Get out the magic crystal ball. We’re about to embark on a long journey. Thirty teams get a fresh start where they can dare to dream of winning Lord Stanley. The most spectacular trophy in all of sports which arguably is the hardest to win.

It’s not just because you have to gut out an 82-game schedule which at times can be trying due to the tireless back to backs, three in four nights and even seven in 11 days the Rangers have beginning with tomorrow’s home opener versus Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and the Blackhawks following a hectic preseason concluding with a two-game sweep of the overmatched Lightning in Croatia.

Such can be life in a league which seems to be pointed for expansion towards Europe emphasizing just how global the game has become with the Penguins and Senators also splitting a series in Stockholm last weekend.

Finally, the other 26 get started including an improved Devils team who dialed up Doc Brown’s time machine and went Back To The Future literally to the year of their first Stanley Cup luring free agent centers Brian Rolston and Bobby Holik for one more run while Martin Brodeur’s still good enough.

For other teams like the Islanders, the immediate future doesn’t look so bright with new coach Scott Gordon behind the bench where returning leading scorer Mike Comrie had only 49 points on what’s a rebuild around Rick DiPietro and young former No.1 Kyle Okposo. They’ll try to overachieve in an ultra competitive Atlantic where the Flyers fresh off a run to the Conference Finals losing to the Pens appear to be the favorite while Pittsburgh lost Marian Hossa, Ryan Malone and are without top D Ryan Whitney and Sergei Gonchar for at least the first three months.

Can the new look Rangers featuring Nikolai Zherdev, Markus Naslund and Wade Redden make fans forget Jaromir Jagr or did Glen Sather slip up?

Are the Panthers ready to qualify for their first postseason since Pavel Bure was the league’s best finisher or will their revamped blueline not be enough without departed captain Olli Jokinen? Can Alexander Ovechkin and the Capitals do it again even with Jose Theodore in net?

Meanwhile in Carolina, the injury bug has already hit infecting Justin Williams, Scott Walker and Rod Brind’Amour making the loss of Erik Cole big though Joni Pitkanen was brought into help anchor the D. Will Barry Melrose’s return to the NHL bench be ruined by the Lightning’s apparent weak blueline?

Should the Thashers even bother taking the ice? They’ll have company in Columbus, St. Louis and Los Angeles who all should be ticketed in the John Tavares sweepstakes. Are the Leafs going to be in this process too without Mats Sundin? Maybe Toronto fans should hope.

Can Carey Price recover from last Spring to lead what looks like an even stronger Habs roster into serious contention? Are Craig Rivet and the return of Teppo Numminen enough to get a talented Sabres team back to the postseason? Is Tim Thomas a fluke and will Patrice Bergeron be the same in Beantown? Can the Senators continue defying logic despite losing another key cog?

These questions and more will get answered in due time along with whether Hossa’s addition is enough for the Red Wings to become the first repeat winner since they did it a decade ago. They’ll have plenty of stiff competition in the loaded Stars, Sharks and Ducks with maybe a couple of newcomers sneaking into the parade.

This is how we see it:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

*1.Flyers- plenty of talent in Richards/Carter but can Biron build off last year’s run?

*2.Canadiens- adding Lang and Tanguay up front makes them scarier but it all depends on Price.

*3.Capitals- the game’s best player, a healthy Nylander plus Green and Backstrom should be enough.

4.Senators- best line in game plus deep forward corps and tougher D help despite questions in net.

5.Devils- Rolston and Holik should boost scoring, D remains question but can’t bet against Brodeur.

6.Rangers- Drury leads an improved transition game. could miss Jagr and Avery but Lundqvist helps.

7.Penguins- Crosby and Malkin get them in but we don’t like Satan or Fedotenko. Hard to take seriously.

8.Sabres- balanced scoring led by Pominville, Vanek, Roy plus better D and steady Miller in net.

9.Bruins- Ryder added to solid forward corps but it’s dependent on Thomas and system.

10.Panthers- love their new look with Ballard and McCabe but who’s scoring the goals up front?

11.Maple Leafs- Wilson will get them to play hard but there’s just not enough there to get in.

