It was nearly picture perfect: the New Jersey Devils have a 4-3 lead heading into the final one hundred seconds of play last night, much to the delight of their screaming, finger-crossing hometown fans. They are about to knock off March and April’s hottest team, the Carolina Hurricanes even if it did take them 7 games. And then the unthinkable: Jussi Jokinen fires a cross-ice feed past Martin Brodeur to tie things up with 1:20 to go. At this point, overtime seems like a likely scenario, and the grumbling East Rutherford fans shift around in their seats, pondering another trip back to the snack bar. But with just over 30 seconds left, Eric Staal has other plans. Streaking down the right wing, Staal slings a laser wrist shot under the outstretched blocker of Brodeur, sealing the fate of the shell-shocked Devils and their fans.

What a jaw-drop-inducing ending to the first round! Let’s take a gander at our pool standings. eazoulay has a 3 point edge on jkourie at the end of round one, thanks largely to bonus points accumulated by picking the correct number of games for the ‘Canes and Pens’ victories. The 5 point loss that may have felt like a minor sting for the majority of you that took the Sharks in the first round, will probably worsen as the playoffs wear on, as 82% have the Sharks winning round 2, and the notorious choker, Joe Thornton, was picked by 51% of contestants. And finally, let’s give some props to the only person who picked all 8 series’ winners correctly – me! Now if only if only my crystal ball could tell me the correct number of games every once and a while… Enjoy a potentially lengthy round two hockey fans!

(1) Boston Bruins vs. (6) Carolina Hurricanes [Season Series: 4-0 Bruins]
The Bruins, on significant rest after sweeping the Habs will resume play against the comeback kid ‘Canes. Will Eric Staal and company once again find a way to get to one of the game’s best goaltenders?

(2) Washington Capitals vs. (4) Pittsburgh Penguins [Season Series: 3-1 Capitals]
We’ll see how this Simeon Varlamov character handles legitimate offensive threats courtesy of the Pittsburgh Penguins, as opposed to facing Sean Avery and Nik Antropov, who, by comparison, I would consider minor inconveniences. In Gary Bettman’s dream matchup of marketable young superstars, who’s star will shine brightest?

(2) Detroit Red Wings vs. (8) Anaheim Ducks [Season Series: 3-1 Red Wings]
The 2008-09 Anaheim Ducks have the most difficult road to the Cup that I can recall. After having ousted the regular season leading San Jose Sharks in 6 games, they now get to play the defending champs. The Detroit Red Wings showed the Blue Jackets that they have every intention of repeating. But is there a better line out there than Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, and Bobby Ryan?

(3) Vancouver Canucks vs. (4) Chicago Blackhawks [Season Series: 2-2 tie]
When the Blackhawks head to Vancouver for tomorrow night’s first second round game, they will face a Canucks’ squad who hasn’t played a game in nine days. Will the Canucks come out flat, relying on Roberto Luongo to try to steal game one?

It has taken me some time to put this together, but I was finally able to run some queries to tally up stats for the hockey pool. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions as to the good, bad and ugly from these numbers as of today.

Note the Round 2 stats add to 200% because there are two, Round 2 matches and two, Round 2 winners per entry. You can read it as, for example, 51 entries (82.3%) picked the Boston Bruins to win a Round 2 series.

All players picked 5 or more times are shown. Only 46 unique players were selected across all 62 entries.

And so last night brought us our first elimination, as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the St. Louis Blues in overtime. While the vast majority of you had selected the Canucks as the series’ winners, only megameg and TeamDahlgren snapped up bonus points for calling the sweep. Props to you two, as Roberto Luongo proved to be more than prepared for everything the Blues shelled out. The Canucks will get that long, and sometimes not so beneficial, rest before the second round, which will allow integral players like Mats Sundin and Sami Salo to recover from minor injuries.

Cellorocks, who has the Philadelphia Flyers as Stanley Cup champions, must have been cringing last night as he watched the Penguins/Flyers tilt. The Flyers dominated puck possession, shots, and scoring opportunities, but not the score sheet. Marc-Andre Fleury stood on his head, stopping 45 of 46 shots in the victory, to give the Penguins from Pittsburgh a 3-1 series lead.

A usually calm and collected Martin Brodeur was seen repeatedly smashing his stick in frustration at the conclusion of last night’s game in Raleigh, North Carolina. That’s because moments earlier Carolina Hurricanes’ Jussi Jokinen skated into Brodeur, after which the left winger immediately proceeded to tip in the go-ahead goal with 0.2 seconds remaining in the game. Controversial? Yes. Does this get me and 29 other people in the pool closer to 5 points for a ‘Canes series’ win? Sure does, suckers!

