Copyright Getty Images

Joffrey Lupul’s sudden death power play tally at 6:06 made the Flyers 3-2 Game Seven winners over the Capitals at Verizon Center.

The right wing’s hustle kept a loose puck alive. He was rewarded when teammate Daniel Briere’s one-timer was blocked going right to Kimmo Timonen, who blasted a shot which Washington netminder Cristobal Huet couldn’t control allowing Lupul to flip a backhand into an open side for the series clincher.

It was Lupul’s first of this postseason and biggest as it allowed the Flyers to prevail in seven games and advance to an Eastern Conference Semifinal against top seeded Montreal.

Former Ranger defenseman Tom Poti got called for a late trip handing Philadelphia a man-advantage. Minutes earlier, teammate John Erskine committed a more egregious foul in the same area of the ice which would’ve led to a two-on-one against. You have to wonder if maybe it was a make up call. Poti did commit a penalty but it wasn’t anything blatant and the call came way late.

It doesn’t matter now as the Caps couldn’t kill the remaining nine seconds for Poti. All they needed was one clear but it never came and Lupul turned into a Flyer hero.

So, the Eastern Conference semi match-ups are all set:

(1) Montreal vs (6) Philadelphia-Game One is Thursday night

(2) Pittsburgh vs (5) New York Rangers- Game One is Friday night

The Sharks are hosting the Flames in the other deciding first round game and lead 1-0 on a Joe Thornton power play goal.

If San Jose prevails, they’ll face the Stars in the next round while top seeded Detroit would renew an old rivalry with Colorado. If Calgary comes back to win, they would visit the Red Wings while Colorado and Dallas would meet.

Just as I said that, the Flames just knotted this game at 1-1 via a PPG by Jarome Iginla.

We’ll update what happens after.

They’re going to overtime at The Verizon Center in DC. Twenty years prior, another series between the Flyers and Capitals required sudden death to decide before Dale Hunter won it 5-4 on a breakaway.

Will history repeat itself for Alex Ovechkin and the Caps tonight? His ridiculous rocket is why Game Seven is tied 2-2.

As Dave Strader mentioned on Versus, this will be the 30th Stanley Cup Playoff Game Seven to go to OT. Who will be the hero?

I’m going to pick a player from each side before it begins.

Flyers- I’ll go with Daniel Briere. He’s been dangerous all game and leads the playoffs with 10 points including six goals.

Capitals- Most would go with logic and take Ovechkin as he’s been flying all night long. I’ll go with his Russian comrade Alexander Semin as he’s had some good chances.

We’ll see if I know what I’m talking about.

All Photos Copyright Getty Images

Normally, one wouldn’t think an eight seed has a shot at coming back. Especially from the 3-1 hole ex-Montreal coach Claude Julien’s Bruins entered last night in before outscoring the home Habs 4-0 in the deciding period to post a 5-1 Game Five road win.

Given how well Boston played while facing elimination along with how shaky 20 year-old rookie netminder Carey Price was, it’s hard not to like the Bruins’ chances of forcing a seventh and deciding game over the weekend. Have you ever seen a goalie come apart quite like that? Oh. It’s happened before. Just usually by more experienced ones than the kid who earlier in the third had supporters chanting, “Car—ey, Car—ey, Car—ey” before his unreal gaffe led to Montreal’s demise.

As Price made a fine glove stop to foil a Boston chance in a 1-1 game, for some reason he decided to play the puck with two attacking Bruins close by. By the time he realized his folly, it was too late as an opportunistic Glen Metropolit got just enough of the disc to put it by the scrambling goalie for a 2-1 Boston lead before a stunned Bell Centre.

Metropolit’s big goal opened the floodgates. There would be no signature, “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants on this night. More like ole ole for how unglued the Canadiens became. An undisciplined Sergei Kostistyn penalty in the offensive zone led directly to Boston captain Zdeno Chara’s first of the series coming 2:18 later which gave the B’s a 3-1 lead.

The Habs would also squander a couple of power play chances to get back in it. Once again, the Bruins had the right recipe in killing off all four Montreal power plays. In fact, the league’s highest ranked PP during the regular season gave up a crushing shorthanded goal to Marco Sturm, who beat Price from 40 feet out with a perfect wrister off the far post.

A Vladimir Sobotka tally from an awful angle in which he just threw a softie on net showed just how fractured Price was. Why did Guy Carbonneau even leave him in? There was just 2:12 on the clock. May as well have let the kid get the rest of the night off and regroup.

Instead, plenty of questions will arise during the off day by the crazy Montreal and Canadian media. How will Price respond Saturday night in Beantown?

Don’t be surprised if there’s a Game Seven. These B’s have fared well and are playing with confidence. Tim Thomas also finished a stellar night in net making 31 saves earning the game’s Second Star.  

In the other Eastern Conference series, Mike Knuble’s double overtime winner put the Capitals on the brink. Despite some highlight reel stops including a strong denial of Knuble’s wide open one-timer from in front, Cristobal Huet couldn’t save his rebound which made the Flyers 4-3 comeback winners in Game Four before a screaming sea of orange.

Washington played better than in Game Three but ultimately were done in by a mistimed bench minor for too many men on the ice which red hot Flyer Daniel Briere cashed to tie the game with 9:59 left in regulation.

Both teams had golden opportunities to take the lead but didn’t have what it took to beat either goalie as both Huet (diving glove stops) and Martin Biron (big glove save from in tight) were up to the task.

Neither team budged in the first OT forcing it to a second leading to Knuble’s heroics. Setup by linemates Jeff Carter (two goals, helper) and Scottie Upshall (2 A), the ex-Ranger got two whacks at it before burying his second past a helpless Huet with Alex Ovechkin standing around.

Not quite what the league’s leading scorer had in mind for his first playoff series unless the suddenly ice cold Russian’s planning a miraculous comeback. Sure. AO assisted on two of the Caps’ goals but one shot in 28:00 isn’t cutting it. He better start hitting the net by Saturday or his team is likely going home for good.

There were three games out West. I only caught the majority of Flames-Sharks. San Jose got two Jonathan Cheechoo goals 3:30 apart early in the third to hold off Calgary 4-3 in Game Five moving them within a win of the second round.

Calgary did rally for two goals including David Moss’ first on a stuff in which sliced the deficit down to one with 77 seconds left from Jarome Iginla with Miikka Kiprusoff pulled. However, they were unable to get another quality chance on Evgeni Nabokov, who finished with 33 saves.

Very questionable was Mike Keenan’s decision to only play Kristian Huselius sparingly including just a few shifts in the third while giving veteran Owen Nolan nearly eight more total minutes of ice-time. I like Nolan but come on. There’s not much margin for error in the playoffs.

Huselius needs more ice-time and Alex Tanguay must score if the Flames are to extend the series a seventh game.

Wojtek Wolski and Paul Stastny’s goals in a 79 second span lifted the Avalanche to a 3-2 Game Five road victory over the Wild, who now must win in Denver to force Game Seven.

The difference was Jose Theodore, who turned back the clock making 38 saves to stone the host Wild in a game which saw them limit Colorado to just 17 shots. The Avs are a skilled team and went two-for-three on the man-advantage. With Minny sniper Marian Gaborik again shutout, his teammates couldn’t overcome it. Brian Rolston’s goal and helper weren’t enough.

Unless Gaborik finds his offense, this series is likely over.

Also moving within a win of Round Two were the Stars, who got a superb effort from Marty Turco (27 saves, 1st Star) to shutdown the Ducks 3-1 in Game Four. Joel Lundqvist, Stu Barnes and Steve Ott tallied for Dallas before Mathieu Schneider broke Turco’s shutout bid with eight seconds to go.

The defending champions have their backs to the wall. They did get leading finisher Corey Perry back. They’ll need more offense to stave off a disappointing first round elimination on home ice.

Photo Copyright Getty Images

Evgeni Nabokov’s challenge after Game Three stood for quite a while. Finally, his teammates stepped to the forefront and transformed from boys to men (no not the cheesy do op R & B group which once was alright back in the day) coming back to take the all important Game Four over Calgary 3-2, squaring their best-of-seven first round series.

Jonathan Cheechoo’s tying goal with 4:54 left and Joe Thornton’s deciding marker with under 10 seconds to go was exactly what the doctor ordered, saving the No.2 seeded Sharks from falling behind 3-1 in the series a game away from elimination. Instead, they were rescued by their best players gaining home ice back.

In a game they somehow trailed by a goal late in the third despite a decided edge in play and shots, San Jose finally turned it up enough to get to Calgary No.1 goalie Miikka Kiprusoff. A couple of nights removed from being pulled after permitting three quick goals before his team made a stirring comeback with Curtis Joseph in net, the two-time Vezina winner was back to his stingy self denying Sharks at every turn.

Kipper’s stellar netminding looked like it would be enough to hold off a furious San Jose attack which saw them outshoot the Flames 32-10 including a combined 26-8 the final 40 minutes. However, the Sharks’ persistence finally paid off when Cheechoo saw a small opening and fired a quick wrister past Kiprusoff’s glove to tie the contest at 15:06. The hard work down low by linemates Joe Pavelski and rookie Devin Setoguchi allowed the San Jose finisher to get to a loose puck and tally his first of the postseason.

I could tell that the guys in the white and teal weren’t done. Instead of being satisfied, they kept coming after Calgary in wave after wave. The aggressive strategy resulted in Thornton’s winner before a stunned and dead silent Saddle Dome. Thanks to an outstanding shift in which they kept the Flames pinned in their end, energetic winger Ryane Clowe worked the puck to an open Doug Murray at the point, who shot without hesitation. The screening Thornton got just enough of it to tip it home for his first of the series.

A hooking minor on Calgary’s Kristian Huselius with five ticks left wrapped it up for the Sharks, who now will head back home to host the pivotal Game Five tomorrow night.

Just a gigantic win for a team which was once again being seriously doubted including by myself for taking them to the Cup Final. This was a nice character builder as they were able to overcome Jarome Iginla (goal, assist) and Dion Phaneuf (goal) along with deadline pickup Brian Campbell’s continued substandard play in his end. God. Did the Sabres know or what? With every shift he doesn’t compete hard defensively, that’s more money going by the wayside.

At least his more determined teammates were able to pick him up. The Sharks aren’t out of the woods by any stretch. But again, it’s hard to see Calgary prevailing when they continue to be severely outplayed by a wide margin. You have to figure they’re going to run out of gas.

We’ll see.

