2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - Apr 19th

3/4 last night. As expected the Rangers sent the Thrashers home early with a convincing 4-2 win last night. The Nashville Predators seem intent on screwing up all of my predictions as they went down last night in San Jose. 3 teams are on the verge of elimination tonight, but only the Pens get the boot.

Tonights Games:

Pittsburgh Penguins (1) at Ottawa Senators (3) : Unfortunately this is the end for Penguins fans. Ottawa found a way to shut down Sidney Crosby in their last game and they have effectively made Evgeni Malkin a non-factor in the series. Expect another solid game from Ray Emery as the Sens oust the Pens tonight.

Detroit Red Wings (2) at Calgary Flames (1) : Which Calgary Flames team will show up tonight? Calgary has been horrible on the road all season long but game 4 of this series is at home. Expect a tight, close fought game that Calgary will eventually win. In overtime.

Dallas Stars (1) at Vancouver Canucks (3) : This series is a mirror of the Wings vs Flames series. Dallas is horrible at home and their best bet is to win games on the road. That being said it is tough to bet against Roberto Luongo. I'm taking the Stars in a tight game to push the series back to Dallas.

Minnesota Wild (1) at Anaheim Ducks (3) : Anaheim forward Brad May received a three game suspension by the NHL after his attack on Wild defenseman Kim Johnsson in the last meeting between the two teams. I think we can expect Derek Boogard to get in as many faces as possible tonight. It is important to note that J.S. Giguere is likely to see his first start in the 2007 playoffs as Ilya Bryzgalov was pulled in the 3rd period of game 4 after letting in 3 goals on 6 shots. I like the guts and grit of Minnesota and I think they will pull this game out to live until game 6 back in Minnesota.

Recaps Day 9:

New Jersey Devils 4 (2) at Tampa Bay Lightning 3 (2) : i did not have the stellar game that I predicted he would but the Devils found a way to make it work anyways. Scott Gomez scored 12:54 into overtime to give the Devils back home ice advantage in the series. Zach Parise has been a godsend to the Devils in the post season and he responded with 2 goals again last night to give the Devils a two goal lead in the middle of the second period.

Atlanta Thrashers 2 (0) at New York Rangers 4 (4) : The first team to be eliminated from the 2007 NHL Playoffs is Atlanta as they got truly trashed by the Rangers in their first post season appearance in club history. The Thrashers top 3 scores, Ilya Kovalchuk, Marian Hossa and Slava Kozlov combined for a measely 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists) in this series. Undoubtedly this is a big reason why they are now headed to the golf course.

Buffalo Sabres 4 (3) at New York Islanders 2 (1) : The Sabres continued to roll along as they overcame a strong effort by the Islanders in game 4. Chris Drury scored twice to help drive the Sabres into a commanding lead in this series with game 5 going Friday night in Buffalo. Islanders coach Ted Nolan is livid about a goal called back with 1:42 left in the third which would have tied the game but officials in Toronto immediately reviewed the play and backed up referee Mike Leggo's on ice call that it was not a goal. Argue all you want Nolan, but shoving the goalie into the net with the puck does not count as a goal. Have you booked your tee times yet Teddie?

Nashville Predators 2 (1) at San Jose Sharks 3 (3) : The bounces all seem to be going San Jose's way, Milan Michalek's second goal of the game came off a lucky deflection from Nashville Predator's defenseman Kimmo Timonen. On the other side of things, Nashville had a chance to tie the game late in the third as the pucked bounced through Evgeni Nabokov's crease and off a defenders skate, twice. Unfortunately for Nashville it bounced away from the net both times. So long Nashville, San Jose just seems to want this one more than you do. Nashville should win game 5 at home on Friday but they won't make it past game 6. This will be my first prediction gone wrong from the 1st round but probably not last (where are you Martin Brodeur!).

1st Round and full Predictions:

Round 1 Predictions and Hot Players
Complete Playoff Predictions