Stanley Cup Playoffs

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are in full swing.  The San Jose Sharks finally got over their first-round demons by sweeping the Vancouver Canucks.  The Sharks now have to wait-and-see who they'll face in the next round.

The other series in the Western Conference are going to go longer than four games.  The Chicago Blackhawks have a chance to close out their series against the Minnesota Wild tonight at home.  The Anaheim Ducks lead the Detroit Red Wings three games to two in their series.  The Ducks and Red Wings series has the potential to go seven games.

The other series that is going on out West is the battle between the St. Louis Blues and the Los Angeles Kings, the defending Stanley Cup champions.  The Blues led the series two games to nothing, but the Kings have stormed back and taken a three games to two lead. All five games in the series have been decided by one goal with two of those games going into overtime.

In the East, two teams have a three games to one lead in their series while the other two series are tied at two games a piece.  The biggest surprise in the East has been the New York Islanders.  Most people didn't give them a chance to even compete against the top-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins.  Once again, goaltending has come back to haunt the Pens just like it did last year in the first-round of the playoffs.  The Penguins have a chance tonight to take the lead back in the series, but Marc-Andre Fleury won't be in net.  Tomas Vokoun has been named the starter for Game 5.

The Washington Capitals took a two games to none lead against the New York Rangers, but the Rangers have come back to even the series.

The Boston Bruins couldn't get a win towards the end of the season and wound up being the number four seed instead of the number two seed in the East.  It looks like it worked out for the better for the Bruins, who have a three games to one lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs.  The Leafs are making their first playoff appearance for the first time in nine years and their lack of experience is showing.

The Montreal Canadiens are down three games to one in their series to the Ottawa Senators.  The Senators have a chance to close out the series tonight in Montreal.  These two teams are becoming quick rivals with game two having 236 penalty minutes alone.  Montreal's starting goaltender, Carey Price, suffered a lower-body injury last game and is out for the remainder of the series (http://www.nhl.com/ice/blogpost.htm?id=17399&navid=nhl:topheads).  Peter Budaj will be the goalie for the remainder of the series.