It was a busy Tuesday night with four other series going on. In one they had to have, the defending champion Ducks finally showed some life by getting the first four on Marty Turco before hanging on for a 4-2 Game Three victory to get back in their series. Chris Pronger scored twice including on a five-on-three for his first career two-goal playoff game. The defenseman also helped assist on Todd Marchant’s first which opened the scoring, restoring Anaheim’s confidence as they outscored Dallas 3-0 in sharp contrast to the first two back home.

Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and assist and Jean-Sebastien Giguere rebounded from a poor showing in Game Two with 31 saves including 12 big ones in a final stanza which saw Dallas make a late charge thanks to a pair of Brenden Morrow power play goals. Giguere wouldn’t allow them to draw closer even though they had a couple of more chances on the man-advantage.

Game Four is tomorrow night with the home team 0-for-3 in the series.

Also out West, the Avalanche used a three-goal first period barrage of their own to storm past the Wild 5-1 in Game Four to even their series at two apiece. The first three games of this very competitive series all wound up 3-2 with each needing sudden death. Since Joe Sakic’s Game One winner, the Wild had taken the last two off the sticks of Keith Carney and Pierre-Marc Bouchard.

Last night though as Islander goalie Rick DiPietro predicted during a Versus segment, back-to-back games in the thin air was advantage Colorado who was more used to it. They completely outplayed the Wild scoring the first five on Niklas Backstrom who was relieved by Josh Harding in the third.

Deadline pickup Ruslan Salei had a goal and assist as did third line pivot Tyler Arnason. Jordan Leopold added a pair of helpers in a game which saw the Avs get 14 power plays converting twice. Not surprisingly, it got ugly with the frustrated Wild going to the box plenty as they lost their cool.

Figure Game Five tomorrow back at St. Paul to be a real barn burner.

In one of two Eastern Conference playoff games, the Flyers had a little too much for the Capitals, getting a late penalty shot goal from Mike Richards in a 6-3 home win before a crowd of orange who enjoyed seeing their team go up 2-1 in the series. Richards also made a great pass to setup Daniel Briere’s second of the night at 19:50 of the second on the power play. Briere tallied twice and has four goals in the series.

Though the Caps got a Brooks Laich goal with 4:34 left in regulation to cut the deficit to 4-3, they couldn’t get closer due to a poor read by one of their D which led to Richards beating Cristobal Huet on the penalty shot going five-hole with 2:59 to go. It looked like a pretty good call as he had a step on the defender.

Mike Knuble added an empty netter in a game the Flyers controlled with a 32-19 SOG edge. For the Caps, Alex Ovechkin tallied just a helper and Alexander Semin (assist, -2 rating) plus rookie pivot Nicklas Backstrom (no points, 1 SOG) struggled. They’ll need a stronger effort to level the series Thursday.

As for the other game, the Canadiens did what they needed to gaining a split in Boston with a 1-0 blanking of the Bruins. Only veteran defenseman Patrice Brisebois’ power play goal with 42 seconds left in the second made the scoresheet in what was a tightly contested game between the Original Six rivals.

His quick one-timer off a broken play beat Tim Thomas to give the top seeded Habs the edge they needed. The third saw the Habs buckle down allowing just six Boston shots as rookie Carey Price stopped all 27 for his first career NHL postseason shutout. The 20 year-old’s best save came with the game still scoreless when Game Three hero Marc Savard nicely setup Glen Murray in front but Price quickly slid across to make a tough stop look relatively easy.

The Habs can wrap up the 31st series between the close rivals tomorrow night in Montreal.

Later tonight, it’s Game Four between the Devils and Rangers at the Garden. See ya later!

It’s Day Six of these NHL playoffs and already we’ve had some very exciting games featuring unpredictable finishes. Last night saw three such contests take place with a couple requiring sudden death before the more desperate team which trailed 2-0 in their respective series found ways to prevail and get back in it.

The John Madden bizarre winner off Ranger defenseman Marc Staal has been covered plenty. However, Marc Savard’s heroics last night up in Beantown has not. In case you missed it, one of the game’s best playmaking pivots finally notched his first career playoff goal doing so in dramatic fashion to lift Boston to a 2-1 OT win over Les Habitants in Game Three. 

On a delayed call, the former Ranger came off the bench and took Dennis Wideman’s no-look backhand feed and beat rookie Carey Price to give the Bruins a measure of revenge before an energized Boston crowd which saw their team finally get a ‘W’ against the Habs. Montreal had taken the first 10 including all eight regular season meetings. But that no longer matters cause with one victory, the Bruins are alive and know one more win tomorrow can knot their series against a bitter Original Six rival.

For more on Savard’s big goal in only his third career postseason game, I highly recommend the Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dumont’s piece on how truly special that tally was and why it took on extra meaning for Marc dating back to childhood.

That wasn’t the only other game quite a few of us might not have paid close attention to. If I weren’t so preoccupied posting my thoughts on last night’s tough OT loss once I got home, I might’ve checked out what was a stirring comeback win for the Flames at The SaddleDome.

When the WFAN update person said the Sharks led by three, I figured I’d just write instead. Little did I know that San Jose got the game’s opening three in just 3:33, the fastest such start nearly eight years to the day since Detroit did it in 3:32 on Apr.15, 2000.

Inspired by a lethal dirty clean hit by defenseman Cory Sarich on San Jose captain Patrick Marleau in the offensive zone, the Flames fought valiantly back after seeing franchise netminder Miikka Kiprusoff pulled in favor of veteran Curtis Joseph. A Jarome Iginla redirection of a Dion Phaneuf shot got the Flames within two before the first period concluded. Daymond Langkow’s second period power play tally got them within one. Phaneuf tied it when his shot went off San Jose’s Marc-Edouard Vlasic early in the third. It was just a matter of time before ex-Shark Owen Nolan scored with 3:45 left in regulation to complete the dramatic turnaround.

For more on this stirring comeback, Calgary Herald’s Jean Lefebvre had an excellent recap on Sarich’s inspiring hit which woke up his team in time to take a 2-1 series lead in the best-of-seven Western quarterfinal.

While the other three series Game Three’s were on tap, the second game between the Flyers and Caps took place yesterday afternoon. Philly had blown a 4-2 lead to lose Game One 5-4 on Alexander Ovechkin’s third period winner. This time however, they got the first two on Cristobal Huet off the sticks of R.J. Umberger and Jeff Carter. Martin Biron was much better in denying strong Cap opportunities stopping all 24 shots his way for a Game Two 2-0 blanking to level the series as it shifts back to Philadelphia. 

Biron’s big day postponed his wife’s procedure where his third baby was expected to be born earlier this morning. For more on the ex-Sabre’s happy time, Phil Sheridan of the Inquirer had a nice story on the proceedings.

The Devils knew they needed to take Game Three if they were to stand any realistic chance of winning the Battle of Hudson series. For Madden, just sitting in the hotel and watching playoff hockey coverage on the tube helped his team’s cause last night.

For more on that and what was an eventful night at MSG, Rich Chere of the Star Ledger had a good piece summing up the Devs’ hard fought 4-3 OT win well.

Here’s some more info courtesy of The NHL Today thanks to the very friendly nhlmedia site:

 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF MEDIA WEBSITE NOW LIVE
To assist media members covering the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the National Hockey League’s Communications Department has introduced www.stanleycupplayoffs2008.com, a ‘one-stop shopping’ website that provides story lines for each series, statistical previews and other features, including a fully searchable version of Total Stanley Cup, the 2008 NHL Playoff Media Guide. In addition to providing new information at the start of each round, www.stanleycupplayoffs2008.com will be updated on a regular basis.com/

WHATS NEW ON THE STANLEY CUP MEDIA WEBSITE
The Stanley Cup media website is a good resource for regularly updated interesting facts, milestones and NHL statements on game events. Below are two examples from last night that were posted in the “Latest News” section:

– April 13, 2008 11:05 PM ET
The San Jose Sharks’ three goals in 3:33 is the fastest three goals by one team at the beginning of a playoff game since April 15, 2000, when Detroit did it in 3:32 (Shanahan, Lapointe, Draper). The record is 1:48 held by the Pittsburgh Penguins against the New York Islanders on May 10, 1993.

– April 13, 2008 07:19 PM ET
Video Review (New Jersey at NY Rangers, 3:01, 1st period) – Good goal. New Jersey goal. Goal counts as puck went off NY Rangers (#15 - Blair Betts) stick into net. Goal was reviewed under Rule 39.4 for a kick.

ALL IN THE NUMBERS FOR WILD’S LEMAIRE
Michael Russo writes in the MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE, “When the Wild visited Calgary three weeks ago, Jacques Lemaire hitched a ride to the game on the media bus. ‘Want to see my lines for tonight?’ the Wild coach asked. Lemaire pulled out a legal-sized piece of paper, folded in half. He then flashed what looked to be 30 line combinations: 17-38-10; 12-9-96; 24-67-10; 17-38-96; 11-15-24; 19-9-92; 12-15-10 — to name a few! There were so many numbers, the sheet could have doubled as Lemaire’s Powerball picks.”

STARS’ MODANO FEELING A DIFFERENCE
Mike Heika writes in the DALLAS MORNING NEWS, “Mike Modano has noticed something different about the Dallas Stars recently. They’re loose, they’re happy, they’re confident. It’s a twist on a team that has a history of playing nervous in the postseason, of trying too hard to live up to expectations, of not enjoying itself.”

ON THIS DATE IN PLAYOFF HISTORY
April 14, 1928 - In only their second season as an NHL franchise, the New York Rangers captured the 1928 Stanley Cup with a 2-1 triumph over the Montreal Maroons in the final game of the best-of-five title series. The Rangers became only the second American team in history to win the Stanley Cup, joining the 1917 champion Seattle Metropolitans of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association.

April 14, 1931 - Goaltender George Hainsworth blanked the Chicago Black Hawks 2-0 as the Montreal Canadiens became the second NHL team to win Stanley Cup championships in two consecutive seasons. The Ottawa Senators first accomplished the feat in 1920 and 1921.

April 14, 1942 - Brothers Don Metz (3-2-5) and Nick Metz (1-2-3) led the Toronto Maple Leafs to a record-tying 9-3 victory against the Detroit Red Wings in the 1942 Final. The Leafs’ nine-goal outburst matched the Final scoring mark for an NHL team set by Detroit on April 7, 1936, in a 9-4 win against Toronto.

