Hello Hockey Fans!  How are you?  What a great two nights of hockey it was.  The Western Conference Final was finally set.  The Los Angeles Kings beat the San Jose Sharks and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Detroit Red Wings for a Kings vs Hawks West Final!

Two things to point out in these games.  Jonathan Quick made possibly the save of the playoffs with a glove save while he was laying on the ice off a Joe Pavelski shot that could have tied the game in the last minutes of the 3rd period.  Pavleski probably lost some sleep over not being able to roof the puck up and over Quick's glove.  

Second is the Niklas Hjalmarsson goal which was not counted by the referees late in the 3rd period which most likely would have been the game winning goal.  What happened next?  Brent Seabrook went on to score the real game winning goal in overtime.  His 1st goal of the playoffs and it was a BIG one!  That is all I need to say about these games.  I have loaded videos below of the glove safe, the disallowed goal and the GWG!

As soon as the game ended last night a stat ran through my head.  All four teams left in the run to the Cup have won the Cup in the last four years.  The Pittsburgh Penguins won in 2009 (after winning back to back Cups in 1991 and 1992). The Chicago Blackhawks won in 2010 (after breaking a 40 year dry spell, their last win was 1961).  The Boston Bruins won in 2011 (their last cup wins were 1970 and 1972). Now in 2012 you have the current Champions the Los Angeles Kings, who won their first cup ever in franchise history (there last and only other time to the Finals was in 1993 when the Great One Wayne Gretzky was on the team).  So no matter what team wins it will be a team that has recently won a cup!

Another interesting turn of events ran through my head as well last night.  Jarome Iginla, well everyone is rooting for him to win a cup like I said in my previous post.  Jarome was traded from the Calgary Flames at trade deadline this year after 16 years with the franchise.  It was rumoured Iggy was on his way to Boston to don the Bruins jersey.  Social media went crazy and lets just say Vancouverites were having a hard time swallowing that pill.  A player we all love playing for the team that won the Stanley Cup in 2011 beating the Canucks in Game 7.  I was sitting at my computer doing work with the TV on and I hear the Calgary GM say it is true Iginla is a Penguin.  What! Iginla is a Penguin? I thought to myself.  All of a sudden the dark cloud I had been living under for the last 15 minutes with the Boston talk was gone and I saw sunshine.  Iginla donning a Penguins jersey was something I could cheer about.  I mean what Canadian wouldn't want to watch Sidney Crosby and Jarome Iginla light it up again!  Now Iginla is going to find out if he made the right call.  The Penguins play the Bruins for the Eastern Conference Title and a one way ticket to the Stanley Cup Final!  

Below check out team photos of the last 4 Stanley Cup winning teams!  2013 team photo will look very similar to one of these.  Also a video I found entitled "First Kiss" this may be the NHL trying to entice a larger female crowd to the sport and also the "Iggy heard around the World" video because simply put........it never gets old!  Enjoy X

Hello Hockey Fans!  I don't think Round 2 could have been written any better.  It has all the parts of a great film: suspense, storyline, unexpected turns and great directing.  

There are 2 games remaining in Round 2.  Game 7 tonight between the Los Angeles Kings and the San Jose Sharks and Game 7 tomorrow night between the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks.

The current Kings team is experiencing something for the first time playing a game 7.  In the Kings history making run to the Cup last year they never played a game 7.  The New Jersey Devils pushed a Game 6 and that was it.  All the other series ended after game 4 or 5.  Head Coach Darryl Sutter isn't worried about a Game 7.  Maybe that is because all 6 games so far have been won by the team with home ice advantage.  Tonight's game is at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles. Either way you have a team trying to win a 2nd consecutive Stanley Cup and another team trying to win their first cup ever in franchise history.  Tonight will be a great game!

Tomorrow night Round 2 wraps up with another "all bets are off" Game 7.  The pucks drops between the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks. Chicago won game 1 in the series and then lost games 2,3,4.  Meaning that games 5 and 6 were both elimination games for the Blackhawks.  Now game 7 is an elimination game for both teams.  A winner takes all and gets a spot in the Western Conference Finals.  Game 7 will not let down.  It will be crazy!  This has been a great series so far.  After the Blackhawks record smashing start to the regular season they have struggled a bit in the playoffs but forcing a game 7 and winning would give them the confidence they need for the next round.  The Red Wings on the other hand almost didn't even make playoffs.  They snuck into the 7th seed position in the last few days of the regular season.  The odds were stacked against the Wings especially since Round 1 was against the über talented and strong Anaheim Ducks.  Let's just say Game 7s have been a success for the Wings thus far.  It was Game 7 3-2 win over the Ducks that sent the Wings to Round 2!  

