Ah, the ever exciting post season war of words. Does Sidney Crosby get the benefit of the doubt most of the time? Absolutely. Did the Penguins win game one because of that? Maybe. Are the Rangers still down 1-0 in the series, no matter what everyone says? Yup.

In a couple of hours, game two kicks off. The Rangers will be down 1-0 in the series when that puck drops even if the Pope said that Crosby gets preferential treatment. I am in agreement with everything that has been said here and from most people in the Ranger locker room. The NHL loves Sidney Crosby. It works the exact same way for Sean Avery. Anything borderline, Avery will get the penalty. If it looks like Crosby gets knocked down with a stick or if he can’t get to the puck first, he’ll draw a penalty. The Rangers have to just avoid putting themselves in that position.

How to do that? Easy. Start by getting away from the Christian Backman vs Sidney Crosby matchup. A physical, shutdown defender should be on Crosby this afternoon. Fedor Tyutin or Dan Girardi should pepper him with hits whenever they are given the chance. Even Michal Rozsival showed that he could handle Sid the Kid in the regular season. Backman has been much better than I had expected, and given him credit for, but he and Paul Mara have both looked silly when up against the talented Crosby.

Another thing the Rangers need to do more of is shooting the puck. Marc-Andre Fleury will be a good goaltender in this league. Right now, though, he is inconsistent and shaky. He gives up juicy rebounds 75% of the time. If the Rangers can get 30-35 shots on goal, a good five or six will find their way to the twine.

Other than that, look for a good game. The Rangers were far from their best on Friday night and it still looked like they would pull out a win. If they raise their play back to the level it was when they were playing the Devils, they should have no problem leaving Pittsburgh with a win.

One lineup change this afternoon for the Blueshirts. Petr Prucha looks like he’ll be re-inserted into the lineup on the fourth line with Blair Betts and Fred Sjorstom. Tom Renney said he liked what he saw from Prucha in the regular season against the Pens, and gave him time on that line in practice.

The series goes back to MSG after today’s game, so a win today would be phenomenal. The Rangers swept the Penguins in MSG this regular season, so home ice advantage would be key over games three and four. Enjoy today’s game.

Maybe the Avalanche might want to cover Johan Franzen. Well, at least next time out for Game Three back home in Colorado Tuesday, it could be on Joel Queeneville’s top agenda along with finding a way to slow down the Red Wings, who absolutely dominated in all facets getting Franzen’s first career playoff hat trick to Avalanche the West’s sixth seed 5-1 at Joe Louis Arena this afternoon.

If the Avs were close to rallying from three down in a tough 4-3 Game One defeat, they weren’t in the same league as the top seeded Wings today. Detroit owned the ice from start to finish scoring the first four on Jose Theodore, who once again was replaced by backup Peter Budaj. That will be another decision Queeneville will have to make when the series shifts to the thin air.

Game One star Franzen continued his torrid play notching Detroit’s first two on the power play on a redirection and a wraparound. Following a Valtteri Filppula tally, leading finisher Henrik Zetterberg beat Theodore on a breakaway to end the Colorado starter’s day.

The Wings outshot the Avs 32-10 in the first two periods including a whopping 22-6 margin in the middle stanza where Budaj relieved Theodore. Once again, he played well stopping 19 of 20 shots overall. Figure him to get the nod for Game Three despite what NBC analyst Ed Olczyk said. In the playoffs, there’s no margin for error. Sometimes, you have to play the hot hand. Budaj has looked much sharper than Theodore.

Following an Ian Laperriere tally which broke Chris Osgood’s shutout, Franzen completed the hat trick on a remarkable double deflection backhanding the puck in mid air past Budaj for a shorthanded goal and club-leading seventh of this postseason. In fact, the much overlooked secondary scorer has been anything but getting 22 in the last 24 dating back to the regular season. With five in two games, he must be contained or this series will be over quickly.

The Avs were way too undisciplined taking silly penalties. Once more, Peter Forsberg sat out due to his groin. They need him back in three days to have any chance of getting back in the series.

Osgood was sharp again making 19 timely saves to improve to 4-0 since replacing Dominik Hasek.

