NHL conference finals

The Game 7s of the NHL’s conference finals weren’t as exciting as the each series overall was, particularly Chicago-Anaheim, which went for thrill-a-minute to Game 7 clunker. But Tampa Bay-NY Rangers produced a good game, and in the end the Blackhawks and Lightning advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Tampa Bay won 2-0 in Madison Square Garden in a tense game that was scoreless over two periods and play-by-play man Doc Emrick on NBC Sports Network said what I was thinking—that the game was a lot like an Eastern Conference Finals Game 7 back in 2011, when Tampa lost in Boston 1-0 on a third-period goal.

But in that ’11 game, the Lightning were outshot and outplayed up and down the ice and it just took until the third period for it to catch up with them. This time they were in control on the defensive end. I can’t recall the Rangers ever really getting serious chances to score—at the very least, Ben Bishop didn’t have to make any spectacular saves.

New York’s Rick Nash continued to be AWOL when it came to simply shooting the puck and the Rangers’ best offensive player only took one shot at the net. Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was as good as expected—in fact, he was the one making spectacular saves, twice denying the Lightning when they had open shots close-in.

It made the goal that finally but Tampa on the board a little ironic—Alex Killorn’s shot got under Lundqvist’s legs and kind of squirted through. It was a tough way to give up the goal that beats you—and Tampa added another with just under nine minutes to go to win it.

Even though Tampa Bay only outshot New York 25-22, that stat doesn’t show the quality of the Lightning looks was much better, as epitomized by the two spectacular saves Lundqvist had to make. Those weren’t the ones that got through, but the simple math of hockey is that when you get consistently better looks than your opponent, the bounce of the puck eventually goes your way.

Tampa Bay won because they were the better team on Friday night, and even though New York won the President’s Trophy, the Lightning just seem to be the more talented team up and down the lineup. When they get goaltending, they’re very difficult to beat.

Now let’s get to Chicago’s 5-3 win over Anaheim on Saturday night. Continue reading “Tampa Bay & Chicago Win Game 7s” »

The drama throughout May has been provided by the NHL rather than the NBA, so it’s fitting that both of hockey’s conference finals are going to a Game 7, promising a weekend of heart-stopping drama on both coasts.

The New York Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning on the road in Game 6, meaning the Rangers now have four straight wins in elimination games, tracing back to their rally from 3-1 down to beat the Washington Capitals in the second round.

Let’s also remember the Rangers rallied from 3-1 down a year ago to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in round two. New York is quite comfortable playing in this kind of high-pressure atmosphere.

One thing we also know from this series is that momentum is non-existent, so in spite of Tampa Bay playing an absolutely atrocious third period, giving up four goals, plus an empty-netter. A game that had been compelling for the first two periods, with New York holding a 2-1 lead, turned into a sloppy joke in the final 20 minutes.

It was a bad night for Lightning goalie Ben Bishop, but keep in mind that Bishop has already bounced back from poor home showings to play well on the road. He did it in most notably in Game 5.

Furthermore, home ice advantage in hockey is perhaps less consequential than in any other sport. It means more to the fans, who get to be there and the scalpers who get to make money, then it does in predicting the outcome.

Each team has shown they can win playing the other’s style. The defense-first Rangers held that 2-1 lead in Game 6 in spite of Tampa unloading 29 shots in the first two periods. The Lightning won a grinding fifth game that should have favored New York.

Continue reading “Game 7s Up Next In Both NHL Conference Finals” »

The cities of Tampa Bay and Anaheim don’t exactly jump to mind when you think of great hockey towns, but there’s no disputing the quality of the talent each franchise puts on the ice. And the Lightning and the Ducks are now each within a victory of the Stanley Cup Finals after taking Game 5 of their respective conference finals.

Anaheim and Chicago continued to play a series that leaves you breathless in watching it unfold. By rights, Game 5 should have been over after a period. The Blackhawks basically no-showed the first 20 minutes and dug themselves a 3-0 hole.

They crawled back into the game with two goals in the second period and after Anaheim scored what appeared to be an insurance goal, the Blackhawks stunned everyone with two goals in the last two minutes to force overtime.

It was reminiscent of Game 6 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals when Chicago beat Boston much the same way—and as a Bruins fan, the electro-shock therapy I’ve undergone to deal with that game was all out the window, as the rally brought back the flood of memories.

But unlike ’13, this amazing rally only forced OT and within a one minute of the extra period Matt Beleskey scored the game-winner.

The player I most feel for right now is Chicago goalie Corey Crawford. Normally, on a team this talented, he’s the reason if they lose and just along for the ride if they win. But even though the box score says Crawford gave up five goals, I didn’t think he had a real chance on four of them and none of them were really blown saves.