Good Luck to every team playing and may the best teams win!

Unlike the West Conference and Games 7s the Eastern Conference was settled much earlier.  Both series ended after Game 5.  The Boston Bruins bumped out the New York Rangers and the Pittsburgh Penguins ousted the Ottawa Senators.

When Pittsburgh won I noticed something different happen here in Vancouver and I am sure it is happening in other Canadians cities and maybe some American cities as well.  With Vancouver out of the running Canuck fans had to pick another team. I noticed most were choosing another Canadian team hopping on Toronto's wagon mainly and the others hitching a ride with Montreal or Ottawa fans.  Once Toronto and Montreal where out it was Ottawa who was getting a lot of Canadian love.  Now with all of the Canadian teams out I noticed it wasn't what team but a player everyone in the Great White North is cheering for.  Jarome Iginla has the support of an entire country behind him and it isn't even the Olympics!  I am always asking people "who are you cheering for?"  Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh is the most common answer.  Then I ask "are you cheering for the team or rooting for Iggy to win the Cup?"  Iggy to win the Cup, Iggy to Win the Cup, I want Iginla to Win a Cup.  Most common answer.  I have a few good friends who are Calgary Fans to the bone.  But when Iginla was traded from the Flames to the Penguins they were still loyal Flames fans but they were dividing their love with the PENS.  At my Mum's office she works with one of Iginla's cousins and safe to say the whole law firm is "Team Iggy" My Dad is rooting for Iggy, my brother is and every other random person I ask during the day. 

Not only is Iginla one of the classiest players (if not the classiest) to ever play in the NHL he is an amazing player.  Like I taught you when Iginla was my Fantasy Friday he has won 5 of the 6 trophies or medals a hockey player is after.  Iginla has won the Memorial Cup twice, Gold at the World Juniors, World Cup and World Championship and Gold twice at the Olympics!  No Canadian will ever forget that Iggy was the one to pass the puck to Sid the Kid who scored the Golden Goal.  The only trophy Iginla hasn't won is the Stanley Cup.  He came close in 2004 but lost Game 7 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.  I read that after that game his father walked into the locker room and said to his son "I am proud of you.  All of Canada is proud of you." and he didn't lie.  All of Canada is proud of him now!  Good Luck Iggy!  Win a Cup!  Go Pens Go!

Hello Hockey Fans!  It just keeps getting better and better doesn't it!

Round Two started last week, I turn on a game and you just never know what is going to happen.

The last two teams to join the elimination club where the Toronto Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals.  

The second round looks like this LA is against San Jose, Chicago is playing Detroit and in the east  Original 6 team Boston is up against other Original 6 team the New York Rangers while the only Canadian Club left the Ottawa Senators are playing the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

In the standings:

Detroit vs Chicago tied 1-1
Los Angeles vs San Jose LA leads series 2-1
Boston vs NYR Boston leads 2-0
and the PENS leads the SENS 2-1 

Last night was the 1st time in the playoffs we have seen a game go into double overtime.  Remember hockey fans in the playoffs 5 minute overtime and shootouts are a thing of the past.  If a game is tied at the end of the 3rd period a complete intermission happens and then a 20 minute period begins.  It is still sudden death meaning next goal wins.  These overtimes become naibiters.  Pucks off the posts, takeaways, penalties they have all the excitement of a Hollywood Blockbuster.

The Pittsburgh vs Ottawa game last night was fantastic.  It was Game 3 and what some in the hockey world might call a "series changer" The Pens had a 2-0 lead in the series after winning games 1 and 2.  Ottawa knew they had to win or their odds of making it through to the 3rd round were slim.  It was a scoreless 1st period,   At the end of the 2nd period it was a goal by Pens forward Tyler Kennedy that gave PIttsburgh the lead.  The 3rd period, fun to watch but scoreless.  Erik Karlsson was all over the ice trying to make something to happen.  Jason Spezza was playing in his first NHL game since the start of the regular season.  Spezza only played 5 games until a back injury took him out.  It wasn't until Erik Karlsson took a slashing penalty with less then two minutes left in the 3rd that the tides changed.  It was a "slash" to Matt Cooke's stick that sent Karlsson to the box. It was a debatable penalty.  Cooke slashed Karlsson earlier and wasn't sent to the box.  You can understand Ottawa's frustration.  The comentators kept saying Craig Anderson, goalie for the SENS had kept his team in the game and all he needed was the reward of a goal by a teammate.  It happened and it was beautiful.  With Karlsson in the box I don't know if the Pens thought it was s shoe in but they let in a shorthanded goal. It was Captain Alfredsson to the rescue with the tying goal and 29 seconds left on the clock.  Just like that it was a tie game.  Ottawa had to kill the rest of the Karlsson penalty to start OT.  The first OT passed.  The 2nd started and with over 7 minutes gone Colin Greening found the back of the Pens net with a backhand shot.  Game Over, Ottawa WINS 2-1 and we have a series people!  Pens still lead the series 2-1 but Game 4 is in Ottawa so anything can happen!  