12.Hurricanes- injuries already taking toll. Laviolette’s a fine coach but Ward needs to be consistent.

13.Lightning- Stamkos should win Calder and they’ll score but the D is brutal and will tire out goalies.

14.Thrashers- Schneider was good addition but they’ll have to outscore teams until Lehtonen improves.

15.Islanders- they’ll work hard but they’re young and don’t have enough scoring even with Streit.
PLAYOFFS

Flyers over Sabres in 6

Habs over Pens in 7

Rangers over Caps in 6

Devils over Sens in 5

Flyers over Rangers in 6

Devils over Habs in 7

Flyers over Devils in 6

WESTERN CONFERENCE

*1.Red Wings- until proven otherwise, they’re the best team and add Hossa to mix. Conklin’s solid backup.

*2.Stars- play in top division but Avery, full year of B. Richards should be plenty. Need Zubov healthy.

*3.Canucks- scoring could still be tough but like changes and see Luongo bouncing back big time.

4.Sharks- Marleau with Thornton, Boyle, Blake plus Nabokov make them awfully tough.

5.Flames- nice additions including Bertuzzi/Keenan reunion but they’ll be hardpressed to win a round.

6.Ducks- Teemu’s back plus Getzlaf/Perry, Niedermayer/Pronger and Giguere make them lock.

7.Avalanche- Sakic takes one more shot with Tucker added but can Budaj or Raycroft do job?

8.Blackhawks- Campbell and Huet help young core led by Kane/Toews. Huet could get them in.

9.Oilers- bolstered scoring with Cole and Visnovsky. Lots of young talent but what about goalies?

10.Predators- Radulov’s departure hurts scoring. Solid D but can Ellis repeat? Trotz is a great coach.

11.Wild- possess nice blueline led by Burns/Zidlicky and Gaborik’s great but is there enough scoring?

12.Coyotes- Jokinen helps but D is thin past top 3 and they’re depending on too much young talent.

13.Blue Jackets- Umberger and Huselius boost Nash plus revamped D and Leclaire but who else will score?

14.Blues- Love Boyes and Kariya’s due for bounce back season but they’re extremely young.

15.Kings- top line of Brown, Kopitar and O’Sullivan will be fun but LaBarbera in net? They can’t be serious!

PLAYOFFS

Wings over Hawks in 5

Stars over Avs in 4

Ducks over Canucks in 6

Sharks over Flames in 6

Wings over Ducks in 6

Stars over Sharks in 5

Wings over Stars in 7

Stanley Cup Red Wings over Flyers in 7

NHL Awards

Conn Smythe- Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit

Hart- Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit

Vezina- Roberto Luongo, Vancouver

Norris- Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit (renamed The Lidstrom)

Calder- Kyle Okposo, Islanders

Selke- Mike Fisher, Ottawa

Byng- Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit

Adams- Denis Savard, Chicago

They were clearly the better team. However, Olaf Kolzig wasn’t cooperating holding his overmatched new Southeast club in the series rematch even getting a one-goal lead thanks to an Adam Hall redirect off a faceoff late in a first dominated by the Rangers.

Despite a 15-3 shots edge, Wade Redden’s new club trailed by a goal entering the second. With his team continuing to carry the play off a relentless forecheck, the former Senator defenseman notched the tying power play goal and later assisted on Scott Gomez’ winner in the Rangers’ second consecutive 2-1 win over the Lightning at a loud 17,000 packed O2 Arena in Prague Sunday. It allowed the Blueshirts to sweep the two-game 2008-09 opening series in the Czech Republic getting off to precisely the kind of start they preferred following a tough camp which saw them struggle during a hectic preseason schedule before sweeping a key two-game series in Bern, Switzerland which included the three-goal comeback over Metallsurg which might’ve been a turning point.

Before we go proclaiming that winning the Victoria Cup was like the propaganda coming from MSG, let’s remember that the Lightning didn’t play well in either game looking very weak defensively yet the Rangers came away with only four goals. That was mostly due to the stellar play of Kolzig (37 saves) and Mike Smith (39).