April 14, 1948 - The Toronto Maple Leafs repeated as Stanley Cup champions with a 7-2 win against the Detroit Red Wings, thus completing a four-game sweep of the 1948 Final. The game marked the end of a career for Toronto captain Syl Apps, who punctuated his stint in the NHL with a goal in this series-ending victory.

April 14, 1953 - Maurice “Rocket” Richard became the second NHL player to register two hat tricks in Final history, joining Howie Morenz in achieving the feat. Richard, who led Montreal to a 7-3 win against Boston, later added a four-goal performance to his record on April 6, 1957.

April 14, 1955 - Right winger Gordie Howe scored the winning goal in Game Seven of the 1955 Stanley Cup Final to lead the Detroit Red Wings past the Montreal Canadiens 3-1. The goal gave Howe a 5-7-12 scoring mark in the series, setting a new individual mark for Final competition.

April 14, 1960 - Goaltender Jacques Plante blanked the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-0 as the Montreal Canadiens captured their record-setting fifth straight Stanley Cup championship. The victory marked the end of a career for Maurice “Rocket” Richard, the NHL’s all-time leader with 34 goals in the Stanley Cup Final.

NHL AND PARAMOUNT PICTURES PARTNER ON MIKE MYERS FILM ‘LOVE GURU’
The National Hockey League and Paramount Pictures have entered into a strategic marketing alliance supporting the new Mike Myers comedy film “The Love Guru,” due out June 20, which features the Toronto Maple Leafs’ pursuit of the Stanley Cup under the guidance of the Guru Pitka, a self-help spiritualist played by Myers. The marketing alliance includes co-branded and co-produced spots featuring Myers and content from the film to air during NHL game broadcasts on NBC, VERSUS, CBC and TSN, online and in NHL arenas, exclusive NHL.com content and retail activations, all designed to promote the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the June 20, 2008 nationwide theatrical release of the comedy.

– View the ‘Love Guru’ commercial spot.

STANLEY CUP FINAL PLAYOFF ACCREDITATION APPLICATION NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE
The NHL Public Relations department has launched an online media accreditation application to help streamline the credentialing process. Please click here to submit your credential request for the 2008 Stanley Cup Final.

– Credential applications sent via e-mail and fax are still being accepted. The application may be downloaded by clicking here. The deadline for the Stanley Cup Final media accreditation application is FRIDAY, MAY 16.

For story ideas, suggestions or comments, please e-mail the NHL TODAY

THE SCHEDULE
– Game 3: Penguins at Senators, 7 p.m. (CBC, RDS) (Penguins lead series 2-0)
– Game 3: Red Wings at Predators, 7:30 p.m. (VERSUS, TSN, RIS (Red Wings lead series 2-0)
– Game 3: Wild at Avalanche, 10 p.m. (VERSUS, CBC, RDS) (Series tied 1-1)

All Photos Copyright Getty Images

There were three other playoff games last night which bared watching. So, while there was an intense Game Two between the Hudson rivals, the other trio of games on Night 3 of the NHL postseason all had exciting and unpredictable finishes. That’s our main point of emphasis in this totally random Spring edition:

-Great game in the nation’s capital between the Flyers and Caps last night. It’s unfortunate that I couldn’t really get into it due to Rangers-Devils but just from catching the highlights, this looked like an unbelievable first game between two evenly matched teams. The Flyers led 4-2 after 40 minutes on the strength of a pair of goals from Daniel Briere and Vaclav Prospal. Trailing by a couple, the Capitals rallied back with three unanswered including two straight blueline blasts from the deadly Mike Green which tied it up.

For most of the game, the Flyers kept Alexander Ovechkin in check but the league’s leading scorer sprung to life when his team needed it most making an unreal play which resulted in the winner. In his first NHL playoff game, the 65-goal sniper forced a turnover stripping the puck away from Lasse Kukkonen. The electrifying 22 year-old Russian then patiently outwaited Martin Biron before wrapping the puck past the Flyer netminder for the deciding tally with 4:32 left. The certain Hart winner’s heroics helped the Caps overcome a two-goal deficit as they outshot the Flyers 12-3 in a dominant third to take a 1-0 series lead in what shapes up to be a great first round match-up.

-Another fun conclusion took place at Mellon Arena where the Pens withstood a good challenge from the Sens, getting a late Ryan Malone power play tally along with an empty netter to pull out Game Two 5-3- allowing the East’s No.2 seed to take a 2-0 series lead.

Early on, it looked like it would be just as easy as their dominant 4-0 Game One victory the other night. The Pens cashed in on a five-on-three when Evgeni Malkin setup a Sergei Gonchar bomb to go up 1-0. Another nifty passing play which saw Sidney Crosby and Malkin combining to setup Petr Sykora for a second power play goal 5:22 into the second. The dynamic duo hooked up yet again on an even better Malkin feed with the ex-Devil not missing for his third of the postseason.

Three goals down, the Sens could’ve packed it in. Instead, they came right back less than a minute later when Shean Donovan tallied in front to cut it to 3-1. A Cory Stillman PPG off a nice Dany Heatley pass gave them life headed to the final stanza. When rookie Cody Bass finished off a play in front, the game was suddenly tied at three with 11:09 remaining.

Discipline had been an issue all night for the Sens and came into play when Martin Lapointe hooked down Jarkko Ruutu with 1:14 to go in regulation. It took the Pens just 12 seconds to make Lapointe pay as Crosby and Marian Hossa helped setup Ryan Malone’s wraparound at 18:58. Malone also iced the game firing into an open net with seven ticks left.

Game Three is not till Monday in Ottawa.

-Perhaps the best game was Game Two between Northwest rivals Colorado and Minnesota. The two teams had battled hard in the first game with the Wild forcing sudden death only to see Colorado clutch captain Joe Sakic add to his playoff record with an eighth career goal in playoff overtime.

Jacques Lemaire’s club needed to level this series and found a way to do it requiring more than 60 minutes again with it going their way. Peter Forsberg got the Avs on the scoreboard first with a beautiful vintage finish off a Jeff Finger feed, wristing one by Niklas Backstrom at 17:06 of the first. The Wild cameback to knot it in the third when there was a Pavol Demitra sighting. A rarity this time of year as the Slovak fired a perfect wrister past Jose Theodore for a PPG 1:37 into the middle stanza.

It looked like all of St. Paul would celebrate a regulation come from behind win when Mikko Koivu stole a puck and then wired one past Theodore with 1:51 left. But the Avs drew a late power play and got even when Ryan Smyth deflected home a John-Michael Liles point shot with 44 seconds to go. The goal was credited to Milan Hejduk.

Either way, the same two teams once again went overtime but before I could get back to see it, it was over quickly thanks to out of all people Keith Carney. Off a broken play with some excellent grunt work by Koivu, who was the Wild’s best player, the American-born vet got to a loose puck and beat Theodore cleanly with a slapper from the left wall at 1:14 of sudden death.

Not surprisingly, it was Carney’s first ever OT winner. Good for him.

The series shifts back to the Rocky Mountains Monday and Tuesday for Games Three and Four.

-Maybe the Sens can build off a strong night in goal by Gerber, who made 49 saves. We’ll see what they’re made of starting Monday when the series shifts to Kanata, Ontario.

-That reaction by first-year Devil coach Brent Sutter where he slammed the stick after a dreadful icing call against his club was classic. He had every reason to be upset. Loved the intensity.

-He’s annoying to no end but Sid the Kid is still a great hockey player as evidenced by his four secondary assists. If he and Malkin are both in high gear, the Pens are going to be very tough to stop. Especially if they’re getting the benefit of the stripes as Ottawa coach Bryan Murray asserted to some missed stuff on Pittsburgh last night.

-Watching Forsberg in the first couple of games between Minnesota and Colorado, it becomes evident just how brilliant he really is. Even with all the injuries and foot problems, Peter The Great is still looking like an elite player. And if that’s the case, the Avs should be heard from this Spring.

-From listening to Lemaire about his young club after a vital OT win, you can tell how much the former Devil coach who guided that franchise to their first championship enjoys coaching his players. That enthusiasm is still there. He definitely seems to be having more fun these days which tells you he was a great hire a few years back for that franchise.

-They also have great fans. Boy. Do they make a lot of noise.

-Guess Jacques Martin just couldn’t push the right buttons to get it turned around in Florida.

All photos Copyright Getty Images

It’s finally the best time of year if you’re a diehard puck fan. That is unless you’re a Canucks’ fan still pondering if their choke was worse than the Memphis Tigers.

Only 16 of the 30 teams make the Stanley Cup Tournament. And that’s a good thing because there will be no more three-point games and shootouts impacting what happens. Now, it just comes down to who’s the most prepared and brings their A game.

Blink and your team could be gone faster than a BHL referee’s arm comes up when Sidney Crosby moves his chin. At least certain Hart winner Alexander Ovechkin plays the game like a real man.

There are many questions surrounding the 2008 playoffs which get underway later tonight. Will an NHL dream second round match-up between Crosby/Evgeni Malkin and Ovechkin happen? Which goalie donning a No.30 jersey will shine most in the latest edition of the Battle of Hudson? Marty Brodeur or Henrik Lundqvist. Will the President’s Trophy winning Red Wings go in the tank again? Can the Stars finally win a round?

Is Martin Biron ready for primetime or the latest goalie in a long undistinguished list to go belly up faster than you do after a cheesesteak? Is Carey Price really the heir apparent to Patrick Roy? Will Boston’s risky move bringing back Patrice Bergeron be a spark against an Original Six opponent who owns them?

Should the banged up Senators just head straight for the golf course? Can a Joe Thornton-led San Jose team finally win in the postseason or does ex-coach Mike Keenan have the right recipe for guiding the Flames into May? Are the Predators going to lose in the first round again? Will Peter Forsberg’s comeback lift the Avalanche past Jacques Lemaire, Marian Gaborik, and the Wild? Can the Ducks repeat?

All these questions and a whole lot more will be answered this Spring. Let’s take a look at our magic crystal ball. Shall we?

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Round One

(1) Montreal Canadiens vs (8) Boston Bruins- The Habs surprised many by rising to the top of the East after trading away Cristobal Huet to the Caps and relying on the talented Price. Now comes the true test. Can a rookie win 16 games to deliver Stanley Cup No.25 back to Montreal ending a 15-year drought for Canada? Why not? Cam Ward did it already. Alex Kovalev’s playing his best hockey. A supporting cast of Tomas Plekanec, Chris Higgins, the Kostistyns and Mark Streit is plenty good enough if captain Saku Koivu misses the first round. Andrei Markov should be up for the Norris and Mike Komisarek hits everyone and blocks seemingly every shot. Depth isn’t a problem for the fast skating Canadiens, who should make quick work of the Bruins much like a regular season which saw them win all eight meetings outscoring their Original Six bitter foe 39-14.

