Puck Doctors NHL Playoff Preview – Eastern Conference

The start of the NHL postseason is gearing up this week. Here’s our annual look at the playoff preview as we start off with the Eastern Conference.

	#8		Ottawa Senators	vs.	New York Rangers	#1
SENATORS:Somehow, the Senators turned their lost season into a playoff one.  We all wrote off the Sens early in the season as being inexperienced and shallow on talent.  Flash forward to the end of the season and the Sens have scored a robust 243 goals, 4th behind Philly, Pitt and Boston.Not bad.  Not bad at all. In their season series, the Sens won 3 out of 4 against New York and have proven they can use their speed and offense to compete with the tough Rangers.   But a late season slip moved them to the #8 spot and the Senators lack a lot of experience and toughness to be expected to go deep in the playoffs. RANGERS: New York has risen from the ashes to win the Eastern Conference. Not bad for a team that hasn’t made the Conference Finals since 1997.  Thanks to the stellar goaltending of Henrik Lundqvist the Rangers are good to go deep in the playoffs. OK.  They might need some help. Toss in big free-agent Brad Richrads and the revived Marian Gaborik and the Rangers can help put up some points to match their great goaltending.  The Rangers have been sloppy in the final stretch but I expect them to man up and take the series.  The Sens have speed but the Rangers have the size and speed to keep them in check. Note, if there is to be an upset of any kind in the playoffs, it could happen here if the Senators get hot early in the series and we all know that the Rangers biggest enemy is the Rangers themselves.  Possible meltdown could happen at MSG. PREDICTION : Rangers win series 4-1
	#7		Washington Capitals	vs.	Boston Bruins	#2
CAPITALS:The high flying Caps are flying high with Ovi getting hot at the right time.  They also beat the Bruins 3 out of 4 times this season including one without Ovi and one at Boston.   But question marks and disorganization are prevalent in Washington, D.C.  Also, with the Capitals.  Zing.Nicklas Backstrom coming back from injury is a key as the lines may get more stability and with a hot Ovi, the offense could make up for the lack of goal tending. Goalies. Who will it be? Tomas Vokoun has been fighting injuries and Braden Holtby looks to be the man in net.  Wait…who? BRUINS: Like the Canucks, the Bruins started off slow and then found their gear to fly to the top of the standings.  Goalie Tim Thomas is on fire and as long as the Capitals don’t invite Barack Obama to their game he should be stellar again in goal for the Bruins. Brad Marchand, Tyler Seguin, Chris Kelly and David Krejci all topped the 20+ goal mark to help out the Bruin offense but it’s their defense that is really the key. Despite the ups and downs, the Bruins are still the Bruins and I respect them as Stanley Cup defenders.  Look for them and their defensive vets like Zdeno Chara to advance to the next round. It’s hard to repeat as Champions but the Bruins love to grind out their opponents physically.  Look for them to fight off an early push by Washington to steer the series their way. PREDICTION : Bruins win series 4-2
	#6		New Jersey Devils	vs.	Florida Panthers	#3
DEVILS:The biggest question mark in the playoffs is this series. Both teams are unproven and coming off rebuilding years to advance to the playoffs.  First-year New Jersey coach Pete DeBoer was fired by the Panthers a few years back so look for him to try and make a statement with a winning series.To do that he’ll need the ageless vet Martin Brodeur to remain stellar in goal.  Ilya Kovalchuk finished off the year on a scoring note and is looking to start to live up to his hype.  Add in Patrik Elias and Zach Parise and the Devils can easily notch some goals. The penalty-killing for the Devils is tops in the league PANTHERS:  The last time the Panthers were in the playoffs, 2000, they lost to the Devils.  It’s safe to say that Florida has gone through some makeovers since then.  In fact, they have turned over most of their team since DeBoer coached there a few years back. What Florida lacks in talent they make up for in depth.   Overall, they are just a well-rounded team but will need to step up and have someone define their leadership to keep the high-flying Devils offense in check. The Devils know the Panthers and the Panthers know the Devils. Former Brodeur backup goalie Scott Clemmensen may get some playing time to face his old team as the Panthers will also us the defensive trap to choke the New Jersey scorers.  Somehow, that’s just so fitting. PREDICTION : Panthers win series 4-3
	#5		Philadelphia Flyers	vs.	Pittsburgh Penguins	#4
Wow! This is the best playoff matchup I have seen in years.No other two teams have such a hated rivalry of late as the Flyers and Pens and we could be in for a wild, roller coaster ride here.  These two teams don’t just benefit from cross-state rivalry.  They are very similar and talented as well. The Flyers and Penguins matchup will be all-out war.  Physical, bone-jarring war.  Look for lots of hits, lots of fights, and plenty of scoring and enjoy the ride. It’s hard not to focus on these two teams that hate each other more than Boston and Montreal. Throw out everything you know about the teams and just watch this series. Pittsburgh is such a dominant force but Philly knows how to get under their skin. It will be memorable, I can all but guarantee it. It’s going to be Last Man Standing here. PREDICTION : Penguins win series 4-3 in quadruple overtime shootout, dueling pistols thumb war.

