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

Yes. It’s true that if you count the games in Europe this past weekend, the 2008-09 season already begun. I just don’t think it becomes official until the rest of the league gets going beginning later tonight when eight teams start up.

Here are the four games excluding the area locals with the Devils hosting the Islanders at The Rock Friday night before visiting the defending Eastern Conference champion Penguins, who should be well rested from their two-game split with the Senators in Stockholm:

Toronto at Detroit 7 ET, Versus, CBC- the defending Cup champs raise their banner along with new star addition Marian Hossa against a Mats Sundin-less Leaf team expected to finish near the bottom of the East with the immortal Jeff Finger their big offseason move. =-O :-\

Boston at Colorado 10 ET, Versus- the second half of a VS doubleheader pits two playoff teams against each other from opposite conferences. Can Tim Thomas have a repeat for Claude Julien and how will the 2000-01 Avs plus Paul Stastny fare with Andrew Raycroft and Peter Budaj splitting duties in net under Tony Granato?

Anaheim at San Jose 10:30 ET, CI- a classic Pacific rivalry renewed as the Sharks and Ducks clash in a possible playoff preview. How will Teemu Selanne look and what about Patrick Marleau on the same line as Joe Thornton under a new coach. Rob Blake also on the blueline led by big acquisition Dan Boyle? Figure it to be highly entertaining with two of the NHL’s elite netminders in Vezina runner-up Evgeni Nabokov and Cup winner Jean-Sebastien Giguere getting tested.

Calgary at Vancouver 10:30 ET, CI, CBC- another fun filled rivalry takes place when Northwestern Canadian rivals get together for the first of six action packed battles. Will Todd Bertuzzi be healthy enough to debut for the Flames under familiar coach Mike Keenan with also key pickup Mike Cammalleri teaming with Jarome Iginla up front? How will Pavol Demitra mesh with The Sedins on a revamped Vancouver team minus Markus Naslund looking for redemption. Can Steve Bernier help out the scoring relieving pressure from Roberto Luongo?

Fasten your seatbelts! It should be exciting to finally see some other teams get underway with the Devils and Islanders on deck under fairly differing expectations.

We’ll have more stuff later on on the 2008-09 season including where I’m ranking teams. So stay tuned.

Just a couple of quick tidbits over the past couple of days in case you missed it:

-The Rangers re-signed restricted forward Nigel Dawes to a one-year $600,000 deal. In 61 games during his rookie season, the 23 year-old Manitoban who the Original Six club selected in the fifth round back in 2003 posted 14 goals and 15 assists for 29 points while pacing them with a plus-11 rating. His four deciding tallies tied with Sean Avery for third on the team and put him in a tie for second among rookies.

No surprise here that the Blueshirts brought the promising left wing back. He really made strides last season improving his overall speed and really becoming an effective forechecker. His passing also was very underrated. Figure Dawes to take that next step up this Fall with 20-25 goals a possibility.

Recently acquired forward Dan Fritsche was also re-signed.

In other club news, the team signed 24 year-old Russian defenseman Vladimir Denisov. He played in 66 games for Lake Erie of the AHL registering two goals and six assists for eight points while racking up 111 penalty minutes.

-The Oilers re-signed center Shawn Horcoff to a six-year $33 million extension. The new contract will keep him in Edmonton through 2014-15. In 53 games this past season, the 29 year-old from British Columbia tallied 21 goals and 29 helpers for 50 points bouncing back from a disappointing 2006-07 in which he had just one more point (51) while posting a minus-22 rating in 27 more games played.

Horcoff’s a nice playmaking pivot but giving him six years seems a bit much as by the end of the contract, he’ll be 35 going on 36. Is he really a $5 million dollar player? I guess in today’s crazy NHL, that’s the case.

-In a couple of minor signings, the Thrashers added former Edmonton veteran forward Marty Reasoner while Calgary brought back ex-Ranger 1999 first round pick Jamie Lundmark. It’s ashame what became of his career after the Blueshirts ruined him letting the Edmonton native waste away in Hartford before barely playing him in New York. Why did the Flames even bring him back? Amazingly, he’s only 27. So, we’ll see if he’s got anything left after splitting the past year in Moscow and Lake Erie.

