Well the 2013 / 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs are off to a great start and they have certainly lived up to the advanced billing, thus far they are very exciting. Each series has had its own story line, there has been very little controversy and it looks like the new playoff format has worked. The new format reunited some age old rivalries and as well created some brand new ones, which is real good for the game and its fans.
When I watch the playoffs I always pay attention to what I call the statement games – these are games that can define a team not only for the current playoff series that they are in but in many cases for many years to come. Not only can a team define itself but players can do so as well, they can make their mark by their performance in these games.
There have been many statement games thus far in the playoffs, and it is always intriguing to see how a team and its players respond. Obviously, in these statements games one team wins and one team loses, but how did they win, or I guess more importantly how did they lose. Did they show up, did they throw in the towel or did their star players perform? Where they out worked or did they compete? How did the young players react in certain situations? Body language is always a tell tale sign to see if a team is engaged – how do they sit on the bench, how do they skate to the bench when changes are made? Was the coach and his staff in charge -- this is the big one because players / teams can turn off a coach at any given time during a game, and when this happens it is game over. If I have a choice when attending a hockey game (and it does not matter what level of hockey – minor hockey, junior or pro hockey) I always get a seat across from the bench so I can watch the coaches and how the players react to them.
The Pittsburgh/Columbus series has been great, not only has it been great hockey but, it has had several statement games. Now some people would refer to these games and what has happened as momentum shifts but that term in my opinion falls short of really capturing the total picture. Players can define their careers by how they play or respond in a statement game; for young players it is almost a coming of age. Teams can be moulded for years to come by how they respond in these types of games.
Game 1 - Pittsburgh wins – Columbus loses. They probably should have won this game, how are they going to respond for game 2?
Game 2 – Columbus wins – Pittsburgh loses. Columbus wins their very 1st franchise playoff game in double overtime and they looked real good in this game. Pittsburgh looks lost -- how are they going respond for game 3?
**The hockey world is beginning to talk about the demise of the Penguins, predicting doom and gloom for them. The Blue Jackets are young, full of life and energy, Pittsburgh can’t compete with them. How is Pittsburgh going to react? How is Columbus going to handle the pressure going home with a split?
Game 3 – Pittsburgh wins – Columbus loses. Statement game. Well it is 2-0 for Columbus just 3 minutes into the game. It is all over for the Penguins but this is when I love watching the games – how does a team, its players and its coach’s react. Pittsburgh’s holds the fort and scores with 2 seconds left in the 2nd period to make it 2-1 – this is big and sets the stage for a great 3rd period. Are the young inexperienced Blue Jackets going to fold or are the Penguins led by the best player in the world going have their way with them now? Columbus scores in the first minute – Wow – what a statement! As you could imagine the place is going nuts, they are up 3-1, that goal is going to seal the deal for the Blue Jackets. Wrong -- the Penguins score 3 unanswered goals and win the game 4-3. What a statement, the old dogs are not done yet.
**I thought that after this win that Pittsburgh was back and that Columbus will take their first ever NHL playoff win and simply just fade away and begin building for next year.
**I would like to add here that the one thing that I do not like about modern day sports reporting is that it is always negative – everyone was taking about what the Blue Jackets did wrong and how could they not protect a 2 goal lead (2 different times), they’re terrible, this player should not playing, how come so and so was on the ice etc… Why not talk about what Pittsburgh did right – the big face off win, the crucial penalty kill, the big save or blocked shot when it was 2-0…
Game 4 – Columbus wins – Pittsburgh loses. Another statement game – a big statement game! How are the players and coaches going to respond? It is not just the fact that the Blue Jackets won 4-3 in overtime, but it is how they won. It was 3-0 eleven minutes into the game for Pittsburgh – game over, series over. Right – Wrong. What a statement win! While I realize that this game was won when Nick Foligno scored in overtime, I believe that it was won in the first period from the 11th minute on. They did not fold, they did not quit, and they did not stop working. Their coach kept coaching. For those of you that rely on stats, look at the stats for the last 9 minutes of that 1st period. Who blocked the shots, who won the draws or who won the battles in the corner – these little things are what began to slowly turn the tide for the Blue Jackets and led to victory.
This win for Columbus will go a long way into the development of this young team. I am not sure if they will win the series, but their future looks real good simply because of how they have responded in the statement games.
Other statement games, the Chicago Blackhawks lost both games in St. Louis, they lost both games in overtime, and they lost both games after St. Louis tied the games with a goal in the last minute of the 3rd period. How are the Stanley Cup champs going to react in game 3 and game 4 back in Chicago? They win both games to even the series, big statement games in more ways than one. St. Louis had 2-0 lead last year and ended up losing the series – they are now thinking, they are now questioning themselves. Not only is Game 5 is a big statement game for the Blues, but this series is now a statement series for them – if they lose it, there will be a lot of questions about the makeup of the team – do they have what it takes?
Dallas Stars everyone had them written off, even before the playoffs began - nobody gave them a chance, after Anaheim went up 2-0 the fat lady was beginning to sing -- it was all over for the Stars. Well they responded with two convincing victories in Dallas, actually they are out scoring the Ducks in total goals (12 – 9). It will be interesting to see how Anaheim and the coaching staff responds, there will be a lot of pressure on Bruce Boudreau the head coach, as that has always been the knock against him – he could never win in the playoffs.
As myself and many have said before, the first round of the playoffs is quite often the best hockey of the playoffs and so far this has held true.
The province of Quebec is on cloud nine with their sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tampa just had too many injuries and could not compete. In past blogs, I have mentioned that even though Montreal is the only Canadian team in the playoffs, many Canadians will not cheer for them - an interesting poll was released today in the newspaper. The question was – “Would you like to see Montreal win the Stanley Cup?” The results were 58% yes – 42% no, go figure – I think there is some politics represented in the answer.
San Jose looks like this may be their year – finally they may get the playoff monkey off their back.
The other series are all at 2-1, it will be interesting to see how game 4 goes in these series. Both Detroit and Philly have to respond with a big home ice win or their playoffs maybe short lived.
It will also be interesting to see how Colorado responds in their game 4 in Minnesota. It is not the fact that they lost the game – that is going to happen. But in the game they lost their top defenseman Tyson Barrie to a cheap hit from Matt Cooke, Barrie is out for the series and possibly the playoffs. Are they going to play? Or are they going to go head hunting? Who is going to step up and fill the role that Barrie did?
Enjoy the games and hopefully your team shows up in the big statement games.
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