Stanley Cup Game 1 Analysis & Game 2 Preview

I sat in front of my television yesterday, hoping for a big performance from my pick, the Chicago Blackhawks. Apparently, the big performance turned into a meager win for them. I picked up on every play, every goal, every penalty. It seemed like a circus-type of game. The lead kept going back and forth between them and the Flyers. In my perspective, I thought it was a circus and rather sloppy play by both the Blackhawks and the Flyers. Thank god Tomas Kopecky scored the winning goal for the Blackhawks to allow them to take a 1-0 series lead, but in all honesty, it should be a game that should be a Flyers' 1-0 lead. I mean it, they played a better game than the Blackhawks, plus they stayed out of the penalty box the entire game. So, what needs to be improved for Game 2? Well, I'll say a few things for the Chicago Blackhawks. They need to stay out of the penalty box. And that means less hookings and cross-checking, which could cost them if not done properly and instead dangerously. They also need to create more traffic in front of the net. They did not do well in Game 1 in that specific area. Finally, they need Antti Niemi to be strong for them. The five goals he gave up were goals that could have easily been saved by him. I'm done with the Blackhawks. For the Flyers, great job in Game 1. But one little improvement: goaltending. They need to choose their goaltender: Michael Leighton and Brian Boucher. It seems like they'll be sticking with Leighton because he has the better numbers than Boucher this season, but Boucher had a lot of rough games where he was chased, like in Game 1. So who ultimately wins Game 2? Well, guess what, I don't even know this myself. Who knows what Blackhawks team will show up? Will Michael Leighton make an outstanding performance? I don't have a prediction here. We'll have to wait and see what teams show up and who ultimately wins. Game 2 is tomorrow night 5:00 PT on NBC.

Stanley Cup: Game 1 Preview

How about it? It has all come down to this. The Chicago Blackhawks and the Philadelphia Flyers are going to meet in this year's Finals to see who proudly takes home Lord's Stanley Cup. We've been expecting so much out of these two teams for almost the entire season. Although each of them has suffered some setbacks like injuries, suspensions, and so on, both teams have been able to overcome these adversities and finally meet in the Finals. The Chicago Blackhawks arrived after sweeping the San Jose Sharks, while the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Cinderella-team Montreal Canadiens in five games. Game 1 is tomorrow on NBC, and I'll give you a little insight about what we should be. For the Philadelphia Flyers, boy do they look red hot. After coming back from three games down in Round 2 to beat the Boston Bruins, they overwhelmed the Montreal Canadiens. Michael Leighton has proven to be a good backup while Brian Boucher was recovering from an injury. Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Claude Giroux, and Arron Asham has also proven the spark for the Philadelphia Flyers. But since Boucher is coming back, how effective will the Flyers be against a power-hungry Blackhawks team hoping to gain that cup? Let's find out by seeing what the Blackhawks have with them. Well, for one thing, a hot goaltender. Antti Niemi has proven the spark for the Blackhawks in its last few series, effectively shutting down the Predators, Canucks, and Sharks. Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane has provided goals that backed up Niemi's saves. They are really solid on the road this postseason. Their only loss on the road came back in Round 1, Game 3 against Nashville. Other than that, they've been a solid force against anyone in the postseason. Now that we've looked at both teams, let's ask who ultimately wins Game 1? Well, Chicago isn't that good at home, while Philadelphia has been on a tear. Guess what everyone? I think the Blackhawks take Game 1. They know that need to set a tone early in this playoffs so why not win Game 1? It also helps with some confidence from both defense and offense of the Blackhawks. They need some goals to back up the goaltender Niemi. So, that's my pick. Make sure to watch Game 1 tomorrow on NBC. Will the Blackhawks win Game 1? Or will the Flyers steal one on the road?

