re: NHL Playoffs.

You watchin Nucks V Hawks? Starts in a little over an hour?

lets go hawks

calling a 4-3 OT win for the hawks

Big goal for Van to start the game. They had to get something positive going early and they did.

3-0 Vancity

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it's bizarre that the actual games have been so one-sided. One team shows up and the other one doesn't for the most part.

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you have a flair for understatement....long way to go but i wonder if Chicago regrets not closing this thing out tonight?

They finally played a game capable of what I thought they coulda done the past three. Oh well, they live to fight another day.

Now that the 2nd round is almost over, I thought it'd be interesting to go over some stats. SJ has yet to lose a game when scoring first (only team to do so). Vancouver has an astounding 1.87 5 on 5 ratio (they score 1.87 goals per every goal allowed). Pittsburgh is the only other remaining team to have a rating over 1.0 (1.05). Pittsburgh has the highest PP % by far (30%, next closest is Boston at 25%). Vancouver (67%) and Pittsburgh (72%) have both struggled mightily on the PK. Boston's PK has been outstanding (94%) as well as Chicago's (89%). Vancouver (3.8) and Pittsburgh (3.3) have the highest goals per game average. SJ (2.54) and Pittsburgh (2.64) have the best goals against average.

From those stats, it's easy to see why SJ and Pittsburgh have had success. Vancouver's offensive numbers are outstanding, but they've suffered greatly b/c of their porous PK (they've given up 6 more PP goals than they've scored). When it comes to 5 on 5, their dominance has been remarkable. On the other hand, Boston's success is almost exclusively due to their dominance on special teams, but they have improved 5 on 5 in this series.

And of course those numbers are trumped by the only stat that truly matters: # of wins. But I thought they were somewhat interesting and it helps give a sense of the relative strengths/weaknesses of the teams thus far.

Clearly the West. The quality of hockey is not even on the same planet, outside of the Penguins.

I'm glad the Canucks won one to extend the series, and who knows, maybe we still have a seven game series in us. But there is no carry over effect. Just ask Detroit. Each game is its own event, they don't set the score in advantage for the team that's "hot". Momentum is a fickle, fickle beast.

Nothing would make me happier.

Actually, not entirely true. I want to punch Bettman in the face, but I do think the people of Phoenix deserved better. They came out and supported the team once they put on a halfway decent product. Atlanta is a terrible sports city, but the team was pretty horridly run. I don't derive pleasure on seeing anyone lose a team.

But Canada deserves more teams and the NHL shouldn't be expanding.