How bad were the Bolts in the first 40 minutes? At one point, the Rangers had 25 of the first 28 shots with only a remarkable Kolzig keeping them alive. The ex-Cap has always played well against Tom Renney’s club. So, I wasn’t too surprised by the former Vezina winner’s performance. He was outstanding. This easily could’ve been 7 or 8-1 before Barry Melrose’s club decided to play hockey in the third outshooting the Rangers 10-6 but unable to find the back of the net against Henrik Lundqvist, who stayed awake despite a lack of activity to finish with 18 saves.

Trailing by a goal, Redden notched his first goal as a Ranger taking a nifty feed from Markus Naslund in the slot one-timing the puck past Kolzig upstairs at 3:47. During the power play, they kept the puck in the whole time wearing out Lightning penalty killers before Gomez worked the puck to Naslund, who threaded the needle to a wide open Redden for his first.

The territorial control continued with a sharper Ranger team taking away the Bolts’ time and space. There weren’t many juicy turnovers like Saturday. Instead, they gave Tampa nothing and attacked with vigor using their improved speed to turn the match into an exciting track meet thrilling fans. At one point, the action became so rampant that the crowd gave their seal of approval midway through the contest. This was a much more fun game than the first with better flow and skating. It wasn’t as choppy.

Despite several brilliant stops by Kolzig, the Rangers kept coming and on another dominant shift where Tampa couldn’t get the puck out, they finally got the lead when a low Redden shot got through with Aaron Voros getting a piece of it leading to an open side for an easy slam dunk by Gomez for his first of the season at 12:12.

They pressed for more but couldn’t get anything else by Kolzig, who was like a brick wall robbing a couple of guys on the doorstep and diving across to deny Brandon Dubinsky’s one-timer.

After 40 minutes, SOG were a ridiculous 33-9 but all the Lightning had to do was play a good third and steal one period to possibly come away with points or even a win. They forechecked much better drawing three of their five power plays. Problem was the Ranger PK continued to be strong killing off all three finishing the series a perfect nine-for-nine with Renney using an assortment of forwards including rookie Lauri Korpikoski, who again looked solid centering the same third line flanked by energizers Ryan Callahan and Petr Prucha.

Unlike the opening game, I can’t think of anyone who didn’t play well with even the fourth line generating serious threats with Blair Betts and Colton Orr coming close on one shift. Dmitri Kalinin, who was very shaky in his first game as a Ranger was much better making smarter choices with and without the puck in logging over 20 minutes.

About the only thing the Blueshirts didn’t do well was faceoffs where Tampa controlled the circle finishing 29-and-17. Everything else was very satisfying if you bleed True Blue.

At worst, I wanted to come out with a split. Instead, a focused team came out with the best case scenario allowing them to capture all four points and get out of the gate quickly.

Now, they’ll have the next four-plus days to recover before an anticipated home opener this Friday versus the Blackhawks with a visit to expected conference power Philadelphia for a back-to-back the following day. That should be a good early test to see where this club is. It’s obviously different with more depth and speed plus a much needed North American style including more shots on the PP. A damn miracle!

There were no changes in the Ranger lineup with Renney opting to show loyalty to the group that won Saturday. Here were the lines:

Naslund-Gomez-Drury

Dawes-Dubinsky-Zherdev

Prucha-Korpikoski-Callahan

Voros-Betts-Orr

Redden-Rozsival

Kalinin-Girardi

Staal-Mara

Lundqvist

Valiquette

The Lightning made one change inserting 2004 fourth round pick Mike Lundin into the lineup on defense replacing Shane O’Brien.

Some quick hits:

-Steven Stamkos came close again to scoring this time ringing one off the bar with his team trailing by a goal in the second. He looks to be the real deal. Great skater. Excellent shot. Playmaking ability. Competes very hard. The 2008 No.1 overall selection will be exciting to follow.

-Vinny Lecavalier looked a little worn out due to not much of a camp though he did get one excellent opportunity off a broken play in the final 20 seconds but Lundqvist gave him zip forcing his backhand wide.

