Playoff Slapshots: Where Are The Hockey Gods?

Putting the puck on the 'Net

• The frantic pace of many of the first round games is, if not clinically textbook, immensely entertaining. The emotions are so high, causing frenzied play which may have coaches feeling helpless but have fans feeling wowed. Some of these games are as exciting as the Olympic games were.
• That being said, the teams that can keep their emotions in check the best will be rewarded and likely advance to round two.
• Dan Carcillo was the overtime hero as the Flyers downed the Devils to take a 2-1 series lead. Earlier in the game Carcillo was a villain, with his fraudulent and dramatic dive that embarrasses the game. The hockey gods did not deliver proper justice there.
• With inconsistency being the only constant, refereeing is always a controversial topic, and is greatly magnified. Fans and often media of the losing team often blame the refs. It would be refreshing to to hear cries to play more disciplined game. The officials can be frustrating, but the more disciplined team usually wins a series.
• I really liked Joel Quenneville's move to keep Antti Niemi in Chicago's net for game 2. He was shaky in the game 1 loss, but he had to stay with him. He all but appointed the rookie as his man and couldn't afford to chance losing his confidence. If you can lose game two you can better justify switching to the veteran Cristobal Huet in game 3 if need be. But giving Niemi another chance is a great message for the whole team.
• That being said, I still think Nashville is capable of the upset. I think Chicago will win, but I always liked this as a potential upset.
• What an amazing ending to the San Jose/Colorado game. Craig Anderson stood on his head, but the highlight of the night for me was his undying smile after the game.
  
• I've always said no team with Todd Bertuzzi will ever win a championship.