The 2010 NHL Eastern Conference playoffs started on Wednesday, April 14th. Three of the best-out-of seven series have already been decided with Philadelphia, Boston, and Pittsburgh advancing on. Game seven of the Washington and Montreal series is scheduled for Wednesday. Here is an update/recap of each series along with the current odds for each team to represent the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals.
#1 Washington Capitals (2-3) vs. #8 Montreal Canadians (40-1)
In probably the most shocking development in recent NHL playoff memory, Montreal has pushed this series to a deciding game seven on Wednesday, April 28th with an incredible 4-1 win in game six. The story of this series has been Canadian goalie Jaroslav Halak. In that pivotal game six he stopped 53 of 54 Capital shots to completely frustrate Alex Ovechkin and the rest of Capital’s high powered offense. So many times before we have seen how an average team can ride a hot goalie deep into playoffs. If Montreal can pull off the upset it would mean the top 3 seeds in the East are done for the season.
#2 New Jersey Devils (NA) vs. #7 Philadelphia Flyers (10-1) Flyers win 4-1
Philadelphia had New Jersey’s number all season long, beating them five out of six times in the regular season. After taking the Devils out in five games they simply continued this domination into the playoffs. They sealed the deal with a convincing 3-0 shutout last Thursday to punch their ticket to the conference semifinals. A major factor in this series was the play of Flyers goalie Brian Boucher. He ended this series with a GAA of 1.59 and a SV% .940 to help Philly pull off the upset over the #2 seed Devils. Boucher actually started his career with the Flyers back in 1999 and played there three seasons before being traded to Phoenix in 2002.
#3 Buffalo Sabres (NA) vs. #6 Boston Bruins (12-1) Bruins win 4-2
Buffalo managed to win game one 2-1, but were on their heels ever since against the resurgent Bruins. Boston went on to win games two, three, and four to create a hole that the #3 seed Sabres could never climb out of. In the deciding game six on Monday night, the Bruins scored on two power plays to take a 2-0 lead midway in the second period and held onto win 4-3. The key to this series was twofold. First, Boston’s rookie goalie Tuukka Rask was able to elevate his game as he ended the series with a GAA of 2.18 and a SV% .927. Second, the Bruins completely dominated special teams play scoring six power-play goals and keeping Buffalo out of the net in all 22 of their power-play opportunities.
#4 Pittsburgh Penguins (2-1) vs. #5 Ottawa Senators (NA) Penguins win 4-2
Pittsburgh is the only team in the East that has followed the script of taking the higher seed out in less than seven games. The Senators stunned them early by winning game one 5-4 on the road, but Sydney Crosby and Co. took control of the situation from there. The Pens went on to win the next three games to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. After a wild 3OT 4-3 loss in game five, they finally ended the series with a 4-3 OT win of their own in game six. Give Ottawa all the credit in the world for hanging in there, but Crosby was just too much of a force to overcome. He ended the series with five goals and nine assists. Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury ended the series with a GAA of 2.75 and a SV% of .890.
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