Tonight the only game is between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings.  Check out both Alfredsson and Greening's goals in the videos plus if you need a quick recap of hockey lingo I have added an episode of Hockey Talk with Courtney below where I run down commonly used terms in hockey!  Enjoy X

Hello Hockey Fans Young and Old, New and Veteran!  What a 1st round it has proved to be.

I will keep this as quick and as informative as I can.  Only 2 games left tonight in the 1st round.  At 4:00pm (PST) we have the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins dropping the puck for a Game 7. I don't think people wouldn't have even been able to predict. this.  It is certainly a Game 7 I am going to watch.

What you need to know about this series: The Toronto Maple Leafs are playing their 1st playoff round in 10 years and the Big Bad Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011 in a Game 7 vs the Vancouver Canucks.  It seemed like such a clear path, I don't think anyone was expecting Toronto to push this series to a Game 7.  The Bruins could have sealed the deal in Game 5 and again in Game 6 and eliminate the Leafs but nooo the Leafs have pushed it to Game 7!  Amazing!  It has a lot to do with Toronto's #1 netminder James Reimer and super star forward Phil Kessel finding the back of the net for the Leafs!  All I can say is "GO LEAFS GO"  I am rooting for the Leafs for multiple reasons.  1) I love cheering for an underdog, 2) Love their head coach Randy Carlyle (I interviewed Carlyle last year in Anaheim, check it out below) 3) Many many Canadian hockey fans want the Canadian teams to stay in the race and bring the Cup back to Canada 4) What is not to like about the Leafs?

The 2nd games tonight is a Game 7 between the Washington Capitals and the New York Rangers!  This happened last year and the Rangers eliminated the Capitals in 7 games to move onto the Eastern Conference Finals.  This game has all the elements of a playoff rivalry.  Washington had the chance to close the door on New York but with the lone goal of the game being scored by Ranger Derick Brassard the teams both boarded planes to the country's capital for a Game 7!  Who knows, maybe Obama will show support along with the home town crowd!

In a wild game 7 played last night the Detroit Red Wings bumped out the Anaheim Ducks.  The Ducks came off an incredible regular season finishing 2nd in the Western Conference.  The Wings had to fight to even earn a playoff spot.  It all boiled down to the Game 7 where all bets were off and the Wings took the prize.  In true Detroit Red Wings fashion their fire and determination took over and the Wings are still in the race for the Cup.  There is something special about the Wings we must admit.  They are an Original 6 team, they have won many many Stanley Cups and are the only team to win recent back to back Cups in 1997 and again in 1998!

With two series Game 7s left tonight and Detroit sealing the deal last night it means 5 other series have already ended, quick recap:

The San Jose Sharks got their payback for being eliminated by the Canucks in the 3rd round in 2011 in 5 games.  The Sharks came back this year and swept the Canucks in the 1st round, making the Canucks the 1st eliminated team of 2013.  The Sharks got over a weeks rest while in Vancouver Canucks GM Mike Gillis has declared a "reset" of the entire organization.  Personally I am sad my beloved Canucks are out but maybe this sweep will start a fire under the team for next season!

The "Elimination Club" grew to 3 members with Game 5 wins by the Chicago Blackhawks and the Ottawa Senators two nights later.  The Minnesota Wild put up a good fight against the Presidents Trophy winning Chicago Blackhawks and the Montreal Canadians just couldn't find a way to score on Ottawa netminder Craig Anderson with 6-1 finals for their last 2 games.

The St Louis Blues were the 4th team to join the "Elimination Club" making 4 out of the 8 series over!  Beat in 6 games by last year's Stanley Cup champs the Los Angeles Kings, St.Louis made it to 6 game this year as compared to the sweep they experienced last year by the Kings.