As for Reasoner, I always liked him as he was a decent skater who put forth an honest effort fitting in well on Edmonton after starting his career with St. Louis. The 31 year-old Rochester native will probably play on the fourth line with Atlanta.

-The Islanders re-signed forwards Sean Bergenheim and Jeff Tambellini. The 24 year-old Bergenheim attained career highs in games (78), goals (10), assists (12), points (22) and PIM (62) last season after spending 2006-07 with Frolunda in Sweden posting near a point-a-game. He’s a solid energy player who can play in a third line role and agitate the opposition.

As for Tambellini who the Isles acquired from Los Angeles a couple of years prior, the former Kings’ 2003 first round selection has yet to develop scoring just one goal while adding three helpers in 31 games last season on Long Island. For some reason, GM Garth Snow gave the 24 year-old Calgary native a two-year contract. They’re only paying him $1.175 million which is an average of less than 600 K. Still, it would’ve made more sense to give Tambellini a year and see how he does.

-Other minor signings included the Blues inking former Leaf D Andy Wozniewski while the Sharks added a pair of veteran blueliners in Matt Kinch and Brett Westgarth.

-The Sabres re-signed forward Daniel Paille to a multi-year deal. The former Buffalo 2002 first rounder achieved new career bests in games (77), goals (19), assists (16), points (35) and plus/minus (9) while registering three shorthanded goals. For some reason, the 24 year-old out of Welland, Ontario didn’t have a link in the original TSN story. Doesn’t that seem odd considering the kind of season he had? As our Buffalo blogger might say, it’s a Buffalo thing. If it were the Leafs, well…Seems like a decent move anyway.

-From the bizarro world last night, the Kings reportedly have hired Terry Murray as their new coach giving him a three-year deal to replace Marc Crawford. He was an assistant with the Flyers the last four seasons. He hasn’t coached since 2000-01 with the Panthers.

Murray’s best known for guiding the Flyers to the Stanley Cup 11 years ago before referring to them going down 3-0 to Detroit as a “choking situation,” sealing his fate. I doubt he’ll be able to utter those words with the porous Kings. Best of luck.

It was early afternoon here on the West Coast, and I return from lunch and I look to see if there is any activity that has taken place in the NHL, and I find a shocker:

Steve Bernier has been traded to the Vancouver Canucks for a 2009 3rd round pick and a 2010 2nd round pick.

My first thought was: What?! What is with the Sabres and trading young power forwards to Vancouver (Taylor Pyatt was dealt to Van-City as well). What in the world are the Sabres doing here?  Bernier was acquired as part of the Brian Campbell $elloff, and  he was supposed to be a guy who would grow and develop into a good power forward which this team really needs, correct? What is Darcy Regier smoking?

After several minutes and the rage calmed down I started to wonder: Was this trade executed because Darcy knew that Bernier did not want to stay in Buffalo, or do the Sabres have something else up their sleeve? After all, if the Sabres just let Vancouver sign Bernier to an offer sheet, wouldnt the compensation be HIGHER then just trading him now?

Another head-scratcher by Sabres management, which is something I have grown used to over the years.

A couple of hours later, it appears that the dealing of Bernier was somewhat explained.

The Sabres got some much needed defensive help in veteran defenceman Craig Rivet. Rivet, 33, had 5 goals and 30 assists for the Sharks last season, and brings some much needed size and grit which is sorely lacking in Buffalo. The cost for Rivet? One 2nd round pick in 2009 and another 2nd rounder in 2010.

So now to ‘officially’ wrap up the Brian Campbell trade for the Sabres, here is what they ended up acquiring for Campbell:

D Craig Rivet

1st Round Pick in 2008 (C Tyler Ennis)

2009 3rd round pick

Would have it been better just to keep Campbell? I say no, because the price would have been double that of Rivet (not a bad contract at $3.5 per for 3 years, considering the in$ane contracts given to other marginal defencemen this week at the same or higher price), plus Regier drafted a promising young C in Ennis. And who knows what next year’s pick can bring back the Sabres.