-Nigel Dawes was better in the second game strong on the puck creating chances off the forecheck and getting shots on net including a tricky backhander.

-Paul Mara had a very active game skating well and registering six shots in 18-plus minutes.

-Redden and Michal Rozsival thus far have good chemistry. They should get more tested later this week.

-There was one brief scrap between Voros and Ryan Malone with a quick takedown as both were off balance.

-The Rangers did a much better job keeping Martin St. Louis quiet without a shot.

-As Melrose pointed out afterwards, his best forwards were his cheapest line with Hall, Chris Gratton and Jussi Jokinen all playing well.

-Also impressive was Evgeny Artyukhin who got two shots on Lundqvist including one chance using improved speed to get in. He looks like a better player than a couple of years ago.

-Though he notched a helper on his team’s only tally, Andrej Meszaros passed up a couple of great opportunities to shoot on a PP opting to pass across instead. That had to drive Melrose nuts. Shoot the freaking puck! He’s got a good shot to begin with. They’re not paying the ex-Sen for passes but to use his potent shot. He played over 30 minutes registering just one.

Sens gain split behind Heatley and Auld: In the other opening series over at The Globe in Stockholm, Sweden, the Senators got even with the Penguins besting them 3-1 behind a pair of power play goals from Dany Heatley along with 30 saves from ex-Bruin Alex Auld.

Ottawa team captain and Swede Daniel Alfredsson tallied two assists. Antoine Vermette got an insurance marker with only Pens rookie D Alex Goligolski PPG with two seconds left foiling Auld’s shutout bid.

Marc-Andre Fleury finished with 24 saves.

The Sens came away with three of four points due to their OT defeat to the Pens a day earlier with Pittsburgh earning two.

First off I’m with Devils coach Brent Sutter that I don’t like the fact that the NHL or any of these other leagues (the NBA and MLB have done this a number of times too) starts its season overseas.  

Granted, I don’t know when else during the season you could put the games without having the teams be at a tremendous disadvantage (even moreso than now) but as a fan I would rather not have a league’s opening games be in a different timezone.  I’m a traditionalist to the extent that I feel almost all or all of the teams should play on the first night of a season and in their home rinks.  I’ve never even been a fan of the concept of a stand-alone game like the NFL or MLB has done in recent years, it adds unfair artificial hype for two teams. 

I do see the logic of playing games overseas though, especially in the NHL which is more global than any other sport though the NBA’s become pretty global as well.  It not only helps grow the game but can bring stars like Daniel Alfredsson back to their home country for a couple of games that count.  And at least the games started on a weekend afternoon and not 5 AM on a weekday like baseball’s Japan trips (though having the Rangers play a Sunday game overseas at the same time as a Giants home game is not exactly ideal either).

As far as the actual games, well I’m sure Derek or Lenny will be around with the full Ranger recap later, but it might as well be a reprint of yesterday’s recap (just change the names) because it was basically the same game, only with Olaf Kolzig keeping an outclassed Tampa team in it this time as they lost a second straight day by a misleading 2-1 score.  I guess after they play some other teams in North America we’ll find out whether the Rangers really are that good or Tampa just sucks. 

In Sweden, Pittsburgh and Ottawa split their series with a shaky Martin Gerber dooming the Sens to a 4-3 OT loss in the Saturday matchup.  Alex Auld started today’s contest for the Senators and the results were a bit different.  Auld’s 30 saves (only allowing a last-second PP goal that spoiled a shutout bid) and Dany Heatley’s two goals led the Sens to a 3-1 triumph.  At least Ottawa can claim three points from their first two games, though the goaltending riddle is already a concern up there.

Preseason finally got underway earlier tonight as the Rangers fell to the Senators by a goal, 3-2 at Scotiabank Place. I caught most of the final two periods.

Ottawa got the first three scoring twice in a strong opening stanza with Dany Heatley one-timing home a Jason Smith cross pass 2:57 in at even strength- a rarity in itself due to all the tacky phantom holding/hooking calls throughout which made for choppy play.

