Blackhawks prevail

I, like many international hockey enthusiasts was plugged in and listening to the Chicago Blackhawks win a well deserved Stanley Cup. On paper, the Blackhawks are a great team. On the ice, they were unstoppable.

The result of the Stanley Cup finals was hardly a foregone conclusion when the two teams were decided. Philadelphia were worthy opponents. The way they dismissed the New Jersey Devils in the first round was an emphatic statement. Coming back from a 3-0 deficit against Boston was sublime brilliance.

In the west, Chicago were making waves of their own. In none of the series the Blackhawks played did they ever look troubled. Their stiffest test was sure to come in the West Finals against San Jose. Four straight wins later Chicago were becoming the red hot favourites.

Philadelphia were a tough test and no one can deny they were well-coached and passionate about their quest. Stars like Daniel Briere came to the fore and had sensational series. Ville Leno was perhaps their most effective player (not bad for a rookie). Ultimately, Philly couldn’t match it in net. While Niemi was solid in net for Chicago, Leighton was inconsistent and shaky. As Niemi made the big save, Leighton let an easy on slip through. Still, Leighton was greatat times, as the latter part of the series against Boston proved.

I suspect the Blackhawk’s young stars are committed to hoisting the silverware this time next year. They have the talent no doubt. Backing up is a tough thing to do; just ask Pittsburgh.

The Fabric of the Hockey Universe is Warped

The Czech Republic lose to Norway in the IIHF World Championship ice hockey tournament. Canada loses to Switzerland; and now the NHL team that scraped into the playoffs at the last post (Montreal) defeats the reigning champions. Something is seriously amiss in the hockey universe.

Credit must go to Montreal – in both playoff series they were up against vastly superior teams if talent and the season’s performances were taken into account. In both series, they defeated their foe in game 7 in the other teams building by coming back from 3-1 series deificts.

They will face either the Boston Bruins or the battling Philadelphia Flyers in the conference finals. That series teeters on a 3-3 knife edge with Philadelphia verging on a hockey miracle of their own – coming back from a 0-3 series deficit.

Whatever weird stuff happens in the east, the west is shaping up to be a battle for the ages. The two top teams square off in what will be a crucial series for both Chicago and San Jose. Both have been building for sometime – Chicago made it this far last year. San Jose have looked promising for the past 10 years but have repeatedly failed to deliver. This will be a big series. Both sides are stacked with stars including a number of Olympic finalists.

The difference could well be the strength of the goaltending. Can Evgeni Nabokov finally achieve glory with the team he has failed with for several years? It’s hard to tell. I do know, without the benefit of a crystal ball is that the young guns on Chicago will be firing. The question for them is will they get support from the veterans like Marian Hossa? One thing is for sure – we wait knowing anything can happen, as this playoff year has shown emphatically.

NHL views: Washed up Capitals

I must be honest, I really thought the Washington Capitals were the real deal this year. About two weeks ago, there was good reason for thinking this. They were the NHL’s top team, they boast a list of scorers including the flamboyant and insanely talented Alexander Ovechkin. The team finished the regular season on 54 wins and 121 points. Only five Capitals home games resulted losses. In the space of seven first-round playoff games with the Montreal Canadiens, Washington suffered three losses at home – 60% of the losses they incurred at home over the entire season.

Ovechkin had another stellar year, finishing with a predictable 50 goals despite missing 10 games to injury. Nicklas Backstrom continued his ascent into the top 10 players in the league. Alexander Semin scored 44 goals. The writing was on the wall. Unfortunately, Semin couldn’t register a goal throughout the seven game battle against Montreal. Backstrom and Ovechkin were the only two players to turn up on the score sheets with any regularity.

Top three?

The old adage – that the playoffs are a completely different game to the regular season couldn’t have been confirmed in a more emphatic way than watching the top three Easten Conference teams capitulate in the first-round. Joining Washington in the ‘taking early vacations’ department is New Jersey and Buffalo. All were tossed out of the playoffs after first round losses despite each team winning their respective divisions.

What this does is toss the odds of a Stanley Cup repeat heavily in favour of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Despite a stuttering six game series against the Ottawa Senators, it is fair to say the Pens didn’t really look like losing that series. They are a class act that knows how to win at the right time of the year. Sadly for the Washington Capitals, this lesson in turning up the intensity in the playoffs was a hard one to swallow. Next year guys?

Day of Reckoning for Team Canada

Olympic Ice Hockey – all stars on ice – reaches the business end as the final eight teams square-off today in the quarter-finals.

Canada, arguably the tipsters favourites prior to the Olympics, will have no more second chances. They will face a tenacious and supremely talented Russian outfit that includes Alexander Ovechkin – the NHL’s top scorer since the lockout and Evgeni Malkin, MVP of last year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

Both teams have faltered. Russia tripping over themselves in a 1-2 shootout loss to a spirited Slovak team while Canada managed a 3-5 loss to the US team, despite pounding innumerable shots at American goaltender Ryan Miller.

 Both teams will need to be better in this game. The result could easily come down duelling goaltenders facing a barrage of shots. Make no mistake; both teams will revel in taking the other down. For Canada and Canadians, there is much more at stake than a gold medal. Anything less than gold will be considered national failure. Hockey is an affirmation of Canadianess much like football is synonymous with being English and rugby lies at the heart of every New Zealander. A loss will result in national mourning and an inquisition into what went wrong. 

Still, on paper, the Canadians have a team that should clean up all and sundry. Heading that list is Sidney Crosby, the 23-year old phenom whose battles with Alexander Ovechkin for personal and team supremacy have been the best highlights of the post-lockout NHL. 

In the other games, USA should sweep aside Switzerland, though that result is by no means guaranteed. The Swiss have consistently shown they can mix it with the big boys, especially when they pushed the Canadians all the way to a shootout. They will need the stellar goaltending NHL player Jonas Hiller has delivered throughout the tournament. 

The Czech Republic will need to be more convincing against Finland than they were last night against Latvia. The Czechs are my favourite team and have showed flashes of brilliance, but any patriotic Czech would be a little nervous given their inability to finish in the last two games. 

Sweden – my pick for the gold medal (again) will have their sternest test yet when the Slovakin team shows up with a handful of top snipers. The two Marian’s – Hossa and Gaborik have scored in the tournament but one feels the breakout game for them is coming. Sweden have not conceded a goal in through group play and are stacked with NHL stars and former NHL superstar Peter Forsberg. They don’t appear to have a weakness. This will certainly be a tussle worth witnessing.

 Is today Canada’s darkest day? The success  of this Olympics from a Canadian perspective will come down to a 60 minute battle with the world champion Russians. Hockey just doesn’t get any better than this.