Overall: I would have really liked to keep Bernier, but the Rivet need was greater as the Sabres have plenty of forwards. Ill give the Sabres a C+ for the day.

FINAL UPDATE: Brenden Morrow came through with the power play winner at 9:03 of the fourth overtime. The Dallas captain redirected a perfect Stephane Robidas pass at the front of the net past Evgeni Nabokov to eliminate the Sharks and destroy San Jose’s hopes for the magical 33 year 0-3 theory. The actual time of the goal was 69:03 of sudden death since it was in the fourth OT. If we were counting regulation, that would make it 129:03.

It was the eighth longest OT game in NHL playoff history.

Some notes from it:

-Morrow played exactly 51:00 and was credited with 19 hits. By far the most of any player. In fact, Dallas outhit San Jose 88-54. The Dallas captain also laid out Milan Michalek with a clean shoulder knocking him out of the game at the end of regulation. The encouraging news was he was able to walk with a cast on.

-There were a total of 117 shots on goal. Marty Turco made 61 saves further cementing his reputation during this postseason. That means he repelled 61 of 62 shots his way. Many quality stops. Evgeni Nabokov saw 55 come his way and stopped 53 to suffer a very hard luck defeat despite one of the greatest saves in sudden death history when he reached out and snagged Brad Richards shot getting it just before it crossed the goal line.

-57 shots were blocked and another 47 missed the net entirely. That’s 104 which didn’t even make it to the net.

-There were only two penalties called in the last five periods with none in the third, the first and second overtime. Just the way a game should be officiated unlike the penalty barrage which has become common in today’s new NHL. Unfortunately for Brian Campbell, he got nabbed and his team wasn’t able to bail him out. The former Sabre logged 56:23 of ice-time getting a ridiculous 68 shifts. The most in the game.

-Sergei Zubov logged 53:50 taking 61 shifts.

UPDATE II:  It still isn’t over. It’s past 2 AM here in NYC and we’re 10 minutes or so away from the fourth overtime. The Sharks have done everything but can’t beat Turco, who’s had a couple of very close calls. The man has 58 or 59 saves. What a game. Nabby has been pretty damn good too.

Whoever loses is going to really hurt.

Here are my fourth OT picks:

San Jose- Mike Grier cause it’s time to go with an obscure former Sabre. 

Dallas- Jere Lehtinen cause he’s a darn good player and I can easily seeing him winning it. 

UPDATE:  Amazingly, it’s going to a sixth period. Will someone end this or is this going to be like that crazy Stars-Canucks game last Spring?

I may as well pick two new players:

San Jose- Patrick Marleau just cause he’s playing with Thornton.

Dallas- Sergei Zubov cause he rocks and could sneak one of those point shots through a screen.

It’s on still and about to go to a second overtime by which time I’ll probably be on a fourth brew.

Great freaking goaltending by Turco and Nabokov. You want to talk about laying it all on the line. This is great stuff! I can’t wait to see what happens.

The series in the balance and Nabby makes one of the most amazing saves ever robbing Richards of a certain winner. Unreal! And then Turco comes back with highway stack jobs on Marleau. Twice!

And Ribeiro came close to winning it twice and hit the pipe. This is just a classic game and what makes our sport so special. So, fire up a brew or not and kick back and relax.

OT picks:

San Jose- Roenick has been flying and has been involved a lot. I wouldn’t be too shocked if the grizzled American vet gets it to keep a shot history going with the whole 33 thing.

Dallas- Lundqvist had some good chances and has skated well. Usually, the pick is a star but I like what I saw from King Henrik’s twin brother. Why not.

Don’t call it a comeback!  At least rapper L.L. Cool J wouldn’t.

Who says you can’t comeback from the dead? History tells us that this is THE YEAR for another remarkable 0-3 comeback to win a series. 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs. 1975 New York Islanders. 2008???