Less than 11:00 later, Jason Spezza cashed in on a Michal Rozsival miscue at the left point taking the puck away and walking in for a shorthanded breakaway goal patiently outwaiting Stephen Valiquette before going to the backhand for a 2-0 lead.

As I walked in to catch the final minute of the first, the Rangers had a strong shift thanks to newcomer Aaron Voros, who battled hard down low drawing a penalty late. The ex-Wild grinding forward originally a Devil draft pick was one of the best players for the Blueshirts playing his spunky, physical aggressive style throughout. I really see him becoming a fan favorite and helping replace Sean Avery. Though without as much production or chaos.

The Rangers didn’t convert on a predictably abbreviated man-advantage as Petr Prucha was guilty of a giveaway leading to a Chris Drury hook. During a four-on-four early in the second, Mike Fisher made it three straight goals by beating Drury to the spot in front getting just enough of a Chris Phillips rebound putting it past Valiquette, who should’ve had it.

But the Ottawa three-goal lead was shortlived as only 69 seconds later, sophomore pivot Brandon Dubinsky took a Rozsival pass in stride at center ice and then beat two Sens before ripping a perfect wrister past Martin Gerber shortside for a power play goal.

The rest of the stanza saw the Rangers look much sharper carrying a majority of the play outshooting the Sens 13-7 drawing some power plays due to a diligent forecheck and the continued tacky officiating which sucked equally for both sides. They apparently were following Gary Bettman’s orders and in mid-season form. What a stunning revelation.

The teams combined for 19 power plays with the Rangers going 1-for-9 while Ottawa took the collar in 10 attempts. The Blueshirt penalty killing was solid with excellent efforts from Ryan Callahan which included a great defensive play forcing a turnover at the point before getting the puck ahead to a streaking Dubinsky who did the rest beating backup Brian Elliott on a breakaway to slice it to 3-2 with 4:44 left.

Though they didn’t come up with the equalizer late despite another soft call which led to a splendid kill, the Rangers showed me enough to at least not be too disturbed. They fought hard after getting down three by reestablishing their forecheck while outshooting Ottawa 36-19. Of course, a skilled team like theirs doesn’t need many chances and in the first portion, the Rangers were sloppy and paid dearly.

I liked the work ethic though as they never quit and made it a game. Both sides competed pretty hard for the first exhibition game with several hits including an eye opener from second-year Sen Nick Foligno on Dane Byers. Callahan certainly was hitting most shifts and new Sen Smith made his presence felt on Prucha, who always seems to have a target on his back.

If there weren’t so many penalties, it would’ve been more enjoyable. But eh. What would ya expect early on?

Valiquette played the first half allowing three goals on 11 shorts and 23 year-old Swedish prospect Miikka Wiikkman was razor sharp even though he only faced eight shots repelling them all. He didn’t look bad in standing tall on one quality Ottawa rush padding it away. We’ll see how much more action he sees.

Figure Henrik Lundqvist to get in on Monday’s home preseason opener versus Ottawa. I’d also expect Scott Gomez, Nikolai Zherdev, Dan Fritsche, Wade Redden and Dan Girardi to all play.

Lines from what I gauged were:

Dawes-Drury-Prucha

Voros-Dubinsky-Callahan

Sjostrom-Rismiller-Moore

Byers-Betts-Orr

Staal-Rozsival

Mara-Potter

Delzotto-B. Fahey

Top Performers

1.Voros- like I said, he did everything possible taking the body, winning puck battles, drawing penalties and getting 3 SOG.

2.Dubinsky- was by far the best player on the team dominating shifts and showing continued strong skating with two outstanding finishes. If he’s our third center, that’s a huge advantage most nights cause he doesn’t play like it.

3.Callahan- was his solid active self getting involved physically and making that nice read leading to Dubi’s shorty.

4.Corey Potter- I’ve liked this kid ever since I saw him play D teaming with Callahan and Fritsche to help Team USA win the WJC a few years back. He was solid in college and had a good first pro season at Hartford. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he won the backup spot. He was very very steady making smart decisions while working efficiently with Paul Mara logging over 20 mins.