There’s more hockey on with the Canadiens looking to go two-for-two at the Bell Centre against the Flyers right now.

In case anyone missed it, the Stars got a Brenden Morrow sudden death goal to steal Game One from the Sharks last night. 

Okay…so I’m finally back after a few hours away of letting off some steam in the form of a well timed drive to Park Slope in the BK for groceries you can’t find out in Shaolin (Staten Island). Plus the area is much nicer and it was a great night even with the rain which came.

I tried making sense of the Straka call and how it ultimately decided such an entertaining first game which had more twists and turns than a rollercoaster. I couldn’t do it before but let’s give the Pens full marks for coming back and taking Game One.

Sure. With their explosive offense, being three down isn’t insurmountable by any stretch. But it still takes tremendous poise to pick yourself back up and rebound the way they did. 

Obviously, the turning point had to be Pascal Dupuis’ goal 14 seconds immediately following Jarko Ruutu’s centering feed banked in off Michal Rozsival. It got the Pens right back in it and really swung the momentum. Had the Rangers been able to bury chances instead of either missing wide or shooting into the chest of Marc-Andre Fleury, I believe they would’ve been able to hold off the Pens.

Most disheartening was that twice Pittsburgh scored on consecutive shifts making our team D look in slow motion. Coverage was severely lacking by the forwards who got caught watching. That means you Sean Avery!

It’s still kind of hard to fathom Henrik Lundqvist allowing that Marian Hossa tying marker from that inconceivable angle. I thought I was watching another No.30 for a second from recent playoff failures. That guy at least has a track record. So, even if it was through a maze of players, there’s no excuse.

Another frustrating aspect was that after pissing away a 3-0 lead to fall behind, the Blueshirts cameback to tie on a nice Jaromir Jagr setup to Scott Gomez, who in turn ripped home his fourth of the playoffs. Had they played with that sense of purpose up three instead of falling asleep at the wheel, we’re not discussing what the Pens did right even if the officiating came into play with 3:20 left.

My main beef was that on the same shift, the Rangers were setup well and at least twice Pens tackled our players. Nothing. But as soon as The Whiner went the other way, you just knew one of those BHL specials was coming of the made up variety.

For the most part, the Ranger PK was good doing what they had on the previous four successive kills playing aggressively and not giving the Pens much room to setup. The problem was the one time they finally bought enough space, Evgeni Malkin got in front of Lundqvist doing the job as Sidney Crosby’s one-timer bounced off his left foot and in with only 1:41 remaining.

Another thing which irked me was the delay for a nothing review. Just another tease. Of course it wasn’t intentional. Why do they have to review every God damn thing? Because these days, our league is so pussy-footed. They’re too damn afraid of making a mistake and being scoffed at by people who don’t even give a rat’s ass about the sport. 

Screw being image conscious! It gets you nowhere. Be a little daring. Brian’s got it right. The league NEEDS more crooks. Then maybe they’ll garner some publicity. 

The following above statement isn’t something Battle of NY approves of. It’s only purpose is to serve as satire for a league which needs it badly with the way they disrespect the game and fans alike.

Who said it would be fair? I don’t want to hear anything from any freaking Pens fans or juvenile Ranger haters who are salivating after such a bullshit atrocious call decided a tie game late. Why? Cause Gary Bettman ordered the stripes to give Sidney “The Bitch” Crosby his power play.

Especially after how Pen after Pen fouled our guys because once it was tied, the Rangers were in full attack mode. To think that they got away with more blatant stuff on the same shift and then to put Marty Straka in the box for essentially breathing on Mr. Whiner was just the icing on the cake.

It was bad enough my brother’s friend’s Mom passed away :-(. Then the Blueshirts threw away a three-goal lead playing matador D. On top of it, to have such a garbage call decide that game is ample proof that Tom Renney’s right. Crosby gets every call. The look on our coach’s face said it all expressing what a joke this league’s become. Catered to one star.

I don’t know how the Rangers can win this series. They will need to dominate the Pens to win. Meaning don’t let up when three up like tonight. Score as many as possible and check Crosby through the glass. I’ve had enough of him. Alex Ovechkin’s a real superstar who doesn’t have everything handed to him on a silver platter.

