The Los Angeles Kings host the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night in Game 3 of their opening round playoff series. The series shifts to the Staples Center after the Sharks dominated on their home ice in the first two games of the series, winning Game 1 on Thursday by a 6-3 margin, then claiming Game 2 in the series on Sunday by a score of 7-2.
The Tampa Bay Lightning host the Montreal Canadiens on Friday evening in game two of their opening round series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Montreal won Game 1 in the series in overtime on Wednesday on a goal by Dale Weise, 5-4.
The NHL’s second season is officially upon us – the playoff matchups are set and the playoff beards have already started sprouting.
Many expected that the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks would meet in the playoffs in what would be a fascinating showdown. No one predicted that matchup would occur in the first round.
California rivals – the Los Angeles Kings and the San Jose Sharks will meet for the third time in four years in the Stanley Cup Playoffs when they kick off their first round series in San Jose.
The puck drops on the NHL postseason on Wednesday night, one of the series features the league’s most storied franchise travelling to sunny climes to tangle with goal machine Steven Stamkos and the Lightning.
NHL Playoffs First Round Preview – Ducks vs. Stars
The Anaheim Ducks enter the NHL playoffs as one of the best teams in the Western Conference for the second year in a row, hoping to erase a disappointing first round exit from last year’s playoffs.
On the surface, the opening round playoff series between Metropolitan Division rivals the Pittsburgh Penguins and Columbus Blue Jackets has the makings of a blowout. The Penguins took all five regular season meetings between the teams by a score of 16-7.
The Montreal Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning meet in what was projected weeks ago to be a first round matchup of two teams that were close in the standings all season long.
Even the crappy teams in the NHL have to play out the full 82. Yes, Toronto Maple Leafs, that means you. Toronto’s recent 2-10 slide ensures that it will be missing the postseason for the eighth time in the last nine seasons.
The Stanley Cup Final moves back to Boston on Monday night with the Bruins facing elimination after the Chicago Blackhawks dictated the pace and walked away with Game 5 on Saturday night. While attention should be directed to the players suiting up in the elimination game, most of the ink has been absorbed by the players who may be forced to sit out Game 6 because of injury.
A most unpredictable Stanley Cup Final resumes in Chicago Saturday night on the heels of the highest scoring and likely most exciting Finals game in years. The Chicago Blackhawks bucked the odds and came up with their best effort in Game 4 which proves again the adage that there simply is no momentum in the Stanley Cup Final.
Bruins Look For Stranglehold in Cup Final
Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night was by far the least competitive game of the series so far – it was the only game that hasn’t needed extra time to determine a winner. The Chicago Blackhawks will be looking for a strong bounce back effort on Wednesday night when they try to even the Cup Final on the heels of a sound beating in Game 3 in every aspect of the game.
Stanley Cup Final Moves to Boston for Game 3
The Stanley Cup Final makes its first appearance in Boston in two years Monday night when the Bruins, who evened the series Saturday night, look to take control over the hard-luck Chicago Blackhawks who had their chances but were unable to solve Tuukka Rask in Game 2.
The second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs typically offers the least intrigue, but things are about to pick up on the ice as the final four playoff teams battle for a spot in the Stanley Cup Final. The four remaining teams represent the last four Stanley Cup champions, so we know each side possesses a winning pedigree.
Two teams coming off exhausting seven game semi-final series meet in the Western Conference Final that starts Saturday in Chicago. It isn’t much of a surprise that both the Kings and Hawks are in this position – each has won a Cup in the last four years and each has the quintessential formula for success in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