Bergeron’s back for Boston. Marco Sturm and Marc Savard are the offensive leaders for Claude Julien’s club. Glen Murray will need to have a big series and Zdeno Chara and Dennis Wideman must contribute from the blueline. Tim Thomas had a great season and is capable of keeping his team in games. But the Bruins should have trouble scoring.

Pick: Canadiens in 5

(2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs (7) Ottawa Senators- Let’s see. A healthy Crosby heating up at the right time. Malkin dominating in all facets with Petr Sykora reborn and Ryan Malone a constant threat. Marian Hossa and the overlooked Pascal Dupuis. Jordan Staal coming around. Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney. Plus Marc-Andre Fleury razor sharp. All this plus antagonist Jarkko Ruutu against a banged up team who shouldn’t even be in the playoffs. They can thank the Buffalo Sabres.

A year ago in the same round, the Pens lost in five to a much healthier Senator club who had captain Daniel Alfredsson playing like a playoff MVP and two-way threat Mike Fisher. They also had a No.1 goalie as Ray Emery played extremely well. This time, that’s a huge question with probably Martin Gerber getting the nod. They still have dynamic duo Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley, who can score on any shift. Cory Stillman is a proven playoff performer. Antoine Vermette is playing his best hockey and a constant shorthanded threat who can change games. Unless the blueline plays better with the capable Chris Phillips, Wade Redden, Andrej Meszaros and shot blocking machine Anton Volchenkov, the Sens will get scored on early and often in this series. Mike Commodore also is a warrior and could be important if they’re to have any chance at an upset.

I just can’t see it.

Pick: Pens in 6

(3) Washington Capitals vs (6) Philadelphia Flyers- Everyone knows just how hot the Caps are entering their first postseason in five years with the best player in the game. This stacks up to be a very good series and a stiff test for Ovechkin and talented teammates Alexander Semin, Calder candidate Nicklas Backstrom and Cup-proven Sergei Fedorov. They’ll need the same contributions from Viktor Kozlov, overlooked Brooks Laich and even ex-Flyer bruiser Donald Brashear to play big. Mike Green is the most dangerous scorer for either D and Huet should give the Caps an edge in net.

The question is can they hold off a formidable Flyer team which boasts seven 20-plus goal scorers in team MVP Mike Richards, Daniel Briere, power forward Mike Knuble, Jeff Carter, Scott Hartnell, Joffrey Lupul and key acquisition Vaclav Prospal. Scottie Upshall is healthy and playing well too. As usual, it largely depends on how the latest Flyer netminder Biron fares in his first playoff series. His D isn’t the fastest but does boast veteran leader Jason Smith, Kimmo Timonen and the emerging Braydon Coburn (for Alexei Zhitnik-nice trade Don Waddell).

Will that Flyer D be able to keep up with Jack Adams choice Bruce Boudreau’s speedy Caps? They have the scoring to stay with them. This series is awfully hard to call.

Pick: Flyers in 7

(4) New Jersey Devils vs (5) New York Rangers- Perhaps this is the best opening round match-up pitting the two bitter Hudson rivals against each other. Both are mirror images depending largely on their goalies to win in airtight defensive systems which could put fans to sleep. Yes. I’m calling my own team boring. Especially if the scores are right on par with last year’s Stars-Canucks seven-game first round. That actually was a tolerable series.

Much has already been covered on the two locals hoping to break the other fans’ hearts. Logic says a Ranger team with the very clutch Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, Brendan Shanahan, resurgent captain Jaromir Jagr along with spunky rookies Brandon Dubinsky, Nigel Dawes and Ryan Callahan could prove to be too much for a Devil team reliant mostly on Zach Parise, Patrik Elias and Jamie Langenbrunner. However, never underestimate John Madden or buddy Jay Pandolfo as both know what it takes to win in the second season. Brian Gionta also is a pest. Believe it or not, the Devils’ chances could hinge on how Mike Rupp performs along with Dainius Zubrus and rookie banger David Clarkson.

The bluelines are about even with Paul Martin getting the nod over Dan Girardi as the best in the series. There probably won’t be a whole lot of scoring from either D.

Brodeur versus Lundqvist is about as good as advertised. One proven winner at this time of year while the other with lots of recent success looking for a measure of revenge.

Pick: As stated before, I’m not picking a winner. It will go 6.

Beast Of The East

Conf. Semis: (1) Canadiens over (6) Flyers in 5

(2) Penguins over (4) Rangers/(5) Devils winner in 6

Conf. Final: (1) Canadiens over (2) Penguins in 7

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Round One

(1) Detroit Red Wings vs (8) Nashville Predators- Once again, the Red Wings finished with the most points. Will it matter? Well, they should have enough to get by a Barry Trotz’ club without a No.1 goalie. Figure super duo Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg to have a field day in this series. Key cogs Tomas Holmstrom and Dan Cleary are healthy coming in. Johan Franzen, Jiri Hudler, Valteri Filppula and Mikael Samuelsson fly under the radar. Both Mr. Norris Nick Lidstrom and ex-Devil Brian Rafalski are better than anyone Nashville has on the blueline. Chris Chelios should be in an old age home but yet logs big minutes and somehow gets it done. Keep an eye on Niklas Kronwall, who’s emerged into a solid player.

How far Detroit goes depends on Dominik Hasek’s health. Though Chris Osgood had his best season in quite some time.

The Preds do boast some dangerous offensive threats in Jason Arnott, J.P. Dumont and emerging star Alex Radulov. Martin Erat is overlooked and enforcer Jordin Tootoo can do more than beat up opponents. Odd stat on a team which was only minus-6. Veteran Radek Bonk managed to go minus-31. Believe it or not, Jan Hlavac played well for Nashville down the stretch. With David Legwand nicked up, they’ll need Hlavac to continue his renaissance.

Shea Weber’s been a disappointment this season on the backline. Marek Zidlicky is the Preds’ most potent weapon while Dan Hamhuis is a solid skating defender who won’t get much credit. How can you give them a chance with Chris Mason or probable Game One starter Dan Ellis in net? I can’t.

Pick: Wings in 5

(2) San Jose Sharks vs (7) Calgary Flames- Now this promises to be a good series featuring a pair of superstar forwards in Thornton and Hart candidate Jarome Iginla plus elite netminders such as Vezina hopeful Evgeni Nabokov and former Vezina winner Miikka Kiprusoff. Toss in future Norris winner Dion Phaneuf and Brian Campbell and you got an entertaining series. Plus the two coaches Keenan and Ron Wilson are always good for a few quotes.

This should be great. The Sharks have been on fire and much is expected. Revitalized leader Patrick Marleau is playing extremely well as is Thornton. They’ll need plenty of help from Jonathan Cheechoo, underrated Milan Michalek, Joe Pavelski along with the battle tested Jeremy Roenick and Mike Grier. Patrick Rismiller and rookie Torrey Mitchell can play a little too.

A D led by Campbell along with vets Craig Rivet, Christian Ehrhoff and Kyle McLaren should be strong. Maybe nobody was more valuable to his club than Nabokov, who started a career high 77 games winning 46 while posting a 2.14 GAA, .910 save percentage and six shutouts on a team which doesn’t score much. You can make a strong argument for Nabokov winning his first Vezina.

If Iginla is the Flames, then he’s got help from Daymond Langkow, Kristian Huselius, Alex Tanguay and Matt Lombardi. Key cogs Craig Conroy and ex-Shark Owen Nolan could come in handy in what shapes up to be a physical series. If the Flames do have an edge, it’s on the blueline with the very formidable Phaneuf who can do a bit of everything. Whether it’s a big hit or an end to end rush, he’s dangerous. Adrian Aucoin also has rebounded under Keenan. But after Robyn Regehr, who should see plenty of Thornton, it gets very thin.

Due maybe to all the work and a D which can wear down, Kiprusoff wasn’t as effective this season. While it’s tempting to take the Flames as fellow blogger Hasan did, I think they might run out of gas.

Pick: Sharks in 6

(3) Minnesota Wild vs (6) Colorado Avalanche- Five years ago in the old NHL, Lemaire’s Wild stunned the Avs coming back from 3-1 to win in the opening round. Though both rosters have changed, a few key players still remain including Forsberg, Joe Sakic, Milan Hejduk and Adam Foote on the Colorado side. They’ll be out for redemption against a Wild team led by Gaborik.

The game’s most overlooked superstar scored 42 goals including eight winners, which tied for the team lead with Brian Rolston. They’ll need strong support from Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Pavol Demitra, Mikko Koivu and Eric Belanger. Demitra’s been known to take the second season off. Bank on Koivu to show up.

Brent Burns might be the most underappreciated D in the tournament. He logs big minutes and can impact games getting plenty of power play time. He’ll need to step up along with vet Kim Johnsson with Nick Schultz and Kurtis Foster likely both out. That also means that No.1 goalie Niklas Backstrom better be ready for the onslaught against a potent Avs’ team which also includes Paul Stastny, gritty forward Ryan Smyth, Andrew Brunette and Wojtek Wolski.

Colorado will get offense from John-Michael Liles, Jeff Finger and key pickup Ruslan Salei. Their best defender is Scott Hannan, who brings experience. Foote is old and slow but knows how to play at this time of year.

Jose Theodore has rediscovered the form which won him a Hart but would you trust him in any series? Bet the over in the goal department as this promises to be a goal fest. Now watch every game morph into a Ranger-Devil struggle. Blame me if it does!

Pick: Avs in 6

(4) Anaheim Ducks vs (5) Dallas Stars- This shapes up to be a good match-up. Can the Stars finally win a round with Marty Turco in net? It probably won’t be his fault if they fall short. Believe it or not, it’s the Ducks that have a hard time scoring goals getting just 197 during the regular season.

They rely heavily on emerging star Ryan Getzlaf, who paced the club with 82 points and a plus-32 rating. He’s such a force down low but can’t do it alone. They better get Corey Perry (29 goals led club) back or they could be in trouble. Teemu Selanne has played well since returning and Chris Kunitz is such a solid player. After that, it gets sketchy with playoff choker Todd Bertuzzi, rookie Bobby Ryan and top checkers Sami Pahlsson, Travis Moen and Rob Niedermayer.

