-As expected Tomas Vokoun will start for the Penguins tonight.
–Adnan takes a look at the line combinations, but ignores the third game of the season series so it’s a small sample size. He believes Karlsson and Methot will match up against Crosby, while Gonchar and Phillips or Cowen will line up against Malkin. He thinks Turris will face Crosby. He also adds:
Crosby may be a douchebag, but he is a very talented one.
Succinct and to the point.
–Dave Molinari looks at the match-up, but clearly did not watch the Sens series against the Habs because he thinks their powerplay was “lethal”; he picks the Penguins in six.
–Scott Burnside also wasn’t watching Ottawa’s series (he also thinks their powerplay is good), but his look at the series is more well-rounded. He picks the Pens in six.
–The Hockey News predicts the Pens in seven, giving Pittsburgh the edge in offense and special teams, but Ottawa the edge in defense and goaltending.
–Ian Mendes offers up a variety of Sens-Pens trivia, the most interesting of which is that all of the coaches in the second round have won Stanley Cups (six as coaches, two as assistant coaches).
–Marc Methot talks about how difficult it is to target star players physically:
They’re good for a reason. They don’t put themselves in vulnerable positions where they’ll get hit. It’s going to be tough. The biggest thing is to stay tight in our own end and not get running around in our own end where they thrive.
–Nichols looks at Bryan Murray failing to earn a nomination as the top GM for the year:
Bryan Murray’s omission is the kind of result that instinctively channels the inner-fanboy in most fans, but it’s worth remembering that this exercise to evaluate or recognize a GM’s accomplishments for one season’s work is ridiculously inane. This isn’t the freshman fifteen when the months of binge drinking, eating fast food and cafeteria catch up to student in short order. It takes years before the true efforts of a GM can be grasped and properly evaluated.
All very true and yet another reason why awards are rarely indicative of anything.
–Bobby Kelly doesn’t want the Sens to have the “Canada’s Team” label, because he doesn’t think the idea is very serious (it isn’t). What it is (potentially) is good marketing, and if that creates a few more Sens fans I’m fine with it.
-Last night the Leafs choked away a three-goal lead in the third to lose to Boston in overtime, establishing a new playoff record for failure. It has been a funny series to watch, as the Bruins have not looked good while the Leafs primary problem seemed to be between the pipes. Given how much talent Toronto has donated to Boston over the years it makes you wonder how different things would be if there was better management in Leafland.
This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)
eyeonthesens 