NHL Playoff Notes...

There are many reasons why April and May are some of the best months of the year. 90% of the country stops having shitty weather. School is donezo until September. And for us sports fans, the amount of options is simply at its' peak. The NBA playoffs aren't the only event in town right now. Many people would argue that the NHL playoffs have, to this point, been more entertaining. In the Eastern Conference, the top three seeds lost, while in the West, you've got the four heavyweights battling it out (no disrespect to Phoenix, what they did was amazing considering they're currently owned by the NHL). Here's the low-down on what's happening:

Wow, Pittsburgh's path to repeating just got a whole lot easier. No Alex Ovechkin. No Martin Brodeur or Ryan Miller. Instead, they get a Canadiens team that squeaked into the playoffs and needed to win three in a row against the Capitals to even get to this point. The series is currently tied at 1-1, and the only way the Canadiens are going to better than that is if stud goalie Jaroslav Halak continues to be the Great Wall of Canada (and Slovakia). However, based on his current play, that might not be that much of a stretch. Still, no one can stop 36+ shots a night constantly. The Canadiens need more consistency on offense.

In the other East series, the Boston Bruins won Game One in overtime against the Philadelphia Flyers. That game should serve as a good indicator of how the rest of the series should go, as these teams look to be pretty evenly matched. But the Bruins have a little more playoff experience, and a little bit more talent. Like Montreal, the Flyers need Bobby Boucher (the goalie, not Adam Sandler) to continue his recent hot play to stay in it.

Now, for West Coast observations...

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