Puck Doctors NHL Playoff Preview – Western Conference

The start of the NHL postseason is gearing up this week. Here’s our annual look at the playoff preview as we start off with the Western Conference.

4/11 10:30 PM	#8		L.A. Kings	vs.	Vancouver Canucks	#1
KINGS:The Kings can’t match up against the talented and seasoned Canucks team looking for vengeance from last years debacle.  But not many teams can. Despite an offensive slump of late that doesn’t mean it won’t be a great series.  Late season trades to bring in the talents of a star like Jeff Carter helps but his 9 points in 16 games are on the bench with an injury.  He’s expected back but it hurts not knowing for sure what he’ll be able to bring to the table. As with any good playoff team, you’ll only go as far as your goalie will allow. Thankfully for Kings fans, they have the stellar Jonathan Quick who led the NHL with 10 shutouts.  He’s a solid ray of light on a team still looking for it’s playoff identity.  If he’s hot, look for the Kings to pull a Pekka Rinne-type run like the Preds did last year. Anze Kopitar led the team with a respectable 76 points this season but for the Kings to fly past the Canucks and keep up with the high-flying Vancouver offense, Kopitar will have to have a series of career games and fire up his team. Mike Richards has been quiet most of the last half of the season but he did finish off by scoring in each of the last five games.  Maybe the Kings are ready to wake up their offense? CANUCKS:  The Canucks are still the most talented team in the league despite Daniel Sedin out with injuries.  They are deep and have proven they can go deep, like last year.  They also proved they can’t pull out a win, like last year. The Canucks won the Western Conference title by only dropping 6 games in regulation since March 1st.  So, yeah, they’re still hot and they should be properly motivated to go deep again this year. If the bad taste of losing to Boston in the last minutes doesn’t fire them up, nothing will.  Even the Oilers lost early in the Gretzky days to the Islanders before kicking off their dynasty.  It all has to begin somewhere. Problem is, Roberto Luongo and the Canucks have been known to take most of the first round off so we’ll go with the safe bet and say they’ll squeak one out in 7 games and then run deep again. PREDICTION: Canucks win series 4-3
4/12 7:30 PM	#7		San Jose Sharks	vs.	St. Louis Blues	#2
SHARKS:The Sharks faced the Blues 4 times this season and lost 4 times.  Two of them were shutouts. Despite having three 30-goal scores on the ice, the Sharks just don’t feel as deep and talented as past years. Lots of  points were traded away in Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi and in return Martin Havlat spend most of this half of the season on the IR. Joe Thornton is still an assist machine and Patrick Marleau gladly benefits from that but their offensive output is slightly down from years past.  So Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski will need to step up and catch on fire for the Sharks to have much of a chance. Antti Niemi is a workhorse in goal but he will need the Sharks to fire on all cylinders to try and dent the tough Blues defense.  There’s a lot of pressure on the Sharks to win this year but their rather lackluster season overall leaves me in doubt. BLUES: The Blues are young and tough.  They seemingly came out of nowhere to almost win the Western Conference thanks to a very tough defense and stellar goaltending. They have two solid goaltenders who will lead the team very deep if they continue to play at their season level. But that’s where youth comes in. How will Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott hold up to the playoff pressure? As long as coach Ken Hitchcock, who turned this franchise around, keeps their feet on the ground I expect similar results as their regular season series with San Jose. PREDICTION: Blues win series 4-2
4/12 10:00 PM	#6		Chicago Blackhawks	vs.	Phoenix Coyotes	#3