That’s the growing question because there are two Conference Semifinal series which could be going that route. I honestly thought the Stars had it at 2-0 up with a period left from setting up an old style WCF against Detroit. When Dallas captain Brenden Morrow scored from a bad angle on Evgeni Nabokov with 55.3 left in the second, I ASSumed  that would take the wind out of the Sharks, who never seem to win on home ice against those Stars.

So to my shock when I flipped back, there was Jeremy Roenick being interviewed following a third which saw his team rally to tie it on goals by former MIA duo Milan Michalek and Brian Campbell. Joe Pavelski completed the stunning turnaround when he cashed in on a blatant Dallas turnover and beat Marty Turco top shelf 65 seconds into sudden death.

Just shocking. This was another one of those quick OTs which was already over by the time I flipped back on Versus. Btw…this network really sucks. They didn’t even bother showing replays and their postgame show was what? Five minutes. I understand production talent stay but come on. Could they at least try to have a 10 or 15 minute segment before dumping out?

It’s almost as bad as the New York papers. That Game Four hero Jaromir Jagr actually got a back page on yesterday’s Daily News was one of the most cool things ever. Way to step up! Boo to the New York Post who’d rather fantasize about meaningless April baseball. What would you expect from a tabloid who employs killjoy tandem Kevin Kernan and Phil Mushnick. That the latter is from my neck of the woods is an embarrassment.

Anyway, kudos to the Sharks for picking themselves up off the mat laying it all out there even if they did get quite a bit of luck and help from two video replays which went their way. Both happened to be no goals against Morrow, who should’ve had a hat trick and a five-game series victory for his team.

He really got jobbed on the first one. Even Neil Smith was beside himself at how they could actually conclude that was a “kicking motion.”

Unbelievable. Still, the Stars should’ve finished it. This could comeback to haunt them. Now, they better wrap the series up in Game Six at friendly American Airlines Center back in Big D. Would you chance going back to a crazy Shark Tank (HP Pavilion- just another lousy corporate bs name) for a suddenly deciding Game Seven situation?

If that happens, they’re toast. Just the way I guaranteed a Ranger victory the other day, I’m doing the same here. If it goes seven, the Stars will not win. Book it!

You know. With all the comeback talk and playoff history, etc. (2004 Boston Red Sox) the Sharks’ second straight win can only be used as even more positive reinforcement for the Rangers, who still trail the Penguins 3-1 with the vital Game Five back at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh tomorrow afternoon at 2 ET on NBC.

The only difference is the Sharks know that they’ll have the fans if it gets to Game Seven. So, how am I viewing this as a Ranger fan? This is what I tell my team, who fought so valiantly to stay alive in winning Game Four 3-0 thanks to marquee performances from Jaromir Jagr and Henrik Lundqvist.

“We took the first step winning on home ice. One win in Pittsburgh tomorrow and we’re going back home the next day where the Garden will be rocking. No way are we losing that!”

This team has played well on the road. They certainly were right with the Pens in the first two games. They know full well they can win there.

The strategy is the same. Play 60 minutes leaving it all out there while channeling the emotions. Discipline will be key. That means like the other night, staying out of the box and taking the play to the Pens. When they attack, they’ve been good. That’s the best defense against an explosive offense. You got to play to win. The Rangers did that on Thursday. Do it once more and we got the Game Six I also promised.

I realllly BELIEVE! Judging from some of the player quotes along with Tom Renney, so do they. They know they can do this. That gives me hope. The inspired dominance of Jagr and a revitalized Lundqvist also give me plenty of ammunition.

Now there’s also another team who needs to start believing later tonight instead of deceiving their fans and a sudden new Flyer fan. I never thought I’d see the day Brian Sanborn would actually be waving orange and black pom poms!

Well, he always did take a liking to the green and white of the Eagles.

The Flyers do have former Sabres Daniel Briere and <gulp> emerging Conn Smythe candidate Martin Biron. Wow. Words I never thought I’d utter about a Flyer netminder.

Truthfully, Brian (grosek18- there’s a long comical story behind that name) nailed most of the points already at why the Habs find themselves in a 3-1 hole with a must win Game Five at Bell Centre tonight.

