PLAYOFF BEARD: FIRST ROUND, FINALLY DONE!

by Neate Sager, Out Of Left Field

There were a couple Game 7s played last night; the Flyers eliminated Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals in overtime, while the San Jose Sharks might still be taking shots on the Calgary Flames.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Flyers vs. Canadiens: OK, first things first -- considering that Montreal is the same town where UFC 83 sold out in 28 minutes, was anyone really surprised the hoi-polloi would riot after Game 7 against the Bruins? That's right. People had all sorts of pent-up emotions after Kalib Starnes panzed out during his fight. Seriously,
Long story short, Montreal-Philadelphia -- good on the Habs for drawing out the Boston series long enough that Bill Simmons had to write column that used hockey as a vehicle for his favourite subject, picking lint out of his navel-- is Good vs. Evil. At least that's how the TV networks will play it, since they have all kinds of archival footage.



This is going to be good. People are trash-talking over a brawl that happened two decades ago. One of the big agitators for the Canadiens that night in 1987, John Kordic, is dead, for crying out loud. (Chris Chelios? He's still playing.)

Philly is a tough matchup. The Flyers can play dirty and greasy, Martin Biron is a smooth goalie and the Canadiens might not be wired for the dog-eat-dog playoffs. Montreal has shot if its power play gets going.

Rangers vs. Penguins: A cross-border chest bump is due to the first fan at Mellon Arena who holds up a sign reading JAGR SLEPT HERE.

It's tough to get a read on the Penguins. Round 1 was a catered brunch (Sidney Crosby like his mimosas) since Ottawa was begging to be put out of its misery. It's tempting to say the Rangers, with more experience and the better goalie in Henrik Lundqvist, will make out just as well in Pennsylvania as Hillary Clinton did and take this in six games.

The braying jackals will likely have a field day with Sean Avery vs. Gary Roberts in the battle of on-ice irritants.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Stars vs. Sharks: At first blush, it's a dullish matchup between teams in the Sun Belt, but there were 105 penalty minutes in the first period the last time these teams met, so the potential for shenanigans is high. Dallas took the season series 4-2-2, for what it's worth. Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Jeremy Roenick and the rest of the Sharks seem to have some grim determination thing going for them, so they probably squeak through in seven games.

Avalanche vs. Red Wings: The reality that Detroit only plays as hard as it has keep this from being a sweep, but you can probably take a pass on following this series. The Red Wings should get through this no problem; Colorado's just too soft and too old.

Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca.