Playoff update

My distaste for the Bruins is not a secret. That being said, their potential elimination of the Buffalo Sabres makes for a deliciously juicy Eastern Conference playoff picture. The NHL does not subscribe to a bracket style playoff system, so after the first round the highest remaining seed plays the lowest remaining seed, and the two middle seeds battle it out. Had the seeds held, the Capitals would once again be facing off against the Penguins in round two. With both Boston and the Philadelphia Flyers on the verge of upsetting their higher-seeded opponents, Washington and Pittsburgh look to be the top remaining teams in round two. That sets up the potential of a Caps v Pens eastern conference finals, which is what everyone wants to see anyway.

Wrapping up Wednesday night's action, the Caps won going away and the Canadiens goalie was not happy about it. Hey Carey, don't want to see the other team celebrate in front of you? How about making a fucking save? The Bruins won in double overtime. They actually scored THREE goals in this game. Of course, it took them nearly a half a game longer to reach that lofty total so let's go ahead and call that an average offensive night. The most exciting game of the night was Vancouver's 6-4 win in Los Angeles. This game saw 5 goals scored in the third period, or as many as the Bruins and Sabres scored total in almost 5 periods of play.

Caps win!

I'd love to give you some details about the game, but between Ike Davis debuting for the Mets and the fact that Versus showed the Bruins game instead, I don't have a clue. That's right, even though the game was locally available on NESN, Versus chose to show the Bruins, a team that hates offensive players over the Capitals. Both teams won, one team scored five goals the other team scored two. Guess which was which? This is like opposite world from baseball, who probably would have blacked the Bruins out on both channels. Anyway, Ovechkin scored, the Caps won and took a 2-1 series lead over the Canadiens.

In other hilariously ironic news, the Toronto Maple Leafs nabbed the second pick in the upcoming NHL entry draft, a pick they sent to Boston in exchange for high scoring winger Phil Kessel. Kessel had the audacity to score 30 goals for the Bruins in the '08-'09 season, signaling the end of his time in Boston. The Bruins will likely take center Tyler Seguin or winger Taylor Hall with the second pick, hoping to spin the talented forward for additional draft picks as soon as he dares to score 30 goals for the team.

John Carlson...winner

Hey, remember back in January when the US team stunned Canada in overtime to win the world junior championships? Turns out there may have been some talent on that American squad, and overtime hero John Carlson just keeps proving his mettle. Since being called up for good on January 15, Carlson recorded a goal and 5 assists while seeing 15 minutes of ice time a night. Add to that his first playoff goal, as he tied a wild affair in Washington at 5 with only 1:21 to go in the third period. Nicklas Backstrom would score 31 seconds into overtime, proving the age old adage that one hat trick (Backstrom's) is better than another (Montreal's Andrei Kostitsyn's) when you have a 20 year old kid from Natick, MA playing defense who only knows how to score heroic goals. At least, I'm pretty sure that's how it goes.

Dog bless the interwebs

You know what the best part of the Internet is? Oh, right, porn. You know what the second best part of the Internet is? People who willingly humiliate themselves in hopes that, I don't know, when people laugh at them in the supermarket there's finally a reason for it? Hey, are those a couple of Red Rockers? Eh, it's probably not worth it.



With Leather via Puck Daddy