What Did We Learn From the First Round?

We learnt what eight teams advanced to the second round of the playoffs after a very interesting and at times very exciting first round. There weren't really many surprises, as there were no major upsets and the favourites to win the cup were still in contention. The top 2 teams from each division, with the exception of the Leafs and the Wild advanced to the next round. The Leafs only had 5 points more than the Lightning during the regular season, while the Wild only had a slim 4 point lead over the Blues, so the results from those series shouldn't come as a shock. 

For the most part, I watched all the games involving the Canadian teams and I either watched the other games simultaneously on an alternative device (laptop) or switched channels between the games. I probably watched the least of the Florida/Washington series, while the rest of the series's I watched in spurts depending on the score, but there so many one-sided games (more on that later) it was tough to keep my interest.

First round takeaways:

• Bracket failure: I was a sad 50% for my predictions for the first round, as I lost 3 of the 5 series's that went to seven games, which didn't help. The Wild was disappointing and I blame choosing with my heart, instead of head because deep down I thought the Blues would win, but I was cheering for Fleury for the Wild who proved to be futile. He didn't even finish the series in goal. The blow is softened slightly for the Wild since they owe the Blackhawks a second, instead of first round pick for the Fleury trade. I was also had a hunch the Kings could upset the Oilers, but they came, oh so close.
  
• Blow-outs: The story early in the playoffs was the amount of one-sided blowout wins. Scores such as, 7-2, 7-3, 6-2, 5-1, 6-0, 8-2...you get the idea and it just wasn't one team in a series, there was blowout games by both teams. A sample from the Boston/Carolina series: 5-1 C win, 5-2 C, 4-2 B, 5-2 B, 5-1 C, 5-2 B...then OT for game 7. The scores were closer towards the end the rounds, but I heard somewhere that the games in this round had the highest goal differential in a long while.
• Game 7's: Five of the series went to 7 games! I don't have the stats handy, but I would think this is higher than usual. This made up for all the one-sided games, as all the game 7's ended in one goal victories. The excitement hit it's peak when both the final two games last night (Dallas/Calgary, New York/Pittsburgh) needed overtime to decide a winner. 

• Sweep: The only 4-game sweep of the first round was the Colorado vs Nashville series. Game two went to overtime, but otherwise the Avs didn't have to expel too much energy to dispose of the Preds. The Preds used their 3rd string goalie for most of the series with rookie, Connor Ingram and he almost pulled a miracle in game 2 facing 51 shots, but still lost. To try to even it up, the Avs used their backup too, after Kuemper got injured, but he should be back next round.
• Worst series: From a pure spectator standpoint the Blues/Wild series was a big letdown. Every game the margin of victory was 3 or 4 goals, there was no drama or tight close games. Weird series, the Blues dominated the first two (in Minnesota), then the Wild won the next two by wide margins, then they get blown out for the final two games. I thought this would be a much better series, not worth watching. Runner-up: Tie- a). Colorado/Nashville, the Avalanche completely over-matched the Predators, the close game really wasn't close, as Ingram kept the score close. Otherwise, boring...!! b). The Carolina/Boston series, the home team won every game by a lot of goals, though game 7 was close.
• Best series: Without question, the Calgary Flames vs Dallas Stars was very exciting! Every game was close and the goaltending on both teams was exceptional. The first two games were low scoring shutouts, but the lack of goals didn't make it less watchable since most of the fights took place during those games. Game 7 may have been the best game of the first round, with overtime and Stars goalie, Jake Oettinger making 64 saves in the loss. Interestingly, the Flames outscored the Stars 15-14 in the series, so close. Runner-up: The Rangers/Penguins and Oilers/Kings series had their moments, some great games and performances, The Leafs/Lightning series was the showdown of the reigning cup champs vs the underachieving, aspiring cup contenders the Leafs...was this the year? No, the Leafs lost in the first round, again! The Leafs have now lost in the decisive game of a first-round series five years in a row!

• Best player: The first round Conn Smythe winner, Jake Oettinger! He was the prime reason the Dallas Stars were even competitive against the much better Flames. The Stars (the team and their best players) didn't provide any offensive and were soundly out-shot every game, but Otter was outstanding with his cool, calm demeanor, he gave them a chance in every game. Think of it, they were one shot from advancing to the next round, it would have been a huge upset. 

Up next: Picks for round two!

Closer Than They Appear: Hawks Still Lose

It wasn't the start the Blackhawks wanted, as they game up a goal 22 seconds into the game and that was followed by another goal six minutes later to give the Calgary Flames the early lead. The Hawks responded less than a minute later, but the Flames added one more before the end of the first period. Mid-way through the game, the Hawks were being out-shot by the Flames 24-8, if it wasn't for a solid effort from Kevin Lankinen, this game could have got out of hand quickly. The Hawks scored the only goal in the second period to make it 3-2. The Hawks hung in with the Flames and carried much of the play in the third, but couldn't tie, with Calgary adding two empty net goals to end the threat. All in all, despite a slow start, the Blackhawks kept up with one of the league's elite teams and it was actually closer than the score indicated.

Takeaways:

• Goals: Tyler Johnson scored only his second goal of the season after a hard fore-checking shift with linemates, Jonathan Toews and Dominik Kubalik. They were the Hawks most effective line. The other goal was scored by Alec Regula who scored his first career NHL goal on a wrist shot from the point. Clearly, the weakest goal of the game given up by Jacob Markstrom, a candidate this season for the Vezina.

• Injuries: It didn't look good for MacKenzie Entwistle when he left in the first period with a suspected shoulder injury. He took a solid check and immediately left the ice holding his shoulder and didn't return. I would guess he's done for the season. Jonathan Toews left the game momentarily when he took a high stick above his mouth, no penalty on the play, but he did return.
• (Lack of) Communication: Johnny Gaudreau is having a career season and he played a great game, but one of his two could have been prevented. As Gaudreau was "circling the wagons" in the Hawks zone, Hawks forward, Taylor Raddysh skated away from Johnny to allow him a clear path to the goal.. On the replay, it was clear there was a lack of communication on the ice from the defenders, but it looked bad. Gaudreau's second goal was a garbage empty netter.

"You got him, no, you got him", Raddysh (#11) loses his man.

• Young Eddie: During the broadcast, Eddie Olczyk shared a photo from 1984, three weeks before he was a member of the U.S. Olympic hockey team, dropping a ceremonial puck. Facing off was Philadelphia Flyer, Bobby Clarke (who Eddie said was his favorite player) and Hawks captain (and Calgary head coach), Darryl Sutter. That summer, Olczyk was drafted by the Hawks and became teammates with Sutter. Eddie said he showed Sutter the photo before the game and got him to sign it. Oh, those fond memories!

Up next: Hawks are on the road for one more trip to the desert to play the Coyotes on Wednesday at 9:00 pm. Come on, they can't lose to them again!!