Who Didn’t

1.Dawes, Drury, Prucha- they were a combined minus-six on for two goals against each. While they did show some decent chemistry moving the puck down low to generate opportunities, 3 combined SOG isn’t enough. Plus their D coverage wasn’t that good and they combined for four minors with Prucha’s giveaway also leading to one. I’d still keep them together cause there’s potential.

2.Dawes- I listed him already as part of the line but he just wasn’t as active as he needed to be and didn’t create the sorta chances he should. This is a huge season for him.

3.Sjostrom- he had a couple of decent shifts but was mostly quiet. He’s capable of more particularly offensively.

Other Surprises

1.Patrick Rissmiller- the ex-Shark was pretty active on most shifts showing good speed getting a good SOG. He might push Betts for the fourth line.

2.Blair Betts- his hard work ethic was there hustling across the ice to block a shot and do diligent PK.

Quick Hits

-First round pick Michael Delzotto debuted logging over 17 mins finishing minus-one with one minor. He looked a little awkward which was no surprise for an 18 year-old.

-Brian Fahey (younger brother of Jim) was decent in 17:34 showing good speed while playing with Delzotto. Figure the ex-Av fourth rounder to be out of the mix.

-Daniel Alfredsson, Chris Kelly, Anton Volchenkov and Dean McAmmond sat out for Ottawa.

-In the other exhibition contest, the Lightning beat the Penguins in a shootout 5-4 with Jussi Jokinen and No.1 overall pick Steven Stamkos tallying. Brandon Bochenski had two goals and an assist while Petr Sykora tallied twice for the Pens.

-Devils and Flyers play Monday in Philly and the Sabres visit Toronto with eight games on tap.

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

Well, the first night of the 2008 playoffs is in the books. And already, there was a riveting game which required sudden death. That and a lot more in my total randomness postseason edition:

-The game of the night was played between the Avs and Wild at Xcel Energy Center with Colorado taking the home ice away from Minnesota thanks to always reliable captain Joe Sakic, who potted the OT winner at 11:11 to lift his team over the Wild 3-2.

But this game was so much more than that with all sorts of unpredictable entertainment which is what makes the Stanley Cup Playoffs so compelling. The Avs had led by two goals off the sticks of Kurt Sauer and Ryan Smyth after 40 minutes. However, the Wild stormed back getting two in a row 3:11 apart from Mikko Koivu and unlikely source Todd Fedoruk, who left alone in front had a nifty backhand finish to beat Jose Theodore to knot it.

That’s when the game got a little crazy. The Avs took over generating quality chance after chance but couldn’t find the go-ahead tally due to superb netminding from Niklas Backstrom and his best friend- the goalposts which denied Milan Hejduk and a couple of other Colorado players. Even goal reviews went against the Avs including an odd situation where they ruled no goal on a Minny player who put his glove over the puck and basically put it over the line (inconclusive). Smyth still had a penalty shot to try to put them ahead but an unreal sliding Backstrom pad stop kept it tied forcing sudden death.

In it, both goalies made big stops including a huge denial by Theodore on a wonderful toe drag and cut by Wild defender Brent Burns just getting a piece to force it wide. Finally, all-time playoff OT specialist Sakic got to a loose Ruslan Salei rebound chance and buried a backhand past Backstrom to give the Avs Game One. It was his eighth career playoff OT tally. Two better than Maurice “Rocket” Richard and three more than Glenn Anderson.

-That sub-Av announcer is an embarrassment. I’d heard about his penchant for screaming, “Thank you, thank you, thank you” after a big goal but yikes. That was just scary. No wonder they replaced him. Too bad the real play-by-play man is sick or something. I don’t know the exact details. Sorry in advance.

-If John Madden really made that remark about his former teammate who helped him win two Stanley Cups, then he’s either a dummy or suffering from Bobby Holik diarrhea of the mouth disease. After tonight, I’m opting for the latter.

-Speaking of Scott Gomez, he was turnover-prone in that first but once he created Brendan Shanahan’s opening tally early in the second, he was the best forward out there earning every big buck. It was also refreshing to see a pulse from Sean Avery, who had been MIA over the past month.

