1) Now that the dust has settled on one of the most bizarre first rounds I've ever seen, I'd like to go over some of the highlights.
Starting with the collision between Tomas Kopecky and John Madden; it being among the worst things I saw in hockey all season.
That Madden came back to the game after that was beyond courageous, it was insane. I highly doubt getting stitched and patched up was equivalent to 15 minutes in the quiet room. That he nearly sealed the deal for the Panthers in overtime with what was arguably their best chance--well, let's just say it would've made for a real 'Cinderella' storyline.
2) I'm sure others have mentioned it, but had Ottawa prevailed last night, and damned if they didn't come as close as they could've, the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th seeds would've moved on the East.
Instead, the #1 New York Rangers are on their way to a date with a Washington Capitals team that won't be taken seriously, even after disposing of the current Stanley Cup Champs.
How far can the Capitals ride Holtby?
How far can the Capitals ride the underdog wave?
I discussed this, the playoffs at length, and the Habs situation with the fellas at
ESPN Burlington yesterday afternoon.
3) That frantic push by the Senators last night was sensational to watch. They were the NHL's best third period team, and they showed it against the Rangers who slid by, by the skin of their teeth.
And after officially being named a Vezina finalist, Henrik Lundqvist showed why he'll be taking home that hardware at the end of the season.
The way he's playing, if the Rangers can take down the Capitals as expected, their way may be paved towards the finals and beyond.
4) Say what you will about the Devils chances against the Flyers, but know one thing: Martin Brodeur can be the difference.
He won't be the difference for seven games, but he can be the difference for four of them. If he plays like he did last night, he gives this Devils team the chance they shouldn't have.
No disrespect to New Jersey, but they don't have the horses to score and compete against this deep and punishing Flyers team. But they do have the inspiration of doing it for their world class goaltender, because he's certainly doing it for them.
5) That was a very valiant effort by a Florida Panthers team no one seemed to credit as good.
They were good. And another thing about that series; it was a damn exciting one to watch if you looked past the non-marquee, no-name match up.
There were a couple of games that fell short of exciting, but the other five were great.
One of the best stories of this season was Brian Campbell, who everyone thought had regressed through his time in San Jose, and his time buried behind horses like Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith.
Bet you the Chicago Blackhawks miss him.
Bet you the Sharks wouldn't have minded having him back for this year's playoff run.
He was the NHL's most used player, and a guy that can just control the pace of a game with his speed and his passing.
Dale Tallon knew. He knew about Kevin Dineen. He knew about Kris Versteeg. He knew about Tomas Kopecky. He knew about Sean Bergenheim. He knew about Scottie Upshall, and John Madden, and some other guys that everyone saw as free agent waste.
Tallon turned out the most successful version of the Panthers we've seen since the mid-90s, and no disrespect to the most worthy candidate (who isn't in fact a candidate--Paul Holmgren), no GM did a better job this year than Dale Tallon.
6) I'm an emotional guy. I tend to wear my heart on my sleeve. And I have to tell you that growing up, I wasn't much of a Senators fan, nor was I a Daniel Alfredsson fan either.
But I always acknowledged that he was one of the best players in the game when he was at his peak. And I have to admit, I was a bit emotional watching him linger on the ice last night, in disbelief that a dream season was going the way of so many before it in his career.
Guys always say they'll take their time away from the rink and evaluate things with their respective families and friends. Most the time, they've made up their mind well in advance.
I think if you look at Nick Lidstrom, losing to the Predators in the first round of the playoffs is probably not how he intended to go out, but I believe he's probably okay with it. Look at the career he's had.
The Red Wings talked him into playing one more, delaying his plans to move his family back to Sweden where he's built a beautiful life in-waiting for them.
But seeing the look on Alfredsson's face after the game, you can't help but feel as though he was internally talking himself out of a decision to retire; one he may have been comfortable with in his quiet confidence that his team would pull off the upset last night and win its first game seven.
Can this guy still compete at the highest level, over 82 games?
Can he put in a summer's worth of training to do it all again, once more, with the concussions, knee injuries, the exhausting travel, and the promise of a better playoff?
The hockey world hopes so...
7) Everyone likes the team-game the Blues play. Hard to deny they're among the elite teams remaining in the tournament.
But are people giving the Kings enough credit?
There's no doubt this is going to come down to goaltending and special teams.
Through five games for both teams, the Blues are way up on the Kings both in the powerplay and penalty killing categories.
But they are neck-and-neck when it comes to keeping the puck out of the net, with both teams averaging 1.60 goals against/game.
The Blues are only slightly ahead in 5-on-5 scoring.
Which team has more intangibles? Sleepers? Unsung Heroes?
8) Nashville-Phoenix may be the least prolific series of the playoffs since New Jersey-Florida. But it has the potential to be among the most exciting ones we've seen in a long time.
Lot of size in this series, especially between the pipes.
Can Phoenix score on these guys?
Can Nashville score on Mike Smith?
9) The Canucks need to do more to change their team than simply trade Roberto Luongo. They need a legitimate top line winger to play with the Sedins--and not just a fill in like Alex Burrows (who is an excellent player, don't get me wrong).
They need a player that can keep one of the Sedins producing if the other falls to injury or illness for any extended period of time.
10) The Bruins didn't have it this post-season. Not to discredit the Capitals, but we kept waiting for the Bruins to turn it on and dominate, and they didn't seem to do that in a single one of the seven games they played.
Milan Lucic had to come up with the goods at some point, but he never did.
Patrice Bergeron was clearly hurt. Too hurt to take faceoffs. But not too hurt to play. Listening to Greg Millen say "if Bergeron were healthy he'd have gotten back into that play" or "if Bergeron were healthy he'd have not lost that battle" or "if Bergeron were healthy he would've buried the Bruins' best chance in overtime" became rather annoying. He wasn't healthy, but he was playing, and just like Lucic and quite a few more of the Bruins, he couldn't deliver.
Tyler Seguin, on the other hand, did deliver. He was one of the only ones to deliver. And there's no question he will be among the NHL's most special players moving forward.
As for Tim Thomas, one of the best goaltenders of the last two seasons got out-dueled by a rookie who played the majority (if not practically the entirety) of his season in the AHL. That will be a hard memory on his way out of Boston--and I believe he is in fact on his way out.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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