And now we have two...unlikely teams in the East. The West was a little for expected.
Not since way back in '93 have the Habs (I should call then, "The Halaks") advanced so far. Now they've got back to back game seven wins, on the road, no less.
Can this continue. Hot goalies, even of the unexpected source, can carry you a long way.
Winning two series has come with a bit of a cost. Andre Markov got hurt in the Pens series and could be gone for the rest of the postseason. Also Hal Gill, who blocked many a shot, has been stitched up after all that rubber to his back leg. How well he plays in any one's guess. Ditto for Spacek, who has missed more than a few games. Subban has certainly picked up the slack, though.
But the real story here is Halak. Here's his story:
Czeck born and all of just-turned 25 years, he has been the story of the playoffs. No, he's not Ken Dryden (6 games played prior to an amazing playoff run in '71). Nor is he Roy (just one full season plus 20 minutes in a game the previous season, prior to going on a run in '86).
But, boy, has this guy been good! Let me throw you a few stats of his...
14 games played
8 wins
6 losses
464 shots against (An average of 33 shots against per game)
430 saves
2.63 goals against average
.927 save percentage
Probably more impressive is his performance in the clutch. Five difference times he has faced a do-or-die game situation. Down 3-1 to Washington and 3-2 against Pittsburgh. Here's what he has done in those five games:
5 Wins
0 Losses
210 shots against (That's an average of 42 shots against in important situations)
202 saves
1.60 goals against average
.962 save percentage
Now that's grand!
The Canadians have used the system of (team) shot blocking and clear the man in front. Although, I have felt that neither the Caps nor the Penguins got enough bodies in front of Halak. Still they got some timely scoring!
Providing that is Mike Camalerri. 12 goals and 18 points in 15 games. So many of those tallies have been important. Plus you have Brian Gionta with 7 goals. Now, other than that, their offence has not much this spring.
But with Halak...do they need it? I think against the Flyers, they will.
As for the Flyers, their path to the semi-finals has been nothing less remarkable than Montreal. And they, too have paid a price for their advance.
They've needed two goalies. First Brian Boucher, who was red hot. He got Philadelphia past the Devils and then got hurt helping Philly past the Bruins, after being down 3-0. He won game 4 in OT, no less, then had to be replaced by Micheal Leighton, who continued the shutout in game 5 and then proceeded to capture game six and seven. Game seven was also won on the road.
Leighton is more like Ken Dryden than Halak, he's played just 103 games since joining the NHL back in 2002/03. This is his first ever postseason at the NHL level. Lifetime, his regular season record is 34 wins, 40 losses and 20 ties/OT and SO losses. He was third on the Flyers this year in games played among goalies.
But with Ray Emery and now Boucher out for the rest of the season, Micheal has found his calling and stepped into the spotlight admirably. His numbers, including game one of this series against Montreal:
4 games played (one in relief)
3 wins
0 losses
1.12 goals against average
.959 save percentage
Very impressive. Can this continue? Maybe a better question is can all this magic by the Flyers continue?
Philadelphia's two centers, Danny Briere (8 goals) and Mike Richards each have 17 points in 13 games. Claude Giroux is averaging a point a game (13 points in 13 games). Chris Pronger has another gold medal earlier this year, another conference finals in the spring, and is getting it done at both ends (11 points in 13 games).
What about injuries? Lapierrier has been out since the New Jersey series, as has Brad Richards. There is a chance that both could return, but it will not be until later this series, at the earliest. Simon Gagne returned in the Bruins series, and has a point all five games since returning. He also has 5 goals in that stretch. So he's back near 100%
The deciding factor could be if the Flyers get done what the Caps and Pens didn't: getting bodies in front of the net. No matter how good the goalie is, if he can't see it, he can't stop it. I watched game one of this series (A 6-0 Philly win) and the Flyers did exactly that. They've got a team to do just that for seven games if needs be.
Prediction: Philadelphia in six games
References
"Official Site Of The National Hockey League." NHL.com. The National Hockey League, n.d. Web. 22 May. 2010. <http://www.nhl.com/>.
