The second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs did not take very long to complete, although both series produced what, to many observers, were surprising victors. We will break down the concluding games of those matchups and then set up the Eastern Conference Championship Series in this week's report.
Montreal (1) vs Philadelphia (6)
The Flyers took control of this series with the switch to Philadelphia ice for Games 3 and 4. The Habs managed to fall behind by a 2-0 margin in each of the first four games of the series. In Game 3, as reported last week, they managed to eke out a 3-2 win.
Game 4 produced an interesting turn of events, as Montreal's goalie for this key game was
Jaroslav Halak and not
Carey Price. No matter how the game turns out, this was a decision that was open for second-guessing. R. J. Umberger, Philadelphia's top goal-scorer in these playoffs with nine tallies, opened the scoring in the middle of the second period in the closest checking game of the series. The third period produced a complete change of pace as the clubs exchanged four goals to set up a frantic finish.
The top scorers for both teams were involved offensively as the most entertaining period of the series unfolded.
Scott Hartnell and
Daniel Briere tallied for the Flyers, while
Saku Koivu and
Tomas Plekanec replied for the visitors.
Beyond this exchange, however, the true series MVP was emerging, as Flyers goalie
Martin Biron was again in the process of minimizing the impact of another big edge in shots favoring the Canadiens. The underdog Flyers were now up three games to one and headed back to Montreal for Game 5.
Carey Price was back in goal and the club hoped that he used the time off from the last game to refocus and deliver a top effort. He was looking to bounce from top lackluster starts where he gave up seven goals out of his last 35 shots against.
The Habs finally tallied that elusive first goal to set up the stage for what they hoped would be a key win to get them back in the series, as veteran blueliner
Patrice Brisebois fired a slapshot from the point at the 4:29 mark of the first period. A goal by Umberger tied the proceedings briefly. The Habs surged to a 3-1 lead on goals by
Alexei Kovalev and Chris Higgins and things were looking good for them once again.
The Flyers had other ideas, though, and stunned the home crowd with goals by
Mike Richards, Umberger (again) and
Scott Hartnell in less than three minutes late in the second frame.
The Habs would tie the game again early in the third, as Andrei Kostitsyn fired a quick wrist shot from the slot. The teams looked like they were headed to overtime, as both clubs missed a number of great scoring chances during the middle of the third. Then, suddenly
Scottie Upshall redirected a
Jeff Carter shot past a startled Price to gain the edge for Philadelphia once more. An empty net goal by
Mike Knuble finally sealed the deal for a 4-1 series win for the Flyers.
Pittsburgh (2) vs NY Rangers (5)
The Rangers were hopeful that home ice for games 3 and 4 could get them back in this series. The Pens had their own plans to take control.
Early in Game 3, Pittsburgh sent a loud message that they were not going to lose this series, as they scored three first period goals to take control of this pivotal contest. Two goals by
Evgeni Malkin and singles by
Ryan Malone,
Marian Hossa and tough guy
Georges Laraque paced them to what was eventually a 5-3 win. The key element to this win was the work of Pens' goalie Marc-Andre Fluery, who turned back 36 of 39 Rangers shots. Pittsburgh snipers did their damage on only 17 shots at
Henrik Lundqvist.
Lundqvist would redeem himself in Game 4 as he earned a 3-0 shutout win, turning back all 29 shots he faced while
Jaromir Jagr scored two goals in what may turn out to be his final home game as a Ranger.
Game 5 produced the closest contest of this series, as the Penguins were looking to wrap it up while the Rangers harbored dreams of an improbable comeback.
Marian Hossa, the biggest name traded at the trade deadline this season, continued to produce big dividends, as he opened the scoring on a Pittsburgh power play.
Evgeni Malkin, who drew the Rangers ire with two unpenalized slew-foot attacks on the Rangers in Game 3, would open up a two-goal Pittsburgh lead at the end of the second period. To their credit, though, the Rangers had some fight left in them. Little-used Lauri Korpikovski and depth forward
Nigel Dawes would score early in the third to knot things up. The Rangers climbed out of some late-game trouble, as they killed off a double-minor penalty to
Chris Drury. The Pens huge edge in territorial play, underlined by a 40-22 edge in shots, would prove to be too much for the Rangers, though.
Marian Hossa converted the winning goal off a rush by team captain
Sidney Crosby at the 7:10 mark of the first overtime frame to set up the battle of Pennsylvania in the Eastern Conference final.
Eastern Conference Finals Preview
Pittsburgh (2) vs Philadelphia (6)
The season series was won, perhaps surprisingly, by the Flyers 5-3.
This is going to pit a fast-paced, skill-oriented team against the Flyers for the second straight series. They had success against the Pens in many games that saw Pittsburgh dealing with injury troubles that are not currently an issue.
Pittsburgh may be a bit concerned that
Sidney Crosby was held goalless in the Rangers series, but he has still managed 14 points in his nine playoff games. The varied offensive firepower has been on fire, save for their only loss, the aforementioned shutout by Lundqvist in the Ranger series. Malkin, Malone and Hossa have all joined Crosby in averaging at least a point per game during these playoffs. That may have been expected.
What should give the Flyers cause for concern is the fact that the Pens team defense has been very stingy. With Marc Andre Fleury allowing fewer than two goals per game throughout the postseason,
Hal Gill's stock has risen for his efforts at being a shutdown defenseman. He has been aided by young defensive mates Rob Scuderi (team-leading +6 rating) and
Ryan Whitney (+4), who is playing the best defensive hockey of his career.
The Flyers are looking to continue a stunning turnaround season that sees them only a year removed from last season's dismal last place finish in the entire league.
This is, like Pittsburgh, a young team primed for future success. The blend here is notably a much more physical group of big players who can move the puck well. Their centre ice depth of
Mike Richards,
Daniel Briere and
Jeff Carter tipped the scales in their favor against Montreal, but that edge will, at the least, be negated by Crosby and Malkin.
Veteran wingers
Mike Knuble and
Vaclav Prospal will be asked to produce more offense in this series and they will look for continued production from the likes of
Scottie Upshall,
Joffrey Lupul and
Scott Hartnell in an effort to keep pace with the Pens offense.
Defensively, Kimmo Timmonen is again well-suited to match up with the opposition, and the other big blueliners will again be asked to use that advantage against their quick opponents.
Braydon Coburn,
Jason Smith and
Derian Hatcher will have more difficulty because the Pens are a bigger club than the Canadiens and may be better able to couple with the physical toll expected in this series.
Martin Biron (2.72 g.a.a. and .914 sv. pct. in 12 games) is enjoying a first-rate playoff and has been the key to two series wins to date for Philadelphia.
We expect a high level of entertainment here. Both teams are filled with much promise for the foreseeable future. The Penguins just seem to be a bit further along the growth curve, in addition to possessing that explosive offense. So, we look for Pittsburgh to continue their trek toward the Stanley Cup with an exciting six-game series win over Philadelphia to earn the Eastern Conference Championship over their cross-state rivals.
