Day 7 Round 1 NHL Playoffs 2009

A busy 5 game day in the playoffs, and we now have our first team in the conference semi-finals.

Vancouver Canucks vs St. Louis Blues: Vancouver wins 3-2 (Vancouver wins series 4-0)

For the first time in franchise history, the Vancouver Canucks sweep their opponents in a best of seven series in the playoffs. It wasn't easy, however, as it took a full game and almost an entire overtime period, as Burrows scored with under a minute left in the first OT to move the Canucks to the second round. The Canucks also got help from the referee, as a puck that crossed the line in the third period with several Blues crashing the net was negated as a goal because the referees deemed that the whistle was blown before it completely crossed. Controversial or not, the Canucks still won and there will be no game 5. Vancouver is rolling, and they have every part of their game going on. If San Jose wins, the Canucks will most likely face the Detroit Red Wings. If Anaheim wins, the Canucks will face the winner of the Chicago/Calgary series. Either way, they'll have a monster second round match-up, and they better hope the extended break won't cool them down too much.

Pittsburgh Penguins vs Philadelphia Flyers: Pittsburgh wins 3-1 (Pittsburgh leads series 3-1)

By all means the Flyers should have won the game, tied the series, and made game 5 the critical game of the war between the Pennsylvania rivals. Instead, Marc-Andre Fleury made 45 saves, and Pittsburgh scored the first two goals and added an empty netter to take a commanding 3-1 series lead back to Pittsburgh. For the second time in the series, the first goal of the game was scored by a flailing Sidney Crosby crashing hard to the net and having the puck obscurely bounce off of him and over the goal line. Philadelphia can still win game 5 and probably game 6 if it gets there based on the way they played today, but a hard-fought loss could also drain the energy out of a team on the brink of elimination. Either way, the Penguins are more than happy to be in control.

New Jersey Devils vs Carolina Hurricanes: Carolina wins 4-3 (Series tied 2-2)

Martin Brodeur had 42 saves, but with .2 seconds left, he let in a deflected shot after he was distracted from taking a slight bump while Jussi Jokinen was trying to set up for a screen. Said Brodeur: I'm not complaining about Carolina, you have to respect the way they play. It is the referee's job to call it, and tonight they did a bad job, both of them. Harsh words from the winningest goaltender in NHL history. Brodeur was livid after the goal was scored and counted, arguing with the ref before banging his stick against the ice and the wall. Remind anyone of last year? Brodeur will have to recover from this and keep his cool, and he did point out in the post-game that the Devils haven't lost anything yet because they still have home ice. And even if the Hurricanes don't pull the upset, at least they made history: for the first time in the NHL playoffs, the game winning goal was scored with less than a second left in the third/overtime period. What was promised to be a tight series is living up to all its expectations. One important thing not to forget after the whole Brodeur fiasco: the Devils came back from a 0-3 deficit to tie it 3-3 in the third period.

Detroit Red Wings vs Columbus Blue Jackets: Detroit wins 4-1 (Detroit leads series 3-0)

The Red Wings put themselves in position to be the second team in the first round of the WCQF to sweep their opponent, as they defeated the Blue Jackets in their franchise's first home playoff game in a very convincing manner. Steve Mason said they make it almost look easy. I would take out the "almost". The key to this series being such a blowout after a lot of experts said it might take an extra two games for the defending champs: Chris Osgood. After having a horrible regular season in his battle for the starting position with Ty Conklin, Osgood has not allowed more than 1 goal in each of the 3 games played. And of course, nobody needs to reiterate the skill level of the forwards of Detroit. Rick Nash needs to find a way around Nicklas Lidstrom if the Blue Jackets have any hope of sending it back to Detroit, which is basically saying the Blue Jackets will be swept.

San Jose Sharks vs Anaheim Ducks: San Jose wins 4-3 (Anaheim leads series 2-1)

The President Trophy winners have finally won their first playoff game of the year, defeating Anaheim on the road 4-3. In the first two games, the Sharks never led. In this game, the Ducks never had a lead, although San Jose did give up 3. But major changes were made, as the Sharks went 2 for 3 on the power play, and Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, Dan Boyle, and Rob Blake combined for 7 points (4 goals and 3 assists). Two big turnovers in the defensive zone led to two game-tying goals by the Ducks, which will have to be addressed if the Sharks hope to even out the series to make it a best of 3. But surprise surprise, Torrey Mitchell, who skated in only two AHL games after reinjuring his leg, started in his first NHL game of the season, and turned out to play a key role in what could be one of the most important games of the season for the Sharks. He logged a little under 7 minutes of ice time and was a force on the forecheck, using that speed the San Jose fans love so much. Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton skated with about 10 different line combinations, and the mixture of speed and size worked wonders on the forecheck. Going 2 for 3 on the power play in game 3 can be misleading. One game can't really be judged as a turning point of getting out of any kind of funk. In the bigger scheme of things, San Jose is still 2 for 15 on the power play in the series, including a 4 on 3 they failed to capitalize on in the first period (the one man advantage they didn't score with) in game 3. No matter how you look at it, game 4 is still as much of a must-win as the Sharks made it feel like in game 3. And you can't count the Ducks out just yet; the game was as close as the score, and game 4 is still in Ducks territory.

Dan Boyle, who was brought in to prevent San Jose from another playoff choke, stepped up both in the locker room and on the ice. But an 0-2 deficit shouldn't faze him: his Tampa Bay Lightning were down 0-2 to the Montreal Canadiens in 2004. They won the next 4 games, and the rest is history. It will be interesting to see how the extended rest affects the Vancouver Canucks. Regardless of who they face, they will probably have a very tough 6 or 7 game series in round 2. The rest could either play a key factor in them taking the series, or it could throw them off their dominating play and play a role in them ultimately losing the series if they drop an early game or two.