Good thing the Ducks boast the most lethal blueline featuring Hall-bound Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger and the ageless Matt Schneider. Along with Francois Beauchemin and less scrutinized Kent Huskins, they’ll provide Anaheim with a decided edge against anybody.

That guy in net Jean-Sebastien Giguere ain’t bad either despite what he’s been called in Devil parts.

So, do the Stars have a shot here or am I crazy? Probably the latter. Mike Ribeiro (27-56-83) has been awesome and even deserves a few MVP votes. Captain Brenden Morrow is a winner who netted career bests in goals (32), points (74), PPG (12) and game-winners (7). This is his team. It’s time for him to step up.

Vets Mike Modano, Jere Lehtinen and Stu Barnes always show for the playoffs. Deadline pickup Brad Richards must perform like he did in his Conn Smythe year in order for the Stars to advance. Don’t sleep on Niklas Hagman, who scored a career high 27 goals including four shorthanded and eight deciding markers. He’s been money all season.

So much of what Dallas does depends on the blueline where they’re hoping Sergei Zubov can return from Germany miraculously healed from sports hernia surgery. Philippe Boucher missed more than half the season but is healthy and must contribute. Stephane Robidas and rookie Matt Niskanen had nice seasons.

Turco had a very good season and might even get nominated for the Vezina. He usually comes up with key saves which keep his team in games. He sure would love to knock off the defending champs and get that monkey off his back.

This is a difficult series to call but it’s very difficult to go against that Duck D.

Pick: Ducks in 7

The Wild Wild West

Conf. Semis: (1) Wings over (6) Avs in 6

(2) Sharks over (4) Ducks in 6

Conf. Final: (2) Sharks over (1) Wings in 6

Stanley Cup Final: (1) Canadiens over (2) Sharks in 7

Conn Smythe: Carey Price, Mtl

With the postseason set to begin tomorrow, the Eastern Conference Statistical Previews are up courtesy of the nhlmedia site. Probably the most media friendly site you’ll find. They also have storylines available and is where you can find interviews with players, coaches and even broadcasters. 

2007-08 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS STATISTICAL PREVIEW
EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS

SERIES A - #1 MONTREAL CANADIENS vs. #8 BOSTON BRUINS
REGULAR SEASON RECAP
- MONTREAL - - BOSTON -
Overall Record 47-25-10 — 104    41-29-12 — 94
Games 1-20 11- 6- 3 — 25 11- 7- 2 — 24
Games 21-40 9- 7- 4 — 22 9- 9- 2 — 20
Games 41-60 12- 6- 2 — 26 11- 7- 2 — 24
Games 61-82 15- 6- 1 — 31 10- 6- 6 — 26
Home Record 22-13- 6 — 50 21-16- 4 — 46
Road Record 25-12- 4 — 54 20-13- 8 — 48
Overtime Record 10- 0-10 — 30 9- 0-12 — 30
Goals For/Against (+/-) 262/222 (+40) 212/222 (-10)
Power Play % 24.2% ( 90/372) 17.6% ( 56/319)
Penalty Killing % 82.5% ( 60/342) 78.6% ( 71/332)

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Goals ALEX KOVALEV…….. 35 MARCO STURM……… 27
Assists ALEX KOVALEV…….. 49 MARC SAVARD……… 63
MARK STREIT……… 49
Points ALEX KOVALEV…….. 84 MARC SAVARD……… 78
Game-Winning Goals TOMAS PLEKANEC…… 6 GLEN METROPOLIT….. 5
MARCO STURM……… 5
Power-Play Goals ALEX KOVALEV…….. 17 MARCO STURM……… 10
Short-Handed Goals TOM KOSTOPOULOS….. 3 CHUCK KOBASEW……. 3
Plus/Minus ALEX KOVALEV……..+18 ZDENO CHARA………+14

RESULTS OF 2007-2008 REGULAR SEASON MEETINGS
DATE SCORE GOALTENDERS
OCT. 22 BOSTON 1 AT MONTREAL 6 FERNANDEZ(L)-HUET(W)
NOV. 8 MONTREAL 2 AT BOSTON 1 PRICE(W)-THOMAS(L)
NOV. 17 BOSTON 4 AT MONTREAL 7 THOMAS(L)-PRICE(W)
DEC. 6 MONTREAL 4 AT BOSTON 2 PRICE(W)-RASK(L)
JAN. 10 MONTREAL 5 AT BOSTON 2 HUET(W)-THOMAS(L)
JAN. 22 BOSTON 2 AT MONTREAL 8 THOMAS,AULD(L)-HUET(W)
MAR. 20 MONTREAL 4 AT BOSTON 2 PRICE(W)-THOMAS(L)
MAR. 22 BOSTON 2 AT MONTREAL 3 THOMAS(O)-PRICE(W)

-POWER PLAY- —SHORT HANDED—
GP W L OTL GF GA PTS PP GF PP% TS GA PK% GF GA
MONTREAL 8 8 0 0 39 16 16 34 10 29.4% 31 3 90.3% 1 0
BOSTON 8 0 7 1 16 39 1 31 3 9.7% 34 10 70.6% 0 1

2007-08 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS STATISTICAL PREVIEW
EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS
SERIES A - #1 MONTREAL CANADIENS vs. #8 BOSTON BRUINS

REGULAR SEASON RECAP
MONTREAL CANADIENS BOSTON BRUINS
GP G A TP PM +/- GP G A TP PM +/-
A KOSTITSYN 7 5 6 11 7 +8 M SAVARD 8 1 8 9 12 -1
A KOVALEV 8 7 4 11 14 +9 D WIDEMAN 8 2 4 6 2 -1
M STREIT 8 0 11 11 2 +8 G MURRAY 6 2 2 4 6 +2
T PLEKANEC 8 3 7 10 2 +8 P KESSEL 8 1 3 4 2 -11
S KOIVU 8 1 5 6 14 +2 Z CHARA 8 1 3 4 31 -6
M RYDER 7 2 3 5 0 +3 P NOKELAINEN 7 2 1 3 4 +1
A MARKOV 8 2 3 5 0 +5 P AXELSSON 7 1 2 3 5 -2
C HIGGINS 8 2 3 5 0 +2 M STURM 8 3 0 3 10 E
M DANDENAULT 5 3 1 4 2 +2 P SCHAEFER 6 0 2 2 4 -7
M KOMISAREK 7 2 2 4 4 +4 M STUART 8 1 1 2 14 -2
T KOSTOPOULOS 7 2 2 4 50 +4 M LUCIC 8 1 1 2 4 -4
B SMOLINSKI 7 1 3 4 2 +3 C KOBASEW 8 0 2 2 11 -7
R HAMRLIK 8 1 3 4 4 +6 S HNIDY 4 0 1 1 10 -5
K CHIPCHURA 4 1 2 3 0 +3 D KREJCI 5 0 1 1 0 -1
S BEGIN 6 1 2 3 16 +2 A WARD 7 1 0 1 2 -6
R O’BYRNE 3 0 2 2 0 E A AULD 1 0 0 0 0 E
S KOSTITSYN 4 0 2 2 13 -1 M FERNANDEZ 1 0 0 0 0 E
M LAPIERRE 5 2 0 2 5 +2 P PELLETIER 1 0 0 0 0 -1
J GORGES 5 0 2 2 2 +1 P BERGERON 1 0 0 0 0 E
G LATENDRESS 6 1 1 2 6 E T RASK 1 0 0 0 0 E
P BRISEBOIS 3 1 0 1 0 +2 V SOBOTKA 1 0 0 0 0 -2
M GRABOVSKI 4 1 0 1 0 -3 B ALLEN 2 0 0 0 0 +1
C PRICE 5 0 0 0 0 E M HUNWICK 2 0 0 0 0 -3
F BOUILLON 8 0 0 0 15 +5 A ALBERTS 4 0 0 0 7 -4
S THORNTON 4 0 0 0 4 +1
A FERENCE 5 0 0 0 6 -4
T THOMAS 6 0 0 0 0 E
J REICH 7 0 0 0 29 -2
G METROPOLIT 8 0 0 0 0 -8

GOALTENDERS GP W L MINS GA GAA GOALTENDERS GP W L MINS GA GAA
C PRICE 5 5 0 305 11 2.16 A AULD 1 0 1 20 4 2.00
M FERNANDEZ 1 0 1 59 6 6.10
T THOMAS 6 0 4 343 24 4.19
T RASK 1 0 1 60 4 4.00

2007-08 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS STATISTICAL PREVIEW
EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS
SERIES A - #1 MONTREAL CANADIENS vs. #8 BOSTON BRUINS
ALL-TIME PLAYOFF MEETINGS RECAP
Series W L GP W L GF GA
Boston 30 7 23 152 57 95 371 469
Montreal 30 23 7 152 95 57 469 371
Year Series Result
1929 SF Boston won best-of-five series 3-0, outscoring Montreal 5-2.
1930 F Montreal won best-of-three series 2-0, outscoring Boston 7-3.
1931 SF Montreal won best-of-five series 3-2, teams tied in scoring 13-13.
1943 SF Boston won best-of-seven series 4-1, outscoring Montreal 18-17.
1946 F Montreal won best-of-seven series 4-1, outscoring Boston 19-13.
1947 SF Montreal won best-of-seven series 4-1, outscoring Boston 16-10.
1952 SF Montreal won best-of-seven series 4-3, outscoring Boston 18-12.
1953 F Montreal won best-of-seven series 4-1, outscoring Boston 16-9.
1954 SF Montreal won best-of-seven series 4-0, outscoring Boston 16-4.
1955 SF Montreal won best-of-seven series 4-1, outscoring Boston 16-9.
1957 F Montreal won best-of-seven series 4-1, outscoring Boston 15-6.
1958 F Montreal won best-of-seven series 4-2, outscoring Boston 16-14.
1968 QF Montreal won best-of-seven series 4-0, outscoring Boston 15-8.
1969 SF Montreal won best-of-seven series 4-2, outscored by Boston 16-15.
1971 QF Montreal won best-of-seven series 4-3, outscoring Boston 28-26.
1977 F Montreal won best-of-seven series 4-0, outscoring Boston 16-6.
1978 F Montreal won best-of-seven series 4-2, outscoring Boston 18-13.
1979 SF Montreal won best-of-seven series 4-3, outscoring Boston 25-20.
1984 DSF Montreal won best-of-five series 3-0, outscoring Boston 10-2.
1985 DSF Montreal won best-of-five series 3-2, outscoring Boston 19-17.
1986 DSF Montreal won best-of-five series 3-0, outscoring Boston 10-6.
1987 DSF Montreal won best-of-seven series 4-0, outscoring Boston 19-11.
1988 DF Boston won best-of-seven series 4-1, outscoring Montreal 15-10.
1989 DF Montreal won best-of-seven series 4-1, outscoring Boston 16-13.
1990 DF Boston won best-of-seven series 4-1, outscoring Montreal 16-12.
1991 DF Boston won best-of-seven series 4-3, teams tied in scoring 18-18.
1992 DF Boston won best-of-seven series 4-0, outscoring Montreal 14-8.
1994 CQF Boston won best-of-seven series 4-3, outscoring Montreal 22-20.
2002 CQF Montreal won best-of-seven series 4-2, outscoring Boston 20-18.
2004 CQF Montreal won best-of-seven series 4-3, outscoring Boston 19-14.