Chicago Blackhawks - It's a No-Brainer

If you plan to make the long trip to Chicago for a Blackhawks game, you might have to wait until Sunday because Game 3 is already sold out. And I mean sold out in two things. One: The seats and two: The series. Yes, this series has seemed to be sold to the Chicago Blackhawks in many ways. One, they beat the San Jose Sharks twice at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Antti Niemi looks like the goaltender of the future, and Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are making magic for this team. I wouldn't mind hoping a plane to Chicago just to see a fantastic match-up. What are we looking forward to tonight for Game 3 of the series between the Blackhawks and Sharks? Well, I want to get one thing off my back. Sharks no longer hold the cards in the playoffs. Sure, they beat the Colorado Avalanche and the Detroit Red Wings in the first two series, but the conference finals is all the power they have left. Whether it's against any team, particularly the Chicago Blackhawks, their goaltending is more than terrible, it's horrendous. So I wonder how Evgeni Nabokov will rebound after poor performances in Games 1 & 2. I'm assuming it's not going to be taken lightly on both sides. Sharks coach Todd McLellan might be assuring his guys that they're still in it, while Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville is saying that this is their chance to do something miraculous and that's returning to the Stanley Cup Finals. Dustin Byfuglien of the Blackhawks is on a tear and is lighting up the playoff world, thanks to his brilliant performance against the Canucks translated to the series with the Sharks. Antti Niemi is solid in goal. Patrick Kane is being Patrick Kane and scoring a lot of goals. Jonathan Toews is leading this team back into the Finals. Now, for Game 3, not a lot should happen for the Sharks. The Blackhawks decided to translate their road success by staying in a hotel overnight in Chicago, so that their road legs can help them here. This doesn't sound good for Sharks fans and players. If they stay in a hotel overnight, pretty much you're going to be up against the road Blackhawks and not the home Blackhawks. The Blackhawks should pretty much dominate. I don't think the Sharks can handle these Blackhawks. Should be a low-scoring game, but the Blackhawks win. We'll see what happens. Will the Blackhawks stave off the Sharks in Game 3 and hopefully put them in a 3-0 hole? Or will San Jose find a way to win this game? Find out tonight on Versus at 5:00pm and we'll see which series lead (3-0 or 2-1) comes out on top.

How The Flyers Came Back

Before the miracle happened, only two other teams in NHL history completed a surging comeback after being down 3-0 in a Stanley Cup Playoff series. Well, after that miraculous comeback against the Boston Bruins, we can finally put the Philadelphia Flyers as part of those teams. They knew they were not out of it even when the Bruins won the first three games of the series. They powered back and as a result, won them the series and home-ice advantage against the 8th seeded Montreal Canadiens, who come off a series with the Pittsburgh Penguins, in which they knocked out the former Stanley Cup champions. But the real question here is "Is this a lesson for other teams in the playoffs, like the Sharks-Blackhawks series that's set to go on Sunday?" Of course it should be a lesson, not to just those teams, but to everyone in the league for seasons to come. Just because you're leading the series 3-0 doesn't mean they you should just give up and pack it and hopefully win Game 4 because you hope they're tired and think they're out of it. No. That's what the Bruins thought and look what happened to them. They got themselves kicked out of the playoffs. But everyone is at risk of this same fate too. Now I realize that they are only two other teams in the history of the NHL to do this, but this is something that is possible to happen to everyone. I'm glad the Philadelphia Flyers came back and took out the Bruins, because it is one of the rare occasions when you beat a team after being down 3-0. Well, congratulations to the Flyers for being able to overcome a deficit like that and win the series. There is still plenty of hockey left and you have to face the Montreal Canadiens, who are that tough after beating the two top teams in the East, the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins. They will indeed prove a challenge and a 3-0 deficit early for the Flyers might spell disaster, since Montreal's not Boston and they took what the Bruins didn't do and incorporated into themselves. Again, congratulations to the Flyers and the playoffs go on.

Does the new Luongo give life to Vancouver?