With only one game played on Saturday it had to be good.  It was a Game 6 between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Islanders.  It was an elimination game for the Islanders. It was back and forth scoring, Islanders, Pens, Islanders, Pens, Islanders and finally the Pens forced OT.  It was a overtime goal by Penguin Brooks Orpik that clinched a spot in round 2 for the Penguins.  I know a lot of hockey fans were turning to Pens Captain Sid the Kid to score the game winner but interesting fact?  Sid the Kid is part an elusive group of hockey greats including Gordie Howe, Mario Lemieux and Mark Messier to never score an OT game winning goal in the playoffs!  How weird it that?  With Orpik's goal the Islanders become the 5th team to join the "Elimination Club" now totaling 5.

The 1st game 7 of the season was between the Anaheim Duck and the Detroit Red Wings.  With the Ducks Game 5 win they could have shut the door on the Wings in game 6 but it didn't happen that way.  Wings Captain Henrik Zetterberg scored the GWG early in the OT to force game 7 and then the Wings won in Game 7 sending the Anaheim Ducks to the "Elimination Club" now getting cozy with 6 teams.

Two more teams will join the "Elimination Club" tonight.  Game 7s between the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers plus the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins.  Game 7s in the playoffs are insane.  It is back to square one, all bets are off and to say the least players ref themselves.  

Toronto and Boston's puck drop is 4:00pm PST
and Washington and New York's puck drops at 5:00pm PST

No time for rest because round 2 starts Tuesday!  The Los Angeles Kings host the San Jose Sharks at 7:00pm PST, while the Pittsburgh Penguins host the Ottawa Senators at 7:30pm PST.  

The other match up in the west is between the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings puck dropping on Wednesday at 7:00pm PST. The mystery continues for the other match up in the east.  Whoever wins the Game 7s tonight will continue on through to play in Round 2!

Hello Hockey Fans!  The playoffs are unfolding into what they always are!  Exciting, entertaining and nail biting.  

Two more series kicked off last night.  The first was Game 1 between the all Canadian series the Ottawa Senators and the Montreal Canadiens.  It was an intense game filled with all the extras.  Senator D-Man Erik Karlsson opened the scoring late in the 1st period.  It was a beauty of a goal for the young swedish player who has only played 4 games since returning from injury.  Karlsson only played 17 games in the regular season before a skate cut his leg during a game leaving him out of the lineup.  Montreal took a 2-1 lead in the 2nd period only to have the Sens score 3 goals in the 3rd period and win 4-2.  There was on "oh no" moment in the 2nd period Lars Eller was hit by Eric Gryba and knocked to the ice face first.  There was blood and Eller was taken to hospital on a stretcher.  For as physical as hockey is you never want to see this.  Gryba insists that he was not going after Eller's head.  Head hits are a no no in any level of hockey play.  Eller was kept in hospital over night for observation.  The Senators lead the series 1-0.  A little fun fact?  Considering these 2 teams are so close geographically it is wild to think that they are meeting up for the 1st time in playoffs in modern history.  Remember the Canadiens are an Original 6 team while the Sens only joined the NHL in 1992. Let the sparks fly!

After the New York Rangers beat out the Washington Capitals in 7 games last year in round 2 the Caps are back and ready to win. Last night Game 1 took place in Washington.  The Rangers did score 1st in the 1st period but the Caps came back in the 2nd with 3 goals.  The first goal was by Captain Alex Ovechkin.  Marcus Johansson scored the GWG while Jason Chimera potted the insurance goal.  Both of these teams are loaded with players I love to watch.  Caps especially have Joel Ward, Arron Volpatti (a favourite favourite of mine), Troy Brouwer but at the top of the list  is maybe netminder Braden Holtby.  Who was the wiz kid called up from the minors last year at the end of the season only to help the Caps bump out the previous Stanley Cup Champs the Boston Bruins in the first round.  Holtby then got a spot on this year's roster and stopped 35 of the 36 shots he faced last night.  The Capitals lead the series 1-0.  I wonder if Holtby's Mum is in the audience again this year?  She got a lot of press last year for her support of her son.  What Mum wouldn't be biting her nails when you support you son all throughout his hockey years and he gets called up to the NHL but not to sit as the backup but to be the started in the Stanley Cup playoffs?  I would be biting my nails as well!

