and got that type of playoff scoring from character guys that makes teams successful in the playoffs. Great showings by Tyler Ennis and Jason Pominville by getting a goal and an assist each while Ryan Miller put up a .971 save percentage. Boston wasn't too please though, and things got hairy toward the end.

If this were anyone other than Chara they'd be suspended. He'll still be there come Game 6. Yay NHL's "consistent" discipline for these events.

Detroit: 4; Phoenix: 1
Detroit leads the series 3-2
No Shane Doan, no Dave Tippett wizardry, and now, the Coyotes are a game away from elimination. The contest was once again very close up to the end but come halfway through the third period, a broken play lead to a Tomas Holmstrom goal and after that, the Coyotes became completed unraveled thanks to the Euro-twins. There's three factors coming into play for Game 6: Detroit's home building, the Red Wings abysmal record for day games (the unofficial number is 2-8, I'll have to verify it), and whether or not Doan will be able to play for Game 6. The Red Wings have that killer instinct on lock, so the Coyotes will have to either exploit their weaknesses on Saturday or get the golf clubs ready after a historic regular season for them.

Vancouver: 7: Los Angeles: 2
Vancouver leads the series 3-2
Vancouver decided to assert their dominance in the series and ended up chasing Jon Quick out of the net. Erik Ersberg didn't fare much better but when you don't get much in terms of playing time, it's a lot harder to get into the groove of things. L.A. wanted to "send a message" to Vancouver... but Vancouver was definitely made for that kinda thing.

Game 6 goes back to L.A., where the Kings still have a chance to tie the series up but if Vancouver keeps playing like they can, it'll be lights out L.A.