10 replies to this topic

[Dark Knight]

Please post your thoughts, pictures and comments on tonight's games in this thread.

Washington at Pittsburgh
Vancouver at Chicago

[DropThePuck]

TSN's Ice Chips

Defenceman James Wisniewski played 22 minutes, nine seconds and was minus-2 in Game 5 Sunday night after missing Thursday's fourth game of the series because of a lung contusion suffered two nights earlier. - Orange County Register

Erik Christensen, a healthy scratch since the opening game of the Ducks' second round series with Detroit, was back in the Anaheim lineup on Sunday in Game 5. - L.A. Times

Aaron Ward was knocked to the ice after Scott Walker engaged him in a late third period fight after the whistle was blown. However, Walker hit Ward before he even took his gloves off. The NHL is looking at the incident and Walker faces a suspension. - Boston Globe

Blake Wheeler, scoreless in eight playoff games, was the healthy scratch Sunday night. Byron Bitz, who made his series debut in Game 4, was back in uniform, replacing Wheeler alongside Michael Ryder and David Krejci. - Boston Globe

Shawn Thornton, a healthy scratch in Game 4, played in Sunday's game against the Carolina Hurricanes. However, Thornton was only on the ice for 4:25 minutes and spent six minutes in the penalty box. Andrew Ference (lower-body injury) was a scratch Sunday for the second straight game. - Boston Globe

Scott Walker is automatically suspended, pending the NHL's ruling, on the punching incident involving Aaron Ward in Game 5. The suspension could get rescinded and Walker may not even serve a game. - TSN

Entering Sunday's action, Hawks centre Jonathan Toews is second to Montreal's Tomas Plekanec (66.7 percent) in the NHL in faceoff percentage during the postseason with a 59.3 percent success rate in 11 games. Vancouver's Ryan Johnson is third at 58.9... Dustin Byfuglien is second to Pittsburgh's Brooks Orpik (56) in hits with 49, with teammates Brent Seabrook (37) and Troy Brouwer (34) also in the top 10. - Chicago Tribune

The Red Wings scratched 47-year-old defenceman Chris Chelios and gave Derek Meech his first playoff start in Game 5 Sunday. He skated a total of 3:19 in Detroit's 4-1 victory... Justin Abdelkader replaced Tomas Kopecky, who suffered broken bones in his face during a fight with Ducks defenceman Francois Beauchemin in Game 4. - L.A. Times

It will be a game-time decision if head coach Dan Bylsma dresses seven defencemen for Game 6. In Game 5, the Penguins double shifted Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin at centre on the fourth line. - TSN

The Penguins enter Game 6 of their second-round playoff series against Washington having blocked 161 shots, the most of any team in these playoffs going into last night's games. Defenceman Rob Scuderi has accounted for 23 of that total. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Rookie defenceman Alex Goligoski had a solid, if unspectacular, performance when he made his NHL playoff debut in Game 5. Goligoski, summoned from the Penguins' minor league team in Wilkes-Barre after Sergei Gonchar was injured by a knee-to-knee hit from Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin in Game 4 Friday, logged 9 minutes and 32 second of ice time, little more than a third of it (3:14) on the power play. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Possible Lines - Game 6 vs. Capitals

Forwards:
Kunitz - Crosby - Guerin
Fedotenko - Malkin - Talbot
Cooke - Staal - Kennedy
Adams - Crosby/Malkin - Satan

Defence:
Orpik - Goligoski/Boucher
Gill - Scuderi
Eaton - Letang

Goaltender:
Fleury
Garon

Possible Scratches:
Sykora, Godard, Dupuis
and Gonchar

Alexander Semin did not skate on Monday. Donald Brashear is eligible to return in Game 6, but it is not likely. - TSN

Facing a fourth game in six nights, Sunday was a day of rest for nearly all of the players. - Washington Times

Broken up during the last series against the New York Rangers, Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin were paired together again for Saturday’s contest, with great results. Backstrom was the best skater on the ice, and Ovechkin’s three points moved him past Crosby for the playoff scoring lead. - Washington Times

Possible Lines - Game 6 vs. Penguins

Forwards:
Ovechkin - Fedorov - Kozlov
Fleischmann - Backstrom - Semin
Laich - Steckel - Bradley
Beagle - Gordon - Clark

Defence:
Morrisonn - Green
Poti - Jurcina
Sloan - Pothier

Goaltender:
Varlamov
Theodore

Possible Scratches:
Schultz, Brashear,
Fehr and Nylander

[Cassie8236]

2:50 away from the end of the Vancouver season....unless the Blackhawks have a huge melt down. Kane got a hat trick...geez....for a little bit they were matching each other goal for goal

[Dark Knight]

And I thought Vancouver had a good goalie ... or something.

