State of the Playoffs

The first round of the playoffs are almost over, with three games tonight. Washington will have a chance to stamp their ticket to the second round tonight with a win against Montreal. Chicago and Boston can also wrap up their respective matchups with a win tonight.

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Last night offered a couple of exciting game, as Vancouver finished off LA, after an early scare being down 2 games to 1. Probably more interesting than that, Phoenix managed to pull off a win, and forced a game 7 back in Phoenix against Detroit. That matchup is proving to be the best in the playoffs thus far.

So let's take a little more in depth look at tonight's matchups.

First, we have Washington trying to clinch in Montreal. This game provides a very interesting scenario. Montreal has some crazy fans. And seeing their 8th seeded team in the playoffs still is probably just making them crazier. Unless Washington comes out hard and fast, the crowd will be a big part of the game. And if I'm a Washington, that's probably the last thing I want.
Of course, if Montreal can pull out the win, that may set up an even worse situation for the Capitals.

Next, Chicago looks to send the upstart Predators to the golf course. This is another series that had the high seed down 2 games to 1, and required them to crawl back. But Nashville appears to be coming back down to earth, so Chicago should be able to put the nail in the coffin here. If they don't, it will still be very difficult for Nashville to clinch the series in Chicago.
Still, if David Legwand and Pekka Rinne get hot again...look out.

Finally on tonight's schedule is the surprise game. Boston looks to close out #3 seeded Buffalo at home tonight. Boston has somehow learned how to play offense since the regular season, and has Buffalo on their heels. This will be Boston's best chance to clinch the series, and if they don't close it out tonight, I imagine it will be kind of tough to seal it in Buffalo.
If Buffalo can manage to score a couple goals on the superhuman Tukka Rask, this will be their series with ease.

Of course, even with all these game tonight, there's still Detroit and Phoenix looking for a showdown tomorrow night.

So which game will be the best tonight? I'm really leaning towards the Buffalo-Boston game. In addition to being the only upset in the works, Nashville and Montreal have really been playing much better than they rightly should be, and could hit the wall at any moment. Or their opponents could play a little better and that would help too.

So enjoy some more playoff hockey. You know I will be! Should be ready to go with round 2 Preview Wed or Thursday