Biron has stolen three games. The Flyers really shouldn’t be playing right now because Lord Biron if I may call him that stoned the Caps in Game Seven. There never would’ve been a Joffrey Lupul sudden death power play winner on a cruddy call. That’s life. Biron saved his team’s bacon. R.J. Umberger’s also been playing like a beast.

Truthfully, I don’t remember Biron ever being this good. I have to think if the Canadiens continue to dominate play and shots, they’re eventually going to get to him.

Why on earth Guy Carbonneau didn’t start rookie Carey Price in Game Four is beyond me. He got you that No.1 seed and home ice. You don’t bench him for a guy who’s hardly played. It was one of the worst coaching decisions ever. Especially in that situation.

Bri, Carbonneau deserves to get trashed for it. It was irrational. We’re talking about their next franchise goalie. It was a mind boggling decision to say the very least. If they still had Cristobal Huet, fine. Jaroslav Halak? Was he kidding? And no. You don’t fire a Jack Adams candidate unless your name is the Buffalo Sabres and it’s Ted Nolan. God. Only Buffalo.

So, what do the Canadiens need to do to stop this Flyer hot streak? Get to Biron. The sooner, the better. They’re going to have overwhelming support with arguably the loudest fans in the game. A couple of early goals and that place will be bedlem.

The best players also have to be the best players. That means Price, who is back in net tonight must be good. A few good saves early could set the tone and let his teammates know he’s going to be there.

Alex Kovalev, Tomas Plekanec, Andrei and Sergei Kostistyn and Chris Higgins better come to play. They haven’t had great series. I’ve seen an awful lot of heart from their team captain Saku Koivu, who can’t be 100 percent. It’s time for those other big name forwards and also defenseman Andrei Markov to step up. Power play specialist Mark Streit has also been quiet. He needs to pick it up.

When I look at the list of guys I put out here, it tells me that Montreal is very equipped to comeback from this deficit. They have one of the fastest skating teams in the game with tons of skill to go with it. 

One offensive explosion can change the entire mindset of that dressing room.

What’s the formula? Win on home ice tonight. Get one in Philly and then back home for a winner or golf Game Seven in that building. What also shouldn’t get lost is that the Habs were one of the best road teams this season tying with Detroit for the second most wins (25) on the road.

Want to know who was first? The Sharks with 27. Pretty ironic considering what they’ll be aiming for tomorrow night.

Say it with me loud with feeling:

Don’t Stop Believing!!!!! ;-)

It’s a day later. A bit early at that as the latest rainstorm gets ready to hit. It should be pretty heavy today. Maybe I find that a bit ironic considering my team’s plight at this collective moment.

After a nice leisurely drive and walk to the historic Conference House out near the water yesterday, I was able to clear my head. Here are some random thoughts which have been flying around:

-The Rangers attempted 31 shots (five more than a perimeter oriented total) which never hit the net yesterday. Nine were missed and 22 were blocked by hustling Pens who sacrificed their bodies at every turn. By contrast, Pittsburgh only had nine shots blocked while another nine were missed. A huge difference. If they’re to get back in this beginning tomorrow, the Blueshirts need to reverse that trend and play with the same intensity. Pitt showed they wanted it more.

-As usual, Sean Avery made a nuisance of himself with the outcome decided drawing the ire of Hal Gill while engaging Marc-Andre Fleury. By that time, I’d already turned it off. Too little. Too late. He was invisible and notably didn’t have a strong Game One. Isn’t about time the agitator stopped living off strong first rounds?

-Christian Backman was again shaky. He was very weak in the first game responsible for the Pens’ second goal. There was also an instance where he should’ve one-timed the puck but waited and got it blocked which drew criticism from Pierre McGuire. Right on point. Tom Renney needs to think long and hard about scratching him and bringing back Marek Malik. Big Bird might get blamed for plenty but if he’s paired with Paul Mara, that’s an upgrade. Unless Backman’s finding offense, he sticks out like a sore thumb.