BLACKHAWKS:The Blackhawks play in a tougher division and had a better record but thanks to the Coyotes winning their division, Chicago will go on the road.  The fate of Jonathan Toews is in the balance as he’s been out with a concussion.  He’s expected back but it’s not a given.  Thankfully for Blackhawks fans, Patrick Kane has filled in nicely. The fate of the ‘Hawks rests in Toews return. Without him, a lot of players are going to have to pick up slack against a hot team.  The ‘Hawks gave Vancouver a run last year and I’m leaning toward them being strong enough to make that leap into the second round if they can get into a grinding series and wear the Coyotes down. Goalie Corey Crawford has only lost 3 games in regulation since Feb. 16th. If he continues to play well and pulls out a similar effort from the Vancouver series last playoffs, look for the Blackhawks to do some fun things in the playoffs. COYOTES: The Coyotes have never made it to the 2nd round while in Arizona. They may not again as talk continues with the franchise moving at the end of the year … again. Despite finishing 1st in the Pacific Division, the Blackhawks come into town with a better record, more points and playing in a tougher division. There’s a lot of pressure in Phoenix to win as the fate of the franchise is literally on the line.  But unlike the Predators in small-market Nashville winning last year and reviving the franchise, the Phoenix organization is a clusterfudge and the weight of the drama may loom too much for the team if it falls behind in the series. Mike Smith was a monster in goal for Phoenix and you should be hearing his name quite a bit in this playoffs with some spectacular saves. Both teams suffer from a lame power play so look for the key to this series being the guy in the net. Remember, this happened last year with Bryz in goal and it didn’t go well for Phoenix. PREDICTION: Blackhawks win series 4-2
4/11 8:00 PM	#5		Detroit Red Wings	vs.	Nashville Predators	#4
RED WINGS:The Wings are still old and started off the season in a horrible way.  But then they caught fire and almost nudged out Nashville for the #4 spot.  Nicklas Lidstrom is 41 years old and not at full speed with an ankle injury but he’s still one of the best in the league at any given moment. Kinda defines the Red Wings of late. Age and experience will help the Wings but as long as Pavel Datsyuk does his thing, and it’s a wonderful thing, the Red Wings will be in competition.   The Red Wings are stacked with veterans in their lineup but have proven to be mortal this season. They had a 20-game winning streaks but also a couple of 6-game losing streaks.  Their up/down season is just hard to predict. Injuries to goalie Jimmy Howard have started to take their toll and he’ll have to stay healthy for the Wings to have a chance.  Although I think the Wings could win the series, I don’t see them as Stanley Cup contenders like in years past. PREDATORS: For the third time in 8 trips, the Preds will face the Wings in the playoffs.  Nashville has a small playoff record but did wonderful things last year as they went all the way to Vancouver to advance past the first round for the first time in franchise history. And the Preds are a better team this year. Probably the best in their franchise history.  The Wings have always been the monkey on Nashville’s back and in their season series the two split the games 4-4.  It’s going to be a tough one for Nashville.  It might even be one of their hardest series ever as expectations are leaning toward Nashville going very deep in the playoffs if they can pull off this one against their rivals. Goalie Pekka Rinne was a stud in the pipes last year and had another fantastic year and the defensive duo of Shea Weber and Ryan Suter is one of the best in the league. Add in the extra offense from the newly reacquired Paul Gaustad, Andrei Kostitsyn and the once exiled Alexander Radulov and the Predators offense is stronger as well, which is a welcome sight to Mike Fisher and Martin Erat. Radulov is looking to make a name for himself in the NHL with free agency approaching which is why he rushed so hard to get back into the league. Look for him to be a big factor in the Predators advancing. PREDICTION: Predators win series 4-3

Puck Doctors NHL Season Preview: Northwest Division

Last season the best team in the NHL surfaced out of the Northwest Division. The Vancouver Canucks rolled over their opponents all the way to the playoffs. Once in the post-season it was a bit up and down but they got to the Finals and lost in a heartbreaking Game 7.