Screw the Pens! Screw Crosby and every freaking commercial kissing his ass! And to Hell with Versus showing those bandwagoners on their crappy lawn!

One game is all it took. And with that, I’m headed out. I need some air.

In just under 20 minutes, series number two begins for the Rangers and Penguins. Derek has a great preview below, so I won’t bore anyone with another one. I will pass along a few little hits before the game begins though.

- Colton Orr has taken Ryan Hollweg’s spot on the fourth line. In the playoffs, they both serve the same purpose. With Pittsburgh sending out big Georges Laroque, the extra size will do the Rangers good. As long as the line maintains the 6-8 minutes they saw in the Devils series, they’ll do their job.

- Gary Roberts is out for the Penguins. As good as Marian Hossa, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are, this is a plus for the Rangers. Taking his place is former Ranger great, Adam Hall. The leadership and grit of Roberts will be missed by Pittsburgh.

The game starts at 7 pm on Vs., so no Sam and Joe, which is disappointing. A quick win would do wonders for the Rangers, who need to jump on the Penguins right from the opening whistle. See you back here sometime after the game.

Seven was a lucky number to open a pair of Conference Semis last night. Both first games between the Flyers-Canadiens and Avalanche-Red Wings totaled that exact amount of goals with each winding up 4-3 for the home team.

Montreal used some late dramatics getting an Alex Kovalev power play goal with under 29.3 seconds to play in regulation and a Tom Kostopoulos winner 48 seconds into overtime to comeback and stun Philadelphia 4-3 at an electric Bell Centre to steal Game One.

The Flyers led the game 2-0 and 3-2 but had a break go against them when Mike Richards was sent to the box for tripping Kovalev with a little over 60 seconds to play. His knee collided with the smooth skating Russian as he made a move falling to the ice. AK27 struck off a faceoff win, sneaking a wrister past Martin Biron short side to force sudden death.

It wouldn’t take long to decide as Andrei Markov kept a puck in and forced Biron to kick out a rebound right to Kostopoulos who put home a second attempt for his third of the postseason sending the Habs to a huge win in a game they didn’t deserve. That’s the playoffs in a nutshell where if you get a break, sometimes it’s all you need.

The Flyers will try to bounceback in Game Two tomorrow night.

In Game One of a Western Conference semi between old rivals Colorado and Detroit, the Wings answered a Paul Stastny goal with four straight getting two from unsung hero Johan Franzen in chasing a flu-ridden Jose Theodore. Speaking of bounces, they got a couple including a seeing eye Dan Cleary shot which deflected off a maze of players past Theodore for a 2-1 lead.

Franzen neatly deflected home a power play goal and also came through by finishing off a three-on-two cross ice feed to put the home team up three. But the Avs didn’t go away as John-Michael Liles beat Chris Osgood short side and Milan Hejduk finished off a beautiful passing play from Stastny to cut it to 4-3 with a period left.

In the third with five minutes left, Hejduk nearly tied it but his shot which had Osgood beat rang off the left post. The Detroit netminder didn’t see a lot of rubber but made his biggest save with 8.3 seconds left robbing Liles on the doorstep to preserve the win.

Tonight, the other two Conference Semis get going as the Rangers visit the Penguins and the Sharks play host to the Stars. Both can be seen on Versus with coverage at 7 ET.

Long Layoff: Having gotten done last week (feels longer) with the rival Devils in five, the Rangers finally start up Round Two with another old familiar foe tonight when they visit the second seeded Penguins. The Pens had no trouble with what essentially was a first round bye sweeping the battered Senators back to the golf course. Believe it or not, it will be a 10 day layoff for the Atlantic Patrick Division champs before they hit the ice at Mellon Arena in Game One at 7 PM on Versus.

Why the two more rested teams couldn’t begin this anticipated series Thursday night probably had something to do with arena schedules. Who knows what’s going in Pittsburgh but Madison Square Garden is always busy which might explain a potentially crucial back-to-back for Games Five and Six spanning two different cities.