-Find me one network studio analyst getting paid top dollar who has the balls to tell it like it is instead of kissing Sidney Crosby’s ass. No backbone. I don’t know what’s worse. The ridiculous lengths Canadian backer McGuire and former coach Ed Olczyk (biASSed much?) went to or Brian Engblom waving the No.87 pom poms on Martin Straka’s soft penalty where the baby face dropped like he was shot.

-Watching Henrik Lundqvist before during a postgame interview wasn’t too reassuring. He might’ve said all the right things but body language told a different story.

-I touched on it briefly but it’s time for Tom Renney to grow a pair and demote Brendan Shanahan to the fourth line. He just is too slow and is really hurting Avery and Scott Gomez. Especially if he’s going to play Petr Prucha because less than five minutes just won’t cut it. If they’re not elevating Prucha, then Fredrik Sjostrom is plenty good enough a skater and solid defensively to be moved up. Why not try Prucha and Shanahan with Blair Betts? This would give the team a different look and much better balance to go head to head against a very deep Pens’ team.

-With another great third period last night totally outclassing the Sharks to go up 2-0 on the road, Dallas has done little to make me think otherwise. That they’re the most complete Western team left and certainly look on a collision course with the Red Wings.

-If deadline pickup Brad Richards continues to perform, that’s going to be one hell of a trade for them especially if the former Conn Smythe winner delivers the hardware.

-How about that no-look reverse setup Sergei Zubov made to Mike Modano for the winner? Not bad for the veteran Russian blueliner’s first game back!

-How good is Mike Ribeiro. You don’t think Montreal wants a do over on that one again?!?!?!?!?!

-One other thing on that series. If the Sharks don’t comeback to make it at least interesting, when does Ron Wilson finally take some heat?

-Peter Budaj better be in net for Colorado tonight. Peter Forsberg would help too.

-He’s gotten plenty of criticism for his wretched play in Game Two. Think there’s just a tad of pressure on 20 year-old rookie Carey Price later tonight?

-If Martin Biron keeps this up, who says he can’t backstop the Flyers to a Stanley Cup? He’s been brilliant. They shouldn’t even be playing. That’s how good he was against the Caps with it all on the line in Game Seven last week.

-It’s Evgeni Malkin and not Crosby who’s been the best player for the Pens so far. He just has dominated in all facets. So while everyone’s getting on their knees for Sid the Kid, it’s his better overall teammate who continues to get overlooked.

-I get that he was sticking up for his star player but Michel Therrien was completely out of line ripping Renney before Game Two. At no point did the affable Ranger coach ever complain about Crosby offering essentially no comment. Instead, you heard plenty of teammates defend Straka. The same thing the hypocritical Therrien was doing.

-Color me impressed with Tyler Kennedy. This grinder has been very strong on the boards. Ditto Pascal Dupuis which comes as no surprise that the “other player” in the Marian Hossa deal has performed well as he has had better success (2003 Wild).

-I had it in my preview and so far it’s held true. Rob Scuderi is undervalued.

-Are Johan Franzen, Valtteri Filppula and Jiri Hudler secondary scorers anymore? Both Franzen (Calgary Game Six OT anybody?) and Filppula were good last year. Hudler finally developed and is playing well. Ditto for defensive stalwart Niklas Kronwall. Amazing how the Winged Wheel continues to find hidden gems in the draft. Their scouting staff is as good as anyone in the league. It’s high time they got more recognition!

-Finally, I love Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg but they shouldn’t be up for the Selke. John Madden was a deserving pick but there are plenty of other worthy candidates. Mike Fisher, Tomas Plekanec and Mike Richards all come to mind.

Let those who want star power go ga-ga over Crosby’s Pens taking on the Broadway Blueshirts.  You want to relive the ’90’s?  Detroit-Colorado’s for you.  If you have a rubbernecking interest in psycho fanbases, tune into Montreal-Philly where one fanbase might riot and the other will boo anyone and everyone.