Will the Canucks repeat this year or will another of the divisions teams rise up and upset them? Let’s take a look with out Northwest Division Preview.

NHL Preview Northwest Division

5. Edmonton Oilers

Last season: Last in Division, Missed Playoffs

This Season: The worst team of the 2010-11 season is back and loaded with tons of young talent. Too bad they’re gonna have to learn what to do first before we can talk playoffs.

It’s all about the draft picks right now. Rookie star last year Taylor Hall and this year’s top overall pick Ryan Nugent-Hopkins might be put into the spotlight to produce on a shallow team. Hall suffered an injury late last year to shut down a rather impressive 22 goal season. He’s quick and can score and that’s also expect of Nugent-Hopkins.

It looks like RNH will get some playing time this year as he’s listed on the opening day roster. And why not? Give the kid some experience. The Oilers need all the help they can get. With a shallow blue line the offense will have to work hard to keep in the games.

4. Minnesota Wild

Last season: 4th in Division, Missed Playoffs

This Season: The Wild added some new players in a few notable trades with San Jose. Dany Heatley looks to burn some bridges in Minnesota at the cost of losing Martin Havlat and Brent Burns. Devin Setoguchi came with one of those deals and he’s a talent in the making.

But the lack of depth on the blue line hurts the most with Burns gone. There’s been so much shakeup in the Twin Cities that it’s hard to tell what they are dealing with right now. They made brash moves to add some offense to the team but gave up a lot of defense in the process. Heatley can produce given the right situations but a rebuilding team might not be one. I expect the team to score a lot of goals but give up even more making for a long season.

3. Calgary Flames

Last season: 2nd in Division, Missed Playoffs

This Season: The team missed out on the playoffs last year but will try to make a run for it this year. Unfortunately, I think the team lost more talent than they gained and the whole getting old thing is starting to hit this team.

Jarome Iginla is in his last few years and the talented yet often forgotten star will no doubt be driven this year more than years past. 22-year-old Mikael Backlund is expected to help the #1 line of Iginla and Alex Tanguay to score points. He’s talented and has a lot of potential.

The blue line is a bit thinner. Robyn Regehr was traded to Buffalo and Miikka Kiprusoff is getting older. The 35-year old can only play so many more 70+ seasons before he falls over in exhaustion.

2. Colorado Avalanche

Last season: 4th in Division, Missed Playoffs

This Season: I’m a bit more optimistic with the Avalanche than the Flames because this team added more players to fill the holes. Thankfully the team brought in G Semyon Varlamov and G Jean-Sebastian Giguere to secure the net for them and more size was added to the blue line.

The Avalanche gave up a 2012 first-round pick to the Washington Capitals for Semyon Varlamov which, despite the obvious need for a goalie, is just insane. He better be good and his reputation of getting injured is a tough pill to swallow when you consider the draft pick lost.

There’s a lot of young talent in Denver right now but this team tanked real bad last year in the second half of the season. Hopefully, they pulled in enough new talent to prevent that from happening this year.

There are a lot of question marks in Denver but if the goalies can keep this team in games than there’s a chance the young guns can make some noise in a relatively weak division.

1. Vancouver Canucks

Last season: 1st in Conference, 1st in Division, Lost in Finals

This Season: Hey, they still got second place! That’s something, right?

The Canucks folded in the Finals despite being stacked with the most talent of any team in the league. Goalie Roberto Luongo didn’t quite shake his playoff jinx reputation by not coming through in the final few games. The city, as well noted, freaked out and rioted because this was the team that was supposed to win. No team, not even an under talented team from Boston, was expected to out play the Canucks.

But it happened and we’re here again looking at an extremely talent team with question marks over their head.

Wisely, the organization kept most of the team together instead of pushing the panic button and having a fire sale. Gone are Christian Ehrhoff, Jeff Tambellini, and Tanner Glass which hurts a bit. Glass had some toughness to him that is now with the Jets but it’s really the mentality of this team that needs to mature.

