Star credit. No other way to slice it. They looked dead and buried after Game Three but suddenly have risen up taking a pair of close games from the Red Wings to creep back within a game of getting this series even.

How awesome is this? Well, if you’re a Detroit fan, it’s got to be a little scary, huh? Especially when your team seemed so close. Now who knows. It’s going back to Big D for Game Six. Who ever thought that?

I just never imagined Joel Lundqvist having more of an impact than twin brother Henrik this postseason. Nice pass fake before surprising Chris Osgood for that winner in the second period. Why don’t more players do that? Smart play by a hard working player.

Marty Turco did get an assist on that winner too and has been absolutely splendid in the last two wins permitting just a goal in each. He’s plenty good enough to give his team a shot at this. Now, it’s up to the rest of his teammates led by vets Brenden Morrow, Mike Modano and Sergei Zubov to win on home ice and get this series to a remarkable Game Seven back in Motown with it all riding on the line. How much pressure would there be on the Wings? Are you kidding? It would be enormous.

It would still be hard to see Detroit losing this. They’re plenty good enough even without Johan Franzen and extremely capable of wrapping it up on the road.

At least now there’s something for hockey fans to get excited about.

All thanks to the Dallas Stars. Thank you for showing tremendous heart and not giving up.

I finally figured out what’s been nagging me. No. Not the fact the Rangers weren’t good enough. Besides, they have a snake running the asylum who will probably push Sean Avery out the door while failing to address the glaring holes on a soft as vanilla custard team.

It’s just that these playoffs have totally sucked ass. Where’s the excitement? Where’s the one series that’s completely drawn you in as a fan? Nowhere!

Sure. There’s been a couple of close comebacks in the first round and that neverending Game Six between the Sharks and Stars with Dallas finally prevailing on their captain Brenden Morrow’s shoulders with maybe the hockey Gods looking down. Unfortunately for those Stars, maybe they should’ve put San Jose away earlier cause that was the last ounce of strength they had. Detroit has owned them even without Johan Franzen. Who still thinks Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg are soft and can’t be relied upon in crunch time? Guess there won’t be anyone questioning that dynamic duo anymore.

What about the Flyers? What the heck happened to them? Apparently, playing Carey Price and Montreal was nothing like playing Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury and the rest of the Penguins. How awful has this series been? Let’s see. I didn’t bother to watch the first seven minutes and when I flipped it on for a score, there stood another reason to flip back to TNT:

Penguins 2 Flyers 0

I knew right there I didn’t have to bother turning back. The game and series were over and the Flyer fans dressed in orange may as well have started puking at what they were watching.

Face it. These NHL playoffs have sucked beyond incomprehensible belief. It doesn’t help that Versus the All Pens Network has covered it about as badly as humanly possible. There was yet another glaring mistake during last night’s Wings’ 5-2 win over the Stars in Game Three. Somehow, the production truck confused Datsyuk with Zetterberg giving the Swede a goal instead of the playmaking Russian pivot who posted his first career playoff hat trick. They look nothing alike.

Did the network bother to correct the graphic? Nope. Instead, Doc Emrick was there to announce Pavel’s sixth trying to save face. Why? Cause he’s the only one who even tries during these telecasts. Ed Olczyk has become a bland boring analyst with little to say much like that dreadful studio intermission show hosted by the boring Bill Patrick with Brian Engblom and Keith Jones. I miss Bill Clement! How freaking sad is that?

I’m not the only one either. If you want good coverage, you can still hear him, Sam Rosen, Dave Strader, Joe Micheletti and Billy Jaffe on NHL Radio with Joe Tolleson and Dave Maloney hosting. The level of energy’s better and their intermission coverage totally dwarfs the NHL’s National TV Network. Word of advice. Watch the NHL Network. They have much better stuff before and after games. It’s the only sane thing going for this league which badly needs more exposure.

You know that infamous quote from The Sixth Sense where the kid says to Bruce Willis’ character:

“I see dead people.”

Yes. That quote. Well, it applies to a network who can’t be bothered unless they’re showing 9,000 shots of Mario Lemieux or another 12,000 of Crosby. Dead people have actually put in more energy than what those intermission segments have become. Nobody wants to see stale analysts with little to say. Where’s the balls? Why can’t these guys take a stand? Even after Mike Ribeiro’s slash in response to Chris Osgood’s sneaky butt end, NOTHING! They just smiled. Could there be a little emotion?

In some aspect, I actually feel for the Flyers cause it hasn’t been a fair fight. They lost top two defenders Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn and that couldn’t happen for John Stevens’ club to stand a chance.

