Friday & Saturday... Where'd Detroit Go?

As Philadelphia and New York face off for Game Five on Sunday morning, it might be a good time to start reviewing Game Four.

With the Rangers taking Game Three in Philadelphia, the momentum was tough for the visitors to keep, as Steve Mason started his first game in the series, making 37 saves in a 2-1 victory for the Flyers, tying up the series at two.

Mason, who wasn't taken at all in the playoff pool, thanks to the uncertainty surrounding his injury, was only one of two players in the game to finish with 2 points, as Jakub Voracek, taken three times, had the game-winner.

The Rangers and Flyers face-off in the early game on Sunday in the pivotal Game Five at Madison Square Gardens, which should turn out to be a pretty good game.

There is a strange fascination with the extra period in the series between Chicago and St. Louis, which was no different in Game Five.

With two wins at home for each team, there was either going to be momentum for either side, as the Blue hadn't lost at home, but the Blackhawks just won the last two games... and it was the Blackhawks who kept their momentum rolling, as Jonathan Toews was in the right place at the right time to pick up a Duncan Keith clearing attempt and break in alone on Ryan Miller to win it in the first overtime period on Friday night.

It was a 3-2 final for the Blackhawks, but the points were spread out well again in this one, as the only players with multiple-point games in the pool were Toews and Corey Crawford, who made 27 saves for the win.  Of course, both players were pretty popular in the pool, taken 15 and 14 times, respectively.

The biggest news leading up to the game on Friday night was the return of the Blues' captain, David Backes, who was knocked out of Game Two by Brent Seabrook, who was serving the last game of his 3-game suspension on Friday.  Backes returned from an upper-body injury, five nights after the injury occurred, which suggests that Backes didn't have a concussion, but I definitely have my suspicions.  That's another matter for another time.

Game Six sees the St. Louis Blues behind the 8-ball on Sunday, as the series goes back to the Madhouse on Madison, where the Blackhawks can close out the series at home.

Unlike their fellow Western Conference series above this one, the Anaheim Ducks were able to make some progress with home ice after dropping their last two away from home in Dallas. Progress may have been a bit of an understatement for the Ducks, as they returned to their scoring ways from earlier in the series, as they stomped the Stars, 6-2, for a 3-2 series lead.

The Ducks welcomed back their captain as well in this game, which worked out for the good, as Ryan Getzlaf returned with a 3-point effort, 1 goal and 2 assists, in the win.  Linemate Corey Perry had the same scoring line in this one, which brought the Ducks to likely where the felt they should have been in Dallas.  Mathieu Perreault also had 3 points, as he scored the winner and had the helper, but that's where the notable players in the pool ended for Anaheim.

Also returning to the Ducks line-up on Friday night, to less of an impact, was Teemu Selanne, who was a healthy scratch in Game Four. Selanne, taken twice in the pool, was held pointless again in the series, as he has been held to only 1 assist in four games played in this series.

The first elimination game in this series will go on Sunday night, as the Dallas Stars will have the backdrop of the American Airlines Arena to try and send this series to a Game Seven.

Look what I found! An old playoff animation from the 2011 season, which rings true in this post.

Yes, the Red Wings were going into Game Five behind the 8-ball in their series against the Bruins and they held none of the momentum, as Boston had won the last three games in the series, which may not have been the most decisive on the scoresheet, but it was decisive in the way the Bruins kept control of those games.

On Saturday afternoon, it was a 4-2 final, that played out like a 3-2 close game, where the Bruins took a 1st period lead and had a time trying to protect the lead, then taking it back when they lost their grip on it in the 2nd, but an early 3rd period goal put them up by two and that was enough to help runaway with it.

Tuukka Rask made 31 saves for the win and his 2 points, while Milan Lucic owned the show with the winner and an assist for a 3-point effort.  Defenseman Torey Krug also chimed in with a pair of assists to become notable.  In the last hoorah for the Red Wings, Pavel Datsyuk came up with a goal and an assist, but that would be all that he'd provide for his poolies in this round.