They have the talent. Heck, they have enough to make 2 playoff teams but they’re gonna have to get off their entitled high horse and get to work. It’s a long season and the Sedin twins need to produce in front of the net and not take flops. The health of the team took its toll in the final month of the playoffs and Ryan Kesler (hip), Mason Raymond (back) and Mikael Samuelsson (abdominal) underperformed because of it. Keep them healthy at the end of the season and toss in a little bit of maturity and I expect this team to be one of the final four standing.

Getting the Playoff monkey off their back is a key issue with the Canucks. They could easily win the Northwest and possibly be the only team from the division in the postseason. But once they get there will the ghosts come out to haunt this team again?

Tim Thomas and Goalie Dominance of the Conn Smythe Trophy

After his stellar performance throughout the entire 2011 NHL playoffs, Tim Thomas was the runaway favorite for the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. That fact would not have even changed with a loss in game seven.

Thomas only surrendered eight goals in the seven game series, breaking the record of nine dating back to 1945. After such an amazing season, Thomas quieted any remaining doubters when he continued his hot play all the way through the playoffs. Four shutouts, highest save percentage, most shots faced, goals against average under two, and four penalty minutes to prove he’s tough.

Thomas had such a complete postseason and his play will go down as one of the best goaltending displays of all times and could very well be considered one of the all-time Bruins for being the main reason for ending their 39 year drought.

What shines most about Thomas’ postseason is how he proved the overwhelming value of having a solid goalie in the playoffs. Many goalies who started for their respective teams in these playoffs are above average in their overall skills yet could not do what Thomas did. Not very often is there an undisputed Conn Smythe candidate halfway through a seven game final series.

After watching Thomas over these past few weeks, I am reminded of other great goalie performances in the playoffs, most notably those of Patrick Roy. Arguably the best goaltender of all time, Roy is the only player EVER to win three Conn Smythe Trophies, including during his rookie season. Roy’s three wins are part of the 15 times that a goaltender has won the playoff MVP award. There have been 45 total Conn Smythe’s handed out and goalies have won a third of them.

What’s most significant about Thomas receiving this award is that there was no doubt that he would take home the MVP trophy even if the Bruins fell in game seven. His play set him apart from the rest as he was the single player on everyone’s minds when the words Conn Smythe were uttered. This fact also works into the Conn Smythe facts as the award has been given out to losing players five times and four of those have been goalies, most recently Jean Sebastian Giguere in 2003. Even when a team fails to complete their run to the Cup and fall in the Finals, their goalies have had such an impact to be considered the most valuable player.

Thomas winning the Conn Smythe also has an impact on the national level. He is only the second American to win the award (only five of the 45 winners have been non-Canadians) and considering the other winner is Brian Leetch, Thomas is the only American goaltender to win it. He has now earned another title besides Boston’s savior or the best goalie in the NHL. Thomas is a pioneer. The United States has not been known for producing Hall of Fame goaltenders, but Thomas is definitely making us forget about that. His play announced to the world that the goaltending position is no longer within the unreachable clutches of the French-Canadian netminders, but now it’s America’s turn.

This year truly belongs to Tim Thomas and he earned every accolade that comes his way. Vezina winner, All-Star, MVP, pioneer and now NHL Champion. Enjoy every minute of it, Timmy, keep setting that bar even higher.

Jeff’s One Man Boston Bruins Stanley Cup Victory Parade

I’m kinda at a loss of words for this one.

Jeff’s waited since he was 12 for Boston to win the cup again. Nobody believed that he would do this. He drove down Queen Street in Sault Ste Marie the same time that Boston was having their parade. Family & friends showed up to cheer him on.

Jumping on his lawn mower, Jeff goes out to celebrate. Go Bruins!

Crowd for Bruins Stanley Cup Parade Is Largest Ever in Boston

Boston Bruins fans have been yearning for a Stanley Cup for decades. Despite great runs in the past the team has not won the Cup since the days of Bobby Orr. Even Cam Neely never got his name etched on the trophy.

That is until this year. Cam is now the Bruins President and finally gets to enjoy the glory of the Cup, even if it’s from a suite. Almost 40 years of a Cup drought brought out the best in Boston as over 1,000,000 estimated fans lined the streets for the Stanley Cup Parade through Boston.

That number, estimated by the Boston police, makes it the biggest celebration ever in the city beating out any football or baseball event. Here’s Cam talking about the upcoming event and the ride to the Championship.