Finally, I did happen to catch the Pens’ third goal after flipping back just in time to see another brilliant turnover by rookie Steve Downie. Is he a moron? It was bad enough that his lazy play cost his team Game Two. Word of friendly advice to the rook. You don’t pass the puck to Malkin at his blueline with no teammates around and expect to get away with it. Not shockingly, it took Malkin and linemates Petr Sykora and Ryan Malone a few seconds to score and send the sea of puke home. It was a nice ride. Too bad for them the fat lady has already begun rehearsing.

One other thought based on what I’ve seen. What the heck happened to Daniel Briere?

If it’s true that these playoffs have been a letdown, then the league desperately needs a great Stanley Cup Final between the Pens and Wings. They must put on a good show because really. … nobody will watch. These are the best two teams left who possess the most skilled skaters with excellent supporting casts to go with it. So, you have to believe it should be interesting.

Personally, I believe in Detroit. They always seem to have the puck and are killing opponents in the faceoff circle. However, you can’t discount Pittsburgh. Especially with the size and skill they got at center. Jordan Staal really has gotten overlooked. He’s been a beast in all facets. He’ll probably see a lot of Datsyuk next round.

Who do you prefer? A team with experience and some youth mixed in well equipped who just stifles opponents? Or a younger team with the top two talents in the game who can impose their will on games along with an underrated supporting cast.

I’m still taking the Red Wings. They need to win this series for many reasons. One of which that this might be their last shot with that group even though a few of their core will be around a while. Because the Penguins shall only get better. Can a team really win with Chris Osgood in net? He hasn’t lost yet making Dominik Hasek into the NHL version of Wally Pipp. Is this some sort of twisted joke?

No. Only about as much as that crazy dream I had where me and my brother saw Martin Brodeur at a bank out at the Mall and he got all miserable when the talk centered around Sean Avery. No. It wasn’t even forced. But the sour puss look was worth every penny.

Maybe there is some truth to my mind as nuts as it’s become lately. Regardless, I sure hope the Stanley Cup Final isn’t a total bore. Please give us something. 

In case anyone forgot and it would be quite easy to considering how much time off there was between Rounds 2 and 3, there was hockey played last night in Motown where the Red Wings used three power play goals in a 4-1 Game One victory over the Stars in the WCF.

For the naysayers who don’t want to believe in the Wings just cause of who they played (didn’t realize that’s how it worked), they’re legit and proving to be more than a one trick pony as Dallas found out. Four different goalscorers not named Datsyuk or Zetterberg did the trick for top seeded Detroit with former Devil blueliner Brian Rafalski getting the party started on a five-on-three. Then Johan Franzen continued his torrid pace showing no rustiness by getting to the front of the net and deflected home his postseason leading 12th for a 2-0 lead after one.

Veteran Tomas Holmstrom also screened Marty Turco a bit illegally scoring in the paint where the Swede’s made his living. Before Dallas captain Brenden Morrow snapped Chris Osgood’s shutout bid with 1:07 left in the second, Valtteri Filppula got the Wings’ fourth putting the contest out of reach as they stopped the Stars’ early road success by taking Game One 4-1 at The Joe.

Entering last night, Dave Tippet’s club was a perfect four-for-four in the first two games of Rounds 1 and 2 in victimizing the defending champion Ducks and Sharks both from their Pacific division. Just maybe Detroit’s a step up in competition unlike what’s been sold because they feasted on the Preds and Avs. Couldn’t have been because they’re actually good? Nah. Why even give a team credit when it has proven to be very equipped to bring Lord Stanley back to Michigan?

The Wings have excellent skaters who can beat you a number of different ways. Whether it’s the skill and finesse of Datsyuk and Zetterberg or the grit and determination of Franzen, Holmstrom along with underrated secondary help Filppula, Jiri Hudler, Dan Cleary and Mikael Samuelsson, Mike Babcock’s Original Six club has the right mix to go all the way.

It should be tougher starting with Game Two where the balanced Stars should be sharper getting back to their defensive style. They’d be wise to stay out of the box where Detroit did most of their damage going three-for-seven. The Stars took the collar in four chances.

The Wings outshot them 31-21 making it a manageable night for Ozzie, who stopped 20 shots in improving to a perfect 7-0 since taking over for Dominik Hasek. Detroit also had the puck a lot winning 35-of-56 draws which played right into their puck possession attack.

Coming into this series, there was a lot to like about Dallas with Turco playing lights out and deadline pickup Brad Richards (2-9-11) performing up to expectations. With Morrow continuing to lead his hockey club and Sergei Zubov back healthy on the blueline, the Stars have a chance to comeback and reach their first Cup Final since 2000. They’ll need outstanding efforts from their best players along with point leader Mike Ribeiro (3-11-14), Stephane Robidas plus veteran champion forwards Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen.