Vancouver at Chicago 5-7

[QuacksMeUp]

And I thought Vancouver had a good goalie ... or something.

Vancouver at Chicago 5-7

....or something. Certainly not a good goalie in the playoffs. That was a tremendous game. Pond hockey style trading chances in a playoff game. Awesome.

[play puck]

Van. is history! Kane has a hat trick

[Itlan]

Anyone got the Canucks "Golf" logo handy? Need to do some much needed teasing.

Found it:

[HereComeTheHawks]

It would be alright to the Hawks and Ducks face-off in the Western Conference finals, but I would be lyin' my ass off, if I told you I didn't want the Wings more.

[DropThePuck]

5 - Kozlov, V. (06:27 in 2nd), Fleischmann, T. (14:42 in 2nd), Laich, B. (PPG, 05:38 in 3rd), Kozlov, V. (06:07 in 3rd), Steckel, D. (06:22 in 1st OT)
4 - Guerin, B. (05:55 in 1st), Eaton, M. (PPG, 19:26 in 2nd), Letang, K. (PPG, 04:40 in 3rd), Crosby, S. (15:42 in 3rd)


Pittsburgh Penguins' Mark Eaton, center, celebrates his second-period goal with teammates Chris Kunitz, left, and Philippe Boucher against the Washington Capitals in Game 6 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series, in Pittsburgh on Monday, May 11, 2009.
(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)


Pittsburgh Penguins' Hal Gill (2) falls onto Washington Capitals' Alexander Ovechkin (8), of Russia, in front of Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury in the first period of Game 6 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series, in Pittsburgh on Monday, May 11, 2009.
(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)


Pittsburgh Penguins' Chris Kunitz, right, flips over the stick of Washington Capitals goalie Simeon Varlamov, of Russia, during the overtime period of Game 6 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series in Pittsburgh, Monday, May 11, 2009.
(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)


Washington Capitals' David Steckel, left, backhands the game-winning goal around Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Philippe Boucher (43) and past the glove of Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury in Game 6 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series, in Pittsburgh on Monday, May 11, 2009.
(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

[DropThePuck]

Raymond, M. (11:13 in 1st), Sedin, D. (11:09 in 2nd), O'Brien, S. (14:49 in 2nd), Sundin, M. (03:43 in 3rd), Sedin, D. (PPG, 12:15 in 3rd)
Kane, P. (13:13 in 1st), Versteeg, K. (PPG, 03:54 in 2nd), Toews, J. (PPG, 10:17 in 2nd), Burish, A. (05:41 in 3rd), Kane, P. (13:00 in 3rd), Toews, J. (PPG, 13:49 in 3rd), Kane, P. (16:17 in 3rd)


Vancouver Canucks' Shane O'Brien reacts after scoring against the Chicago Blackhawks during the second period in Game 6 of the NHL Western Conference semifinal hockey series in Chicago, Monday, May 11, 2009.
(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)


Goalie Roberto Luongo(notes) #1 of the Vancouver Canucks sits on the ice after he gave up a hat trick goal to Patrick Kane(notes) #88 of the Chicago Blackhawks in the third period during Game Six of the Western Conference Semifinal Round of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs on May 11, 2009 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)


Goalie Nikolai Khabibulin(notes) #39 of the Chicago Blackhawks looks back for the puck after he made a save against the Vancouver Canucks during Game Six of the Western Conference Semifinal Round of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs on May 11, 2009 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)


The Chicago Blackhawks swarm goalie Nikolai Khabibulin(notes) #39 after their 7-5 win against the Vancouver Canucks during Game Six of the Western Conference Semifinal Round of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs on May 11, 2009 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

[Always Mighty]

Wow, those were two great, exciting games today. I can't wait to watch game 7 of the Caps and Pens series!