One lucky waiter at a Boston also got to live this moment. I wonder how much they tipped?

But one of the best images that popped up was this one of Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz. Although I’m not positive, I think it’s an unwritten rule you can touch the Cup but not lift it up over your head unless you’re a player on the winning team. Crap….the Bruins are jinxed for another 40 years.

The Boston Police Department says Saturday’s parade in honor of the Stanley Cup champion Bruins is the largest championship parade in city history.

Over one million fans have filled the streets from TD Garden to Copley Square as the players ride Duck Boats through the city. The parade began with a small rally reportedly attended by only about 1,000 people, but it has grown considerably along the route.

The great weather, the fact that this parade is being held on a Saturday, and general excitement for the team’s first Cup in 39 years are all possible reasons for the huge crowd.
[via NESN]

For those of you that couldn’t make it to Beantown for the parade here’s a video of the event.

Bruins End 39 Year Cup Run With Hard Work, Determination and Shutouts

I don’t believe that many would have predicted that Boston would be the team hoisting the Cup this year, let alone doing so over the Canucks. The victory was achieved through the combination a lot of hard work, exorcising past demons, stellar goaltending, and of course tremendous beards (see: Chara, Thomas, Bergeron, anyone but Seguin).

First came the Canadiens (deja vu, anyone?). Boston went down 2-0 in the series and had to battle through three OT games, including game seven, in order to knock off Montreal. Thomas was not yet on top of his game in this series, but he was just getting warmed up.

Next up were the Flyers (deja vu, anyone?) – the team that embarrassed the Bruins last year after winning 4 games in a row to take the series in seven. This year would be very different. Was Thomas actually getting warmed up? You bet – just look at these goal totals: 3, 2, 1, 1. Four games, seven goals, series over. Also those seven goals were up against the 20 that the Bruins’ offense tallied in order to take some of the pressure of their netminder. Well deserved ticket to the conference finals.

Here comes Tampa looking to head back to the Stanley Cup Finals when they won a few years ago in 2004. The Lightning seemed to have figured out Thomas, scoring give goals in games one, two, four, and six to take this series the distance. They also seemed rather lost in games three, five, and seven where they netted a grand total of one goal. Tampa’s inconsistency was not enough to take down Boston’s natural goal scoring abilities and they just could steal this one from the Bruins.

That brings us to the Cup Finals – a place the Bruins hadn’t reached in 21 seasons. Another seven game series, and another inconsistent performance by both teams. Scoring eight goals in game three didn’t erase the fact that Boston was shutout in games one and five, leading to a game six facing elimination. No biggee – Thomas only get in two and the offense stepped up so the series was headed back to Vancouver for the greatest moment in sports: a game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals.

ALL of that lead to this moment – one game to win it all.

Cue Tim Thomas. Here’s what I imagine his speech was to the team before the game: Luongo got two 1-0 shutouts – so why can’t I get a second 4-0 shutout? Sounds about right.

In my opinion, the game seven shutout culminated the Bruins 2011 Cup run. Here’s why. Boston was out-shot 37 – 20. Thomas stopped all of them. Their rookie sensation Marchand netted two goals and an assist – what kind of rookie steps up like that? Perfect finals performance as part of this historic run to the cup. Shorthanded breakaway goal in game seven of the finals? Yeah that NEVER happens. Still, Bergeron managed to check that one off his bucket list.

Best of all, Boston waltzed into Vancouver’s house after a grueling series and SHUT THEM OUT. Doesn’t get much better than that.

Boston wasn’t the best team in this year’s playoffs. They did however have one of the greatest playoff performances ever by a goalie, and a team that just would not quit through 25 games. Three seven-game series, a sweep and a Cup-clinching shutout. The fans could not have thought up a better postseason.

Congratulations to the 2011 Boston Bruins – get some rest, you’ve earned it.

Gary Bettman gets BOOED Presenting Stanley Cup

Ahhh….the booing of NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman as he presents the Stanley Cup. It’s one of the great sounds of hockey and one that you can be guaranteed to hear no matter where the Cup is presented and to which team.