-If Gomez was the best forward, then Henrik Lundqvist was the best player on the ice making big save after big save in helping his less than impressive Ranger team steal Game One in the Battle of the Hudson. That stop on Patrik Elias who was on the doorstep was enormous in a tie game. His goaltending at the beginning of the third saved his flat team.

-The Devils really didn’t play all that poorly establishing their physical forecheck, forcing turnovers and creating chances. They even threw a new wrinkle into their power play which paid dividends on the Paul Martin tying tally.

-Who knew that Marty Brodeur’s strength would turn into a weakness at such an important juncture of a tie game? Though I must say the hustle by rookie Ryan Callahan along with some doggedness from “third line center” Gomez is what resulted in the deciding shorthanded goal.

-If there was a shaky area for the Blueshirts despite gaining the home ice, it had to be their defensive coverage which had all sorts of trouble with the Devil forecheck. In particular, key tandem Fedor Tyutin and Dan Girardi had some brutal turnovers. Tom Renney shouldn’t be pleased with that aspect. The positives were rookie Marc Staal, Christian Backman and Michal Rozsival, who all turned in solid performances. Paul Mara wasn’t bad either in place of Marek Malik. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if Malik returns for Game Two.

-Nice performance by Hart candidate Evgeni Malkin, notching a goal and two helpers in a 4-0 home shutout over the Sens.

-The second seeded Pens also got back gritty vet Gary Roberts, who made his presence felt by starting the scoring 68 seconds in and concluding things by netting his second of the night and then taking a cheap run at a Sen who faced the boards with 12 seconds left. Just assinine. There were a couple of scraps late including out of all things a Ryan Whitney beatdown of Ottawa Tinman Wade Redden. If Game Two’s anything like this sign me up!

-Stopping all 26 Ottawa shots, Marc-Andre Fleury earned his first career NHL playoff shutout. 

-Our shot of the night has to be this classic one from outside Mellon Arena where Pens fans who couldn’t make it inside camped outside and enjoyed the action. That’s just freaking aweeesssooome!!!!!

-In the fourth game of the night, the Flames took home ice away from the Sharks by hanging on for a 3-2 win. They can thank No.1 Star Miikka Kiprusoff, who was brilliant in shutting the door on his former team finishing with 37 saves. Despite the Sharks outshooting Calgary 28-14 the final 40 minutes, Kipper’s clutch performance allowed the Flames to prevail at the Shark Tank.

-The Flames used a strong start getting the first couple of goals 2:30 apart on a Stephane Yelle deflection past Evgeni Nabokov and a Dion Phaneuf lay-up from 15 feet uncovered during a power play. San Jose’s inexplicable beginning put them in a hole the rest of the night even though Ryan Clowe netted the first of two only 49 seconds later to slice the deficit in half.

-The biggest goal came thanks to a yeoman-like effort from Calgary Mr. Everything Jarome Iginla. With his team on the defensive, the 50-goal scorer forced Brian Campbell at the point and then made a power move on a two-on-one forcing Nabokov to kick out the puck. While Iginla plowed into the net and knocked it off, a hustling Yelle wristed the rebound past the San Jose netminder. It would go to video review, which confirmed that the puck had already crossed the line before Iginla knocked the net off allowing it to stand up.

-The goal would prove large when Clowe parked himself in front and got two whacks at a nifty Joe Thornton centering feed, rebounding the second pointblank chance past Kiprusoff, who had robbed him initially. His second gave San Jose a chance to pull Nabokov for an extra attacker with 57 ticks remaining. It setup a frantic finish in which the Sharks kept the puck in at least three different times but couldn’t put the puck past Kiprusoff or the Calgary D which held on for dear life narrowly escaping with Mike Keenan’s first playoff win in 12 years since he coached St. Louis.

-Is that the longest stretch between playoff appearances for a coach? Probably not but I can’t help but wonder.

-Stay tuned for more exciting playoff coverage as Boston and Montreal get underway along with Detroit and Nashville plus Game One between the defending champion Ducks and Stars. Also, the pressure will be on the Sharks to bounceback a night later in Game Two versus Calgary.

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<