Chase for the Cup: 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs Round Up for Day Two

More spectacular goalie performances in the playoffs in just the second night of action. If you like high-scoring playoff games and 7-6 finals….you may be out of luck this year.

The Night that Was:

For one game anyways, the Montreal Canadiens proved almost everybody wrong. It seemed that the popular consensus before the beginning of the Boston/Montreal series was that the Bruins were going to physically dominate the Habs and it was going to be a penalty-filled affair. Well it was the exact opposite of that, as the Habs used their speed to capitalize on defensive mistakes by Boston as Brian Gionta scored two goals off of turnovers and Montreal won 2-0. You can’t overlook the performance of Carey Price, which was simply mind-boggling at points, as me made 31 saves for the victory and his first shutout in the playoffs since 2007-08. Montreal leads the series 1-0.

Speaking of great goalie performances, Ryan Miller left the Philadelphia Flyers confused all night as he made 35 saves and shut out the Philadelphia Flyers in game one. In a chippy game where the Flyers didn’t make things easy for Miller and tested his health on more than one occasion, Miller stood up for himself and kept his cool, as Patrick Kaleta potted a rebound earlier in the third pound for the 1-0 win. The Sabres lead the series by that same count, 1-0.

Probably the greatest performance of the night between the pipes belonged to Jonathan Quick, and he didn’t even win his game. San Jose lead twice last night, 1-0 after one and 2-1 halfway through the second, but Los Angeles tied it and the Kings and Sharks were off to OT. Joe Pavelski would wire home the winner off the rush, spoiling a gutsy 42-save effort from Quick. While it wasn’t the prettiest 42 saves, Quick’s performance was exactly what playoff goaltending is all about. Justin Williams’ performance is what playoffs are all about too, as Williams had a goal and an assist in his return from injury, but Ryan Clowe outdid him as he was in on all three of the Sharks’ goals. There were plenty of penalty minutes in this one too, as Jarrett Stoll hit Ian White from behind, sparking a fight in the late-first between Kyle Clifford and Ben Eager. There was no penalty on the hit and San Jose leads the series 1-0.

The Injury Bug:

-Chris Pronger didn’t play for the Flyers last night, and Peter Laviolette went as far as to say he “isn’t available” last night. Makes you wonder whether he means just for Game One, or longer.

-Ray Emery or Dan Ellis? That’s the question that the Ducks are asking right now, as Jonas Hiller continues to recover from vertigo.

–Martin St. Louis had a root canal yesterday after taking a high-stick to the face against Pittsburgh in Game One. It’s not like he needed the root canal…he did play afterwards. Either way, there’s no queston mark around St. Louis for Friday.

-Henrik Zetterberg is still day-to-day for the Red Wings, but skated for the first time since suffering his knee injury on Thursday.

-Derek Morris meanwhile, may be a game-time decision for the Coyotes. He didn’t skate Thursday.

What’s on Tonight?

Tampa Bay looks to get back into their series against the Pittsburgh Penguins as the Pens lead it 1-0. Washington hopes that overtime isn’t necessary as they look for a 2-0 lead over the Caps at home. Game 2 between the Blackhawks and Canucks hopes to be just as intense as Game 1 was, but Chicago and it’s fans are hoping for a different result, and Nashville will get to deal with the net presence of the Anaheim Ducks once again as the Preds look to go up 2-0.

News and Rumours Around the League:

-Reportedly a season ticket campaign will be unveiled in Winnipeg to see how much support there would for an NHL franchise. The response would go a long way in determining whether a franchise returning to Winnipeg is viable for the NHL or not.

-Former NHL centre Vincent Damphousse has been charged with six counts of assaulting his spouse, with the projected time line between 2008 and just recently. Damphousse has reciprocated, sending charges of assault to his wife as well.

Your Top Playoff Performer of the Night:

Jonathan Quick did everything he could to pull out the win last night making 42 saves, but it wasn’t to be. From the same game, Ryan Clowe earns the award as well, assisting on all three goals his Sharks scored on Quick

You can follow Bryan on Twitter at BryanThiel_88.