Conversely, Anaheim’s Frederik Andersen basically coughed up a few freebie goals. As one who basically believes the NHL playoffs are about the goaltenders, I have no problem admitting that Game 5 of this series was about anything but.

Continue reading “Ducks & Lightning Close In On The Stanley Cup Finals” »

The NHL conference finals are providing springtime the drama that the NBA has mostly failed to give us. The New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks each tied up their series at 2-2, with the Blackhawks again going multiple overtimes to get the W, and this time turning back a stunning third period surge from Anaheim.

Chicago had just gotten what seemed like an insurance goal with 12:22 left to take a 3-1 lead. The Blackhawks had mostly controlled the flow of play with the lone exception of a sustained Duck attack late in the second period that produced their only goal. Then the madness started.

Anaheim quickly got a goal from Ryan Kesler to make it a game. Twenty-three seconds later, a foolish Blackhawk turnover led to a tying Duck goal from Matt Beleskey. While the turnover was bad and Beleskey’s shot a beautiful rocket to the upper left corner of the goal, it’s also fair to say that Chicago goalie Corey Crawford should have made the play. Nothing was blocking his vision.

Fourteen seconds later a goal that Crawford can’t be blamed for put Anaheim ahead. Two great players, Chicago’s Duncan Keith and Anaheim’s Corey Perry were positioned in front of the net as a shot went on goal. It was akin two basketball players fighting for position in the low post.

As Crawford made the save, Perry won the battle and got inside, able to poke in the puck on the opposite side of the net. Just an outstanding play from an outstanding player and the Ducks had the lead.

Continue reading “The Drama Keeps Building In The NHL Conference Finals” »

Anaheim went into the United Center in Chicago and got a win, while Tampa Bay held serve at home. Both teams took 2-1 series leads. Here’s a look at how they did it…

Anaheim 2 Chicago 1: I thought the Ducks were very fortunate to get out of this one with a win. It’s not that they were drastically outplayed—shots on goal were close to a wash, at 28-27 for Chicago—and Anaheim’s Corey Perry started getting more aggressive, taking four cracks at the net. Perry didn’t score, but his inability to get shots was noted in this space after the Game 2 triple-overtime loss.

But the reason I thought Anaheim was fortunate is that watching the game unfold, it seemed like quality of Chicago’s looks was much higher. There were too many times when a Blackhawk player got ready to shoot and it seemed like there was a lot of open net to look at. One of those times came with three seconds left and Patrick Kane just missed a game-tying shot to the right.

Continue reading “Ducks & Lightning Each Grab Game 3” »

The Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning have each evened up their NHL conference finals series, both winning road Game 2s. And it’s tough to imagine Chicago’s 3-2 triple-overtime win over Anaheim being much more dramatic.

The simple fact the game went three extra sessions—and deep into the third OT no less, with less than four minutes remaining when Marcus Kruger scored the game-winner—can suffice as explanation enough for why it was memorable. But consider the following…

*In regulation play, Chicago with more offensive firepower than any team in the NHL, had Anaheim in a 5-on-3 power play. They not only failed to score, they failed to generate any really good looks. If the Blackhawks would have lost the hockey game, this is the sequence that would have most stood out to me.

*Anaheim has their own set of regrets, although it’s mostly about bad luck—they had shots hit the pipe three different times in overtime play.

*And the game’s most memorable play wasn’t even a goal. Blackhawk center Jonathan Toews head-butted a puck into the net for a presume game-winner. But it didn’t stand up on review—Toews obviously did it deliberately and if you score with anything other than the stick, it has to be incidental contact.

Continue reading “Triple-OT Magic From Blackhawks Ties The Conference Finals” »

The NHL conference finals are set to begin this weekend, with the East on Saturday afternoon and the West following on Sunday afternoon. Here’s a breakdown of the matchups, New York-Tampa Bay and Anaheim-Chicago, that will settle who we watch in the Stanley Cup Finals.

EASTERN CONFERENCE: NY RANGERS-TAMPA BAY

New York goaltender Henrik Lundqvist has essentially put this team upon his back and carried them through the first two playoff rounds over Pittsburgh and Washington. The Rangers’ offense is struggling badly and the team defense has been about average. There is no discernible edge to be found on the power play. It’s just been impossible to score against Lundqvist.
He’s Exhibit A as to why TheSportsNotebook always emphasizes that hockey—especially in the playoffs—is a goaltender’s game above all else.
Tampa Bay’s goaltending work has been solid as well, with a rising star in Ben Bishop in net. Bishop was a little inconsistent against Detroit in the first round, but settled in the six-game series win over Montreal. The key question—this is Bishop’s first appearance in the playoffs. Is there any point where the nerves will get to him as he goes against the more battle-tested Lundqvist?
Continue reading “NHL Conference Finals Preview” »