But if you want the best pure hockey series, look out West young man (along with the other diehards out there) and stay up late on Friday night to watch the beginning of the Stars-Sharks series in San Jose.  If the regular season is any indication, then expect this one to go right down to the wire.  In the eight-game season series each team won four times, and none of the games were decided by more than two goals.

And both teams are almost mirror images of each other; let us count the ways:

1) San Jose and Dallas both rely on All-Star goaltenders - for the Sharks, Evgeni Nabokov stands between the pipes.  Nabokov led the NHL in wins with 46, and his 2.14 GAA and .910 save percentage with 6 shutouts were more than good enough to get the veteran netminder a Vezina nomination.  Consistent Marty Turco again led Dallas to a fine season with 32 wins, a 2.32 GAA and .909 save percentage.

2) Both San Jose and Dallas got off to dissapointing starts, in the Stars’ case it led to the firing of GM Doug Armstrong, replaced by the tag-team of Les Jackson and Brett Hull - yes that Brett Hull.  Each team picked it up towards the middle of the season and made big trade deadline acquisitions.  While Brian Campbell shored up the Sharks’ defense and gave them an offensive threat from the blueline (19 points and a +9 in 20 games), center Brad Richards gave an offensively challenged Stars team a boost down the stretch with 11 points in 12 games as well as 5 points in Dallas’s six-game series triumph over defending Stanley Cup champion Anaheim in the first round.

3) Each team has playoff skeletons in its closet.  For two straight years, a talented Sharks team under Ron Wilson has blown leads in the second round and as an organization, San Jose has yet to reach the Stanley Cup finals despite some very good teams, while Dallas had only won one playoff series in four years with Turco and coach Dave Tippett going into the 2008 playoffs.  While Dallas took a big step toward exorcising their demons by beating the Ducks, the Sharks - even after struggling to beat seventh-seeded Calgary in a Game 7 - are still a favorite to come out of the West.  Nothing less than the franchise’s first trip to the Finals will do for GM Doug Wilson and the Sharks’ organization.

4) Being too top-heavy in scoring has been a problem for both teams, particularly the Sharks, whose offense has dissapeared for long stretches this season other than 2006 MVP Joe Thornton, who led the team by a mile in the regular season with 96 points.  Milan Michalek - a frequent member of Thornton’s line - was second on the team with a mere 55 points.  Other than Campbell, San Jose’s defense is largely bereft of offense although underrated defenseman Craig Rivet had 35 points in 74 games (as well as 104 penalty minutes). 

Dallas, meanwhile only had three players with 50 or more points.  Center Mike Ribero led the team with 83 - and was rewarded handsomely with a new contract in mid-season.  Hard-nosed captain Brenden Morrow had 74 points and led the team with 32 goals, while veteran Mike Modano chipped in with 57 points.  Although gritty Stephane Robidas had a big goal and assist in the third period of Game 6 against Anaheim, Dallas’s defense is also lacking consistent offensive production though in large part that’s due to the injuries suffered by Sergei Zubov and Phillipe Boucher.  While Zubov’s expected to return after a long absence, Boucher is questionable after missing the final three games of the Anaheim series with a strained hip.

5) In addition to big names such as Thornton, Modano, Richards and Campbell both teams have x-factors that could play a role.  For Dallas, Robidas had a first round to remember with six points in six games including a crucial goal.  Joel Lundqvist (the lesser-known brother in Henrik’s family) got promoted to the second line and chipped in four points of his own during the series with the Ducks.  Perenially underrated winger Jere Lehtinen had another injury-plagued season but managed 37 points in 48 games and also had 6 points in the first round. 

San Jose fans, meanwhile had to be a bit stunned by the identity of the team’s leading scorer (with eight points) in their first-round series with Calgary - Ryane Clowe.  Who?  Well, he’s a gritty forward who missed all but 15 games this season, scoring just eight points.  He did have 34 points in 58 games last year, but still matching his season output in one series qualifies as a surprise.  Affable, perhaps annoying (or both) graybeard veteran Jeremy Roenick also helped the Sharks advance after one of the most memorable games of his fine career in Game 7 with two goals and two assists, this after having no points in the first five games and being scratched in Game 6.  And after a largely underachieving season with 48 points and a -19, Patrick Marleau came alive late in the season after being shifted to wing, and had six points in the Calgary series.