The Red Wings were not favoured in this series, according to the pool picks, as they were out chosen on the sheeet, 138-22, which means there were very few picks taken out of the standings.  With only two teams eliminated from the pool, as of Saturday afternoon, four pool teams have less than 21 players, meaning they have suffered losses from both teams that were eliminated.  On the flip side, 24 of the 47 teams in the pool, still have all 24 selections.

The Bruins will take on the Montreal Canadiens in the second round of the playoffs, where I hope to have somewhat of a round preview post with all the pertinent numbers.

There was a swing game in Pittsburgh on Saturday evening, as the Blue Jackets, who were trying to carry some momentum from an overtime victory on Thursday night, head into the Consol Energy Center for Game Five against the Penguins.

The Jackets momentum carried them to a lead in the 1st period, as a goal from non-pool player, Boone Jenner, got them on the board and had the Penguins on the ropes early.  But on the shoulders of a 23-save performance from Marc-Andre Fleury, the home team was able to chip away at that small lead, tying it up before the middle frame was done and then they put their stamp on the game with a Jussi Jokinen eventual winner in the 3rd period, followed by an empty-netter for a 3-1 win and a 3-2 series lead.

Besides Fleury and Jokinen with their 2 points in the game, Chris Kunitz also had a goal and an assist in the momentum shifting game, helping out his 18 pool teams that selected him.

An undisclosed injury forced the most popular player in Box 23 out of the Pittsburgh line-up, as defenseman Brooks Orpik was unable to go for the home team on Saturday night. Orpik left practice on Friday early with the injury and was deemed unfit for play, leaving his 2 points in four games on the shelf for his 14 teams that picked him.  His status for Game Six is unclear at the moment.

Speaking of Game Six, the 8-ball game for the Blue Jackets, will go on as the early game on Monday evening.  The first chance for the Penguins to move on to the second round of the playoffs.

Two wins for the Avalanche at home, followed by a couple of Wild wins in Minnesota... somewhat of the storyline in these Western Conference series. The other two with this same scenario split their decisions, but it was the home team again in this series taking Game Five, as the Avalanche won on their return to friendly confines, taking a 3-2 overtime victory over their first round rivals.

No scoring in the 1st, a 2-1 win in the 2nd period for the Avalanche, followed by a 2-1 win in the 3rd period for the Wild led this game into overtime (again), where it was the young phenom, Nathan MacKinnon, who salted it away for the home team.

This series has been a tough split, especially when the Wild turned to Darcy Kuemper in their net, and Game Five was no different, as both teams have been going back and forth on each other.

Game Five's scoring heroes... MacKinnon had 4 points, the winner, plus 2 assists and Semyon Varlamov, who made 29 saves for the win.  That's it.  In a 4-3 overtime game, you'd think there'd be more.

Colorado's first chance to eliminate the Wild will go as the 7pm Mountain Time game on Monday night, as they travel back to St. Paul.

The San Jose Sharks had a second chance to eliminate the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night, as they couldn't get the sweep done on Thursday night. On Saturday, the Sharks were nowhere near ready to finish this series, as Jonathan Quick and his Los Angeles teammates put their best foot forward in this series, staying alive after a 3-0 win.

Quick turned away all 30 shots that he faced, while Antti Niemi didn't make it past the first minute of the 2nd period before getting pulled for Alex Stalock in the end, creating somewhat of a goaltending controversy for the team that is still up in this series.  Quick was the only Kings player on the hockey pool sheet to come away with more than one point, as he picked up points for the win and the shutout, much to the glee of 13 teams on the hockey pool sheet.

Troubling news for the Sharks, as their Box 10 defenseman, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, left Saturday night's game with an upper-body injury in the 1st period and didn't return. Vlasic was in a collision with Jarret Stoll of the Kings and was not able to continue in the contest and his status for Game Six is under a cloud of doubt. If Vlasic can't go, the Sharks will turn to Matt Irwin to help try and close out this first round series.

Game Six will be the late one on the West Coast on Monday night, the third kick at the can for San Jose to knock out their Pacific Division rivals.