Weekend action

Lightning take 2-0 series lead on Capitals

The Caps are inviting disaster by dropping the first two games on home ice after falling in OT last night against the Lightning. If they do not mount a comeback to take this series, this might be the end for Boudreau behind the bench. Worse yet, I don't know if Mike Green will recover. This has been a nightmare of a season for Mike Green. If he isn't getting blasted in the head by the puck, he's taking stupid penalties or lapsing defensively. Last night was basically a microcosm of his season. The game was tied 1-1 and the Caps had finished dominating the second period, in which Green took a roughing minor. St. Louis attempted a slap-pass over to Lecavalier which connected perfectly with Green's skate blade before sliding past a desperately diving Neuvirth. Wrong place, wrong time. Shortly afterwards Green would take an ill-advised roughing penalty when he decided to stop short of playing the puck against the boards in order to drive an elbow backwards into Steven Stamkos' face. Wrong place, wrong time. Then in overtime, after a horrific line change by the Caps, Green found himself all alone defending a deep two-on-one. He might as well not have even been there as Purcell easily fed Lecavalier in front of the net for the game winner. Silly penalties, bad luck, and poor defense. If the Caps are going to turn this series around, Green is simply going to have to play better, and the Caps are going to have to start scoring goals.

Sharks take 2-0 series lead on Red Wings

After a pair of 2-1 wins on home ice, the Sharks have jumped out to a 2-0 series lead on the Red Wings, but I don't think the Red Wings are going to roll over here. They are going back home and will be in front of a raucous crowd at the Joe. They, like the Caps, need to find a way to score goals. Niemi, who looked fairly pedestrian during the majority of the regular season, is playing like the goalie that won the Cup for the Blackhawks last year.

Canucks and Predators series tied 1-1

The battle of two Vezina finalists is proving to be quite the goalie duel. Rinne has been brilliant in keeping the Predators in this series as it could easily be 2-0 Canucks. While I still think the Canucks will come out on top, I wouldn't be shocked if the Preds found a way to ride Rinne to a major upset here. He'll have to continue to stand on his head as the series heads back to Nashville.

Bruins take 1-0 series lead over Flyers

If the Bruins had any lingering thoughts of their historic collapse last season, they sure didn't show it. They controlled this game from the very beginning and chased Boucher en route to putting up 7 goals. The Flyers looked absolutely nothing like the team that blitzed the Sabres in Game 7 of the first round. Their goaltending was once again subpar as Boucher gave up 5 goals in less than 2 periods of play; the defense looked lethargic and out of position most of the night; and the offense looked sloppy and out-of sync. The Bruins are an offensively challenged team, yet the Flyers made them look like the 1980's Edmonton Oilers. On the bright side, it's unlikely the Flyers can play that poorly in a second straight game. Their best players were Versteeg and vanRiemsdyk, which is a good sign. If their big guns show up to play in Game 2, they should at least be competitive. The key will be getting a solid 60 minute performance from Boucher, who is slated to start Game 2 despite being yanked in Game 1.