Stars In Limelight: For league headquarters here in NYC, this is a network’s paradise featuring baby forced NHL face Sidney Crosby pitted against former Penguin/booing target superstar Jaromir Jagr. Having the new kid on the block against the older Czech who teamed with part-time owner Mario Lemieux to win back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992 is great theater. No wonder NBC got Games Two and Five, helping force the weird sched which could be an advantage for the younger Pens.

The Pens not only possess Crosby in their arsenal but Russian star Evgeni Malkin. The 2006-07 Calder winner was brilliant when No.87 went down with an ankle injury, totaling 46 points (20 goals, 26 assists) in 28 games to lead Pittsburgh to their first division title in a decade since winning the Northeast (1997-98). The 21 year-old Hart contender finished second to countryman Alex Ovechkin with 106 points (47-59-106). He’ll work with dangerous linemates Petr Sykora and Ryan Malone while Crosby will center star right wing Marian Hossa and either Pascal Dupuis or grizzled vet Gary Roberts.

For the Rangers, Jagr isn’t the only star as he’ll get plenty of help from playmaking pivot Scott Gomez (3-4-7, +5 vs NJ) and the seemingly always clutch Chris Drury (all 3 pts last 2 games incl. series clincher). There’s also old hat Brendan Shanahan, who will be looking to improve on just one goal and three helpers. Not surprisingly, all four veterans have won Cups combining for all eight on the team.

Tale of Two: The series will feature two young No.1 goalies with Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury (4-0, 1.26 GAA, .955 Save Pct., SHO) going up against the Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist (4-1, 2.36 GAA, .917 Save Pct.). Most would give the edge to the 26 year-old Swede who for a third straight year is up for the Vezina. However, his 23 year-old counterpart out of Quebec has been playing the best hockey of his career and could be just hot enough to get the Pens through. While Lundqvist performed well enough to defeat the Devils in Round One, he gave up three goals-or-more (10 GA) in the last three games. Against a more potent offense, he’ll need to be his very best in order for the Blueshirts to advance.

Remember Me? While Jagr will be facing his former team, No.68’s not alone as Czech mates Marty Straka and Michal Rozsival will also take on the team they each started their careers with. On the flip side, the Blueshirts could see three familiar faces on the Pittsburgh side as Sykora, Dupuis and Adam Hall all play for the Pens up front with the first two having significant roles.

History On Pitt Side: In postseason history, the Rangers and Penguins have met three prior times. Pittsburgh has won all three series with the most recent coming back in the 1996 Conference Semis when Jagr and Lemieux combined for 19 points in a five-game triumph advancing to the Conference Final before being eliminated by Florida.

Special Battle: If there’s an area the Rangers want to avoid, it’s putting the Pens on the power play. Given who they have, it would be wise for Tom Renney’s club to stay out of the box. Not only do the Pens boast great players up front but blueliners Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney are equally capable of lighting the lamp making their PP the Pitts for opposing penalty killers. Entering second round play last night, the Pens ranked third best in the playoffs connecting at a 26.1 clip (6-for-23 vs Ott). During the first round, the Rangers PK got worse guilty of too many penalties and permitting five PPGA in 24 chances (79.2 percent) placing ninth.

Surprisingly, the Ranger power play scored just enough converting on 4-of-17 opportunities (23.5 percent). Even weirder was that three of the four PPG came on home ice going 3-for-9 in Round One. They managed only 1-of-8 in Newark. That will need to pick up as they’ll be against the top rated Pens, who successfully killed 12 of 13 Ottawa power plays.

Odd stat coming from the season series which New York took 5-3 had them outperforming the Pens 9-5 on the man-advantage with the Rangers clicking at 21.4 percent as compared with their division rival’s 14.3. They even got seven more power plays just for any conspiracy theorists out there.

Each club has good penalty killing forwards who can be shorthanded threats. The Rangers’ best is speedy rookie Ryan Callahan. He got their lone SHG which was the first momentum swing last series resulting in a Game One road win getting his team off to a good start. Shanahan, Straka and Gomez also kill penalties and can attack if given opportunities. The Pens have their own dangerous PK threats in Malkin, Malone plus speedy tandem Jordan Staal and Max Talbot. Talbot is especially dangerous tying with Malone for the team lead with two this season. Pen pest Jarkko Ruutu also kills penalties.