The St Louis Blues had another huge reason to celebrate last night.  They WON Game 2 against the Stanley Cup champs the Los Angeles Kings.  St Louis may just be giving Los Angeles a taste of their own medicine for last season.  Last year these 2 teams met up in round 2 and the Kings swept the series.  Now the Blues lead the series 2-0 and the Kings will be playing catch up. In this game however is was the Kings who struck first with a goal by Captain Dustin Brown (captains are leading the way this year) in the 1st period.  A scoreless second period led to do or die for the Blues.  Patrik Berglund scored for the Blues in the 3rd period followed by the GWG goal late in the 3rd by Barret Jackman.  Blues goalie Brian Elliott was the busier goalie stopping 28 of 29 shots while Jonathon Quick of the Kings only managed to stop 23 of 25 shots.  St Louis leads the series 2-0.

The final game to end last night was game 2 between the Detroit Red Wings and the Anaheim Ducks.  Unlike the Sens and Habs who are meeting for 1st time in the playoffs the Red Wings and Ducks have done this before.  These teams have met each other a whopping 6 times in the playoffs.  This 6th meeting is turning into a real nailbiter/edge of your seat series.  Anaheim won Game 1 and the Wings were back to try even the series..

It looked like the Wings were going to take the "W" in regulation play.  The Wings scored 2 goals in the 1st period and one in the 2nd to take a 3-0 lead.  Anaheim was able to find the back of the net once and close the gap to 3-1.  Detroit answered back with a 4th goal early in the 3rd period.  4-1 Wings until Anaheim Captain Ryan Getzlaf scored to make it 4-2 and give his team some energy (what was it with Captains yesterday just leading their teams).  Kyle Palmieri scored for Anaheim to make it 4-3 and then it was a tying goal by Bobby Ryan that sealed the deal and sent the game into OT!

What were the Wings to do?  End it early in OT which is just what they did.  It was Gustav Nyquist 81 seconds into overtime that ended it!  The series is now tied 1-1 and the teams head to Detroit to play games 3 and 4. Below I have included the highlights of this game.  They are to good not to watch!  And please check out Episode 3 of Hockey Talk with Courtney!

Tonight again is an action packed night with games at (PST):
The Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadians play back to back with Game 2 at 4:00pm (Senators lead series 1-0)
The New York Islanders look to bounce back after a bad lose to the Pittsburgh Penguins at 4:00pm (Pens lead series 1-0)
The Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks battle it out at 6:30pm (Chicago leads series 1-0)
The the Vancouver Canucks look to even their series with the San Jose Sharks at 7:00pm (San Jose lead series 1-0)

Enjoy X

Hello Hockey Fans!  What a day two in the playoff it was.  Again 3 games were played but the twist was I got to go to Game 1 here in Vancouver!  It was so much fun even though the Canucks lost 3-1 to the San Jose Sharks.  We will talk about my game day experience later.  Here is what happened in the other two games last night.

The Pittsburgh Penguins got their 1st shutout of the playoffs. It was a 5-0 victory for the Penguins over the 8th seed New York Islanders.  Rookie Beau Bennett scored the opening goal early in the 1st period.  It turned into the game winning goal. Pascal Dupuis scored the insurance goal making in 2-0 in the same period.  In the second period it was goals by Kris Letang, Pascal Dupuis and one of my favourites Tanner Glass that really sent the Islanders over the edge.  Jarome Iginla, Evgeni Malkin and Jussi Jokinen all recorded 2 assists each in the win.  Keep in mind this was all done without Captain and All Start hockey player Sidney Crosby who skated with the team during practice today but hasn't played a game since getting a puck to the face ironically during a game against the Islanders in March. The Penguins lead the series 1-0.


The other game last night was between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins.  It ended in a 4-1 victory for the Bruins.  It was the Maple who scored 1st.  It was early early in the 1st period and James Van Riemsdyk scored.  Boston then went on to scored twice in the 1st period and twice in the 2nd period.  The Bruins lead the series 1-0.

The final game of the night was here on the West Coast in Vancouver!  It was Game 1 between the Vancouver Canucks and the San Jose Sharks.  I wasn't planning on going to the game.  I picked up Hunter from daycare and we were walking in the door home at about 5:20pm and I got a text from my friend Art asking me if I wanted to go to the game.  He had an extra ticket. I made a quick few phone calls and my neighbour Mary said she would be more then happy to watch Hunter while I ran out to the game.  I was off and out the door 30 minutes later.  Who knew?  