Sports Reference LLC. Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 22 May. 2010.
Not since way back in '93 have the Habs (I should call then, "The Halaks") advanced so far. Now they've got back to back game seven wins, on the road, no less.
Can this continue. Hot goalies, even of the unexpected source, can carry you a long way.
Winning two series has come with a bit of a cost. Andre Markov got hurt in the Pens series and could be gone for the rest of the postseason. Also Hal Gill, who blocked many a shot, has been stitched up after all that rubber to his back leg. How well he plays in any one's guess. Ditto for Spacek, who has missed more than a few games. Subban has certainly picked up the slack, though.
But the real story here is Halak. Here's his story:
Czeck born and all of just-turned 25 years, he has been the story of the playoffs. No, he's not Ken Dryden (6 games played prior to an amazing playoff run in '71). Nor is he Roy (just one full season plus 20 minutes in a game the previous season, prior to going on a run in '86).
But, boy, has this guy been good! Let me throw you a few stats of his...
14 games played
8 wins
6 losses
464 shots against (An average of 33 shots against per game)
430 saves
2.63 goals against average
.927 save percentage
Probably more impressive is his performance in the clutch. Five difference times he has faced a do-or-die game situation. Down 3-1 to Washington and 3-2 against Pittsburgh. Here's what he has done in those five games:
5 Wins
0 Losses
210 shots against (That's an average of 42 shots against in important situations)
202 saves
1.60 goals against average
.962 save percentage
Now that's grand!
The Canadians have used the system of (team) shot blocking and clear the man in front. Although, I have felt that neither the Caps nor the Penguins got enough bodies in front of Halak. Still they got some timely scoring!
Providing that is Mike Camalerri. 12 goals and 18 points in 15 games. So many of those tallies have been important. Plus you have Brian Gionta with 7 goals. Now, other than that, their offence has not much this spring.
But with Halak...do they need it? I think against the Flyers, they will.
As for the Flyers, their path to the semi-finals has been nothing less remarkable than Montreal. And they, too have paid a price for their advance.
They've needed two goalies. First Brian Boucher, who was red hot. He got Philadelphia past the Devils and then got hurt helping Philly past the Bruins, after being down 3-0. He won game 4 in OT, no less, then had to be replaced by Micheal Leighton, who continued the shutout in game 5 and then proceeded to capture game six and seven. Game seven was also won on the road.
Leighton is more like Ken Dryden than Halak, he's played just 103 games since joining the NHL back in 2002/03. This is his first ever postseason at the NHL level. Lifetime, his regular season record is 34 wins, 40 losses and 20 ties/OT and SO losses. He was third on the Flyers this year in games played among goalies.
But with Ray Emery and now Boucher out for the rest of the season, Micheal has found his calling and stepped into the spotlight admirably. His numbers, including game one of this series against Montreal:
4 games played (one in relief)
3 wins
0 losses
1.12 goals against average
.959 save percentage
Very impressive. Can this continue? Maybe a better question is can all this magic by the Flyers continue?
Philadelphia's two centers, Danny Briere (8 goals) and Mike Richards each have 17 points in 13 games. Claude Giroux is averaging a point a game (13 points in 13 games). Chris Pronger has another gold medal earlier this year, another conference finals in the spring, and is getting it done at both ends (11 points in 13 games).
What about injuries? Lapierrier has been out since the New Jersey series, as has Brad Richards. There is a chance that both could return, but it will not be until later this series, at the earliest. Simon Gagne returned in the Bruins series, and has a point all five games since returning. He also has 5 goals in that stretch. So he's back near 100%
The deciding factor could be if the Flyers get done what the Caps and Pens didn't: getting bodies in front of the net. No matter how good the goalie is, if he can't see it, he can't stop it. I watched game one of this series (A 6-0 Philly win) and the Flyers did exactly that. They've got a team to do just that for seven games if needs be.
Prediction: Philadelphia in six games
References
"Official Site Of The National Hockey League." NHL.com. The National Hockey League, n.d. Web. 22 May. 2010. <http://www.nhl.com/>.
Sports Reference LLC. Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 22 May. 2010.
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