Stanley Cup Finals, Game 1

Philly 5, Hawks 6

This was one of the most fun games I've seen for a while. I finally got to watch a game live instead of having to DVR it, which was pretty awesome. Anyway, key points of the game...Go Hawks!

1. How entertaining was this game? Physical play, neither team with more than a one goal lead, and both teams being very offensive-minded. Both teams came out strong, and I must admit that Philly played a lot better than I thought they would.

2. Chicago needs some discipline. You know it's bad when Philly was the more disciplined team. There were, however, some calls that were missed (the high stick on Seabrook) or just generally fucked up (sending Campbell to the box instead of Hjalmarsson) by the officials.

3. Was NBC glitchy for the first period for anyone else, or was it just my shitty Time Warner cable acting up again?

4. I think that both teams were a little sloppy defensively, which is part of the reason why this was such a high-scoring game.

5. I liked Chicago's penalty killing unit in this game. They weren't afraid to get aggressive.

6. How great was Brouwer in this game? He just always seemed to be in the right spot at the right time, and it really paid off.

7. I was a little surprised that Leighton wasn't pulled after the 4th Chicago goal. I think Philly could have used a little more motivation at that moment in the game.

8. Mike Milbury doesn't like "touchy-feely" stuff, but Pierre McGuire does...there's a huge shock. Beat Pierre with his own shoe, Mike.



9. Both teams showed the type of scoring depth that gets teams to the finals. Philly had 5 different goal scorers, while Chicago had 5 as well.

10. Even though Byfuglien didn't record a point in this game, he made his presence known with his physicality. He was, however, a minus 3 for the night.

So there ya have it. Have a nice Memorial Day weekend kids, and I'll be seeing you for Game 2. Have a burger or hot dog for me, I have to work.

Conference Finals, Game(s) 2

Habs 0, Philly 3

Yet another ugly game. The "unstoppable" Halak had another horrible game, as did the rest of the team. I wouldn't be surprised to see Carey Price in net for game 3. Montreal needs to play a more disciplined game. Philly has been capitalizing on the power play, and pointless penalties are just making things worse. Cammalleri had more shots on goal than he did in the first game, yet still hasn't scored a goal in this series. The Habs need more production from him as well as Gomez and Gionta. Philly lucked out that Leighton was cleared to play just a week before Boucher was injured during the last series. He has been playing wonderfully, and doesn't look rusty at all. As for game 3, the Habs need to get the crowd into the game and keep them there. If they give a goal up early, the crowd element will be null and void, and the Habs really don't need that. That's one thing that I've always loved about hockey; the fact that the crowd can have a huge impact on the players. Go Habs!

Hawks 4, Sharks 2

I'm pretty much giving up on analyzing this series. It's just too much fun to watch, and I don't want to have to wreck it by picking it apart. I will say this though: Niemi (or Auntie N, as I've started calling him) is a fuckin beast.

Sorry for the extremely late post. I'll try a little harder next time. Thanks for reading!