So with all these similarities, how then to pick a winner this series?  Well even though the Sharks did have 108 points to Dallas’s 97, these teams should fight tooth-and-nail.  I expect a Game 7 at the HP Pavillion in San Jose on May 6.  And somewhat surprisingly I’ll predict the road team to win this time.  I think Dallas has a lot of momentum and confidence after beating the defending champs, while the Sharks still have to prove they have playoff toughness.  Winning a Game 7 in the first round is a start, but it was against a seventh-seed Calgary team that shouldn’t have been in that position to begin with. 

So while I’ll pick Dallas in 7 - I do not, however think Wilson will pull a Mike Keenan during Game 7 and lift Nabokov in favor of Brian Boucher (despite how well as he’s played since being signed).   

It’s not often a graybeard turns back the clock to lift a team on his shoulders to a series clinching victory. That it happened to be Jeremy Roenick posting a memorable four point performance to propel the Sharks past the Flames 5-3 in Game Seven was pretty amazing.

Having been a healthy scratch for Game Six following no points and a minus-two rating during the series’ first five games, the 38 year-old proud veteran pivot was back in Ron Wilson’s lineup in the most important game of San Jose’s season. With his team trailing 2-1 despite dominating Calgary, Roenick scored the tying goal floating a change up through a maze of players including a befuddled Miikka Kiprusoff. That foreshadowed plenty unfortunately for the former Vezina winner.

Three minutes later while on the power play, one of the greatest American-born players found another way to score. This time, he got to a Brian Campbell rebound and deposited the puck into the upper portion for a 3-2 Sharks’ lead at 9:04 of the second period.

Up till that point, Roenick had factored in on all three San Jose goals including Joe Thornton’s power play tally back in the first which started the scoring. However, JR wasn’t done just yet.

A key sequence in the deciding game took place five minutes later when Joe Pavelski got to a loose puck and beat a down Kiprusoff who was expecting a lower shot which suddenly made it three San Jose goals in a 7:57 span. Veteran Calgary coach Mike Keenan had seen enough lifting his No.1 goalie in favor of veteran Curtis Joseph.

Earlier in this series, such a move paid off when Cujo sparked the Flames back from three down to a 4-3 Game Three win and 2-1 lead. If it was to try to motivate his lackluster team who was badly outshot, it didn’t work the second time around. In fact, on the very next shift, Roenick dished off to rookie Devin Setoguchi, who fired a tricky wrister past Joseph 52 seconds later making it four straight Shark goals in the last 8:51.

Roenick’s first four-point night in a playoff game in more than a decade was too much for Calgary to overcome. Former Shark Wayne Primeau’s goal 5:18 into the third was the only one they’d get by Evgeni Nabokov, who repelled eight of nine shots en route to 19 saves and a second round date with Pacific rival Dallas.

It’s hard to believe that Roenick would net two goals and two assists with a plus-two rating in 12:13 of ice-time. Though Islander color analyst and Versus sideline reporter Billy Jaffe revealed that Wilson’s pregame speech emphasized positive reinforcements alluding to Roenick’s Game Seven past which included four goals even telling the always colorful 500-goal scorer not to be afraid to step up.

Maybe that’s what we witnessed. Say whatever you may about JR but that was pretty storybook. Definitely what makes the Stanley Cup playoffs so compelling. You never know just who might be the hero.

With the second seeded Sharks prevailing, that sets up a Western Semifinal against the fifth seeded Stars.

Here are all the Conference Semifinal match-ups including the Game One schedule:

Thursday, 4/24

(1) Montreal Canadiens vs (6) Philadelphia Flyers, 7 ET, CBC

(1) Detroit Red Wings vs (6) Colorado Avalanche, 7:30 ET, Versus

Friday, 4/25

(2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs (5) New York Rangers, 7 ET, Versus

(2) San Jose Sharks vs (5) Dallas Stars, 10 ET, Versus

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.