Most hockey fans are not very pleased with how Bettman has run the league and his quiet policy to ignore Canadian teams. That why you get this great scene where Bettman presents the Cup to the captain of the winning team and audience in Vancouver almost overwhelms the little guy.

In Case You Missed It, Luongo Chokes and Bruins Win Stanley Cup

It’s hard to put all the blame on Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo for Vancouver’s epic fail in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Boston Bruins will get their team etched into the side of the Cup for the first time since Bobby Orr played with some hard, physical hockey that just overpowered the Canucks.

The Bruins powered their way to an easy 4-0 win on the Canucks home ice which prompted thousands of classy Vancouver fans to start rioting in downtown Vancouver. Nice. And this comes after making fun of Bruins fans for doing that no matter the outcome of the game.

The Canucks defense looked soft in their own end and had little presence in Boston’s zone.  I bring that point up because it really was a huge key for Vancouver during the playoffs.  Their defense is usually really aggressive in the offensive zone and when their d-men get involved with shots on goal good things happen.

But take out a few key players, like Aaron Rome being suspended for his cheap, dumb hit on Nathan Horton, and a poor performance by Roberto Luongo and you have a recipe for a Boston Cup.  The Sedin twins were missing for the most part and the strong offensive performance by Ryan Kesler stuttered to just one point in the Finals.

Kesler has just not been the same during the playoffs after taking a few key hits that seemed to quietly injure him and make him ineffective.  Although no details are being given, Kesler earlier took a lower body hit in the beginning of the series and never made an impact since.

Vancouver was outscored 23-8 by the Bruins which goes to show how much a goaltender is needed to win the Cup.  The Bruins Tim Thomas stormed through the playoffs and never let up, even when Luongo called him out in the Game 5 loss for letting in a soft goal.

But Thomas had the last laugh.  The Bruins won Games 6 and 7 to win the Cup and Thomas took home the Conn Smythe trophy for series MVP and it is well deserved.  Thomas played his heart out and kept this Bruins afloat through the entire playoffs.  His performance is nothing less than extraordinary and his accolades are well deserved.

So whether Canucks fans will blame Luongo for letting in too many goals or the offensive for not producing enough goals remains to be seen.  I’m sure it will be debated for years about what could have been as the NHL’s #1 team through the regular season systematically destructed through the playoffs to prove that the regular season’s records don’t matter in the playoffs.

Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand jumped up and down screaming after the puck sailed into the empty Vancouver Canucks net, knowing that his rookie season would conclude as the hero of Game 7 in the 2011 Stanley Cup Final.

Marchand scored 2 goals and added an assist as the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup championship, 4-0 in Vancouver. It was the franchise’s first NHL title since 1972.

A tenacious 23-year-old forward whose agitating game has earned him comparisons to Bruins great Ken “The Rat” Linseman, Marchand had two goals and an assist in the win. The goals gave him 11 for the playoffs, increasing the Boston rookie playoff record he broke with the opening tally in the Bruins’ Game 6 victory.

But the backbone of the Boston Cup victory was Tim Thomas, the 37-year-old blue-collar netminder who outplayed and outclassed his heralded counterpart Roberto Luongo in the seven-game series.

Thomas won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, stopping 201 of 209 shots for the series.

“I can’t believe it’s over,” said Thomas on NBC after the game. “Being the last game, we didn’t save anything. That was the difference.”
[via Yahoo! Sports]

Luongo’s World, An Epic Tale of Loss

Wednesday night the Vancouver Canucks completed their colossal collapse after going up on the Boston Bruins 2 games to none and allowed Boston to grab a Game 7 win to win the Stanley Cup. Fans in Vancouver rioted and cried as the #1 NHL team through the season slowly fell apart.

Two key dumb moves by Vancouver helped Boston stay motivated. The first was the cheap hit by the Canucks Aaron Rome in Game 3 on Nathan Horton that sent Horton to the hospital and out of the series. That motivated the Bruins to stomp on the Canucks for a few games and get back into the series.

Then Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo called out the Bruins goalie, Tim Thomas, for not making the save on a game winning goal by Vancouver in Game 5. Thomas responded with epic games to win Game 6 and 7 and the Cup. Here’s a look at how that broke down in our continuing photo story, “Luongo’s World.”

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