The problem is that Detroit can more than match them up front with a very balanced attack duly noted above. The Red Wings also could have the edge on D with team captain Nick Lidstrom headlining it with Rafalski and emerging physical standout Niklas Kronwall, who with two assists raised his team-leading helper total to 10.

If Osgood continues his reemergence in net, it’s hard to see the Stars prevailing. They would’ve been wise to finish off San Jose earlier instead of requiring an ungodly seven more periods.

I don’t feel they’re overmatched but kind of see Detroit winning in six to advance to their first Final since winning it all back in 2002 when yours truly had a stint in Bristol, Connecticut.

Now to the other series which begins later tonight with a 7:30 start time at Mellon Arena. The Battle of Pennsylvania should be a fun filled series with lots of edge to it. These two teams don’t like each other. There were a couple of games during the regular season which saw lots of penalty minutes and fisticuffs. So, expect it to be very physical as well as entertaining due to the kind of aggressive fast skating teams both the Flyers and Pens have.

The Flyers got some bad news as top defender Kimmo Timonen is expected to miss the series due to a blood clot in his ankle. They were really depending on the very overlooked Finn D to see a lot of Malkin and Crosby. How John Stevens replaces him is beyond me. Maybe he’ll pair Braydon Coburn with the physical Derian Hatcher.

Team captain Jason Smith will have to be a beast in this series. I figure he’ll see a lot of Crosby while Hatcher and Coburn have their work cut out for them against Malkin. Stevens also could opt to move up Lasse Kukonen to pair with Coburn while sending out Hatcher with Smith to work over Sid the Kid. Randy Jones is decent.

Obviously, with no Timonen, the edge goes to the Pens, who boast superb offensive skating power play tandem Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney while also being able to send out the rough Brooks Orpik and Hal Gill. Plus Rob Scuderi, who always seems to fly under the radar. He’s real smart and plays his position well leading the Pens with a plus-seven rating during a postseason run which has seen them win eight of their first nine. Kris Letang also is a very good skating D who is solid overall.

When you assess that Pitt blueline, there really aren’t any glaring weaknesses. They can skate, jump into the rush and pinch in, take out the man making you pay a price while moving the puck effectively. While Malkin, Crosby, Marian Hossa along with a big talented forward crop which includes Ryan Malone, Petr Sykora and Jordan Staal all can hurt you offensively, it’s that D which has really been making a difference.

In order to have a chance, the Flyers must use their attacking cycle to make that defense work in its end. The Rangers just weren’t a fast enough skating team to exploit it. Philly has more capability featuring veteran offensive leader Daniel Briere, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and Montreal killer R.J. Umberger (8 of 9 goals in Rd. 2).

The supporting cast of Mike Knuble, Vaclav Prospal, Joffrey Lupul, Scott Hartnell and the speedy Scottie Upshall have enough speed, size and grit to nullify the Pens’ attack. They must get in on the forecheck and disrupt Pittsburgh. Get in the face of Crosby and hit pest Jarkko Ruutu every chance they get. Also, playing Malkin physical will fluster the talented Russian. Hossa also doesn’t like being hit.

There’s little doubt that Martin Biron has been the best goalie in the first two rounds standing on his head to steal Game Seven over Ovechkin’s Caps and totally outplaying rookie Carey Price last round. He’ll need to be even more brilliant. Marc-Andre Fleury has played well for the Pens but is prone to bad rebounds. Shoot low on him and attack the net.

Even without Timonen, I see the Flyers making this one interesting. Their forwards are plenty good enough. They must win the battles down low and keep the Pens in their end. If it turns into a track meet, they won’t be able to win.

I still say this goes seven but figure a late marginal new NHL phantom hook will help the Pens advance making everyone except the hypocritical city of Pitt shake their heads in disgust.

A Pens-Wings final would work wonders for NBC. Crosby, Hossa and Malkin versus Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Lidstrom.

One final thought on the subject of the long layoff. Why the semifinal round couldn’t start on say Tuesday and Wednesday is inexplicable. Even the NBA doesn’t have this kind of ridiculous delay between rounds. They start their next round quickly not waiting for a long series to finish which is how it should work. Instead, our league is intentionally dragging things out catering to NBC, who cares more about silly horse races even when one tragically is murdered in their precious Derby than about our game.

What a disgrace.

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).   

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As our very jovial Devil blogger Hasan referred to below, the Anaheim Ducks’ season officially came to an end in Dallas where a hungrier Stars’ bunch hunted them down to the tune of a 4-1 Game Six win before a relieved American Airlines Center crowd making the defending champs part of an ugly statistic provided by Versus.

