The first round is officially over. How did it finish up? Let’s find out…
The Night that Was:
The only Original Six series in the first round of the playoffs was truly a classic. Not only did it take a seventh game, but it took overtime for the third time in the series. The Boston Bruins opened up a 2-0 lead before the game was even six minutes old thanks to Johnny Boychuk and veteran Mark Recchi. Before the mid-way point of the first Yannick Weber’s second of the series cut the lead in half before the ten-minute mark of the first. Tomas Plekanec tied things up with a shorthanded goal in the second, and after Chris Kelly made it 3-2 in the third, PK Subban was able to stun the Boston crowd with a power play goal with under two minutes to go. In overtime it took just five minutes for Nathan Horton to play winner once again, with his second overtime goal of the series. Both Carey Price and Tim Thomas brought their ‘A’ game to the finale as Thomas made 34 stops and Price made 30, and afterwards Thomas gave his counterpart full marks for his outstanding season, while Price extended his hopes that Thomas takes home the Vezina. Boston will play Philadelphia in the next round with Game One going Saturday.
Steve Yzerman and Guy Boucher had done a heck of a job with the Tampa Bay Lightning. So good of a job in fact, that Tampa Bay is off to the second round. Despite Pittsburgh outshooting Tampa 15-7 in the first period, Dwayne Roloson kept things scoreless and Sean Bergenheim was able to give his goalie a little wiggle room in the second with his third goal of the series, assisted by Dominic Moore (four points in seven games) and Steve Downie (seven points in six games). Turns out the only wiggling Roloson did was between the pipes making saves. The Lightning withstood a late barrage from Pittsburgh, downing them 1-0 and preventing Pittsburgh from reaching the second round for the first time since 2006-07. Roloson’s 36 saves sent Tampa to the second round for the first time since their 2004 Stanley Cup win, and his three wins in elimination games this series made him 6-0 in his career, joining Chico Resch (7-0) as the only goalies to win six or more elimination games and remain undefeated. Roloson and the Lightning play Washington starting on Friday.
The Injury Bug:
-Matt Smaby missed Game Seven for Tampa Bay and there’s no word if he’ll be good to go for Game One against Washington.
-Cory Schneider and Sami Salo are both listed as questionable for Game One of the second round. Salo didn’t play in Game Seven for Vancouver against Chicago while Schneider was healthy enough to back up Roberto Luongo in that game.
-Alex Semin and Mike Green are probably for Game One for Washington. Mike Knuble is still questionable.
What’s on Tonight?
A quick turnaround for the Vancouver Canucks as after playing Game Seven against Chicago on Tuesday, Game One of their series against the Nashville Predators goes at 9:00 pm ET in Vancouver.
News and Rumours Around the League:
-There is speculation growing that if the Phoenix Coyotes aren’t going to be moving to Winnipeg, the Atlanta Thrashers could be.
-Andrew Ference hit Jeff Halpern high with an elbow last night in Game Seven and will face disciplinary action from the league with a hearing scheduled today.
-Vancouver GM Mike Gillis has been fined an undisclosed amount for his comments about the officiating in Vancouver’s first round series against Chicago.
Your Top Playoff Performer of the Night:
Dwayne Roloson’s 36-save shutout on the road in a series-deciding Game Seven is the showstopper. 15 saves in the first period and 14 in the third made sure Tampa Bay started and finished strong as they moved on to the second round.
You can follow Bryan on Twitter at BryanThiel_88.