2008 CQF will be 31st meeting between the Original Six franchises.

MONTREAL CANADIENS CAREER PLAYOFF STATISTICS
OVERALL AGAINST BOSTON
SCORERS GP G A PTS GP G A PTS
Alexei Kovalev 100 37 47 84 7 5 3 8
Bryan Smolinski 111 22 27 49 - - - -
Saku Koivu 43 13 23 36 13 4 13 17
Patrice Brisebois 87 8 18 26 24 2 6 8
Roman Hamrlik 55 1 20 21 - - - -
Mathieu Dandenault 70 3 8 11 - - - -
Andrei Markov 29 2 8 10 13 1 4 5
Michael Ryder 17 3 5 8 7 0 2 2
Chris Higgins 6 1 3 4 - - - -
Tomas Plekanec 6 0 4 4 - - - -
Francis Bouillon 17 1 2 3 7 0 0 0
Steve Begin 11 0 1 1 5 0 1 1
Josh Gorges 11 0 1 1 - - - -
Mark Streit 1 0 0 0 - - - -
Mike Komisarek 13 0 0 0 3 0 0 0
Kyle Chipchura - - - - - - - -
Matt D’Agostini - - - - - - - -
Mikhail Grabovski - - - - - - - -
Andrei Kostitsyn - - - - - - - -
Sergei Kostitsyn - - - - - - - -
Tom Kostopoulos - - - - - - - -
Maxim Lapierre - - - - - - - -
Guillaume Latendresse - - - - - - - -
Corey Locke - - - - - - - -
Ryan O’Byrne - - - - - - - -
Gregory Stewart - - - - - - - -
GP Mins W L GAA SO GP Mins W L GA GAA
Carey Price - - - - - - - - - - - -
Jaroslav Halak - - - - - - - - - - - -

BOSTON BRUINS CAREER PLAYOFF STATISTICS
OVERALL AGAINST MONTREAL
SCORERS GP G A PTS GP G A PTS
Glen Murray 87 20 22 42 24 7 7 14
Peter Schaefer 56 5 15 20 - - - -
Andrew Ference 51 3 14 17 - - - -
Marco Sturm 38 6 9 15 - - - -
Zdeno Chara 45 3 11 14 - - - -
Aaron Ward 78 3 5 8 12 1 0 1
P.J. Axelsson 36 4 2 6 13 2 1 3
Patrice Bergeron 7 1 3 4 7 1 3 4
Shane Hnidy 23 2 1 3 - - - -
Chuck Kobasew 33 1 1 2 - - - -
Glen Metropolit 3 0 0 0 - - - -
Shawn Thornton 15 0 0 0 - - - -
Andrew Alberts - - - - - - - -
Bobby Allen - - - - - - - -
Jeff Hoggan - - - - - - - -
Matt Hunwick - - - - - - - -
Phil Kessel - - - - - - - -
David Krejci - - - - - - - -
Matt Lashoff - - - - - - - -
Milan Lucic - - - - - - - -
Petteri Nokelainen - - - - - - - -
Pascal Pelletier - - - - - - - -
Jeremy Reich - - - - - - - -
Marc Savard - - - - - - - -
Vladimir Sobotka - - - - - - - -
Mark Stuart - - - - - - - -
Dennis Wideman - - - - - - - -

GP Mins W L GAA SO GP Mins W L GA GAA
Manny Fernandez 11 571 3 4 2.00 0 - - - - - -
Alex Auld 4 242 1 2 2.48 0 - - - - - -
Tuukka Rask - - - - - - - - - - - -
Tim Thomas - - - - - - - - - - - -

2007-08 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS STATISTICAL PREVIEW
EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS
SERIES B - #2 PITTSBURGH PENGUINS vs. #7 OTTAWA SENATORS
- PITTSBURGH - - OTTAWA -
Overall Record 47-27- 8 — 102 43-31- 8 — 94
Games 1-20 8-10- 2 — 18 16- 4- 0 — 32
Games 21-40 14- 6- 0 — 28 10- 6- 4 — 24
Games 41-60 12- 5- 3 — 27 9-10- 1 — 19
Games 61-82 13- 6- 3 — 29 8-11- 3 — 19
Home Record 26-10- 5 — 57 22-15- 4 — 48
Road Record 21-17- 3 — 45 21-16- 4 — 46
Overtime Record 8- 0- 8 — 24 6- 0- 8 — 20
Goals For/Against (+/-) 247/216 (+31) 261/247 (+14)
Power Play % 20.4% ( 77/378) 18.3% ( 60/328)
Penalty Killing % 81.0% ( 68/357) 81.1% ( 72/380)

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Goals EVGENI MALKIN……. 47 DANY HEATLEY…….. 41
Assists EVGENI MALKIN……. 59 JASON SPEZZA…….. 58
Points EVGENI MALKIN…….106 JASON SPEZZA…….. 92
Game-Winning Goals RYAN MALONE……… 6 DANY HEATLEY…….. 8
Power-Play Goals EVGENI MALKIN……. 17 DANY HEATLEY…….. 13
Short-Handed Goals PASCAL DUPUIS……. 3 DANIEL ALFREDSSON… 7
Plus/Minus SIDNEY CROSBY…….+18 DANY HEATLEY……..+33

RESULTS OF 2007-2008 REGULAR SEASON MEETINGS
DATE SCORE GOALTENDERS
NOV. 22 PITTSBURGH 6 AT OTTAWA 5 SABOURIN(W),FLEURY-GERBER(O)
DEC. 13 OTTAWA 4 AT PITTSBURGH 1 GERBER(W)-SABOURIN(L)
FEB. 23 OTTAWA 4 AT PITTSBURGH 3 EMERY(W)-CONKLIN(O)
MAR. 1 PITTSBURGH 4 AT OTTAWA 5 CONKLIN(L)-GERBER(W)

-POWER PLAY- —SHORT HANDED—
GP W L OTL GF GA PTS PP GF PP% TS GA PK% GF GA
PITTSBURGH 4 1 2 1 14 18 3 22 3 13.6% 13 6 53.8% 0 1
OTTAWA 4 3 0 1 18 14 7 13 6 46.2% 22 3 86.4% 1 0

2007-08 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS STATISTICAL PREVIEW
EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS
SERIES B - #2 PITTSBURGH PENGUINS vs. #7 OTTAWA SENATORS
REGULAR SEASON RECAP
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS OTTAWA SENATORS
GP G A TP PM +/- GP G A TP PM +/-
R MALONE 4 4 2 6 2 E J SPEZZA 4 4 4 8 2 +4
E MALKIN 4 2 3 5 4 E D ALFREDSSON 4 3 5 8 2 -1
P SYKORA 4 2 2 4 4 -1 D HEATLEY 4 6 0 6 4 +5
M HOSSA (ATL) 3 0 3 3 2 -3 W REDDEN 4 0 5 5 0 +3
S GONCHAR 4 1 2 3 8 -1 C STILLMAN (CAR) 2 0 0 0 0 -1
J STAAL 4 0 3 3 0 -1 (OTT) 2 1 3 4 0 +2
R WHITNEY 3 0 2 2 0 +1 (TOTAL) 4 1 3 4 0 +1
T KENNEDY 4 2 0 2 0 -1 A MESZAROS 4 0 4 4 0 +4
H GILL (TOR) 5 0 2 2 2 +1 A VERMETTE 4 1 2 3 9 E
(PIT) 1 0 0 0 4 -1 C SCHUBERT 4 1 1 2 4 +2
(TOTAL) 6 0 2 2 6 E C KELLY 4 0 2 2 0 +1
A GOLIGOSKI 1 0 1 1 0 +1 M LAPOINTE 1 1 0 1 6 -2
J TAFFE 2 1 0 1 0 +2 C NEIL 2 0 1 1 4 E
M TALBOT 2 0 1 1 5 -1 A VOLCHENKOV 3 0 1 1 2 -3
S CROSBY 2 0 1 1 2 E R ROBITAILLE 3 0 1 1 0 +1
D SYDOR 3 0 1 1 0 +3 C PHILLIPS 4 1 0 1 8 -2
R SCUDERI 3 0 1 1 2 -1 L RICHARDSON 4 0 1 1 2 +1
K LETANG 4 0 1 1 0 -5 M FISHER 4 0 1 1 0 -4
M FLEURY 1 0 0 0 0 E A NIKULIN 1 0 0 0 0 -2
A HALL 2 0 0 0 0 -1 R EMERY 1 0 0 0 0 E
C MINARD 2 0 0 0 0 E N FOLIGNO 2 0 0 0 4 -2
C JAMES 2 0 0 0 0 -1 B MCGRATTAN 3 0 0 0 10 E
D SABOURIN 2 0 0 0 0 E D MCAMMOND 3 0 0 0 2 +1
G ROBERTS 2 0 0 0 0 E M GERBER 3 0 0 0 0 E
M EATON 2 0 0 0 0 E S DONOVAN 4 0 0 0 6 E
T CONKLIN 2 0 0 0 0 E M COMMODORE (CAR) 3 0 0 0 11 E
B ORPIK 4 0 0 0 0 -1 (OTT) 2 0 0 0 0 E
G LARAQUE 4 0 0 0 10 E (TOTAL) 5 0 0 0 11 E
J RUUTU 4 0 0 0 4 -2
P DUPUIS (ATL) 4 0 0 0 2 -1
(PIT) 1 0 0 0 0 E
(TOTAL) 5 0 0 0 2 -1

GOALTENDERS GP W L MINS GA GAA GOALTENDERS GP W L MINS GA GAA
D SABOURIN 2 1 1 114 6 3.15 M GERBER 3 2 0 185 10 3.24
M FLEURY 1 0 0 11 2 .90 R EMERY 1 1 0 65 3 2.76
T CONKLIN 2 0 1 124 9 4.35