The San Jose Sharks were finally able to get to Anaheim Ducks’ goaltender Jonas Hiller last night, and I could almost hear the nearly universal sigh of relief from the 94% of you that took the Sharks to win the series. A seven game series could be brewing here, while a sweep awaits the Canadiens in Montreal this evening at the hands of the Boston Bruins. So much for the fairy-tale ending to the Canadiens’ 100th season. Serves the Habs faithful right for picking with their heart instead of their head. Take that arseneau, jballin, and datsyukkk13!

The Detroit Red Wings will also have an opportunity to get the brooms out tomorrow night when they’ll try to sweep the Columbus Blue Jackets from their first ever post-season appearance. Two more evenly matched series’ take place tonight as the Calgary Flames try to even up a 2-1 series with the Chicago Blackhawks, while the Washington Capitals try to do the same in New York against the Rangers. We currently have a 5 team tie atop the leader board, but look for that to change over the next few days as points for eliminations will swing the standings. Best of luck fellow poolies!

The first night of NHL playoff action in 2009 was not without its share of surprises. The recently struggling New Jersey Devils absolutely shutting down a now formerly hot Eric Staal and the rest of the Carolina Hurricanes’ offense, and New York Rangers’ deadline acquisition Nik Antropov playing the role of star in a game that featured names like Ovechkin and Lundqvist. I even caught Sean Avery giving Jose-Swiss-Cheese-Theodore a sharp cross-check after a whistle, though Avery kicking a guy when he’s down should hardly surprise me.

So, let’s take a gander at how your picks faired last night. An overwhelming majority took the Capitals to beat the Rangers, and if you’re in that boat, Theodore is reason enough to be worried. He could get the hook with another poor outing. Apparently Floyd, megameg, leaffaninbell, Tcgpay, hotstreak, and cmancuso don’t fear Alexander Ovechkin quite as much as the rest of us do, taking the Rangers to win the series.

After watching a period of the Devils/Canes game yesterday, a sickly feeling came over me. How could I, and many of you, have bet against that annoyingly effective, defensive system, backed by the best goalie ever to play the game?!? If game 1 was any indication of how this series will play out, well, dodge23 (who picked the ‘Canes to win the Stanley Cup) is likely feeling less spectacular than myself right about now. Bold, bold pick dodge23… Do note that I said bold and not wise – defending that pick will be a steep uphill battle!

While some contestants have yet to see their scorers play a game, like andrewg and datsyukkk13 who loaded up with Red Wings, one of our co-leaders, arseneau, reaped early benefits from players like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin as the Pittsburgh Penguins roughed up Martin Biron. Woody, our other co-leader, scraped together some points from the Sedin duo as the Vancouver Canucks took a close game 1 from the St. Louis Blues.

The other four series’ are scheduled for this evening, and if you’re overwhelmed with all of the options, my advice would be to wait until 10:30 pm tonight to watch the battle of California between the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Ducks (cough-upset-cough). Good luck competitors and enjoy the playoff hockey!

The NHL Playoffs are finally here! I’ve profiled all eight first round series’ with statistical information and some thoughts to ponder, which may have you altering your brackets. But don’t kid yourself – there are some very tight match-ups, and certain teams that appear to be locks for the second round may have you scratching your head a couple weeks from now. Good luck poolies!

Lots to ponder predicting the opening round of the playoffs, all of which could go right out the window after the puck drops.

(1) Boston Bruins vs. (8) Montreal Canadiens

Season series: 5-1 Bruins
Bruins last 20 games: 11-7-2
Canadiens last 20 games: 8-8-4

Which Carey Price will show up?

(2) Washington Capitals vs. (7) New York Rangers

Season series: 3-1 Capitals
Capitals last 20 games: 11-6-3
Rangers last 20 games: 12-7-1

Can Alexander Ovechkin get the Caps past the first round this year?

(3) New Jersey Devils vs. (6) Carolina Hurricanes

Season series: 3-1 Hurricanes
Devils last 20 games: 11-8-1
Hurricanes last 20 games: 14-4-2

Can the ‘Canes turn their late-season momentum into another Cup run?

(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) Philadelphia Flyers

Season series: 4-2 Penguins
Penguins last 20 games: 15-2-3
Flyers last 20 games: 10-9-1

Will Mike Richards be able to shutdown Crosby and Malkin?

