Once again it is playoff time.
Except, as of my writing this things are already going on.
NHL:
The New York Islanders and the Washington Capitols
The Isles lead the series 2-1 and are in game 3 tonight.
The Isles look as good as the New York Rangers in my opinion. They have a defense that is shutting down Alex Ovechkin. They have a penalty kill that seems solid. (I am not sure because I am not an Isles fan) They can play dump and chase hockey or go in for solid fore checks. They can really hit.
So far in this game it is 1-1 in overtime and 41 hits have been recorded. They have a young and hungry second year John Tavares, who can make life miserable for the defense.
They are cohesive. They seem pretty complete and have net minder Jarslav Halak in net.
He's been sensational in the Islanders and Caps series.
Then you have the Minnesota Wild vs the St Louis Blues series. The Wild lead 2-1 A terrific series thus far. I watched a bit of the third period last night. I hate the Wild. I should hate the Blues but the Avs have been bounced by the Wild before. So it makes for a very interesting series. High flying Blues vs the Zack Parise led Wild. The Wild can be brutal in the neutral zone. They can grind you down and play tough hockey. The Blues mean while are a very fast skating team with high flying TJ Oshie, Taransenko and others. The Blues have come up against a wall against the Wild right now. Not able to execute their offense the Blues may be in trouble. May? Anything is possible with the Blue's offense. If the Blues are trying to get back in the series it starts with David Backes. He's the captain and the kids run through him. He can settle down the Blues and get them to score. Make no mistake the Wild have a great penalty killing unit. Shutting down Parise and Suter is a tough task.
Then there's the series I wish I can watch more of. Direct TV does not have the Pens and New York Rangers. My Penguins are down 2-1 to the complete Rangers team. Let's face it. We have talent but the Rangers have shut down Malkin but not Crosby. They both have to get hot. Throw Kunitz in there and I hope we have a chance. Hopefully, down 2-1 the Pens can wake up on Wednesday. I think the Pens have to get really agressive against the Rangers. They have to forecheck more. They have to hit more and make the Rangers fear them. More passing would be nice in the lanes. Go Pens!
Go NHL playoffs.