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS CAREER PLAYOFF STATISTICS
OVERALL AGAINST OTTAWA
SCORERS GP G A PTS GP G A PTS
Gary Roberts 119 30 59 89 23 12 9 21
Petr Sykora 88 26 33 59 2 0 0 0
Darryl Sydor 151 9 47 56 5 0 1 1
Sergei Gonchar 63 15 25 40 10 4 5 9
Marian Hossa 55 13 22 35 - - - -
Pascal Dupuis 20 5 6 11 - - - -
Georges Laraque 38 3 6 9 2 0 0 0
Sidney Crosby 5 3 2 5 5 3 2 5
Adam Hall 14 3 1 4 - - - -
Jarkko Ruutu 29 1 3 4 5 0 0 0
Evgeni Malkin 5 0 4 4 5 0 4 4
Jordan Staal 5 3 0 3 5 3 0 3
Ryan Whitney 5 1 1 2 5 1 1 2
Hal Gill 36 0 2 2 - - - -
Maxime Talbot 5 0 1 1 5 0 1 1
Nathan Smith 4 0 0 0 - - - -
Ryan Malone 5 0 0 0 5 0 0 0
Brooks Orpik 5 0 0 0 5 0 0 0
Rob Scuderi 5 0 0 0 5 0 0 0
Mark Eaton 23 0 0 0 5 0 0 0
Kris Beech - - - - - - - -
Tim Brent - - - - - - - -
Jonathan Filewich - - - - - - - -
Alex Goligoski - - - - - - - -
Connor James - - - - - - - -
Kris Letang - - - - - - - -
Tyler Kennedy - - - - - - - -
Chris Minard - - - - - - - -
Alain Nasreddine - - - - - - - -
Ryan Stone - - - - - - - -
Jeff Taffe - - - - - - - -

GP Mins W L GAA SO GP Mins W L GA GAA
Marc-A. Fleury 5 287 1 4 3.76 0 5 287 1 4 18 3.77
Dany Sabourin 2 14 0 0 4.29 0 - - - - - -
Ty Conklin 1 6 0 1 10.00 0 - - - - - -

OTTAWA SENATORS CAREER PLAYOFF STATISTICS
OVERALL AGAINST PITTSBURGH
SCORERS GP G A PTS GP G A PTS
Daniel Alfredsson 99 43 37 80 5 3 3 6
Cory Stillman 78 17 32 49 - - - -
Wade Redden 90 12 32 44 5 0 3 3
Martin Lapointe 104 19 24 43 - - - -
Jason Spezza 36 13 25 38 5 2 2 4
Dany Heatley 30 10 24 34 5 2 2 4
Mike Fisher 69 12 11 23 5 0 2 2
Dean McAmmond 37 6 7 13 5 1 2 3
Chris Phillips 87 6 7 13 5 0 0 0
Anton Volchenkov 51 3 9 12 5 1 3 4
Shean Donovan 43 5 6 11 - - - -
Antoine Vermette 34 4 4 8 5 1 1 2
Andrej Meszaros 30 2 6 8 5 1 1 2
Luke Richardson 69 0 8 8 6 0 1 1
Chris Neil 64 4 3 7 5 1 2 3
Chris Kelly 30 3 4 7 5 3 1 4
Mike Commodore 45 2 4 6 - - - -
Randy Robitaille 11 1 3 4 - - - -
Christoph Schubert 27 0 2 2 5 0 0 0
Cody Bass - - - - - - - -
Nick Foligno - - - - - - - -
Josh Hennessy - - - - - - - -
Brian Lee - - - - - - - -
Brian McGrattan - - - - - - - -
Alexander Nikulin - - - - - - - -
Lawrence Nycholat - - - - - - - -
Jesse Winchester - - - - - - - -
Ilja Zubov - - - - - - - -

GP Mins W L GAA SO GP Mins W L GA GAA
Ray Emery 30 1853 18 12 2.46 3 5 299 4 1 10 2.01
Martin Gerber 8 242 1 1 3.47 1 - - - - - -
Brian Elliott - - - - - - - - - - - -

Series Note: This will be the second year in a row they’ll meet in the first round.

2007 Conf. Qtrs        Senators def. Penguins 4-1

2008 Conf. Qtrs     ???

2007-08 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS STATISTICAL PREVIEW
EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS
SERIES C - #3 WASHINGTON CAPITALS vs. #6 PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
REGULAR SEASON RECAP
- WASHINGTON - - PHILADELPHIA -
Overall Record 43-31- 8 — 94 42-29-11 — 95
Games 1-20 6-13- 1 — 13 12- 7- 1 — 25
Games 21-40 10- 6- 4 — 24 9- 8- 3 — 21
Games 41-60 12- 7- 1 — 25 9- 9- 2 — 20
Games 61-82 15- 5- 2 — 32 12- 5- 5 — 29
Home Record 23-15- 3 — 49 21-14- 6 — 48
Road Record 20-16- 5 — 45 21-15- 5 — 47
Overtime Record 11- 0- 8 — 30 6- 0-11 — 23
Goals For/Against (+/-) 242/231 (+11) 248/233 (+15)
Power Play % 18.8% ( 65/346) 21.8% ( 84/385)
Penalty Killing % 80.5% ( 68/349) 83.2% ( 65/388)

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Goals ALEX OVECHKIN……. 65 VACLAV PROSPAL…… 33
Assists NICKLAS BACKSTROM… 55 MIKE RICHARDS……. 47
Points ALEX OVECHKIN…….112 MIKE RICHARDS……. 75
Game-Winning Goals ALEX OVECHKIN……. 11 SCOTT HARTNELL…… 6
MIKE RICHARDS……. 6
Power-Play Goals ALEX OVECHKIN……. 22 MIKE KNUBLE……… 15
Short-Handed Goals BROOKS LAICH…….. 2 MIKE RICHARDS……. 5
Plus/Minus VIKTOR KOZLOV…….+28 BRAYDON COBURN……+17
ALEX OVECHKIN…….+28

RESULTS OF 2007-2008 REGULAR SEASON MEETINGS
DATE SCORE GOALTENDERS
NOV. 2 PHILADELPHIA 3 AT WASHINGTON 2 NIITTYMAKI(W)-KOLZIG(L)
NOV. 23 WASHINGTON 4 AT PHILADELPHIA 3 KOLZIG(W)-BIRON(O)
JAN. 13 PHILADELPHIA 6 AT WASHINGTON 4 BIRON(W)-KOLZIG,JOHNSON(L)
FEB. 6 WASHINGTON 4 AT PHILADELPHIA 3 KOLZIG(W)-BIRON(L)

-POWER PLAY- —SHORT HANDED—
GP W L OTL GF GA PTS PP GF PP% TS GA PK% GF GA
WASHINGTON 4 2 2 0 14 15 4 11 2 18.2% 22 5 77.3% 0 1
PHILADELPHIA 4 2 1 1 15 14 5 22 5 22.7% 11 2 81.8% 1 0

2007-08 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS STATISTICAL PREVIEW
EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS
SERIES C - #3 WASHINGTON CAPITALS vs. #6 PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
REGULAR SEASON RECAP
WASHINGTON CAPITALS PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
GP G A TP PM +/- GP G A TP PM +/-
N BACKSTROM 4 1 5 6 2 +4 V PROSPAL (T.B) 6 2 6 8 0 -1
A OVECHKIN 4 3 2 5 2 +2 M RICHARDS 4 3 2 5 5 +2
M GREEN 4 2 3 5 4 +7 R UMBERGER 4 2 3 5 2 +3
M NYLANDER 3 1 3 4 2 -1 M KNUBLE 4 3 1 4 2 +2
T POTI 3 0 3 3 2 -2 J CARTER 4 1 3 4 2 -1
V KOZLOV 4 1 2 3 0 +1 D BRIERE 4 2 1 3 0 -3
C CLARK 2 1 1 2 19 +1 K TIMONEN 4 1 2 3 2 -1
T FLEISCHMANN 3 1 1 2 0 E J LUPUL 2 0 2 2 2 +1
A SEMIN 2 1 0 1 0 +1 S GAGNE 2 0 2 2 2 -3
Q LAING 2 0 1 1 2 +1 R JONES 3 1 1 2 0 E
B LAICH 4 1 0 1 7 E B COBURN 4 0 2 2 0 -4
D BRASHEAR 4 1 0 1 11 -1 L KUKKONEN 2 0 1 1 0 +3
M BRADLEY 4 1 0 1 7 +1 S DOWNIE 2 0 1 1 0 E
B GORDON 4 0 1 1 2 -2 M BIRON 3 0 1 1 0 E
M JURCINA 4 0 1 1 0 -3 J DOWD 4 1 0 1 2 -1
S MORRISONN 4 0 1 1 2 +5 S KAPANEN 4 1 0 1 0 -3
B JOHNSON 1 0 0 0 0 E S HARTNELL 4 0 1 1 9 E
C HUET (MTL) 1 0 0 0 0 E S UPSHALL 4 0 1 1 4 E
E FEHR 1 0 0 0 0 E A NIITTYMAKI 1 0 0 0 0 E
M COOKE (VAN) 1 0 0 0 2 -1 N GUENIN 1 0 0 0 0 +2
B POTHIER 2 0 0 0 4 E D HATCHER 2 0 0 0 0 -3
J ERSKINE 3 0 0 0 12 E R FITZPATRICK 2 0 0 0 0 -1
D STECKEL 4 0 0 0 0 -1 J SMITH 4 0 0 0 19 -1
J SCHULTZ 4 0 0 0 2 -4 R COTE 4 0 0 0 7 -1
O KOLZIG 4 0 0 0 2 E

GOALTENDERS GP W L MINS GA GAA GOALTENDERS GP W L MINS GA GAA
B JOHNSON 1 0 1 33 1 1.81 A NIITTYMAKI 1 1 0 59 2 2.03
C HUET (MTL) 1 1 0 60 2 1.99 M BIRON 3 1 1 181 12 3.97
O KOLZIG 4 2 1 207 13 3.76