They became the fifth consecutive defending champ chump to bail out in the first round. Well, at least they made the playoffs unlike the Hurricanes, who apparently sold their souls to the Devil making plenty of New Jersey fans pleased along with our Buffalo blogger who’s lurking in the woodworks. Tonight had to be bittersweet for Brian as the Stars will see the second round for the first time in five years. Maybe he’s sticking a pin in a Marty Turco voodoo doll as I write this.

As someone who took the Ducks in seven, good for Dallas. Especially Turco, who always took the most heat when his team fizzled out in previous opening rounds. He and his teammates finally showed that killer instint playing a splendid third period outscoring Anaheim 4-0 to turn their opponents into dead Ducks. Pardon the expression to anyone supersensitive out there.

The Stars hadn’t mustered any offense against Jean-Sebastien Giguere through 40 minutes and trailed 1-0 on a very stoppable Corey Perry goal from a sharp angle which Turco should’ve had. Considering how quiet that arena was probably waiting for the other shoe to drop (recent history hadn’t been good), it was nice to see Dallas play as well as they did dominating the final 20 to wrap up the series.

If there was a series MVP, it would have to go to defenseman Stephane Robidas. With Sergei Zubov out, the much overlooked 31 year-old from Quebec stepped up and was his team’s best player logging big minutes and contributing offensively. His tying power play goal 1:18 into the third and primary helper 52 ticks later on Stu Barnes’ series clincher sparked his team to the final victory which sent Giguere, Scott Niedermayer, Teemu Selanne, Chris Pronger and playoff choke artist Todd Bertuzzi on a permanent vacation.

In fact, the Ducks rarely threatened with Turco shutting the door and an air tight Dallas D limiting them to 18 shots and few opportunities. They couldn’t handle the Stars’ superior transition game. If there was a decided edge entering this series, it was Dallas’ depth up front with former Conn Smythe winner Brad Richards putting his fingerprints on display. The former Lightning pivot scored a big insurance marker which gave the Stars the first two games. Fittingly, after another strong shift, he retrieved a puck along the wall and sprung linemate Louie Eriksson for a breakaway tally at 17:42 which put the Ducks away.

With Giguere lifted for an extra attacker, it was only a matter of time before Mr. Star Mike Modano hit the open net with four seconds left to put the finishing touches on a great third. They couldn’t afford to chance a seventh game back in Anaheim.

Finally, a Dave Tippett coached club played with the kind of desperation needed to put away an opponent.

Congrats to them. They still don’t know the opponent because Calgary got goals from Owen Nolan and Daymond Langkow while Miikka Kiprusoff blanked the Sharks making 21 stops to send their series back to San Jose for a deciding Game Seven Tuesday night.

Earlier in the day, the top seeded Red Wings got goals from captain Nick Lidstrom (SH from red line), Jiri Hudler and an empty from former Devil Brian Rafalski in support of winning netminder Chris Osgood (20 saves) in a 3-0 road Game Six shutout of Nashville to advance.

Detroit can either play old nemesis Colorado or Mike Keenan’s Flames depending on if they win at the Shark Tank. A Calgary win would setup these Western Semifinal match-ups:

(1) Detroit vs (7) Calgary

(4) Dallas vs (6) Colorado

If the Sharks prevail, then this is how it would look:

(1) Detroit vs (6) Colorado

(2) San Jose vs (4) Dallas

So, what went wrong for Anaheim after posting the league’s best record after February?

They didn’t score enough goals. I said in my preview that much depended on their blueline. Niedermayer didn’t score in the series and Pronger only had one good game (2 goals, A in Game Five). Mathieu Schneider (goal) didn’t do much. Leading regular season scorer Ryan Getzlaf (2-3-5) had a disappointing series. Obviously, not having Perry around early on hurt.

Anaheim also missed Rob Niedermayer, who only got into two games before injury forced him upstairs. Did Doug Weight even play? That’s what they get for subtracting Andy McDonald. Even the normally dependable Chris Kunitz netted just two assists. The kind of effort one would expect from Bertuzzi. Ah. What a shock that he didn’t score in the series. What does the washed up former power forward have on GM Brian Burke? Is it as unique as the relationship between Isiah Thomas and Jim Dolan?

Maybe that’s better off being unknown. In any event, there will be a new Stanley Cup champion. So, it should be a fun ride.

Don’t forget. Game Seven between the Original Six rivals Boston and Montreal tonight on Versus (CBC) and Game Six will also take place between the Capitals and Flyers.

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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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We’ll see.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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