Art has been a friend of mine for years and he is the same Art I interviewed in Episode 3 of Hockey Talk with Courtney this year.  We were sitting up in the Best Buy section of the arena.  Somewhere I had never sat before.  It is up in the rafters and you get the eagle eye view of the game.  I got to the rink about 6:25 with a 7:30 game time. Art and I went upstairs and ate delicious food provided in the section and had a glass of wine.  Then Art went to go check on his crew quickly and I ran down to ice level to watch warm up.  It is one of my favourite parts!  I walked over to the Canuck side and it was busy. I wiggled my way down to about the 3rd row by where the Zamboni comes on to clean the ice.  It was slightly less crowded and I had a perfect view to watch the players take shots on the net.  

Once warm up ended and I ran back upstairs for the pre game show. Art and his crew had spent days putting everything together and had been at the rink till 10:00pm the past couple of nights rehearsing and making sure the show went off without a hitch!  Needless to say it was a great show.  It really got the crowd going.  The towels were waving and it was loud.  

The game started off in a good direction.  Kevin Bieksa scored the opening goal of the game in the 2nd period.  Logan Couture scored in the 2nd to tie up the game. In the 3rd period the Sharks made it 3-1 with goals by Dan Boyle and Patrick Marleau.  The Sharks lead the series 1-0.

The are 4 games being played tonight on the 3rd day of playoffs (all times are PST):
The Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadians kick off their series off at 4:00pm
The New York Rangers and Washington Capitals series starts at 4:30pm
The Los Angeles Kings and St Louis Blues play again at 6:30pm (St Louis leads series 1-0)
The Anaheim Ducks and Detroit Red Wings go head to head at 7:00pm (Anaheim leads series 1-0)  

Below I have uploaded a video I took of warm up.  Enjoy and Happy Playoffs!  

Hello Hockey Fans!  The race is officially on for dear old Stanley.  

One thing that I love love love about playoffs is hockey gets top priority on CBC.  I was watching the St Louis Blues vs Los Angeles Kings game last night and during the intermission they would jump over to the Chicago Blackhawks vs Minnesota Wild game then after that I flipped channels to TSN and the Anaheim Ducks vs Detroit Red Wings games was on.  Hockey Heaven for woman and her 5 year old hockey crazy son.

There were three games last night.  Two ended in OT and one ended with an empty net goal that was the icing on the cake to seal the deal.  Did you notice the speed of the game was faster, the physical part is much more intense and those long breaks waiting for OT.  Plus the fans are just insanely excited!

The St Louis Blues beat the current Stanley Cup champions the Los Angeles Kings in an intense battle. Alexander Steen scored the opening goal in the series at about the 1/2 mark in the first period.  It looked like St Louis was going to take the win with Los Angeles desperately trying to get a goal (remember Los Angeles never played catch up last year in their win to the Cup.  They always won games 1, 2 and 3! They even won game 4 in round 2 against St Louis last year, sweep!) It happened with 32 seconds left in the 3rd period Justin Williams scored to tie up the game.  It wasn't until Steen struck again that St Louis got the WIN!  They lead the series 1-0.  Now LA will have to play catch up. 

The Chicago Blackhawks had a come from behind win.  Cal Clutterbuck scored in the 1st period to give the Minnesota Wild the lead.  Than in the 2nd period the one and only Marian Hossa scored to tie it up.  What a goal it was.  With no goals in the 3rd period the game went into overtime.  It was a beauty of a pass from Viktor Stalberg to Bryan Bickell that ended it in true Blackhawks fashion.  Always finding a way to come out on top with the win, especially this year!

Finally the Anaheim Ducks beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-1.  This was the only game to not head into overtime.  Nick Bonino scored the opening goal for Anaheim followed by the tying goal by Dan Clearly for Detroit 6 minutes later.  Next came the game winning goal, a stellar one timer by Teemu Selanne.  The Finnish Flash played his 112 career playoff game and recorded his 42nd goal!  Then with less then 30 seconds on the clock Detroit was working to get the 2nd goal and force OT.  It didn't happen because Francois Beauchemin scored into the empty net!

It was a great great night.  A fantastic 1st night of playoffs. Below I have loaded up all of the GWG (game winning goals) from last night,

Tonight's lineup looks like this and remember the times are for PST (Pacific Standard Time)
The Toronto Maple Leafs vs The Boston Bruins at 4:00pm
The New York Islanders vs The Pittsburgh Penguins at 4:30pm (Sidney Crosby will not return from injury for Game 1)
The San Sharks vs The Vancouver Canucks at 7:30pm

Enjoy Hockey Fans X