On Sunday, Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo took the ice at the United Center in Chicago with his beard completely shaven off and thinking he can take the Canucks to a series win. His path started down that road with a monumental 4-1 win over Chicago that very Sunday night. That means that Vancouver and Chicago will play a Game 6 in Vancouver. Boy does Roberto Luongo feel good about it. But I'm not sure if the beard is really giving hope to this Canucks team, although it sounds like it is.
The way I see it, the Canucks won Game 5 basically out of luck. I didn't feel they really played well, but I could be wrong if they win Game 6. If they do win Game 6, then I would change my mind about how well they're playing. But other big players in the Canucks lineup also contributed to that Game 5 win. Kevin Bieksa had two goals, former Shark Christian Ehrhoff had a goal, and Alex Burrows had a goal that was an empty net goal.
The Vancouver Canucks should not feel good about this win. They obviously still have to win two games against a mighty Blackhawks team that has won all the games in Vancouver in this series. Dustin Byfuglien had a hat trick there as well. So maybe, the BLackhawks do have a little momentum heading their way because it is in Vancouver that they're playing Game 6.
Roberto Luongo will need to be sharp again in net if he plans to send this team to a Game 7 back in Chicago. He will need a lot of help from his defensemen, as well as a lot of offense scoring on Blackhawks rookie goaltender Antti Niemi. It's going to be a tough battle, but this is a game which both teams could possibly win. The Canucks need it to force Game 7, the Blackhawks need it for a date with the Sharks in the Western Conference Finals. Turn in Tuesday at 6:30 PT on Versus for the game. We'll see who gets the win for their team.

Blog about Nils Gilbertson

So as you all know, this is mainly a blog about hockey, which is why it is named Reid's Hockey Insight. Before that, it was Reid's Angels Blog, where I talked about all sports in general as well as posting a few things I did in my Web Design class. Well, you know the Web Design posting has stopped and I found it hard for me to talk about all sports so I switched the Reid's Hockey Insight.

But today, since there is very little news coming out of the NHL, plus two games playing today (Bruins-Flyers and Blackhawks-Canucks) I'm going to blog about a certain friend of mine at my high school.

His name is Nils Gilbertson and he is two of my classes: Creative Writing and Economics. You know, you think you never have anything to say much about a guy you either know or don't know. But I'm going to go off the record and says that there's so much to be said about Nils.

You know, when I first met the kid, I thought he was just ignorant and a guy who I didn't think I could get along with. I thought he was some kind of bully who gives pleasure by threatening younger kids.

I was totally wrong about Nils as the days and high school years progress. We got to know each other, maybe not seen as friends just yet. I felt as though our friendship was slowly building with each small step. Of course, we had other friends we had to care about, which is what probably delayed a solid friendship for some time.

I learned something surprising about Nils when I read one of his twelve-sentence autobiographies in Creative Writing class. When he was younger, he used to have very little friends. He would hang out by himself, walking around school and trying to get a sense of what was going on, something that I do almost all the time now.

I thought to myself and said, "Wow, I never knew this about Nils." It made me realize that Nils was not the man I thought he was. Of course, he has lots of friends and is playing on the baseball now, but long ago, he was not the same guy. I think he was probably more like me (though I'm not sure that much.)

When I think of someone right now, I figured he had started his popularity and athletic status at such a young age. Even though he did manage to jump immediately to athletic skills, the popularity was slowly growing. Now he is a mastermind of both areas, has had a relationship, and is confident in himself to go far.

Nils plans to attend UC Berkeley next year, and I know that is a big step for him. But I wish him the best. We only got a few more weeks together before it's summer and then finally college. Our friendship seems to be solidifying more and more. I hope that our friendship works out for us.

Will Detroit Climb Out of a 3-0 Deficit?

