Day 11 – Open Playoff Thread

Four games in the line-up tonight and three of them are elimination games. Could be a much thinner playoff crowd by the time tomorrow comes. The Lightning, Rangers and Kings will all be playing for their lives, all down 3-1 in their respective series.

We will probably see at least one team join the Coyotes today on the sidelines.

A little breakdown on last night's games.

Flyers vs Sabres (Series 3-2 Sabres)

Rookie Tyler Ennis is proving himself to be Sabre gold in this series as he put in the OT winner last night. What I wouldn’t give to have this young kid in a Flames jersey. It isn’t just a one-man show either. The entire Sabres team has been outplaying the Veteran Flyers. The uncertainty of the Flyers in net is also revealing itself.

The most ominous thing for the Flyers is not just the fact the Sabres went into Philly and won but the fact Ryan Miller publicly came out said he didn’t give a fuck what anyone said about his play and this is after he shut the Flyers out in the previous game 1-0. If that is how harsh the guy is after a win, imagine how he is after a loss. This guy is deadly serious about his hockey now and in the zone. I don’t think the Flyers are going to make it.

Predators vs Ducks (Series 3-2 Predators)

So many ups and downs in this series and I laughed watching both Versus announcers, Keith Jones and Jeremy Roenick pick Duck players to score in OT. At least Bill Patrick was savvy enough not to pick an OT winner and to merely point out that road teams have been winning most of the games this year in the playoffs.

Guys if you want to play the "who will score the OT winner" game – you better double down and split your picks. One guy takes one team, the other takes another – otherwise you come back for the OT breakdown with egg on both your faces minutes later – lol. 

This series is not one where you should feel overly confident either way. Roenick and Jones both looked shocked and a little put off when Jerred Smithson popped the winner in OT for the Predators not even 2:00 min in. Literally minutes after they both had picked Ducks to put in the OT winner.

Carrie Underwood is not amused Jeremy, show a little more inclination on who has the momentum there with the Preds tying up the game in the final seconds and going into OT on a high note. Not to give Versus a hard time, they have improved by leaps and bounds in the quality of their coverage. 

Now the line-up for today after the jump…

Penguins vs Lightning (Series 3-1 Penguins) 12:00 PM ET VERSUS,CBC (HD),SUN (HD),ROOT (HD)

This series is not going the Bolts way. Steven Stamkos where are you?

The Penguins have proven they have what it takes to take this rejuvenated Yzerman team down. The Bolts have a huge hill to climb and with Marc-Andre Fleury in net I am not liking their chances. They may take this one but they have to take three in a row now against a team that should not be underrated.

Crosby and Malkin get so much press that it is easy to forget about Fleury and Jordan Staal. I think I will end up missing this one in my predictions by overestimating the Bolts.

Capitals vs Rangers (Series 3-1 Capitals) 3:00 PM ET NBC (HD),TSN,RDS (HD)

The most under-reported feature of this series is Marc Staal taking on Alex Ovechkin which he has done very well. This has been a fun series and I was laughing last game in a good way at the Madison Square Garden crowd chanting “Can you hear us” at Bruce Boudreau. A game I wish the Rangers could have pulled out just for the fans because it would have been hilarious to see Bouudreau squirm after calling out the conditions and crowd in Madison Square Garden.

Not to happen though, the Capitals went on to win in OT with a complete brain fart from Marian Gaborik banking the winning goal in off Jason Chimera.

Rangers Fans 'Can You Hear Us?' chant vs. Capitals (via gwyshynski)

Actually if you dig a little deeper and watched the whole game there was a very weak call on Sean Avery that gave the Caps the powerplay and the tieing goal but I digress. It was Sean Avery after all what do you expect from the Refs on him, if he breaks wind they may call him for that. Tough break Ranger fans.

Bruins vs Canadiens (Series tied) 7:00 PM ET RDS,VERSUS,CBC (HD),NESN (HD)

The Road Warrior series; neither team has won a single game at home. If that continues then the Habs win this series. This one is really an interesting contrast to watch. The Bruins are clearly a larger and more physical team vs the smaller but faster Canadiens. Watching Zdeno Chara check P.K. Subban in the boards is like a David and Goliath match-up.

This series may confirm that size really doesn't matter anymore in Montreal. Well I guess all those French Canadian girls mean what they say. 

Sharks vs Kings (Series 3-1 Sharks) 10:30 PM ET TSN,VERSUS,RDS (HD),PRIME (HD),CSN-CA (HD)

This is the other series that it looks like I will miss the mark on. I thought the Kings had a good chance at an upset but it is not looking good for them. Game three where they blew a 4-0 lead at home has got in their head. I did not see any evidence of them rebounding the way they needed to in Game 4 either.

This Kings team is going to be good, they have so many of the pieces in place but they need that Veteran leader up front who can score and Dustin Penner was not it. They are going into their Cup window but they need an extra piece for next year. Another miss for me on this series. The Sharks very well may finish them tonight.

by M Smith