Grit Matters: At this time of year, the key battles along the wall can go a long way to determining a winner. In the first round, NHL poster boy Sean Avery was a royal pain and got into the head of Martin Brodeur. Not only was the former beau of Elisha Cuthbert effective but drew plenty of attention for Screen Gate (Rule No.57) while still producing five points (3-2-5) and taking hits to setup goals. The Rangers will need more of the same from Avery along with Callahan and Nigel Dawes to offset the Pens’ own version of Jagr hunter Ruutu, Roberts and enforcer Georges Laraque. Whichever team’s gritty forwards perform the best could provide a hint of who shall be left standing. 

Blueline Special: Much has been covered about the stars up front and the netminders but what about the bluelines? The Pens have three superb skating D in Gonchar, Whitney and Kris Letang who can get involved offensively. They also boast a pair of physical specimen in Brooks Orpik and deadline pickup Hal Gill who each should see a lot of Jagr. That will be a key match-up for Michel Therrien. Rob Scuderi is overlooked.

The Rangers counter with top pair Rozsival and rookie Marc Staal, who was their best D in the first series. The very mature 21 year-old has developed into a solid physical skating defenseman. He could see a few shifts against younger brother Jordan but expect him to go up against Crosby or Malkin. Whoever Renney puts Staal against will determine which star underrated tandem Fedor Tyutin and Dan Girardi will face. They work well together and will take the body to make plays. Out of the pair, Girardi is steadier and capable of offense. His three assists led all Ranger blueliners in Round One. Rozsival also had a goal and helper.

The Ranger third pair of Paul Mara and Christian Backman can be forechecked but didn’t make any glaring mistakes. Each will get more tested. Especially Backman, who needs to find offense in this round to be effective.

Dubi Dubi Doo: Remember those Beware The Penguins Bud Ice commercials a decade prior? Well, the Pens should be very cognizant of Ranger rookie Brandon Dubinsky. The 21 year-old Alaskan centers the Jagr line. Possessing size, speed and strength, he didn’t look fazed in his first NHL series pacing all rookies with six points (3-3-6). He’s a solid all around player who’s excellent in transition and on the cycle. The Blueshirts are depending on him to be a factor taking pressure off the playoff tested center duo of Gomez and Drury.

Coach’s Corner: Both clubs have experienced enough coaches who understand what’s at stake. Renney always seems to have a good grasp of his bench. In the first round, the Ranger coach showed better judgment biting his tongue when a few questionable calls went against his team opting to focus on the task at hand. He also didn’t overuse the fourth line centered by Blair Betts, choosing to go with his best players. That’s a must against the top heavy Pens.

Therrien has been here before with Montreal. So, he has something to draw on if things start out slowly. He’s not afraid to send a message to his team by sending out Laraque to bang bodies. But the Pens will go as far as their best players take them.

Intangibles: If there’s an edge here, it goes to the Rangers who experienced a tough second round defeat last year to Drury’s Sabres with the crucial FA addition from last summer having plenty to do with it. 7.7 seconds? The Pens will be hungry and have enough experienced vets who want to taste the bubbly.

Analysis: A lot could depend on the match-ups. The team who dictates the play will win this series. The Pens are a high flying transition team while the Rangers do most of their best work off the forecheck. Each goalie will get severely tested. Both teams have plenty of offense but it’s awfully hard to go against that 1-2 punch of Crosby and Malkin.

Series Prediction: Pens in 7

This throws a loop into things. VERSUS’ “Hockey Central” just reported that Avalanche center Peter Forsberg has been listed as a scratch from Game #1 of the Colorado-Detroit series. No further info was given on Forsberg’s condition, though Brian Engblom Floppa’d on his pick for the series.

I know I’m not alone in not caring much for the Lady Byng. Just the name itself makes me go, ‘Blah.’

Gentlemanly conduct should be left on the golf course during some overplayed major where their top star is a total fraud. Translation: This is H-O-C-K-E-Y!!!!!

