Game 1 roundups

Game 1 roundups

As mentioned on my twitter account I will be doing a brief round up every two days with regards to the previous games played. I will aim to do it when every series has had a set of games played. The first game in all eight match-ups are completed and in the books and there were some big talking points in both conferences.

In terms of personal interest the Penguins v Rangers game was obviously the one that mattered the most to me. The Penguins didn't really appear in the first period and were quickly behind from an early Brassard goal. Fleury was caught out and gave a bad rebound which the Rangers potted. The Rangers would score a power-play goal in the first. Fleury put his shaky start behind him and settled to stop 36 of 38 shots. The Penguins play from the second period was a lot better and they were rewarded with a goal from Blake Comeau. Crosby didn't have his best game but the Penguins struggled to keep the puck out of their zone and if you're not in the oppositions zone then you are not creating chances.

The series between the Canadiens and Senators got off to a flyer with Subban being ejected from the game for a dirty slash on Mark Stone which resulted in a micro-fracture on his wrist. Subban didn't receive any supplemental discipline for the slash which I think is wrong. I believe he should have been suspended for Game 2. In Game 1 the Canadiens scored four goals in the second period to take the game 4-3. 

In the other Eastern Conference match-ups the Washington Capitals flopped on home and limped to a 4-1 loss to the New York Islanders who were led by a two goal night from Brock Nelson. Braden Holtby looked a little shaky, especially on the opening goal and there are rumours that Grubauer will take Game 2 after he was recalled from Hershey in the AHL. Elsewhere Detroit took their chances against the Lightning winning 3-2 despite being out shot 46 to 14. A bright point for the Lightning was a SHG by Boyle and Nesterov's first ever playoff goal, but they'll be expecting to score more on that number of shots.

To the Western Conference now and the Chicago Blackhawks spirited a comeback against the Nashville Predators to win on a Duncan Keith shot in double overtime to take a 1-0 series lead. The Predators took a 3-0 lead in the first and chased Corey Crawford to be replaced by Scott Darling who put in a 42 shut-out performance. At the other end of the ice the Chicago Blackhawks showed what they can do although they were benefited by two of their goals coming on power-plays. 

The Calgary Flames broke Vancouver hearts by taking the first game in the battle of Western Canada with just 30 seconds left. The game was fairly tied with both teams having 30 shots, but a rasping Kris Russell shot late in the third was the difference giving the Flames a huge win. The Anaheim Ducks came back with three unanswered goals with huge games from Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf. Winnipeg will be looking to improve their penalty kill having let in two goals on three opportunities and if they can refrain from taking any needless penalties then they will have a chance of taking a game back to Winnipeg. 

Lastly, the Minnesota Wild defeated the St.Louis Blues 4-2 thanks to the continued performances by Devan Dubnyk who has rejuvinated his game since moving to the Wild and he was a big part of why they qualified for the post-season. St.Louis will be looking for a stronger defensive performance to tie the series before they head to Minnesota.

Game 2 starts tonight with Montreal vs Ottawa and Washington v New York.