When things don't go well, there always is somebody or something to blame. When Red Wings player Jason Williams shoots a puck over the glass and there's a 2-on-1 the other way, you'd probably blame him. Apparently, that's what got the Detroit Red Wings into a 3-0 hole, heading into Game 4 tonight. It's always tough to get out of a 3-0 deficit and expect to win the series. Only two other historic teams have managed to do that, but can the Red Wings join them? Let's take a look and see what is going wrong with a team that had so much success in the past. We'll start with penalties. They've had too many penalties in the last couple of days, leading to a few power play goals for the Sharks. Second, the defense. It has not helped goaltender Jimmy Howard stop Sharks players from firing the puck at him. Third, the goaltender himself, Jimmy Howard. He let in an easy side goal in Game 3 to tie the game at 3-3 and that was the goal sent into overtime. So does this mean Detroit will come back and be another one of those teams that wins a series with a 3-0 deficit or will it fall short? The answer is no. Jimmy Howard is superb enough to have the Wings climb out of a 3-0 hole, especially when you have a hot San Jose Sharks team fishing for a sweep. Second, the penalties will probably keep adding up, leading to more power play chances and goals for the Sharks. Third, the defense might do better this game but it won't do better for the next four games. And last, the offense is not clicking well enough. Sure, they lead 3-1 in Game 3 but that was Game 3. The other times have been disastrous for the Red Wings. But here's what I don't expect. I don't expect the Sharks to win Game 4, but they will win Game 5. That means Detroit's season will fall after two great seasons as Western Conference champions and there will be a new Western Conference champ coming to the top.

Do the Flyers Have a Chance to Get Back in the Series?

Down in a 2-0 hole is not where every team wants to be. It would be nice for them to get a road win so that they can feel good about themselves. That's where the Philadelphia Flyers want to be. After a give-up goal late into the 3rd period by the Boston Bruins has put them in the 2-0 hole. Now they go back to Philadelphia where they can try to do some damage. It's not going to be tough for the Bruins to put down the Flyers early. The Devils tried to do that, and it ended up in them getting eliminated in five games by the Flyers. I believe that there is a legitimate chance that the Flyers can actually pull it together and win some games at home, but it's going to be tough. They had close games in Boston, so it should be a little easier for the Flyers to try to get those wins. The offense of Philadelphia will need to pull it together and that means more goal production out of players like Mike Richards and Claude Giroux and a healthy Brian Boucher in net. Brian Boucher does seem to lose his focus a little and that results in opposing goals, but I do know head coach Peter Laviolette will not let that happen in Games 3 & 4. Let's see what happens. I don't expect Philadelphia to try to win over Boston, but it'll be nice to see them at least take the series a little farther.

Will the Sharks take the series? Or will Detroit come back?

Some great teams are meant to have big success over the years. Other teams lose their luster over time. It seems like the San Jose Sharks are writing the history pages in trying to prove the predictors wrong about picking Detroit to beat them. But they can't quit yet. They did win their first two games of the series against the Red Wings, but don't forget. The next two games will be in Detroit, the ice surface which Detroit has had very good success on. They also have a very loyal fanbase, and it revs up the Red Wing players. So with all the pressure mounting on San Jose to get it done, will they actually do it or will Detroit prove a tougher test for them in the coming games? Well, first of all, the first two games they've played have all been decided by one goal, both results being a 4-3 Sharks victory. Second, Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard is a solid goaltender and he can lead this team back. So there is a legitimate chance that the Red Wings will force a Game 5 in San Jose and possibly a Game 6 back on their ice. They know they can't rest. The playoff force for the Sharks, that being Joe Pavelski, has already beaten Jimmy Howard three times, and my guess is that he won't stop there. Jimmy Howard will need to up his game, if he's going to stop Pavelski, or any other Shark for that matter. Also, more Red Wings players, like Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, will need to fire the puck more at Nabokov. The offense has been lacking slightly as well as the defensive game, which has not helped Jimmy Howard at times. So that's that. We'll see what happens. Will Detroit actually come back into the series? Or will San Jose shut them out for good? Only time will tell.