Not for the feint of heart. We love our gritty players who will go that extra few inches into the corners and muck it up coming out with the puck during this time of year. It’s the team that’s willing to win those physical battles which will come out with the most prestigious trophy in all of sports. Lord Stanley.

So what if Pavel Datsyuk, Martin St. Louis and Jason Pominville got nominated for the Byng. Nobody really cares.

I don’t think Mr. Datsyuk wants to be remembered for being nicest player on and off the ice. Especially with his team still in the mix for the Cup.

Maybe I’m being a bit mean but this award does nothing for me. And with that, I’ve spoken my piece.

Onto what really matters with the Conference Semis finally underway in Montreal!

In what hopefully will be a quieter evening for Montreal’s Police and Fire Department, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Montreal Canadiens will begin their Best-Of-7 Eastern Conference Semifinal Series tonight at 7PM EST at the Bell Centre.

This is the first playoff match-up between these two storied franchises since the 1989 Wales Conference Final, where the Habs defeated the Flyers in 6 games.

These teams bring the Top 2 Powerplay units in the NHL this season: Montreal ranked 1^st overall at 24.2%, and the Flyers ranked #2 with a 21.8% percentage.  Having said that, here are my quick keys to this series for each team:

 Montreal: 

1. The Price Needs To Be Right- Habs goalie Cary Price needs to carry the momentum he gained from his solid play in Game 7 against the Boston Bruins.  The Habs have put a lot of stock into the young phenom, and couple that with the pressure of playing in a city that usually has unrealistic expectations, Price needs to stay the course and be consistent.

2. Keep the hits coming- Defenceman Mike Komisarek (266 hits, plus 26 hits in the playoffs which leads all players) and Francis Bouillon (168) need to play smart and physical against the Flyers, and attempt to wear down the Flyers.

3. Keep up the intensity:  Perhaps the Habs got too comfortable in Game 5 at home against Boston, and this young, inexperienced team took the 3-1 series lead for granted.  The Habs cannot afford to make that same mistake against a more skilled Flyers team.

 Philadelphia: 

1. $10 million dollar man- Daniel Briere’s contract received a lot of attention this year, and Briere was booed even in Philadelphia (but are we surprised, Philly fans have booed Santa Claus for crying out loud!), but Briere showed why the Flyers overpaid for him in the 1^st round, and needs to continue that trend against the Habs.

2. Special Teams- VERY important for the Flyers to win the overall special teams battle in this series if they want to win.  Mike Richards is ultra dangerous short handed, and I believe this should-be captain is due for a big series and must be a force shorthanded to neutralize the potent Habs Powerplay.

3. Biron The Burglar- Flyers goalie Martin Biron needs to be a thief once in this series and steal a game against the Habs, especially when playing at the Bell Centre.  I expect the nutty Habs fans to take it up a notch in this series, and Biron needs to be sharp for the Flyers to win.

   Schedule: 

Here is the schedule for the series:

Game 1 @ Montreal- Thursday April 24^th 7PM EST

Game 2 @ Montreal- Saturday April 26^th 7PM EST

Game 3 @ Philadelphia- Monday April 28^th 7PM EST

Game 4 @ Philadelphia- Wednesday April 30^th 7PM EST

Game 5 @Montreal (If Necessary)- Saturday May 3^rd 7PM EST

Game 6 @Philadelphia (If Necessary)- Sunday May 4^th 7PM EST

Game 7 @Montreal (If Necessary)- Tuesday May 6^th 7PM EST

Comment:  So 3 games in 4 nights for Games 5-7?  Personally, I feel that is a disgrace. We all know how games can be on the 3^rd game in 4 nights, is Dora the Explorer messing things up again?

Prediction:  This will be a great series. Montreal seems to have it all going this year, it has been a magical ride indeed.  When analyzing these teams, there are so many similarities: Top power play units, solid Penalty killing, good goaltending, solid defense units.

I will go out on a limb here and pick the Flyers in 6.  I do not feel the Flyers will be intimidated by playing at the Bell Centre, and I fully expect Briere, Richards, and underrated Jeff Carter to play a key role in the upset.

Please check us out on The Battle of New York for further recaps of this series and other great series throughout the playoffs!