WASHINGTON CAPITALS CAREER PLAYOFF STATISTICS
OVERALL AGAINST PHILADELPHIA
SCORERS GP G A PTS GP G A PTS
Sergei Fedorov 162 50 113 163 4 3 3 6
Michael Nylander 44 12 22 34 - - - -
Matt Cooke 32 8 4 12 - - - -
Donald Brashear 49 2 5 7 - - - -
Tom Poti 24 0 7 7 - - - -
Chris Clark 26 3 3 6 - - - -
Brian Pothier 16 2 1 3 - - - -
Viktor Kozlov 14 0 3 3 2 0 0 0
Matt Bradley 10 0 0 0 - - - -
Nicklas Backstrom - - - - - - - -
Chris Bourque - - - - - - - -
Steve Eminger - - - - - - - -
John Erskine - - - - - - - -
Eric Fehr - - - - - - - -
Tomas Fleischmann - - - - - - - -
Boyd Gordon - - - - - - - -
Mike Green - - - - - - - -
Milan Jurcina - - - - - - - -
Brooks Laich - - - - - - - -
Quintin Laing - - - - - - - -
Sami Lepisto - - - - - - - -
Shaone Morrisonn - - - - - - - -
Alex Ovechkin - - - - - - - -
Jeff Schultz - - - - - - - -
Alexander Semin - - - - - - - -
David Steckel - - - - - - - -

GP Mins W L GAA SO GP Mins W L GA GAA
Olaf Kolzig 45 2799 20 24 2.14 6 - - - - - -
Brent Johnson 12 652 5 6 1.84 3 - - - - - -
Cristobal Huet 6 386 2 4 2.33 0 - - - - - -

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS CAREER PLAYOFF STATISTICS
OVERALL AGAINST WASHINGTON
SCORERS GP G A PTS GP G A PTS
Daniel Briere 40 13 24 37 - - - -
Sami Kapanen 71 11 22 33 - - - -
Simon Gagne 65 20 11 31 - - - -
Derian Hatcher 118 6 24 30 - - - -
Jim Dowd 82 8 15 23 - - - -
Vaclav Prospal 43 6 15 21 7 3 2 5
Joffrey Lupul 16 9 2 11 - - - -
Mike Knuble 23 3 6 9 - - - -
Jason Smith 51 1 8 9 - - - -
Scott Hartnell 16 3 3 6 - - - -
Kimmo Timonen 16 1 5 6 - - - -
Jaroslav Modry 19 1 2 3 - - - -
R.J. Umberger 5 1 0 1 - - - -
Mike Richards 6 0 1 1 - - - -
Scottie Upshall 2 0 0 0 - - - -
Jeff Carter 6 0 0 0 - - - -
Jesse Boulerice - - - - - - - -
Braydon Coburn - - - - - - - -
Riley Cote - - - - - - - -
Steve Downie - - - - - - - -
Rory Fitzpatrick - - - - - - - -
Claude Giroux - - - - - - - -
Kyle Greentree - - - - - - - -
Nathan Guenin - - - - - - - -
Randy Jones - - - - - - - -
Lasse Kukkonen - - - - - - - -
Ryan Parent - - - - - - - -
Ryan Potulny - - - - - - - -
Stefan Ruzicka - - - - - - - -
Patrick Thoresen - - - - - - - -
Denis Tolpeko - - - - - - - -
GP Mins W L GAA SO GP Mins W L GA GAA
Antero Niittymaki 2 73 0 0 4.11 0 - - - - - -
Martin Biron - - - - - - - - - - - -

Series Note: This will be the first meeting between the clubs since 1989.

1989 Patrick Div. Semis  Flyers def. Capitals 4-2

2008 Conf. Qtrs             ???  

2007-08 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS STATISTICAL PREVIEW
EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS
SERIES D - #4 NEW JERSEY DEVILS vs. #5 NEW YORK RANGERS
REGULAR SEASON RECAP
- NEW JERSEY - - NY RANGERS -
Overall Record 46-29- 7 — 99 42-27-13 — 97
Games 1-20 8-10- 2 — 18 12- 7- 1 — 25
Games 21-40 15- 4- 1 — 31 8- 9- 3 — 19
Games 41-60 11- 7- 2 — 24 9- 8- 3 — 21
Games 61-82 12- 8- 2 — 26 13- 3- 6 — 32
Home Record 25-14- 2 — 52 25-13- 3 — 53
Road Record 21-15- 5 — 47 17-14-10 — 44
Overtime Record 15- 0- 7 — 37 12- 0-13 — 37
Goals For/Against (+/-) 206/197 (+9) 213/199 (+14)
Power Play % 15.6% ( 50/320) 16.5% ( 61/370)
Penalty Killing % 82.8% ( 54/314) 84.5% ( 53/343)

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Goals ZACH PARISE……… 32 JAROMIR JAGR…….. 25
CHRIS DRURY……… 25
Assists PATRIK ELIAS…….. 35 SCOTT GOMEZ……… 54
Points ZACH PARISE……… 65 JAROMIR JAGR…….. 71
Game-Winning Goals PATRIK ELIAS…….. 8 CHRIS DRURY……… 7
ZACH PARISE……… 8
Power-Play Goals ZACH PARISE……… 10 CHRIS DRURY……… 12
Short-Handed Goals JOHN MADDEN……… 3 MICHAL ROZSIVAL….. 2
FREDRIK SJOSTROM…. 2
Plus/Minus JOHN ODUYA……….+27 NIGEL DAWES………+11

RESULTS OF 2007-2008 REGULAR SEASON MEETINGS
DATE SCORE GOALTENDERS
OCT. 25 NEW JERSEY 0 AT NY RANGERS 2 BRODEUR(L)-LUNDQVIST(W)
NOV. 3 NEW JERSEY 1 AT NY RANGERS 2 BRODEUR(O)-LUNDQVIST(W)
NOV. 14 NY RANGERS 4 AT NEW JERSEY 2 LUNDQVIST(W)-BRODEUR(L)
DEC. 9 NEW JERSEY 0 AT NY RANGERS 1 BRODEUR(O)-LUNDQVIST(W)
FEB. 1 NY RANGERS 3 AT NEW JERSEY 1 LUNDQVIST(W)-BRODEUR(L)
MAR. 19 NY RANGERS 2 AT NEW JERSEY 1 LUNDQVIST(W)-BRODEUR(O)
MAR. 27 NEW JERSEY 2 AT NY RANGERS 3 BRODEUR(L)-LUNDQVIST(W)
APR. 6 NY RANGERS 2 AT NEW JERSEY 3 LUNDQVIST(O)-BRODEUR(W)

-POWER PLAY- —SHORT HANDED—
GP W L OTL GF GA PTS PP GF PP% TS GA PK% GF GA
NEW JERSEY 8 1 4 3 10 19 5 27 1 3.7% 30 6 80.0% 0 0
NY RANGERS 8 7 0 1 19 10 15 30 6 20.0% 27 1 96.3% 0 0

2007-08 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS STATISTICAL PREVIEW
EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS
SERIES D - #4 NEW JERSEY DEVILS vs. #5 NEW YORK RANGERS

REGULAR SEASON RECAP
NEW JERSEY DEVILS NEW YORK RANGERS
GP G A TP PM +/- GP G A TP PM +/-
J LANGENBRUNNER 6 2 1 3 4 E C DRURY 8 4 4 8 2 +5
J ODUYA 7 0 3 3 4 +4 S GOMEZ 8 1 6 7 6 E
Z PARISE 8 2 1 3 0 -1 N DAWES 7 4 1 5 2 +4
D ZUBRUS 8 1 2 3 8 -1 B SHANAHAN 8 2 2 4 2 +1
M RUPP 8 1 1 2 7 +1 F SJOSTROM (PHX) 1 2 1 3 0 +2
S BRYLIN 8 1 1 2 2 -1 (NYR) 3 0 0 0 0 -1
P MARTIN 8 0 2 2 2 +1 (TOTAL) 4 2 1 3 0 +1
K RACHUNEK 4 0 1 1 0 +1 R CALLAHAN 4 0 3 3 0 +3
M MOTTAU 6 0 1 1 4 -1 B DUBINSKY 8 2 1 3 2 -1
P ELIAS 7 1 0 1 2 E J JAGR 8 2 1 3 6 E
J MADDEN 8 1 0 1 4 -2 C BACKMAN 3 1 1 2 0 +1
B GIONTA 8 0 1 1 4 -1 P PRUCHA 6 0 2 2 0 E
T ZAJAC 8 0 1 1 2 -3 F TYUTIN 8 0 2 2 2 +5
A GREENE 5 0 0 0 0 -5 M STRAKA 5 0 1 1 4 -1
C WHITE 5 0 0 0 8 -3 S AVERY 6 0 1 1 7 -1
J PANDOLFO 6 0 0 0 0 E B BETTS 7 0 1 1 0 E
R PELLEY 6 0 0 0 0 E M STAAL 8 1 0 1 6 +1
S BROOKBANK 6 0 0 0 2 -3 D GIRARDI 8 0 1 1 0 +5
D CLARKSON 7 0 0 0 11 +2 M ROZSIVAL 8 0 1 1 8 -3
V VISHNEVSKI 7 0 0 0 8 E M MALIK 3 0 0 0 4 -2
A ASHAM 8 0 0 0 4 -1 J STRUDWICK 5 0 0 0 0 E
M BRODEUR 8 0 0 0 2 E P MARA 6 0 0 0 6 -1
R HOLLWEG 6 0 0 0 6 -1
C ORR 7 0 0 0 7 -1
H LUNDQVIST 8 0 0 0 0 E

GOALTENDERS GP W L MINS GA GAA GOALTENDERS GP W L MINS GA GAA
M BRODEUR 8 1 4 491 16 1.95 H LUNDQVIST 8 7 0 494 9 1.09

NEW JERSEY DEVILS CAREER PLAYOFF STATISTICS
OVERALL AGAINST NY RANGERS
SCORERS GP G A PTS GP G A PTS
Patrik Elias 121 35 69 104 7 5 7 12
Jamie Langenbrunner 123 31 47 78 4 2 6 8
John Madden 100 18 19 37 4 3 0 3
Brian Gionta 55 16 18 34 4 2 4 6
Sergei Brylin 104 14 19 33 4 0 0 0
Jay Pandolfo 119 10 22 32 5 0 3 3
Dainius Zubrus 51 7 15 22 11 1 5 6
Colin White 94 1 13 14 1 0 0 0
Zach Parise 20 8 5 13 4 1 0 1
Paul Martin 25 1 8 9 4 0 3 3
Karel Rachunek 26 1 7 8 - - - -
Travis Zajac 11 1 4 5 - - - -
Michael Rupp 13 1 4 5 - - - -
Vitaly Vishnevski 37 0 5 5 - - - -
Andy Greene 11 2 1 3 - - - -
Bryce Salvador 36 2 1 3