Western Conference

(1) San Jose Sharks vs. (8) Anaheim Ducks

Season series: 4-2 Sharks
Sharks last 20 games: 11-7-2
Ducks last 20 games: 12-6-2

Will the Sharks finally be able to turn season success into a finals appearance?

(2) Detroit Red Wings vs. (7) Columbus Blue Jackets

Season series: 3-3 tie
Red Wings last 20 games: 10-8-2
Blue Jackets last 20 games: 10-6-4

How will rookie Steve Mason handle the pressures of facing the defending champs in round one?

(3) Vancouver Canucks vs. (6) St. Louis Blues

Season series: 2-2 tie
Canucks last 20 games: 13-5-2
Blues last 20 games: 13-5-2

Will Roberto Luongo put an end to David Backes‘ recent scoring surge?

(4) Chicago Blackhawks vs. (5) Calgary Flames

Season series: 4-0 Blackhawks
Blackhawks last 20 games: 10-7-3
Flames last 20 games: 9-11-0

How will the Blackhawks’ young guns match up against the Flames’ seasoned vets?

Our NHL playoff pool is open for registration this week, so conditions seemed all too ideal for me to start discussing young forwards with breakout potential. An important stat to consider when drafting for any fantasy sports league, is how well players produced over the final stretch of the previous season. Many young players struggle through the start of an NHL season or two, as they acclimate themselves to the superior level of play. But it is how they finish a season that often determines how well they will perform the following year. Everyone knows about the Crosbys and Ovechkins who have done well in the second half, so let’s take a look at some of the lesser-known youngsters who produced in the last month, who should take their offensive strides into next season.

David Backes
Last 17 games: 13G-7A-20P, +4, 22 PIM
2008-09 has been a breakout year for the developing power forward, as he’s learned to use his size down low to finish passes in tight, and clean up his teammates’ rebounds. A 40G-30A-70P campaign next season is definitely attainable, and his fantasy value is higher in pools that value penalty minutes, as he’s accumulated 163 this season.

Alex Burrows
Last 25 games: 15G-11A-26P, +20, 66 PIM
Another emerging scorer fitting the prototypical power forward mould, Burrows has done it all for the Vancouver Canucks in the second half, posting solid stats across the board.

David Booth
Last 15 games: 7G-9A-16P, 5 PPG
Nearly impossible to knock off the puck, David Booth is one of several young offensive threats developed by the Florida Panthers. He could flirt with 70 points next season.

Sam Gagner
Last 18 games: 10G-11A-21P, +3
He’s embarrassed even Roberto Luongo with his sensational dekes and head fakes during shootouts, but more importantly, finally looks to be putting together a solid all-around game. Gagner may have the softest hands in the NHL.

Ryan Kesler
Last 31 games: 16G-17A-33P, +4, 23 PIM
The Canucks were fortunate enough to receive breakout seasons from a pair of forwards this year, which cushions the blow of the Sedin twins likely leaving this offseason. Kesler has a knack for lighting the lamp, and could find the net 40 times next year.

Kyle Okposo
Last 12 games: 6G-9A-15P, +2, 3 PPG
A large piece of the rebuilding puzzle in Long Island, Okposo has been relied upon as a first liner all season. He should gel nicely with John Tavares if the Isles can snag him.

Mikhail Grabovski
Last 13 games: 7G-9A-16P, 20 PIM
Undisciplined at times (especially when playing against the Habs – 54 PIMs in 6 games this season), Grabovski has shown some incredible talent with the Blue and White.

Claude Giroux
Last 13 games: 3G-10A-13P, +4
A future Lady Byng candidate, Giroux will put up more than adequate numbers in all offensive categories not named PIMs next season. The sky’s the limit in 2009-10.

Brooks Laich
Last 19 games: 6G-11A-17P, +5
Just as Gretzky and Lemieux made point producers out of average players, Brooks Laich’s career year has been the result of playing on a line with Alexander Ovechkin. As in all fantasy sports, an ugly win is still a win.

So who do you think is the most likely to bust out in 2009-10? I like Giroux, as he’s going to go late in most drafts having played only half a season. Initially he slipped down the NHL draft ranks for being somewhat smallish in stature, but his play the last couple years in the OHL, AHL, and World Juniors has been anything but small. With so many first round draft picks developing ideally over the past few years, Holmgren will have his hands full keeping all this talent in Philly. Fortunately, as a GM in sports, an over-abundance of talent is the best problem you can have.

Not especially related, but a must-see nonetheless is Edmonton Oilers’ prospect Linus Omark, perhaps a future breakout sniper, scored a sensationally creative shootout goal in an exhibition game last week. Check it out.