Playoff Sprites

- The Coyotes played the Redwings to 7 games, but Detroit was not to be denied, trashing the Coyotes, in Phoenix, 6-1. The Wings have a tendency to make sure these game 7s are never in doubt. I painfully remember a game 7 where the Wings dropped 7 goals on the great Patrick Roy to dispose of my beloved Avalanche. So everyone's favorite not-so-sleeper pick to make it to the finals out of the West are still alive. They move on to San Jose. The Sharks struggled early in the series with Colorado, but that had more to do with the play of Craig Andersen, at times, than it did with how well the Sharks were playing. Despite Andersen's sharp play, the Sharks still do have to find a way to bury pucks. They have some great finishers; it's just a matter of putting things together.

- The Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns have both spent time in this first round as the best team in the West. They've also both spent time in the shoes of a team that didn't look like it was going to get out of the first round. The Lakers came out strong against Oklahoma City, and then battled well in Game 2 to finish a close game. However, they were beat up in Game 4 at OKC, and all of the sudden the series was level. However Game 5 was back to LA and back to work, as Kobe and company turned up the defensive pressure and rendered the Oklahoma Cities fairly helpless. The Lakers were able to rest their stars for the 4th quarter. It's back to OKC for Game 6; so we'll see which Lakers show up. The Suns have shared similar ups and downs. In the three games that the Suns have won in the series, they have absolutely dominated Portland. Their offense has looked absolutely unstoppable, their defense has been stout, and they have been beyond opportunistic with their transition from one to the other. However, in the other two games, they looked like they were walking in cement shoes, unable to run up and down, and defensively static. They have started running even after makes at this point in the series, though, and Brandon Roy's initial burst seems to have tapered off. Both of these series are likely over tomorrow.

- There are two big stories from the Eastern Conference 1-8 series. One is of course, Alex Ovechkin, as he centers many of the NHL's finest stories. Ovie's Capitals were dismissed by Montreal after a 2-1 Game 7 loss. Ovechkin has been a great individual player, and the Capital's have had plenty of regular season success, but they have only been out of the first round of the playoffs one time. With his inability to bring post-season success to Washington or major Olympic success to Russia, many are going to start to question Ovechkin's performance in these kind of big money situations. It is especially relevant when you look at the way the Canadiens were able to shut Ovie down in this series, in the four games they won. Granted, teams game plan to shut #8 down. This is the way to beat the caps. But this begs the question, is it Ovechkin's responsibility to break through and lead his team mentally and on the score sheet despite these grand attempts to slow him or is it up to his team to step up, knowing they will be granted opportunities in this situation? That's a tough question to answer. I would imagine it's at least a little of both, but it's more important the Capitals figure it out than I do.

- The other big story in this series, to me, came from a decision by Jacques Martin. It was a decision that I believe came even later than it should have, and was probably aided by an unsportsmanlike penalty in a poor Game 5 from Carey Price. But Martin changed the series when he went back to Jaroslav Halak for Game 5. Halak was bombarded early in game 3 and pulled for Price, before sitting Game 4. However, to anyone who saw these games played, Halak's performance was stand-out. For anyone that watched the Olympic tournament, Halak put up huges performances for Team Slovakia, as well. He answered Martin's call by giving up 3 goals in the last 3 games of the series combined, in 3 wins for the Canadiens, which brought them back from a 3-1 deficit. Halak made 37 saves in Game 5, 53!!! in game 6, and just for good measure, another 41 tonight in the clincher. That's 131 saves on 134 shots in the 3 games, a save percentage of 97.8. With that kind of goal-tending, could even Sid the Kid be in trouble? That's doubtful with the scoring depth of the Penguins, but you could have made that argument for Washington. Between the Veteran defensive units of Montreal and the potential of Jaroslav Halak, you never know.

- As I'm typing this post, the Milwaukee Bucks, sans Andrew Bogut, continue the stream of great performances by teams who are missing major contributors. The Bucks were down 9 with 4:09 minutes left in the fourth quarter, before Scott Skiles called a time out. Now, I don't know what Skiles said during that time out, but he must have had some of Michael Jordan's magic water from Space Jam, because the next thing you know, John Salmons is leading the Deer on a 14-0 run before the Hawks score again with 19 seconds left. The Bucks held off a semi-valiant effort from the Hawks late, but head back to Milwaukee with a 3-2 series lead.

- The Eastern Conference Semi-Finals consist of the #4 vs. #8 and the #6 vs. #7. The NHL continues to prove that their playoffs are the epitome of parity. Perhaps the parity is almost too extreme, with so many top seeds falling short each year, but I personally love the unpredictability.

- The Orlando Magic QUIETLY swept the Charlotte Bobcats out of their playoff series. Outside of Dwight Howard's (likely financially costly) complaints about the fouls called on him, the Magic were very impressive. They were able to easily handle the Bobcats with Dwight Howards spending way too much time on the bench and Vince Carter spending way to much time on ice. The Magic were this blogger's favorite to come out of the East and repeat as losers to the Lakers in the finals. The Magic also draw what is looking to be an easier second round match-up, judging by the way the Celtics disposed of the Heat quickly. If they can iron out their couple of issues, Lebron and his sore elbow could be in a lot of trouble.

- I made light of this in the previous piece about how it's not always the higher seed that gets the draw in these 8 team playoff brackets. The Magic are seemingly benefiting from being the #2 in the NBA East as opposed to the #1. The New Jersey Devils suffered from their late season move up to #2 in the NHL Eastern Conference. That gave the Devils a battle with the Flyers, a team that they have consistently matched-up poorly against. This regular season was no different, and sadly, so was the playoff series. The same can be said for the Dallas Mavericks, who, as the #2 seed in NBA, were lucky enough to draw the San Antonio Spurs. Caron Butler led the Mavs to a game 5 win to pull that series back to 3-2, but Dallas is still in big trouble.

- Again, I have already made light of this, but it should be highlighted how the consistent veteran contenders that we all have come to expect solid playoff showings from have, once again, come to play in the big show, despite struggles throughout the regular season. I've already addressed Detroit's playoff surge. They were battling just to be in the playoffs until a couple weeks from regular season's end. The Celtics were a popular upset pick after the geriatric performance they put on after the all-star break. And no one knew what to think of the Spurs upon watching the regular season. We all hoped and probably still expected to see a different version of these teams come playoff time, and so far have not been disappointed.

- I don't think Lebron's injury is anything serious, but I'm not a doctor.

- Orlando over Milwaukee 4-1, Cleveland over Boston 4-3; Orlando over Cleveland 4-2; Los Angeles over Utah 4-1, Phoenix over San Antonio 4-3; Los Angeles over Phoenix 4-2; Los Angeles over Orlando 4-2

- Pittsburgh over Montreal 4-2, Philadelphia over Boston 4-2; Pittsburgh over Philadelphia 4-0; Detroit over San Jose 4-3, Vancouver over Chicago 4-3; Detroit over Vancouver 4-2; Detroit over Pittsburgh 4-3

-APT